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Superbug customers may
PRE-ORDER now
for a substantial savings prior to release (see below for details)
The VRS TacPack
is the first true single and multi-player combat
simulatation modification for FSX (not FS2004 compatible).
In 2010, Vertical Reality Simulation's
SuperbugX
brought the first true fly-by wire combat aircraft to Flight
Simulator X, along with a massive list of never-before seen
innovations including true avionic and animated weapons modeling
with sophisticated and highly integrated fire control and radar
suites. The only problem was that weapons couldn't actually
destroy anything in the world. We could simulate their
destruction by having avionics such as radar ignore them when the hit
occurred, but they would always keep flying. The
TacPack
will change everything you thought you knew about what was possible
in Flight Simulator.
VRS knows combat simulation and military aircraft systems like
nobody else, and we're going to continue proving it year after year.
In early 2011, VRS will turn FSX on its ear; Weapons ranging from
AGMs to LGBs and
guns are all modeled with realistic physics, performance, effects
and lethality envelopes rivaling
stand-alone simulators. Not only will
you be able to take out AI aircraft in single-player, you'll be able to dogfight your friends
(and enemies) multiplayer, take out SAM
and AAA, or bomb a hostile airfield - all in free-flight. When the
dust settles you'll be able to call for a tanker, fuel up behind an
intelligent AI refueler flying dynamic racetrack patterns, then RTB
to review the action (and lick your wounds) via TacView
- an amazing ACMI playback system.
The destructive nature of the TacPack means weapons are no longer
benign figments of your imagination; Flight Simulator becomes a live
battle space. Your aircraft can destroy (or cripple) your adversaries, and you
yourself can become the prey, taking partial or critical damage. Note that only multi-player
users who own the TacPack (and have it enabled) will be vulnerable to its
systems.
The TacPack is comprised of a dynamic
weapon simulation, a radar back-end, and a radar warning receiver
backend. The TacPack will initially be completely integrated into
the VRS Superbug.
The TacPack will be a multi-phased release and will retail for
$29.95US. Phase II will be the SDK for
third-party developers, and phase III will add additional features
including VRS LSO - a complete
carrier voice command and greenie board debriefing system.
Superbug Integrated
(initial release, and available only
to Superbug X owners), Seamless integration is what
the TacPack is all about; Weapons will appear on the various
aircraft stations just as they do in the classic Superbug,
but as soon as you pull the trigger, the TacPack magic takes
over, seamlessly unleashing a deadly accurate simulation for
the weapon itself. All the avionics including SMS, radar and
radar warning receiver are tailored to the specific weapon
being used. It's as if the TacPack was there all along
waiting to be unleashed.TacPack Drop-in
(phase 2, available to everyone for
any aircraft).
One of the unique problems facing us when designing the
TacPack was the question of how third party aircraft could
use the system, but maintain their own identity and
uniqueness, while maintaining play balance. In order to
simulate a weapon system you need four main components: 1) A
fire control system, 2) A radar system, 3) A radar warning
receiver and 4) Supporting avionics. Fair enough, you drop
in a HUD, some MFDs and all the usual back-end components
and before you know it you're shooting things down. The
problem is, these components need to be generic in a way
that works, and the only way to do that is to replace the
aircraft's original displays. We will offer these components
which end-users may install into their other aircraft with
the caveat that they must remain generic in nature. It's
possible in the future we will offer aircraft-specific
avionic drop-ins, but these will come at an additional charge,
unlike the generic components.
TacPack SDK
(phase 2, available to everyone),
which will follow the initial release, will overcome the
limitations of the drop-in paradigm by allowing developers
to create royalty free, officially sanctioned (and most
importantly, balanced) aircraft weapon systems and avionics
for integration into their own aircraft at the build-level,
while maintaining their aircraft's identity and avoiding
generic, drop-in modules which would otherwise destroy
anything unique about the host aircraft. The TacPack
SDK is
the ONLY way the multi-player environment can be balanced,
unique to each aircraft's systems and provide maximum
tactical diversity. TacPack SDK will be a royalty free
system available to any qualifying developers.
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The Tacpack is just a few short weeks away,
and Superbug customers may
PRE-ORDER
now for just
$29.95 (25% off MSRP) . Note that we
will update
our
newsletter as soon as the
Tacpack is shipping!
