So lets rate Black Shark 1-100

[multiviper]

I give it a 90% sober, and 100% when i am drinking :)

[okolovos oko]

well i give it 100+ just cuse there is no game like this and i dont see coming similar to this one from any company excpt ED team..

[Maximus_G]

Very high level overall, though there are many aspects to improve.

 

I'd give it

75 for graphics

50 for sound

70 for optimization

95 for the flyable aircraft flight & system modeling

75 for the weapons & damage modeling

75 for AI

75 for the AI units dynamics and system modeling

70 for the game world (terrain, weather, phenomena)

85 for the mission editor

85 for the external CME abilities (controlling, modding and enhancing)

and 100 for just the lucky presence of such a flight sim game.

[Doomhawk]

50 for me. I can't play the game for an hour without having to re-install it.:(

[Airway]

50 for me. I can't play the game for an hour without having to re-install it.:(

 

**EDITED BY MODERATOR**

All, please try to avoid responding to other members' ratings.

Edited February 18, 2009 by EvilBivol-1

[airea]

I guess the biggest drawbacks of this sim are the ATC related issue and the graphics. Other than that, this is great game for me.

 

No need to say too much about the graphics, they are outdated, period.

 

But the ATC needs a lot of improvement, like the one in FSX...

[mvsgas]

I give it a 90% sober, and 100% when i am drinking :)

Hey Multi, check PM bro

I give it 95% because I think is great sim but, I am still hopeful for the future and can not wait to see even more detail and more aircraft. Hope this is the standard for future games.

Edited February 19, 2009 by mvsgas

[Distiler]

I would give it a 100 if it was just from the pure helo simulator perspective. But I'll drop to 75% because:

 

- There is not a centralized meeting point for online players (the server rooms needs some kind of chat). Look at the free Hyperlobby system and put it something similar built in DCS.

 

- There is no dynamic campaign. Look at people doing free dynamic campaign systems for il2, it's awesome: http://www.lowengrin.com . Maybe Eagle Dynamics would be interested in sending him a copy of DCS:BS...

 

- Can't collide with trees.

 

 

Salute!

[Jester_159th]

I'd rate Black Shark at around 90%. All the good and bad points I would raise have already been mentioned and so I won't waste space repeating them.

 

All I can add is that Black Shark is without doubt the best flight sim I have ever played from the point of view of systems, flight and damage models. In this it has (IMHO) set a new benchmark.

 

I look forward to the future DCS modules and hope that I'll be happily buying them for many years to come!! :thumbup:

[Ramstein]

Mower.. you are breaking my heart

:doh:

Good review Dusty.

 

One thing I will not tolerate is biased reviews from folks with an agenda.

 

I am happy with the sim but very disappointed with the helo itself...it is dated, a relic from the 80s, useless at night when you REALLY wanna fly and fight in a helo.

 

I have flown it now for a couple of months and am returning to Janes Longbow 2 (which OWNS the night) and await the DCS A10.

[GuntiNDDS]

i dont have the game yet, but i rate it 100%, because i can't wait to finally get my hands on it.

i hope they make the map bigger over time and work the graphics a bit.

[Slammin]

I bought this a couple of days ago. I'm currently out of town and only have my laptop with me. No Cougar, no TIR, nothing. I can't wait to get home and try this on my main rig, so I've only been running the demos but wow! After setting affinity, I get extremely good performance on this laptop @ 1400x900 with high settings.

 

I cannot wait to get this home and installed on my main rig, but that won't be for a few weeks, but I will contribute to this thread then. For now though, I am pleasantly suprised at the look, performance and detail that I can gleem already, and am sure I will get even more pleasant surprises once I actually take the controls.

[Kevlon]

Bought the game a few days ago, i didnt think i would have any intrest in flying a helicopter.. but here i am posting.

 

the + side ;

 

* its bloddy hard to fly.. witch is fun once you master it

* clickabole cockpit! big plus for me.

 

the - side ;

* bad sound quality , glitching and so on. Some of the sound effects are poor. ( example, cockpit engine, turbine sound )

* no english voice-over in the missions.

 

 

first impresions .. 90/100 from me.. now i need to learn how to fly the dam thing ;)

 

(cant wait for the su 27 ! )

 

*

[HUAF-074]

70

[Dark-Light]

90. I don't care tooo much about the AI or collision free trees at this time, patches may well sort that out. For me, the biggest draw is always the flightmodel and authenticity of the subject...Though I am struggling to believe that I could start up, fly, and land a KA-50 in real life like I (just about) can here ;p.

