DCS Map Points of Interest

[jross]

Creating a space for posting of interesting things on all DCS maps. “Points of Interest” (POI)

If able supply:

• Map name
• Coordinates of the POI
• F10 Screen capture (in Altitude mode)
• 3D image capture

No limitations really. Since DCS simulates blowing things up ‘juicy’ targets would be a good start, especially if they have any historical background, ie:

• LaFarge cement factory in Syria; a noted target
• The Nuc site, also in Syria (DCS map has nothing there but we can fix that).
• Caves: in Afghanistan these were targets early on especially.
• Etc.

Thanks
jross

[jross]

Kola Map: Kola Power Plant. Location: TBD

[Derbysieger]

For Kola there are a lot of really cool targets in a “cold war gone hot” scenario.

There are the bases of the northern fleet around Murmansk, Severomorsk and Polyarny. Then all the airbases that are located around the peninsula like Severomorsk-1, Severomorsk-3, Olenya, Monchegorsk and Alakurtti. There’s the aforementioned Kola NPP and bridges in Murmansk

When flying red there are bases in Finland, Sweden and Norway that can be chosen as targets.

Rovaniemi has a few cool landmarks in addition to the airport. There is a dam with a power plant between Rovaniemi and Kemi.

The road base at Voujärvi can serve F/A-18C’S, there are also small airfields in Ivalo and Kuusamo as well as Kemi Tornio at the Baltic Sea. Up north past the 70th parallel there’s Kirkenes and Lakselv (Banak) in Norway. There are different training ranges in Sweden and Norway like the Porsangmoen-Halkavarre range and Setermoen SOF range (pretty cool for helicopters) or the training range between Vidsel and Jokkmokk.

Sweden currently offers Kallax/Luleå, Vidsel, Jokkmokk, Kiruna and Kalixfors. Jokkmokk in the middle of a huge arboreal forest with its dispersed roadbases in particular is amazing in the Viggen.

In the west, the area around Bodø is the most detailed so far. The ILS approach into RWY 25 at Bodø is really cool because it’s offset from the runway to avoid a mountain that would be in the way on a straight in approach.

Andøya has been added in the patch last week but the area around it with the Lofoten Islands to the south is still one of the worst looking areas on the map apart from Bodø which is really detailed.

You could set up some Supercarriers with enabled airboss stations in the Vestfjorden and do cyclic ops with player controlled carriers and send Tu-22 with anti ship missiles around the north cape.

A general PSA for the Kola map: currently the winter textures are generally better and more consistent across the whole map compared to the summer textures but the summer textures with rain and low hanging clouds can be amazing as well.

[jenrick]

I might request either coords or a screencap of the F10 map for each location.

[Derbysieger]

I typed that from memory on my phone but I’ll provide coordinates and pictures later

Here’s the Kola Nuclear Power Plant for now, google reviews note that it’s nice because it keeps the lake free of ice during winter

EDIT:
Long edit ahead, you can probably tell that this has quickly become one of my favourite maps in DCS. Some of these Screenshots are VR, some are 2D, hence the difference in graphics quality.

Here is a rough overview over the sub bases of the northern fleet north-west of Murmansk, particularly Olenya Guba, Polyarny and Gadzhiyevo. I think the Sub bases in particular deserve a lot more attention from the devs but we’ll see. The scale of the map is kind of mindboggling and progress has been very steady with a new update every 1-2 months.

Severomorsk with Severomorsk-1:

Severomorsk-3 to the east of Sveromorsk-1:

(Severomorsk-2 which is just south of this image is currently not modelled and appears to be mostly abandoned and in disrepair these days apart from some helicopter aprons to the NW)

Murmansk:

This is Alakurtti:

Open cast mine at Olenogorsk with Olenya in the background (left)

Olenya, the ammo storages that can be destroyed always make nice targets because they keep exploding for a long time. Here they are nicely clustered with the fuel tanks on the south-west side of the runway next to the railway line. These days a large part of Russias naval aviation bpmber fleet is station here, in particular the Tu-22M3’s with their iconic blue afterburner flames

Sadly it appears that currently only the small bunkers can be destroyed with the bombs we have available in DCS

Sorry I got carried away a little but the Backfires are simply a cool aircraft

Monchegorsk

Moving on to Finland
Rovaniemi. Currently one af the most detailed areas on the map, although apparently the auto gen houses are too nice from what I’ve heard. It’s supposed to be a pretty ugly town although looking at it on google maps it doesn’t appear to be that badly modelled. Maybe you’re more critical when you really know a place.

