DCS SITREP #36: Mission Editor Changes, Arctic Thunder Campaign, Updater Improvements

[@jamesmcd71]

I highly recommend DCS players join a private group. Yes, it takes time and dedication. But it's well worth it. I'm a member of a group that is currently defending Finland from a full Russian invasion by land, sea, and air. It could take us 3 months or 3 years to finish this war. Last night, we were supposed to be taken on the Russian Aircraft Carrier that was blocked our northern progress. We practiced this elaborate, difficult mission for weeks. Then, as soon as we jumped in, we realized we were the ones under attack. All the plans were out the window. Our command had to create a plan on the fly and repell an invasion. It becomes 3 hours of absolute all-out war. Watching the different groups that have little contact on most missions come together and implement all the skills and tactics we have developed was a thing of beauty. This is DCS at its absolute best.

[@Wheelman_PCAS]

Fantastic advice!

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

@jamesmcd71 It brings me joy to hear this...that's something needing an edited recording and posting.

[@jamesmcd71]

@Pricklyhedgehog72 I tried recording a mission after I built my new PC. I heard all the stories about how east it was with a high-end GPU. I ended up with a very large green video. I haven't tried again. I have no idea what I did wrong.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

@@jamesmcd71 what were you using to record? OBS? NVIDIA studio?

[@jamesmcd71]

@Pricklyhedgehog72 I used the built-in video recording function on my 4090. I've taken some fantastic screenshots with it. But sometimes, it isn't right with the video. I watched a video on how to do it. Unfortunately , he intended his viewers to have a level of knowledge much higher than I have. He started talking about encoders and capture cards, and I checked out.

[@Sidekick65]

Thanks so much for the thoughtful review of... my review... Hah!. I was very interested in your thoughts. Very helpful for me to hear your thoughts presented this way. Thanks!

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Thanks for the feedback, I always get worried am I misinterpreting? It's easy to do even when you believe you're listening. Appreciate your channel, the cerebral, calm quality is something I admire in our world of instant gratification junkies.

[@Sidekick65]

@@Pricklyhedgehog72 I wish I had no idea what you were talking about!

[@banditkfk1463]

Arctic thunder is a must! I have Hornet, Kola map and I am Finn. Now let's go sauna!

[@ricbish]

The campaign looks like it might be pretty good. My only negative is I’m not a huge fan of the engine starts and INS alignments etc.. It just takes too much time that I don’t have. If I could skip it all and go straight into flying then I’d probably get it. It’s just a huge turn off for me having to go through all that every time I want to fly a mission. Yes I know thats what happens in real life & I do those things in real life when I fly but just not interested in it during a game or simulation I use for fun. I flew a FROG F4E mission the other day and I had to sit for forever waiting for Jester to align the INS and by the time it was ready to go my back was hurting so much I had to stop flying. So for me it’s a huge turn off. I do understand though that other people like this which is fine, it’s just not my thing.

[@r4dio4ctiv3man9]

@@ricbish I don´t know the campaign and if start-up is scripted there, but a well organized stored heading start-up with the Hornet takes like 3 minutes. I need significant more time to properly study a well made briefing. Not saying you should buy it, as i´m generally not about to purchase campaigns, just that it´s not too much time to invest pre-departure...

[@stuartbraithwaite1297]

Great Sitrep Prickly, keep up the good work. It's the old saying "You can please some of the people some of the time, but not the all people all the time."

[@Spindrift-m8n]

I get a new module (I could not possibly have, learn and play them all) at early access, accepting it as it is at release, knowing that the improvements will come. The issue with Razbam and the problems with the release of the F15E, has somewhat rocked that faith. I just hope that the two parties are still working to get a solution.

[@howellkilian5602]

Thanks. A subscription model would kill my future participation in this game. 😢

[@Wheelman_PCAS]

Why? How much is too much to charge? What if it was $10 per month including 1 module of your choice?

[@simtaylor61]

I’m not paying to play a game I’ve already paid for. No. And I have NO interest in playing War Blunder

[@Wheelman_PCAS]

@@simtaylor61 you would be buying a new game, the old game would still exist and be patched, but would lack the new core improvements/ features. In my imagination anyways.

