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Amazing how people can be so confused by something so simple... If you want the whole map, buy the whole map. If you only care about one part of Afghanistan, just buy that part. If you just buy one part, you can still fly missions elsewhere, but the map will be in lower detail. If you don't want them to be in lower detail, buy the whole map. It used to be that you could only buy the whole map, and now you can still buy the whole map, but now since Afghanistan is huge and some people only care about some smaller part of it, they have the option to buy that smaller part, and yet are not completely locked out of playing on other parts. This isn't exactly rocket science here.

DCS: Afghanistan and DCS: Southwest Afghanistan are now available for pre-purchase and are planned to enter Early Access in June 2024. The vast and varied landscape of DCS: Afghanistan will provide a stunning environment in which to experience some of the most important conflicts of the past half-century. The entire map of Afghanistan and small portions of neighbouring countries will be available, showcasing our latest map technologies at a superb level of detail and fidelity. You can pre-purchase the full map of DCS: Afghanistan with a special 30% discount at $48.99 during the pre-purchase phase. The early access release price will be set at 20% off ($55.99) until the final release. In addition to offering the whole map as one purchase, and given the immense size of the territory, we have also divided the map into three regions each available for individual purchase: DCS: Southwest Afghanistan, DCS: East Afghanistan, and DCS: North Afghanistan. Each regional map gives you access to the entire Afghanistan map but grants the highest level of detail for that region only. Regions will be released in approximately three-month intervals. The southwestern region is the most complete today and will be released first. Today, you can pre-purchase DCS: Southwest Afghanistan for $23.99. The release price in June 2024 will be set at $29.99.DCS: East Afghanistan and DCS: North Afghanistan will be offered for individual purchase as and when they are ready, later in the year. There will be no pre-purchase price for these, which will be set at $29.99 each. If you wish to gain full access to these at release and wish to lock the best price, we recommend that you purchase DCS: Afghanistan now during the pre-purchase phase. A purchase of DCS: Southwest Afghanistan makes the entire map flyable in single-player and multiplayer, but only the southwestern region will be at the highest level of detail once the map is complete. This FAQ should answer the most common questions you may have. *I Want the Whole Map in High Detail* Excellent! Nothing changes for you and this will be like every map you have bought in the past. You need to purchase DCS: Afghanistan. At the release of Early Access, you will have access to the whole map, but only the Southwest region will be in high detail and the others will be in low detail. Once the East region is ready, you will also see this in high detail. Once the North region is ready, you will also see this in high detail. *Why Is the Map Available As Individual Sections?* Please understand that this is one map, and you can buy the whole map in exactly the same way as you can with any other map. If you buy DCS: Afghanistan, you will have the whole map in high detail once each region is complete. However, if you do not want the whole map and are only interested in a specific region, you have the option to buy only that region. If you do this, you will still have access to the whole map, but only the region you wanted will be in high detail, and the other regions will be in low detail. This is ‘Southwest’, ‘East’, and ‘North’. The reasons for offering the split regions are: 1. Allows a lower entry price if users want to fly one region only. 2. Everyone is able to fly the map sooner. The regions of the map are being completed in stages with Southwest ready first, then East, then North. If we waited until the whole map was ready in high detail the Early Access release date would be much later. What Does DCS: Afghanistan Offer? This Afghanistan map includes the rugged mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush, the vast deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, and the many green fertile valleys and river basins of the region. Efforts have been dedicated to accurately portraying the unique cultural and urban features of Afghanistan. This involves recreating cities like Kandahar and Herat, with special attention to landmarks, infrastructure, and architectural