Mariana Islands

This is an alpha module. This module is still being developed and is missing central features and equipment options. While it is playable, it may have major bugs, and procedures may have inconsistent or unexpected results. The intrepid and very interested may want to buy it; others should probably wait for a more stable or complete release.

In the first newsletter of 2020, Eagle Dynamics announced the release of a new free terrain for DCS: World to supplement the aged Caucasus map. As the game has grown, it has come to cover a far wider array of aircraft, eras, and combat scenarios than it was originally designed for, and the new territory is intended to fill in a lot of those gaps.

The new “Marianas Islands” map is meant to be suitable and applicable for both modern and WWII scenarios. It is meant to provide a logical use for the new Chinese assets being rolled out. It is meant to have a have some inherent sense of balance in terms of what terrain is available for both red and blue coalition (that is, both will mostly be carrier-based, but will perhaps have one or two tiny island airbases as well). And it is obviously meant to provide a natural playground for the much-hyped upcoming Supercarrier module.

Approximate coverage of the Marianas Islands map

Features

Parroting the sales pitch in the news release:

• A very large ocean area with a few islands. Ideal for carrier operations.
• Islands that are situated such that airfields have natural red, blue, and contested locations.
• Anderseen AFB on Guam.
• A total coverage of 400×400 km.

Missing features

All of it… It has not been released yet.

Links and files

• 2020-01-03 Newsletter offering the first details on the terrain.
• Introducing the Marianas Islands Map in the DCS News section.

More information

• Mariana Islands on wikipedia.
• Mariana and Palau Islands campaign on wikipedia.
• Guam and Northern Mariana Islands on Google Earth.