Fearless Prediction

[Gambit21]

Battle of Hoth is more likely 

[BlitzPig_EL]

2 hours ago, =27=Davesteu said:

But Dauntless-oholics can relax: Besides very limited usage under SBD designation the Army provides for A-24

 

 

The A 24 was quickly withdrawn from Army use as it was unable to sustain the operational tempo of a prolonged land campaign.

[DickDong]

40 minutes ago, Finkeren said:

 

I have yet to see any evidence to indicate, that this is the case.

 

I have nothing against the Pacific and all kidding aside, I think it is by far the more likely scenario that we get a PTO title after BoBP, but I am far from convinced, that it will sell well on the basis of that alone.

if you knew the broader us flight sim community, it would be obvious, majority i know, which is alot wanted BOP.  They undeestand why not now, but still are bummed.

[Gambit21]

Yep - PTO is going to do well.

[216th_Jordan]

Yep, we are a bit in a bubble here, there are quite many in the Il2 community that wish for Battle of Pacific, myself included, but there are also those who are not part of the community yet because they found little interest in the theaters offered. For me the 4th installment in europe is really enough. Sure I can see why Battle of Italy could be interesting and such, but I'd like something else than Germans vs the rest of the world for once.

Some people will be unhappy, no way around that.

[LukeFF]

3 hours ago, RedEye_Tumu said:

spanish civil war....  pre ww2 scenario , for someones of us will be really great. But I  doubt devs spend time and resources in this scenario.

 

It would be a financial disaster.

[Voidhunger]

4 hours ago, Finkeren said:

 

I have had 33 aircraft in the same area at once in a career mission (8xYak-7b, 9xIL-2, 10xBf109G2, 6xBf109G4 plus 30+ ground targets) it ran okay-ish on my ancient system on ultra on the Kuban map.

 

I am fairly confident, that the  system can handle at least the bare minimum of planes required for a realistic portrayal of carrier based combat.

pffff whats your system? My PC cant handle this

[Gambit21]

It's highly dependent on surrounding terrain and type of units, aircraft included.

 

You can't do this over Novorosysk (sp) but out over the farmland it's more plausible. Multi-crew aircraft - you'll get away with fewer.

Static vehicles - better yet.

[Royal_Flight]

1 hour ago, Legioneod said:

I want the Pacific just as much as the next guy but I would also like to see western europe fleshed out more as well. The invasion of sicily and Italy would be a good addition imo and would give us a nice timeframe.

 

With Italy we could get earlier aircraft from 43-44 like the Razorback or even a early model Mustang. It would also go well with bodenplatte because both involve the 9th Air Force and we could have a good career mode going from Sicily/Italy-Bodenplatte.

 

Battle of Italy/Sicily makes the most sense imo. Leaving western Europe half finished and going straight to the Pacific is a mistake imo.

 

Also, many of the Axis aircraft are already here so the devs could focus on adding more American/British aircraft and only add a couple interesting German ones, this way we get a complete planeset spanning from 1943-1945

 

 

I vote Il-2 Battle of Italy 

 

I agree. Well, I would like to see the Italian theatre anyway, but I'd say that Italy '43-'44 offers the best way to expand the Western Front in four separate and important ways:

 

1. Interesting setting:

The Italian theatre features Commonwealth, US, German and Italian forces in the air, on land and at sea; and the style of warfare is relatively mobile and dynamic with amphibious landings, small unit skirmishes, armoured spearheads, city fighting and defensive positions. So there is something for most people to be interested in, whether that is a specific national side, a certain aircraft or a particular style of flying (fighters, carriers, ground attack, bombers, reconnaissance, cargo/utility). 

 

2. A varied planeset:

 The aircraft choice is likely to appeal to a wide range of people. A possible list will probably include the obvious favourites, but also may feature less common choices giving pilots a chance to experience something new.

Also, as the essential German aircraft are in place by virtue of the Eastern Front releases, the Axis planeset can consist of Italian types which again offer variety and saves on more of the same for Axis players who might otherwise feel left out if the Allies are getting shiny new aircraft models whereas they are getting reskinned 109s and Ju 88s.

 

3. Fits the timeline:

With Moscow, Stalingrad and Kuban the Eastern Front has 1941, 42 and 43 covered. If Bodenplatte is set in 1945 then Italy, starting from 1943, begins to fill out the latter half of the war in the West. A subsequent 1944 release could be set anywhere from Normandy to Hungary and link the two and then there is a similar progression for the West as in the East.

