Curious where to start?

[docbrick]

Hello everyone,

 

I am quite interesting into getting into IL-2 Sturmovik. I play a lot of DCS and am quite experienced with flight sims. Yet even with the upcoming release of the Normandy map, I have a feeling that DCS will still be lacking a good damage model for WW2 aircraft and/or dynamic missions. 

 

That is where IL-2 enters the scene (I realize I'm a little late to the party).

 

Just a few questions:

 

Should I start with the Battle of Moscow or the Battle of Stalingrad or does it even matter?

 

That being said, is there any advantage to getting BOS on Steam? It would seem that Steam sometimes hinders what content you can get (DCS). 

 

I have all the hardware and peripherals needed already.

 

 

Just wanted some opinions before I dive in.

 

Thanks for everyone's time,

Brett

[Finkeren]

Get the sim here at the site, that way all the money goes to the developer and you avoid a lot of fuss.

 

The only exception is if you are plannning on using VR gear. BoX uses Steam tech in its VR implementation and running it through Steam makes using VR a bit easier.

 

Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Moscow and Battle of Kuban (which is in preorder) are all parts of the same game, so which one(s) to get is entirely up to personal taste. Regardless which you buy, you'll DL the entire game and be able to use all planes as AI. Which titles you own only limits which planes you can fly and which maps and campaigns you can use.

 

BoS will give you a well rounded set of high-performing planes that will suit most of your needs, it will also give you the Stalingrad and Lapino maps and the two-part Stalingrad campaign (please note that all campaigns will be replaced by a better career mode this summer)

 

BoM will give you a very interesting but less high-performing plane set, the improved quality Moscow map and the Moscow campaign.

[Wolferl_1791]

Can you even buy BoM without having BoS? Anyway, I find myself flying BoS planes more often than BoM planes, although the Ju88 and Bf110 from BoM are awesome and well worth the price alone. Also, the Stalingrad map itself is much easier to navigate. I always get lost on the Moscow map. 

 

As for Steam, I bought BoS with premium planes on Steam in euros, but BoM from the IL-2 website in dollars (so cheaper). No issues at all. What Steam gives you is basically a few game keys that you manually input on the website account itself. I like having updates through Steam ,and if they break, I can always download the game from the site itself. 

 

Edit: Oh yeah, quoting Finkeren about VR, I can attest that it works nicely through Steam, haven't tried playing the game without it.

Edited May 23, 2017 by karamazovnew

[docbrick]

Superb! Thanks Finkeren and karamazovnew. Sounds like I will be purchasing directly. 

[Finkeren]

BoK is still in preorder and so far only 5 planes have been released (4 of the German) this means that until it is officially released, you need to own BoS and/or BoM in order to access the BoK content in the sim.

 

Eventually BoK will contain a full set of 10 planes, the awesome new Kuban map and the new career mode (there will also be new careers for BoS and BoM which will be available even if you don't buy BoK)

 

There are also 2 extra collector's planes: The Yak-1B and the Ju 52. They are not part of any title and must be bought separately (you can still fly the Ju 52 in the Stalingrad campaign and the Yak-1B will be in the BoK career)You must own either BoS or BoM to use these.

 

In addition there is an extra map Velikye Luki, made by Zeus who was a community member at the time but has since joined the developer team. That map is available to all players for free IIRC. There is also currently a map of the Odessa region under construction.

 

Hope this helps. Go buy the game today, you will not regret it. This sim might not have clickpits or every single button modeled like in DCS, but the FM is brilliant and the DM the best in any flight sim.

[Finkeren]

Also: make sure to keep an eye on the "Announcement" section of the forum. Almost every week there is a new entry in the "development diary" with news of upcoming stuff. If you care to read through the entire diary, it can tell you a lot about how the game has evolved.

 

Every month there is also a major update of the game which fixes some of the known issues with the sim (not many of them are left by now) as well as adding new content to BoK. Updates are announced on the forum and they install automatically when you open the game launcher.

