The new Team Fusion version of Il-2 Cliffs of Dover was released on Steam today (dec 14th). Free to upgrade if you already own the original version.
I'm downloading now. Hope I can copy/paste my config file over and thus avoid doing all the joystick setup stuff.
I'm downloading now too. There was an issue earlier that was causing it to not appear in the libraries of people who already owned the classic version of CloD.
Insert joke here about game title needing to shift to He- or Ju- ....
Kidding aside, I remember hearing very dubious things about Clod, so I'll be curious about reception of the new build.
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 02:51:06 PM
Insert joke here about game title needing to shift to He- or Ju- ....
Kidding aside, I remember hearing very dubious things about Clod, so I'll be curious about reception of the new build.
Its not really a new build. Its the latest version of the Team Fusion mod that has been around for a long time. The mod was so good that 1C was smart enough to enter into a formal agreement with the TF guys to release it as a paid product and its worth every cent. If you already own CloD, it will be free. If not, its worth buying at under $20.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 14, 2017, 02:24:24 PMHope I can copy/paste my config file over and thus avoid doing all the joystick setup stuff.
Me too. Curious that it's a separate installation (6.3Gb) and not just an update to the existing game.
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 02:51:06 PM
I remember hearing very dubious things about Clod, so I'll be curious about reception of the new build.
It was a mess on release, but this TF mod (which has been available a few years now and is in active development) has made it into a solid sim. As JH says: at $20 it really is a steal. It is a "proper" sim though: HOTAS, TIR, pedals, and a willingness to learn CEM are pretty much a requirement to get anything out of it.
Hm. I don't have pedals, or a Track IR, but I've got a HOTAS with thruster.
Quote from: Father Ted on December 14, 2017, 05:14:42 PM
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 02:51:06 PM
I remember hearing very dubious things about Clod, so I'll be curious about reception of the new build.
It was a mess on release, but this TF mod (which has been available a few years now and is in active development) has made it into a solid sim. As JH says: at $20 it really is a steal. It is a "proper" sim though: HOTAS, TIR, pedals, and a willingness to learn CEM are pretty much a requirement to get anything out of it.
Flyable Beaufighters!!!
No new sound options unfortunately :(
Quote from: MengJiao on December 14, 2017, 05:30:23 PM
Flyable Beaufighters!!!
I know, right?!
....what do British bombers even do in the Battle of Britain? ??? Fly screening missions as airborne fortresses off the coast, hoping to distract enemy escort fighters or to attack enemy bombers like flying pillboxes?
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 05:29:30 PM
Hm. I don't have pedals, or a Track IR, but I've got a HOTAS with thruster.
Should invest in Track IR.. tough to dog fight when you just can't turn you're head in the direction you want to see!
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 05:44:34 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on December 14, 2017, 05:30:23 PM
Flyable Beaufighters!!!
I know, right?!
....what do British bombers even do in the Battle of Britain? ??? Fly screening missions as airborne fortresses off the coast, hoping to distract enemy escort fighters or to attack enemy bombers like flying pillboxes?
In the actual battle they successfully attacked the German barge concentrations assembling for Sealion. They did it by night and since the barges were in canals and harbors close to the coast (and so fairly easy to spot at night) by the hundreds and the German air defenses were minimal they were destroying the barges at a pretty high rate. When you simulate that in the game, the Blenheims can indeed sink barges without too much trouble, but it isn't a particularly exciting mission. They also raided German airfields with occasional success by day which was usually pretty suicidal, though it did cause the Germans to hold back some fighters for air defense and of course they bombed Berlin -- you can't simulate that in CLOD.
I remember playing LucasArts Battle of Britain when I was a kid so fondly, I would love to take a shot at recapturing that magic. But I suck at modern flight sims. And the learning curve here seems high here :(
How is this for those of us who don't do multi-player?
Quote from: Rayfer on December 14, 2017, 09:03:00 PM
How is this for those of us who don't do multi-player?
It's one of the best air sims out there. You get a lot of planes from the same period for a lot less money than for say DCS. The planes are all from 1940 so you would have to have some interest in the period. The clouds and water are the best you can get in an air sim and the assortment of plane types is pretty interesting even without the 20 additional varieties for the Blitz expansion.
I mostly play in the editor. You can set up some clouds, AA, ships, targets and planes pretty easily and vary the time of day and wind and so on. Some things are still probably a bit cranky about the game especially in the editor -- but in fact the editor works a lot like the old IL-2 editor so that's a good thing.
Quick word of caution :
If you have add-on campaigns (Desastersoft) they probably want work (for the moment) with the new version.
(Install doesn't let you select the new directory location)
Shame both this & the original CoD now won't start on my PC (though the original did when I first got it) - tried looking for fixes but it seems there are about a 1000 things that can go wrong with this game. Alas I'm too old for this bullshit - will continue with IL46.
Try right clicking on the icon in steam. under properties there's something that says 'Verify Local Cache" or something like that. and it will check to make sure all the files are correct.
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 05:29:30 PM
Hm. I don't have pedals, or a Track IR, but I've got a HOTAS with thruster.
You will feel like you've been reborn with a good set of pedals. Track IR is very handy, too.
I am not a fan of pedals simply because I have nowhere to secure them to stop them sliding and my chair needs to lose the wheels to operate them.
Seems to be a major bug - go back into the options screen from a mission in play - you can't get back in and the screen is unresponsive. Have to Ctrl alt del and close the game from the task manager.
Its been a while since I played COD. Just downloaded and ran the 4.5 update. I have been playing IL2 BOS a lot lately, so maybe I'm skewed. Have the clouds in COD always looked like giant cotton balls? In heavy clouds you notice it less, but even then, you see the balls of cotton around the main clouds. It just looks weird.
As I recall, they were and they suddenly popped into view, too. I thought this version was supposed to improve the clouds, however.
Edit: In this review, it appears the pop-in clouds may have been fixed
Yes, the pop up clouds seem to have been addressed. Just the look of them is funny. I also have an issue with AI bombers, at least Blenheims, are constantly porpoising during level flight. Again, just weird looking.
But the water is beautiful and probably the best in a sim.
Quote from: Slick Wilhelm on December 15, 2017, 04:11:53 PM
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 14, 2017, 05:29:30 PM
Hm. I don't have pedals, or a Track IR, but I've got a HOTAS with thruster.
You will feel like you've been reborn with a good set of pedals. Track IR is very handy, too.
Thanks Tuna - tried that first off, also the poss issue with MS redist, but no luck. We will probably lose the Battle of Britain now I'm not involved... >:(
Damn. I was hoping they'd fix the AI but it's still brain dead. Once the AI gives the "go home" trigger, the planes fly straight and level and won't respond to your presence. I don't know if they're ever going to be able to fix this. Makes single player a non-starter.
Went in yesterday, looks and performs nice. Bummer that engine sound doesn't change with throttle.
Yeah, they go into the sound issues in this video as well as the AI problems.
AI stuff (or lack thereof) starts at the 11:40 mark.
Dude's FOV settings are nuts!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 19, 2017, 12:42:08 PM
Damn. I was hoping they'd fix the AI but it's still brain dead. Once the AI gives the "go home" trigger, the planes fly straight and level and won't respond to your presence. I don't know if they're ever going to be able to fix this. Makes single player a non-starter.
You can set the AI up in the editor have some specific behaviors for different parts of its mission.
SDR is correct, whenever they are flagged 'rtb' they become braindead and just RTB no matter if half their element is shot down. It's silly and been in from day 1.
No more ammo? RTB flag on. Low on fuel? RTB flag on.