Changelog - Updates for Core and Blitz 5.0

[ATAG_Pattle]

Hi All,

 

Hope everyone has had a great first day in North Africa!

 

Here is the comprehensive list of fixes, improvements, and additions that all owners/buyers of "IL-2 Sturmovik Cliffs Of Dover - Blitz” will get with the update to 5.0

We will continue with identified bug fixing, and improvement updates to continually improve the sim and the playing experience.

*** 3DObjects: Beaufighter (all versions), Observer cockpit: the observer can now raise his head higher.
*** 3DObjects: Beaufighter (all versions), pilot cockpit: new high resolution textures for instruments,add of gauge glass reflection,minor improvement on some other textures
*** 3DObjects: Beaufighter (all) externals: Fuselage damage corrected.
*** 3DObjects: Beaufighter NF cockpit illumination too low. Cockpit illumination slightly more intense.
*** 3DObjects: Bf 109 E, Bf 110C, He 111: Electrical Gearlegindicator Fl. 32526 Secondary illumination command enabled (set to ON by default) for control of Electrical Gearlegindicator Fl. 32526. Works for Bf 109 E and Bf 110C.
*** 3DObjects: Bf 110 C-4NJG: cockpit lighting adjusted: Primary Christmas light-show reduced to more believable level.
*** 3DObjects: Flickering Hurricane lever fixed.
*** 3DObjects: G.50 & Hurricanes: 'UCx' chunk not found freeze. Fixed.
*** 3DObjects: Hurricane cockpit brake lever fix
*** 3DObjects: New weapon type "Landmine" : Objects of this type work just like objects of type Mines (which are Seamines), but unlike Seamines are not automatically positioned at sealevel (height zero) but honour location's terrain height and the object's "Ground_Level" hook.
*** 3DObjects: Rear turret of Flowers Class Corvette now functional.
*** 3DWorld: Collisions restricted to speedtree objects with collision objects: Bushes have the collision objects removed, so no collisions with bushes anymore
*** 3DWorld: Correct height determination in shore blocks. Planes now 'splash' correctly in blocks with both land and water.
*** 3DObjects: Ju 88, Animation fixed for prop pitch levers constant speed props.
*** 3DObjects: Turret swivel speed limited to 45 degrees per second max
*** AI: Air Group spacing, Values adjusted to reduce collisions
*** AI: aircraft performing strafing attacks will now execute multiple passes as specified in the Full Mission Builder. Multiple GAttack waypoints may be specified and AI aircraft will attack each in turn with specified number of passes.
*** AI: Code updated to stop aircraft from flying into the ground while attempting to strafe. Angle of attack reduced and time on target maximized.
*** AI: Dead turret gunners lean on trigger only 20% of the time.
*** AI: Free Hunt waypoint type. Removed requirement for attacker to have energy advantage. Now functions as 'Engage Fighter or Bomber'.
*** AI: GAttack Spiral Up now randomly spirals left or right. All spirals were to the right.
*** AI: Gunners now fire at all enemy aircraft.
*** AI: gunners will open fire between 300m and 500m depending on shooting skill: Old code had gunners opening up at a random distance from 500m to 800m. Now better gunners hold their fire until enemy is closer.
*** AI: Italian AI now speaks Italian
*** AI: Ships created with average skill level instead of veteran.
*** AI: Siren range: Sirens will now sound when enemy aircraft approach within 10km, up from 1km.
*** AI: Vehicle spacing increased. The BestSpace value for all ground vehicles was too small (two lengths) and has been doubled. This results in fewer collisions and less accordioning. Also code to maneuver around obstacles etc. now works correctly.
*** AI: Vehicles now staying on roads and crossing bridges. Please read the FMB manual’s guidelines on how to set vehicles’ paths correctly. Also note: Now that vehicles behave correctly, problems surface we did not have when they behaved incorrectly. Especially with bridges. Many bridges on the Channel Map were broken originally and never repaired.
*** Aircraft Damage Modeling: New damage models for all aircraft in BLITZ.
*** Aircraft Overheat Modeling: New overheat modeling for all aircraft in BLITZ.
*** Aircraft Weapons Modeling: New ballistics modeling for all weapons in BLITZ.
*** Vehicle Damage and Weapons: New modeling for all vehicles in BLITZ.
*** Ship Damage and Weapons: New weapons and damage modeling for ships in BLITZ.
*** Content: 4 New single player missions
*** Effects: Code change so ground vehicles do not show spurious exhaust effects
*** Effects: Fixed (regression 4.57): Vehicles with tracks do not throw up dust. But not all vehicles have been enabled yet.
*** Effects: Half-track vehicles now have dust effect. But not all vehicles have been enabled yet.
*** Effects: Hospital ship, "__SmokeCoal00" exception fixed. Smoke now works.
*** Effects: Muzzle flash fix
*** Effects: New Effects
*** Effects: Refactored algorithm to reduce incorrect reflections from beneath aircraft on ground
*** Effects: Removed bell sounds from warships.
*** Effects: Vehicles with wheels now have dust effect. But not all vehicles have been enabled yet.
*** Effects: Water fountain (instead of dust/sand/earth) effect on sea mine's explosion
*** Effects: no more dust/sand/earth effect on shots hitting wooden parts of aircraft (e.g. Hurricanes) [Artist]
*** Full Mission Builder Add newly saved and "Save As..." to "Recently Opened Files"
*** Full Mission Builder, local menu: added command "Dissolve Group" (visible only when objects are combined in a group)
*** Full Mission Builder, menu "File", new item "Import ...": Allows to import elements from another mission ( = template) into the current mission. [Artist]: Importable elements are those in the mission file's sections [Buildings], [Stationary], and [AIChiefs]. This roughly encompasses the Object Viewer's categories Animals, Artillery, Buildings, Mines, Searchlight, Smokes, Static, Static Ships, and Winches. The template mission must (naturally) use the same map as the mission you want to import it into.
*** Full Mission Builder, Options => Controls => Category "Builder": Corrected naming of Event Names "Select into Group" and "Remove From Group" (formerly both were named just "Select"): Function of both is to draw a rectangle over one or several objects to add them into (or remove them from) a group which then can be moved as a whole or saved to a 'paste file'.
*** Full Mission Builder, Scripting: AMission has Mission Duration function: This is to allow mission builders to calculate time left. The default value is four hours but mission coders can override that.
*** Full Mission Builder, scripts: //$include directive accepts relative paths such as "." and ".."
*** Full Mission Builder, Support for optional DespawnAfterLandingTimeout in mission file. This parameter can be manually added to the MAIN section of the zero mission file to set the timeout in seconds. If the value is set to -1 the aircraft will never despawn. Default value is 600 seconds, maximum settable value 86400 (24 hours)
*** Full Mission builder: Default AI skill values revised
*** Full Mission Builder: Default Battle Area settings revised: Grid set to 5km and area covers entire map.
*** Full Mission Builder: Default mission time on Load Map set to 10:00
*** Full Mission Builder: Fixed Crash To Desktop on exiting
*** Full Mission Builder: Objects can be rotated in one degree increments. New key mapping to rotate in one degree increments.
*** Full Mission Builder: Remove limit of 60 aircraft types per birthplace in netcode.
*** Full Mission Builder: Spawn Area window now has aircraft sorted by name
*** Full Mission Builder: Timeout parameter for Artillery now saved correctly
*** Full Mission Builder: Prevent game modules to be changed after map or mission has been loaded (cause of crashes)
*** GUI: Options=>Plane: remembers previously selected aircraft or selects alphabetically first.
*** GUI: Options=>Plane (and Loadout): GUI changed to prevent inadvertently discarded changes
*** GUI: Single/Quick customization, loadout dropdowns (under aircraft icon) now work as expected
*** GUI: STEAM overlay not invokable when disabled in STEAM (was disabling GUI instead)
*** GUI: Italian aircraft markings changed to conform (recently changed) Italian law
*** GUI: Prevent recordings to be started before player is in plane/vehicle/ship (cause for tracks starting with view on sea level)
*** GUI: Ingame map's briefing, when left open in last flight, now is updated to current briefing

