Cliffs of Dover MANUAL

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by JG4_Helofly

Wow! Great read!
There are also a lot of explanations about the different ammo types, basic procedures for spit , hurri, 109 and stuka.
From what I read, the most important and most difficult part will be the complex engine management. It's simple: The realistic setting in il2 1946 is as complex as the arcade setting in cod. And finaly there is water and oil temperature. Not just something called "engine overheat".

Full real will be so much fun!

Exactly what i thought was lacking in IL-2 and just what i wanted in CoD. Not that i didn't trust them when they said they would improve it for CoD, i was sure they would, but you've just made my day anyway

[WeReLex]

Perverts-translators... Do not suffer. Please use:
English
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JG4G3K6K
French
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7T6IZJTZ
Italian
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DXI1V63P
German
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5NOD0I90
Polish
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WYWQHYQF
Spanish
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YF2P8G51

[Shrike_UK]

Thanks Werelex top man!!!. Hey have you had the chance to play it yet ? hows the FPS?

[Blackdog_kt]

Thanks for the uploads Werelex, much appreciated

I've been going through the text file of the translated German manual someone linked a few posts back (thank you too, it's understandably a bit rough but i can still get 99% of what it says) and they have included some very nice features.

Apparently, we'll be able fly radio guided blind bombing raids in Luftwaffe bombers among other things. A whole lot of other things.

This manual is a gold-mine for one reason alone, it provides some much needed insight into the actual scope of the game and will maybe help some people regain focus on what is actually the core purpose of this game. I can wait until they patch away the bugs, i can wait for an alternative server browser and i can wait for all the DX11 goodies, because these are all things that can be patched and brought up to date.

However, the core gameplay mechanics of the engine can't. You either get them right from the get go or they stay problematic forever and this is why i'm glad they focused on exactly this field the most: it's equally critical for the longevity of the sim to many other aspects, but mistakes are harder to reverse in the future.

Everyone who hasn't taken a look yet, do yourself a favor and read the manual.
There's a fundamental departure from the usual philosophy of prop-era combat sims, this one seems like a very balanced cross-over between IL2, civilian sims and study sims all rolled into one. The way the interface works, how the same controls have a different function depending on the aircraft you fly and its particular systems, the need to not only fly but also operate the aircraft when flying full switch, everything so far screams "almost study-sim quality for a dozen separate flyables instead of just one".

[Royraiden]

English version:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/51503478/IL2CoD-MANUAL-UK#

[fearlessfrog]

So you're going to sign in to Steam to start the game (as detailed in the manual 'Launching the Game') and then not use the in-game browser so you don't use Steam?

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

Thanks for the uploads Werelex, much appreciated

I've been going through the text file of the translated German manual someone linked a few posts back (thank you too, it's understandably a bit rough but i can still get 99% of what it says) and they have included some very nice features.

Apparently, we'll be able fly radio guided blind bombing raids in Luftwaffe bombers among other things. A whole lot of other things.

This manual is a gold-mine for one reason alone, it provides some much needed insight into the actual scope of the game and will maybe help some people regain focus on what is actually the core purpose of this game. I can wait until they patch away the bugs, i can wait for an alternative server browser and i can wait for all the DX11 goodies, because these are all things that can be patched and brought up to date.

However, the core gameplay mechanics of the engine can't. You either get them right from the get go or they stay problematic forever and this is why i'm glad they focused on exactly this field the most: it's equally critical for the longevity of the sim to many other aspects, but mistakes are harder to reverse in the future.

Everyone who hasn't taken a look yet, do yourself a favor and read the manual.
There's a fundamental departure from the usual philosophy of prop-era combat sims, this one seems like a very balanced cross-over between IL2, civilian sims and study sims all rolled into one. The way the interface works, how the same controls have a different function depending on the aircraft you fly and its particular systems, the need to not only fly but also operate the aircraft when flying full switch, everything so far screams "almost study-sim quality for a dozen separate flyables instead of just one".

[fearlessfrog]

Originally Posted by Royraiden

English version:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/51503478/IL2CoD-MANUAL-UK#

Good find.

[sfmadmax]

Originally Posted by Shrike_UK

Thanks Werelex top man!!!. Hey have you had the chance to play it yet ? hows the FPS?

