Developer Diary #319 - Discussion

[BlitzPig_EL]

Simply outstanding.

 

Can't wait.

[354thFG_Drewm3i-VR]

@Jason and team, I am blown away by this update!

 

The Normandy map looks excellent, with the exception of the water which needs a bit of love (the Channel should be either brown/black or greenish blue like in CLoD depending on the season and English rivers are muddy brown in my experience). That being said, the cities, ports, airfields and harbors are super convincing and will make the map incredibly immersive. I'm also super relieved to see farmhouses and hope they make their way the the Rheinland map some day!
 

A well-modeled v-1 is also something that is very unique and will make IL-2 very versatile. And infantry and landing vehicles to simulate beach landings?!?! WOW!!!

[PatrickAWlson]

3 hours ago, Jason_Williams said:

Guys,

 

I should some better expectations on the infantry. They are not what you'd find in a shooter. They are essentially a five turreted tank in disguise. They aren't particularly smart etc. We added them because they help paint the scene and liven up the invasion and the battlefield. Of course we know you will want more of them, but time will tell on what we can do. Our previous attempts as smarter more dynamic infantry failed due to lack of talent, so we resorted to this somewhat clever solution. I personally haven't seen them in action myself yet or played with them in any missions. This is just an early test we showed you pics of. They do have little death animations though. 

 

Jason  

 

Even in that form they have a lot of value.  I imagine that they will be at least as good as the RoF infantry mods, and those added a lot.  For FC in particular, if they can move and shoot then charges across NML can be done.  In BoS they become interesting targets.  Even in TC they should add another reason to use your co-axial gun if nothing else.

 

Something to consider.  This is mostly for TC.  If they are modeled as a 5 turret tank, can there be a type where one of the "turrets" has a single shot AT weapon?   Something with a range of 50 yards or less and maybe the AI is scripted to only fire at stationary targets.  

[Thad]

5 hours ago, MajorMagee said:

I'm just hoping that the Normandy map will be fully TC compatible.

 

 

fully? I doubt it.

 

I suspect it will be another flight simulation map that the tanks can function on.  ie. less detailed topography.

6 hours ago, jollyjack said:

 

Aethelread will fix that probably ..

 

Naw, when you blast infantry with HE, all we will see is a faint. fading. blood red mist where they once were.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Thad

[Dugieboy041]

Wow! mind blown. 
 

You double the amount of troops crossing the beaches. 
 

Imagine  flying an allied plane over that.
 

A fighter zooming over, or a C-47 loaded with paratroopers. 
 

I got chills.

 

I am so looking forward to this. 

[GreyMuzzAngryGreyMuzz]

Hi from South Australia to Jason and all the development team. Great work, I am eagerly awaiting the new theatre of operations and all our wonderful new toys.

 

This is why I continue to support IL2 Sturmovik from the very original, right up till now. Best value WW2 combat flight sim bar none.

Jason, we do understand to do things properly to a high standard, takes as long as it takes.

Thank you dev team.

 

Keep up the good work.

Cheers.

[Jaegermeister]

Holy cr@p! No wonder you guys have been so quiet. Everyone has been very busy. The BoN map and vehicles look amazing. The V-1 is going to make many new scenarios possible and the whole package seems to be coming together.

 

Well done to all the team... I am really looking forward to this new content.

 

[BlitzPig_EL]

Ummm...  I'm assuming that the V1 will actually blow things up if it makes it to it's target area?  I had to ask.

 

The infantry will indeed be a boost to tank game play.  I hope that they do not cause a terrible frame rate hit if used in numbers.   If they operate like a vehicle, then I would guess you could put a squad "in column" behind your tank and they could move up using your tank as cover?  That would really be cool.

[IckyATLAS]

Fantastic news! Can’t wait for all these goodies.

Finally infantry is coming. That was long due, at least five years ?

Please when infantry will be released give us the possibility in the editor to choose at least between Soviet, US, German uniforms. If you add the British uniform that is welcome too.

This will help us improve missions for all the BOX past releases.

[nachinus]

This is the most exciting DD in a long time!! ?

