2021 (and earlier) DCS Newsletter Discussion Thread

[TomCatMucDe]

Also, would the spotting in DCS improve?

 

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

[philstyle]

Nineline, will the channel map including the channel islands in any detail?

 

 

No. The channel islands are included in the existing Normandy map, and not really anywhere near this "channel" map.

[Sn8ke_iis]

Another great newsletter guys, keep up the outstanding work.

 

Looking forward to the new Weather, Damage Modeling, and ATC, very exciting for single player and campaigns where I spend the bulk of my time.

 

And Phil, just watched your new video on the Channel map, great stuff. Love your content, you're one of the best creators for DCS right now.

 

The community mods have more patience than I could ever hope to have. I don't know how you do it. Hoggit in general has gotten so much better lately but anytime WWII content comes up the same dozen or so people get their panties in a bunch. Real Debbie Downers which is a shame.

 

I own almost all the modules but I'm pretty much at my limit for what I can learn and fly time wise, even with Chuck's Guides. But I'll buy new maps all day. More maps please. Going from 4 to 8 flyable maps is very exciting.

 

Cheers to all the people commenting staying positive and constructive. I'm sure it's appreciated by many besides myself. Happy flyin' everbody... :pilotfly:

[Vlerkies]

Crikey this is one heck of an update list. Roll on 2020!

 

Thx ED

[REDEYE_CVW-66]

I thought that the Newsletter P1 and P2 were all round FANTASTIC. I am long time DCS user and I have never been more excited about long awaited features that are now lining up.

 

Thank you ED!

 

However, there is one thing that 'slightly' concerns me until I get clarification.

 

Unlike some other here, being a Westfront geek, I love the idea of the Channel map. Like everyone else, I would LIKE it to merge with Normandy, but I understand it is due to tech issues. No matter I will buy it either way due do detailed UK and the scenarioæs it opens up- BUT.

 

Wags said numerous times specifically that the map would be 1930's to 1945. And HERE is my concerns. What we westfront geeks would like, is to CONTINUE the course of the war, from Normandy, up through the low countries and to the Rhine, effectively to the end of the war (1945).

 

However, the Low Countries that saw action in late 44 and 45 are not mentioned here (But they have been mentioed before, several times). A map coverage area or a confirmation/explanation here would go a long way (I will buy it no matter what) to confirm HOW we can use the map for historical scenarios.

 

That being said, the Dover strait did indeed have action from 1940 to 1944, so you can get plenty of use out of it either way). It just would be so cool to have a map where you can make a historical campaign going from Dunkirk to Remagen. Hope for some more clarification soon.

 

The screenshots are STUNNING and I can only image what it will look like with new lighting and clouds..

[boedha68]

Sooo, if I understood correctly...everybody gets a supercarrier discount on prepurchase, X%, hornet owners and no hornet owners.

 

Hornet owners have the same X% discount as everybody else just it will extend for a longer period...

 

I wonder, where exactly is the "special" discount for hornet owners then???...a longer discount period is NOT a better (in percentage) discount at all.

 

With special discount for hornet owners I would expect a higher discount (35,40,50...%) independently of the period of discount. Honetstly, cant see how this is any "special" thing for hornet owners.

 

+1

 

Well everything is a subject to change. :D

[Gerrard]

Love the latest newsletter and stoked for the new carrier module and ocean map. Would have loved the Korean peninsula, but another day hopefully. :)

 

As regards to the discount for Hornet owners: Doesn't really bother me as in reality we're talking about maybe $5 here or there- but wouldn't it have saved you a lot of forum grief to simply reduce the early access discount to say, 25%, while increasing the Hornet-owner discount to 35% during the EA phase?.

 

I think it's always a wise strategy to keep a committed client base onside, and it'd save your head some unnecessary abuse from Mr Wall.. ;)

[Eaglewings]

but wouldn't it have saved you a lot of forum grief to simply reduce the early access discount to say, 25%, while increasing the Hornet-owner discount to 35% during the EA phase?.

 

This is a plausible way to keep everyone happy especially Hornet owners who supported the development from the pre-order days.

 

The Supercarrier is a must have for me in any case.

Edited January 11, 2020 by Eaglewings

[zcrazyx]

Excited for the ww2 stuff, dont know why everyone is getting their panties in a twist over the map though, as long as its detailed and shows the UK off with landmarks i say its great, especially with the mosquito coming.

 

i do wonder how they're going to model it correctly though given the fact there surely cant be images of the entire area they plan to do?

[BIGNEWY]

I am a little concerned as I just purchased the Normandy map at the end of the winter sale and it sounds like the Channel map may render it obsolete. Are there areas of the Normandy map that will not be included in the Channel map? My assumption is that the Channel map will be will not go as far west as the Normandy map, is that correct?

 

Hi,

 

welcome to the forum.

 

The Channel map will have some overlap but it is low detail, all the high detail areas and the focus of The Channel map is further up the English channel in a different location from Normandy.

 

Thanks

[Tippis]

Excited for the ww2 stuff, dont know why everyone is getting their panties in a twist over the map though, as long as its detailed and shows the UK off with landmarks i say its great, especially with the mosquito coming.

