DCS: WW2 Europe 1944

[Silver_Dragon]

Update #27 WW2

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/734565

Hello folks,

A few things for today’s update.

 

First of all, it’s a bit cold in Moscow right now. Catching a LAX-MOW flight is always fun in winter, especially in late January – early February. Board the plane in balmy LA with +82 F outside (+27 C), bam, 12 hours later walk out to -16 F (-27 C). It’s so cold inside my apartment, I literally have to sleep wearing outside clothes under two sets of blankets. Managed to land here during the coldest week of the entire Russian winter. Eagle Dynamics offices are a bit better, especially during the day when the outside warms up a bit. Early in the morning when you just get in though, well, today we’ve been joking about working at Igloo Dynamics.

 

The FW.190 manual is progressing very well. Been keeping me very busy. Sometimes jet lag is a good thing, gives me so much more time to work on those charts and graphics, but working from home at night with the world frozen stiff around me and the winds howling outside, well, it’s quite an experience.

 

The Bf 109 is getting along nicely. Two programmers are working on it at the moment, one dealing with various internal systems, and the second one doing cockpit gauges and animations. The internal systems are pretty much done, there’s just a bit of work left on the engine model. The cockpit is kind of half-baked at the moment, the visuals are a bit messy, especially the connection between the external and the internal model that’s all glitchy. That’s why we’re just going to look down today. I’d rather not show the gunsight and the canopy framework.

 

 

The P-47 external currently looks like this. Very long process to get the model to this point because so much of the work cannot be shown with screenshots. The model is fully articulated, and has all the internal parts that are all mapped and animated. There’s also a few sub-variants all in there, with and without the dorsal fin, a couple of different propellers. Only one variant is going to make it into the final game, but it’ll be decided later once the programming begins. Otherwise it’s at least a month of extra work for each of the changes in airframe or the propeller.

 

 

With that, I’m off to the exciting world of TriebswerkanschlÁ¼sse and Kaltstartvorbereitung.

[Silver_Dragon]

Update 28# DCS: WW2

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/741085

Friday Development Update - February 07, 2014

4 comments Like 16 likes

Hello everyone,

A very busy week here in the office. I’ve finished the alpha version of the Fw 190D-9 manual. Really enjoyed it. Starting on the 109K-4 manual next week, should be easier and quicker. Had a lot of fun scouring gigabytes of scanned original documents looking for info on cockpit controls, system diagrams, procedures, numbers, etc. Totally new experience for me, even after what, 14 years of doing flight simulations.

 

 

Thanks to the manual and a certain button in the Dora cockpit, we have a new office meme. We’ve always been a memetastic group. Most people don’t realize just how juvenile a bunch of flight sim developers can be. One minute we’ll have an aircraft designer with 20 years of experience designing real planes fill out the whiteboard with formulas in order to double-check some flight test curves, and the next minute he’s bellowing animal sounds and making Gumbys faces.

 

We were woefully short on a DCS meme, and now, thankfully, we have one. We could not be happier.

 

There is a little thing stuck in the far back corner of the Dora’s left console that the manuals call the Flugzeugvernichter, that is, Aircraft Self-Destruct. Somehow the word Vernichter just really stuck, and now the entire office presses invisible buttons and yells “Vernichterâ€. We also have to add it to the end of every German aviation term we can. Spreizklappenanzeigen? Spreizklappenanzeigen Vernichter! Kraftstoffverneblerleitung? Kraftstoffverneblerleitung Vernichter!

 

What do you call a device that destroys your ability to disable the self-destruct button for your aircraft? A Flugzeugvernichtervernichtervernichter.

 

As any inside joke, it’s probably weird to anyone outside out small group of old friends, but, well, we enjoy the heck out of it right now.

 

Now, another really exciting thing we’re doing this week is playing with Oculus Rift. It’s pretty good, although the implementation is pretty basic at the moment. No 6DOF yet, and the world outside is a bit warpy and it looks like you’re inside an egg, but the immersion of being inside the cockpit is just superb. It is such an incredible breakthrough, the feeling is so life-like, that words simply cannot describe it. Once I put it on, I don't want to take it off. Could spend hours just flying over the landscape and watching things move around.

 

Great Scott!

Also, it’s really fun to bug people wearing a full face mask while playing a game. As you can see everything they’re doing on the screen, we love to add extra immersion by kicking and poking the player at the right moment. Also, it’s extremely annoying and maddening when those louts at the office break my immersion by kicking and poking me while I’m trying to enjoy an awesome gadget.

