Carrier comms - Mini Updates

 

The biggest functional difference between the two is the comm and animated deck crew simulation.

 

Thanks

Is the land based ATC re-work planned for a paid update too?

I'm worried about this new micro-transaction system. I was clearly expecting a paid aircraft carrier module but what I did not expect was the fact that comms would not be integrated in the core game to the benefit of all the players.

The fact that one of the most basic and fundamental feature of a flight sim will be sold to divide even more the community is really disturbing. The fact that Nine Line aknowledged that a 20 years old sim has better ATC since 1998 while we will have to pay for the same feature in 2019-2020 is also depressing.

Do we have to prepare ourselves to another micro-transaction for the airports ATC ? What about the new weather system planned for the "near" future ? This announcement raises too many questions about your business model.

I can understand both positions. It's kinda weird to have to pay for the upgraded ATC, but also as it is lots of work to get it there it's very reasonable that we have to pay for it. In the end, I guess practically everyone who wants the improvements will buy it anyway. And after all, this is another opportunity to support ED, also for all the work they have done and will do for us for free, which is lots.

In testing, I can do all my communication with the carrier with one thumb on my Warthog Throttle. I haven't tested it yet, but I have no doubt this will be easy to set up with VoiceAttack as well.

I fail to imagine how this works... how do you select the menu options then? I need at least one keystroke to activate the correct comms menu and 12 F keys to select what "I" want to talk.

The current menu seems to be problematical for a number of your player base

I cant see the menu in a large 4 k Monitor and I know that some VR users struggle

Indeed you have a very valid point there. The fonts are extremely hard to read in 1080p or 1920x1200 alone. I don't want to imagine how bad it is at 4k. I just don't want to know

A GUI fonts scale slider with a range from x1 to x8 wouldn't hurt and be quite future proof in case of even higher resolutions coming up. Also an option to change the colour would be great as well. I remember the yellow fps indicator that was way more visible than the current orange one for instance... I'd love to be able to change the color back to the old one and do at least a x2 resizing there...

There are no such plans.

While it's a shame that the ATC for the carrier will be locked behind a paywall since I have no interest in the other aspects of the boat, this is indeed welcome news at least.

Land-based is much more elaborate and a core game feature. Nothing has been decided about that, but we do modules in order to keep the core game free, that includes new units, graphics, sounds, MP servers and such.

I'd argue that carrier ATC is a core feature for simulation considering we now have strong naval aviation representation in the game at the minute.

It's sorely needed considering the wild-west of carrier airpsace in public servers now too.

Talk about a fantastic explanation of a world class DCS Nimitz-Class module! Thanks Wags!

Who does not have the module will be able to enter the server that contains the module?

I ask because who does not have the DCS: WWII Assets Pack. You can not join the server. It only separates people.

Thank You!

Thanks Wags and NineLine, it looks great. More excited about this than the Viper to be honest, even though I am sure some of my just catch the wire approaches will turn it into a waveoff.

I can understand both sides of the argument, particularly where it divides the community into have’s and have nots and could lead mission makers to omit the new carrier to keep it open to everyone, but on the flip side I would rather pay for something like this than face a stream of incomplete modules pumped out to keep the lights on.

I really hope ED reconsiders this statement from the official DCS account:

"If the host is using the new Nimitz-carrier module with new comm, animated deck crew, new ship, player LSO and air boss stations, etc., the clients would have to own the module to join."

This only splits an already niche community into even smaller segments. I am not only talking of the big multiplayer servers (which could never run this and stay popular) but what about smaller hosted servers that want a mix of air force and navy jets? Does this mean your A-10C buddies, etc will either have to buy the better carrier or the navy planes won't be able to enjoy the better nimitz because their buddies don't own the module?

This would be an even bigger problem once we get the dynamic campaign from ED, are we going to just have to deal with the silent "dead" carrier in multiplayer dynamic campaign servers? Or just hope that all the folks flying the non-navy jets (including the new highly anticipated F16) buy the improved carrier?

I really hope ED can come up with a way to monetize without further splitting the community. It's hard to come up with solutions without knowing the limitations of the DCS engine, was it not possible for non-owners to just not see the improved carrier and superimpose the current one over it? There must be a way for everyone to play together and ED still get paid for the hard work they do? As one of the many that were looking forward to buying this module I now see no reason to do so...my wing men and I play primarily mutiplayer (blue flag, GAW/PGAW, etc), why would we buy this and almost never see it?

At no point has it ever been said that the Nimitz-class aircraft module would be free.

