DCS: Kola map by Orbx in Early Access available now!

[Beirut]

Just finished installing. My DCS install is now at 700GB. My 1TB DCS dedicated NVME is starting to get a bit full. 

[D4n]

What are the purple rectangles in this image???

 

 

Edited May 3, 2024 by D4n

[exhausted]

those are the available airports

[D4n]

12 minutes ago, exhausted said:

those are the available airports

but why 2 boxes inside of each other with only 1 airfield icon? null

[corbu1]

vor 56 Minuten schrieb FFalcon:

Payment via PayPal is not available?

It should….worked fine for me

[98abaile]

I've purchased it through the shop and authorised paypal payment, but it's just been stuck in payment processing for a good while now.

 

EDIT: I changed my payment method. It's apparent that paying by paypal is having issues.

Edited May 3, 2024 by 98abaile

[exhausted]

I made this video for my first test of the map. Feel free to subscribe if you want DCS clips lol

 

[Tango3B]

Bought as promised. ;-D The map looks great and the performance is good too. The download size is hefty, I'm afraid I'm starting to need a new SSD. But no matter, now all we need is Northern Lights on the Kola Map and the map will be spectacular...what can I say, I've wanted a map like this since EF2000. The release went great...I'm happy. 

[Gunfreak]

1 hour ago, D4n said:

but why 2 boxes inside of each other with only 1 airfield icon? null

It's high detail areas. 

In this case I think it's one for the Air station Banak and one for the town of Lakselv 

[Goofy12]

Very smooth in VR

[Pizzicato]

13 minutes ago, Goofy12 said:

Very smooth in VR

Great to hear. Can't wait for the end of the working day so I can go for a test flight or two.

[waterman]

Hi can someone check -

Do the DCS trains work ok on the Kola Map Railway Network ?

Someone please give the WW2 addon class 86 steam Locomotive a Run.

Is it on correct track height and does it smoke and do the wheels turn and animate ok ?

thanks

 

Someone checked thanks - answer is trains still to low into tracks and wheels do not rotate or animate.

Edited May 4, 2024 by waterman

[maverick90]

I'm planning on getting a new map and can't decide between this one or Syria. Which map is bigger and has more rich and beautiful landscapes out of the 2?

I have the stand alone version of DCS, does anyone know when it will be available to purchase directly from DCS's website?

[Beirut]

14 minutes ago, maverick90 said:

I'm planning on getting a new map and can't decide between this one or Syria. Which map is bigger and has more rich and beautiful landscapes out of the 2?

I have the stand alone version of DCS, does anyone know when it will be available to purchase directly from DCS's website?

 

Syria is probably the best and most refined map. You get your money's worth and more (especially on sale). It's seen lots of updates and improvements. it's an excellent map in every way. Try the free version for two-weeks.

 

Kola is brand new and early access. Many improvements yet to come. And you can buy it right this very second if you want.

[RafaPolit]

I just did a quick flight.  Most regions seem very deserted / green patches... the world is simply not like that anymore.  I hope it gets refined over time.

Where are the "nice areas" to fly around that you guys would recommend?

Also, F-15E ground radar, and, apparently, radios are not working for me.  Anyone else had this issue?  Am I misconfiguring something in the ME?

As a side note, even for an Early Access, launching this without a single instant action so that people can jump right in on the more "iconic" planes seems like a missed opportunity and would cause some friction as you cannot just "jump into the map".

[Tango3B]

42 minutes ago, maverick90 said:

I'm planning on getting a new map and can't decide between this one or Syria. Which map is bigger and has more rich and beautiful landscapes out of the 2?

I have the stand alone version of DCS, does anyone know when it will be available to purchase directly from DCS's website?

As for now, go for Syria if you want perfection - UGRA did a tremendously good job at making this map the best map in DCS (my opinion). If you have money to spare, then invest it in DCS Kola. The map is great but is lacking the final polish - it has just been released today, so...! If you want a map without any flaws...well, than please go for DCS Syria...you just can´t go wrong with this map. Do I still recommend DCS Kola? Hell, yeah! Buy it! Thank you.

