Thanks very much for the video. I feel you are the only person who isn’t trying to spare anyone’s feelings here and gave an honest review of the state of the map. So many content creators are flying fast through the valleys or flying 30,000 ft over the mountains hiding all the realities of most of the map. I feel I got burned on S/A due to it’s state on release and then last year on the Sinai map with absolutely no updates yet. Early access is really becoming a dirty word with ED and I’m really thinking twice about my purchases now.

60$ for early access? How about No?

I have mixed feelings about the map. Some of the areas along the coast are beautiful, but for the rest…. I imagine it’s pretty accurate, but there sure is a lot of nothing up there.

I bought Kola and my first impressions were identical to yours. I basically agree with every single point that was brought up in this overview. I really love the terrain and location but In my opinion this map needs a tremendous amount of work. I'm still perplexed that this passed E.D's quality control process and was even allowed to be released in it's current state, and I say that with respect because they are one of my favorite development studios. I'm fine with early access but the problem is even the areas that are supposed to be high detail still look kind of trash in my opinion. IDK I just hope Orbx can turn this thing into something pretty awesome... but so far I'm fairly disappointed.

Another thing to mention, down low, in a helicopter the landscape is really (!) impressive, like the small settlements, farmed fields, valleys and forrests, actual usable roads in the wilderness, without lamp posts every 30 feet! Did I mention the hills and the forrests? ...but there are a LOT of those villages and settlements that are missing and have just names and roads, even in the detailed area, where we hopefully see an update soon, with areas of those procedural buildings, fleshing out populated area in northern Finland and russian border. The decision to add Bodø from the start is great and a logical one. It is the biggest and permanent NATO airbase in the region. Yes, it is a longer ingress to a potential AO, than most airquake servers typically provide, but it will require a deep strike mission or BAI to do actual planning, use appropriate loadouts, have a realistic time constraint on target and players may want to not drag down a multi role fighter/strike aircraft with triple MAV racks, armed to the teeth and focus fuel planning and loiter time. 😎

1:50 Yeah, welcome to the north of Scandinavia :) It's pretty empty.

Early access for this map isn’t calling out to me. Numerous reasons. 1. It isn’t multiplayer server friendly right off the bat. Limited spawn locations give me the same vibe as the South Atlantic map when it released. I want it to be good for multiplayer servers but I don’t think it will be. 2. $60USD is too pricey for an incomplete product. It’s also a map and not a full on aircraft that requires much more effort to make. I don’t think the price being in the same realm as a full aircraft module is a good price point. 3. A plus here. The map is a green and not another sand map. It also seems to look great from a fast moving jet. Downside is from a slow moving helicopter at low altitude… it’s not impressive. That’s not a great first impression for those that fly the Apache or other aircraft. My take? I was super excited when this was announced. After seeing it through the reviews videos and gameplay videos… I’m far less excited and will be holding off on a purchase. I bought the South Atlantic map expecting great things and was very disappointed. I see the possibility of the same happening here and that has me not rushing in.

Honestly i like it, obviously very early access, but the stuff that is their is very well detailed. Murnansk might be my favorite city in dcs, and the road base is pretty cool

Good overview. I haven't played it myself, but it doesn't look like something I'm going to buy anytime soon. I'm still loving Sinai. That map does it for me.

There's two road bases. The second one is Jokkmokk, but for whatever reason it's not marked on the map and you have to place aircraft starting from ground to use it.

Pretty much all Finnish forests are cultivated and utilized in wood and paper industry. This results in satellite images with jagged edges and artificial lines between forest areas that have been cut at different times. In russian side of border they let everything grow forever and the wildfires destroy the forests eventually.