*** GUI: Ingame map's briefing is scrollable
*** GUI: Aircraft weathering/aging default is now 50%
*** GUI: darker backgrounds on Options pages, add drop shadow to title labels and set default label background to white.
*** GUI: Fix crash in old bob mission when pressing OK in plane options.
*** GUI: Game Page 'Quick Mission' shows mission's title on top, not filename.
*** GUI: Game Page 'Quick Mission': Filter by Map
*** GUI: Incorporated many corrections from the localization team
*** GUI: Options => Controls => Aircraft; Keys: Oil Radiator Engine Numbering Inverted
*** GUI: Radiator cut-off commands now appear on the HUD
*** GUI: Removed unsupported controls in Options => Controls. Controls that are not yet supported (e.g. controls for engines #3 through #8, Arrestor Hook, etc.) have been removed from the Options => Controls list until actually needed again.
*** GUI: Renamed misleading 2nd false "External View" to "Release Position": There were two Controls (Options, Controls, Keys, View) named "External View": 1. The true "External View" (default F2), which changes the view to the outside while the player remains in the pilot's seat. 2. The false "External View" (default Alt-F2), which actually moved the player from his current position (e.g. gunner) back into the pilot's seat - while releasing that position back to the AI ...*or*, if the player is already in the pilot's seat, removes the player from the aircraft and hands the aircraft to the AI (multiplayer server usually destroy the aircraft then - preventing the player from re-taking control with "Take control of the selected AI aircraft").
*** GUI: Tank selector custom names now appear as cockpit tooltips on mouse over.
*** GUI: Wording, "Bomb fuzes" instead of "Bombs" (in Loadout) or "Detonators" (MFB)
*** GUI: Wrong measurements units for detonator delay, fixed.
*** MISC: Air spawns have gunsight on
*** MISC: Aircraft start with prop pitch to 100%.
*** MISC: Autopilot course set to current direction for airspawns
*** MISC: Game Version notation changed to X.YYY
*** MISC: New antialias system using FXAA and SMAA [xoriguer]: FXAA is an more recent version of the current anti-alias, this version supports more modes (3) and quality settings, is relatively lightweight (1 shader pass). SMAA is a more advanced technique (3 shader passes), provides 2 modes (Luma and Color, the second is more expensive) and 4 quality presets.
*** MISC: The launcher64.exe is now signed to hopefully prevent issues with antivirus-software (especially Avast and AVR)
*** MISC: When user has axis configured for prop pitch control it now spawns in neutral.
*** Single Player: Support for user created campaigns in <UserDocuments>\1C SoftClub\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\mission\campaign\custom\
*** Sound: Allows more instances of external aircraft engine events to simultaneously play, which reduces the amount of "silent" aircraft.
*** Sound: Changed the sound engine from fmod4 to fmod5
*** Sound: Fixes ground explosion effects not being heard beyond 1000m.
*** Sound: Fixes various smaller sound bugs, such as detach sound not adhering to distance attenuation.

