Desert Combat

Desert Combat (DC) is a popular mod, founded by Frank Delise, Brian Holinka and Tim Brophy, for the hit first-person shooter (FPS) computer game Battlefield 1942. DC brings the game's setting to modern warfare in the Middle East, providing the player with the opportunity to drive modern vehicles such as M2 Bradleys and fly F-14 Tomcats from aircraft carriers. The game pits the United States against Iraq.

There have also been secondary mods for Desert Combat, such as Desert Combat Extended, which modifies gameplay and adds new content such as new armies. Desert Combat Realism Mod modifies gameplay and features to be more in line with real-life situations. There have been several other minor modifications to the basic Desert Combat as well such as Enhanced DC, DC High Power, and 21st Century Warfare.

DC Final was released as a semi-official continued development of the mod, and includes previously unreleased original DC content and works of some of the original Desert Combat team members. It was not an official release of Trauma Studios or of the Desert Combat team, but some former members of the Desert Combat team were involved in the release.

Player Trends

The Desert Combat modification acquired a gain in popularity since the 2003 invasion of Iraq by Coalition forces. 1942 engine, around 10-64 people per team may be present during any single game. Cooperation, tactics and leadership are vital aspects to achieving victory. Some of the strategies employed include airdropping, vehicle rush, ambushing, and others which are common in the original Battlefield 1942.

Trauma Studios

On September 1, 2004, Digital Illusions CE bought Trauma Studios, the developers of the Desert Combat 1942 modifications. Trauma Studios was working with DICE on Battlefield 2, but shortly before the release, DICE closed down Trauma Studios.

Weapons

Knife
M9 Pistol
M25 Sniper Rifle
M16
M203
M249
MP5
M12 shotgun Winchester Model 1912
M67 Hand grenade
SMAW
FIM-92 Stinger
M224 Mortar
Browning Hi-Power
Skorpion
AK-47
GP-30
AKS-74U
Tabuk Sniper Rifle
Saiga-12
PK machine gun
RPG-7
VSS Vintorez
SA-7 Grail
PSS Pistol
Barrett M82A1 .50cal
PSS pistol Pistolet Sptsialnyj Samozaryadnyj

Vehicles

Coalition

Opposition

Other

Maps

DC Battle of 73 Easting
DC Khafji Docks
DC Lost Village
DC Medina Ridge
DC Oil Fields
DC Desert Shield
DC Insahalla Valley
DC Basrah's Edge
DC Basrah Nights
DC No Fly Zone
DC Weapon Bunkers
DC Sea Rigs
DC Al Nas
DC Cornered
DC Dustbowl
DC Bridge
DC Operation Bragg
DC Coastal Hammer
DC Urban Siege

Several maps were released in varying versions. The different versions were called 'days'. For example, the Desert Combat version of the classic Battlefield 1942 map El Alamein was released as El_Alamein, El_Alamein_Day2, and El_Alamein_Day3. Each day featured a different variety of vehicles to choose from.

Media Attention

Desert Combat has been featured on many media websites such as CNN, Reuters, Washington Post, and other computer magazines.

Awards

DesertCombat Final - Best New Mod of 2004 (fileplanet)
Best Mod of 2003: Desert Combat (fileplanet)
GameSpy's 2003 Best PC Game Mod
FilePlanet's Best New Mod for 2002

Desert Combat Realism Mod

Desert Combat Realism Mod (abbreviated DCR, DCRM, DC Realism) began as "Tanelorn's DC Game Balance Mod" with early versions being released under that name. With the addition of MisterD, the mod was renewed with a number of new members and had many more ambitions. The mod originally focused on simply realism, but expanded to add a large amount of content, including original music, voice acting, new game objects, original maps as well as some of highest level of new game features in the form of codings. Basically making it a realistic approach to equipment functionality in a modern combat settings. The mods community size numbered in the thousands during its peak in popularity, with a full server not uncommon during a new release. With the gradual tapering down in the number of Desert Combat and players to new games (such as Battlefield 2 released in June 2005 for example) its popularity has since dropped. In November of 2005, the forums and website were shut down.

DCR is a realism mod, focusing on making Desert Combat more realistic, with changes such as the removal of parachutes from basic soldiers and having selectable ammunition types for tanks and other AFVs. No other mod had yet managed to code these features at that time.

The initial versions only required the installation of the Desert Combat mod to take effect, although later versions also used Desert Combat Final as well. The final version would actually include more content than Desert Combat final did, with the executable file of the 1.0 version of the mod being at more than 200 megabytes in size.

The mod went through several versions, eventually culminating in a 'Marine' expansion pack. Some of the game items include original music and voice acting. Many other game features were impressive coding features. For example, a laser targeter that called in an actual air-strike was implemented. Once a target was selected, the player would hear an original voice, such as one might hear on the radio of a pilot getting ready to drop a weapon, and at the right time a large explosion occurred in the targeted area. There were other smaller touches, such as a modelled and skinned boom box playing in an aircraft hangar. Other modelled and skinned game items included the Marines' LAV-25, AH-1 Cobra, M167-VADS and many new weapon systems. Also of note were nearly a dozen various customizations to Russian weapons, NCO squad commands and many new firearms and personal weapons. A completely done M60 machine gun, complete with its own sound clips, was among the highlights, as were the tracer rounds for the SMAW, a flare gun and helmet for pilots, wound effects, 3-round burst for the M16A2.

This secondary mod was discontinued on 20 October 2005.

External links

Desert Combat official site: http://www.desertcombat.com/
DICE buys Trauma: http://www.traumastudios.com/press.html
IGN interviews Desert Combat founders: http://pc.ign.com/articles/383/383326p1.html
Desert Combat Final Forums: http://www.dcforums.org
DCF Community: http://www.dcfonline.org
Macologist: http://www.macologist.org Provides conversions and downloads for the Macintosh OS X platform for Desert Combat, Desert Combat Final, and Desert Combat Extended.
CNN News Article http://money.cnn.com/2003/03/25/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm

Battlefield 1942 mods