DCS 2.5 progress update

[DD_Fenrir]

I know some of you are a bit in the dark as to when the release version will be available for you to update to, and wondering what's taking so long, so I've copied in the patch notes detailing the bugfixes and some of the ongoing issues the developers have come across:

Quote

01-30-2018, 12:59 PM

DCS 2.5.0
DCS 2.5.0 opens a new page in DCS development. This is a unified version of the game, which allowed us to combine all the maps in one package. This version includes a significantly improved Caucasus map.

DCS World

• Ground vehicles group, added to map from template, will not loses their task.
• Helicopters AI will able to land to ships with helipads.
• Mark panels added by triggers and scripting will not create a message for each panel added obligatory.
• Added option to make Mark panel read only.
• Removed the visible distant dots of aircraft below the cloud layer.
• Added night blackout from September 1939 till May 1945.
• After selecting ground commander role player will not able to control ejected pilot.
• AGM-65 is unable to track fast moving aircraft.
• F6 weapon camera will indicate the g-load of missile.
• SAM AI. Added Engage Air Weapons option to air defence units.
• AI aircraft will attack the vehicle columns along their route and will try to cover whole column.
• Aircraft AI with runway attack task. Added the random dispersion of release points for even coverage of runway.
• S-3B. Corrected fuel weight.
• Su-33. The group of Su-33 for carrier take off will be 2, not 4.
• Amphibious ground vehicles will be able to sailing on rivers and sea.
• Corrected jetstream position of some SAM missiles: Thor, Osa, Strela, Igla, Chaparral, Hawk.
• Improved smoke marker effects.
• VR updates:

  VIVE - controller enumeration fixed , hand transform fixed.
  OpenVR - add initial controllers update.
  New option --force_steam_VR - to force VR driver to use steam.
  Correct picture for oculus headset picture in Steam VE environment.
  Touch controllers - mouse wheel speed variation depends on thumbstick depression.
  Aspect Ratio setting will not breaks ingame overlays.
  Disable applying of scale GUI option in VR mode.
  Maxfps value will not affect in VR mode.

• Improved NVG picture.
• ES and CN localization update.
• ME. Ships groups. Ship skill will not accidentally changed after mouse click.
• APC AVV-7 40mm Mk.19 HE ammunition replaced by HEDP.
• Added new model of small helipads (FARP) for single helicopter.
• Added AI China AWACS KJ-2000.

DCS NTTR

• Object 'CONCREET_CAN" destroyed state corrected.

DCS Ka-50

• Added separate option slider for the helmet sight-ring displacement.

DCS AJS-37

• New feature! auto-generated data cartridge. Choosable in the kneeboard (# 6)
  The Auto-generated data cartridge is a cartridge with five pre-programmed waypoints, where the third waypoint will be located on the first expected enemy units. This waypoint will take into account projected target movement and if you follow Time on Target cues, you will intercept your target. This is a work in progress feature.
• You can now load a data-cartridge file stored in the saved games-folder without respawning. Details on this will be posted on the forums.
• New Export of ELINT-analysis data to Saved games-folder added! It will be located in the %SAVED_GAMES%/DCS_AJS37/ELINTData.info file. The DCS_AJS37-folder must exist for export to work. This is a work in progress feature.
• Added new JA-37Di “Akktu Stakki” Livery by Magnus Almgren https://imgur.com/a/FiYYE

