DCS
is a series of extremely sophisticated and realistic combat flight simulation games developed by Eagle Dynamics and other third party developers. It is a game in the same sense that the FAA handbook of aeronautical knowledge is a true crime novel.
The game started as the Lock On: Modern Air Combat series in 2003 and a standalone Ka-50 "Black Shark" module in 2008, but was re-titled in 2011 with the release of the A-10C module, a (slightly) modified version of Eagle Dynamics' official A-10C training simulation for the US military. Eagle Dynamics updated the previous releases to be interoperable with the A-10 module to allow for a unified gaming experience.
Current aircraft in the series include a multitude of planes and helicopters ranging from WWII to near present day (though the canonical time period is the late 1980s). The range is constantly expanding as more third party developers gain experience and Eagle Dynamics focuses more on the 2.0 build. The rate of releases has gone up, 39 different aircraft and aircraft variants, plus a number of assorted ground vehicles, are available for purchase.
Currently the latest version is DCS World 2.9, available from its dedicated website or on Steam. There's also an Open Beta version of it, which includes features that are ahead of the Stable version.
Digital Combat Simulator contains examples of:
- All There in the Manual: With each plane, DCS publishes a manual that describes weapons systems, operational modes, theoretical training, checklists, radio communication, and a primer on the plane's history of development. Manuals of simpler aircraft tend to reach about 150 pages, where as for more complex aircraft it can reach around a whopping 700 pages.
- Anti-Air: Some missions involve AAA and SAM sites that obviously pose a threat to your plane. Fortunately the AAA can be avoided by flying high, and the SAMs are not as deadly as they are in real-life, so they can be dodged with some careful maneuvering or destroyed with anti-radiation missiles.
- Artificial Stupidity: As realistic as DCS can be, its AI still falls short of the mark. To wit:
- Enemy planes tend to fly purely defensively, relying on their infinite energy stores to actually pose a threat to the player. When dodging, they tend to consistently crash into the ground.
- SAM sites on difficulty settings below Ace keep their radars on all the time. The Ace difficulty averts this by track radars shutting down briefly, although later on it will last. In real life, SAM operators never leave their radars on for more than a minute, as it provides radiation for air-to-ground weapons like the AGM-88C HARM to lock on to. More modern SAMs, such as the S-300PS and SA-15 "Gauntlet", can intercept such weapons.
- Enemy ground units in multiplayer can't move and will just sit around waiting to be destroyed. In single-player, enemy ground units will scatter a little after the first hit, then stop and also sit around waiting to die.
- Brits with Battleships: DCS includes the WWII-era Spitfire LF Mk. IX and Mosquito FB VI.
- Chinese with Chopper Support: DCS models the PLAAF's Shenyang J-11A, an improved version of the original licensed variant of the Russian Su-27SK, as well as the joint Chinese-Pakistani JF-17, a much less obvious derivative of the MiG-21.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In single-player, the AI has infinite fuel and infinite energy. This allows them to pull off ridiculous moves that shouldn't be possible given their speed and orientation. In some scenarios, the cheating gets to the point where the AI aircraft cannot be shot down - they simply limp back to base minus a wing, a nose cone, and their engines no matter how much the player shoots them. That might no longer be the case with the release of General Flight Model.
- Cool Plane: Samples include the venerable A-10C, P-51D, Mirage 2000C, and MiG-21. More aircraft are constantly under development. DCS is also no stranger to helicopters as well, with ones like the famous UH-1H Huey and Mi-24P Hind also flyable in the game.
- Classified Information: The bane of DCS fans, and one of the driving reasons that no full-fidelity modern Russian or PLAAF aircraft are in DCS yet.
- Crack is Cheaper: The free base game comes with two high-fidelity planes: the Sukhoi Su-25T Frogfoot, a ground attack plane, and the TF-51D Mustang, an unarmed training variant of the famous P-51D Mustang. If you want all aircraft plus maps and a supercarrier, be prepared to shell out more than $1000 for the full array. And that's not getting into the cost of HOTAS and VR/TrackIR equipment to make flying that much easier. This is mitigated by the fact Eagle Dynamics offers sales quite often and free mods that are on par with full fidelity modules, such as one to add the A-4 Skyhawk.
- Diegetic Interface: The high-fidelity models have fully functional cockpits and can require months if not a year to master. The low-fidelity models still have all the trimmings, but little of the functionality.
- Dodge by Braking: You can do the usual assortment of speed-bleeding moves when in close quarters with your opponent, but the Pugachev's Cobra variant is only possible in the super-maneuverable Su-27 and Su-33. It's also strongly cautioned against unless the opponent is very close and relying on guns, otherwise you'll just be giving up energy and presenting the top of your plane as a target.
- Friend or Foe?: While all planes are equipped with IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) systems, IFF capability and quality varies from plane to plane. On some large multiplayer servers newbies and trolls will simply fire away at anything they can get a lock on, friendly or no.
- Game Mod: There are a lot of community mods, such as A-4 Skyhawk, C-130J Hercules and formerly MB-339 (which has since become an official module).
- Guy in Back: Two-seater planes like the F-14 have the Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) in the back, helpfully calling out the enemy plane's positions (as long as he can see the plane) and any missile launches.
- Gauls with Grenades: Currently the game includes two French-made aircraft, the Mirage 2000C and Mirage F1.
