Beirut

Not trying to be (too) argumentative, but I thought the clouds were a massive! improvement. Those old cotton balls did little to make you feel like you were flying. The new clouds were astonishingly better, giving a much much better feeling of flight and ability to enjoy the sim beyond the technical/functional aspects. Excellent eye candy has a lot to do with the sim. It complements the technical fidelity of the planes. We don't want just technical fidelity with a sim that looks like it's 20 years old, nor do we want a bubble game for the brain sim where an FC3 plane is the height of its technical prowess. A good sim, certainly in 2024, shouldn't be just an intellectual exercise like playing chess. It has to have good eye candy, It has to look cool and immersive. ED had done a good job with the balance I think. And I'm all in for the new fog.

Great video. Thank you.

Any colour you like. Can't wait to fart around with the lighting and the fog and get that perfect tasty sunrise.

Don't assume my pigmentation. No. I specifically asked for a minimum of 10,000 development hours. I admit to being disappointed at the reduced workload. Notwithstanding that, I remain very pleased to see the new fog effect implemented.

I did.

Give me my F-104! Please.

The Kola map is looking great! Love seeing these updates.

Interesting viewpoint that people should be grateful when another person/party does the right thing, regardless of obligation. Not saying that as a dig at you, I'm just making the observation. Maybe these days people should be grateful. And surprised.

I'll have to take your word for it. Haven't done the MP thing in many a moon.

Perfect! Going OT I suppose, but I've heard so much of this "OMG!!! It will banana split the community!!!" thing, it just sounds like whining to me. But again, I admit my bias, guilty as charged, and all of this is neither here nor there. (That was my "like" on your post.)

I'm an SP flyer and know little about the MP environment other than I've heard sooo much complaining - not from you - about "OMG!!! It will split the community!!!" about this, that, and the other thing, that I have little patience or concern for MP needs. I'm just admitting my bias. I'm not saying you're wrong.

The South Atlantic map was a nice change of pace, of region, and of terrain. It showed an interesting new angle to the sim; an out of the box map that had several benefits, not the lest of which is many of us, I think, enjoy DCS as a flightsim and not just a combat flightsim. I don't just enjoy the Hornet because I get to blow **** up - which is admittedly very cool - but because it's the best representation of a Hornet I will ever experience in any sim. I'm sure I'm not the only one who does a lot of flying in DCS simply for the fun of flying. Also, the South Atlantic map is gorgeous and allows for some excellent flights, both combat and just for the fun of flying. I would reiterate that one of the big problems with DCS is messaging. ED does not communicate with its audience very well. While the intent is there, the end result is... mushy.

There is lots of AAA flightsim goodness in DCS. Like many others here, I've been into flightsims for over 30 years and some of what we get in DCS is in the "best-ever" category. And while it is an expensive hobby to be sure, there is also nothing else like it. And when you figure out the flight time vs. money aspect, it's not that bad at all. My total cost vs time flown amounts to well less than $1 an hour. For cutting edge flightsim high-tech goodness, I'm happy to pay that.

Keeping in mind that I know absolutely nothing about that which I speak... doesn't AI make this sort of thing easier?

I don't agree. With the likes of ORBX getting involved and Heatblur putting out ground breaking modules, things look pretty good. What is missing, I think, is some kind of goal that can be clearly defined. Even as a sandbox flightsim, there should be some kind of goal, some kind of end result that can be both expressed and understood and give the buyer something to kind of lean on. The civvy sim has that. The goal, whether actually attainable or not, is clearly expressed and easy to understand: "We'll give you the whole world and every plane that exists." Well... okay, good luck with that. But there it is. I really think it's a communication problem. If we're to wait months and years for things we pay for you be delivered in full, it would be good to have something more concrete to lean on as opposed to an ever growing list of "Buy now, wait months, wait years. Wash, rinse, repeat", with no end in sight, so to speak. As stated, it's a bit too much in the wind. Part of the story just seems to be missing.

Next Steam sale is November 27. For sure DCS stuff will be on sale as well.

For the most part I'm very happy with DCS. I am very happy to have access to a buffet of well made high-tech planes and choppers to fly and several really good maps to enjoy. Not to mention all the tech-goodies sprinkled about here and there. And the excellent free-trial system which s great! That said... Putting out the Iraq map on pre-order prior to the Afghan map getting significantly more love does legitimately raise a few eyebrows. How many jigsaw puzzle maps with months-to-come and perhaps years-to-come pieces are we going to have at once? And the "it's separate teams" doesn't mean much to me. I'm not paying separate teams - I'm paying one company. Maybe it's more a lack of clear communication and relatable goals than an actual flaw in how the maps are put out. As it is: Here's a map and the pieces of will come out separately in several months and there may be delays and... and... And here's another map and pieces of will come out separately in several months and there may be delays and... and... And here's another map and pieces of will come out separately in several months and there may be delays and... and... it's a bit too much in the wind. Maybe something more concrete would help. But I'm still very supportive of the sim, it's at least 90% of my flightsim time and dollars spent, has been for years. But communication on the part of ED hasn't always been great. I think that's a fair thing to say.

You guys are the Heatblur of maps. The real gold standard.

Defintely getting our money's worth with the Syria map.

That's some pithy wisdom right there.

And the end result of this thread and my OP post and question, I just ordered............................... a Samsung S9 Tablet. Arrives tomorrow. I'm going to be happy and continue to enjoy the sweet 27" 1440p LG Ultragear monitor I have. Maybe a new rig and screen next year. Thanks for all the input. Turned out to be a vibrant discussion.

I love the F-15E, and I can live with it staying as is, but not becoming less than it is. That would be a bummer.

Exactly. For example, I agree with you that the Syria map is excellent, one of the best if not the best put together and great updates, but it's not in my Top 3. Not sure how hot and heavy I am for Iraq. I found Afghanistan kind of meh! and I'm guessing Iraq might be more of the same. Curious to see how good the textures are.

We're perhaps way OT here, but I think the Kola map is very good and ORBX has delivered some quality updates. And I'm sure there will be more. I really enjoy the Kola map.

Turns out it was a mod that I didn't realize was a mod. "English gray cockpit" for the SU-33. I thought it was an in-game option. Possible I loaded it up years ago. I guess one of the last updates fried the mirrors in that mod. Thank you again for taking the time with all this.