Developer Diary 339 Discussion

[hsthhsth]

It is really great seeing FC going forward. FC 3 would certainly be a first day pre-order!

 

What I would like even more is an offline career mode. I still do not understand what the reason is not to install it in the present game at the user-side. After all, the Great Battles directory is >70 Gig so a few more would not be a problem.

[Zephyrus52246]

Great news!  Glad to hear FC 3 may happen as well!

Jeff

[sevenless]

Any rough timeline as to the release of FC2 career mode? Before or after easter 2023?

[Trooper117]

March 2023... be sure.

[AgroAlba]

On 2/17/2023 at 8:18 AM, AgroAlba said:

Is this Pilot Career mode going to be usable for players who have just purchased Vol.I? 

 

Still haven't seen this answered anywhere?

[Bonnot]

2 hours ago, Avimimus said:

The fact that a single map would cover both the Alps and the Gulf of Venice would also make it extremely scenic.

.....Or the Gulf of Venice to Balkans, Thessaloniki and Galipolli  ......?

[pasao]

Great to hear about Flying Circus development!!!!!

 

As soon as they appear new modules, I will buy them, from the first day

You make my day

[Luftschiff]

Excited to hear we might be getting more FC, just as I reinstalled RoF too!
Thank you for not forgetting about the canvas kites!

[LukeFF]

4 hours ago, Avimimus said:

Well, it is nice to dream about it. But also - I'm not sure it isn't commercially viable. We don't really have the sales numbers and they change over time as the fanbase evolves.

 

Dude, it's a niche within a niche within a niche. ? There is no way on the planet you can successfully market a combat flight sim about such an obscure WWI theater and expect to make a profit off of it. 

 

My suggestion for those wanting lots of floatplane action is to pick up MSFS. Lots of options there, even the Gulf of Isonzo. ?

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

16 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

. 

 

My suggestion for those wanting lots of floatplane action is to pick up MSFS. Lots of options there, even the Gulf of Isonzo. ?

Well, they did say ". Our goal is to fully reproduce the aircraft set and the Rise of Flight map in the modern engine. "

 

So I'm wondering why you would suggest otherwise?   Unless we have a different interpretation of "aircraft set"?   I don't see any specific reference to no float planes.  Am i missing something?

[Trooper117]

I'm wondering if they intend all of the RoF stable complete, including the Channel map for instance... if they don't do the Channel map you won't get the float planes?

[AndyJWest]

There isn't much point in doing float planes without something to float them on...

[=IRFC=Gascan]

1 hour ago, RNAS10_Mitchell said:

Well, they did say ". Our goal is to fully reproduce the aircraft set and the Rise of Flight map in the modern engine. "

 

So I'm wondering why you would suggest otherwise?   Unless we have a different interpretation of "aircraft set"?   I don't see any specific reference to no float planes.  Am i missing something?

What? Avimimus was asking about the odds of getting a whole new area with whole new planes that never existed in RoF (Gulf of Isonzo and the Italian and Austrian floatplanes that flew there). It would be cool, but very very niche, and WW1 is already considered a niche. I don't see anything that says we won't be getting the channel map and float planes that already already existed in RoF. That's what "fully reproduce the aircraft set and the Rise of Flight map in the modern engine" means to me: everything we had in RoF, including maps and planes. Of course, that is the goal, and it may not be possible to deliver everything, like the four engine Muromets.

Edited February 18, 2023 by =IRFC=Gascan
add one more sentence

[[CPT]milopugdog]

3 minutes ago, =IRFC=Gascan said:

Of course, that is the goal, and it may not be possible to deliver everything, like the four engine Muromets.

The Muromets should be possible, it only has one gunner, and two cockpits that would have to be modeled; the fact it has four engines is not the limiting factor, and the devs have communicated it multiple times.

 

Maybe they could take the opportunity to make an actual pack out of it, introducing more domestic Russian WW1 planes (I know there weren't a ton), and a career mode to play on.

[ericshark]

good new ?

[Avimimus]

2 hours ago, LukeFF said:

Dude, it's a niche within a niche within a niche. ? There is no way on the planet you can successfully market a combat flight sim about such an obscure WWI theater and expect to make a profit off of it. 

