Announcement of the game "IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad"

[Robert]

Originally Posted by kendo65

I tend to disagree with you on this. There are already some demonstrated features in BOS that break new ground - the quality of the pilot figure models sets a new standard, with animation used during normal flying to provide a very believable representation, and also animated bailout sequences.

The new cone-lighting used for the Soviet aircraft landing lights (and vehicle lights) is very impressive. Also interior cockpit lighting that is visible externally.

The quality of the ground-handling physics in the recent dev update video - again a new standard of quality there. They also say that FM is modelled to a new standard too. Time will soon tell.

The idea for the single player campaign of having server-generated missions with server-generated ground units, friendly and enemy AI flights, etc is new and potentially could be very immersive.

If the recently trailed AI is as impressive in reality as it appeared in print (vastly expanded sets of maneouvers) then it will be something special.

Stalingrad is apparently modelled to a very detailed level beyond what has been attempted before in a flight sim.

So I'd say there are already features that are ground-breaking. The focus for the new game seems to be on 'immersion' - if they can achieve that then I'll be happy. I was fortunate enough to be gifted a premium edition of the game a few weeks ago (after initially deciding to hold off on buying) so I'll be interested to try it out and judge for myself.

I wanted to test out the alpha version before I commented, kendo. Over all I like it and do hope the additions you feature come to fruition, and I won't comment on AI until I try it for myself. It's only fair.

The pilot animation, while very nice looking is the same three movements over and over again. Heck, the LaGG is going down the runway at full speed and the pilot wipes his nose ( brow). IDK if I'd be doing that in real life. The fact he does it every ten seconds is ridiculous, IMO.

The light cones are a nice touch, but to me are nothing but an extension of RoF's lighting effects as a burning plane reflects the light on water or land. It's very good. I'm glad they implemented the effect, but I was expecting good lighting anyway so as I said in my last post it's not ground breaking.

The ground physics add a lot of realism and I find the handling to be above any flight sim I've flown. Well done.

I haven't see Stalingrad, but honestly I'm not impressed with the few cities on the map so far. They are too generic and repetitive for my tastes. It's like they were positioned on graph paper and the builings and fences were built at rigid intervals. Now, they may be place holders and we may see something as beautiful as RoF's cities...... but in all candor those don't come anywhere near the scale and depth of CoD's London or Cannes.

The rest will be shown on release and I hope you're right - that we'll get detailed, immersive off line campaigns with superlative AI. To me, that's the holy grail of combat flight sims.

I think this is the evolution of IL2. It won't have the detail of CoD - or maybe even some of the physical/graphic realism, but I think it'll be a very nice sim, and I look forward to more development. Hopefully it will meet our expectations.

As I said earlier I have CoD. Now I have BoS. If DCS' 1944 sim has positive news, I'll have that too.

[David Hayward]

Originally Posted by Robert

I'm not impressed with the few cities on the map so far. They are too generic and repetitive for my tastes. It's like they were positioned on graph paper and the builings and fences were built at rigid intervals.

Someone on the dev team posted a photograph of a village near Stalingrad. What you see in the game is what they look like. Lots of rigid right angles and intervals. Communist planning and design at it's best.

[Feathered_IV]

I'm not normally a huge luftie fan, but I must admit there is a certain something there...

[MB_Avro_UK]

Good shots Feathered

Some will complain that the snow is not as white as it was in il2 46

What I'm seeing here is a real progression from il2 46 to something better. I still enjoy il2 46 but shots such as these show that there has been real progression.

I will buy.

Best Regards,
MB_Avro.