Additionally, there are a number of aircraft that can pull double-duty in the East as well as the West; most of the Luftwaffe aircraft so far, the Spit, P-40, A-20 and MC.202 - all can be dropped in with no changes other than skins, which means a lot of content from day one with no additional development time. 

Conversely, a lot of aircraft from an Italian theatre can go into other releases or work with other notional theatres, limited only by maps or imagination - Hurricanes could go to Burma or Leningrad or Finland, Re.2000 or Cr.42 could fit Hungary, razorback P-47s could fly over New Guinea or occupied France, Martlets fit the Pacific or North Africa, Mc.200s can go into Stalingrad, G.50s can be used by Finland.

In this way, every theatre sees a great deal  of benefit, not just Italy fans. 

 

4. The Italian campaign is underrepresented:

Very few sims touch on this theatre. Quite aside from this relatively uncommon setting potentially attracting people out of curiosity, there's also a broader aspect. If you view a purpose of sims to educate as well as entertain, it if you're a student or scholar or just an interested party to the Second World War and the history of combat aviation, then it presents a new and different set of weapons, aircraft, battles and personalities to learn about and be inspired by.

The Il-2 series brought a knowledge of and interest in the Eastern Front to a new audience back in 2001 and I'd wager a lot of people are like me, crediting their knowledge and awareness of this crucial theatre of war to the initial spark provided by Il-2. 

In that light, people who don't see the appeal or argue against the Med or Italy may be surprised by how interested in it they may become. And if not, it's a way of documenting some of our recent history at a time when it's starting to pass from living memory.

 

TL;DR - Italian theatre would be good. 

[DD_Arthur]

@Royal_Flight;  nice post.

 

At the end of the day, as long as I get to fly from a carrier - be it the Med. or the Pacific - I'll be happy

 

 

[SCG_Space_Ghost]

51 minutes ago, Voidhunger said:

pffff whats your system? My PC cant handle this

 

i7 6700K @ 4.7GHz

16GB RAM @ 3000MHz

GTX1080 8GB

Samsung 950 Pro 512GB SSD

Edited April 10, 2018 by Space_Ghost
You're not my mom and I don't have to listen to you

[Gambit21]

32 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

@Royal_Flight;  nice post.

 

At the end of the day, as long as I get to fly from a carrier - be it the Med. or the Pacific - I'll be happy

 

 

 

Well it sure as F@%# isn't going to be the Med, so...

[SCG_Space_Ghost]

2 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

Well it sure as F@%# isn't going to be the Med, so...

 

Maybe they'll do IL-2: Six Day War or IL-2: Battle of la Drang.

[=362nd_FS=Hiromachi]

5 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

Well it sure as F@%# isn't going to be the Med, so...

What's your problem, huh ? Relax. Everyone heard that Jason wishes to do PTO after. But its not written in stone just like after BoK it wasnt and guys still like to talk and speculate so why you jump on every single mention of something else ?

 

1 hour ago, BlitzPig_EL said:

The A 24 was quickly withdrawn from Army use as it was unable to sustain the operational tempo of a prolonged land campaign.

They were also withdrawn due to high losses suffered in combat over New Guinea. SBD was a great dive bomber and especially excelled in flights from aircraft carriers. But its ability to carry infantry support was not near as good as Army wanted. 

[Gambit21]

You relax Hiro  - just stating again what is and isn't on the table. 

No emotion involved.

15 minutes ago, Space_Ghost said:

 

Maybe they'll do IL-2: Six Day War or IL-2: Battle of la Drang.

 

Vietnam would be epic 

[DD_Arthur]

13 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

Well it sure as F@%# isn't going to be the Med, so...

 

Lol Gambit.  

I think I stated previously in this thread it would seem more than likely that we will be going to the Pacific.

 

Of course, this time last year we were all sure we'd be going to the Pacific after Kuban.....

 

So what if the Team have real trouble finding enough material and resources for Japanese aircraft that they feel they can't do justice to them?

 

Or TFS goes the way of the Dodo and all territorial agreements are off?

 

It' is still - perhaps remotely - possible that in a couple of years I'll be sitting on deck awaiting take off in my Seafire mk III from a British carrier off the southern coast of Italy.