[docbrick]

Also: make sure to keep an eye on the "Announcement" section of the forum. Almost every week there is a new entry in the "development diary" with news of upcoming stuff. If you care to read through the entire diary, it can tell you a lot about how the game has evolved.

 

Every month there is also a major update of the game which fixes some of the known issues with the sim (not many of them are left by now) as well as adding new content to BoK. Updates are announced on the forum and they install automatically when you open the game launcher.

Wow! You have been extremely helpful, Finkeren! 

 

My decision is made.

 

A quick question: I have a Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS. Is it pretty much compatible with IL2? I just hate to breakout Thrustmaster's in-house button programming software. 

[Finkeren]

Yes, it should be perfectly compatible. A lot of players use it (those that can afford it)

Don't ever be afraid to ask questions here on the forums. Lots of people who are happy to help and many who are extremely knowledgeable about history, engineering, physics and all other things pertaining to this sim.

[BlackSix]

BoK is still in preorder and so far only 5 planes have been released (4 of the German) this means that until it is officially released, you need to own BoS and/or BoM in order to access the BoK content in the sim.

It's a wrong info, let me correct your post. You don't need to own BoS and/or BoM in order to access the BoK content in the sim. If someone hasn't BoS or BoM he can buy BoK and use any free map like Lapino or Velikye Luki in the offline and any map in the online now. Also he can buy any Collector plane.

[Finkeren]

One last thing:

 

There is one major remaining issue with the FM which has plagued the game engine since back in Rise Of Flight. This has to do with the modeling of rudder forces, which currently produces far too much rolling motion (and apparently also has the effect of making especially the Bf 109s "wobbly" or "skittish" to some players) apart from the Bf 109 this affects all planes the same, so it's really not much of a balance issue.

 

This is a known issue, but the devs have a solution ready, but since it requires redoing some of the airflow modeling on every single aircraft in the sim, and they want to do it for all aircraft at the same time, the fix won't be in place until later this summer. Many of the discussions you'll see on the forum currently will mention this.

 

It's not really something that breaks the game, we have all gotten used to it, but it's nice to know beforehand, if you are an experienced simmer, because it can seem a bit weird at first.

It's a wrong info, let me correct your post. You don't need to own BoS and/or BoM in order to access the BoK content in the sim. If someone hasn't BoS or BoM he can buy BoK and use any free map like Lapino or Velikye Luki in the offline and any map in the online now. Also he can buy any Collector plane.

Ok, Thanks for clearing that up Bsix. Sorry for giving false info.

[pilotpierre]

Welcome docbrick, I can assure you whatever you purchase here you are going to regret it. From hereon-in you will not have much spare time for other activities and if you are married your wife will curse the day you became one of us.

 

A Nonny Mouse 

[Chief_Mouser]

Wow! You have been extremely helpful, Finkeren! 

 

My decision is made.

 

A quick question: I have a Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS. Is it pretty much compatible with IL2? I just hate to breakout Thrustmaster's in-house button programming software. 

 

I have the Warthog and have no problems using the TARGET software to create a profile for Il-2. Just remember to back up your profile and data/input folder in the game. In the past, updates have reset the controls and settings to default, but to be fair that hasn't happened for quite a while now.

Cheers.

[Ribbon]

BoS or BoM it all comes down to planes which you like to fly, i started with BoS.

As you said ypu are flight simmer so in the end you'll end up with both becouse it is our sickness.

If you like to fly allies yak-1b is a peice of art.

Currently there is campaign mode and even better pwcg campaign generator and MP is populated good.

Till end of the summer or october there will be new campaign/career mode and coop fpr all titles.

With BoK on preorder devs deliver it piece by piece every month; next month it will be spitfire, in july kuban map, after summer career mode for every title and rest of BoK features like A-20, p-39L...etc. with official release in december. After that they are moving on Pacific theatre (Midway or Okinawa) with release date i believe next year.

Devs work with amazing speed so every month there is something new to look forward too.

Welcome to the community!