My Items

It is clear that the current situation within DCS World, its community and developers is a bit weird. It is the first time in years that, even after seeing all of these announcements made during the annual "202X and Beyond" video, I have not felt excitement for anything showcased during its run. Quite the opposite, I feel worried about the future of DCS. I should feel excited, shouldn't I? We got confirmation on the full fidelity F-15C module, a lot of teaser content on the dynamic campaign mode and more awesome video of upcoming modules like the Eurofighter, Hellcat, Super Saber, etc. These are reasons to be excited, things to look forward to, but yet, here I am. Unenthusiastic and Stoic about it all. The elephant in the room, at least to me, was the announcement of the full-fidelity F-35A module by Eagle Dynamics. This is an aircraft I never expected to be introduced to DCS in any official manner, hell, it is the butt of the joke for the modding community because of how many teams have tried making it. To say the F-35 is a challenge to tackle would be an understatement. Why start development of two new, complex modules on top of the pile of already unfinished, early access ones that are available for purchase right now? I understand that these are not being worked on by the same teams, but it does feel like they are spreading their resources a bit too thin between all of these projects. Additionally, the classified nature of this bird means that there will most likely be no official exchange of information between the USAF/Lockheed Martin and ED, even less any sort of sharing of information regarding its specific systems and the inner workings of the aircraft. The developers clarified that it will be made with publicly available information on the aircraft from trade shows and SME feedback. My main gripe with the DCS F-35A is that they are calling it a "full-fidelity" module. In the past, the term "full-fidelity" meant that the aircraft was modeled as close as possible to the real one, including most if not all of its systems modeled (ITAR allowing) within a fully realized clickable cockpit. Something like that is more than understandable for old Cold War aircraft and legacy 4th generation fighters like the F-15C. But calling this F-35A "full-fidelity" is misleading for the users.

Full fidelity shouldn't just mean clickable and with systems made through OSINT. Were it to be marketed as "Clickable" or anything along those lines, I would not mind in the slightest. But it cannot be compared to aircraft like Heatblur's magnificent F-4E, or Polychop's unfortunate miracle, the OH-58D.
ADDITIONAL RECENT ISSUES SURROUNDING DCS
Speaking of Polychop, it is very unfortunate that most of its labor force seems to have resigned or been fired. Most details are unknown but from comments made by known developers such as Kinkku, with whom I worked with on the DCS UH-60L mod, we can infer that some of the most talented people over at the studio have left.
This situation is an internal one within Polychop themselves, and does not seem to be related to anything done by ED, nor does it have relation with the other elephant in the room: the RAZBAM situation. Both ED and RAZBAM have made contradictory statements regarding the status of the ongoing debacle both entities have, and about the future of RAZBAM's modules in DCS. ED's community managers have stated that they could take over and maintain the modules even after a hypothetical departure from the developer. RAZBAM denies that claim, as seen on the screencap below. Comment made by ED's Community Manager, NineLine, on the forums. Official comment by RAZBAM on their Discord server. It has now been almost a year since this situatiuon began, and most members of the community are tired of seeing both sides contradict each other in public statements. MY HOPES So, what now? Am I going to stop playing DCS just because the water's muddy and the future is not looking as bright as it could? No, I am not. I will still play it, but I won't be the faithful supporter that I used to be. Let's see where this year takes us, who knows? Things could improve. I will just be here for the ride, and I will make sure to share my opinions on future DCS happenings here at Skyward. Fly High, Fly Safe.
About the Author Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter  | Discord : Cubeboy

“Everyone knows Star Wars was saved in the edit.”
– Every Youtuber ever. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I am more than willing to consume anything regarding Ace Combat 04. To me, it’s still the pinnacle of the series and should qualify as one of the best games ever made. One of its greatest strengths is in its storytelling. I’ve read it described as the retelling of a novel. This is very prescient; it does in fact feel like a chaptered comic or visual novel in the way it's built. It’s unique in this regard, as later installments of the franchise build themselves like a movie, from the after-action opening credits to an adherence to a three act format. But what if you could really make that novel shine through as well? Can you make that elusive novel-to-movie transition work for the first reboot of the franchise? Well, Nassault found a way. Nassault is a supremely talented video editor and as die-hard a fan of Ace Combat and aviation as they come. Utilizing Digital Combat Simulator as the engine for cinematics, he manages to translate the fun of the game missions and turn them into bite-sized, action-packed trailers that exude world-class editing expertise. But it also exposes his action as a world-class director and a pretty decent pilot. His videos constrain themselves to making the action feel real and within the time limit constraint of the mission’s soundtrack. He flies the planes themselves to get the action just right. He can make the simple flipping of a switch dramatic, and it’s in service of the story. Imminent Threat compacts the 8-10 minute mission into a realistic runway strike by Mobius 1 and his comrades by using standoff munitions as a way to condense the main objective. He does well to cut out anything superfluous, and uses in-game voice lines to great effect, demonstrating the strength of the game’s script. He keeps within the limitations of the game engine and convincingly portrays the destruction of the ramp at Rigley Air Base.
“The hardest part about making this video was learning to fly the Phantom” (sic)
– Nassault’s top YouTube comment for Imminent Threat. … But what about the substation?! This is not to dismiss his enormous backlog which has built this highlight. From his excellent interpretations of Ace Combat Zero to his dabbling in VTOL VR , he puts his best foot forward each time and uses tried-and-true methods to portray the story being told. Sitting Duck exemplifies this marvelously. Starting with the overlaid merging of the title attract screen with the iconic blue F-4 flown by Mobius One. The use of DCS also performs a great interpretation of that iconic first mission, with believable beyond-visual range engagements against the Bear bombers. The in-game audio works almost ideally as well, being snappy while following the plot-relevant details to the letter. The ace-focused dogfight is exciting and engaging and doesn’t overexert itself; the entire thing wraps up nicely. With the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 I’ve been on a bit of an eager kick for its bugs to be ironed out, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s got something to pay honor to that legacy as well. His Evolution of Microsoft Flight Simulator video could put Asobo and Microsoft’s marketing groups to task. With expert cuts between the primitive colored lines of the original and the still outstanding graphics of the 2020 release. It even implements a little humor in between the grandeur on display, with the CAS yelling about an imminent collision. Nassault can claim over 100 and a dozen videos dating back over 16 years. His steady buildup to the excellence you see today is exposed from day one, even if he may have been constrained with the technology of the time. Though he has dipped out of creating content from time to time, he always bounces back stronger than ever. You can catch his work on his website or check his YouTube channel . Writer T.J. "Millie" Archer T.J. "Millie" Archer is a life-long realist and aviation enthusiast. Once the co-founding Administrator of the Electrosphere.info English Ace Combat Database. In the present day, he is freelance, roving the internet in search of the latest aviation news and entertainment. [ Read Profile ]

