DCS: Kola Discussion

[Hotdognz]

The more I fly it the more I ask my self did ORBX really make this (I have plenty of other ORBX software) the high detail airports are bland compared to anything in Syria and Sinai, the airport building model texture are unaspiring and have no worn look about them in such a harsh environment, also it looks like loads of taxiways and roads have not been completed with airport buildings out on grass with no foot path or road too them or parking, objects at airports seem to be randomly placed, tarmac and taxiway textures have no life to them, airports just don't look real compared to what we have in Caucuses, a lot of airports don't even have a road that goes to them at all.

I really cant believe ORBX did this based on other work they have done, too me it feels like they gave it to an intern as a first project, we have all seen what can be done with Syria and Sinia airports', the map needs to lift its game a lot even in the high detail areas.

Flying around it, Im fine with that part except for the really odd color pallet used in places its really a very bright pucking green in places, up high over Norway it looks pretty good, I still stand by my point this is too much $$$ even for EA and I really cant believe ED let this out in this state.

 

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

10 hours ago, Qcumber said:

This looks great. F-16s all the way.

However, it also clearly shows that we must have a Jaguar module in DCS 

Nope, we still need the Jaguar -- whether it had any wing or not.

[irisono]

A map with potential, especially in areas of vegetation (missing conifers), in the transitions between land and water, waves, revitalization of towns and airfields. Nevertheless, it is a real improvement over the sand maps and the already rather outdated Caucasus map. All in all, the Kola Map is a great enrichment to DCS and worth the money. I'm already looking forward to the Cold War campaigns. Until then, I enjoy every flight over this magnificent scenery.

[YoYo]

3 minutes ago, irisono said:

A map with potential, especially in areas of vegetation (missing conifers), in the transitions between land and water, waves, revitalization of towns and airfields. Nevertheless, it is a real improvement over the sand maps and the already rather outdated Caucasus map. All in all, the Kola Map is a great enrichment to DCS and worth the money. I'm already looking forward to the Cold War campaigns. Until then, I enjoy every flight over this magnificent scenery.

The same. The map is really cool at this stage and will be even better, I'm sure, knowing ORBX Team.

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

There are 3 reasons I buy this map:

1. Location

2. Location

3. Also location.

I can pretend Caucasus to be Falkland, Sweden, or even Vietnam as much as I want to, nothing can replace those fjords. (Yes, I am having a video of fly-bys)

[YoYo]

22 minutes ago, VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants said:

There are 3 reasons I buy this map:

1. Location

2. Location

3. Also location.

I can pretend Caucasus to be Falkland, Sweden, or even Vietnam as much as I want to, nothing can replace those fjords. (Yes, I am having a video of fly-bys)

and Submarines!

btw. maybe not everyone knows, but this scene is the "sailing" from Polarnyi bay, which is on the map .

Edited May 7, 2024 by YoYo

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

20 minutes ago, YoYo said:

and Submarines!

btw. maybe not everyone knows, but this scene is the "sailing" from Polarnyi bay, which is on the map .

 

(With the Red October theme playing in the background) I should not include everything, you know.

Kola was the home to the old "Red Banner Fleet" of the late Soviet Union (I think it is now known as the Northern Fleet), in which the Soviet capital ships, submarines, especially boomers. reside. IIRC, according to the Harpoon 1 (or Harpoon Classics if one prefers), this area is known to western submariners as "target rich area". Think about it as Scapa Flow during WWII, which was a naval stronghold. It is also a known base to Soviet long-range nuclear bombers, for reasons I would leave them to you. (Psss, think about GIUK Gap)

Enjoy.

Edited May 7, 2024 by VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants

[YSIAD_RIP]

@Raz_Specter must be rewarding to be able to take the thousands of hours of what you have learned on your free time with the South Atlantic Map and be able to apply it on Kola!

Looking forward to your first Kola map update and of course hoping that anything new you learn from creating Kola can eventually be applied to South Atlantic, when business conditions allow. 

Good Luck Specter and Orbix..

