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I think Afghanistan has become my new go to map! I find myself creating missions and flying missions in this map more than any of the others lately. With the correct lighting and weather setting it looks so realistic now. With a nice haze and some low lying clouds it’s just awesome to fly around. Even flying in the helicopters I like this map. Flying in some of the valley’s with mountains on each side is just incredible. I’ve made a few Mi-24P Hind missions trying to recreate the 80’s feel of the USSR up against the mujahideen And it’s quite fun and challenging. I can’t wait for some of the other outlying areas to be completed. I used to fly the Sinai map a lot but now I find the Afghanistan map the more realistic looking map. It’s come a long ways from when it was first released and it’s looking really good.

The Operation Firestorm mission seems like it would be an easy thing, Ike you mention but I still can’t get it!! My first try was really bad. I flew way too high and got dropped, as I should have!! The second I couldn’t get George to shoot on the target!! Then since he wouldn’t fire I got confused and thought maybe they were friendly and as I closed the distance I paid the price Again!!! Ughh!! I love it though!! I’ll post a Part three when I actually finish it which I’m hoping is very soon! I flew a few slots on your Rototheads Sandbox and had a lot of fun with it!! What a great idea and you put so much work into it! I looked at the mission in the ME and it blew my mind how much stuff is in there!! I did run into an issue that I wanted to ask you or point out. In the RED missions with the Mi24P Hind where you attack the Tank platoon on the front; The ground units do not shoot at each other nor did the Blue side shoot at me in the Hind, even when I flew right over them. Is that a setting I am supposed to set or choose or is that how it’s supposed to be? On other missions like in the Kiowa they definitely shot back at me! Big time!!! So I wanted to ask you about this. Thank you and thanks for making these missions, such a great idea!! I hope you make one for Afghanistan since it’s such a cool map!! This is a perfect mission idea for people who get DCS and just don’t know what to do in it or don’t want to spend the time in the ME to make a mission. This allows you to choose from a ton of different missions and it’s a lot of fun!!! Thank you again.

Hey Don, I loaded up your sandbox last night but was a little confused as to how to get the missions or what I was supposed to do once I got the plane up and flying? Do I do it all through the F10 menus or is each slot assigned a certain mission? I’m trying to use the mission and make a video for YouTube and show off how this all works. Thank you!! Oh and lastly is it okay if I change all the planes and helo’s on your other missions to Hotstart? Thank again!!! Oops after looking in the ZIP file I saw the mission PDF which makes things a littler easier to understand! I didn’t see that before. So does each mission that is assigned to a specific aircraft have all the information regarding target size, look etc in their Kneeboards or do you just wing it so to say? Sorry for all the questions. I just want to make sure I fully understand this so I don’t tell people the wrong thing on the video. I’ll probably choose a couple different aircraft to show the different mission sets. Thanks again. Oh BTW I just posted a video of your Operation Firestorm. I still haven’t beet that thing!! I made some really dumb mistakes, George refused to fire and got my rearend handed to me!! Love the mission though. Part one and Part Two are up!! Love the missions! Thank you

Okay I got this figured out. I did not know you had to purchase this separate with each module. Got it now and it works. Thanks anyways

I’m so confused!! So I purchased the NS430 module, I guess you guys call this the “base” module and I have the checkbox checked in the ME but it doesn’t show up? So in reading here do you have to purchase another Addon for the MiG29A? If so where is it? I looked under Other and in the Planes and cannot see an option to purchase this if needed. Thank you and sorry I’m not understanding this whole thing. Thank you

This map is absolutely amazing!! Great job and congrats ED and Team!! Thank you guys you’re taking this simulation to a whole new level!!

Personally I like the map. Its's early access so there are going to be issues. But even in this state of release it looks good.

I went out and purchased a 4TB just for DCS since I have all the maps and it’s over 1.5TB That’s with all the modules except for 2 of the prop planes and all the maps installed unless I got my numbers wrong. I would definitely recommend a 4TB fast NVME if you plan on getting more maps and modules. Plus I have a ton of skins and a few mods installed like the A4E and F22 etc…

Wow, I’ve never seen that before!! Does the artifact show up at different areas or is it in the same place all the time? If it doesn’t move around I wonder if you have dead pixels in the headset. Just a guess and im no expert with VR. I will fire up mine and see if I get anything. I wonder if you can roll back the drivers? Does it happen if you just use the default settings like if it was a new install? Thanks and I’ll post if I get the same on mine. If I don’t then that means im not seeing it. Sorry, wish I had better answers for you.