"The squirrels are now fully targetable, as intended."
-Paper Planes Version 0.1.1 Patch Note This is one of the most out there patch notes you will see out of a flight game, but that is the type of energy Paper Planes by Creekside Interactive is bringing. This game launched into early access on Steam on January 5th, 2025. Though some of the earliest mentions of the game can be traced back to May 2024 in their Discord server , it has actually been in development in some form years before that. Starting sometime in 2021. Since then, the two-person indie development team has steadily made progress and took a few creative risks until Paper Planes finally reached early access at the start of 2025. My congratulations to the development team for sticking with a long term project and seeing it through. It really is not as easy as it looks. We wrote about the demo for this game during Planes, Trains and Automobiles Fest 2024. Shortly before early access release Creekside Interactive reached out to Skyward Flight Media to inform us of their upcoming release and offered Steam keys for review. We had a pretty decent time with the demo for this rather unconventional flight game, so we took the offer to review the game. This review was written with no communication between Skyward Flight Media and Creekside Interactive about our thoughts on the game. All opinions stated here are unaffected by external sources. The Vibe A moderator on our Discord team named 'Prov', who has also been providing feedback on Paper Planes, summed up the feeling of the game pretty well. He expressed that it felt like an early 2000s game. After a brief discussion, a few older games came to mind. The common thread being that they were willing to present an approachable game, not steeped in a complicated story that would just let outlandish scenarios playout with a few questionable jokes or swagger heavy narration. A type of game really anyone could pick up and learn in just a few minutes. Becoming familiar with the controls and game mechanics in just a session or two. Paper Planes is a pure arcade experience built for quick combat, fast flying and few other things to slow the experience down. The Levels Each level in Paper Planes is as whacky as you might imagine them to be. With no story having to connect each level together, they are an eclectic mix. The level designs are so unconventional, part of the experience is just taking in the sights. There is a constant level of curiosity about what is around every corner or what is behind each object. At launch, the levels include Backyard, Bedroom, Mushroom Forest, Plane Park and Volcanic Ruin. Their names are straightforward and describe exactly what to expect. Though Plane Park and Volcanic Ruin have two derivatives specifically made for air racing in the Time Trial game mode. Each level has built in environmental hazards. Things like backyard grills, model battleships, baseball pitching machines, bubbling lava and medieval trebuchets flinging what seem to be mushrooms that explode in colorful flashes; just to name a few. In my opinion, the most dangerous "hostile force" in each level is easily the world boundary. It appears with enough warning. However, colliding with it is instant death. Even grazing it. There are times I wish the barrier would cause gradual damage over time for being outside of it, but the barrier itself is not an issue. Aircraft, Flight The toy aircraft are made of paper, wood, rubber bands, foam, plastic and maybe a touch of electronics. They can carry rubber band blasters, guided rockets and pick up many other types of weapons and gadgets by picking up power ups. The designs vary from nostalgia familiar to original designs to being slightly IP adjacent. Of course each design has improved flight characteristics that are unique to each aircraft, but I feel as though I did not unlock enough of them to give a decent description of a majority of them. There is a reason for this explained in the "Building, Shopping" section of this review. Examples of all player controlled aircraft. (Creekside Interactive X.com) What I can discuss is the flight model and controls. If the balsa wood and Styrofoam fighters did not tip you off, this is a pure flight arcade game. Turn rates of aircraft do change depending on air speed and these toy aircraft slowly float down to the earth when the throttle setting is set to zero and the airspeed drops to zero. But do not expect anything more complicated beyond that. Each aircraft has a health bar that decreases as damage is taken with ammunition types able to be replenished by picking up power ups from the map. The one-time use power ups vary. They include items that regain health, improve blasters, force fields, afterburner boosts, etc. My personal favorite is a power up that adds a pair of classic paper planes that rotate around the player's aircraft and multiply its firepower. They are reminiscent of the Gradius series Options or Mobile Suit Gundam series Funnels. Styrofoam Airliner with paper plane "support fighters". A considerable problem with gameplay is related button mapping and remapping. When discussing gamepad controllers specifically, the configuration of pitch, roll, yaw and throttle functions are a point of contention. Speaking with 'Prov' again he articulated the problem succinctly, though I will expand upon it. Since the 1980s arcade flight games that use gamepads have a universally known control scheme. Pitch and roll controls are always on the left side of the controller, opposite of the face buttons. And for good reason. If the right hand is constantly manipulating flight controls that same hand could not easily interact with the face buttons of the controller without giving up control of the aircraft. Paper Planes places pitch and yaw controls on the left analog stick X and Y-axis with throttle and roll controls on the right analog stick X and Y-axis. With the throttle inputs requiring to be assigned to an axis with no option to assign them onto a pair of buttons, the result is an odd split thumbstick control scheme where flight controls are split between two thumbsticks. It is a system that can be learned, but for players that may be used to a specific style of control scheme, adapting to this unusual control scheme could be something that bounces them off the game before getting deeper into it. Fortunately the Creekside Interactive developers are very receptive to feedback on Steam and in their Discord . They know that Paper Planes will need more work over time. Feel free to give them more direct feedback on this and any other improvements. Building, Shopping The way this game handles building and buying aircraft is something I enjoy seeing. I am very much used to the clinical item selection style screen most flight arcade games use. Paper Planes uses a real world style model shop which players walk through using keyboard and mouse controls. In the early access version of the shop, players can use Coins to purchase raw materials to build a plane on the crafting table (foam, glue, wood, cans, etc.) or buy one preassembled. Alternatively, players can purchase materials from the shop one item at a time or get those items through gameplay. I like this system, but fully admit that it really can only fit in a few specific types of games. At first the cost of a few of the aircraft or items seems daunting, but as players engage in gameplay the rate at which materials are gathered isn't that terrible. Building or buying one of the high level aircraft made of cans or electronics will certainly take a concerted effort that cannot be interrupted by randomly buying aircraft along the way. Progressively buying aircraft is not something that is a part of game progress in the way that, say, the Ace Combat series does it. During the review I made it a point to do as much as possible with the starter aircraft and there were not hard limits to prevent a player from being successful. More advanced planes make gameplay more engaging with noticeable performance boosts, but the starter plane is still serviceable throughout the game. Domination The primary combat focused game mode available in single player and multiplayer. Each level has a set difficulty with options to adjust the number of enemies fought at a time. The enemies are unique to each level, each with their own means to attack the player. Some are ferocious looking magma creatures that throw balls of magma that can be shot out of their hands. Others are squirrels in miniature hot air balloons throwing nuts. The smaller enemies take an equal amount of damage no matter where they are struck. Besides the default blasters, they can also be hit by missiles. Of note, the blasters have a longer attack range than the missiles. It is possible to get many hits in from a longer distance before gradually entering counterattack range. The missiles are harder hitting than the blasters of course and can be fired slightly off boresight. Meaning they can be utilized while flying evasively. Barrel rolling past a stunned Magma Fiend. While the smaller enemies vary in design and type of attack they are not as extravagant as the boss characters players fight if they are successful in fighting surviving the first half of the mission. Very useful when multiple enemies attack a player at once. The boss battles are legitimate boss battles. They are similar to the types you would expect from a role playing game. Expect them to take a decent amount of time to clear. Of course harder hitting weapons can make it go a bit faster. There are a few phases of the battle that unfold as a boss takes an increasing amount of damage. Most bosses have specific parts that can be targeted. Some of these spots gradually weaken them or remove specific abilities for them to attack or defend themselves. The bosses are also tailor made per level. For example, the children's room is overseen by a one eyed Teddy Bear named Mr. Snuffles who throws toys while being escorted by laser packing robots. It occasionally tries to belly flop onto the player. On the more traditional end of the spectrum, there is an oversized flying fortress called the B-19 Hercules. This aircraft is covered in turrets, backed by a rotary-style missile launcher and some type of... object projection system? It is as visually intense as it is complicated to explain. Time Trial The air racing portion of the game still includes weapons to complicate things for other players. Players are timed against themselves or other players with speed boosts and power ups spread across the map. Even at the "Normal" airspeed, players have mere seconds to make snap decisions. Squeaking their aircraft between obstacles in the pursuit of staying as fast as possible at all times. The general airspeed of the aircraft can also be increased before each race, making them more challenging. I did not get too deep into the Time Attack portion of Paper Planes. Not because it is low quality, but because of my own lukewarm interest in game modes like this. I'd say try it yourself and form your own opinion. Free Roam The easiest game mode, purpose built for exploring said imaginative levels. Players can take their time to explore every detail of the maps. In my opinion, a flight game's Free Flight mode is one of the least used game modes. Once you've seen the terrain a few times, why go back, right? The developers of Paper Planes made one of the most forward thinking decisions I have seen in some time. Players are further encouraged to explore every nook and cranny by being able to find Coins and build materials to use in the in-game Shop. These items are just freely floating in the levels. Some of these maps yield decently large amounts of a specific materials or coins, making it worthwhile to revisit these maps outside of the other combat inclusive game modes. To me it is similar to material farming in a different genre of games. Sometimes you do not want to lock in for a long play session where a few boss fights will be inevitable. Slipping in a free flight or two to make progress towards building your next desired aircraft is a nice experience. Free Roam in the bedroom after shooting the light switch is the best. Closing Paper Planes by Creekside Interactive has very few things working against it in terms of gameplay, beyond the current button mapping restrictions. But again, I doubt that will be a permanent issue. Overall my experience was positive with the game. After taking time to learn the control scheme and fly full force into the concept and settings, I do feel like the game somewhat stands on its own among its peers in terms of creativity and willingness to simply try things that would be considered far outside of the box for other flight games. For the cost of $9.99 USD, it is quite a bit of content at launch for a game this size. The development team is already working on the next wave of content post release, which I do look forward to trying myself. Paper Planes Links Discord - Steam - X.com Defeating a boss is often spectacular! About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile .

