Polychop OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

****OH-58D Warrior****

"OH-58D Kiowa Warrior

Polychop is proud to reveal to you the module we’ve been working on for the past two years, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Licensed by Bell Textron and with the input and feedback from many very dedicated subject matter experts from the Kiowa community, we think the OH-58D module will be on par with the other high-end helicopter modules currently available in DCS World.

Fitted with the iconic Mast Mounted Sight and a vast array of weaponry we think the Kiowa will stand its ground and have its place in the DCS World eco-system, capable of fulfilling many roles ranging from recon and AFAC to close air support and anti-tank warfare, day or night.

Learning from the past and including subject matter expert input and testing right from the start, countless hours have been spent at coding a new and true to life flight model to a point where we can honestly say we’re proud of the result. We don’t take that statement lightly as we know the flight model of our previous module did not live up to expectations. That said, the SA-342 Gazelle module will be updated in time with the new technology developed for the Kiowa. The same amount of time has been spent on meticulously coding the implementation of all the systems, devices and weaponry available to the Kiowa’s crew.

Parallel to the coding, a true to life and detailed visual representation has been modelled and fitted with high resolution PBR textures to ensure stunning visuals that make it a joy to play with. With a fully clickable cockpit and all the correct switchology in place it will surely make any Kiowa pilot feel right at home. That said, a lot of work is still to be done on both the art and code. This process will continue for the next few months. An expected release date can not be given at this time.

Being a licensed product, the OH-58D module has to adhere to the standards set by Bell Textron, which we believe will in turn benefit the community in terms of quality control. Both the high but expected standards set by Bell Textron and lengthy but needed contract negotiations and legal requirements with Eagle Dynamics led to the fact that the development of the Kiowa module up to this point has been sort of a public secret. With multiple parties involved and no signed contract we could not share as much information with the community as we would have liked. We have to point out that at this moment, no contract has been signed yet but the latest draft is one we think all parties can agree to. With a contract on the table that is acceptable for all parties involved, the time has come for us to share with you the status of development.

We’ll be doing this by posting periodical situation reports during the remainder of the development process. In every one of these sitreps we will go over a number of features already implemented and the things we are still working on.

http://www.hollowpointgames.com/reveal.png

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...id=71776&stc=1uite***Just to give you an idea ***Just to give you idea of weapons suite***

Interesting, I was not tracking this one and thought we would see the Hind or an Apache next. If I could just get the AI H-60 flyable I'd be set.

***Interview with Polychop***
https://www.helisimmer.com/articles/...ut-the-gazelle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTaXRKiAd3U

Dropping smokes, nice feature. I'll probably get this one, unless someone has a Loach/Little Bird in the works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CmYg8WPDrw&feature=emb_logo

Interview with PolyChop and a few Kiowa Screens
http://wargameguru.weebly.com/interv...ZAcwsojgQL36FQ
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...id=72657&stc=1
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...id=72658&stc=1
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...id=72659&stc=1
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...id=72660&stc=1

***It's a GO!!!***
Announcement

"Dear community,
It has been a few months since we first publicly announced that we are working on the OH-58D Kiowa for DCS World.

For the past two years we have been working on the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Back then we were not yet certain what flight simulator software we’d be building the OH-58D for but at some point we decided (again) on DCS world.
During the past 2 years we have been talking to a lot of individuals including people from Bell Textron, Eagle Dynamics and the US Army Cavalry community.

Bell Textron granted us a product specific license for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior for commercial use, which means we were given permission to recreate the helicopter for game or entertainment purposes. Without this license a module for the DCS World environment would not be possible.

With the license also comes a responsibility. Anything related to the product will be subject to demanding quality control procedures. We recognize this as an opportunity and a benefit for the community, the simulation of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in DCS World and ourselves as a developing company. The license also grants us access to certain information otherwise not available to the public. Without it, it would simply be impossible to create a lifelike representation of the aircraft.

We are very thankful to our friends of the Kiowa community. These people are or were members of the US Cavalry and were and still are very helpful to us in many ways. They made sure we got in contact with the right people, got our facts straight and have been testing and providing feedback on the module from day one.

With the manufacturers license secured we got in contact with Eagle Dynamics to discuss with them the plans we had for our next module. This started a long period in which possible contracts were negotiated. Negotiations like these are complex, especially when it involves a third party, in this case Bell Textron. In the end all parties have to agree to the terms and conditions.

In October 2019, a day before the Cosford Flight Sim Show, we got the green light from Eagle Dynamics to announce the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior as a possible DCS World module. Even though the contract had not been finalized, at that point we were at a stage in negotiations where it was very plausible all parties involved would come to an agreement.

