The development of the DCS: Afghanistan Map is progressing on schedule with significant milestones achieved. We are committed to delivering a highly immersive and authentic representation of Afghanistan for virtual pilots to explore and engage in combat operations. Continued collaboration, testing, and refinement will ensure the map’s successful completion and release to our DCS community.
Development Progress
We have made substantial progress in recreating the diverse landscape of Afghanistan. This includes the rugged mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush, the vast deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, and the fertile valleys and river basins. Efforts have been dedicated to accurately portraying the unique cultural and urban features of Afghanistan. This involves recreating cities like Kandahar and Herat, with special attention to landmarks, infrastructure, and architectural styles like the blue mosque of Herat. Aerial imagery has been utilised to enhance the realism and accuracy of the map. High-resolution satellite imagery is being integrated to provide authentic terrain textures and details.
The diverse terrain and complex topography of Afghanistan has presented technical challenges due to the large mountainous ranges. Optimization efforts are ongoing to maintain performance without compromising on visual fidelity, particularly in densely populated urban areas and detailed terrain features. The map is designed to look equally as good from low to high altitude.
Future Plans
In the above screenshot, you can see the area of DCS: Afghanistan that will be available in Early Access. The airfields that will be available at launch include Kandahar, Herat, Bost, Camp Bastion, Chaghcharan, Dwyer, Farah, Maymana Zahiraddin Faryabi, Qala i Naw, Shindand, Tirinkot, and Zaranj. The focus will be on completing the detailing of terrain features, including rivers, roads, vegetation, rocks, small stones, ground clutter and geological formations to enhance immersion and realism. Extensive testing and optimization will be conducted to ensure optimal performance and compatibility with a wide range of hardware configurations. Please stay tuned for the pre-order coming soon!