It is a new year! The turn of the year often brings new players to Digital Combat Simulator World for the first time ever. Whether that is because of last holiday's sales or trying something new, some of these players might feel a bit intimidated by the amount of money that some of the official modules cost. Some of them cost as much as an AAA game. There is nothing to fear, though, as we have prepared a small guide to show that you do not need money to get the full DCS experience! ORIGINAL POST : 01/07/2023 - UPDATED : 01/08/2025 DCS SHINES WITH FREE COMMUNITY MODS For those that are not willing to commit 40 to 60 USD on a single module without knowing if they even have the mindset needed for a simulation game such as DCS World, there always is the option that got me started in DCS: the modding community.

Modern mods are no longer just re-skins of official modules, but fully-fledged modules that are available for free for everyone to enjoy. These go all the way from prop aircraft, training jets, light attack aircraft, full-on attack aircraft and even utility helicopters! That means that no matter what you want to learn or do in DCS before buying a module, it will be possible to get started without spending a single dime on the game. They are extremely easy to install and all of these come with newcomer-friendly installation instructions! To enjoy these to the fullest you might need a flight stick, but I know that a lot of people fly in DCS with standard gamepads and do just as well as some who have complex HOTAS setups.
OV-10A Bronco by Split Air
To get started, the first aircraft I would recommend anyone to try would be Split Air's OV-10A Bronco. This aircraft is the easiest one to fly and would allow you to gain all the fundamentals of flight without any of the drawbacks. It is also great fun to do missions with it due to its small but versatile arsenal. Sk60B by BAAS Dynamics The next one you should try after you feel confortable with the Bronco is the Sk60B by BAAS Dynamics. It is the best jet trainer at the moment, period. It allows you to get a proper jet experience with a fully-clickable cockpit that is both entertaining and educational. Furthermore, it is an awesome aircraft with a very interesting story behind it. Its 3D model and textures have nothing to envy from official modules. Additionally, It has some very lethal weapons available, so you are sure to have a blast with it. A-4E-C Skyhawk by Community A-4 Developer Team Once you have tried the Sk60B, you will have the need to fly something a bit faster and a bit more exciting. That is where the A-4E by the Community A-4 Developer Team comes into the picture. This is a full-on module with no strings attached. It has been built and improved upon for the best part of four years now, which shows how dedicated the team are. This mod gives you a fully-clickable, fully-featured 1970s attack aircraft. It has a wonderful air to ground radar and the capability to carry some extremely unique weapons exclusive to it.
F-4B/C Phantom II by VSN Once you are accustomed to the rigors of jet combat, it is time to go supersonic. In 2023, a mod released that we have not only invested a lot of time on, but also one that we have included in many of our missions. This extremely capable fighter is no other than VSN's F-4B/C Phantom II mod, an appetizer for the upcoming Heatblur F-4E module. This mod is also standalone, which means you do not need any other module, official or not, to use it. We highly recommend this mod to everyone! It might not be full fidelity like the A-4E, but it is sufficiently good for almost everything you would want it to do. It has a fully-functioning radar and unique weapon systems! T-45C Goshawk by VNAO If what you want to train for more modern aircraft to see if you like the more modern playstyle with screens and buttons, then VNAO's T-45C Goshawk is for you. This recreation of the venerable Goshawk is quite the mod, boasting a very detailed, fully-clickable cockpit with most of its systems modeled. This aircraft is the best one to try if what you want to buy is the Hornet or even other modern aircraft like the Tomcat or the F-16C!

The only detail is that it only carries training weapons, so do not expect to do any serious combat in this aircraft. UH-60L Blackhawk by H-60 Project Team If fixed-wing aircraft are not to your liking, then do I have a treat for you! The UH-60L by the H-60 Project team. This helicopter is the best way to get into rotary wing aircraft in DCS. It is a modern helicopter with all the amenities, including a full-on stability augmentation system, HMD, etc. It is fast and agile for what it is. I might be a bit biased as I am the texture artist for the Black Hawk, but I sincerely recommend this to everyone that might have even a passing interest in helicopters! YOU DON'T NEED MONEY TO ENJOY DCS I hope that this small list of wonderful mods serves as a window into DCS World and its amazing modding community. If you try them out and like them, then you can be sure that DCS is something that you will truly enjoy for years to come. So why not try them out? They are all free and accessible to everyone, no questions asked.

