IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad Discussion

[Skoop]

Info for Update 1.106....Mig-3 released.

We're glad to tell you that the work on new update 1.106 is finished and it is already available. This new version contains numerous additions and improvements, new plane, design changes and so on - you can read the full change log below.

The main addition is the Soviet fighter MiG-3 series 24, which is available to all players as AI controlled plane in QMB and early Stalingrad campaign (in the time frame when it was actually there) while customers who pre-purchased Battle of Moscow can fly it already.



Another significant addition to the game is the new languages support: Spanish and French. The long awaited feature of propeller wash affecting grass is also made it in. Later we also plan to make planes bend the grass by their fuselage and wings like player controlled tanks do. In addition, a significant amount of work has been done on physics and plane 3D model improvements, tank armor made more detailed, multiplayer changes including victory points allocation.

We hope you'll enjoy the new version we prepared for you, friends.




Main changes:

1. Fighter-interceptor MiG-3 series 24 is available to players who pre-purchased Battle of Moscow. Those who only have Battle of Stalingrad can set it as an AI plane in single player or encounter it in multiplayer.

2. Spanish translation added.

3. French translation added.

4. In MP, dots showing enemy and own objects near airfields and tank bases have been removed. Airfields and tank bases now use different symbols 'under air attack' or 'under ground attack' instead. If server hoster wants to keep previous 'radar' functionality, it's possible to add a spotter unit to the airfield.

5. Airfield symbols in multiplayer were redesigned to make their selection easier when positioned near each other.

6. New multiplayer scenario 'River clash' added. In this scenario tank and aircraft players must work together to cross the rivers and eventually reach the enemy airfield.

7. Player controlled tanks now bend down the grass.

8. Propeller wash now affects grass.

9. New system preserves your multiple joysticks mappings in case of their ID was changed by DirectX after disconnecting and reconnecting or PC reset (it identifies various control devices by GUIDs and names).

10. Early war (1941) tanks added: KV-1 mod. 1941, Т-34 STZ mod. 1941, Pz III Ausf.H and Pz IV Ausf.F1. You can use them in custom missions or encounter in QMB. They will appear in Battle of Moscow campaign in the future.

Changes in flight modeling and AI:

11. Pilot head limits in closed cockpit were corrected for all planes.

12. Default pilot head positions were corrected for all planes.

13. In case of fuel tank penetration, LaGG-3, La-5, Pe-2, P-40 amd Bf 109 E-7 engines will no longer stop before spending all the remaining fuel.

14. Propeller governor works correctly after starting a mission in P-40 with cold engine.

15. Head shake reduced on IL-2 at high engine RPM.

16. IL-2 engine now automatically enters boosted mode by enriching mixture when engine helper is active (at Normal difficulty mode).

17. Automatic He-111 bombsight mode no longer resets after exiting bombsight view.

18. Muzzle velocity was corrected for He 111 Mg-FF guns.

19. Bomb release sounds added for all planes.

20. AI turret gunners now engage attacking fighters at 3 times longer distance if they have plenty of ammo left.

21. Field of view (looking down) corrected for AI LaGG-3, Lа5, IL-2, Bf 109 F4, Bf 109 G2, Fw 190 A3 (reduced in general).

22. Inversion trails are now related to air movement.

3D aircraft model changes:

23. Fixed issue with invisible fuel leak on I-16, MC-202, Bf 110, Ju 87.

24. Slits between cockpit and fuselage removed on several planes.

25. 'Dancing reflections' bug in Bf 110 E-2 cockpit fixed.

26. Yak-1 mixture control lever movement corrected (inverted).

27. Bf 110 E-2 engine gauges disappear correctly after losing an engine.

28. Venturi tube added to I-16.

29. Animation of flight and oxygen controls corrected in Bf-110 cockpit.

3D tank model changes:

30. Tank suspension made more detailed. Now it's easier to hit hull sides between the wheels, but it's harder to hit a track itself.

31. Unbuttoned gunner/commander can be hit by bullets and fragments, making this view dangerous (there is no visible human model yet).

32. Unbuttoning/closing hatch is now animated and T-34 hatch provides some cover.

33. Т-34 gun mantlet armor corrected (was 2x more before).

