01.03.2024 - Syria Updates | Weapons Development Progress | Wolfpack MP Server

[Graphics]

 
01 March 2024

 

Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends,  

In the most recent DCS update, Ugra Media has meticulously fine-tuned the DCS: Syria Map, embodying a commitment to precision and realism. The latest updates promise to immerse you further into this digital battlefield, enhancing both aesthetics and functionality. Please make sure you update to the latest DCS version to enjoy this and all the other additions and enhancements!

We're excited to update you on our progress to improve the weapon settings panel, especially pertaining to fuze settings for modern aircraft. The Mission Editor and Rearming/Refueling Panel weapons panel now caters to more complete setting up of bomb fuzes, laser code settings for Paveway II and III, cluster bomb configurations, airburst heights, and customizable parameters for seekers and control systems. Alongside these functional improvements, we've incorporated the long-awaited 3D nose fuzes based on nose fuze selection. Stay tuned for further information as we strive to deliver the most accurate simulation of such weapons available anywhere.

If you want to learn more about DCS and possibly participate in the multiplayer aspect, but are uncertain about where to begin, we are pleased to introduce you to the Wolf Pack Discord community. They are passionate (21+) DCS and aviation enthusiasts with members spanning every corner of the globe across numerous time zones. Joining Wolf Pack doesn't come with prerequisites such as training or a fixed schedule; you'll gain immediate access to all areas of their Wolfpack Discord.

Thank you for your passion and support.

Yours sincerely, 

Eagle Dynamics

 

Syria Map

Recent Updates

In case you missed it, Ugra Media's most recent updates to the DCS: Syria Map delivered optimized scenes and models by reducing the number of bushes, and textures while simplifying damages and car models. Ground textures saw a boost in frame rate performance due to updates to the ground vector data renderer. 

Detailed enhancements cover the territories of southern Israel and Jordan, featuring additions like Amman, King Abdullah II, Prince Hassan, Muwaffaq Salti, and Herzliya airfields. Technical fixes addressed relays and ILS in Ramat David airfield, and errors in objects were also fixed. The adjustments to the sea depth near the shore and a tower frequency change at Wujah Al Hajar airfield improve realism, while Ein Shemer airfield benefits from a runway extension, and added parking lots at Ein Shemer, Megiddo, and Ramat David airfields.

 

Weapons

Development Progress

We are pleased to share our progress on improving the functionality of the Mission Editor Payload settings window and the in-mission Rearm and Refueling pop-up. These interfaces will allow you much finer control of fuze settings, laser-codes, cluster bomb settings, unique 3D fuze models, and more. These panels will allow you to take “weaponeering” to the next level in DCS.

More specifically, we have focused on implementing bomb features that are relevant for modern munitions that include both general purpose bombs, sub-munitions, and guided munitions. This specifically includes setting the laser code (PRF) for laser-guided munitions like Paveway II and III, target spin rate at bomblet release for CBU-type munitions, airburst heights for munitions with radio-altimeters, and even adjusting seeker and control system parameters for weapons that have this capability.

Based on the nose fuze selection, the 3D models are now adjusted accordingly and even include sub-variants for nose plugs. We are also including bomb casings differences between USAF and US Navy weapons.

 

Wolfpack

MP Server

Wolf Pack is a thriving community across more than 10 multiplayer servers encompassing every facet of DCS: from WWII PvP/PvE missions to a modern jet competition division. They host a campaign mission every Sunday and a weekly helo mission on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. They fly dedicated WWII missions every Thursday/Saturday night. 

Check out the Wolfpack Discord event tabs for the week's mission schedule, or jump into our Discord voice chat when you fly to team up with other wingmen.

As a dedicated DCS Community, Wolfpack welcomes members from other DCS groups. If you're part of another community or squadron, make sure to connect! Introduce yourself in the Discord "introduce-yourself" section, share your link, and recruit for your group. The aim is to foster collaborations with other DCS communities and squadrons.

Thank you again for your passion and support, 

Yours sincerely,

 

[twistking]

Really looking forward to the new payload settings!
But please, please, please, don't forget to add short mouse-over tooltips for the different fuzes that give some basic descriptions. I'm willing to learn, but with these technical names, it will be easy to forget what is what. Tooltips should cover: What is it used for/What does it do? When was it used and by whom?

