New Players start here ...

[O_Tote]

 This video is meant for all those new players to learn the very basics of how Radiators work on how they affect your plane! o7 everyone, I hope this will be able to help New players out there!

[Beebop]

The ONLY advantage I see to steam is the automatic update feature.

Otherwise certain releases, even if you bought early access, aren't available the same day.

Most of the people I fly with who got their game via Steam have some kind of issue on a fairly regular basis.

 

By biggest "complaint" is being as they are providing a "service" to IL-2 (the only reason I can see as to why Steam is even involved is because someone sold 1CGS a pig-in-a-poke) and they take a fee which comes out of the Development Teams portion of revenue for that "service".  I know it probably doesn't make a difference but every time I hear that the reason things are taking so long has to do in part with a small "underfunded" (by most game developers standards) team I wonder if all those fees added up over time might have made a bit of a difference.

But mostly Steam is getting a piece of the action and they don't provide content or Team support  irks me.

 

Buy from 1CGS exclusively.  Steam adds no real value to the title IMO.

 

Here, take my 2 kopecks....

[Schleppel]

Hahahha I love your passion for the game and the developers Beebop. 

You honestly convinced my with your messages and I would really like to thank all other responses guys. Really appreciate it.

Its a shame though. I looked at the IL-2 store and they do not support normal Dutch payment measures. I do not own a credit card nor paypal or amazon pay. 

Now I gotta find out whether I can convince a family member to loan me their card or still submit to Gabe  

[cardboard_killer]

22 minutes ago, Schleppel said:

Now I gotta find out whether I can convince a family member to loan me their card or still submit to Gabe 

 

I just gifted you a copy of BoS. Check your purchases and download and enjoy.

[Schleppel]

2 minutes ago, cardboard_killer said:

 

I just gifted you a copy of BoS. Check your purchases and download and enjoy.

 

Wow damn bro. I don't know what to say. Never expected such an amazing display of generosity and kindness but man really, really appreciate it. I'm having trouble expressing my gratitude in words.... You're truly a hero. Thank you so so much!

 

[cardboard_killer]

2 hours ago, Schleppel said:

Thank you so so much!

 

No worries! Play and enjoy is the best thank you.

[Beebop]

3 hours ago, cardboard_killer said:

I just gifted you a copy of BoS. Check your purchases and download and enjoy.

O
M

G

!!!!

+ 1,000,000 for your generosity cardboard_killer!

I'm writing the Pope and making an application for Sainthood for you.

3 hours ago, Schleppel said:

Hahahha I love your passion for the game and the developers Beebop

Passion for the game I do have.  The Devs?  I have my issues. 

*Flyable B-25 

*Better Mission Editor

*Changes that cause a wholesale re-saving of 3rd party missions.

 

But at the same time I realize that

A. It's a small team funded by a small base in the game playing world.

B. I can't do what they do so I need to be mindful of criticizing as I have absolutely no concept of what it takes to make as good a game as this.

C. They could be real d***ks and not allow any kind of modding but I get great clouds and map re-textures.

D. When you think about it they put up with a lot of crap sometimes.  I'm an Admin over at Mission 4 Today so I appreciate what it takes to moderate a forum board with a large fan base.

 

I've tried just about every aerial flight simulator and this one does what I want better than any other.

So although I do have issues with the Devs at times I just try and remind myself that if I could do better I should STFU and get to work making a better simulator.

 

[AEthelraedUnraed]

22 hours ago, Beebop said:

The ONLY advantage I see to steam is the automatic update feature.

Otherwise certain releases, even if you bought early access, aren't available the same day.

Most of the people I fly with who got their game via Steam have some kind of issue on a fairly regular basis.

Well, another advantage is that using Steam I've got all my games in one place. Besides, using VR, I have to use SteamVR anyhow (I think? Anyway, even without VR I would still start IL2 from Steam)

 

I've been playing IL2 using Steam for more than 2 years now, first on a low-spec and now on a medium high-spec machine, and I can honestly say I've never experienced a single issue that was caused by Steam. I've also never had any problem with a delay between the release of an IL2 update and when it becomes available through Steam. I therefore cannot agree with your stated opinion:

22 hours ago, Beebop said:

Buy from 1CGS exclusively.  Steam adds no real value to the title IMO.