• Fixed FORMLJUS not illuminating tail with deferred rendering on
• Fixed fuselage FORMLJUS (slimelights) not appearing with deferred rendering on
• Corrected landing light sprite movement
• Landing light distance and attenuation reworked for deferred rendering
• Landing light will no longer illuminate the cockpit
• Landing light will now follow nosewheel strut rotation.
• Wing nav/formation lights will now cast dynamic lighting
• Fixed static airfield AJS-37 missing canopy & ejection seat issue.
• Adjusted PBR materials for new tonemapper gamma
• Fixed missing Bare Metal livery
• Fixed missing ordinance icons
• Fixed duplicate material name of canopy glass & rocket pod (Thanks Home Fries!)
• Replaced default Viggen briefing UI image
• Corrected AKAN Gunpod size
• Fix to RWR showing ghost signals
• Fixes to Time On Target calculation accuracy
• Fix to second BK90 MJ1 not releasing
• Fix to Glideslope indication issues.
• Fix to inaccurate DYK and NAV bombing
• Fix to Maverick-sight going off target
• Fix to Easter egg triggering erroneously. (or, rather, in common flight parameters)
• Fixed Lysbomb not releasing and FÄLLD LAST light not activating
• Various Fixes to U22 and U22/A pods
• Corrected shader parameters for cockpit
• Corrected shader parameters for LoD1/2/3 to fit better with LoD0 Exterior.
• Removed all instances std::rand() and replaced with ED’s replay-consistent random object. (does not fix all replay issues yet!)
• Fixed Droptank fuel weight not being removed from aircraft
• Fix to lift performance in slow speeds/high alpha flight
• Corrected shader parameters for all ordinance models.
• Fixed default radio frequencies.
• Fixed an issue where an AI aircraft could not be assigned to common frequency ranges.
• Adjusted missions for 2.5 Caucasus.
• Fixed Canopy Glass in cockpit being practically invisible.
• Fixed doubled up canard vortices and right wing will now generate vortices.
• Adjusted ‘Mozdok Attack’,‘Moscow Takedown’ and ‘Attack the Camp’ Single missions for new Caucasus (thanks Grimes & Graywo1f!)
• Darkened HUD Glass & adjusted indicator material for better HUD visibility
• Added new F7 Skaraborg’s flygflottilj livery for Caucasus Mini-Campaign

DCS MiG-21Bis by Magnitude 3 LLC

• Adjusted external textures for deferred shading.
• Stabilized radar on horizon.
• Control panel for Nukes now shows.
• Nukes’ 3D model now shows on aircraft.
• SPS Box now shows.

Campaigns
Adapted paid campaigns to new Caucasus:

• F-15C The Georgian War Сampaign
• A-10C The Enemy Within Campaign
• A-10C Tactical Training Qualification Campaign
• A-10C Basic Flight Training Campaign
• A-10C Advanced Aircraft Training Qualification Campaign
• UH-1H Argo Campaign
• The Border Campaign
• A-10C Operation Piercing Fury Campaign
• The Museum Relic Campaign
• P-51D High Stakes Campaign
• Black Shark 2 Republic Campaign
• Su-27 The Ultimate Argument Campaign
• A-10C Stone Shield Campaign
• Mi-8MTV2 Oilfield Campaign. In additional added two new missions for single and multiplayer.

NOTE: for all those campaigns implemented the new keyless copy protection.

This update will be available only for Open Beta so far.

 

02-06-2018, 02:56 PM

DCS 2.5.0 HOTFIX 1

• Fixed crash on loading mission with Bf-109 in VR mode.
• Fixed CTD in "A-10C Sturmovik" campaign mission 1.
• Fixed corrupted font in kneeboard.
• The Grace Period will be granted even if DRM Server is down.
• Fixed login issue in Steam version.
• Fixed crash on mark panels added by scripting engine.
• Ground unit will not shoot at targets if a friendly unit is behind target, in the firing line.
• Flak 37 will not shoots below the target at short ranges.
• Corrected sound of controllable ground unit in the cruise control mode.
• Now you can delete missions or tracks with Delete key in the Mission and Track open panels.
• Fixed CTD when static object destroyed by scripting engine or AI unit.
• Changed tainted files checking logic.
• NS430 - Arrivals should only appear once in the popup scroll window, transitions are chosen separately.
• NS430 - popup window interferes with night vision goggles and has odd visual artifacts.
• NS430 - GPS incorrectly activates flight plan when arriving at direct-to destination not in the plan.
• Fixed launch type of AGM-84A.
• UH-1H UN Pilot campaign. Fixed CTD in final mission.
• CA. BMP-3. Corrected main sight appearance after switch to secondary and tun back.
• Operation Piercing Fury Update to Mission 2 & 4.

NOTE
We are working hard towards a memory leak solution.

