The DCS Wish Manifesto: Truth from celestHawk

[celestHawk]

We are the backbone of DCS. The pilots, the builders, the mission makers, the modders. We commit hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into keeping this sim alive. But it’s time to speak the sore truth: Eagle Dynamics is failing us where it matters most.

---

1. The Update Nightmare

Installing DCS is not “immersive.” It’s punishment.

• 17+ hours to download, 13+ hours to unpack.
• One router hiccup, and the whole download dies — no resume.
• While downloading, you can’t play. The almighty update.exe locks you out completely.

Every other game in existence supports resumable downloads, background updating, or play-while-downloading. DCS? Still acts like a relic from the 90s.

---

2. The SSD Chokehold

DCS doesn’t just waste your time, it hijacks your hardware.

• It downloads and unpacks at the same time, hammering your SSD at 100%.
• Other games on the same drive? Forget it — they stutter, lag, or won’t even launch.
• SSD lifespan chewed up for no reason but bad design.

We bought NVMe drives for speed, not to watch them suffer under an outdated updater.

---

3. The Storage Trap

DCS already eats 400GB+ just for the base game and CoreModules containing tens of gigabytes of Liveries for modules one probably never try. 30+GB of Liveries just 'sits' on your drive in hope that you pay for the module so you can 'enjoy' them!

 But here’s the catch:

• If you tweak files or experiment with mods, you need an extensive backup — meaning another tens of GB gone.
• Try a trial map on a smaller SSD? You’ll download until the very end, then get “Not enough hard drive space.”
• The solution? Buy a new SSD. 2TB, 4TB, whatever it takes.

This isn’t a simulator anymore. It’s a storage treadmill. Every new map and module aren’t just money — it’s another hardware tax.

---

4. The GPU & Hardware Treadmill

Why do we need 4096x4096 textures when most players fly at 1440p? Why is VR still lagging and inaccurate in something as basic as button-pushing?

The truth:

• Instead of optimizing, ED piles on “eye candy” that only a 4090 can fake.
• Players are pushed to buy bigger GPUs, more RAM, faster drives — just to keep up.
• Meanwhile, core fidelity (ATC, AI, mission flow, basic usability) is left behind.

HOTAS costs a fortune, yet ED would rather you drop another $1,200 on a GPU and DDR5 than improve the sim’s fundamentals.

---

5. The Community Carries the Sim

And here’s the biggest insult: the best parts of DCS don’t come from ED. They come from the modders.

• VoiceAttack + VIACOM: Realistic comms with AI.
• CurrentHill’s packs: Free assets, now repackaged into another 10GB+ “official update.”
• Community scripts & mods: Texture optimizers, quality-of-life fixes, immersion tools.
• Extensive tutorials by players: Every module requires hours of community-made guides and videos just to perform at bare minimum. ED ships “study-level aircraft” but leaves the actual studying to unpaid players.

ED survives because of us — the unpaid developers, teachers, and testers filling the gaps. Yet instead of listening, they bury us under ‘wishes’.

---

Our Truth

We don’t need more unoptimized textures.
We don’t need bigger SSDs or pricier GPUs.
We don’t need 13-hour installs that hang on a dropped connection.
We don’t need unpaid players to write manuals for every module.

What we need is respect for the player base. Respect for our time, our hardware, our commitment.

Until then, let it be known: the “greatest sim on earth” survives not because of ED, but in spite of them — carried on the backs of the very community they neglect.

 

[Rudel_chw]

One cant help but wonder, after reading a thread like this, why you play DCS if the experience is so bad?

[celestHawk]

42 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:

One cant help but wonder, after reading a thread like this, why you play DCS if the experience is so bad?

Because despite all of this, DCS has no equal. That’s exactly why we push for better. We invest hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars — not because we hate it, but because we care.

If nobody spoke up about the broken update system, the hardware treadmill, the storage bloat, the reliance on community tutorials, then nothing would ever change. Saying “why still play” ignores the fact that the only reason DCS is still alive is because players like us stick with it, build content, and call out the problems.

[BJ55]

2 hours ago, celestHawk said:

One router hiccup, and the whole download dies — no resume

Never had such issue, I can stop the download and resume it from the last byte everytime I need to. 

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

While downloading, you can’t play... background updating...

It's not possible to rewrite a multiple GB file (.surface5) while it's in use whithout exhausting system resources.

2 hours ago, celestHawk said:

While downloading, you can’t play...

