DCS F-14B - Cinematics and Unreliable Track Files

This is why I don't do as much Picture-in-Picture and external replay content as I would like with my videos.

Track Files in DCS are notoriously unreliable, and when you watch the replay you see your plane smash into a tree or fly off into the sun instead of doing that cool thing you just did.

Anyway, this video is a way for me to easily demonstrate to others what I mean when I say track files are unreliable, and also to vent a little bit :P

[brittoncooke]

I like to start a mission cold and dark. Few of my tracks make it to the runway. None of them survive a takeoff. Its frustrating and its been broken forever. I heard server track files work better than single player tracks but I don't know. Makes you appreciate what the YouTube DCS cinematographers go through to get those cool videos.

[mr.crispybacon]

im in tears RN
just completed my first carrier landing and cant rewatch it

[iFlyFlightSims]

Your track files do pretty much what mine do in the F-14. I don’t have this problem on other modules, except the Viggen.

[TheOneTrueSpLiT]

Just this evening I had an in-air incident while I was doing some tests against un-armed AI MiGs and somehow got wiped out, so I thought I must have had a mid-air collision with one of them or my wingman but the debrief gave no clues, so I watched the track immediately after and it showed nothing other than me bailing out - whatever had caused my F-15 to get hit by something didn't show up on the track which has confused the hell out of me until I stumbled across your video. I didn't know track files could be so inaccurate and unreliable - it's not like it is *difficult* to record all that is going on, FSX, X-Plane et all can record and replay flight data accurately so why can't DCS!!!

[JetPilot]

Shit, I was hoping for a solution to this problem. Thanks anyway for the video.

[SonicTemples]

Hi vsTerminus any work around for this at the moment? I'm working on an F14 video and it's doing my head in. Could it possibly be to do with random elements in the flight model which would come out differently for each track? Shaking etc. I also read somewhere about the tracks coming out fine on multiplayer servers but I haven't been able to verify. Only the F14 I have this problem with.

[DemonLordGamingAC]

Wow, talking with Jester should be a function of the plane by itself... 4000 lines it is?

[MrAMT]

Good example of the problem:)

May I ask, what is the head tracking you're using?

[chrislannon]

This is a *SERIOUS* BUG. Shame the haven't fixed it.

[pjslon]

Heatblur doesn't want to own up though, although it is clear that their F-14 is alone in how bad this is.

[AndyTheDriverFools]

DCS is truly awesome & in vr is spectacular, but the track file issue is a major problem for most people that enjoy the game or want to share it with other people & record the awesome dog fight air to air refueling & carrier landings & missions that they do with friends.
It's a real shame the devs have never addressed this by either fixing it or making a replay function & I've heard it all before oh you're not a true enthusiast & a hole load of other bullshit
But at the end of the day the price of the planes is ridiculous even when on sale for an older game that's not even a AAA title that doesn't have a working replay or track file editor that works & no one want's to pay $4500 for all the planes & especially if it doesn't have a replay or track record that doesn't work even though all the "enthusiast" will say that's not what the track file is for even though it has a folder for those track files after they are edited called movie folder the one function you wish the game had working doesn't even work really let's this game down & as soon as someone makes another sim on the same level that's cheaper with a working replay DCS will be left in the running a dedicated server & getting the server track file works but not in the f14 lol.