It's not very difficult to understand that a second Channel map may seem a but redundant, especially when it's simply an extension (geographically, if not in terms of content) of what's already there. It's not like there aren't a bajillion other areas that would be relevant for the time period and which would add actual variety, not just in the terrain but in what should be around in the sky.

 

We have the 109 and the Ishak, so why not do something innovative like a Spanish Civil War map, for instance? Or the Battle of Greece? Or the Siege of Leningrad? Why just do the same stretch of coast, only a little bit more to the east, when there are so many more interesting options? It might be a bit too harsh to call it outright lazy, so let's settle for… unimaginative.

[Worrazen]

If normandy expands to the east then the channel map should expand to the south as far as france is concernet, problem solved :)

[Fri13]

The update mentioned that the Mi24 would be the "next helicopter" to come to DCS. Does this mean it will be released before the Kiowa? That would be surprising - the Kiowa is already being demo'd on livestreams and we haven't seen an exterior model for the Hind...

 

The Hind was already teased by Wags (prematurely, as after it the engine found missing flight dynamics features in helicopters and requires fixing all of them) if I remember correctly, it was the F-5 video, in same the Yak-52 was as well teased just before release. The yes Yak was at the left side on start, and Hind was at right side at end of taxiing.

 

It was the famous "What is that Hind doing here?" phrase. But after that there has been new helicopters flight modeling changes that requires all helicopters flight modeling to be redone, that has likely been major reason to delay Hind.

[apolloace]

Everyone will save during Preorder and Early Access, Hornet owners will continue to save after release.

 

Hashed out.

 

And our Anti Torch and Pitchfork system is state of the art.

 

That is not very polite! :huh:

[joey45]

"And our Anti Torch and Pitchfork system is state of the art."

 

ahahahahahaha

[zcrazyx]

It's not very difficult to understand that a second Channel map may seem a but redundant, especially when it's simply an extension (geographically, if not in terms of content) of what's already there. It's not like there aren't a bajillion other areas that would be relevant for the time period and which would add actual variety, not just in the terrain but in what should be around in the sky.

 

We have the 109 and the Ishak, so why not do something innovative like a Spanish Civil War map, for instance? Or the Battle of Greece? Or the Siege of Leningrad? Why just do the same stretch of coast, only a little bit more to the east, when there are so many more interesting options? It might be a bit too harsh to call it outright lazy, so let's settle for… unimaginative.

 

the reason for not doing such maps imo is because the aircraft do not match, i feel like with the introduction of the fw190 a8 and the mosquito that ED are trying to focus down theaters rather then having alternate history type scenarios where you have aircraft from the early 30s fighting aircraft from early to mid 40s.

 

sure we could have africa because we have the mk9 spitfire and a 109 however when you consider the aircraft that actually flew there it makes less sense in terms of historical accuracy.

the aircraft needed being the 109 trop and a varient of the spitfrie with the filter.

 

the feeling i get is that these maps are going to be marketed more towards the people who fly single player campaigns rather then how it with causcaus being a mish mash of aircraft.

 

that being said, if they wanted accuracy, realism etc a korea map could of been a good choice for the mig 15 and sabre to duel it out over but maybe the market is too small.

[Baldrick33]

FWIW my view on the carrier discount for Hornet owners is the extended period may be a tangible benefit but will not be realised by most enthusiasts especially those on these forums. As others have said why wait until it is a unique offer?

 

Should Hornet owners feel aggrieved if non Hornet owners get the same discount? Surely every customer benefits?

 

While this is true it is somewhat human nature, like when older content gets bundled in free in games where people originally paid for the older content and get cross.

 

I would have thought a slight difference, be it 25% for pre-order and 35% for Hornet owners would have satisfied most. Of course even then some would say that only 10% extra was a slap in the face but you can't please everyone!

Edited January 11, 2020 by Baldrick33
typo

[sc_neo]

The Hornet owner rebate was from the days before the turbulant days around the Viper release and the adjustments to the pricing model. At the time, people might have expected the usual 20% discount during the pre-pruchase phase, an maybe another 10-15% on top for Hornet owners. I recon only very few might have thought it might be as high as 45-50%.

 

 

The Carrier module seems to be the first with the new pricing model that was hinted at a couple months back with 30% off during pre-pruchase, and maybe somthing like 20% during EA, and full price on full release when the module is bug free and feature complete.

 

 

My hunch is that the Carrier module will be priced around 60 dollar which gives everyone a 40ish dollar pricetag during pre-pruchase. Hornet owners might at most have expected an overall rebate of 35-40% i imagine, which translates to saving an additional 3-6 dollars. Not really sure whether hussling over that amount is a good time investment.

[Maltschik]

Hello ED-Team,

 

I just found your simulator a few months ago, so EVERYTHING is still new to me, and reading this newsletter with even more landscapes coming out, is a dream - especially the Marianas, for they are a totally different landscape to look around.

