Dear friends,

The year 2020 is here in full force. Let's hope that the new decade will bring good changes to our world. We in the IL-2 Sturmovik team are beginning the work on the new project, Battle of Normandy. For instance, the production of 3D models for several new planes has started already. We're researching the possibility of moving the rendering engine to Deferred Shading tech. The map team has begun the research of the new map. We're making design documents on new buildings, ground vehicles, ships and motorboats.

We're continuing our approach of improving our sim constantly - the incoming update 4.004 will bring many improvements for our already released projects. It will also add the new tank for Tank Crew - Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.D "Panther" - and additional airfields and visually improved banks of the countless rivers and canals on the Rheinland map.




The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots,

Another Holiday Season is upon us and that means it’s time again for a huge sale and reflecting on the year that was. 2019 was a year like no other in our history as we released two new titles (Battle of Bodenplatte and Flying Circus) and neared completion on a third (Tank Crew). We also announced our next great battle (Normandy) and continued to improve our simulation engine even further with no fewer than ten major updates and several Hotfixes.

As always, we could not have done all this without your continued financial and encouraging support. The team continues to work to make the entire IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles series better and better all the time. We have just one simple message and that is we hope you have a wonderful Holiday Season and can spend some time with your favorite IL-2 title.

Next year, 2020, will see the completion of Tank Crew, release of more Collector Planes (Hurricane, Yak-9 and Yak-9T), continued improvements and the addition of new features for IL-2. It will also see the release of an interesting and fun add-on for a much improved Cliffs of Dover from our partners at Team Fusion. We hope you will stick by us again in the year to come!

Winter Sale Begins

The Winter Sale runs from Dec. 19th until Jan. 2nd on Steam and Dec. 19th through Jan. 2nd on the Official Website.

]Battle of Stalingrad – 75% OFF

Battle of Moscow – 75% OFF

Battle of Kuban – 75% OFF

All Collector Planes – 75% OFF (Except P-38 and Fw-190 D-9)

Blazing Steppe Scripted Campaign – 75% OFF

Fortress on the Volga Scripted Campaign – 75% OFF

All Rise of Flight Content – 75% OFF

We wish everyone in the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles community a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a fantastic New Year’s! Please stay safe and we’ll see you again in 2020 which will usher in a new decade of IL-2 flight and armor simulation goodness!

The Sturmovik Team

Updates 4.003 and 4.003b

Dear Friends,

Yesterday we decided to release a Bug-Fix update (4.003) to prepare for the coming winter holidays - it doesn't bring new content, but its fixes are important enough. The most of them are AI improvements - we have spent a lot of time this month to improve dogfighting algorithms and we'll continue to improve AI further. There are also important fixes for the player controlled ground vehicles and our friend =Luke FF= worked on improving the Career mode.

Today we also released a Hotfix update (4.003b) to fix some more small issues.

The full list of changes is following:

4.003
AI Improvements
1. AIs finish a ground attack run by pulling up harder, which should improve their survivability rate in hilly terrain;
2. AI bombers drop the bombs better;
3. Advanced AIs won't 'stuck' in an endless circle during dogfight anymore;
4. AIs perform "Low Yo-Yo" and "High Yo-Yo" maneuvers better;
5. Detailed AI tanks engage the nearest targets by default like simple AI tanks do;
6. AI drivers of self-propelled artillery and other ground equipment with a fixed main weapon now face the target to aim if the priority of the mission command being executed is LOW;
7. Ground vehicles won't 'jump' on steep slopes;
8. Ground vehicle AIs won't turn their engines off immediately after stopping;
9. AI ground vehicles have a variable exhaust effect when moving;
10. The steam locomotives won't turn on the lights during the day;
11. AA guns and machine guns mounted on trains follow mission command priority;

Aircraft Improvements
12. The game won't crash when repairing a dirty airplane canopy;
13. Fixed excess clicks of triggers in the cockpit for missing weapon groups;


