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Some comments on those vids: "I fly helicopters for a living. The OH-6 mod pulled me back in to DCS because quite frankly, it feels like the real thing." "Love their work." "I am so impressed with the awesome work done on the Cayuse." "I really appreciate what these guys have built and flying that OH-6 online especially in VR with virpil stuff is the best sim experience I've ever had." "I can’t express how impressed I am with the Cayuse." "It's the most challenging mod I've ever tried learning to fly." "...it is a simply incredible module very maneuverable it is versatile it is an incredible mod it is unique." "Love the oh-6" "I love the OH-6...Its such a fun helicopter to fly and the best mod in DCS!" Noice

28th February 2025 Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, In this newsletter we highlight several new weapons features that will noticeably improve gameplay. These have been developed over the past several months and focus both on air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. Please read the details below. For those looking forward to experiencing the Mariana Islands during the pivotal battles in the summer of 1944, please check out the Marianas 1944 development screenshots below. These images highlight some of the key differences between the modern and World War II versions of the terrain. We kindly remind you that the modern day DCS: Marianas is free, as will be the upcoming World War II version. The DCS Q&A Part 2 video is now available on Matt Wagner’s channel. Please watch it for some insight into our development priorities and answers to many of your most pressing questions. Many thanks to all of you who sent in questions! Watch now. Thank you for your passion and support. Yours sincerely, Eagle Dynamics Weapons Development Progress Appearance of Missile Contrails at Low Temperatures Modern missiles use reduced-smoke solid-fuel rocket motors, as well as liquid-fuel motors. However, these cease to be “low-smoke” at altitude due to the drop in air temperature. The exhaust of solid-fuel missiles, such as the AMRAAM’s HTPB/AP fuel, contains Hydrogen Chloride HCl, which at low temperatures forms crystal hydrates that generate a dense contrail. The exhaust of liquid-fuel missiles contains water vapor, which also generates a dense contrail in cold air. In winter, a contrail can appear even at low altitudes. At Arctic temperatures, the contrail may appear even at ground level. In the screenshot, an F-15C aircraft launches a missile at a target high above it. As illustrated in the image, the first part of the missile's flight has a “low-smoke” trail where the air temperature is above -25°C. As the missile climbs, a dense contrail appears as the air temperature falls below -25°C. On the Kola map, you can set the air temperature down to -30°C, and this results in “low-smoke” missiles having trails at surface level. This is an important tactical point, as the smoke trail reveals not only the missile launch but also its trajectory. Trajectory Fluctuations of Older Generation Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Systems We recently added authentic guidance algorithms for the older Soviet SA-2 and SA-3 SAM systems. Due to the low angular accuracy of first generation radars, and the design features of the radio command control system, noticeable fluctuations are observed in the flight path of SAM missiles. These limitations lead to increased errors in the targeting, which was compensated for by large warheads. We have implemented two new modes of guiding SAM missiles. By default, the improved lead command to line-of-signt (CLOS) mode is used, but if the target use jammer or has a speed of less than 100 meters per second, the conventional CLOS (three-point guidance) mode is used. Realistic Pattern of Proximity Fuze We recently added new and more realistic SAM missile proximity blast patterns for fuzes. The proximity blast pattern is now a more realistic, “wagon wheel” shape rather than spherical. This allows the missile warhead to more effectively fuze when the target is in the lethal area of the expanding rod zone or fragmentation field. This increases the warhead lethality. This new mechanism allows us to set unique shapes and sizes of patterns based on fuze and warhead types. It is an important step in the development of munitions for DCS. You can expect the first implementation of this feature for the AIM-120 air-to-air missile in the next update. Marianas 1944 Development Progress The free Marianas 1944 map currently in development will focus on the brutal battles between the United States and Japan for the islands of Saipan, Guam, and Tinian in the summer of 1944. This coincided with the Battle of the Philippine Sea that saw large-scale naval warfare between aircraft carrier task forces. World War II History and Key Battles The Mariana Islands became a flashpoint in 1944, and it shaped the outcome of the Pacific Theatre of Operations (PTO). Three major operations stand out: Battle of Saipan (15 June – 9 July 1944) Battle of Guam (21 July – 10 August 1944) Battle of Tinian (24 July – 1 August 1944) Each of these iconic battles, fought across rugged terrain in sweltering summer heat, showcased the evolving tactics of amphibious warfare combined with naval close air support. These battles changed the course of the war in the Pacific by establishing air bases within striking distance of Japan. Modern vs. 1944 – Island by Island While the modern Mariana Islands map features contemporary infrastructure, airfields, and urban centers, the DCS: Marianas 1944 map will present a significantly different depiction of these islands. Guam Today: It is one of the largest U.S. military bases in the Pacific, and it includes expansive naval and air force installations that cover much of the island. WWII Era: Small towns, villages, and relatively little infrastructure. Tinian Today: Sparsely populated and far removed from its former prominence in global history. WWII Era: An agricultural hub in the summer of 1944, it was later transformed into a crucial military staging area during the final stages of the war, including B-29 bombing missions over Japan. Saipan Today: A popular destination with golf courses, resort areas, and recreational facilities, it reflects a strong tourism industry. WWII Era: Dominated by plantations and small-scale settlements. Rota WWII Era & Today: Rota remains one of the lesser-developed islands in the chain, with minimal changes over the decades. Rota offers a quieter pace of life in the Marianas. Pagan Today: Largely uninhabited since a volcanic eruption in the 1980s, it is mostly untouched by modern development. WWII Era: Home to a local population and Japanese military presence. The goal of DCS: Marianas 1944 is to faithfully recreate the conditions that defined the battles of 1944. You can look forward to authentic period-based airfields, buildings, vegetation and agriculture, roads and rail lines. The 1944 version poses the unique challenges of older navigation technology, limited logistical support, and high-stakes amphibious operations. This WWII-era environment will offer an immersive glimpse into the intensity of the Pacific War. We look forward to sharing more details on DCS: Marianas 1944 as development continues. In the meantime, make sure you explore the free DCS: Marianas map, and stay tuned for future updates on this thrilling journey back in time. Q&A by Matt Wagner Your overwhelmingly positive response to Matt Wagner's January Q&A has not gone unnoticed! Many new and interesting questions came from the previous video, so this one will seek to provide some answers, such as the status of the dynamic campaign and future aircraft development. Watch the February 2025 Q&A video. Thank you again for your passion and support, Yours sincerely,

