The future looks better all the time.

[SCG_Neun]

Okay....time for a group hug......no not really and I don't mean for this to be a warm and fuzzy post....but I just have to say that I'm beginning to see the momentum for this game swinging on the up side.  I mean for me personally...I'm playing the game more and more and having a lot of fun.  The third party missions that are coming out are just what I needed and the updates are bringing changes as well.....and one obvious observation is that the devs are constantly working to improve this game.  Whatever improves within BOS...is going to be reflected in BOM, so it's a win win for all of us, but especially those of us  that have signed on to the BOM project.

 

Historical missions are out there now....and the AI seems to have improved as well.  For me personally.....I've made some adjustments on my system and the game is playing very well for me....even with lots of ongoing activity.  I'm very pleased with how things are working out and I've got that feeling that BOS and BOM are going to come out in the end as top notch flight sims.  It's just going to take that winning combination of developers and third party modders.  

Edited April 25, 2015 by JagdNeun

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

+1

[bzc3lk]

+1

[LLv24_Zami]

Well said JagdNeun!

 

And no group hug :D

[Finkeren]

Good post, and good to see it coming from someone who's been quite critical of certain aspects of BoS (most of the time justifiably so)

 

The future really does look bright

Edited April 25, 2015 by Finkeren

[Guest deleted@1562]

BoS is getting better and better with every patch. Thank you devs for providing so much free content.

[Neil]

+1!

that is incredible good indeed! the sim is better and better patch after patch, the little baby is growing!

[3instein]

+1

 

It is nice to see the missions coming out and does make playing BoS a lot more enjoyable, 

 

I enjoy flying all the released missions, (flew most of them) but it would be super cool if a WWS mission pack was edged out as I only fly Russian     as I really don't know what I'm doing with the 109's and the like.

 

Once the summer map comes out I know I will enjoy it more though, and if BoM had a better release campaign I would buy into that as well.

 

Keep it up tho, all hail the mission makers.   

 

Mick.

[6./ZG26_Emil]

So far the speed of fixes and additions has been pretty amazing, I am also critical of BOS in certain areas but have no issue to praise what they're getting right. 

 

I will never understand why coops and Hyperlobby type additions are not considered obviously it's either too costly or too time consuming but no one from the Dev team will ever mention this side of things...It would be nice to have some adult discussion between the customers and devs about this aspect of MP without the haters and fanboys going nuts.

 

Having said that so far we have a sim that gives that nostalgic feel of the old IL2 and has few bugs and annoyances compared to other titles so soon after release. The feeling of flight is brilliant, I love landings and takeoffs and generally flying around. Air combat and gunnery feels realistically hard as well due to the not flying on rails feeling we had in IL2.

 

I think there are some areas we could get improvements for very little effort like bringing back graphics options (plus presets), increasing the server numbers a little and removing unlocks from online play for everyone and that would take care of many gripes from the genuine people.

 

Onward and upward and looking forward to BOM.

 

Emil

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

+1

 

And mp access since the last update has become much more reliable.  The number of servers of varying difficulty levels continues to grow.  The quality of the on-line missions are also maturing.  And new approaches to a df server are evolving.  And with Summer maps, another battle area with another set of planes and gun boats still in the future, things are looking very good indeed.

[6./ZG26_Custard]

Flew with the JG5 guys last night and had an immense amount of fun. At times we were literality surrounded by Yak's over the lakes in the Velikie Luki map, with so many contrails it was difficult to spot who was friend or foe.

 

Next time I must remember to install the armoured glass headrest, because I removed it and paid the price.

 

 

For it's faults, BoS is a wonderfully playable and very enjoying sim.

 

I hope at some point in the very near future we can get some coops going where a of bunch folks can slog it out over Velikie Luki or Stalingrad, with maybe some bomber escort missions or fighter sweeps.

 

The future is looking encouraging

 

 

I think there are some areas we could get improvements for very little effort like bringing back graphics options (plus presets), increasing the server numbers a little and removing unlocks from online play for everyone and that would take care of many gripes from the genuine people.

