12.01.2024 - Vulkan Progress | DCS Core | DCS Modules

[Graphics]

 

 

12 January 2023

 

Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, 

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that the New Year has started well. For those of you who may have missed it, please check out our 2024 and Beyond video. 2024 will see the introduction of the Vulkan API which will offer better frame rates for most players as well as new graphical capabilities such as ray tracing and improved VR performance.

In addition to new aircraft, terrains and Vulkan API, DCS core will see many new features, as well as bug fixes and improvements based on your feedback and requests. 

New modules and core improvements will be developed in conjunction with work on existing modules. Please check out the details below. 

Thank you for your passion and support.

Yours sincerely, 

Eagle Dynamics

 

Vulkan for DCS

Development Progress

With the release of multi-threading and DLSS/FSR, the next big core DCS task is the support for the Vulkan Application Programing Interface (API). Multi-threading was a prerequisite to support the Vulkan API backend and enhance system performance/efficiency. 

Much of the Vulkan API work over the past several years has focused on adapting the DCS internal tools to seamlessly integrate with optimized functionality to ensure peak performance. This has been a challenging endeavor to rectify all validation errors, streamlining graphics and processing tasks, improving compatibility with Nvidia, AMD, and Intel hardware and a diverse set of drivers, and creating and refining the groundwork for rendering across multiple threads that will allow even more advanced graphic capabilities.

As we move into 2024, we continue to optimize and refine performance to exceed what is possible with DirectX 11. It is important that we continue to push graphic standards whilst maintaining excellent performance for both 2D, and even more so, VR. 

However, like multi-threading and DLSS/FSR, results will vary between players based on their hardware and settings.  

 

DCS Core

Development Progress

Here are some of the interesting functionality improvements coming to DCS:

Save Game. Our new game persistence system will allow you to save mid-mission and return to that save point at a later time.

Replay System. The current track file system was originally created as a debugging system that simply reproduced game input to construct a replay of the mission. However, this system depends on limited DCS version changes between when the track was recorded and when being played back. The system in development for 2024 is designed to address this and will offer additional capabilities. 

Infantry Unit Improvements. We will be working on new infantry models and animations in 2024 along with more life-like behaviors.

New Air, Ground, and Naval Units. New units will be available in 2024 that will range from World War II to modern day. Each unit requires thousands of man-hours to create and will be provided as optional packs at their highest levels of detail. Standard versions will also be available for free to ensure both single-player and multiplayer compatibility for all.

Graphic Improvements. In addition to the graphic improvements that the Vulkan API will afford, we will also be making improvements to the Render Graph for better VR performance, new and improved special effects, and further advancements in the FLIR rendering system.

Weather. The weather focus for 2024 will be on a new fog system and towering clouds with appropriate line-of-sight blocking.

Voice Chat. 2023 saw great connectivity improvements and a unique, real-time voice processing allowing users to modify voices to replicate different radio eras and technologies. In 2024 we will continue to integrate radios to vehicles, ships, and other units. We also plan external application support and other player-requested features.

Spherical Earth. One of the biggest changes coming to DCS is the Spherical Earth. This substantial work is ongoing however we do not expect to release it this year due to the size of the endeavour.

Dynamic Campaign. Please read our Newsletter for 29 December 2023 where we discuss DCSDC in detail.

Air Traffic Control. Although we have a solid design to provide an exceptional ATC experience, much of the work in 2024 will involve how we generate the voice dialog and create a much-improved interface.

Improved Accessibility. To make DCS more accessible to new players, the Graphic User Interface will be updated to make it more user-friendly and include a Launcher with new capabilities. New interactive missions are also being developed to shallow the learning curve with popular modules like the F/A-18C.

Air-To-Air Missile Development. We plan to migrate the R-27 (AA-10) family and R-73  (AA-11) missiles to a new component structure and flight dynamics. This will be coupled with a new proximity fuse model that accounts for Doppler closing speed, modified seekers, and a more realistic interaction model between the missile and the supporting radar. This will be done within the larger MiG-29 project framework. Other missile types will also be developed in the same way.

Air-To-Ground Munitions. We continue to develop new munitions as well as update existing air-to-ground weapons to include a new component model with advanced flight performance. This includes guided bombs and tactical missiles.

Regarding Anti-Radiation Missiles (ARM), we are developing narrow-band specialized seekers that were used with early ARMs of the 1960 to 1980s prior to the more modern AGM-88 HARM class of missiles with broadband seekers. These older ARMs, such as the AGM-45 Shrike of the Vietnam era, will be modeled with other older ARM systems.

ECM. We are developing more advanced principles of electronic warfare that will allow simulation of a greater variety of electronic warfare attack and countermeasure modes and capabilities. This is a very complex task and confidential subject. We cannot promise quick results, but work is underway to deliver a satisfactory simulation of this opaque area of modern warfare. 