Player Controlled Tanks Improvements
14. There is a turret ventilation sound in Pz.III Ausf.M, Pz.IV Ausf.G, Pz.VI Ausf.H1 and T-34-76UVZ-43;
15. The master switch is turned on not only when the engine is turned on, but also when the headlights, lighting, signal, tower control with electric trigger or fan are turned on;
16. Fixed the "loss" of the camera when switching from a gunsight to the normal view;
17. Detailed tanks gunsight adjustments are displayed in technochat;
18. Opening and closing of various hatches is displayed in technochat;
19. Startup procedures, the operation of turret and gun systems of the Tank Crew tanks are displayed in technochat;
20. Sub-caliber armor-piercing rounds now lose their stability and ability to penetrate further armor barriers after breaking through the first one;
21. On SU-122, the problem with displaying the commander’s sight in VR was fixed (the second eye was not deactivated);
22. On SU-122, when choosing the DG-460A HEAT shells, the slider of the scope scale is now correctly set to the third scale;
23. Added gunsight settings for firing using a gunner’s sight to the description of SU-122;

Career Mode improvements
24. Awards in career mode adjusted to better reflect the historical reality for all nations;
25. Awards text descriptions updated;
26. US careers: medals are awarded according to the criteria set forth by the US 9th Air Force in 1944;
27. German careers: new AI pilots in the squadron with previous flight time now have the possibility to have campaign awards from earlier battles (Eastern Front Medal and Kuban Shield);
28. Soviet careers: new AI pilots in the squadron with previous flight time now have the possibility to have the Medal 'For the Defense of Stalingrad' from December 22, 1942;
29. Soviet careers: Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class, Red Wound Stripe, and Yellow Wound Stripe no longer erroneously awarded during the Battle of Moscow;
30. British careers: Mentioned in Despatches can now be awarded multiple times;
31. More stock aircraft skins added to all phases of career mode;
32. German fighter and attack pilots will now fly an airfield attack strafing mission on January 1, 1945, in career mode;
33. Aircraft weapon loadouts and modification restrictions updated for all phases of career mode;

Other improvements
34. Loaders in player controllable tanks, Ju-52 Co-Pilot and A-20 Navigator are invulnerable if Invulnerability difficulty option is turned on;
35. All aircraft GUI previews updated to have a similar style;
36. Simple AI vehicle sounds completely overhauled (all large artillery guns, tanks and assault guns, GMC-CCKW, WillysMB, M16-AA, 72K).

4.003b
1. Fixed the lack of ammo in some Career mission types;
2. AI pilots perform maneuvers at low altitudes better;
3. Albatros D.Va won't erroneously overheat in a climb*;
4. P.u.W. bombs look correctly from afar;
5. S.E.5a compass corrected;
6. Bristol Firghter side-slip indicator made visible;
7. Halberstadt CL.II gunner animation corrected;
8. 13-pdr and 77 mm AA guns firing range corrected;
9. Sturmoviks correctly open fire at the ships in the 3rd mission of the Sea Dragons campaign;
10. Hitting Blip Switch button won't show a wrong message about an engine failure;
11. Static aircraft in the Bodenplatte career can be destroyed by guns and MGs.

- Albatros D.Va overheats and engine seizes at normal coolant temperature were fixed (the reason was overheating of the oil). You can still get a message about engine overheating in the GUI due to overheating of the cylinders when the coolant temperature is below the boiling point, but still high. Just keep the coolant temperature within the normal range.

Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team

Attention Pilots!

We are proud to announce that Battle of Bodenplatte and Flying Circus along with the P-38J-25 and Fw-190D-9 are now AVAILABLE ON STEAM!

We have also included a Launch Discount that is good for one week until Dec. 10th 2019.

Battle of Bodenplatte - $44.99 (Reg. $49.99)

Flying Circus - $69.59 (Reg. 79.99)

P-38J-25 - $17.59 (Reg. $19.99)

Fw-190 D-9 - $17.59 (Reg. $19.99)





NOTE: To purchase Battle of Bodenplatte or Flying Circus or any Collector Planes such as the P-38J-25 and Fw-190 D-9 you first need to own Battle of Stalingrad.

See you in the skies!

