The F-5E Tiger II is something of a fan-favourite airplane in the DCS World community. The real world aircraft was designed as a simple jet fighter replacement for developing countries that needed to replace their old airframes with something lower cost than the more sophisticated jets increasingly available at the time. The virtual one draws on that simplicity by being an aircraft that is easy to get into and capable enough to have a lot of fun with in many of the Cold War era scenarios and beyond. The aircraft module has seen a recent upgrade that remasters the aircraft and replaces the old version with a new one. For long term fans it means once again paying a small fee to upgrade to the remaster version. Is it the upgrade offer enough to make it worthwhile? Let’s dig into it!
What’s changed?
DCS: F-5E Tiger II is a module that hasn’t seen a lot of effort put into it as of late. It has had some minor updates to the module in the last year with an update in May aimed at fixing some radar clutter issues, adding the AIM-9J, and fixing the TACAN system (among a few other long standing bugs). Those updates have been added in the latest update with DCS 2.9.10.3948 adding and/or fixing the following:
- Added GBU-12 to centerline, GBU-16 to inner and centerline, and GBU-10 to centerline loading options.
- Fixed. Holding dogfight/resume or ACQ switch does not minimize range gate.
- Fixed. Sight cage does not align the radar antenna to ARL.
- Fixed. Mk-82 Snakeye should not have high-drag surfaces when safed.
- Fixed. Gunsmoke does not follow the airframe/canopy.
- Fixed. ADI adjustment./corrections.
- Fixed. Gunsight Depression Axis.
- Fixed. Mirrors display a distorted picture (fish eye).
- Fixed. Wingtip launcher rails are fragile when exposed to rapid G-onset.
- Fixed. F-5E Air-to-Air Missile Employment in MSL mode training mission.
- Fixed. Rapid aft control input caution.
- Fixed. Issues with the FAST ERECT button in the cockpit and the overall performance of artificial horizon.
- Fixed. Pitch/Roll gyro issues.
Those updates apply to both the now deprecated original as well as the remaster. Reportedly, the original version won’t receive any further updates while the remaster will see future updates so long term the remaster is the one to stick with.
The meat and potatoes of this update are focused on the visuals of the aircraft. There’s an updated cockpit and a new exterior model. Let’s dig into those!
Visual upgrades
The DCS: F-5E was definitely getting long in the tooth when it came to visual fidelity. Released in December of 2016, the DCS F-5E is now eight years old and while it had seen some updates it really hadn’t had a visual refresh in quite some time and was looking quite aged. It was definitely time for a splash of paint.
On the exterior we have what amounts to essentially an entirely new model. The model has been redone with updated visuals all around. Those details are particularly well seen when you view the aircraft in some lighting situations or when you get up close to it. It really visually pops when you look closely at the air intakes, the wheel wells of the landing gear, the gun doors on the 20mm cannons, and on the metallic textures on the skin of the aircraft. Really nice!
There are some bugs and not yet implemented features on the remaster too. The new has maintenance hatches that open and close, however, they currently don’t work and this has been reported as a known issue. The vapour effects are also relatively old and reportedly will be replaced by more modern ones. I’ve also noticed that the chaff and flare dispensers, while functional, continue to show as full even when you’ve expended all of your countermeasures. Minor issues but hopefully fixed soon.
The new release also scales back the number of skins a bit with some notable liveries missing on launch. Here’s what we have right now:
- Standard neutral grey
- Swiss Air Force, 2 tone grey
- Austrian Air Force 2, Staffel
- Norwegian Air Force 338 sqn 215
- “MiG-28” Topgun black
- Aggressor Navy blue camouflage VFC-13
- Aggressor desert camouflage VFC-13
Here are some of the liveries currently available:
Sometime in the future there are five other liveries coming together with a template package for livery artists to tackle. I’ve also been informed that in addition to these, the team does intend to reach parity with the original offering up all of the liveries available previously.
- Vietnam 1970s
- Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
- Imperial Iranian Air Force
- Swiss Air Force demo team
- Aggressor forest camouflage
We move into the cockpit which has seen a splash of paint and some visual updates as well. The overall visual is generally good with modern texture techniques and artistry applied. Its not Eagle Dynamics best work but its more in-keeping with what a DCS module should look like in 2024 and it is quite good. Some have been critical of it but I personally like the slightly more metallic look to many of the surfaces in the cockpit. The instrumentation also has better contrast, is sharper, easier to read, and feels quite a bit more usable than it was before.