+1

[TheElf]

Flew with the JG5 guys last night and had an immense amount of fun. At times we were literality surrounded by Yak's over the lakes in the Velikie Luki map, with so many contrails it was difficult to spot who was friend or foe.

 

Next time I must remember to install the armoured glass headrest, because I removed it and paid the price.

 

 

For it's faults, BoS is a wonderfully playable and very enjoying sim.

 

I hope at some point in the very near future we can get some coops going where a of bunch folks can slog it out over Velikie Luki or Stalingrad, with maybe some bomber escort missions or fighter sweeps.

 

The future is looking encouraging

 

 

+1

 

I was there last night and saw you all there.  It was great fun and very refreshing to see 48/48, though it did get tiresome looking up all the time and thinking we were on the Western Front against the mighty 8th...

[6./ZG26_Emil]

I was there last night and saw you all there.  It was great fun and very refreshing to see 48/48, though it did get tiresome looking up all the time and thinking we were on the Western Front against the mighty 8th...

 

I thought you guys were doing fine in that big high alt fight over the lake. It was quite a sight to see so many contrails.

[J4SCrisZeri]

Agree with Jagdneun

in the beginning the game looked so simple, the comparison with its main competitor (CoD) was a dailty thing for me. I was still absolutely convinced about my investment on this team, and I kept on following the devs and playing every now and then.

I / We were right

 

One year later the sim looks polished, rich and still very promising. On that huge tech basis a nice world is growing, the devs are populating it with planes and warfare, and a second scenario is on the way.

 

And the modders community is still at the beginning I suppose (skins, etc) who can imagine what talented fans will be able to build on such engine.

 

[A-E-Hartmann]

Okay....time for a group hug......no not really and I don't mean for this to be a warm and fuzzy post....but I just have to say that I'm beginning to see the momentum for this game swinging on the up side.  I mean for me personally...I'm playing the game more and more and having a lot of fun.  The third party missions that are coming out are just what I needed and the updates are bringing changes as well.....and one obvious observation is that the devs are constantly working to improve this game.  Whatever improves within BOS...is going to be reflected in BOM, so it's a win win for all of us, but especially those of us  that have signed on to the BOM project.

 

Historical missions are out there now....and the AI seems to have improved as well.  For me personally.....I've made some adjustments on my system and the game is playing very well for me....even with lots of ongoing activity.  I'm very pleased with how things are working out and I've got that feeling that BOS and BOM are going to come out in the end as top notch flight sims.  It's just going to take that winning combination of developers and third party modders.  

1+

[BlitzPig_EL]

I just wish it was easier to host, and have more ability to choose difficulty settings so I could drag the BlitzPigs back into flying again.

 

Sadly I think we are now gone forever as a virtual "squad" (we always considered ourselves as a movement, rather than a squad) , at least in flight sims.

 

All the real pilots in our group, many former and current military, and an aerobatics instructor, just don't want to go to work again to have fun, and the rest of us are in the same boat really.

And before someone says "Warthunder"  we all find that silly and no fun either.

 

I wish I could fix this, I really do.  I want to fly again, but the fun is gone.  The role players have taken the genre to the brink of extinction and seem all too willing to drive over that cliff.

 

*SIGH*

 

Sorry for the little highjack.  I'm just really frustrated about it.

 

I hope you guys enjoy yourselves as much as we did in the old days of IL2.

 

Carry on.

[Rjel]

+1 JagdNuen.

 

BoS isn't everything everyone wants it to be, but it's getting closer with every update. I'd rather focus on what is good and enjoy it than constantly dwell on the negative. This sim has come a long way in the last six months.

[6./ZG26_Custard]

 

 

it did get tiresome looking up all the time and thinking we were on the Western Front against the mighty 8th...

 

Come up and say hello

[Jade_Monkey]

I completely agree.

 

It was a pity that some things like the user made missions were not available at launch. It made some unnecessary damage.

 

However, I'm very very glad with the direction the game has taken, including all the efforts from the developers to include new content and fix issues.

I think it will become an even better game once we give some time for the community to build on it.

