A few questions regarding IL-2 Cliff of Dover

[BlueMax4195]

I've been away from PC game simulators for a while now - became a father in 2006 and now - like his dad, my son is showing signs of interest in airplanes! :) Makes me so proud! Last Christmas we bought him a cheap Wii game that's pretty much centered around the Battle of Britain. We love playing it, but for me personally, it just doesn't quite cut the mustard, regarding graphics and sounds! He actually enjoys watching me play on my older simulators! So with a need to satisfy my hunger for a hi-end graphics simulator once again, I found IL-2 Cliffs of Dover. Needless to say this really caught my interest! :razz: So, at present I'm kind of on the fence as to whether I should purchase this game - or not. Allow me to explain.

I watched the trailer on the home page for IL-2 Cliffs of Dover and unfortunately, it looks considerably inferior to the same type of videos posted on YouTube?! I realize that in a few cases "original" video from the game has been "enhanced" with PoserPro, but what I'm seeing on the home page is really a bit disappointing!! My guess is, its probably the original trailer made using a "stand in" graphics engine, but STILL! I have the original IL-2 Sturmovik PC game and from what I can see, not all that much has changed - graphics wise. The MOST disappointing issue of all are the sounds!! Unless I'm very mistaken the EXACT SAME engine sounds are used in this new 2011 version of IL-2 Cliffs of Dover, as were used in the original version of IL 2 Sturmovik! And that's quite a big disappointment! :(

I apologize up front for being so blunt, but those sounds we're - to be quite honest - rather cheesy back then, when compared to Combat Flight Simulator (Pacific Theater), which came out a couple of years "before" the first IL-2 Sturmovik! I guess being a graphic designer by trade, I have a little more "discriminating tastes" than what some other gamers may have, and appreciate the efforts of software engineers when they go the extra mile to not only make the best possible realistic "look" to a game, but also do their best to use believable aircraft engine sounds!. Please don't get me wrong! IL-2 Cliffs of Dover seems to be a very impressive PC simulator, but still a bit off the mark - at least to me - at present.

After asking this same question in the forums of IL-2 Cliff of Dover, I was told that: "both sound and graphics have received updates since the release of Cliff of Dover and graphics is not far off another major upgrade (if it hasn't already been released)."

So... I'm hoping someone can offer me an answer as to whether these "updates" have occured and just how good (or beleiveable) they actually are. And if so, what should I look for when purchasing the game to ensure I get the latest upgrades. Or are the upgrades something that will end up having to be downloaded? I guess I kind of need a good reason to spend the money for this game, but right now I'm still kind of on the fence as I stated.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[SG1_Lud]

Well, I will be very practical: why don't you try

http://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2?msg=&showResultsPage=true&predictiveSearchURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.game.co.uk%2F webapp%2Fwcs%2Fstores%2Fservlet%2FAjaxPredictiveSe archView%3FcatalogId%3D10201%26langId%3D44%26store Id%3D10151&langId=44&beginIndex=0&productId=159279&sType=SimpleSearch&pageSize=20&resultCatEntryType=2&searchTerm=Cliffs+of+dover&pageView=image&searchBtn=Search&catalogId=10201&storeId=10151&searchBtn.x=0&searchBtn.y=0&ddkey=http:AjaxPredictiveSearchView

If you take the deal, we will show how easy is to get the updates. I mean download them.

[keinmann]

I had the same worries as you before I bought CoD. But believe me, the sim has since put my fears to rest. Money well spent! I guess the updates that have come out since the game hit shelves had made it a hell of a lot better. And we're still not done yet: IL-2 CoD will be a WIP for quite a while! And we all expect that Oleg will soon release the MoAP: the Mother of All Patches! :grin:

Nothing changed?! No, you're wrong! Graphics are FAR better if you have the machine to push them (I do). Sounds are also WAY better: the 109 engine sounds are very realistic comparing to videos of the real thing and hearing it in person. I've never been around a real Spitfire or Hurricane, but those sound good too! The gun sounds are a bit damp, but definitely not cheesy like 1946.

