Any map in current Bodenplatte?

[ladlon]

Hi.  I do not own any of the BoX series (I have all the previous IL-2 sims, though, including Dover/Blitz).

 

I was considering getting Stalingrad, since it's currently on sale on Steam... but now I'm actually considering getting Bodenplatte (from the IL-2 store) instead (as I prefer that theater).

 

I know that only some of the planes are currently released, and the map is still unreleased, so I'm wondering... If all I get is Bodenplatte, is there other maps included that I can fly on while I wait for the Western Europe map to be released?  Can I do Quick Missions (if there are other maps included)?  I just want to be sure that (at this time) Bodenplatte can be purchased/played without needing any of the other modules.

[ShamrockOneFive]

I'm 99% sure you get the Lapino test map which is a small map just big enough for a few air bases and for small scale online dogfights. Regardless of what you own you also definitely have the ability to fly over any map while playing multiplayer - a nice feature of the IL-2 series. The only constraint would be if the server has any Bodenplatte aircraft.

 

IMHO, if you want to get started I'd get Stalingrad now at a really good sale price and buy Bodenplatte a little later as that price isn't going to change for many months.

[ladlon]

Hi, ShamrockOneFive...  Ya, the Steam sale was the motivating factor for me to finally get into the BoX series (... I just started getting into CloD again, since Blitz... Love it, although the lack of any kind of random mission generator is definitely missed by me.

 

I'm an offline/random mission type of guy (for now, at least), so would that Lapino map be the only offline option I'd have?

 

As much as I normally would get the older game first (at that great price, and wait until the new one eventually lowers), as you suggest, this is one rare instance where I was considering going for the newer one, despite the price difference.  I figured, if I'm going to spend $24 (Stalingrad), I might as well get the module I probably would prefer (...I like the Western Europe area, and the inclusion of British forces in the mix).

 

I was debating whether I should get the Steam version or the IL-2 site version...  The Steam one forces you to own Stalingrad, in order to buy any of the other modules (...although, I don't know how the system works... if you are really just buying keys, and downloading from IL-2's site... or if it does the regular Steam install.  I'm not sure, too, if the Steam version would allow you to buy Stalingrad... then buy another module later, and actually UNINSTALL Stalingrad (but keep the other modules)... as the IL-2 version would allow.

 

Ya, I'm really not sure which to get...  Personally, I wish the CloD coding wouldn't have so many 'quirks', and modders could add/fix some things (...which, apparently, the code kind of prevents, or at least makes REALLY difficult).  Just some little things, like the voices (...the German voice takes SO long to get through the enemy spotted alert, that the battle is practically over by the time he finishes.  Really not sure why they put such long spaces in the various audio clips...

 

Anyone know when the IL-2 site's current $10 off sale ends?  The Steam version sale ends on the 20th, I think.

[Voyager]

It is a unified load, so you have everything installed, regardless of which modules you own. The main size constraint will be the custom skins though... 

 

The Il-2 store sale runs through the end of March. 

 

On which module to get first, if you get Stalingrad and Bodenplatte, the Pat Wilson Campaign Generator currently has a stand-in Bodenplatte campaign using the Stalingrad map. 

 

That said, if there is a specific plane you want to fly that's only in the Bodenplatte pack, and its already available for flight, you'll probably need some time to get familiar with how the plane itself works, which may take some time. In that case it may be worth getting Bodenplatte, and spending the time until the map goes live learning the plane. 

[ladlon]

Hey, Voyager.  Thanks for the reply...

 

Interesting....

 

Ya, it's confusing, since the Steam version treats Stalingrad as the 'base program', and all the other modules as DLC....  You have to buy Stalingrad in order to buy any of the other modules... whereas the IL-2 site's version allows you to buy whichever module you want, with none of them having any necessities of other modules (like the Steam one).

 

So, I would have assumed that if (say) I buy (only) Bodenplatte, I'd only have the Bodenplatte planes and maps... and since the Bodenplatte map (Western Europe) is still being produced, I wasn't sure how even buying the Bodenplatte module (only) would work, since it's currently incomplete.  If you had any other module, then I'd assume you would be able to play whatever ones you have, PLUS whatever parts (planes/maps) ARE currently complete/available from Bodenplatte... but with the map currently not released, I was confused how it would work, if you didn't have any of the other modules.