[Bearcat]

Okay....time for a group hug......no not really and I don't mean for this to be a warm and fuzzy post....but I just have to say that I'm beginning to see the momentum for this game swinging on the up side.  I mean for me personally...I'm playing the game more and more and having a lot of fun.  The third party missions that are coming out are just what I needed and the updates are bringing changes as well.....and one obvious observation is that the devs are constantly working to improve this game.  Whatever improves within BOS...is going to be reflected in BOM, so it's a win win for all of us, but especially those of us  that have signed on to the BOM project.

 

Historical missions are out there now....and the AI seems to have improved as well.  For me personally.....I've made some adjustments on my system and the game is playing very well for me....even with lots of ongoing activity.  I'm very pleased with how things are working out and I've got that feeling that BOS and BOM are going to come out in the end as top notch flight sims.  It's just going to take that winning combination of developers and third party modders.  

 

 

This potential was always there... Some saw it .. some didn't.. some still do not.

[Finkeren]

This potential was always there... Some saw it .. some didn't.. some still do not.

 

The long term potential has always been the single greatest thing about BoS. A decade of continuous development was what made the original IL-2 so great, and this project has always had the potential of being the true successor with a tried-and-true dev team working with a tried-and-true engine.

 

There have been some things which were handled poorly, and some of them still put their marks on an otherwise excellent sim, but luckily we seem to be well past the worst. I just don't think I could've stomached it, if the project had gone belly-up right after launch.

[SCG_Space_Ghost]

-snip-

 

A decade of continuous development was what made the original IL-2 so great, 

 

-snip-

 

I disagree.

 

It was the hard work of modders that made IL-2 what it was - years and years of 3rd Party work backed by mod support.

 

And the "tried-and-true" engine thing is pretty debatable as well. It should be "tried-and-fell-short-with-supporting-what-IL2-could-support-in-almost-every-way."

 

An opinion is an opinion... I'll take it with a grain of salt. No skin off my back. 

[Pigomortis]

I agree it is looking better.  Originally, I deleted the game and had no intention of purchasing anything else.  Now, I'm loving it and even pre-ordered BOM.  My pc was built with sim racing in mind but the steering wheel is not getting much use these days.  Still learning and a long way to go...hope the community grows with future expansions of the game.

[Juri_JS]

While I agree that the game is on a good way, especially since the release of the FMB, I think that a lot of work will be necessary on the single player content to convince more people to buy BoM.
To create long-term interest a decent career system and the possibility for real 3rd party campaigns and not just unrelated single missions will be absolutely vital.

[Bearcat]

The long term potential has always been the single greatest thing about BoS. A decade of continuous development was what made the original IL-2 so great, and this project has always had the potential of being the true successor with a tried-and-true dev team working with a tried-and-true engine.

 

There have been some things which were handled poorly, and some of them still put their marks on an otherwise excellent sim, but luckily we seem to be well past the worst. I just don't think I could've stomached it, if the project had gone belly-up right after launch.

 

Same here..

 

I disagree.

 

It was the hard work of modders that made IL-2 what it was - years and years of 3rd Party work backed by mod support.

 

And the "tried-and-true" engine thing is pretty debatable as well. It should be "tried-and-fell-short-with-supporting-what-IL2-could-support-in-almost-every-way."

 

An opinion is an opinion... I'll take it with a grain of salt. No skin off my back. 

 

It may be a matter of semantics but I totally disagree with you there.. IL2 was a great sim in 2005.. two years before the mods actually hit.. and yes mods made it better.. no doubt.. but the base sim was always a good piece of kit. IL2 was the best WWII sim on the market.. at least IMO for a long time.

[Freycinet]

Totally agree with you Bearcat. Il-2 was a well-established sim by the time mods came out at the tail-end of its development. It was actually getting a bit long in the tooth by that time. The golden age of Il-2 Classic, the period when it reigned supreme, was well before the mods.

[Agilepig]

Little better than before. From 1.008 to 1.010 were really sucks. I can found very little hope in 1.011, but still need much fixes for this.