34. Missing armor plate added to Pz. III turret (left side).

35. A small hole in T-34 armor between its hull and turret was patched up.

36. Spare track links attached to Pz. III front hull provide additional armor.

37. Tracks on player controlled tanks are now more resistant to bullets and smaller caliber rounds.

38. LOD models added for player controlled tanks, this should improve performance in large tank battles in multiplayer.

39. Tank destruction corrected (a random bug could cause tank turret to remain intact).

40. Tank shot smoke effect was corrected - now it's a bit more transporent

Multiplayer changes:

41. Victory in MP is granted to the side which has more points left after time runs out or to the side which reduced enemy points to zero.

42. Coalition victory points in MP can be reduced by 50 by achieving special goals set by mission designer.

43. Victory can be achieved by completing a Mission Primary Objective specified by mission designer.

44. At the end of the mission victorious players, who fought at least for 15 minutes and did not change sides, receive +50 additional points on Normal and +100 on Expert difficulty.

45. Tank players always receive 100% points even if their tank was damaged or destroyed, since they can't return home like planes (with the exception of friendly fire, that yields 0% points given).

46. Credit for tank kills should be awarded correctly in all cases.

47. Mission designers can block airfield or tank base by assigning it an empty object pool via CMD_behaviour command.

48. Balancer functionality that adjusts the number of players between coalitions now works for tanks as well.

49. Balancer now allows up to 2 Pz. III players per 1 T-34 player, depending on total player amount.

50. Microstutters in large MP battles should be gone now.

51. Remaining coalition victory points are displayed on mission end screen.

52. Statistics on a custom difficulty server are displayed without redundant 'custom 0% points' label.

Other changes:

53. Scenario mission corrected in the 2nd chapter of the early Stalingrad campaign.

54. Outro video should correctly play at the end of late Stalingrad campaign.

55. Fw 190 escort missions corrected in the campaign (starting altitude was too low when escorting ground attack planes).

56. HUD transparency setting now affects mouse cursors in flight.

57. Pontoon bridge entrances are now visible from longer distances.


Did some tests yesterday in the Mig3, it's very unique plane and well modelled.  They definitely did their best to have it represent it's true strengths and weaknesses.  It's horrible at SL  to 2000 meters, but a beast at above 5,000.  Only soviet fight in the game capable of competing with Luftwaffe  at high altitude.  Nice addition to the sim balance, many Luffte guys just camp out at high alt and try to sniper you.  Now you can climb up there and flush em out.  Really enjoyable to fly, if you can kill a 109f4  at 2,000 meters alt...you are one hell of a pilot....the mig handles like an unstable brick when it's low and slow.

[Nefaro]

I didn't expect the Pat Wilson Campaign Generator for BoS to show up this quickly.   :o

http://www.pwcampaignmanager.com/pwcgbos/web/PWCGBoS.html


I'm sure it's a work-in-progress but maybe it's now time for some single-player rejoicing?


Vid instructions:

[IronX]

This is good news. Why the developers continue to ignore this type of feature is puzzling.

[Nefaro]

This is good news. Why the developers continue to ignore this type of feature is puzzling.

I chalk it up to "DCS Syndrome".  They probably enjoy everything about creating aircraft, but not so much the environment framework in which to immerse them.

So the programmers of such flight sims tend to spend as much time as possible doing what they want to do most - creating the virtual aircraft. 

It makes the most sense, if you think about it.  If programmers from the IL-2 or DCS bunch were given the option between spending a month working on a new aircraft model, or expanding the sim environment (campaign, mission generation, map & AI unit improvements, etc), it's obvious which they would prefer. 

The environment stuff only gets expanded after the player base has been clamoring for it long & loud (as in the case of DCS), and sometimes that doesn't even elicit much (IL-2).

[Skoop]

I tested the Pat Wilson campaign generator, it works same as ROF.  It pretty flexible you can select settings to have big furballs or small skirmishes.  It has all the features the classic il2 sp career campaigns had.  It definately threw a bone to the sp crowd.  One thing that is cool is the situation map, you can see ground formations and aerodromes.  I'd like to see him develope that part more to sort of add a strategic layer.

[jomni]

There's no campaign in serious sims like FSX and XPlane. Maybe they are emulating FSX and XPlane where 3rd party will provide the career goodies (Virtual Airlines, Air Hauler, FS Economy, FS Passengers, etc.).