 

And finally, here’s a sneak peak at something else that's really beginning to shape up nicely.

 

Hope you guys have a good weekend!

[Silver_Dragon]

DCS: World WW2 1944 Update #29

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/755666

Friday February 21, 2014 Development Update – The Importance of Planning Ahead

2 comments Liked 16 likes

Afternoon gentlemen!

 

Sorry, I was traveling back home last weekend, had to skip out on the update.

 

This Friday, my usual practice of selecting something to show on Friday morning proved very near-sighted. My plan to show the Bf.109 as it is in the engine came to a screeching halt.

 

As DCS WWII is part of the general DCS development environment, a bug introduced on Thursday made the entire environment look off. Very off. Everything is black and shiny.

 

I have screenshots and I’m still not sure what’s worse, to show them or not to show them.

 

This is pretty normal for a development environment, that’s what keeps it less tedious and gets the developers chuckling, but I’m not sure if publicly showing silly bugs, especially someone else’s bugs, is really appropriate.

 

Basically, imagine the entire game world covered with black lacquer, and you’ll get the rough idea of what everything has looked like for the past two days.

 

Perhaps, the best solution is to keep these for now, then do a non-Friday update early next week once the bug is fixed, where we can show what the bug looked like, and what it looks like with the bug fixed and the cockpit systems working.

 

Other than that, the work is progressing. The two-man team making the Bf.109 are ticking off their tasks. The systems programmer is currently finishing up the FuG 16ZY implementation, and the aerodynamics programmer is doing the MW 50.

 

The best bit of news for this week is that the web programmer our team is sharing with a lot of other development tasks has finally jumped back onto our web interface, the work that had lay dormant for some time. He’s been doing nothing but our stuff since Monday. I’ve made some overly optimistic predictions before, so I won’t today, but the plan is to stay on the task until it’s complete and released to the public.

 

On the Fw 190D-9 front, we’ve hit a bit of an unexpected barrier. While we have gigabytes of original factory documents on this aircraft, as it turns out, some of the less important systems just don’t have a good enough technical description in any of the sources available to us. It was a lot easier with the P-51 because we had access to a living breathing aircraft and to the men who fly it. With the Dora, we don’t have that luxury.

 

We have a list of about a dozen questions on things like the circuit breaker panel and the oxygen system and info plates like deviation tables and Baumusterkartes. We need to have one last internal discussion Monday, and then we’ll probably post these publicly. Hopefully someone in the community will have some rare bit of knowledge that we don’t that will allow us to close that final tiny gap in our references.

 

On a final note, several of our external team members are located in Kiev, Ukraine. I’ve been to that beautiful city many times. Clean, green, always pleasant, wonderful people, great food. One of the few cities in the world I’m always glad to visit, always sad to leave. I was actually looking forward to flying down there for a couple of days this trip, and I’m absolutely crushed by the recent events. It breaks my heart to see the streets I’ve often walked on fire.

 

I really hope that somehow, some way, the situation will deescalate, things will come down, and people will stop dying in the streets. How incredible to even be writing these words.

 

Let’s all hope for a speedy resolution to this crisis.

[Silver_Dragon]

FW-190D-9

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=121101

Hello,

 

I'm writing a manual for DCS Fw 190D-9. It's generally finished; however there are some holes in the historical reference we have. Some of the more obscure systems are not very well described at all, or at least, not in the way that we need to properly model them in a flight sim.

 

Here's my list.

 

1. Is there any info on the technical specs of the boosted controls?

By looking at the blueprints we can easily see the simple mechanism, but we need numbers. Is there anything like a graph or a text that says that for x degrees of control deflection you get y degrees of surface movement?

 

2. Same question for the engine's BediengerÁ¤t. Are there any numbers on it, precise data, as in, for an input of x, the device outputs y?

 

3. We cannot find good info on MW-50 Controls. Where is the On-Off switch? What does it look like (assuming Fl 32350). What about the MW-B4-Selector?

 

4. How does the Notzug system interact with the MW-50 system?

 

5. Is there the Auto-Hand Luftschraube switch with the corresponding rocker switch on the throttle, as on the earlier variants?

 

6. We could use more info on the pull-out Kuhlerklappen handle. When was it used? What effect did the flaps have? Was it in any way connected with the BediengerÁ¤t?

 

7. Is there a good quality hydraulic system diagram anywhere?

 

8. We need better info on the circuit breaker on the right console. What were all the buttons? What were the standard captions for each?

