Ripcord

Here it is.... I keep forgetting this myself : ) page 122 of the DCS World manual.

Yes, thank you for the comment on this, Eddie.

What post were you reading? I said that the ME has been used well, but the campagin engine so far has not. There is a lot, I believe, that can still be done there. I am not an expert in MP, but neither was that the topic of this thread or my post (hint: it was offline campaigns). If you are going to call my opinions/comments drivel, at least read them first. The point of the post is that there is more than one reason why we don't see more offline campaigns. Lastly, I'm not promising any huge mega-campaigns. I'm working on a template at this point, and just contemplating it while I learn and build my skills. WBK, thank you, this summarizes the discussion here pretty well, I would say. You also make another good point here, regarding the nature of the campaigns. Many of those that I have looked at have only one mission per campaign level. So we call them campaigns, but really they are just a series of missions played in a sequence. There can be a great deal of random events built WITHIN each mission, but I've not seen any campaigns yet that give a number of varied/different missions that can be selected at random at any given level of a campaign ladder (surely they are out there, but I've not seen them myself).

Speed, this expanded set of scripting functions that you refer to -- is it the MIST project that you just released, the one in your signature block?

I am sorta/kinda working on my template for building a campaign. But I am doing it very slowly, ooooh sooooo slowly. The concern that ED will break something is part of the trepidation, that is true enough. They are also fixing small things and adding the occasional feature here and there, and there are a few key items that I am really waiting for (like the ability to save & read persistent variables from mission to mission). Then I just get to the point where, like you, I start to think that it is stable and this going to be pretty much what we have, and then they release something major, like FC3. So I'm fiddling with it, watching and learning from others, while experimenting with triggers and techniques and what-not to better understand what works well and will be reliable. The ME is powerful and keeps getting better, and the community has done a lot to unlock the random events and replayability for each INDIVIDUAL mission. I will say that the campaign editor and structure is powerful enough that it really has not been fully utilized so far, at least not that I am aware of. By using a large enough array of missions for each level of the campaign ladder, a good builder can release very compelling and very replayable campaign, given enough good content. Right now I am exploring a number creative ways in which we can link missions together and create plausible/playable transitions from mission to mission. If/when I do release something I want to do it big and do it right.

Chickenhawk, I read that when I was a kid in school. Great book.

I would appreciate even some gradual improvement as they continue to develop this series of sims. I agree with you Jona, that we need them to be able to get in and out of helicopters, for airmobile operations. Paradrops would be a nice additional also. It's sorta OK now, at least they can run and move and those guys that carry the RPGs and stinger/igla IR missiles are still dangerous enough that the adversary must account for them. Good enough for now, but without question I think we can all see the potential!!

Probably that is the reason, Joey. On that subject, I will give my opinion that I'd rather have a reasonaly likeness, something at least in the realm of reality, than have nothing at all -- kinda like all the other great modern warfare sims have managed to provide. If we can get close and approximate with combined arms, then I think we can get close and approximate with standoff jamming capabilities.

I see that some aircraft have defensive ECM pods but I have found none that perform active stand-off jamming of enemy radars, al a EA-6B / EA-18 using jamming pods. Is this SOJ function simply not modeled at all in this sim?

This is interesting, I did not realize this was possible in FC2. One thing I did notice is the armed houses in DCS World are really stout. I sat in a Challenger IFV about 10 meters away and pumped 30mmHE into an armed house and did not destroy it. Evidently it can withstand the 30mm fire and requires heavier ammo to kill it.

I was agreeing with your comment. I used 'be critical' to mean 'complaining about the price'.

Exactly. They have a right to their opinion, but why be critical?

I heard that. I used live over there for almost 11 years. Most of the time I lived out in the Russian Far East. You almost cannot avoid running into military units there, they are almost everywhere you look, but you need to give it a good try, just in case. I was pretty aware that I was potentially a walking promotion for some counterintel officer with a well-developed imagination, so I really did my best to steer clear of shipyards and airfields and the like. I damn sure didn't carry a camera around. One time I was on a business trip heading out to see a forestry/logging company, out in a remote area, and we stopped in at a hotel in Arseniev to get some sleep on the way. I was not allowed in, since I did not have special permission to be there, in that town, for any length of time -- it should be noted that this is the small town where the PROGRESS aviation factory is located, which builds our KA-50 Black Shark helos. So you kinda get the impression that they take their secrecy pretty seriously. Anyway, we drove all night and slept when we got there. All this was BEFORE the new laws came out, but I don't think much changed for foreigners living/working there -- they kept tabs on us pretty good anyway.

