telepathiclove

I chose the second one down, even although my English is purfekt :)

If the English version is nearly done, I'm surprised there couldn't just just be a digital download version of that without all the other languages. It is the most widely spoken language in the world after all (I think)

I think it's you with the problem, because you completely misunderstood the entire point of that post.

Them and me both lol :) Although after reading a bit about the Black Shark, I'm just as excited about flying that.

Yeah they probably don't have sim sections. There are still some good sims around though that seem to kind of fly the flag for simmers. IL2 seems really popular, and of course, LOMAC :) And that link above shows about 5 or so due next year. As far as I know though, there aren't any chopper sims besides BS, so this DCS thing really has it's own little niche :) I think what they are doing by making it more of a base to build on and add new flyables/usables is something that really lets it stand out too. I hope they really hype it to all the gaming sites/mags, because I think it is definitely worthy of it. I think most gamers would be really interested if they saw the movies and knew what it was all about.

I don't see why not. I don't actually buy magazines any more, I just do everything online now, but I've seen flight sims mentioned on the big online gaming websites. They maybe skip any smaller ones, but the few big ones that come out from time to time get a review. p.s. One of my favourite gaming pages on the web, is a list of big exciting games due each year. (At the top right is hyperlinks to each year). If I remember right, there are 4 or more really nice looking flight sims mentioned in the 2009 page: http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/games-of-2009/ p.p.s. Also in case anyone is interested, there is a game called Tom Clancy's HAWX which is an action flight sim due. It looks really stupid to me (it has a ridiculous Ye Haw! movie trailer), but it's interesting to see a big company and a big name having a go in the flight sim market. Although that is an action game and not a sim.

Ok, thanks for the fast and honest answer. I wouldn't want to spoil the experience, so I'll just wait for 2009. There are some other good games due this year so I'm sure I can keep myself occupied :)

Sacred 2 had a last minute delay. Read their official website. http://www.sacred2.com/en/news/show/detail/Release_Date_Update.html The Eurogamer page is more reliable than Wikipedia. The dates are constantly being updated, hence the up and down arrows next to everything, so that's why a lot of people use it as a reliable little guide for planning future purchases. I should hope so too! Flight Sims used to be the bread and butter of PC gamers. Now it seems they are being forgotten in favour of RTS's, RPG's, FPS's, etc. I'd love to see that change :)

Ouch, this is a huge disappointment I have to say, and very unexpected when I think of how quickly the multi language version of Stalker was released after the Russian release. I was hoping for a similar kind of time frame. Given that 2009 seems like an eternity, would anyone be able to say whether the downloadable Russian version could be played by a none Russian speaking person? If a kind Russian speaker could post a translated version of some of the important menu buttons for example, would we be able to do some missions? If so I would consider getting the Russian version to tide me over until 2009.

I'm not sure if this is a job for the ED staff or one of you fans perhaps, but I think it would a big help if the game had some presence at Eurogamer. I suspect that ED plan on doing some promotion now that it is nearer release, and no doubt the game needs to be talked about on all the gaming websites. But there is a release dates page at Eurogamer where many people track various games for years. But Black Shark doesn't even have a spot on the list at all. http://www.eurogamer.net/releases.php So I wonder if an email to Eurogamer could get the game added to the list, and hopefully the link can explain a few things about the game. That site also has Eurogamer TV which has movies of games, and if Black Shark could get some movies in there, I think that would really help too. I would try to get the game in there myself but I'm super busy at the moment.

Yeah I think the engine isn't too great. I remember when I cranked the settings and ran it with a quad core and an 8800GTX and hoped it would be perfect and it just wasn't. Which made me think the engine is a bit messy. I think they will get it right with DCS though. Someone says in the wishlist that they plan to upgrade the engine in the future, so I bet it will be really good then.

They aren't official, the offical ones will probably be similar but will include "AMD equivalent" or something. And if not, you can safely assume that anyway. The only thing I doubt (and hope) is that the CPU recommendation isn't that high. A 3ghz dual or quad core is cutting out a lot of people. Even a Q6600 is only 2.4ghz. I would guess that the recommended specs will say 2.4ghz. I can imagine the game being very CPU intensive though so, who knows. Most sims are incredibly CPU intensive.

Finally! It's about time! I am glad because although it was a long wait, I think it has probably been long enough that they will manage to get a solid game out and it won't be full of bugs. Hopefully. Seems like a good amount of time. I did wonder how much longer it was going to take, because after looking at all the media recently, it looked pretty finished. I hope the various localisation can be done pretty fast.