2025 is the year to get into DCS. I hope I see you in the virtual skies somewhere. UPCOMING DCS WORLD MODS IN 2025! AH-1G Cobra by Violent Nomad This mod has been in the works for quite a while now, and to say that it looks promising would be an understatement. Its developer, Nomad, is a hardworking individual that has been extremely open with his community about the progress he has made towards the completion of this mod. It would be the first standalone attack helicopter mod in DCS World, and one that fits perfectly with the Vietnam-era assets that we have in-game, and also the F-4E! In the last half of 2024 the AH-1G mod showed off its continued progress with a series of videos from the project's YouTube channel . Development is to the point that there are now videos of entire training missions that would be included with the module on release. Things are looking great so far. The most recent video about the mod shows off some of the cold start procedure and some neat features that this mod will have on release:
Dassault / Donnier Alpha Jet by Split Air Brought to you by the Split Air team, the developers of the OV-10A Bronco and other excellent mods, the Alpha Jet is setting itself to be one of the best mods available for the game upon its release. The external model is extremely detailed. As at least January 8th, 2025, the exterior model is 98% complete, with the interior model also quite advanced. The external flight model has been getting positive responses from source material experts that include former pilots of the aircraft. Several instruments are already interactive, base textures are nearly complete, and there is much more in active development. Seeing how detailed the flight model was for the OV-10A Bronco, we expect it to fly just as good as any of their other mods. Look forward to this trainer/light attack aircraft!
About the Author Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as a writer and the co-founder of Skyward ever since. Twitter | Discord : Cubeboy

Tactical Airlifter You Did Not Know You Needed In a landscape that is frequently riddled with the overwhelming power of nuclear weapons, you would think the addition of an aircraft that is capable of delivering those weapons would be a given. If it cannot deploy a weapon of mass destruction, what place does it have in such a battlefield? I believe few people were expecting the arrival of a logistics capable aircraft with an unusually powerful conventional weapon selection. In my opinion, the VL-49 Tarantula occupies a rather unusual place in the setting of Nuclear Option by Shockfront Studios . The amazing trailer introducing the aircraft. AIRCRAFT DESCRIPTION The Tarantula is a quad proprotor, tiltwing, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) heavy lift platform capable of launching from any of the game's pre-built or user made airbases, highway air strips and helipads. Though it cannot quite fit on the back of a Dynamo-class Destroyer or a Shard-class Corvette like its SAH-46 Chicane attack helicopter counterpart. While quite large, its ability to land vertically anywhere it can fit itself into maintains its versatility. Internal view (Nuclear Option official Discord server). As with all aircraft in Nuclear Option, the VL-49 Tarantula is exquisitely modeled externally and internally. The in-game encyclopedia description of this aircraft mentions its survivability in combat thanks to its four proprotors with internally linked driveshafts. I can certainly say this is the case, as I have intentionally taken this tiltwing mammoth into situations it should never be in and have landed with engines shot out and large sections of the aircraft missing. Its size and weight does make it hard to evade consistent anti-aircraft threats, so playing flying defensively is a must. TACTICAL AIRLIFTER The VL-49 Tarantula should be viewed not as a transport helicopter, but more of a tactical airlifter like the C-130. In its cargo bay the Tarantula can carry Munitions Containers to resupply land forces and aircraft at forward arming and refueling points and Naval Supply Containers that float in the sea to resupply naval units. Each container can explode if deployed incorrectly, so stable landings and low speed control is paramount, but in a pinch these crates can intentionally be ejected from the aircraft as medium yield makeshift bombs. Vehicle wise it can deploy a variety of vehicles. From two LCV25 technical style pickup trucks with anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapon packages, a single mobile radar vehicle capable of detecting and directing surface to air missile fire at targets at up to 40km or a single AFV6 multipurpose armored vehicle available in configurations like anti-air, anti-tank, armored personnel carrier and infantry fighting vehicle. Tarantula deploying a light armored vehicle at a remote location. After these vehicles are dropped off by the VL-49, they can be controlled by players on the same coalition with Nuclear Options built in real time strategy-esque control system. This makes the Tarantula capable of solo capturing neutral or hostile facilities by providing its own ground forces. DIRECT ACTION PENETRATOR Similar to the real world Sikorsky MH-60L DAP, the VL-49 Tarantula can mount a surprising variety of offensive and defensive weapons you would only expect on purpose built attack helicopters. Depending on configuration, it is able to fight its way in and out of contested areas. While carrying cargo, the Tarantula can carry a chin mounted 12.7 mm rotary cannon and on its sponson mounts either 25mm cannon pods or short-ranged infrared air-to-air missiles. When equipped with the 12.7mm and 25mm weapons, as long as players are not in direct control of them, the AI crew members of the Tarantula will automatically slew the weapons onto targets within their firing arcs and engage without the player's input. Aircraft loadout screen. Forgoing transport duties completely, the VL-49 can deploy up to twenty AGM-48 missiles deployed in a F-86D Saber Dog inspired rectractable ventral rocket tray. When fired in large volleys, a single Tarantula can saturate an area with while it remains near top speed to quickly leave the area while hostile forces deal with the wall of missiles it left behind. Ventral rocket tray. Due to its size, attempting to operate for a prolonged period in contested airspace like an attack helicopter is impractical. Evading anti-aircraft fire is difficult because the Tarantula is unable to quickly terrain mask like an attack helicopter or fixed-wing combat aircraft can, then unmask seconds later to continue the engagement. GUNSHIP Aside from transport abilities, the Tarantula's signature combat capability is as a gunship with a side mounted 76mm cannon with a relatively high rate of fire. This heavy hitting cannon has a surprisingly long reach with reliable accuracy thanks to it firing guided cannon shells. The side mounted cannon is hard hitting, capable of destroying a main battle tank in two to four hits while it is driving. Couple its base range with additional altitude provided by an aircraft and the cannon is capable of out ranging short range air defenses (SHORAD). Side mounted 76mm cannon. In Nuclear Option, SHORAD is highly effective against air-to-ground weapons like missiles, bombs and rockets. Most units are able to track these weapons in flight and attempt to intercept them with high rate of fire autocannons or interceptor missiles. Because of this saturation attacks against groups of defended targets are a must. While the guided cannon shells from the Tarantula can be intercepted by some SHORAD units, sustaining fire directly on an air defense unit will gradually overwhelm it. For example, a self propelled anti-aircraft gun may be able to intercept a handful of missiles in just a few seconds, but even it will eventually run out of ammunition when faced with a steady stream of 76mm cannon shells focused on it and only it. Much like the anti-tank missiles mentioned in the previous section of this article, with the cannon mounted, the Tarantula can dispatch a convoy of enemy vehicles in just a few minutes if the conditions in the airspace are permissive. Heavily damaged VL-49 heading back to base. OPERATIONAL REALITIES The strengths and weaknesses of the Tarantula show themselves rapidly depending on the mission type. Nuclear Option is best known for its large scale, force on force missions that are a part of the base game. In these missions about 100 units on each side with dozens more produced in real time fight one another over hundreds of kilometers. Within the mix of the chaos are multiple high performance fifth generation fighters like the KR-67 Ifrit or FS-12 Revoker, which frequently penetrate the perceived frontlines and easily target aircraft like the Tarantula. Being unable to press towards the frontlines easily, the Tarantula can struggle at times. VL-49 Tarantula cockpit. In permissive environments the VL-49 can loiter in an area of the map, locking down roads from enemy troop movements and offering assistance with saturation attacks. In small and medium size scenarios, the Tarantula has more flexibility and the vehicles it deploys have more of an impact in a ground war that does not involve a near endless firehouse of land units. The Tarantula has potential to be the catalyst for an entire set of logistics focused and dispersed forces missions. I find myself flying the VL-49 Tarantula more than half of the aircraft roster in the game, but this is mainly because of the possibilities it presents for multiple mission types. Expect to see more of the VL-49 Tarantula's capabilities on full display as Skyward Flight Media moves forward in making missions for Nuclear Option in the near future. View from a VL-49 cockpit moments before starting an air assault. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. Read Staff Profile .

