Hi guys!
Just wanted to share with you an effect that was initially released with the game, but later withdrawn through a patch some time ago. It's the ambient light reflections that you'll see when looking at the aircraft from shallow angles.
Here's an example of what it looks like ingame:
Notice under the wings, there seem to be a few bright "lines" that reflect the ambient light of the atmosphere! It really makes the game look ALOT more picture-realistic and I sorely miss it! It's been gone ever since the patch before the one where we got the over-shiny hurricane. Now the planes look graphics-wise like in Old IL-2 to me. No more interesting reflections etc...
The thing to keep in mind is that it's already been implemented and even available in the past, so why it ever went away has me baffled, seeing that it made the aircraft look perfect!
I have taken some pictures at work today of military aircraft paint to show that even though it's supposed to serve as non-reflective for obvious reasons, it still reflects a lot of light at the right angles!
Here:
First image is to show the actual color of the paint, when viewed from an angle where it does not reflect ambient light, or is consumed by the brighter sunlight!
The next two images clearly emphasize the effect seen from ambient sky-coloured light.. Notice around drag-chute box aswell, where direct sunlight is missing, it's easier to see the reflections.
And over the horizontal stabilizer...
And finally under the wing, reflecting ambient ground light.
.
This is ALL very matte paint, but you clearly see the nice realistic look to it, and it USED to be ingame, it has just been removed.
EDIT:
I want a hands up on everyone who wants it back as an OPTION since it makes no gameplay difference but might have an impact on FPS