Welcome, fellow aviators, to the exhilarating world of DCS World's latest addition, the Kola map! Prepare to be amazed as you soar through the skies over this meticulously crafted terrain that definitely doesn't resemble a hastily thrown together mishmash of pixels. Firstly, let's talk about the price. At the low, low cost of a small fortune, you can experience the joy of purchasing a map that costs as much as most AAA games. Who needs food and shelter when you can have pixels, am I right? Now, onto the visuals. Sure, from altitude, Kola looks stunning! The sweeping vistas and expansive landscapes will have you reaching for your camera (or your screenshot button) in no time. But beware, dear pilots, for the devil is in the details. Up close, you'll be greeted with trees that seem to have mistaken their geographical location, as they resemble something more akin to a tropical rainforest than the boreal forests of the Kola Peninsula. But hey, who needs accuracy when you've got flair, right? And let's not forget the underdevelopment! Why waste time refining and polishing when you can release a map that feels like it's still in its alpha stages? It's like getting to be a part of an exclusive club of beta testers, except you're paying for the privilege! In conclusion, if you're a fan of overpriced, underdeveloped, and inaccurately rendered virtual landscapes, then Kola is the map for you. Strap in, buckle up, and get ready for a flight experience that's as exhilarating as it is expensive!

There was talk about the compression used on it. Looks like it has the compression power of a WAV file!! With Data deduplication this should've been massively massively smaller than it is....let among basic of compression....my only hope is that they've reserved storage space with dummy data for what is to come in advance as it is a joke. Also some of the creaters created South Atlantic so says a lot and doesnt bode well for how well its going to go

For me, this is the best map in DCS. But I'm a norwegian who has always wanted to simulate our air force operations etc. Now I get to do it in MY OWN COUNTRY?! Yup. Sold. I'm happy 😅

Thank you for your honest opinion. Pretty much spot on, same feelings on my end. With the difference I did not jump on the Orbx hype bandwagon. Unfortunately in the recent years it seems Orbx team has questionable quality management..

I'm happy with it. We'll see what comes of this at a later point I guess.

I actually think that the area around Murmansk is the best cityscape in all of DCS so far, the streets and roads seem more like real neighborhoods and the city itself has real character with buildings that seem a lot less repetitive than most maps…somehow it reminds me of Half-Life 2 a bit and I like it. I realize that Normandy has Paris and London and Nevada has the Vegas strip but I really see a lot of good things coming for this map if they make the assets destructible - if not, it’s a waste.

Good honest video. I agree with you on the size, the fact that mission planners will have a challenge due to the travel times. I disagree about the Caucuses reference. The developed city areas do not have the Cacauses look of a random smattering of generic buildings, they look, a lot like the real cities. I checked out KZfaq aerial views of Bodo and Murmansk and the vibe from the Kola map is real similar. I am real excited about the development of this map, but it is in quite an early state.

Couldn’t agree more. It should have been cooked longer. The heavy use of normal maps to make terrain shadows is sad. They should have made the same decision ED has with Afghan with sections. Orbx is use to tube liner sims where maps are seen from 30k, they weren’t ready for dcs. Syria map will always be the benchmark now. I wish we had options to return for store credit with dcs. Couldn’t agree more pal. I hope it’s good in future, I want it to be. We need green maps but this isn’t how to do it.

That's how it actually is there. Empty wilderness with towns and settlements peppered here and there 😄

Its still nice to have something green......I'm sure it will be a good map once finished 👍

They really need to redo the ground textures where forests are. They need to make the forest ground texture with dots so it’s not so apparent when the trees grow as you fly over. Normandy map does this the best of any of the maps.

I think they are going to have a very hard time getting people back into their seat after this one. Improving the textures and adding details will likely end up in the map being bigger than the whole game itself when it comes to storage, while being almost unplayable when it comes to performance. The current performance, even with how empty the map is, is already a lot worse than i expected. They really need to deliver now, im unsure how its gonna turn out. This map has so much potential, lets hope they are not just after the money but actually care to deliver a high quality product to their customers.

The way I take it is, it's early access. They will add to the map, but they gave it to us super early, which I actually like. Feedback to the company can help them develop map better for the community. I'd prefer to have the modules come out as early as possible. Look at the Afghanistan map coming out soon. It's in three parts. So they are giving us access while they develop everything. That's pretty awesome to be honest.

what does the area look like in other simulators like msfs?