Edited May 5, 2015 by =Bout1=Gomwolf_K_

[JG27_Chivas]

The original IL-2 was consistently improved by the development crew over many years, and further enhanced by a strong Mod community.  If the BOS development survives over the next dozen years we should see a consistent improvement to the overall sim, unfortunately it has yet to develop a strong Mod community to further enhance the product.   A combination of developers work and mod work is the best scenario for sim longevity.  COD has a strong Mod community, but the sim isn't advancing as fast as it could, if it still had a developer.   DCS is setting itself up to be the go to flight sim, with strong developer, mod, and VR support.   I think the COD DX11 game engine and the tools the mod community are making for it, "currently" gives it the most future potential.   That said their is no reason the BOS and DCS engines won't be improved by their development teams.

[BladeMeister]

This potential was always there... Some saw it .. some didn't.. some still do not.

Agreed.  Enjoy that Big Group Hug, it builds the confidence in this threads topic. Good job OP!

 

S!Blade<><

Edited May 6, 2015 by BladeMeister

[BlackDevil]

 DCS is setting itself up to be the go to flight sim, with strong developer, mod, and VR support. 

 

If you couldn´t see your enemies in BoS for years, there would be a big [Edited], and you wouldn´t talk of a "strong developer". It is a nice one aircraft (SP) study sim. That´s about it.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Bearcat

[Dakpilot]

Not knocking DCS, it is good for what it is, Jet sim, and as has been said, single aircraft study sim, but seriously to say it is shaping to be a WWII combat sim is a bit of a stretch, a solitary map for 10 years...and a new graphics engine as yet unreleased which no-one knows how it will run, a number of good WWII A/C are on the way but there is no cohesion to any of them, sorry but it will take many years for DCS (WWII) to even come close to what is available in BoS right now. BoS and DCS are so different in approach there is no point in comparing them when it comes to WWII.

 

A lot of the BoM aircraft are complementary to the BoS planeset, add in summer maps for Velikie Luki, Stalingrad and Moscow and things will look a lot different, in the short time the ME has been available some very high quality content has been made and as it is more understood the speed of that content will increase, Generating SP campaign missions and converting to SP/MP or Co-op looks like a great way to create easy quick missions with limited work needed to mod them up a bit.

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[Finkeren]

Not knocking DCS, it is good for what it is, Jet sim, and as has been said, single aircraft study sim, but seriously to say it is shaping to be a WWII combat sim is a bit of a stretch, a solitary map for 10 years...and a new graphics engine as yet unreleased which no-one knows how it will run, a number of good WWII A/C are on the way but there is no cohesion to any of them, sorry but it will take many years for DCS (WWII) to even come close to what is available in BoS right now. BoS and DCS are so different in approach there is no point in comparing them when it comes to WWII.

 

A lot of the BoM aircraft are complementary to the BoS planeset, add in summer maps for Velikie Luki, Stalingrad and Moscow and things will look a lot different, in the short time the ME has been available some very high quality content has been made and as it is more understood the speed of that content will increase, Generating SP campaign missions and converting to SP/MP or Co-op looks like a great way to create easy quick missions with limited work needed to mod them up a bit.

 

Cheers Dakpilot

 

+10000

 

That's the honest truth, right there.

 

DCS is a magnificent sim in its own right, but a proper WW2 historical simulator it is not, and won't be for at least half a decade.

[Weegie]

This potential was always there... Some saw it .. some didn't.. some still do not.

 

Understatement of the week award goes to Bearcat.

 

Every time I mention how much I'm enjoying just the basic flights and mastering the aircraft, I got shot down by the "keyboard aces".

 

So yes a big from me

[No601_Swallow]

 A combination of developers work and mod work is the best scenario for sim longevity.  COD has a strong Mod community, but the sim isn't advancing as fast as it could, if it still had a developer.   

 

Gawd bless CloD - crazy world-conquering ambition. The game still has the ability to be jaw-droppingly gorgeous, but about the last thing it has is a "strong Mod community". Apart from the TF crew, where are the mods?

 

But there is Team Fusion, who have worked wonders in terms of rescuing FPS, enhancing graphics and making the game playable. But beyond the skin-deep, they seem unable to rectify the so many of the innumerable bugged, porked and incomplete aspects of the game. Argh - that game makes me tear my hair out! Deep breaths, old son, deep breaths...

