New Fog Effects
Enhancements
The next update will feature substantial enhancements to DCS weather in particular a new state-of-the art fog and dust rendering system. This highly immersive solution, which took more than 8’500 man hours to develop, allows both automatic and manual fog generation and accounts for sensor and AI line-of-sight blocking. It is calculated with our future spherical Earth in mind and can be highly variable based on density and altitude. It supports self-shadowing, blends with clouds, and is fully animated with moving cloud banks.
Scenes from the early morning and evening hours are particularly convincing and offer a surprisingly realistic atmosphere.
Please do read our detailed white paper here: Volumetric Weather White Paper: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/upload/medialibrary/4be/i4yclzs5ict5bkd1pe4bxrz0zqz1dffz/Volumetric_Weather_White_Paper.pdf
New Supercarrier Plane Directors
Development Report
When DCS: Supercarrier was originally released, it included a rich set of deck crew and animations that mimicked the process of taxiing on to the catapult and launching. In the next update, we are delighted to announce the added feature of plane ‘directors’ (yellow shirts) who precisely marshall aircraft from their parking space to the catapult. This usually involves multiple plane directors passing control from one key position to the next ensuring precise hazard free taxiing of the aircraft to their designated catapult. After landing, the same new director system will marshall players and AI aircraft back to their designated parking location.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120305/DCS_Supercarrier/
While the process of creating this for single player was a challenging task given the myriads of ways the process can be interrupted, the multiplayer aspect was far more complex than ever contemplated given the numerous ways multiple human players on the carrier deck could “break” the system. This led to more than four times the development initially budgeted for this feature and we apologise for the delay and hope you will enjoy the experience.
Regarding the CVN-74 John C. Stennis, it is available as both a free aircraft carrier and as part of the Supercarrier module. This allows the Stennis to be used by pilots that own and do not own the Supercarrier module. For now and to maintain this compatibility, deck crew will not be supported for this particular aircraft carrier. We are working on a solution to resolve this in the future.
F-104 Starfighter
Development Report
Aerges is pleased to update you on improvements to their Mirage F1 and C-101 and progress of their F-104.
- Mirage F1M MFD and HUD symbology, as well as their respective avionics logic, are in an advanced state of development.
- Much work is being done to polish the F1 systems in addition to fixing bugs reported by our community. Attention has also been made to the C-101 in order to keep it up to date and bug free.
- There has been an overhaul of the code structure to allow more effective coding and feature-sharing between the F1 and the upcoming F-104.
- Research continues on radar picture rendering and physics improvements. The resulting technology is also expected to be used for the F-104.
- Coding of the F-104 flight model and general aircraft systems is complete, as well as initial flight model validation. This includes engine, hydraulics, electrics, fuel, controls, armament, and miscellaneous systems. Avionic systems and integration with the cockpit animations and inputs is currently in-progress.
- The F-104 external model and cockpit textures are the result of a thorough research that included laser scanning. The next step will be the creation of the set of liveries. Please check out the F1 and F-104 development progress video:
F-16 Arctic Thunder
Campaign by Reflected Simulations
February, 2024. Finland is on the verge of joining NATO when the unthinkable happens: Russian armed forces cross the frontier into Finland accompanied with massive air strikes. Its NATO allies immediately join the conflict to push the bear back across the border.
Reflected Simulations’ F-16C campaign over the Kola map is based on real life events and tactics. Strap into a US Air Force F-16C Viper against a formidable threat. Take part in study level, highly realistic missions such as CAP, CAS, SEAD and precision strikes. Follow real life procedures in unprecedented detail.
Launching simultaneously, a companion F/A-18C campaign by Baltic Dragon will be available that is woven into the same storyline. Now is an excellent time to purchase the Kola map! Experience what it would be like to fly as a fighter pilot in a large-scale air war today.
Key Features:
- 10 immersive missions with a variety of different tasks: CAS, X-CAS, CAP, escort, pre-planned strikes, and more.
- An interactive intro mission that guides the player through the most important aspects of the campaign.
- Operations from road bases in Finland.
- Over 2,200 lines of dialogue with voice-overs.
- Custom ATC interaction for all the missions.
- Optional use of air-to-air refuelling or the choice to skip it.
- Detailed documentation, flight plans, maps, and target information available in both PDF format and from within each mission as part of the kneeboard.
