DCS: Afghanistan FAQ

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Impressive size (of the map)!
I'm looking forward to see it (again, the map) in action  

[Roostyla]

My understanding is that if you have not purchased the high detail areas but the mission extends to said areas then you wont see the buildings. So people with high quality are at a disadvantage when trying to use concealment (in a helo for example) . And the reverse if you have low detail you can hide inside a building that's not rendering for you but is for them.

Or short hand is you get noclip and invisibility in those assets.

Edited March 28, 2024 by Roostyla

[corbu1]

Thanks so much ED Team! This is a beautiful day! Didn‘t expect the preorder for today. I go definitely for the whole Afghanistan map!
 

Edit: preordered….

 

Btw: I‘m so you excited about the CH-47F in the Afghanistan teaser vid!!!! Please share some news about the Chinook with us soon!!!

Edited March 28, 2024 by corbu1

[Ogma]

28 minutes ago, NineLine said:

Read the FAQ, MP compatibility is there no matter what you buy. 

I did read it, but perhaps my question was not so clear.

What exactly is the difference between "high detail" and "low detail" ?

Is it low details as in Normandy 1.0 vs 2.0, i.e. same buildings but with different textures.

Or is it low details as in Haifa on Sinai vs Haifa on Syria ?

Or is it low details as in Crimea on Caucasus ?

Edited March 28, 2024 by Ogma

[Solo Wing]

If I’m not misremembering, this map didn’t take long to go from officially announced to preorder. I think it’d definitely answer a ton of questions if we could see a side-by-side of the same area in high detail and also in lower detail. 

[Tom P]

How much storage space will the main map be?
and how much space will owning a separate region be?

Edited March 28, 2024 by Tom P

[SlipHavoc]

12 minutes ago, Yurgon said:

Sounds like any campaign and any mission set in Afghanistan might have to be custom-built for either of the 3 regions, or exclude players who have not purchased all regions, or work around issues that arise from players seeing low detail content.

It does not sound like that to me.  And if this is a major concern for you, and you anticipate flying a lot of missions outside the high-detail area of one of the smaller portions, then buy the whole map.

[RafaPolit]

1 minute ago, Solo Wing said:

If I’m not misremembering, this map didn’t take long to go from officially announced to preorder. I think it’d definitely answer a ton of questions if we could see a side-by-side of the same area in high detail and also in lower detail. 

Since everyone is getting the South area in high detail, and there are no high details in other areas at this point, this simply is not possible at this point.

Common guys, it's a new system, there are questions, let's try to give SOME benefit of doubt to ED that they have spent, at least, more amount of time thinking on this than the two seconds we have had to complain about it! 

[Yurgon]

Just now, SlipHavoc said:

[...] then buy the whole map.

The issue is about mission and campaign creators, not about what I see.

[Hiob]

26 minutes ago, Roostyla said:

My understanding is that if you have not purchased the high detail areas but the mission extends to said areas then you wont see the buildings.

 

It will be the same as with the Normandy 2.0 map. The buildings will be there, just low poly, low detail models, but otherwise the same. Probably missing some fences and bushes and satellite dishes.

Seriously, I don’t get what all the fuzz is about. You can still buy the whole map for a reasonable price (given the size, I would say it is at least the same value as all the other maps easily).

You just have the option(!) to be cheap or save some money if you simply don’t care for some areas or high detail.

I wonder how people who are overwhelmed by this amount of complexity do their taxes…..

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Couldn’t the potential issues with campaigns be mitigated by using the same detail of the terrain mesh across the map even if you only have 1 region?

The “low detail areas” could then just be lower quality textures, fewer towns/cities/civilian buildings, etc?

 

What would the potential issues with that be? I can only think of ground units’ LoS being blocked by trees that may or may not be there. Am I missing something else? 
Regardless, it would be nice to have that clarified/considered by ED.

[Hiob]

I highly doubt that ED hasn’t thought about campaigns. They didn’t struck me as shortsighted so far.

I may be proven wrong eventually (even though I doubt it), but for now I assume they have thought it through. Can’t remember any problems with the Normandy map in this regard. 

[SteelPig]

53 minutes ago, Yurgon said:

Will the map extend to the Gulf of Oman to allow carrier operations?

Personally I wouldn't mind if Pakistan was modelled at low detail as long as there's an option to include the Supercarrier and naval aviation.

That's exactly what I have in mind. And what I would like to know before I decide to buy. 

[Roostyla]

11 minutes ago, Hiob said:

It will be the same as with the Normandy 2.0 map. The buildings will be there, just low poly, low detail models, but otherwise the same. Probably missing some fences and bushes and satellite dishes.

