If you’re on the latest DCS World Open Beta, the DCS: Mirage F1 is now here for you as Eagle Dynamics and Aerges have taken the wrapper off of the latest module for DCS World. The coverage on this module has been extensive in recent weeks but here’s just a little more as we take a look at the Mirage F1 at launch and quickly look over the rest of the DCS World Open Beta.
F1 is here
Introduced in the 1970s, Dassault’s Mirage F1 fighter was a multi-role fighter, interceptor, reconnaissance, and striker rolled into one common platform with numerous sub versions for customers all over the world. 720 of these fighters were built and many of them saw extensive combat in the Iran-Iraq war, during Persian Gulf, the South African Border War, and in numerous other operations and conflicts.
Aerges have used their Spanish connections to model the Mirage F1CE – an interceptor variant operated by Spain from the mid 1970s until 2013 when the fleet was retired.
The Mirage F1CE launches in an almost completed state according to the developers with a PFM flight model, detailed simulation of a wide variety of systems, high quality 3D model, a variety of new munitions including the MATRA R550 Magic I and R530 IR and EM variants. The sound modeling is also based off of a real aircraft so it should have an extra authentic punch (something to check on during my review).
Additional variants including the EE, BE, and M will be offered later. The EE is the multi-role attacker with some unique features added to it while the BE is a two seat conversion trainer with nearly full combat capability. The M model is intended to be added last and is a modernized version of the jet with digital displays and equipment.
Aerges have aimed high and it looks like they have achieved their goals. It has even earned praise in a tongue-in-cheek examination of the new module’s LOD (level of detail) and texture memory optimization.
The module of course launches with a trailer to get you hyped. And here it is!
If the Mirage F1 is your thing, its available on Steam and on the DCS World e-Store with a promotional price of $63.99 USD and a regular price of $79.99 USD.
Open Beta updates
DCS World’s latest open beta is a big one with an absolutely massive list of updates for many modules. The F/A-18C, F-16C, AH-64D, DCS: Mi-24P Hind, Supercarrier, A-10C II, M-2000C and F-14 are just some of the modules that saw updates.
DCS WWII got some love again with new missions, new features for many of its aircraft, new payloads and the introduction of fuse settings for WWII era bombs. Sunstag from Eagle Dynamics gives us an update on many of those features so if DCS WWII is your thing you should check this out.
A full list of changes are available here on the DCS World forums.
Stormbirds 
Just Brought the F1 Mirage. Having a ball trying to figure this Plane out.
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That’s half the fun! Enjoy the new module!
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Finally fused bombs 🙂
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I wasn’t planning to buy the Mirage but bought it within a hour of release…. 😛 Only flew it a few hours but its a fun plane to fly!
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Very fun in my first flight!
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Spent just a little while flying about and doing the basic plane stuff. Very well modeled and the flight model/handling feels great so far.
Going to be fun getting to know it better.
What a great addition to DCS, for all the right reasons!
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I have never paid $64 for a module and given the growth of the community, I am disappointed by the price. I paid $63 for the Tomcat. Razbam’s outstanding Mirage I paid $30 for. Sure there are reportedly 3 more variants coming. But they ain’t here now and that’s a steep price on faith from an unproven developer in my opinion. I am waiting for more interesting content like F4 and Strike Eagle in my case. My point though is not to criticize the work. I recognize the effort to bring a module to DCS. I simply suggest they are overpricing the content, and missing out on sales as a result. I am sure some are quite happy with it, and am intrigued. But needed to be in my opinion something like the Mossie at $48.
I also have to ask, how could this be the ED PFM? All 3rd party modules per ED were EFM. My read of their announcement was not that it was THE ED PFM, but rather a professional flight model. Or did ED introduce a policy change?
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/support/faq/general/
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They aren’t an unproven developer and Aerges already has a very well regarded aircraft in the sim. I doubt they are missing out on many sales. I would happily pay over $60 for any high quality cold war era jet that comes to DCS, especially ones that release in such a good state on day one. The extra variants down the road are just a bonus to me and I expect they will deliver them well based off the F1CE already in the sim
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Yep, that’s a good point. A good chunk of this team is the AvioDev team that did the C-101. Maligned at the start, this team seems to have gone with the “continuous improvement” approach and won over a lot of folks with their continual efforts on the 101. The F1 is their second module and my first impressions are that they learned a lot that first time around.