[@simtaylor61]

@ No

[@ricbish]

Great update! I didn’t know or hear anything about the winter textures for the SA map!! Very cool and looks fantastic!! I did see Sidekicks video and totally agree with him on most of it. I think the DCS community forgets ED needs to make money and pay employee salaries etc.. Once you look at it from that standpoint a lot of things start to click into place on how they are pumping out modules and maps. Personally I think DCS is a great product and the many, many hours of enjoyment I have gotten out of it make the bugs & issues worth the hassle. So I am all in and will continue to purchase maps and modules in order to help the business. I mean the game runs very well on my rig & I don’t see a lot of the issues people bring up probably because I don’t fly on the online servers much at all. I either fly solo making videos or I’ll fly with a few friends in missions we create on our own PC servers. I’m not a big fan of the DCS Doom style online play, nor being part of a squadron trying to pretend to be fighter pilots. Being a real life pilot gives me more than enough time to do the serious side of aviation & procedures. Also, being a veteran who was an air crewman gave me plenty of real life serious military experiences that I don’t want to do in DCS. But I understand that some people do and thats great for them! Anyway great update! BTW I wanted to speak with you regarding an event I ight be doing soon with Hammy from Fox3 to see if you’re interested. I’ll send you a DM on X and we can discuss it! Thanks for taking the time to make this and share it. Your updates are always good and enjoyable to watch and listen to, so thank you!!

[@OnlyNapalm]

I had the great pleasure of volunteering to help the completion of Arctica Thunder by voicing the Finnish special border guards JTAC. I think the campaign is worth getting for its military and operational accuracy.

[@mikeck4609]

I have never had better performance in VR than I do now. For me, MT and other improvements have made my VR experience very smooth with graphical fidelity I would never have been able to get 3 years ago. I get that others have issues but I believe that for the vast majority of players, VR is performing very well considering the work your Vidoe card and processors have to put in to produce the images and run all of the units

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Agreed, VR is fantastic for me...

[@lookingglass-dcs]

Thanks for the support Prickly

[@stevebarnett-f5o]

Good video, from my perspective, I have most of what I want in DCS, I am not buying half finished modules, 2 of my planes are Razbam, and at risk. Until RB situation is resolved, I am spending nothing. IF it gets fixed, I shall buy Kola and some mission packs, if not, I am done spending for good. We all want this sorted, I want to be able to get Skyraider and A7.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

The A-7 is definitely on my list of favorites along with the A-6

[@thunderace4588]

Thank you Prickly.

[@shagrat47]

Me personally thinks, if people would actually look at the changelogs of the last years, instead of complaining that "their specific bug or gripe" hasn't been fixed or addressed, yet, and they would look at all the fixes, features, updates to the DCS World core that have actually been implemented, they would realize that it's far from what is depicted as "broken" or "disbanded". On the contrary Eagle Dynamics pushed a tremendous effort into maintaining, fixing and enhancing the core game engine, AI behavior, added and updated assets, Mission editor/script engine for mission creators (that most jet jockeys seem to ignore) and is putting a lot of work into developing the parts and pieces for the dynamic campaign (like the enhancements to the warehouse system and logistics we've got). The issue seems to be one of personal perception and expectation management, where the necessary work is constantly underestimated. For example, the maintenance work to keep multiple versions of DCS - multiple closed alpha for developers, beta and stable for the public and those for Single Thread and Multi Thread engine - has been rectified to a single MT release and the internal development versions. All this should help reduce overhead to speed up core development. But the public opinion of a vocal minority is more prevalent, than logic and reason... 😕

[@Wheelman_PCAS]

Anytime someone says “vocal minority” I get suspicious they’re out of touch- a vocal minority often speaks for a silent majority.

[@dienicy]

Yeah, I expect BS3 campaign. Silly me...

[@allanlorentzen6057]

Thanks for info! :)

[@therocinante3443]

I absolutely love the Finnish air force. Highly under rated, I'm excited for that campaign.

[@MAYDAYSIMULATIONS]

1.Great update and well prepared👍 2. I certainly wouldn't have the same approach as ED when it comes to product development and roll out but none the less if ED would or could provide info on what they are capable of with say a $25 a year charge outside of modules and maps, I would be all for supporting core improvements "with community involvement" that make the modules I already own better rather than "only" being able to purchase future modules and maps hoping🤞 the core game sees some of that money. Any business model that prevents customers from being able to support the changes/improvements they want to see is really cutting itself short.