 

One small detail in your newsletter is most interesting for me: the planned improvement for the lightning at night. This is the only topic I can complain about in the current version. At nighttime I am just sitting in front of… a black screen. Don’t know about this being „realistic“, but in the end DCS is a game, that is supposed to be fun to play. And if the whole landscape is just invisible (except of course the lights in the cities and streets), it makes hardly joy to fly around at night.

 

1.) Could the lightning-improvements make the nights brighter, just like, let’s say, Full Moon-Nights in reality? Because although they are dark, you actually can see almost everything in this strange pale light :-).

 

2.) Isn’t it possible to make the whole landscape slightly visible in different dark colour-tones? Maybe just as an option with a checkbox (like the arcade-player option…).

 

3.) And I also miss a starry sky at night. Would be sooo wonderful to see the milkyway and bright stars above!

 

Greetings and thank you for this awesome world!!!

Edited January 11, 2020 by Maltschik

[BIGNEWY]

Hello ED-Team,

 

I just found your simulator a few months ago, so EVERYTHING is still new to me, and reading this newsletter with even more landscapes coming out, is a dream - especially the Marianas, for they are a totally different landscape to look around.

 

One small detail in your newsletter is most interesting for me: the planned improvement for the lightning at night. This is the only topic I can complain about in the current version. At nighttime I am just sitting in front of… a black screen. Don’t know about this being „realistic“, but in the end DCS is a game, that is supposed to be fun to play. And if the whole landscape is just invisible (except of course the lights in the cities and streets), it makes hardly joy to fly around at night.

 

1.) Could the lightning-improvements make the nights brighter, just like, let’s say, Full Moon-Nights in reality? Because although they are dark, you actually can see almost everything in this strange pale light :-).

 

2.) Isn’t it possible to make the whole landscape slightly visible in different dark colour-tones? Maybe just as an option with a checkbox (like the arcade-player option…).

 

3.) And I also miss a starry sky at night. Would be sooo wonderful to see the milkyway and bright stars above!

 

Greetings and thank you for this awesome world!!!

 

 

Hi Maltschik,

 

Welcome to DCSWorld

 

The new lighting improvements will make a huge difference, we hope to have it in a public build soon.

 

It will make the nights brighter, Moon phase is already modelled in DCSWorld, so if you pick a date with a full moon the light intensity will be brighter. Stars are modelled and the lighting changes will make it look better.

 

Thanks

[Ala12Rv-watermanpc]

Hi Maltschik,

 

Welcome to DCSWorld

 

The new lighting improvements will make a huge difference, we hope to have it in a public build soon.

 

It will make the nights brighter, Moon phase is already modelled in DCSWorld, so if you pick a date with a full moon the light intensity will be brighter. Stars are modelled and the lighting changes will make it look better.

 

Thanks

 

I wonder if these improvements will also affect how artificial lights are rendered?, I mean, will runway lights, for instance, behave like actual lights instead of textures?.

[Reflected]

I wonder if the new lights will affect existing skins? Will it be so drastic that all of them have to be revised and the colors fine tuned? Or will it affect mostly just night time?

[Maltschik]

Hi Maltschik,

 

Welcome to DCSWorld

 

The new lighting improvements will make a huge difference, we hope to have it in a public build soon.

 

It will make the nights brighter, Moon phase is already modelled in DCSWorld, so if you pick a date with a full moon the light intensity will be brighter. Stars are modelled and the lighting changes will make it look better.

 

Thanks

Wow, so a wish coming true instantly, how great is that!?!

 

molodjetz, molodjetz :-))

[Tippis]

the reason for not doing such maps imo is because the aircraft do not match, i feel like with the introduction of the fw190 a8 and the mosquito that ED are trying to focus down theaters rather then having alternate history type scenarios where you have aircraft from the early 30s fighting aircraft from early to mid 40s.

They don't particularly match that stretch of coast either — the main action that took place there happened 3–4 years before the bulk of the WWII aircraft we have were in action. :dunno:

 

Hell, if they wanted to match terrain and aircraft, it would be all Germany all the time (DCS: Ruhr, yay!), and we already that mish-mash with the I-16. Hence why Spain would actually make semi-sense. In fact, if you wanted proper period, it would make sense to not go for all these late-war models since they all arrived too late to be included in any of the more interesting events during that whole era. What they've described as the thing they want to deliver would be far more fitting for Dunkirk or Battle of Britain scenarios, but that's far too early for anything we have so matching the two seems to be very low priority… and if you're doing that, we're back to the question of why not visit something that isn't pretty much already covered? No matter what, the terrain and the aircraft won't match perfectly.

 

The alternative would be to go the route of other developers and spam out dozens of minutely different variants of each aircraft (but that obviously comes at the cost of reduced fidelity).

 

the feeling i get is that these maps are going to be marketed more towards the people who fly single player campaigns rather then how it with causcaus being a mish mash of aircraft.

Probably, but that would if anything just be a further argument in favour of doing alternate history since you'd run out of campaigns after, oh, two if you didn't. :P Edited January 11, 2020 by Tippis

[flanker1]

hi nineline, please, could you let us know if the caucasus will get again another refresh/update - regarding textures, trees, onlays and so on?