Campaign Questions

[Windswepttrout]

Hey, Ill start off by saying i just recently started an awesome co-op campaign with some friends and were having a blast. Its actually the main reason i bought IL-2.

Anyways about 20 missions in there’s still a couple things i don't understand.

 

-Flight lead

How is a flight lead selected?

Is it possible for the player to be flight lead and will the AI follow?

-Missions

What actually determines the success of any given mission?

Is “mission success” even really worth anything?

Are the Movement Nodes on the map related to the success of a mission and how are the triggered?

-Campaign

Do enemy formation sizes and aircraft change throughout a campaign?

Does “air density” have to do with formation sizes or just the amount of enemy sorties?

How does one get fancy new planes and are they limited (I noticed squadron mates getting shoot downs i G-2’s when we only have access to f-4’s in the log)

 

 

Thanks

[PatrickAWlson]

Flight lead is always the pilot at the top of the chalk board in the mission briefing.  You can select any pilot assigned to the mission and move him up or down, so anybody can become the flight leader.  The AI will follow the player if the player is flight lead.

 

Mission success is determined by whether you come back or not.  PWCG absolutely does not care about the game's definition of mission success.  In real life if you flew the missions and made an attempt then nothing bad would come of "failure" - whatever that may mean.  Rewards in the form of promotions and medals came with success, and that was somewhat defined.  So in PWCG you get said rewards based on the best interpretation of history.  

 

Map movement is based on history.  Your flight of four aircraft cannot change the course of Stalingrad.

 

Formation sizes are based on history.  Fighters are mostly three (early war Russia) or four (late Russia and everybody else).  Bomber formation size is more varied.

Air density is mostly number of sorties.

Resupply is a pretty complex background algorithm.  Your squadron is assigned one or more "arch types": Me109, FW190.  With each arch type there are one or more types: Me109 F2, F4, etc.  Types within an arch type are introduced per history.  Resupply is dynamic.  New types are provided to the depot as they become available.  Squadrons in need of planes get them.  Squadrons with older types get those swapped for new ones as the become available.  

 

 

[Windswepttrout]

Awesome, thanks Pat!