Oh, and it gets better. Far better damage model, better ballistics and WAY better flight model. And when this game says "Complex Engine Management", it MEANS IT! You can control pretty much anything: the cockpits are not just gorgeous but everything is clickable (and of course, easily mapped to keys, stick axes, sliders, etc). Even your virtual pilots head has true 6DoF and "sways" and "bounces" as you fly based on physics -- and I hear it is spectacular with TrackIR!

They have corrected a ton of historical inaccuracies that never got fixed in 1946. For example, the real Bf-109's flaps where raised and lowered by turning a hand wheel near the pilot's left knee (right by the elevator trim). It was slow to use, but the flaps could be adjusted gradually with precision. In 1946 you could just push a button and switch between "flap modes", or you could rig the flaps to an axis on your stick and they would raise and lower super fast. Now they kept the option to toggle your flaps, but they deploy at realistic speeds. You're not getting any "super human" flaps in CoD! And this is just one tiny example. They've put a LOT of precision into modeling every aircraft and making flying it close as you can currently get to the real thing. I'm getting performance out of my 109 that is damn near identical to historical specs, and loving every minute of it!

Don't get me wrong, the game has bugs and problems. But so far none have wrecked my gameplay or really hurt my experience. For example, recording and playing back mission tracks can still be buggy -- your edited track might have you dropping your bombs off target when you really nailed the damn thing. But like I said, no fatal bugs have appeared on my installation. Well, once or twice the guns on my 109E-1 have kept making a shooting noise after I fired a short burst and required a reboot of the game, but it has not happened again since. That's the worst I've yet seen.

[salmo]

BlueMax4195, Don't think Il2-Sturmovik, think Il2-on-steriods :)

* I watched the trailer on the home page for IL-2 Cliffs of Dover. - The trailer was made with the original graphics & sound engine. Graphics & sound have improved markedly since then. Why 1C still have the original trailer on their site is a mystery to me?

* Sound are those of the original Il2-Stumovik. - No, They are much, much better.

* Has "update" been released? - Last update was Nov 2011, another update is expected in the relatively near future.

* what should I look for when purchasing the game to ensure I get the latest upgrades? - COD upgrades itself via steam. There is nothing to look for, just need to purchase game.

Or are the upgrades something that will end up having to be downloaded? - see above.

I guess I kind of need a good reason to spend the money for this game, but right now I'm still kind of on the fence as I stated. - If you like Il2-Sturmovik you will probably also like COD (notwithstanding bugs & other issues). The biggest problem may be your computer. COD is quite graphics intensive so a good CPU & GPU are required.

[ATAG_MajorBorris]

It costs more to go to part 5 of a movie you might not even remotely enjoy.

[ATAG_Doc]

Hah

[ATAG_Doc]

Youd think there are more important decesions regarding how you spend your money such as a car. Used vs new. Financing vs paying cash. But never of a game. For goodness sakes man. Ive bought more crap ive never used. Everyone does. If you are so twisted over the cost hit me up I have a gift waiting for you.

[von Brühl]

So... I'm hoping someone can offer me an answer as to whether these "updates" have occured and just how good (or beleiveable) they actually are. And if so, what should I look for when purchasing the game to ensure I get the latest upgrades. Or are the upgrades something that will end up having to be downloaded? I guess I kind of need a good reason to spend the money for this game, but right now I'm still kind of on the fence as I stated.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Most current update in progress, the one to fix the constant CTD's has not yet been released. Being that in your post you mention being a graphic designer with more discriminating tastes, I do want to mention that prior patches (pre-Nov 2011) did drastically improve the graphics performance, but degraded the graphics quality. What you see as far as colors and lighting in the original trailer are not what you will get in game. Difference isn't huge (to my non-artist's eyes) but definitely there. Game still looks pretty good, but not the stunning quality of the original trailers, and many of the earlier videos you'll find on YouTube.

If your on the fence, shop the game. It has been offered at some huge discounted sale prices at times, as low as $9.99USD. It's well worth it for that price, if you have patience and a high tolerance for frustration.