Game Updates

[Han 12778]

Update 3.008

 

Dear friends,

 

We spent the two weeks since the previous release on intensive work on important aspects of the project. In the not-too-distant future, we'll be adding some huge new features for our Early Access titles, so we've decided to take some time and concentrate on several smaller, but important and long-awaited improvements and create this update.

 

The main feature of this release is revised airframe damage modeling - an important part of the damage system. Airframe damage system was completely overhauled to take into account additional parameters. The damage modeling as a whole was tuned and improved and bugs fixed - you can read the entire list below.

 

There is large amount of changes and improvements in aircraft systems, their model and the AI. We added the new British pilot model to the sim and all Bodenplatte and Flying Circus pilots can now take their oxygen masks and goggles on and off. Multiplayer improvements also continue since the last version too. There are new performance optimizations for sea maps. Users who encountered stutters using Microsoft Force Feedback joysticks and TrackIR now have an option to tune FFB effect polling frequency using the additional setting in startup.cfg file.

 

For mission designers we added a way to control Timer and Counter values dynamically. To do this, there are two new logical objects Modifier: Add Val and Modifier: Set Val. We plan to widely use them to alter various triggers in the future, but at the moment they can be used for:
- modifying a Timer trigger value. A modifier can set, add or substract the time value in a timer by using the 0 index of the controllable value and 1-st field of the value vector. When set to a negative value, the time counter is reset and the timer stops until the next input. For example, this can be used to reset and stop a timer in a mission, delaying some events tied to it.
- modifying a Counter trigger value and threshold (initiall set in a mission). To alter a Counter value, use the 0 index of the controllable value or alter Counter threshold using the 1-st index. For example, a certain mission event like a premature elimination of some targets can lower the threshold of a Counter to make sure the others are eliminated at the moment the player arrives to the waypoint.

 

 

Main features:
1. Late war British pilot added to Spitfire Mk.IXe;
2. New control elements added to mission logic (useful for mission designers): "Modifier: Add Val" and "Modifier: Set Val". They can alter the values of other logical elements - Counter and Timer (when used with a Timer object, Set Val can input a negative value to reset and stop a Timer);
3. Force Feedback joystick owners who experience stutters can alter the new value in startup.cfg that governs the maximum frequency of FFB effects polling to try to eliminate them (update_freq parameter in [KEY = force_feedback] section can be set to a value from 0.5 Hz to 10 Hz, example: update_freq = 10.0);
4. Additional renderer optimizations for sea maps (Kuban, Bodenplatte in the future) allowed to boost performance on such maps even more;
5. AA searchlights now can follow Attack Area command which can be used to limit their search area and/or use them as visible beacons (useful for mission designers);
6. Multiplayer: 'allow other players to man stations' option now saved;
7. Multiplayer: various issues like statistics 'freezing', inability to start a mission, kill messages disappearing were fixed for high-load servers;
8. Multiplayer: missing AP hit sound effects and some other sounds restored;
9. A rare crash that could happen in high load situations like joint air-ground engagements with many units has been fixed;
10. keep_binary_log = 0 option in startup.cfg correctly removes binary logs from the game folder on exit;
11. Career: mission area correctly set while escorting transport planes in Stalingrad TOW;
12. Incorrect navigational markers won't be shown in a mission without player aircraft;

 

Damage model improvements:
13. P-47D-28, Yak-7b and Spitfire Mk.IXe wings made less fragile when damaged;
14. Aileron control rods correctly damaged when Yak-7b, P-39L-1 or P-47 wing is damaged;
15. An overdone HE explosion effect on the primary structure of an aircraft has been reduced.
16. Damage calculations of the airframe take a hit angle into account;
17. Damage from direct hits and explosions on the skin and control rods has been tuned;
18. Minor visual damage correctly appears after a first hit;
19. The visual damage of a cockpit glass correctly appears after a first hit there;
20. Ju-52 instruments can be damaged now;
21. Aircraft primary structure won't erroneously receive double damage in case of hits on the internal components like fuel tanks, engine, radiators, etc.);
22. Airframe sturdiness tuned for all aircraft;
23. Armor of the internal components corrected whenever it was wrong;
24. P-47D-28 wing damage corrected (wing loss is preceded with a wing crack);
25. A weapon won't fire if its ammo supply was lost with a wing part;
26. Fuel tank fire probability corrected for Flying Circus aircraft;
27. Ammo detonation effects differ visually depending on the explosion power;

 

Aircraft improvements:
28. Bodenplatte pilots put on and remove oxygen mask when needed;
29. Bodenplatte and Flying Circus pilots put off their goggles on parking;
30. Ignition box cover animated on Pe-2 series 35;
31. CB panel cover animation corrected on Fw-190 A3/A5/A8;
32. Gunner folding seat animation corrected on Ju-88;
33. Bendix course detectors animations corrected;
34. Dead pilot model position corrected on Pfalz D.IIIa;
35. Bf 109 G-2 cockpit lamp corrected;
36. P-47D-28 visual wing crack corrected;
37. Visible projectiles at high aircraft speed appear correctly;
38. MK-108 fire sound corrected on Bf 109 K-4;
39. Fuel tank fire effect corrected on Flying Circus planes;
40. Ejected cartridges correctly appear in multiplayer;
41. The maximum number of ejected cartridges corrected based on real time instead of a simulated one;
42. In multiplayer, all visible projectiles appear from gun muzzles instead of aircraft center;
43. Visible gun convergence corrected in multiplayer;

44. The delay between pushing the fire trigger and experiencing the gunfire FFB effect has been reduced.
45. Pfalz D.IIIa performance corrected;
46. Sopwith Camel description corrected;

 

AI improvements:
47. AI pilots correctly perform Chandelle maneuver;
48. WWI AI pilots won't 'stuck' flying forward;
49. AI pilots evade ground even better;
50. Conditions for attempting vertical maneuvers corrected for all fighters;
51. AI pilots will bail out of aircraft with cracked wings or fuselage instead of trying to fight;
52. WWI AI pilots open fire sooner;
53. WWI AI pilots maneuver more aggressively;

 

GUI changes:
54. Starting altitude won't reset in QMB;
55. Flare gun indicator won't be shown after restarting a mission in external view;
56. Flight frequency option in Career corrected;
57. The wrong message about timescale won't be shown on mission end;
58. Interface music can be turned on when interface sounds are turned off;
59. Airfields are correctly shown after changing the current chapter in Career;
60. Previously selected modifications correctly shown in QMB.

