[Minoslas]

Leatherneck Plans 2015 - 2016

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=136883

Dear all,

Welcome to the very awesome (boring) very first (meagre) issue of the new monthly Leatherneck Simulations updates!

It's been a while since the last official LNS update, but don't fret – we've been as busy as ever behind the scenes.
Our primary focus over the past few months has been on wrapping up the MiG-21, completing various auxiliary and management tasks, as well as gradually transitioning into our next project(s).
We are incredibly excited to venture into the new year and experience all that lies therein. Without a doubt, DCS will be bigger and better than it has ever been before.

We couldn't have been as successful as we have been in 2014 without the massive amount of support from everyone.
Heartfelt thank you from the entire LNS team go out to all media representatives, streamers or writers who took the time to assess our product, the ever-patient and fantastic community, and the talented
individuals at Eagle Dynamics & The Fighter Collection, who have gone above and beyond more frequently than I can count. We can't thank you all enough!

As we've come some ways since release of the MiG-21, we are afforded the clarity of a distanced retrospective on what went right and wrong before, during and after release of the MiG-21.
After taking an honest look at ourselves and what we should change moving forward, we have made some changes in how Leatherneck operates and produces content.
The MiG-21 modules' development and release has been a learning experience in many ways, and we will be applying this new-found knowledge to better ourselves as we develop new and exciting products.



One of the items that have been on the back-burner for a while have been the backer rewards.
We've simply not had the resources available to design and produce these items in the immediate post-release period.

We currently have quotes and suppliers for everything slated for production, but still have some decisions to make as to what we'll actually opt to go for.
Some physical rewards will be consolidated into bigger items. This mainly refers to smaller items such as stickers. We hope to provide amicable options for all backers, but more importantly: ship only actually useful and well-crafted items.
Quality over quantity, as it were. We hope to order production runs on these items during the course of January, and ship them to all backers as soon as they are delivered (est. February).

The DVD jewelcase artwork will be based on the cover you can currently find on the ED E-Store (here)
It will of course be expanded to encompass both sides of the case.

Many of you opted for higher backer tiers during the crowdfunding campaign of 2012, and you are thus entitled to more than one MiG-21 key.
These keys will be merged into the main key database and sent out in January. Apologies for the long delay on getting these out.



The MiG-21 is our first product and thus it has without a doubt been a considerable learning experience.
Despite our best efforts, a significant amount of flaws were pushed with the release build of the aircraft.
We've put in a concentrated effort in order to eradicate these as quickly as possible, and we hope that progress has been palpable for the end-user.

Nonetheless, there are a number of both large and small improvements and fixes still pending.
Listed below are some of the major additions planned:

New & improved sounds, both in interior and exterior views. Based on real MiG-21 samples. Improved Engine RPM Feedback and immersion.
Improved radar screen visual representation.
Re-Introduction of red cockpit floodlights
Performance improvements wherever possible.
Major improvements in exterior 3d model accuracy (pylon tilt, wing thickness, gear door shape, front windshield fuselage joint and more)
New AAA quality pilot model in the cockpit (toggleable)
(in conjunction with previous) Animated and correct post-ejection pilot model & animations
Improved artwork & textures for various ordinance (SPS-141, ASO-2, Atomic bombs and more)
Default cockpit livery variations. (Green, Finnish, etc.)
10+ New default liveries. (Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, GDR, Cuba, and much more)
Re-introduction of tactical numbering


We apologize for any inconvenience caused by issues found in the MiG-21, we hope they have not been too detrimental in your enjoyment of the aircraft.
Also, a big thank you to all of you who have been diligently submitting helpful bug reports, they are simply priceless.

As we move closer to the release of our next module, we plan to significantly expand the size of our internal testing team.
We hope to reduce the amount of release-build bugs in any future product launches.

In the next few weeks we also hope to resolve some of the silly activation errors occuring and causing issues for some users. This includes options to properly deactivate the module.



While we wanted to release the paint kit immediately after release, we quickly realized that this was not quite feasible considering
the amount of 3D and 2D changes coming with the updated and improved external 3D Artwork.

Thus; we decided to delay the paint kit until the very final version of the external model is released.
We know how frustrating it can be to update broken liveries, both as livery creators and end-users, so we'll make sure to try and keep any retroactive art changes to a minimum in the future.

The updated external model is slated to arrive with DCS 2.0, so expect the Paint Kit at around the same time.
The 10+ additional liveries that were created prior to release will also be made available at this time.
Special thanks to Matija Huzjak for a beautiful Croatian Air Force skin that will be included in the package.



The fine gentlemen at ThreeAppsStudios Studios (https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...reeAppsStudios) have created a great Android based application
to help you fly the MiG-21.

You can find it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...sstudios.mig21

We'd like to extend our gratitude to Milan and his team for their perseverance and excellent craftsmanship.
Hope to work with you again soon!



2015 will mark a year of considerable growth and expansion for Leatherneck Simulations.
This will ensure that we are prepared to meet the ambitious content production goals that we have set forth for ourselves for the next few years.
Reinvestment of resources into all facets of our business will allow us to provide you all with better and far more content than before.

Since the release of the MiG-21, we have already grown to double our initial size. We'll be introducing you to each of our new members in the coming months.
We expect to add yet another 3-4 members to our staff during Q1 of 2015. This, in addition to a new permanent office location in Swinoujscie, Poland.
The release and performance of the MiG-21 solidifies our investment into DCS, and we remain genuinely committed to the flight simulation genre.
We are here to stay for a long time to come.

Currently we have three aircraft in advanced states of development, with a few more in mixed, but primarily earlier stages.
We have already hinted heavily at one of the advanced ones, and we'll be showcasing more on all three as we get closer to their respective release dates.
You shouldn't expect to have to wait until 2016 to fly a new Leatherneck module. Overall, we are confident that we will be able to cater to almost all of your tastes.
Maybe we'll even manage to avoid the pitchforks.

Regardless of the aircraft, we will always be trying to push the envelope, both in simulation and visual fidelity.
Various planned features will require solving difficult design challenges (related to both gameplay and technical considerations), but we are confident in our ability to overcome these.
By applying everything we've learned during the MiG-21's protracted development, we can focus on improving ourselves and building on our existing standards. Some of you have raised concerns about certain features or requirements precluding the development of various aircraft, but we do not currently feel limited by any such considerations.

Moving away from aircraft, EDGE now affords us the ability to build new theaters and complement our aircraft with appropriate campaigns and missions.
Currently, we have development plans stretching across a wide variety of locales and eras. Maps built by Leatherneck will adhere to the same rigorous standards we place upon our aircraft modules, and will be based on an appropriate fusion of artistic skill and real-world data.

We did plan to push a little.. something out today to tease what is to come; but following an untimely missplaced bill, our site is still down, so it will have to wait a little longer.
You'll live. I hope?

This post turned out to far too long considering the meagre content.
Excuse the long-windedness, and expect the next monthly update to be far more image heavy.

Once again, thank you all for your unwavering dedication and support. It means the world to us.

Stay tuned and expect to hear from us very soon.

Sincerely,
Leatherneck Simulations
N, M, N, R, T, C, A, A