Судя по количеству вопросов про красные модули, даже джонов уже начинает поднапрягать анбаланс крафтов в синюю сторону. Как я и говорил летать синими против синих народу постепенно становится неинтересно.

An update to my Iviola Ivory Livery Pack, see the first pages of this thread for the original pack. You need the mod pack Civilian Assets Pack - Navy by Eightball - drop this pack into the liveries folder. Minor updates all round and I have added a few more eye candy liveries based on real or existing ships, with heaps of poetic licence !!! https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4oheipufzcwsex9i5ejmh/CrazyEddies-Ievoli-Ivory-Livery-Pack-Updated.zip?rlkey=o6lv1tm9br3gn27lzsab0ku3x&st=g5rbg5ma&dl=0

Wags mentioned in the Q&A there's "another" helicopter in the works. I am really hoping it's a Cobra and if it is, I plead with you ED, to start on that sooner rather than later. My assumption is you want to delay it until the Apache is more complete, but I think they can coexist now. Vietnam/Cold War era is obviously the best era for military aircraft and the AH-64D is a bit too modern for that. So if it is a Cobra, I say bring it on. I can't think of a single helo flyer I've ever talked to that wouldn't love to fly one.

An empty map that only has airbases would be kinda strange, wouldn't it? A DCS map doesn't just need airbases, but also other military and civilian infrastucture, which can also be very relevant as military targets like power plants and such.

Yeah, I’m with ya, “MOO”

С вопросом про новые красные модули в Q&A интересно вышло - Вагс как-то сконцентрировался на современных красных модулях - мол, документации в нужном объёме нет, но , мне кажется, вопрос-то был о красных модулях вообще. Есть же самолёты времён Холодной войны и более ранние - по ним документации должно быть явно больше. Тот же Миг-23.