The first day of the New Year is here. Skyward flight Media is forming considerable plans for 2025. With ideas being written up and multipart meetings on the horizon, a part of looking forward to the future is taking a look at the past. For Skyward, 2024 was a time of continuing our established way of operations while gradually increasing our reach. Here are a few releases that exemplify some of the content we put out this year. YAWMAN ARROW REVIEW February 3rd, 2024 Our big hardware review of the year was for the Arrow handheld flight controller by Yawman LLC. After meeting the team and trying a prototype at Flight Sim Expo 2023, ongoing communication led to an early mass production unit being sent to Skyward Flight Media before the Arrow was released for public sale. Though designed for mid to high fidelity flight simulators, the USB interface of this controller made it possible to remap its buttons and axes for any new or old game that would recognize it. This review stands as one of our most in-depth hardware reviews thus far. FSE 2024: AI Enhanced Flight June 22nd, 2024 The widespread use of artificial intelligence in our everyday lives is here. How it would be incorporated into flight Simulation was something I was unsure of. I half-expected its implementation to just fly aircraft on behalf of the Humans playing the simulator. Which would be, for the lack of a better term, "Cringe". However, companies presenting at FSE 2024 offered their AI products as an enhancement to flight, rather than a replacement for the minutiae of aviation operations. With AI providing multi-language air traffic control, ground control, radio chatter and even flight instruction, it seems like the era of enhanced solo flight simulation is here. DCS Syria COIN February 11th, 2024 The first Skyward Flight Media original mission created for Digital Combat Simulator. This scenario is an example of how our in house mission editors now have high level skills, but it also represents a turning point in Skyward's content creation. With this mission's release, even more complex content has been planned, with development well underway. No Punch: DCS World's Disappointing Explosives August 7th, 2024 An important article this year, as we finally got a bit tired of the way explosives work in vanilla DCS and wanted to bring some attention to this issue. After all, how fun can bombing a target really be when a Humvee two feet from the 500lb bomb explosion comes out unharmed? Review: DCS OH-6A Cayuse by Tobsen & Eightball May 1st, 2024 Out of all the reviews written last year, the most important one was the Cayuse. This little bird that could is the most impressive mod released for DCS World this year, and one that not only left me speechless, but also revived my faith in proper mods being done for the only combat sim on the market. The Current State of DCS World and its Community April 27th, 2024 Speaking of the only modern combat sim in the market, we also shared our genuine opinions about the state of DCS World and its community and some of the drama that surrounded it in early 2024. The fact that a lot of what was said still rings true starting 2025 should be an indication that this article has aged like fine wine.

For months, my copy of VTOL VR sat there on my SSD, unattended and unloved. I struggled to find any motivation to boot it up since I was not really in the mood to play it alone, at least until my friend and fellow Skyward creator, Hueman, got his first VR headset. As it is kind of typical in our friend group, he was immediately bombarded with VR games to give him the best shot at enjoying his time in VR, one of which was VTOL VR.
This finally gave me an excuse to revisit this game with a clear mind, and now with a larger group of friends to fly alongside me. We all assembled the past two days to have fun in the game, but I never expected to have such a good time with it, especially considering my previous stagnation with the game. DAY 1: MULTI-CREW TIME The first session was sort of an impromptu one, and I wanted to do something different that I just couldn't do by myself. That is why I proposed to Hueman to do some multi-crew flights with two aircraft, the AH-94 and the T-45. The sessions started very rough, as it was the first time in months that I had touched VTOL VR. I had to readjust myself to the controls, while trying to teach some of the basics of the AH-94 gunner seat to Hue. He ended up figuring out most of it himself for the sole reason that I already kind of had enough trying to teach myself the pilot seat of the helicopter to myself. After a couple of suboptimal flights, half of which we flew with one engine because I rushed the startup, we learned the hard way that we needed more people for the mission we were engaging. We only managed to get some of the objectives done, and the last couple of objectives were impossible with our current level of proficiency. View from Hueman's perspective. That is why we switched to the T-45, a simpler and more familiar aircraft. In my initial review, I found this plane to be a lovely experience in VR and an excellent way to teach your friends to do anything you need to do in VTOL VR. Much of this experience did transfer through even after months of disuse, but we still struggled a bit because of my poor weapon choices for the missions we were tackling.

At the end of the day, we had spent hours flying and getting things done. I had a blast with Hue and he did too. This would wrap up the first day of flying. DAY 2 AND 3: BIG MISSION, MADE BETTER WITH FRIENDS For the second and third days, we had some of our friends show up to the session. This made it possible to tackle some bigger multiplayer CO-OP missions that were just unreasonable to do alone. We did two sessions of the same mission, but with different parameters and people. Important bonding time between members of SkywardFM. This mission was one of the biggest ones included with the base game, and has a lot of potential to do many types of tasks and objectives. From air-to-air, air-to-ground, SEAD and anti-ship, this mission has a bit of everything. RibbonBlue, as expected, decided to get on the EF-24 and fly for us as a dedicated SEAD and Electronic Warfare aircraft. He suppressed as many as possible, allowing us to get insanely close to some of the more difficult objectives, such as the enemy fleet. He also, surprisingly, focused himself on jamming the enemies' radar warning receivers, but what does this mean? In simple terms, he made it so that if he had focused on that enemy aircraft, that pilot couldn't even know that they were being shot at until the last seconds before impact. This came in handy more times than I'd like to admit.

The others, including me, dedicated ourselves to all other miscellaneous objectives. I personally made it my mission to annihilate all known enemy air defenses and the enemy fleet with the F-45, this game's equivalent to the F-35 Lightning II. I did this with both Sournetic, another member of Skyward's team, Hueman and Wyvern613. We did a lot over both sessions, and had a blast. So much happened that it would be here typing all day if I were to recount every sortie, but a couple of the highlights from my sides were: sinking three quarters of the enemy fleet with anti-radiation missiles, downing three out of four enemy stealth aircraft while engaging solo with one wing after Sour was shot down, doing SEAD the old way by engaging the emplacements with the gun while defeating missiles kinetically, etc. IF YOU OWN VR, PLEASE GO PLAY VTOL VR I am not joking when I say that I fell in love with this game all over again over the span of a week. Our friend group is now planning future sessions and Hueman, as expected, is now engaging with the game's mission editor to create custom terrain and missions for the group to fly to. This is to say, expect more VTOL VR content in the future! About the creator: Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as the co-founder and writer ever since. Twitter  | Discord : Cubeboy