 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.009

 

Dear friends,

 

Trying to squeeze in more functionality, new content, improvements and additions for you before the holidays, we've prepared another update 3.009. This time, the main feature of this update is the new content: Collector Plane, famous Soviet light bomber U-2VS which is developed in cooperation with "Ugra-Media" company. At the moment it can be used in QMB and multiplayer modes, but we'll add new Career mission types especially for it (Stalingrad and Kuban ToWs) next month.

 

 

There are two new scripted campaigns available. One made by =BlackSix= happens at Stalingrad after 'Blazing Steppe' and continues the story of the German pilot that started in '10 Days of Autumn' campaign, while another made by =Gambit21= is dedicated to A-20 squadron operating in the skies of Kuban.

 

 

As usual, the update also brings numerous improvements and additions, upping the overall quality of the sim:

 

1. New Collector Plane U-2VS developed in cooperation with "Ugra-Media" company;
2. New scenario campaign 'Fortress on the Volga' by Alexander =BlackSix= Timoshkov;
3. New scenario campaign 'Havoc over the Kuban' by =Gambit21=;
4. New Career mission "Troop concentration night bombing strike";
5. New Career mission "Enemy airfield night bombing strike";
6. New Career mission "Railway hub night bombing strike";
7. New Career mission "Supply dump night bombing strike";
8. New Career mission "River crossing night bombing strike";
9. Our community enthusiast =BlackHellHound1= remade all outer textures of Bf 109 F-2 (main texture, bump, specular, damage) and made historically accurate skins for it in 4К;
10. Three new skins for Fokker Dr.I;
11. Two new skins for SPAD 13.C1;
12. The delay, when a new player connects to a server, has been minimized for other players;
13. Projectile hits at turret gunners now calculated properly (they weren't counted properly before);
14. 76 mm APHE rounds won't erroneously damage the internal components without penetrating the armor;
15. P-47D-28 skin damage has been corrected (increased);
16. Airfields surface on Velikiye Luki map has been flattened;
17. It is now possible to lean to the gunsight closer than before on all aircraft;
18. Visual propeller damage corrected on Ju-52 (previously damaging the right propeller would visually damage the left one);
19. Inability to start a new Career from an old one (lack of available units) has been fixed;
20. After spending all ammo of one kind in a tank the interface won't erroneously show the full ammo;
21. Escape menu works correctly even if there are no vehicles in the mission;
22. Wrong waypoint labels corrected in scenario campaigns;
23. Mission briefings text rendering corrected in scenario campaigns;
24. The random mirroring issue of a pilot portrait in Career has been fixed;
25. Creating new Career in Stalingrad ToW has been fixed for certain units;
26. An issue of jumping reflections in the water caused by mirrors has been fixed;
27. Vehicle pathfinding issue that could cause slow performance loss has been fixed;
28. Formation movement AI on land and water has been improved - the leader won't slow down if it is possible;
29. Collision detection routine improved (the detailed tanks shouldn't twitch in certain situations anymore);
30. Formation movement has been improved overall;
31. The bug that caused AI pilots to miss ground targets has been fixed;
32. AI checks the altitude in a downward spiral maneuver;
33. Bombs and rockets equipped AIs should correctly engage ground targets in QMB;
34. Modifier object: it is now possible to assign negative values to a counter. Both the current value and trigger threshold can be set for a timer;
35. Timer: when a new trigger signal is received, the timer resets;
36. Modifier and timer: parameter index 0 now controls the current timer value while parameter index 1 controls the timer threshold;
37.  Modifier and timer: timer can be reset and stopped by parameter index 0 and value -1;
38. Fw 190 A-8: canopy raindrops added for Sturmjager modification;
39. Fw 190 A-8: windshield cleaner corrected for Sturmjager modification  ;
40. Fw 190 A-8: too dark materials corrected at some places;
41. Fw 190 A-8: rocket control box decreased in size;
42. Fw 190 A-8: pilot model holds the control stick;
43. Bf 109 G-14: pilot model holds the control stick.

 

 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.010

 

Dear pilots,

The new content will be made available in a few weeks, but we have decided to release the update 3.010 now to publish many improvements and fixes which are already ready. U-2VS Collector Plane is now available in Career mode and can be equipped with rockets. P-47D-28 now sports 4K textures made by Martin =ICDP= Catney. There are also DM improvements and we hope this update should finish the current cycle of DM improvements for now. Important multiplayer and AI fixes are also in. Last, but not the least, is the optimized GUI which should yield more performance in flight. The full change list follows:

Additions

1. New exterior 4K textures for P-47D-28 (main, bump, specular, official paint schemes) by Martin =ICDP= Catney;
2. U-2VS Collector Plane is now available in Stalingrad and Kuban careers (night bombing missions);
3. U-2VS Collector Plane can be equipped with ROS-82, RBS-82 and ROS-132 unguided rockets;
4. Buildings can be destroyed by an aircraft impact;