 

I would rather say: buy BOS from Steam. After that, buy directly from 1CGS to support the Devs, *if* the disadvantages of doing so don't outweigh the advantages of buying from Steam for you personally. Because, depending on your country, Steam does offer huge advantages in that area and may also be cheaper. For me, being located in the Netherlands, Steam ties in wonderfully with our national banking system, so buying through Steam is literally a few clicks and then confirm on my phone, while the 1CGS store is much more laborious, involving two other firms (XSolla and PayPal), which I really dislike because I basically had to give PayPal complete control over my bank account just to be able to buy from the 1CGS store.

 

For someone in another country, the difference may be less pronounced though, so I won't tell anyone where to buy IL2. See for yourself what the advantages are, and if they're more or less equal, buy through the 1CGS store.

 

4 hours ago, Beebop said:

Better Mission Editor

Jason recently confirmed that they're creating a more advanced quick mission builder, which I think is pretty much what you want

 

Otherwise, the Mission Editor is fantastic IMHO. Sure, it does crash from time to time, but it is incredibly powerful!

[Beebop]

 

32 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Besides, using VR, I have to use SteamVR anyhow

OK.  I don't fly VR so did not consider that.

34 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

I've also never had any problem with a delay between the release of an IL2 update and when it becomes available through Steam.

All I can relate is the experiences that I have heard from those I fly with and read in forum posts.  I have seen notices that there would be a delay in Steam releasing certain items, mostly early access items.  I am glad to hear that you don't have that issue.

35 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

I therefore cannot agree with your stated opinion:

23 hours ago, Beebop said:

Buy from 1CGS exclusively.  Steam adds no real value to the title IMO.

Well, it is an opinion.  I won't quibble with "real value".  I can see if you use other Steam products it does make things easier to access though.  Me, I don't play anything but BoX so I have no 'Steam only' titles, but that's just me.

 

40 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

5 hours ago, Beebop said:

Better Mission Editor

Jason recently confirmed that they're creating a more advanced quick mission builder, which I think is pretty much what you want

No, I was talking about the full ME.  I'm happy with the QMB and often use it as a basic template to flesh out a mission in the ME.

42 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

Otherwise, the Mission Editor is fantastic IMHO. Sure, it does crash from time to time, but it is incredibly powerful!

I agree that it's powerful but it so powerful that there are several ways to complete the same task (good actually) but when diagnosing a problem can be very frustrating. And there are so many little things that need to be attended to that it's easy to overlook something then wonder what went wrong.  If not for JimTM's dated manual and Prangster's basic mission manual I think a lot of people might have given up on mission building.  It needs up to date documentation and possibly some kind of guide to how to make things work reliably the first time.  Again JimTM's manual is a boon but so many things have changed since it was released....

Thank god for the extremely helpful community that helps us get through these issues.  Still, a better up to date documentation would make it easier to make a mission that works the first time, every time.

To me a mission editor is the lifeblood of any game.  Unless the developers are part of a MegaCorporation that can hire a "Mission Making Department" there is only so much that can be done.  plus community members provide a wide variety of mission types and can make them with varying degrees of difficulty to suit a wider audience.  all important to the long term health of any title.

 

Just sayin'.................

[AEthelraedUnraed]

26 minutes ago, Beebop said:

OK.  I don't fly VR so did not consider that.

All I can relate is the experiences that I have heard from those I fly with and read in forum posts.  I have seen notices that there would be a delay in Steam releasing certain items, mostly early access items.  I am glad to hear that you don't have that issue.

Well, it is an opinion.  I won't quibble with "real value".  I can see if you use other Steam products it does make things easier to access though.  Me, I don't play anything but BoX so I have no 'Steam only' titles, but that's just me.

I definitely don't want to brush aside the bad experiences with Steam your friends may have had. I just think that IF you already use Steam for your games and have had no issues so far, there's no reason to believe that Steam-related issues will suddenly turn up with IL2. Of course, I can see that if you don't use it already, then it might actually be a hassle to buy and play your games through Steam. So I think we actually kinda agree, only with the exact opposite viewpoint

 

32 minutes ago, Beebop said:

No, I was talking about the full ME.  I'm happy with the QMB and often use it as a basic template to flesh out a mission in the ME.

