Announcement - new A-10C DLC training campaign

[baltic_dragon]

Hi baltic_dragon,

 

 

your project sounds really nice. Maybe it's better to spilt the campaign in two parts with 10 missions each. So you can release the first part earlier. We can play the first missions and you earn some money.

Just my 50ct. :smilewink:

 

 

Regards

Kal

 

OK guys, good news - we had another chat and that's what we're planning to do, which should cut the waiting process considerably - we have missions 1-4 and 7 ready, M5 in the making, so not much to go for the first 10 :) later on I'll check what exactly will be included in the first part and what will be left for the second.

[BuzzU]

Good deal. I need to wash my A-10C. It's gotten kind of dusty lately.

 

 

btw....Hurry up! :D

[tintifaxl]

I think that is a very good idea.

[sc_neo]

I'd rather wait and have the full campaign in one piece...mainly because; as things progress and are being worked on, often workflows develop and the way things are being done and implemented imrpove as well. But i am sure you two have given this a lot of thought and have made the best decision for yourself and the project. And yeah...once the first half is out it you can take a breather! Though, i am not sure whether people lay off after that cause once they have tasted from the cookie jar they sure as hell will be hungry for more. Maybe it will be kinda like the whining that often goes on if a module stays in early access for extended periods of time.

[tintifaxl]

I would suggest to sell the two parts of the campaign separately. That way you don’t have any pressure to finish the second part.

[baltic_dragon]

I'd rather wait and have the full campaign in one piece...mainly because; as things progress and are being worked on, often workflows develop and the way things are being done and implemented imrpove as well. But i am sure you two have given this a lot of thought and have made the best decision for yourself and the project. And yeah...once the first half is out it you can take a breather! Though, i am not sure whether people lay off after that cause once they have tasted from the cookie jar they sure as hell will be hungry for more. Maybe it will be kinda like the whining that often goes on if a module stays in early access for extended periods of time.

 

Well, we are aware of all that.. but it seems here is a popular demand for having the first 10 missions rather sooner than waiting for the whole thing for another year or so. There is also an added value that we will get user feedback which we can then incorporate into the second part and when merging both into one, also upgrade the first. So it should be a win-win for everyone.

 

And mind you, if flown properly with all the preparation, studying materials etc these first 10 missions should easily give you between 20-25 hours of fly time...

[BuzzU]

Not sure win-win is a good way to put it. Let's look at it.

 

If you wait until it's completely done it will take a year. During that time anybody who's interested in it will learn the plane through the standard way of doing it.

 

Instead, you release half of it soon. Those who buy it will do the 10 missions in let's say a month. Some will do it faster and maybe some slower but even if it took two months for the slow ones. What do they do then? They've learned half the plane. Now they have to wait 11 months to do the other half?

 

The problem is it's a training campaign. It needs to be done all at once. Otherwise, those who buy the first half will find another way to learn the rest of the plane and never buy the last half.

 

I'm interested to see how this plays out.

[sze5003]

Yea since it's a training campaigns it's meant to be sequential and pick up one mission after another. Some parts will be longer than others. I know people want something to fly now but having it all out at once makes more sense. The amount of work and detail that has gone into this a10 training campaign is superb from what I've tested a while back. Those of you that want something to go through now try out the mirage red flag campaign it's very interactive and a good addition to the main mirage campaign.

[sobe]

One of the benefits of doing the full campaign in two parts is that DCS is constantly changing the ME and as a result, these changes tend to break campaigns. By waiting till you do 20 missions, I am sure that the early missions may have problems as a result of changes.

 

By getting the early missions out the door, at least they will work for a time.

[MrDieing]

While I understand the desire of people to get half the campaign early, I believe it gives more trouble then you gain from it. Not only by reasons mentioned above about it being a training campaign etc. but also with payment, having additional pressure to finish the other half. I just cant see the benefits from this and its only the impatience of people that you are hearing here.

[Bullit0365]

Releasing the campaign in two halves is ideal for reasons Baltic Dragon has highlighted..

By the time I get through 10 missions having played them slowly and diligently it will probably be about time to look at the second half of the campaign by the time it will be released. I am In.

 

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[BuzzU]

It's going to take you a year to do 10 missions?

[sze5003]

Releasing the campaign in two halves is ideal for reasons Baltic Dragon has highlighted..

By the time I get through 10 missions having played them slowly and diligently it will probably be about time to look at the second half of the campaign by the time it will be released. I am In.

 

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

Thing is the missions are super complex and flow off one another. It will probably require a bit more work to release half of them and disconnect the training flow to make it a smooth transition.

It's going to take you a year to do 10 missions?

They aren't simple missions they are interactive and depending on your input and several other triggers being done correctly, with real voice overs.

 

Whichever they decide to do I'm fine with it. But I think completing it and then releasing it feel like the right thing to do not just do it now quickly because people are impatient.

[BuzzU]

I want to concentrate on the A-10C from now on. So, i'll buy the first 10 missions. I think it's doubtful i'll buy the last 10 though. I will have learned to plane by then and will be doing the Maple qualifying campaigns.

 

If they wait to do them all i'll be into the Maple campaigns and won't buy any of them.

