Steam Purchases and IL2 Purchases

[CybaGirl]

Hello Peeps.

Can someone please answer a question for me in regards if there is any differences between buying the Steam version of the game over buying it from IL2 website?

For example. On the IL2 website you get to purchase between a Premium Edition and a Standard Edition. But on Steam there only seems to be one purchase option. So I am wondering what version is sold on Steam.

Also if it is the Standard version sold on Steam. Will the collector planes purchased on the IL2 website still work with the Steam version and vice versa?

Finally if I already purchased the Steam version and then I purchase the Premium Edition from the IL2 website. Can someone please tell me do I need to uninstall the Steam version or should I just buy the collector planes missing from the Steam version.

Thanks.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

Just now, CybaGirl said:

Can someone please answer a question for me in regards if there is any differences between buying the Steam version of the game over buying it from IL2 website?

For example. On the IL2 website you get to purchase between a Premium Edition and a Standard Edition. But on Steam there only seems to be one purchase option. So I am wondering what version is sold on Steam.

Battle of Stalingrad (BoS) on steam does have a "Deluxe" edition that's the same as the Premium edition on the IL2 website.

 

BoS is the only standalone module on Steam, the other products are sold as DLC. On the IL2 website each iteration in the series works as a standalone module. So if you're only interested in Bodenplatte (late-war western front), you're cheaper off buying it from the IL2 site (although it seems there's a sale on right now, so I would recommend buying BoS anyhow).

 

Just now, CybaGirl said:

Also if it is the Standard version sold on Steam. Will the collector planes purchased on the IL2 website still work with the Steam version and vice versa?

It is possible to play modules (planes, maps, campaigns) you've bought on the IL2 site in Steam (provided you've bought BoS on Steam of course), but you cannot play any modules you bought on Steam in the game version you bought on the IL2 website.

 

Just now, CybaGirl said:

Finally if I already purchased the Steam version and then I purchase the Premium Edition from the IL2 website. Can someone please tell me do I need to uninstall the Steam version or should I just buy the collector planes missing from the Steam version.

If you link your Steam account to your IL2 account, you can play anything you've bought on the IL2 store from within Steam. So you don't need to uninstall the Steam version.

It's probably cheaper to buy the collector planes separately if you've already bought the normal version, than to buy the Premium version as well. There's a sale every few months or so, so if you wait a while you can get most collector planes for €4 to €5.

Edited August 19, 2020 by AEthelraedUnraed

[jollyjack]

There's a sale going on right now. I had two bought on steam, and 're-bought those direct from IL2.' in such a sale.

This because i began to dislike steam more and more, f.i. due adds and time wasting getting steam setup right on all sorts of 'hidden'functionalities.

Edited August 19, 2020 by jollyjack

[CybaGirl]

23 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Battle of Stalingrad (BoS) on steam does have a "Deluxe" edition that's the same as the Premium edition on the IL2 website.

 

BoS is the only standalone module on Steam, the other products are sold as DLC. On the IL2 website each iteration in the series works as a standalone module. So if you're only interested in Bodenplatte (late-war western front), you're cheaper off buying it from the IL2 site (although it seems there's a sale on right now, so I would recommend buying BoS anyhow).

 

It is possible to play modules (planes, maps, campaigns) you've bought on the IL2 site in Steam (provided you've bought BoS on Steam of course), but you cannot play any modules you bought on Steam in the game version you bought on the IL2 website.

 

If you link your Steam account to your IL2 account, you can play anything you've bought on the IL2 store from within Steam. So you don't need to uninstall the Steam version.

It's probably cheaper to buy the collector planes separately if you've already bought the normal version, than to buy the Premium version as well. There's a sale every few months or so, so if you wait a while you can get most collector planes for €4 to €5.

Hello and thank you for taking the time to get back to me with your indepth reply.

Very much appreciated so thank you.

I have connected my IL2 account to my Steam account and I have purchased a number of planes etc in the past from IL2. But I wasn't sure how the system worked in regards to adding the items I have purchased on either store. I know by buying the products on the IL2 store I am supporting the developers more and I am more than happy to do this when there are sales as our Aussie dollar is not in the best shape :(.

Thank you again and have a great day!

Kind regards,
Erica

Thank you again for

4 hours ago, jollyjack said:

There's a sale going on right now. I had two bought on steam, and 're-bought those direct from IL2.' in such a sale.

This because i began to dislike steam more and more, f.i. due adds and time wasting getting steam setup right on all sorts of 'hidden'functionalities.