Hello Solidkreate! The fighter version, JA 37 Viggen, were equipped with the European version of the AIM-7Sparrow that was called Sky flash. In the Swedish air force the Sky flash was called Rb 71. The early verions of the JA 37 Viggen could carry two Rb 71 and four Sidewinders called Rb 24, Rb 24J and Rb74 depending on Sidewinder version. The JA 37 Viggen also had one internal 30mm Oerlikon automatic cannon. The latest and also last version of the JA 37 called JA 37 Di could carry four AIM-120 AMRAAM called Rb 99 and two Rb 24, Rb 24J and Rb74 depending on Sidewinder version. JA stands for Jakt/attack wich means that the primary role is Jakt(Fighter) and Attack is obiously Attack. In the attack-role the JA 37 could carry four arak-pods with attack rockets. I hope that was a answer to you question. Best regards: Otulf

без негатива: сравнение продаж будет с каким либо модулем синей стороны 4 поколения? если да, то, думаю, есть большая доля вероятности некорректного сравнения. сравнивать первую модификацию не самого «наворченного» самолёта ссср по вооружению/ осведомлённости, даже тех времён, с синим модулем далеко не первых модификации 16/18 из нынешних в dcs- такое себе. или с jf17? или просто какой либо сумма будет порогом для раздумий над дальнейшей судьбой всех красных модулей? понимаю, что су35/57 не получим в dcs, но очень хочется самолёт советский/российский с мфд и более пригодным вооружением и системами для сражений против нынешних 15/16/18 из мира dcs.

Follow up video to @tobi @Eight Ball

@tobi @Eight Ball I second my friend's comments and will take it a step further. Please listen to my video gents. You have done more than just create a mod for DCS, you have changed the community. You have turned long time single player DCS members into cooperative machines on dedicated servers. This is all because of you and your hard work. The Little Bird was going to be the game changer helo for the Afghanistan and Iraq map in my humble opinion, based on facts from our ITJ mission. I had too much to say in a thread so please take the time to listen to my overwhelming gratitude for what you have brought to DCS and the community and my plead to have you stick around.

One reason why it's a waste of time to ask AI anything. Rb71 is the Skyflash, Viggen never carried the US version of Sparrow. I wish people would stop posting AI "answers", because they'll come up in search results.

Your list is amazing, but I would like to bring your attention to this one -- Make OH-6A Official! aka MOO!

Some of us have asked for this gem for -- I have lost count.

Since AI needs to be able to do these tasks, I think it's a good feature (and since this is a wish list, it's perfectly placed): switch in AI and stay in the cockpit to see how AI does it - an instructor driving your plane, so to speak. It could also be the precursor to "buddy control", where another player takes control of your aircraft, and you watch to see how they do it. I envision a "Handoff to AI" menu that has sub-menus with "Continue straight and level", "Land on nearest friendly airfield/FARP/Carrier", "Fly to next waypoint", "Resume Control" (yeah, I omitted the obvious "Approach Tanker" and "Refuel" points for being less contentious). The downside for this of course is that right now, IMHO DCS's AI is nowhere near where it can do that - all AI approaches seem to be on rails, with stark disregard of procedures (especially radiotelephony), speeds and how physics should work, so it could take a while for this to materialize. But handing off to a selective AI whilst remaining in the seat would be a great didactic and convenience tool Why troll on such a beautiful day? Methinks "Git gud" is a toxic, juvenile comment, and our community is better than that. I personally wouldn't use such a feature often (except the 'fly me to waypoint' bit, which usually Otto can do fine except in helos) because most I do in DCS is landings, but that is my silly preference and entirely beside the point. Such a feature could be a godsend to many players.

Hello widen76! Great link! Best regards: Otulf Hello Flight Guy in PJ Pants! Correct! The JA 37! Wouldn´t a JA 37 be great in DCS? Best regards: Otulf