 

To add to (my) confusion, it seems that Stalingrad (Steam version) is about 14gigs(?).... yet Kuban is 20gigs(?)... which seems odd, when it is DLC (as opposed to a full verion)... Yet, in the IL-2 site's version, they are all standalone.  So, I guess the modules are all 'full' (standalone), and Steam is just artificially enforcing a rule that you have to have Stalingrad, or you can't get any of the other modules?

 

(Sorry I'm so clueless on how the modules/purchases are set up... I'm sure it's very clear and simple, once you actually know what it is!)

 

 

The only reason I don't just get Stalingrad, and THEN (later) Bodenplatte, is really more about the 14gigs of space Stalingrad will take up, when I'd probably be perfectly happy with JUST Bodenplatte... but Steam forces you to have Stalingrad.

 

Meh, Once I install my new drive, the 14gigs will be irrelevant... so, maybe I should just grab Stalingrad at it's sale price... and see if it will even run on my system (....I have a good graphics card, but unfortunately am stuck with an old i7... 2.6... which is actually below the required spec... although I'm not planning on having everything on high, and will be playing at 1920x1080.  CloD, X-Plane10 and DCS1.5 all run great, so hopefully BoX will, too.  I wish there were more graphics options, so I could take out specific things... like those smoke columns, which look like they will KILL my FPS when I get close to them!)

[MarderIV]

Harddrive space is the kind of issue you'd need to make concessions for by clearing more space. I don't want to sound insensitive to the concern or anything, but some slack is needed because there are certain instances where patches come in blocks of at least 1 or 2 gigs in size, sometimes more depending on whether or not the patch adds in more content like planes or tanks (I think the most I encountered was 4 gigs). I've made a mistake of running Il-2 on a harddrive that only had 2 gigs left at one time and the update could not install; so I did a full reinstall because I couldn't move Il-2 elsewhere. So that's something to think about as well.

 

Either way this sim is really worth the harddrive space. Compared to DCS' 60gb (based on my installed modules), this is a godsend for memory-poor folks like me. 

 

And on the subject of Stalingrad - its planeset is very competitive on both sides. It's more or less the recommended starting point because of how well composed its plane set is. I ran 400 hours on Stalingrad via steam alone before I narrowly bankrupted myself by buying everything save for FC and TC. 

 

 

 

[=FEW=fernando11]

Hello there. 

About getting Battle of Stalingrad or any other "DLC", it does not matter wich one you get, you will download and install ALL current content, but you will be limited to use only the content you purchase.

About steam/not steam, buying directly from their website will give full ernings to the developers. On the other hand buying from steam will give you ease of access and probably faster download speed for updates, plus a centralized place for your games (asuming you already have and use steam)

By the way if you purchase Battle of Stalingrad on steam, you can purchase any other DLC from the il2Sturmovick webpage and still update/launch from steam (this is what I did).

 

If you are a singleplayer guy, and like the random generated missions, Stalingrad, Moscow and Kuban, all have dinamic campaigns you can fly with any plane that took parte on that Battle (and you own), so for me the obvious choice would be to take advantage of the Battle of Stalingrad sale, se how it works for you, maybe also check  Pat Wilson Campaign Generator, and if you like what you get (I'm sure you will) get BoBp (and the other DLC) later, it will not change price for some months ar least.

 

[ladlon]

Ha!  Ya, I hear you.  I still have a fair amount of space, but I'm trying not to have it too filled, as that's a great way to get your drive to fail...  I'm not too interested in the whole Eastern Front thing (... I prefer Britain/Germany, over Western Europe)... otherwise, the Stalingrad thing would be fine as an 'additional map'.  That's really the only reason I'm even slightly hesitant to use that space for Stalingrad (...when it could be for something else).

 

Although, now that they have non-winter maps for BoS, it's far more appealing to me.

 

But, ya, a non-issue, soon...  I've been holding off installing X-Plane11 (I'm on 10), and DCS2.5 (I'm on 1.5), and the other great games I have waiting in my library, because I've been waiting to install the terabyte drive I have.  The only thing that has been holding me back on that, is that there was no physical room in the case to put it in!  Plus, my system runs a bit warm as it is...  So, a lot of stupid things holding me back, unfortunately.  But, I recently got a drive bay thing that goes into the CD/DVD rom slots, so now I actually have some place to put the drive.  Might still cause my system to burst into flames... which would suck.  I really need to get a whole new system, anyway.  Even though I have a good video card, and 12 gigs of RAM, my CPU is an old i7 (...which may not even be enough to play BoX!), and unfortunately that can't be upgraded, due to the restrictive motherboard.  So, completely new system needed...  Which, I may do.. maybe this year.  Just several other things I should be spending that money on.