 

I'm not the best customer unless they were all available now. I have a lot of time to train and waiting is not something I can do. If they can get the first 10 out soon i'll get them. Otherwise, i'll just use the old way to learn the plane.

[BitMaster]

One of the benefits of doing the full campaign in two parts is that DCS is constantly changing the ME and as a result, these changes tend to break campaigns. By waiting till you do 20 missions, I am sure that the early missions may have problems as a result of changes.

 

By getting the early missions out the door, at least they will work for a time.

 

 

 

 

This is one of the reasons I dont buy any offline content with DCS and it's current Patch strategy. What works now might not work tomorrow and the least I want to encounter is that mission 10 of 10 bugs and CTD's etc.

 

 

Anyway, I am an MP player as long as there is no dynamic engine and no stability in a sense that makes it more predictable.

 

 

 

 

**oops Post #5k tempus fugit

[sze5003]

I want to concentrate on the A-10C from now on. So, i'll buy the first 10 missions. I think it's doubtful i'll buy the last 10 though. I will have learned to plane by then and will be doing the Maple qualifying campaigns.

 

If they wait to do them all i'll be into the Maple campaigns and won't buy any of them.

 

I'm not the best customer unless they were all available now. I have a lot of time to train and waiting is not something I can do. If they can get the first 10 out soon i'll get them. Otherwise, i'll just use the old way to learn the plane.

I have all the A10 maple flag campaigns. I passed all of them except the tactical one. I think I'm on mission 23 of the tactical one and got stuck for good.

 

The maple flag missions are not training at all. They are qualification exams. I did run into some issues with them. But without someone else youtubing their journey through them I would not have known the criteria for passing them. Unfortunately that person did not complete them all either.

[BuzzU]

Yes, I know what they are. I'll do them after doing the training missions and read the manual etc.

[BLMOA]

Was this ever completed?

[Yurgon]

Was this ever completed?

 

You mean during the 5 days since Baltic Dragon's last reply? I'm sure you'd be the first to know. :music_whistling: :thumbup:

[baltic_dragon]

It's going to take you a year to do 10 missions?

 

Yes. On top of normal work which is very demanding and family life with three little kids building a campaign like this one is very difficult. There are more than 300 VOs for each mission. writing the script itself, checking with real life pilots that what we want to teach makes sense in real life, then checking if all we want to do can be shown in game, then waiting for the VOs to be recorded, then adding filters to all of them, then making sure that the text matches the VOs (as voice actors, being native speakers often update the script), finally adding all that to the mission plus thousands of other triggers, testing it over and over again and preparing 10-15 pages of documents and briefings - it takes a lot of time. I am not complaining, just trying to give you the picture that it is not as straightforward as it may seem...

 

Now I still prefer to give the players option to try first 10 missions. If they don’t like it they don’t have to buy the other half. But my feeling is that they will like it - those who tested what we already have are all A-10C veterans and everyone said they have learned something new in each mission they tried.

[BuzzU]

Yes. On top of normal work which is very demanding and family life with three little kids building a campaign like this one is very difficult. There are more than 300 VOs for each mission. writing the script itself, checking with real life pilots that what we want to teach makes sense in real life, then checking if all we want to do can be shown in game, then waiting for the VOs to be recorded, then adding filters to all of them, then making sure that the text matches the VOs (as voice actors, being native speakers often update the script), finally adding all that to the mission plus thousands of other triggers, testing it over and over again and preparing 10-15 pages of documents and briefings - it takes a lot of time. I am not complaining, just trying to give you the picture that it is not as straightforward as it may seem...

 

Now I still prefer to give the players option to try first 10 missions. If they don’t like it they don’t have to buy the other half. But my feeling is that they will like it - those who tested what we already have are all A-10C veterans and everyone said they have learned something new in each mission they tried.

 

My post was directed at Bullit0365. I was surprised he was going to take a year to complete the first 10 missions. Maybe he wasn't aware how long it would take to get the last 10 missions?

 

 

Here's my dilemma. I already know how to fly and operate the A-10c. However, i'd still like to do your missions and learn it right. Then go on to do the Maple Flag qualifying Campaigns.

 

If you release the first 10 missions now or soon. I'll buy them. I have a lot of time to train and let's say it takes me a month to finish them if I go slowly. What do I do then? Keeping in mind I want to go on and do the Maple Flag Campaigns and maybe join a top squad like the 476th. Waiting for the last 10 missions puts a crimp in my plans.

 

I know it's not your fault. It's a big project and takes time. I don't know if buying the first 10 missions is the best move for me. Maybe I should just continue to learn the F/A-18 and wait until you have all the missions done and then go ahead with my A-10c plans.

[tintifaxl]

... Waiting for the last 10 missions puts a crimp in my plans. ...

 

... Maybe I should just continue to learn the F/A-18 and wait until you have all the missions done and then go ahead with my A-10c plans.

 

Do yourself a favor and wait. :smartass:

[tintifaxl]

Any further progress on the first 10 missions?

[InteR]

Hi Baltic Dragon, do you have any news about this A-10C campaign?

 

Lot people waiting for !! ;)

[Boris]

I think he's working on a number of different campaigns and official module training missions in parallel, so no wonder this project has been taking so long.

 

I'm also very much looking forward to this, as his work is top notch.