 

My suggestion for those wanting lots of floatplane action is to pick up MSFS. Lots of options there, even the Gulf of Isonzo. ?

 

My Dude, I hear you and I get your perspective...! But... well... look at it from my point of view - I can likely go decades of speculating about what a module would look like without anyone actually making it

 

Which might be a little bit annoying - but also will lead to me introducing a lot of people to this fascinating bit of history and fascinating set of aircraft in the coming years.

 

P.S. The IAR-80/81 is a relatively slow Romanian fighter that was used in the East... so a niche within a niche (within a niche - if we consider flight-sims to be a niche interest)... and it is still being made - so I wouldn't completely rule out a 3rd party making an S.V.A.5 for instance. The thing which is harder to imagine is the creation of the map by a third party.

[Guest deleted@83466]

I gather that IAR 80 is still being made because they prematurely put it up for pre-order, and since some have already paid, they have no choice. I seriously doubt that planes like this are in high demand.  And now somebody actually brings up something like the Muromets???The developers actually do have to -sell- a certain quantity of things, in order to remain in business, but some of the people in this thread seem to be completely ignoring that.

[sevenless]

1 hour ago, SeaSerpent said:

The developers actually do have to -sell- a certain quantity of things, in order to remain in business, but some of the people in this thread seem to be completely ignoring that.

 

Yep. A 1945 P-47M or 1943/44 Spitfire IXc might be doing better sales than that WW1 Muromets. However, I wonder if, after that announced 109 G6/AS, they are planning to do more additional collector planes for GB, or if they stop developing for the series and concentrate completely on the "next big thing".

[Avimimus]

3 hours ago, =IRFC=Gascan said:

What? Avimimus was asking about the odds of getting a whole new area with whole new planes that never existed in RoF (Gulf of Isonzo and the Italian and Austrian floatplanes that flew there). It would be cool, but very very niche, and WW1 is already considered a niche. I don't see anything that says we won't be getting the channel map and float planes that already already existed in RoF. That's what "fully reproduce the aircraft set and the Rise of Flight map in the modern engine" means to me: everything we had in RoF, including maps and planes. Of course, that is the goal, and it may not be possible to deliver everything, like the four engine Muromets.

 

I agree. There were sort-of two conversations going on: Migmadmarine raised the question of how they were going to re-release the floatplanes/seaplanes on the Western Front Map (which lacks large bodies of water).

 

I commented that these aircraft were used on the 'Western Front' and Migmadmarine clarified that the reference was to the planned map (not the historical Western Front). I agreed that the floatplanes/seaplanes would seem to require a Rise of Flight Vol.4 with a Channel map... so it is a good question.

 

I then mentioned the Gulf of Venice/Isonzo in passing. Which then led to a conversation about whether anyone could keep me from describing who cool it'd be as a module.

[vonbellyunclebelly]

Wow I’m so hyped about the possibility of FC3 instant preorder for me and a FC4 …if they do that ……flying VR on a RTX 4090 is an amazing experience in those planes of stick and string. After this comment I will preorder the Siemens that’s on a bit of discount to help encourage a positive response for FC3 and will pick up the snipe in the coming? Easter sale ?

career mode is going to be amazing for fc1 and 2 in the meantime … I just hope the frontline action  is not too far from the airfields …..takes so long to get there. Also please can someone help me on how to take off in a Handly  page or gotha …..I just don’t seem to get the hang lol and always hit those damn trees at the end of the runways 

[AndyJWest]

5 minutes ago, vonbellyunclebelly said:

...please can someone help me on how to take off in a Handly  page or gotha …..I just don’t seem to get the hang lol and always hit those damn trees at the end of the runways 

 

Short answer, don't try to take off with full fuel and bombload, and make sure you use the whole airfield - you'll need to taxi downwind as far as you can before lining up, to give yourself the best chance.

[CountZero]

4 hours ago, SeaSerpent said:

I gather that IAR 80 is still being made because they prematurely put it up for pre-order, and since some have already paid, they have no choice. I seriously doubt that planes like this are in high demand.  And now somebody actually brings up something like the Muromets???The developers actually do have to -sell- a certain quantity of things, in order to remain in business, but some of the people in this thread seem to be completely ignoring that.

just make more 109s to pay dev time of obscure airplanes, 109 players will fund the whole game at some point when most variants get added ?