[CountZero]

 

Looks like advanced landing ground base

 

maybe this one:

Edited May 28, 2022 by CountZero

[Cybermat47]

Very excited to see what the infantry can bring to TC!

[jollyjack]

8 minutes ago, Cybermat47 said:

Very excited to see what the infantry can bring to TC!

 

 And not FC ??

[TheSNAFU]

Everything shown looks amazing. My concern is performance in vr. The game struggles near airfields and cities now so it will be most interesting to me whether all this can be pulled off without further reducing performance. Maybe there is optimization coming to make all this work well. I hope so. 
 

The work is very impressive in any case. 

[firdimigdi]

50 minutes ago, TheSNAFU said:

Everything shown looks amazing. My concern is performance in vr. The game struggles near airfields and cities now so it will be most interesting to me whether all this can be pulled off without further reducing performance. Maybe there is optimization coming to make all this work well. I hope so. 
 

The work is very impressive in any case. 

 

Also what AI-controlled units seem to do currently to performance:

 

[Guest deleted@219798]

Animated figures aren't too smart. I landed my Spitfire in "Achtung Spitfire" campaign and one of the ground crew walked right into the prop. So I don't have great expectations of BoN infantry being too great.

[Avimimus]

5 hours ago, IckyATLAS said:

Please when infantry will be released give us the possibility in the editor to choose at least between Soviet, US, German uniforms. If you add the British uniform that is welcome too.

 

British and Canadian landing forces totaled ~83,115 men and U.S. forces ~73,000 men - so a failure to provide British and Canadian uniforms for Normandy would be a significant oversight. The U.S. suffered 20,668 killed, the British 11,000 killed (16,021 if one includes the 5,021 Canadians killed in Normandy).

[Irishratticus72]

23 minutes ago, kestrel444x500 said:

Animated figures aren't too smart. I landed my Spitfire in "Achtung Spitfire" campaign and one of the ground crew walked right into the prop. So I don't have great expectations of BoN infantry being too great.

Maybe he'd had enough? 

[Noisemaker]

9 minutes ago, Irishratticus72 said:

Maybe he'd had enough? 

If I have to repair one more wing from all these Spitfires ground looping, I'm just going kill myself...

[EAF19_Marsh]

36 minutes ago, Noisemaker said:

If I have to repair one more wing from all these Spitfires ground looping, I'm just going kill myself...

 

In Soviet Russia, Spitfires ground-loop you.

[Jade_Monkey]

6 hours ago, CountZero said:

 

Looks like advanced landing ground base

 

maybe this one:

 

Yes looks like a match. It would be cool to have the hedges seen in the real life picture, just to spice it up a bit.

[LukeFF]

36 minutes ago, Jade_Monkey said:

Yes looks like a match. It would be cool to have the hedges seen in the real life picture, just to spice it up a bit.

 

Yes, that's A-1 Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, in operation since June 17. That's Point du Hoc in the upper-left hand corner (of the second photo) as well.

 

A-1 then became the main base of the 366th Fighter Group to the end of August 1944.

Edited May 28, 2022 by LukeFF

[15[Span.]/JG51Chajas]

GOOD WORK!!!!!!!.....

[CaptainFlemme]

8 hours ago, CountZero said:

 

 

 

That's a nice looking picture, we can even see a lot of farms in the countryside ? !!

[AEthelraedUnraed]

5 hours ago, LukeFF said:

Yes, that's A-1 Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, in operation since June 17. That's Point du Hoc in the upper-left hand corner (of the second photo) as well.

 

A-1 then became the main base of the 366th Fighter Group to the end of August 1944.

Shouldn't that be June 13? It's what the 366th's chronology says.

 

Anyhow, A-1 sounds perfect for a little prequel to my Hürtgenwald campaign - besides being one of the units heavily involved with fighting in the Hürtgen forest, the 366th was the first squadron based on the continent. Anyone who happens to have some good sources detailing their missions flown?

 

 

Regarding the Normandy map - looks absolutely stunning; I just hope waves will be added along the shore like on the Kuban map. They're woefully lacking from the Rheinland map - it would be a shame if they weren't on the Normandy map either.