 

Hi and thanks for your reply.

Yes I keep my eye out for the sales and get what I can afford when there is a sale. I much prefer to buy on the IL2 website but the dollar conversion sometimes isn't good :(.}

Kind regards,
Erica

[jollyjack]

Don't wait too long though, usually these super sales don't last that long, and get the premiums for the extra planes maybe. 
Collector planes separately bought almost cost as much as the whole caboose maps and all they're included with.

PS the US dollar is also not very high right now.

Edited August 20, 2020 by jollyjack

[Bearchills]

I have a related question.
There are now two game icons on my desktop, and they start the game with Steam or not I guess. 

Do I need to keep the official game installed, or can I delete/uninstall it and just use the Steam one? Being as how the Steam one isn't missing any of my purchased content.

A long time ago I joined Steam for the sole purpose of buying BoS and a few modules on a sale. Other than that I have never used Steam. At the time, BoB was preorder only and not on Steam, and I wanted it. So I bought it on the website. I never played any of it much because my laptop was a potato. 
Fast forward to now, I just got a new computer and started installing stuff. I forgot about Steam and went to the IL2 website and installed the game.
A day later I got an email about the sale going on now, which reminded me about steam, and I went and bought more modules. 
Of course, after reading this thread, I now understand why the official game I installed was missing a lot of stuff. But I have already installed the Steam version. 
Something I can't understand is the very large file size difference between the two. The Steam one should obviously be bigger, but it is like 38 GB, whereas the one that is only BoB is like 168 MB.
 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Bearchills
That little badge reminded me I bough FC from the website also

[AEthelraedUnraed]

Just now, Bearchills said:

Do I need to keep the official game installed, or can I delete/uninstall it and just use the Steam one? Being as how the Steam one isn't missing any of my purchased content.
[...]
Something I can't understand is the very large file size difference between the two. The Steam one should obviously be bigger, but it is like 38 GB, whereas the one that is only BoB is like 168 MB.

Yes, you can uninstall the non-Steam version.

 

Regarding file sizes, they should be exactly the same size (IL2 downloads everything, your purchases only determine which planes/maps you can use). Why the non-Steam game is bigger, I have no idea. Perhaps you recorded some tracks on that install? Those are notorious for eating disk space.

[Bearchills]

3 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Yes, you can uninstall the non-Steam version.

 

Regarding file sizes, they should be exactly the same size (IL2 downloads everything, your purchases only determine which planes/maps you can use). Why the non-Steam game is bigger, I have no idea. Perhaps you recorded some tracks on that install? Those are notorious for eating disk space.

I worded that kind of weird. Let me clarify: the Steam game is much bigger.
What I meant was, I expect the Steam version to be bigger. But not SO much bigger. The regular game seems to be only 165.84 MB. And the one I just installed from Steam is 37.61 GB.
I'm not super tech savvy, but something seems off..
Take a look at this image. This is the thing I use to uninstall stuff, and those are the only two instances of IL-2, the earlier, smaller download being the one from the website and the other one from Steam. There is a discrepancy, but Idk what. What am I not understanding?

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

24 minutes ago, Bearchills said:

I'm not super tech savvy, but something seems off..

 

That uninstaller is giving a misleading result that's not showing the full size of the game. You can check this by looking at the Il-2 directory in File Explorer.

 

Around 37 GB is the correct size.

 

You can safely delete one of the installations if you no longer use it. Just back up any settings, skins, missions etc. that you may have added if you want to keep them.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Mitthrawnuruodo

[Bearchills]

30 minutes ago, Mitthrawnuruodo said:

 

That uninstaller is giving a misleading result that's not showing the full size of the game. You can check this by looking at the Il-2 directory in File Explorer.

 

Around 37 GB is the correct size.

 

You can safely delete one of the installations if you no longer use it. Just back up any settings, skins, missions etc. that you may have added if you want to keep them.

Okay. Thank you

On 8/19/2020 at 3:47 PM, jollyjack said:

...i began to dislike steam more and more, f.i. due adds and time wasting getting steam setup right on all sorts of 'hidden'functionalities.

Would you care to elaborate?
I haven't actually played it yet, but I have opened the game regular and through Steam and noticed two things. First, I can't get the steam game to go full screen. The regular game has an option, but I see no way to do it when launching with Steam. The other thing I noticed is that the regular game seems a little slow in the menu compared to the Steam one. Just moving the cursor around is a pain because there is like a half second delay...