 

[FuriousMeow]

Get in a time machine and go complain to ze Germans about 109 and all its variants.

[the_dudeWG]

Great news, but how are they proposing to handle a career mode starting in April, 1917 with this plane set? 

 

From the announcement:

Now let’s look at the details of the new mode. WWI Career will contain two phases:
1. From April 1st till September 30th, 1917.
2. From April 1st till November 11th, 1918.
In contrast to the Rise of Flight, there is no winter of 1917-1918 because Vol.II has only one season so far (it will be made continuous in Vol. III if it is created).

 

Are we only going to see DFWs, Tripes and SPAD VIIs at the beginning? (yes, I realize the 150hp SE5 made a late April '17 appearance, and the F2A Bristol had a disastrous inauguration in early April, neither were really the same aircraft we have in FC2. Having career mode during any part of 1917 with this plane set doesn't make much sense, especially given the lack of one of the most produced and used 2-seaters of 1917 (and of nearly the entire war), the RE8.

[=IRFC=Gascan]

3 hours ago, vonbellyunclebelly said:

Also please can someone help me on how to take off in a Handly  page or gotha …..I just don’t seem to get the hang lol and always hit those damn trees at the end of the runways 

The Handley Page is listed with an endurance of 8 hours. With 12.5% fuel you could fly for an hour. I usually take a bit more, usually 15% in case my tank gets hit. Armament is usually 16x 112lb HURL bombs, since they are pretty good at destroying buildings with a direct hit, but give me twice as many opportunities to hit as the 250lb bombs. Give yourself plenty of runway, make sure your engine mix is set to provide max power (about 69%). Get the tail up as soon as possible so you can speed up without the drag of the tail skid. Don't pull up too soon, and don't pull up too far. It's big and heavy, and most of the power will be used to keep it in the air, let alone climb.

For the Gotha, the key is to learn about the adverse yaw of the ailerons. It's pretty extreme on this thing, and really dominates the handling of this machine. For the most part, I keep the stick centered, using rudder and elevator only. The rudder will induce a bit of roll, so you can still turn with just rudder. If you want to add the barest hint of aileron to the turn, you can, but be very gentle with it. You can also spawn it at altitude, take the front gun seat, and try to dogfight the AI with it until you really learn how it handles in the air, but that will result in plenty of spins and crashes while you figure it out. It's useful to get a split throttle for both HP and Gotha, so you can better manage the two engines (especially important if your rudder cable gets shot away and you still want to live).

[AEthelraedUnraed]

21 hours ago, hsthhsth said:

What I would like even more is an offline career mode. I still do not understand what the reason is not to install it in the present game at the user-side. After all, the Great Battles directory is >70 Gig so a few more would not be a problem.

The career mode is in fact offline, and "at the user-side". The reason you need to be connected to the internet is for DRM purposes. If you want, you can disconnect from the internet after starting IL2

[Art-J]

^ When did that change? I've never played stock campaign, but I've always read posts (including some old ones from devs) stating that connection is required for the campaign to progress (obviously I'm not talking about PWCG or scripted campaigns here).

[senseispcc]

Optimistic news is good news, thanks! Adding to the game is good and nice. Let us fly, slow and high, yes high some over 3000 meters (9000 feet) with additional oxygen but not always!  In those times skills dominated and the fight if more deadly were more "human". Thank to the creation to not forget those times.   

[vonbellyunclebelly]

Thanks to both for response to how to take off with the two heavy planes ..I will make sure the planes have minimum fuel and make sure I’m not over armed I will try this and very grateful for you advice love this sim it’s amazing 

thanks all your help 

[LukeFF]

22 hours ago, RNAS10_Mitchell said:

Am i missing something?

 

Yes, the part where I said players who want "lots of seaplane action", as in, more than ROF or FC could ever provide. Doesn't mean I don't want them in FC at all.