DM improvements

5. HE rounds no longer damage armored objects without penetrating the armor in certain cases;
6. AP rounds penetration of a multi-element armor has been fixed (reduced);
7. AP rounds can travel further after penetrating a target through;
8. Now wings are correctly damaged when their root parts are hit on Bf-109F/G/K, Ju-87, IL-2, I-16, La-5, Yak-1, Yak-7, LaGG-3, MiG-3, U-2, MC 202, P-39, P-40;
9. The sturdiness of the tail part of the fuselage has been corrected for all planes;
10. Ramming with the propeller has been reworked;
11. Previously developed tech (instability of the airflow around the damaged parts of the aircraft skinning) has been applied to all aircraft;
12. Ballistics and armor penetration of BR-350B and BR-350BSP rounds (F-34, ZiS-5 and ZiS-3 guns) has been corrected according to the report TsNII-48 2VV-2;
13. Pz-VI-H1: weak spots in the gun mantlet have been corrected;
14. Soldiers walking on airfields can be killed now;
15. Rear right wheel damage has been corrected for all wheeled vehicles;

Multiplayer improvements

16. A large mission running on a server won't prevent some players from joining;
17. Data delivery under heavy loaded servers has been reworked. We hope this will help to fix several problems caused by data loss, such as 'greyed out start button', 'damage application delay', 'AA fire delay', 'invisikle planes', 'invulnerable planes', etc.;
18. The game (and the server) won't freeze for several moments when a very large bomb explodes in a very dense built up area;

AI and FM improvements

19. One more case of AI following its target into the ground has been found and fixed;
20. AI correctly turns on the engine in a ground start situation without taxiing;
21. P-47D-28 stall behavior has been corrected;
22. Detached P-47D-28 flaps appear correctly now;
23. Bombsights in an automatic mode made less jumpy;

GUI improvements

24. Many GUI elements made clearer;
25. Automatic GUI scale option added (useful for 4K screens and VR);
26. Lists rendering has been optimized, improving the overall GUI performance, settings and Career mode responsiveness, etc;
27. In-game GUI has been optimized, yielding up to 20% performance in some cases;
28. Switching the HUD on and off or changing the mini-map scale no longer causes a delay;
29. Multiplayer gunner positions dialog window has been corrected for Ju 88 A-4;
30. Target symbols made clearer on the navigation map

Other improvements

31. Certain buildings shouldn't levitate above the terrain anymore;
32. Some bridges with uneven driveways were fixed;
33. Aircraft cruise speeds were corrected in the Career mode so wingmen won't lag behind the flight leaders;
34. Previously AI-only unit 293rd IAP is now joinable by the player in Stalingrad and Kuban TOWs;
35. "Blazing Steppe" and "Sea Dragons" campaigns are now available in French thanks to Dominique Girouard;
36. "Fortress on the Volga" campaign is now available in German thanks to II/JG11ATLAN, ram0506 and =27=Davesteu.
37. "Havoc over the Kuban" campaign has been updated.

 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.010b

 

Update 3.010 brought many significant GUI changes, so now we're releasing the small update containing quick fixes:

1. Full-screen map position won't be reset after using the bombsight;
2. Text chat layout has been improved;
3. In-game chat shows previous messages when the Enter key is pressed;
4. Full-screen map transparency can be adjusted in the game options;
5. Airfield symbols in multiplayer have been updated;
6. Airfield symbols in multiplayer have additional elements showing the enemy threat level near it;
7. Threat level and amount of active players won't be shown for enemy airfields;
8. Multiplayer statistics screen is only updated when it is opened;
9. Multiplayer statistics screen sorts the players basing on the number of points by default;
10. Multiplayer statistics screen remembers the selected sorting criteria;
11. Secondary targets information on the multiplayer statistics screen has been repositioned  ;
12. Servers protected by password and/or servers with a bad connection can be hidden in the servers list;
13. Frontline with the color specified as 255,255,255 will be displayed with correct colors like (0,0,10) since many created missions and campaigns rely on that;
14. Mission target markers have been adjusted for a clearer look while zoomed in;
15. Fuel and convergence sliders were made longer for easier use;
16. Mapping delete function in the game settings has been restored;
17. Ground object markers on the map have been made smaller;
18. Engine sound positioning has been improved;
19. Radio messages are made clearer;
20. Incorrect damage calculation has been fixed (a ricochet from a front lower hull of a tank could kill a driver or a radioman);
21. A random bug that could kill the Tiger tank crew after any hit has been fixed;
22. KV-1s and Т-34-76 aiming sights won't flicker;
23. I-16 aiming sight has been improved like on other aircraft;
24. Example multiplayer missions Cooperative_Complex_Example and Dogfight_Complex_Example show how different symbols or lines on the map can be created;

25. Stutters in firing from plane turrets and tank machineguns were fixed. 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.010c

 

Dear pilots,

 

This week we made several important changes to the user interface (especially multiplayer part of it) and damage calculations of the player controlled tanks - they are included in the maintenance update we release today. We continue the work on improving IL-2 Sturmovik and hope that you find the changes useful.

 

User interface
1. Dogfight: when the server changes a mission, the airfield locations from the previous mission won't stay visible on the map;
2. Dogfight: map position and zoom level are saved between player respawns;
3. Dogfight: a mission target won't overlap an airfield and make it impossible to choose;
4. Dogfight: selecting an airfield without available planes won't make the screen darker;
5. Dogfight: home airfield is highlighted on the map;
6. Dogfight: the info tooltip appears if you hover the mouse pointer over an airfield;
7. Cooperative: you can't select a locked out aircraft in the lobby;
8. Objects kill messages appear in the chat again;
9. Chat window won't appear before the mission start on its own;
10. QMB: certain text elements were made bigger for Spanish text;
11. Map: 'no units' and 'maximum number of players reached' tooltips added;
12. Map: air and ground attack events on an airfield are indicated differently;
13. Map: airfield information has been reworked;
14. Map: frontline color 255,255,255 now changes according to the interface color setting;
15. Map: unit dots are bigger and can be grouped;
16. Aircraft info: text layout has been fixed;
17. Career: active duty timeframe of certain units is shown correctly now;
18. Career: Unit symbols in various lists were made bigger;
19. Singleplayer: Flight Log button appears after a mission instantly;
20. Server list: 'auto-switch to joystick' message that appears when connecting to servers that enforce playing with joystick has been reworked;

