We learned a few days ago that Heatblur was distributing a pre-release version of their DCS: F-14 to YouTubers and we’ve seen a couple of teasers but now we have the first video out of the gate with Ralfi’s Alley “Tomcat Strike on Krymsk.”

Jester, bombs, missiles.. all cat!

The F-14 can do a surprising number of things for a jet that was designed as a defender of the fleet. In this video, Ralfi takes the F-14 out on a solo strike mission dodging SAMs, attacking the target, getting into a dogfight and using the Jester AI in the backseat RIO position all along the way. Check it out!

A few notes

First, it’s no shocker that Heatblur’s art work on the F-14 has really pushed things to another level and the interior cockpit in action in this 1440p video really shows this off well.

Second, the hard work on Jester AI has really paid off. The integration into the flying experience is really good from the looks of the video. Ralfi was able to position a target position in the F10 map view and have Jester punch in the coordinates (at a realistic speed no-less, nice touch!) using that point. Brilliant!

There’s also a really nice animation with the pilot saluting the deck crew before spooling up for catapult launch. That’s wonderful to see and will surely look even better once the Stennis or the Forestall gets an animated deck crew.

DCS: F-14 is still slated to come sometime this winter. Stay tuned for more videos and more content as we close in on that early access launch!