[KoN_]

Yes the sim is moving forward cant take that way , but not in multiplayer its Empty most of the time .

Devs really need to look into online game play . !!!!!

Rumors are starting already that this game is dead.

And when you jump onto the server list and see all but three servers with people on , that amount to 30+ people ,  it looks quite sad as this game has just been released. !!!

Guys are running servers that is costing them money but most of the time remain empty .

So what has happend . ??

[Finkeren]

Yes the sim is moving forward cant take that way , but not in multiplayer its Empty most of the time .

Devs really need to look into online game play . !!!!!

Rumors are starting already that this game is dead.

And when you jump onto the server list and see all but three servers with people on , that amount to 30+ people ,  it looks quite sad as this game has just been released. !!!

Guys are running servers that is costing them money but most of the time remain empty .

So what has happend . ??

 

I agree that the number of online players need to increase, but simply yelling 'Devs really need to look into online game play . !!!!!' isn't gonna do a damn thing.

 

What exactly are the devs supposed to do to magically increase the number of players? They have released an easy-to-use dserver plug in that's also not a resource hog and they have released a powerful full mission builder which, while having a steep learning curve, allows players to create quite detailed missions. They're even holding periodic sales to boost the overall number of people who own BoS. No, the devs have done what they could, now it's up to us, the community, to create interesting servers and drag people online. The best way to do that is by being online ourselves.

 

As for the 'Rumors are starting already that this game is dead.'-thing: I've heard that since way before BoS was even launched. Sad to say there are a select few people in the flight simming community that absolutely want to see this sim fail, because it doesn't live up to whatever expectations they had, and are busy declaring BoS dead at every turn. Online population in BoS has always been low, and while that is a very real problem that needs to be adressed, it's not a sign of the end times.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Finkeren

[Feathered_IV]

I'm not quite there yet. The singleplayer component is still underwhelming in most respects. Actively irritating in others.

With natural sounding AI radio chatter and some mod support things might be better, but for now BoS is the best game I never play.

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

You miss an important detail, Finkere. Remember the 100 player sebrvers we had short after release? Well, devs brought them to a quick end with MP player reduction to 33.

 

After this (in my opinion not well thought threw) decision player quit and raged but barely anything changed. As result missions changed, became more steril to work witb the low number of player we barely can see online currently.

 

Of course it's too late now that it is screwed to fix thing and bring people back. And good luck pulling peole back in the empty boat.

 

What we need is 100 player restriction + maybe more accessible hosting process. Than amd only than it's up to us to carry the message around and show people the true potential of BoS.

 

Advertising BoS MP in it's current state feels like selling a car with flat tires....

Edited May 6, 2015 by Stab/JG26_5tuka

[Finkeren]

I might have played at the wrong time of day back then 5tuka, but I have never, ever seen any of the 100 player servers more than half full. Right now just getting to 48 players is a rare feat, so I fail to see how a near empty 100 player server is going to be more appealing than a 48 player one.

My hope is, that the sim has matured so much (IMHO the sim itself is now very, very good) and the tools for making interesting missions mastered by a few still-enthusiastic people, that when the next big event comes along to boost people's interest ( whether that'll be the release of the first summer maps or the beginning of BoM early access remains to be seen) more people will be drawn online, realize that it's actually pretty fun and stay there.

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

Well personally I've seen up to 80 people so far around Okt 2014 before the insta drop hit in. 100 player restriction might be doubtfull as for currently but certainly usefull to throw some coockies at CoD guys and essential for real online campaigns (ie whole conflicts modeled on one server).

 

And as I said you rarely see 48 players because it's simply to few. I loved flying MP but I cant get myself to join it for the sake of flying solo for 30 min and eventuallybhaving 1 encounter if I'm not kicked from the server by than.

 

I guess many feel the same and would rejoin after seing any positive change from dev side. What we need to gather new playrrs is both capacity and better gameplay You can't just have one of them and expect guy to get in the boat.