So having played with multiple VR headsets and the Bigscreen being one of them I have to say the Bigscreen is my favorite even with the glare issue. I find it’s the most comfortable of all of them. Now I know they are coming out with a new version which has eye tracking and some other features as well so maybe check that one out. I do not know when it’s planned to be available though. The one thing I did not like about the Bigscreen was you have to get tracking stations since it’s missing the internal cameras for that. Im not sure if the new one will include them or not. It’s not really a huge deal but still and extra expense and just one more thing you have to mess with. It is by far the most comfortable headset I have tried. I mean you can actually forget you’re wearing it. Oh and also I would recommend purchasing the audio add on for it. It makes a huge difference as well to the comfort of it. I have a Pimax Crystal as well as a HP Reverb 2 and we have a Quest 3 as well and I like the Bigscreen the most. Hope that helps.

Brothers & sisters gotta eat you know!!!

So far I am really enjoying this map. The mountainous terrain is especially well done and looks very realistic. There’s a very good sensation of speed when flying down at low level, especially when in VR. I’m getting good performance with it except for a few areas around Baghdad and thats only if I have a ton of AAA units spewing lead into the air for effect! It will be interesting to watch how this map progresses through development. I’m looking forward to seeing the more southern areas as they come online in future patches. Not looking forward to the huge flight times though to get from the Gulf all the way to Baghdad and back though I know a lot of people like this & I probably wouldn’t mind it as much if I could physically do it. But my physical limitations with my spine don’t allow me that luxury ( If you consider sitting in a seat watching the clouds go by for an hour or two before you drop your bombs or whatever floats your boat a luxury). Still it’s a great looking start and I think this map will be very popular once it’s closer to a finished product, if it already isn’t popular. These mountains & how they are made to look this way, I hope get ported over to the other maps because they look phenomenal! Well done ED!! Great stuff.

I just saw this mod and it looks great. Is it easy to install or do I need to edit LUA files which I’m not a fan of doing at all. Hopefully it’s an easy install process!

A friend of mine Awacs_Bandog has created some awesome looking Liveries for me and my YT channel. The guy is a true master at making these liveries! He took some ideas we had and turned them into art! Really awesome stuff. He started with a F16C livery with a European color scheme then made a desert one as well then did the F4E Phantom II liveries! He has some really fantastic liveries up on the DCS Files server if you’re looking for some nice liveries. I highly recommend his work!

I am looking forward to flying in Iraq! The missions that we can make will be fantastic! Maybe we’ll see some Shock and Awe from Cinematic's and ME missions people will create. Very cool. Can’t wait!

THAT is a Great idea!!! I’ve gotta set this upon VA as well. Maybe some other functions too!!

I usually do a cold start on new modules I purchase just to learn it. After that I don’t do the cold starts at all. In fact I don’t even like doing them and will vote for a Hot start any day. It’s sorta fun at first when you’re learning the jet or helo but quickly looses its appeal for me. If I want to go through procedures and Check lists I will do them at my local airport and fly for real. Then it matters and I don’t do short cuts Ever, but in DCS I just want to get in and go! DCS for me, is for relaxing and enjoying some time flying and blowing stuff up, NOT for learning procedures or pretending to be something like a fighter pilot. If you want to experience being a pilot, then become a pilot. DCS, MSFS & other sims pushed me into going after one of my dreams and that was to get my PPL. I’m glad I did and it was money well spent. So if I want to do checklist, briefing, safety checks etc., I’ll do them at the airport and Not on my PC. I will admit that MSFS was a big help in learning procedures and I could practice them before I would go fly & VR was very helpful with this as well. For example flying in controlled airspace and holding altitude or another thing i practiced was flying over Tampa Intl. since there’s a specific way to do this and I could practice that before doing it in RL the same goes for practicing maneuvers like circling around a point with crosswinds or landing with cross winds. But I do not do this in DCS! I’ll do crosswind landings and things in DCs for fun and practice bombing or dogfighting but the cold start is just a waste of time for me. I Hope that answered your question. Sorry for the long winded reply. I know first hand how some people get their feathers ruffled when people mention Hot starts or not doing things by the book.How “it’s a study sim” and stuff like that. People need to realize that people fly DCS for different reasons and use it differently than they do. Its a game or simulation game for me and I use it to relax and make content videos for YouTube, nothing else. Thanks…

Any way we can have the Launcher/ Launch Window enabled when we quit the game while playing? Instead of it just going to the desktop I think it would be nice if it went back to the Launch Window? Just asking!!

