Bigger Than The B(U) – Pulse Gain and Extrapolated Tracks Fixes

The F-14B(U) will be released in just a couple of days, but the new module is not all we are getting from Heatblur. This article and video shows two main improvements that should ship along the F-14B(U): the Pulse Gain exploits fix, and the new Extrapolated Tracks logic.
It is important to note that at the moment of writing, these improvements are still a Work-in-Progress.

Pulse Gain exploit

Since the release, an exploit existed that allowed players to set the Pulse Gain knob to the minimum and disregard the background noise, thus clearly highlighting any contact. This, of course, should be either impossible or challenging to achieve, as the users of the F-4E and its APQ-120 know.
Keeping in mind that the simulation of the AWG-9 dates back to 2019, and it is not presently as advanced as the APQ-120, many aspects have been improved.
As the examples displayed in the video above show, it is still possible to spot and lock targets when looking down in two typical situations.

1. MLC intersects the target before the ground. For example, when the Antenna elevation angle is particularly shallow and the terrain is flat;
2. A certain amount of distance exists between the target and the terrain.

Let’s briefly discuss these conditions.
The first is the same situation that allows the APQ-120 to look down and lock a target. Since the MLC intersects the target and the terrain only later, the contact is highlighted, and the ground clutter appears at a farther range, not directly behind it. At steep antenna angles, this can be tricky to achieve, but at shallow angles, it is simpler.
The second requires the RIO to have a good idea of where the target is in the first place. Since Pulse radars offer good range definition, it is still possible to acquire a target in such a scenario. Moreover, the mentioned simpler degree of simulation does not allow locking the terrain, so some trial and error is possible.

That being said, the discussed improvement removes an exploit that, albeit often marginal, was affecting the Tomcat, and this is great!

Extrapolated Tracks logic

For the longest time, the moment a contact’s track became extrapolated indicated that the Phoenix was thrashed. The advent of the new AIM-54C years after the original release somewhat attenuated this problem, as the missile could now activate itself independently. Still, the situation was not particularly great, and you may remember when I posted a video about the Phoenix turning 180° and flying back to the mothership. Back then, the reason was identified in the inability of the game itself to guide a missile towards a specific region of space, rather than directly onto a target. Now, Heatblur devs have put significant effort into the implementation of a workaround missile behaviour which resembles how the extrapolated tracks are supposed to work.
The problem is that, unless something has changed in the last few months and I missed the news, active radar seekers do not exist in DCS, as I demonstrated multiple times. Ergo, from my understanding, guiding a missile towards a position and activating its seeker would not be particularly beneficial unless the original target is still in the area.
So, let’s have a look at three main scenarios:

1. short-term extrapolations: this issue happens when a target, perhaps defending, for example enters and within a few seconds leaves the main lobe clutter area. This situation used to be very frustrating, as the track was gone for good immediately.
2. prolonged extrapolations: this is where things become complicated. The WCS has to be able to correlate the track to a contact as it re-appears on the radar. If the target manoeuvres and changes direction before reappearing, for example by executing a split-S, the WCS cannot complete the operation. An in-flight AIM-54 will continue towards the extrapolated track.
3. early lost tracks: the new implementation forces the missile to mimic following the extrapolated track. This happens until the Phoenix is activated by the WCS, the battery of the missile eventually runs out, or the WCS drops the extrapolated track as it gives higher priority to “alive” tracks. This is the case that generated the weirdest situations in the game. Unfortunately, as long as the points raised earlier are not addressed, it will still be subpar, but at least now it can work in a few rare cases.

Nevertheless, the updated extrapolated tracks logic is a fantastic improvement. Unfortunately, a precise and realistic behaviour is not possible until missiles can be guided towards a certain location rather than a target, and active seekers become a thing. Speaking of which, the AIM-54 Phoenix still lacks many peculiar features it had in real life. None can be implemented until a proper API is provided.

Other Fixes and Improvements

The patch delivering the F-14B(U) should also include a massive list of additional improvements, often affecting every F-14 Tomcat. Quoting the FAQ:

Included are items such as a new in-game manual with explain-me feature, selected JESTER 2.0 improvements, visual and art updates, general improvements, models, animations, and effects and other Tomcat family improvements where applicable. We’re also remastering some F-14A/B specific artwork and adding new customization options for old Tomcats, such as older pilot equipment.

F-14B(U) FAQ – ED Forum

To wrap this up, I decided to show the Pulse Gain and the Extrapolated tracks to give you a hint of the depth of Heatblur’s work. Please let me know what you think about all this in a couple of days, when the F-14B(U) and related patch hit the DCS Updater.

Leave comments and feedback in the Discussion Forum thread.