 

02-09-2018, 12:31 PM

DCS 2.5.0 HOTFIX 2

• FC3 aircraft. Eliminated green dot in the HUD.
• NS430 - approach data errors: KVGT
• The 'comment' value of User mark panel via scripting engine will be optional.
• MP server list. First 3 columns will not be too narrow.
• MP server list. The ability to sort the rows by clicking on the column title.
• Corrected air-launch Harpoon performance.
• AWACS. Corrected "at bulls/at bullseye XXX" messages.
• MP. F10 map. Nickname of client will not be displayed after client's icon disappearing.
• Fixed crash on cargo intersects with objects.
• MP. Fixed server crash with transport.dll.
• HAI : Game freezes when Mi-28 trying to land - fixed.

 

02-14-2018, 12:53 PM

2018-02-14 HOTFIX 3

• Updated several missions of UH-1H Argo Campaign.
• Updated several missions of A-10C The Enemy Within Campaign.
• MP anticheat. Speed relative explosion power is clamped to 500 m/s.
• Controlled Ground units can pass through tunnel wall. Fixed.
• Fixed issue with ground AI when given stop and resume triggers returns to previous WP instead of continuing the route.
• UH-1H UN Campaign mission 2 trigger will working.
• Fixed ME error me_map_window.lua in dynamic weather panel.
• Sea waves animation will be works correctly from inside some cockpits.
• Multiple flights starting on a FARP at the same time will not spawn on a player.
• Tanker will be fill external tanks of aircraft.
• B-17G ball turret will fire.
• B-17G will attack enemy at second approach.
• UH-1H: Fixed issue with barometric altimeters when atmospheric pressure below limit.
• AI Radio. Fixed error in wMessage::buildSpeechQ appearing in some conditions.

DCS AV-8B N/A by RAZBAM

• Corrected empty fuel tank definition
• Cockpit model improvements
• External model improvements
• Added EHSD Moving Map (Work-in-Progress)
• Added TPOD laser ranging
• Updated TPOD TDC movements
• Updated TPOD target transfer
• Corrected aircraft basic empty weight (slightly too low before)
• Corrected aircraft basic empty roll inertia (too high before, creating incorrect roll response)
• Corrected combat rating not allowed when nozzles not aft or gear down
• Corrected very high altitude engine performance (>35000ft, was insufficient before)

DCS M-2000C by RAZBAM

• Improved pitch responsiveness
• Improved AP responsiveness and control
• Improved extreme angle of attack behavior
• Improved engine malfunction modeling during in-flow loss
• Controls indicator now also shows trim position (previously only shown during AP engagement)
• Removed innacurate altitude limitations for AP engagement
• Corrected nature of trim control sensitivity to be relative to framerate
• Corrected nature of AP heading and trim control sensitivity to be relative to framerate
• Corrected helmet visor animation and reversal between external and cockpit view
• Corrected direction of trim indicator in controls indicator
• Corrected innacurate pitch moment with airbrake deployment

 

03-14-2018, 09:35 AM

DCS 2.5 Open Beta Update 4

• MP. Fixed issue when client can only see up to 5 ground units that are stationary.
• MP. Ground units will be able to activated on client.
• MP. Fixed crash on P-51D MainPanel:update_arguments().
• MP. Client in multiplayer will see missiles of SAM launcher after its rearming.
• MP. Fixed issue when player can't join server with password if he previously enter incorrect password.
• MP. Stingers and Igla missiles will be visible for Clients.
• MP. Fixed multi-monitor setup crashes when joining or hosting multiplayer game.
• Speed indication on external view status bar will show more number positions.
• Aircraft AI will take damage after collision with trees.
• Enemy Within campaign. Added Doc folder and corrected missions.
• Museum Relic campaign. Added corrected missions, version 2.6.
• A-10C. Typo correction German A-10C manual.
• Mi-8MTV2. Spring Tension campaign updated for DCS 2.5
• Mi-8MTV2. Wrong reading of the working pressure in the hydraulic system fixed.
• A10C Sturmovik campaign adapted for DCS 2.5.
• Stryker M1128. Corrected machine gun position.
• Corrected waterline level of several amphibious ground units.
• NS430. 2nd ref wpt for user waypoints is calculated incorrectly when changing distance manually.
• NS430. Approach data errors: KHND.
• NS430. Menu button breaks Right Knob.
• Updated and corrected Vegas tour missions.
• Fixed issue when trigger zone can't be moved.
• GUI. The open mission panel. Sorting order in mission list will be saved.
• Increased max number of sound hosts for avoidance runtime errors in complicated sound conditions with many sound emitters.
• L-39. Update training missions.
• Fixed crash when player switches to another aircraft on the ship's deck.
• Georgian Hammer with CA campaign adapted to DCS 2.5.

