DCS Retribution - Dynamic Campaign Generator

[Starfire13]

DCS Retribution has been around for a couple of years now, but we've never gotten round to making a post about it on the official forums. I think it's time we rectified that! So, here goes.

 

Introduction

Retribution is a dynamic campaign generator for DCS that provides a turn-based persistent combat environment where the outcomes of each mission influence the following turns. This creates an evolving campaign that reacts to your actions. Aircraft that are lost have to be replaced, front lines shift as ground units battle it out, and air defences can be degraded or destroyed. Your own resource sites have to be protected while you attack the enemy's. However, think carefully before you blow something up, because as you capture territory, you might miss having that oil refinery that you turned to rubble on Turn 3.

Control points (airfields, FOBs, FARPs) can be captured, squadrons re-assigned to new home bases, and SAM sites repaired. You can choose to cripple your enemy by bombing their runways, or destroying their factories and ammo depots. Or perhaps you wish to cut off their resources by bombing their offshore oil rigs, bridges, or train stations. Intercept and destroy ground convoys, cargo ships, or air transports. Send in choppers to capture enemy airfields. Plan long range strikes to destroy their reserve forces on the ground. You can do all these and more.

Retribution was originally started in 2022 by a group of Liberation developers and content creators who wanted to place a stronger focus on campaign customisation, mod support, and an expanded mission set. Retribution was built upon the Liberation code base, but has evolved significantly since then. We owe a great deal to former Liberation developers like ColonelPanic, Khopa, and ShdwPrince (who have all since moved on to other projects) who laid the original foundation. I should note that Retribution is not a replacement for Liberation, nor is Liberation dead. The Liberation code base is still being maintained by X-ray, who very generously offered to take over this task when the rest of us moved on (some to Retribution, some to other things). The Retribution dev team and X-ray still collaborate when we find major bugs that affect both.

Retribution currently has over a dozen content creators with our head honchos Stoner and Ghosti at the helm, as well as a 40-man testing team that helps us test new features and squash bugs. Development is very active, with typically at least one new build per week. Just in the past week alone, we have implemented support for Currenthill's USA Asset Pack, improved 3 existing campaigns, and added a new faction. We currently have over 120 factions available, covering everything from WW2 to the modern day.

If this interests you, check out our Github site below. If you wish to use Retribution, please read the Getting Started Guide on the wiki (link is below), which will walk you through the process. Please use a preview build, NOT the release build if the latest release build is more than a couple weeks old. While we do have the occasional release build, the very rapid pace of development means that any release build is just outdated within weeks. Pretty much all of our current users are on the latest alpha or beta build.

We also have an active Discord community (link below), so feel free to pop in to say hi! Questions and comments are always welcome.

 

Features

1. Retribution is usable in singleplayer and multiplayer, supporting both PvE and PvP.
2. We have 64 campaigns available right now, with more in development. These come in a variety of sizes and intensities, covering a broad range of eras.
3. All official aircraft and terrain modules are supported.
4. We support 40 different mods at the moment (including most of the popular ones like Currenthill Asset Packs, A-4E Skyhawk, Superhornet, Grinnelli's F-22A, Codename Flanker Su-30, IDF Mods, Vietnam War Vessels, OH-6, OV-10A Bronco, C-130J, UH-60L, Frenchpack, High Digit SAMs, Bandit's Weather Mod, etc).
5. We also support a number of plugins, including CTLD, Mbot Artillery, Splash Damage, Skynet IADS, EWRS, etc.
6. A large number of different mission types are available. Some of the mission types you can fly are BARCAP, Escort, SEAD Sweep, Armed Recon, Air Assault, Anti-Runway, DEAD, Close Air Support, Anti-ship, and Strike.
7. You can set up squadrons with primary mission types (these come by default with the campaigns but you can change them as you wish). Each squadron has pilots that can be replaced and can level up in skill as they survive across missions. We have about 350 preset squadrons (with appropriate liveries or livery sets) available right now.
8. Mission planning can be fully automated where you simply fly your assigned missions, or can be planned manually (for either or both sides).
9. Mission planning is performed directly in the Retribution UI where you can create missions and set targets, click and drag waypoints, easily change loadouts, set TOT offsets, etc. You have a great deal of control over how much is automated and how much you can fine-tune manually.
10. We offer support for multiplayer squadrons who wish to use their own livery sets, radio frequency settings, and pilot names.
11. Retribution can be used to generate Pretense campaigns using standard Retribution campaigns as a template. This dramatically increases the number of Pretense scenarios available to Pretense users.
12. You can create new campaigns (and submit them for inclusion in Retribution). We have a comprehensive guide on our wiki that will walk you through the entire process. No coding expertise is needed. All you need is the DCS mission editor and a text editor.
13. Our saves are forward compatible. This means that if you are in the middle of a campaign and update to a new version of Retribution, this is no problem. Your save file will load normally and you can keep playing.

