Not too long ago I was asked about what the status was on the various projects that Leatherneck Simulations/Magnitude 3 were working on and I unfortunately didn’t have much of an answer because we’ve seen very little from them since December of 2020. But we have a nice new update to read through and that gives us some new insights into some of their big projects. Let’s take a look!

Corsair moves forward

We’ve got some nice new updates for the F4U-1D Corsair for DCS World today with new screenshots of the exterior and the interior as well as key news on features that are being completed. Here’s a summary of what we know.

The module is in its final stages of completion according to the team. Art and system programming is nearly completed and flight model and engine operation are being tuned. The radio, gunsight and other systems have been programmed. The cockpit is still being worked on and these screenshots shot a lot of the details being put into it.

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The exterior of the F4U also really appears to have come together and Leatherneck report that the aircraft will eventually have a wide range of ordinance types including both British and US weapons. Nice touch!

Missions and a campaign are also planned.

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Essex class carrier update

The 24 ship Essex-class of aircraft carrier were the backbone of the US Navy and Leatherneck is busy building one to go along with the F4U-1D.

Right now, the carrier’s hangar bay is under development and the developers would like to see air operations start in the hangar bay, move up to the deck, and then on with the mission. Sounds really good to me!

F8J mini update

The F8J Crusader is making progress too. The artist team is busy with the F4U but programmers are working on the F8J. The AN/APQ-124 radar has a limited ground mapping functionality so the programmers are busy working to make that work. Leatherneck has a video on their update so you may want to see that – it’s obviously heavily work in progress.

They have also, despite the pandemic, managed to get some laser scans of an F8 cockpit and that is helping them verify their modeling efforts.

For all of this and more, visit the latest developer update from Leatherneck/Magnitude 3 right here.