We’ve known that a “green map” was coming for quite some time now, however, now that we’ve learned the full extent of Ugra Media’s DCS: Cold War Germany map I’m more excited than ever for what this map can do for the series and many of the modules that we have or that are in production. Why is it so exciting? Let me try and lay out how this connects some content together really nicely.
Connecting content and theme
DCS World has often been at its best when its managed to combine maps, assets and scenarios together with their modules. It’s not something that it’s always done all the time but there are times when things come together.
The series started off with Lock-On: Modern Air Combat and Flanker before it and focused heavily on the Caucasus region in the late 1990s and that worked well. Another good example of this was when DCS: F/A-18C Hornet and DCS: Persian Gulf came out at roughly the same time. These two modules then combined well with DCS: Super Carrier and other modules into an interesting series of what-if scenarios. In fairness, the what-if scenarios were highly questioned at the time but the map ended up being a fan favourite nonetheless stitching together interesting scenery and making for fun scenarios. Scripted campaigns then filled in the rest with Baltic Dragon’s Raven One campaigns and Sedlo’s Bold Cheetah being two such examples.
All of that fit together well thematically and provided the backdrop, the airplanes and the scenarios to make for interesting scenarios.
We’ve had variations on the same theme with other maps. DCS: Syria has been the best example with a similar time period (modern day or roughly so) and supporting the same batch of modules. The same could be said of DCS: Sinai or the Marianas map too. Meanwhile, Caucasus has been a successful map for a long time but it too has always felt a little more contemporary than many of our more Cold War era aircraft. None of them fully fit together into a single scenario quite so well… until now!
Ugra Media may have managed to connect some modules together nicely with the announcement of DCS: Cold War Germany. The map is smartly centered around some key German and surrounding European cities and include the fabled Fulda Gap – a strategic location widely believed the be the place where a Warsaw Pact attack could have happened during the Cold War.
Putting together the map and setting it during this historic time period helps connect time period with aircraft modules into a more cohesive theme than we’ve seen for quite a long time. Let’s consider where some currently available types might slot in.
A look at modules that we have that would fit right in
If we assume that the map would work equally well for 1985 plus or minus 5-15 years, the range of possibilities are quite wide and we have such a diversity of airplanes that we could use on this map on the day it launches.
Aircraft like the MiG-29 and Mirage 2000C, the Su-25 and A-10A, Mi-24P Hind and SA342 Gazelle, Mirage F1, MiG-21, F-4E, and even the F-5E and AJS-37 could find a way to narratively fit. If Ugra spends a bit of time in the North Sea or Baltic, you bring in more carrier power too with the F-14 being a shoe in. Even some of our lighter jets, the L-39 and MB-339 can find spots here.
Push the upper limit of the time period and its easy to bring in the rest of the Flaming Cliffs set with its F-15C and Su-27 headlining the scenario. But they don’t have to be there either… it all depends on the scenario.
This isn’t a completely comprehensive list but more of a thought experiment of what do we have and how do they fit into something that feels relatively accurate and cohesive. Yes, its similar to what we already see in various Cold War servers but now we have the map and the map is key! The answer is that we have a lot of aircraft with an in service time period around the mid to late 1980s.
There are, admittedly, some types that don’t fit the era too well of course. As much as it covers familiar turf, WWII modules wouldn’t fit the architecture, spread of urban areas, military base configuration or signage of the time period being represented… but if you don’t look too closely at the details it might be ok for some. Some of our more modern aircraft also don’t fit very well either. The CH-47F and AH-64D are quite a modern rendition of those helicopters and, if we’re sticking to the time period is a little too advanced for the time. The JF-17, A-10C II, F/A-18C and F-16C are much more modern representing early 2000s era (or beyond) which puts this outside of my thinking of what would fit this best. Though earlier models fit the time period and it is possible that they could be outfitted and limited enough to fit.
What about upcoming modules
Cold War era aircraft have been increasingly popular recently and that has caught the attention of developers who have responded with a slate of products aimed at this time period.
We have a lengthy list of projects underway that could be fit into this map and scenario well. Consider the Heatblur A-6 Intruder, Flying Iron Simulations A-7 Corsair II, the G.91 from IndiaFoxtEcho (the jet was withdrawn in the mid 1990s!), Grinnelli Design’s F-100 Super Sabre could find a fit as would the DCS: F-104 from Aerges and the Tornado GR.1 from AviaStorm.
Should Magnitude 3’s F8J Crusader eventually make it into the sim we could shoehorn that one in just fine, the Bo-105 from Miltech-5 which has long been in development and may yet surprise us one day is another module that would fit perfectly. And if several small miracles were to occur, the resumption of work on RAZBAM’s MiG-23MLA would be a fitting addition too. Octopus G may end up working on a Su-17 Fitter after finishing up with the La-7 and it would be another good fit.
All of these fit into a Cold War era sandbox of hypothetical scenarios that would offer plenty of entertainment and fun for a range of upcoming and existing products.
What’s missing?
So what’s missing? We of course have to wait for the map itself to arrive and when it does it will need a few other ingredients to really work. Comments here and around the community have wisely pointed out that few DCS World maps have managed to reach the kind of critical mass required to get enough people to buy the map to make it worthwhile for multiplayer servers and scripted campaign makers to go in. DCS: Persian Gulf did manage to and so did DCS: Syria. Would they go for this one? I suspect that they might and if they did, it would fill in the remaining piece needed.
All of my lists and comments above are largely to help make the point that we now have a map that should thematically tie together a wide variety of modules into hypothetical scenarios that could be flown by DCS World pilots. They fit into the Cold War era thematically and would create a more cohesive feeling than any other map in the series to-date for a wide variety of jets.
Scripted campaigns making use of the modules and the map and multiplayer servers are the last piece of the puzzle. If they are able to offer compelling scenarios and experiences, a large mass of DCS World pilots may go all in on experiencing this for themselves and if that happens then I think we’ll have a real winner on our hands.
The fun provided by Cold War era flight sim competition and scenario making doesn’t appear to be slowing down and I suspect that we’ll see DCS fans flying these modules well into the future. Now we have a place for them to live that fits them thematically better than virtually any other and that’s exciting.
Stormbirds 
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