Summertime

Ski jumps

[tempusmurphy]

great pics… they have managed to capture the soviet feeling there

[Derbysieger]

Definitely, the eastern block tristesse is represented very well. Apart from it being Russia, the Murmansk region looks very depressing to live in…

Continuing…
Here’s a view at the highway strip near Voujärvi

And here I am landing a hornet on the highway in the midnight sun. Performance has massively improved since recording this video

DCS: Kola - Highway Landing in a Hornet

I do hope they add the highway strip at Hosio as well. It is part of the map sout-east of Rovaniemi and north-east of Kemi Tornio and can be seen on the winter textures although the road itself is only a normal sized highway at the moment

Here’s a view of Ivalo, the town in the background was added with the latest update.

Kuusamo is still missing all buildings except for airport infrastructure so I will omit it for now

Hydroelectric power plant north of Kemi Tornio:

Kemi Tornio

Luleå/Kallax

Vidsel with its two highway strips. Looking at google maps there appears to be a third one a few kilometres to the west(ish) but it looks like it’s not being maintained and out of use. On this map you can see a hint of it in the textures but nothing else. Unlike the Finnish highway strips that are much longer and can accommodate a wide variety of fast jets, the Swedisch highway strips are very short at around 600-800m and can only be operated from with STOL capable aircraft.

Jokkmokk and its highway strips like at Vidsel they are about 600-800m in length

This area I prefer during summer:

Kalixfors with Kiruna and its mines in the background. I think the mines in particular would benefit from some specifically modeled terrain and textures

View of the mines with the town in the foreground

Alright, that’s it for now. I will continue with my favourite part sometime next week - Norway and its fjords are simply incredible even though it’s still the least developed part of the map

[tempusmurphy]

Destruction models of unique sites DCS: Syria Map

[jross]

That’s awesome!

There may be a better way that I am unaware of, but digging out information on map objects is tedious and inefficient. I have a method that has both of those qualities. Things like this are helpful.

[tempusmurphy]

alongside one of the dams in Syria is a large hydo-electric power station

37:03:00N 37:53:24E

on a side not does DCS have a functional electricity grid, would knocking this out turn the lights off nearby, somthing else to test

[Clutch]

Would be nice if we had that level of damage model. I’d love to roll in at night with CBUs to take out a power substation and watch everything go dark.

[jross]

That’s a good one. There’s one just SE of the dam west of Raqqa - the AI (such as it is) seems to hit it with TLAM (from the cruiser in the Med) somewhat often during the [countless] test runs.

@Clutch

watch everything go dark.

Oh yes, I’ve had that same thought. Flying the Night Shift about the only ‘bling’ you get is the tracer fire (and the odd explosions on the ground from fellow attackers, which is something). And the occasional mild taste of vertigo (VR) at night, in the clouds. Oddly I like that kind of stuff.

Hoping to have a full test out ASAP: Noticed I had yet to activate the ATIS system. Was put in there a ways back but the DCS radio system is such that I could not [at that time] do it ‘realistically’. A modified version is in there now. Still testing it. Of course this made me discover a change DCS made in their weather gizmo’s - so having to line all that up. Good news is it semi-automatic from here on. My tools are improving, slowly.

If I can get the ATIS - DCS radio system has improved [they fixed some bugs] - I can then implement the ADF thingy again - useful when you have to find and then overwatch a crashed chopper. At least in the Hornet the ADF will take you there off of the ELT signal.

[tempusmurphy]

Discovering The World of DCS | Syria map | DCS World