New Players Flying Circus FAQ

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

If you are newer to WWI flight simming, Flying Circus, or just want to keep up with the essential new information, consider subscribing to this topic in order to get automatically notified when there is a post here.

 

Does Flying Circus Have Career Mode, Solo Campaigns and Offline Missions?  YES!

Spoiler

YES, as of Spring 2023, the official Flying Circus Career Mode was released with the official release of Volume 2, and is expected to experience continued upgrades over time.  New planes never previously released by FC or its predecessor are already released and others mentioned. 

In addition to the official FC career mode released as part of Volume 2, the following community created solo player options are also available.

 

There are campaign available called "Kaiserschlacht".

 

There are also several other options for offline solo play:

 

1. Built in Quick Mission Builder (QMB).

 

 

 

2. Developer supported campaign generator called Pat Wilson's Campaign Generator (PWCG).

 

 

 

 

3.Motherbains Mission Set - great for those just getting started!

 

Extract the Motherbrains mission files to ....data\missions folder .  If you are insure how to do this you may also benefit from using the 3rd party mission file extractor linked in the Motherbains thread below in the post by Zeev dated November 6 2019.

 

 

 

4. Vanders Mission Generator 

 

 

 

 

Which of the volumes of Flying Circus should I buy first or second, in what order?

Spoiler

With rare exception, Volume 1 is definitely the best starting point but after that it gets tricky because what makes sense is not necessarily the same order that subsequent volumes were released! 

 

What makes sense next largely depends on three things, in order:

 

1. What timeframe of the war you want to be able to fly?

 

Some missions can be early war only which does not include Volume 1 planes at all, which means you cant fly that mission for several hours until a new mission starts.

 

2.  What what kind of missions you like to fly (dog fighter or or reconnaissance/bombing)?

 

3. What coalition (Central or Entente) do you want to fly most and associated specific planes?

 

So the answer is, it depends....but in most cases for most people to enjoy the game in all its flavors,  VOL 4 is often the best second purchase after VOL 1.  This way you always have a plane to fly from early war to late war missions.  VOL 2 and VOL 3 are good for specific planes after that.

 

If you can pair an initial double purchase of Vol 1 with Vol 4 at the same time, you wont feel grounded because you have no plane to fly required for that mission. 

 

Thats probably the best place to start out your Flying Circus career! After youve flown a bit with Vol 1 and 4,  the choice between Vol 2 and 3 will become clearer. 

 

Refer to the plane sets listed for each Volume of Flying Circus on the 1C store here:  https://il2sturmovik.com/store/flying-circus/

 

To summarize:

Volume 1 + 4 ideal, otherwise...
First purchase Volume 1

Second purchase Volume 4

Third purchase Volume 3 (for more late and mid war fighters) OR Volume 2 (big heavy bombers and reconnaissance type two-seaters).

 

Look for sales quarterly.

 

Where can I find out about Flying Circus and Virtual Reality and VR Settings and Tips?

Spoiler

Many reviews of Flying Circus by VR users are very, very positive with a common comment being that VR is much more immersive in Flying Circus than WWII due to the slower air speeds allowing a richer experience of one's surroundings.  You can find out more reading some of the comments on this thread from players of Flying Circus using VR and using the links below:

 

Virtual Reality Settings

 

Flying Circus VR comments etc.

 

 

 

Where Can I Fly Multiplayer Flying Circus?

Spoiler

 

Flying Circus Flugpark - popular server with full real server settings. There is also a Flugpark II server that has icons and other helps turned on for newer players.   Register for the parser here and keep track of your performance and hundreds of other Flying Circus players: 

http://www.flugpark.org  The Flugpark known for its extensively researched historically based award and recognition system for both fighter aces and bomber/two-seater aces.  Just click your pilot name on the parser after flying on the Flugpark and click on the awards tab to see what you've earned!  You can monitor current server activity via main page of the server parser page.

 

Everyone is invited to join in with other flyers on communications via Discord to learn tips and tricks, meet flying mates, and increase your success and enjoyment.  