Me to, Werelex please comment on FPS!!

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by fearlessfrog

So you're going to sign in to Steam to start the game (as detailed in the manual 'Launching the Game') and then not use the in-game browser so you don't use Steam?

Bit weird that out of all the stuff i described, you focused on that one single snippet.

To answer your question, unless steam is required for activation i have no reason to use it. The linked manual is contradicting previous information on the issue so i can't really know how it will play out.

As long as we're talking about a boxed edition, up till now we knew that Steam is not needed for activation but is used for matchmaking optionally. The manual states that it's needed to be installed before the game installation starts (while making no mention as to why, it doesn't state anything about activation or DRM for example, maybe it's just a rudimentary check) but again, it's optional for multiplayer.

Chapter "Playing the Game - Multiplayer", top of page 101:

Originally Posted by CoD Manual

Cliffs of Dover uses Steam for its matchmaking. You can also play non-Steam
games via LAN or by manually entering server IP. Fans have created external
match-making programs for older Il-2 games. It’s possible that some of them
will support Cliffs of Dover as well, or new ones will be created for it. In short,
there are many ways to find an online server. Available servers should offer a
variety of Realism options, ranging from fully arcade to fully realistic.

To me that reads "to join a server you can use a) the already built-in direct IP input b) Steam c) any other suitable 3rd party program". It's hardly a one way street apparently.

EDIT:
For all we know, the manual could be applicable to the digital download edition. If you look at the bottom of each page, you'll see a small piece of text: "IL2CoD_PC_MANUAL_UK.indd" followed by the page number. If that's the case then there is no controversy at all, since DD editions were supposed to activate via Steam, it's the boxed ones that were not.

I don't know how or why this manual would find its way on the disc of a Russian boxed copy if at all in the first place (assuming it comes from one). Maybe they just bundled the multilingual manuals in the Russian release without too much fuss, since the only difference in the entire manual would be that little "how to install" paragraph and people in Russia wouldn't bother to read it anyway because they have one in their own language.

In any case, i'll just have to wait and see until my collector's edition arrives or someone else gets it first and reports back. Since it's clear multiplayer will work with alternative methods i don't mind much even if it needs steam to install, because i can just set it to offline mode and leave it like that.

[fearlessfrog]

I just focused on that because that was the bit I didn't understand about what you were saying.

Steam only goes offline for about a month, so you'll need to sign in again for that. Or there might be another edition with a different set of manuals coming too, like you said (I'm starting to have doubts though).

I'm just curious, no reason really, on why people are ok to install Steam, have it run off-line as a service on their system (it runs in the background, even off-line) and then not use it to play MP with everyone else?

Seems a bit masochistic

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

Bit weird that out of all the stuff i described, you focused on that one single snippet.

To answer your question, unless steam is required for activation i have no reason to use it. The linked manual is contradicting previous information on the issue so i can't really know how it will play out.

As long as we're talking about a boxed edition, up till now we knew that Steam is not needed for activation but is used for matchmaking optionally. The manual states that it's needed to be installed before the game installation starts (while making no mention as to why, it doesn't state anything about activation or DRM for example, maybe it's just a rudimentary check) but again, it's optional for multiplayer.

Chapter "Playing the Game - Multiplayer", top of page 101:



To me that reads "to join a server you can use a) the already built-in direct IP input b) Steam c) any other suitable 3rd party program". It's hardly a one way street apparently.

EDIT:
For all we know, the manual could be applicable to the digital download edition. If you look at the bottom of each page, you'll see a small piece of text: "IL2CoD_PC_MANUAL_UK.indd" followed by the page number. If that's the case then there is no controversy at all, since DD editions were supposed to activate via Steam, it's the boxed ones that were not.

I don't know how or why this manual would find its way on the disc of a Russian boxed copy if at all in the first place (assuming it comes from one). Maybe they just bundled the multilingual manuals in the Russian release without too much fuss, since the only difference in the entire manual would be that little "how to install" paragraph and people in Russia wouldn't bother to read it anyway because they have one in their own language.

In any case, i'll just have to wait and see until my collector's edition arrives or someone else gets it first and reports back. Since it's clear multiplayer will work with alternative methods i don't mind much even if it needs steam to install, because i can just set it to offline mode and leave it like that.