Afghan War: "Szatan Arba" campaign

[YoYo]

The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan lasted from December 25, 1979 to February 15, 1989. It was a period of intensive use of Mi-24 helicopters of various versions. The initial successes and basically unrestricted operation of helicopters in Afghanistan became the basis for this story driven campaign. However, the situation began to change halfway through the Soviet intervention. The campaign tells the story of the crew of helicopter Mi-24P number "17" - Alexander Sokolov (Pilot Commander) and Boris Petrovich (CoPilot-Gunner), who began serving in Afghanistan, Jalalabad AFB in 1984 and the first operation they encountered here was "Operation Panjshir" against the mujahideen forces of Ahmad Shah Masud. 

The campaign consists of 18 missions but it's not only "set of missions". It's a trip to the 1980s, and one of the most important cases for me was to capture the atmosphere of those years of flying the Mi-24 among the Hindu Kush mountains. Importantly, I have tried to include all possible tasks in which the Soviet Hinds actually participated during this war. So there will be close support missions, there will be search missions, there will be assault missions, bombing missions, transport missions, escort etc. The range of activities is quite wide. I rate the campaign as medium difficult, but you need to know the Hind systems and weapons quite well. The campaign uses the DCS: Persian Gulf map.

All speeches are in Russian to raise the level of realism (the translation text is in English). And here is another kind of “revolution” - the whole voice pack were recorded using “AI voices”. It has its advantages and disadvantages for sure, but it's better that they exist, right? I think the final effect I achieved is quite ok (play: example). A quite important element is the entire soundtrack as well, which comes from this period and consists mainly of Soviet songs from Afghan war.

It's also worth adding that the campaign received, previously unpublished, own liveries for the Hind - a clover, desert pattern. The campaign is being tested by several users during beta process (including Mi-24V crew member who was flying in Afghanistan).

The most important features:

• over dozen single player missions (lasting from 45 minutes to 2 hours gameplay of each),
• realistic, detailed scenarios,
• story driven campaign,
• proceeding the campaigns as a pilot-commander (no knowledge of the CPG position is required, apart from issuing orders)
• full voice package in Russian (almost a thousand voice overs), even Petrovich received his role (!),
• briefings/subtitles in English,
• various types of missions, including night ones,
• dedicated skins from period of Afghan war,
• as real as it gets - cold starts only, you also need to return to the airport after the mission,
• prepared briefings (description of the situation and tasks), full documentation, graphics and  photos
• most important data in the pilot's kneeboard,
• summary (including tips and tricks) in the readme file, check it before the flight ;)!
• FPS friendly (tested in VR too),
• the campaign "Afghan War: Szatan Arba" is free,
• the campaign is planned for release in December this year (2023)

The campaign is currently in the final stages of production, polishing and testing. Importantly, it will be free, I treat it as my testing ground and also to collect your opinions. If you like my approach, who knows, I have a lot of ideas for the future ;).

Note: although the campaign is based on historical events, it of course includes own scenarios. I would also like to add that English is not my native language but I did my best. These are thousands of words! This campaign will be my debut in this topic (campaign thread), but I hope that Hind's & DCS fans will like both - the idea and realization.

FAQ.

What I need to know before to play this campaign?

• the basis is knowledge of Hind systems and radios/radio navigations (R-863, R-828, R-852), 
• operating the DISS-15 Doppler System,
• knowledge how to use all weapons used by Mi-24P from the pilot station, 
• communication management with the flight/wingman (by DCS radio com), 
• management and giving orders Petrovich (by CPG menu), 
• ability to land in casual terrain 
• you need to have DCS: Persian Gulf map and Mi-24P module 

Can I play this campaign in multiplayer mode?

• sorry but not, the campaign was created as an Single Player version and due to the number of changes and logic in the missions, it would basically have to be reworked by 50% 

What do you recommend learning before starting a campaign?

• Chuck’s guide for Mi-24P is very ok for this (+ training missions in DCS)

See you soon for more info! Stay tunned.

YoYo

 

 

 

 

More preview screenshots from Szatan Arba campaign: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QE6re75gocHzH5hC8

⚠ DOWNLOAD LINK ⚠:

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3335179/

version 1.0 (12/2023). Please read manual before flying.

Support / questions:

You can ask any questions or support in this topic. If there is a question about the plot, do not reveal it in a unhidden post, use the "spoiler" option:  so that people who haven't completed this mission will have more fun.

Edited December 30, 2023 by YoYo

[LuseKofte]

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. I will dl this asap. 
Every mission for this chopper is to me a treasure box.  

 

[Jascha]

This looks very promising. Clearly you have put a lot of effort into this. I'm looking forward to try it some day (after I will finally start learning this module ).

PS. Info on required mods (or recommended) mods would be helpful.

 

 

[Volator]

Wow, this sounds amazing. I've been hoping for a campaign exactly like you described here, on the PG map, for a long time. Thanks for creating this. I'm actually not an SP but solely MP guy, but this sounds too good to pass up.

 

Now there's dreaming that sth. similar eventually comes for the Su-25 and the Mi-8. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Volator

[YoYo]

16 hours ago, Jascha said:

PS. Info on required mods (or recommended) mods would be helpful.

No mods needed.

[Stratos]

Looking forward to try it!!

[AeriaGloria]

I had the pleasure to test it. It felt extremely realistic and was a joy. I’m sure you will all enjoy it 

[YoYo]

1 hour ago, AeriaGloria said:

I had the pleasure to test it. It felt extremely realistic and was a joy. I’m sure you will all enjoy it 

Yes, I haven't mentioned who helped yet of cooking this dish  , but thanks  @AeriaGloria , one of the most knowledgeable members of this Forum about Hind .