[LukeFF]

3 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Shouldn't that be June 13? It's what the 366th's chronology says.

 

The first two squadrons arrived on the 17th (the 389th and 391st) and the other one (the 390th) 4 days later. The airfield was completed on the 13th, yes, so that's probably where the mixup in dates comes from. 

Edited May 29, 2022 by LukeFF

[=SqSq=SignorMagnifico]

The infantry charges look great! Finally, we have infantry in this sim. I hope this tech can be applied to other factions as well as WWI. Would be cool to see infantry marching in columns or charging across No Man’s Land.

Edited May 29, 2022 by =SqSq=SignorMagnifico

[jaguar]

If I may comment, 

 

the two allied airdromes of RAF Beaulieu and RAF Holmesley South should have a darker surfacing, ate least from pictures I saw. Also, the T2 hangars on these airdromes should ghave a darker finish, probably dark green rather than natural metal.

[LuftManu]

That map is looking FANTASTIC ?

[Asgar]

22 hours ago, kestrel444x500 said:

Animated figures aren't too smart. I landed my Spitfire in "Achtung Spitfire" campaign and one of the ground crew walked right into the prop. So I don't have great expectations of BoN infantry being too great.

Tell me you don’t understand the difference between ground decoration and actual ground units without telling me you don’t understand the difference between ground decoration and actual ground units?

Edited May 29, 2022 by Asgar

[UFA_Bagel]

Interesting what the release schedule looks like now. I am wondering if we could get a map in early access if the BoN release is delayed.

Edited May 30, 2022 by ACG_Elegz

[Aurora_Stealth]

Phfoaa so much fantastic stuff to look forward to! the excitement is building! that level of detail on the V-1 and its launch site is particularly impressive to me, having seen one of those ramps and the V-1 up close at Duxford - you guys really nailed it! it's going to be really entertaining to watch those things shoot off down the ramp for sure

 

Seems like things are coming together really nicely for Normandy... the ships, balloons, infantry(?!) and other assets just look great together... and the map... tons of new locations and sorties to fly.

 

It feels like we're approaching full circle with the original 'Ace Expansion Pack' of the first generation IL-2 series. Unbelievably satisfying feeling and very, very fond memories flying over northern france and the channel.

 

Epic! Can't wait! ?

[Frequent_Flyer]

51 minutes ago, ACG_Elegz said:

Interesting what release schedule looks like now. I am wondering if we could get a map in early access if the BoN release is delayed.

I second that emotion. Personally I am much more excited about a new map release and can wait on the remaining aircraft.

[DBFlyguy]

If I remember correctly? They released a bunch of Bodenplatte aircraft (Tempest, P-51D, P-38 and AI B-25) all at once along with the summer map followed by the career (with the remaining maps). Maybe they are aiming for something similar with Normandy? I guess we'll see in a few weeks

 

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by DBFlyguy

[EAF19_Marsh]

Re-reading Beavor’s ‘Normandy’ book. I really hope that the map is soon released.

[jollyjack]

On 5/29/2022 at 12:24 AM, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Regarding the Normandy map - looks absolutely stunning; I just hope waves will be added along the shore like on the Kuban map. They're woefully lacking from the Rheinland map - it would be a shame if they weren't on the Normandy map either.

 

?, and the whole Rheinland map could really use some overhaul .... IMO too much unfinished business.

[Ptolemy_Soter]

1 hour ago, CUJO_1970 said:

Considering they didn’t and likely won’t finish the Bodenplatte 109s or 190s we already have, they aren’t going to go back and work on something even older, especially a German aircraft. 

Old 3D models aren't limited to German planes here is the full list:

 

I-16

MiG-3

Every Il-2

Both Pe-2

LaGG-3

Both La-5

Yak 1, 1b and 7

 

P-38 J

P-40 E

 

Spitifre Vb and IX

 

MC.202

 

Every Bf 109

Fw 190 A-3, A-5, A-6 and A-8

Both He 111

Both Bf 110

Ju 52

Ju 87 D-3 and G-1

Ju 88 A-4

Hs 129

 

All these aircrafts were modeled before Bodenplatte developement, when new superior 3D models were introduced.