 

9. We need better oxygen system info: tank capacity, which order the tanks were used in, approx. oxygen supply at different altitudes.

 

10. Some references have the left console with only one FuG 16 ZY frequency dial, while others have a second one next to it.

The first one we’re clear on, but the second one – the FuG 16 ZY Handbuch does not seem to mention it, but it's right there in the aircraft Ersatzteilliste. We have no idea what the switch does.

 

11. The Frequency dial – what do the frequencies actually do?

The I position is for Y-FÁ¼hrungsfrequenz, or Management frequency.

The II position is for Gruppenbefehlsfrequenz, or Group Order frequency.

The ∆ position is for Nah-Flugsicherungsfrequenz, or the Air Traffic Control frequency.

The â–¡ position is for ReichsjÁ¤gerfrequenz, or Reich Fighter Defense Frequency.

That we're clear on. What they were used for however, we need more info on that.

 

12. The frequency dial and the AD 18 switch – what in the world does it affect? What's E-Messbetrieb? What's Zielflug-Anzeige? How did they actually work? What were the cockpit procedures?

 

And why does the FuG-16 Handbuch only list interactions with AD 18 for Frequenzschalter in positions I and II, and nothing about ∆and □?

 

13. What did the earphone plug look like?

 

14. What did the Flugzeugvernichter button look like? A cockpit diagram from the Lehrmittel appears to show it as an actual cockpit control on the right console.

 

15. What did the Dora's “Hinweisschild u.Bauteilschild†look like?

 

16. What did the Dora's Baumusterkarte look like?

[Silver_Dragon]

Por Yo-Yo (foro ruso):

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2014313&postcount=1000

But we must not panic, okay? What is there on the terrain, for example, or by model P-47 I can judge from the same news on the forum, and on those planes that are now in front of me, I can say the following: FW-190 is almost ready to fly, with automatic engine, propeller speed control and are already working, radiator cooled, airframe aerodynamics on the approach of the system are made. Bf-109 - more emphasis there is now a system. Spitfire - are working on a 3D model. Sound for the first two is almost ready for Spit - no problems, there are records.

[Silver_Dragon]

Update #30 WW2

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/770277

Friday March 07, 2014 Development Update – We're Getting THere

6 comments Liked 17 likes

These regular updates are really hard to do when you’re in pre-alpha. If there’s one thing I learned during this project, it’s that there really was a very good reason for the industry standard to announce and market projects after they’re ready and playable.

I yearn for the days of yore when I could just boot up a game, set up a quick scenario, snap a bunch of action screenshots, and be done with a Friday update in an hour.

 

Actually, I yearn for the day of even yore-er yore. Seems like it was just yesterday when I could say, hey, I’d like to fly plane X. And a month or so later I’d be flying it. It’s only been, what, 10 years since that was the case. Of course, there’s no going back to that. Even the simplest flying games of today probably can’t do an airplane in a month. I myself can barely stand to look, much less to fly, airplanes from 10 years ago. But I am still a bit sad about all the work that goes into the extra quality. If you were to draw a graph on work hours vs simulation quality, the line grows exponentially.

 

And while you’re here, close but not quite at the self-imposed 100%, progress is very hard to show.

 

First of all, here’s where we are with the backer rewards section. We really tried to have it operational last Friday, but internal testing showed that once again we had a logical flaw for larger reward tiers with more than one copy of a stock plane selected. Had to drastically redo the flyable selection this week. Lost all the prettiness and ended up with a painfully simple design, but at least it works.

 

I guess the page is ready for the world, we just have one final task: to merge the kickstarter and paypal database of backers with the DCS site member list, the hardest part of which is dealing with accounts for backers that do not currently have a digitalcombatsimulator.com user profile.

 

 

On the aircraft front, we finally do have a delay on one aircraft model, the P-47 external. We had a long unpleasant saga with trying to get high-quality original blueprints for it last summer. That took longer than anticipated, and what we got was not as thorough as we needed. Once we finally got into animating all the bits and pieces of the aircraft, we’ve realized that our data was not good enough, and that some parts would go out of alignment when moved. We had to go chasing pixels, and start fitting parts back together, animating, measuring, refitting, and trying again. This, again, goes back to my earlier point about standards. In an older game, we’d never care that an aileron slightly clips through the wing when fully deflected. We wouldn’t care that a gear strut does a physically impossible warp a few inches to the side in order to move to the down and locked position. And so with DCS, we have to go and make sure every movement is absolutely perfect, spending more time on these details than on the entire model in an older project.