I agree that it's powerful but it so powerful that there are several ways to complete the same task (good actually) but when diagnosing a problem can be very frustrating. And there are so many little things that need to be attended to that it's easy to overlook something then wonder what went wrong.  If not for JimTM's dated manual and Prangster's basic mission manual I think a lot of people might have given up on mission building.  It needs up to date documentation and possibly some kind of guide to how to make things work reliably the first time.  Again JimTM's manual is a boon but so many things have changed since it was released....

Thank god for the extremely helpful community that helps us get through these issues.  Still, a better up to date documentation would make it easier to make a mission that works the first time, every time.

Yeah, I kinda feel for you there. If only I got a penny for every time I spent debugging a mission and wondering why it doesn't work, only to find out that I forgot to link an On Mission Start MCU....

 

I don't think the Mission Editor itself needs to be changed though. It can do everything I want, and more. The scripting is so immensely powerful that I honestly think it's Turing Complete. I think the best solution would be a more advanced basic editor (which is exactly what the Devs are creating) so that you can basically create three quarters of your mission (or everything if you don't need scripting) in the user-friendly "medium-advanced Mission Editor" and only have to switch to the full ME for scripting.

[Beebop]

18 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

So I think we actually kinda agree, only with the exact opposite viewpoint

Fair enough.  You do raise good points I admit.

18 minutes ago, AEthelraedUnraed said:

I think the best solution would be a more advanced basic editor (which is exactly what the Devs are creating) so that you can basically create three quarters of your mission (or everything if you don't need scripting) in the user-friendly "medium-advanced Mission Editor" and only have to switch to the full ME for scripting.

Well now, that's a horse of a different color.  I guess I misunderstood what they, and you, meant by an "advanced" Quick Mission Editor.  I must have missed something in the explanation.  I'll be curious to see what it can do.

 

Anyway, thanks for a civil conversation.

[AlexJacobs]

Hello, 

I've got a quick question: can I install and access the following campaigns

• "Ten Days of Autumn"
• "Blazing Steppe"
• "Havoc over the Kuban"
• "Fortress on the Volga"
• "Achtung Spitifre!"
• "Ice Ring"
• "Hell Hawks over the Bulge"

in Steam after I bought them in from the store? Does it work if I simply transfer the campaign files into the folders on my drive?

[Beebop]

If you bought them they should already be in your game.

I'm not a Steam user (as you can deduce from the above) so when I buy content I need to start the game using the green 'Enter' button to enable the addition of the content and also when updating.  I know the updates are automatic with Steam users but am unsure about other content.

Do they show up in your 'Scripted Campaign' along with nice images for each campaign?

[AEthelraedUnraed]

1 hour ago, AlexJacobs said:

I've got a quick question: can I install and access the following campaigns

in Steam after I bought them in from the store? Does it work if I simply transfer the campaign files into the folders on my drive?

Beebop is right, you can buy them in the IL2 store and then they should automatically unlock. No need to install or transfer anything.

[Schleppel]

20 hours ago, cardboard_killer said:

 

No worries! Play and enjoy is the best thank you.

 

Slightly ashamed to admit that after the download was completed, I have only had a break to eat dinner and sometimes take a glass of water during loading screens but otherwise I was flying ? 

Although.... crashing might be a better word for it. But man this game is better than expected and the career/campaign mode was something I dreamed of playing but feared I would never do again. Truly, I will support the application for your sainthood!

 

Small question, do all games have this career option or if I add a game, will it expand? Otherwise man, you got a brother hooked!

Edited May 2, 2021 by Schleppel

[cardboard_killer]

50 minutes ago, Schleppel said:

Small question, do all games have this career option or if I add a game, will it expand?

 

Each new game adds career options on their respective maps. Also, new modules will sometimes add new campaigns to previous maps where the new a/c were available (e.g. when BoK came out, it added A-20 careers to the BoM map).