New Landing Gear. A new two-component landing gear system was released for the Mosquito last year. We will continue integrating it to other aircraft this year. We plan a separate newsletter article that will explain the new capabilities and what it brings to landing gear behaviors.

 

Module Support

Development Progress

In parallel with the development of the new modules discussed in last week’s newsletter, we will also continue to update, fix, and improve existing aircraft and maps. Some of these efforts include, but are not limited to:

Radar Improvements. In 2023 we released both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the radar improvements for the F-16C and F/A-18C. Phase 3 efforts will continue with a focus on better Single Target Track (STT) simulation, false target generation, and more realistic look-down effects.

Data Transfer Card (DTC). For each aircraft, the DTC consists of a variety of areas that are first modeled such as datalink, navigation, radio, weapons, sensors, and more. Once these elements are completed, they will be organized into a unified DTC interface.

Fuze Settings. All modern aircraft will benefit from the new and more advanced fuzing options first introduced for our WWII modules. This includes the new payload interface in the Mission Editor and Rearm/Refuel Window that will allow authentic setting nose and tail fuzes and new 3D rendering of fuze selections. 

DCS: F-16C Viper. Priority work for 2024 includes the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP), a 1st perspective pilot model, and other improvements like new HUD symbology and RWR Handoff tones.

DCS: F/A-18C. The biggest task for 2024 is a refactoring of the flight model and flight control system, landing gear physics, and improved external lights. Once the new external lighting system is complete for the F/A-18C, this technology will be used for other aircraft modules.

DCS: AH-64D. With the addition of the Fire Control Radar (FCR) core functions, next steps in 2024 include the addition of functions and modes such as LINK and remaining radar modes, new George and Flight commands, and the campaign.

Supercarrier. 2024 will see continued work on the new plane director operations that move aircraft out of the landing area to a parking location. This is in addition to work on the Air Boss deck and Ready Room.

Mosquito FB VI. This year we continue working on the features from the Early access list. Including AI crew members and the Drift recorder.

Rest assured, our other modules and maps will also receive improvements and enhancements.

 

Winter Sale

Hurry! Offers end soon.

Please note that this is your last chance to save big in our DCS Winter Sale! Watch the video. You can enjoy up to 50% discount across our most popular aircraft, terrains, tech packs and campaigns until the 14th of January at 15:00 GMT! Hurry up and shop now!

We hope that the progress on the DCS core is to your satisfaction. Please stay tuned for more details on all the topics mentioned above. Stay healthy and as always, fly safe. 

Thank you again for your passion and support, 

Yours sincerely, 

 

[MAXsenna]

Oh me, oh my! That's what I call a newsletter! Thanks for listening to all our wishes!

Sent from my SM-A536B using Tapatalk

[MadMonty]

Thanks BIGNEWY!

This newsletter is a fantastic read. Lots of ambitious projects that will certainly make DCS even better than it already is. Of course you want everything to be ready tomorrow, but the past few years have shown that it can be worth the wait. I wish the ED team every success in realizing all their projects!

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Perhaps this is a difficult question to answer, but after watching the latest Gonky&Mover show featuring Sir Wags, the biggest question on my mind concerning the future of DCS from an end-user perspective, is about graphics cards and specifically AMD vs nVIDIA. 
To me it sounds like the more fancy and noteworthy effects coming to DCS will require an RTX video card. I remember for years ED making very clear statements against the use of proprietary technology but how will AMD users fare in the not-too-distant future?

I’d like some clear and honest comments on that topic pretty please

[Hiob]

12 minutes ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Perhaps this is a difficult question to answer, but after watching the latest Gonky&Mover show featuring Sir Wags, the biggest question on my mind concerning the future of DCS from an end-user perspective, is about graphics cards and specifically AMD vs nVIDIA. 
To me it sounds like the more fancy and noteworthy effects coming to DCS will require an RTX video card. I remember for years ED making very clear statements against the use of proprietary technology but how will AMD users fare in the not-too-distant future?

I’d like some clear and honest comments on that topic pretty please

Every game so far that uses RTX can be played equally fine without it. Take Cyberpunk as an example. You have to be very minute and tech knowledgeable to pinpoint the actual differences in the highest non-RTX setting vs. actual RTX. While playing and in motion the picture looks slightly different, but „better or worse“ is pretty much a matter of taste. Just watch some comparison videos and see what length they have to go (zoom, close-ups, „red circles“) to show the differences.

I wouldn’t be to worried (in fact I‘m not worried at all)!

[Beirut]

Glad to hear about new asset packs. And if the quality is solid I have no problem with having to pay for them.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

4 minutes ago, Hiob said:

very minute and tech knowledgeable

Wags talked about Dynamic Shadows, and from my (albeit very limited) understanding that’s going to be a very noticeable upgrade over the current screen-space shadows especially given all the issues that come with anything screen-space.

