Improvements to Great Battles

[Jackfraser24]

Hi. I just want to make another suggestion. It’s about the aircraft skins  and the languages of the pilots that fly them in the game. 
 

For example, the Bf 109 was flown on all fronts by a variety of Air Forces. 
 

What I think that should be done is that an aircraft that fought on multiple fronts like should be painted in the appropriate livery.

 

For example, the axis planes on the Eastern Front (1941-45) should have a generic Luftwaffe skin with a yellow band near the tail section by default. 

The planes on the Western Front (1943-45) should have a different generic Luftwaffe skin by default too.

 

Same for the Mediterranean/North African Theatre too. (I know there probably won’t be a North African scenario, though it would be nice).

 

Also the pilots from the many independent, client and puppet nations that fought alongside Germany in the European/Mediterranean Theatres should have their own languages and default skins, depending on which front they fought.
 

These nations include:

• Italy (Eastern and Mediterranean)
• Romania (Eastern)
• Hungary (Eastern)
• Bulgaria (Eastern)
• Slovakia (Eastern)
• Independent State of Croatia (Eastern) 
• Finland (Eastern/Continuation War)
• And the Russian Liberation Forces (Eastern)

Correct me if I have unwittingly given misinformation, or left anything out worth mentioning. 
 

Thank you

 

 

Edited January 28 by Jackfraser24

[migmadmarine]

At least with the default skins, don't we sort of have that already? At least in career and such where they are available the theater correct default will be applied (lacking unit specifics of course). As for the languages and minor powers, if they can get the voice acting, sure, but the've not managed it with the Italians yet. Jason has said he is pushing for Romanian voice acting to go with the IAR, and hopefully that will be more common in future. 

[Jackfraser24]

13 minutes ago, migmadmarine said:

At least with the default skins, don't we sort of have that already? At least in career and such where they are available the theater correct default will be applied (lacking unit specifics of course). As for the languages and minor powers, if they can get the voice acting, sure, but the've not managed it with the Italians yet. Jason has said he is pushing for Romanian voice acting to go with the IAR, and hopefully that will be more common in future. 

We do have default skins. Should have made clear what I meant is that the only automatic default skin, for example a Bf 109 G6 would be the Luftwaffe, but interchangeable between fronts (I.e, yellow band for the Eastern front, other/no band for the Western front).

[MisterSmith]

Jack,

 

You have been a very enthusiastic poster of late. Please, however, ensure you are posting in the correct threads. It's become a part time job moving your posts about.

 

   

 

 

[Jackfraser24]

3 hours ago, MisterSmith said:

Jack,

 

You have been a very enthusiastic poster of late. Please, however, ensure you are posting in the correct threads. It's become a part time job moving your posts about.

 

   f

 

 

Sorry about that. 

[Jackfraser24]

Are planes with swastika livery modifications allowed on multiplayer or not?

[Jackfraser24]

I would like to suggest a few upgrades and improvements to IL-2 Great Battles Quick Mission builders. Here's what I suggest:

 

Quick Mission Builder

• I think we should be able to select what air field to take off from. Otherwise this would restrict your options on where to start by a lot.
• In my opinion I think we need to be able to have an increased number of AI planes from 16 (4 x 2 x 2) to 48 (6 x 4 x 2), which would make the battle a lot more intense.
• Also I think that enemy forces in Skirmish needs a more specific mission than to just annihilate the player and the friendlies.

Advanced Quick Mission Builder Updates

• Being able to chose our friendly forces strengths is just as important as selecting our enemy's strength as we can make each mission more to our liking.
• Choosing what position on our squadron would enhance the game play experience by a lot. If you don't want to be a leader then that should be an option.
• In escort bombers or attackers it would be a better game play experience to be able to choose which type of plane we want to escort and to what target too.
• When flying as a bomber or attack aircraft it would be better to be able to decide which target on the map we want to bomb like a particular airfield or bridge.
• When flying as a fighter or heavy fighter it would be better if we could chose which aircraft we would like to be up against, depending on the scenario. If it is an airfield we are attacking then it should only be fighters we can chose from. But if we are trying to defend an airfield or infrastructure targeted by enemy planes then we can chose whichever enemy aircraft we want (still would be limited to which aircraft historically operated in that area).

