4.13 development update discussion and feedback

[stovak]

Speaking of C47s, I've noticed that if you have icons on, the C47 and Li-2 are both labelled 'Douglas'. Didn't they used to be labelled 'C47' and 'Li-2', at one time, or am I remembering wrongly? The other DC3 variant, the L2D, gets its own label.

[IceFire]

Originally Posted by stovak

Speaking of C47s, I've noticed that if you have icons on, the C47 and Li-2 are both labelled 'Douglas'. Didn't they used to be labelled 'C47' and 'Li-2', at one time, or am I remembering wrongly? The other DC3 variant, the L2D, gets its own label.

There's some inconsistencies in some of the labelling... but it wasn't too unusual for aircraft to sometimes be identified by their parent companies. A few updates would be good to label the C-47 and Li-2 specifically. The IL-4 is also labelled as a DB-3 which is appropriate for the earlier versions but not for the IL-4 version which is otherwise represented separately.

Very minor corrections.

[Treetop64]

Lol, wow.

Sita is psychic.

[nic727]

Today I want to talk about the futur. What about a new engine for v. 5.00?

I was looking at some Warthunder screenshots and I know this game is arcade, but the graphics are amazing. I was thinkg about we could take a graphic engine like Unreal Engine 4 or just making a new version of the current Il2 engine... (for that we should just take two years without Il2 1946 update and just focus on improving the game engine) The only thing I don't know is how to completly update the game like that? Maybe a new disc version like a completly new game, but just called Il2 Sturmovik?

There are the pictures I was looking to :

[Treetop64]

Frankly, I never thought that War Thunder's graphics - while nice - were all that great (mine are at full-sliders at monitor resolution), especially in the resolution for most of it's aircraft textures, which seem primitively low (though it's a big help with optimization). War Thunder's graphics leaves room for improvement by contemporary standards.

It does feature a lot of new effects like light ghosting, bump mapping, etc. and some other fluff like Sepia, Vignettes, and other filters. I will say that the terrain is quite nicely modelled when cranked to full terrain resolution, however.

At any rate, talking about implementing such drastic changes and building a new environment using IL-2's antique engine is pointless, and it's been discussed before. It's like trying to compete in modern motorsports by installing a turbocharged hybrid V6 with KERS into an old Lotus 49. Cool to talk about and carry out, but ultimately pointless and wasteful and, in the case of IL-2, hardly possible.

In this case, it's just smarter and more economical to build a new game from a clean sheet, as has already been done with BoS. Besides, the modding community has produced some very good maps and effects that maximizes IL-2's capabilities and, in some ways, stresses them. That is about as much as one can expect from this old girl.

Keep in mind that the IL-2 environment is more than twelve years old now...

[nic727]

Yeah, you are right about the engine is too old to change everything like that.

Whatever, I don't really like the economic model of Battle of Stalingrad, because I have Rise of Flight and it's annoying that you need to buy the game 2 or 3 times if you want to play on a different account than your brother.

It's just a wish, but what I would like is a complet remake of Il2 1946 with the name of "Il2 Sturmovik" and being made by fans and for fans. Make the same things as IL2 1946 with a lot of free contents, etc. For the moment it's only a wish, but who know, maybe in 5 years (or in two weeks)

[ElAurens]

nic727,

I think you will find that the title "IL2 Sturmovik" for your proposed fan built sim would get you in front of a copyright judge in short order.

Just sayin'.

What we have now with the original sim, and it's expansions and the work of TD is all we will ever have, and it looks increasingly like we will never see it's equal.

The reasons for it are many and well known to anyone that cares to put an objective eye on the situation of the genre in the wider sphere of electronic gaming, and to be honest about the actions/wants/rants of the player base as well.

We have lived through a golden age, we will not see it's like ever again.

Be sure.

[Pursuivant]

Originally Posted by nic727

It's just a wish, but what I would like is a complet remake of Il2 1946 with the name of "Il2 Sturmovik" and being made by fans and for fans.

I've wondered how much it would cost to buy the "old" IL2 Sturmovik franchise from its current owners. If the sale was done right, the new owners might be able to get around the ban on Northrop-Grumman "intellectual properties."

But, I think that IL2's graphics are "good enough" and that you really don't want to improve them that much.

Things like dynamic lighting and photorealistic models and scenery are mostly eye candy which just slow down frame rates and increase development time. They make for pretty pictures and aid immersion when you're flying around, but you mostly don't notice them when you're in a dogfight.

IL2:CloD failed in part because its developers concentrated on the graphics, at the expense of the things that made IL2 great - smooth gameplay, a solid mission editor, and enough maps and a big enough plane set to keep fans interested.

While it's too soon to tell, it also seems like IL2:BoS might fail for similar reasons - too much emphasis on eye candy and not enough attention to the things that keep fans interested.

IL2 and similar flight sims have lasted as long as they have because they're graphically simple enough that it's relatively easy to add content. IF IL2 gets any graphics upgrades, they should be simple things that reflect improved computer power and which improve the COMBAT experience.