[Dakpilot]

Theoretically you could start a career in Moscow continue through Stalingrad to Kuban and then transfer to Squadron Western front through BoN and BoBP (when BoN is released) on axis side

 

There are also many excellent free and paid scripted  campaigns 

 

Cheers, Dakpilot 

[Patricks]

48 minutes ago, Dakpilot said:

Theoretically you could start a career in Moscow continue through Stalingrad to Kuban and then transfer to Squadron Western front through BoN and BoBP (when BoN is released) on axis side

There are also many excellent free and paid scripted  campaigns 

Cheers, Dakpilot 

 

And don't forget Pat Wilson's Campaign Generator (PWCG) for BoS and FC!

[RNAS10_Oliver]

3 hours ago, Schleppel said:

Small question, do all games have this career option or if I add a game, will it expand? Otherwise man, you got a brother hooked!

 

2 hours ago, cardboard_killer said:

 

Each new game adds career options on their respective maps. Also, new modules will sometimes add new campaigns to previous maps where the new a/c were available (e.g. when BoK came out, it added A-20 careers to the BoM map).

 

Quick note on that. Not every game includes career option as Flying Circus Volume 1 does not provide one for the Arras map. The career for Flying Circus is coming in Volume 2. I do not believe Tank Crew has any careers available for that on Provrovahakahah either. Both these for now just have online, quick battles, single missions and campaigns available for them but no career.

 

And PWCG as other poster mentions.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Oliver88

[AlexJacobs]

Hello,

 

Another quick question: I just bought 

 

• "Ten Days of Autumn"
• "Blazing Steppe"
• "Havoc over the Kuban"
• "Fortress on the Volga"
• "Achtung Spitifre!"
• "Ice Ring"
• "Hell Hawks over the Bulge"

From the website.

It seems that the keys are activated, but I can not access them from Steam (where I bought all the games).

 

I noticed that I bought Campaings ("Havoc over the Kuban" notably) that I already had bought in Steam, but I can't find it anywhere... Can anybody help me fix that?

Can it be fixed?

Thanks

Edited May 3, 2021 by AlexJacobs

[itsbillyfrazier]

6 minutes ago, AlexJacobs said:

Hello,

 

Another quick question: I just bought 

 

• "Ten Days of Autumn"
• "Blazing Steppe"
• "Havoc over the Kuban"
• "Fortress on the Volga"
• "Achtung Spitifre!"
• "Ice Ring"
• "Hell Hawks over the Bulge"

From the website.

It seems that the keys are activated, but I can not access them from Steam (where I bought all the games).

Can it be fixed?

Thanks

 

Hi,

 

Have you linked your Steam and il-2 accounts together?

 

When the accounts have been linked correctly, the campaigns will appear in the "Scripted Campaign" section of the il-2 game menu.

 

 

[AlexJacobs]

 

@itsbillyfrazier

Thanks ? If I read correctly, I have to link my accounts the first time I played but I have not done it. So it means I have to uninstall the game and link the accounts then or is there an easier way?

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by AlexJacobs

[itsbillyfrazier]

Oooof its been a long time since I did it, but IIRC its pretty simple.  Pretty sure there is no need to uninstall either...

 

Do you already have an account registered in game? At start up are you prompted to login?

 

Have you logged into https://il2sturmovik.com/ ? I think there might be an option to link your steam account or use your Steam login.

 

EDIT - follow steps in Beebop's post.

Edited May 3, 2021 by itsbillyfrazier

[Beebop]

Try this:

 

https://il2sturmovik.com/m/SteamAndIL2AccountGuide.pdf

[cardboard_killer]

12 minutes ago, Beebop said:

Try this:

 

https://il2sturmovik.com/m/SteamAndIL2AccountGuide.pdf

 

it would be so nice if this were a sticky for this thread.

[AlexJacobs]

2 hours ago, Beebop said:

Try this:

 

https://il2sturmovik.com/m/SteamAndIL2AccountGuide.pdf

Thanks:-) I checked it already, but it says nothing about linking your account after validating the first time.

 

Edit: Found it. Just need to click on my user name in the upper right corner. No need to uninstall. However my password and user are not recognized ?