 

The next section shows how you can meet other players online to fly and learn from them using a free tool called Discord.  Once you install Discord using the link in the next section, click this invitation link to join the Flying Circus Flugpark Community Discord: 

 

 

https://discord.gg/TPQqE4bbnS
 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Can I Meet Other Players?

Spoiler

 

*  Here in the Flying Circus forum. After awhile you will get a feel for some of the characters that make up our diverse "colorful circus" community!

 

* On the popular multiplayer servers listed above. 

 

* Fly with a group of players and significantly shorten your learning curve and increase your performance which usually decreases frustration and increases enjoyment. Here is a link to a thread that lists the ones active enough to request being listed. You can also look at the squad ranking list.of the more popular Flying Circus servers with a parser.

 

* Join in on communication platforms provided by servers or groups.  The two platforms you should download are Discord and Teamspeak. You will need a inexpensive headset with two ear speakers and a built in microphone for $20 -$50 USD.

After you download Discord (see the video below), click on this invitation link to join other players (both Entente and Central) playing Flying Circus on the Flugpark server:  https://discord.gg/TPQqE4bbnS

 

Here are some tutorials on what Discord is and how to use it.
 

 

 

 

 

Where can I find personalized/customized skins made by the community?

Spoiler

 

 

Where Can I Keep Up with Flying Circus Community News and Happenings?

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Twenty scores makes you a legend.  Eighty makes you as good as the Red Baron.  Scoring your "century" earns you the Oak Leaves never earned by the Red Baron.  Are you better than the Baron (or Bishop, Mannock, Coppens, Baracca, Rickenbacker, and all the others)?  In Flying Circus Multiplayer you can actually find out!

Spoiler

 

 

Where Is The Manual?

Spoiler

 

Three resources are needed depending on your familiarity with iL2. Linked below.

1. The technical  manuals for the game.

2. Hellbender and Trupos Aircraft Manuals

3. Requiems Video Flight Tutorials

4. Drookasi's Guide for new pilots.

 

1. iL2 Technical manuals and setup etc
https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/47213-il-2-sturmovik-resources/ (by Jim)
 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/forum/82-manuals-tutorials-guides-and-tips/

 

2. Hellbender and Trupos Aircraft Guides

 

3. Requiems Video Tutorials

https://m.youtube.com/user/RequiemBoS/playlists?view=50&flow=list&shelf_id=11

 

4. Drookasi's Guide for New Pilots.

 

Also see:

 

 

 Should I Buy Flying-Circus?

Spoiler

 

Likely.  If you like or are interested in WWI flight sims, Flying Circus is THE community of the only next generation WWI flight sim currently on the market and under continued development.  It has a continuous and growing multiplayer base built over decades drawing from multiple previous WWI flight sims.  Flying Circus has dozens of players at a time flying on the most popular multiplayer servers regularly throughout the week, and especially on the weekends.

 

Read the complete review by Shamrock 5 of Stormbirds here.  You may also like watching this video by Shamrock 5.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Where can I learn more about World War One aerial flight combat history?

Spoiler

 

 

Edited August 16 by JGr2/J5_Baeumer
Updating info - volume purchase decisions

[Dutch2]

Maybe something about VR and what headsets are proven to be supported by FC. 

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

Good suggestion, Dutch!  I'll try to find some other discussion thread to link to...if anyone knows the most helpful ones, please feel free to pm them to me.

 

[J2_Trupobaw]

Are headsets for FC any differnt from headsets supported bo BoX in general? I think there's already forum for that.

[ZachariasX]

You forgot:

 

How do I start my engine?

Spoiler

e

 

[RNAS10_Oliver]

Maybe mention for Does Flying Circus Have Campaign and Offline Missions? the fourth option for offline solo play which is user made single missions involving FC content that are posted in Single Player Missions (Individual and Packs) such as;

 

[Dutch2]

11 hours ago, J2_Trupobaw said:

Are headsets for FC any differnt from headsets supported bo BoX in general? I think there's already forum for that.

 

Yep and reading though all the hundreds of postings ? I think an short “ to the point” overview could be very helpful, especially for FC as RoF  can not handle VR. 

