Just wondering, do you think that IL2 Sturmovik (original)was way ahead of it's time?

[Blakduk]

I cant remember which version i first played- it was il2 1.????
I recall being awestruck by the atmosphere and scrolling terrain, but i had to turn all the visuals way down just to get it to run. I also recall seeing AI doing amazing hammerhead turns that quickly got referred to as 'bat turns'- they were a real immersion killer for me, they looked so out of place.
I dont recall so many beta patches coming out back then, but then i was solely offline and hadn't really discovered the forums. If 1C can hold their nerve and release patches that are robust i expect great things again.