Should I avoid purchasing the Kiowa?

[Profligate]

I'm really keen on buying the OH-58 Kiowa but it seems completely abandoned. I read that despite the problems in Polychop simulations that their modules were going to continue being supported but it seems that everything from their website to their Discord server are completely abandoned.

[Tom Kazansky]

8 minutes ago, Profligate said:

I'm really keen on buying the OH-58 Kiowa but it seems completely abandoned. I read that despite the problems in Polychop simulations that their modules were going to continue being supported but it seems that everything from their website to their Discord server are completely abandoned.

Maybe the fact that you can't ask Polychop is already your answer?

Let's hope for better times.

[The Gryphon]

On 10/11/2025 at 1:18 AM, Profligate said:

I'm really keen on buying the OH-58 Kiowa but it seems completely abandoned. I read that despite the problems in Polychop simulations that their modules were going to continue being supported but it seems that everything from their website to their Discord server are completely abandoned.

Do not buy the OH-58, it has no developer support. In other words the OH-58 will be broken as time passes with no fixes. The OH-58 Kiowa should be removed from the store.

[Schmidtfire]

On 10/11/2025 at 1:18 AM, Profligate said:

I'm really keen on buying the OH-58 Kiowa but it seems completely abandoned. I read that despite the problems in Polychop simulations that their modules were going to continue being supported but it seems that everything from their website to their Discord server are completely abandoned.

This is a 69.99$ module. There should not be any doubt what the customers are buying into.

On that note, I can't recommend a purchase. 

Edited Monday at 06:17 PM by Schmidtfire

[TheBiggerBass]

I suggest that ED continue to offer this (and other modules that are no longer supported) in the shop, but clearly label these modules as “no further maintenance.” Then it will be clear to all customers that these modules are being sold as is.

Edited Monday at 09:34 PM by TheBiggerBass

[Tomcatter87]

I got the Kiowa not too long ago - that module works great and is lots of fun to fly. I did not encounter a single bug while flying it. I my opinion you'd be missing something if you chose not to buy it because "some day" it might be broken. 

[Lace]

If you want to fly the Kiowa then buy the Kiowa.  There are plenty of other modules which haven't seen an update in years which are still more than useable.  If it is likely to be discontinued in the future then all the more reason to buy it now.  It isn't my favourite helicopter (the Gazelle is, another Polychop product) but it is a good module and fun to fly and mostly complete and bug free (as much as any DCS module can be).

 

[BIGNEWY]

again some people here are getting way ahead of themselves. The modules are working, thousands of people enjoy them every day. I get that its difficult when the development team are quiet and you all want new updates and information, but as you know teams will share news when they are ready to. 

thank you 

[TheBiggerBass]

vor 38 Minuten schrieb BIGNEWY:

again some people here are getting way ahead of themselves. The modules are working, thousands of people enjoy them every day. I get that its difficult when the development team are quiet and you all want new updates and information, but as you know teams will share news when they are ready to. 

thank you 

I agree. A clear note stating “No further maintenance” on the purchase page should dispel any unrealistic expectations. Take it as it is or move on.

[Hiob]

1 hour ago, Lace said:

If you want to fly the Kiowa then buy the Kiowa.  There are plenty of other modules which haven't seen an update in years which are still more than useable.  If it is likely to be discontinued in the future then all the more reason to buy it now.  It isn't my favourite helicopter (the Gazelle is, another Polychop product) but it is a good module and fun to fly and mostly complete and bug free (as much as any DCS module can be).

 

This! 100% agree.

 

[Renko]

1 hour ago, BIGNEWY said:

again some people here are getting way ahead of themselves. The modules are working, thousands of people enjoy them every day. I get that its difficult when the development team are quiet and you all want new updates and information, but as you know teams will share news when they are ready to. 

thank you 

With all due respect, users are concerned, and rightly so.

At the moment, if I report a bug, I won't receive a response from any member of the Polychop team.
The CEO is nowhere to be found, even through DMs from people who have worked with him.
The only developer working now cannot communicate with users in public forums without the previous CEO's approval.

Yes the Kiowa was feature completed when it launched, but that doesnt mean there were bugs and there are bugs. It needs maintenance.
And since Polychov used discord for reporting bugs, one just need to take a look there to see how those reports are doing in all this time.

We are talking about a module released last year, so it is understandable that users are concerned about this zero-comms situation that creates all this uncertainty.