In my case the “Samsung Odyssey plus”  is working. 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Dutch2

[WWBiker_]

1 minute ago, Dutch2 said:

 

Yep and reading though all the hundreds of postings ? I think an short to the point overview could be very helpful, especially for FC as RoF  can not handle VR. 

In my case the “Samsung Odyssey plus”  is working. 

You can play ROF in VR with an app called VORPX I have used it for a lot of Direct X 11 games but its not quite the same. Games built for VR always seem to be a lot better IMHO

[Dutch2]

13 minutes ago, DirtyBiker said:

You can play ROF in VR with an app called VORPX I have used it for a lot of Direct X 11 games but its not quite the same. Games built for VR always seem to be a lot better IMHO

 

I did read lots of impressions complain about the limited effects, on RoFs DX9 game engine at the RoF forum, same is counting for  the other WW1 game WoFF. 

But for me now using VR, no way back to the flatworld. 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Dutch2

[FTC_Snowy]

For the VR question, I can confirm the Valve Index, with just one lighthouse works very well. Load Steam VR and then IL-2. Hand controllers are not necessary. I use 120Hz and only have a GTX 2070 card. I am sure others will be able to verify the Rift S and other VR headsets.

 

May 2020 update: you actually don’t need to load SteamVR first as IL-2 loads it. I’m finding 90Hz is fine.

Edited May 9, 2020 by No.204_Snowy
More info, clarification

[Todt_Von_Oben]

This was my first time in VR.  I bought a used Rift off eBay because (1) I read it would work well, and (2) it was cheap.

 

Comes with two sensors that sit on the computer table to either side of me.  

 

Has a cable but that doesn't matter much when you're seated.  

 

Make sure you have enough USB ports and cable connections.  

 

Also check to make sure your computer has the power to run it.

 

I got prescription lens inserts for mine and it is very sharp and clear now.  

 

Screen door effect isn't bad and it's something you get used to.    I really like it.  Flying in 3D is outrageous.

 

Some say the new RiftS is better.  I don't know.  Read up and make your own decision.  I'm happy with my good ol' Rift, though.  No plans to get the S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Edited November 12, 2019 by Todt_Von_Oben

[Shakuni]

12.11.2019 в 15:07, Snowy сказал:

Rift S great flight ?

 

[FeuerFliegen]

How do you use the pilot's handgun?

 

Edit: Nevermind, I figured it out...  Left Ctrl + 4

Edited November 14, 2019 by FeuerFliegen

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

On 11/11/2019 at 12:19 AM, Dutch2 said:

Maybe something about VR and what headsets are proven to be supported by FC. 

 

Added , but I'm no expert on this so feel free to send me any other links.

[HagarTheHorrible]

On 11/14/2019 at 11:07 PM, FeuerFliegen said:

How do you use the pilot's handgun?

 

Edit: Nevermind, I figured it out...  Left Ctrl + 4

 

My experience is, you don’t !

 

The image of the hand holding the gun, as best I can work out is 2D and too small, it’s difficult to see as it sits somewhere between the two lenses, you catch glimpses of it but that’s about it.

 

The flare gun is more useful, in that you just look in the general direction where you want to fire and press your mouse button, having called up the flare gun and selected the colour flare you desire first obviously.  The important thing is putting the gun away afterwards, it’s not an obvious key stroke and although I know what it is, I couldn’t obviously find it listed in the commands, it’s R/CTRL + Tilde (depending on keyboard, but it’s the funny key directly below the ESC key)

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

Added Motherbains Single Player Missions with reference to embedded 3rd party mission extractor by Zeev.

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

Added Vanders new single player campaign.

[Knarley-Bob]

Just be sure you internet connection will support VR...….. Don't ask how I know that?

[No.23_Gaylion]

I suggest add a list of folks who stream and upload videos so people can go find sources to see actual game play.

[Raptorattacker]

-

 

[No.23_Gaylion]

Disgusting. 

[Raptorattacker]

2 hours ago, US213_Talbot said:

Disgusting. 

How {apart from the damp mouldy smell and the rotten linen that is)?

Edited February 6, 2020 by Raptorattacker

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

Updated FAQ with link to Community Awards System.