Hey, I don't have a clear answer for you. You also say when "using SteamVR" or "violating SteamVR API" which is ambiguous since you could mean via OpenVR or OpenXR. I haven't looked specifically at this problem, especially since TBH, I never use SteamVR and nearly all my solutions were dedicated to "skipping SteamVR" That said, based on what you are describing, I believe you are likely correct: You are likely familiar with the concept of "swap file" which is a way to relieve your main RAM by temporarily moving resources to your storage drive. There is a similar concept for GPU memory (VRAM), called residency. Your GPU needs resources (textures, geometry, shaders...) to be in the VRAM in order to use them for rendering. But sometimes your GPU driver will move some resources out of VRAM and into your system RAM if the application is "over-committing" (which means using more memory than the allowable budget). Then when the GPU needs a resource that was "demoted" to system RAM, it will have to first make room for the resource (by demoting another resource) and then copy it back into the VRAM (aka "swapping", like your "swap file" for system RAM) . This process is slow. In some worst case scenarios, a resource might "bounce" back and forth between GPU and system RAM, and this creates an awful effect where your app is rendering like 1 FPS . I've seen this exact issue with No Man's Sky on PCVR, where the frame time would jump to 100-140ms because some of the VR compositor resources would get demoted to system RAM. There is a solution to such problem, which is to mark the most critical resources as permanently resident in VRAM (explained on the page I linked), to avoid them being demoted. This was actually a mitigation I had implemented in SteamVR for WMR. Note that as explained on the page I linked about residency, there is something called the application VRAM budget. That is the maximum that an application should ever use. This amount of budget is NOT your entire VRAM. There's something called system reservation, which is Windows protecting some of the VRAM for things like the desktop window manager, and your monitor's backbuffers. Many people asked me this question about OpenXR Toolkit, "why is your overlay saying I have 10GB of VRAM while my GPU has 12GB!?". The answer is those 2GB are the system reservation. If the application ever goes above the application VRAM budget and into the system reservation, bad things happen as described above. Now the case of VR and memory management is actually quite complex. This is for a simple reason. When you develop an app that runs on flat screen, you don't have to worry about anything other than the system reservation. Your application has its GPU resources (textures etc) and loads them into VRAM, and the only additional overhead is what's called the DXGI swapchain, aka the surface that the application uses to present the rendered image to the monitor. That DXGI swapchain is allocated within the applications's memory budget, so it's easy to account for. When you develop an app for VR, there is a lot more happening. You do have those VR swapchains as well, and these also come out of the applications's VRAM budget, and they are much bigger (stereo and triple-buffered). But you also have the entire VR compositor resources as well. These typically live in other processes like whatever "Oculus Service" (Quest Link) or DWM (WMR) or VRServer (SteamVR). These are not part of the application's VRAM budget (since they are allocated out of nowhere by another application process). So it becomes much harder for an application to track these additional resources and to not over-commit the VRAM. An application will usually try to maximize its use of VRAM especially if you are using very high settings. This means some apps will try to reserve the entirely of the application's memory budget. They will usually do that when starting the game or loading a new level. For games that allow you to switch between flatscreen and VR on the fly (press of a button), this is also a very complex scenario. MSFS got it wrong for a very long time. Basically you have to "unreserve" sufficient memory back for the VR compositor. And again, as an application, you do not know how much VRAM the VR compositor needs... Then you have SteamVR overlays coming in. These are the absolute nightmare for your game developer conscious about maximizing VRAM usage. These overlays can be loaded AFTER your game started and reserved memory. Or something the full extent of their resources is only allocated upon first use, or specific use (eg: which "menu" you select within your overlay). So if a game had reserved all the VRAM, you are now over-committing VRAM, and risking the back and forth copy of data between system RAM and VRAM. Now you have a way of checking if this is what's happening, through the Task Manager. You'll see two numbers in your GPU performance pane. A "GPU Memory" and a "Shared GPU Memory". Assuming you are not on an integrated GPU (!), you will see "GPU Memory" as your VRAM, and "Shared GPU Memory" as your system RAM, which can be used when over-committing. In the ideal case, "Shared GPU Memory" should be 0, though in reality there is always a small residual. You want to get your baseline before starting your game. How much "Shared GPU Memory" is used? On my machine, it's always something like 0.1GB or 0.2GB. That's HEALTHY. Then run your game, hopefully "Shared GPU Memory" remains the same value. Then when you are hitting your overlay issue, take a look at "Shared GPU Memory" again. Is it higher than your baseline by a notable difference? For example, on my machine, I see it go above 0.3GB when overcommitting, and it's usually noticeable like 0.5GB or 1GB or more... That's over-committing, and that's what causes bad performance. There is no real solution for you to this problem. It's just poor programming, but technically, it's not anybody's fault. DCS shouldn't under-use VRAM just to allow overlays that maybe nobody will use. Your overlay needs resources, and it can't do anything to evict data from DCS. There is no good solution. One thing your overlay developer could do, is temporarily boost the residency priority of its resources when the overlay is open. That will still cause a slow down when you first open the overlay, but at least the overlay should be more responsive. Now DCS in the background will probably appear less fluid, since now resources used by DCS will need to be copied back and forth between VRAM. Then the overlay must restore the lower residency priority when you close the overlay. I don't think many applications do that, the API for that is not known by many programmers, and also as noted in the API's documentation: "Changing the priorities of resources should be done carefully. The wrong eviction priorities could be a detriment to performance rather than an improvement.". It's a loaded gun that shouldn't be put into the wrong developer's hands :(

