Eagle Dynamics has had a busy week this week with the official release of the DCS: F-14 and MiG-19 into the public build of DCS World. There have also been some interesting announcements around VR performance and a new focus on multiplayer for Eagle Dynamics by making all maps and asset packs free for use on dedicated servers. Let’s break down the latest news!

A multiplayer focus

Eagle Dynamics is making all assets and maps free for dedicated server owners in a move that will come with an update on April 10th. This is significant shift towards making multiplayer more of a focus and its part of a trend that we’ve seen in the last several months.

A paraphrased quote has circulated the DCS World community for years now where an unnamed developer from Eagle Dynamics suggested that DCS World was a single player game and that multiplayer was only being used by a small group of users. I’ve never found the original quote, nor am I certain that the wording used is very accurate.

The world of YouTube and Twitch streaming have brought multiplayer into the limelight and it seems that Eagle Dynamics is paying very close attention. At the end of the day, DCS World has become a compelling single player and multiplayer experience and one that gets better all of the time. Now, more than ever, multiplayer is getting some serious attention and this is only a good thing.

Since the fall, Eagle Dynamics has been testing and then ultimately released a new dedicated server software option. The dedicated server lets server systems run with no video or audio rendering freeing all of the server’s resources to provide for the best multiplayer experience around. My short time with these new multiplayer servers has showing a marked improvement in the overall experience. Now, that experience gets a little easier for server operators and it opens the door to some more variety.

With the release of the dedicated server, the most requested item from clients has been that dedicated servers no longer must purchase maps and asset packs to host missions. We have been listening, and new feature will be brought to you next week with the 10th April Open Beta! Dedicated servers with “no-render” option activated will be able to host all DC World maps and asset packs for free! We see DCS World Online as a critical feature of DCS World to move forward, and the ability to run interesting and varied mission servers is a great thing for you, clients, and us.

In addition, we will be working on further ways to improve and expand the DCS World online experience.

Eagle Dynamics on the DCS World Weekend News update

This will go a ways towards making it easier for server operators and opening the door to getting more maps, such as Persian Gulf, in regular rotation on those servers without additional added expense.

Players still need to own the content to interact with these servers but removing this barrier helps considerably.

F-14 and MiG-19 public release

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The DCS: F-14 and DCS: MiG-19 modules have been out for a few weeks now, however, they are now out of the beta release and into the stable public build. If you’ve been waiting for these on the stable release, they are now all yours!

The MiG-19 has also been released on Steam Store joining the F-14.

VR performance improvements

Pilots flying DCS World in VR know that it takes a concerted effort to get DCS World to run well on VR. Even the most powerful systems have been sometimes slowed down by sometimes sluggish performance. This is a critical issue for VR where smooth gameplay is necessary not just for enjoyment but also for avoiding some serious disorientating episodes. Fortunately, Eagle Dynamics has been working hard on this and Eagle Dynamics’ Matt Wagner had this to say:

Earlier we mentioned that we have been working on DCS VR optimization. I have good news today! After much investigation and work, we traced the issue back to the terrain engine. We have since adjusted the terrain engine, and this has resulted in a 50% increase in VR performance! We will continue to test and optimize this further, but we hope to have this great improvement to you soon.

Matt Wagner on the DCS World Forums

A 50% increase brings a lot of great potential and makes life a lot easier for fans already running DCS World in VR. 50% brings higher detail levels at similar performance levels into the realm of possibility and it makes it easier for everyone to try VR out for the first time.

This update has no release schedule but I hope to see it soon!