Squadron Career Mode

[falle96]

I apologize for the late hour in posting this, as I’m minutes away from falling asleep and won’t be able to respond for several hours.

 

I suggest that a step be added during the start of a standard career playthrough, introduced between selecting a squadron/regiment and creating a character. This step would be an additional choice between a “pilot career” (what we have in Il-2 currently, where you follow a single pilot through the battle and the larger war) and a “squadron career”. Choosing squadron career means skipping the character creation stage and heading directly into the headquarters screen, sans the “pilot” tab (if removing this would be too difficult, then perhaps the tab should have some placeholder).

 

This suggestion is similar to an “Azazel” mode that others have suggested before, but with a minor twist - instead of following a pilot and then switching upon death*, the player represents the “spirit” of their unit. They are able to assign pilots, aircraft, and appropriate modifications to each mission as if they were squadron/regimental commander, but are then able to select who in that formation they wish to fly as.** After the mission, losses and victories are tallied (the career continues even if the player-controlled pilot for that flight dies) and the war progresses onwards.

 

I am not certain how easy this would be to execute in practice, as I am not someone familiar with Il-2’s inner workings. However, as players are able as commander to assign and modify flight arrangements, which then affects the generated mission, I believe being able to “possess” a pilot should be theoretically possible. Further, as Il-2’s career already simulates missions either not flown in or in which the player is forced to retire from, we know that campaign continuation should the “possessed” pilot dies is already doable without making much, if any, additions to the game.

 

The advantage this new system would bring is to add a new way of interacting with the already existent career mode while also (ideally) circumventing the difficulties of an “Azazel” mode. Further, it would add to Il-2’s already-present commitment to show the war “as it was” within the limitations of a digital space - the war does not stop on the account of one pilot’s death. Rather than career mode only being the story of one person, this new mode would allow players to tell and experience the story of a squadron, one that goes through trials and tribulations.

 

Il-2’s career mode is unique amongst its peers. I believe that this addition would continue to distinguish it from, and above, the rest.

 

 

*I do believe an “Azazel” mode would make for a good addition to the game, but it may prove more difficult to implement than this

**Players should reserve the choice to not “possess” any pilot on a mission, should they choose to. Il-2’s career already possesses the capability to simulate missions without a human being there to witness it, making this theoretically extremely easy to implement 

[Eisenfaustus]

While I have no idea what azazel is, many of the things you suggest can already be done, when you are squadron leader. 

[falle96]

(Good morning, everyone!)

 

2 minutes ago, Eisenfaustus said:

While I have no idea what azazel is, many of the things you suggest can already be done, when you are squadron leader. 

 

This is partially true. Azazel was an alternate mode for the Call of Chernobyl mod for STALKER: Call of Pripyat (iirc) that allowed you to change characters randomly to an already existent NPC if you were to die, and to keep swapping bodies until you simply get tired of the run (as there isn't a fixed end state to the mod afaik).

 

What I am suggesting does require a lot of the infrastructure of the squadron leader systems, but instead of a career being over should your pilot die or be captured, you are able to progress forwards and inhabit a new body. Unlike a traditional Azazel mode, what I am suggesting is that you are able to swap bodies at any time (between missions), meaning that you can choose who to fly as for each flight at will - or, like I mentioned in a footnote, choose to fly as no one and just simulate day after day to see what happens.

[LukeFF]

Good ideas!

 

My suggestion would be something like this (it was called "Dead is Dead" in the days of the original IL2) - the player starts out as they do now with their persona. If they are killed or captured, the player's persona is removed from the active pilot roster and replaced with an auto-generated new persona at the lowest rank, with no kills, awards, etc. That is kind of how I play careers right now - when my pilot dies or is captured, I create a  new career in the same chapter where the old one ended. 

[falle96]

2 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

Good ideas!

 

My suggestion would be something like this (it was called "Dead is Dead" in the days of the original IL2) - the player starts out as they do now with their persona. If they are killed or captured, the player's persona is removed from the active pilot roster and replaced with an auto-generated new persona at the lowest rank, with no kills, awards, etc. That is kind of how I play careers right now - when my pilot dies or is captured, I create a  new career in the same chapter where the old one ended. 

 

I would be happy to see this come to Il-2 as well! It's more or less what I had in my mind when I refer to "Azazel" mode in my original suggestion, and I think it would fit in great.

 

I am, though, still attached to being able to play as a guiding spirit for the unit, taking whatever role in the flight I choose. However, I'm not sure how feasible this would be able to build versus what you suggested. If you had to guess, are either concepts capable of being built?

[LukeFF]

Just now, FarflungWanderer said:

If you had to guess, are either concepts capable of being built?

 

I would say they are, but as with everything the development team does, their time and resources are limited as to what they can do. Hopefully, when work begins on the Normandy career, some new features like this can be integrated. 

[falle96]

2 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

I would say they are, but as with everything the development team does, their time and resources are limited as to what they can do. Hopefully, when work begins on the Normandy career, some new features like this can be integrated. 

 

Here's hoping! I wish I could try and take a crack at making some prototype for it, just as a proof of concept, but I don't think I have the tools or the skills to attempt it.

[falle96]

I was thinking about this earlier - this is a question more aimed for the developers, but I was curious as to how Il-2's career mode works in the sense of "how does it create a pilot, how does it set a pilot as the player controlled aircraft when generating a mission," and stuff of that matter.

 

So much of the career mode's inner workings are a mystery to me, and I'd love to understand it more!