Cheers,

Pattle

[Eisenfaustus]

Great list changes!
 

2 hours ago, ATAG_Pattle said:

GUI: Options=>Plane (and Loadout): GUI changed to prevent inadvertently discarded changes

Does this mean custom loadouts are finally working in SP?

[marcost]

Quite a few of those are big improvements for me, thank you!

 

 

[Sokol1]

7 hours ago, Eisenfaustus said:

Does this mean custom loadouts are finally working in SP?

 

Loadouts in Plane option always work in previous versions - for Quick Missions, not for Single Missions.

 

Now when you load a mission, you can't access loadout screen anymore, just select customized skin, in Player Plane.

 

Other change is that now are a second Apply button in Plane option,  for prevent player leave the GUI inadvertently canceling the changes he made.

 

Plane and Player Plane are different options.

Edited August 7, 2020 by Sokol1

[Blooddawn1942]

can anyone enlighten me what this means? 

 

*** GUI: Italian aircraft markings changed to conform (recently changed) Italian law

[69thSpiritus]

5 hours ago, Blooddawn1942 said:

can anyone enlighten me what this means? 

 

*** GUI: Italian aircraft markings changed to conform (recently changed) Italian law

 

Same issue with the swastika on German aircraft. 

[Sokol1]

Quote

*** AI: Free Hunt waypoint type. Removed requirement for attacker to have energy advantage. Now functions as 'Engage Fighter or Bomber'.

 

just for curiosity, is that difference of altitude required so huge that make use this waypoint (how was) unpractical?

 

Happens that previous no one (mission maker) know how this waypoint order work, leading to doubts if really work.

 

The idea behind this (previous) attack order make sense, reflecting the typical hunt of German fighter sweep, flying high bounce British fighters climbing in their "Idiotenreihen'" formation  (E.g. Nicolson Victory Cross episode) and running from France.

 

Now is just a copy of "attack fighters" or have some difference?

[richarrrd]

11 hours ago, Blooddawn1942 said:

can anyone enlighten me what this means? 

 

*** GUI: Italian aircraft markings changed to conform (recently changed) Italian law

 

Yeah, same, I am really curious about this one. I assume it was to do with the Regia Aeronautica roundels?

Edited August 8, 2020 by richarrrd

[Blooddawn1942]

8 minutes ago, richarrrd said:

 

Yeah, same, I am really curious about this one. I assume it was to do with the Regia Aeronautica roundels?

I guess so. I'm interested what has changed. 