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How’d you get such a good deal on the Tomcat? Sale price?
The standardized price for DCS World modules at this point is $79.99 USD. It’s been there for a couple of years now and that looks to be where this module is dropping in as well. I expect that RAZBAM’s F-15E will be there too.
There has been a slight inflationary pressure here and obviously we’re seeing things go up in a lot of cases. The counter example is MSFS where sales seem to be so high that some aircraft are being offered cheaper to drive additional sales.
I suspect that the DCS World method is to instead offer frequent sales instead (we see fewer MSFS sales). Even recently released modules are sometimes getting a healthy 20-30% discount within the same year as their release.
As for the PFM. I did note that and I don’t know what the answer is. That is what is listed by the official store. Has ED’s policy changed? I’m not sure.
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Apologies – typo. $68 ($67.99). That is what I bought it at according to my credit card (I track everything I ever buy for flight simulation, probably because I like to feel the pain later to avoid buying too much). I bought it at Christmas time in 2020 during the sale they were running, yes. I never pay full ride price for anything, in any sim, save for a few $15 dollar “on a lark” buys (the Beech model 18 in FS2020 for example). I bought the Kodiak 100 when you recently flagged the flash sale last week (excellent tip btw – excellent plane, great fun to fly).
But this is rather simple. The me, the M2000C from Razbam is a superior aircraft in the real world with more complexity and more systems to model in the simulation world, and it’s still $60. This despite a ton of work Razbam put into it recently to do a bunch of upgrades. It’s an absolutely excellent module, and despite the flack Razbam gets over the years, to me, they are a proven developer, far more so than Aerges as an evolution of AvioDev. I really thought Razbam might increase their price, or ask for a “A-10C II upgrade / Black Shark 2” type premium. But really the only change is that the typical sale was 50% off for a while, and now upgraded, I believe they were only offering 30% off in the recent sale. But even in the $40s, the Mirage 2000C is a steal, and I paid $30 for it a year ago.
I have no doubt that Aerges did an excellent job fulfilling what the F1 aircraft in terms of simulating it fully. But I didn’t see anything to tell me this was somehow worth a 33% price premium on the M2000C. The Harrier is $70, and also recently heavily upgraded, and a good deal more complex. Same argument applies. If this is the trend, the F-4E is going to be $100 list, as is the Strike Eagle. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised, and I guess I felt I wanted to go on record to express a bit of pricing displeasure rather than essentially accepting a march to more and more premium prices. It’s definitely not a criticism of the module or the aircraft.
I also think they need to join the free to play program with it shortly. That could offer some persuasion I suppose.
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I was a bit surprised at the price myself. I figured it’d be $60 or $70, given the complexity vs 4th Gens.
However, given the Aerges/Aviodev history on the C101 (a simply excellent module/addon, by any standard – for any sim)…
and the promise of multiple distinct variants (including a “Gen 4-ish” version with modern systems and weps)…
throw in the fact that there is a HUGE gap in BluFor capabilities between the F-14 and F-5…
this initial version appears to be mostly complete (even including many of the modeling optimizations that are only added much later in other EA modules)…
and perhaps the most important part: the early reviews and reception by the community have been uniformly and enthusiastically positive…
I decided that it was worth the extra $10 right now.
As they say, YMMV, but for me, I’m very satisfied with what they’ve delivered not only in terms of module quality, but also in terms of fleshing out the Order of Battle for this particular era in air combat.
p.s.: I REALLY love the fact that it can legitimately play either RedFor or BlueFor.
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Sure fair points. Agree RF and BF is a nice ability for mission creation variety. I think if we didn’t have an F4 coming soon (where soon in DCS parlance means 1 to 730 days from today, or as we say “two weeks,” I might be more persuaded to buy, but the F4 is like sim bucket list plane for me.
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