[Jackfraser24]

I know I have discussed this before but still think we need a better wingman command systems between planes than the one we’ve got at the moment for several reasons. 

1. Having a better command system would enhance the gameplay by a lot. We’d be able to make more specific commands, and call our wingmen for help. Heck, IL-2 1946 has a far superior wingman command system than what Great Battles has.
2. It would help the game adhere to the principles of IL-2 of having a very realistic gameplay even closer. 
3. I am a little tired of being shot down partly because I cannot call out for urgent help. I’m sure many of you (the reader) is also tired of this.

Look, I know I have discussed this before, and that this would cost a lot of time and money but I believe that this upgrade would be indeed worth the hassle. Please, 1CGS, please consider this.

 

[AndyJWest]

Jack, do you really think the developers are even reading your endless posts of 'suggestions? You have already been told what their priorities are - Korea, and the new/revised engine that goes with it. Any changes they make to the existing engine beyond bug fixes are likely to be relatively minor, given the limited developer resources available.

[Jackfraser24]

3 hours ago, AndyJWest said:

Any changes they make to the existing engine beyond bug fixes are likely to be relatively minor, given the limited developer resources available.

That’s a bit of a bummer. But I guess that there will always be room for improvement that eventually they get to a point where there is no point in going further. Still though, if they could upgrade the command menu this would be an even better game. But I suppose you’re right. They want to discontinue Great Battles and going on to Korea, where hopefully they will have this feature.

[BraveSirRobin]

21 minutes ago, Jackfraser24 said:

That’s a bit of a bummer. But I guess that there will always be room for improvement that eventually they get to a point where there is no point in going further. Still though, if they could upgrade the command menu this would be an even better game. But I suppose you’re right. They want to discontinue Great Battles and going on to Korea, where hopefully they will have this feature.

They’ve already moved on.  You should do the same.

[Avimimus]

That might be good advice. Learning to let go is a good skill.

 

But some of us linger. 

 

But, yes, feedback on Korea is much more likely to be implemented.

[Aapje]

10 hours ago, Jackfraser24 said:

But I guess that there will always be room for improvement that eventually they get to a point where there is no point in going further.

 

They already got to that point, which is why they are making a new version of the engine in the first place.

[Jackfraser24]

2 hours ago, Aapje said:

 

They already got to that point, which is why they are making a new version of the engine in the first place.

You’re right. 

[Jackfraser24]

On 2/3/2025 at 5:46 AM, Avimimus said:

That might be good advice. Learning to let go is a good skill.

 

But some of us linger. 

 

But, yes, feedback on Korea is much more likely to be implemented.

Can I ask why we cannot do AQMB missions at night? And are there plans to have night AQMB missions, because in AQMB missions feature search lights. I'm just curious.

[Jackfraser24]

Can I please ask for an answer to why Air Marshall in multiplayer never went ahead?

[LukeFF]

Ultimately, too many issues to overcome.

[Jackfraser24]

On 2/10/2025 at 9:53 PM, LukeFF said:

Ultimately, too many issues to overcome.

I see. Two questions. Could it have worked?  And could it work in the new series?

[Enceladus828]

On 2/2/2025 at 2:39 AM, Jackfraser24 said:

I know I have discussed this before but still think we need a better wingman command systems between planes than the one we’ve got at the moment for several reasons. 

1. Having a better command system would enhance the gameplay by a lot. We’d be able to make more specific commands, and call our wingmen for help. Heck, IL-2 1946 has a far superior wingman command system than what Great Battles has.
2. It would help the game adhere to the principles of IL-2 of having a very realistic gameplay even closer. 
3. I am a little tired of being shot down partly because I cannot call out for urgent help. I’m sure many of you (the reader) is also tired of this.

Look, I know I have discussed this before, and that this would cost a lot of time and money but I believe that this upgrade would be indeed worth the hassle. Please, 1CGS, please consider this.