Edited February 19, 2023 by LukeFF

[AcidBath]

Great news about FCII and possible FCIII, and ever hopeful of the early WW1 warbirds being available, hopefully soon.  Also hopeful that the awful FC enemy AI combat behavior (which I've dubbed 'the gnat dance') gets rectified with this update.

[AEthelraedUnraed]

12 hours ago, Art-J said:

^ When did that change? I've never played stock campaign, but I've always read posts (including some old ones from devs) stating that connection is required for the campaign to progress (obviously I'm not talking about PWCG or scripted campaigns here).

It's been like that for as long as I remember. You need to start IL2 in online mode to use the career, yes, and I'm not quite sure if it doesn't occasionally connect to some authentication server between missions (although I don't think so), but I'm certain the career mission generation happens offline. As far as I recall, the career should still work when offline as long as you started IL2 when online.

Edited February 20, 2023 by AEthelraedUnraed

[Jaegermeister]

On 2/18/2023 at 9:36 AM, hsthhsth said:

What I would like even more is an offline career mode. I still do not understand what the reason is not to install it in the present game at the user-side. After all, the Great Battles directory is >70 Gig so a few more would not be a problem.

 

From the Dev Diary this thread is about...

 

Today we have more news about the next update 5.101. Among other things, it will bring the Pilot Career mode for the Flying Circus Vol. II, which will mark its official release. 

 

[ST_Catchov]

6 hours ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

It's been like that for as long as I remember. You need to start IL2 in online mode to use the career, yes, and I'm not quite sure if it doesn't occasionally connect to some authentication server between missions (although I don't think so), but I'm certain the career mission generation happens offline. As far as I recall, the career should still work when offline as long as you started IL2 when online.

 

That's interesting. I always thought you had to play online mode to enable career stat updates from the webmaster! Many is the time I lost mission stats due to a net disconnection mid coitus so to speak and had to redo the same missionary. A frustrating exercise.

[1PL-Husar-1Esk]

15 minutes ago, ST_Catchov said:

 

That's interesting. I always thought you had to play online mode to enable career stat updates from the webmaster! Many is the time I lost mission stats due to a net disconnection mid coitus so to speak and had to redo the same missionary. A frustrating exercise.

I think that for other sorties which player do not participate internet connection is needed.

[kedrednael]

This is great news ?!

[56RAF_Stickz]

19 hours ago, vonbellyunclebelly said:

Thanks to both for response to how to take off with the two heavy planes ..I will make sure the planes have minimum fuel and make sure I’m not over armed I will try this and very grateful for you advice love this sim it’s amazing 

thanks all your help 

I didnt see any one mention it, but there are also a bomber specific airfield on map, which has a much longer runway to use - but it is a long way behind the lines and appeared on the newer renditions of the map.

[vonbellyunclebelly]

Thanks 56 RAF good to know 

I will try with much less fuel and try n get bomb load right ….been so far behind the lines it would take arres to arrive for any action 

 

[Guest deleted@219798]

Most of my flying is WW1, so it's great to finally have some news about Flying Circus career. If you can start a career in April 1917, what German fighters will be available for that? Albatros DVa, Pfalz DIIIa and Fokker Dr1 weren't in service until October and November 1917. Are German 2 seaters going to fly without escorts? It seems failrly peculiar to me. Whatever happens I'll shell out my bucks to pre-order FC3.

[Jamppa]

6 hours ago, kestrel444x500 said:

Most of my flying is WW1, so it's great to finally have some news about Flying Circus career. If you can start a career in April 1917, what German fighters will be available for that? Albatros DVa, Pfalz DIIIa and Fokker Dr1 weren't in service until October and November 1917. Are German 2 seaters going to fly without escorts? It seems failrly peculiar to me. Whatever happens I'll shell out my bucks to pre-order FC3.

 

Albatros DV started to came in front about May 1917 but only in limited numbers first. Pfalz arrived late summer so yes there is a problem. Fokker DrI was pretty much nonfactor until early spring 1918 because all problems with it's wing failures and was in front only quite short periods before 1918. Game desperately needs an Albatros DIII and it's very strange that they left it out and gave us plane like Pfalz a plane that was not very popular with it's pilots and was mostly used by Bavarian Jastas anyway.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Jamppa