Every year for the last several years we’ve waited, guessed, and speculated on what Eagle Dynamics would do with their DCS beyond series videos. These have been a cinematic presentation featuring the strong visuals of DCS World and showing off an ever increasing range of products and features. This year, like in previous years, we’ve seen some teasers for future products and there are some significant ones in there. Plus we have a new developer update that talks about all of this in even more detail and give us a roadmap for the year so lets have a look at everything!
Watch the trailer
Before I spoil it any more than I already have, watch the trailer below!
Breaking the trailer down
Ready to break it down? Here’s everything I noticed in the trailer. I’m not going to go scene by scene but rather point out some of the highlights.
One of the first appearances in the video is the CH-47. This is a project that Eagle Dynamics revealed last year in the 2023 and Beyond video and has been working on all year.
Another aircraft to appear early on is the DCS: La-7 by Octopus G. Its not its first appearance in a video either as it briefly showed in 2023 and Beyond as well.
Pacific got a pretty big showing for this year’s video and it seems to like Eagle Dynamics focus here is growing. More images of their free Marianas WWII map, the USS Essex and F4U Corsair by Magnitude 3 and some other assets including Japanese tanks, warships, and an A6M Zero. The Zero shows up only in intentionally blurry shots so it seems that they are saving up a reveal for later (and potentially the model isn’t quite done yet). Unlike past years, this is actually an A6M rather than the FW190 stand-in that we’ve seen used in previous beyond videos.
Eagle Dynamic’s F6F Hellcat also appears in a few shots too.
RAZBAM’s MiG-23MLA made a brief appearance during the trailer as well. I tried to get a clear shot but these two blurry shots will have to suffice. Its notable that the module is now functioning in the sim even if its not fully developed yet – though RAZBAM has said that 2024 is the year of the MiG-23.
We did get one shot from what appears to be the new DCS: Kola map by Orbx.
And another flypast shot gives us a good look at a RCAF C-130.
Heatblur’s A-6 Intruder makes a couple of brief appearances too.
We also saw shots from a lot of previously released modules including the F/A-18, Supercarrier, F-16C, F-14, Mirage F1, Ka-50 Black Shark 3, A-10C II, Bf109K-4, and the list goes on.
Then, as we’ve seen in past DCS World videos the music changes and a couple of reveals take place. The first is the new DCS: Iraq map, which was speculated about after the interview with Nick Grey a few weeks ago, which we’ll talk more about in a moment.
Then we had this…
Years of speculation and partial confirmation followed by more years of silence had me wondering if it was ever going to happen. It is happening. We’re getting a full fidelity DCS: MiG-29 Fulcrum-A.
Roadmap for 2024 and beyond
We also have our first DCS World Weekend Update of the year and, as is traditional, its a big one. A lot of the announcements made in the 2024 and Beyond trailer are expanded upon in the news so lets dig into some of the things they’ve shared.
This past year has brought a lot of core updates and there are more expected, such as a multi-core update for dedicated servers, so for this year or at least for this update the focus is very much on some of the content that is coming down the pipeline. 2023 was light on Eagle Dynamics content but 2024 looks like it may be very different.
Aircraft include the DCS: CH-47F which Eagle Dynamics reports will accurately reflect a US Army CH-47 for the mid-2000s. Work currently are focused on flight model and flight control as well as the multi-function displays with their associated pages and sub pages. There’s also talk about the DCS logistical system with the ability to do cargo and sling management. The CH-47 is also expected to have a defensive gun position.
The DCS: F6F Hellcat is also a project that they are highlighting with this update. Started in 2023, the flight model is now in full development and they highlight that handling will be tuned to match direct experience with pilots that have flown The Fighter Collection’s Hellcat. The USS Enterprise is also mentioned as part of the update so a fleet carrier is coming from Eagle Dynamics too.
Finally, the big reveal above is the DCS: MiG-29A Fulcrum. The news update reports it will be a 1980s era Fulcrum. The update confirms that the version represented will include the helmet mounted sight with R-73 missiles for off-boresight engagement capabilities.
Three maps are also on the roadmap. DCS: Afghanistan was teased last year and was confirmed a few weeks ago by Nick Grey. The description suggests that ED see this as a map that is focused on counterinsurgency (COIN) warfare rather than the large force-on-force battles. Aircraft like the AH-64D, Mi-24P, A-10C, and Su-25 seem well suited to this and are some of the modules pointed out by the team. Hopefully this also indicates moves to improve some of the ground AI engagement which I know has frustrated many in these types of missions.
DCS: Iraq is another big reveal above. The team specifically mention that the map will be centered on Baghdad and be best suited to more contemporary battles in its first phase while a second phase will extend the map south and make it more suited to Operation Desert Storm scenarios.
Finally there’s DCS: Marianas World War II, a free map that we know has been coming for some time. This is a version of the Marianas map already available but with a historical configuration circa 1944.
The update also specifically mentions that already released products will continue to see updates through 2024. I also wouldn’t necessarily expect that everything will appear this year in release form although I expect some will.
The winter sale has also been extended until the 14th of January 2024 at 15:00 GMT.
Stormbirds 
Leave a comment