I've never played Jane's F/A-18 but I understand that nighttime Carrier landings rule all, and possibly under inclement skies.
HK shows the Meatball on the Carrier though (not a pop-up like JF/A-18)...
http://www.simhq.com/simhq3/sims/boards/bbs/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002219#000000 (last pic).
What JF/A-18 doesn't have (AFAIK) is a Mission Recorder like HK. It may have a Falcon-like ACMI recorder (I dunno, maybe 3rd-party [GTT?]), but I'm referring to a full-screen full-resolution playback of your entire mission allowing multiple viewpoints.
Having played other sims allot lately (especially SFP1/WoV and F-22 TAW), it might be hard for me to accept the totally scripted sterile environment of HK's canned campaign. But I'll always enjoy re-watching my Carrier landings from different viewpoints in HK (especially zooming in from the LSO's position). I also find HK's Mission Creator/Editor the easiest I've ever messed with (great fun just observing the AI), but I understand the one in JF/A-18 is a lot more robust (as is the rest of the sim).
If TK/TW ever supports modern avionics even close to the complexity / fidelity of HK, I think Strike Fighters will be even more of a smash! Probably the best we can hope for is Jane's USAF complexity (i.e. generic modern avionics, but with higher fidelity and realism than USAF), which is ok by me.
I believe people want a new Hornet sim (count me in for the sleeker C model, please). I can't imagine how great it would be to see a new Strike Fighters release with this on the box cover: The front view of a fully armed F/A-18C catapulting off a Carrier. How wonderful that would be, eh?!
It's also what many LO:MAC fans have been wanting.
P.S. This board has long since died, much like the sim it supports I suppose. I really hope Graphsim releases an all new Hornet sim, not just another rehash of HK (at least not without major improvements)! I hope it's in their master plan.
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Mark