[jollyjack]

Sorry, but those thing are why i re-bought IL2 direct, Steam is a hassle. somewhere you must set the srcreensize in steam. I tried to find it ....

2 weeks ago i lost my Joysticks but only in Cliffs. Installing, re installing. copying confUser.ini, nada. Turned out to be some hidden steam setting.

I decided i am not buying any steam stuff anymore if i can avoid it.

[wrongplanet67]

How do I link my IL2 account to my Steam account?

[ktriggerk0ld]

Same question here. I recently bought BoS, BoM, BoK, and BoBP from Steam. Now reading about the mods and stuff, everyone says launch the game directly and forget about SteamVR. But when I launch it directly from il.exe it prompts me to enter my IL2 credentials which I do not have. When I want to register an account, it prompts me to enter the License Key which Steam used to show but now it's hidden.

 

Does that mean that, since I bought from Steam, I am out of luck and I won't be able to link my accounts?

[AEthelraedUnraed]

On 8/21/2020 at 5:24 AM, Bearchills said:

I haven't actually played it yet, but I have opened the game regular and through Steam and noticed two things. First, I can't get the steam game to go full screen. The regular game has an option, but I see no way to do it when launching with Steam. The other thing I noticed is that the regular game seems a little slow in the menu compared to the Steam one. Just moving the cursor around is a pain because there is like a half second delay...

Settings -> Graphics -> Full screen.

The stutter is probably because it isn't full screen and in focus - I have it too when IL2 runs in the background.

 

On 8/21/2020 at 8:12 AM, jollyjack said:

somewhere you must set the srcreensize in steam.

No, you don't. Settings -> Graphics -> Screen resolution.

 

Just now, ktriggerkoldako said:

everyone says launch the game directly and forget about SteamVR.

First of all, SteamVR != Steam. Only use SteamVR if you actually play VR, and if you do, I think it's the only way to play VR (although I don't play VR myself so I may be mistaken).

 

Secondly, not everyone says so. I, for one, like Steam for the convenience it offers in purchasing, installing and updating games, not having to have an extra desktop icon for each game I play and seeing if any of my friends are online.

 

If any of that is important to you, just launch the game from Steam and don't let any of the negative comments deter you. For starters, note that the screensize issues Bearchills and jollyjack mentioned aren't in fact issues at all as you can read above. Furthermore, I've been playing IL2 (and other games) through Steam for years now and I've never experienced any of the joystick issues jollyjack apparently had or in fact any other issue that I could relate to Steam. Sure, Steam might have some miniscule bit of performance overhead but frankly I've never experienced a single stutter or framerate drop that I remotely suspected Steam of having caused it.

 

Just now, ktriggerkoldako said:

Does that mean that, since I bought from Steam, I am out of luck and I won't be able to link my accounts?

AFAIK, yes, if you bought it from Steam you will have to launch it from Steam. You can play modules you bought on the website on Steam but not the other way around. However, Steam's not so bad as some people want to make you believe ?

[Bearchills]

On 8/28/2020 at 8:34 PM, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Settings -> Graphics -> Full screen.

I found it and it. I'm not sure why the graphics settings don't automatically detect full screen and the optional settings, like most modern games do..

But now it runs in full screen, doesn't stutter, and the graphics look much better. 

My frustration now is with the controls setup. It really is a headache

[CybaGirl]

On 8/24/2020 at 3:16 AM, wrongplanet67 said:

How do I link my IL2 account to my Steam account?

 

Download the Steam version of the game and when it loads it should ask you to connect with your IL2 account.

[Elem]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2020 at 2:41 PM, Bearchills said:

My frustration now is with the controls setup. It really is a headache

What's wrong with the default options?

[jollyjack]

On 8/29/2020 at 1:42 AM, ktriggerk0ld said:

Same question here. I recently bought BoS, BoM, BoK, and BoBP from Steam. Now reading about the mods and stuff, everyone says launch the game directly and forget about SteamVR. But when I launch it directly from il.exe it prompts me to enter my IL2 credentials which I do not have. When I want to register an account, it prompts me to enter the License Key which Steam used to show but now it's hidden.

 

Does that mean that, since I bought from Steam, I am out of luck and I won't be able to link my accounts?

 

 I think you must combine the two accounts; maybe buying Stalingrad now new in the haloween sale at 19$ is a good move.

At least you can buy Normandy then direct as BoS seems to be necessary for that.

If you are serious about this game the sale period is a nice one if you want to get rid of Steam totally.

I did it when i realized it was a better move; never regretted, and you support IL2 direct too.

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by jollyjack