The Su-33, a navalized version of the Su-27 “Flanker”, has been available in Flaming Cliffs 3 for years now but a major update is putting a renewed emphasis on the Russian aircraft and that means a new pre-order phase for the Su-33 is open with the commensurate pre-order discount. All of this new information coming from the latest DCS World Weekend News.

A list of updated features

Clearly a lot of extra work has gone into the Su-33 and not just the aircraft itself but the features around it too. The Kuznetzsov aircraft carrier model is being updated, the landing physics are being updated (in anticipation of the full fidelity F/A-18C), and the arresting cable gear are all getting physics updates.

Then there is the Su-33 itself receiving a substantial list of updates. Here are some of the key updates from the list that ED released earlier today:

• Professional Flight Model (PFM)
• The physical mechanisms by which the arrestor hook engages the aircraft carrier arrestor wire has been greatly improved. Correct physics have been applied to the arrestor wire and its’ interaction with the aircraft.
• The engines now have a “special mode” that adds up to 12,800 kg of thrust (instead of the normal 12,500 kg of thrust). This mode also includes realistic operating time restrictions.
• The automatic collision avoidance system (“Uvod” mode) is now included and allows safe nap-of-the-earth flying.

There are also changes to how the flight control surfaces work and flight modes for air-to-air refueling. The Professional Flight Model updates the Su-33, one of the few last holdouts from FC3, to the insanely detailed flight modeling that ED is using in nearly all of their products these days.

I’m not sure if anyone noticed but in the background on two of these new images of the Su-33 we can see what appears to be the work in progress Strait of Hormuz map too. We can’t see very much but it is the only time in the series right now where a large desert area has this much water available.

Price changes, discounts and more

The pre-order for the new revised Su-33 comes with a 20% price reduction from the normal $14.99 USD down to $11.99 USD. Flaming Cliffs is currently available for $39.99, however, on release of the updated Su-33 the price of that product will go up to $44.99.

If you don’t own Flaming Cliffs 3 and want to buy the Su-33 individually then you can go and do the pre-order right now in the DCS E-Shop.

It’s an interesting phase of DCS’ development where older content is revised and brought up to more modern standards while development forges ahead on new content. Clearly the updates to the old content now warrant an increase in price of what is an “old” product. This is a totally different world of module/game purchasing where an old title isn’t really old – just something waiting to be updated.

That’s not a complaint on my part either. ED has smartly grandfathered in owners of FC3 so a re-purchase of an aircraft that many already own isn’t required. New owners will be gaining a higher fidelity aircraft so there is surely some added value in that too.

New campaigns

Details were also released on new campaigns for the Normandy map with “P-51D: Charnwood Campaign” coming sometime in Autumn 2017. A-10C: Stone Shield is now available for owners of the high-fidelity A-10C DCS module promising some interesting missions involving tank killing and one shot/one kill sniper type missions. Sounds interesting!

More details on the Eagle Dynamics DCS World weekly news.