[@aviationrambler]

I haven't gotten around to seeing Sidekick's video yet but if the synopsis is correct, I would agree with him fully. I was always under the impression that ED was using the release of modules to fund the next, and vice versa. I've always maintained the opinion, and I still do, that this isn't necessarily a problem in of itself. When high fidelity modules started hitting the market, it really was towards the end of the simulation dark age where flight simulation had remained a horrible, stagnant experience. So the strategy made sense at the time to expand the scope of the business. However, the big caveat is it's good for *short term* growth. There has to be an intent to transition business models once that potential growth is realized, and that's where we are I feel. I think that potential growth, for the time being, has been realized. Now ED has a very decent catalog of aircraft in various levels of development, so at this time we need activities to do with them for long term player engagement. Dynamic campaign is on a lot of player's minds but personally I'd like to see them overhaul a lot of gameplay elements (air defenses come to mind easily), I'd like to see a new mission editor, and a lot of us would like a proper replay system. In my experience, the community can always out produce the developer when it comes to content, so ensuring the community has the tools to generate this content goes a long way, whether that's gameplay or videos. Sure it's technically possible now, but it's a pain to do. Ultimately, I guess I'm just saying that ED needs to flesh out the playground for us to play with our toys, and help with long term player retention. It's all too often I see people buy a plane, mess with it for a couple of weeks, and then drop the game altogether. For people who are committed, we're left with not much to do, and what there is to do requires a ton of commitment before you even hit the "go" button.

[@GhG76562]

A subscription model would be the straw that broke the camel back for me. Everything is turning into a subscription model and the quality and speed of updates always goes down. I love DCS but the moment they do this I would just move on to another sim.

[@shagrat47]

I share the sentiment for the simple reason, that I have real life time constraints. So despite a subscription may be equal to paying for maps and modules in a rough comparison, it has serious implications. You pay even if you don't have the time to play. No matter the actual financial calculations I would constantly feel(!) like I am paying for something I do not use "enough" to get my return of invest... Yes, I know that's not exactly true, but the feeling remains and I rather feel positive and elated to have "bought" a new module, than the negative feeling of having paid for month to basically find myself only making it into a multiplayer session 2-3 times a month. Or simply put: happy feelings = good thing, negative feelings = bad thing 😇

[@Wheelman_PCAS]

Would $1 per month be too much? $10? Used to be we’d buy a flight sim final product for $50. How can we expect people to work full time forever for a onetime payment? Charge 2x as much for modules?

[@justinallen2285]

I like the idea. Open up all modules all maps alll missions. It forces them to innovate and improve. Right now once they have your money they have no incentive to fix any thing other than sell another module or map because fixing is not profitable. I would not mind seeing both options. You can buy the module, mission, map or just unlock everything with a subscription a-la Xbox gamepass. No reason you can't do both. Subscriptions arent really that bad.

[@ShotgunDexter]

​@@Wheelman_PCASagree.

[@SVD762-lp9en]

@@shagrat47 usually it's nowhere close to equal. Subscriptions are always way more expensive in the long run.

[@sasquatch8923]

Love DCS in VR. The Apache is some of the funniest time I've had in any game/sim. That being said, I think modern gamers are after immersion more then ever. I think more dynamic campaigns would help. Not just missions stacked to call it a campaign but and actual, cut scene, high quality audio "COD" style campaigns would bring in more people. If I didn't have voice attack for background chatter it would be to quiet. I want to hear the comms from AI aircraft etc. Like IL2 a short video of the situation to start off the campaign, something like that.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

@sasquatch8923 some of the campaigns do that, like Reflected's zone 5 campaign for the Tomcat

[@sasquatch8923]

@@Pricklyhedgehog72 Hey prickly, I will have to check that out. I've been pretty much in the Apache. The campaigns are fun but need a little "polish". :)

[@CraigTyler-m3u]

I would be in favor of some more Su-33 carrier, Mig-29, Su-27 campaigns. Even if they’re simplified. MiG-29 Over the Hump campaign was fun and simple. Good for newcomers

[@rentatekenterprise1916]

Just, finish modules in early release (for a long time).