 

The 109, our flagship, the pinnacle of our hopes and desires, is still a bit shiny everywhere. Not nearly as bad as two weeks ago, but it still fluctuates. Graphics programmers are slowly but surely moving DCS over to DX11, and it’s a process.

 

The choice for me is extremely painful - show nothing, or show something that does not look great.

 

Shiny!

 

From switch to shining switch

 

The cockpit programming is complete. All the gauges and switches and systems are working, except, annoyingly from the point of a Friday update, you cannot see it in the cockpit yet. We can see it all in debug mode. However DCS cockpits are done in a peculiar complex way, different from what we’re used to from before, and a programmer cannot simply tell a certain needle to rotate a certain number of degrees. As it is during most of the process, the cockpit mesh is a monolith. In our previous projects, we would simply make each moving part a separate object with a pivot, and the programmer would move that object about that pivot when needed. In DCS, we have to do a lot more work on cockpit animations, doing them manually, and we’re still waiting for them to be complete.

 

In the meantime, all the gauges gauge, and the switches operate all the systems, the radio talks, the AFN2 guides you to airfields (the only objects at the moment you can guide to), everything works, and this would have been a great time to make a cockpit procedures video, except you can only see all of that happening in debug readouts and not in the cockpit 3D model.

 

So, since I’ve made too many overly optimistic predictions in the past, I won’t this time. I will only say that it’s very frustrating for me to write these kind of updates, that I really want to have a fully functional plane I can take for a spin and screenshot away, and that we really are tantalizingly close.

[Silver_Dragon]

Updace 32# WW2

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/787617

The Backer Rewards Section is Finally Here – in Beta

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Well, it took way, way more blood and guts than anyone could ever imagine, but we finally have it.

If you’re a project backer, you can manage your rewards here:

 

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/e ... al/backer/

 

We also have a closed Backers forum here:

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/forumdisplay.php?f=326

 

This is currently in beta – feel free to play around with this as much as you like.

 

Please note that this only shows the rewards from the rewards matrix.

 

Anticipated problems:

 

Log-in and email mix-ups;

Wrong reward selection;

Wrong tier selection;

Bad logic when selecting eclectic reward combinations.

Missing features:

 

Not currently showing Completed Rewards for those of you who have already received your product keys;

Not showing non-matrix rewards for higher tier backers, such as custom aircraft paintschemes.

Here’s how this works.

 

Whether you backed on kickstarter or via paypal, you should be able to use this system.

 

Please note that the DCS site requires two separate logins, one for the site, and the other for the forums.

 

The Backer section is linked to the email address you used for your pledge.

 

If you already have a digitalcombatsimulator.com account linked to that email, you should be able to log in and immediately use the Backer Rewards page.

If you do not have a digitalcombatsimulator.com account linked to that email, please create one. It will give you access to all features on the site, including the Backer Rewards page.

If you already have a digitalcombatsimulator.com account linked to a different email address, unfortunately we do not have an automated way to deal with that. Please email dcswwii@eagle.ru from the email address currently on your DCS profile (not the kickstarter backer email address) and let us know which email address you used to back the project. We’ll be changing the backer email address to your DCS account email address (not the other way around).

Same goes for the forums.

 

If you already have a forums.eagle.ru account, and it uses the same email you used to back the project, you should be able to log in and get access to the backer forum automatically.

If you do not have a forums.eagle.ru account, create one with the same email you used to back the project, and you should get access to the backer forum.

If you already have a forums.eagle.ru account, but it uses a different email address than the one you used to back the project, unfortunately we do not have an automated way to deal with that. Please email dcswwii@eagle.ru from the email address currently on your forum profile (not the kickstarter backer email address) and let us know which email address you used to back the project. We’ll be changing the backer email address to your forum account email address (not the other way around).

Now, if you are using one email for the digitalcombatsimulator.com account and a different email for forums.eagle.ru, then unfortunately we won’t be able to link them. You’ll have to create a new account with a matching email address in one place or the other.

 

We'll be adding the missing features in the next couple of days. Hopefully no serious issues will be found in beta, in which case we'll be going live ASAP.

 

For any issues, please post in the Backer Forum, or email dcswwii@eagle.ru.

[Silver_Dragon]

Update #34 WW2

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/808060

Update #34 Apr 11 2014

Friday April 11, 2014 Development Update – The Two Messerschmitts

4 comments Liked 23 likes

Hello folks,

Ooh, how the time flies, another Friday already? My job is the least predictable of all in the project it seems. I tend to have a huge variety of tasks in my lap, all with five alarm bells ringing, and with no one to give them to. I’ve spent all week doing emergency translations and documents. Doing that while also trying to be a single father to two young kids means that there’s literally no time for anything, especially sleep.

