Time to do some recapping of 2024! We’re starting with combat flight simulations which had a turbulent and somewhat challenging year on the whole though there were still plenty of bright spots. Let’s have a look at some of the key stories of the year and talk a little about what to expect in the new year.

DCS World’s challenging year

If you’re a DCS World fan, this past year has seen quite a few ups and downs and a whole lot of uncertainty. We went into 2024 with a fair bit of hope riding off of the DCS World 2024 and beyond video which showed us all kinds of exciting things such as Pacific content, the F6F and F4U, F-4 Phantom, OH-58, the MiG-23, Kola map, MiG-29, and a fair bit of still being celebrated at the time F-15E Strike Eagle.

Things didn’t really go the way we had all hoped. While the nature of the series teases future content, often hinging on the “beyond” in the title, there was considerable controversy in the early spring that overshadowed any of the excitement.

In April, clashing statements from Eagle Dynamics and third party developer RAZBAM ended up with RAZBAM suspending any updates to their released and in-development modules. While conciliatory messaging soon followed, concerns rose again when the F-15E’s radar stopped working. We later learned that the programmer of the radar module apparently put a stop date into the code. The radar issue was later resolved but the damage to confidence was significant.

Comments continued to swirl suggesting a lack of payments to the developers and contractors, breech of contract between RAZBAM and Eagle Dynamics and other various comments. I can’t independently confirm the statements but suffice to say that there was and likely remains quite a bit of conflict and dispute. Though no further official statements have shed any new light by either party, plenty of commentary on the issue continues to simmer in the background and has cast a long shadow on RAZBAM’s modules and on the sim as a platform on the whole.

Moving on from that story, we did actually see a fair bit of content launch into DCS World this year albeit mostly into early access. DCS: Kola, DCS: Afghanistan and DCS: Iraq all saw early access releases. All three maps remain in heavy development and are not complete yet. DCS: Sinai also saw a major update though it managed to create its own controversy by removing a northern portion of the map before later restoring it.

DCS: F-4E Phantom, a long awaited module from developer Heatblur, released in May after several delays to the project. The module lived up to the developers reputation of releasing complex and highly detailed aircraft for DCS World. The Phantom has seen some ongoing development since launch including picking up a free mini campaign called FROG-7 for the jet.

CH-47F Chinook, from Eagle Dynamics, also launched this year coming in the August update. The initial offering had some good points such as the introduction of a new cargo/logistics system to the sim but also was awaiting several updates to add key features. The capabilities for the moment remain somewhat limited but there is quite a bit of promise to both the CH-47 and to other logistics focused modules. The helicopter has added several features since its early access launch which has improved the offering though it remains in significant development.

Another helicopter, the DCS: OH-58D Kiowa Warrior from Polychop finally released after a lengthy development period. The helicopter has earned quite a few fans and seen a major upgrade addressing its audio issues working with partner Echo 19. Polychop’s other helicopter, the SA342 Gazelle, also saw updates this year with a visual refresh that improved the overall look of the helicopter.

The F-5E got a remaster this year with a $9.99 USD upgrade in place for current owners. The module also attracted some controversy as initial statements of it being a complete remaster were somewhat inaccurate (the exterior model is new, the cockpit model is re-textured from the original but retains some old longstanding issues). Still, the upgrade has visually improved the module nicely and bug fixes for both the legacy and remastered versions were nice to see. Despite the controversy, the upgrade has been nice to have and enjoyable to fly.

DCS: Supercarrier also saw some updates through the year adding some long awaited features and adding aircraft marshals to the flight deck. Welcome for long time fans of the carrier modules and carrier ops in DCS.

The series also elected to release a new Flaming Cliffs version. FC 2024 introduced new low system fidelity F-5E, F-86 and MiG-15bis models to the mix. Not much has been said about it since launch but it does open new avenues for new players to get into DCS World without some of the system complexity that full on DCS World modules offer.

Coming into December we did end on something of a high note with a significant update to the rendering system for fog helping to improve the sim’s visual appeal and bringing in weather effects on ground units. We also saw high fidelity upgrades to some mid-fidelity non-flyable aircraft such as the B-52 and B-1B get released to everyone. It’s unclear right now if Eagle Dynamics were thinking of releasing these as part of an asset pack and then decided to do something different or exactly what was planned but now everyone gets a chance to enjoy them. That’s a good thing!

Several campaigns released for DCS World as well though Baltic Dragon and Reflected Simulations joint effort on Arctic Thunder surely gathered the most amount of attention. The DCS: Kola oriented map offered two perspectives on the same narrative one from the seat of an F-16C and the other from an F/A-18C.

There have been bright spots with new modules, new maps, and a bunch of new campaign for DCS World. There are dark spots too with the RAZBAM saga contributing to a sense of unease among fans of the sim. It’s not the first time we’ve had a year of significant upheaval, still I think most of us are hoping that 2025 manages to be a somewhat more “boring” year for the sim.

The DCS: MiG-29 project, planned for Q2 of 2025 (hopefully!), may end up being one of the first bright spots in 2025 with a long awaited module finally arriving. Hopefully between that, the resolution of many early access issues, ongoing performance updates, and maybe even some news on the dynamic campaign would certainly be welcome positive points. Maybe it will be a good comeback year for the sim! We can hope!