Yeah I really hope a lot of the graphics get updated. Even if it has to come in a patch after release, I would really like to see it. The explosions and the smoke in the DCS Black Shark movies, all seem to look the same as they did in Lock On in 2003. It's not something I would like to see the game delayed to address, but I would love to see it eventually. Smoke effects in games have really improved recently. In World In Conflict, there are smoke effects that are only available with DX10. Even in DX9 it looks good too though. The smoke rolls around and forms into mushroom shaped clouds just like real smoke. It looks great.

Did anyone mention the Lynx? Isn't that the fastest chopper? My favourite would be the Comanche probably. Although I know nothing about choppers. I just know I had a lot of fun flying the Comanche in Gunship 2000, once you unlocked it. :) To this day, my favourite flight sim or chopper sim.

1) Not sure if this has already been announced or what, but something I would really want, would be an arcade style HUD option. Where it removes the cockpit, and just superimposes some basic HUD elements on the screen so you can see out of the front nice and clear, and yet there is enough info to keep you comfortably flying. Ideally, I would like it all done really tidy and neat, even if it was unrealistic. Something like this for example: 2) I also would love there to be plenty of ships to blow up. I always thought it was very satisfying to see a big slow ship bobbing up and down in the ocean, and I launch my hellfire or harpoon missile or whatever, and it blows open a massive hole in the side of the ship and the ship rolls over in the ocean and sinks on its side, and I can see smoke pouring into the sky from miles away, and then it sinks. 2.5) I really would like there to be a specific key for following my missiles/bomb. Not like LockOn where it automatically forces you to follow the missile or not. So instead I could fire a missile at a tank, and watch it out my cockpit disappearing into the distance. And then a few moments later, I can hit F9 or something and switch to a missile view and watch just as it ploughs into the side of the tank. Then I can hit F1 again and go straight back to the cockpit. 3) I also hope there can be lots of hills and mountains in some locations. So I can be a bit gung ho and if anyone fires a missile at me, I can nip behind a hill and then wait for it to pass, and then pop around the other side and blow up a few things. Like peek-a-boo with a hill. 4) Interesting, fun and exciting missions: Things like blowing up a power station. Or blowing up a bridge to stop enemies from crossing it. Blowing up a moving limousine. Blowing up a church that was housing terrorists or a military leader. 5) I hope there is a lot of customisation with the game rules. So I could have an arcade mode so I don't have to find switches in the cockpit. I would want T or TAB to go through targets on my screen, then space bar to fire my cannon, and Enter/Return to fire my missiles/bombs. But at the same time I would still like there to be some realism with the way the chopper handles, and I would want to take realistic damage etc. So in other words, I hope there is not just an Arcade Mode and a Simulation Mode with not much freedom in between. 6) Related to number 4 above. I really hope there is some 'game' amongst all this super simulation realism. I love games like Apache/Havoc or Falcon3?, where it would have a dynamic campaign and if I went on a mission and destroyed everything like a hero, then came back and refuelled and then went back out and cleaned up any fleeing enemies.. I really want to come home and get a medal, have a little ceremony or something, and then that affects the remainder of the campaign in some way. Perhaps the allies would have more land and I would have access to an extra FARP on the front lines or something. I basically just would really like it to be a bit more of a game type experience where I play the role of a hero pilot. Not just a simulation where you have an objective to blow up a SAM and you either succeed or fail. 7) I would love at some point there to be an area with a big valley like the Grand Canyon, and I have to chase a chopper down it. High speed, turning through the twisty canyon firing my missiles and cannon. I love interesting geographical locations. An allied base surrounded by hills and mountains that looks nice and safe, and yet right on the other side of the hill is an enemy base, etc. Although I think Lock On had some nice locations like that, so hopefully this game will too.

Water cooling can make a huge difference to temperatures, but it isn't necessary unless you do big overclocks, and volume wouldn't be a reason to get watercooling either. As for the case, why a case with 6 fans? Just two is enough if it's all done well, with 120mm fans. Then put a pair of yate loons or sharkoon fans in there. Then you can get a good heatsink&fan for your CPU and with the right PSU, you can have a very quiet and cool PC.

These screenshots are looking really good now. I was concerned once whether the game would look good, but I'm not concerned anymore :) I think it's going to look great.

You should add a sticky called "Release Date" in my opinion. You'll still get people asking, but it will happen less. The release date (or year) is not easy to find compared to just making a new post. Whenever that happens on a game forum, there are a billion posts a day asking about it :P The only way to help is to have a sticky saying release date, and explaining in 1 sentence or less what the date is, then lock it.

