Hypothetical progression line predictions
 

Prediction of the IL-2 COD progression line from version to version, dotted with sequels

1. Initial Game ‘IL-2 Cliffs of Dover’
Map: 500 x 500klm summer map, covering Southern England and London, Belgium border, coastal Northern France from Calais to southern Normandy
Historic scenario: The ‘Battle of Britain’ and the German night time ‘Blitz’ offensive.
Version: 1.5
Flyable aircraft:
England: Hurricane Mk1, Spitfire Mk.1, 1a, 1b, 2b, Blenheim Mk.V, Tigermoth
Germany: Bf109E-1, E-3, E-4, Bf110C-4, C-7, Ju87B-2, Ju88A-1, He111P-2, H-2
Italy: G.50, Br.20M
Non-flyable aircraft:
England: Anson, Beaufighter, Defiant, Gladiator, Sunderland, Walrus, Wellington
Germany: Bf108, Do17, Do215, He115, Fw200
Italy: CR.42

2. Merged Sequel 1. ‘The Battle for Moscow’
Map: 500 x 500klm winter map, from Smolensk to Moscow
Historic scenario: The defence of Moscow and the subsequent Russian offensive
Version: 1.0
New Flyable aircraft:
Russia: I-16, Lagg1, Mig3, Yak1, IL-2, SB-2
Germany: Bf109E-7, Bf109F-2, F-4, Ju88A-4
New Non-flyable aircraft:
Russia: Su-2, IL-4
Germany: Ju-52

3. Merged Sequel 2. ‘The Mediterranean Theatre campaign 1’
Map: 2 x 500 x 500klm summer maps covering the Northern African coastline from El Alamein to Tunis, including the islands of Crete, Malta and Sicily.
Historic scenario: The British Commonwealth Divisions attack on Italian occupied North Africa.
Version: 1.0
New Flyable aircraft:
England: Hurricane II, IIC, P40 Tomahawk IIB, Boston III
Italy: CR.42, MC200, MC202, SM.79
Germany: He111H-6
New Non-flyable aircraft
England: Douglas C-53 (DC3), Catalina 1
Italy: Cant 506B, Cant Z.1007

4. Merged Sequel 3. ‘The Western Front’
Map: 500 x 500klm COD winter map, covering Southern England and London, Belgium border, coastal Northern France from Calais to southern Normandy
Historic scenario: The British offensive against German occupied Western Europe.
Version: 1.0
New Flyable aircraft
England: Spitfire V, Vb, Typhoon 1B (Original Canopy), Mosquito Mk.1
Germany: Fw190A-2, A-3, Bf109G-2, Bf110F-4 (Night-fighter)
New Non-flyable aircraft
England: Lancaster B. Mk.1
Germany: Do217E-3

And so it goes on…….? The secret of merging each sequel is providing new aircraft to fly (historically dated correctly) in the next sequel (to get you to buy the next sequel), some may start out non-flyable, then become flyable.
Each sequel will have its version updates, making everything work better and sometimes surprisingly introducing new aircraft and objects.
Contrary to Ilya’s comment about the community not wanting any more new ground objects in COD, I personally think they are vital to the game immersion. Hopefully he will keep employing all the ground/sea object makers. As computers become more powerful we will see this game merge into an air/sea/ground scenario where you can strategically play separately the ground, sea and air scenario’s.
Finally, I hope we will see more ship types?

This post is purely hypothetical, I have not had any inside information. I hope that it stirs up all our imagination’s on what the possibilities are for Ilya and his team, if they don’t know that already!

‘Happy New Year’

DFLion

Frankly the 3rd sequel is the one I wld be expecting the most.

How exciting would it be to fly RamRod missions with the early unreliable Typhoons or dangerous early morning CAP low over the foggy channel to counter FWs raiders.

This period has not been covered since Microprose 1943 EAW and is still one of the most interesting period in aerial warfare.

We have alrdy plenty of Desert dust on our flying boots ;)

Tally-Ho !

