DCS Update
C-130J Launch hotfix
This week’s hotfix addresses several C-130 launch issues. Several crash causes have been fixed such as ray tracing crashes, use of the MOAB and mark points, and when loading specific instant action missions. New missions from Sedlo have also been added, and existing missions from Sedlo, Gambit, and Baltic Dragon have been updated.
You will also find new Air China, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and Japan Air Self-Defense Force liveries, along with accuracy improvements to existing paint schemes. AVX CPU requirements have also been removed to broaden hardware compatibility.
The Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) now offers usability pass with clearer loadmaster feedback, a restart button, improved logbook behavior, better low-volume control, a virtual keyboard for notes and radios, and various UI refinements including the renamed Media tab and persistent Auto Reverse selection.
Smaller but important polishing includes corrected tooltips and labels, an updated rearm menu graphic, a more visible loadmaster icon, fixes for flare and chaff quantity updates, cockpit view behavior, and a desync issue that could lead to wing separation. Download the DCS: C-130J!
Marianas WWII
Development Progress
Since the release of the free DCS: Mariana Islands World War II map, the map team has been diligently working to enhance and improve it, ensuring that it accurately reflects this island chain in the summer of 1944. Runway-taxiway logic has been reworked, trees along takeoff and landing paths have been removed, runway surfaces have been improved, and parking locations adjusted. For the rest of the map, we manually corrected vector data, rebuilt road networks, and refined the placement of residential buildings, farmland, and much more. We have also addressed several points raised by our customers, including impassable bushes and other quality-of-life improvements.
One of the most significant changes in a future update concerns an event that occurred many years after World War II ended. In the early morning hours of May 15, 1981, a major volcanic eruption took place on Pagan island. The lava flow moved southwest from Mount Pagan, partially covering the Pagan airstrip and necessitating the complete evacuation of the island's then 54 residents.
Since the vector data for our maps is based on modern information, events like this can be overlooked when creating on a historical map. However, some observant customers quickly pointed out this event and its impact on the Pagan airstrip. Armed with this knowledge, we conducted an in-depth investigation using imagery from the 1940s and discovered that the Allies had extensively photographed the island. We located these high-quality surveillance images of the airfield and its surroundings, allowing us to accurately recreate the airfield as it appeared nearly 40 years before the volcanic event.
VIAF 2025
Virtual International Air Festival
As per tradition in December, the VIAF is back this weekend! Hosted live on Twitch from “Clin d’Ailes”, an incredibly cool aviation museum in Switzerland, the biggest virtual airshow in the world welcomes 200 pilots from 18 countries, totaling 61 demonstrations that you may not have even know were possible in DCS. Watch the trailer here!
For the next three days, watch the show and try to win giveaways! You could get the awesome Thrustmaster AVA Hornet bundle and SOL-R 4, the brand-new Moza AB6 force-feedback base, or a DCS module of your choice that is developed by Eagle Dynamics. Don’t forget to tune-in for several interviews of fascinating people who work or fly on real fighter jets to learn more about this fascinating topic.
If you’re in or near Switzerland, make sure to come by and check out the “real” show in the museum! You’ll be able to try an incredible Next Level Racing DCS simpit that is set up with the latest in flight simulation controls.
Don’t miss out on one of the oldest DCS Twitch events! The VIAF starts today at 18:30 GMT, and at 12:00 GMT all weekend. All live, with professional production, on VAF’s twitch channel. You can check the schedule here. See you in a few hours!
Thank you again for your passion and support,
Yours sincerely,
Eagle Dynamics