:clown::laugh::clown::laugh::clown::laugh: Seriously though, you could ask an air force. Pick a country and contact their air force and say you are a big serious computer game developer and if any of their pilots want to be immortalised forever in the best game ever, then send their pics :) I think people would. If the worst comes to the worst, just photograph a bunch of staff :P

Sorry for the late reply, I've had internet problems. I just wanted to say thanks for the replies, especially EvilBivol-1, there was a lot of information in there to get me excited. The game sounds really promising, I can't wait to play it! My friend and I grew up playing flight sims, and we've been waiting for a good chopper sim. So we can't wait to buy it as soon as it's ready. Good luck. p.s. LOL at the women thing! I only wish I could control the women in my life with commands.. When she goes shopping for junk I could do a CTRL-R for her to return to base ;P ---------------------------------------edit-------------------------------------- WOW, now THAT'S what I'm talking about!!!! http://sim-mod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=365&sid=b19d1828c754f233f645756dbd2d629d Those graphics are really starting to look a lot better! The grass texture makes a big difference, much improved. Thanks a lot for the links, that really has me excited now!! Keep up the good work.

I've had a look around but was hoping someone might help me with questions: 1) Is there a collection of movies anywhere? I am hoping for new ones, not ones that were made in 2007. I'm also hoping for higher quality than youtube movies. YouTube movies are so small and low res and blurry. A lot of games release big HD quality movies, almost full screen, so I am hoping to see some like that. Surely it's not still too early? Surely the graphics are mostly done and all that is left is fine tuning the game at this point? 2) How come people say that performance wise, it will be similar to Flaming Cliffs, and yet in the FAQ it says, "Twice the ground detail of previous TFC/Eagle Dynamics simulations"? Is the programming just a bit tighter this time around? Or will the game be a bit more demanding than the likes of Flaming Cliffs? (I'm hoping it is... because my PC is about 10 times more powerful than it was when I played Lock On). 3) Will there be an open beta? How many none paid external testers are in Beta at the moment? Several? Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? 4) The FAQ mentions it is a sim and also suitable for casual players. How casual? Will it be able to be set up in such a way that someone who never plays sims can just jump in the chopper and fly around blowing stuff up? Like Comanche 4 for example. 5) I'm a little concerned about the close up ground textures. After looking at the recent screenshots on the main website, the sky, the choppers and planes, and all the vehicles, all look really very high quality. Also some of the areal views of the landscape looks REALLY great and I am really happy about that. But when you get down low to the ground, a lot of the ground textures are very blurry when quite close up. That's forgiveable in a jet sim because you spend such little time down that low, but in a chopper sim, couldn't those low altitude grass textures be tidied up a bit? Perhaps there are some more recent screenshots that might change my mind? NOTE: I know why it can't all look perfect, but I personally would rather lower some of the details on the vehicles and increase the quality of the ground textures. Currently it looks maybe a bit imbalanced seeing as the vehicles are super detailed and look almost photo realistic with a billion polygons, but some of the up close ground textures look a bit finger painted. 6) Will people be able to make missions and campaigns and then share them with other people on the internet? 7) Will there be wingmen/women and will we be able to give them orders? If so, will we also be able to plot their course while in flight? 8.) Will there be medals and promotions? If so, will they have any effect on gameplay at all? 9.) Are there any other features that sound cool that anyone can tell me about? The FAQ is very tight lipped, and information is sparse. Can anyone hype me up? :P Thanks =)

I suppose I'm one of the new people. One of the reasons is because like somebody said, there aren't any helicopter sims. I used to own Enemy Engaged and I tried the sequel and I found it to be aweful. I really enjoyed Commanche 4, but its old now, so it looks primitive graphically. But it was also a little bit too simple for me. I really like simple, arcadey flight sims as much as the very realistic ones, but I think Commanche 4 was just a bit TOO far in the arcade direction. It was more like playing first person shooter. My main gripe with the Commanche games too, is that they never seem to have many missions, and once those missions are complete... there isn't much playability left in the game. And usually, I can complete all the missions in a week or so. So yeah, Black Shark is out there on its own with no competition. It also looks really great :) The movies are really impressive. I am also a fan of Lock On itself though too.