We'll be looking to intercept LW bombers that have just released a  FritzX at HMS Warspite 

 

[Voidhunger]

46 minutes ago, Space_Ghost said:

 

i7 6700K @ 4.7GHz

16GB RAM @ 3000MHz

GTX1080 8GB

Samsung 950 Pro 512GB SSD

 

 

Hmm nice, maybe after kids grow up I´ll have the chance to buy better rig.

Right now the career mode is unplayable

[PatrickAWlson]

Channel front. 

We already have many of the core airplane types.  The fighters would mostly be variants, if that. 

A channel front map exists in RoF, might provide a leg up for Battle of the Channel. 

Tactical.

Lots of fighter vs. fighter.

 

[Gambit21]

47 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

 

Lol Gambit.  

I think I stated previously in this thread it would seem more than likely that we will be going to the Pacific.

 

Of course, this time last year we were all sure we'd be going to the Pacific after Kuban.....

 

So what if the Team have real trouble finding enough material and resources for Japanese aircraft that they feel they can't do justice to them?

 

Or TFS goes the way of the Dodo and all territorial agreements are off?

 

It' is still - perhaps remotely - possible that in a couple of years I'll be sitting on deck awaiting take off in my Seafire mk III from a British carrier off the southern coast of Italy.

We'll be looking to intercept LW bombers that have just released a  FritzX at HMS Warspite 

 

 

Thank you for taking my froggy post for what it was.

...and you're of course 100% correct.

[ITAF_Rani]

Italian planeset 43/44 is full of interesting planes like:

 

Bombers: SM 79

Jabo: REe 2000, Re 2002

Fighters: Macchi MC 205, Re 2005, G 55

 

 

 

 

[Sotka94]

21 minutes ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Channel front. 

We already have many of the core airplane types.  The fighters would mostly be variants, if that. 

A channel front map exists in RoF, might provide a leg up for Battle of the Channel. 

Tactical.

Lots of fighter vs. fighter.

 

Typhoon, Mosquito and Beaufighter launching raids into France and attacking shipping  Not sure what new planes the Germans could have, though.

 

I'm not particularly interested in Italy, but Royal Flight made a very good argument for it! Those Italian planes do have a certain appeal.

I wouldn't mind spending more time on the Western Front, or anything with British planes. Mind you, Battle of Karelia with the Finnish Air Force would be a great addition to the Eastern front...

 

Harmless speculation aside, Pacific theatre will be great too. Looking forward to Wildcats, Brewsters, Dauntlesses and Devastators.

 

Also, very relevant article by Shamrock: https://stormbirds.blog/2017/06/10/something-i-dont-understand-about-wwii-flight-sims/

Edited April 10, 2018 by Habsburger

[DD_Arthur]

Basically, more sales = more staff = more content, more quickly.

 

 

[Frenchy56]

1 hour ago, Space_Ghost said:

 

Maybe they'll do IL-2: Six Day War or IL-2: Battle of la Drang.

IL-2: Battle of MiG Alley.

[Gambit21]

30 minutes ago, Frenchy56 said:

IL-2: Battle of MiG Alley.

 

We actually might see that someday...Han is a fan.

[Royal_Flight]

On 4/9/2018 at 2:11 PM, Space_Ghost said:

 

I've always liked the concept of an IL-2: Legion Condor expansion with He 112's, Hs 123's, Bf109 B/C's, etc.

 

I realize disliking the Pacific altogether and preferring more obscure, early-war engagements (or more early/mid/late Eastern Front) puts me in a minority too. 

 

The Spanish Civil War could be a bit of good craic too, as long as it didn't end up madly unbalanced with the Condor Legion and Regia Aeronautica up against a ragtag bunch of [Edited] cast-offs from France and the Soviet Union. 

 

I'm with you though in that I'd be keen to see some early war engagements. Although I'm not in a rush to go back to the Eastern Front any time soon. 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Bearcat

[Legioneod]

4 hours ago, Royal_Flight said:

 

I agree. Well, I would like to see the Italian theatre anyway, but I'd say that Italy '43-'44 offers the best way to expand the Western Front in four separate and important ways:

 

1. Interesting setting:

The Italian theatre features Commonwealth, US, German and Italian forces in the air, on land and at sea; and the style of warfare is relatively mobile and dynamic with amphibious landings, small unit skirmishes, armoured spearheads, city fighting and defensive positions. So there is something for most people to be interested in, whether that is a specific national side, a certain aircraft or a particular style of flying (fighters, carriers, ground attack, bombers, reconnaissance, cargo/utility). 