 

(But, ya, that would be SWEET if I get msyelf a system with a current CPU.  All the sims are already running quite nice already, but that would really open things up...)

 

Ya, I'll probably end up getting BoS... Why not.  That'll hold me until the other modules lower their price.  I've just SCRATCHED the surface with CloD as it is, so I'm not exactly hurting for new material.

 

The only thing with Stalingrad, really, is the lack of British forces.  I do like the Spits and Hurricanes.  But, I have them in CloD, and will surely have them eventually, either via Bodenplatte or just buying the planes separately.  Between CloD and X-Plane and DCS, I've got plenty to keep me busy...

Edited March 9, 2019 by ladlon

[BubiHUN]

If you are interested in MP, we have missions wich have BoBP planes on KOTA.

Players here are friendly and helpful. 

[IckyATLAS]

This post made me curious about how much space do all my IL2, BOS, BOM, BOK files, custom skins, mods, missions, MB created missions,  etc. etc. consume on my SSD. 

A whopping 55GB. 

It could have been much much bigger If I had also kept all the IL2 past games that I had cumulated over the years. I unistalled them already some years ago, just beacuse let be frank, after the BOX series it is just not possible for me to go back, as the gap between BOX and old IL2  in terms of visual quality, modeling, simulation, is just too high.

[6FG_Big_Al]

3 hours ago, ladlon said:

Anyone know when the IL-2 site's current $10 off sale ends? 

I think that refers to the Bodenplatte? This cost reduction will remain until the end of the early access period - which should take a few more months.

Apart from that, I think the question of how it works in the Great Battle Series would be clarified. My tip would also be to grab during the sales. Besides, there are from time to time Giveaways here. I'm preparing one myself at the moment and on my birthday (sometime between 1 and 15 April) there will certainly be things for newcomers. 

 

With the Il-2 series you will make no mistake.

 

have a nice day

 

Rico

[DD_Arthur]

ladlon,;  you can buy Battle of Stalingrad basic edition now - from the store page here - for $16.99.  That makes it an absolute bargain.

 

Until very recently I ran this on an i7 930 overclocked to 3.8Ghz and it ran very well at high settings.  Thereis plenty of scope to adjust graphics settings within the game and if your system presently runs Cliffs and DCS 1.5 then it will run BoS ok on lower settings.

 

Just so you understand;  when you download any of the modules you are downloading the complete game - tanks and Flying Cicus included - but you only access the modules you have purchased.  If, later on you buy Bodenplatte, there will be no extra download - you just activate that part of the games content.  

[ShamrockOneFive]

12 hours ago, ladlon said:

Hi, ShamrockOneFive...  Ya, the Steam sale was the motivating factor for me to finally get into the BoX series (... I just started getting into CloD again, since Blitz... Love it, although the lack of any kind of random mission generator is definitely missed by me.

 

I'm an offline/random mission type of guy (for now, at least), so would that Lapino map be the only offline option I'd have?

 

As much as I normally would get the older game first (at that great price, and wait until the new one eventually lowers), as you suggest, this is one rare instance where I was considering going for the newer one, despite the price difference.  I figured, if I'm going to spend $24 (Stalingrad), I might as well get the module I probably would prefer (...I like the Western Europe area, and the inclusion of British forces in the mix).

 

I was debating whether I should get the Steam version or the IL-2 site version...  The Steam one forces you to own Stalingrad, in order to buy any of the other modules (...although, I don't know how the system works... if you are really just buying keys, and downloading from IL-2's site... or if it does the regular Steam install.  I'm not sure, too, if the Steam version would allow you to buy Stalingrad... then buy another module later, and actually UNINSTALL Stalingrad (but keep the other modules)... as the IL-2 version would allow.

 

Ya, I'm really not sure which to get...  Personally, I wish the CloD coding wouldn't have so many 'quirks', and modders could add/fix some things (...which, apparently, the code kind of prevents, or at least makes REALLY difficult).  Just some little things, like the voices (...the German voice takes SO long to get through the enemy spotted alert, that the battle is practically over by the time he finishes.  Really not sure why they put such long spaces in the various audio clips...

 

Anyone know when the IL-2 site's current $10 off sale ends?  The Steam version sale ends on the 20th, I think.

 

For offline quick missions you'd just have Lapino which really isn't enough at this stage. You may have seen the latest developer work on the Bodenplatte map and its outstanding. That said, 1CGS went back just over a year ago now and they brought the Stalingrad map up to the latest standards so really you can jump in anywhere in the series and everything is up to date. That's the good thing about this shared/core around which the third generation IL-2 series is set.

