The A-4 was a cold war workhorse which proved to be a capable, reliable light attack aircraft to dozens of nations around the world. From the jungles of southeast Asia, to the desert of Sinai, to the coasts of South America, the scooter was a common sight above battlefields around the world for decades.
The A-4E-C represents more than five years of work on behalf of the development team. We're thrilled to share our most comprehensive DCS World module to date in this 2.0 "Forever Free" update, featuring a realistic flight model, improved systems simulations, increased functionality across all DCS World's available maps, full carrier compatibility, radios, air refueling, and improvements to the ground radar, sound feedback, textures, controls and inputs. This update also adds a user manual in PDF format as well as in the DCS kneeboard, packed with useful checklists and procedures that cover everything from start-up to weapons deployment.
If you haven't flown the A-4E-C since version 1.4, this is a great time to see it again for the first time. If you're new to DCS World, we hope you will find the A-4E-C a good option to learn to fly, and instructive in helping you decide what other modules you might want to pursue next.
We'd like to thank the dozens of people in the DCS World community who have made contributions in bug reports, liveries, expertise, research, videos, community flight instruction, server hosting and for their camaraderie over the years. We dedicate the module to the memory of Eric "Gospadin" Mudama. This labor of love would not have been possible without his initial coding and project coordination.
DO NOT redistribute this mod without permission!
Gospadin, Heclak, Joshua Nelson, plusnine, Farlander, gyrovague, kryb/Archimaede, Merker, Jones, Nero
SkateZilla, uboats, Dr. Manius, LevelPulse, Cubeboy, Talo, GVad, OpticFlow, pohlinkzei, Coragem, nima3333, Sidekick65, SPINEG, Shadowfrost, Sport, Historiker, rudel-chw, Luciano, Malamem, HellesBelles, Bungo, Corsair016, FlyingHueman, JacobBadShot, JP Gabobo, Rob, ataribaby, The Original HoggitDev Team, Eric Haugen
- Realistic external flight model and engine simulation
- Clickable cockpit
- Carrier landing and takeoff
- Air refueling
- AN/APN-153 Doppler Navigation Radar
- AN/ASN-41 Navigation Computer
- AN/ARC-51 UHF Radio
- AN/ARN-52 TACAN
- AN/ARA-63 MCL (ICLS)
- AN/APN-141 Radar Altimeter
- AN/APG-53A Radar
- AN/APR-23 Radar Homing and Warning System (ECM)
- AN/ALE-29A Chaff Dispensing System
- Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS)
- Approach Power Compensator (APC)
- AWE-1 Aircraft Weapons Release System (AWRS)
- CP-741/A Bombing computer (CCRP)
- AGM-45A Shrike anti-radiation missile (SEAD)
- New weapons:
- AN- series WWII munitions: M66, M81, M88
- MK4 HIPEG 20mm gunpod
- Mk-77 napalm canister
- SUU-7 bomblet dispenser
- Unique sounds inside and outside the aircraft
- User manual (PDF and Kneeboard)
- Systems:
- AN/ARA-63 LSO signals for HMS Hermes carrier mod.
- Missions:
- Option to disable the use of Night Vision Goggles equipment (NVG) in the mission editor.
- Liveries:
- USN VC-10 Challengers, 1988.
- Quality of Life:
- The A-4E-C can now be operated by many new countries. Liveries have been edited to match, Malasia to the TUDM livery, for example.
- Several new single input (momentary) bindings, and continuous inputs for AFCS Heading Select Pull-to-Set Knob.
- Waypoint names specified in the Mission Editor are displayed on the kneeboard. Included missions have been updated to make use of this.
- Fuel and aircarft loadout information are displayed in the kneeboard. This page automatically updates if the aircraft is rearmed or refueled.
- Features:
- Ground handling improved for greater control using differential braking.
- Updated pitch stability and center of gravity calculations provide additional realism.
- Systems:
- Altimeter updated to use more realistic realistic barometric calculations.
- AN/APG-53A Radar AoA Compensation Switch now properly affects returns from ships. A/G mode uses the same monte carlo sampling for beam shape, taking a weighted average of intensities to determine the range.
- AN/ARA-63 MCL signals for HMAS Melbourne carrier provide a more accurate response.