 

When Friday comes around, Friday morning my time, Friday evening Moscow time, that means a very sudden silence. The kids go to their mother, and there’s no urgent work that has to be completed by tonight – Moscow’s off until Sunday night my time.

 

Then it’s time for me to relax, sit back, and write a Friday update – and after that, most incredible of all, I can finally go and catch up on some z’s.

 

Work-wise, we’re moving ahead full speed getting the 109 to a stable alpha stage. Tasks are getting smaller, while the results are becoming a lot more noticeable. We’ve spent all week on the cockpit, on animating the gauges (about a third of all objects now move properly), recording new sounds for Dora and Kurfurst, completing an authentic electrical system, writing out the entire set of keybord shortcuts for the K-4 mostly based on the Mustang. Runway take-offs are finally nice and straight.

 

The new render is still a bit wacky, and that’s completely outside our control, ED guys are putting crazy hours into it as well.

 

So, the best we can show on screenshots is a couple of interior shots with needles properly pointing at things other than zeroes.

 

 

Also, here’s where we are with the Me.262 external. Hope you guys have a great weekend!

 

[Silver_Dragon]

WW2 Update

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/815537

Friday April 18, 2014 Development Update – Landing the 109

 

Hey everyone,

Here’s some more on the Bf 109K-4.

 

We’re pretty much done with the cockpit and external animations. The last remaining set of cockpit tasks should take no more than 2-3 days; plus we’ve compiled a final list of fixes and updates needed to the cockpit and external models based on internal testing, which should take no more than 10 days or so for the modeler to implement.

 

We’re having an internal discussion on what exactly to consider an alpha stage for the 109. Obviously we owe our backers an alpha version. My own feeling is that we’re pretty much at alpha, while some at ED feel that this is very far from a version that can be given out. Next week, our plane will look like a 109, sound like a 109, and all the gauges and internal systems will operate as those of a 109. However it will not fly exactly like a 109. The engine model and the aerodynamic model is what takes the most time to perfect in DCS.

 

We’ll have another big internal discussion on this on Monday.

 

For now, here’s some screenshots of some more cockpit animations, working AFN2, and a near-perfect three-point landing.

 

(please note that the new render is still in development, so you're seeing some glitches in trees and shadows and other components)

 

[Tom Raisen]

Esto va cogiendo buena pinta...

[Silver_Dragon]

Update 36 WW2

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/50 ... sts/822941

Hello folks,

Today’s update is a small miracle.

 

By late night Moscow time, as we decided to take some screenshots, we realized that the game’s WIP render stopped working for everyone. Programmers responsible had already gone home hours before. I began writing an apologetic update, and then, somehow, someway, our ingenious junior aircraft programmer managed to get the game working on his machine.

 

So, I’m very happy to present to you the 109 in combat.

 

(please note that his version of the 109 has many animations not working, such as landing gear and propeller arc, and has a lot of other system stuff showing. We decided not to mess with his development environment because time is very precious)

 

 

 

On the development front, most of the tasks this week had to do with the cockpit and the sound. The 109 is beginning to sound very mean and very authentic. Our wonderful sound engineer also wrote an incredibly rousing theme for the 109, but I won’t be posting it just yet. The wonderful composer, talented but naÁ¯ve in the ways of the world, submitted the latest version with a background sound effect of a certain historical leader reading a speech to a rousing roar. We’ll make sure it is removed of course, but this being late Friday night in Moscow, it won’t happen today.

 

Other than that, the tasks remaining for the 109 are, in that order: finalize and test cockpit procedures; finalize sound; DB 605 engine tuning for medium and high altitudes; finalize manual; overall testing; finalize external animations; finalize damage model visuals; finalize flight performance; create game interface.

 

The plan will likely change, especially in the smaller sub-tasks that I am not listing for each major step. However, the first two tasks (sound and cockpit) should complete next week, and DB 605 tuning, unless something goes horribly wrong, should take be done, well, so quickly that I cannot even force myself to write out the task duration publicly. And then, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll just need to test this here thing for serious and crash bugs for as long as it takes that to ensure they do not exist.

 

The biggest task for the coming days for me personally is to finish up the 109 manual. There’s not much work to be done, just write out all cockpit procedures and make sure all the buttons and checklists are correct. Shooting to have the manual finished by, oh, May 10th.