 

I'd recommend the IL-2 website version. Steam takes a cut whereas the IL-2 website sale goes entirely to the developer. They are small but fierce and I think they deserve every dollar (I do understand too that Steam offers some payment options that for some people make it a necessity).

 

The $10 off Bodenplatte will continue until release. That's how they do things. During the early access period you can buy into the new title with a small discount as they work to finish it.

 

The sale on the IL-2 website goes until March 31st so you have a bit of time. IMHO, Stalingrad is a great place to start and there's a good campaign around it. I know a lot of folks prefer the Western Front but over the years I found the East to be just as interesting and engaging historically once I was motivated to learn a bit more about it. That said, I'm thrilled that we're getting something with the Western Front (and my favourite time period too).

[ladlon]

Hi, guys... Thanks for the responses/info.

 

-Is the 'you install the entire game, despite what module you bought' thing also the case with the Steam version?  Again, it's confusing, as each 'DLC' on Steam's version shows a 'hard drive space needed' stat, and they are not equal.  So, for example, if I get Stalingrad and then later Kudan, it seems to imply my first install would be 14gigs, and then Kudan would add an ADDITIONAL 20gigs to that...

 

-My CPU is the real bottleneck of my system.  My video card is a 1060GTX 3G, but the CPU is an older i7 (2.6)...  Hopefully, I can lower some setting that isn't important to me, but keep the important stuff 'high enough'.  Funny, I find CloD Blitz looks amazing.  I really like the clouds, the lighting, haze and the landscape.  Absolutely no complaints (...other than airfields lacking more static objects, like a few parked planes, boxes, etc).

 

-Although I've had CloD for a long time, I'm only now re-visiting it, as the IL-2 series always had me confused, with a feeling I wasn't really in control of things (...battling the interface, confused about following the 'orders', and generally battling with the planes themselves... until I finally embraced the concept of trimming!).  I'm having a similiar 'start again, learning properly' thing with DCS and X-Plane.  So, that said, I've only really scratched the surface with all those sims, and so I have plenty to keep me busy (....and there's always ARMA3, and all the DLC that I forgot I now have after the pre-ordering!).  So, ya, maybe I'll grab BoS for now.  I was going to maybe wait for Bodenplatte, as (according to the literature) the map should be coming out soon.... but, if I go with BoS, it's just a bit more money, and a bit more drive space.  No biggie...  I do have to see if I even like the BoX series.  I know that I am not thrilled with things like the simplification of some things, as well as the (in my opinion) overly 'tablety' interface (...man, those buttons are big!).  Luckily, it appears you can turn off the various markers and pointers and that nonesense.

 

 

Question, though...  Does the BoX series have something like 'spawn radius' in the mission builder?  (Or some means to randomize things?)  What I am after, overall, is a means to play (simple) offline, single player random missions....  Doesn't even have to be a campaign, or have carryover between missions.  Single missions are fine.  Ideally, I'd be in (say) a 109, and would be randomly assigned air-to-air or ground attack missions, and the location and units/target would be random.

 

Normally, I'd make my own mission, but without some means of (easy) randomization, it would be kind of pointless for me to fly them myself, since I'd know where/when everything is.  Previous sims would at least have a spawn radius, so you could give units a (very wide) spawn radius, effectively making them appear anywhere on the map (or large area).  Even more ideal, would be the ability to make the unit and amount random, too... and in the past, that would often be done by having a spawn probability system in the editor.  But, I haven't seen any such things in the CloD editor, and am wondering if the BoX editor has added anything like that.  If not, then I'd hope that the sim has SOME form of random missions outside of the editor... otherwise, I'd have to rely on some 3rd party mod (of which I know there are at least 3... TheEnlightenedFlorist, Olgen, and one whose name escapes me at the moment...).

 

I've tried Olgen (but was hoping for bombing/ground attacks), so last night I tried TEF, and that was good... although I was puzzled why we just kept circling around (following the waypoints), but we never attacked any of the enemy planes that appears and/or were announced.  Maybe because they might have been outside of the grid sector we were patrolling, and we were to only deal with ones INSIDE there?...  Don't know...  We just looped around forever, ignoring the many enemies flying outside of that sector.

[DD_Arthur]

4 minutes ago, ladlon said:

Hi, guys... Thanks for the responses/info.

