Transcript First, Tl;dr at the bottom: ME Good evening. Let's say that you are a veteran US Navy Fighter pilot, with decades of experience flying the F-14 Tomcat off of Carrier ships. If I were to ask you questions about the maneuvering capabilities of an F-14, such as the maximum amount of speed in KIAS it could carry through a turn while merging with an enemy fighter. How would you describe this, given that the F-14 is decommissioned and its statistics are no longer classified? ChatGPT Good evening! Drawing on the wealth of experience and knowledge that a veteran US Navy Fighter pilot with decades of experience flying the F-14 Tomcat might possess, discussing the maneuvering capabilities of the F-14, especially in the context of a merge with an enemy fighter, is quite fascinating. The F-14 Tomcat, a legendary aircraft in naval aviation history, was renowned for its agility, powerful engines, and variable geometry wings, which allowed it to excel in various roles, including air superiority. When it comes to maneuvering capabilities, the F-14's performance in a turn, particularly at high speeds, is a critical aspect. The maximum amount of speed in Knots Indicated Airspeed (KIAS) that it could carry through a turn while merging with an enemy fighter would depend on several factors, including the aircraft's weight, altitude, and the angle of bank. However, it's important to note that high-speed turns would significantly increase the aircraft's turn radius and could also lead to a higher rate of energy loss. In a dogfight or merge situation, maintaining energy and maneuverability is crucial, so pilots would often manage their speed carefully to optimize turn performance. The F-14 was capable of speeds exceeding Mach 2, but in a turning engagement, speeds would be much lower to maintain maneuverability. The exact maximum KIAS for optimal turn performance in a merge scenario isn't a simple fixed number due to the dynamic nature of air combat and the variables involved. Yet, pilots were trained to operate within the aircraft's performance envelope to maximize effectiveness, which often meant managing speeds in the range of 300 to 500 KIAS for tight turning performance, allowing the aircraft to sustain energy and maintain a tactical advantage. Since the F-14 is decommissioned and its statistics are no longer classified, detailed maneuvering capabilities can be found in declassified manuals and pilot accounts. These sources reveal that F-14 pilots were adept at pushing their aircraft to the limits of its performance, using its sophisticated flight control systems, powerful twin engines, and variable-sweep wings to outmaneuver adversaries. The F-14's design, with its variable-sweep wings, allowed pilots to adjust the wing configuration to optimize the aircraft's aerodynamic performance across a wide range of speeds and altitudes. This feature was especially beneficial in combat, where the ability to rapidly transition between high-speed dashes and tight, controlled turns could make the difference between success and failure. In summary, while specific numbers like maximum KIAS through a turn in a merge would vary, F-14 pilots were trained to expertly manage their aircraft's speed and maneuverability to engage effectively with enemy fighters, leveraging the Tomcat's advanced design and capabilities to maintain a competitive edge in air-to-air combat. ME Now let's apply what you have taught me to current changes being made in my favorite game, Star Citizen. People are upset with the speeds of fighter craft in star citizen. They think the speeds are too slow and thus unrealistic. But a Heavy fighter such as a Super Hornet can Turn while maintaining a forward velocity in excess of 200Meters per Second with after burners off, and over 450 meters per second with after burner engaged. Would you say based on the 300 to 500 KIAS of an average F14 During a merge, that the Super Hornet is "Too Slow" or right on the money as compared to a real world F14? ChatGPT Comparing the maneuvering capabilities and speeds of a spacecraft in a game like Star Citizen's Super Hornet to a real-world fighter jet such as the F-14 Tomcat involves considering the differences in environments and physics that each operates within. However, it's an interesting exercise to draw parallels and see how these fictional spacecraft stack up against historical benchmarks of aerial performance. The F-14 Tomcat's performance envelope, particularly in a dogfight or merge scenario, often involved speeds ranging from 300 to 500 KIAS (Knots Indicated Air Speed), which is roughly equivalent to 556 to 926 kilometers per hour or approximately 154 to 257 meters per second. This speed range allowed for optimal maneuverability, enabling the aircraft to effectively engage enemy fighters