An Interview With RAZBAM; Mirage M2000 for DSCW

[+Dave]

With the pre-purchase of the Mirage M2000C for DCSW (DIGITAL COMBAT SIMULATOR WORLD by Eagle Dynamics) now available I wanted to get some more information on the project and share it with the simming community. Ron at Razbam was kind enough to answer a few questions I had whipped up and I think you will come away from this a little more educated on the process that is involved on getting a new plane into DCSW. So let’s get into it shall we?

CombatAce: Ron thank you very much for taking the time to answer these few questions. What made you decide on the M2000C when people were asking for Vipers, Mudhens and Hornets?

 

Razbam: We have many projects in different stages, since RAZBAM and M2M are close teams(RAZBAM made the M2M M-2000C coding for FSX/P3D) and M2M had this beautiful mesh, we decided to move it forward and make it our DCS debut with this project, not to mention the fact that the M-2000 is an iconic aircraft, with very attractive lines. M2M did an outstanding work on this model

 

CombatAce: How long has the development time been?

 

Razbam: The complete M-2000C project took almost 2 years to be completed, and it´s still going for the DCS version, but the good part is that we´ve learned tons of new information and expertise that will reflect in future projects, shortening development time. Our future plans involve a 1 year dev time for our next project and then we could go for 2 a year, depending on the complexity.

 

CombatAce: What was the hardest part about this project? The 3D modelling, the avionics, the weapons systems?

 

Razbam: Well, being myself a 3d developer, and knowing the quality of level in M2M work, I’ll say that the 3d part was the easiest and that says a lot about it!
DCS is a complete different beast compared to what we have been doing lately, a whole new world of coding needed to be understood with absolutely no Rosetta stone, but we did have extensive support from ED to complete some gaps we had in coding knowledge, but it was (and still is) extremely complex, we are very fortunate to have in our team a highly committed programmer, so it’s safe to say that´s the hardest part

 

CombatAce: How does this compare or contrast to making aircraft for FSX?

 

Razbam: It´s like comparing English with Spanish, both are used to express ideas but are completely different languages. 10 plus years developing for the MSFS series of simulators makes it a natural for us, while DCS being completely new, gave us a lot of speed bumps, like i said, 3d development is almost the same in every stage, once you get the model were you want it, you have to "teach" it to speak either FSX or DCS (to use simple terms), but once we get more comfortable in DCS i have no doubt we´ll become naturals!
At the same time, DCSW gives us a bit of more freedom regarding military planes, since it´s basically a 100% combat able platform, while FSX/P3D are not! I can´t number the tremendous strain it is to "bend" a software to do something it was not intended to, no matter the amount of info you have on x,y,z weapon, FSX/P3D are NOT created to handle them, so they´ll NEVER behave closely like it´s real counterpart, sure, there are amazing developments like Tac Pack and some others but is completely unfair to compare them with combat intended flight sims.This is absolutely NOT an issue in DCSW, all we need to do is concentrate in recreating properly the aircraft and the sim does the rest, as a matter of fact, this really speeds up development in that regard.

 

CombatAce: Were there any setbacks that almost made you throw in the towel?

 

Razbam: Of course! DCSW is always evolving, the stuff that uses to work once, all the sudden doesn´t, and it´s extremely frustrating! we have gone thru some major changes in every aspect of the development, some putting us back to square one (from square 100), and the feeling of being on a dead end (with a full team of very frustrated devs) is very intense, and I’m sure we´ll hit more walls as it keeps evolving, but I also have faith on the team, I’m pretty sure we can conquest all the challenges that lay ahead, and try to keep on top of the game

 

CombatAce: What were some of the resources you used to make this project?

 

Razbam: There is one rule of thumb I never break: Never get into a project unless you can get 1st hand information on it.
Having said that, and since the M-2000C began as a M2M project for FSX/P3D, making the lion´s share on finding/hunting information about this aircraft, all information was gathered from top sources, I can´t mention them due to many NDA´s we have regarding this issue, but you can rest assured that is the best on the subject

CombatAce: If this is successful what are your future plans for the DCS World?

 

Razbam: Well, if this goes the way we hope it does, I can say with no doubt that RAZBAM will close the FSX/P3D shop as for military planes regards, focusing solely on creating aircraft for DCSW with the same spirit we have done previously for FSX/P3D. Don´t get me wrong, we´ll still be developing for FSX/P3D but 100% civilian use aircraft, creating 2 branches a "soft rock" branch (FSX/P3D) and a "hard rock" branch (DCS) so at the end you decide what kind of "music" you want to listen.

 

CombatAce: Ron, thank you again for taking time from your busy schedule to answer these questions. Rest assured the community is anticipating this with baited breath.

If you wish to pre-order the M2000 it can be ordered at the link below at the pre-purchase price of $47.99.

http://razbamsims.com/store/

 

You can get DCS:World for free at

 

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/

 

 

 

 

[+ST0RM]

Nice interview, but it raises a few more questions. With Ron saying they'll close the Mil FSX/P3D line to focus on DCS, does this mean that the promised TacPack A-7 Corsair and Harriers are dead??

 

Thanks,

Jeff

[+Dave]

Nice interview, but it raises a few more questions. With Ron saying they'll close the Mil FSX/P3D line to focus on DCS, does this mean that the promised TacPack A-7 Corsair and Harriers are dead??

 

Thanks,

Jeff

 

Here are the Tack Pack A-7's. I am not sure about the Harriers. 

 

http://www.razbamsims.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=86&osCsid=7214c27e3edb5a207da903d66eee4394

 

 

[+ST0RM]

From the website:

 

"RAZBAM Vought A-7 Corsair II TackPack Edition is available at this time only as a pre-release sale."

 

This has been in pre-sale since last December.

 

Thanks Dave.

[+Dave]

From the website:

 

"RAZBAM Vought A-7 Corsair II TackPack Edition is available at this time only as a pre-release sale."

 

This has been in pre-sale since last December.

 

Thanks Dave.

 

I didnt dig that deep, I guess I should of. I just looked at the front page. My bad man.