Sunday, October 10, 2010

DCS: A-10C Warthog - Paying to Try Out Non-Finished Goods

Ah, the joys of the brave new world of gaming! The seeker of quality and educational value is driven by a thirst that can only be quenched now and then. So, when the jug that will contain my holy water is offered to me,  I pay through the nose ... just to hold it and to imagine the smell of sweet vapors that are still to come ...


The beta of the highly anticipated DCS: A-10 Warthog can be purchased from Eagle Dynamics' website. The official line is that you are pre-ordering the game and being offered an exclusive beta version while you wait for the release version of the game. Eagle Dynamics said that they want to test the simulator through the widest possible amount of hardware configurations, hence the "open beta" release. Rolling eyes here. Why not being honest and telling me "I want your money now, please". I will give it you at once, I love what you have done in the past, just stop with the silly excuses. 


Considering is a pre-release version, DCS: A-10C Warthog beta is in quite very good shape. Off course there are typos, untranslated briefings, missing sound files (voices), one of the maps is unfinished, worrying framerate issues (around cities and when looking at your wingman) and other quirks. If you are thinking in hoping in and starting a campaign right after installation,  you may want to wait until the full release. 


But let's talk what is really important: this is the first flight simulator that has taken close air support seriously. I almost fell off the chair when the air controller told me "this is a type 3" and followed that with a 9-liner ... I almost cried of joy. There is a screenshot below about this. 


Screenshots are clickeable.









5 comments:

kylania said...

Matt posted a nice video showing the JTAC process the other day.

JC said...

Hi kylania,

Thanks for your comment. I enjoyed the video. It's quite challenging to find out the target and then align your bird for the attack run ... and then all the avionics and gadgetry ... good times! :)

Cheers,

kylania said...

Yeah, it's been a lot of fun for me. I've never really been that good at flight sims, so this one is really a challenge for me. Thank goodness for Active Pause! (LShift+LWin+Pause, it pauses the game but all the cockpit controls are functional.)

I was super proud when I managed to startup, taxi, take off, lock a target, destroy it with a Mav and "land" all on my own! Now, upon landing I lost my tail and landing gear HOWEVER I was in the basic general area of the runway (or a little past) and I wasn't on fire! Which all in all was a great improvement over my previous landing attempts.

Can't wait for multiplayer to be added. I was totally floundering in Black Shark before I was able to take a few flights with friends and had things explained to me.

mobias said...

/ droool

These pics look positively amazing. This sim is going to play a lot different than BS that's for sure. I Can't wait to get a nice completed version of this one. I can hear the sweet sound of that Gatling gun spooling up already!

JC said...

Ey guys, thanks for your comments.

Kylania, let's have an online flight when the time comes, eh?

Mobias, looks pretty indeed! There is nothing like seeing those rounds hit the ground.

Cheers,