Daidalos Team's Room -QUESTIONS AND REQUESTS ONLY on IL2 Authorized Addons

[dFrog]

Hello. I have sent you a few ideas via mail, but no response. So, I'm posting them here :

1- More countries. Judging from existence of Sanka's Forgotten Countries mod and how it's done, it won't be that hard. By term more countries I mean at least :

Brazil (allied) - seen some action in Italy
Bulgaria (axis at least)
China (nationalist + communist)
Croatia (axis)
Czechoslovakia (guess where I'm from)
Korea (North + South)
Mexico (allied) - seen some action in Pacific
Russian Liberation Army (axis) - wonder what Oleg will say, this isn't beloved part of their history
Spain (republican + nationalist)

Israel
Egypt
Syria

and is there any chance of historically correct markings for Germany and Finland ? I'm no nazi lover, but this is how it was. Finland still has haken in official Finnish Air Force flag...

2- Fix US marking (no numbers but letter code) for ETO ? And british markings too - early british rounels are missing the outside yellow collor and tail bars.

3- Add Ta-152 big tail to Fw-190D-9 Late - just cosmetic

4- Change K-14 gyrogunsight from simple "Sight Distance: Increased / Decreased" to "Sight Distance: 150m (200m...250m...300m...). Guess this won't be easy one...

5- Add gyrogunsight to late Spitfires (historically correct)

6- Add Askania EZ-42 gyrogunsight to german 1946 planes - "what if" like these planes...

7- Replace Revi 16B in Bf-109G-6 for Revi C12D (historically correct).

8- Can you use early british gunsight from Spitfire Mk.I mod and add it to ingame Hurricanes Mk.I ? (historically correct).

9- I understand why you will not make early war Spitfires or Bf-109s, but is there any chance for cockpit for Blenheim ? Already in game and badly needed for finns...

10- Thank you for cockpits for CW-21 and HS-129. But there are more. What about Me-210, M.S.406, M.S.410, H-75A-3, -4, Bf-110C, Tu-2S ...

11- What do you think about including some "good" mods ?
Bomb Bay Doors mod - a must for bombers
Carrier Catapult mod - a must for carriers
Animated Oil Blootch mod
HollyGrail & Potenz Effects mod - best effect I've seen
and the mod which started all this - SoundMod or better sounds (Tiger_33, Jafa...)

12- My friend creates missions for our on-line flying, he likes to know if there will be possibility to limit or disable certain load-out options for planes, i.e. Bf-110G-2 - Mk108 cannons were used from 1943. So, if he puts this plane on map from 1942, he'd like to disable this load-out option.

13- I know, that you want to make new things rather than fixing old bugs. Well, I perefer the fixes, but it's your decision. So, here are some planes to think about =>

late Spitfires - Mk.XIV, Mk.XVI, Mk.21 - I know, you prefer early war planes, but these played a big role in WWII, don't forget that

Hurricane Mk.IId and IV, Typhoon - we have Il-2, now Hs-129, so why not british equivalent ? These are not BoB era planes...

Hs-123 - early war bird for ground attacks

Tempest Mk.II - for "1946 what if" things

Avia S-199 - OK, I'm czech, do I have to say more... It's just Bf-109G-14 with some changes

M.B.150, 151, 152 - I know that you're working on D.520, but more french planes are needed. (Not to mention, D.520 was flown by bulgarians too => bulgarian marking, please...)

A-26 Invader - it's Douglas, not Grumman...

Bf-110G-4 you're working on - well, nice bird, but with no map or targets. What about Beaufighters as night fighters. No map for them too, but we have targets - He-111, Ju-88, new Do-217. Or Beau Mk.X ?

Ki-44 - a missed plane for Burma theatre

Ki-45, G3M and P1Y - some japanese twin engined planes, just now we have only Betty

Gloster Meteor - it saw some action in WWII, there is no british jet now...

14- Do not forget one thing - IF YOU CHANGE SOMETHING, IT WILL AFFECT OTHER THING - i.e. new italian bomb skins. Nice on S.M.79 or Re-2000, but you forgot to add them to M.C.200 series 7FB - it still uses "old" bomb skins

15- There are well skilled people around, who fix external models - JapanCat, Anto - why not let them to make "facelifts" for you ? They have done beautiful Bf-109's, Hurricanes, Me-262's...

16- Flakiten - he made outstanding Hawker Sea Fury. Will we ever see this plane in game ? We have german UFO's so why not "1946 what if" for british pilots. Yes, new cockpit would be handy, but...

17- UF_Josse's P-51 Mustang. This man should be hired.

18- Uf_Josse again - I.A.R.'s weapons should be changed. Browning MG's cal. 13.2mm...

And there are more things. I have just pointed to some. So, what do you say..?

[SaQSoN]

Originally Posted by dFrog

So, what do you say..?

Well, I guess, it was pretty obvious from the e-mail reply, you got: no comments.