 

-Is the 'you install the entire game, despite what module you bought' thing also the case with the Steam version? 

 

The Steam version is the same as the version from this website - the complete game.  The full game is around twenty gigs in size.  I suspect the info on the Steam page about the Battle of Stalingrad is out of date.

 

If you wish to play simple, single player missions against either ground targets or air targets then the simple mission builder is fine for that.  As has been mentioned; there are now also plenty of options when it comes to mission generators and single-player missions to download.

 

TheEnlightenedFlorist, Olgen and one other whose name escapes you have no relevance to the BoX series. 

 

The best thing you could do with your cpu is to give it a gentle over clock to around 3ghz. 

[6FG_Big_Al]

10 minutes ago, ladlon said:

Hi, guys... Thanks for the responses/info.

 

-Is the 'you install the entire game, despite what module you bought' thing also the case with the Steam version?  Again, it's confusing, as each 'DLC' on Steam's version shows a 'hard drive space needed' stat, and they are not equal.  So, for example, if I get Stalingrad and then later Kudan, it seems to imply my first install would be 14gigs, and then Kudan would add an ADDITIONAL 20gigs to that... 

 

 

Good evening,

 

it doesn't matter what Steam likes. You pull out the "whole" game once and only unlock the content by purchasing it. Whether from the Steam site or the Developer site is not important. Whereby the latter would be the better as already mentioned above :).

 

I have no idea about mission building, but there are a lot of self-created missions/campaigns from users here - they might be able to catch you.

There's also the career mode where you can fly random missions like "accompany battle planes", "free hunting", "protection of ground troops," "intercept enemy reconnaissance missions" etc.  with a self-created pilot.

 

 

 

 

[ladlon]

Yep, I know for sure that I certainly won't exhaust the numerous missions/campaigns available.  Heck, I wouldn't bet that I'd get even half-way through the main campaign.  I guess my only 'concern' is (re)playing missions where you know where everything is, because everything is hard-scripted (...I'm not a fan of that in ANY videogame genre).  But, I suppse that's really a moot point, unless there's a mission that I get stuck on, and keep having to play over and over.

 

As for overclocking, that's a realm I have never explored (...scares the hell out of me, to be honest...).  My system notoriously runs a bit warm as it is, and I will be adding that new hard drive (which will allow me to FINALLY install the upgrades to all the sims I currently have...  DCS2.5 (from DCS1.5), X-Plane11 (from X-Plane10), Project Cars2 (from Project Cars1), etc...)... but, that hard drive itself is probably going to add more heat... so, overclocking may just be flirting with danger.  (Although, I REALLY would love to give the CPU a bit of a boost).  I'll have to look into that.  If I remove my other (secondary) drive, and make it external, that might help things.  Ya, it's a really limiting PC, that one.  I got a nice 'work' computer right beside it, but I forbid myself to install games on it (...got to keep the work machine 'clean'!...).  The old PC has a very restrictive motherboard (can't upgrade the CPU), runs warm, and the front (hotswappable) drive bays got fried a few years back, so I was limited to how many drives I can put in.  But, I got myself one of those drive bay things that goes into where the CD/DVD drives go, and a Terabyte drive sitting ready to be filled with games (...Currently, all my stuff is unfortunately on my 500gig drive, which is getting a little full).  So, once I get that drive in (and pray that my PC doesn't burst into flames), I should be set, and will (hopefully) be able to experience all these upgraded versions of the sims.  I really do have to get a new gaming rig... maybe this year.  Just being careful with my cash.... responsible... that sort of stuff. 

 

Oh, and the other mission generator I was thinking of is the Pat Willson one... Is that not for BoX?

 

Sorry, another question...  How does the IL-2 website version of the BoX series get updated?  Do you have to manually check into the site, and manually download any updates, or is there some form of autoupdate, like Steam has?

Edited March 9, 2019 by ladlon

[DD_Arthur]

Pat Wilson's campaign generator is indeed for BoX.

 

Your disk drives are not really going to contribute to overheating of your pc.  That'll be down to the chipset/cpu working conditions.  If your system runs DCS, X-Plane and Project Cars then it'll run BoX.

 

When you download the game you will be presented with the launcher.  The launcher has a nice red bar that says 'Play'.  If an update is pending next time you hit the play button it'll update. 

[ladlon]

Awesome.  Thanks guys.  I really appreciate all the feedback (and patience).  Nice to be at a forum where you not only actually GET responses, but useful ones at that!