[Raisuli]

6 hours ago, VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants said:

Kola was the home to the old "Red Banner Fleet" of the late Soviet Union (I think it is now known as the Northern Fleet), in which the Soviet capital ships, submarines, especially boomers. reside. IIRC, according to the Harpoon 1 (or Harpoon Classics if one prefers), this area is known to western submariners as "target rich area". Think about it as Scapa Flow during WWII, which was a naval stronghold. It is also a known base to Soviet long-range nuclear bombers, for reasons I would leave them to you. (Psss, think about GIUK Gap)

 

Just finished an inspection of one of the seemingly endless boomers, many of which are in the dock so there was some concern about material condition.  Dock time is normal after a deployment, or meltdown, but there seemed to be an excessive number of boomers in need of repair.  Pretty obvious these are soft-shelled turtlebacks and the flow noise must be horrendous.

Also noticed, and this makes the map almost unflyable, they replaced Rosatomflot with something else entirely and the big icebreakers that should be there with generic bulk carriers.  Oh, horrors <cue dramatic music>.  Parked the Kuz where it belongs just barely south of those piers, large chunks of (available) Russian hardware to the north, added a couple Kilos...almost have a navy, even if it's all welded to piers.

 

[YoYo]

1 hour ago, YSIAD_RIP said:

@Raz_Specter must be rewarding to be able to take the thousands of hours of what you have learned on your free time with the South Atlantic Map and be able to apply it on Kola!

Looking forward to your first Kola map update and of course hoping that anything new you learn from creating Kola can eventually be applied to South Atlantic, when business conditions allow. 

Good Luck Specter and Orbix..

Are you suggesting he works for ORBX? 

[AdrianL]

Just now, YoYo said:

Are you suggesting he works for ORBX?

He does

[YoYo]

Ups. So here is the reason similar performance issues, not yet solved from the SA map ... 

Edited May 7, 2024 by YoYo

[Raisuli]

1 hour ago, AdrianL said:

He does

Slartibartfast!!  Love the crinkly bits.  Great job!

[TheFreshPrince]

I'm probably gonna buy this map, because many parts of it already look really beautiful and it's the right theatre for modern missions. But if DCS wants to stay in the business, they seriously have to step up their immersion-game, including terrain-textures, water, trees, weather, etc...

I just looked at the F4-release-trailer and the jet looks absolutely spectacular, as will probably all of the new aicraft. But do you really want to taxi or fly them through maps that look like they are from a 20 year old game like Battlefield 2? It's a bit sad to watch. And future maps won't look much better, if the foundation doesn't change. But hey, at least the grass is moving now.

Edited May 7, 2024 by TheFreshPrince

[Raisuli]

1 hour ago, TheFreshPrince said:

I'm probably gonna buy this map, because many parts of it already look really beautiful and it's the right theatre for modern missions. But if DCS wants to stay in the business, they seriously have to step up their immersion-game, including terrain-textures, water, trees, weather, etc...

I just looked at the F4-release-trailer and the jet looks absolutely spectacular, as will probably all of the new aicraft. But do you really want to taxi or fly them through maps that look like they are from a 20 year old game like Battlefield 2? It's a bit sad to watch. And future maps won't look much better, if the foundation doesn't change. But hey, at least the grass is moving now.

 

I hear a lot about how horrifically terrible DCS maps are, and they do have issues (like that miserable mirror surface excuse for water) but at least ED is working on them.  Then I go fly, say, Simulator M and the differences are far out-shadowed by the similarities.  Spent some time around Bodo in both sims, and was really, really impressed with the DCS map by the time I was done, and that's a low res area in DCS from what I hear.

Mind you I wasn't counting blades of grass or doing building by building comparisons in towns.  I just flew at about the same altitude on more or less the same path and gawked out the windows.  I'm sure if you want to find problems it's not hard, but I found more than a few in that other sim as well and had to resist the urge to post unattributed screenshots to see if anyone took the bait.

Now, generally, is Kola ready for prime time?  No, not really; a little bit sparse, with far too much distance between theaters.  Performance does need some tweaking.  If you're looking for action ready it might be worth a wait unless you're after the price point and have faith.