Thanks you for the facts & honesty O7 ED screwed the pooch by letting this out in the wild. How do you drop Sinai & then sh*t the bed like this....Again(South Atlantic release)

I have to agree Kola is somewhat limited at the moment, but I feel I'm getting my money's worth with this much more than with Sinai. With Kola, I can think of a good 40 mission ideas with the areas currently detailed with the multiple DCS modules that fit with the theater. With Sinai, once I had made 4 missions, I was already tired and uninspired (Sinai has nice airfields, but it also has long flights over bland... sand). Carriers can reduce flight time to fun to fly areas, and the opposition they can get in Kola is interesting to say the least.

It's funny to think maps and other files, gaming content, etc like this will be tiny in the future! 😊

What I here a lot in the video is simply repeating what ORBX themselves announced prior to EA and in the product description. Not that it isn't true, but it isn't like everyone should be surprised it still needs a lot of work on details. I'm not sure, but could the size be related to the winter textures they work on? 🤔

Very 90's. That's what I'd call it.

True 👍 agree 100%

Chinook preorder looks rough. Weird Afghanistan sales model and preorder. Rushed EA on Kola. Writing is on the wall. ED is in a cash crunch and rushing stuff out the door. And I’d bet they pushed orbx for a too early release.

This map is the greatest thing in DCS since the Viggen came out (if you ask me).

I will be waiting to purchase. From what I've seen it looks like an amazing MSFS map. :)

I can hardly wait for ED to create the whole world... It's gonna blow the tubers' mind how much empty wilderness is in the world! lol And hard disagree on the textures below 10,000' -- looks pretty damn good to me, but I think my expectations are more realistic for a combat sim. Personally I think ORBX should have cut the map size in half, focusing on the east half. There are many airbases and airfields that are not completed in eastern Finland that would really help mission makers.

We need destructible buildings and map objects, or it just MFS not a military sim.

Kinda looks like Scandinavia if it was detached from Eurasia.

Just got it and done some low level flight East of Bodo, and the ground is just 2 tone green and black smudge with nothing 3d, think FS2004 did a better job. Reminds me of some parts of the South Atlantic map and the link is that it’s the same 2 guys who done this map afaik. Pretty disappointing but still glad to have it.

I've given up on buying any new maps until I see if the MP servers are actually going to use them... I own everything that is currently RELEASED other than Kola and literally use Caucuses and Syria.... Handful of times on Nevada, Persian Gulf and Sinai. So Kola and even Afghanistan are on the back burner for me until I see if I'll even end up using them.

The problem with this map and SA is that the texture blending near the shoreline looks very unrealistic.

Those areas ARE mostly empty! :D

Everyone is clamoring for a Vietnam map! But the distances involved between the RTAFB's and the NVAF bases are much easily 300-400 miles. This isn't a nine minute run from Tel-Aviv to El-Parish, or a 15 min hop from Ramat David to Damascus. I believe a proper SEA map would be nearly twice as large with all the bases on each edge. I would love to see a good Vietnam map, but this is making me think twice

Well, I have flown there. The map is pretty accurate in color and texture. And, there is a LOT of wilderness IRL in that area.

People need to stop saying "mixed feelings" Just say its shit. And for the love of god stop buying early access bs

Why complain about it being empty wilderness when that’s basically what it’s like irl?

Currently I buy nothing for DCS. First they should finally kick scambam out and give me my money back for the F15E vaporware.

A no from me, I’m more interested in Afghan/Iraq

Kola is a terrible release, not any better than SP. Maybe in 3 years, but living in the region I can say that this is catpuke ! Epic failure alltogether..... DCS is dying slowly

Is it possible to get my 10 min back? I cant stand to hear a grown man complaining like a 5 year old. Every add, video promotion, and the order form clearly says early release. Also there will be a massive updated to this map by the end of June. Your given the option to save a few dollars by getting it early. Its your decision. You complain about brown maps now you complain about green maps. You people are driving me crazy.

I wouldn't have downloaded it and use it even if it was free and I would have the space for it. ED leadership is simply dumb. Instead of focusing on selling and improving te game core and modules like planes they try foolishly to milk the community with such blatant deal breakers. 145GB of wilderness to fly over and get bored... for 55$... Laughable! My sincere hopes at this point is that ED goes bankrupt and free its devs and assets! It will be painful for a while but you know... from ashes... etc...