- APC light now turns off once the system engages.
- Fuel system getting no longer gets stuck in flight refuel mode.
- Fixed IN RANGE lamp no longer flickers when MASTER TEST pressed.
- Weapons and Loadouts:
- CBU-1/A, CBU-2/A and CBU-2B/A Cluster Dispensers now dispense an accurate number of bomblets with a minim amount of performance impact.
- Missions:
- Unlimited fuel support in the mission editor works.
- Quality of Life:
- Up/down mouse click behavior for 3-position switches that were inverted so that all such switches behave identically.
- Hemisphere information on waypoint coordinates on the kneeboard now display properly on Nevada and Normandy maps.
- Corrected documentation URL files.
- Systems:
- AN/ARN-52 TACAN volume provides a better response across available knob position range.
- CP-741/A updated to calculate drag and features improved boresighting. A steady gunsight position must be established to receive accurate raging information. The computer now assumes a 3m/s ejection velocity.
- Weapons and Loadouts:
- More realistic MK12 guns charging and clearance: Guns can be armed and safed a total of 3 times before available charging nitrogen is depleted. The gun arming and safing when these charges are dispensed is audible. The ground crew performing a rearm will replenish nitrogen charges.
- More realistic MK4 HIPEG Gun Pods charging: Gunpods will now respond to charges only when their station is readied before engaging the gunpod switch to the CHARGE position. Setting this switch to CLEAR clears all gunpods on the aircraft.
- Fixed wheel brake default keybinds to a more comfortable
LCTRL+W
andLALT+W
, to make differential braking easier for keyboard users and to be in accordance with more DCS modules. As a result, the Emergency Stores Release Handle (Jettison) has been reassigned toLCTRL+J
.
- Quality of Life:
- 3-position fuel system switches default keybinds now cycle between available positions.
- Kneeboard manual updated. Unified kneeboard font sizing across in-game dynamically generated kneeboard pages.
- Incompatible with AH-6J Little Bird, CH-47 Chinook, and CH-53E Super Stallion mods (DCS bug).
- Pilot blacks out when throttling up to hook up to catapult on SuperCarrier.
- Dispensing high volumes of bomblets (40+) from SUU-7/CBU-1/CBU-2 can cause performance dip or crashes to desktop.
Failure to perform these steps will result in DCS World not recognizing the module, inability to use the module, input errors when using the module, or client integrity check failures on multiplayer servers that require them. Never install the A-4E-C files directly into your DCS World installation files! Installation size is around 1 GB.
-
If you are upgrading from an older version of the A-4E-C, completely uninstall your old version. If this is a brand new installation, skip this and move on to Step 2.
-
First, uninstall the module's files from
%HOMEPATH%\\Saved Games\DCS\Mods\aircraft\A-4E-C
-
Next reset your A-4E-C input bindings by deleting the contents of
%HOMEPATH%\\Saved Games\DCS\Config\Input\A-4E-C
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Download the latest official A-4E-C release package. Do not download directly from the Github repository.
-
Place the
Mods\aircraft\A-4E-C
folder in into your Windows user folder's Saved Games folder for DCS, e.g.%HOMEPATH%\Saved Games\Saved Games\DCS
-
If you have installed other DCS World mods, you might already have the
Mods
andaircraft
folders indicated in the file path. If so, merge the new A-4E-C folder into the existing folders. -
Never install the A-4E-C files directly into your DCS World installation files!
Launch DCS World. If your installation was successful, the A-4E-C theme icon appears as a option in the main menu:
Your correctly installed files should look something like the following image, substituting your Windows account name where the image displays Partario. If you're using the openbeta branch of DCS World, the folder might be DCS.openbeta
instead of DCS
:
-
If you have multiple DCS-related folders in your
%HOMEPATH%\\Saved Games
, for example,DCS
, orDCS.openbeta
, and are unsure which folder your DCS World installation is using, locate thedcs_variant.txt
file in the game files. If this file is present, its contents determines the folder structure your DCS World installation is using. Alternately, load DCS world and use the mission editor to create and save a mission. Search this mission file using Windows explorer to locate the proper folder structure. -
If you are receiving an authorization error at launch, you have installed the module incorrectly. Revisit the installation instructions above. Be sure to remove any and all improperly installed files before correctly installing the module.