 

I’ll wrap this up with a couple of beaaautiful diagrams done for the 109 manual by our very talented graphic artist.

 

 

The manuals are looking very spiffy. Cannot wait to see them in print!

 

Have a great weekend!

[Silver_Dragon]

Noticia importante de DCS: World WW2 Europa 1944

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2085212&postcount=1

 

June 2014 Update

 

We would first like to apologize for the long delay in projects updates. Since the last update from Luthier, there have been some significant changes in how this project will be developed and managed. No longer will RRG be developing this project and Luthier has ceased his involvement in the project. Eagle Dynamics though will be continuing its development and honor all Kickstarter backer commitments. There is nothing more we can say about this change and it is not open for discussion.

 

We will be restructuring the DCS WWII: Europe 1944 forums to reflect this.

 

DCS WWII: Europe 1944 is still planned as a single-package option, or users can purchase individual components to integrate into DCS World.

 

Myself and Groove plan to provide monthly updates.

 

As a basic outline, here are our current development intentions:

 

August 2014 – Fw 190 D-9 Dora 

October 2014 - BF-109K 

December 2014- Spitfire IX 

March 2015 - P-47D-28 

May 2015 - Normandy Map with period AI units

Other features like the Me.262A-1 and AI-only B-17G are also in development we but do not have a delivery data estimate at this time until these other features are further along.

 

In the meantime, Groove and our moderator SiThSpAwN are working to make sure that all backers, based on their level of backing, receive their entitlements. 

 

We fully realize that you probably have many unanswered questions. We are in the process of answering those internally first, and once we do, we will update you.

 

In this update, we can share some updated images of the Fw 190 D-9 and Bf-109K cockpits. In future updates, Yoyo and other members of the development team will provide greater details about the various features.

 

Thanks,

Matt

 

[Silver_Dragon]

Update de Julio WW2 update:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2110895&postcount=1

 

Dear all,

 

In this July 2014 update, the primary news is in regards to the restructured backer rewards. After a careful review of the older system under RRG, we found it financially unattainable. However, the restructured system still provides an excellent value for your backing contribution. For example: each aircraft will retail at $49.99; however, you will receive the item instead at only $20.00. This is in addition to other items such as the Normandy map ($20 contribution and above) and other perks as the backing contribution level rises.

 

We also feel this new system dramatically reduces the chance of reward delivery confusion and delays.

 

As software deliverables (aircraft and map keys) are ready for release, keys will be sent to backers based on their contribution level. Physical items like shirts, hats, etc. will be sent when the entire DCS: World War II: Europe 1944 project is complete per deliverable items stated in the rewards list at the bottom of this update. 

 

Per the update last week, we are pushing hard to deliver the originally planned aircraft and assets as fast as we can. Because we have additional staff assigned to this effort, this will accelerate the process and dramatically lessen the impact on our other projects (insert: “where is my Hornet?!†comments). 

 

Our ultimate goal is to create a unique battlefield environment within DCS World that is specifically tailored to Second World War air combat. This is a combination of the period aircraft, maps, navigation, communications, and objects that creates a total experience. DCS World is designed to encompass multiple time period and locations, and we see this as a keystone endeavor for just one slice of DCS World.

 

As each part of DCS: World War II: Europe 1944 is created (aircraft and map), we will release it as a unique DCS World module (like we are currently preparing DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora for). Backers will get each part based on their contribution level. When all the pieces are done, we will create a bundle package that puts them all together in a single download / boxed purchase. In other words, there will be no separate installation that runs outside of DCS World. That would defeat the primary goal of DCS World.

 

As we get closer to the launch of DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora in August 2014, we are working on a mechanism to provide an Alpha copy to $40 and up contributors.

 

DCS World War II: Europe 1944 Backer Rewards:

 

$1-19

Bronze Backer credit in manuals

 

$20

Bronze Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

 

$40

Bronze Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

 

$60

Silver Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

 

$80

Silver Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

 

$100

Silver Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

 

$120

Gold Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

 

$140

Gold Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

 

$160

Gold Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

 

$180

Platinum Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

 

$200

Platinum Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

 

$250

Platinum Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

 

$500

Diamond Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

One existing aircraft skin with your name below the canopy

 

$1,000

Diamond Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

One existing aircraft skin with your name below the canopy

One custom paint scheme for the aircraft of your choice

 

$2,000

Diamond Backer credit in manuals

DCS: P-51D Mustang and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Bf-109K, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Spitfire, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: P-47D Thunderbolt, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

DCS: Me.262, Alpha access, and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

One existing aircraft skin with your name below the canopy

One custom paint scheme for the aircraft of your choice

Your face on the pilot model of your plane of choice

[Silver_Dragon]

Update de la lista de WW2:

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2112208&postcount=1

 

Dear all,

 

We have been listening to the good and bad feedback from yesterday’s announcement and we recognize that we made a mistake. We agree that it is not fair that someone that already purchased P-51D or Fw 190 should be forced to receive them again when there are other project aircraft they prefer. We apologize.