[ShamrockOneFive]

Has anyone done a good guide on how to deal with spins? I seem to be getting worse rather than better at recovery

[No.23_Gaylion]

2 hours ago, ShamrockOneFive said:

Has anyone done a good guide on how to deal with spins? I seem to be getting worse rather than better at recovery

 

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

Updated new title for ex Zoo Wings server.

[ST_Nooney]

Why is the FM on the DR1 so very wrong?  it is near on impossible to fly, pitch forward on a warthog is like an arm wrestling match, the stick has to be 45-55% forward to get level flight, the gyro effect in a left turn is impossible to control, yet all the other aircraft including the Camel has no such problems, the DR1 is an awful plane to fly,  yet although a handful in ROF nowhere near as bad as FC.

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

S! Nooney.  There are other threads for discussion about particular planes handling characteristics, and "stick forward".  Suggest you do a search of the FC forums for answers on those threads.  If you don't find the threads being referred to, consider moving your post to the General Discussion area of the FC forum.  You'll probably get more responses there.  This is a FAQ thread of more general resources and tools for newer pilots.  Your post is a bit off topic here.

[jojy47jojyrocks]

I would buy the FC series without a doubt IF the devs support the SP like Career and Campaigns.

[Hoots]

2 hours ago, jojy47jojyrocks said:

I would buy the FC series without a doubt IF the devs support the SP like Career and Campaigns.

Why not use Pat Wilson’s campaign? That was Jason’s thinking whilst he was getting FC off the ground. 

[Dutch2]

4 hours ago, jojy47jojyrocks said:

I would buy the FC series without a doubt IF the devs support the SP like Career and Campaigns.

 

besides the PWCG which is now for FC full of bugs, (wait for the next rev), you can use Kaiserschlacht made by Vander, or missions made by motherbrain. It makes no sense for another 4y of an online BETA-career mode like we say in RoF, better to spent the budget on implementation PWCG into the FCgui and swapping planes from RoF into FC.  

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Dutch2

[Varibraun]

10 hours ago, jojy47jojyrocks said:

I would buy the FC series without a doubt IF the devs support the SP like Career and Campaigns.

 

7 hours ago, Hoots said:

Why not use Pat Wilson’s campaign? That was Jason’s thinking whilst he was getting FC off the ground. 

 

^^^^^^^^  For me, PWCG actually provides more "depth" into a squadron and pilot's (or multiple pilots if you want that option) progress than the stock campaign in RoF/BoX.  There are more screens/logs/reports you can access where that deeper info is found. 

 

As the only current FC career option, it provides the "heart" I need to keep playing FC as a SP.   Pat has continued improving it and added many new features/options over these past few months.  I would encourage anyone looking for a career to give it fair try, and for most who have an interest, I think it will be worth the time spent figuring it out.  It really isn't more than a download and a few extra clicks (for me taking off the VR headset is a good thing after a mission anyway, and then the alt/tab to PWCG is the ready room debrief).

 

Bottom line - As a SP/VR player, I really hope that FC continues development.  I don't want to see anyone who might be interested in FC turned away simply because of the current lack of a stock campaign.  If you have BoX and the lack of a stock campaign is the only thing holding you back from FC, don't be hesitant to give PWCG a try in BoX to help make your decision.

[jojy47jojyrocks]

On 5/3/2020 at 9:34 PM, Varibraun said:

 

 

^^^^^^^^  For me, PWCG actually provides more "depth" into a squadron and pilot's (or multiple pilots if you want that option) progress than the stock campaign in RoF/BoX.  There are more screens/logs/reports you can access where that deeper info is found. 

 

As the only current FC career option, it provides the "heart" I need to keep playing FC as a SP.   Pat has continued improving it and added many new features/options over these past few months.  I would encourage anyone looking for a career to give it fair try, and for most who have an interest, I think it will be worth the time spent figuring it out.  It really isn't more than a download and a few extra clicks (for me taking off the VR headset is a good thing after a mission anyway, and then the alt/tab to PWCG is the ready room debrief).

