Why I love the BoX aircraft progression

[Manstein16]

The recent BoN announcement has sparked some complaints on this forum about the fact that we are revisiting a number of planes (P-47, P-51, Spit, Fw-190, Bf-109) that have already been modeled at in the series. I want to provide a different perspective on this that also explains why, in my humble opinion, this is exactly the direction that the dev team should be going.

 

Like many (most?) players of this sim, I am a dyed-in-the-wool history junkie. I would have happily pursued a career in history had there been any money in it. One of my favorite aspects of WWII history in particular is the extreme pace of technological change and advancement that occurred throughout the conflict. I know both from reading about it and listening to stories told by relatives who fought in both the ETO and PTO that the conflict's participants were constantly having to adapt to new equipment types and variants at a rate not experienced before or since in the annals of warfare.

 

I really enjoy simulations that allow us to gain some (fortunately limited) insight into that adaptation experience as a result. Whether starting with a Type IIA and progressing to a Type XXI (or, if I'm being realistic, a Type VIIC) sub in Silent Hunter 3, or starting with a Bf-109E7 and moving through all subsequent variants until ending with a Bf-109K4 in BoX, the "hands-on" aircraft progression experience in careers is what has kept me coming back to sims for the better part of 30 years. I learned so much about the Bf-109G just by switching from a G4 to a G6 in my recent BoK campaign, for instance; the cockpits were almost identical, yet the flying and combat experiences were quite different.

 

I am very happy that BoN is up next since it will complement, rather than contrast against, the recent BoBp release. Progressing from Razorbacks to Bubble-tops in an Allied campaign, for example, or adding an additional Fw-190 model in the 12-month gap between BoK and BoBp, is what the simulation career experience is all about. I would love to see the Allied career expanded until we can follow the progression of P-40s in Sicily/Italy up through conversion to P-47s and ultimately P-51s, much as we can currently do with Luftwaffe and VVS units.

 

Don't get me wrong - it would be great to be able to do something similar in the Pacific; I have fond childhood memories of starting the AotP campaign in a Wildcat and concluding it in a Bearcat. Before then, though, I hope that the dev team will continue to focus on giving us the extended career experiences for the theaters that it is already developing. That is where IL2 BoX truly shines.

[ShamrockOneFive]

Completely agree. I'm definitely in the amateur historian range myself and I get excited when we get to explore the different aircraft of WWII and even the progressions. The Bf109E-7 through K-4 is an interesting journey in and of itself. Having the P-51B/C next to the P-51D or the Hurricane to the Typhoon to the Tempest... all very interesting aircraft with unique capabilities even when maybe on the face of things they are "the same" - I'd argue they really aren't. IL-2 models with enough fidelity that little differences make a difference.

 

I'm currently flying the latest TAW campaign with a few people and we've spent about two weeks flying the Pe-2 Series 35. Now we have the Series 87 available and while yes it's very similar... it feels quite different. The details of the way it handles are different, even some of the systems are different. I find those subtle differences fascinating!

[Pharoah]

I'm with you on this. I think 1C should have done BoN first rather than BoBP. BoBP is like the 'end game' ie. you get it last after having played your heart out of 1943 era a/c (so as a Typhoon pilot, moving to the Tempest would be the next 'natural' progression). Still though, glad we're getting it. I really wish we could do proper campaigns that start in 1940 (BoF, BoB) that can end in 1945...if you survive long enough. So, say joining the RAF in 1940, flying Hurricane Is or Spit Is or IIs in the Battle of France, then the BoB...and then:

- Hurri I > Hurri II (N Africa or Malta) > Typhoon (based in England) > Tempest (BoBP); or

                                                                > Beaufighter (N Africa or Malta or England)

- Spit I/II > Spit II (N Africa or Malta) > Spit V (England, Malta, N Africa) > Spit IX (England, Italy) > Spit XIV (France); or

                                                                > Typhoon (based in England) > Tempest (BoBP)

                                                                                                                                                                          > Tempest (France) - like Clostermann

I loved reading WW2 pilot autobiographies which showed how varied some pilot careers were (for those that survived). 

[Voyager]

21 hours ago, Manstein16 said:

[...]

Don't get me wrong - it would be great to be able to do something similar in the Pacific; I have fond childhood memories of starting the AotP campaign in a Wildcat and concluding it in a Bearcat. Before then, though, I hope that the dev team will continue to focus on giving us the extended career experiences for the theaters that it is already developing. That is where IL2 BoX truly shines.

 

I did almost exactly the same thing in Aces of the Pacific, though I went from Wildcat to Tigercat myself. 

 

Honestly, I want to follow the footsteps of the 56th Fighter group in the west, then turn around and do the first P-47 group in the Pacific front too. 

 

And just as an addendum, one thing I really like about the BoN plane list is, I can recommend it to someone as their first Great Battles package. By contrast, while the Battle of Moscow and Battle of Kuban plane sets are good, the Battle of Stalingrad plane set was the most well rounded of all of them. With the ETO games, both have complete and well rounded plane sets that can stand fully on their own. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Voyager