World War 2 Flight games

[acctingman]

Is IL-2 still considered the best WW2 flight sim game out there?

What other ww2 flight sims are out there that have boat loads of planes to choose from?

War Thunder is out for me. I don't want a pvp game (even though I know the graphics are the best and they have tons of planes)

Thanks

[Father Ted]

Yes, IL2 1946 is your best bet.  The newer sims (Battle of Stalingrad and Cliffs of Dover) offer more sophisticated flight models and engine management, together obviously with better graphics, but are limited to a single theatre (battle even) with a very limited planeset.  Plus neither has much in the way of SP experiences.

[Nefaro]

Plus neither has much in the way of SP experiences.

Il-2 Battle Of Stalingrad now has the Pat Wilson Campaign Generator mod.

Similar to the dynamic campaign he made for Rise Of Flight.



I removed IL-2: 1946 install from my drive awhile back.  It definitely shows it's age.  The single-player campaigns are pretty meh, but that wasn't the reason it got nuked. 

Most of all, it's a sim that still has too many simplifications for AI pilots, compared to Players.  One example is the AI suffering no G-effects.  Between that, and a more simplistic flight model for them, it's showing age "under the hood".  There were too many shortcuts taken due to the limited processing power of the time - this thing came out .. a decade ago? 

I don't think any of the WW2 flight sims available are finished or fully featured.  If I had to choose, it would be BOS because it's still being worked on & getting such fancy mods added, to say nothing of the stunningly immersive graphics and flight modelling (for all).

[Pete Dero]

Plus neither has much in the way of SP experiences.

This page has lots of SP content for Cliffs of Dover : http://bobgamehub.blogspot.be/p/cliffs-of-dover-missions.html

These payware add-ons by Desastersoft are considered by many people as top quality and can be played in SP : http://shop.desastersoft.com/en/product-catalog/downloads
These give you access to some demos for their campaigns  : http://www.desastersoft.com/de/downloads and http://www.desastersoft.com/en/downloads

[acctingman]

Do any of these games offer a "noob" setting?

No experience with flight sims at all. I know there are some arcade type flight sims but I'd rather avoid those, but I do need the option to start off on "easy" mode 

[Toonces]

If you're a noob at flight sims I have no idea why you wouldn't want to start with IL-2 1946.  You can get it at GoG for like $5 and it has more content than you'll ever play, right out of the box.  And, once you get comfortable with it and want to really blow your mind, you can start modding it. 

That is a world unto itself and well beyond the scope of what you're talking about.  But for a variety of things to do, places to fight, planes to fly, IL-2 is hard to beat, and still has an extremely active community.

Anyway, that's my vote.

[jomni]

Please take a look at DCS, it's a wonderful WW2 Sim!  Lol!!!!!

[Nefaro]

Please take a look at DCS, it's a wonderful WW2 Sim!  Lol!!!!!

heh


Time Warp Sim.  ;D

[magnus]

Well, you really can't blame DCS for the WWII content or lack of it.

I was one of the idiots who bought into the kickstarter for it.

I actually think we are lucky to have gotten anything for our money.

[trek]

I'd recommend Battle of Britain II. I'm a little surprised that none of you guys chose it. They just updated it to V2.13. I fly both IL-2 COD and IL-2 BOS. Unlike others here I don't rate DCS as a good WWII combat flight sim. IL2-COD has superb graphics but the enemy AI in dogfights is still lacking even with the Team Fusion 4.0 Mod. Rumors are saying they are trying to improve it for TF 5.0.  IL-2 BOS is coming along, great graphics and now the summer maps along with Pat Wilson's Campaign Generator which also recently got a new update. Brought to you by the ROF guys and like that game has the best "sense of flight" of any game on the market today.

But, if you want the best dogfighting experience available bar none its' BOBII. It really is still the best of them all. My dream would be incorporating the enemy AI from BOBII into both IL-2 COD and IL-2 BOS. You'd have the best game of all!

[trek]

Correction: I meant to say that IMHO I've never been impressed with DCS stuff in general as I don't think anyone here has praised their WWII stuff. For some reason I've always found DCS Sims to be a little too clinical and meh for my taste. I still fly the original Black Shark sporadically but always get bored with it after an hour or so for some reason I can't really explain. Something about the general feel and atmosphere of the game that I find lacking.

I forgot to mention the excellent Campaign and Heinkill's Mission Packs for BOBII. There is enough content available to keep you flying for a long time.

[acctingman]

Doesn't IL-2 1946 have way more planes than any other title mentioned here?

I know it might be lacking in graphics, but I'd rather have a huge library of planes to choose from than super pretty graphics.

Do any of the other titles even have as many planes to offer as does IL-2 1946?

Thanks folks

[jomni]

Yes everyone was mocking DCS's WW2 efforts.

DCS does feel bland at times. I guess that's how modern warfare is.  It's more about the technology than actually getting into a real fight.  Bombing is computer aided, and you have AGM's to do standoff runs to keep you away from AAA.

And the focus is on flying the aircraft and not about the combat. Just like MS Flight Simulator.

That said, I am one of those that still prefer Modern over WW2 due to the tech but not a real fan of DCS.

Back to topic:
IL 1946 is complete WW2. None of the new ones have Pacific.

[Staggerwing]

As a quick add on to the OP's question- what WW2 flight sims model torpedo planes? All I can think of is the 'Aces' series by Dynamic and 'Pacific Strike' from Origin. I've always suspected that the Star Wars Trench Run/exhaust port sequence was inspired by Torpedo 8's sacrificial run against the Japanese carriers at midway.

[Grim.Reaper]

Although more on the casual side, I think this one has torpedos....

http://store.steampowered.com/app/214910/