[zapatista]

Originally Posted by MB_Avro_UK

:
What I'm seeing here is a real progression from il2 46 to something better. I still enjoy il2 46 ........

better then 1l2-1946 ? that is pretty low standards for a measure of "improvements" (il2-1946 is over 7 years old now) , and compared to what DCS-ww2 and il2-CoD are already providing. ever since RoF-Bs announced its project and they themselves stated it wont even be equaling il2-CoD on most aspects, you'd have to wonder what part of the gaming market they are aiming for.

looking at the feedback from the RoF-BS project flight-models, you can already conclude that simulation or realism of flightmodels wont be its strong point. as one early observer put it well recently "..... I've screwed up a couple of approaches (in RoF-BS) and still got her safely to the ground each time, the DCS-P-51 in comparison is a lot more finicky in such situations....."

and it wont equal or surpass CoD in aircraft and other object detail (aircraft interior and exteriors, damage models), scenery detail and density, neither will it in matching anywhere near the game features of CoD, eg in providing numbers of online players (100 in CoD) or extensive AI activity (1000+ in CoD), nor will it have anything like dynamic weather, online CooP, advanced scripting features etc..

there will be eye candy in the RoF-BS game, but most of it is meaningless and people will become quickly bored with it: for ex, the pilot head movements are a scripted meaningless routine on a cgi loop and the head movement doesnt represent what the player is doing, there are pretty little flames from the aircraft exhausts but it doesnt indicate anything meaningfull about the state of the aircraft engine (which it does in CoD), flightmodels might feel nice and fun for the players but dont simulate a real aircraft, no clickable cockpits or real startup and engine management procedures (which are part of the pilots "workload" during aerial engagements and therefore should be modeled to simulate a real ww2 pilots experience etc....

in short, RoF-BS will be a game for people who want a plane shooter game that looks "nice" (but is cartoonish with an empty lifeless game world) with some titillating visual effects (ooooo look there is flames from the exhaust !! etc), and a "nice" flying experience ( but not simulating a real aircraft behavior). it will be a game for people who mistakenly believe that that is what ww2 flying would be like (without having a clue what the real experience should be like) because recreating that real experience that is not really what they are after and having it accurately recreated as a pc experience isnt "fun" to them. instead they'll then go around saluting eachother on forums and talk about things like honor and being "just like a ww2 pilot" without having a clue of its meaning

and with the perpetual macro payments sales model that is expected to fleece you of around 500$ in added gaming elements like scarfs, aircraft instruments, new maps, better planes etc in just 2 years, i say no thanks !!!

still, there are people who will pay for that kinda thing, and them having the choice to do so is up to them (or up to their parents), but lets not pretend it is better (eg more accurate) then some of the other ww2 era flight SIMULATION projects that are also available, and which are much more accurate and have a greater depth

[arthursmedley]

Originally Posted by zapatista

i say no thanks !!!

Phew, looks like we dodged that bullet then!

[Feathered_IV]

Originally Posted by zapatista:

i say no thanks !!!

Originally Posted by arthursmedley

Phew, looks like we dodged that bullet then!

Couldn't agree more!

[Feathered_IV]

Getting to grips with the LaGG vs Friedrich. Trying to anyway.

The most effective tactic against the 109F seems to be just running for your life. So much for Russian bias. All my engagements so far seem to suddenly begin with the scenes below. There's no sound of other aircraft approaching and no sounds of nearby gunfire from the cockpit either. Bounces are fast and brutal. One moment you're sitting in a noisy, vibrating and otherwise healthy cockpit. The next minute there's blood, smoke and flame and you're trying to get the canopy open...













Aw great... A wet bum.






Finally managed to turn the tables.
Don't worry Fritzy, I'm not out for revenge.



Well, maybe I am after all.

[zapatista]

in comparison to the earlier RoF-BS cockpit screenshots, the early preview shots of the DCS-ww2 project's p47 cockpit look pretty amazing, the detail so sharp you can almost feel the textures of the cockpit and instruments. and yes, every dial, switch lever and instrument will actually work and have meaning

[David Hayward]

Originally Posted by zapatista

in short, RoF-BS will be a game for people

It's a game for people who want to refight a pointless real war instead of refighting a pointless forum war.