styles like the blue mosque of Herat. High-resolution satellite imagery has aided authentic terrain textures and details, while aerial imagery has been used to enhance the accuracy of individual areas. Special focus is being given to the detailing of terrain features, including rivers, roads, vegetation, rocks, small stones, ground clutter and geological formations. The terrain presented is a representation of modern Afghanistan, most closely matching the years between 2008 and 2010. The map has been developed to offer gameplay that spans the many eras of combat in the region. This is our most ambitious map yet and the sheer size, diversity of the terrain, and complex topography of Afghanistan have presented technical challenges, pushing the boundaries of our map-making technologies. Performance optimization and development is ongoing, allowing the map to look good at both low and high altitudes. The illustration below details the size of the whole map, and shows how it has been split into three distinct regions: The regions have been divided in a way that offers maximum gameplay and re-enactment potential. The highest level of detail in each provides greater detail of terrain textures, a highly detailed road network, enhanced city scenes, airfield scenes, unique objects and cultural monuments, as well as improved texturing to a variety of buildings, vegetation, static cars etc. Please note that airfields are only planned within the borders of Afghanistan. There are currently no plans to add airfields from neighboring countries. DCS: Afghanistan (total) Area: 1449216 sq km 28 Unique highly detailed airfields DCS: Southwest High Detail Area: 471381 sq km 12 Unique highly detailed airfields DCS: East High Detail Area: 320529 sq km 12 Unique highly detailed airfields DCS: North High Detail Area: 443199 sq km 8 Unique highly detailed airfields The highest level of detail for each region is only available with a purchase of each of the individual region products (Southwest, East, North), or with a purchase of DCS: Afghanistan. Regions that have not been purchased will be flyable but will display a lower level of detail. Please note: The low vs high res areas will be analogous (similar) to what we have with Normandy 1944 and Normandy 2.0 Upgrade option. What Is Included in DCS: Southwest Afghanistan? The image above shows the area that is included in high detail with a purchase of DCS: Southwest Afghanistan. The entire DCS: Afghanistan map will be flyable at launch but is still under development. DCS: Southwest Afghanistan will receive some updates post-release but will for all intents and purposes be feature-complete. This region includes 12 highly detailed airfields: Kandahar, Herat, Bost, Camp Bastion, Chaghcharan, Dwyer, Farah, Maymana Zahiraddin Faryabi, Qala i Naw, Shindand, Tirinkot, and Zaranj. The southwest region is currently the most complete and will be released first. The second region to be released will be the Eastern region and finally the Northern region. Please keep in mind that even if you purchase only one region, you will still be able to play online across the whole map with your friends and in your favourite servers, but the non-purchased regions will display lower detail. How Much Will It Cost? Early adopters in the pre-purchase stage will enjoy special discounts. The pre-purchase phase is planned to end in June 2024 with the Early Access release of DCS: Afghanistan and DCS: Southwest Afghanistan. Pre-purchase Early Access Release DCS: Afghanistan $48.99 $55.99 $69.99 DCS: Southwest Afghanistan $23.99 $29.99 $29.99 DCS: East Afghanistan N/A N/A $29.99 DCS: North Afghanistan N/A N/A $29.99 DCS: East Afghanistan and DCS: North Afghanistan will not receive pre-purchase nor early access pricing. Please kindly note, that the pricing above may be subject to change. How Do I Purchase DCS: Afghanistan? Pre-purchase DCS: Afghanistan in the e-Shop, here. Pre-purchase DCS: Southwest Afghanistan in the e-Shop, here. Pre-purchase is not currently available on DCS Steam Edition. We are doing our best to offer Steam users identical pre-purchase options for both DCS: Afghanistan and DCS: Southwest Afghanistan as soon as possible. After early access , we will include DCS: Afghanistan in the two-week Free Trial Program on the e-Shop. The product will then be available for download via the in-game module manager for you to try before you buy. The Free Trial programme extends to most DCS modules; look for the ‘Trial’ button in the e-Shop for participating modules. What Happens if I Buy the Map Regions Parts Individually? While purchasing the whole DCS: Afghanistan map in one go will grant you a significant discount, you