Other games on the same drive? Forget it — they stutter, lag, or won’t even launch...

Launch the download at night and don't play other games while doing software updates of any kind, CPU/RAM/MB have I/O limits, this user behaviour could lead to data corruption.

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

It’s a storage treadmill

Agree.

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

Why do we need 4096x4096 textures when most players fly at 1440p?

Partially agree, they should make hyper-HQ AI units textures (skins) as an optional download, but cockpits textures need high resolution in order to see the labels clearly.

[BIGNEWY]

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

We are the backbone of DCS. The pilots, the builders, the mission makers, the modders. We commit hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into keeping this sim alive. But it’s time to speak the sore truth: Eagle Dynamics is failing us where it matters most.

---

1. The Update Nightmare

Installing DCS is not “immersive.” It’s punishment.

• 17+ hours to download, 13+ hours to unpack.
• One router hiccup, and the whole download dies — no resume.
• While downloading, you can’t play. The almighty update.exe locks you out completely.

Every other game in existence supports resumable downloads, background updating, or play-while-downloading. DCS? Still acts like a relic from the 90s.

---

2. The SSD Chokehold

DCS doesn’t just waste your time, it hijacks your hardware.

• It downloads and unpacks at the same time, hammering your SSD at 100%.
• Other games on the same drive? Forget it — they stutter, lag, or won’t even launch.
• SSD lifespan chewed up for no reason but bad design.

We bought NVMe drives for speed, not to watch them suffer under an outdated updater.

---

3. The Storage Trap

DCS already eats 400GB+ just for the base game and CoreModules containing tens of gigabytes of Liveries for modules one probably never try. 30+GB of Liveries just 'sits' on your drive in hope that you pay for the module so you can 'enjoy' them!

 But here’s the catch:

• If you tweak files or experiment with mods, you need an extensive backup — meaning another tens of GB gone.
• Try a trial map on a smaller SSD? You’ll download until the very end, then get “Not enough hard drive space.”
• The solution? Buy a new SSD. 2TB, 4TB, whatever it takes.

This isn’t a simulator anymore. It’s a storage treadmill. Every new map and module aren’t just money — it’s another hardware tax.

---

4. The GPU & Hardware Treadmill

Why do we need 4096x4096 textures when most players fly at 1440p? Why is VR still lagging and inaccurate in something as basic as button-pushing?

The truth:

• Instead of optimizing, ED piles on “eye candy” that only a 4090 can fake.
• Players are pushed to buy bigger GPUs, more RAM, faster drives — just to keep up.
• Meanwhile, core fidelity (ATC, AI, mission flow, basic usability) is left behind.

HOTAS costs a fortune, yet ED would rather you drop another $1,200 on a GPU and DDR5 than improve the sim’s fundamentals.

---

5. The Community Carries the Sim

And here’s the biggest insult: the best parts of DCS don’t come from ED. They come from the modders.

• VoiceAttack + VIACOM: Realistic comms with AI.
• CurrentHill’s packs: Free assets, now repackaged into another 10GB+ “official update.”
• Community scripts & mods: Texture optimizers, quality-of-life fixes, immersion tools.
• Extensive tutorials by players: Every module requires hours of community-made guides and videos just to perform at bare minimum. ED ships “study-level aircraft” but leaves the actual studying to unpaid players.

ED survives because of us — the unpaid developers, teachers, and testers filling the gaps. Yet instead of listening, they bury us under ‘wishes’.

---

Our Truth

We don’t need more unoptimized textures.
We don’t need bigger SSDs or pricier GPUs.
We don’t need 13-hour installs that hang on a dropped connection.
We don’t need unpaid players to write manuals for every module.

What we need is respect for the player base. Respect for our time, our hardware, our commitment.

Until then, let it be known: the “greatest sim on earth” survives not because of ED, but in spite of them — carried on the backs of the very community they neglect.

 

I understand your frustration, your recent post in the bugs section has maybe sent you over the edge.

I think you forget that without Eagle Dynamics none of the community projects would be possible. Our team and the work we do can be seen in our change logs, with well over 16 years of production, and working with the community, to claim we do not care because we can not grant every wish is just silly. 

I wish you all the best and hope that you will continue to enjoy DCS. 

best regards

Bignewy

[Actium]

@celestHawk Thank you for speaking out! I do agree with many of the points you make. Presumably, the silent majority simply accepts DCS as-is or – worse for us who stick around – simply drops DCS. Without a constant influx of new players/simmers, DCS will eventually die out for lack of funding. I'd love to see ED's statistics on retention of new users.

