DCS - Digital Combat Simulator

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Q: Everyone thought that Black Shark was going to be an add-on to Lock On, why did this not happen??
A: As we evaluated the concept of doing a helicopter simulation with a 6 DOF clickable cockpit, new terrain area, very detailed avionics and a new mission and campaign structure, it became clear that we could not use the Lock On code, and we would have to develop a highly-modified version of our existing 'The Fighter Collection Simulation Engine' (TFCSE) with new code. Additionally, whereas Lock On was a survey simulation that featured several aircraft at a medium level of fidelity, we wanted to start a new product line that studies one aircraft at a time in exquisite detail.

Q: Why did you publishing Black Shark yourselves??
A: The entertainment PC-based Flight Simulation market is very specialized and very different from the console market that the major publishers focus on. Through our experience of self-publishing Flaming Cliffs, we have developed the knowledge and expertise to sell and market directly to the Flight Simulation market through both on-line and retail channels.

Q: What is the retail price of Black Shark??
A: $39.00 USD.

Q: Your early press release indicated that Black Shark is the first in a series of DCS modules, with more aircraft/helicopters to follow. How soon will these new aircraft become available??
A: We are already developing the A-10C “Warthog" and other western and eastern aircraft will follow. To announce these later aircraft and release dates now would be premature because plans can often change and lead to delays due to numerous factors such as our work in the equally important military simulation market.

Q: Does the launch of the new DCS series mean the end of Flaming Cliffs??
A: Absolutely not. We will release Lock On: Flaming Cliffs 2.0 in early 2010. More details are available in the Press Release.

Q: What copy protection system does the DCS series use??
A: Currently it uses the online activation method of StarForce.

Q: How will multiplayer compatibility be ensured between players with different DCS modules??
A: The base DCS simulation environment will be continually upgraded and improved with release of new modules. However, as each new DCS base version is released, all DCS users can upgrade to the same base version to ensure compatibility. The only difference between players would be the selection of what aircraft would be player-controllable versus AI-controlled according to which modules were purchased.

Q: There was earlier discussion of the use of “Speed Trees” in Black Shark. Will DCS use “Speed Trees” later??
A: For the time being, no. We experimented with “Speed Trees” in earlier builds but found that our proprietary tree generation technology provides much better results at medium and high altitudes and provides much better frame rates. We will revisit this technology in later iterations of the DCS.

Q: Will DCS include a dedicated server option??
A: At some point yes.

Q: Does DCS include infantry??
A: Black Shark includes several types of infantry units.

Q: Will there be a DCS: Black Shark demo??
A: No, have no plans for a Black Shark demo.

Q: How modifiable will DCS be??
A: Our number one goal of any tools to modify the program will be to maintain multiplayer compatibility between players and as much as possible neutralize online cheating. With that in mind, we will provide an extensive set of options using LUA code to modify certain systems, replace models and textures, and modify the GUI. Additionally, we have and will continue to release SDK packages to 3rd parties to modify and add to DCS.

Q: What are DCS: Black Shark minimum specifications??
A: Windows XP, Vista; CPU P4 2 GHz, RAM 2 GB; Video 256 MB RAM, compatible with DirectX9; 5 GB of HDD space; sound card; DVD ROM; keyboard; and mouse.

Q: Is DCS: Black Shark Windows 7-compatible and take advantage of multi-core processors??
A: We have released patch 1.0.1 which among other things makes DCS: Black Shark fully compatible with Windows 7. DCS: Black Shark uses a modified version of TFCSE simulation engine, which was not originally designed to take advantage of multi-core processor technologies. Nevertheless, such systems do generally provide better game performance as a result of their native capabilities.

Q: Do you plan on modeling more advanced versions of the Ka-50, such as the night-capable Ka-50Sh and the dual-seat Ka-52??
A: Currently, we have no plans to model either the Ka-50Sh or the Ka-52. If either of these aircraft is adopted into service in the future and we are given an opportunity to model them accurately, this might change.