[@MichaelMoellerTRLInc]

I can understand frustration from those folks who may be trying to do DCS on a budget and the Razbam dispute is a terrible look for all involved, but more so for Razbam because they ultimately have abandoned their customers. However for many DCS is an expensive indulgence into satisfying that inner Maverick dream. If you have the opportunity to play on a Crystal with a 4090 equipped beast rig and a full set of quality controls the experience is both breath taking and wallet emptying. I dreamed of this level of an experience when I first played Microprose's F-19 Stealth and Air Warrior on AOL, which other than networked Doom was the first multiplayer game I ever played. I'm fine with their business model I have purchased all the maps and most of the aircraft. I want to support what they are building so they can deliver Vietnam with enough of the aircraft used in that conflict to be able to do proper simulations. I've looked at the available options that can offer this level of complexity and as I see it if you want as good as it gets there's DCS for shooting stuff and then there's Microsoft if you want to simulate being a bus driver. 🤪

[@johnporten8303]

Thank you

[@RobertBerrier]

I can't wait to do all these campaigns! I'm a little intimidated though. Learning the f16. Is there a good indication or idea when you're ready for campaigns?

[@Antarialus]

In case of the mighty Viper: You will feel it when you're ready for campaigns ;-)

[@RobertBerrier]

@Antarialus awesome, thanks

[@l8knight845]

@RobertBerrier every campaign I've played (about 8) you utilize a different weapon system/load out in every mission. I find it annoying as you spend 20 minutes figuring how to drop whichever munition, then never use it again. Makes it very hard to be a casual player.

[@RobertBerrier]

@@l8knight845 makes sense i guess. But also fun and great for learning

[@yianniskanellopoulos6719]

I can’t complain about anything. ED is doing more than OK imo, just have to show patience all good things come to those who wait.

[@ilwender]

some peopeople who have been gravitating around this game for 10 years now have run out of patience

[@yianniskanellopoulos6719]

@ I am not saying that everyone should show patience. If there is a replacement for DCS, I would have tried it. So far, haven’t found one. I prefer to show patience and enjoy what I have more. That’s all I am saying and only speak of myself

[@julianmorrisco]

Hedgie - Who calls it a home PC? I haven’t heard that term for decades! 😀 I’ve said it before, I love your idiosyncratic use of the English language. Don’t go changin’!

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

@@julianmorrisco ill try not to...

[@tenToesUp747]

I cannot justify one more dollar spent unless the performance improves!

[@l8knight845]

@@tenToesUp747 which performance?

[@tenToesUp747]

@@l8knight845 microstuttering in vr

[@l8knight845]

@@tenToesUp747 I don't have any. What are you running?

[@tenToesUp747]

@@l8knight845 It was smooth as silk before the last two hot fixes, now its stuttering again. I'll keep tweaking on it!

[@l8knight845]

@@tenToesUp747 lol, I spend more time tweaking than flying.

[@mikeck4609]

I really don’t understand all the consternations about DCS being “broken”. I really don’t. I don’t understand what is so bad about it that people think that. The game is far better than it was in 2018 when I started playing. It is far better optimized, graphics are better, AI is better, there are many more module choices, etc. I enjoy experiencing the hi fidelity modules regardless of whether they are in “early access” since- often (like the F-4), early access offers a module that is very playable with the majority of functions available. For others that appear lacking many features, like the CH-47, I simply wait a bit I have as much fun playing the ever increasing variety of campaigns as I did 6 years ago. I enjoy playing liberation campaigns as much as well; in fact, I enjoy both more since the AI is far better (in air to air). There are always areas to improve b/c it is a highly complex simulation with many moving parts often created by 3rd parties. But I don’t see things like “we don’t have a dynamic campaign”, “early access modules don’t get completed fast enough” or “there are always bugs somewhere” equating to the game being broken.