Why the negativity dude? Relax! It’s in Early Acess and you can still see all this in the Syria map! Go look at all the other additions they’ve don. I mean Jerusalem looks awesome and the new airports are great. There’s so much cool good stuff added that this shouldn’t be a concern! They’ll get it worked out! Shi&t happens. Relax and take a chill pill. Try and stay positive man these things happen, especially in Early Access! Maybe you shouldn’t purchase EA products and just wait for the release if these things upset you! Stay positive man!

Thank you for the update on this! There’s so much added to this map like Jerusalem and a TON of other things I hand t even noticed this happened. It’s not a big deal since this portion of the map is on the Syria map for now. Hopefully you guys can include it in the next update. Thank you for all the other things you’ve done to make this map totally awesome! People need to mellow out a little and stop the negativity being spread. It’s in Early Access so these things happen. Give them a break and go enjoy ALL the additional airports, oil rigs, harbors and a ton of other things!! It really is a fantastic map with so many places to see and make missions in! I was blown away when I saw what you’ve added and Jerusalem looks fantastic! So again thank you!

I think the big question you need to ask yourself is what makes you happy? If flying and getting really good at one or two modules is the answer then just focus on that. For me, it’s to have fun and not make this hobby into a virtual job or make it stressful. I don’t worry about being a master at these aircraft or worry about my kill ratio. I fly to enjoy myself, relax a little and maybe learn a few things here and there while flying them. I have enough stress in real life and I’m not looking to re-live my military years or keep a log book of how many hours per airframe I fly. I know there are people out there that like that sort of thing and thats great for them, just not for me. I don’t want to feel like I’m back in the service or be part of a squadron etc.. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt! I love being able to just hop in different airframes and helicopters and fly them in various maps or fly with a friend or two online and practice formation flight or fly a mission or two. I don’t worry if I forget how to do something because I’ll look it up later and go from there. So it just boils down to what makes you happy and what you’re looking to do or get out of the game. Also, don’t forget about using checklist. We use them in real life for a reason, because you can’t remember Everything. So make some up if you can’t find one you need. I have made so many over the years now I can usually copy and paste things in them now and then change the keybind or whatever is different.I also have gotten into making content for YouTube so I try to fly as many different airframes as I can and if I can spread some knowledge while doing so, all the better, but thats not my main focus. So it really boils down to what do you want to do in the game and what makes you happy. I mean if your not enjoying yourself or your getting stressed out over this then your probably doing something wrong. In the big scheme of things this is just a hobby and it is just a game that is meant to give you enjoyment, in my opinion. I hope that helps you a little.

So I was messing around with the sounds and my headset I'm wearing and then remembered in the settings you can select to have the engine etc. sound like if you have a flight helmet on. When I deselected that because I forgot I had this on, the sound improved quite a bit. Still on the quiet side in my opinion but it made the helo much louder and the overall sounds improve. So try that and see if it helps you at all.

FYI, I’m not complaining just stating what I have noticed. I’m sure Polychop will look into what people are saying about it. I mean they totally overhauled the Gazelle and it’s a pretty awesome module right now!

I have only flown it for a little while and I have noticed a few of the items mentioned in your post as well. The very first thing I noticed right off was it sounds like a weed whacker outside! I have never heard a helicopter sound like this before and I’ve been around helos for a very long time! I think the Gazelle sounds very good and was thinking the Kiowa would sound similar since they’re both from Polychop but nope. It just sounds off to me. Even if you compare it to actual real Kiowa video footage. The blade slap sounds okay but overall the sound is off. The only thing I can compare it to is a weak whacker. I also noticed the gun ammo not being animated but wasn’t too concerned about it. The 50 cal sounds good though! These are pretty easy things to fix though and I’m sure they’ll address them. I’ll have to spend some more time with it before I can comment on the other items though. I just haven’t been able to fly much today.

Yep sure can but i don't remember the keys. Its under pilot visor I think.