Today we can announce that all contracts have been signed and finalized. The OH-58D Kiowa Warrior will be released as a DCS World module. We can’t reveal a release date yet. We’ve set our sights on a release in 2020 though.

A few days ago, Twitch streamer ThePaveHawker, rather unexpectedly got to try an alpha build of the module. This turned in to a livestream that went on for 14 hours and 40 minutes. Even though the stream was unplanned and a rather impulsive decision, it was well received. It also gave us the opportunity to answer many questions the community asked us during the stream.
Following up on this, we plan to have a dedicated streamer show the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in planned events that we will announce to the community in the near future.

We also plan on releasing videos on various systems and procedures to get acquainted with the OH-58D Warrior before release.

Since the flight model of the Gazelle module has been the most controversial part of our products, we pay very close attention to the OH-58D flight model to make sure we get it right this time. We made the flight model and the code behind it our main focus for the better half of the past two years. Only adding avionics and systems later on in the process. Former Kiowa Warrior pilots have been testing and providing feedback on the flight model from day one and continue to do so until they are completely satisfied. When that is the case, the project will be handed over to Bell Textron and their quality assurance team.

You will find most systems operational and accurately modelled in the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module with some exceptions. Systems not included are either classified or have no use in DCS World at this time. We will go into more details on the avionics in the near future.

In terms of weapons we have already included the M3P machinegun, the Hydra rocket pod with 4 different warheads; 10lb, 17lb, smoke and illumination. In addition we have added the APKWS laser guided Hydra rocket equipped with a 10lb warhead. Of course the AGM-114 Hellfire will be included as well.

With the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module you will be able to self lase for any AGM-114 Hellfire missiles you have loaded on your helicopter. You can also lase targets for other OH-58D’s or any other aircraft capable of dropping laser guided munitions in DCS World.

Last but not least we did add the ATAS system, which is the name for the stinger block 1 anti-air missile, that was fully functional and integrated into the Kiowa Warrior until its retirement in the US Army. Not many were ever fired, but the system is very potent and gives the Kiowa Warrior a sting capability against fast moving aircraft.

As has been stated before in a number of articles, we initially planned not to include multicrew capability for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module. At the time these articles were published, ED had not yet announced their plans of adding multicrew capability to the UH-1 Huey module. We are awaiting the results and hope the new multicrew code will be part of the software development kit. If this is the case we will re-evaluate multicrew capability.

As mentioned before, we will talk more about the avionics in different sitreps or news in the near future, as we will also show features that we have already mentioned in this article.

Overall we are happy that we have the opportunity to bring such an iconic helicopter, a workhorse of its kind, to DCS World and have her live on in our community. We also want to thank Eagle Dynamics, Nick Grey and Matthias Techmansky for all the support and the trust they have in our team and that we will be able to properly produce this magnificent helicopter, which was the first to ever have a glass cockpit worldwide.

Now the big question, when will the community hear next news or see new streams or videos about the Kiowa. We are currently planning to have a scheduled stream with a few people available. What, when and who, will be discussed and announced in a few days. So stay tuned.

For now, the whole team wishes all the best and everybody a merry Christmas 2019

Your Polychop Team"

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BdgJ25IkA0

***The Boyz at Alert5 Podcast interview The Polychop Developers***

https://alert5podcast.podbean.com/e/...p-simulations/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4RJMfZ0o34&t=6s

**STREAM**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qDO7MQpKmc

I N C O M I N G
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*“With the help of the pilots we are currently evaluating details, which also includes the refinement
and corrections of the avionics system of the aircraft. During the coming weeks, we hope to inte-
grate the moving map feature to the avionics and also finetune the weapons and the flight model
of the Hellfire missiles and will integrate another rocket type, that we have not shown or talked
about yet, that will make it possible to properly engage infantry and light armoured vehicle units in
DCS World.
During the past months we have also worked on certain aspects of the flight model that either
needed corrections or refinements. For example, the torque values of forward flight at all possible
altitudes, speeds and temperatures. Currently, we are working on the hover torque requirements
to accurately mimic real aircraft as closely as possible. We are also looking at the flight character-
istics below ETL, effective translational lift.
Performance pages have recently been added to the DCS Kiowa Warrior MFD, which will enable
you to ask the system to calculate your power for certain flight envelopes in level and hover flight.
Night vision has also been added, which we plan to update prior to release with a new feature never
before seen in DCS World Helicopters, but we do not want to reveal anything yet, because we can
not yet foresee obstacles we may come across that might delay such a special night vision feature.
We are confident that on release, we will have realised the most accurate Kiowa Warrior representation
in the game market.
At the moment we have 19 US Army liveries of various Kiowa Warrior troops, these include older
aircraft markings. 16 Croatian army liveries were added as well, which is the complete fleet of the
Kiowa Warriors they operate, including the tail number 327 that crashed on the 27th of January 2020
and resulted in the unfortunate loss of the aircraft and crew. Our condolences go out to the family and
friends of the crew.
Since everyone was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, our production has slowed down a bit during
the past weeks, because we as a team were also affected. Nevertheless we are back to normal again
and our team is back to normal status because we have the desire to keep our promise for a release in
2020, which also includes the time required for the quality verification process by Bell Helicopters.
That said, we are also currently working on 3 stand-alone campaigns for the DCS Kiowa Warrior.
Finally we hope everyone stays safe and is excited for the release of DCS: Kiowa Warrior.”
Your Polychop Simulation Team