It is my training map, though!  Need to build some formation flights through the crinkly bits on that left coast. 

[zerO_crash]

16 minutes ago, Raisuli said:

I hear a lot about how horrifically terrible DCS maps are, and they do have issues (like that miserable mirror surface excuse for water) but at least ED is working on them.  Then I go fly, say, Simulator M and the differences are far out-shadowed by the similarities.  Spent some time around Bodo in both sims, and was really, really impressed with the DCS map by the time I was done, and that's a low res area in DCS from what I hear.

Mind you I wasn't counting blades of grass or doing building by building comparisons in towns.  I just flew at about the same altitude on more or less the same path and gawked out the windows.  I'm sure if you want to find problems it's not hard, but I found more than a few in that other sim as well and had to resist the urge to post unattributed screenshots to see if anyone took the bait.

Now, generally, is Kola ready for prime time?  No, not really; a little bit sparse, with far too much distance between theaters.  Performance does need some tweaking.  If you're looking for action ready it might be worth a wait unless you're after the price point and have faith.

It is my training map, though!  Need to build some formation flights through the crinkly bits on that left coast. 

[Pipe]

Looks like armed recon flights are just 2 weeks away

[Gunfreak]

If you think DCS maps look bad.

Take a flight in "that other ww2 simulator " the ground graphics are so terrible they look abstract next to DCS.

It's one of the main reasons I almost never play it. In VR it's total immersion killer. In DCS I can have my camera on ground units as they move up roads or through terrain and it looks really good.

[Nealius]

I'm curious if anyone else has tried Bodo ILS 07 and also found the glideslope too high and localizer left of the runway, or if I buggered something on my end.

[TheFreshPrince]

vor 37 Minuten schrieb Gunfreak:

It's one of the main reasons I almost never play it. In VR it's total immersion killer. In DCS I can have my camera on ground units as they move up roads or through terrain and it looks really good.

Well from the distance most things in DCS look quiet good, that's true. But on the ground it's sometimes difficult to accept the quality of the surroundings. Especially when the aircraft look so neat. I wish they could find a way to enhance the details while not loosing the performance with a wider view. Otherwise, future maps will have the same issues. 

And then you will always have a lot of people complaining how bad it looks, although it's not all bad and the potential is still there. But it can't be reached without fundamental changes within DCS. 

Even business wise it's a waste of money when you look at all the negative feedback that keeps others from buying. 

Edited May 8, 2024 by TheFreshPrince

[drPhibes]

29 minutes ago, Nealius said:

I'm curious if anyone else has tried Bodo ILS 07 and also found the glideslope too high and localizer left of the runway, or if I buggered something on my end.

LOC07 is misaligned by approximately 0,5° N according to the mission editor.

[Nealius]

Now that I look at it, the beacon itself is on the wrong end of the runway, isn't it?

[drPhibes]

No, LOC 07 is in the correct end, but DCS map makers usually add an offset ("chartOffsetX = " in the relevant entries in beacons.lua) to the shown coverage sector to avoid clutter. Orbx haven't done so to LOC 07. LOC 25 is offset, and located right next to LOC 07, just like in real life.

Edited May 8, 2024 by drPhibes

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Guys, reminder: try not to compare sims here, I got a warning last year.

[Silver_Dragon]

19 hours ago, Raisuli said:

Just finished an inspection of one of the seemingly endless boomers, many of which are in the dock so there was some concern about material condition.  Dock time is normal after a deployment, or meltdown, but there seemed to be an excessive number of boomers in need of repair.  Pretty obvious these are soft-shelled turtlebacks and the flow noise must be horrendous.

Also noticed, and this makes the map almost unflyable, they replaced Rosatomflot with something else entirely and the big icebreakers that should be there with generic bulk carriers.  Oh, horrors <cue dramatic music>.  Parked the Kuz where it belongs just barely south of those piers, large chunks of (available) Russian hardware to the north, added a couple Kilos...almost have a navy, even if it's all welded to piers.

 

That Delta IV 3D model has very Ugly and painful...

The same situation with other "atrezzo" subs on the map...