The event has also arranged hotel, airfare, and car rental discounts to make it easy for everyone to participate! Media Partnership Confirmed 2025! Skyward Flight Media has been confirmed as a media partner for FlightSimExpo 2025. This is our fifth year of media partnership for the expo. Our organization covered the event as online only attendees in 2021 and 2024, but attended the event in person in 2023. See all of our past content from FSExpo here . In 2025 we have one representative confirmed attending the event in person with others possibly in attendance. Press Release: Registration Open! Attendee registration is now open for FlightSimExpo 2025, held June 27-29 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence. Use flightsimexpo.com/register to secure the best rates. After welcoming more than 2,400 attendees to Las Vegas earlier this year, one of the world’s largest dedicated flight simulation events is headed to New England! The convention will feature developers, non-profits, virtual airlines, air traffic control demos, seminars, product announcements, off-site activities and tours, and much more. The 2025 event kicks off with #FSExpoFriday , an afternoon of product updates and announcements from flight simulation’s biggest developers. Later that evening, all attendees are invited to a welcome reception, while FSA Captains have the option to attend the FlightSimExpo Banquet, featuring dinner and prizes. On Saturday and Sunday, attendees get access to an 85,000+ square foot exhibit hall with hands-on demos of flight simulation hardware and software. Speaker stages will feature how-to seminars and educational discussions sourced from the community. An ‘Entire Event’ registration includes all seminars, exhibit hall access on Saturday and Sunday, a free drink at Friday’s Welcome Reception, coffee and tea on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and exclusive access to post-event seminar recordings. All this starts at just $50, for the first 250 FSA Captains to register. Entire Event pricing for non-members is $80 USD, with Weekend or Online-Only options available too.   Airline, Hotel, and Car Rental Discounts Discounted hotel rooms and airfare deals from Delta, United, Southwest, and codeshare partners are available now. Make your travel plans early to take advantage of great rates. Find the details at flightsimexpo.com/travel . Sponsor and Exhibit at FlightSimExpo 2025 FlightSimExpo welcomes software developers, hardware vendors, communities, and other flight simulation organizations to participate as sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers. Details on getting involved are available at flightsimexpo.com/partner . An initial list of sponsors and exhibitors will be shared in March 2025. “We’ve made it super easy for flight sim devs of all sizes to participate in FlightSimExpo,” says co-founder Evan Reiter. “Turnkey solutions, part-time exhibit booths, and larger opportunities are all available. The community wants to meet you! Look through our 2025 Partner Overview, speak to other devs who’ve attended, or reach out to me for more information.” About FlightSimExpo. FlightSimExpo is one of the world’s largest flight simulation conventions. The event has welcomed more than 7,500 attendees to events in Las Vegas, Orlando, San Diego, and Houston since 2018. FlightSimExpo is produced by Flight Simulation Association, a community-driven organization of developers, simmers, and real-world pilots working to make it easier to get started in home flight simulation. Join the community today—free—at flightsimassociation.com for resources, learning content, webinars, and discounts on top add-ons and simulation hardware.

Development update for the next Skyward Original Mission for Digital Combat Simulator Development of the second publicly available Skyward original mission for Digital Combat Simulator World is well under way. A preview is in order! Unlike the expansive, counterinsurgency focused Skyward Syria COIN mission , our upcoming mission is a smaller, high intensity, Cold War era experience generically set in a 1971 - 1979 technology limit. Near complete build of Mount Sabana Military Base. Mission Setting 'Sabana Strike' is set on the free to download Marianas map for Digital Combat Simulator World. Not tied to any historic event or inspired by current events, it has a minimal setting to provide context for the mission. Mount Sabana Military Base is the heart of enemy operations on Rota Island. This large base houses most of the logistics and support facilities for the forces that occupy the island. Barracks, warehouses, vehicle storage, administrative offices, heliports and more. There are also satellite facilities for the base, including road checkpoints, observation points and early warning radar station. Early Warning Radar station outside of the main base. Recently, new construction of a facility to support mobile Scud tactical ballistic missile launchers has been confirmed. Deployment of this missile system puts the allied forces in Andersen Air Force Base in danger of being struck by ballistic missiles, as their current land based air defenses are unable to intercept this new threat. Pre-emptive air strikes against this under construction facility and Sabana Base itself must be made to stop this new threat and diminish the enemy's hold on the island. Classic Layered Air Defense Inspirations for how air defense is portrayed in this mission was taken from documented deployments of anti-aircraft weapons and tactics from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The island features a small, but intense layered air defense network. Rota International Airport hosts a MiG-19P fighter squadron of 10 combat capable aircraft. They patrol the airspace around the island, taking advantage of the air defenses on the island to augment their limited air-to-air capabilities. As flights are potentially lost in combat, the next flight or flights of aircraft are launched to protect the island. The entire squadron is available to be scrambled and attempt long-range interception under certain circumstances. The airport also supports transport flights that supply the enemy positions on Rota island and can support any combat aircraft that enter the area of operations from long distance. MiG-19P fighter squadron at Rota Intl Airport. A surface to air missile (SAM) site in the north-western tip of the island houses an SA-3 Goa and SA-8 Gecko making medium and high altitude attacks very difficult. The SA-3 in particular is dangerous as it has shorter range than the SA-2 Guideline, but has more reliable tracking and can rapid fire up to 12 missiles in just a few minutes. It can make short work of formations of aircraft attempting high altitude level bombing. Beneath the SAM coverage, there are large air defense positions of 57mm and 100mm anti-aircraft artillery batteries able to fling explosive shells between 3.5 and 9.5 nautical miles away up to tens of thousands of feet in the air. Each position has point defenses such as manually guided or radar guided 23mm autocannons. Infrared guided missile threats do exist on the island, but are dispersed and usually near high priority targets. F-5E-3 Tiger II pressing through anti-aircraft fire. "One Pass" Sabana Strike is a mission created with high-speed, low altitude fixed-wing combat sorties in mind. The goal is to give players the experience of flying at wave top or tree top level, evading multiple calibers of anti-aircraft fire with the presence of surface-to-air missiles lingering above their heads. By technology locking the era, it also limits the ability to deploy stand-off weapons like air launched cruise missiles and further push players to operate in the range of air defenses. Making multiple consecutive strikes is not encouraged as it gives air defenses across the island a chance to bring all guns to bare on players circling above the island. As such, the concept of "low, fast, one pass" or "one pass, haul ass" is at the core of this mission. I wrote an article about it on August 28th, 2024. Extras in the Details Recently, as a mission editor, I have found my "style" to be the addition of variables and minor details that change the player's experience over time or rewards players for thinking a bit more tactically. With Sabana Strike primarily happening on a single island, there are many details in a small area. Some examples in this mission are: The MiG-19P squadron uses Uncontrolled AI to have all ten aircraft existing in the mission right from the start. A daring low altitude raid against the airfield could destroy a majority of the fighter squadron while they are on the ground.
A long-range communication tower is located somewhere on Rota island. Destroying it can disrupt the ability of forces on Rota island to call for reinforcements from outside the area of operations.
Mount Sabana Military Base is 'alive' in the sense. As certain parts of the base take damage, infantry can spawn from certain structures, then run to occupy vehicles or deploy air defenses like MANPADS to stop ongoing attacks by players. Different combinations of destroyed vehicles or buildings cause defenders to react in certain ways.
While the air defense positions are daunting because of the volume of fire they can output, attacking them directly is beneficial in reducing their ability to attack at distance. However, as these positions take damage, forces from other areas may drive or fly to reinforce them. B-52 Stratofortress bombing Mount Sabana Military Base. Release Date Sabana Strike entered consistent private testing in December 2024. It is currently in late phase testing with only minor adjustments to mission elements being implemented. The tentative release date for this mission is January 2025. Similar to the Syria COIN mission, it will be available for free download on our website and the DCS User Files. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza   Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info , the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [ Read Profile ]

