Advice please - game version confusion

[Buckaroo02]

Folks,

 

I stumbled across IL2 whilst browsing YouTube for DCS tutorials.

 

At first glance the game seems to have better WW2 gameplay than DCS. However, I am completely confused. What version should I purchase - Moscow, Cliffs of Dover, battle of Bodan?

 

Which is the most recent and must I purchase a particular one in order to fly multiplayer on the net? ideally i'd like to learn to fly with the game and engage in on-line battles with others.

 

Thankyou

[JG13_opcode]

Yeah they've unfortunately stuck with a rather confusing naming scheme.

 

First you had IL-2 Sturmovik, the original.  Then came Forgotten Battles.  Then came the absolute dumpster fire that was IL-2 Sturmovik:  Cliffs of Dover.  That's its own game and it was a buggy mess.  Don't get it.

 

This is the new new game, which they've retroactively titled IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles.  Each expansion/DLC/whatever has a name following the format "Battle of X".

 

The majority of servers online (at least on North American time slots) tend to feature aircraft from Battle of Kuban, Battle of Bodenplatte.  Normandy isn't released yet but that's next I believe.

 

Kuban would be a good bet, if you like flying Luftwaffe vs VVS (Soviet Union) scenarios.  Otherwise the only real USAAF/RAF scenarios are available via Bodenplatte.  The Combat Box server has these scenarios on pretty much 24/7.

Edited May 1, 2020 by JG13_opcode

[Ribbon]

There is a sale so you're here just on time!

Premium versions it will grant you two additional planes.

I would pick by this order (price premium/standard) regarding MP popularity:

1.Battle of Bodenplatte 40$/25$

2.Battle of Stalingrad 20$/12$

3.Battle of Kuban 20$/12$

4.Battle of Moscow 20$/12$

But it all depends on server you're going to fly!

If you don't aim to buy all of these do some research in il2 store and if those additional planes don't make much difference to you maybe it would be wiser to get standard version and with that money (8-15$) buy one more expansion.

For example; instead of premium Battle of Kuban for 20$ you can buy both standard Battle of Kuban and standard Battle of Stalingrad for 25$ total.

It all deoends how much money you aim to spend, i'd rather buy another expansion than get single one with premium planes.

These titles above are all part of il2:Great battles series together with Tank crew and Flying circus and if you purchase few of them will incorporate into single game as dlc/expansions (similar as DCS).

First mofule you buy will act as standalone game, note that in MP you'll have access to all maps but planeset will be restricted by expansions you own.

[Nadelbaum]

Please also note that if you decide to go for Steam instead of IL-2 website then you MUST buy Battle of Stalingrad first from Steam and you MUST use Steam to launch the game. Other than that you can mix and match.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Nadelbaum

[Talon_]

If you buy Battle of Stalingrad on Steam then log in to the website and buy Battle of Bodenplatte on the IL-2 store, you'll be able to fly planes on almost any server and launch/update via Steam. Best of both worlds!

[Soilworker]

Best to avoid the Steam version if you don't have it already, seems to make things more complicated, plus buying direct gives more money to the Devs! 

 

7 hours ago, JG13_opcode said:

Each expansion/DLC/whatever has a name following the format "Battle of X".

 

I think "module" describes them best. 

 

And finally: Welcome! IL-2 Great Battles is an amazing simulator with a (generally) awesome community and a great and communicative development team. 

[Talon_]

50 minutes ago, Soilworker said:

Best to avoid the Steam version if you don't have it already, seems to make things more complicated, plus buying direct gives more money to the Devs! 

 

 

The Steam version updates a lot faster and more reliably in my experience. That's why I suggest buying Stalingrad only from there.

[Indianer]

10 hours ago, Buckaroo02 said:

Folks,

 

I stumbled across IL2 whilst browsing YouTube for DCS tutorials.

 

At first glance the game seems to have better WW2 gameplay than DCS. However, I am completely confused. What version should I purchase - Moscow, Cliffs of Dover, battle of Bodan?

 

Which is the most recent and must I purchase a particular one in order to fly multiplayer on the net? ideally i'd like to learn to fly with the game and engage in on-line battles with others.

 

Thankyou

Oh no! It's a Buckaroo!!! ? I still remember that "Fighter Bomber 2" cheat-name.. Most modern 3D-Vector-graphics with ~5fps on Amiga500. But I loved it back then.

Edited May 1, 2020 by -NONE-Eric_Hardman

[Herne]

Also note that Cliffs of Dover is not an IL2 great battles title. 