 

Tank Crew
21. The bug that caused the crew of a tank to die when a nearby tree was hit by a shell has been fixed;
22. The velocity spread of the various tank cannon projectiles decreased;
23. The angle spread of the various tank cannons increased;
24. Excessive projectile ricochet probabilities have been toned down;
25. Missing armor parts in the rear of Tiger and KV-1s turrets have been repaired (physical model);
26. Tiger gun mantlet rear part sides armouring have been corrected;
27. Armor values for the coaxial MG and gunner gunsight on a Tiger tank were swapped (this is corrected now);

 

Other changes
28. Wrong player status (captured) that could trigger when a server starts a new mission with players left in the air over enemy territory has been fixed;
29. A rare problem of armor being ignored when hit into the internal seam between two armor sheets (with the angle between them is less than 180 degrees) has been fixed;
30. A possible incorrect penetration calculation when a projectile after ricochet hit an armor plate of a target moving towards it has been fixed.

 

 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.011

 

Dear pilots,

 

Today is an important day. First, we just released two new WWI fighters for all Flying Circus: Volume I customers - Fokker D.VII and Sopwith Dolphin. They are 5th and 6th aircraft released for it, so along with the map of Arras being actively developed, we can say that Flying Circus project is progressing nicely and more than half of it is already completed. 

 

Second, our Tank Crew project finally includes visible crew for two already released tanks. Since we'll be releasing four new tanks and Prokhorovka map really soon, this project is also maturing at a good pace.

 

Of course, we also prepared a list of many other improvements for you:

 

1. Fokker D.VII is available to Flying Circus: Volume I customers;
2. Sopwith Dolphin is available to Flying Circus: Volume I customers;
3. KV-1s and Pz-VI-H1 tanks (Tank Crew project) now have visible crews;
4. AI pilots correctly attack landed or taking off enemy planes;
5. Artillery markers on the map were updated;
6. Simple (not player controllable) vehicles now have more detailed armor. This is noticeable while attacking them from above;
7. Projectile ricochet modeling became more complex;
8. Wandering personnel on the ground won't die from collisions that easy;
9. The pathfinding of vehicle columns travelling through settlements has 25% less performance impact;
10. Simple vehicles adjust their speed accordingly to the surface type (road or cross-country);
11. There are new AI vehicle formations available - line left, line right, centered line - and ability to make naval-like all-together turn;
12. The ground AIs keep formation better;
13. Multiplayer: now at least 25% of the affecting player coalition or 25% of all players on the server must vote to ban a player;
14. Multiplayer: visible tank ammo won't visually 'shake';
15. Multiplayer: when other players occupy aircraft turrets, their remaining magazines and individual rounds are displayed correctly;
16. Multiplayer: net traffic for multi-crew aircraft has been optimized;
17. FM: a rare critical bug that could cause an application crash has been found and fixed;
18. FM: aircraft propellers interaction with the ground surface has been made more accurate so their blades won't sink into the ground during a crash;
19. FM: aircraft propellers won't vibrate when an damaged engine is off;
20. FM: Force Feedback effect during ailerons and elevator buffeting (when flying too fast) has been made stronger;

21. FM: Visual shaking inside a cockpit is added when control surfaces are buffeting at high airspeed;

22. The delay between releasing a trigger and the actual stop of firing has been minimized;
23. Several guns are now reloaded one after another, without overlapping;
24. In-cockpit gunfire sounds were improved for Flying Circus aircraft.

 

 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.012

 

Dear friends,

 

We just released the new update 3.012. Only two weeks have passed since the previous update so the changelist isn't that long, but this time our customers will get FIVE new pieces of content for all three our current projects at once.

 

First, this is a new Collector's Plane for Bodenplatte - Fw 190 D-9 "Dora", one of the legendary late war Luftwaffe planes with very good speed and armament. Its main difference compared to previous models is Jumo-213 A1 water cooled engine equipped with MW 50 water-methanol injection system that can be used to increase the power output even more for up to 10 minutes. Another improvement of this plane is the automatic engine governor MBG and an effective engine cooling. This is also the first aircraft in our project to receive EZ 42 gyro gunsight. "Dora" could carry up to 500 kg bombs and R4M Orkan rockets (the new weapon in our project as well) which later served as a base for many post-war unguided rocket designs.

 

 

Second, we released the Prokhorovka map for Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka project. This map is an important step in our map technologies because the polygonal net of the landscape is 16 times more detailed than on previous maps. In addition, the detailed zone for ground warfare (20 km to the South and the West of Prokhorovka) contains new high detailed buildings with new damage visualization. It should be noted that this more detailed environment, of course, demands more from the graphics subsystem, but reasonable graphics settings can give you good performance even on middle range video cards. You may ask "Why don't you make all the new maps at this level of detail?", but the answer is that increasing the level of detail reduces the overall size of the map. A good map for the joint tank and air battles (100 x 100 km in case of Prokhorovka) would be not enough for a full-blown, 'air campaign' map that should be 200 x 250 km minimum. Therefore, Prokhorovka map is a fine balance of several things. It allows making interesting tank campaigns, having interesting joint tank and aircraft multiplayer, keeping the performance impact 30% or less at reasonable graphics settings, and having improved visual quality at the ground level required for the ground battles.

 

 

Third, Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka customers get two new toys: M4A2 and PzKpfw.III Ausf.M. Both tanks were interesting machines and they are recreated painstakingly and with passion. It should be noted that M4A2 could stand its own even against the heavier German adversaries thanks to its maneuverability, good turret traverse speed and sufficient armor penetration ability of its solid AP round. The medium tank PzKpfw.III Ausf.M also had a good chance against medium Soviet tanks - APCR rounds could penetrate their armor while its frontal protection was relatively good thanks to the spaced 50 and 20 mm armor plates. It also had a low visible profile, good maneuverability and high rate of fire.

