Mi-8 MTV2 Oilfield Campaign
After just finishing the campaign in DCS 2.5.2 I thought I would write up a mini review for anyone who is interested. I would prefer for this to not turn into a DCS love/hate thread but to limit any conversation explicitly to the campaigns.
Description: Life in civil aviation is far removed from dangers of military conflict. Instead, it's based on strict time tables and lunch breaks.
Meet a group of old friends: captain Jury Maksimovich Protasov and his Mi-8MTV2 crew. After the events of the "Spring Tension" conflict, they are again in business together. However, this time they are gainfully employed as cargo transportation contractors, serving the interests of the oil industry.
Rather than combat, this campaign will test your knowledge of the Mi-8MTV2 navigation suite in order to locate oil derricks scattered over the forests. Challenge yourself as a cargo pilot and never have to worry about being shot at again!
Positives:
1) The campaign worked as intended. This is not always the case with revisions sometimes requiring modifications. Fortunately the author of the campaign is still involved with the community and makes changes within a reasonable amount of time
2) The radio chatter is well done and adds a lot to the immersion
3) Voice acting is also well done and in my opinion can be somewhat comical with the different characters having different accents (British, Russian, American). Maybe not realistic but entertaining
4) Character interaction is entertaining and somewhat comical
5) Good use of the doppler navigation system
6) Good use of the external lift capability
Negatives:
1) Missions do not build very much upon each other from one to the other with regards to developing skills with many of the middle missions seeming like they only have subtle differences from the previous mission
2) Could use more voice dialogs along some of the longer legs. It can be fairly dull hauling an external load 40-70 km at 150 km/hr even with the radio chatter. Another possibility is to use shorter legs
3) Challenge was limited. With an exception or two, once you learn how to use the Doppler navigation, ADF and handle an external load it is really just a passing of time
4) No sense of urgency, with an exception or two there is no pressure to be "on-time"
Overview:
The campaign overall is well done though a bit on the boring side. Granted the subject of hauling freight isn't always the most glamorous and the description makes no real illusions. If I am being honest I spent a moderate amount of time on the longer legs using time acceleration and then switching to normal time when the voice dialog came on or when approaching a task. I felt this could have been greatly enhanced by adding in a little drama; Set some time limits (even the description alludes to this), throw in some low vis conditions to really test your IFR navigation skills, have some emergency rescues using some of the other navigation aids (VHF, FM) and mix and match them more. I did enjoy the campaign and do not regret purchasing it, but this is not necessarily a campaign I am likely to redo with the exception of some of the more entertaining missions. Hope this helps someone make an informed decision if this campaign is for them or not.
Kind Regards,
Brett
As time allows and when I complete other campaigns I will attempt to give a similar write up
Last edited by BrettT; 07/24/18 02:40 PM.