The upgrade also, unfortunately, misses out on improving some long standing issues. The scale of the cockpit is reportedly somewhat off which has been a longstanding bugaboo for VR users in particular. On a two dimensional screen its not so much of an issue but I do wish that the visual upgrade had tackled that particular problem too.
Missed opportunities
DCS World has had two prior modules get the facelifted treatment with the DCS: A-10C Thunderbolt II and DCS: Ka-50 Black Shark III both being based on prior modules. Eagle Dynamics did a lot of work on those modules to not only upgrade the visuals but also offer something extra to the capabilities.
The A-10C’s cockpit was a near complete overhaul and the jet picked up with capabilities such as the Scorpion HMD, a new radio, laser guided APKWS rocket and GBU-54 laser-guided JDAM. The exterior of the jet was also updated during the upgrade process. The same was true for the Ka-50 Black Shark III with a new cockpit, new exterior, and the addition of IGLA air-to-air missile capabilities.
DCS: F-5E Tiger II remaster feels somewhat less than those prior updates. While both of those featured visual upgrades and system upgrades, DCS: F-5E is largely focused on a visual update only. That was the stated goal, but we simmers like to have new features and long standing issues sorted out too. Looking around the community, there are a few features that could have been added.
One of the long requested features was the addition of an extra pair of Sidewinder missiles. Factory fresh F-5Es did not have the ability but apparently this was a common modification done to many F-5Es post delivery. Another feature they could have added is the F-5E’s refuelling probe. An option added later to many of the jets in service.
Another community request, albeit one that is a little less practical, would have been the addition of the ability to sling AGM-65 Mavericks. Some F-5Es were modified to do so with different cockpit equipment. Of course changing the cockpit up requires more coding support and it seems like this project was done with minimal coding and mostly artist efforts.
Any one of these would have sweetened the deal a bit and made the paid upgrade feel a little more worthwhile. While what is on offer is good, it all feels a bit less than it could have been.
Final thoughts
With DCS: A-10C II and DCS: Ka-50 Black Shark 3, I felt like we were getting significant upgrades to the modules in question with added capabilities and a visual refresh that really impressed. At $9.99 it seemed like an easy recommendation. There was controversy over those upgrades too but I felt like they were worth it. DCS: F-5E remastered, for the same upgrade price, feels a little bit less value by comparison.
On the other side of the coin, DCS: F-5E remains an excellent module and the remaster has made it better still. Good sound work overall and flight modeling that continues to be industry leading in overall fidelity mean its still a top module to recommend to new and veteran players alike. Anyone who is looking for a relatively simple Cold War era fighter and light attack aircraft to get into should put the F-5E in their short list. In dogfights on Heatblur’s Cold War server (nee Engima’s) the F-5 remains a popular type and one that matches up well against the MiG-19 and MiG-21 that it frequently faces off against and a type that can punch above its own weight in the right situation.
If you regularly fly the F-5E and you have some ED Miles in your account, this is probably a worthwhile upgrade. It is nice to have the upgraded art certainly and eventually it will have better parity for liveries. If you fly it infrequently, you can still get along just fine with the old model and that’s probably what you should do. The legacy version isn’t going away either so for some it will continue to be the status quo and the parting gift of some extra bug fixes is a good thing.
At $59.99 USD, DCS: F-5E also stays at the same price that it has been at since launch. New DCS World players are going to benefit from the upgrades that the overhaul and bug fixes have offered. The upgraded model and textures are nice and sharp and are quite good so, to borrow a colloquialism, “it’s not nothing.”
My recommendation is less enthusiastic than the one I made with the A-10C II and Ka-50. Those made absolute sense to me bringing forward two of the series most well developed but fallen behind the times modules. The F-5E, similarly, needed to be freshened up and so the upgrade is not the issue that I have with it but rather the feeling that it just doesn’t have the same value put into it like its brethren.
The DCS: F-5E Remaster is available on the DCS World E-Shop for $59.99 USD for new purchasers or $9.99 USD for the upgrade price. It’s also available on Steam.
Screenshots
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