Having started DCS two years ago, I can attest to the onboarding experience being subpar compared to other games/sims around. Without the community content, I would have been lost even more. But, as you pointed out, there's nothing like DCS, which is the only reason I stuck with it. DCS' bugs and issues puzzled me. I come from ArmA 1 thru 3 and DCS seemed like a noticeable step backwards in terms of documentation, scripting, and stability.

The updater is archaic. ED promised background updates about a year ago but they never materialized. It should continue interrupted updates and also recognize insufficient disk space, though. Never had an issue with that.

@Rudel_chw You are a decade-long, die-hard DCS fan. You are entitled to your opinion. However, sarcastically telling disagreeing users to just "bugger off" is against everyone's interest. DCS needs to retain and grow its user base to keep its business afloat. If a superior competitor ever comes around it may flip the switch on DCS.

Having started DCS two years ago and having a software development background, I'm still unpleasantly surprised by its multitude of bugs and issues. While ED do solicit feedback and bug reports, I feel like the effort is in vain if such posts do not get acknowledged officially. In case you'd like to know more about my – certainly incomplete – technical assessment and suggestions for the DCS core, feel free to read this. No feedback from ED about it, just like several core bug reports, I've recently posted, which is frustrating. Also nothing new on the net.dostring_in() issue. An 8+ CVSS  security vulnerability simply sitting around despite a mitigation being available. There's certainly room for improvement.

[BIGNEWY]

4 minutes ago, Actium said:

ED promised background updates about a year ago but they never materialized. It should continue interrupted updates and also recognize insufficient disk space, though. Never had an issue with that.

Hi, 

please check what we have said again, we do not make promises but we do share our plans, we are working on improvements for the updater and disk space which is a concern for everyone. 

 

5 minutes ago, Actium said:

Also nothing new on the net.dostring_in() issue

As mentioned previously we rolled back the changes to rethink our strategy, this was after getting considerable feedback from the community. Once we are ready to implement a better system we will let you all know. 

thank you 

[draconus]

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

1. The Update Nightmare

Updates are optional unless you play public MP. It's not DCS fault you have slow, choking connection. No auto-resume but no data downloaded is lost - just run updater again and it resumes the download. Yes, you can play during DCS update - the unpacking will fail if the download ended and unpacking has started during your play - you'll have to run updater again and it's fixed. No, absolutely not every game allows you that - ever seen grey "play" button, waiting for it to get green again?

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

We bought NVMe drives for speed, not to watch them suffer under an outdated updater.

We buy drives for our software to read and write data on it - nothing more, nothing less. If it's used that means it works as designed.

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

DCS already eats 400GB+ just for the base game

No, it does not. You need a few DLC maps to reach 400. This is a free game we're talking about. No one forces you to buy anything. But if you do, then yes, it's a big game, especially if you want multiple maps. Quality comes with more data - more data means more storage. Welcome to reality. Disks are growing with us. If you have multiple drives you can use symlinks to share data between them. DCS doesn't have to stay on one drive.

3 hours ago, celestHawk said:

Why do we need 4096x4096 textures when most players fly at 1440p?

Display resolution has nothing to do with textures resolution. And even 4K texture on low res display can look crappy when the object is close enough to the view point. Do you even understand this?

4 hours ago, celestHawk said:

4. The GPU & Hardware Treadmill

Again, no one forces you to buy anything. If you can't afford it or don't need 4k at 120Hz just cut graphic options down and play on older hardware. Simmers go for high end hw to get top notch quality experience - not just to run the game on 22" FullHD at 30fps.

4 hours ago, celestHawk said:

5. The Community Carries the Sim

Yes, it helps a lot and it's good but you don't need most of it to play - it's all optional.

4 hours ago, celestHawk said:

Our Truth

Please, speak for yourself.

I see most of your points as lies and misconceptions. Do you even play DCS or just write rants on the forum?

[Rudel_chw]

3 hours ago, Actium said:

sarcastically telling disagreeing users to just "bugger off" is against everyone's interest. DCS needs to retain and grow its user base to keep its business afloat.

agree, but I also wonder if keeping users that spread misinformation on this forum, isn’t actually making prospective new users avoid trying out DCS on the first place 

[BIGNEWY]

10 minutes ago, Rudel_chw said:

agree, but I also wonder if keeping users that spread misinformation on this forum, isn’t actually making prospective new users avoid trying out DCS on the first place 

Most new people I am sure would rather find out for themselves, and that is the beauty of the free trials, DCS can be experienced for free. 