- Hell Is That Noise: Three noises, actually:
- The sound of your Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) warning you of a radar lock.
- The sound of your RWR warning you of a weapons lock.
- The compressor stall. Particularly noticeable in the AJS-37 Viggen and F-14A Tomcat (which had notoriously accident prone TF30 engines).
- It Will Never Catch On: In an interview, one of the Eagle Dynamics staff members commented that flyable bombers and transport aircraft weren't being looked at as they felt that few people, if any, would actually fly them. Fast forward a few months, and a team of talented people put together a C-130J Super Hercules, which quickly gained popularity, and now populates multiple servers as a flyable option. As a result, other teams are fast at work trying to make similar aircraft (by role) as mods.
- Old School Dog Fight: It's possible for aircraft to forgo missiles and rely entirely on their cannons, resulting in some harrowing performances. World War 2 aircraft are also available in DCS, allowing for some truly classic dogfights.
- Just Plane Wrong: Strongly Averted for the most part, though the standard flight model aircraft are less strongly averted. However, IFF is lacking, and low-fidelity aircraft will have perfect IFF capabilities, while high-fidelity aircraft will have very finicky IFF that only works with the exact same type of aircraft.
- Macross Missile Massacre:
- The infamous SPAMRAAM tactic used by F-15 and F/A-18 pilots on PvP servers. This involves loading the planes with as many AIM-120C AMRAAM missiles as they can carry (8 for the F-15, 10 for the F/A-18), maneuverability be damned, and simply unloading all of them at the first target you see on radar.
- To a slightly lesser extent the F-14 and its AIM-54 Phoenix also applies. The Tomcat in the real world can track 24 targets and engage up to 6 at once. While the Phoenix is not as good a missile against fighters due to its lower maneuverability compared to the AMRAAM, its 90+ mile range, long burn time, and variable timed 'Pitbull' settings allow for a very lethal missile if the pilot and RIO know what they're doing.
- Surface to Air Missiles, along with naval vessels, can also provide quite a fireworks show. Special mention has to go to Admiral Kuznetsov heavy aircraft cruisers, which packs a whopping hundred and ninety-two 3K95 Kinzhal SAMs (a naval equivalent of SA-15 Gauntlet).
- Mad Libs Dialogue: The ATCs and to a much lesser extent your WSO in the F-14 have jarring changes in tone, inflection, and volume when talking. This is especially evident with the Russian and Chinese ATCs, who sometimes sound like the quality of their microphones greatly degrades or improves with each new word.
- Rule of Fun: Averted as far as possible. Even on the lowest realism setting, take-off is a struggle for most newer players.
- Russians with Rusting Rockets: DCS models several Russian aircraft in varying degrees of fidelity, including the Su-25 (A and T variants) close air support jet plane, several MiG variants such as the MiG-29A and MiG-29S, and the Su-27 and Su-33 fighters. DCS also includes a model of the Admiral Kuznetsov for the carrier-based Su-33 to take off from.
- Pakistanis with Panters: In addition to modeling several other nations' aircraft used by the Pakistan Air Force, DCS includes the full-fidelity CAC/PAC JF-17 Thunder, a joint Pakistan-Chinese developed aircraft specifically designed and manufactured for the PAF.
- Scenery Porn: Maps offered by DCS World are done in great detail, with a special mention to Syria map, the most extensive and largest map the simulator offers so far.
- Short-Range Long-Range Weapon: Averted by all weapons: The short-range AIM-9 variants can hit enemy planes from 22 miles out - their real life range. The longer range missiles, like the R-27ER with its range of 130km, can hit planes from beyond visual range (BVR). The most you'll see of your opponent in this case is their signature on the radar, as the distance will be too great to even see a puff of smoke after impact.
- Simulation Game: The level of fidelity DCS offers is enough for some air forces, including United States Air Force, use it to train their pilots.
- Super-Persistent Missile: Largely Averted, perhaps a little too much for some missile types:
- Heat-tracking missiles can be misled by deploying flares and all types can be thrown off by by jinking - sometimes even when the missile is coming from an angle that, realistically, should mean the missile is unavoidable.
- Proximity fuses are largely nonfunctional - in real life, air-to-air missiles will explode within a radius of 4-5 meters of an aircraft, showering it with shrapnel and negating the need for exacting precision in the face of counter-maneuvers. In DCS, the missiles need to hit directly to explode. That said, there are shades of this trope in in that the missiles will track aircraft through obstacles such as mountains, which would realistically block pretty much all emissions from the target.
- Swedes with Cool Planes: True to the trope name, DCS models the Swedish-made AJS-37 Viggen, an anti shipping variant of AJ-37.
- Work Info Title: The game has its genre in its title.
- Yanks with Tanks: DCS includes full-fidelity models of the AV-8B Night Attack V/STOL, F/A-18C Hornet, the A-10C Warthog, the F-5E Tiger II which famously appeared as the "MiG-28" in Top Gun (complete with a MiG-28 livery option that actually slightly changes the aircraft's handling), the F-14 Tomcat, and several other planes from various eras. Low-fidelity modules, all united under Flaming Cliffs 3 pack, are included as well, offering a flight performance just like full fidelity ones, although their systems are majorly simplified. Family of Nimitz class nuclear carriers has also been added to the game, which provide more extensive simulation of carrier operations than the initial base mode of Stennis did.
