I'm sorry to disagree with you, but I think you are confused.
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthr...pen#post113731
The first version (in the DVD video which accompanied 1946) was made on an Open-GL engine, based on Il-2. They then scrapped this and started from fresh.
Oleg himself said:
We initially wanted to make Battle of Britain on the Il-2 engine. However that would be the last thing we could do with it. And then what? The engine was beginning to show its age by that time, despite many revolutionary features which Il-2 brought to the genre in 2001, and which many developers have tried to replicate since. By 2005 we’ve finally realized that we had to build a new engine. First only one person worked on it, then two, all while continuing to work on Il-2 as well. We’ve really switched over to BoB only after all work on Il-2 was completed, i.e. in 2007. So BoB’s only been in development for 2 years now.
But don't let this fool you into thinking the change had happened by 2005. It was most likely 2007 when they scrapped the first build, which was the video we saw on the Il-2 DVD (hence the similarities between the two).
I just had to add this as well (completely unrelated) from the same 2009 interview with Oleg:
Q: Oleg, we have some intel that the next add-on after BoB will be the Mediterranean. Can you let us know how soon that’ll be released? And another even more important question: how soon after BoB can we expect the Eastern Front again, and what are you planning for it?
A: Your intel is nothing but a rumor. Even I myself don’t know whether it’ll be Africa or something else. Everything depends on the success of BoB on the market. Of course, no one has done a comprehensive MTO sim, save for a few unfinished or unsuccessful attempts. Eastern Front or the Pacific will perhaps be the most difficult to develop out of all options.
So you should probably not expect to fly Soviet planes immediately after BoB.
Also this:
Q: Let’s go back to BoB maps once again. This is a very exciting topic. How will they be different from Il-2 maps?
A: First of all, they will be more detailed. This means all sorts of small details you will notice in flight, with terrain, buildings, roads, etc. Not exactly on topic of maps, but we’ll also have moving grass. Secondly, we will have dynamic weather. This is actually on topic of maps. Even though the weather is handled by a separate weather module, it’ll be tied into the gameplay maps and affected by topography. Thirdly, we’ll have more detailed coastlines. We’ll now have cliffs, not just flat painted textures, but with real elevation. Next, our roads will have smooth curves of various profiles, which will immediately make the terrain look more realistic. In conjunction with new photorealistic textures, new technologies, new light and shading, all of the above will work together to create something that from the air looks really, really close to reality.
I think this is where the doomed 'promises' arose from. He wasn't far wrong, though. It will get there.