I respect the need to step back from time to time. The world is going insane right now. I absolutely understand the need for self care. My only hope is that they are willing to share info if someone is willing to pick up the journey in their footsteps. I've been in and out of DCS a lot lately given the geopolitical situation in the world right now, and the underlying fear that real conflict is closer than we may all care to admit. In any case, take care of yourselves guys, and thank you for such an incredible contribution to this game!

Great to finally hear something about the development of the Dynamic Campaign in the Q&A. I'm sure the community will be delighted to know that work is ongoing and that we are getting closer and closer finally. Exactly the sort of transparency that I think everyone was wanting on the topic, even if we still have another year to wait. Could I ask, following up on Matt's explanation as to why more RedFor full fidelity aircraft have not been done due to a lack of reference material, have ED ever considered adding some more RedFor aircraft to DCS in the form of "Flaming Cliffs" modules? We obviously have the Su-27 and Su-25 already, so what would be the issue adding MiG-23/27, Su-24 and perhaps even something more modern like Su-27SM, MiG-29SMT, Su-35S ect? Would there not be enough reference data to add them to the list of Flaming Cliffs aircraft with reduced complexity in terms of systems modelling?

Oh man! Not the news I wanted to hear on a Friday ... but that's a me problem. @tobi @Eight Ball I was just talking to a DCS friend last night expressing my admiration on you two being in the DCS Community Hall of Fame. Your contributions to this community over the years, and most recently with the Cayuse are nothing short of amazing. Your OH-6 is payware module quality ... no ... superior to many payware modules as-is. I certainly was one of many looking forward to the little bird. Alas, I 100% respect your decision to step away from DCS. I wish you guys nothing but the best. Maybe, someday, the DCS fire will re-ignite. If that day comes, I know your contributions will be epic. You've made my DCS experience much better. Thank you!!

As things stand, dead keen for anything RAF post-1945. Would love a Bucc, low level queen; or a Venom, the Sabre-killer par excellence; or even a Meteor, to have a go with the Aussies in Korea. Hunter obvs; likewise an actual Harrier. Canberra goes without saying, Nimrods had an interesting role/system set and one hell of a service life, and who wouldn't want a go at the controls of TSR- Oh, sorry lads, dunno what just came over me. As you were

@tobi @Eight Ball I realized that there was never a separate Little Bird thread created when Tobi and Eight Ball started working it. This might have been a reason for the lack of motivation. I have posted their progress photos below but as of late they have stopped development. I feel this was not in the spotlight like it should have been. If I could ask to pull the community together on this one and bounce over to the OH-6A forum for Tobi and Eight Ball. They are ceasing all work on their mods to include the Cayuse and the upcoming Little Bird due to lack of motivation. Not sure if it is lack of motivation internally or from the community, but I thought we could do our best as a community to hold them up and let them know they are wanted and very important to us and our experience in DCS. I created a video for them providing my support. I encourage everyone to drop them a line on their forum below and or create a video if that is your thing. We need guys like this to stick around. They value is tremendous to this community and they are providing content ED has never touched before in DCS.

No action in DCS without the Little bird !!! I'm with you, don't give up !!!!

