ACS 'Soviet-Afghan 1986' Multiplayer Sandbox Mission for Soviet Aircraft

[ACS_Dev]

Hello all,

On New Year's day I quietly released a multiplayer sandbox mission for the Mi-24 and other period Soviet aircraft. One week later and with almost 50 downloads and no complaints I am now feeling confident enough to announce it officially.

The mission is a sandbox set in a fictional province of Afghanistan in October 1986. Most of the helicopters are based out of FOB 979, a remote base housing a battalion of airborne infantry. The helicopter detachment has been tasked with supplying and supporting the battalion and surrounding outposts in their operations. Players can patrol the 60x120km AO for any of the thousand-plus Mujahideen units. The vast majority of enemy units are infantry and technicals, though MANPADS are an increasing threat. Each is hand-placed and on a randomized spawn tied to a spawning system optimized for best performance. They are mostly hidden in towns but some can be found patrolling the roads or cleverly positioned on hilltops. I made a deliberate attempt to balance the mission mostly on realism, so if you are used to soloing objectives or carelessly flying around you will probably have a bad time. I think it will still be a refreshing change for people used to playing on servers with advanced SAMs and enemy air activity.

In addition to patrolling the AO you can take part in one of the dozen tasks available through the F10 menu. Most of these will require one or more friends in Mi-24s to accomplish successfully. This mission is in beta because I do not have enough wingmen to test all of them, though I have extensively and repetitively reviewed each of their triggers. These tasks are where your MI-8 will shine as you encounter sling loading, cargo transport, troop transport, airborne assault operations, MEDEVAC and routine outpost resupply routes.

In addition to the Mi-8 and Mi-24 slots the mission also includes slots for the MiG-21, Su-25, L-39 and Combined Arms.

If this sounds interesting, check out the linked mission and read the briefing to learn more. Enjoy!

If you have feedback on the mission and want to make suggestions for further development please use this form.

If you don't have a wingman or someone to share the cabin with, comment here, check out Hoggit, the Wingman Finder subreddit or the Wingman Finder discord server. If you are an adult, have Syria and one of the needed modules, and can play central/EST, you can also just DM and we can probably fly together. My discord is acs_dev.

This is a MULTIPLAYER-ONLY mission. Attempting to run it in single-player will not work.

Edited February 11 by ACS_Dev
Clarification on SP Compatibility

[Aviator78]

This sounds very good, will give it a try. Thank you!

[ACS_Dev]

This patch was a bugfix and polishing update. The main feature is a new comprehensive documentation PDF containing the mission guide, information on how each aircraft was used in Afghanistan, realistic loadouts, tips, tutorials and links to relevant resources. The patch notes are below.

PATCH NOTES: V2024_1 Bugfix/Polishing Patch 10/2/2024:
Mission:
-Extensive documentation PDF now available in the mission file.
-The Insurgent MSR now has the possibility of Mujahideen roadblocks at major intersections.
-The positions of several existing Mujahideen units have been adjusted for concealment and lethality.
-Day version starts slightly later for more sunlight.
-Added a Yak-52 slot at Adana Sakirpasa.

Mi-24:
-Engine remaining service life reduced from ~97% to ~80%*

Mi-8:
-Engine remaining service life reduced from ~97% to ~80%*
-Transportation missions now depend on the side door, not the rear clamshell doors.**
-Kord machine gun removed from payload options for Transport-coded helicopters.
-Rear-facing PKT reinstated as a payload option for Transport-coded helicopters.
-Mini-mission briefings for specific Mi-8s are now are only sent when a client has occupied the slot.***

Su-25:
-S-25L reinstated as an available weapon due to new information corroborating its use in Afghanistan.
-Default payload changed to 40X S-8KOM, 2X FAB-250, 2X S-24B based on found historical research.

MiG-21Bis:
-Default loadout changed to center tank + 2X FAB-250 based on found historical research.

Mini-Missions:
-Several mini-missions adjusted to have slightly lighter payloads.

*Changed because, according to the DCS Mi-8MTV-2 User Manual, a value of 100 represents test stand power while 90 represents a brand new engine. Afghanistan was harsh on engines and most would be worn down significantly. Many served beyond their listed maximum service life. Refer to the documentation PDF for information on each helicopter's engine integrity.

**Changed because the clamshell doors were actually not used frequently in Afghanistan for missions requiring rapid cargo transfer. They could allegedly take more than 10 minutes to fully cycle and required someone to stand outside and operate them. The side door, though significantly smaller, did not have these limitations and was preferred in most cases. The mission reads the state of these doors to determine mini-mission progress so they must not be occupied by guns. As the clamshell doors are now (mostly) unused they can be utilized to mount the rear PKT. The side doors however must now be unobstructed, barring the use of the Kord. These limitations only apply to the Mi-8s used in mini-missions.

***Previously if a client selected a mission involving a specific helicopter while not occupying it they would miss the briefing for that unit. Now it is possible to occupy the slot at any time after activating the mission and still receive the briefing message.

Thanks for 100 downloads!

Mission Download Link:
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3335222/

 

Edited February 11 by ACS_Dev
Formatting.