Today DCS World Producer Matt “Wags” Wagner released another extensive video answering plenty of questions from users about the plans for the future, with a focus on the dynamic campaign.
This is the second video of this series, and we hear that the dynamic campaign will involve an ATO (Air Tasking Order) which will include both strategic AI (also called RTS AI) and tactical-level AI (which is what we already have).
The strategic AI will create tasks based on automatic and manual priorities, allowing forces to advance, take objectives, destroy resources, and so forth.
Players will be able to direct where they want the strategic AI to focus on both geographically or in terms of the type of missions they want the campaign to generate.
Missions will initially be assigned to AI forces but of course, players can also decide to fly them themselves.
The ATO can set up all the parts of an operation in a logical way, taking into account elements like self-preservation. For instance, wildly outnumbered forces will withdraw. They will also be able to react to sudden threats while ideally still being able to carry out their missions.
Another element Eagle Dynamics is working on is the proper assignment of weapons for aircraft to best accomplish their missions.
On the ground side, Eagle Dynamics is focusing on training the AI to understand the phases of combat, whether it’s offensive, dug-in defense, fighting patrol, or retreat. Tied to that is the ability of the AI to understand where it is on the map, use roads versus cross-country, and understand where the power centers are on the map to properly amass forces to defend them.
On a more tactical level, the AI is being developed so that it understands how to best use direct and indirect fire.
Performance is obviously a concern when there are massive battles with monstrous numbers of units. Eagle Dynamics is working on the ability to aggregate and de-aggregate units.
If a player is actually taking part in a battle or watching it, the units will all be de-aggregated. If the player isn’t close by, all units will be aggregated and the outcome of battles will be based on an algorithm. This is going to take a lot of testing, but Eagle Dynamic believes it’ll allow a huge number of units in the dynamic campaign without big performance hits.
Both sides will have industrial capabilities to produce different types of goods like tanks, aircraft, ammunition, and fuel. There will be logistics from production points to smaller supply depots and so on. These will be rendered on the map as vehicles so interdiction missions will be a big part of the campaign.
The team is “pressing really hard” to have something they can show at least in single-player by the end of the year since they understand that is likely the number 1 item that DCS users want.
Moving on to a different topic, we hear that Eagle Dynamics will be able to do an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, but they want to complete the legacy Hornet first. It’ll be done (especially the early version with the APG-73 radar), but it’s not yet time for it.
The external model, cockpit, pilot, and animation of the F6F Hellcat are “pretty much done,” while the flight model and the mechanical systems are still being worked on. The damage model is the big item still missing, but the aircraft will come later this year.
Eagle Dynamics isn’t particularly targeting VR performance, but they are trying to increase performance in general (for instance with multithreading). That improves VR performance as well. To work on VR specifically, the developer is working on acquiring a better variety of VR devices so that they can accommodate the widest possible range of VR users.
The developers would like to create a Combined Arms 2 module for DCS World at some point, which would be more fitting to a game-type product (the original was born as a training program for an industrial customer), including interface, VR support, and such. At the moment, they’re just waiting to have the resources available to start on that.
Wagner explained why Eagle Dynamics is working on the F-35A, mentioning that he found a wealth of information outside of manuals. It may not be a 100% accurate F-35A simulation. No aircraft in DCS is 100% accurate.
It won’t be a 2024 F-35, but a model approximately between 2012 and 2015 based on a “ton of data” that can result in a “very strong” representation of the primary missions of the aircraft. They’re confident that it’s going to be a great product and understand that some may not agree and some don’t like the F-35. All they ask at this point is for people to wait for the product to be available and see for themselves.
Eagle Dynamics would really like to do a UH-60 Blackhawk, but the teams are tied up with the Apache, the Chinook, and a third helicopter that hasn’t been announced, so there are no resources for the Blackhawk.
When they do get there, there’s a lot of information for the UH-60L (unfortunately not the M variant with the glass cockpit). This means that the developer will likely start with the L, and hopefully, some good references for the M will be published in the meantime.
At some point, the Su-25T will be updated, but at the moment resources are focused on the free Su-25.
A better replay system is being actively researched. It would have to be a fully new system and it won’t be worked on this year.
Asked about additional russian or eastern aircraft for DCS World, we hear that older aircraft like the Su-17/22, MiG-23, MiG-25, and MiG-27 could certainly be possible for DCS at a study level given the availability of references. However, these would likely be third-party aircraft and not done by Eagle Dynamics
For more modern aircraft like the Su-30, Su-34, Su-35, etc., they would be interesting, but there is not enough public reference information for for a study-level simulation (unlike the F-35).
At this time, these aircraft would have to be at a Flaming Cliffs level. For now, Eagle Dynamics is focusing on the study-level MiG-29 and the free Su-25 (which will be at the Flaming Cliffs level), a Su-27SK for DCS World is a possibility at some point.
You can watch the full video below.
If you’re unfamiliar with DCS World, it’s a free-to-play military flight simulator focusing on aviation from World War 2 to the present day. It’s available exclusively for PC on Eagle Dynamics’ own store and Steam.
