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#4430656 - 07/17/18 12:55 AM Campaign - Mini Reviews  
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
BrettT Offline
Junior Member
BrettT  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
Louisiana
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.
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#4431632 - 07/24/18 03:10 PM Re: Campaign - Mini Reviews [Re: BrettT]  
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
BrettT Offline
Junior Member
BrettT  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
Louisiana
F-15C Aggressors BFM Campaign

After recently completing this campaign in DCS 2.5.2 here is the mini-review

Description: The F-15C Aggressors BFM campaign puts you in the cockpit of an F-15C Eagle, as a new Aggressor pilot with the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base.

Based on real world procedures you will fly as Red Air against Blue Air Forces. Upon arrival you will fly a familiarization flight around the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). Then you will face a series of challenging Basic Fighter Maneuver (BFM) missions against similar and dis-similar aircraft.


Positives:

1) The campaign worked as intended. The author of the campaign is also very active with a number of other campaigns in the store so updates are typically timely

2) Good apparent replication of the training procedures both arriving on scene and at the training zones with good pilot interaction via the F10 comm menu

3) Adding the tankers in so you can top off was a nice touch though I didn't really have the need to use them

4) Voice acting was good with not too much dead air space

5) Having a separate set of "practice missions" was nice if you just wanted to do a quick hop without dealing with the transit time or would be good generic missions to practice aerial refueling

Negatives:

1) As far as a "campaign" is concerned there is no real story, but then I really didn't expect one based on the product description

2) Transit out to the test range and following the procedures was fun and interesting the first 1-2 times I did it but after that I found myself using the accel time to get out to the range in order to get to the engagements

3) F-15C is one of the better fighters in the game and therefore the opponents are not overly challenging. I found the F-5E version of this campaign to be more of a challenge and thus enjoyable

Overview:

The campaign is well done for what it sets out to do. It is immersive with the procedures and the voice acting but I feel it is a campaign that someone would enjoy more doing a "hop" every once in a while instead of one after the other. I feel this would make one appreciate the immersive nature of the acting in procedures instead of finding them repetitive. I really like the inclusion of the practice missions which are a nice quick fix if you want to have some fun with the immersion without all the transit time or if you want to test your skills against a particular opponent before you try the official mission. It is true that the combat of these missions could be set up with the mission editor very quickly and in many respects kind of mimic the aggressors single mission included with NTTR for the F-15C. But, it is hard to go wrong with the cost of a campaign (especially on sale) to have the extra voice acting and everything set up for you for a collection of DACT sessions.

Kind Regards,

Brett

#4434191 - 08/14/18 03:37 PM Re: Campaign - Mini Reviews [Re: BrettT]  
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
BrettT Offline
Junior Member
BrettT  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
Louisiana
F15C The Georgian War Campaign

After recently completing this campaign in DCS 2.5.2 here is the mini-review

Description: "The Georgian War" is a fictional campaign created by Chris "Viper" Long and Baltic Dragon, and is inspired by real events that took place during the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

This campaign puts you in the role of a pilot who arrives in Tbilisi as part of a small detachment intended to present the capabilities of the F-15C to the Georgian government, which has expressed interest in purchasing several airframes. You and your colleagues are caught by surprise when armed conflict breaks out. As the fighting escalates, your small group is drawn into the war.

Positives:

1) The campaign worked as intended. The author of the campaign is heavily involved and active member of the community who updates missions in a timely manner as needed

2) The story line is decent with numerous use of the F10 menu to make mission decisions. Do I stay in the CAP or do I RTB and accept the consequences

3) Voice acting is immersive and entertaining with very little dead air time

4) Moderate level of challenge, sometimes requiring you to handle a separate task while your wingman handles the original. Missions have a mixture of being dependent upon Ground Control Radar using Bullseye vectors or having the luxury of an AWACs up and running. Helicopter hunting can be a challenge

5) Many missions have a "surprise" which keeps you on your toes instead of knowing exactly what to expect based on the briefing

6) Good use of kneeboard to provide AO map and waypoint details for each mission

Negatives:

1) Some minor discrepancies between the briefing description and the mission. In particular with reference a call sign or two on a mission or two

2) Could use some more auxiliary activity going on to increase the sense of being in an active theater

Overview:

I was really very pleased with this campaign and would consider doing it again. The criticisms are very minor and are only identified as an opportunity to make it even better. With regards to adding in more auxiliary activity, this may be limited for the purpose of performance, but having this extra activity going on would really raise the bar. Each mission felt new and unique even though you may be performing a similar function (CAP, intercept, escort, etc). I would highly recommend this campaign.

Kind Regards,

Brett

#4443818 - 10/15/18 06:52 PM Re: Campaign - Mini Reviews [Re: BrettT]  
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
BrettT Offline
Junior Member
BrettT  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 75
Louisiana
UH-1H Argo Campaign

After completing the campaign in DCS 2.5.3, here is the mini review

Description: "Argo" is a story-driven campaign comprising a series of Naval Operations with the iconic UH-1H. As a pilot of the Hellenic Navy, assigned to the recently obtained FFG-46 Argo Frigate, your day-by-day missions include a variety of demanding tasks such as flying in all-weather conditions, Search & Rescue ops, Cargo delivery, Troops transport & Antisubmarine warfare.

You and Argo's crew have just sailed towards the Black sea for the needs of NATO "Sea Breeze" exercise. NATO is very cautious and takes extra protection measures since it is believed that small ISIL terrorist groups have infiltrated Georgia by exploiting the refugee waves coming from Turkey.

Your Huey’s performance in the exercise will define its future in the Hellenic Navy as military analysists doubt its competence in a modern Naval environment. The eyes of the whole fleet are on you and your chopper. Are you up for the task?


Positives:

1) The campaign worked as intended with the author being moderately involved in the community. There were a couple of instances where the event "trigger" took a while to activate but I was able to complete the whole campaign without any real frustration

2) Some very interesting and moderately challenging missions (especially the ones without the NVG). It was truly an enjoyable campaign

3) Worked in opportunities to try out some techniques you don't get to practice too often in a campaign (auto-rotation, etc)

4) Some missions pushed the capabilities of the Huey and therefore pushed your piloting skills a bit

Negatives:

1) Voice acting was good but kind of sparse when you consider the time it takes the Huey to fly some of the legs of the missions

2) Shipboard landings were a nice addition but the ships were static. Moving ships would have added a nice challenge

3) The ADF can be a real pain to tune on the Huey to use as a NAV Aid

4) Some mission specific kneeboard pages would have been a nice addition

Overview:

The campaign was very well done with some decent imagination put into the mission designs. Each one was different and presented a different challenge. The airtime could sometimes get boring but the author did a decent job mixing in some activities to do between the end points of the missions. Having some custom kneeboard pages would have been a nice touch but the author does a good job working this information into the voice acting which is well done. I really enjoyed the missions that required you to land in some challenging spots which did a nice job of testing your flight proficiency. I would love to see the authors next offering as a campaign and hope he creates some additional ones. Hope this helps someone make an informed decision on purchasing one way or the other.

Kind Regards,

Brett


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