For those who don't know the Carrier is now Live on the DEV branch so you can go test it for yourself.
I tested it for 20 minutes and was competently disappointed, now im taking everything I saw with a grain of salt because I am expecting changes with the final release, however it dosent look good.
So with the picture above comparing both carriers. The Nimitz mod looks brand new off the shipyard. while the Freedom looks worn and used.
From a pilot perspective the ILS approach to the carrier is completely busted, not only is it unrealistic its completely broken. They also have this HUD that shows you the outline of the deck which is completely off from the actual landing straight. People who know how carrier ops run know when you are landing you hit deck with full power in case of a wire snap or missed hook. The Freedom does not actually have arresting gear its all fake scripted bs that just slows you down then pulls you back. The problem is it automatically lifts your hook and will launch you back into the water, also taking off from the sides without using the cats, you must clip or something because you go catastrophic every time.
The launch from CAT #1 was completely underwhelming just hold space to go fast, the Jet Blast Deflector does not return to down position making it hard to use multiple times, so at-least you get 3 launches. I am hoping they fix this in the release because I saw them animating the shooter so hopefully they fix that.
So just a break down so far from what I see
Visual Appearance
Nimitz: Too new, needs a rough finish to match current operating status, but what can you do with an A2 port.
Freedom: Looks better, but what do you expect from a full dev team. (definitely not elevators)
Functionality
Nimitz: Hangar / Elevator / Boat Launching (Normal carrier stuff)
Freedom: The hangar space is just a wall it looks horrible / not even an outline for the elevator. It looks like a kids play-toy where they didn't care at all about realism.
Launch
Nimitz: The smoke coming from the track, the jet blast deflectors worked. The shooter that launched you even without the deck mods. The effects when you launch.
Freedom: Complete trash, to sum it up Press Space to go fast.
Recovery
Nimitz: The approach lights were spot on, the best you can expect from a mod and not having a controlling tower. The hook would malfunction sometimes and wire would snap, you could actually watch the hook catch the wire then stretch it out, and you have to release it before you could taxi out.
Freedom: Approach is off, ILS is for a land base airfield. Hook works fine but no visible wires and once you tough its all scripted.
The Nimitz has it for me still. Sitting from where I am rite now, no true mil-sim can use the Freedom and be proud of it in its current state. Im sure the strong community of modders can fix it.
Like I said in the beginning I am aware this is still just on the Dev branch, but its not looking good so far.