[Buzzsaw]

4 minutes ago, Blooddawn1942 said:

I guess so. I'm interested what has changed. 

The Italian Parliament and Senate passed a law which hasn't yet gone into effect, but which may, which says any display of Fascist symbols is illegal for products sold in Italy.

 

We responded to this by changing the Italian wing Rondels slightly so they are not exactly like the Fascist symbols anymore.... you have to look closely and compare them to the historical types to see the difference.  But this will prevent us from being sued or charged if the law goes into effect.

[Blooddawn1942]

14 minutes ago, Buzzsaw said:

The Italian Parliament and Senate passed a law which hasn't yet gone into effect, but which may, which says any display of Fascist symbols is illegal for products sold in Italy.

 

We responded to this by changing the Italian wing Rondels slightly so they are not exactly like the Fascist symbols anymore.... you have to look closely and compare them to the historical types to see the difference.  But this will prevent us from being sued or charged if the law goes into effect.

Aye, this is the right thing to do. 

[DD_Arthur]

Are the player commands to a.i. wingmen working now? My updated version of Blitz does not seem to show much difference in their behaviour.

[Sokol1]

Yes, wingman commands work, but for some like Attack... only if the right conditions is meet... don't ask how. ?

 

But, for example a wingman two KM far away will don't act when you order "Attack my target", because he are not able to see you neither an target ahead you.

 

Is need to select the right AI recipient first, if wingman 1, 2, wing, group.

 

Formations commands (type, space) work like a charm.

 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Sokol1

[DD_Arthur]

Thanks Sokol, I'll give it a go.  While I'm here;  thanks for all the useful advice you've handed out to everyone over the years and especially' these last few days in this part of the forum.

 

[Eisenfaustus]

On 8/7/2020 at 7:38 PM, Sokol1 said:

Loadouts in Plane option always work in previous versions - for Quick Missions, not for Single Missions.

How? I could change convergence settings but had no way to change belt composition in any SP mode. 
 

From your answer I get the impression they didn’t fix this but remove so no one complains anymore...

[Sokol1]

9 hours ago, Eisenfaustus said:

How? I could change convergence settings but had no way to change belt composition in any SP mode. 
 

From your answer I get the impression they didn’t fix this but remove so no one complains anymore...

 

I guess that ammo adjusts in GUI never work for all kind of missions (just bombs and fuzes for Quick Missions only) because in CloD (contrary to IL-2:46, IL-2:GB)  different types of missions is stored in different folders and places:

 

In "mission" and "missions", in "Documents\1C..." and in "Steamapps\common\il2"...

 

And when a mission maker do a mission and leave ammo belts as default this instruction is placed in mission (.mis) code:

 

Weapon1

 

What I guess instruct game for read the default ammo belts from a text file hidden inside encrypted SFS files.

All ammo belts you create in Options > Planes is saves in User.ini as "beltPreset Custom"

 

IMO this was a positive change,  remove something ineffective that bothered people all this years.

Is not the ideal solution, but better than leaving it as it was, perhaps "too little, too late"...

 

Are another example of "sweep under the rug" that became necessary in the GUI:  in the first versions of the game are a "Physical watering " slider - non functional, of course; whose intention was adjust reliability of engines, and disappear in one of MG patches.

Another good candidate for this is the non functional "Nose Art" selector that remain in skin selector, since apparently fix this (that up to 3.57 work in a "It's CloD!" way) require much work, and will change nothing in the game now.

And the Training module, in what the second mission has a bug - AI instructor crash the plane.

Edited August 10, 2020 by Sokol1

[=RS=Stix_09]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:47 PM, Eisenfaustus said:

How? I could change convergence settings but had no way to change belt composition in any SP mode. 
 

From your answer I get the impression they didn’t fix this but remove so no one complains anymore...

 

 

There is a way to workaround hard coded limits of sp missions
Takes a few steps but its easy to do.

 

Quote

*** 3DWorld: Collisions restricted to speedtree objects with collision objects: Bushes have the collision objects removed, so no collisions with bushes anymore

 

 

Does that mean no trees on the ground interact with the player anymore, ie it's a cosmetic image , with no hitbox?

Edited August 12, 2020 by =RS=Stix_09

[Buzzsaw]

1 hour ago, =RS=Stix_09 said:

 

 

 

Does that mean no trees on the ground interact with the player anymore, ie it's a cosmetic image , with no hitbox?

No, trees continue to have a collision model.  Only the low bushes on the Tobruk map are harmless to hit.  The Palm trees, etc. will cause damage if you hit them.