Where I Want DPTST 4 To Go

Before I even start typing this, I have to say thank you to Triplication, SargeSabik, AirshowD, Res, Alien, Sharklett, Sketch, and everyone else who has been playing DPTST 4 so far. I feel like I have let one of my children out into the world, and watched them be accepted and loved by so many. The fact that we had a very minimal amount of Day 1 bugs was incredible to me. So far we’ve identified and corrected several gameplay issues to better maintain the flow of the server. It’s all just been an incredible experience. Trip and Baldy can both attest to the fact that I was having micro heart attacks in the lead up to launch for a variety of reasons. But It’s finally here! Now it’s time to look at the goals and plans for Knife Fight and how we hope to accomplish them.

I think the first major goal has already been accomplished. I spoke at length about how I hoped DPTST 4 would draw new players into the CVW-20 server and really put our name on the map in terms of servers. Sarge and Starstranger have always done a great job of helping us spread the word. David would recruit like a mad man back when he was active, to the point where he would proclaim DPTST to be BMS in DCS.

So on day 1, how did we do? The reaction from the High Beat gang was overwhelmingly positive. I’ve even heard rumblings of them maybe taking a break from Liberation to fly on the server more often. Sharklett had the positive review of “It’s bug free”. I wholeheartedly disagree with that statement, but a lack of game breaking bugs is always a positive. Legendary Niche Micro-Celebrity AirshowD flew not once, but twice with us, and even came to hang out in the ready room. Can I quantify any of this? No, but for the first time in years, we were flying ops around the clock and the discord was active practically 24/7. Clearly, we are doing something right.

I discussed with Airshow and Sarge my frustrations about starting a DCS server. You have to compete with bigger servers for a limited player base who have limited time. Those bigger servers have big names promoting them and in the case of CVW-20, we have many disadvantages. We never started off on a good note. DPTST1, and DPTST2 were so unstable that a large portion of the initial player base left never to return. 1-3 were notorious for having a modpack that was large enough and hard enough to install that most players wouldn’t even try. Worst of all, no one knew who we were. Sarge was always kind enough to let us shill on his channel, but a lot of streamers normally wouldn’t, meaning we would remain with little to no visability.

So now DPTST4, is close to feature complete. The AI has been wildly impressive. A healthy player base has been established. Our name is out there, and the reviews are good. Are we done? You already know the answer is no. After a day 1 hotfix, we’ve started adding new features, like additional special features for our High Beat partners, a rebalancing of Opfor forces, and the introduction of anti submarine warfare. We’ll also be adding more new special events and ways to make DPTST4 even more fun.

By the end of Knife Fight, I hope that we can prove that CVW-20 is a competitor to the big dogs. That we can stand toe to toe with Grayflag and ECW, and provide a meaningful alternative in a space saturated with servers.

I figure we’re already 20, maybe 25% there.