 

New edit: finally managed to link my accounts, but the contents bought on the IL website are missing on Steam. Checked the forum, looks like I'm not the first one to experience that but don't know how to remedy it. Can anyone help?

 

Thanks

Edited May 3, 2021 by AlexJacobs
Issue took another turn

[Dam-0-]

Hi,

Not a player yet, but I was thinking about buying BOK, and BOBP as a beginning. Do you recommend these editions in regards of multiplayer accessibility, and newbie friendliness? Also if I decided later to buy BOS from steam I read that I'll be able to connect my account here with my steam account, is that right? (I mean I heard that the download speeds with the non-steam version are not always the best.)

 

Best regards, Dam

[Beebop]

* IF you buy from the official site you can get BoK and BoBP in any order. 

* IF you buy through Steam you need to get BoS first.

* All versions have the same "friendliness" and have the same Multiplayer accessibility.  Be patient though as there is a learning curve.  Read and ask in the forums for excellent guides and advice.

* You can link your Steam and IL-2 Sturmovik accounts together.

https://il2sturmovik.com/m/SteamAndIL2AccountGuide.pdf

 

* Download speeds for non-Steam users (like me) can be slow.  It often depends on when you access the downloader and your internet connection.  I find update downloads to be a good time to make and eat a meal (LOL).  I'm not a Steam fan and am willing to wait as necessary.  Usually it's not that long a time.

* With Steam all updates are automatic and usually when you start the game it will be up to date without having to D/L yourself which can be a plus.

 

Go for it!  You won't be disappointed!

Edited May 3, 2021 by Beebop

[JimTM]

15 minutes ago, Beebop said:

...

* All versions have the same "friendliness" and have the same Multiplayer accessibility.  Be patient though as there is a learning curve.  Read and ask in the forums for excellent guides and advice.

...

 

In other words, you can fly in any multiplayer map, as long as you own at least one of the planes provided in the map.

 

There are lots of resources for you in this post.

 

[Dam-0-]

Oh I see the sale ended...

But thanks for the info, I guess I'll be sure to get it next time. ? 

 

[CaptainElzo]

Hello All,

I only by accident stumbled over this game and after checking several youtube clips and been a fan of WW2 flight sims and with the sale at the time (a lot of and's), I went all in (almost, didn't just go for BoN yet (which I wouldn't be suprised if I get it soon)).

Last time I properly played a flight "sim" was Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe and Aces over Europe/the Pacific.

A lot has happened since then and it took me a while to successully get my plane off the runway even. ?

 

I am properly hooked to the game now, but I think I will keep quite a few of the flight assists on for a while.

It's really great to have them and makes life for beginners really accessible.

 

Well, before I ramble too madly for too long, nice to be part of this very nice community.

I'm though, a bit more of a lurker, so will do more reading than posting.

Edited May 4, 2021 by CaptainElzo

[Beebop]

WELCOME!  You are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

The game can be daunting at times technically but there is an awesome Community here more than willing to help out.

Yes do read but don't be shy about asking questions.

There are also excellent guides and tutorials on almost every aspect of the game on YouTube as well.

As you progress look for content sales which happen at least 4 times a year.

(psst!  get BoN, the planes are awesome!)

[Ubiquitous]

Hi everyone. I was about one mouse click away from buying some of extra WW2 stuff for my usual sim, DCS, when I saw that GB was also having a sale and decided to try something new. I'm  glad I did! Some immediate reflectioons:

• the content-per-£-spent with GB compares very favourably (for example, BoS with 10 planes, a map, and a career mode cost less than half the sale cost of one DCS aircraft).
• VR in this game is amazing! It's some kind of serious black magic how smoothly everything works with the settings cranked up, while DCS forces me to put everything on low.
• the single-player content in GB is great! While I love DCS, it's pretty slim pickings for people focused more on SP. I hadn't realised that GB has adopted a refined version of the dynamic careers from Rise of Flight, which I find to be just the right mix of action and role-playing to keep me engaged. I didn't even dip into the scripted campaigns yet, but am looking forward to it.
• I have to mention the rain on the windscreen when you enter a cloud; GB probably has the best implementation of this I've seen.
• I spent a lot of time playing CLoD back when it was still necessary to install the Team Fusion mod, and it's good to see a lot of the best things about that on display here too.
• my install experience with GB was a bit frustrating. I spent half a day downloading and re-downloading, always with a generic "failed to update" error. Only after I went looking for a log file did I realise 75gb isn't enough for the install (the system reqs say 23GB+…)
• I miss DCS's clickable cockpits. I guess there's a good reason not to have this in GB (I don't know anything about coding), but everything in the cockpit seems animated already so I can't understand why it isn't "easy" to just make those regions clickable. Using the keyboard while in VR isn't a great experience (I know, I should just get a full HOTAS...).