The way to stop the uncertainty? A brief announcement from the CEO adressing the situation.
(Last public message from him was in January 2025)

[BIGNEWY]

12 minutes ago, Renko said:

With all due respect, users are concerned, and rightly so.

At the moment, if I report a bug, I won't receive a response from any member of the Polychop team.
The CEO is nowhere to be found, even through DMs from people who have worked with him.
The only developer working now cannot communicate with users in public forums without the previous CEO's approval.

Yes the Kiowa was feature completed when it launched, but that doesnt mean there were bugs and there are bugs. It needs maintenance.
And since Polychov used discord for reporting bugs, one just need to take a look there to see how those reports are doing in all this time.

We are talking about a module released last year, so it is understandable that users are concerned about this zero-comms situation that creates all this uncertainty.

The way to stop the uncertainty? A brief announcement from the CEO adressing the situation.
(Last public message from him was in January 2025)

I get that and as we have mentioned before we have passed the feedback to the team. But some posting here would have you believe that the modules are not working and the worse has already happened.  

[Slice313]

It's helpful for everyone to stay aware of the situation and respond accordingly, for the time being, Kiowa is a "risk", hopefully we get some good news. ED doesn't really abandon its modules, if you haven't seen updates lately, it's usually because the module is considered feature complete on their end, or because fixing certain bugs just takes a long time. Hope this message is within the rules!

[Slippa]

Life’s too short.

If you fancy the Kiowa just grab it and enjoy it for what it is. Lace hit the nail on the head really. I wouldn’t call it unusable, I fly it now and then, last time I tried it was fine. It’s a lot slower and less lively than the Gaz so buy both, you won’t be disappointed 

Something’s going on with Polychop, let them deal with the dramas. For now the Kiowa’s fine.

[Ramius007]

Gazelle didnt get any update for a year or more, still is working perfectly fine, and is in better state than a lot of "maintained" modules. Even if there are no signs from PC, I would expect fixes, if something become broken in KW (or Gazelle)

[TheBiggerBass]

Without knowing the legal and contractual implications, I wonder whether it would make sense or be possible to make the source code of abandoned modules available as open source to the DCS community, thereby making it available for further development.

Edited 9 hours ago by TheBiggerBass

[rob10]

19 minutes ago, TheBiggerBass said:

Without knowing the legal and contractual implications, I wonder whether it would make sense or be possible to make the source code of abandoned modules available as open source to the DCS community, thereby making it available for further development.

Not possible.  That source code is intellectual property owned by whoever the dev was, even if they have abandoned updating it, so it's not public domain.  Even if ED had the source code and was legally able to update it if the dev abandoned it, that still wouldn't allow it to be public domained.

A certain other sim that's a modded version of an abandoned sim is only possible because they have an agreement with the owner of intellectual property involved (not the original dev since they sold the IP for it).

[adirtynurse]

It has its faults, but its still the greatest helicopter in the game. If you want to fly it, go ahead and enjoy it.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Yes it’s still superb fun, and if you’re interested in helicopters there’s plenty of time before DCS 3.0 (the time were issues could arise) to get your money’s worth.

The only bug that’s in your face right now is also a very minor one: the calculation for endurance doesn’t display decimal numbers but I for one display the remaining fuel amount all the time (rocker down twice) so that’s not really a problem.

Edited 8 hours ago by Raven (Elysian Angel)
Auto correct 😖

[GUCCI]

11 hours ago, BIGNEWY said:

I get that and as we have mentioned before we have passed the feedback to the team. But some posting here would have you believe that the modules are not working and the worse has already happened.  

I can't really blame them feeling this way when the team has gone away and the CEO is nowhere to be found. People will always assume the worst because we aren't getting any clarity 

or signs of life. We have the entire RB situation and the grim reality of losing these 4 modules soon, and now the future of PC's modules from your customers perspective is that of uncertainty. I wish it could be taken a bit more seriously and ED as a company should try reaching out to PC for answers, if they're not fulfilling obligations to customers on their product.

Please try to understand simply sending PC feedback of our concerns and having no tangible response to the myriad of concerns is not good enough in our eyes, and it should be taken pretty seriously by you as a CM and ED as a company.

Just my thoughts, I'm trying to be as constructive with my concerns as possible. I really enjoy the OH-58 and would hate to also lose a 5th module (not saying it'll happen, but we will always assume the worst until we get a clear answer, and I hope you sympathize with us on this.)