 

 

 

Fourth, Flying Circus customers get Fokker D.VIIF. it was one of the best, if not the best, Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte fighter of WWI. The new and powerful for its time BMW IIIa engine gave the plane high speed and maneuverability at high altitudes while the oxygen supply enabled a pilot to fight up there effectively. Its armament is standard for German fighters of that time - two 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 "Spandau" (650 rounds per minute each).

 

 

1. Fw 190 D-9 "Dora" fighter is available to Battle of Bodenplatte Premium Edition owners;
2. Prokhorovka map (Southern part of the Kursk salient) is available to Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka owners;
3. M4A2 tank is available to Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka owners;
4. PzKpfw.III Ausf.M  tank is available to Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka owners;
5. Fokker D.VIIF fighter is available to Flying Circus - Volume I owners;

6. UDP output API for moving platform simulators was added, details are in attached document;

Il2_MotionOutput.zip
7. Locomotive tenders are destroyable once again;
8. The oxygen system capacity corrected (increased) on Fokker D.VII;
9. The sound of a damaged engine made more pronounced on all aircraft;
10. KV-1s, Pz.VI-H1, M4A2, and Pz.III-M have night gunsight illumination;
11. KV-1s and Pz.VI-H1 turrets bend their antennas when rotating;
12. Rocket exhaust flame corrected - it cuts immediately when the engine of a rocket stops and its smoke trail disappears faster;
13. A game freeze (when a statistics screen was visible on top of the other menus) has been fixed. 

 

PS:

Information for mission designers and server hosters:

'Block' objects durability has been changed.

Smaller objects like static vehicles (static_...) should have Durability = 500

Medium sized objects (static fighters, small control tower, etc.) should have Durability = 1000

Big objects (like static bombers) should have Durability = 1500

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.101

 

Dear friends,

Today we have finished another huge update and it is already available to you. It includes the new war machines you can control - jet fighter/bomber Me 262 A Schwalbe for Bodenplatte, Т-34-76 made by UVZ factory in early 1943 for Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka and airplanes S.E.5a and Albatros D.Va for Flying Circus - Volume I.

Upping the exterior textures to 4К quality level for Bf 109 F-4 and Fw 190 A-8 are another neat feature, as well as adding visible crews to player controllable Pz.III Ausf.M and M4A2. All VR users get the long-awaited fix of an aircraft propeller that looked distorted with VR reprojection turned on. There are many changes in aircraft and ground AI. The level of detail of player controllable tank systems and their damage model is nearly final. And as usual, there are many improvements in FM and aircraft systems modeling.

IL-2 Sturmovik team wishes you nice summer weather and enjoyable flying in our sim!  

Main features
1. Jet fighter-bomber Me 262 A "Schwalbe" is now available for all owners of "Battle of Bodenplatte";
2. Albatros D.Va is now available for all owners of "Flying Circus";
3. S.E.5a is now available for all owners of "Flying Circus";
4. T-34-76 UVZ made in early 1943 is now available for all owners of "Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka" (includes crew);
5. Bf 109 F-4 exterior textures are now available in 4К quality, including damage, thanks to =BlackHellHound1=;
6. Fw 190 A-8 exterior textures are now available in 4К quality, including damage, thanks to =ICDP=;
7. Crew models added to M4A2;
8. Crew models added to Pz.III Ausf.M;
9. In VR, active reprojection won't cause a rotating propeller to flicker;
10. The game launcher (non-Steam version) now offers more options (enabling or disabling VR, 4K textures, GUI autoscale and mods);

AI improvements
11. AI fighters may cancel the attack run when hit by a bomber gunner fire;
12. AI fighters aim better when engaging a straight flying target;
13. AI fighters open fire earlier when engaging a straight flying target;  
14. AI fighters maneuver more carefully when covering bombers;
15. AI keeps the formation much better;
16. AI ground attack planes and fighters RTB if they have no ammo for forward-firing armament left;
17. AI bombers open bomb bay doors during the bombing run only if there are bombs inside;
18. AI bombers won't open bomb bay doors during the route by mistake;
19. AI won't attempt to land on tank spawn points in multiplayer in case of an emergency;
20. AI gunners fire only at targets selected as 'Engageable' (Mission Editor parameter);
21. AI guns and tanks aim in a more realistic way, there is a slight fire delay after aiming and before re-engaging;
22. Driveable tanks controlled by AI keep formation better, including cases of losing one or more tanks of a platoon;
23. Ground AI can set and keep User Formation by mission command (current relative position of vehicles in the group);
24. Ground AI has three new formations: line left, line right, centered line (relative to the group leader);
25. Ground AI now correctly selects and uses APHE ammo (it used only AP ammo before);
26. Ground AI won't fire at crewmen escaping from friendly vehicles;