 

Updates

15th April 2025: Retribution 1.4 has now released. Remember that Retribution has to be regularly updated to ensure compatibility with the latest DCS version. If you are reading this any time after April 2025, it is likely that you should be using a preview build instead of the release build.

 

Links

DCS Retribution Github Page

Official Discord Channel

Wiki with Getting Started Guide, Tutorial, Manual, and Documentation

Edited April 14 by Starfire13

[MAXsenna]

Thanks to the whole team! Keep up the excellent work! 

Cheers!  

[jack333]

I encourage the entire community to try it, it's the closest thing to a dynamic campaign. Thanks to the entire Retribution team (Stoner, Starfire, Ghosti....)

[Scotch75]

G'day Folks,

I just started having a play with Retribution a couple of days ago. Wow! It is very detailed and flexible. Well done to the devs. However, I could not see the Pretense Generator button on the GUI. I believe I have the latest version, and I created a mission and saved (retribution.nextturn) after pressing Take Off.
Many thanks.


Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[Starfire13]

3 hours ago, Scotch75 said:

G'day Folks,

I just started having a play with Retribution a couple of days ago. Wow! It is very detailed and flexible. Well done to the devs. However, I could not see the Pretense Generator button on the GUI. I believe I have the latest version, and I created a mission and saved (retribution.nextturn) after pressing Take Off.
Many thanks.


Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
 

 

Which version are you on? Please make sure you are using an up-to-date build, as described in the instructions above (and on the Getting Started Guide on the wiki). If you are on an up-to-date build, the button will definitely be there. There is also a Pretense Generator guide on the wiki that I highly recommend reading. If you still have troubles, please drop by the Discord and one of us can help further.

[Scotch75]

 
Which version are you on? Please make sure you are using an up-to-date build, as described in the instructions above (and on the Getting Started Guide on the wiki). If you are on an up-to-date build, the button will definitely be there. There is also a Pretense Generator guide on the wiki that I highly recommend reading. If you still have troubles, please drop by the Discord and one of us can help further.

I had downloaded the latest public release 1.3.1 from 17th March 2024. Should I go for a public beta release?
Cheers!

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[Starfire13]

23 hours ago, Scotch75 said:

I had downloaded the latest public release 1.3.1 from 17th March 2024. Should I go for a public beta release?
Cheers!

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
 

Yes. As mentioned in the post up above, you should not be using the release build. It is completely outdated and will not work with the current version of DCS. Please use a preview build. Instructions are in the Getting Started Guide in the wiki. If you are planning to use Retribution, it is highly recommended you read through the wiki because otherwise you are going to get frustrated trying to figure stuff out on your own. We have a Getting Started Guide and a tutorial that walks you through setting up and running your first campaign.

[Scotch75]

Yes. As mentioned in the post up above, you should not be using the release build. It is completely outdated and will not work with the current version of DCS. Please use a preview build. Instructions are in the Getting Started Guide in the wiki. If you are planning to use Retribution, it is highly recommended you read through the wiki because otherwise you are going to get frustrated trying to figure stuff out on your own. We have a Getting Started Guide and a tutorial that walks you through setting up and running your first campaign.

Thanks Starfire, I managed to download and install the latest beta. All good now. I appreciate the help.
Cheers!


Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[T.Power]

14 minutes ago, Scotch75 said:

Thanks Starfire, I managed to download and install the latest beta. All good now. I appreciate the help.
Cheers!


Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
 

I can't find the beta for the life of me, I can find the branch but no package.

[Scotch75]

I can't find the beta for the life of me, I can find the branch but no package.

You'll need a login to github. Once logged in, use the latest beta link in the official Retribution Discord, it should be at the bottom of the page under artefacts as a .zip file.


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[T.Power]

8 minutes ago, Scotch75 said:

You'll need a login to github. Once logged in, use the latest beta link in the official Retribution Discord, it should be at the bottom of the page under artefacts as a .zip file.


Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
 

Thank you!

[T.Power]

When I invert the map on some maps I get this error, any ideas?

[Starfire13]

10 hours ago, T.Power said:

When I invert the map on some maps I get this error, any ideas?

Map inversion is an optional feature and quite a number of map designers simply don't support it. Therefore, you get an error when you invert the map (as no airfields have been set to be available to you when the campaign is inverted).

While all of my campaigns technically support map inversion (meaning you can do it and there's no error), many of them are really not intended to be played that way as it is oftentimes quite impossible to balance the campaign well both ways.