Numerous aspect of the game are being improved like the sky, the general use of 4K textures or the upcoming new propeller effect.

A big exception is when a plane has already a variant modeled before Bodenplatte like Fw 190. D-9 variant has the new 3D because it is too diferent from the older A series.

Old 3D models are now outdated for a 2022 simulator. Just compare DCS I-16 with our Rata and you'll see the gape between them.

 

6 minutes ago, Jade_Monkey said:

Genuinely curious, what's unfinished?

I'm curious too.

Edited May 30, 2022 by Ptolemy_Soter

[AEthelraedUnraed]

11 minutes ago, Jade_Monkey said:

Genuinely curious, what's unfinished?

He's convinced there's some kind of bias against the German planes ?‍♂️

 

5 minutes ago, Ptolemy_Soter said:

Old 3D models aren't limited to German planes here is the full list:

 

I-16

MiG-3

Every Il-2

Both Pe-2

LaGG-3

Both La-5

Yak 1, 1b and 7

 

P-38 J

P-40 E

 

Spitifre Vb and IX

 

MC.202

 

Every Bf 109

Fw 190 A-3, A-5, A-6 and A-8

Both He 111

Both Bf 110

Ju 52

Ju 87 D-3 and G-1

Ju 88 A-4

Hs 129

 

All these aircrafts were modeled before Bodenplatte developement, when new superior 3D models were introduced.

Numerous aspect of the game are being improved like the sky, the general use of 4K textures or the upcoming new propeller effect.

A big exception is when a plane has already a variant modeled before Bodenplatte like Fw 190. D-9 variant has the new 3D because it is too diferent from the older A series.

Old 3D models are now outdated for a 2022 simulator. Just compare DCS I-16 with our Rata and you'll see the gape between them.

 

I'm curious too.

While it's true that some of the older models aren't up to current standards, that's not something that's easy to fix. It'd take a whole lot of time... multiplied by the number of aircraft!

[Ptolemy_Soter]

21 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

While it's true that some of the older models aren't up to current standards, that's not something that's easy to fix. It'd take a whole lot of time... multiplied by the number of aircraft!

You're right but I think it's a part of the general game imporvement.

An improvement needed to survive in the current flight sim competition.

 

It's kinda frustrating to see new aircraft added to Bodenplatte and Normandy with both a ten years old model for some and a far superior one for the others...

 

One 3D model to rule them all ! ?

Edited May 30, 2022 by Ptolemy_Soter

[CountZero]

1 hour ago, Ptolemy_Soter said:

Old 3D models aren't limited to German planes here is the full list:

 

I-16

MiG-3

Every Il-2

Both Pe-2

LaGG-3

Both La-5

Yak 1, 1b and 7

 

P-38 J

P-40 E

 

Spitifre Vb and IX

 

MC.202

 

Every Bf 109

Fw 190 A-3, A-5, A-6 and A-8

Both He 111

Both Bf 110

Ju 52

Ju 87 D-3 and G-1

Ju 88 A-4

Hs 129

 

All these aircrafts were modeled before Bodenplatte developement, when new superior 3D models were introduced.

Numerous aspect of the game are being improved like the sky, the general use of 4K textures or the upcoming new propeller effect.

A big exception is when a plane has already a variant modeled before Bodenplatte like Fw 190. D-9 variant has the new 3D because it is too diferent from the older A series.

Old 3D models are now outdated for a 2022 simulator. Just compare DCS I-16 with our Rata and you'll see the gape between them.

 

I'm curious too.

and where can i fly DCS I-16 in WW2 enviroment it was used vs its enemy airplanes ?

 

There is no competition to this game, what els should ww2 sim fans buy ? 

 

They can improve 3D of airplanes in 10 years if they wont and it would not mather, there will still be no ww2 sim competitor in PC games sphere.

 

If WT WW2 player (this is where new airplane players start now) wonts to try something more advanced he can only go here or DCS, and DCS have less WW2 stuff and even less historical enviroments it can be used.