 

2. A varied planeset:

 The aircraft choice is likely to appeal to a wide range of people. A possible list will probably include the obvious favourites, but also may feature less common choices giving pilots a chance to experience something new.

Also, as the essential German aircraft are in place by virtue of the Eastern Front releases, the Axis planeset can consist of Italian types which again offer variety and saves on more of the same for Axis players who might otherwise feel left out if the Allies are getting shiny new aircraft models whereas they are getting reskinned 109s and Ju 88s.

 

3. Fits the timeline:

With Moscow, Stalingrad and Kuban the Eastern Front has 1941, 42 and 43 covered. If Bodenplatte is set in 1945 then Italy, starting from 1943, begins to fill out the latter half of the war in the West. A subsequent 1944 release could be set anywhere from Normandy to Hungary and link the two and then there is a similar progression for the West as in the East.

Additionally, there are a number of aircraft that can pull double-duty in the East as well as the West; most of the Luftwaffe aircraft so far, the Spit, P-40, A-20 and MC.202 - all can be dropped in with no changes other than skins, which means a lot of content from day one with no additional development time. 

Conversely, a lot of aircraft from an Italian theatre can go into other releases or work with other notional theatres, limited only by maps or imagination - Hurricanes could go to Burma or Leningrad or Finland, Re.2000 or Cr.42 could fit Hungary, razorback P-47s could fly over New Guinea or occupied France, Martlets fit the Pacific or North Africa, Mc.200s can go into Stalingrad, G.50s can be used by Finland.

In this way, every theatre sees a great deal  of benefit, not just Italy fans. 

 

4. The Italian campaign is underrepresented:

Very few sims touch on this theatre. Quite aside from this relatively uncommon setting potentially attracting people out of curiosity, there's also a broader aspect. If you view a purpose of sims to educate as well as entertain, it if you're a student or scholar or just an interested party to the Second World War and the history of combat aviation, then it presents a new and different set of weapons, aircraft, battles and personalities to learn about and be inspired by.

The Il-2 series brought a knowledge of and interest in the Eastern Front to a new audience back in 2001 and I'd wager a lot of people are like me, crediting their knowledge and awareness of this crucial theatre of war to the initial spark provided by Il-2. 

In that light, people who don't see the appeal or argue against the Med or Italy may be surprised by how interested in it they may become. And if not, it's a way of documenting some of our recent history at a time when it's starting to pass from living memory.

 

TL;DR - Italian theatre would be good. 

 

Great post. Pretty much my thoughts on the subject as well, glad you could explain it much better than me

[Gambit21]

6 minutes ago, Royal_Flight said:

 

I'm with you though in that I'd be keen to see some early war engagements. Although I'm not in a rush to go back to the Eastern Front any time soon.

 

That's what's great bout Zeke vs Wildcat.

All of the visceral early war goodness that we crave, without the "109 vs" that we have quite enough of thank you.

 

[Royal_Flight]

1 hour ago, Frenchy56 said:

IL-2: Battle of MiG Alley.

 

I'd be up for that. Korean War has a load of potential to be honest. 

 

2 hours ago, PatrickAWlson said:

Channel front. 

We already have many of the core airplane types.  The fighters would mostly be variants, if that. 

A channel front map exists in RoF, might provide a leg up for Battle of the Channel. 

Tactical.

Lots of fighter vs. fighter.

 

 

I was told once (after suggesting using RoF's channel map) that it wouldn't be possible to bring across, but I'm not sure why.

Could be a reasonably straightforward job though, and has the Spit Vb and the A-20 already, along with period-correct Luftwaffe aircraft, maybe with some appropriate mods to reflect different equipment. Add a Hurricane, maybe a Mosquito or Beaufighter and Typhoon as collector planes and there's nearly a whole theatre release for not much effort. 

 

2 hours ago, ITAF_Rani said:

Italian planeset 43/44 is full of interesting planes like:

 

Bombers: SM 79

Jabo: REe 2000, Re 2002

Fighters: Macchi MC 205, Re 2005, G 55

 

 

 

 

 

I'd be keen to see the Re.2000. Underrated aircraft for sure.

Although is there room for a Saetta in there? It would be good to have as well.

Agree on all the choices though. 

 

5 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

Battle of Hoth is more likely 

 

Then the Allies would finally get a transport...

[Ribbon]

PACIFIC, nothing else!