[Xilon_x]

German Ufo?
HANEBU I - II -III- IV- and HANEBU V top secret GERMAN UFO after ww2 U.S.A. stolen the german extraterrestrial retroenginery project and import to NEVADA famous area 51.

[AndyJWest]

Xilon, even for you that is an exceptionally idiotic thing to post.

Utter garbage, cooked up by lunatic 'nazi-wonderweapon' conspiracy theorists. Only an imbecile would take that seriously. Please stop posting crap on the forum.

[csThor]

Hi dfrog. I hope you don't mind me cherry-picking some issues.

Originally Posted by dFrog

Brazil (allied) - seen some action in Italy
Bulgaria (axis at least)
China (nationalist + communist)
Croatia (axis)
Czechoslovakia (guess where I'm from)
Korea (North + South)
Mexico (allied) - seen some action in Pacific
Russian Liberation Army (axis) - wonder what Oleg will say, this isn't beloved part of their history
Spain (republican + nationalist)

Israel
Egypt
Syria

I have been thinking about adding a few more relevant nations, anyway, but so far other projects have taken over my time.

Brazil - if someone sends me the necessary data I'll put it on my list (one squadron flying P-47 IIRC)
Bulgaria - What for? The country's armed forces did not take part in the war against the USSR and we have no maps depicting their home defense.
China (nationalist + communist) - Nationalist China is not possible as it would lead to Il-2 being confiscated in China. This is a very real problem and since Daidalos has an official agreement with Maddox Games we're also subject to the same limitations.
Croatia (axis) - Same as Bulgaria. What for? There were two squadrons flying under german control (15.(kroat)/JG 52 and 15.(kroat)/KG 2) which could be added but lacking a map and looking at the native croatian effort it's hardly a relevant nation to be added.
Czechoslovakia (guess where I'm from) - TD concentrates on the 1941-45 timeframe (Martin said so). During this time there was no Czechoslovakia. 4.10 will contain the czech squadrons of the RAF since that was the most relevant effort of exile-Czechs, though.
Korea (North + South) - TD will not produce any content of the Korea War so neither nation will be added.
Mexico (allied) - seen some action in Pacific - See my notes WRT Brazil.
Russian Liberation Army (axis) - Historically irrelevant plus it's a touchy subject in Russia (like you said). No need to add them.
Spain (republican + nationalist) - ATM it makes no sense to add them. We have no maps and apart from I-16 Types 5 and 6 no aircraft. The spanish volunteer squadrons under Luftwaffe control would be more sensible. Is there demand for them?
Israel
Egypt
Syria - All outside of TD's timeframe and scope. No need to add them.

Additionally an Allied Romania (post August 1944) and South Africa would make sense to be added as new nations.

Originally Posted by dFrog

and is there any chance of historically correct markings for Germany and Finland ? I'm no nazi lover, but this is how it was. Finland still has haken in official Finnish Air Force flag...

No, for the very simple reason that there is one international version and we cannot switch between historically correct and politically correct emblems. Even if such a switch existed it would create legal issues in Germany where the use of any swastika in games is banned. Additionally the russian parliament passed a law which may cause issues with swastikas in games as well, but that is not yet clear. Believe me - I asked if we could install such a switch, but we were asked not to do so and be cautious.

Originally Posted by dFrog

2- Fix US marking (no numbers but letter code) for ETO ? And british markings too - early british rounels are missing the outside yellow collor and tail bars.

I plan to update/correct the insignia, but there's a condition which hasn't been met, yet. Can't tell which one, though.

Originally Posted by dFrog

3- Add Ta-152 big tail to Fw-190D-9 Late - just cosmetic

What for? The major difference between early and late D-9 is the fuel and the use (or non-use) of MW-50. No need to add the Ta-152 tail which was a very very rare combination, anyway.


There are some additional comments I could make to the rest of your post but I am not entirely sure if that would be okay. I'll leave it to Martin to make a more in-depth reply.

[dFrog]

Thank You for your answer. You're right. But if we are talking about 1941-45, why do we have polish and french markings ingame and no croatian or bulgarian or other ? They fought in european theatre too.

[csThor]

I'm not Oleg. I'd have to make a guess to answer that one.

Seriously. There are a lot of elements in Il-2 already which are - de facto - historically irrelevant. I see no reason to add yet more of them when the effort could and should be directed to historically relevant things.

[Burdokva]

Originally Posted by csThor

Hi dfrog. I hope you don't mind me cherry-picking some issues.



I have been thinking about adding a few more relevant nations, anyway, but so far other projects have taken over my time.

Bulgaria - What for? The country's armed forces did not take part in the war against the USSR and we have no maps depicting their home defense.
[...]
Croatia (axis) - Same as Bulgaria. What for? There were two squadrons flying under german control (15.(kroat)/JG 52 and 15.(kroat)/KG 2) which could be added but lacking a map and looking at the native croatian effort it's hardly a relevant nation to be added.