[EAF19_Marsh]

My quick thought: until Bodenplatte, the Kuban map is the prettiest and the collector’s version comes with the Spit V. However, it is a little pricier than Stalingrad (a bargin at $17). The good thing - as has been said - is that the early a/c in Stalingrad give you a great introduction to the controls and piloting approach, so even if it is not the latest set it is an interesting / fun purchase. Also, many of the latest background improvements have been added to the older modules so it is not in any way obsolete.

 

Happy flying!

[-TBC-AeroAce]

52 minutes ago, DD_Arthur said:

  The launcher has a nice red bar that says 'Play'.  If an update is pending next time you hit the play button it'll update. 

 

Sorry to knit pick but this is slightly wrong. The game will automatically update when you open the launcher without clicking on anything and when it is finished it will ask u to click play.

 

The reason I wanted to correct this seemingly trivial point was because sometimes a new update will render your old tracks unusable and once it automatically updates there is no way to roll back the game version to record the tracks to another format.

 

I recommend using the exe not the launcher. That way it will give u a chance to use the offline mode to recover the tracks before updating with the launcher.  Also using the exe is quicker.

Edited March 9, 2019 by AeroAce

[ladlon]

Thanks for pointing those things out, guys.  Yep Kuban certainly has some hills!  (One thing I kind of dislike about the Stalingrad map is how flat it seems)

 

  The autoupdate shouldn't be a problem, as I don't save tracks... but certainly good to point that out!  As long as I'm somehow notified of updates, and the update process is easy, I'm good.  That's why I like Steam, is the update system.  Manually downloading and installing upgrades can be tedious for something that is frequently getting updated.

 

  (BTW, AeroAce, I was trying to give you a Thanks, but apparently there is a limit to how many Thanks I can give on this forum today... So, you'll get yours tomorrow!)

[-TBC-AeroAce]

9 minutes ago, ladlon said:

(BTW, AeroAce, I was trying to give you a Thanks, but apparently there is a limit to how many Thanks I can give on this forum today... So, you'll get yours tomorrow!)

 

Well that is just not good enough!!! I'm contacting the mods to get you permanently removed from the fourm x

[ladlon]

Ah, you saw right through my lie! 

 

Cheers!

[EAF19_Marsh]

2 hours ago, ladlon said:

Ah, you saw right through my lie! 

 

Cheers!

 

Don’t worry, AeroAce is probably just a bot / Troll pretending to be a helpful sim enthusiast.

[ladlon]

Oh, I'm totally convinced he's a bot.  His profile picture is so obviously fake!  ?

(You can clearly see his sensor probes on the top of his head...)

 

But, to be fair, I'm sort of 'half-bot'....  It's a long story, and not something I want to get into.   Embarrassing family stuff...  and this forum would tear me apart.

 

Ya, I have decided I'm getting Kuban as my first BoX item....  Probably the deluxe version, despite that adding $30 to the price (...thank you, bad exchange rate!).  But, I kind of reached a point where I shrugged and said, Ya, Why Not!  I've been good...  I did more chores, and always pay my bills.  Time for me to treat myself...   I'll most likely get Bodenplatte once it's near release, too... assuming I actually like the BoX series!

 

(...Crazy thing... On Steam, the Kuban DLC actually has a CPU requirement of only 2.6GHz... which is what I have... compared to the 2.8 of the others.  Surely a mistake or something, but I'll take that as a sign that Kuban is the one!...)

 

Now, you guys got me curious about overclocking...

[Poochnboo]

It's true that on Steam you need to pick up Staingrad before you can get any other modules. On this site, though, you can buy them however you wish, and to be honest, Moscow has the better planeset....and the better map. Just my opinon, of course.

Now that I think about it, it was Stalingrad with the better planes, but Moscow with the better map. It's been a while since my purchase! 

 

[ladlon]

Ya, a bit of a strange forced necessity on Steam...

 

A bit of a shame that it seems the 109 in Kuban is a type that is incapable of carrying bombs.  At least the other German planes in that module can.  Seems like the 109 G, specifically, had low space underneath, so it couldn't carry bombs... or maybe just BIG ones...  The wiki for the 109 wasn't clear on that.

 

I don't imagine the Spitfire that comes with the deluxe Kuban can carry bombs.  I'm not sure if any Spits can, but I'm not well-versed in that sort of thing.

 

Meh, plenty of good bomb carriers in that module, so I'm good.  I can always buy more planes....