All my support to devs lead to them achieve PTO, i don't wan't to wait 6-7years for it, 2year delay is my limit.

[sniperton]

15 minutes ago, Royal_Flight said:

I'd be keen to see the Re.2000. Underrated aircraft for sure.

Although is there room for a Saetta in there? It would be good to have as well.

Saetta yes, but the Re.2000 is a big no. Only used by Hungary in numbers, mostly behind the front, and it was obsolate from day 1. Saetta, G.50, Hurricane, Brewster, IAR, I-153, anything goes, but the Re.2000 didn't see enough combat to be included. I'd like to have it (I'm Hungarian), but it'd be a waste of time, a waste of resources.

[HBPencil]

5 hours ago, Royal_Flight said:

 

I agree. Well, I would like to see the Italian theatre anyway, but I'd say that Italy '43-'44 offers the best way to expand the Western Front in four separate and important ways:

 

1. Interesting setting:

The Italian theatre features Commonwealth, US, German and Italian forces in the air, on land and at sea; and the style of warfare is relatively mobile and dynamic with amphibious landings, small unit skirmishes, armoured spearheads, city fighting and defensive positions. So there is something for most people to be interested in, whether that is a specific national side, a certain aircraft or a particular style of flying (fighters, carriers, ground attack, bombers, reconnaissance, cargo/utility). 

 

2. A varied planeset:

 The aircraft choice is likely to appeal to a wide range of people. A possible list will probably include the obvious favourites, but also may feature less common choices giving pilots a chance to experience something new.

Also, as the essential German aircraft are in place by virtue of the Eastern Front releases, the Axis planeset can consist of Italian types which again offer variety and saves on more of the same for Axis players who might otherwise feel left out if the Allies are getting shiny new aircraft models whereas they are getting reskinned 109s and Ju 88s.

 

3. Fits the timeline:

With Moscow, Stalingrad and Kuban the Eastern Front has 1941, 42 and 43 covered. If Bodenplatte is set in 1945 then Italy, starting from 1943, begins to fill out the latter half of the war in the West. A subsequent 1944 release could be set anywhere from Normandy to Hungary and link the two and then there is a similar progression for the West as in the East.

Additionally, there are a number of aircraft that can pull double-duty in the East as well as the West; most of the Luftwaffe aircraft so far, the Spit, P-40, A-20 and MC.202 - all can be dropped in with no changes other than skins, which means a lot of content from day one with no additional development time. 

Conversely, a lot of aircraft from an Italian theatre can go into other releases or work with other notional theatres, limited only by maps or imagination - Hurricanes could go to Burma or Leningrad or Finland, Re.2000 or Cr.42 could fit Hungary, razorback P-47s could fly over New Guinea or occupied France, Martlets fit the Pacific or North Africa, Mc.200s can go into Stalingrad, G.50s can be used by Finland.

In this way, every theatre sees a great deal  of benefit, not just Italy fans. 

 

4. The Italian campaign is underrepresented:

Very few sims touch on this theatre. Quite aside from this relatively uncommon setting potentially attracting people out of curiosity, there's also a broader aspect. If you view a purpose of sims to educate as well as entertain, it if you're a student or scholar or just an interested party to the Second World War and the history of combat aviation, then it presents a new and different set of weapons, aircraft, battles and personalities to learn about and be inspired by.

The Il-2 series brought a knowledge of and interest in the Eastern Front to a new audience back in 2001 and I'd wager a lot of people are like me, crediting their knowledge and awareness of this crucial theatre of war to the initial spark provided by Il-2. 

In that light, people who don't see the appeal or argue against the Med or Italy may be surprised by how interested in it they may become. And if not, it's a way of documenting some of our recent history at a time when it's starting to pass from living memory.

 

TL;DR - Italian theatre would be good. 

Well said Sir. You make good points, yet I can't help but think that a lot (but not all) of what you said could also be applied to the Solomons campaign. There would be some differences of course; more naval and CV action, no city/town fighting etc. Granted, it won't happen unless the devs get the info they need for the IJA/IJN aircraft... which raises the question, would they have the same issue with Italian aircraft?
Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly fly the Italian skies but the reasons for going there can also be applied to other theatres as well.

