DCS Update | F/A-18C and F-16C Fixes | End of Summer Sale

[Graphics]

 

 

20 September 2024
 

Dear Fighter Pilots, Partners and Friends, 

We are excited to announce a host of important bug fixes and improvements coming in the next DCS update! This update will address Aircraft AI, Ground AI, weapons, and terrain optimisations. Please read the details below. 

Also included in the next DCS update are an impressive number of improvements to the DCS: F/A-18C and DCS: F-16C. A special thank you to our community who have provided invaluable feedback. 

The End of Summer Sale 2024 is filled with huge savings to help you digest your summer memories. Please head over to the E-Shop and check out all the amazing deals waiting for you! Please note that we are also offering the same deals on the DCS World Steam Edition! 

Thank you for your passion and support.

Yours sincerely, 

Eagle Dynamics

 

 

DCS Update Preview

What to look out for

Get ready for a wealth of DCS improvements that will add new features, resolve bugs, and optimise performance, especially in multiplayer environments. Here is what you can look forward to:

Aircraft AI and Ground AI
The latest update will include fixes and improvements to both Aircraft AI and Ground AI behaviour. For aircraft, issues such as cargo doors on the AI Mi-8 helicopter remaining open during transportation tasks and helicopters having difficulty landing will be fixed. The carpet bombing task will work correctly when a priority target is set and weapons free.  Additionally, fighters will perform better in cruise missile interception scenarios. For Ground AI, bridge crossing is being improved along with route following behaviour. The BTR-80 and BTR-82 will deploy a bow-wave shield when crossing water. Please stay tuned for the upcoming changelog. 

Weapons
Weapon behaviour will see several important fixes, particularly for the AIM-54C's lock reacquisition issue. AI units will properly use APKWS rockets. Additionally, the R-27R/ER missiles will be adjusted to track cruise missiles effectively, and a new China Asset Pack addition will introduce the HJ-12 Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). Other improvements will include updates to the Sea Eagle missile, which will have a collision model that can be intercepted.

Terrain Engine
The terrain engine will receive notable optimizations, including better VRAM usage, disk streaming, and CPU utilisation for rendering scenery models. This enhances performance across maps, especially in VR. Additionally, issues like crashes at mission start in certain maps (Afghanistan, Kola, and Sinai) and graphical artefacts when zooming or panning in map modes have been addressed. These optimizations will contribute to a smoother and more stable gameplay experience, especially in complex and processor intensive situations.

Other important improvements will include cargos no longer being destroyed when dropped, improved oil and water leak effects for World War II aircraft, and the Arleigh Burke Close-In Weapon System (CWIS) use against missiles is improved.

 

F/A-18C & F-16C 

Aircraft Improvements

Recent updates and bug fixes across various aircraft, including the F-16C and F/A-18C, are part of our ongoing commitment to refining the simulation and completing all release and post-Early Access support commitments. We have addressed a wide range of issues, from minor graphical glitches to more significant systems-related bugs that affect gameplay. 

The F-16C Viper will see improvements in its radar including fixes to Track While Scan (TWS) multi-designations, more reliable soft-locks in Range While Scan (RWS) and Dual Track modes, added the ability to interact with false targets, corrected Hot Lines, and improved Pulse Doppler (PD) tracking. For ground-pounders, Maverick slaving to the Sensor Point of Interest (SPI) issues will be addressed.

One of the biggest, and most requested changes, is the ability to select the Flight Control System dead zone gradient to either a realistic setting best used for force-sensitive joysticks or to exactly match the Controls Manager deadzone value. You will be able to select this in the next update.  

Despite being out of Early Access, the F/A-18C has and will continue to be supported with new features and fixes. In the next update, the F/A-18C will receive updates to its avionics and weapon systems. These updates are based on player feedback and extensive testing, they include adjustments to the radar BIAS behaviour, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), training missions, fuzes and more. Stay tuned for the full changelog! 

Although not ready for the next update, the F/A-18C is also undergoing an extensive review and re-work of the flight model and flight control system. Other F/A-18C features are still planned for the project like more Multi-Sensor Integration (MSI) features, loft symbology and data for JDAM and JSOW, and the Mk-77.

 

End of Summer Sale

Upgrade your hangar now!