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

5 minutes ago, twistking said:

short mouse-over tooltips for the different fuzes that give some basic descriptions

Yes please! 

[Slippa]

Any work being done on fuses etc for our vintage props? Or plans for anything?

Cheers.

[Roy35150]

Great to see syria map get some love,

 

Thx Devs.

[twistking]

Oh and by the way: Will we eventually see a ground unit/structure damage modell update, for those fuzes to actually make a difference?
I fear that with the current damage model, fuzes for HE-bombs will most likely be novelty and cosmetic items. For delayed fuzes, we'd need proper penetration mechanics (structures, ships, maybe even tanks) as well as ground skipping physics (i guess for WW II mostly). Proximity fuzes would need some kind of basic shrapnel effect simulation against soft targets for them to make any difference.

Edited March 1 by twistking

[Whirley]

Excited about the new settings, fuzes and such. Thanks!

[BIGNEWY]

11 minutes ago, twistking said:

Oh and by the way: Will we eventually see a ground unit/structure damage modell update, for those fuzes to actually make a difference?
I fear that with the current damage model, fuzes for HE-bombs will most likely be novelty and cosmetic items. For delayed fuzes, we'd need proper penetration mechanics (structures, ships, maybe even tanks) as well as ground skipping physics (i guess for WW II mostly). Proximity fuzes would need some kind of basic shrapnel effect simulation against soft targets for them to make any difference.

 

when we are ready to talk about new features we will, but things do take time, we have limited resources and already a lot of work ongoing. 

thanks

[gulredrel]

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

We are also including bomb casings differences between USAF and US Navy weapons.

Thanks for going to add the visuals for fire protective coating. At least this is what I think is meant with this sentence.

[BIGNEWY]

Just now, gulredrel said:

Thanks for going to add the visuals for fire protective coating. At least this is what I think is meant with this sentence.

yes the grey ones if I remember correctly  enjoy!

[twistking]

10 minutes ago, gulredrel said:

Thanks for going to add the visuals for fire protective coating. At least this is what I think is meant with this sentence.

I'll probably use the grey coated GBU-variants even on USAF jets, because of the looks. Of course i would never tell anyone...

[Silver_Dragon]

11 minutes ago, twistking said:

I'll probably use the grey coated GBU-variants even on USAF jets, because of the looks. Of course i would never tell anyone...

GBU-10, 12, 16, 24, 31, 31 V3B, 32, 38, 54 has white coating from many time ago as GBU-31, 32, 38 has selectable fuzes animations.... missing the funtionality.

 

Edited March 1 by Silver_Dragon

[MadKreator]

Sounds like great updates to it.  I would still like to see an option to re-am before refuel, or to just pick one or the other easily, for certain scenarios.. just personal preference Excited for the fusing features either way!

[St4rgun]

I have little knowledge on this field, but is it possible right now to set the pre-programmed radio stations of the prop planes in some similar manner (like for P-51, P47 etc.)?

I know it's possible in mission editor, but for instant missions it's a guess which radio button configured to what frequency.  And as I know it's not configurable on the fly in the rearm and refuel panel, right? If it's correct then wouldn't it be a good idea to be able to?

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

1 hour ago, twistking said:

damage modell update, for those fuzes to actually make a difference?

It makes sense to finish implementing fuses first though. Remember when ED made the HARM more realistic? Back then people had the exact same comments: they said HARMs were not doing enough damage but the problem was the damage model of the radar dishes, not the HARM itself.

[NineLine]

4 hours ago, Slippa said:

Any work being done on fuses etc for our vintage props? Or plans for anything?

Cheers.

Its been available in WWII aircraft for some time now. 

[LorenLuke]

For the rearming panel, are there plans to allow it to include weapon customization beyond just fuze and laser code functions? Particularly rocket zone loadouts for the AH-64 and hellfire rails (to carry a symmetrical load of say, 6 Illum, 8 smoke, & 24 HE rockets, with 4 Kilo and 2 limas)?

[Slippa]

4 hours ago, NineLine said:

Its been available in WWII aircraft for some time now. 

I know there was a new option to save bomb selections added but thought there was still some confusion with the fusing?