Thanks guys :) And yeah, I think arcadey stuff might be a bit too much to ask from a sim. Especially seeing as its a very high tech and realistic simulation. As for the wingmen, I doubt I'll get that too, but... if there is a good mission planner, then maybe I can start using that. It's maybe not as cool as controlling wingmen on the fly, but it would be nice for me to make entire missions :) I'm really excited about this game :)

Hello everyone, I am new here. I am just a casual flight sim player, but I do really enjoy them. I am really excited about this game, because a good helicopter sim is rare. Anyway, I'll make this brief. I have seen people talking about what they would like, and I would like all those things too :) One person typed an ideal feature list, as though it came from the game. It said things like, "Improved the AI", "Improved ground textures", etc... and all those things I would love to see! But there are also a few features that I would really like, that might not be high on everybody's list. They sound a bit silly, but they mean a lot to me. My favourite helicopter sim, was a game called Gunship 2000, released a LONG time ago. Here are a couple of things I would LOVE to see, which that game tought me to really appreciate: 1) When you do very well on a mission, you are rewarded with a service medal, and some music and a small movie plays. They make it seem like a little ceremony in your honour :) But also, as you continue to play the game, there is a proper ranking system, and you gain ranks as you are promoted. You start as Second Lieutenant, and feel a bit like cannon fodder. But eventually you become 1st Lietenant, and then up to Captain and then Major, and then Brigadeer General! Etc... When you got a promotion, music would play, (trumpets etc..) and you would see the American flag being waved, etc... and it all felt like it was a ceremony just for you :) I know its not real... but yet, I really loved it for some reason. My friend and I used to play the game, and the next day at school, we would tell each other our stories about it :) "Hey, I got promoted last night!!! I flew a really amazing mission and completed both objectives, and managed to bring my badly damaged chopper back in one piece! They upgraded me to Captain!!!!! And I got a Gold Cross and Purple Heart!!!!!!!". :) Its silly I know.... but as kids, we loved it. It made the game feel more like a real "game" than, just a flight sim where your only achievements are quietly added to your profile page. 2) The best part about the game is this..... Once you reached a certain rank, you where allowed to become a Wing Commander, and control a squadron of helicopters. So you would set off on your mission as usual, but this time, you could open your real time map page, and you had a few wing men to control. You could plot waypoints for them and give them real time orders! (At the time, this game was amazing...). Anyway, the best part about it, was using the sight on the top of the Apatche Longbow. You could approach a mountain, and then peek over the top of it using the sight no the top of of the chopper (like a periscope). Then, you could coordinate an attack with your wingmates! It was great. You could send two guys around the left of the mountain, and two guys around the right of the mountain, and then you could go right over the top... A moment later, the enemy would be attacked from all angles and had no chance :) It was amazing. And what is best, is that I often completed the "Primary Objective" but was heavily injured and had to limp back to base. But instead of only a partial victory, I could instruct my team to complete the "Secondary Objective" without me. They usually would succeed, and then I would reap the rewards :) The icing on the cake, was that you got to promote your wing men! And give out medals! Again, as a kid, it was amazing and made you feel responsible for their well being :P But it was also quite tactical, because you could promote a few of your favourite pilots so that you had a pair of Captains or even Majors in your crew, to help you out on missions. When they got that high in rank, you could even just send them off to complete the Secondary Objective on their own, and they would usually complete it without taking any damage. 3) Camera views: Again, in Gunship 2000, it had some very impressive camera controls for an old game. One of favourites, was a view from the enemy unit. So you could just press F9 (I think), and it let you view the tank. You could then fire a missile, and while looking at the tank, you could see a trail of smoke in the distance... then a few seconds later, you would see the missile incoming VERY fast, and then BOOM! What reminded me of this, is watching your newer Black Shark movie on YouTube. It makes me think that you will have some very advanced views in Black Shark! And I am really excited about that. One of them was so good... that you could actually see a man with a surface to air missile. Anyway, I really hope you can allow us to use these views as we please. I think LOMAC had a lot of freedom with the views, so I am assuming this will be good too. But anyway, I just wanted to say that I REALLY appreciate being able to look at the unit I am targetted, and then pan the camera around, so that I can see my chopper in the distance. If these views can be easy to access by just pressing the appropriate function key, it can give a game a much more exciting feel, and makes it almost cinematic. 4) Lastly, I bought Lock On, but I have been waiting to buy Flaming Cliffs for a long time. I could just buy it I suppose, but really, I am hoping that with Black Shark, you might be able to release a box set or gold/platinum edition, or something like that? So for just one price, I can buy all of the games in one guy? (Lock On, Flaming Cliffs, and Black Shark - all together in one pack). Otherwise, I will have to buy Flaming Cliffs and Black Shark separate. Not the end of the world.... but if there was a nice deal to get both (or all 3 including the original), I would really like that. Thanks! Good luck with this game. It looks very advanced, and very impressive, but also very fun :)