
 - - - - - DCS 2.5.6 INSTALLER - INSTRUCTIONS / README - - - - - 

------------------------
 DESCRIPTION AND NOTES
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With many users unhappy with the bad performance of latest versions of DCS World and their very steep requirements for hardware, questions have now been arising on how to install previous versions of DCS.

The advantage of using 2.5.6 (versus the more recent, latest versions) is that it provides better performance, and has lower hardware requirements, for the current content that already exhisted then.

While not as performant as previous version 2.5.5, version 2.5.6 is close enough, and received more updates and development to the modules (being over a year more recent), so it is an excelent option if you're struggling to get decent/acceptable performance from DCS, no matter the settings or tweaks.

DCS 2.5.6 is no longer supported, so its installer is no longer available for download. However, ED still host its files, they're just not visible. 

This package provides the necessary files to easily download and install DCS 2.5.6 (its latest stable version 2.5.6.61527.3) from ED's official servers.

Please notice that all new modules released after April 2021 will only work on the newest DCS versions, they will not be available on 2.5.6, namely:

- DCS: AH-64D Apache
- DCS: Mi-24P Hind
- DCS: F-15E Strike Eagle
- DCS: MB-339 Aermacchi
- DCS: Mirage F1
- DCS: Mosquito FB VI
- DCS: Black Shark 3
- DCS: Marianas
- DCS: Sinai
- DCS: Normandy 2.0
- DCS: South Atlantic

Also note that 2.5.6 isn't Multiplayer compatible with any other versions. 
But with more users now reverting to 2.5.6 (specifically 2.5.6.61527.3) this version may also become populated in Multiplayer.

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 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
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1. Unzip/Unpack the "DCS 2.5.6" folder from the downloaded .ZIP, into a location of your preference. This will now be your DCS 2.5.6 installation folder in your computer drive.

   NOTE: use a directory path that is as short as possible. I suggest to drop/unpack the "DCS 2.5.6" folder from the downloaded ZIP on to the drive that you wish to use for the installation (for example, "D:\DCS 2.5.6")

2. Now get into this DCS 2.5.6 folder, then into the "BIN" folder, and double click the "INSTALL_DCS_2.5.6" bat file.
   It will now start to download all required files (be sure to allow it on your Firewall) from the official EAGLE DYNAMIC servers into that specific folder.

3. Let the download and installation be completed - be patient as it can take quite a while (over 87 GB of files!). 
   Once it has completed, it will automatically atempt to start the game. 

4. Once the game starts, login into your DCS account if you already have one, inserting your USER and PASSWORD.
   Imediately exit the game right after it gets to the DCS main menu.

5. Go to the "BIN" folder again, and create a desktop shortcut from the DCS.EXE file (right click on the file and then click "create a desktop shortcut").
   From now on, this will be your executable to run DCS 2.5.6. 

   This is so that it doesn't atempt to download later versions (2.8 and newer) - if it ever does, negate the update imediately.


If you wish to locate your Saves and Configs, these will be located in "C:\Users\"YOUR-USER-NAME"\Saved Games\DCS.256"

Lastly, if you need to extract even more performance from your DCS 2.5.6, consider using this mod for shaders (copy/paste the link to your browser): 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3317942/

-------------
 DISCLAIMER
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ALL OF THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.
ALL OF THE CONTENT INCLUDED IS PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE, AND THEREFORE ITS PARTS CAN NOT BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES OR PROFIT BY A THIRD PARTY, UNLESS CONSENTED BY THE AUTHOR(S).
THE AUTHOR(S) WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSSES INCURRED, EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY THE USE OF THESE FILES.