[Hiob]

On a different topic:

I applaud ED for having a vision and working on it and trying to do it „right“ rather than „fast“. Keeping their lips tight regarding stuff until it is really progressed in a meaningful way is reasonable and an overall good call. All you get from letting out early is that the nitpickers go mental over changes in scope or timeline (or priorities). That said, I‘m excited for the stuff that is coming and can‘t wait of course!  (but I will! )

[Gunfreak]

Wow that newsletter more or less covered all my general complaints about DCS. It was a list of stuff I've bitched about and now they are fixing them(or at least working on fixing them)

My only remaining complaint not directly answered is the AI ground/ship accuracy. With expansion into pacific having realistic accuracy from AAA from ships seems like a biggy.

 

Given the deadliness of the German U-boat or schell boat fire. I can only imagine (with horror) what would happen if you tried to attack two of those Japanese cruisers with Corsairs or hellcats.

[andrewd251]

I think the biggest thing I took from the newsletter was the save game function. No more having to start again everytime life gets in the way of your game. 

[twistking]

20 minutes ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Perhaps this is a difficult question to answer, but after watching the latest Gonky&Mover show featuring Sir Wags, the biggest question on my mind concerning the future of DCS from an end-user perspective, is about graphics cards and specifically AMD vs nVIDIA. 
To me it sounds like the more fancy and noteworthy effects coming to DCS will require an RTX video card. I remember for years ED making very clear statements against the use of proprietary technology but how will AMD users fare in the not-too-distant future?

I’d like some clear and honest comments on that topic pretty please

4 minutes ago, Hiob said:

Every game so far that uses RTX can be played equally fine without it. Take Cyberpunk as an example. You have to be very minute and tech knowledgeable to pinpoint the actual differences in the highest non-RTX setting vs. actual RTX. While playing and in motion the picture looks slightly different, but „better or worse“ is pretty much a matter of taste. Just watch some comparison videos and see what length they have to go (zoom, close-ups, „red circles“) to show the differences.

I wouldn’t be to worried (in fact I‘m not worried at all)!

Raytracing is not a proprietary technology!!!
If you think that you'll need an Nvidia card for raytracing, you've been bamboozled by Nvidia marketing. It's safe to say that AMD is working on closing the gap in regards to raytracing performance and we will surely see AMD's next generation of GPUs hit the stage with improved raytracing performance.

[Hiob]

18 hours ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Wags talked about Dynamic Shadows, and from my (albeit very limited) understanding that’s going to be a very noticeable upgrade over the current screen-space shadows especially given all the issues that come with anything screen-space.

Raytracing is a good, but not the only way to draw good shadows.

There will always be a trade-off between „the best“ visuals and their cost (performance). That won‘t change with vulkan or RTX. But I‘m a firm believer that there will always be a way to adjust properly to any (reasonable) hardware. Just like now. (VR maybe a little bit tougher to find the sweet spot today, but that will improve)

Edited January 13, 2024 by Hiob

[LooseSeal]

I think the 'save game' might be the biggest thing there for me. I am simple man.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Just now, twistking said:

Raytracing is not a proprietary technology!!!

Yes thank you I am very well aware of that. Wags specifically said “RTX cards” hence my question and concern. It’s going to affect people’s purchase decisions after all…

[twistking]

Just now, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Yes thank you I am very well aware of that. Wags specifically said “RTX cards” hence my question and concern. It’s going to affect people’s purchase decisions after all…

Oh... i see. Sorry!
I do udnerstand your concern then, however i'm again fairly certain that maybe Wags himself has been bamboozled by Nvidia marketing to some extend. To be fair: In practice raytracing is not very viable on everything but Nvidia currently, AMD's next generation is not announced yet, so i assume he was just thinking about the current market situation and said RTX without thinking too much about the implications. It would be stupid for ED to artificially limit raytracing to a vendor. Clarification would be nice though.

[Gary]

Save game is big but I welcome a very rare mention of ATC improvements - although the article is not clear if we will recieve any changes this coming or not?

Anyone able to clarify at ED please? (everything subject to change of course)

Regards,

Gary

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

7 minutes ago, twistking said:

. It would be stupid for ED to artificially limit raytracing to a vendor. Clarification would be nice though.

Yes indeed and exactly!

I get annoyed sometimes at the current pop-in of shadows and how lighting changes are “instantly turned on and off” instead of gradual. So if that can be improved, I might be persuaded to go back to nVIDIA despite their cards being stupidly overpriced…

[BIGNEWY]

3 minutes ago, Gary said:

Save game is big but I welcome a very rare mention of ATC improvements - although the article is not clear if we will recieve any changes this coming or not?