 

Bottom line - As a SP/VR player, I really hope that FC continues development.  I don't want to see anyone who might be interested in FC turned away simply because of the current lack of a stock campaign.  If you have BoX and the lack of a stock campaign is the only thing holding you back from FC, don't be hesitant to give PWCG a try in BoX to help make your decision.

 

 

I am mostly a steam player and do away with 3rd party addons, coz I don't want to mess up my stock installation. So I was hoping to buy this. But the developers have not even stated they would at least try for an SP campaign or career mode in the future roadmap. So naturally, I want to know if this FC pack at least has some future roadmap other than multiplayer. And I certainly don't play multiplayer much. So, I just want to know where I'm putting my money.

 

I did once try a campaign generator for Cliffs of Dover. It messed with the updates...

[Raptorattacker]

6 hours ago, jojy47jojyrocks said:

I am mostly a steam player and do away with 3rd party addons,

Patrick Wilson has been doing his Campaign Generator for Il-2 GB since 2015 and, to my knowledge, received nothing but praise from both the Il-2 community and the Il-2 team. 'Installing a 3rd Party add-on' is a bit like calling the ink in someone's pen 'an extra'. It's not actually an add-on as all it does is create a Campaign for you IN the Il-2 directory and you can play that campaign throughout it's entirety by merely generating the next mission as and when you wish. It really DOESN'T do anything to your Il-2 Installation apart from giving you extra options that are at the very least GREAT to have. You can create your own Campaigns and Missions with the built-in Mission-Maker. All PWCG does is save you that trouble!

To put your mind at rest, if you were to actually 'Install' a Third-Party Add-On, you would need to check the 'Enable Mods' box in your game installation. With PWCG you DON'T...

 

Trust me, I'm a Doctor!!

 

Rap

[Varibraun]

9 hours ago, jojy47jojyrocks said:

I am mostly a steam player and do away with 3rd party addons, coz I don't want to mess up my stock installation.

 

Me too...while I technically own everything directly through the IL2 Website, I have always run the game through BoS on Steam.  So, FWIW - I have never had any issues or problems due to the PWCG folder residing in the Steam BoS subfolder (in BoX or any other Steam game I own).  I would also echo everything @Raptorattacker says above (I trust him, he says he is a Doctor).

 

10 hours ago, jojy47jojyrocks said:

I want to know if this FC pack at least has some future roadmap other than multiplayer.

 

PWCG was/is the Devs current answer for those of us wanting a WWI Career Campaign.  Your best source for a FC future/roadmap is this candid post from @Jason_Williams:

 

 

[JGr2/J5_Baeumer]

Updated to reflect NEW scripted CAMPAIGNS for solo/offline play!

[UB_Toast]

Probably a dumb question, but here goes.  I have stand alone Rise of Flight game for many years. Now, I see it is available on IL2 as Flying Circus.  My question...is there anyway I can "convert" my Rise of Flight to Flying Circus?   I'm guessing not and I'll have to play ROF separately...but it doesn't hurt to ask !  

[76SQN-FatherTed]

4 minutes ago, UB_Toast said:

Probably a dumb question, but here goes.  I have stand alone Rise of Flight game for many years. Now, I see it is available on IL2 as Flying Circus.  My question...is there anyway I can "convert" my Rise of Flight to Flying Circus?   I'm guessing not and I'll have to play ROF separately...but it doesn't hurt to ask !  

It's a bit confusing, but RoF and FC are actually different games.  They may look pretty similar, but the game engine upgraded with the move to Great Battles (notably to include VR) and made the two incompatible.  So the short answer is no.  They did initially offer a discount on FC for RoF owners, but I think that was only for early-adopters.

[RNAS10_Oliver]

It’s also discounted 50% right now. Halloween sale.

 

And yeh the earlier Flying Circus discount for Rise of Flight owners was indeed more for earlier adopters. I started on Rise of Flight around 2013 and missed out on the discount..

Edited October 20, 2020 by Oliver88

[76SQN-FatherTed]

48 minutes ago, Oliver88 said:

It’s also discounted 50% right now. Halloween sale.

 

 

Yeah - just buy FC!