Cheers for the reply though I wouldn’t wanna derail this thread too much for ya.

[Nealius]

15 hours ago, Silver_Dragon said:

GBU-10, 12, 16, 24, 31, 31 V3B, 32, 38, 54 has white coating

Should be gray coating (specifically FS 36375 IIRC), with dirt and grime, not a clean white as reflected in the current texture files. When this bomb customization feature is released I hope the textures are updated to better reflect reality. Inclusion of the already existing ablative green coating (two yellow bands) as an option would be great as well, for historical accuracy if doing 1980s~1990s missions, before the gray color was standard.

Edited March 2 by Nealius

[twistking]

3 hours ago, Nealius said:

Should be gray coating (specifically FS 36375 IIRC), with dirt and grime, not a clean white as reflected in the current texture files. When this bomb customization feature is released I hope the textures are updated to better reflect reality. Inclusion of the already existing ablative green coating (two yellow bands) as an option would be great as well, for historical accuracy if doing 1980s~1990s missions, before the gray color was standard.

 

Do you know what's the deal with the colour of the gbu guidance kits? They also come at least in green and light grey, but interestingly I've seen all color combination on photos: Green/Green, Green/Grey, Grey/Green, Grey/Grey...
I'd assume that the guidance kits's color is just "for taste" and that the Navy made the switch to grey kits at some point to go with the grey coating. But I've seen many assembled bombs with green coating and light grey guidance kit. What's about those? The procurement officer in charge just thinking it looks cool? They do look cool, so hopefully those will be available to us as well...

[Nealius]

59 minutes ago, twistking said:

Do you know what's the deal with the colour of the gbu guidance kits? They also come at least in green and light grey, but interestingly I've seen all color combination on photos: Green/Green, Green/Grey, Grey/Green, Grey/Grey...
I'd assume that the guidance kits's color is just "for taste" and that the Navy made the switch to grey kits at some point to go with the grey coating. But I've seen many assembled bombs with green coating and light grey guidance kit. What's about those? The procurement officer in charge just thinking it looks cool? They do look cool, so hopefully those will be available to us as well...

I've only researched the ablative coating but I imagine the guidance kits followed the same process: At some point in time the colors were changed, as they were introduced to the fleet they were intermixed with the older kits until the older kits were all used up and only the new kits remained. Why certain color kits were mixed with certain color bombs could be anything.

Looking at pics I see the guidance kits themselves mixed: gray kit with green fins, green kit with gray fins, etc. Just comes down to what's not broken and available for the mission that day, I suppose.

Edited March 2 by Nealius

[twistking]

1 hour ago, Nealius said:

I've only researched the ablative coating but I imagine the guidance kits followed the same process: At some point in time the colors were changed, as they were introduced to the fleet they were intermixed with the older kits until the older kits were all used up and only the new kits remained. Why certain color kits were mixed with certain color bombs could be anything.

Looking at pics I see the guidance kits themselves mixed: gray kit with green fins, green kit with gray fins, etc. Just comes down to what's not broken and available for the mission that day, I suppose.

That makes sense. The question remains about grey guidance kits outside of USNAVY use.

[Nealius]

Gray kits are not branch specific. Only the ablative coating is. 

The specific kit in the picture (and a lot of the gray kits I see on drones and European fighters) appear to be a much more modern version as indicated by the bulges forward of the fins, and the long fairing across the body.

Edited March 2 by Nealius

[twistking]

4 hours ago, Nealius said:

Gray kits are not branch specific. Only the ablative coating is. 

The specific kit in the picture (and a lot of the gray kits I see on drones and European fighters) appear to be a much more modern version as indicated by the bulges forward of the fins, and the long fairing across the body.

I see. I do wonder what the fairing is for. One would guess that the two parts were easily connected by just some wires. The fairing suggests that there may be mechanical linkage (why though?). Maybe it's also for electromagnetic shielding?

@BIGNEWY Any plans for those modern grey kits? They are soo chic! Green kits are for boomers.

[twistking]

After seeing @Silver_Dragon's latest videos, it seems that currently the grey guidance kits are only an option for USN versions (ablative coating). Would be neat, if those were also available for the general versions (without coating). Grey kits on green, non-coated mk-gp-bomb-bodies are seemingly quite common these days.