Suggestion: forget multiplayer focus on sim for single player

[Bloblast]

It seems in the current situation that it is a bridge too far to get multiplayer working 100%and make the ultimate WW2 simulator.

Personally I absolute do not like multiplayer circus, the one with the best connection and PC has always the better chance. For me is the best simulator experience the single player with good developed AI. I have included a poll to give your vote on this. Consider the difficulties the developers are facing at the moment.

[Lololopoulos]

I personally haven't played online much because I'm not that good of a pilot and as soon as I take off I get shot down. Playing off-line is easier, more enjoyable and more comfortable for me but after a while it gets old because AI in IL-2 (and even the old series) is not very well programed and is mostly predictable.
In the long run, I would want to fly online more because combating humans is more fun than shooting down AIs, i'll just have to get better.

The idea of campaign is not very appealing to me because you are gonna be doing the same thing: flying the airplane, no matter what campaign you're in, or what battle you're fighting. It's not like a campaign in a strategy game where u do very different things for different situations. So campaign maybe good for a little bit, and I'll still end up in the hyperlobby.

I think the devs are on the right track focusing more on multiplayers.

[Pbs]

Everybody like good MP. BOB have bad MP: game is too hardcore for me (play in original IL-2 for 7 years), and i can not find good servers with easy settings, plus this stupid interfase, bugs and so on...

[Blackdog_kt]

I think both have their merits and i voted accordingly, despite the fact that i'm a primarily offline flier.

I did use to rack up a few weeks of online flying every few months with the previous series and i liked it because it's a different set of challenges.

It's still early days but the fact that it's possible to plug programming language code straight into the sim bodes very well for the future, to the point that i suspect we could some day have a dynamic campaign engine working both offline and online. Heck, if i knew how to properly code in C# i'd probably be working on a campaign module right now.

This would be good enough to get me to fly MP more, because the main reason people do unrealistic things in MP is that they don't have a suitable framework that demands realistic gameplay from the players. If exaggerated gameplay styles carried a relevant and realistically accurate penalty in MP, then at least the people flying in high difficulty servers would also fly in a more realistic manner.

For example, if bombing the factories and attacking supply convoys, trains and vehicles meant that my base would be low on fuel, spare parts and ammo to the point that i'd have to be taking off with reduced load-outs that limited my effectiveness, then i'd be more inclined to fly a proper CAP than head for the nearest mid-channel furball.

I would take care of my aircraft and try not to take unnecessary risks, because ending the mission would place my aircraft back into the airfield's pool of available airframes and if it was damaged it would be moved to the maintenance hangar and be unavailable until supplies came in and repairs carried out, limiting the amount of aircraft my team could fly from that airfield.

I would properly support my teammates in bombers because their success would mean benefits for me in the long run, eg fighting against 109s that have to take off with reduced fuel loads, etc etc.

I did do these things in IL2 as well but that was just a personal gameplay choice of me and certain like minded players because there was no long term goal, usually the longest running missions on most DF servers lasted 3 hours or so. In most cases on the same server you would see half the people dogfighting just for fun and the other half actively going after mission objectives in an organized manner.

Coops were more structured but had their own drawbacks because it was a very rigid and unflexible situation, limiting the players to flying a certain mission without the possibility of improvising on the spot or carrying out ad-hoc sorties they would think up themselves to achieve objectives in a more efficient manner.

Now that both MP modes have been merged into one it's possible to have the flexibility of DF with the AI support of Coop in one mode and with the scripting tools and how the engine works it's very possible to have official and 3rd party campaign modules as a separate layer on top of the base sim, providing us with what's needed to fly with consequences that will have a tangible and often immediate impact on what we're able to do on each sortie.

Now there's really nothing wrong dogfighting for the heck of it, it's just not everyone's favorite gameplay style, some people prefer having a sense of purpose behind the fighting itself and that's where the structured environment comes in.

For example, i'm a terrible dogfighter so i avoid dogfights and this results in me remaining a terrible dogfighter
However, i'm a more or less good to above average marksman that can get comfortable with certain aircraft armaments with a bit of practice and pull off good snapshots, i'm an ok tactician which means i will usually score less kills by avoiding dangerous situations but i'll also die less and for CoD in particular, i have a relatively sound understanding of aircraft operating principles which lets me squeeze a bit of extra performance out of my aircraft.

For me to be able to employ what i'm good at in MP, i have to fly in a way that doesn't focus on getting a steady tracking shot from someone's six. Having an environment that rewards each player for using his strong points would massively improve gameplay and the overall level of competition by introducing more variables into the mix.

For this to happen though we must move along the path that the sim's engine itself has carved, merging both MP modes and then using the same underlying architecture for SP, or in Luthier's words "SP in CoD is like flying MP with a single human player in a server full of AI, the code behind it is the same in both cases".

That's why i voted for both, because it seems that they're actually interwoven to the point that it wouldn't make sense to split them up at this point in development.

[Goanna]

While I'm predominately an online player, I agree with Blackdog's assessment and voted for both.

Cheers

Goanna

[MadBlaster]

I think 1C needs to do a "do over". Pretend that the game hasn't really been released yet and re-release it in a year or so when it is polished. I think this can be done successfully with some coordination and small bribe/payments to web masters at various flight sim sights around the globe. Simply have them delete all postings since April this year related to CLoD. If someone brings up videos of the game to argue the point, just say those are concept videos from an alpha/beta version of the game and have nothing to do with the actual game. I think most of us who have paid for the game are willing to go along to prevent a disasterous release in the U.S. Also, if there is a way to time the re-release shortly after Nov 2012, I would do that too.

No, I'm not drunk.

[superbee15]

The way I see it is some would have made the purchase with either Single or MP in mind. Others would have made purchase with both in mind.

Focusing on one or other leaves the other out in the cold which I could not support.

I voted both.

Cheers

SB

[Danelov]

Single player with good builded and accurate historical missions and campaigns. For MP I prefer to use FS9, FSX with Vatsim and sometimes a hour there in COOP at Hypperlobby with IL2 1946 for fun and change of air.

[pupo162]

Originally Posted by LoBiSoMeM

...

what an uncalled for commentary, this should get you banned at lea st

[LoBiSoMeM]

Originally Posted by pupo162

what an uncalled for commentary, this should get you banned at lea st

I really don't think so!

I'm tired off all that "US release" talking... The sim was developed in Russia, was sold in europe and other places around the world... Why people keep talking like the US market have "higher standards" than other markets? It's not true at all.

I listen a lot of nonsense about the european release... Like european customers are "guinea pigs"... Now you dislike some joke about the north american market? Gimme a break...

This sim is a masterpiece, in any market!