[kotor633]

Thank you. Sounds very exiting. What I would be interested in from a developer perspective: How long did you work on the campaign?

[YoYo]

On 12/11/2023 at 8:00 PM, kotor633 said:

Thank you. Sounds very exiting. What I would be interested in from a developer perspective: How long did you work on the campaign?

Once, when I saw posts of @Reflected or @baltic_dragon some time ago (campaign's gurus for me), I thought it was a "marketing blabla" or they did it with long breaks when it comes to the time needed to create the campaign, sometimes there was information about its creation over a year. Now I know that this is a completely realistic deadline if you want to perfect everything. Although completing the mission itself seems to take one evening, in the case of the campaign it is not so and there are a lot of additional things, not to mention tests and voice packs. Sometimes ED can play a trick and the scripts/triggers do not work after the patch. That's what happened to me, sometimes I had to change the logic, e.g. after patch 2.9. Currently, I'm waiting for a new, December patch to provide you with a free product without bugs (if that's even possible ). To answer your question, the campaign was created for almost 4 months, but the work took place every day, for several hours (2-5).

[Reflected]

On 12/11/2023 at 8:00 PM, kotor633 said:

Thank you. Sounds very exiting. What I would be interested in from a developer perspective: How long did you work on the campaign?

Yes, as stated above anything from 6 to 18 months. A year on average. 
 

nice work @YoYo !

Edited December 15, 2023 by Reflected

[Dragon1-1]

I suppose using AI voices was a big time saver here. I've been on a few projects which involved voice acting, and the effort involved was enormous. Doing it well is hard and takes time. Then, there's ED with its ridiculously brittle mission scripting system, no other game I modded had its mission logic break with updates that often.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Dragon1-1

[YoYo]

1 minute ago, Dragon1-1 said:

I suppose using AI voices was a big time saver here. I've been on a few projects which involved voice acting, and the effort involved was enormous. Doing it well is hard and takes time. Then, there's ED with its ridiculously brittle mission scripting system, no other game I modded had its mission logic break with updates that often.

 

That's right. It has its pros and cons (especially the lack of emotions, although such possibilities are already starting to appear), but Im of the opinion that it is better to have it, even in this form, than nothing at all and only text. I was also involved in such a project (using my voice) and it took a lot of time for both side.

[YoYo]

The 80s and a Soviet pilot without a mustache? Can not be the true! 

I know, details, but I like them ;).

[Aviator78]

On 12/16/2023 at 5:03 PM, YoYo said:

details

It's those details that make an excellent skin for an immersive simulation experience. Thank you for your efforts, I am very much looking forward to Szatan Arba!

[YoYo]

Btw. The patch will be Today!

 

This is what I've been waiting for. As I wrote, the campaign is 99% ready, but it still needs to be checked after this patch, because there will be some changes in behavior of AI, radio/menu corrections, as well as changes in reporting in Hind (perhaps).

btw.

Recently, when I was flying in one mission and attacking an enemy, suddenly there was a big "Bang" and a black screen. Central PK , simply. I was very surprised because Hind is generally quite resistant. Totally at 7.62 mm and partly at 12.7 mm. It handles small arms fire quite well, so I was quite surprised that I checked the report on what happened. It turned out that on in the low pass I got... a hit from RPG! That's a surprise ! I didn't expect that the Infantry in DCS could behave like that towards a low flying helicopter. "Red Hawk Down", I repeat "Red Hawk Down" ;>.  Nice!  

Edited December 18, 2023 by YoYo

[LuseKofte]

I am looking forward to this.

[Kolibri]

This is exactly what I've been hoping for 
 

[YoYo]

Jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way ... 

Skin is ready.

[Stratos]

Beautiful skin, thanks a lot, looking forward to the campaign!

[Foka1]

Where does the spelling "Szatan" come from? Before I saw only pretty much transcription like Shaitan or Shaytan.

[YoYo]

2 hours ago, P61 said:

Shaitan or Shaytan.

Yes, if we talk about English, it would probably be like that, you are absolutely right. However, it was more about showing a local language, using with the letters of Latin language. Unfortunately, such a comparison always brings complications, because someone always asked such a question, You probably know a lot about it more than me. Half of the Afghans use Pashto, the other half says Dari, which is in a nutshell Persian. It is also worth adding that many nations (nationality) took part in the conflict, including Ukrainians, Kazakhs, Georgians, etc. so you should give something the most universal. The decision was just like that, but in the future, it can only stick to English I suppose. It will be more understandable for all. Cheers!

Edited December 29, 2023 by YoYo

[YoYo]

The campaign recived the trailer and it's out!

Enjoy, comrades! 

Happy new year - 2024!

Edited December 29, 2023 by YoYo

[LuseKofte]

Cool video. Dl asap and try it out

[YoYo]

3 hours ago, LuseKofte said:

#3 mission was a bit too much taxiing for me. I failed the mission at the end of taxiing the whole runway and then turn behind the ai leader. I smacked my rotors in his

So far it looks promising, but first tree was time consuming 

Generally, missions or campaigns for helicopters are longer and everything takes slower due to the speeds they achieve. You have to get used to it. Missions have different lengths and this is described in the manual. It's not a quick start and the battle front, in 4 kilometers away ;), it would be unrealistic and pointless. However, if you are the leader of the group, it takes faster, but again you have to wait for the entire group to join. Generally speaking, it usually takes 15-18 minutes to start, taxi and waiting. Personally, I use the technique of 1 mission equals 1 evening for any campaign ;).

Quote

• over dozen single player missions (lasting from 45 minutes to 2 hours gameplay of each)