[Yurgon]

1 hour ago, maverick90 said:

I'm planning on getting a new map and can't decide between this one or Syria. Which map is bigger and has more rich and beautiful landscapes out of the 2?

Just echoing what was already said, Syria is a fairly large map and covers southern Türkiye, all of Lebanon, most of Syria, northern Israel and even a little bit of Jordan. It includes many beautiful and unique buildings and landmarks in various places. The map goes from green-ish vegetation in Türkiye and along the northern Mediterranean coast to more desert-like landscapes in most of Syria. Then there's Cyprus, including the UN posts along the divided island, also beautifully modelled. One recent update gave roads "give way" signs that add a lot to the immersion when flying down low in helicopters. Syria is by far my favorite map in DCS right now and I highly recommend getting it.

Kola is just fresh out the door and a lot of content is yet to come. If you like the fascinating landscapes and fjords of Europe's northern tip, this map is certainly also a big recommendation, but as of today, I simply haven't spent nearly enough time on this map to give a good summary. It certainly adds more diversity to DCS, which is a big bonus in any case.

Edited May 3, 2024 by Yurgon

[AdrianL]

1 hour ago, Tango3B said:

Which map is bigger

While you are referring to map surface area, it should also be noted that the disk space requirements for the maps are very different

• Syria takes up around 67GB
• Kola is 144GB. And will get bigger.

 

[freehand]

I this similar to south Atlantic map content wise & half baked ?  or very useable was just going to hit the button then come across the thread.

edit: Just read most posts so have my answer.

Edited May 4, 2024 by freehand

[Iron Sights]

Keep us updated on how the map is, I’m currently out of pocket. Would to hear about experiences with the map. Will try to grab it tomorrow or next weekend.

[Tango3B]

16 minutes ago, Iron Sights said:

Keep us updated on how the map is, I’m currently out of pocket. Would to hear about experiences with the map. Will try to grab it tomorrow or next weekend.

DCS Kola is great. Performance is quite enjoyable so far (running a medium spec PC in 2024) and it has also been said that the visuals look stunning. I do agree and all of this is true. But again, the map is EA, so bear that in mind when purchasing it...there are certain downsides/limitations when purchasing it at this very early stage. Always bear this in mind that there are vast areas looking a bit rough, yet. If you´re okay with that and you want to support the dev, then go ahead, buy the map and you might be enjoying DCS Kola just like me...

[MAXsenna]

I don't really want to sound harsh, but... 

4 hours ago, RafaPolit said:

I just did a quick flight.  Most regions seem very deserted / green patches... the world is simply not like that anymore.  I hope it gets refined over time.

You obviously have never been here, so how would you know? 

4 hours ago, RafaPolit said:

As a side note, even for an Early Access, launching this without a single instant action so that people can jump right in on the more "iconic" planes seems like a missed opportunity and would cause some friction as you cannot just "jump into the map".

This complain comes up after every map release. And as staded time and time again, map makers are not supposed to provide missions. Which modules to pick, or all? They might not even have your favourite module! It's up to the module developers to provide these, and they might not even have all the maps.  

[T.Power]

There's already plenty filled in near Murmansk to make for some great cross boarder skirmishes.  Visually they've raised the bar in a few areas and the performance is decent especially considering the level of detail in the towns.  More maps and more rotors incoming, what a time to be alive.

 

Edited May 4, 2024 by T.Power

[Baltic Pirate]

11 hours ago, Archangel44 said:

Cool map, however, dropping lower in altitude as in landing, frame rates are taking a beating.

Hopefully it’s just my rig, but my older rig does well on other maps so I dunno.

Update, now all of the maps I have are producing low frame rates. Perhaps the little update that was let out.

 

Yeb. Tried other maps, smooth. Lots of stuttering and lags on this one. Not playable for me. Think I will wait for patches.

[exhausted]

I did a lot of low level flying for this video, and while I had occasional pauses, they weren't biased to occur at low level