It is HIGHLY recommended that you download an up-to-date preview build, unless the stable release build is very new. Downloading an out-of-date release build is one of the most common mistakes new users make. Out-of-date release builds will almost certainly not work with the latest version of DCS. Now that you've been warned, pick one of the two below.

1. Stable release (WARNING: very likely to be outdated.)
2. Preview builds (Recommended for most users. Yes, that means you.)

Stable releases get outdated very quickly. Unless the current release build is pretty new (i.e. there have been no DCS updates since it was released), you are better off using the alpha or beta preview builds, which are far more up to date. Retribution is under active development and there is typically at least one new alpha build a week. We suggest that users update regularly, particularly whenever support for new DCS updates are implemented. If you're not sure which build to use, ask on Discord (though most of the time, the recommendation will be the latest alpha). Click on the Preview Builds link above for instructions on how to download them.

1. Extract the zip file to any directory other than Program Files and Program Files (x86). C:\Users<Username>\Saved Games\ is a recommended location (it would look like C:\Users<Username>\Saved Games\dcs_retribution\ when you're done). This will be the install directory. It should preferably be a directory that's accessible without requiring Administrator privileges. Otherwise, in the shortcut's compatibility tab, select "Run this program as an administrator".

2. Do NOT overwrite an old install with a new one. Delete the old version first before installing a new build.

3. Then launch retribution_main.exe to launch DCS Retribution.

First launch splash screen

Important Note before you launch DCS Retribution :

DCS Retribution will modify the following file in your DCS installation: <DCS Installation Directory>/Scripts/MissionScripting.lua. This allows Retribution to record information about mission events. This will not prevent you from passing the integrity check to join multiplayer servers.

This file will be modified whenever DCS Retribution is opened and the original will be replaced when DCS Retribution is closed.

You must always launch DCS Retribution before you launch DCS.

If you don't, DCS will load the file before it is changed and DCS Retribution will not be able to retrieve mission progress.

If DCS performs an update after you have already launched Retribution, you should relaunch Retribution and DCS after the update is complete. This is because the update will have overwritten the MissionScripting.lua file that Retribution had modified.

Permanently modifying this file (e.g. editing it and setting it to read only) is not recommended as connecting to multiplayer servers with an unsanitised MissionScripting.lua is a potential security risk. This is why Retribution replaces the file with the original upon exit.

Experienced users can also disable the automatic modification of the MissionScripting.lua. This can be achieved by leaving the DCS Installation Directory preference empty.

Warning: If you leave the DCS Installation Directory empty, you have to manually edit the MissionScripting.lua. Otherwise DCS Retribution can not work properly. This is only recommended for expert users who understand and accept the security risk of doing so. We do not recommend leaving the file modified permanently. A description on how to manually edit the file can be found in the Dedicated-Server-Guide.

In the top left corner, click on File --> New Game to start the new campaign wizard.

Click on next to start campaign configuration

Choose your campaign/map and start date. Stay away from the very performance heavy campaigns like Black Sea (which is marked as 3/3 for performance) for now. As an example, Operation Vectron's Claw is a Caucasus campaign that runs pretty well and allows both carrier ops and land bases. Note that the picture below is of a very old build from years ago, hence the low number of campaigns available. Retribution has many more campaigns available at this point.

1. Choose your campaign (implies the DCS map)
2. Campaign author & remarks
3. Performance impact
4. Invert Map - Inverts the factions starting positions
5. Time period / starting date (start date will affect weapon availability if turned on via options at a later stage)

You can use the default factions shown (what the author intended) or choose your Player Faction and Enemy Faction. Note that the list of available aircraft is what's available for the campaign designer and not necessarily what will be available in the campaign.

Select any additional generation options you'd like to use. Note that the supercarrier option can be enabled or disabled later in the game settings.

Generator settings:

• No Aircraft carriers - select if you don't want any CVNs in your campaign, even if the faction you selected has them available
• No LHA - select if you don't want any LHAs in your campaign, even if the faction you selected has them available
• Use Supercarrier module - if you own the DCS Supercarrier module, you can select which CVN type will generated in your campaign
• No Player Navy - select whether you want combat ships in your campaign being generated or not
• No Enemy Navy - select whether you want enemy combat ships in your campaign being generated or not

Mod settings:

• If you want any of these mods considered during your campaign generators, please select accordingly
• You are required to have the selected mods already installed and operational prior to DCS Retribution campaign generation

Economy options:

• Player income multiplier - defines the multiplier of the player per-round income which depends on the type and number of objectives held
• Enemy income multiplier - defines the multiplier of the enemies per-round income which depends on the type and number of objectives held
• Player starting budget - amount of available money at the beginning of the campaign, to procure aircraft / ground units
• Enemy starting budget - amount of available money at the beginning of the campaign, to procure aircraft / ground units

Player assists:

• Automate runway repairs - system will automatically repair player owned, destroyed runways if enough budget is available
• Automate front-line purchases - system will automatically buy front-line ground units
• Automate aircraft purchases - system will automatically buy aircraft

The system currently will spend 50% on aircraft and 50% on ground unit purchases

Adjust difficulty and economy options as desired. A greater budget and income multiplier for the enemy will increase campaign difficulty. Note that more purchasing power can result in the campaign becoming busier as more units such as aircraft and vehicles appear during play. If this affects FPS, try reducing the income multipliers.

The player assists section enables automatic management of repairs and purchases so the player can focus on other aspects of the campaign. These options can be toggled later in the game settings. These options are described in detail in the manual.

The list of available squadrons is affected by the following factors:

• Campaign configuration, done by the campaign author
• Chosen faction
• Available squadrons (custom & auto generated)

See Air wing configuration for more details.

If you are happy with your choices, close the squadrons window and trigger the campaign generation.

Voila! Your campaign has been generated! We recommend you save your game at this point.