 

We aren't just selling new comms, we are selling a fully functional carrier experience, from new comms, an incredibly detailed and animated carrier, animated deck crew, crash barriers, control of the carrier, and the ability to man positions such as LSO or the air boss station. The amount of time, effort, and capital going into this is massive, and it will be the most immersive and complete carrier environment available for a game or even a professional training tool. I would expect that someone could enjoy just being in control of the carrier, launching AI and/or Players on missions, in defense or offence... this is not just a few new sound files.

 

Of course, on the technical side, there will be so many network inconsistencies between module owners and non-owners of the carrier that it would cause havoc and look terrible (particuarly deck crew and the new comms), as such making it available to non-owners in MP makes no sense. Other carriers will be available to non-owners still, and many will be happy with the new, free carrier that was added just last year along side the Hornet. This module iis for those that want to take carrier life to the next level.

 

Because the core software of DCS World is free, we will continue to make enhanced module content available for purchase.

 

Thanks

This is stuff i get excited about, new innovation in the sim. Cant wait to see it in VR or should say Experience it in VR:thumbup:

Flight simming is not a cheap hobby...

Stop complaining about having to pay for EDs craftsmanship. This is not some massive Development company trying to suck money out of us, this a small group of enthusiasts building the best product possible in a tiny market. It’s going to cost money to keep them working for us. If you can’t afford it, find a new hobby. :)

We currently have free ATC and Carrier. If you want an enhanced experience, pay for it. What is the problem with that?

Flight simming is not a cheap hobby...

 

Stop complaining about having to pay for EDs craftsmanship. This is not some massive Development company trying to suck money out of us, this a small group of enthusiasts building the best product possible in a tiny market. It’s going to cost money to keep them working for us. If you can’t afford it, find a new hobby. :)

Nobody is complaining about having to pay (or at least shouldn't be). The entire issue MOST people have is the paywall it creates, they know that splitting the community is a bad thing for the health of DCS as well as the community.

Will the rest of the pilot voice lines be updated along with this? Comms with awacs, wingmen etc. Wont be very immersive if it uses two different voices.

Nobody is complaining about having to pay (or at least shouldn't be). The entire issue MOST people have is the paywall it creates, they know that splitting the community is a bad thing for the health of DCS as well as the community.

So, for those that decide not to purchase the new carrier module, what should happen if they want to use a MP server that has it?

So, for those that decide not to purchase the new carrier module, what should happen if they want to use a MP server that has it?

Well, ideally they would just see the current carrier... but that is apparently not feasible with the ED engine.

Maybe just make it non-pay if there is no other way to go about it. ED could do other things to make money like cosmetic micro-transactions (generally accepted in the gaming community) for aircraft skins, etc. I highly doubt they are willing to do that due to the amount of work... but if there is no alternative i'd rather see it be free.

I respect your point of view, but I highly disagree.

this statement from the official DCS account:

"If the host is using the new Nimitz-carrier module with new comm, animated deck crew, new ship, player LSO and air boss stations, etc., the clients would have to own the module to join."

hey, where was this posted, please?

hey, where was this posted, please?

Dunno, saw it here:

I respect your point of view, but I highly disagree.

It's cool man, I don't have a great solution to the issue either, I just don't care for their current implementation.... based on what my wingmen are saying and what a lot of the community are saying they aren't going to bother with a module that they WERE excited about. This is only because we will barely even be able to use it, now that isn't the case with a lot of folks who primarily play single player.

I don't think ED or their spokespeople understand just how much the Carrier Modules sales will be destroyed by preventing you from joining servers that are running it if you don't have it.

Even if it really is supposed to be a full-on module and not just a game feature (which doesn't make sense to me, but that's another issue), how do you justify that? If I don't own the Hornet, I can still join servers running the Hornet. I can even fly around and see them. I just can't use them myself.

I can not adequately express my disappointment at the direction ED is taking with this. This was a development I was following closely and planning to buy on Day One. Now, I won't bother. Very, very few groups and servers will run this module because of how it will limit their playerbase.

Controllers and airbase/carrier features are clearly part of the "World" in "DCS World" and should be incorporated in such a way that people who don't want to pay for it can still play with people who do want to pay for it, just like every aircraft module ever sold!

As is, your potential market for the Carrier DLC is a fraction of what it could be. Few people are willing to pay for a module that they can only use by themselves unless they can convince every single one of their friends to buy it, too.

Finally, if this is the beginning of a trend of what should be core game improvements being locked behind paywalls, I think I'm looking down the road at the end of my extensive time and enjoyment with DCS World. I have faith that this is not a trend and merely a poorly-handled one-time issue.