may wish to purchase only an individual region if you have a particular interest in that region only. By purchasing individual regions, you are curating the areas of the map that you wish to see in high detail. This option makes the map more accessible for those only interested in specific areas or are on a budget. Purchasing any of the individual regions will still give you access to the whole map in low detail. Those who purchase one region will not receive discounted pricing if they subsequently wish to purchase other regions. To enhance the detail of the map, additional regions may be purchased separately, as and when you wish. Those of you who purchase DCS: Afghanistan as a whole will have the exact same access as another user who would purchase all of DCS: Southwest Afghanistan, DCS: East Afghanistan, and DCS: North Afghanistan individually. Can I Fly with Friends or on Servers if We Have Mismatching Regions of DCS: Afghanistan? Yes, you are all flying the same map and will be able to fly together without issue but the detail that each of you sees will differ. Remember that by purchasing individual regions you are curating the areas of the map that you wish to see in high detail. Those who purchase the whole map will see the whole map in high detail as and when each region becomes available and receive updates during the Early Access phase. Will I Have Multiple Maps if I Purchase Individual Regions? No. All purchases give access to one map and individually owned regions dictate what you see in high detail within that map. If, for example, you own both DCS: Southwest Afghanistan and DCS: East Afghanistan, you will see both of those regions in high detail and only DCS: North Afghanistan will be in low detail. How Might Missions and Campaigns Be Affected by the Individual Map Regions? If you are flying in a region where you do not have access to the highest level of detail, it may be that the creator of that mission or campaign references a world object you are not able to see. Otherwise, there will be no effect. Will DCS: Afghanistan have Winter Textures? (ADDED) Not at release, but is planned for later on after the Early Access Launch. If I only own 1 part, will I still see and be able to use airfields on parts I do not own? (ADDED) Yes! Once the entire map is complete and if you only own 1 section, you will see the entire map, and the airfields in those unpurchased sections will be there and usable in the sim, including the ME. You will still see trees and buildings in these areas as well but in low-detail LODs. What does Early Access, Features and such mean for Terrain and how does it compare to Aircraft modules? (ADDED) We have noticed some confusion on what Early Access means for a terrain, especially one being sold with the possibility of owning only 1 or 2 parts. Features on a Terrain can be described as things like Airfields, Cities, POI's and such. Saying the SW portion is mostly feature complete it's for these types of objects and areas. What it doesn't mean is that those areas are necessarily done in layout or textures, all these things can change during Early Access. This also goes for textures, for example, some have pointed out areas where highly detailed abruptly bump up against low detailed areas. Even in the SW regions, this is still very much WIP. The challenge of doing a huge map like this is maintaining a reasonable size and performance. The idea here is to get the most out of the high-detail areas for all 3 areas, then go back and see how much we can push those medium-detail areas you would see between High and Low areas. If we were to complete the SW area before the others and push it to max levels before the other 2 areas were in, we run the risk of having an unmanageable sized map, or one with poor performance, and would require us to go back and pull some detail out. This is a very new way of doing a map, along with one of the biggest and most detailed maps to date, there will be some growing pains and it will look rough in places at times. We appreciate all those who are willing to continue on this EA with us, and we look forward to all your feedback and reports on the map! More sources of information: DCS: Afghanistan CasmoTV and Wags interview We are truly thrilled to bring this monumental map to DCS that will allow you to explore and experience a region that has been so important to the late 20th and early 21st century. Thank you all for your trust, passion and support. We look forward to your feedback and suggestions. Please ask any further questions you may have below as comments. Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics Updated Maps: New Map Previous Map

