The Fly-By:

Highlights from this week’s news in 60 seconds or less (hopefully)

Heatblur drops another amazing F-4E trailer…feels like the release is very, very close
DCS will eliminate the stable and open beta branches in the next match, moving to a unified version of the game
IL-2 Sturmovik devs had a community chat and teased carrier operations in their next project (and a WWII Pacific theater setting at some point in the future)
Patch 5.202 for IL-2 is due in the 1st half of January and will bring some welcome changes to make binding controls much easier
Microprose’s “B-17 Flying Fortress: The MIghty 8th Redux” is available in Early Access on GoG and Steam, but early impressions are mixed
Winwing rudder pedals go on January 30th at 9 am UTC+8
- 8 pm on Jan 29 EST
- 1 am on Jan 30 GMT
Virpil is shipping Apache collective grips and collective counterweights for preorders
And Tacview’s latest update adds the Sinai map for DCS fans

Developer News

IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles Community Q&A (Brief Room Episode 3)

Hosted by Daniil Tuseyev (Producer of IL-2) and Victor Sechnoy (Historical Consultant and Mission Designer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzR14LuCrRY
1. Are Carrier Operations Planned?
- “Their new management strategy is allowing them to work on it; and not just for their next project (Korea?) but as part of a project they’re working on right now”
- Due to translation issues this left me confused as to whether or not this implies a possible pacific theater expansion to the IL-2 game engine or if this is all part of the next game in the cycle (i.e. Korea) but either way, carrier ops is coming
1. Are there plans to expand the pilot RPG aspect of the simulation?
- “Yes, plans to give players more control over the squadron. Players will go all the way to becoming Regimental-level officers. It’s the classic career with additional functions. You’ll also be able to request ammo and fuel from HQ”
1. Can ground units be visually reworked?
- “All 3D content for the new project is being designed from scratch (including ground units) [not feasible to go back and do that for previous/existing projects]”
1. Will you make the B-25/26 player flyable?
- The B-26 is a massive task so odds don’t look good but the B-25 might a better option; the team also hints that it would be really nice to have for the pacific theater of operations; end by saying there is a good chance the B-25 will be player flyable someday.
1. Is a clickable cockpit planned for the new project?
- Without mentioning DCS by name, the team says the cost for clickable cockpits on the market has been set (in terms of time required and price). Would the community be willing to pay that cost x10 for 10-clickable planes? Would a better alternative be to run a crowd-sourcing campaign for “pro” versions of aircraft? No promises, just that it would require a lot of time and money.
1. Where do you think you are in terms of developing the next project?
- 40%
1. Will you add “co-op” mode to career mode?
- “If we want to implement that correctly, we would have to host the career ourselves due to internet restrictions in Russia. Then the question arises how would that pay for itself? We’re not dismissing itself, but it is complicated and we have to figure out how that would work.”
1. Other random notes:
- Dozens of bombers in formation will be possible in the new project due to reworked loading requirements.
- No plans to cease continued aircraft development for BoS while the next project is in development
- The damage model in the next project will take into account incendiary rounds lighting fuel takes on fire and better armor penetration modeling of AP rounds vs armor
- The IL-2 team does want to add career mode support to the “Leningrad” map being developed by the Finnish (Kellia) team but no guarantees
- The team stopped short of promising full “mod” support but they have promised the new project will be easier for 3rd parties to work with (especially in the realm of map making)
- In the new project, the team is creating a technology that will allow for Mass Urban Development (i.e. big cities like Rome, etc.) * For this reason, they’re not planning to add things like the Italian theater to BoS
- Sea planes are not planned for BoS but they would like to add the Catalina PBY to the upcoming Pacific theater (2+ years out from now — no guarantees)

IL-2 Sturmovik: Developer Diaries #356 (26 JAN 2024)

Dev blog #356

Patch 5.202 is planned for the 1st half of February
- The long fuselage option for the Romanian IAR-80 and the British Spitfire IXc will released
- Other improvements planned for the patch:
  - AI pilots will be more aggressive in frontal attacks
  - Bombers in the Western Front career mode will operate at higher altitudes than on the Eastern Front (13k feet to 15k feet)
  - The P-47 and P-40 Flight Model reviews are in progress
    - P-47 likely won’t make this update
  - New mission type will be added
    - Defend a friendly airfield from an enemy raid
  - Input system changes
    - It will be possible to search for a command assigned by:
      - Pressing the desired input (i.e. switch/button)
      - Moving the control axis
      - Searching for the command by name