First of all you would need a WWII aircraft module, so far there are the P-51D, Bf 109 K-4, FW 190 D-9 and Spitfire LF IXc. Some time in the future ED will release the P-47 and the Me 262. The P-51D is currently a PTO 30NA but ED has announced to release an ETO Mustang as free addon to the P-51 module at some point in time. The flight model is very good and you will need some time to figure out the advanced systems model in the beginning. The cockpits are beautiful 4K resolution, plus fully clickable and internal aircraft systems such as hydraulics pressure, fuel flow and electrical systems are modeled in almost full detail. The damage model is currently a bit of a bad joke as it is based around modern fighter combat, where one missile usually is a death sentence anyway. But the good news is, that the same guy who did the CloD damage model is doing a new DM for DCS WWII planes now. As far as I know some planes eg the Spitfire have the new DM already completed, but ED will release the new DM for all WWII planes simultaneously.
These modules cost at standard rates between 30$ (P-51D) and 50$ (the rest). It is advisable to buy them in one of their sales though. I bought the 109 and 190 for 12.50$ each and the P-51 for 9$ some years ago, but nowadays the discount usually doesnt go beyond 50%. With these modules you can join an online server playing on the free modern day Caucasus map, which currently gets a revamp to v 2.0. If you scroll down in the following newsletter you can see a few comparison pics between old & new WIP. (https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php...6&postcount=44)
In the next two months there will be a new map released, the WWII Normandy 44/45 map. Scrolling through this thread you can view most of the pictures released until now. (https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=181331) This map will cost 45$ standalone and bundled with a WWII assets pack 60$ and the bundle is currently on pre release sale for 48$. The seperate assets pack caused a large uproar in the community and I personally think its a bad decision as well, but it was justified with modern day virtual pilots not being interested in the WWII assets and thus keeping the standalone map cheaper for them. Well, it is what it is. The assets pack includes WWII era tanks, flak, trains, cars, ships and aircraft (such as a beautiful AI B-17G) and is 30$ standalone. The tanks will supposedly be drivable in the future via the Combined Arms (CA) module which I bought for 8$ in a sale recently.
Another thing to note is that the Caucasus and the new maps (Nevada & Normandy) are running on different versions currently: stable 1.5 and alpha 2.0 respectively. This is quite a mess in all honesty and the unification of these is scheduled with the Caucasus 2.0 release sometime late 2017. Nevada (alpha 2.0) has a very beautiful new lighting engine which employs physically based rendering (PBR), but is somewhat of a test bed atm. Just this month many modules were completely broken due to the introduction of a new "malwareforce" (starforce) protection system, which was reverted coincidentally yesterday. Also some of the on release initially beautiful high res textures and meshes have been bugged for several months now. I really hope ED learned from this experience and the Normandy map (also alpha 2.0) will not fare the same fate.
So in conclusion DCS may cost you quite a bit depending on what aircraft you want to fly and if you want the new Normandy WWII map. It will also be quite a bit more affordable if you wait patiently for one of the occasional sales. Furthermore the alpha branch (v 2.0) on which the Normandy WWII map will be released soon, has had some game breaking bugs in the recent past. On the other hand you can try out DCS for free initially, also online with friends. The TF-51D, an unarmed two seat P-51D with the same professional flight model and system model, can be flown for free on the Caucasus map and this way you can check if you enjoy DCS. Here is the download link: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.c.../world/stable/ I highly recommend trying out the free TF-51D first.
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