[@skyhorseprice6591]

Regarding DCS/MSFS... DCS is light years ahead of any milsim stuff MSFS may attempt. It's not that MSFS sucks but that it was largely designed to model commercial and private civilian aviation. Military jets available in that sim are like pretty decorations because the full on military experience offered by DCS is just not possible without redesigning the entire game and therefore screwing Microsoft out of the large customer base they built doing what they do. Likewise DCS doesn't really do commercial aviation other than non-flyable models of commercial aircraft needed for certain missions. So any comparison between the two, for me anyway, is restricted to flight modeling characteristics, like "how well does DCS Tomcat fly compared to MSFS Tomcat..." Anything else is kinda irrelevant. There is one military flight sim game other than DCS that is relatively new (& which is pretty cool). It's called VTOL VR, but it doesnt have the breathtaking graphics that DCS has. The aircraft modules are loosely based on real world jets, but are actually like fantasy aircraft that have no superpowers and are flight modeled sort of like DCS, which is to say somewhat realistic. I dont see VTOL VR as competition for DCS, since most people who fly in one wind up flying in the other as well. Regarding subscription DCS. JUST DON'T. ED...you guys don't do that.

[@CraigTyler-m3u]

Partial maps do not bother me. Early release mods do not bother me. ED is doing a good job on delivering content. The only thing that is bothering is that I can’t properly use my VSN mods. The mirage iii is used in all my 1965’-1980’ middle Eastern missions. Lol. Hard to complete a mission with Gears,flaps, and air brakes not working.

[@FastJetPerformance]

Yey me mentioned at 17.40! Also new course starts this week in the school 👍

[@louisdavout7811]

DCS shoud have known what a F15E means. Its not just an other Jet. It takes a lot time to earn the trust. It takes seconds to loose it.

[@seancolvin8545]

I have spent a lot of money on Eagle Dynamics since 2006 . Microsoft is mainly just the basic games. And will continue to do so for ED I just hope the Razbam situation get resolved son.

[@TheRpg1964]

G'day mate, is there any news on the Top End map?

[@orleansjunky4074]

subscription model only works with none early access needs to be at least more complete. And they would have to make the game what we need /want. one example would be more complete era fighters bombers for said era to fell immersive and full

[@rudlzavedno7279]

I'm one of those who are not willing to buy anything new from ED with AA sticker on it as I've been burned too many times now. I've been with ED since "Flanker times", buying everything but state of SA & Kola maps plus F-15 debacle were too much even for me. So it's MSFS 2020/2024 + existing fully fletched modules in DCS only from now on. And btw what's going on with dynamic campaign?

[@wmouse]

The phrase "dynamic campaign" is the flight sim equivalent of "the cloud" and "AI". It's an undefined phrase that everyone *thinks* has a definition, but it means different things to everyone. The community has already created dynamic campaign engines that are at the very limits of what DCS can do. If that is not enough, then why not? Well, the answer to that question will tell you all the things ED needs to do for DCS, none of which are described as "just add a dynamic campaign."

[@rudlzavedno7279]

@@wmouse I'm not a greedy guy. I'd be more than happy to get dynamic campaign on pair what we got in EF2000 back in 1995! or even better what players currently have in Falcon 4 BMS

[@wmouse]

@@rudlzavedno7279 Just to play devil's advocate here: the community has already made a dynamic campaign engine that is on par with EF2000 and Falcon BMS. It's called DCS Liberation. Why do we need ED to make what we already have?

[@robertthomason7619]

Don't know why they don't mimic other franchises like MFS or XP. Focus on core improvements and in house efforts, let third party do their thing and then when there is enough evolutionary improvements compiled release a new version of the core platform for a price. The free to play base game and thus survival on new payware modules that take years to develop is what IMO looks to be the root cause of the sustainability issue...if there is one?

[@pedrosura]

Subscription kills all software…

[@WickedOne-1979]

My god hardrives are so damn cheap people actully have limited space?? I got two 4TB NVME's one for system one for storage of games and program files and I got x3 20TB Spinners I thought people would have more space than me!! Guess I was wrong!

[@Grim_Prospects]

I'd be fine with a subscription service for a few bucks a month, even if i still have to buy modules. This is the only sim that provides what it does. But it would have to have massive improvements very quickly. There would be no more excuses. I pay $25 a month for netflix, and I rarely if ever use it. Id pay 5 or 7 bucks a month for DCS as I use 10-15 times a month, plus I play with my kid. It means more to me than any other subscription i would be paying for.