 

As such, we are in the process of redesigning the backer’s page to allow you to choose the aircraft YOU wish. You will get a number of aircraft selection slots based on your contribution level as listed in the list below.

 

If you earlier paid a shipping cost, it will be added to your total pledge amount.

 

$1-19

Bronze Backer credit in manuals

 

$20

Bronze Backer credit in manuals

One aircraft of choice and print-ready PDF manual

Normandy Map

 

$40

Bronze Backer credit in manuals

Two aircraft of choice and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

 

$60

Silver Backer credit in manuals

Three aircraft of choice and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

 

$80

Silver Backer credit in manuals

Four aircraft of choice and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

 

$100

Silver Backer credit in manuals

Five aircraft of choice and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

 

$120

Gold Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft of choice and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

 

$140

Gold Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

 

$160

Gold Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

 

$180

Platinum Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

 

$200

Platinum Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

 

$250

Platinum Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

 

$500

Diamond Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

One existing aircraft skin with your name below the canopy

 

$1,000

Diamond Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

One existing aircraft skin with your name below the canopy

One custom paint scheme for the aircraft of your choice

 

$2,000

Diamond Backer credit in manuals

All aircraft and print-ready PDF manual 

Normandy Map

Normandy Map Alpha access

Copy of any Eagle Dynamics developed DCS product

TFC Polo Shirt

TFC hat and calendar

Two keys for each aircraft

One existing aircraft skin with your name below the canopy

One custom paint scheme for the aircraft of your choice

Your face on the pilot model of your plane of choice

[Silver_Dragon]

FAQ de WW2 con la nueva situación

 

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=126824

 

DCS WWII 1944 FAQ

What we know… just the facts.

 

Ok, I am writing this because so much info and answers are spread all over, as well, so much misinformation is being spread, either because people cant easily find it or cant be bothered to take the time.

 

At the time of the Kickstarter

RRG

 

RRG, led by Luthier was in sole control of management and setup of Kickstarter and Project. All creative decisions and direction were planned and executed by them

 

RRG stated that Kickstarter funds would be a small part of the project. Where the other funding was coming from was undisclosed. 

 

ED

 

ED was partnered with RRG, supplying manpower, game core, and knowledge to the project, they were not involved with any management decisions, including planning and execution of Kickstarter.

 

ED was to sell keys to RRG for distribution as rewards (Its believed that this order wasn’t completed as only a small amount of people received this reward at end of the funding period for the Kickstarter)

 

ED developer Yo-Yo offered his services to do quality control on all FMs produced by RRG, he was also working with RRG is some form with the Spitfire as he had a unique fondness for that aircraft, but this was still and RRG project.

 

This brings us to the changes.

RRG

 

RRG became mostly unresponsive a few months back (not just with customers), the forums were getting very frustrated, everyone was getting very frustrated, info wasn’t being communicated to the level people had come to expect. Some where between the last update from them and June 7th, it was announced that significant changes had taken place with the project, both how its developed and managed.

 

This was described as:

 

Luthier was no longer involved in the project.

 

Luthier was contracted to continue work on helping with some of the manuals

 

Since the Kickstarter funds had run out, ED had been footing the bill on development.

 

ED decided to attempt to carry on development, hiring a number (undetermined) of the employees from RRG

 

Kickstarter funds covered a small amount (“drop in the bucketâ€) of total funds needed to successfully complete the products

 

The State of the project as left by RRG, as best we know.

Map: No updates had been shown for sometime, person involved had been removed from the team early on. Its believed the map is not very far along at all, and delivery date of said map backs that up. (expected May 2015 with period AI units)

 

Me 109K-4: We had seen many development shots of this aircraft, we assumed it to be in early Alpha (expected Oct 2014)

 

Spitfire IX: No progress images or videos of this one where made public, no real news at all. (stated to deliver Dec 2014)

 

P-47D-30: Model was in works, that’s all we were shown. (expected March 2015)

 

Me 262A1: Model shown in progress, no more info. (no timeline yet)

 

AI Only B-17G: No real info either, no timeline, but assumed it would be part of AI period units for map as stated above.