That is a nice first post, in any case. Welcome.

How many aircraft and ground units did you use on this most recent experiment?

What you say is surely true, but cost is cost; it has no bearing on market demand. If you can build these for $2 per aircraft and charge $60, then do it -- if that what the market is willing to pay. If it costs $100 per product, that doesn't mean you can charge that much -- it means you cannot efficiently (cost-effectively) produce the goods. Mananging these costs is critical in their business, clearly, and I suspect ED is very good at leveraing gov't contracts, etc., to absorb much of the initial development expenses. Many here suspect that is a major factor in deciding which aircraft to produce next. Remember the 4 P's of marketing: Marketing is coming up with the right product at the right price, and placing it in the right distribution channels and then promoting it. Choosing what to make/build/sell and how to go to market with it is probably more important than the pricing policy, but we can debate that. Not everybody is going to have the same demand curve for the product, which means even at the optimum price point, you won't reach everybody who might want the product. Just the way it goes. Let's also remember that we all frequent this forum because we are all fans of the product, and we are generally happy to pay the market price -- but it doesn't mean that applies to literally EVERYBODY out there. EDIT: On the subject of cost, I will add this short comment. ED was very wise to open the sim up to third party developers, and in time, we will see which of them turn out to be cost-effective in bringing a quality product to market. I suspect we might see several promising projects drop off because of cost-overruns.

Funny I don't remember seeing these guys when I was in. :D

I am not saying that there should be no development at all. We should be adding more naval units as we go, I totally agree with you there. There is a lot of work to do, if we are going to have amphib ops and submarine warefare (and ASW). Adding a sub in the current theater would be great, just to show what can be done. And there should be work being done for amphib ships and operations as well. Great, let's lay the groundwork and build a foundation and get started. Just don't ask me to pay $50 for a new DCS NAVY module based in the Black Sea.

You bet -- Naval Infantry!!! That is exactly what we need -- amphib ops!!

Well, OK. I work for the largest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world, with factories in China. And sales are a helluva lot there, compared to any given Euro country, even Germany. But they are not growing like they were, they are flat. Construction projects are still going, but not like they once were. Growth there has slowed. Still growing, though, just not like it was. And let's not kid ourselves here, Chinese consumers are a big part of their economy but they are NOT fueling the economic miracle going on over there.

Soviet doctrine changed at the end, when they started the Tbilisi (now Kuznetsov). Remember the old Kiev class and Moskva class were primarily helo carriers, with an ASW focus -- well OK, the Kiev was also built to handle the Yak-38 with meant a very limited A-G force projection over the beach, to support naval infantry/amphib ops. But before the Tbilisi/Kuz, they were all about submarines, ASW and heavily armed major surface combatants, and long range bombers. Really it was a pretty radical shift in pretty long-running strategy. Personally I think it was mostly just a function of making a good old fashioned coldwar era display a national might/pride, much like their Buran space-shuttle project. Reagan had his 600 ship navy policy at the time... couldn't be outdone, now could they?

I agree with this. We are two counties at different places on developmental a bell curve. As for the amazing pace of economic growth over there, there are a few things we all need to keep in mind. First, for them to continue this miracle, they need strong markets in Europe and North America to trade with. That is why they are also FLAT right now, because our economies are down. Second, the pace of their growth is due to the fact that they were so far behind for so long, and the opening of global markets has brought in so much benefit so quickly. I am no economist, but I think it might be wrong to assume that this same tempo of growth will continue as they get closer and closer to our level of wealth.

Let's also remember that we have only DCS aircraft that you can actually purchase now and fly. So far we do have that measure of balance. And after that, the next may well be the Mig-21 .... or maybe the DCS Huey. Beyond that, folks, it is really just a lot of screenshots and discussion threads and anticipation. So who can say right now?

I think you got it straight. Should be happy, but we'll always want more... human nature, right? Personally I cannot seem to get proficient at all the neat nifty goodies that I already have. About all I can do to call up the JTAC. So I am with you.... I'll be happy as hell for a good long while, getting up a 3-4 new learning curves. Maybe by the time the Huey rolls out I'll be able to land the Ka-50.

Well I am glad to hear this. Nice to know it will go smoothly when the time comes. Eventually this day is probably coming for all of us. But not today.