 

It was declared in Brief Room #1 back in 2022 that a major revision of the AI would have to be done in order for your wingmen and crewmen to warn you of enemy planes and to request help. Back in 2019 I was rather annoyed that this along with the pilot instantly dying when touching water hadn't been addressed but it all comes down to priorities. You got to remember that the game engine has its roots in a WW1 sim where things such as flaps, hydraulics and retractable landing gear weren't there or were very primitive in a WW1 aircraft and a lot of 'Good to have things in a WW2 combat flight sim' had to be sacrificed so that the basic necessities of a WW2 aircraft could be included upon release. If anything the devs were given less than two years to do all of that. With the pilot dying when touching water, the simplest solution is just that he doesn't die in that situation but according to Regingrave there would have to be additional work to ensure -- something down the line as the PM was deleted -- that a health cheat wasn't created if you nose dived into the water so the best solution would to create a swimming model for the pilot.

 

Being based on a WW1 sim creates its own limitations so being able to ask for help if someone is on your 6 is something that unfortunately will not be in GBs.

[Jackfraser24]

1 hour ago, Enceladus828 said:

It was declared in Brief Room #1 back in 2022 that a major revision of the AI would have to be done in order for your wingmen and crewmen to warn you of enemy planes and to request help. Back in 2019 I was rather annoyed that this along with the pilot instantly dying when touching water hadn't been addressed but it all comes down to priorities. You got to remember that the game engine has its roots in a WW1 sim where things such as flaps, hydraulics and retractable landing gear weren't there or were very primitive in a WW1 aircraft and a lot of 'Good to have things in a WW2 combat flight sim' had to be sacrificed so that the basic necessities of a WW2 aircraft could be included upon release. If anything the devs were given less than two years to do all of that. With the pilot dying when touching water, the simplest solution is just that he doesn't die in that situation but according to Regingrave there would have to be additional work to ensure -- something down the line as the PM was deleted -- that a health cheat wasn't created if you nose dived into the water so the best solution would to create a swimming model for the pilot.

 

Being based on a WW1 sim creates its own limitations so being able to ask for help if someone is on your 6 is something that unfortunately will not be in GBs.

So you're saying they really wanted to do a major overhaul of the AI wing men they could but it would cost too much money and money would be better spent on the new game?

[ST_Catchov]

45 minutes ago, Jackfraser24 said:

So you're saying they really wanted to do a major overhaul of the AI wing men they could but it would cost too much money and money would be better spent on the new game?

 

Lol no. C'mon Jack, pay attention. He's saying the game engine has its roots in a WW1 sim and yet, the FC Se5a FM still hasn't been fixed after so many years! Now that would be, as the OP title suggests, an improvement.

[Jackfraser24]

9 minutes ago, ST_Catchov said:

 

Lol no. C'mon Jack, pay attention. He's saying the game engine has its roots in a WW1 sim and yet, the FC Se5a FM still hasn't been fixed after so many years! Now that would be, as the OP title suggests, an improvement.

I see now. But they won’t do it, will they?

[ST_Catchov]

13 minutes ago, Jackfraser24 said:

But they won’t do it, will they?

 

Ah. The question is .... should they do it? Should the Se5a FM be revamped/corrected as befitting the old girl.

 

And the answer is ..... YES, the supportive data is all there. And just look at the vids. The poor old thing gets jolly well slayed everytime. It's a bit rum. But there's the rub.

 

 

[Jackfraser24]

1 hour ago, ST_Catchov said:

 

Ah. The question is .... should they do it? Should the Se5a FM be revamped/corrected as befitting the old girl.

 

And the answer is ..... YES, the supportive data is all there. And just look at the vids. The poor old thing gets jolly well slayed everytime. It's a bit rum. But there's the rub.

 

 

I agree that Great Battles AI has room for a lot of improvement. It’s the only major let down for me in Great Battles. That and not having a command selection like we did in 1946. But whether we will see a greatly improved AI units that can do their job better, I don’t know if that will happen. 1CGS might change their mind. But I have been told that doing those two things I mentioned above would be expensive so they might as well start from scratch, like they have done with their new series.