Way to go moderator nice welcome (not):confused: All we have is time we sure dont have SOW yet.

What happened to we need more people in this sim to support this product. Somebody shows up and ask a question and he gets this. Great job those of you who could not give decent answer. OH to late, I wouldn't come back either.

It can be hard to get the gist of a new sim so I searched for some background information for you. This may not have come from the developers!

[Free Google Translation]
What ever you do DON'T fly Blue planes! They is the evil Axis and are trying to take over the world and force all free thinking peoples to march goose step and eat various varieties of sausage!

It is Evil I tell you! Evil!

Throught the help of our communist bed fellows we will defeat the Blue menace through the use of highly developed 50.cal weapons and the superior lower speeds and manouvers of our aircraft!

Blue is Bad and Red is Goodness!

Dig it?

[End Free Google Translation]

Ahhh, you got better things to do right?

Haha. I dig it.

I'm new to the whole flying sim scene. 1c is getting my attention with their "go out on a limb" type games. So just finding what it all is.

That's the response there. A jump off point. I would love to get into something like this. Sims are almost a hobby status and seeing the following this game has maybe it would be good for me.

There are a lot of versions of IL-2 for sale, The latest version is "IL-2 1946" it encorporates all the previous patches and additions. (If you intend to fly online you'll probably want the latest version. also a program called Hyperlobby which will let you find online servers!)

To completely up-to-date you'll have to several download patches, 4.08, 4.09 and the last one 4.10. I haven't bought the Steam version but I think it is completely patched up to the latest version (steam customers help me out here!!!)

If you are really new to the sim you will want a joystick. It is really hard to fly using the keyboard. If you get really into flight sims as a hobby there are a number of other controllers that you find useful and help you control the aircaft in a more natural fashion, Throttle(s) and Rudder Pedals would flesh out your primary controls

Many people are finding a device called a TrackIR very useful - it is a head tracking device hat allows you to look around the 3D environment. Some people have stated that they would rather have the TrackIR than rudder pedals if they had to make the choice. But it all comes down to personal preference, how much you get into the hobby and money available.

There are a number of different levels of difficulty in the sim. My advice is start off easy and work your way up.

On of the big limitations of Il2 is the training supplied by the sim is non-existant. Use youtube and other online resources to help pick up the basics or use friendly places like this to ask questions. ;)

The imporant thing is to have fun.

Cheers!

Nice. Thanks. I'm glad the game doesn't hold your hand.

Is there any kind of free roam type deal with enimies flying around that you can just take them down with no mission?

I think you just gave a perfect description of an online dogfight server :D

offline there is a quick mission builder for that sort of thing.

Yep there is the Quick Mission Builder which jumps you pretty much straight into the action as well some online dogfight servers resemble that as well. IL-2 can be boring or intense or calculating and challenging in a half dozen different ways. It's the reason why it's fun and long lasting because there is always something new to check out or something to master.

Some people are top notch level bomber pilots and can put bombs on a pillbox from 5000 meters. Some people are superb boom and zoom fighter pilots and can hit other aircraft at odd angles and high rates of speed. Still others are close in knife fighters and can outmaneuver others with apparent ease. Or what I consider my specialty is the tactical fighter-bomber which means flying and fighting low with rockets and bombs and putting as much on target while using the correct methods to avoid flak when possible.

With 200+ flyables there is something for everyone. But definitely no hand holding... the game can be difficult. If possible spend a bit of time with the quick mission builder (QMB) and then try and link up with some voice communications online and learn the ropes there.