Some things to make you stop and stare ...
 

It's absolutely right that we are giving copius amounts of feedback to get things fixed but I thought it might also be nice to start mentioning some of the things which are truly amazing with this game and for which the devs need a serious pat on the back. In no particular order ...


1. The explosions you get when you blow up the large round fuel silos are outstanding. Sure, you get a fps hit, but it doesn't seem to matter. The fire afterglow actually looks and feels hot too.

2. Bombs have a wonderful crump noise when they hit and the explosions are really well done.

3. When a hangar is hit & destroyed by a bomb, the animated collapse is a really nice touch.

4. I think carb icing must be modelled which was a real surprise. Flying through cloud, my Spit started running rough, but then cleared a few seconds later in clear air.

5. Early morning low level mist is extremely convincing, atmospheric and well placed.

6. Has anyone actually watched how aircraft shadows race over the ground and ANY objects in their path. Incredibly well done indeed.

7. When the sun is low, the atmospheric haze/smog layer become more apparent and the colours are just superb.

8. An obvious one, but the dynamic shadows and lighting in the cockpit are outstanding.

9. Crash landing in a field is now such a joy, it's almost too tempting. The dynamics, sounds and visuals of the swaying grass or crops are top notch (ok, ignoring fly-through trees for the mo)

10. The hazy/non-existent horizon over the Channel is perfectly done. The view of the Cliffs of Dover from afar are totally convincing and a virtual source of comfort for any RAF pilot.


So, just some of thoughts and observations. Feel free to add.

PPP

For me it is the gunnery I can`t get over in this game. The moment I put 4 20mm shells dead-on in the Hurricane cockpit made me smile. I don`t know if anyone else feels like I do, but the first hew hours with this game (mainly dogfighting over the La Manche) made me think that I was in an old WWII guncam flick, blazing away. The little explosions on the planes, the holes and the gunsight, just awesome. The old IL2 shooting seems cartoony in comparison.

I bet that if one made some black-white movies from guncams in COD , then put them up next to the real guncam flicks , a normal individual wouldn`t notice any difference.

well, its easy to spot... just watch as the A.I goes warp 5 in a 60g turn :P

Definitely! The more time that is spent with it, the more becomes noticeable. And how much more is going to be evident once dormant content is activated, when all the initial ‘bugs’ are ironed out.

Give them a pat from me too.

I looked behind me in a Hurricane and noticed the bolts on the armour plate behind me. They're inscribed with "Maddox Games". Thought that was a nice touch. I really like the cockpit shadows but had to disable them. They cut my framerate from 24 down to 10fps. This sim has so many realistic features in it that people start listing them as bugs! Maybe a more inclusive manual will clear things up a bit.

I got the RAF gunsight functions mapped to my Warthog so I can adjust range and target size on the fly. It's little things like this that blow me away. Same with the landing gear/flap actuator in the Hurricane. Looks like a bug when you can't activate it untill you realize it's a two step process. They could've just released the Hurricane and call it a study sim . The value is immense and the potential endless. We need specific flight manuals for each of the planes though.

The atmospheric effects are very nice during dawn and dusk. I stopped flying at the default time setting. My settings are medium/low and everything looks a magnitude better when the sun is lower in the sky. Difference between a cartoon and a warm, atmospheric, fotorealistic scene.

Can't wait to buy the Americas version. Keeping my fingers crossed that they include all the patches and updates on the release version. Buying the DVD and then still having to download the entire game is a bit much.

this sim is stunning with all its details.i have to agree on all points you guys mentioned.what i like most in this sim,is the morning or evening sun glancing above the fields.the colours and the shadows just look awesome!and the fields itself look just real in dawn.with the shadows you can almost feel the depth of them.
btw, i tried to blow up some fuel tanks in industrial area but nothing happened.perhaps i shot at something different,i assumed to be fuel tanks.can someone upload a screen to show which buildings are the fuel tanks actually?would be nice.

I love how the sun light in the cockpit falls off when flying under clouds. Lovely done. You almost can feel cold.

I would be willing to pay for a detailed guide on each of the aircraft within the sim; how to use features, how to press performance out of them, how to get them going, performance limits, strengths etc. Maybe that's something 1C can think about doing, now that they have some revenue.

I love watersplashes , they splashes in the direction o the crash, first time i see that.
And the oil leak effect!!! you can see all these litle drops and turbulences!!

I like the solo flight mission were i can see life at the airfield and the moving clouds.
Another thing is the broken glass when the aircraft is hit. For sure i love little eyecandies like the rolling wheel when it is retracted. I think there are many new features to explore. And i like them all!!!!!

Dev team really made it. It becomes an addiction. GREAT SIM! With the last patch i was able to activate cloude high land detail.;)