WOW!
I subscribe this prediction!... I hope they made it! ;-)

uhmmmi think 3 and 4 dont have enough content to stnad on its own.

numebr 3 has no german fighter planes on the mix, i know they arent needed, but for some people buying a 40 euro map + targets is not much of a deal.

number 4 has the same map, so its pretty much a plane pack, a very good one tough

Also, im pretty sure we will get to see some more western front before we cna ever dream of desert stuff...

#3, merged sequel 2, North Africa

The first overseas deployment of Spitfires as fighters took place on 7 March, when 15 tropicalised Mk Vs carrying 90-gallon slipper fuel tanks took off from the flight deck of HMS Eagle bound for Malta.

The first Desert Air Force squadron to receive Spitfires was No 145 in April 1942. These were tropicalised Mk VBs.

You can't leave Spitfires or Malta out of "North Africa", they were extremely important to the North African Campaign.

You also want the Swordfish if only to sink the Italian Navy at Taranto, harry Rommel's supply lines and help keep control of the Med.

I think we'll need the 'foot' of Italy too.

I think #4 is 'Leaning towards France'..... sort of '41-'42

#5 "Singapore to Imphal and back to Mandalay". Burma map. Tomahawk(?), Ki43, Betty, +??

#6. Pearl Harbour to Midway. '41-'42. Wildcat, Warhawk(?), SBD, D3A, Catalina now flyable. Plus all those IJN types, at least the Zeros and Vals.

#7. 'Battle for Germany'. The big one. '42-'44. Extended Map. Spitfire MkIX, P47, P38, P51B, flyable Lancaster, Stirling, Wellington, B17, Liberator. Me262, Me163, Arado, FW190D9. Is this ringing any bells??

#8. "Darwin to Okinawa". 42-45. Islands Maps. Hellcat, + ??, Later zeros, IJA types?

#9. '45. "Overlord to Rheims". We'll want the Tempest V (with the correct engine please), P51D, B29. V1. Ta152.

#10 Hiroshima to Nagasaki. Maybe not.

Probably not strictly accurate on aircraft but enough to keep MG employed for a while.

I think each scneario will sport a few more planes, simply because the maps allow a broader application of operations. In the desert, for example, both sides were active until 1943, with all the airplanes involved during that time. Same towards the western front scenario.

The work done on the La5 also hints in this direction for the Moscow scenario, which imho makes sense. The original Il2 also shipped with a few airplanes ranging from 41 to 44. Reworking a 109F4 model to G2 standart is not that hard, neither the successive Spitfire and Lavochkin models. What's needed are some flyable P40 versions, a P39, The FW 190, Typhoon and Beaufighter, I115 and 16, Mig3, Yak1 and the Il2, Bomber wise the Pe2, B25, maybe an A20, as non flyables finally a Ju52 and a DC3. The rest is working on some variants of exisiting aircraft and we are basicly good to go for all 3 theatres up until 1943, at least when it comes to the aircraft side.
A real bonus but not so much required yet would be a Lancaster, a B17 and early versions of the P38, 47 and 51, maybe even a Mosquito.

Split within 3 seperate theatres, imho that should be doable.

Cool post. I like the ideas. I'd welcome and buy any new historical releases from 1C.

However, I think it would be the best decision ever for 1C to replace your third release with an American 8th Force expansion with P51s, the best American fighter. With an updated engine p51s and B17s, 109Gs and 190s would quite frankly, blow the doors off of sales and really engage the American market BIG TIME

http://www.aviation-history.com/germany/b17p51.jpg

Also, I hope the developers look closely to the highly successful Arma2 series business model and expansions. Released in July 2009, they just polished off their engine last week. Especially, Arma2 has an extensive support for modding the game. The developers have released a complete suite of tools to modify and create new content for ARMA 2, which has no doubt expanded the game and helped in it's development.

PLEASE 8 th AF Expansion with P51s! We'd still take off from England!
http://www.taphilo.com/history/8thaf/8aflosses.shtml

Well ... I like them all, and dream of having them available overnight on my desktop ... I'm willing to feed and dress one tenth of a MG programmer for one year, should it be true!

That would be great !!! , but this is beyond imagination of our soviet friends.

Soviet? Review your books mate, USSR ended a couple of decades ago.