Since the Bo-105 (hopefully soon) may become reality, I'd love to see Eurocopter Tiger (I've got a soft spot in my heart for the Bo-105, as that was the main attack chopper when I served in the (West-German) army and it was awesome to see them getting into the action during our dynamic exercises)

I have to wonder why it takes so long. It's almost a year since it was released. I also wonder about the focus. DCS is a flight sim, a combat flight sim. What's important is airbases, airports, heliports and navaids. I mean, houses and stuff is nice to have, but it's not strictly necessary to make the map functional. The airport density is important. It has to be above a certain minimum, or the map simply will not be used, at least not online. Still, my favorite map though

Тут дело не в иконистости, а в том что у ф14 банально гораздо больше возможностей для Геймплея (кабы, Рио, палуба, фениксы) - отсюда куда больше продаж/прибыли. Сравнивать надо с самолетом с примерно одинаковыми боевыми возможностями т.е. одинаковым Геймплеем для игрока: в случае ДКС это с Мираж 2000 - практически одногодка Миг29 и примерно одинаковый состав вооружения.

Was it for JA-37 or AJS-37? Educated guess would be the former which some of us crave for.

Или с Fw-190A8 и чинуком Слишком иконистый самолёт для западной аудитории) Имхо, интереснее было бы оценить влияние существования красного модуля на продажи синих. К примеру, сколько было бы продано сейбров не будь в игре МиГ-15. Или сколько было бы куплено мустангов, если бы против них нельзя было бы выставить немецкие самолёты

Смысл скрывать, если эксперимент окажется удачным? Наоборот будет видно, что на этом можно заработать. Сравни с F-14, делов-то. Он не моложе.

Можно подумать вы об этом скажите

Great to hear more on the DC from Wags!! What struck me in Wags video though; He says: The two helicopter teams are working on the AH-64, the Chinook and "there is another helicopter we're working on" Assuming he's teasing a new helicopter, where does that leave the Early Access Mi-24 Hind? https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/shop/modules/hind/

I've released 1.2.0. New feature: SkyEye supports optional file-based locking to support a use case for some squadrons where multiple SkyEye instances are running on the same CPU. This allows each instance to use the CPU one-at-a-time during the processes' heaviest bottlenecks which is a better user experience than multiple instances flooding the CPU at the same exact moment. Learn more: https://github.com/dharmab/skyeye/blob/main/docs/ADMIN.md#multiple-instances-experimental Bugfixes: - Further improvement to the FADED call chaining issue mentioned in my last message. - Fix a bug where the controller would call "merged" when players flew near certain stationary hostile aircraft on the ground.

Great post @Devil 505, cool to see those pics all together - proper Pink Team vibes, ready to give the bad guys a properly bad day at the office! Likewise @Tommy528 - important points, well made. Everyone else...well hi, happy Friday, have a good weekend!

The APG-v3 which is an AESA radar would implement SWT, but for the older MSA (v1 or older), RWS is the primary search mode and you certainly can go STT from it.

Thanks for trying to answer the questions. Two more: - Shouldn't the Su-17 and Mig-23ML have enough references? - When will we get fuse options for Soviet bombs/cluster bombs (to allow different/lower attack profiles)? Similarly, when will improved fragmentation simulation be added (important for older Soviet helicopters/aircraft which often rely heavily on the use of unguided rockets).

I'd be very skeptical about said article since those were Ryan Firebees. Those things are the size of 172s. The little Dragonfly lacks the ground clearance. I'm not even sure the tip tanks are removeable. Also, some OA-37 moto stuff:

Just fly the aircraft and get out of your comfort zone. Stuff is easy

Hi, i never had an opportunity to say thank you, your work has brought me many hours of fun (it still does). Not to mention the friends I was able to introduce to DCS due to your work being free and showing how fantastic DCS can be (I live in a country where a DCS module costs almost 40% of a minimum wage, not everyone can afford to buy). Regardless of whether you continue or not in the future, I believe that everyone has their own motivations and sometimes at times in life priorities change, you have already done a lot for the community for having worked so hard on this module.

Phantoms over the Nile Delta, 1970...

.. is!!!

thank you for flying in DCS we appreciate the kind words and support. Have a great weekend all.

Hello again dear Viggen pilots! Manual revision 2025-03-19 coming with DCS update 2.9.15.9408: page 32: Added information about the RPM indicator. page 56: Added and changed information about the engine. page 64: Applied small changes to the description of the reverser page 64: Added picture of the green reverser indication light page 246: Applied small changes to the description for the use of the reverser Kind regards, TOViper

ED is offering a refund. I’m not clear on what else they could at this time.

Oh jeez, if only!

Don't forget the Buccaneer....