IL-2 Sturmovik and Korea series building up

The IL-2 series attracted somewhat less controversy this year thankfully (it had its share in 2023) and instead focused on evolving currently released titles and working on the future of the series with IL-2 Korea.

This year saw a series of “Brief Room” and developer updates focused mostly, though not entirely, on the future of the series. It may surprise you to know that it was only this year that 1C Game Studios formally announced IL-2 Korea as a project.

Since then, we’ve learned a lot about their Korean project from technology improvements to the aircraft planned to come with the sim. From the F-80C and F-86 to the piston engine F-51D and even the B-29, we saw quite a bit of the American/UN side of the conflict while also learning about aircraft like the Yak-9P, Tu-2 and MiG-15.

We also know that the sim intends to introduce both high detailed versions of their big bombers as well as more efficient versions intended to be displayed as part of large massed bomber formations. That will apply to types like the Tu-2 and B-29.

The Great Battles Series saw some developments too. Flying Circus Vol 4 was released in the fall, the Spitfire IXc was added for free to owners of IL-2: Battle of Normandy, and the ultimate Focke Wulf, the Ta-152H, was also released as a payware collector plane. The IAR80/81, released late in 2023, with the short tail version only saw the long tail variant come in early 2024 completing the project.

The Great Battles sim saw numerous updates as well adding new missions to the career mode, a new Scripted campaign called Gestapo Hunters came out, and a number of aircraft such as the P-47, Tempest, some Bf109 variants, P-39 and P-40 all seeing tweaks and adjustments to their performance numbers.

I can’t forget to mention that Flying Circus Vol 4 was also released this year helping bring about what seemed like the end of development for the remastered World War I aircraft. That said, recent reveals that the Western Front map is going to continue to receive some key updates and the sim is going to pick up a Zeppelin too.

The new year promises to be slightly more exciting with a new Great Battles title releasing focused on the Odessa and Karelia fronts, eight new aircraft will be released including the I-153 and Yak-3. The team also projects that their new Korean sim will release before the end of the year as well with the rest of the aircraft and core features developed over the next several months.

Combat Pilot

I remain very excited about the prospects that Combat Pilot intends to offer as the nascent combat sim continues to develop. Jason Williams, the Executive Producer for the project, has been remarkably open about the development showing us very early work in progress images and giving us lots of reports through the year.

We’ve seen some of the critical assets like the USS Enterprise and IJN Akagi take shape over the year starting out in untextured format and then slowly gaining details and textures. The Akagi similarly saw impressive progress going from an impressive but untextured model in the early part of the year and then moving into the engine later in the year and picking up all kinds of textures.

This tour of the Akagi was particularly impressive as you could see not only the fully textured deck and exterior but also what the interior of the ship looked like.

The developers also started showing off the product with a playable demo available at Flight Sim Expo 2024. The demo impressed me greatly though it clearly remains early days. The details and depth already present in things like the engine and flight modeling are already starting to take shape on the sim’s F4F Wildcat and A6M Zero.

The sim also launched a Patreon with various tiers providing access to differing levels of material. The Ace Level opened up access to the Combat Pilot: Carrier Qualifications pre-alpha (an evolved version of the demo from FSExpo). They also began offering merch such as a 2025 calendar.

Jason also made a presentation at FSExpo showing off the combat sim for the first time and announcing that the sim would go from Midway to Guadalcanal as the content and sim evolved laying out a long range roadmap.

Combat Pilot is still just getting its start and it has a long way to go but the progress over the year offers me quite a bit of hope for the Pacific theatre WWII combat sim. Look forward to seeing more from the team over the next year!

Scramble: Battle of Britain

Not quite a combat flight sim but definitely in an adjacent category, Scramble: Battle of Britain launched this year into early access. It is a turn based air combat game focused on quick combat scenarios played out with meticulous, step by step, planned engagements with the game giving you control over flight of aircraft.

Coming out this past fall, Scramble plans to add more scenarios, more features, and more aircraft like the Hurricane which is due to arrive into the sim very soon.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on this one into 2025 for sure!

Thunder Helix

Do you like retro flight sims? Did you spend a lot of time playing Gunship 2000 or other helicopter sims from that era? Thunder Helix seeks to help relive the games of yesteryear with retro graphics running flawlessly on modern hardware and software.

I got a chance to preview the sim before its release into early access and had a ton of fun flying some of the different helicopters on offer. I also enjoyed how deeply the game leaned into retro gameplay with a “press space” to start on the loading screen and even a faux DOS display when exiting the game.

This one is well worth checking out if you like this type of game!

What stood out to you this past year

Looking back over a turbulent but still content and experience filled year gives me hope for 2025. While there are problems that continue to loom on the horizon, there was lots to enjoy this past year and to look forward to in the new year.

With luck, the new year will bring us resolution to some issues and plenty of excitement for new and returning content.

Focusing on the positives, what were your highlights this year? Did you stick with tried and tested experiences or did you go and do something new in 2024? What are you looking forward to in combat flight sims for 2025? Let me know in the comments!