Campaign for novice or advanced?

Hi, could you please post your opinions about the difficult of this campaign? Mainly if it is oriented to novice or more advanced players? I own MiG-15 module from the beginning but lack of contáis has prevent me from using it more. Thanks.

Hey Splash, here are some comments that have been left by other users:

Animaal:

It's so much more than a collection of "Go here, bomb this" missions. There's a story/progression to it, and it really feels like I'm having an impact on an ongoing engagement.

 

Better again, it's suitable for all skill levels. I'm terrible at spotting other aircraft (middle-aged eyes and a 15" 1080p screen probably don't help!), but the missions are designed so that it's not necessary to spot and kill all hostiles to complete the mission. I frequently replay a mission after completion, to see if I can do better. Also, all the missions that I've seen so far are based around the same geographic area, so becomes familiar. More time flying, less time looking for landmarks on maps.

TaxManTom:

I'm not sure if it's intended to be like this (I can't imagine it isn't), but it feels like at least the first missions are just to let you get comfortable with the plane. In a very fun way! (Speaking for the F-86 for the moment).

 

Besides, campaigns like these are a perfect reason to -after looking through the next mission's briefing- jump into the editor first for some training for that mission

 

So even if you don't consider yourself competent at the plane, you'll now have almost two dozen good reasons to learn.

 

I'd say go for it. I don't think you'll find a nicer reason to intimately learn two of your aircraft.

And here's a really nice review written up by TheDoctorB:

Initially, after watching the trailer for this campaign I was quite sceptical regarding the premise for the story. I haven’t been DCSing for very long but it is the incredible realism that has sparked and retained my interest. Being new to the sim, I wanted to play a campaign with a less complex aircraft than say the A-10, so I decided to take the plunge, despite my reservations.

 

At the time of purchase, I also added the Sabre (one of my all-time favourite jets) and Mig-15 to my stable, so I was a complete novice in both aircraft. I read the back story and the first briefing (after a brief sojourn through the training missions) with the thoughts that at least this campaign will give me some structured learning. I couldn’t have been more wrong if I tried. Sat in a cold and dark cockpit at the start of mission 1, the story was immediately my own, I was fully invested no matter where the story took me from here.

 

The learning curve was perfect for me, a complete Sabre novice, teaching me the basics of my aircraft at first and introducing further aspects at a reasonable pace. That’s not to say I wasn’t challenged because one of the early missions left me slumped in my seat with very sweaty palms. This was a combination of my novice mistakes compounding a tricky but very well designed set of mission parameters. Just as I was thinking I was getting the hang of the aircraft, the campaign would throw up another curve-ball. I was repeatedly served up with difficult situations that I just about had the knowledge to get through (remember, I am a novice at this point), leaving me a little flustered to say the least, but also with a sense of great satisfaction and pride at triumphing in the face of adversity.

 

Without realising it, I had gone from complete Sabre novice, needing written checklists for start-up, checking and re-checking systems to make sure everything was just so, often keeping friendly forces waiting as I lumbered through my start-up procedures, to a pilot knowing exactly how I wanted things, finishing my check-lists as I rolled down the taxi-way, canopy open with the whistle of jet engines on a busy pre-ops base.

 

The briefings and documentation are top notch, as are the many voice-overs, which all add to the immersion. The missions themselves are varied and interesting, not to mention a lot of fun too. I genuinely felt part of the struggle, albeit a very small one.

 

It’s difficult to write a proper review without spoilers, but I hope this goes some way to help people who may be still on the fence.

 

So, what of my early reservations regarding the setting and story? Since completing the campaign, I have taken my Sabre out for many sentimental dusk flights and enjoyed many lazy turns, slow rolls and gentle climbs that only peace-time flying can bring. I didn’t play the campaign, I lived it.

Even though some of these folks mention that they fly the F-86 version of the campaign, the two campaigns are basically identical. Hope this helps you out!

- Apache600

I've finished it for the Sabre and I'm 6 missions into the Mig, so far the missions seem identical for both.

I think relic is a great campaign for novice, although the term is quite vague. Here's a list of skills I'd recommend you have before starting the campaign:

- NDB navigation. one mission works quite well if you are able to fly a non-precision NDB approach. see here for a very good video on NDB procedure, including the approach, produced by Apache himself:

- understand the radio and be able to tune and switch frequencies

- be able to straff moving and stationary ground targets, flying helicopters, and be able to drop bombs within an area the size of a farp (preferably smaller but I don't think that would actually prevent you from progressing)

- be able to shoot down non-fighters like cargo planes or A10's

- be able to fly in at least a loose formation

other skills will also be called upon but if you can do the above things I think you will probably be able to knock out most of the relic missions on your first try.

Many thanks for your comments, I'm buying it this evening for sure.

I have this module totally abandoned for lack of content and interest in flying it in my squad and this campaign is a good opportunity. I have some problems with gunnery and bombing but I suppose that I can configure unlimited ammo if needed.

I finished mission #2 and I'm enjoying a lot. Perfect excuse to fly MiG-15.

I play with easy radio and lacking NDB skills. Campaign is gobs of fun so far.