Excited to get more out of the modules I bought, and to dive a bit deeper (FC, RC, and BoN all look great).

Edited May 4, 2021 by Ubiquitous

[kestrel79]

Nice welcome aboard. You make some very good points I agree in regards to DCS compared to IL2.

 

Just map everything to your HOTAS, you don't need the clickable cockpits. For me IL2 is the perfect combo of hardcore sim, without taking 30 minutes to click buttons and start the plane up which gets a little old especially online or when I have limited time to play at nights.

[CaptainElzo]

From one newbie to the other, welcome aboard! ?

 

After I found IL2 and checked loads of videos about it, I also stumbled across DCS.

Since I have no interest in modern warfare planes, the decicion for me was very easy.

And also as you said, I agree the value is much better here.

 

The only slight advantage IMHO I see with DCS, they have Korean War era planes.

The dogfights between the F86's and the Mig15's must have been mad. WW2 weaopns still really, but the first modern(ish) jetplanes.

Quite the contrast there really.

 

If 1C is ever to make a Korean War addon, first day purchase from me. ?

 

[Brooke_e]

 

Hello everyone!

 I started flying the original IL-2 simulator when it first came out. I was just a casual jockey, but I had a lot of fun! Now, fast forward to today ... I have more time to """"fly"""" while still have the same old computer. ACK! BUT ... I recently ordered a new machine (AMD 5900X, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, 32GB DDR4-3600, etc.). I think it has a fantastic setup, and I'll be on Cloud 9 when it finally arrives. In the meantime, I have a bunch of stupid questions for you. (NOTE: I am a professional engineer who adores cutting-edge computer technology and work time. Cheers to good health !!!

Edited May 11, 2021 by Brooke_e

[pippa101]

I was reading through old forum posts and I found a reference to 'Flight FX' and 'Sweet FX', the original post said that they made a real difference. Is this post still relevant?

 

I don't get on with VR, I don't have it but have tried on my sons XBOX and believe it or not I get motion sickness. I do have a problem with my eyes, I get migraine caused by bright lights or intense colour contrast etc. Is Track IR really worthwhile compared to nothing?

[Patricks]

2 hours ago, pippa101 said:

I was reading through old forum posts and I found a reference to 'Flight FX' and 'Sweet FX', the original post said that they made a real difference. Is this post still relevant?

 

I don't get on with VR, I don't have it but have tried on my sons XBOX and believe it or not I get motion sickness. I do have a problem with my eyes, I get migraine caused by bright lights or intense colour contrast etc. Is Track IR really worthwhile compared to nothing?

 

TrackIR is fantastic, adds immersion and smooth head movement to any sim that supports it. I am with you, suffer from motion sickness and TrackIR has 0 negative effect. If you have the cash, go for it and get the track-clip that attaches to your headset. IIRC you need two open USB ports, one for the camera and one for the trackclip.

 

[Elem]

6 minutes ago, Icer said:

I am with you, suffer from motion sickness and TrackIR has 0 negative effect

For you maybe. I tried TIR and it made me nauseous. I sent it back. I'm much happier playing on a large 4K monitor.

[pippa101]

5 hours ago, Icer said:

 

TrackIR is fantastic, adds immersion and smooth head movement to any sim that supports it. I am with you, suffer from motion sickness and TrackIR has 0 negative effect. If you have the cash, go for it and get the track-clip that attaches to your headset. IIRC you need two open USB ports, one for the camera and one for the trackclip.

 

I don't wear a headset, does it come as a headband or hat?