[Hiob]

Sorry, half of the OP is questionable (to put it politely).

17+h downloads and router hickups - sounds like a you-problem to me.

"chewing up harddrive life"? - welcome to 2025..... DCS doesn't hit the SSD any harder than any other big game. Ever glanced over to MSFS?

Flightsims are hardware hungry? - Headline worthy news, really. It has been like this since Falcon 3.0 on a 100 MB harddrive.....

 

[Silver_Dragon]

9 hours ago, celestHawk said:

We are the backbone of DCS. The pilots, the builders, the mission makers, the modders. We commit hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars into keeping this sim alive. But it’s time to speak the sore truth: Eagle Dynamics is failing us where it matters most.

---

1. The Update Nightmare

Installing DCS is not “immersive.” It’s punishment.

• 17+ hours to download, 13+ hours to unpack.
• One router hiccup, and the whole download dies — no resume.
• While downloading, you can’t play. The almighty update.exe locks you out completely.

Every other game in existence supports resumable downloads, background updating, or play-while-downloading. DCS? Still acts like a relic from the 90s.

17 hour and 13 to unpack? what system are your computer... and your internet conection? I have a 1 Gb conection and download and install DCS from scratch only take arround 1 hour (from 2020). The last big updates will take 20-50 minutes...

9 hours ago, celestHawk said:

---

2. The SSD Chokehold

DCS doesn’t just waste your time, it hijacks your hardware.

• It downloads and unpacks at the same time, hammering your SSD at 100%.
• Other games on the same drive? Forget it — they stutter, lag, or won’t even launch.
• SSD lifespan chewed up for no reason but bad design.

We bought NVMe drives for speed, not to watch them suffer under an outdated updater.

I have a exclusive SDD (2 TB) and working on DCS from 7 years ago and none problems. And before claim... I have install SC, and other Steam game on the same drive.

9 hours ago, celestHawk said:

---

3. The Storage Trap

DCS already eats 400GB+ just for the base game and CoreModules containing tens of gigabytes of Liveries for modules one probably never try. 30+GB of Liveries just 'sits' on your drive in hope that you pay for the module so you can 'enjoy' them!

 But here’s the catch:

• If you tweak files or experiment with mods, you need an extensive backup — meaning another tens of GB gone.
• Try a trial map on a smaller SSD? You’ll download until the very end, then get “Not enough hard drive space.”
• The solution? Buy a new SSD. 2TB, 4TB, whatever it takes.

This isn’t a simulator anymore. It’s a storage treadmill. Every new map and module aren’t just money — it’s another hardware tax.

If you have many maps, you have 400 GB of data on your SSD...

My instalation has 974 GB and has none problem...

9 hours ago, celestHawk said:

---

4. The GPU & Hardware Treadmill

Why do we need 4096x4096 textures when most players fly at 1440p? Why is VR still lagging and inaccurate in something as basic as button-pushing?

The truth:

• Instead of optimizing, ED piles on “eye candy” that only a 4090 can fake.
• Players are pushed to buy bigger GPUs, more RAM, faster drives — just to keep up.
• Meanwhile, core fidelity (ATC, AI, mission flow, basic usability) is left behind.

HOTAS costs a fortune, yet ED would rather you drop another $1,200 on a GPU and DDR5 than improve the sim’s fundamentals.

Welcome to the expensive world of flight simulation (from 20 years ago)... I have a Hotas Warthog from 5 years ago and many other perifericals (check my firm), a 1080 Graphic card and and 2 32 Gb RAM DDR4 and work properly.

9 hours ago, celestHawk said:

---

5. The Community Carries the Sim

And here’s the biggest insult: the best parts of DCS don’t come from ED. They come from the modders.

• VoiceAttack + VIACOM: Realistic comms with AI.
• CurrentHill’s packs: Free assets, now repackaged into another 10GB+ “official update.”
• Community scripts & mods: Texture optimizers, quality-of-life fixes, immersion tools.
• Extensive tutorials by players: Every module requires hours of community-made guides and videos just to perform at bare minimum. ED ships “study-level aircraft” but leaves the actual studying to unpaid players.

ED survives because of us — the unpaid developers, teachers, and testers filling the gaps. Yet instead of listening, they bury us under ‘wishes’.

The comunity has part of the comunity... but remember, ED and 3rd parties maintain them.

