THIS, they are a small team and have fought to get this out and fix the Gazelle. Just like Heatblur they have talked about porting lessons from the Kiowa to the Gaz. I haven’t bought the Kiowa yet but it’s certainly on the list just from the standpoint of wanting to support smaller creators that are striving to get unique modules in the air.
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You’ll both benefit from a better community understanding of the Kiowa, more content, and fixes.
Scouting is what makes this helo super fun. The Gazelle -M is a good starting point to indicate what it’s like, but the Kiowa features more complexities, but also more potency. You just can’t compare a wire-guided HOT to a Hellfire.
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I wonder if in due time it will be able to network with apaches. That would be 
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Really? I think I have a better than average understanding of both the history and the capability. I am happy for Polychop. They’ve modeled a machine that should fit nicely within the DCS ecosystem for reasons you’ve mentioned. While I am happy for them, I only think they have asked too much. That’s me. Others will think it a bargain at twice the price. That’s them. We all make our choices.
Well of course! The severe limitation is the fun. Fortunately, I am not a guy building a military, but rather just a dude playing a game.
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I’m pretty sure that you can buddy lase for the Apache now. I know that it’s not the same, but perhaps just as much fun.
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FWIW (not much in the end), IMHO, I understand just how much work is involved in these things; I’m forever (in sim time) mildly shocked that we get so much for so little, in such a niche market anyway.
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I wouldn’t doubt it, but what I specifically mean are the capabilities of the various systems on board. There’s probably a few things you might be unaware on how to optimize.
Ah gatcha. I thought you were referring to Polychop and THEIR history, not the Kiowa specifically. For the Kiowa, no doubt. I’ve been following it through Casmo since they brought him in as an SME a few years back. Other than that, I don’t know much about it. But I will…someday.
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I find I have a better experience working with others using SRS in any case… I wouldn’t say no to networking, but for the MP gameplay the buddy lasing is going to be cool as well!
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The addition of APKWS seems like such a game changer for scout/light attack aircraft.
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If you listen to Casmo and the former scouts he’s interviewed, that’s the general consensus. “Talk my eyes onto whatever it is you want me to see”. Also, depending on who he talked to, for some squadrons that ball on top was dead weight.
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One of the included missions is a free form mission allowing you do convoy escorts, border patrols, hunter killer ops, etc. Very nicely down (I wish it was voiced, but that’s a minor gripe).
Flying this was a bit tricky with the camera view in front of the lead vehicle:
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I haven’t been following DCS news, only just realised this release was a thing!
This is a really interesting point - I’ve read/heard from here and there that the ball on top wasn’t that useful…having said that, with DCS all-seeing AI and the extremely accurate gunners, it might, unintentionally, be more useful than it was IRL!
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Maybe, I’m missing the point but I thought all the tech was inside the MMS. Could it be that those squadrons that felt that way about the ball were tasked with missions that negated its intent/effectiveness? Seems to me like it could be an example of tasking an A-10 for CAP rather than CAS.
Many moons ago, I got to fly a scenario in Kiowa sim. Interestingly, the engineer had me navigate to hot spots and do much of my work using my ‘mark ones.’ Although he covered some functions of the MMS, I didn’t use it much during the session. I never gave it much thought because I was in the moment. Now, I’m starting to wonder. 
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Yeah, I don’t know much about the Kiowa, honestly. Casmo to my knowledge hasn’t spoken much about the tech. But he’s spoken quite in depth about some of the hairier missions including the one where he was shot. Another guest (at least as I recall) was an earlier Kiowa pilot and he specifically derided the MMS as deadweight. But that was probably early in the "-D"s deployment.
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Got it. At the end of the day, I guess it best comes down to the guy in the seat.
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I was mowing my lawn while listening, so I’m not entirely sure where the discussion of the Kiowa and it’s tech was in here, I’d hazard halfway to 2/3rds in:
Kiowa Pilots discuss the DCS OH-58D module and aircraft history (youtube.com)
The point they discuss is that the mission the Kiowa was asked to do in Iraq was not what it was designed to do. They do mention that they felt the MMS was good for it was designed to do, spotting the Warsaw Pact crossing the border. I’ll see if I can find the interview, I don’t remember it was Casmo’s podcast or another one, but they discuss that the MMS being the KW’s only thermal optics option so it was way better than not having one at all when working at night.
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This might be all just my interpretation of things, so don’t quote me - but, in my head, the MMS was developed to support the early versions of AH-64 and A-10 in a high air defence threat Fulda Gap scenario where the mission was to thin out the incoming soviet tank attack formations, i.e maximise the survivability of a force multiplier unit that can help the Apaches lob 16 Hellfires after 16 Hellfires at the armour rolling on the plains.
In the end, the scenario in that shape never materialised and the most comparable conflict against that doctrine and equipment i.e. Desert Storm ultimately happened over flat desert terrain and with Allied holding the initiative so could dictate time and place (i.e. the largest fast air campaign of modern times as preparation, night time missions etc). so there were strategic aspects that meant that the tactical benefits of the mast mounted sight specifically may not have been as critical in the success of that mission.
So - not necessarily a bad idea but real world events (fortunately!) didn’t pan out for it to really shine.
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Heh, you posted while I was typing, but might be similar points in that - I’ll check it out 
My understanding is the Kiowa was in a large part driven by an Artillery branch need for a spotter/observer helicopter. The MMS apparently allowed for digital fire missions at the push of a button, digital spot reports, etc.
One thing both Casmo and Barundus bring up, is that they both got told in flight school that the Comanche was going to replace the Kiowa in short order. And we all know how that turned out…
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