DCS: Cold War Germany - preview

[VMFA117_Poko]

Wow. This map looks great already and I'm sure will be favorite for many.

[Bremspropeller]

@MAESTR0 "Wolfsburg Airport" should actually be called "Braunschweig". It's currently officially known as Braunschweig-Wolfsburg, but that's just marketing. It has always been known as "Waggum" (which is the village just north of the field and which is part of Braunschweig's municipality) or later simply as "Braunschweig".

Spoiler

This should be it's 1980's correct length:

It was later (in 2011) lengthened to it's current size, allowing 737 andA320-family sized aircraft to operate from there.

Proves that brown grass sometimes is a thing in Niedersachsen as well:

2018 (when the pic was supposedly taken) was an awesomely dry year, though - I remember in Berlin it was *summer* between the end of March almost into late October...

More brown grass,looking east along the A2 and showing the current RWY length:

Edited March 16 by Bremspropeller

[draconus]

10 hours ago, skywalker22 said:

Can we drive a tank and shoot with it in DCS? 

Yes, but only with Combined Arms module.

[Reverend]

No Words 

[sasquatch98]

2 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

@MAESTR0 "Wolfsburg Airport" should actually be called "Braunschweig". It's currently officially known as Braunschweig-Wolfsburg, but that's just marketing. It has always been known as "Waggum" (which is the village just north of the field and which is part of Braunschweig's municipality) or later simply as "Braunschweig".

  Reveal hidden contents

This should be it's 1980's correct length:

It was later (in 2011) lengthened to it's current size, allowing 737 andA320-family sized aircraft to operate from there.

Proves that brown grass sometimes is a thing in Niedersachsen as well:

2018 (when the pic was supposedly taken) was an awesomely dry year, though - I remember in Berlin it was *summer* between the end of March almost into late October...

More brown grass,looking east along the A2 and showing the current RWY length:

While I appreciate your photographic evidence I have it on good authority that due to the Reinheitsgebot für den grünen Rasen of 1569 (nice) that there’s no brown grass in the reich Germany.

 

Edited March 16 by sasquatch98

[Schmidtfire]

I found this very interesting study. Maps complete with SAM placement and coverage rings.

DDR Strategic Air Defense: A Cold War Case Study

https://geimint.blogspot.com/2008/08/ddr-air-defense-cold-war-case-study.html

[Smith]

7 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

I do agree with @Smith that there's a bit too much contrast between brown and green.

Thanks for agreeing. Too much contrast between brown and green describes it quite well. 

My point is just that in the pictures of Ugra Media it looks like mud, and not like dry brown grass.

In this picture everything looks perfect. I don't see big mud/brown spots/blobs at all. It doesn't look like it was a very hot and dry summer. Ugra Media got it very right in this picture:

But here it looks very strange to me. Where does all these mud blobs come from? Normally it gets brown and muddy when there are a lot of vehicles driving, but then there should be tracks of vehicles in the mud and not just generic blobs of mud. And around the fence there is normaly also not some generic mud. Either the grass is growing all under the fence or there is a thin pathway for soldiers for walking a patrol. 

On a real picture i don't see blobs of mud. Just different shades of green, but not sand brown like in a desert. And just a small pathway around the military facility:

nullAnd on real european airbases the grass is growing all up to the taxiways and runways and parking spots. There is no mud around the parking spots:

So why is there all mud around taxiways in this picture:



Or a little bit of mud around all the taxiways and parking spots in this pictuere:


It should be green all up to every runway and taxiway like in this picture:



Brown spots should only be where vehicles are driving or where there is a construction site. This picture also looks very strange to me. What happened to the grass there?



Okay, i think it is enough. Don't get me wrong, i like what i see, i just hope that they get it right. It would kill my immersion on every airport aproach when i would see these mud blobs on every airport in this map. And i also think that it would save some memory if they reduce these blobs of mud and just put a normal grass texture around the airports. Just like it is on the good old caucasus map. It is lacking details but at least there is no mud blobs around all the airports:

[Wing]

Very excited for virtual deployments on this map!!

[Thamiel]

Brown spots doesnt mean mud, it can simply indicate dusty patches of soil too dry to grow gras or any kind of vegetation.

Ugras pictures were too common during the last dry summers around here.

[draconus]

8 hours ago, Smith said:

It should be green all up to every runway and taxiway

Only in ideal world. It can get anything from all gray, dry and muddy up to a nice green meadow. The grass/soil around the airfield is not kept uniform because it has no such purpose.

Take a look at Ramstein:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qHfTHQL2rVqxoD2C9

I agree that some colors and contrast may not look too believable but not unrealistic either.

Edited March 17 by draconus

[Bremspropeller]

That's Ramstein.

Rammstein are those guys:

Edited March 17 by Bremspropeller

[gulredrel]

4 minutes ago, Bremspropeller said:

That's Ramstein.

Rammstein are those guys:

Feuer frei!!! works with both 

[CommandT]

8 hours ago, Smith said:

Thanks for agreeing. Too much contrast between brown and green describes it quite well. 

My point is just that in the pictures of Ugra Media it looks like mud, and not like dry brown grass.

In this picture everything looks perfect. I don't see big mud/brown spots/blobs at all. It doesn't look like it was a very hot and dry summer. Ugra Media got it very right in this picture:

But here it looks very strange to me. Where does all these mud blobs come from? Normally it gets brown and muddy when there are a lot of vehicles driving, but then there should be tracks of vehicles in the mud and not just generic blobs of mud. And around the fence there is normaly also not some generic mud. Either the grass is growing all under the fence or there is a thin pathway for soldiers for walking a patrol. 