[T.Power]

1 hour ago, Starfire13 said:

Map inversion is an optional feature and quite a number of map designers simply don't support it. Therefore, you get an error when you invert the map (as no airfields have been set to be available to you when the campaign is inverted).

While all of my campaigns technically support map inversion (meaning you can do it and there's no error), many of them are really not intended to be played that way as it is oftentimes quite impossible to balance the campaign well both ways.

Too bad.

[Starfire13]

30 minutes ago, T.Power said:

Too bad.

Considering Retribution allows you to fly for either side in a campaign, whether a campaign supports inversion isn't really all that important any more. It is kind of a semi-obsolete feature at this point and I think helps get around the issue of requiring the campaign creator to specifically build in a layout for inversion (since many designers don't). Nowadays, you can simply switch over to OPFOR and fly for them. You can even swap back and forth on each turn if you wanted to.

[T.Power]

4 hours ago, Starfire13 said:

Considering Retribution allows you to fly for either side in a campaign, whether a campaign supports inversion isn't really all that important any more. It is kind of a semi-obsolete feature at this point and I think helps get around the issue of requiring the campaign creator to specifically build in a layout for inversion (since many designers don't). Nowadays, you can simply switch over to OPFOR and fly for them. You can even swap back and forth on each turn if you wanted to.

The last time I tried Retribution you could not fly for opfor, thanks for the tip I'll have to try that out.

Edited February 5 by T.Power

[OldFlyer]

Liberation and now Retribution have given me so many more hours enjoyment in DCS. Thanks!

One question - I'm sure this has been covered somewhere but I can't find it. On the map when I'm mission planning (not the F10 map but the actual Retribution app map), how can I hide all the units that are listed as [DEAD]? Or is that even possible?

[Starfire13]

On 2/10/2025 at 4:47 PM, OldFlyer said:

Liberation and now Retribution have given me so many more hours enjoyment in DCS. Thanks!

One question - I'm sure this has been covered somewhere but I can't find it. On the map when I'm mission planning (not the F10 map but the actual Retribution app map), how can I hide all the units that are listed as [DEAD]? Or is that even possible?

No, that's not possible. The units that are dead will have a red bar beneath the icon so you can easily identify them. If the icon disappeared entirely, you'd no longer be able to repair destroyed SAM sites and such.

[OldFlyer]

4 hours ago, Starfire13 said:

No, that's not possible. The units that are dead will have a red bar beneath the icon so you can easily identify them. If the icon disappeared entirely, you'd no longer be able to repair destroyed SAM sites and such.

That makes sense. Thanks!

[Roy35150]

@Starfire13

Thx for your great work,

Amazing program...

[primus_TR]

Enjoying this very much. Thank you for your time and efforts. 

[Eaglewings]

Thanks to the dev team for this. I will be giving this a spin.

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[Starfire13]

Currenthill's Ukraine Asset Pack support has now been added to Retribution, along with the first campaign that uses it. Install the latest commit build to get access to the asset pack and new campaign.

https://github.com/dcs-retribution/dcs-retribution/actions

We have also added mod support for the Mirage III, and an update to the Cold War Assets mod is nearly ready. For those of you who have been having troubles with resource site kills registering on the Kola campaign Able Archer 83 after the latest DCS update, the campaign has also been updated to fix the problem (campaign restart required).

Edited February 17 by Starfire13

[Gorn557]

Hey @Starfire13, I love this! I've been messing around with the Retribution campaign interface for a few weeks to try to learn it and I think I'm finally ready to really dive into a campaign playthrough. Very specific question: how is the spawning of ships determined? I've wanted to do some anti-ship strike missions but whether or not ships exist seems to be randomly determined at the beginning of a campaign. Is there a way to either spawn them within the campaign, or do I need to edit the campaign files?

[Starfire13]

2 hours ago, Gorn557 said:

Hey @Starfire13, I love this! I've been messing around with the Retribution campaign interface for a few weeks to try to learn it and I think I'm finally ready to really dive into a campaign playthrough. Very specific question: how is the spawning of ships determined? I've wanted to do some anti-ship strike missions but whether or not ships exist seems to be randomly determined at the beginning of a campaign. Is there a way to either spawn them within the campaign, or do I need to edit the campaign files?

 

Ships spawns are determined by two things. Firstly, location of ship spawns in the campaign template. The campaign designer sets where he wishes ships to spawn when designing the campaign. Some campaigns do not have any ship spawns at all, because their designer has chosen not to include any.

 

The second factor is the faction chosen. Some factions simply don't have a navy (or at least do not have a period-correct navy that can be adequately simulated by the available ship types in DCS), and therefore will have no ships at the spawn points.

 

If you have a specific example where you are expecting ships to spawn but aren't seeing them (let me know the campaign name and the factions chosen), I can explain further.