It’s already been a few days, but over Christmas, DCS developer Eagle Dynamics announced their plans with DCS for 2022 (and beyond) in an aptly named announcement trailer. The trailer focusses on all kinds of aspects of DCS, both existing and new. A few of the things shown in the trailer are already known, such as the upcoming Falklands map that was very prominent in the trailer, as well as the highly anticipated AH-64 Apache and the F-15E Eagle that are both in development. Also visible are further enhancements to the weather engine, including dynamic weather and rainbows.
Other features shown in the trailer still leave us guessing a little bit as to how to interpret them. Eagle Dynamics teased several new assets for the modern as well as the WW2 setting. C-47’s performing para jumps, but also highly detailed tanks and a technical truck made appearances. It is assumed that especially the ground assets will be much more detailed in the future to enhance the experience for the upcoming Apache, which can engage such ground targets at a much closer range. Other teasers were those of the Eiffel Tower and the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben). Eagle Dynamics later confirmed that the cities of these landmarks will be part of an expansion to the Channel map.
The biggest teaser however, were two small clues at the end of the video. First of all, the team gave a set of coordinates. These lead to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. Whilst some argue this is a teaser for an upcoming Afghanistan map, others have argued that this is related to the planes that can be found on the ground at the airbase (specifically a C-130). The second teaser was that of the HUD of an F-4 Phantom; a plane that has been requested by the community for many years and now finally seems to make an appearance.