[WynnTTr]

90. I don't care tooo much about the AI or collision free trees at this time, patches may well sort that out. For me, the biggest draw is always the flightmodel and authenticity of the subject...Though I am struggling to believe that I could start up, fly, and land a KA-50 in real life like I (just about) can here ;p.

Unless you've had proper rl flight training, of course you wouldnt' be able to fly the real thing. Even rl chopper pilots would need some sort of training to fly something like the BS.

But this is the closest thing we armchair pilots will get - and if we did ever get into the cockpit of a real KA-50, at least we'd know what all the buttons do. I'd get a buzz with just being able to turn on the cockpit light.

 

My rating, I'd give it -

 

Flight model - 9/10

Cockpit detail/buttonology/interactiveness - 9/10

Avionics - 9/10

AI - 7/10

Graphics - 7/10

Campaign - 7/10

Sound - 6/10 (there are still some sound glitches)

 

Release - 10/10 (virtually bug free and runs right out of the box, er download).

Community - 10/10

[Prophet]

IMO the flight model and everything related to the KA-50 is superb! But the lack of any real AI dampens the whole experience.

 

Once you get the hang of flying the thing though and getting all the systems down, the experience starts dying down.

 

It is still fun but I think it can be far better. I would give it a 70/100.

[IIIJG11 Reaper]

85% Can only get better with development of the AI and further modelling.

[Bulletstop]

I will give this a go. I bought the Russian version in November and on Dec 24Th I purchased the English Version.

My ratings are as follows

Flight Dynamics 95%

Game Play 85%

Grapics models 95%

Graphics terrian 70%

AI 70%

user friendly, ie editor 80%

 

I really have fallen for the shark and I am still playing it to this day. it has captured me almost is bad as LB2 did.

I am drooling at the prospect of the AH-64 but I will purchase the a-10 just to keep the sim alive. It has been to long since a sim likes this has come out.

Please keep up the great work and hopefully you will be able to update the terrian with collible trees and such. kinda limits the way I can sneak around by using the trees as cover.

 

 

 

Bullet

[EvilBivol-1]

OT removed. Sorry, but you were asked a number of times before, including by the OP.

[DarthElvis]

Love the sim. Absolutely love the chosen aircraft. I am sooo sick of the same old Apache, F-16, F-18, U.S.A. all the way B.S. subject matter in most past and present sims/games. LO:FC and BS were a breath of fresh air.

The KA-50 might be a relic from the 80's, but so is the AH-64 (might have upgraded systems, but still an old cold war relic- and probably not much better than the Ka-50 in the timeframe the sim is set in). Not to mention the a-10, f-14, 15,16, and 18 are relics from the 70's.

My only suggestion is to release the modules with 2 aircraft instead of 1. Eg: an F-16 along with a new Mig-29, or new SU-27 and new F-15 to get some OPFOR online goodness happening. Nothing more boring than both sides having the same aircraft.

 

As for score, I would have to give it a 90%. 10% off for that damn tree issue. Otherwise it runs like butter on my system with graphics cranked, on Vista to boot - setting affinity makes a HUGE difference.

I've barely started the campaign, so can't really speak to that, but everything else is very, very good. Well worth my $40.00 d/l from D2D.

Edited April 24, 2009 by DarthElvis

[nomdeplume]

Now that this thread has re-surfaced it might be interesting to see if the people who reviewed it immediately after release have a different opinion now that they've fully immersed themselves in the game?

 

For me coming from Falcon 4: Allied Force, the main thing I miss is the dynamic campaign. The feeling of being a small part of an ongoing conflict was really great, and even the small things like the ATC system really made the world feel alive. I get why ED went with scripted missions but it is a lot more work for mission designers to try to make a "real" feeling campaign with continuity between missions. That could be improved quite a bit if they get time to work on the mission and campaign system without needing a fully-fledged dynamic campaign, but I don't know where it sits on EDs priority list so I'm not holding my breath.