[CanadaOne]

5 hours ago, ladlon said:

Thanks for pointing those things out, guys.  Yep Kuban certainly has some hills!  (One thing I kind of dislike about the Stalingrad map is how flat it seems)

 

 

The Stalingrad map, though flat, is a good map. It got an eye-candy upgrade in 2018 and the ground detail is very nice, summer and winter. They really brought it up a level from its original version.

 

If the sale is still on, Stalingrad for $17 is a must buy. You'll get a real taste of BOX and how you like it and how your rig handles it. And consider buying it here. The developers get the cash and the installation is butter smooth.

 

What part of the world are you in?

[ladlon]

  Like you, I'm from Canada...  Toronto, Ontario.

 

  I'm definitely getting Kuban, but may end up getting Moscow, too...  or maybe Stalingrad.... It depends which one I like the planes best.

[RedKestrel]

3 minutes ago, ladlon said:

  Like you, I'm from Canada...  Toronto, Ontario.

 

  I'm definitely getting Kuban, but may end up getting Moscow, too...  or maybe Stalingrad.... It depends which one I like the planes best.

The Moscow and Stalingrad maps are pretty flat. Moscow has a ton of rivers and small villages, Stalingrad is largely steppe dominated by the Volga. Moscow is easy to get lost in, which has its own charm if you like navigating.

Stalingrad is good for multiplayer as usually at least a few planes from that version are available in any given online scenario. But my favourite planeset so far is Battle of Moscow. the MiG-3 and the I-16 are both really interesting to fly, the early Il-2 is the most maneuverable and fast of its family. Its just got a lot of character.

[ladlon]

Ya, I'm not a multiplayer guy.... although I really should embrace that someday, as I can't deny how fun it must be.  If you are mostly dogfighting, then a flat (and even plain) landscape really isn't an issue, anyway.  I'm more a ground target guy, even though I certainly don't dislike dogfights.

 

Moscow definitely looks visually a bit more interesting to me, due to the fact that there IS actually water/rivers (and therefore boats).

 

Kuban, though... that hit the spot.  I like the hills and the more green look... and water, too.

 

I worried, too, about Stalingrad's smoke plumes... Certainly cool and atmospheric, but I could totally imagine my CPU crawling in agony as you would get close to them.... and unfortunately, it doesn't appear the graphics settings are very detailed, and that you couldn't selectively turn certain things off.

[ShamrockOneFive]

2 hours ago, ladlon said:

Ya, a bit of a strange forced necessity on Steam...

 

A bit of a shame that it seems the 109 in Kuban is a type that is incapable of carrying bombs.  At least the other German planes in that module can.  Seems like the 109 G, specifically, had low space underneath, so it couldn't carry bombs... or maybe just BIG ones...  The wiki for the 109 wasn't clear on that.

 

I don't imagine the Spitfire that comes with the deluxe Kuban can carry bombs.  I'm not sure if any Spits can, but I'm not well-versed in that sort of thing.

 

Meh, plenty of good bomb carriers in that module, so I'm good.  I can always buy more planes....

 

I'm a Hamiltonian ... same neck of the woods

 

The Bf109G-4 can definitely carry bombs. Either a rack with 4x SC50 bombs or a single SC 250. The Spitfire Vb does not carry any bombs. Check the technical specifications section for armament details:

 

1 hour ago, ladlon said:

Ya, I'm not a multiplayer guy.... although I really should embrace that someday, as I can't deny how fun it must be.  If you are mostly dogfighting, then a flat (and even plain) landscape really isn't an issue, anyway.  I'm more a ground target guy, even though I certainly don't dislike dogfights.

 

Moscow definitely looks visually a bit more interesting to me, due to the fact that there IS actually water/rivers (and therefore boats).

 

Kuban, though... that hit the spot.  I like the hills and the more green look... and water, too.

 

I worried, too, about Stalingrad's smoke plumes... Certainly cool and atmospheric, but I could totally imagine my CPU crawling in agony as you would get close to them.... and unfortunately, it doesn't appear the graphics settings are very detailed, and that you couldn't selectively turn certain things off.

 

Multiplayer is great and IL-2 has a bunch of different servers catering to everything from the casual dogfight to the more serious persistent online war scenario with team scenarios counting up over a month or multiple months of play.

 

The Volga river on the Stalingrad map actually is the one with the most number of boats. There are steam boats and gunboats that are sometimes present. Moscow is visually distinct and I really like the Moscow map (I like it more than the Stalingrad map) but the Kuban map takes the cake right now for being the most varied and visually impressive.