Q: Considering the Ka-50 is the only flyable aircraft in DCS v.1.0.1, how do you handle head to head multiplayer??
A: Head to head play is certainly possible by adding the Ka-50 to another coalition. However, we expect the emphasis in the first DCS modules to be on cooperative multiplayer games. In particular, the Ka-50 includes datalink equipment that allows up to four aircraft to work together and exchange aircraft position and targeting information. This capability is modeled in both singleplayer with AI wingmen and multiplayer with player-controlled Ka-50s.

Q: How about the manual? How comprehensive is it? Is there a hard copy of the manual? Is it be available in languages other than English??
A: The DCS: Black Shark manual is very comprehensive. It covers in detail the Ka-50 and its systems, flight and combat operations of the helicopter, and the game interface. The manual is 534 pages long. The product includes a PDF version of the manual, but users can also purchase a hard copy separately. The manual is available in Russian, English, French, German, and Spanish.

Q: Will DCS ever include a dynamic campaign system??
A: The initial DCS campaign system does not self-generate missions. However, it does consist of any number of phases, which can include any number of missions. The player moves forward or back through the phases depending to his mission performance. When combined with the mission editor's trigger system, it can provide high replayability value and a sense of player impact on the campaign.

Q: Why is the DCS terrain not as detailed as other games like Battlefield II and Armed Assault??
A: The initial release of DCS (the Black Shark module) uses a modified version of The Fighter Collection Simulation Engine (TFCSE). This is the same engine we used for earlier entertainment and military-grade simulation products. This engine provides worlds that are much, much larger and much greater rendering distances. As such, object density cannot be as high or suffer significant frame rate slow-downs. We believe the current DCS engine provides a good balance of large and diverse worlds with detailed graphics. As we develop our new DCS engine, we will increase terrain detail even further.

Q: Does the Ka-50 in DCS: Black Shark include night operations??
A: While the Ka-50 in DCS can use night vision goggles, the current Ka-50 (real world and in our simulation) is not fitted with a Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) or low light television system (LLTV) like in the Su-25T. However, missions can be set up to have AI aircraft illumination flares over the battlefield.

Q: What is the radio traffic environment like in DCS: Black Shark??
A: For our initial release, it will be much like our previous products. However, ATC and communications with ground crew have been expanded. Additionally, the number of communications with your wingmen has also been expanded. In later iterations of DCS we intend to include AI to AI radio communications that the player may listen in on.

Q: What is the weather system in DCS: Black Shark like??
A: Be it clouds, winds, fog etc., weather is be much like it was in our previous products given we are using the same base engine. As we move forward with the new engine, we plan to add greater detail to the weather model.

Q: Will I have to spend several minutes starting the Ka-50 every time I start a mission??
A: No. If you wish to start on the ramp/FARP, you can either manually start the aircraft (as seen in videos) or press a key for an automatic start sequence. The option is yours. You can also start on the runway or FARP with all systems up and running. Finally, you can start in the air with all systems up and running.

Q: Does DCS: Black Shark use DirectX 10??
A: No. DCS is currently rendering in DX9 and we see no significant benefit to transitioning the engine to DX10. This may change in the future.

Q: While is it good that Eagle strives to make very detailed vehicle simulations, how about developing some additional vehicles at a lesser detail level that you may not have complete data for??
A: Given our equal focus on military-grade simulations for non-entertainment purposes, we now only pursue projects that we have ample data for such that we can demo to the military as representative of what we can do for them. Guess work is not an option. While no synthetic simulation will ever be 100% accurate given the constraints of the PC platform, we strive to be as close to that as we can. Knowingly making educated guesses is again not an option (see point 1). This level of detail is one of the primary hallmarks of the new DCS line of products and just one thing that separates it from the Lock On line and other PC-based helicopter sims. We realize that this restricts us to the number of aircraft we can model, but even with the aircraft we have good data for, we will be busy for at least the next decade.

Q: Where can I find answers to my more detailed questions about operating DCS: Black Shark??
A: We have a very active community website at http://forums.eagle.ru/. Additionally, we have a separate FAQ regarding DCS: Black Shark game player here: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=33527