Will SoW be boring and superficial?
 

The Il-2 series is pretty. I have no doubt that SoW will be very pretty too. The weather will change. The AI will occaisionally sh*t their pants and the FM's will be great.

And we'll all go around, doing the same things as we are doing now. Just in a more detailed environment.

But really, don't you think there should be more to the future of air combat simulations than just cookie cutter dogfights and dropping a stick of bombs? Do you really just want to play the exact same pair of missions all over again for another five to ten years ?

What if other mission perameters were coded in? What other options could we get?

Maybe instead you'd like to pilot a Lysander for SOE. Fly over to France at zero altitude in the dead of night. Alone in the dark, you would struggle to find 'that little field' marked on your map and glide into it, engine off so as not to alert the Jerries.

Perhaps you'd rather fly a Storch, evacuating wounded from the combat area. Or maybe spotting for the artillery? What if you could give directions and targeting information to ground units?

What about unarmed photo recon? Take your Blenheim across to France to take photographs of the invasion barges. Photographs that the campaign generator can judge and pass you on.

Coastal Command perhaps? Why not have a crew that can actually call out the sightings of distant ships and other objects and give an intelligent description of their range, type and heading?

Or nightfighters with AI radar operators that can actually guide you to the kill?

Wouldn't you like to try to fly a danerously overloaded Ju-52 into the icy landing strips of Stalingrad one day? Or a C-47 over the Himalayas?


There has to be more to this genre than, fly to waypoint and shoot stuff down. Or fly to waypoint and drop some bombs. There has to be. :(

Agree 110%

thrilling of air combat wasn't always the encounter with enemy, weather and navigation, for example, can be very demanding too.
I think that what we really want is the feeling of being part of a huge organization such as an air force (RAF of Luftwaffe).

Well said i couldn't agree more ...

I think who want more real stuff should join USAF ;) until there won´t be some kind of 3d helmets or electrodes connected to our brains, we will be still staring on 19´flat screens. I will definitely enjoy this gaming a lot when being retired.. :cool:

Byw some guys from our squadron started to fly the gliders, the real stuff ;)

I wouldn't be suprised if a bit of that is already in the works. I must say that I am impressed with your list, I think I would try all of those things at least once.

That is a good list and does sound good, and a refreshing change from what we have been doing. If it can be done in such a way where you can actually feel the pucker factor, that would even better.

Feathered-
Excellent post! I also enjoy more than just flying to point "A", shoot or be shot and then fly back to point "B". While on-line flying can give you more of a "group sense" it still doesn't supply the additional challenges you mention. I have found myself trying to make more challenging missions by adding little things...I made a mission where you scramble off the carrier to intercept incoming Zekes, the twist being limited fuel. I placed the intercept point about ten minutes from the carrier and adjusted the fuel level where you only have 18-20 minutes depending on how hard you fly. Then it's back to the carrier and usually a dead stick landing...while this can be challenging, it still doesn't get to the point your describing. I would especially like Recon type missions in unarmed aircraft...these types of missions are near impossible in IL-2 with the all seeing AI; very unrealistic that you can't escape and evade using natural terrain, clouds and your flying skill.

wg

I would imagine as the SOW series expands, mission building will only far more interesting and flexible than the current series.

I too like the ideas that you have put up. Ive always like the Lysander and think the challenges put forth in those "noncombat" missions you describe are not only interesting to me, they would add another fold to the realism involved in missions.

I agree, too.

Not that I'm bored of it, but I would welcome any kind of "change" to the usual workload, as suggested by Feathered: other tasks, other responsabilities, new mission goals...

Just to remind you/us (it could very well be the change-from-usual-routine step #1) Oleg posted some time ago that we'll have a 2-seat trainer...
That sounds very good to me, also in this perspective.