[...]

Additionally an Allied Romania (post August 1944) and South Africa would make sense to be added as new nations.

If you don't mind, I would like to give an opinion on your comment. Just to note, I've shortened the quote just to be more precise and focus on the thing's I'll elaborate on. To be honest, it's entirely valid.

There has been no Balkans map and, as far as I know, there currently aren't plans for any. Which is a shame. It's a theater of war that's been heavily overlooked. While Bulgaria did not take part in the invasion of the USSR (pleasantly surprised you're aware of that fact, as most Westerns don't seem to be) the home defense campaign against the 15th USAAF was a large enough affair that involved thousands of planes over the course of an entire year. Plus, the VnVV (Bulgarian His Majesty's Air Forces) were involved in other operations too - anti-partisan, escorting Axis convoys and protecting the Bulgarian coast against Soviet submarines and surface ships and reccon flights over the White/Aegean Sea and Medditerrenean.

Lastly, while I don't know if it'll be a great incentive, but Il-2 does have a strong fanbase here (I'm a Bulgarian national) and many people are still hoping that there would be at least some sort of representation of the theater and our air force - I'm still keeping fingers crossed for a TD Balkans map....

One that would also be very welcomed by Romanians, I'm sure - after all, the main target of the 15th AF in the Balkans wasn't Sofia, or even Bucharest, but the Ploesti oil refineries.

The above is valid about Croatia; but not only there's enough historic potential for campaigns, but I believe there's a fantastic modded map at an advanced stage of completion.


Don't take this as intended to be offensive in any way, I greatly respect your work and I'm looking forward to the patches. But I'd like to point out that branching out, expanding etc. the sim would not be in any way pointless, or much less degrading, to the contrary.

[csThor]

Originally Posted by Burdokva

If you don't mind, I would like to give an opinion on your comment. Just to note, I've shortened the quote just to be more precise and focus on the thing's I'll elaborate on. To be honest, it's entirely valid.

Of course I don't mind. Message Boards are there to have a conversation or discussion, after all.

Originally Posted by Burdokva

There has been no Balkans map and, as far as I know, there currently aren't plans for any. Which is a shame. It's a theater of war that's been heavily overlooked. While Bulgaria did not take part in the invasion of the USSR (pleasantly surprised you're aware of that fact, as most Westerns don't seem to be) the home defense campaign against the 15th USAAF was a large enough affair that involved thousands of planes over the course of an entire year. Plus, the VnVV (Bulgarian His Majesty's Air Forces) were involved in other operations too - anti-partisan, escorting Axis convoys and protecting the Bulgarian coast against Soviet submarines and surface ships and reccon flights over the White/Aegean Sea and Medditerrenean.

Lastly, while I don't know if it'll be a great incentive, but Il-2 does have a strong fanbase here (I'm a Bulgarian national) and many people are still hoping that there would be at least some sort of representation of the theater and our air force - I'm still keeping fingers crossed for a TD Balkans map....

If there were such a map in the making then it might make sense, but ATM we do have one aircraft type used by the Bulgarian Air Force (the Bf 109) for home defense plus the Ar-196 as AI. Not much WRT the aircraft pool, although it might be sufficient ... if there were a map.
I am a strict believer in historical accuracy and relevance ... and in a cohesive depiction of the operations. Which means to me there has to be a balance between the pure aircraft pool, the map, sea and ground objects and other "negligible details" such as the right units, awards and the right speech pack. Then, and only then, any kind of player can utilize the things available in every way he wishes - they can be connected in a historical campaign, in a single mission, in a simple DF map, in a Coop ... Simply adding individual and unconnected aspects simply pleases the loud minority of DF players, most of which prefer the "sportive" DF with little regard to historical accuracy, but do not provide a solid playground for historically-minded offline players (like myself).

Originally Posted by Burdokva

One that would also be very welcomed by Romanians, I'm sure - after all, the main target of the 15th AF in the Balkans wasn't Sofia, or even Bucharest, but the Ploesti oil refineries.

A sensible map for such ops would have to include a most of Romania, a good deal of Yugoslavia and parts of Greece, too. If we were to limit the potential to campaigns of the ARR, that is. If you want to include the USAAF then the map has to have bases available in North Africa and I am quite sure that such dimensions would overwhelm the Il-2 engine. Not to mention that there's a ban on any realistic maps of the MTO in place.

Originally Posted by Burdokva

The above is valid about Croatia; but not only there's enough historic potential for campaigns, but I believe there's a fantastic modded map at an advanced stage of completion.

A croatian campaign featuring 15.(kroat)/JG 52 would be a lot more sensible since they did take part in the ops in the Caucasus in 1942/43. Flying CAS for partizan hunters in Yugoslavia isn't exactly the most thrilling of mission concepts, not to mention that Il-2 doesn't really have the means to depict them (no infantry as targets, no ability to count buildings etc as targets ...).