while maintaining the ability to perform tight turns without stalling or losing too much energy. In Star Citizen, the Super Hornet being able to maintain a forward velocity of 200 meters per second with afterburners off and over 450 meters per second with afterburners engaged places it within a similar performance range, especially when considering the upper limit of its capabilities with afterburners. However, there are a few critical aspects to consider: Environmental Differences: The F-14 operates within Earth's atmosphere, where air density and aerodynamic principles heavily influence speed, maneuverability, and overall performance. In contrast, Star Citizen's spacecraft operate in the vacuum of space (and sometimes within the atmospheres of different planets), where these factors would be significantly different or nonexistent. The game's physics engine would need to simulate these conditions, including inertia, thrust-to-weight ratios, and other space-specific factors like the absence of air resistance. Gameplay vs. Reality: Star Citizen's design choices, including spacecraft speed and maneuverability, are influenced by gameplay considerations such as balance, playability, and fun. Real-world aircraft are constrained by physical limitations and the need for pilot safety, factors that don't apply in the same way to a game. Perception of Speed: In the vastness of space, perceptions of speed can be misleading. Without the familiar references we have on Earth, such as passing over terrain or near other objects, very high speeds can feel slower than they are. Games often have to adjust speeds and distances to maintain a balance between realism and gameplay enjoyment. Given these considerations, comparing the Super Hornet's speeds directly to the F-14's might suggest that it is "right on the money" in terms of its in-game performance metrics relative to real-world air combat maneuvering speeds. However, it's important to remember that the gameplay experience and the simulation of physics in a science fiction setting are designed to provide engagement and enjoyment, which might not always align with real-world physics or performance characteristics. Therefore, while the speeds in Star Citizen might seem slow to some players, they are likely chosen to optimize gameplay mechanics, such as combat maneuvering and player engagement, within the game's unique environment. tl;dr The Super Hornet could probably spank a Tomcat, how much more real do you want it? Edit: Some of you apparently distrust the AI and it's ability to parrot facts it has in the data model about what an F14 can do. So here watch this Grumman - Aerolog movie produced in the mid-late '70s to highlight the capabilities of the F-14A "Tomcat" instead : https://youtu.be/w3VKND7HrB8 The point still stands... A super Hornet in MM operates at SCM speed exactly where an F14 Does, and at Afterburner speed, completely shreds what an F14 can do. Thus: Realistic :slightly_smiling_face: Edit 2: I would like to address the supposition in the comments that asking the Ai constitutes a lack of effort or thought. This is not True. Let me explain my process for you to better understand. First I played with the super hornet for a couple hours in Pirate Swarm MM where I could observe it's behavior in relative peace (the AI are still basically braindead after all ) as well as in simulated combat. I noted the numbers related to the performance metric I wanted to comment about. I then selected a fighter a for comparison due to the context of the claim being made which was that the SCM speed in MM needed to be "More Realistic" Why did I pick an F14 to compare to an imaginary Fighter 900+ years in the future you may ask? Well... Because it is a fighter Jet which is DECOMMISSIONED and thus performance facts and figures are declassified and were likely to be included in the training data for the underlying LLM used by Chat GPT. And the F14 is known for having exceptional Dog fighting performance for it's time, which made it a reasonable candidate in my eyes for comparison. I ensured the use of good Prompt Hygiene by priming the model to assume the role of a Naval Aviator which forces it to contextualize it's responses to vectors within a certain margin of Data derived from Military data sources. I primed it to focus on maneuvering figures by pre-providing a key word "KIAS" which stands for Knotts Indicated Air Speed which is the numerical reference point used by the military to represent speed during a maneuver of an aircraft. This priming forced it look the data up rather than infer it. If you don't want to read it because you have a bias against, or a lack of understanding OF an AI model...you can just say that you don't have to blanketly discount the entire concept because AI Boogey man = bad.