It's an older legacy game that is being updated by Team Fusion Simulations, but is available to buy from this store. All the other titles run through the same game launcher and game engine.

[CountZero]

11 hours ago, Buckaroo02 said:

Folks,

 

I stumbled across IL2 whilst browsing YouTube for DCS tutorials.

 

At first glance the game seems to have better WW2 gameplay than DCS. However, I am completely confused. What version should I purchase - Moscow, Cliffs of Dover, battle of Bodan?

 

Which is the most recent and must I purchase a particular one in order to fly multiplayer on the net? ideally i'd like to learn to fly with the game and engage in on-line battles with others.

 

Thankyou

 

Il-2 Clifs of Dover is differant game from Il-2 Great Battles.

 

Il-2 Great Battles have many DLCs, and collector airplanes and you only need to have one to be able to play online ( you can play on any map server is using but you can play only with airplanes you got in DLC you buy, if server dont have airplanes you have you cant play on that mission or server, you can join and see that all is locked for you). You have to have Battle of Stalingrad if you plan to buy from steam to be able to buy/play other DLC there, if you buy from store here you can have any great battle you wont. You can not just buy collevtor airplane without having atleast one great battle first.

 

For me i would buy Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Bodenplate here, and i would take advantage of big sale right now. Other DLC you can get later on next sale if you wont them, but with thouse 2 you should be able to play on almost all missions server host online.

[ShamrockOneFive]

I wrote a guide recently that might help with buying something in the IL-2: Great Battles series. Hope this helps!

https://stormbirds.blog/2020/04/25/il-2-great-battles-which-one-should-i-buy/

[CanadaOne]

Battle of Kuban has the best map by far. And it has an IL2 with 37mm cannons. And you can get the standard version for about $12.

 

It's an amazing deal!

[PatrickAWlson]

If you can manage a few extra buck I highly recommend the premium versions.  You will miss those two extra planes at some point and they are cheaper in the premium pack.

[Buckaroo02]

5 hours ago, Cessna-Fahrer said:

Oh no! It's a Buckaroo!!! ? I still remember that "Fighter Bomber 2" cheat-name.. Most modern 3D-Vector-graphics with ~5fps on Amiga500. But I loved it back then.

Good God, someone as old as me. That's exactly where the name comes from.

 

It was either Buckaroo or ChuckEgg !

Thanks for the info guys.....i'll have a read of the guide offered and make a raid on the piggy bank.

[Soilworker]

5 hours ago, Talon_ said:

 

The Steam version updates a lot faster and more reliably in my experience. That's why I suggest buying Stalingrad only from there.

 

I have had no problems.

Maybe if I try to update within a few hours of a release it go a bit slow but that's about it. (Besides I have enough other things in my life to keep me occupied while waiting for an update. ?) 

[RedKestrel]

5 hours ago, Talon_ said:

 

The Steam version updates a lot faster and more reliably in my experience. That's why I suggest buying Stalingrad only from there.

Seems to be a lot less of a difference in speed in the last 6 months or so than before. I regularly get speeds about 5 or 6 times the max speed I got a while back. Can't speak to reliability as I don't have it on Steam, but Steam itself seems not to like me and gives me issues with the games I have through there, so I steer clear of it for the most part.
 

[Guest deleted@134347]

IL-2 Great Battles is the title.

 

It has 5 parts:  Moscow, Stalingrad, Kuban, Bodenplatte, and Flying Circus (ww1 doubledeckers)

 

- You can buy any single "part" and play with whatever it comes with (certain planes, and 1 map).

- You can buy any single "part" and join MP with other people who have any of those parts (or all), however you'll be limited to flying the planes that came with your part only (planes). In MP you'll be able to fly on any map from these parts, regardless of which part you actually own. However, in SP (off-line career), you're only limited to the map that came with the part you bought.

 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Count_de_Money

[Indianer]

2 hours ago, Buckaroo02 said:

Good God, someone as old as me. That's exactly where the name comes from.

 

It was either Buckaroo or ChuckEgg !

Thanks for the info guys.....i'll have a read of the guide offered and make a raid on the piggy bank.

It crossed my mind a few weeks back and I had  immediateley to google what a buckaroo is. Was wondering for ~30 years but "now" that we have google.. ?

[Lusekofte]

If you like bombers Stalingrad , Moscow and Kuban is hard to pass. Late war only. 
Bodenplatte. 
If you want a beautiful map Kuban. It slso provide fun planes