 

Stalingrad's smoke plumes are actually frame rate light. They did them in a smart way and they have a great visual impact with virtually no impact on performance. Even on my old system back in 2013 and they were fine. The Digital Warfare engine running the IL-2 series is becoming very well optimized. The biggest impacts on performance these days are a few of the eye candy options (like rendering the horizon to 160km and sharpening terrain textures - both options) and the AI running all of the aircraft, tanks, vehicles, etc.

[DD_Arthur]

Get Battle of Stalingrad first.  It's on sale, it's got decent ground attack aircraft,  it is an interesting map and it'll be less of a performance hit than the Kuban map.

   

No Spitfires though

[ladlon]

@ShamrockOneFive:   Hamilton!  Ha!  Ya, it seems EVERYTHING is in Hamilton these days.  It's like the new center of the universe, it seems.

 

I was actually there once... for some Halloween Expo thing.  it was a quick trip (...My friend and I drove there, stayed for an hour or so, walked the streets briefly, then buggered off).

 

Ya, I'm seriously going to consider multiplayer at some point.  I haven't really done multiplayer ANYTHING...  Played Arma2 with a friend for a few hours...and previous to that, would have to be... (brace yourself)... something like Half-Life 1 multiplayer, and doom.  Definitely am missing out, I agree...  I've played plenty of offline 'multiplayer' against bots.

 

Well, we'll see...  As you may have read (in one of my posts somewhere), I've had all the sims for a long time, but only recently (this year), I have sort of gone 'back to school' and relearned averything properly... in X-Plane, DCS, and the IL-2 series.  Previously, I could certainly 'fly' and even land... but with a complete disregard for proper procedure, and all by 'feel' rather than regard to the plane's suggested speeds/altitudes, etc...  Just in the last days, I've been teaching myself all the A-10 systems (DCS), as well as the (sim) controls/systems for IL-2.  I've FINALLY embraced the concept of trimming, which certainly has made things totally easier...  Finally, too, I am landing by 'gliding' (with power) in, almost hands off... and not pulling the stick back all the way to keep the nose up (...that was a HARD bad habit to lose... It's so 'instinctive' to pull up, rather than do it via the throttle!).

 

Before, trying to do a bombing run in IL-2 was just brutal... I mostly fought with the actual sim controls, and always something screwed up.  Very frustrating.  Now, things are conveniently mapped, and I understand things better... plus I actually discovered the AUTOPILOT you are supposed to switch on!

 

Problem is, I just ran into another issue... and just did a post about it.  Hopefully, there's an easy answer for it.  Hopefully, it's not another CloD 'idiosyncracy', as they call it!

 

Wow, good news about the 109!  Maybe that wiki was just saying it didnt' have clearance for LARGE bombs.  Awesome!

 

Ya, I just watched another Stalingrad video, as I think I found one that is more modern/updated.  I forgot that Stalingrad DOES actually have 'water'.  And, yup, the vid had boats in the water.

 

Kuban definitely won me over, from what I saw in vids.  I love the landscape... hills, more green... and, ya, a lot of variety, too.  It'll cost me more than getting Stalingrad on Steam, but I decided to not only get it from the IL-2 site, but also that I'd get Kuban instead of Stalingrad.   And, probably the deluxe version, too.  Hey, why not...

 

Hrmmm... I would have thought the smoke plumes (especially when they take up the whole screen) would be a brutal hit.  That's a pleasant surprise.  I've got a 1060 3G video card, so anything GPU related should be okay.  My CPU, on the other hand, is an old i7 (2.6)... but hopefully it's only really hurt by lots of AI, which I normally don't do anyway.  I like keeping the numbers low.

 

I may actually grab it tomorrow... or at least in the next few days.  In the meantime, I'm playing CloD (with the EnlightenedFlorist mod)... TRYING to do a bombing run.

 

Anyway, back at it...  Good to see another Canadian here!

 

@DD_Arthur  Oh, you snuck a post in while I was typing the previous one.  I've been pondering getting Stalingrad as well... or Moscow..  I'll have to see.  I definitely want Kuban, though.

Edited March 10, 2019 by ladlon

[kendo]

Awesome video DD_Arthur - possibly the best il-2 BOS video I've ever seen.

[DD_Arthur]

Thank you very much Kendo!

 

It's one of Jade_Monkey's single missions.  They are all worth checking out.

[ladlon]

@AeroAce  I finally was allowed to give you your 'Thanks' today!

 

Wear it with pride...  ( Overly dramatic salute )