New features for player controllable tanks
27. It's possible to limit the maximal gear by X and Z key;
28. Enter key invokes the damage control overlay;
29. Headlights state, engine damage and overheat, low oil pressure and battery charge, maximal selected gear limit are shown in the quick info interface panel;
30. Lots of instruments and controls are now animated: odometers, service meters, engine revolutions counters, ignition switches, starter buttons, oil temperature indicators, amperemeters, voltmeters, fire detection lamps, radio tuning dials, parking brake handles, turret locks;
31. Transmission damage affects the changing of gears, they become harder or impossible to switch;
32. Oil system damage causes engine damage at a progressing rate;
33. Cooling system damage affects oil and cylinder heads cooling effectiveness;
34. Electrical system damage affects the functionality of lighting, powered turret traverse and engine starter;
35. Engines have a heat model that is affected by damage;
36. Cold engine yields less power until it heats up;
37. An engine with overheated oil or cylinder heads accumulates damage fast;
38. 'Warmed up engine' option is valid for tanks too;
39. Fuel or oil leak could lead to a fire that can kill the crew and cause the ammo detonation;
40. In case of fire, the crew uses fire extinguishers if there are any left. It takes up to 2 seconds using automatic fire extinguishers and up 5 seconds using regular ones;
41. Damaged suspension springs or torsions can become lame;
42. If the coolant is boiling, there is a visible vapor exhaust from radiators;
43. A damaged engine can fill the tank interior with smoke;
44. Firing the gun and MGs can obscure vision in the tank interior;
45. Crew clothes, faces, hands, etc. can become dirty from smoke;
46. The turret traverse speed decreases with the inclination of the tank, it may be impossible to turn the turret at a high inclination angle;
47. The driver instruments functioning was updated;
48. Powered (electric) turret traverse mechanism added to KV-1s and Т-34-76-UVZ-1943 with the manual traverse as the backup one. The powered traverse mechanism won't work if it is damaged, there is no power or the engine is off;
49. Powered (hydraulic) turret traverse mechanism added to M4A2 and PzKpfw. VI Ausf. H-1 with the manual traverse as the backup one. The powered traverse mechanism won't work if it is damaged or the engine is off;  
50. Backup (pneumatic) engine starter added to KV-1s and Т-34-76-UVZ-1943 that is used if there is no power;
51. Additional (panoramic) gunsight added to KV-1s and Т-34-76-UVZ-1943;
52. Backup gunsight (iron sights) added to Pz.III Ausf.M;
53. The shaft between the flywheel clutch and the gearbox on M4A2 is correctly animated;
54. Pz.III Ausf.M brake drums are correctly animated;
55. Pz.VI Ausf.H1 engine cooling fans are correctly animated;
56. Tanks won't 'jump' on rubble left from destroyed buildings;
57. A rare issue that could cause a still functioning tank to appear destroyed, but with functioning turret has been fixed;
58. A rare issue that could cause a still functioning track to appear destroyed has been fixed;
59. A small visual issue (grey square near the gun gunsight) has been fixed for Pz.III Ausf.M and Pz.VI Ausf.H1;
60. KV-1s paint color has been corrected;
61. The motion of a damaged right track of Pz.III Ausf.M has been corrected;

New features in aircraft physics, systems and animations
62. Infinitely firing aircraft of other players shouldn't randomly appear in multiplayer anymore;
63. Additional steps were taken that should eliminate a rare problem of another player plane being invisible before opening fire;
64. PTAB sub-munitions effect on ground targets has been corrected;
65. Damage calculations for AP, APHE and HEAT aircraft-launched rockets have been significantly improved;
66. Physical models of all aircraft engines have been revised, many rare bugs were found and fixed;
67. A rare issue that could crash the sim when all fuel was spent (or leaked away) on Ju-88 and He-111 H6/H16 has been fixed;
68. A rare issue in P-47 turbocharger that could crash the sim was found and fixed;
69. The error that caused the Flying Circus aircraft propellers to have more power than RoF ones has been found and fixed. The notable difference was found at lower flight speeds, but additional research showed that this error made during porting of RoF planes to Flying Circus more or less affected all flight characteristics of the Flying Circus aircraft. In this update this error is fixed, so flight characteristics of all Flying Circus planes fully correspond to RoF before update 1.034. You can see the updated flight characteristics of Albatros D.Va and S.E.5a in their in-game descriptions, while updated descriptions for other Flying Circus aircraft will follow in the next update when we redo all the required measurements;
70. All aircraft: when starting or shutting down the engine with all three difficulty options "Cruise control", "Throttle auto limit" and "Engine auto control" turned off you need to move the engine controls during the startup or shutdown procedure yourself;
71. All aircraft: wind noise sound with jettisoned or broken canopy won't disappear at 720 kph and higher speeds;
72. All aircraft: new technochat message informs the player about the engine failure (when it shuts off by itself without player or throttle limiter input);
73. All aircraft: new technochat message informs the player that the engine start command is ignored if the startup requirements are not met;
74. Fw-190 D9 and Me 262 A: there is a tip in chat clarifying that the engine throttle is blocked from moving to cutoff position when the engine is on;
75. Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Dolphin skid steering animations were corrected;
76. Weight values listed for all large gunsights of Flying Circus planes and for the camera on SPAD XIII.C1 have been corrected;
77. Weight values listed for additional Lewis MGs on Sopwith Dolphin have been corrected, speed loss information added;
78. Moving horizontal stabilizers control levers or wheels can be heard;
79. When an engine is turned off, the motion speed of a throttle lever with engine helpers turned on has been increased (it is now the same as its motion speed with engine helpers turned off);
80. In multiplayer, you can hear the engine starter of another player. 

Because of the huge amount of changes, the track and mission format was changed. If you're an author of a custom mission or campaign, you need to resave your creation (it can be done quickly using 'Convert missions to binary in folder' in the Mission editor).

 

 

 

 

PS:

 

A video tutorial from =SYN_Requiem= : how to manage Me 262 A:

 

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.102

 

Dear friends,

 

We're glad to report that the new update containing three new war machines are out. The first one of them is Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf.G German medium tank for Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka project. It was one of the most commonly used German tanks and had an interesting mix of powerful weaponry and lacking armor, making its use in the sim somewhat peculiar. It also had an interesting feature - autonomous turret traverse mechanism powered by a dedicated petrol motor.

 

 

The second one is the WWI RAF fighter bomber Bristol Fighter F.2B for Flying Circus - Volume 1 project. This airplane had good flight characteristics among the two-seaters, various armament and could perform a wide selection of tasks. Two modifications of this aircraft are included - with Falcon II and Falcon III engines.