On a real picture i don't see blobs of mud. Just different shades of green, but not sand brown like in a desert. And just a small pathway around the military facility:

nullAnd on real european airbases the grass is growing all up to the taxiways and runways and parking spots. There is no mud around the parking spots:

So why is there all mud around taxiways in this picture:



Or a little bit of mud around all the taxiways and parking spots in this pictuere:


It should be green all up to every runway and taxiway like in this picture:



Brown spots should only be where vehicles are driving or where there is a construction site. This picture also looks very strange to me. What happened to the grass there?



Okay, i think it is enough. Don't get me wrong, i like what i see, i just hope that they get it right. It would kill my immersion on every airport aproach when i would see these mud blobs on every airport in this map. And i also think that it would save some memory if they reduce these blobs of mud and just put a normal grass texture around the airports. Just like it is on the good old caucasus map. It is lacking details but at least there is no mud blobs around all the airports:

Everything you've called "mud" is not mud - it's simulating dried out patches of grass, which is not unusual in peak dry summer. But mostly it's clear that Ugra has done it to create a little more depth to the textures in the scenes. It may be overdone a bit in places but it's an artistic approach to making things like taxiways, buildings and objects blend into the surroundings more cohesively ad create more of a "rough" finish. It's especially welcome for the GDR airbases. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Air_Army#/media/File:FP_Sperenberg.jpg

[portman]

vor 22 Stunden schrieb Stratos:

@MAESTR0

Two questions, hope you can help.

1- Those are BTR-60, are they just eye candy or part of new functional vehicles that can be used in missions?

2- Can the cars you use for the map please made available for users so we can place them as other map objects?

 

3 - Can you please add the military versions of Trabant (Kuebel), Barkas, IFA W50 & L60 trucks and maybe even IFA P3 for a proper representation of the East German army? 

Looking forward for Peenemuende airbase btw 

[bfr]

33 minutes ago, CommandT said:

Everything you've called "mud" is not mud - it's simulating dried out patches of grass, which is not unusual in peak dry summer. But mostly it's clear that Ugra has done it to create a little more depth to the textures in the scenes. It may be overdone a bit in places but it's an artistic approach to making things like taxiways, buildings and objects blend into the surroundings more cohesively ad create more of a "rough" finish. It's especially welcome for the GDR airbases. 
 

I guess it boils down to a personal tastes/preferences thing but I personally like that they'll be doing this for summer textures rather than a fairly uniform lushness.

[Bremspropeller]

53 minutes ago, portman said:

Looking forward for Peenemuende airbase btw 

Same! I've always liked those concrete artificial islands they built to house the marker beacons.

 

[VFXBLENDER]

Is there at least a predicted date of release for the map or is it kept a secret for now?

[Hiob]

8 minutes ago, VFXBLENDER said:

Is there at least a predicted date of release for the map or is it kept a secret for now?

2025 is the most narrow date i've seen so far.

But given the flood of promo material and the looks of it, I would assume it is pretty far riped.

[bfr]

11 minutes ago, VFXBLENDER said:

Is there at least a predicted date of release for the map or is it kept a secret for now?

I haven't seen anything approaching official framing of expectation but I suspect it can't be that far off initial release given what they've already shown off. Although how barebones that will be and how long it'll take to complete even the first phase is anyone's guess.  If I were betting i'd expect to see it within the next couple of quarters.

Edited March 17 by bfr

[Eisprinzessin]

vor 20 Stunden schrieb gulredrel:

First time watching the images on PC big screen. Just noticed: VEB Sachsenring. All pre-orders should receive owner's manual of Trabant 601 

Yes, and a waiting time of 18 Years?

P.S. we need Iltis and Wolf

[Smith]

3 hours ago, CommandT said:

Everything you've called "mud" is not mud - it's simulating dried out patches of grass, which is not unusual in peak dry summer. But mostly it's clear that Ugra has done it to create a little more depth to the textures in the scenes. It may be overdone a bit in places but it's an artistic approach to making things like taxiways, buildings and objects blend into the surroundings more cohesively ad create more of a "rough" finish. It's especially welcome for the GDR airbases. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Air_Army#/media/File:FP_Sperenberg.jpg

 

I know that it shall simulate dried out patches of grass. But it is just far too much contrast between brown and green. It is not just overdone a bit.
And actually in the real world it is just the oposite. The Grass is greener near the Runway and Taxiways:

 

 

4 hours ago, draconus said:

Only in ideal world. It can get anything from all gray, dry and muddy up to a nice green meadow. The grass/soil around the airfield is not kept uniform because it has no such purpose.

Take a look at Ramstein:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qHfTHQL2rVqxoD2C9

I agree that some colors and contrast may not look too believable but not unrealistic either.

 

I took a look at ramstein and it made it not better for me how the grass looks in the pictures of ugra media:

 

Ugra just should make the brwon patches a bit greener and the green grass a bit more brown for summer textures and i think i could be happy, but at the moment it is just too much.

Edited March 17 by Smith

[Northstar98]

3 hours ago, CommandT said:

Everything you've called "mud" is not mud - it's simulating dried out patches of grass

If that's the case - it doesn't look like it at all. It looks dug up.

[Meerschweinmann]

I can hardly wait. Taking off from Laage in the FF Mig-29A with a little bit of Sabaton playing. 

[Bremspropeller]

Let's hope the FF 29 and Phase 3 (Preschen AB) make it together, so I can triple-Immelmann ths thing appropriately on my first flight.

[CommandT]

The fact that the main topic of discussion/ criticism here is regarding dried out grass/ patches of dirt/ mud surrounding the airbases says a lot about how good a job they've done overall.  

From the material shown so far this map is on completely different level to Kola or SA. 

P.S. I agree that those brown patches could be toned down a little and made slightly less contrasty. But overall it's looking great.

Edited March 17 by CommandT