fearlessfrog

Well, since this is chit chat.. How about DCS Module Maker Module? A dynamic new module making simulator, where you get to design and code a DCS module. You get to make exciting gameplay decisions like 'do I start with a SFM or shall I commit to a PFM?', plus dramatic sub-plots involving 'I saw the discovery channel F-22 documentary, so that's good enough for advanced systems modelling!'. Actually, that reminds me (OT of course) of a funny meta-game story. The makers of the game 'Game Dev Tycoon' put in some custom piracy protection, in that the DRM would detect that the game was ripped-off but then not inform the player. The aim of the game was to 'make money in a video game' so of course the DRM subtly altered the gameplay so that you couldn't progress over a certain level - with the reason being your title was being pirated. What made it funnier was that people would write into their forums and say 'hey, this is too hard - my game never makes money and I can't make it to the next level!', and the devs would respond 'yep, we know.'. So eventually the people that pirated it (again, they didn't know the DRM had detected they had) then started to ask 'To get around this 'loss of income due to piracy problem in the game, can we add some sort of DRM as an option?'. :D

DCS: Flaming Cliffs 3 is now in the Steam top 10 sellers list! Congrats to all at ED :D (For those not that familiar with Steam, it's a big deal and hopefully funds a lot of future buttons/switches for us all).

Very, very nice manual. Don't forget to update the Steam build and manual link, as that will help with load :D

Kocyra, You can have both DCS World versions installed if you have the space, although people don't tend to, as the stand-alone version accepts keys from either version. Both versions use the same underlying activation, so you don't lose activations or need to reactive. There's a FAQ here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=113587 Kayos - in the past there was a bit of an advantage to the download times when things were busy, as Valves content network is slightly larger than EDs. Nowadays it's fine though.

Peo - I didn't intend to imply blame, just wanted to give some info :) As for a preference, if the stand-alone works well for you then it's probably (in my opinion) the most future-proof one to use. Steam brings in lots of new (and sometimes more casual) DCS World players, but modules are released here first and the ED store has shown no signs of going anywhere. Even if it did, it would be fairly impossible to imagine a scenario where wherever it headed wouldn't provide a transition/import path. People that use the stand-alone version can still take advantage of Steam sales etc (the ED keys will work with ED always). Hope that helps. PS I don't speak for ED, so just an opinion, but you can imagine Valve not being happy by someone official from ED coming in here and saying 'please don't buy from Steam' as that would break the T&C's ED signed to have the Steam store listings.

Info here, as this comes up a fair bit in my neck of the woods: http://steamcommunity.com/app/223750/discussions/0/616187203904096877/#c616187204013959354

It's for the upcoming Steam Halloween Sale! :) Seriously though, it's a technique to improve animation framing for things like people (think better infantry animation etc)

It ran for a bit: http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/news/dcs_summer_sale_2014/

Sorry nhowell01, but that's a bit overdramatic. While it is no fun to wait, and bugs are frustrating, a DCS major platform update and new graphic engine is a huge deal for a small team. If the team just fixed other stuff, but not planned for bigger future changes, then they'd probably be even more complaints the other way.

Well, in Steam the next seasonal one up is the Halloween Sale, although not all publishers opt into that (being that a Digital Battlefield isn't that ghosty/ghouly I guess). After that, the big Winter one (Dec 18th ish). As for the other 'surprise sales' either as weekend specials or daily deals, well (and there is no way to say this without sounding a bit of a jerk) - they are a surprise, so giving advance warning isn't allowed! :)

Really nice overview, and thanks for including the setup part as that gets a lot of questions.

outlawal2 has it right. Steam is both a shop and a platform with 7 million daily users. ED just uses Steam like a shop, as they've already duplicated all the other bits themselves, so don't really get the savings/value of Steamworks. A lot of other dev shops don't want to deal with DRM, currencies, download surges etc. both in terms of operations costs and constant dev effort. ED pays their 'steam tax' just for the new eyeballs part, when it's really meant for the platform parts. The thing to remember is that Steam is the 'Walmart' of PC gaming (if Walmart had 92% of the entire US grocery market). To ignore it is fun for the 'hardcore' but ridiculous from a business standpoint. If Steam brings in new DCS players then that's good for DCS right? The fan-base might just tolerate it ("I'd never go in Walmart, I get all my organic from road-side stalls!") but if used correctly might just pay for keeping the lights on. You get the impression there is some snobbery and elitism, and some desire for exclusively being that 'organic road-side stall' while in the same breath complaining why things always take so long with a (relatively, industry speaking) tiny team/budget. Wanting it both ways maybe..

Wags statement here - by the looks of it the files haven't been uploaded to the Depot and associated with the key: http://steamcommunity.com/app/223750/discussions/0/35221031836066115/#c35221031839337323 The end of that thread also has a temporary workaround to get you flying.