[@DaShaneo]

Solution Idea for modules. Completed module from 75% to 100% complete. Price avg $80.00 to $100.00 each... From 50% to 75% complete module $75.00 and Early access 25%-50% complete $50.00. The Idea here is to improve motivation and fund completion of said modules

[@flightenvy680]

Personally i would be ok if ED moved to a subscription model, especially if this would allow rapid improvements to the core game (AI, ATC, dynamic campaign etc). I think at somepoint, something has to give with the current financing model and the only other option i can see is a subscription type service.

[@Wolfe351]

That would only happen if they hired more people, throwing $$ in from subscription's would not accellrate progress.

[@jrgenkauling8269]

let's get a subscription plan of, for example, 5 or 10 dollars a month, for DCS 3.0 Then there is money in the system, to make good updates.

[@SVD762-lp9en]

that's the worst idea someone could have. Subscription plans have always lowered the quality of a product, incentivating the developers to trickle down upates drop by drop.

[@jrgenkauling8269]

@@SVD762-lp9eni do not agree

[@l8knight845]

I think the dynamic campaign should have a sub fee. The sub fee should give access to discounted modules/bonus gifts for annual subscription...etc.

[@SVD762-lp9en]

@@l8knight845 what's next, a dollar per sidewinder used?

[@l8knight845]

@@SVD762-lp9en You're right! It's way better for ED to be so broke they can't afford to modernize or improve the engine, or even have a proper team to build the dynamic campaign. I'd happily pay 50 bucks per year for constant improvement of the dynamic campaign.

[@Wheelman_PCAS]

Would $1 per month be too much? $10? Used to be we’d buy a flight sim final product for $50. How can we expect people to work full time forever for a onetime payment? Charge 2x as much for modules?

[@daveconder4351]

You don’t get it WE WANT EVERYTHING YESTERDAY 😢

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

I can hear Gary Oldman in The Professional...

[@bartbroekhuizen5617]

I think a small subscription model would be good to improve the core of DCS. Modules are meant for the creating content not paying for maintaince of the game itself, only to update the module to be compatable in the future. DCS World is a continues product and to maintain it a subscription model would be fitting. Just a small fee to keep everything smooth and add nice features for the mission editor etc.

[@SnowTiger45]

So you are saying that people who have a complaint about so many Incomplete and half-busted modules is not a legitimate complaint ? That we shouldn't ever complain ? If you are at a restaurant and you don't get what's advertised you simply say nothing and must endure ? This has been going on for YEARS and we've all paid good money. Lots of Money. If that doesn't give us the right to bark about it than I guess I'm just not enough of a fan-boy. ED/DCS is a giant Ponzi the way it's run.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

@SnowTiger45 that's not what I said about complaints, watch it again.

[@stevebarnett-f5o]

I have had it with DCS now, everything is late, modules in early access for years, a total inability to manage the business. I am buying Sea Power on Tuesday, not a penny more to ED. I don't know how you stay so positive on DCS Prickly, I just do not believe a word from ED now

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

@stevebarnett-f5o ha, half glass full. Plus as I've said, it's still the best study sim on the market, of course that means it's deep and steep in learning.

[@stevebarnett-f5o]

@@Pricklyhedgehog72 I shall keep tabs on how things develop, when several things actually happen/get finished, and the RB debacle is resolved so we do not lose modules, I may return if able, 68 now and reflexes slowing down, DCS can be hard work. Best content around on DCS, thank you.

[@TheJack4000111]

Mouth piece for ED.

[@l8knight845]

The dynamic campaign should be a monthly sub fee item. Bonus gifts for annual sign-ups/discounted modules for loyalty.

[@GhG76562]

I couldn't come up with a worse idea for the good of the userbase if I tried

[@wmouse]

What makes anyone think ED will do a better dynamic campaign than the dynamic campaign engines the community has already made?

[@l8knight845]

@@wmouse That's a great point. What would you do if you're not going to use it? Oh yeah, cancel the subscription!!!!

[@optimal9094]

"Russia attacks Finland", "real life events", baltic ignorance and gaslighting.

[@Pricklyhedgehog72]

Indeed, based on the bumbling incompetence of Russian troops in Ukraine, the Finns would obliterate Russian forces...it's happened before. Baltic should probably have this campaign wrapped up in abut 8 missions.

[@frankmoes]

first