 

 

And the third one is another Flying Circus - Volume 1 aircraft - German WWI ground attack plane Halberstadt CL.II. This multifunctional machine had good defensive turret equipped with one or two Parabellum LMG 14 machine guns fed by large-capacity magazines. Halberstadt could have one or two forward-firing MGs and carry 12 kg and 50 kg bombs, camera for aerial recon and radio for aerial spotting.

 

 

In addition to them, the update includes exterior textures in 4K quality for Bf 109 G-14 and Fw 190 A-3. There are also several important improvements in the full list of changes:

 

 

1. PzKpfw.IV Ausf.G is available to Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka owners;
2. Halberstadt CL.II (Mercedes D.IIIa (180 h.p.) and Mercedes D.IIIau (200 h.p.) modifications) is available to Flying Circus - volume 1 owners;
3. Bristol Fighter F2.B (Falcon II (255 h.p.) и Falcon III (285 h.p.) modifications) is available to Flying Circus - volume 1 owners;  
4. Bf 109 G-14 has 4K exterior texturing made by Martin =ICDP= Catney;
5. Fw 190 A-3 has 4K exterior texturing made by Martin =ICDP= Catney;  
6. User interface checkbox that disallows other players to occupy one of the stations of your tank in multiplayer works now;
7. Main tank gunfire sound won't be skipped while shooting at a maximum rate of fire;
8. Tank traverse systems on player controllable tanks can be damaged now;
9. Switching between main and backup gunsights on player controllable tanks happens correctly;  
10. Chalk slopes on the Prokhorovka map won't visibly appear and disappear;
11. Forests on the Prokhorovka map won't visibly blink;  
12. Looking at an aircraft mirror at certain view angles won't cause a severe performance drop that was noticeable at high visibility distance settings on low- and middle-end video cards;
13. Destroyed ground vehicles on the GUI map are semi-transparent;
14. Engine throttle control helper logic has been updated (previously it could limit the available engine power at high altitudes);
15. S.E.5, Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Dolphin ailerons buffeting amplitudes at higher flight speeds have been corrected.

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.

[Han 12778]

Update 3.201

 

Dear Friends,

 

The IL-2 development team is glad to report that the new huge update 3.201 is released. It brings you not only the 3 new aircraft and 2 new maps for two projects, but also many improvements in all areas of the sim - graphics, physics, audio, controls, armament, and instruments. You can find the in depth information about some of the new features in our recent Dev Diaries. Please note that this update is the last milestone before the release of two projects at once - Bodenplatte and Flying Circus Vol.1 - which should happen in a month or so. Moreover, this update contains many improvements for Tank Crew as well, paving the way for the release of its two scenario campaigns and tank commander interface.

 

 

 

We advise you to browse through the 3.201 changelist below - in addition to big additions it contains smaller changes which were requested for some time:  

 

New aircraft and other objects

 

1. Tempest Mk.V Series 2 fighter is available to all Bodenplatte owners;
2. P-51D-15 fighter is available to all Bodenplatte owners;
3. Collectors Plane P-38J-25 is available to all Bodenplatte Premium Edition owners;
4. The new map Rheinland Summer 1944 (including the Low Countries) is available to all Bodenplatte owners in QMB mode;
5. The new map Arras Spring 1918 is available to all Flying Circus Vol.1 owners in QMB mode;
6. B-25D bomber added (not player controllable);
7. GMC CCKW truck added;
8. Willys MB off-road vehicle added;
9. M16 Half-track self-propelled AAA gun added;
10. Sd Kfz 7 Flakvierling 38 self-propelled AAA gun added;
11. Flakvierling 38 AAA gun added;
12. М1A1 90 mm AAA gun added;
13. US searchlights and landing lights added;
14. M5 3-inch AT gun added;
15. M1 155mm howitzer added;
16. JagdPz IV L70 tank destroyer added;
17. Infantry and AA .50 MG added;
18. New types of road and railroad bridges added;
19. New Western European town and village blocks added;
20. New industry blocks added;
21. Many new unique buildings for Rheinland and Arras added;

22. Static versions of many airplanes models were added to the game for better scenery in missions;
23. New countries that participated in WWI and WWII added to the mission logic;

24. Bf 109 G-2 has 4K exterior texturing made by Francisco =BlackHellHound1= Bindraban;

25. IL-2 mod.1942 has 4K exterior texturing made by Martin =ICDP= Catney; 

 

Visual improvements

 

26. Aircraft and ships are visible much farther than before - theoretically, they can be spotted as far as 100 km away if there are fire, contrails or a ship wake;
27. New 'Distant buildings' option added;
28. Object markers can be blocked by landscape and objects, including own aircraft or vehicle;
29. Static objects rendering has been optimized to increase performance;
30. Sun glare from distant aircraft is visible better;
31. Fire can be visible inside the cockpit on single and triple engine planes;
32. It's possible to display a customizable photo in all aircraft cockpits and tank cabins;
33. Collimator sight reticle has been improved for all planes;

 

Aircraft improvements

 