[Legioneod]

3 minutes ago, HBPencil said:

Well said Sir. You make good points, yet I can't help but think that a lot (but not all) of what you said could also be applied to the Solomons campaign. There would be some differences of course; more naval and CV action, no city/town fighting etc. Granted, it won't happen unless the devs get the info they need for the IJA/IJN aircraft... which raises the question, would they have the same issue with Italian aircraft?
Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly fly the Italian skies but the reasons for going there can also be applied to other theatres as well.

But the plane set for the Solomon campaign wouldn't fit much in a European scenario (depending on what part of the campaign is covered.) Italy offers a planeset that is nearly complete except for allied aircraft and the allied aircraft can be used in the Pacific.

 

I just think that they should flesh out Western Europe before going to the pacific, Italy would be a good place to go and would leave us with a 1943-1945 timeline in western Europe. Later on (after the Pacific) they could go to Normandy to fill Western Europe even more.

[DD_Arthur]

1 hour ago, Royal_Flight said:

I was told once (after suggesting using RoF's channel map) that it wouldn't be possible to bring across, but I'm not sure why.

Could be a reasonably straightforward job though, and has the Spit Vb and the A-20 already, along with period-correct Luftwaffe aircraft, maybe with some appropriate mods to reflect different equipment. Add a Hurricane, maybe a Mosquito or Beaufighter and Typhoon as collector planes and there's nearly a whole theatre release for not much effort. 

 

We're just reaching a stage where we have a spread of useful aircraft that share a commonality of theatres.  Particularly on the LW side.

The more you look at the RoF channel map the more you see the opportunities for some sort of Channel Battles expansion covering the '42 - 43 period.  In these years it was the crucible of the western european airwar.  

 

I freely admit I have no idea how much work this would entail for the Team's map-makers but they would seem to have all the elevation and location data to hand.

Certainly nothing major was built in that part of southern England between the wars - no new railways or ports and the towns simply expanded...but not hugely.

 

Oh yeah, we'll need a couple of these too....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scharnhorst-class_battleship

 

 

 

[Gambit21]

1 hour ago, Legioneod said:

But the plane set for the Solomon campaign wouldn't fit much in a European scenario (depending on what part of the campaign is covered.) Italy offers a planeset that is nearly complete except for allied aircraft and the allied aircraft can be used in the Pacific.

 

I just think that they should flesh out Western Europe before going to the pacific, Italy would be a good place to go and would leave us with a 1943-1945 timeline in western Europe. Later on (after the Pacific) they could go to Normandy to fill Western Europe even more.

 

I don't think he was making the case that a PTO aircraft set would fit in Europe...context Leggi...context.

As it stands, Bodenplatte was inserted into the schedule to allow time for PTO development. I'm very glad about this, it was a good choice on many levels and I'll certainly

enjoy flying it and building content for it. That said...this repeated "flesh it out first" doesn't make sense if you've listened to what's transpired and why, and continually throwing Italy into your posts makes little sense as well since you've been provided the pertinent information. Moreover, "Fleshing Out" would make more sense if you're talking about a Normandy tactical map next...which is actually doable and practical outside the development schedule of a full release. Not to mention the progression of the war was Normandy, then on through Belgium to Germany. With those two maps we'd have a large, contiguous front/progression.

 

 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Gambit21

[TheBlackPenguin]

45 minutes ago, Gambit21 said:

 

I don't think he was making the case that a PTO aircraft set would fit in Europe...context Leggi...context.

As it stands, Bodenplatte was inserted into the schedule to allow time for PTO development. I'm very glad about this, it was a good choice on many levels and I'll certainly

enjoy flying it and building content for it. That said...this repeated "flesh it out first" doesn't make sense if you've listened to what's transpired and why, and continually throwing Italy into your posts makes little sense as well since you've been provided the pertinent information. Moreover, "Fleshing Out" would make more sense if you're talking about a Normandy tactical map next...which is actually doable and practical outside the development schedule of a full release. Not to mention the progression of the war was Normandy, then on through Belgium to Germany. With those two maps we'd have a large, contiguous front/progression.

 

 

 

I was thinking of the same thing thing driving home, with Northern Europe we'd have at least two operations Overlord and Crossbow which could be fun. With Overload, like Bodenplatte it doesn't necessarily have to mean D-Day alone, rather the events leading up to it. Crossbow involved the attacks on V-1 and V-2 sites and associated industries around it. Hunting down V-1's would  be fun with a Meteor, Typhoon, Mossie etc, quite varied enough. Anyway, might be enough to have the Meteor as a collector plane...

 

PTO would be awesome when we get to it of course, but unfortunately I really don't have any interest in the Spanish Civil war.