Seriously, I don’t get what all the fuzz is about. You can still buy the whole map for a reasonable price (given the size, I would say it is at least the same value as all the other maps easily).

You just have the option(!) to be cheap or save some money if you simply don’t care for some areas or high detail.

I wonder how people who are overwhelmed by this amount of complexity do their taxes…..

The issue is that's not what is being said on various Discords by ED, we shall wait and see I guess for more official clarification of how this will work. I'm in the UK so don't have to work out my own tax lol

[NineLine]

43 minutes ago, Ogma said:

I did read it, but perhaps my question was not so clear.

What exactly is the difference between "high detail" and "low detail" ?

Is it low details as in Normandy 1.0 vs 2.0, i.e. same buildings but with different textures.

Or is it low details as in Haifa on Sinai vs Haifa on Syria ?

Or is it low details as in Crimea on Caucasus ?

 

Yes, using the same tech as Normandy 2 update. Thanks

[Hiob]

8 minutes ago, Roostyla said:

The issue is that's not what is being said on various Discords by ED, we shall wait and see I guess for more official clarification of how this will work. I'm in the UK so don't have to work out my own tax lol

Only the first part of my post was an answer to your quote. The rest was more "general".

[skywalker22]

40 minutes ago, Tom P said:

How much storage space will the main map be?
and how much space will owning a separate region be?

 

I would say the same as Syria or SA, so around 70-80GB.

The whole fully detailed version I mean.

I am really looking forward to this map, looks stunning, and very versatile.

[NineLine]

58 minutes ago, Yurgon said:

The questions many people ask are not about any one person's choice, but how this is going to work in Multiplayer and for missions and campaigns where authors can no longer assume that a player who has the product will see it in the same way as the mission creator. Sounds like any campaign and any mission set in Afghanistan might have to be custom-built for either of the 3 regions, or exclude players who have not purchased all regions, or work around issues that arise from players seeing low detail content.

ALl this can be communicated with how the mission or campaign is distributed just like what modules and maps it uses. Its not really an issue. People download missions for things they don't own all the time by not reading the description or the description not stating this. Its just another thing that we will all have to deal with as is appropriate. 

[qacarxan]

10 hours ago, BIGNEWY said:

What Does DCS: Afghanistan Offer?

This Afghanistan map includes the rugged mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush, the vast deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, and the many green fertile valleys and river basins of the region.

Quick question: the Dasht e Kavir and Dasht e Lut are deep in Iranian territory, not in Afghanistan whatsoever, and thus are nowhere in the area delineated in this press release. Is this statement inaccurate or is the map in the press release inaccurate? One of them has to be.

Looking forward to getting the map either way, but would love some clarity. See the map below for Kavir (blue) and Lut (white) vs the rough area of the DCS map. 

[YoYo]

10 hours ago, BIGNEWY said:

DCS: Afghanistan and DCS: Southwest Afghanistan are now available for pre-purchase ...

Thanks for the explanation, the most profitable option is of course pre-order and the entire map. Of course, I have no choice, I take the whole map. It would be nice to have a Chinook at a similar time :)!

[Steel Jaw]

Interesting map, though I see no option for carrier ops, land locked.

[skywalker22]

3 minutes ago, Steel Jaw said:

Interesting map, though I see no option for carrier ops, land locked.

Yee, indeed. 1st map with no water, at least not salt one.

[NineLine]

4 minutes ago, Steel Jaw said:

Interesting map, though I see no option for carrier ops, land locked.

Nope, the coast is too far. It would impact performance not to mention it would be a hella long flight. 

[skywalker22]

@NineLine since there is quite some portion of Pakistan included into the full map, will there be any airports included from Pakistan as well? Or maybe any airports from the northern countries?

[Arennord]

Personally, I already bought the whole map. This is all a matter of personal opinion, of course, but this is going to be one of the biggest maps so far (if not the biggest). I can understand the decision to split it. C'mon guys, we're getting it in june. I also want to get Bagram ASAP, but I can wait a bit for it, if it's going to be of a quality similar to Syria, which I love.

My concerns are more about that big chunk of Pakistan and the other northern countries that are included, but with no airfields marked on them, will those be included at some point?

Would like some clarification too on the Kavir and Lut regions, as stated in previous comments, they are far away of the map scope.

Anyways, I'd like to cheer ED for the good work. Honestly, I didn't expect to be getting the early access in june.

 

Edit: Removed the question about carrier ops, as it has already been answered.

Edited March 28, 2024 by Arennord