 

ED’s official stance on the Kickstarter funds was that they were spent on all aspects of the project, but as listed above, none were very close to being done whatsoever, the closest being the Me 109, which ED had sunk 120,000 USD of its own funds into the flight model. This did not include the model, cockpit model, cockpit systems, etc. It’s safe to assume that a DCS Module can reach well above 150,000 USD to complete.

 

Restructure

Due to the above costs, lack of funds and ED needing to take over the project, all aspects were reviewed.

Changes

No more separate install (this means no separate keys for one or the other)

 

Reward restructuring was needed as the reward structure was poorly thought out and would have been financially impossible to accomplish.

 

Project delivery date was changed from Sept 2014 to numerous dates over the next year or so, as described above.

 

At the end of the project, the entire collection could be purchased as a bundle.

The rewards were initially changed to this:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2110895&postcount=1

After customer feedback they were changed to this:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=2112208&postcount=1

Key changes, Choice of aircraft from all 6 WWII modules. $1-$19 backers would receive $20 ED Bonus points

 

Clearing some misconceptions and false statements

Q: ED is taking the assets of RRG and getting nothing but profits from this, off our money right?

A: No, ED has already assumed many costs associated with the project, the fact is all the Kickstarter money was spent before ED took over. While it is true that ED has recovered, or believed to have recovered all the assets, much work is left to be done, and a rough estimate of 10-15 percent of the project is actually completed, some of which was already funded by ED

 

Q: ED was funding this project all along

A: No, not at all, no one knows where RRG was going to acquire the funding to satisfy its lofty goals, ED only got heavily invested when things started to go south.

 

Q: ED planned this, it was their goal all along to bait and switch us and give us less, isn’t that the truth.

A: As stated above, ED had no involvement in setting up the original reward structure, in fact as they took over, they were honestly shocked at how truly confusing and lofty the set up was. Again, this was because all of this was set up by RRG

 

Q: ED bought out RRG and all its assets right?

A: ED didn’t buy, acquire or takeover RRG. The details of how it all transferred may never be known, but what we do know is it appeared Luthier surrendered all the assets created with the Kickstarter money, and some of the employees were hired by ED to help continue the project as not to disrupt their other projects.

 

Q: ED’s first restructure was bad only to make the real one look good.

A: No, not at all, It was an oversight, a simple mistake, if you look at the initial reward restructure purely by the numbers it’s a great value, but it was pointed out that a number fo backers already had the P-51D and it didn’t make sense to force them to accept that as one of their rewards. Wags admitted this was a mistake publically.

 

Q: Why not just offer a refund?

A: Its complicated, but the short answer is this, The money was spent before ED stepped in, ED believes people want DCS WWII. They thought the best path was to make the project workable, and continue to develop it, in turn offering a realistic compromise on the reward structure

 

Q: Why cant you refund the money and just make the project anyways

A: This would be an incredibly hard hit to the bank roll, it would be a big enough loss that the project would have to be scrapped. They are already expected to continue to fund the project, but adding an 150,000 hit right off the start. Well its too much. 

 

Q: It doesn’t matter, you cant give me my original rewards 100% you are supposed to refund

A: Kickstarter requires people to be upfront and communicate with their customers ED is trying to do that, even though ED didn’t enter in to this agreement, they are trying their best to make the project a reality. If it comes down to it, and they are forced into a refund, you can count on the project being scrapped. Not even the 109 could be guaranteed at this point. This isn’t a threat, its just the way it is. 

 

Q: I am not happy with my reward structure, why cant you give me more?

A: ED did its best to make the value the best it could, while still remaining profitable. They are still a business, and they have to protect that as well. They have been very open to reviewing and making changes so far.

 

Just a side note on this FAQ, I requested, to Wags, to do this for the community, I know how info can be spread about in a thread and lost in the shuffle, I feel like both sides of the argument might be missing some key points. 

 

I am going to initially leave this open for discussion, but I am warning you now, it will be moderated heavily for the back and fourth bickering. I am not an Employee of ED, I cant answer legal stuff as that has not been disclosed, so what you see above is all I know and understand. Also you may not agree with how ED is handling this, posting here your plan to fix everything will not change anything, This is where we are at. 

 

If you feel I have missed something or you need clarification just ask, either in this thread, or by PM (preferred). This is not meant to be an update or anything new, but just to gather all the info in one location.