• ED has your propper VIACOM system and working on update and expand them.
• Part of CurrentHill assets pack and other assest creators has been added free to DCS as official content from the last 2-3 years ago.

9 hours ago, celestHawk said:

---

Our Truth

We don’t need more unoptimized textures.
We don’t need bigger SSDs or pricier GPUs.
We don’t need 13-hour installs that hang on a dropped connection.
We don’t need unpaid players to write manuals for every module.

What we need is respect for the player base. Respect for our time, our hardware, our commitment.

Until then, let it be known: the “greatest sim on earth” survives not because of ED, but in spite of them — carried on the backs of the very community they neglect.

 

Welcome to the real Simulation on PC...

Edited 4 hours ago by Silver_Dragon

[OmasRachE]

Damn what a manifest. 

 

As I read the title line I did expect some other points, but accusing ED for DCS being a storage intensive sim is quite akward. Also your download issues. Even if there would be a desire to play while downloading, how often do you download the whole game? If you feel you have to speak up, there would have been far more seroius things to complain. The net.dostring story is realy a big one or the fact, that dispite the known performance issues in VR there is still no option to switch off that f..king flanker in the main menu which eats up your VRam. 

 

But there you have it, there is no we, there is only a you, and a me and sometimes it might be an us. Every one has its own problems and wishes and ED has created a big monstrous Frankensim with thousends of individuals with even more wishes and needs. 

 

I think despite all frustration we have to acknowledge that ED does a lot of work. Just look in the changelogs. And often enough a well ment change turns out to be a boomerang and creates new issues. And they do care about the community. Nineline and BIGNEWEY sometimes have more patience than I could probalbly have. They are not perfect, but to handle such a demanding community with such a big sim is quite a challenge I asume. You can´t satisfy everyone and there are often questionable descisions but thats just how it works when you have tu run a business and make design decisions. 

And don´t forget, only because you are a active member you don´t own ED nor DCS. It´s their product and their decision and you can make your decisions as you like. Maybe you have more luck with the developers of that other sim. Its smaller, runs smoother and doesn´t cost anything. 

[OmasRachE]

e.g.

Some require more redfor ff modules but others complain about pushing out new modules for sale instead of working on the core features. When they change the DCS core, mission creators complain about discontinuity. When they add a new module half of us cry out for siutable assets. And when they have done all of this you come around and complain about to much required hard drive space. Its impossible for them to do it right, since everyone has his own opinion of what is right.

Edited 4 hours ago by OmasRachE

[niru27]

9 hours ago, Rudel_chw said:

One cant help but wonder, after reading a thread like this, why you play DCS if the experience is so bad?

And looking at your dismissive replies one can't help but wonder if you're so happy with DCS, why do you troll these forums looking to invalidate the opinions of others, instead of playing DCS?

The way to improve things is by providing feedback. You might not face the issues they are. Please stop the "if they don't have bread, let them eat cake" attitude. This is the WISH list forum, you gain nothing from crapping on others.

------

Adding to the points put forth by OP:

Native exports of MFD/UFC/DED/CDU etc.

A second monitor is probably the cheapest way to enhance the DCS experience. The folks at Helios have already found the way to make it a seamless process, but it breaks IC in some cases.

All ED would have to do is to add a couple of lines of code to each supported module, which they have been reluctant to do.

With the Chinook, ED has regressed a bit and disabled the export of all but one MFD. From what I heard the code is already there, but commented out. I understand it's an early access product, but is exporting the remaining displays game breaking?

[draconus]

30 minutes ago, niru27 said:

it breaks IC

That's the job of IC to check for modded files and lock them out of pure servers.

[Rudel_chw]

3 hours ago, niru27 said:

And looking at your dismissive replies one can't help but wonder if you're so happy with DCS, why do you troll these forums looking to invalidate the opinions of others, instead of playing DCS?

you are right, I do lose a lot of time on this Forum, I will try to refrain from this a bit and focus on my flying time instead  

[MAXsenna]

4 hours ago, Silver_Dragon said:

ED has your propper VIACOM system and working on update and expand them.

Some confusion here. He's talking about VAICOM, (Viacom is a broadcast company), is a plugin for VoiceAttack which let's you speak your radio commands instead of using the menu for ATC, JTAC, tankers, wingmen etc. It will also let you talk to Jester in the F-14. It's not about voice comms for multiplayer. As far as I know, ED is not currently working on a similar system. 

Cheers!