well i have to play without them for performance reasons as well...they drop my average fps from 60 down to 20...
but in my view they add a lot to the landscape.particular at dusk and dawn the landscape looks much more lifelike with shadows enabled.the cockpits too look way more real with them.besides shadows can in certain situations save your life!for example when an enemy approaches on your six and you dont notice him, but suddenly can see his shadow on the ground by coicidence...happened to me a few times when i was playing with shadows enabled.
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