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TacPack
Features
This list is subject to change. The Tacpack will be a multi-part
release. Features which are not part of the initial release are noted
under "Subsequent phases." These phases will be added at NO ADDITIONAL
COST. In fact we NEED these features in order to appeal to a wider
market. VRS has proven our willingness to continue supporting our
products. For example we recently released SP1 for the Superbug, which
took approximately 6 months and included well over 200 changes and
additions. The TacPack will be no different; When you puchase a VRS
product, you invest in a commitment to quality.
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Weapons Systems:
- A/A and A/G missiles, ballistics and
guided/unguided bombs.
- True aircraft integration: No cheezy,
generic "panels".
- Initially released specifically for the VRS Superbug, with third-party
aircraft support to follow in later releases.
- Lethal to both aircraft (total or partial damage) and simobjects.
Supports all the current systems carried by the VRS Superbug, with all
associated avionic displays:
- M-61A1 20mm Gatling Gun
- AIM-9X “Sidewinder”
- AIM-9M “Sidewinder”
- AIM-7 “Sparrow”
- AIM-120 AMRAAM
- AGM-65E “Laser Maverick”
- AGM-84D “Harpoon”
- AGM-84H SLAM-ER
- AGM-154A JTOW
- AGM-88C HARM
- GBU-10 “Paveway II”
- GBU-12 (singles or pairs)
- GBU-31 JDAM
- Realistic weapon ranges and maneuvering performance,
dependent on engagement geometry.
- As with the classic Superbug, any one of thousands of combinations of
ordinance can be loaded, and the weight and drag of the weapon is simulated
on the airframe and removed after launch.
- Weapons are positioned on and fire from individual stations, not a
generic aircraft centroid.
- All systems work in FREE FLIGHT and do not require scripted missions.
- Destructable objects include ships, aircraft, ground vehicles and
sim-object structures. If it's a simobject, you can lock it up and kill it.
Avionics (Superbug specific):
- Complete AN/APG-73 Air-To-Ground radar simulation,
including the following search/track modes:
- Real Beam Ground Map (MAP)
- Ground Moving Target Indication (GMT)
- Sea Surface Search (SEA)
- Fixed Target Track (FTT)
- Ground Moving Target Track (GMTT)
- Air-To-Ground Ranging (AGR).
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ACMI Playback:
- ACMI recorder for FSX, readable by Vyrtuoz's
TacView
- Can record flights in any aircraft, and records all aircraft present (AI
and MP) in the simulation.
- Minimal FPS impact.
- Facilitates after-action debriefing/training.
Multi-player Support:
- FULL multi-player functionality.
- Drop AI into sessions (see
AI menu below). Assets such as SAMs, working carriers, tankers and more may
be dropped by team members into the battlefield.
- Partial and critical damage
modeling.
- IFF system for all AI and
human players to facilitate
division into teams.
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Anti-Cheating measures. Multi-player is about balance. VRS is making
every effort to ensure that the TacPack is fair and balanced, and we will
continue to support anti-cheating by design and proactive, ongoing software
updates.
VRS AI Menu:
- Call and control aerial refueling tankers through an intuitive
in-flight menu system.
- Can use any aircraft loadable in FSX as a tanker.
- Select tanker orbit type.
- Dynamically adjustable tanker altitude and speed.
SAM installations can be placed and given a
side, and become active threats visible on RWR and destructible.
Drop and control any aircraft carrier (or
any vessel, moving or static) in single-and multiplayer.
- Any vessel can be selected and placed at user-defined distances and
speeds.
- All vessels both moving and static can contain TACAN and ILS which are
instantly available to all single and multi-player participants.
Coming in
Subsequent Phases:
- Third-party aircraft drop-ins to allow BASIC
integration with other aircraft.
- SDK to allow ADVANCED integration with other
aircraft.
- Basic, aggressor and target drone AI (via in-flight
menu system).
- "Wingmen" (Formation flying partners).
- VRS LSO/Greenie Board.
- Much more...
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The multi-award-winning VRS F/A-18E
Superbug is here for FSX, and she's
all out of
bubblegum. We've taken all the incredible and innovative features of
our FS2004 version and supercharged them for FSX with updated
graphics, updated effects, new block II model enhancements, and tons
of incredible new features including true HUD-based night vision,
firing weapon animations, and awesome new lighting technologies. If
you've been holding out for the FSX version, then the wait is over. 