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d2RWSKZYmQ&t=1s

Dear DCS Community,

First of all, with the end of the year fast approaching, we want to wish you and your close ones a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Our thoughts are with the people worldwide who are away from their families keeping us safe or fighting for our freedom and won’t be spending Christmas with their loved ones.

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Looking back

Christmas and the end of the year is often a time of reflection and looking back on what has happened in the past year. For Polychop Simulations, ever since the second half of 2020 a lot has changed when it comes to productivity in the coding department slowing down considerably for a good while. The reason for this has been a serious medical condition affecting one of our team members. With Polychop Simulations being a very small team (2 people work on the OH-58D), this has had a severe effect on the production cycle of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module for DCS World.

While production never stopped on the art and assets department, the coding side of things has only started to catch up during the past six months and has not yet reached the momentum it had prior to to the last half of 2020. This has to do with a lengthy recovery process.

That said, development of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior module is making great progress with the affected team member working as hard as his current situation allows him to. During the past year we’ve decided to dial down the amount of footage, screenshots, streams and general communication to essentially stop the hype train that was befitting our initial release schedule but not the uncertain situation we found ourselves in at some point. Another reason for this has been to minimize the amount of comments that were, although understandable to some degree, hurtful towards the development team as we could not disclose the reasons behind the delay out of courtesy to the affected member and his family. We will resume updating the community with progress reports when we think the time is right for it, which is hopefully very soon.

Not all bad news though, 2021 has brought us a brand new coder who has been working on improvements the DCS SA-342 Gazelle module direly needs, essentially making sure the Gazelle’s systems are functioning as they should and fixing bugs so that when the time comes for implementing the new flight model, the Gazelle will be up to the expected standards.
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The future

Coding for the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior has resumed and we’re still working hard to perfect the flight model in cooperation with our very dedicated SME’s. Not only to have all values match the documentation but also to capture the actual feeling of flying the Kiowa Warrior as close as we can. In the meantime, a number of new features have been added due to popular request. These features are currently in a testing phase and are expected to but not guaranteed to make it in to the release. They include the option to add and remove the doors, Mast Mounted Sight and the Rapid Deployment Gear essentially completing the package that is the OH-58D in its most common variants.

Besides the gradual updates on many of its systems the Gazelle will also receive a number of cosmetic upgrades such as the ability to remove the doors on the SA-342L and adding the iconic dipole antennas used by the UK armed forces. We’re also looking in to an AI gunner for the minigun version of the Gazelle. An option to remove the hardpoints on the Gazelle is already in testing.

As has been said before, the flight model overhaul for the Gazelle will come after the release of the Kiowa Warrior module and sadly suffers from its delay. All in all, we hope and expect 2022 to be a much more productive year with the release of the Kiowa and the long awaited updates to the Gazelle.

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Kiowa release date

Now the million dollar question; when will the Kiowa be released? Simply put, when it’s done. The Kiowa will be released as system complete, no early access. All systems needed for completing its intended tasks and mission will be functioning as they should. Some quality of life updates and non-essential features might be added later on after release. Things the community has requested certainly spark our interest but should not delay the release date. With the recent past showing us that many factors can influence the development cycle, we won’t be predicting any release windows any more.

Thanks

Closing off, we’d like to express our gratitude to the people at Eagle Dynamics, for the patience, help and support over the years as well as Bell for providing us with the opportunity and all the support we could ever wish for. We’d also like to thank our OH-58D KW SME’s like Barundus, Roughneck 19, Josh A. and all the others who have stuck with us from day one, selflessly dedicating their time to help us create the most accurate representation of the iconic OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter we possibly can. Last but not least we’d like to thank the community not only for sticking with us, the countless interesting discussions on our Discord but also for providing feedback that will lead to much needed improvements.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXK7aBEu_6M&t=2s