It just changed to Oct 1st. Stop looking everyone, you're making it later! :)

To be honest, I'll probably need till then to get through the backlog of things I still need to do with the Dora and the Sabre. The 10% launch discount on Steam was nice too. Thinking about it, we're in a DCS module post-scarcity times - wow. I literally don't have enough time to play all that's been released. Slow down DCS, slow down! ;)

http://store.steampowered.com/app/316964/ Beautiful video!

Thanks - my kids are older so we do the 'generation shuffle' at upgrade time and the youngest gets the worse bits. I got the newer i5 and a Z97X motherboard for $380 and the R9 for about the same, so I've had worse wallet dents :) One thing I didn't expect is that with a higher consistent framerate then things are certainly much easier to fly. Just tried the Huey and the Mustang and although more of a framerate hit than the sabre in air (~60fps in airports) it seemed a huge improvement of the 'feel' of controlled flight.

I just updated some hardware due to one of my kids PC's needing to be upgraded, and just tried the AMD 14.7 beta drivers - and I'm pretty pleased. 1080p, everything High, HDR, i5 4690k@4.5 on water cooling, R9 290 4GB, SSD. Took a run in the Sabre and couldn't get a FPS less than 80FPS (even 100ft through airports, cities). Bring on EDGE I guess, but really happy with how DCS is performing on this hardware combo.

I bought the F-86F on Steam about an hour ago and it works great, if that helps. The 'unknown app' image is a missing thumbnail of the package files I think, and doesn't impact anything about DCS World or the lovely Sabre. EDIT: The link in the RSS is incorrect, i.e. 'app/0' and you are right that the Sabre is missing in the DLC list from the main DCS World entry. You can use this direct page link to view/buy and it works ok: http://store.steampowered.com/app/306240/

Now available to buy on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/306240/ A nice 10% off till August 15th too!

First cold start, take off and then landing - my story. Cold Start: I settled into the cockpit, got the TrackIR comfy and looked around. Nice! Smacked my head immediately on the 'bar' leaning in. Push, pulled, tweaked and twerked the starter bar. Counted to '25' really quickly in about 3 seconds and watched the prop not turn. Discovered the starting position of the throttle and the fuel lever. Forgot the oxygen and started to hallucinate about color coded dials and german engineering. Taxi: Like a drunken salmon leaping home after closing time, I zig-zagged down the taxi-way like a gyro escaping its case. I bounced from taxi-light to parked aircraft while jabbing the toe brakes like a man learning to tap-dance with clown shoes. I finally settled at the end of runway 27, facing due north - the canopy still half-open and one of the wing-tips slightly bent. Take-off: I majestically rolled out down the concrete, the grass, the concrete, the grass and then settled for a combination of the two. My yaw had more curves than Marilyn Monroe's plumper sister, as I wrestled the stick, rudder and brakes like a man possessed. At about 40 kph too soon I was airborne, registering about fifteen touch-and-gos fees for one take-off. Cruise: I did not explode after 30 seconds, so I've beaten my record in the the Mustang. Landing: Coming in at an overly excited 300 kph, I squinted for the wee switch for the flaps while shouting at the Dora to slow down. As Batumi hurtled towards me I kept pressing the vertical trim tiny switch with all my might, in a vain attempt to settle in. I half expected a cuckcoo clock bird to spring from the bar with a note saying 'ha ha - signed, vertical trim designer'. My gear came down in vaguely straight lines. I stalled about 1 nm before threshold, the FFB stick jumping in my hands at 190 kph. I switched on the master arm lights, as their glow was strangely comforting. I landed. Then I landed some more. It's all a blur really. Batumi called me for parking, of which I took as either sarcasm or contempt for all the bits I just left on their runway. I stabbed at the wheel brakes randomly, and in a final flourish of ineptitude managed to clip a passing aircraft on taxi. Not too bad.

Actual info here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/223750/discussions/0/38596747699779035/#c38596748238233959

In the locked, stickied News Thread? How?

Oops, forgot to update the news thread - thanks, done now. http://steamcommunity.com/app/223750/discussions/0/864975632502624100/

ED are doing great I think, in that the DCS World/modules split was a really nice direction - plus with the 2.0 map modules upcoming, partners gearing up etc is a really exciting time for sim fans. The Steam model isn't all sunshine and daisies as the fit with what Valve thinks of as 'DLC' is awkward for a title like DCS - what would normally be considered major content doesn't get the store time as just 'DLC'. Valve and the 'green light' cluster have also made a crowded store get worse. There's a major store redesign coming up, but it's long overdue. I just wanted to stress that my comments/info was just more about just getting as many people as possible to buy ED stuff, as that way we all get more toys. :)