The DCS End of Summer Sale 2024 is running until the 30th of September 2024 at 15:00 GMT, and we truly hope that you take this opportunity to land some great deals. Our most popular fighter jets are available with a 30% discount including DCS: F/A-18C, DCS: F-16C Viper, DCS: JF-17 Thunder, DCS: MB-339. Our staple helicopters such as DCS: AH-64D and DCS: Black Shark 3 are also on sale with 30% off! Many more aircraft, terrains, campaigns and important add-ons are on sale with 50% discount. Visit our shop! 

Please note that we are running an identical sale on the DCS World Steam Edition until the 23rd of September 2024 at 17:00 GMT as part of the Planes, Trains and Automobiles fest!

Thank you again for your passion and support, 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

[Darcaem]

Great to hear about VRAM usage and aircraft and ground AI improvments!! Let's hope performance can be as good as it was on 2.9.5!! Thanks!

[schurem]

Sounds good! Looking forward to the update. 

[hannibal]

love to older modules, much appreciated!

[scommander2]

57 minutes ago, Graphics said:

Weapon behaviour will see several important fixes, particularly for the AIM-54C's lock reacquisition issue.

Is it related to the following topic?

 

[Nuggetz]

So looking forward to the F16 radar fixes beyond all else

[freehand]

This sounds yummy nice.

[scommander2]

Is ST retired from this release according to the Newsletters on 9/6/2024?

[XBlackstoneX]

Awesome! Thank you for all you do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bucic]

Some of the recent Afghan shots clearly show adjusted lighting or even atmosphere modeling. Any details on that? I'm not saying it's Afghan-map-specific. I just noticed it around the time of Afghanistan release.

[XBlackstoneX]

Is there any chance of ray tracing or path tracing being implemented in the future?

Asking for a friend who might snag a 5090 next year!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bucic]

May I ask for high quality versions of the newsletter screenshots?

[sirrah]

44 minutes ago, Bucic said:

May I ask for high quality versions of the newsletter screenshots?

The one of the AAR Hornet was one of the winning shots in the screenshot contest and can be found here in high quality:

 

 

(I downloaded most of the contest screenshots and now use them as desktop background at work. Was a pita job saving them all one by one, but the result is worth it )

[ThorBrasil]

Hopefully the Marianas map will get performance improvements. Thank You!

[Blackhawk NC]

When will this update be released?

[ThorBrasil]

16 minutes ago, Blackhawk NC said:

When will this update be released?

high chance of it being next week.

[MiGCap1]

48 minutes ago, sirrah said:

The one of the AAR Hornet was one of the winning shots in the screenshot contest and can be found here in high quality:

 

@Bucic The one of the Fw 190D-9 also.

Edited September 20 by MiGCap1

[Bucic]

1 hour ago, sirrah said:

The one of the AAR Hornet was one of the winning shots in the screenshot contest and can be found here in high quality:

 

 

(I downloaded most of the contest screenshots and now use them as desktop background at work. Was a pita job saving them all one by one, but the result is worth it )

Got most of them saved as well but I didn't recognise them at first

[YoYo]

2 hours ago, Blackhawk NC said:

When will this update be released?

Due no any September update till now, perhaps it will be in the next week. Fingers crossed!  

[rob10]

2 hours ago, ThorBrasil said:

high chance of it being next week.

I'd bet that's the plan barring any blocking bugs.  But no guarantees of that there won't be blocking bugs.

[Bucic]

I'm focusing on staying DCS-clean for now, to jumpstart some simpit work. It sure came in handy June-September

[Rolling]

12 hours ago, Blackhawk NC said:

When will this update be released?

in 2 weeks.....

[draconus]

17 hours ago, Graphics said:

This enhances performance across maps, especially in VR.

Cool. Most troubled scenes included forests, cities and Supercarrier - is the performance improved there too?

[rocaf2003]

Vulkan still have chance launch in 2024?BEGGING for your answer Ed

[HansPeter1981]

9 hours ago, draconus said:

Cool. Most troubled scenes included forests, cities and Supercarrier - is the performance improved there too?

Too me the biggest impact, are still MFDs when displaying targeting optics showing densly treed background and or smoke / exhaust trails.

just fire up K-50 III Convoy Hunt mission, Slew the shkval off the runway into the treed mountains and watch your fps drop dramatically. That counts also for Harrier, Su 25t Tomcat etc, shallow angle vegitation and exhaust....

You can get similar experience with mirrors. 

 

TAA and FSR less problematic but blurry and or grainy mess while slewing compared to 4xMSAA 

Edited September 21 by HansPeter1981