 

 

[Gambit21]

37 minutes ago, TheBlackPenguin said:

 but unfortunately I really don't have any interest in the Spanish Civil war.

 

It's been talked about on forums forever, but of course no developer has ever tackled it since all developers to date have a desire for continued existence.

[Vig]

4 hours ago, sniperton said:

Saetta yes, but the Re.2000 is a big no. Only used by Hungary in numbers, mostly behind the front, and it was obsolate from day 1. Saetta, G.50, Hurricane, Brewster, IAR, I-153, anything goes, but the Re.2000 didn't see enough combat to be included. I'd like to have it (I'm Hungarian), but it'd be a waste of time, a waste of resources.

We do need the Re.2001 for the Aquila, though! 

[HBPencil]

8 hours ago, Legioneod said:

But the plane set for the Solomon campaign wouldn't fit much in a European scenario (depending on what part of the campaign is covered.) Italy offers a planeset that is nearly complete except for allied aircraft and the allied aircraft can be used in the Pacific.

 

I just think that they should flesh out Western Europe before going to the pacific, Italy would be a good place to go and would leave us with a 1943-1945 timeline in western Europe. Later on (after the Pacific) they could go to Normandy to fill Western Europe even more.

Gambit21 is correct that I wasn't making a case that PTO aircraft could fit the ETO, but I should have made that clearer. I would point out that the plane set for the Solomons would fit a fair few other PTO and Far East theatres and, for the Allies, the MTO as a whole including Italy. I'm not dissing the Italy idea, I'm just pointing out that some other theatres are equally as good ideas.

[Royal_Flight]

8 hours ago, HBPencil said:

Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly fly the Italian skies but the reasons for going there can also be applied to other theatres as well.

 

While you're right in a sense (and I would also welcome a Solomons/New Guinea land-based Pacific theatre release after Midway), I'm not entirely convinced.

Legioneod has it with the point that all LW aircraft in BoX so far wouldn't be out-of-place over Italy which allows for an all-new  Axis set featuring Italian aircraft. Many of these Italian aircraft can also be used elsewhere in the Eastern Front too, or expand into other areas with the addition of third-party maps. 

 

A partial list has Mc.200 used by the Italian at Stalingrad, Re.2000 and Cr.42 used by the Hungarians, G.50 used by the Finns and the G.55, Re.2005 and Mc.205 being used by the ANR after the split of Italy which allows this set to have relevance all the way up to the cessation of hostilities. 

 

The Allied set can also fit BoBo, a notional Normandy release, a Pacific theatre and could just about squeeze into a hypothetical Operation Torch or Channel Battles '42. 

Much like you can fly an I-16 over Kuban and no-one bats an eyelid, flying a P-47B against G4M2s over Port Moresby fits better than flying the same G4M2 against a column of advancing Shermans in winter in the Ardennes. 

 

 

However, plane set aside, a lot of the reasons for picking one theatre over another can be applied to any of them. 

Interest, variety and an appreciation for history aren't limited to just one theatre. 

 

And to play devil's advocate for a moment, an IJAAF plane set for a Solomons release could also fit New Guinea, Burma and China in much the same way. 

 

At the the end of the day it's a fun intellectual exercise, and ultimately I'd like to see the whole air war represented in some way. 

For now, I'm content with Bodenplatte and agree that the Pacific should come next (and if I suggest otherwise Gambit might have a brain aneurysm and I don't want that on my conscience). And in the meantime we'll get what we're getting. 

38 minutes ago, HBPencil said:

Gambit21 is correct that I wasn't making a case that PTO aircraft could fit the ETO, but I should have made that clearer. I would point out that the plane set for the Solomons would fit a fair few other PTO and Far East theatres and, for the Allies, the MTO as a whole including Italy. I'm not dissing the Italy idea, I'm just pointing out that some other theatres are equally as good ideas.

 

Looks like we reached the same thoughts at the same time. 

[Finkeren]

6 hours ago, Gambit21 said:

 

It's been talked about on forums forever, but of course no developer has ever tackled it since all developers to date have a desire for continued existence.

 

Not really true.

 

Luftwaffe Commander did the Spanish Civil War back in the 90s. In fact, that game had an impressive and very varied set of AI planes for its time.

 

That’s of course not an argument for making a SCW sim today, even though I personally think it would be awesome. Most likely it wouldn’t be financially viable.