34. DB-601 and DB-605 engine sounds improved for all Bf-109 and Bf-110 planes;
35. Realistic pilot's physiology model is now active, which takes into account the duration of the G-load and rate the G-load was applied;
36. After prolonged exposure to high-G load the load factor tolerance of the crew decreases and they require some time of steady flight to rest and recover;
37. Oxygen deficit affects the human tolerance to high G-load more accurately;
38. Visual and audible high-G effects made more realistic;
39. The sound of the player breathing during a significant positive G load improved, that sound is no longer played during a negative G load;
40. G-suits increase the load factor tolerance of the crew;
41. The crew can become motion sick from alternating G loads;
42. High-G loads, powerful impacts and pain shock can render the crew unconscious resulting in a loss of control;
43. New 'Simple physiology' option added to the difficulty settings disables the load factor tolerance decrease, loss of consciousness and motion sickness;
44. Damage inflicted to the crew from powerful impacts and falls have been corrected;
45. The player can't get painful shock anymore if the invulnerability difficulty option is checked;
46. The ability of the crew to bail out is now limited by the G-load (including its direction), airspeed and crew health (wounds);
47. Crew bails out differently depending on the G load direction - down if the load is positive and up if the load is negative;
48. The movements of the visible model of the flight stick and pedals in the cockpit are no longer filtered so there is less delay between the movement of real flight stick and pedals and the virtual ones. However, the flight stick movement speed is still limited at high flight speeds or if the pilot is wounded;
49. It is now possible to assign a trim axis if it was controlled by an axis on a real aircraft (control wheel or lever). The speed of the trim axis is still limited and depends on the aircraft, similar to the adjustable stabilizer. If you use joystick buttons or keyboard for controlling such trimmers, please assign these keys not only to electric trimmers but also to this trim axis;
50. All Pe-2 and Hs-129 have their electric trimmers disabled if the power is turned off. Turning them on and off can be heard and the sound of trim has been replaced with an electric motor sound;
51. The adjustable stabilizer axis is no longer inverted (its direction is changed according to DirectX standard);
52. New commands for retraction and extension of the landing gear added;
53. It's possible to repair in aircraft when it is near an object with the service parameter set to On in the mission file. Repairs start automatically when the engines shutdown procedure is complete;
54. It's possible to refuel in aircraft when it is near an object with the service parameter set to On in the mission file. The refueling process can be started and stopped using the new commands and only possible if the engines are shut down;
55. It's possible to rearm in aircraft when it is near an object with the service parameter set to On in the mission file. The rearming process can be started and stopped using the new command and only possible if the engines are shut down;
56. Spitfire stall behavior with released landing flaps has been corrected;
57. British and American voiceovers added for Bodenplatte pilots;
58. 150 Octane fuel is available for Spitfire IXe that enables +25 lbs. With it enabled, switching supercharger gears becomes manual;   
59. La-5FN skins should work on an MP server now, but this change requires reassigning its skins in the missions created earlier;
60. Bodenplatte pilots got Summer uniform;
61. Windmilling effect works on U-2VS;
62. British gyro gunsight G.G.S. Mk.IId (Spitfire Mk.IXe) now accounts for gravitational bullet drop when calculating the deflection;
63. Spitfire Mk.IXe electric fuel pump won't continuously switch on and off at low throttle on the ground;
64. Some instruments and switches sounds corrected on Spitfire Mk.IXe;
65. Me 262 A behavior at beyond-stall angles of attack corrected;
66. The physical behavior of I-16 fragments has been corrected;
67. Smoke clouds after a plane crash in multiplayer disappear correctly;

 

AI improvements

 

68. AI better aims at distant steadily flying targets;
69. AI better distribute enemy targets among themselves;
70. If an AI has a speed advantage over a target it is attacking, it tries to keep this advantage;
71. Combat turns, spirals and banking maneuvers in a dogfight are performed more aggressively;
72. AI won't switch maneuvers too frequently, distorting its planned tactics;
73. Criteria for choosing maneuvers in a dogfight were updated;
74. AI keeps the formation better;

 

Tank improvements

 

75. Offroad shaking has been made more natural;
76. All the tanks now use the M4A2 aiming method;
77. The engine startup sequence is now animated (master switch, excess pressure valve, manual fuel pump, wobble pump, caution signal);
78. Inner visual effects are not affected by tank movements;
79. Engine exhaust effect improved;
80. Driver gauges, turret instruments, MG elements are now animated in multiplayer;
81. Direction controllability improved;
82. APHE rounds cause more damage to inner components after the armor penetration;
83. The visual effect of the turret traverse motor exhaust added to Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G and M4A2;
84. KV-1s and Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf. M commanders can fire the signal rockets through a small hatch in the roof when the commander hatch is closed;
85. The engine startup sound on KV-1s and Т-34-76 UVZ (1943) depends on the starter type used (main electric or reserve pneumatic one);
86. KV-1s, Т-34-76 UVZ (1943) and M4A2 have functioning klaxon (LAlt+S);
87. Inner details and texturing improved on KV-1s and Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.H1;
88. Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. M, Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. G and Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf. H1 bow MGs use the M4A2 aiming method;
89. There is an alternate DT MG gunner aiming mode on KV-1s - through the periscope (in addition to the regular one through the gunsight);
90. KV-1s commander and radioman have an alternate aiming mode - through a visor;
91. M4A2 turret traverse can be powered by the motor-generator;
92. M4A2 first-person view height corrected for a driver and MG gunner in unbuttoned positions;
93. Visible (from the driver seat) rotation of the steering drive shaft has been corrected on Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf. G;
94. Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf. M fuel or oil fire effect has been corrected;
95. A firing port in the panoramic gunsight armor added on KV-1s;
96. Air inlets of the engine compartment added on KV-1s;
97. Slits in the driver visor on KV-1s decreased in the visor open position;

 

Other improvements

 

98. The sound subsystem uses newer FMOD API - sound loss after long play sessions should be fixed;
99. Runway floodlights work now;
100. Coalition sorting functionality added to QMB mode;
101. An automatic chat message in the multiplayer reports if there is no UDP traffic coming from one of the players;
102. A workaround added for VR HMDs without hardware IPD adjustment - LShift-NumPad+ and LShift-NumpadEnter directly move the images on the VR screen farther or closer.
103. Radio chatter volume is affected if the player is concussed, lost consciousness or wounded.

 

P.S.

To add a custom photo to your airplane or tank cockpit you should replace existing default DDS image by another one in:

<game_folder>\data\graphics\planes\<airplane_folder>\textures\custom_photo.dds

or

<game_folder>\data\graphics\vehicles\<_tank_folder>\textures\custom_photo.dds

DDS image should be 1024x1024 in DXT5 ARGB 8bpp with mip-maps

 

Please discuss the update in this thread.