[luthier]

Originally Posted by Feathered_IV

Hi again Luthier. I wonder if you'd seen this one earlier. Wiek Luijken is an aviation artist and fan of the Il-2 series. He would be happy to work with you.

Like the others have said, we don't decide on the box art, the publisher does.

We could certainly benefit from some top-notch 2D art both in the game and in our marketing - promotional materials, but it's way too late at this point to do anything.

Originally Posted by furbs

Do you know how the AI reacts to damage to their airplane,will they try and break off and run for home?

Yes. Moreover, it reacts to damage and especially losses to other planes, and may decide to run for home even if his plane is intact. Whole formations of newbies may scatter and run if you shoot down their leader etc.

Originally Posted by furbs

And does the AI try and use real world tactics, Boom and zoom, attack from the sun, neg G dives, hit and run(one pass and away, not staying to fight to the death like IL2) and such?

Not staying to fight till death was one of the most important requirements for me for the AI. They do use real-world tactics more than in Il-2. You'll see them working in group a lot more for instance.

Originally Posted by furbs

How does the AI suffer from engine overheat, fly untrimed, suffer from high G and blackouts?

AI engine model is greatly simplified compared to that of the player plane, but we do try to make sure it doesn't give them an advantage.
You can study this in detail when flying the real sim. Autopilot is very verbose, you can see exactly what levers they move etc.

Originally Posted by furbs

Would also be interesting to know if the AI will know if not to attack when at a disadvantage...low and slow

Well they try to extend away and take it from there, but generally even most humans would be doomed if caught in a situation like that.

Originally Posted by Ctrl E

can i be so bold as to ask about your korean war project. i'm guessing it's on the backburner somewhat?

Yes. It's not looking very hopeful for the next immediate sequel either.

Originally Posted by Insuber

How are the Flight Models done? Parametric, fluidodynamic as in X-Plane, mixed ? Are they different from Il-2 ones, or just an evolution of them?

We did a huge technical interview for a print magazine, where our FM programmer wrote like two pages of stuff on it. I'll see if we can publish it here, because that would be a much, much better answer than anything I can type up.

Originally Posted by alexei1789

What about cooling ? when air-cooled engine is at idle in a long descend, it stresses the engine (fast external cooling and slow in the center). Is this modeled in the sim ?

Our engine model is insanely compelx. I dare say it's the most complex engine model in any game of any genre by far. There's multiple points of interest for every piston, every cylinder, every hose, every exhaust, etc. The guy who wrote it can build an internal combustion engine from scratch in his garage. Working on engines is a huge hobby of his.
So rest assured that cooling, overheating, combat damage, or normal operation of our engines is as precise and as detailed as you'll ever see in any game in the next several years.