Well, we've successfully answered the question: how complex and confusing can a DCS terrain release be? If someone buys the whole map and only wants to download one third of the HQ map, will they have the ability to deactivate those parts in DCS to save HD space?

Yep, I was planning to add a FMTV M1083.

Thank you for your reply. Let me explain why this is a decision that can be improved upon. Apart from the fact that Mary, Turkmenistan was the home of Авиабаза 1521, Мары - Центр боевого применения | Airbase 1521, Mary - Combat Operations Center or else known as Soviet Top Gun, this is the perfect home for the full fidelity MiG-23 and the MiG-29. Additionally, together with the Kokaydy airport in Termez, Uzbekistan, they played a very important role for the Soviet Union's operations in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989 for various aircraft that are available already or are coming soon to DCS World. MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Su-17/22, Su-25, Mi-24, Mi-8. Since you mention "Soviet operations of the 1980s place Afghanistan as one of the most important combat theatres of the past half century." in your product description, it is only reasonable that we have the airports available to historically re-enact those operations and create scenarios that will bring the community together. If you need more information, please do not hesitate to pm me.

Oh boy

DCS Afganistán trailer DCS: Afghanistan FAQ

It will be the same as with the Normandy 2.0 map. The buildings will be there, just low poly, low detail models, but otherwise the same. Probably missing some fences and bushes and satellite dishes. Seriously, I don’t get what all the fuzz is about. You can still buy the whole map for a reasonable price (given the size, I would say it is at least the same value as all the other maps easily). You just have the option(!) to be cheap or save some money if you simply don’t care for some areas or high detail. I wonder how people who are overwhelmed by this amount of complexity do their taxes…..

Yep, the desert version is also already done.

A simple mod providing swimming polar icebergs and icesheets, to be placed as ships at sea, coming in two sizes (IceSheet1 and IceSheet2). They can follow a waypoint path to simulate drift and have collision, but no damage model. Ships have no chance... Helicopters can land on some areas, which allow to land without sinking into "snow". You need to find out by yourself, as IRL. Structures like biwaks etc can be placed, same here with "snow". This is due to an integrative collision model, which does not reflect the surface 1:1. Helicopters and ships are not part of this package. Tested with DCS 2.9 DOWNLOAD: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2l4spy1b9upntxzbdbqs0/IcebergsV01.zip?rlkey=lzioj6o5t0gid4t11bwy9bh3a&dl=0 INSTALL: Unzip the package. 1. Copy the content of "tech" into your "Saved Games/DCS/Mods/tech" folder CREDITS: The 3D model of the icesheet was downloaded from Turbosquid with permission for royalty free usage and distribution. I made some changes to the original model though, and included a simplified collision shape. Take warm clothes! cheers, rato65

I will pass on your feedback but can not make any promises. thank you

There is even a picture of the new design a couple of posts up (your picture shows a dummy version of the PAC-3 CRI. I have the MSE). Since we now have the MTVR Mk23 and the FMTV M1083. I thought, why not add the HEMTT M977 as well.

Yes, using the same tech as Normandy 2 update. Thanks

I’m afraid I’m gonna avoid buying this map simply for the fail in splitting it up. Nobody wants this unless they are worried about hard drive space. It makes everything needlessly complicated for creators and users.

I'm updating the paintjob on the Patriot missiles, since I used the Swedish versions before.

If you believe that then you haven't been here a long time.

Will we get new assets for this map? All we have right now are two insurgent infantry units and maybe the two types of technicals (though wrongly clothed). Just the teased new US vehicles won't help to build missions, if we don't have opposing assets or ideally assets like the IEDs from the LLH insurgent pack.

Why though? Where have they wronged you? Just imagine the option(!) to buy in three different pieces wasn’t there. How is it different to any other EA module/map? Don’t like EA? Wait for the full release. Don’t like the region as a map? Don’t buy it at all. They just put another option on top. Emphasis on „option“. You don’t need to take it, and if you don’t it doesn’t affect you in the slightest.

The terrain is already a huge one so we have to draw a line somewhere. There are certainly many regions that would be great battlefields for DCS. Afghanistan has a long history of conflict and in DCS you can decide what type of mission you fly by creating any scenario you wish to, it is a sandbox for creativity. The only limitation is our own imagination. I can certainly ask the team, maybe something we can show in a future newsletter or post. Thank you for supporting our work!

folks please keep it civil and friendly, our rules can be found at the top of the forum. thank you

Wow, people, please calm down. I added the "meta" tag and I think I removed the "fixed internally" tag by mistake. I'll add it back right away. All internal testers confirmed that the fix worked for them, so it should work for you as well.