After what felt like an eternity, Project Wingman's lead developer "Arby" has finally released the promised 2.0 update for the game. This comes with a series of improvements, but at the same time it also comes with a bit of a surprise. The previously PlayStation exclusive DLC, Frontline 59, has now been released on PC for $4.99. How good is it? Does it have any issues? Let's find out together, shall we?
SPOILERS AHEAD THE PLOT Being a DLC of a game that has a complete story, Frontline 59 places itself in a very interesting part of the game's timeline. It is not a prequel or a sequel, but rather it takes place in the middle of Project Wingman's plot and from the enemy's perspective.
Its story starts in the aftermath of Mission 11 "Cold War", the big aerial duel between the Federation and Cascadian forces. During these battle, the Federation sustained irrecoverable losses, mostly due to the actions of Monarch, the game's main protagonist. While that is the end of this battle during the main campaign, you get to see it from the Federation side during the DLC's first mission. You get to play as Driver , designated squad leader of Unit K-9, a Federation reserve unit that was activated and rushed into service to cover the retreat of the aircraft that managed to escape the onslaught of Mission 11. As you take off, you engage mercenary pilots that are ruthlessly downing Federation cargo aircraft. The more you shoot down, the more that show up to the battle. At the very end, you get to cover the retreat of the infamous Crimson Squadron, battered and winchester (without weapons).
While this mission is quite uneventful, and maybe a bit too reminiscent of Mission 11, it makes sense from a narrative standpoint. It is a direct continuation to that mission and serves as a good launch point for a standalone story, while still connecting it to the main plot. Mission 2 has K-9 squadron covering the skies over Magadan, as Cascadian forces have now launched an amphibious attack under the orders of General Faust, a new face and the main antagonist of Frontline 59. This mission mainly focuses on ground attack and anti-ship operations. The Cascadians even brought the Eminent Domain, their flagship, to aid in the landing operations. While you are unable to damage the Eminent Domain, you can damage its accompanying fleet. It is mostly composed of cruisers and LCS vessels, so they are easy to destroy without much trouble. Mission 3 has you fighting over Tseliadan, a city where a frontline has formed between the invading Cascadians and the reserve infantry and armored units from the Federation. With both sides at a stalemate, you are tasked with clearing the area from anti-air emplacements to enable a squadron of bombers to destroy and break the enemy's offensive line. This mission is very simple and the most "standard" of them all, no new gimmicks or anything along those lines. Just plain and simple ground pounding and air engagements. You will need to engage with care thanks to the enemy railguns and flak cannons, but those are easy to handle if you fly fast enough. Mission 4 leads you to what is easily the most memorable mission in the DLC: a tunnel run. You are tasked with doing a deep strike into enemy territory that aims to destroy any semblance of order within Cascadian forces by annihilating their command center directly. To do this undetected, you will have to fly through kilometers of tunnel, avoiding enemy AAA emplacements to finally emerge and catch the enemy offguard.
The music choice for this mission is on point, and the visual flair of the caverns contrasting with the man-made structures inside it is very appealing. I quite love the light show you get once you come out the other end. Lasers and flak everywhere, all at the dead of night. Mission 5 has you on a full counter-attack against the now retreating Cascadian forces, which you have displaced to the same coast as Mission 2. With the Eminent Domain present and helping with evacuations, this is when General Faust comes into the fray. She refuses to evacuate and asks her forces to stay with her and push deeper into Federation territory. She abandons her post and goes AWOL along with her loyalists. Seeing this, and going against her wishes, the commander of the Eminent Domain asks for a temporary truce to allow the retreating Cascadian forces to properly evacuate to avoid further bloodshed. Federation High Command, Crystal Kingdom, denies the request and orders their forces to continue pushing against the weakened Cascadians. Mission 6 presents an interesting scenario, thanks in due to the nature of your enemy: Faust's White Fleet. She has taken command of what used to be a diplomatic fleet and transformed it into a strike force and has it headed straight towards your base. You are sent to intercept them before they reach their target.
You battle her and her airships as you dodge lasers, railguns and cordium-infused munitions that light up the sky above the post-apocalyptic earth in the Arctic Circle. As you down each of her ships, including a group of elite mercenaries, you hear her become desperate. She starts talking to you about her experience, how she fought in previous wars with the Federation and that her country is no more.
Once you have dealt the final blow to her Battleship, the Roosevelt, she confeses that Cascadia has now discovered technologies that might be far more powerful than even regular Cordium-infused warheads. That, if push comes to shove, the earth will be cracked open with this tech. With this, her airship explodes high above the earth and the campaign comes to an end. This campaign, while short, feels self-contained and surprisingly cohesive, which is something I was pleasantly surprised with. Since there are no cutscenes, all of this exposition has to be delivered through briefings and in-game dialogue, so you might have to pay special attention to it if you want to avoid replaying just to get the story details you missed while you were locked in. Overall, it was a pleasant experience!
THE UGLY If you go to the Project Wingman discord or some other communities, it is very easy to tell that the launch of version 2.0 was not smooth. Lots of crashes and fatal errors still plague the game for certain users, and remember, this is after what was supposed to be a long overdue big-fix and improvement update to the base game.

Issues also plague the DLC, from broken triggers in certain missions to the infamous bug that stops you from finishing Mission 2 if you kill targets too quickly. This bug, according to some users, was already present in the PS5 version that has been out for over a year now. The fact that that bug is still present in the current version of the PC build is astonishing. It is clear that, while they have had some QA, that these testers missed key points and did not push the edge cases that are usually reached when a build goes public.
For any future releases, I hope that they focus on these key aspects of testing, since for some this has been a very lukewarm and mixed experience. Personally, I had issues with the game constantly crashing due to a very slight overclock I had on my GPU, but these issues were solved the instant I removed said overclock. This DLC was a very enjoyable experience for me, but I know it wasn't for others. Would I recommend it? If you own Project Wingman already, yes. It is cheap for the amount of content it offers, and it was a genuinely great experience to get to revisit this world after so long. About the writer Santiago "Cubeboy" Cuberos Longtime aviation fanatic with particular preference towards military aviation and its history. Said interests date back to the early 2000s, leading into his livelong dive into civil and combat flight simulators. He has been involved in a few communities, but only started being active around the mid 2010s. Joined as a Spanish to English translator in 2017, he has been active as the co-founder and writer ever since. Twitter  | Discord : Cubeboy