 

That aside, my only real gripes with the game as it is would be:

 

1. trees that do nothing; for a helo sim it's pretty jarring whenever I remember that that treeline does nothing beyond obstructing my own vision; and
   
2. ground-unit AI. If you come across a convoy they just keep on going at the same speed in single-file while you pick them off one by one. I haven't been able to find any way of scripting more intelligent / believable behaviour within the mission editor with the currently available options, either. It would be nice if a battlegroup could actively engage or avoid threats they encounter rather than the simple "shoot at anything in range" response they have now.
   

While there are some other minor issues like the funky sound engine, lack of animations for some ground units and sometimes questionable wingman AI, they're not enough to spoil the fun. It's also been very stable on my system which these days is pretty rare, so congrats to the development and QA teams on that achievement. All the dynamic campaigns and realistic ground forces responses in the world aren't worth much if you can't finish a mission without the game crashing!

 

For an overall rating, I'll give it two scores. Firstly, for what it set out to achieve I'll give it 90%. There are a few rough edges but all in all it's a pretty solid package that delivers a finely detailed sim with an incredible flight model and enough flare and substance in the "supporting bits" to not merely avoid ruining the flying experience, but actually enhancing.

 

The second score is for my ideal flight sim, for which I'd give Black Shark 70%. A (possibly dynamic) campaign with a greater sense of immersion, as well as a game world that truly felt alive are what I feel is missing. However, that's not what the game set out to achieve so holding that against it is a bit unfair. It's just one of those things where the closer the game gets to being ideal, the more painful the missing bits are.

[christopher m]

Review

 

UPSIDE#

 

Flight Model deserves 97%

 

Attention to cockpit and systems detail superb 98%

 

It's an 80's model Helo and I love it cus it's dated and not all slic and shiny 99%

 

It's real difficult to fly and shoot targets (moving targets) prob just like the real thing 98%

 

It's really a pain in the ass to learn all the stuff in the manual but soooo.. gratifying 99%

 

(I have not learned all the stuff in the manual yet)

 

EFFORT on the part of the dev's 100%

 

DOWNSIDE#

 

I was hoping it would somehow be more different from LO FC, -5%

 

External environment and other EFFECTS need work -5%

 

I think that prob averages out to 90% which is an A grade.

 

 

 

I would just like to say I love the Russian Aircraft and flying them.

 

I remember when I first got LO and I instinctively started flying the American planes.

 

It took me a year flying LO to finally start flying the Russian planes and when FC came out

 

and I got to fly that PIG of an attack aircraft I fell off the deep end.

 

Just would like to say thanks for all the screeming and pounding my gear and the intense

 

environment I get immersed into everytime I fire the b#tch up.

 

Best Regards, :pilotfly:

Edited April 24, 2009 by christopher m

[Raz_Specter]

Good review Dusty.

 

One thing I will not tolerate is biased reviews from folks with an agenda.

 

I am happy with the sim but very disappointed with the helo itself...it is dated, a relic from the 80s, useless at night when you REALLY wanna fly and fight in a helo.

 

I have flown it now for a couple of months and am returning to Janes Longbow 2 (which OWNS the night) and await the DCS A10.

 

I agree with you the helo is not the most advanced in the world and coming up against some SAMS you are pretty much screwed. but as for the implimentation of the game i would give it 80%. Personally a more up to date Helo would have suited me.

 

I am wainting for the Apache Addon for the game, not really bothered about another A-10 addon as that is sort of available in Lock-On, although I did enjoy playing that a lot and it was my fav plane in Lockon :)

Edited April 24, 2009 by Raz_Specter

[Zorg_DK]

I would give DCS:BS a 89% score. The modelling of the flight model and avionics are perfect and the models have a very nice level of detail. Compared to FSX I sometimes miss higher resolution ground textures, but that is not a central point for me. The ability to use (collidable) trees as cover would be nice.

 

Prior to my purchase I watched all the dev. notes videos and I learned a lot from them. Good work on that. The training section in the game were very good also.

 

What I miss after I've completed most of my learning process is the sense of being in a living world. A dynamic campaign (especially for multiplayer) with different flights and ground units performing their own tasks with active radiochatter would make this sim perfect. The dynamic campaign is the primary reason I still rate Falcon 4.0 as the best sim ever, especially in multiplayer.

 

My hope is that ED will make this a priority for their next products.

 

That said, I really love DCS:BS and I thank ED for their hard work and passion for the sim genre.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Zorg_DK