Overview of LockOn: Flaming Cliffs 2
LockOn: Flaming Cliffs 2 is a further evolution of LockOn: Flaming Cliffs. In Flaming Cliffs 2, all of the player-controlled aircraft available in Flaming Cliffs have been transferred to the virtual environment created for the Digital Combat Simulator series, started with DCS: Black Shark. Flaming Cliffs 2 is a PC-based combat flight simulation of the following modern combat aircraft: Su-27, Su-33, Su-25, Su-25T, MiG-29, MiG-29S, F-15C, A-10A. The geographical territory modeled encompasses the region of the western Caucasus mountains from Kuban to Georgia.
Flaming Cliffs 2 features a new graphical user interface, new mission editor, which includes a trigger system for scripting actions and events, updated graphics engine, new player campaigns, and many other improvements.
Changes and improvements over Flaming Cliffs are the following
Territory
The geographical theatre, which encompasses the western Caucasus region, including Krasnodarsky Krai, Stavropolsky Krai, Republic of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Republic of Abkhazia, and Georgia. The added territories of western Georgia are created using a higher-resolution 3D mesh.
New airports in both Russia and Georgia include Mineralnye Vody, Nalchik, Tshakaya, Kutaisi, Kobuleti, and Batumi.
Redesigned seasonal terrain textures.
Missions and campaigns
New mission editor with a trigger system for scripting actions and events, which allows for the creation of interactive missions where mission events depend on player actions.
New campaigns for the Su-25 and A-10A.
New single missions for all player-controlled aircraft.
Aircrafts and helicopters
Ability to shift the viewpoint inside the cockpits of all player-controlled aircraft to a limited degree.
HUD indication modeled as collimated and focused to infinity for all player-controlled aircraft.
Functionality and HUD employment symbology of the "Vikhr" anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) for the Su-25T, which have been made to correspond to the models used in the Ka-50 of DCS: Black Shark.
Flight modeling for all fixed-wing AI aircraft, which now use the "standard" flight model ("SFM"), analogous to the model used for all player-controlled aircraft except the Su-25 and Su-25T (which use the "advanced" flight mode ("AFM").
Flight modeling for all rotary-wing AI aircraft, which now use a somewhat simplified "advanced" flight model based on the Ka-50 in DCS: Black Shark. The new flight modeling, combined with completely redesigned helicopter AI logic, results in more realistic battlefield behavior.
Enhanced ground unit AI. Ground units are modeled to search for and prioritize ground and airborne threats, include various levels of armor thickness around each vehicle, carry a specific amount of ammunition and require reload times according to known documentation and suffer from reduced performance as a result of taking partial combat damage.
Improved atmospheric effects model: a multi-layered turbulence model is implemented for all player-controlled aircraft that automatically calculates turbulence based on wind data at different altitudes.
For player-controlled aircraft using the Advanced Flight Model (Su-25, Su-25T, Ka-50), wind strength is now affected by the ground surface.
Introduced a randomized algorithm to model bird strikes at altitudes below 200 m.
Ballistic gun systems
All ballistic gun systems in the simulation are modeled according to their firing tables and projectile characteristics, including the circular error probable. This includes systems ranging from infantry machine guns to naval and self-propelled artillery, as well as aircraft cannon, such as the GSh-301, GSh-30, M61 Vulcan, and GAU-8/A Avenger.
Realistic rates of fire for all gun systems.
Ballistic modeling of bomb and unguided rockets based on the characteristic times and ballistic coefficients of real munitions.
The "Vikhr" ATGM flight model based on the known performance characteristics of the real weapon.
All unguided munitions, as well as the "Vikhr" ATGM are affected by wind in real time as set in the mission editor. Heavy artillery AI units perform corrections for wind as measured at low altitude. A virtual Forward Observer model is used to perform corrections for medium to high altitude winds based on impact point analysis.
3D models
New weapon models implemented include: AIM-9P "Sidewinder" short-range air-to-air missile, S-8OFP blast-fragmentation unguided rocket, S-8OM illumination rocket.
New naval units include the heavy cruiser "Peter the Great" and a lightly armed speedboat.
New 3D models of ground units include: 1A3 Marder, LAV-25, Leclerc, Leopard 1A3, Leopard 2, M113, M1025, M1043, M1045, M1126, M1128, M1134, M1A2, M270, M2A2, MCV-80, APA-5D, ATZ-10, ATZM-5, ATsP-6, BMD-1, BMP-1, BMP-2, BMP-3, BRDM-2, BTR-80, BTR-RD, GAZ-66, Zil KUNG, APA-80, Kamaz, MTLB, BM-21, 2S9, 2S1, 2S19, 2S3, M109, SKP-11, T-55, T-72, T-80, UAZ-469, Ural-375, Ural-375 KUNG, Ural-4320, Ural-4320T, RSP-7.
New 3D models of air defense units include: Gepard 1A2, Avenger, Chaparrel, M6 Linebacker, Singer, M163 Vulcan, ZSU-23-4, ZU-23, Igla-S, Osa, P-37, PRV-11, Strela-1, Strela-10, Tor, Tunguska.
New 3D models of helicopters include: AH-1W, AH-64A, AH-64D, CH-47D, OH-58D, UH-1H, UH-60A, Ka-27PL, Ka-50, Mi-24, Mi-28.
New 3D models of aircraft and UAV include: Tornado IDS, Su-25, Yak-40, MQ-1.
New 3D models of munitions include: 3M9M, 48N6E2, 5V55R, 9M117, 9M14, 9M31, 9M311, 9M33, 9M330, 9M333, 9M38M1, 9M39, 9M55K, 9M22U, AGM-114, AGM-65D, AGM-65E, AGM-65K, AIM-120B, AIM-120C, AIM-9P, BGM-71D, FIM-92C, Hydra 70, M26, MIM-104, MIM-115, MIM-23B, MIM-72G, Zuni, S-13, S-8KOM, S-8OM, S-8OFP2, S-8TsM, Kh-59M.
Helicopters can be stationed on Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) pads, which can be custom located by placement in the mission editor.
Sound
New sound engine, which allows to process a larger number of sound sources with improved effects and includes modeling of the speed of sound to calculate the delay between actions and their audible sound effects.
Network
New anti-cheating system for online play, which verifies the integrity and equivalency of files as configured by the game server.
Network compatibility with DCS: Black Shark, which allows for combined play using combat helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in one virtual combat environment.