Thoughts on a decent representation of a modern battlefield decoy The EF-24G Mischief  has changed VTOL VR forever. After this aircraft's introduction as purchasable downloadable content on December 21st, 2023, the virtual reality battlefields of VTOL VR  by Boundless Dynamics  now have to contend with a high speed, swing-wing electronic warfare (EW) platform. The AN/ALQ-245 advanced electronic warfare pods are the primary means to deploy defensive and offensive radar jamming capabilities, utilizing three jammer modes with three EM bands. The addition of this aircraft came with an EW game mechanic that is documented in the community made unofficial NATOPS Flight Manual for the Mischief, but for now I would like to discuss the lesser known ADM-160J Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD). "Trojan" The EF-24G Mischief primarily deploys the ADM-160J as an extension of its electronic warfare capabilities, rather than a mindless gliding body missile sponge. Each jet powered decoy can remain airborne for up to eight minutes, following GPS coordinate flight paths programmed by the Mischief aircrew. Decoys can either follow complex flight paths or orbit around a single waypoint until their fuel runs dry. These flight paths can be updated in real time as the situation on the battlefield changes. At the most basic level, it can use DECOY mode Signature Augmentation Subsystem (SAS) jamming to appear on radar as a different aircraft. From the size of a recon drone to manned fixed-wing fighters to combat support aircraft. Appearing as an aircraft, the MALD then operates in enemy controlled air space to hopefully cause hostile radars to activate, revealing the positions of air defenses to make them vulnerable to attack. Any sensor detected by the MALD is passed to the EF-24G controlling it, which in turn is shared with other allied aircraft via datalink. More advanced use is done in the form of stand-in NOISE jamming. Each decoy has jamming capabilities similar to the advanced EW pods carried by the EF-24G. An ADM-160J can jam across three EM bands: low, medium and high frequency. Different frequencies work better on different types of sensors. They can be set manually by a player that has a solid understanding of the EW. An AUTO mode is also available to let the MALD select the correct frequency for targets it has detected closest to each decoy without aircrew interaction. Nearby friendly aircraft can utilize the NOISE jamming from the decoys as they ingress, egress or operate in an area to enhance their own survivability. This effectively lets the EF-24G aircraft provide EW support closer to the combat area while keeping the aircraft and aircrew as far from danger as possible. Decoys can also be launched In COLD mode. With no pre-planning of waypoints or jamming modes selected, they will leave the aircraft, following its last launched vector of flight. Advanced electronic warfare tactics could utilize the undetected MALD in a few ways. For example, as an unexpected pop up jamming source or false contact after it penetrates enemy airspace. Similar to mimicking an unexpected fifth generation stealth fighter appearing on radar as it nears radars that burn through its stealth abilities. Making the false radar contact of a stealth fighter behind enemy lines more believable. Though each EF-24G Mischief electronic warfare aircraft can carry up to six of these decoys, it would do so by giving up its AN/ALQ-245 EW pods. While the ADM-160J is useful on its own, it should be seen as a supplement and extend the core capabilities of the EF-24G to better support friendly forces in the theater. Representation vs Documentation I feel like I always have a lot to say about how VTOL VR provides a reasonable example of current year aerial combat. The ADM-160J Miniature Air-Launched Decoy (MALD) and its place in the electronic warfare environment in this flight game might be one of the best representations of a modern expendable decoy in a civilian accessible flight game/simulator. I have long had an interest in the emulation of decoys such as the MALD in flight simulators and their use in the real world. Recent uses of modified Azerbaijani An-2 Colts to defeat the Armenian integrated air defense network in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020) and older ADM-160 variants in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War keep me ever engaged in reading up on this subject. When I think of other flight games and simulators that have air launched decoys, I quickly run out of examples. For now the most high profile example would be the ADM-141A Tactical Air Launched Decoy in Digital Combat Simulator. Besides the ADM-141 being a less capable munition in comparison to the ADM-160J, DCS as a platform is hindered by the need to adhere to official, declassified documentation for the sake of realism of legal coverage. Also, this is something the simulator prides itself on and sells itself on. As such, something like a still in service and rather classified ADM-160J MALD could never be 1:1 accurately represented in a civilian accessible flight simulator. So far, VTOL VR gives the most reasonable representation of this decoy by showing a decent portrayal of its publicly known abilities, while being fine with not adhering to a 1:1 accurate simulation. Providing a good example while side stepping pure realism at least gives the opportunity to gain a working theory of how munitions like this operate, rather than completely forgoing the experience simply because the right permissions and clearances cannot be acquired. I can appreciate this. Future Flights A member of the Skyward Flight Media staff is to acquire a virtual reality headset soon and of the short-list of flight games we are to experience, VTOL VR is one of them. I had long planned to put in more flight time into this game, specifically into the EF-24G Mischief. More VTOL VR content can be expected in the near future. About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza   Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info , the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [ Read Profile ]

Did you know that your stick and rudder prowess can be used to train the next generation of autopilot? It is true, an artificial intelligence cat told me so. I came across Exosky by Elevons LLC a few weeks ago. It did not appear during a game festival, just through the usual internet crawling. I haven't written about it up until this point as I have both been wondering how to describe it and still somewhat mesmerized by it. After a sweet near-miss barrel roll past a deep space borne fresh water turtle the other night, I thought it was time. ABOUT EXOSKY Exosky is an unusual single player flight sim experience both in story and gameplay experience. Players are guided by Norton, an A.I. that was created by someone from long before the events of the game. Though the exact reason for that is unknown, even to Norton, it is known that the given name and visual design of the cat that once belonged to the long-gone creator. Norton built software to gather training data to create the ultimate A.I. pilot in the honor of his former creator who once loved to fly aircraft. To incentivize players to fly as extreme as possible for high quality data gathering, the more dangerous each flight it, the more points are gathered. Players are flying fictional drones in this simulator to further encourage flying as reckless as possible. No long-term consequences! Descriptions of the drones mention "Martian engineering" and space colonies, so the setting of the game is certainly far in the future. The drones are flown through multiple levels or "simulations" with varying atmospheres, gravities and geographies that incorporate aspects of CPUs and GPUs. You will have to see it to believe it. Each time a player loads up a level, waypoint routes are randomly generated. Each playthrough is unique. Players fly within a few meters of each waypoint to clear it and be directed to the next. Occasionally the world seed provides a path that is not physically able to be completed. I remember a few runs where a waypoint was in the center of a floating mountain. That is simple enough to fix by just reloading the level and trying it again. Each second a player is flying, their control inputs are monitored and graded for a point score. In a game where even aileron rolling gives you points, flying straight and level is safe, but it is not going to get you far on the total score board. Points are rewarded and multiplied depending on the consistency and complexity of the aerobatic maneuvers performed. Other factors like flying through clouds, different atmospheres, high speeds, ultra low altitude flight, etc., are factored into overall score. New levels are unlocked by reaching specific high scores. After a few weeks of playing on and off, I can say that I am having a good time with it so far. Being encouraged and rewarded to fly in such a dynamic way is quite a change from the types of games and simulators I am used to. Normally I would go a bit deeper into the gameplay, but for now I am going to recommend downloading the demo and trying it out. In the meantime, here are some finer details that should be noted. Flight Model Documentation The flight model struck me as rather well modeled within a few days of playing, and for good reason, apparently. Exosky comes with a documented flight model , publicly accessible on their website. This document is rather detailed, even including a sample JSON file that correlates with the explanation of the flight model. I very much enjoy seeing this type of documentation. In this case, it helps users gain a better understanding of the behind the scenes work and assist them with using the next built-in game feature. Modding Manual Even in its early state, it is possible to mod custom aircraft with custom aerodynamic values to be added to the game. However, it is not something that can easily be done in just a few minutes. The modding manual provides a step-by-step process on how to do so. The aircraft used to demonstrate this ability is the Verville-Packard R-1. In the futuristic setting of Exosky, an air racer from the year 1919 can be flown. Development I have not found a clear development timeline at this point, but some in-depth research on their Discord server , official website  and Steam page has allowed me to piece together a decent idea. May 2020 : Elevons LLC founded. April 2022 : Discord server created. June 17th, 2022 : Public pre-alpha demo for " Yesplane! ", the predecessor of Exosky. June - August 2022 : Continued development, opportunity pathfinding, concept refinement. September 11th, 2022 : New website launched, project rebranded to Exosky. Change in game concept begins. August 22nd, 2023 : Early demo for Exosky released on Discord for testing. January 23rd, 2024 : Steam page and demo released. There is talk of Exosky appearing in a game festival in early 2025, but more on that at a later date. Research for writing this article led me deeper into the details of Exosky and its developer has unveiled some other interesting details I'd love to speak to the developer about formally. More on Exosky soon! About the Writer Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza   Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info , the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [ Read Profile ]