As I’m sure most of you are aware by now. DCS has just released some exciting new Screenshots and information regarding their eagerly awaited Cold War Germany map. But what some of you may not realise is it’s place in DCS and it’s historical significance. So let’s dive straight in.
Historical significance:
During the Cold War, Germany was split up into East and West Germany. Most of you will know the story and history behind the Berlin wall.
This map is set just after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Hostilities were at their peak and both Ronald Reagan (The then President of the United States) & Margaret Thatcher (British Prime minister) pushing hard to dissolve the Soviets control over it’s Eastern Bloc countries.
During this period in 1983, the US Navy conducted it’s largest fleet exercise in the North Pacific, code named “FleetEx 83-1”. This was a strong show of defiance against the strong armed Soviet leaders. The exercises main goal was to provoke the Soviet fleet using Aircraft and Ships as a way to gather intelligence on the enemies current capabilities and capacity to respond to threats. In November that same year NATO conducted it’s own large scale exercise “Able Archer 83”. This involved the realistic simulation of a Nuclear attack by NATO forces, which caused the Soviets to react and it is the closest we’ve come to Mutually Assured Destruction since the Cuban Missile Crisis.
What it means in DCS.
Well, this is a tough one. Because as we know from our history lesson, no real full scale engagements were seen during this time period in this part of Europe. So apart from the occasional close call and threatening behaviour from enemy jets it’s hard to see how a full scale campaign would play out on this map.
Perhaps I’m showing my ignorance here and I’m sure someone will correct me. But for me this map seems to be catering to a very niche group of players who would enjoy high level reconnaissance flying over hostile territories. There is of course the option to perform scenarios such as the US Navy or NATO exercises. But with no real engagements there either it’s hard to see the appeal.
Now on the flip side. If you look at the map from a purely fictional perspective, there is a lot of room for some exciting missions and scenarios. With over 100 Airfields and Heliports and a map size of 980x800km, there is a lot of space to play with as a mission creator.
All in all, I’m excited to see this map come to life. Any new modules or maps are always an exciting time for DCS and it’s what keeps this game fresh. Once it’s released I plan to do a more detailed breakdown of the actual gameplay and performance of the map and give you an idea of what you can expect should you buy this map.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my rambles. I hope you learned something today and I hope to be doing more of these posts more regularly from now on.
Joe “RedBear” Couzens-Howard – Owner/CEO of Virtual Air Fighters Ltd
