Introducing the DCShelin Guide (pron. “Dischelin”) – just like the real Michelin Guide, it gives you brief, bite-size reviews of DCS World aircraft, campaigns, and terrains to help you decide what to buy. DCShelin Stars are awarded sparingly, only to the very best. Download it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nfy7ykZfQkzF-WfdgSkDoU4yjKLz7Doy/view?usp=sharing
Backstory – I’m in the process of completing every campaign for every aircraft in DCS World. It’s a very long road, but I’ve made some progress already. Over the course of completing these campaigns, I started writing quick reviews of them, in the style of the Michelin Guide. I decided, why not go the extra mile? Who wouldn’t want to see which modules are worthy of a Michelin Star?
The guide starts with reviews of the vehicles but it’s the campaigns I most enjoyed reviewing. There isn’t a lot of good information out there on which campaigns are worth playing, and I hope this helps.
“Why isn’t the Harrier/Viggen/etc. in here?” – Like any good reviewer, I only stuck to those aircraft I’ve actually put significant hours into, in order to give you an authentic opinion. If you have a lot of hours in your favorite aircraft and it’s not in this list, and you can write gud enlglihs maintaining the compact, rich cadence of a Michelin review, please contribute a few sentences about it! Be honest and unbiased in your critique.
“Why isn’t my favorite campaign in here?” – As above, I only review those campaigns I have completed in their entirety. Some campaigns can take months of practice to beat so it’s a slow road. But rest assured, if a campaign is reviewed in the guide, it’s a review from start to finish. See the previous paragraph if you’ve completed the campaign and want to contribute a review.
“I vehemently disagree with a review!” – That’s fair, and probably likely. There are so many opinions on so many modules, you’re bound to object to one of them. I hope you understand this is a book of opinions, not facts. And maybe I really am wrong on something, and 99% of the community agrees that the Hawk T.1A was the best DCS World module or whatever. That’s fine. My opinions can change.
“I found a factual error.” – Please let me know! If I said an aircraft has a PFM when it doesn’t, got an early-access tag wrong, or the manufacture year of an aircraft wrong, please let me know and I’ll fix it.
“No three-star reviews?” – There’s just not enough DCS World modules (at least, compared to the number of restaurants in the world) to really justify that level of discrimination. One-star and two-star is enough for now. Like the real Michelin guide, a module has to be exemplary to earn even one star.
A couple other points. Firstly, I’m not on GAW or Blue Flag 12 hours a day like a lot of you. I know there’s a lot of min-maxing around which aircraft to fly against what that’s insular to the multiplayer persistent server community. That’s not emphasized in these reviews, though I do touch on multiplayer a bit.
Secondly, my play-style is strongly procedural and realism-oriented. I gravitate towards aircraft and campaigns that capture the whole zeitgeist of being a combat pilot, boring stuff included. Hence why the FC3 aircraft aren’t even in the Guide yet, and why, for example, the A-10C gets two coveted stars when most people find it far less capable than the F/A-18C. Capable is one part of the spectrum. I don’t mind flying an underpowered brick if in doing so I FEEL like a warrior and get a complete, polished experience, and access to quality content. The F/A-18C gets one star (which is no small feat) because what it does have right now is top-notch, but it has a long road ahead of it still.