Will the map extend to the Gulf of Oman to allow carrier operations? Personally I wouldn't mind if Pakistan was modelled at low detail as long as there's an option to include the Supercarrier and naval aviation. Edit from a couple days later: Wags said very clearly that this is not an option with the current terrain engine.

Agreed, this seems like the greed is peaking.

Coming along nicely, we will put up a full update changelog in april, we have added the gyropilot systems as well as other smaller bits

You sweet summer child.

In my experience ED have a bad habit of moving on to the next new thing and forgetting the last great thing from 2 release back or so (with slow updates), promising to show so much when they can, but never do with the std line, "we will show you more when its ready" so in essence all ways keeping us the customer in the dark about updates coming to the sim. Im burnt out by the early access model ED uses, I have nearly all the modules, but most of my ED modules I have are still in EA waiting for updates that never happen or do very slowly, Heatblur took the EA model to the next level and it damage my EA faith. I nearly pushed buy today, but reminded my self about my EA burnout, ill wait and see if BN or NL answer my questions.

I read it! You can open up, my friend!

Sorry to hear that, I hope we can do better for you in the future. If you have a question you are not sure about feel free to PM me. thanks Price's are in the first post on the FAQ How Much Will It Cost? Early adopters in the pre-purchase stage will enjoy special discounts. The pre-purchase phase is planned to end in June 2024 with the Early Access release of DCS: Afghanistan and DCS: Southwest Afghanistan. Pre-purchase Early Access Release DCS: Afghanistan $48.99 $55.99 $69.99 DCS: Southwest Afghanistan $23.99 N/A $29.99 DCS: East Afghanistan N/A N/A $29.99 DCS: North Afghanistan N/A N/A $29.99 DCS: East Afghanistan and DCS: North Afghanistan will not receive pre-purchase nor early access pricing. Please kindly note, the pricing above may be subject to change.

ALl this can be communicated with how the mission or campaign is distributed just like what modules and maps it uses. Its not really an issue. People download missions for things they don't own all the time by not reading the description or the description not stating this. Its just another thing that we will all have to deal with as is appropriate.

You're wrong. When people buy a product, they expect it to work (even without reading forums, posts or searching for it). I guess that's normal? Its also normal in the IT world that when something doesn't work (so critical issue), developers focus on a patch specifically for it (I work on projects so I know what I'm talking about). An example even from Cayberpunk 2077, where, due to major problems, we received the first patch after a week of the entire game. Then it only got better. Here we hear that there is a plan, but nothing is known. This is a critical error, not some guesswork. If it suits you, of course you can live with it, but I know people who tear their hair out and have no technological knowledge because they can modify files without damaging something else and in the future they will have to undo it. This may cause further problems, it is worth adding, because it is already a certain interference. I would also like to note that the status has changed, it was information - resolved internally, and now we have it reported only. The rest regarding changes to the game, new content, etc. can wait a week or two or so, basically it doesn't matter. We are talking about a rather critical issue for many.

The questions many people ask are not about any one person's choice, but how this is going to work in Multiplayer and for missions and campaigns where authors can no longer assume that a player who has the product will see it in the same way as the mission creator. Sounds like any campaign and any mission set in Afghanistan might have to be custom-built for either of the 3 regions, or exclude players who have not purchased all regions, or work around issues that arise from players seeing low detail content.

Sad super carrier noises.

How is suppose to work for multiplayer ? It sounds like there will be only one map but depending on which region the players have, they won't see the same things. There is no way of balancing a PvP server then no ? How are physical buildings present on the high detailed version handled for the low detailed players ? Does it mean a transport helico could land units inside a landmarks because he didn't buy the high detailed version or with CA just drive though it ? Won't they have an easier time spotting as well ? How is it handled server wise ? Can missile fired by low detailed player go through a landmarks ? I have so many questions...

Folks you might have had the date wrong, it’s not April 1st yet. Seriously, this is so egregiously bad, with due respect to the teams involved it is insulting.