 

As you can see the bugfix list has been quite comprehensive, but the most serious issue is of course that memory leak, which annoyingly seems to most afflict multiplayer. Hopefully they've made progress towards this and we'll see some solution soon; I for one can't wait to join up with some fellow Dogz in DCS 2.5 skies! Hang in there fellas....

 

[FoolTrottel]

Wot? No Hurricane? 

 

Thanks Fenrir for the update!

[wingflyr]

Thanks Fen for the heads up M8,  looking forward also to fly again.

 

[BluBear]

I have a DCS void in my life at the moment, I look forward to filling it with Dogz on 2.5

[DD_Fenrir]

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3442032&postcount=7

 

[FoolTrottel]

Started DCS 1.5 just now, and indeed it wants to update.

And I let it. 

13014.5M bytes to download  

W00t

[FoolTrottel]

Cool, now I get to re-assign the controls... again!

[DD_Arthur]

2 minutes ago, FoolTrottel said:

Cool, now I get to re-assign the controls... again!

Really?  Downloaded it last night but haven't run it yet.......

[DD_Fenrir]

try saving the Input folder from your C:\Users\<yourusernamehere>\Saved Games\DCS folder somewhere else and copy it back in after install.

[DD_Arthur]

Ran DCS and found my assignments have not changed.

Also came across a post in the DCS forum about making sure VR options are unchecked as having them on reduces performance.

Did this and the game does run rather better than before.  Looks good too but I seem to get occasional lock ups for several seconds at a time or the game will go through a big period of stuttering before settling down again. 

[DD_Fenrir]

What RAM and GFX you got Arthur me ol' china?

 

[DD_Arthur]

12gigs of so so DDR3 and an nvidia 970.

[DD_Fenrir]

Right - the RAM isn't bad but 2.5 is happier with 16. What is your preload radius setting in the graphics settings menu?

[DD_Arthur]

Hi Fen.   Preload radius is 60000.  i saw that post over on the DCS forums.  I'll reduce the textures too but I think an investment in some more ram might be a good idea.

What do you make of this memory leak business?  Is this confirmed by the DCS devs or is it just another part of the mud-slinging that DCS seems to attract?  

[DD_Fenrir]

To quote NineLine (artist formerly known as SithSpawn):

Quote

 

Hey guys,
This post is to clarify the issues that some have been having with 2.5, and to clarify what is going on, and the best way to approach working with it. 

First, this is NOT a memory leak. A memory leak would be that usage of RAM continues to increase during running of the sim until it uses all you memory and the program crashes or stops responding.

What is actually happening is that with 2.5 and all its new features, people are hitting their RAM limit on load of maps. Why? Well 2.5 has added higher object counts, from collide-able trees, new buildings, more buildings, and other objects to make the maps look more alive and detailed. Include in this higher detailed textures and you can see how more RAM is needed.

Currently ED is testing a solution that will help much of this. The initial version of the dynamic texture unload manager which will greatly improve performance for heavy online missions is currently under test and should be available for users within the coming two weeks. We apologise for the delay but a last minute issue arose with this module.

What can you do while you wait? Adjusting older missions from 1.5, especially for multiplayer, by removing un-needed units can help. Mission design can really help manage RAM usage, and for the time being will be the best bet to help. As well, look at your computer specs, by no means does ED demand you guys upgrade to 32GB, but if you are running 8GB, you may need to evolve with the times, and understand that as ED offers bigger more detailed environments, the demands on your system will need to evolve as well.

I hope this clarifies a little more of what is going on, and that ED is truly working to make this the best experience for all.

Full thread here: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=3444654#post3444654

[FoolTrottel]

Just now, DD_Fenrir said:

(...) by removing un-needed units can help (...)

Yeah, well, one would need to be like a rather dense or st00pid 'n' silly mission builder before you can do this... like who'd put those even in a mission??

(Oh carp, hold on, I just realize I've removed some stuff from some missions somewhere, stuff that was not needed really... Oh well, it's all good, isn't it?)