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If the A-4E-C icon in the DCS main menu shows a default DCS logo, is missing the theme background and music (or you experience crashes when loading a mission), you have incorrectly downloaded the module. Download the latest official A-4E-C release package.
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If you can load a mission, but can't take control of the A-4E-C, ensure you have installed Microsoft's Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019 Redistributable libraries. Restart your computer after installation of the appropriate libraries. For most users, this is
vc_redist.x64.exe
. Alternately, ensure your DCS version is at least 2.7.9.1080. -
If you can't find the A-4E-C in the Mission Editor, ensure the historical mode filter is disabled by toggling the clock icon at the bottom of the screen, as shown in the following screenshot:
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A DCS standalone server hosting missions with the A-4E-C must have the A-4E-C module installed.
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A server can host players who do not have the A-4E-C module installed on missions that feature it, you will need to be ready to get a little hands-on with your mission files. The Mission Editor dictates that any mission with an A4-E-C in it requires the module (just as it would any other aircraft), and it's
.miz
mission files are, in fact,.zip
files. -
Make a copy of your
.miz
file, and rename it with a.zip
file extension, and unzip it. -
Inside, you will find a
mission
file (no extension). Open this file in your text editor of choice (Notepad works just fine), and search forrequiredModules
. Remove the A-4E-C's entry, as shown in this example:
["requiredModules"] =
{
["A-4E-C"] = "A-4E-C",
}
-
Once you have completed the edit, save the
mission
file, and re-create a new.zip
(carefully maintaining proper folder structure, of course). Rename your modified mission.zip
back to a DCS.miz
file extension instead. -
Finally, test your altered mission by yourself or with a friend to ensure it loads properly, and that clients are able to load into the mission or server without the A4-E-C installed. In this instance, DCS will display any A4-E-C units as an untextured Su-27. Players without the module cannot take control of unit, just as if they did not own any other DCS module in a multiplayer mission.
Yes! The A-4E-C will remain forever free!
Q: Are there any plans to obtain the Eagle Dynamics SDK, make the module official, or make the module a part of the default DCS install package?
No, the A-4E-C will continue on as a free and open-source resource anyone can download and install to enjoy.
No, we cannot accept donations, but we appreciate your words of support! There are so many good causes out there. Consider donating to one of those instead!
Yes! First, join the Community A-4E-C Discord server and introduce yourself! We can always use a hand from game artists, programmers or reliable testers as we continue to move the project forward. If you think you have something to contribute, don't hesitate to reach out in the chat.
Yes! Locating the NATOPS manual for an A-4E/F is the gold standard for understanding this aircraft, but there is a lot of helpful guidance included in the user manual. To access the manual:
- Once inside the cockpit, open the kneeboard by pressing RSHIFT+K
- Read the PDF manual in
%HOMEPATH%\\Saved Games\DCS\Mods\aircraft\A-4E-C\Docs
or read it online
Past that, Sidekick65's YouTube Channel features high-quality video tutorials on many systems.
Yes! This A-4E-C Paintkit includes the aircraft's top, bottom and fuel tanks. See the included liveries for helpful examples setting up your description.lua files.
-
Liveries created for versions of the A-4E-C prior to 2.0 must update the material names in their description.lua. You can use the included
description.lua
files to update -
Install original or downloaded liveries just as you would for any other module, in
%HOMEPATH%\\Saved Games\DCS\Liveries\A-4E-C
-
Never put your hard work at risk by installing liveries to the module's files!
No, not at this time.
The AGM-12C Bullpup is a possibility with more work, but no promises just yet! Our A-4E-C cockpit model lacks the TV monitor used for the Walleye display.
There is insufficient evidence to suggest that the A-4E had NWS. According to our research the the revisions and reworks relating to the NWS were applied to only the -F models. If you find evidence that E's did in fact have NWS, please share it!
No, there are no plans nor keen interest to pursue this, especially since there is a lot left to add and improve one with our beloved A-4E-C. Additionally, the advanced avionics in later models would not be able to be completed in a satisfying manner.
Some scripts or other utilities need to be informed of the A-4E-C's existence or other specificities in order to accommodate it. If you know of a mod or script that should accommodate it, be sure to let the author know!
Crow, by Eric Haugen