The latest from the DCS World Weekend News update brings us some fascinating new information on DCS: Kola with an imminent release date and then the reveal of Flaming Cliffs 2024. Let’s check it out!
Big news on the Kola map
Add it to the list folks! Another DCS World release is imminently due with Eagle Dynamics and Orbx announcing that DCS: Kola is now set for an early access release on May 3rd!
Kola is a significant map project with more than 575,000 sq km of area that includes the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. The highest detail areas include the Russian/Finnish border, Murmansk region, north shores of the Baltic Sea, and they report that it includes Finnish, Swedish, and Norwegian air bases and road runways!
The news goes on to report that the map will start out with a summer texture set to begin with and that a winter update is due to arrive in June. That June update will also include more airbases including Andoya, Bardufoss, Evenes, Vidsel, Kilpyavr, and Alakkurti. Additional details are also planned as the map is further developed.
Flaming Cliffs 2024?!
The surprises this Friday continue as Eagle Dynamics have announced Flaming Cliffs 2024. The new release includes existing aircraft and adds three additional models: FC: F-5E, FC: F-86F, and FC: MiG-15bis. These aircraft have the same flight model, visual and sound effects but use simpler systems making them easier to get into and fly.
Flaming Cliffs 3 owners can get the updated package for $9.99 USD. For those with the full fidelity modules, these aircraft will co-exist alongside them much in the same way that the full fidelity MiG-29 will co-exist with the already flyable MiG-29 from Flaming Cliffs.
There’s no full length trailer but they have posted a YouTube short advertising the release.
Thoughts
The product release offensive appears to be well underway right at the moment with DCS: CH-47F, DCS: Kola, DCS: F-4, and DCS: Afghanistan already in the mix. That’s quite a bit of DCS World content coming at us which is both great and a little tricky as budgeting for it all will no doubt be top of mind for some or many of you who are interested in it all.
Of course there are different product areas being covered here. The maps are one piece of course and then we have a logistics heavy lift transport helicopter and a Cold War era fighter jet. Some of these will appeal to some areas of the community and others will appear to other elements. Still, its great to see variety of options.
Flaming Cliffs 2024 is a bit of a surprise to me. It may be that this is ultimately what Modern Air Combat (MAC) has morphed into. It sounds like Eagle Dynamics pursued something different with that product which was announced and then never really talked about again. Sometimes development doesn’t go according to plan and so it may well be that MAC has been “cancelled” and become this latest iteration of Flaming Cliffs.
This news also opens the door to other aircraft that may end up being packaged into future releases in coming years – while some chase the absolute pinnacle of systems modeling, others want to push a few buttons and make things go and so say a FC: F-16C or FC: F/A-18C could end up being on the menu in the future. Coexisting aircraft offerings for folks who want different things out of their DCS experience.
Meanwhile, DCS: Kola arriving so soon is a bit of a surprise. Even a shock. But here we are with its release coming in just a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more on that!
Stormbirds 
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