Though I’m rarely able to keep up with all of the goings-on in the modding community for DCS World, it is wide and vibrant as ever as we go into 2024 and there are two projects that have recently garnered some attention thanks to some high profile videos and information releases. Let’s have a look at Project Lancaster and Codename Flanker.

Project Lancaster

Taking on any modification project is a big task, never-mind a complex heavy bomber from WWII but thats exactly what the folks at Project Lancaster are currently up to.

Their status video for 2023 provides an in-depth look at what the team have been doing. Some mod projects don’t always strive for utmost realism infavour of whatever can work but this reads out like a paid developer with efforts to use the latest technology involving detailed simulation of each of the four Lancaster engines, using the latest propeller arc graphics technology, and investigation into Eagle Dynamics upcoming tire physics.

There’s currently fourteen pages worth of discussion over here on the DCS World forums. The team also have a Project Lancaster Discord that you can join here.

Codename Flanker

DCS World already has a couple of Flanker variants but it doesn’t have the Su-30 and that (together with the Su-35 planned for a later date) is the focus of a mod team called Codename Flanker. Their efforts have been aimed at bringing a reasonably realistic Su-30 Flanker variant to the sim complete with a custom cockpit, custom HUD symbology, avionics and an EFM (extended flight model) that incorporates fly-by-wire technology.

Learn more about that project over here on their DCS World forum thread or on the Codename Flanker Discord. This mod pack is currently available so you can, from those locations, grab the files and try it out for yourself.

Even more options

These are just two of many mod packages out there. Some are further along in the development process than others and mods can always be a tricky as different mod packages sometimes cause conflicts with each other or with other parts of DCS World.

Still, for the dedicated enthusiast it can extend the sim in all kinds of interesting directions.

Check out the DCS World forums for more examples and more projects.