Anyone able to clarify at ED please? (everything subject to change of course)

Regards,

Gary

ATC is a huge task but is in progress, we will share more news when we are ready to. 

thanks

[twistking]

6 minutes ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Yes indeed and exactly!

I get annoyed sometimes at the current pop-in of shadows and how lighting changes are “instantly turned on and off” instead of gradual. So if that can be improved, I might be persuaded to go back to nVIDIA despite their cards being stupidly overpriced…

Realistically both Intel and AMD will have their next generations of GPUs launched before raytracing arrives in DCS. I'd be surprised if those GPUs were not viable for at least running some RT effects. So let's wait and see...

Edited January 12, 2024 by twistking

[Snoopy]

Sure hope the save game feature works in MP.  Something as “simple” as the mission is saved when the last client exits the server would be great.

[Raisuli]

Track files.  That's a nice addition.  Most of my flying is only suitable as a warning to others, so it would be nice to have it properly documented.

[Rudel_chw]

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Here are some of the interesting functionality improvements coming to DCS:

Save Game. Our new game persistence system will allow you to save mid-mission and return to that save point at a later time.

 

This got to be my #1 feature, it will help me a lot when flying Campaigns, as I can save the game prior to arriving to the combat zone, so as to save time if I end-up reflying the mission.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Replay System. ... The system in development for 2024 is designed to address this and will offer additional capabilities. 

 

Sincerely, the last fixes to the replay system left it completely useful for my needs, allowing me to refly a mission from external view for recording videos, so further refinements are not really critical for me.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Infantry Unit Improvements. We will be working on new infantry models and animations in 2024 along with more life-like behaviors.

 

This will be a great feature, looking forward to them.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

New Air, Ground, and Naval Units. New units will be available in 2024 that will range from World War II to modern day. Each unit requires thousands of man-hours to create and will be provided as optional packs at their highest levels of detail. Standard versions will also be available for free to ensure both single-player and multiplayer compatibility for all.

 

This is great news, I will of course purchase every optional pack that you release, both to enjoy the more detailed assets, and to show up my support to DCS, but its nice that the MP crowd will not have grounds to complain about the optional packs "splitting up the community" 

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Weather. The weather focus for 2024 will be on a new fog system and towering clouds with appropriate line-of-sight blocking.

 

I look forward to this, but my dearest wish is if it would be possible to have different weather over different map areas.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Spherical Earth. One of the biggest changes coming to DCS is the Spherical Earth. This substantial work is ongoing however we do not expect to release it this year due to the size of the endeavour.

 

This is not really an important aspect for my kind of DCs flying, so I don't really care about its schedule.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Air Traffic Control. Although we have a solid design to provide an exceptional ATC experience, much of the work in 2024 will involve how we generate the voice dialog and create a much-improved interface.

 

looking forward to any ATC improvement, as it is an important aspect of solo flight.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Improved Accessibility. To make DCS more accessible to new players, the Graphic User Interface will be updated to make it more user-friendly and include a Launcher with new capabilities.

 

I actually enjoy the current GUI, and would just like some polishing up, like adding an illustration to the mission list, like its done with the campaigns. Lets hope the new GUI doesn't sacrifice power for increasing its appeal to newcomers.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

New interactive missions are also being developed to shallow the learning curve with popular modules like the F/A-18C.

 

looking forwards to trying these, as I enjoy the training aspect of DCS  

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

Air-To-Air Missile Development. We plan to migrate the R-27 (AA-10) family and R-73  (AA-11) missiles to a new component structure and flight dynamics. This will be coupled with a new proximity fuse model that accounts for Doppler closing speed, modified seekers, and a more realistic interaction model between the missile and the supporting radar. This will be done within the larger MiG-29 project framework.

 

I'm really looking forward to the MiG-29, hopefully all this missile tuning won't delay it.

 

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

ECM. We are developing more advanced principles of electronic warfare that will allow simulation of a greater variety of electronic warfare attack and countermeasure modes and capabilities. This is a very complex task and confidential subject. We cannot promise quick results, but work is underway to deliver a satisfactory simulation of this opaque area of modern warfare. 

 

Honestly, I don't really care that much about ECM, or crypto-comms ... but I'd love to have a working IFF system, as it has a much more important effect on simulating actual aerial combats.

 

Eduardo

[Silver_Dragon]

The newsletter is too brief, more like the following. There are things that were already known and do not detail anything new about it

 

[sirrah]

Quote

Here are some of the interesting functionality improvements coming to DCS:

 

Save Game. Our new game persistence system will allow you to save mid-mission and return to that save point at a later time.

 

Dear everything that's holy!

This is going to be a huge game changer for SP

[BIGNEWY]

3 minutes ago, Silver_Dragon said:

The newsletter is too brief, more like the following. There are things that were already known and do not detail anything new about it

 

it is impossible to fit everything in one newsletter, this is a summary of the bigger items we are working on. 

thanks