OH-58D Kiowa Warrior November News

[Polychop Simulations]

Dear community,

 

With the end of the year fast approaching and still a lot of work to do, we have come to a point where we have to accept that a 2020 release of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module is no longer feasible. We want to release a module that we feel is feature complete, mission ready and a true tribute to the men and women in army aviation. That is not to say no extra’s will be added later on. Even though we’ve been crunching the past months, we simply aren’t there yet.

 

We can imagine this is a disappointment to all who look forward to the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module and we hope to make up for this with the polished release the module deserves. We’ll be working hard to get you the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module as soon as possible.

[notproplayer3]

Hope everything works out for you all. I also dearly hope the oh58D really turns out to be a top tier quality DCS module.

 

I wish you the best in achieving this goal.

[sirrah]

Thanks for the update @Polychop Simulations :thumbup:

 

and fwiw, I think you are making a good decision. It's better to surprise/blow away people upon release, than trying to mend disappointment

[QuiGon]

Thanks a lot for the update @Polychop Simulations and also thank you for not waiting untill the end of December with this news! :thumbup:

Rather take the time to do it proper than to rush it :)

[Baco]

OK Fair is fair. Thanks for the heads up and for the dedication to a quality product.

 

Best of lucks and happy new Year!!!

[Phantom88]

Thank You very much for the update,The KW will be Well Worth The Wait

[Rick50]

Thanks for the update @Polychop Simulations :thumbup:

 

and fwiw, I think you are making a good decision. It's better to surprise/blow away people upon release, than trying to mend disappointment

 

What he said!

 

And thanks for the update!

[Andrew8604]

At the end of which month in 2021 would you say you can be 90% certain it will be released by? Even pad it out a month, if you want. That should then be a pretty good aim point we can look forward to? Of course, things can always come up and you get to that month and it isn't quite ready. But which month would you say? Could you say?

 

Beyond that, is there a plan for the next project? Because, if the OH-58 comes out well, as I expect it will...you keep building them and I'll keep buying them! Westland Wessex HAS.1? Westland Sea King HAS.1? These would be nice.

[kotor633]

It is a pity to hear that. But your decision is the right one. Please just don't rush. Just keep the community up to date.

[QuiGon]

It is a pity to hear that. But your decision is the right one. Please just don't rush. Just keep the community up to date.

 

Very much this! :thumbup:

[Qiou87]

Clear communication, respect of the community, and dedication to bringing out the best module you can make. That is all great. We'll keep on waiting, thank you for being upfront with us.

[HipoxiK]

I think this is a great move fella's. Nothing worse then all the beta releases these days and having to deal with crashes and half functioning systems for months. It will be much better and well worth the wait to jump into a mission ready Helo. Cheers

[Dama]

On 11/22/2020 at 3:25 PM, Qiou87 said:

Clear communication, respect of the community, and dedication to bringing out the best module you can make. That is all great. We'll keep on waiting, thank you for being upfront with us.

 

I second that statement wholeheartedly! 

[Focha]

I rather prefer you post pone the release of Kiowa and have it like it should behave than to have a disappointment like Gazelle's one. So, thanks for you hard work and continue with it. Regards.

[Rudel_chw]

I agree with the above comments, release this helo when it is good enough .. I don't care if some advanced features came up later, but the basics should be functional. Wish you all the best and I will support your efforts by purchasing it as soon as it hits the store .. I only wish it doesn't appear at the same time as the Mi-24 or I will be hard pressed to purchase both 

Best regards.

[Kappa]

Hey @Polychop Simulations what about an official update on the Kiowa?

 

Don't wanna make you hurry, just keep in touch!

[R0NiN]

14 hours ago, Kappa said:

Hey @Polychop Simulations what about an official update on the Kiowa?

 

Don't wanna make you hurry, just keep in touch!

This is from December, but details some of what they're willing to disclose on progress: 

 

 

[Rabies]

I’d be surprised if the new modules will be released prior to the new DCS world upcoming update. But, I have no understand about software development, so I’m probably wrong. Either way, I’m going to be right though

Edited February 6, 2021 by Rabies

[R0NiN]

So looking at here and on FB, it looks as if Polychop has gone radio silent for the last 3 weeks. I'm almost wondering if we're now in the home stretch and they've gotten the module to Bell QA and it's nearly there...? It would be oh so spectacular if they announce it's release before the end of Feb. Wishful thinking I know, but the quiet could be a really good thing, or a really bad thing.

[Ramsay]

@R0NiN

 

TL;DR:

 

I wouldn't expect the KW to be released soon, although it's FM seems almost complete, there seems to be a lot of work required to "finalise" the module to a level Polychop are comfortable with.

 

Detail:
Polychop have said they are cautious when discussing WIP features as the DCS community can often react with unrealistic expectations or negativity (sometimes both at the same time), which in turn prevent/distract the dev's from actually working on the module (so they prefer to stay quite unless there is something to "show").

 

AFAIK

 

• System wise they are working on adding the moving map, refining how the MFD menus work, RWR, AI co-pilot, etc.

• Art wise they are adding/refining the 3D pilot/co-pilot models and external lights (WIP screenshots were shared 2 weeks ago).

• Audio is WIP with some elements missing and others requiring re-recording/sampling.

• A basic damage model has still to be added (it will be expanded after release).

• The intention is to release as "complete" and bug free KW module as possible, so the dev's aren't "firefighting" to support both modules and time and resources are available to rework the Gazelle FM as promised.

 

Although unrelated to the KW, the Gazelle FM was again heavily criticised on discord, necessitating the dev's to investigate (the player: flew inverted, engine died, auto-rotated while inverted, then normalised their orientation to complete an auto-rotation landing - using it as an example of an unrealistic FM). The dev's responded (as such criticism undermines the KW) at length, explaining how the KW's "hummingbird" FM compares to the Bell 407 in another sim, etc. and what the Gazelle FM does/does not model and what might change once it's reworked.

 

While it's good to see the Gazelle getting attention and Polychop ensuring lessons learned are carried forward to the KW, such investigations (while necessary) do divert time and focus from the KW's development.

 

When Polychop go "silent" I take it as a good sign they are free from community "drama" and able to focus on their personal lives and KW development - no more, no less.

Edited February 13, 2021 by Ramsay

[sirrah]

I agree. Imo it's good that Polychop just seems to focus on the work at hand, instead of investing time/money on a community manager 

 

What could be considered as peculiar though, is getting the hype train going and, once it's properly up to speed, then go totally silent...

 

Maybe they're going for a refreshing: "Surprise guys! It's finished" kind of release 

Edited February 13, 2021 by sirrah

[sirrah]

Did I say something wrong or strange?

 

Why not just share your opinion instead of anonymously throwing in a ""....

[Enduro14]

I suspect the module is in Bell’s hands and I believe most where expecting a drop in comm’s when that happened.  Speculation on my part but that’s what I suspect.

[NoPro]

Just wanted to share this with you guys, just in case someone is not on FB.....was dropped on that Platform 2days ago. 
 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by nima2014

[Rick50]

SWEET!!  

 

A natural hunting ground for Kiowas! 

 

 

Long very long time ago, long before the earliest home "flight sim /games",  I had a vivid dream of a future personal simulator featuring a Cobra gunship, during winter, hovering behind trees near a road in a Norwegian valley, waiting for a T-72 to TOW ambush!!   Oddly enough, this screenshot above resembles it a lot, minus the road and a different helo. I think mine featured some temporary "white snow camoflage" blotches to help break up the silouette.