Simple drawing tools for the navigation map

[danielprates]

I don't know if this would rise high in the development priority, but I think the idea is worth pitching anyway. 

 

As I recall,  RL pilots would take pencils to make notes in their maps. When using in-game full navigation realism that would be certainly a great help: although some short-range missions hardly require that, sufficing to choose some obvious ground landmark and plotting around that, the medium to long ones can sometimes confuse you if some notes are not taken. Games such as the 'silent hunter' series had a series of tools you could use to plot on-map courses and mark spots, such as drag-and-drop lines, crosses, compasses to set angles on the map etc. Now, I am not saying Il2 requires something that complex, but at the very least some way  to draw a 'cross' on a chosen spot to remember places, that would already be a great improvement. I also constantly feel the need of an angle-measurement tool of some sort, like a transparent compass I can hover above the map. It's tough to 'guesstimate' all the time courses that are not round 90, 0, 45 etc. This is specially important on longer, bombing missions, where we know actual navigators had that and much more to work with. 

 

Worth the consideration, me thinks!

 

 

[Nocke]

 

[JimTM]

Check out the Il-2 Mission Planner.

[-SF-Disarray]

It would be nice to have that functionality integrated into the game though.

[Kawolski_VII]

Yeah, the mission planner is a great tool, but it's annoying to have to either alt-tab out of the game or have it open on another device. 

[danielprates]

1 hour ago, Disarray said:

It would be nice to have that functionality integrated into the game though.

 

59 minutes ago, Kawolski_VII said:

Yeah, the mission planner is a great tool, but it's annoying to have to either alt-tab out of the game or have it open on another device. 

 

Yup.

 

The tools mentioned are great though!  But indeed having them integrated to the actual game would be the best way.

[curiousGamblerr]

1 hour ago, Kawolski_VII said:

Yeah, the mission planner is a great tool, but it's annoying to have to either alt-tab out of the game or have it open on another device. 

 

Agreed, and I made it haha

 

I don’t have the game on Steam, but you can add it to Steam as a “Non steam game” if you poke around the options and point it at the game executable. This lets you use the overlay if you start the game via steam, which means you can open the planner in the overlay browser. You still have to hit a hot key to pull it up, but you don’t leave the game so you can still see the game behind the overlay and don’t run into alt-tab problems some folks see.

[-TBC-AeroAce]

2 hours ago, Kawolski_VII said:

Yeah, the mission planner is a great tool, but it's annoying to have to either alt-tab out of the game or have it open on another device. 

 

I agree about the alt tabbing thing although I do have two screens so it does not effect me.

 

But I disagree with it being a bad thing to have it on another device.  It is much more realistic to have your map and flight plan on a tablet/kneeboard than it is to bringup the in game map.

 

The il2planner.com in browser tool is very powerful and in my opinion better than the above app.

Edited June 16, 2018 by AeroAce

[danielprates]

56 minutes ago, AeroAce said:

 

I agree about the alt tabbing thing although I do have two screens so it does not effect me.

 

But I disagree with it being a bad thing to have it on another device.  It is much more realistic to have your map and flight plan on a tablet/kneeboard than it is to bringup the in game map.

 

The il2planner.com in browser tool is very powerful and in my opinion better than the above app.

 

Its one of those "for a better experience bring along a tablet" situations! ?

[danielprates]

What I miss the most is a transparent compass to use over the map. For those cases when you come out of the clouds over a known waypoint,  but some diatance off,  and must correct your course by.... how much now?! Eyeball Mk1 doesnt know the difference between,  say, 13 and 17 degrees! Increments of 45 degrees is easy to eyeball on a glance, the map lines makes it easy,  but anything in between requires proper tools.

 

Come to think of it,  a real plastic transparent compass could simply be placed over the PC monitor. ?