[Nefaro]

50%  Off in the Halloween sale.

Through Monday.


Both on Steam and separately.


http://store.steampowered.com/app/307960/

http://il2sturmovik.com/store/battle-of-stalingrad/



Since taking up flight sims again, lately, I've also been quite interested in getting back into this one.  Now that there have been many updates, some new map scenery, everything unlocked, etc. 

The 'Wings Of Liberty' MP server sounds like the place to be.   Similar to the ongoing air war servers I've enjoyed in ROF, where people tend to play the objectives.

[IronX]

I've also been thinking about reloading this one. Although I was never very good at take offs and landings in fighters. Their narrow, spindly little legs always led to disaster. So I stuck with the bombers, especially the He 111, and quite enjoyed it until the missions became repetitive. I should have moved on to MP, but feared a bomber wouldn't last five minutes.

[Grim.Reaper]

Only $12 here...not the steam version, but may be worth it..

https://www.kinguin.net/product/99992/il-2-sturmovik-battle-of-stalingrad-digital-download/

[Nefaro]

I've also been thinking about reloading this one. Although I was never very good at take offs and landings in fighters. Their narrow, spindly little legs always led to disaster. So I stuck with the bombers, especially the He 111, and quite enjoyed it until the missions became repetitive. I should have moved on to MP, but feared a bomber wouldn't last five minutes.

I also had a helluva time taxi'ing and taking off in some of them.  Got a bit used to the fighters, but some still tried to kill me.  The Pe-2 didn't like me trying to taxi at all. 

Seems there is some finesse tricks to them I didn't know about.


While it now has a Pat Wilson Campaign Generator for single-player, I think the real fun is in multi-player.  Been enjoying learning some DCS button-pushing, but the good MP servers don't compel players to take out or defend objectives very much.  I kinda like having that extra team focus, even if I'm flying casual as all hell. 

[Father Ted]

I've also been thinking about reloading this one. Although I was never very good at take offs and landings in fighters. Their narrow, spindly little legs always led to disaster. So I stuck with the bombers, especially the He 111, and quite enjoyed it until the missions became repetitive. I should have moved on to MP, but feared a bomber wouldn't last five minutes.

I also had a helluva time taxi'ing and taking off in some of them.  Got a bit used to the fighters, but some still tried to kill me.  The Pe-2 didn't like me trying to taxi at all. 

Seems there is some finesse tricks to them I didn't know about.

It's all about balancing throttle, brake and rudder.  I have to confess that I gave up on the game because I was exhausted by the time I got from dispersal to the runway.  I've yet to try it, but the new patch (2.004?) has apparently addressed the overly springy undercarriage, making both taxiing and landing a bit easier.

I might pick up BoM in the sale...

Edit:  BoM not in sale, but just had a quick go in BoS and made my first decent landing in an F4, so things seem to have improved.

[IronX]

It's all about balancing throttle, brake and rudder.  I have to confess that I gave up on the game because I was exhausted by the time I got from dispersal to the runway.  I've yet to try it, but the new patch (2.004?) has apparently addressed the overly springy undercarriage, making both taxiing and landing a bit easier.

I might pick up BoM in the sale...

Edit:  BoM not in sale, but just had a quick go in BoS and made my first decent landing in an F4, so things seem to have improved.

:) That is good news about a better landing experience. Might have to try it out.

[Nefaro]

Edit:  BoM not in sale, but just had a quick go in BoS and made my first decent landing in an F4, so things seem to have improved.

Good news!

My landings weren't too horrible.  But the planes did seem extra bouncy, even in gentle touchdowns. 

I just gotta get used to "punching" the rudder in short bits, and using the left/right brakes to help steer properly, while on the ground.  Been flying mostly WWI and modern jets, in recent years, where the tail-dragging wheel was non-existent or amounted to a wooden stick that didn't really turn.  :))

[IronX]

I see the upcoming Ju-52 will be able to drop paras, which is pretty cool, although I have no clue how that works in-game. Perhaps like a bombing mission where you need to get your pixel-truppen on a target? And I thought a He 111 would make a nice target in MP, lol.

[Nefaro]

Chuck's pdf Guides are great...


http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/10268-chucks-aircraft-guide/


I've been using the ones for the advanced DCS aircraft, too.