Hi, thanks a lot for sharing ... seems like a great Mod, though I still have to try it more fully ... it seems to compliment the South Atlantic map nicely: Hopefully you will be able to share also the support ship Cheers! Eduardo

thank you for the examples I will mention it to the team

Reported.

Where did all the old Afghanistan posts go? Specifically looking for the ones that debated whether this map was "interesting" and what type of games we could come up with, as a community. What's the attraction of an Afganistan map as a location for a 'game'? For aircraft targetting infantry, the infantry we have are of mediocre animation for the best ones, the ground AI routines have much less detail than a plane AI. For aircraft targetting vehicles we have some good new additions, but we are talking only 2 shapes of three types - arty, technical and airdefence. Thats 6 units out of the entire catalogue of DCS. For aircraft vs aircraft - nothing to simulate. For sea or ships - nothing to simulate. No offensive radars of any type to avoid/destroy. If you just want a sandbox (no pun intended) and don't care what's simulated then there are still better places to do that, that aren't confined to a place with limited existing infastructure. If you actually want a 'game' then the Balkans conflict in the mid 90's ticks every box - Soviet era peer equipment Large US base Aviano Italy Varied and beautiful (green and mountainous) scenery Era allows DCS inventory modelled Historical depth and detail Air vs Air, ground vs ground, Carrier ops Balkans was my age groups Afghanistan, for a period of modelling warfare, its much moire suited to DCS strengths and offers something different.

Why ask the question then? You wanted a release plan. That's the release plan. Trust it or don't, but what's the point in asking for it again?

Honestly, I would have preferred the Kola Map, as having another desert map and on top of that no coast to place a carrier (even if far) are fairly big cons for me. I will wait until the last week of May, and if Kola has not appeared by then, then I will likely pre-purchase the whole Afghanistan map … I will also need to spend some $$$ in upgrading my 1 TB ssd, let’s hope my wife is distracted while I do these purchases

I'm willing to chew on the eccentricities of the sim if it means I get to have the newest and bestest high-tech flightsim toys.

Nope, the coast is too far. It would impact performance not to mention it would be a hella long flight.

Interesting map, though I see no option for carrier ops, land locked.

Since everyone is getting the South area in high detail, and there are no high details in other areas at this point, this simply is not possible at this point. Common guys, it's a new system, there are questions, let's try to give SOME benefit of doubt to ED that they have spent, at least, more amount of time thinking on this than the two seconds we have had to complain about it!

This is all very confusing

Will there be any Pakistani airfields modeled? Im seeing a theatre here for the JF-17!

Rudder coordination is nuanced. It's more important in props, gliders, and helos. In jets it's only a thing at higher AoA. Per T-38/F-5/T-45/AV-8B pilots I've talked with "stepping on the ball isn't a thing in jets," and those specific jets are just as analog as the Tomcat. Unless at high AoA in the Tomcat I see no adverse/proverse yaw, and am able to fly smoothly, precisely, and coordinated without rudder usage by "flying the cross." In other words, not blending pitch and roll inputs. Trying to coordinate it as I would a warbird gives me worse results than simply leaving my feet on the floor. A lot of people see "Tomcat needs rudder at high AoA" and completely ingore the qualifying statement of "at high AoA," and parrot a one-size-fits-all rule that doesn't actually fit all sizes. It doesn't help that the aircraft in question has a lot of lore and a kind of mysticism around it that makes it seem artificially special compared to other aircraft when--in this specific case--it isn't.

It depends on the AoA, the higher the AoA the more rudder is needed instead (!) of ailereon to roll. In the tomcat this goes up to 100% rudder at very high AoAs. This behavior is very emphasized in the Tomcat but not exclusive to her. I believe it is more a function of aerodynamics and has nothing to do with inertia - but I can't back that up with data.

Totally understand not wanting to mess around with work arounds, we can only apologies for the inconvenience the meta patch has created. We have a fix for the next patch so it is just a matter of waiting for the patch, as mentioned previously we are testing the whole of DCS and its modules and I am waiting for QA to give me the all clear to announce the date. thank you