The Sturmovik Team

Update 4.002

Dear Friends,

Our team is glad to announce that we finished another update 4.002. In this version, all Tank Crew owners get the SU-122 assault gun. In addition, everyone gets many improvements - some of them our community asked for a long time. After additional work on the aircraft visibility modeling against the clouds is improved. We also added automatic dive-recovery controls to four bombers from Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Moscow. The login time has been drastically decreased, it will now happen up to ten times faster than before. Tank and aircraft turrets aiming will be more convenient and there are many other minor improvements. Let's go into detail about the automatic dive-recovery controls:

Ju-87
When the dive system is engaged, the plane enters a dive when the air brakes are extended and will recover from the dive either by pressing the bomb drop button or when the air brakes are retracted. The dive system controls are separate: the trimmer tab on the right elevator is controlled by the dive system while the pilot controls the trimmer tab on the left elevator. Therefore the pilot input and dive system input of the trimmers are independent, and when the dive system is in operation, there is no indication of a trimmer position change in the technochat.

Ju-88
When the dive system is engaged, the plane enters a dive when the air brakes are extended or when the dive button (LCtrl + D by default) is pressed. The plane will recover from the dive either by pressing the bomb drop button or by pressing the dive button (LCtrl + D by default). The dive system will return to the neutral position of the elevator trim, while the full range of trimmer travel from the pilot’s input is preserved. Therefore the pilot input and dive system input of the trimmers are independent, and when the dive system is in operation, there is no indication of a trimmer position change in the technochat. Also, the elevator trim is automatically shifted when the stabilizer is moved to the landing position (when flaps are released to the landing position). This also shifts the trim back to the neutral position.

Pe-2 (both series)
When the dive system is engaged, the plane enters a dive when the air brakes are extended (pass through the 45° position) and will recover from the dive when you press the bomb drop button or the dive recovery button to exit the dive (LCtrl + D by default). The dive system controls the elevator trim -for correct operation, the trimmer must be in the range between -4.5 ° to + 4.5 ° before turning on the dive system. If the trimmer is outside this range or if the airplane is trimmed manually while the dive system is in operation or if the air brakes are retracted the dive system will disengage.

Ju-87 and Ju-88
Contact altimeters are installed on these aircraft. The RShift + K and RCtrl + K commands (by default) set the bomb release (contact) altitude. When the dive system is engaged, the buzzer will sound 250 m above the contact altitude. Buzzer turns off when the contact altitude is reached or when the dive system is disengaged. The pressure setting is adjusted by the same command as on the main altimeter (with a short pause after setting the pressure on the main altimeter). The contact altimeter is not connected with the dive system, it is a separate device that just gives an audio signal at a contact height.

Main features
1. SU-122 assault gun made by Ural heavy machinery factory in 1943 is now available for all Tank Crew owners;
2. Guns and MGs aiming using the mouse has been improved;
3. Turret aiming in VR is improved (you don't need to physically turn while aiming);
4. The issue with planes visually disappearing against the clouds at short distances has been minimized;
5. Planes visual pixelization against the clouds at medium distances has been greatly reduced;
6. Winter textures for all Bodenplatte buildings added;
7. Winter textures for all Bodenplatte vehicles added;
8. Speed and reliability of the online login have been greatly improved;
9. GMC CCKW fuel truck added;
10. Thanks to the new tech developed for Tank Crew, B-25D, P-47D and P-51D have correct British or US pilots depending on the country specified in the mission file;
11. Dive and recovery control automatics added to Ju-87 D-3, Ju 88 A-4, Pe-2 s. 87 and Pe-2 s. 35;
12. Ju-87 D-3 and Ju 88 A-4 dive bombers are equipped with contact altimeters;
13. LaGG-3 now sports 4K exterior textures made by Martin =ICDP= Catney;

AI improvements
14. AI pilots can resume engaging a target after losing it;
15. AI pilots won't try to engage a distant target flying at negative G for a prolonged time;
16. AI pilots won't crash into the ground while doing a defense spiral maneuver;
17. AI pilots won't get stuck in a shallow dive during a defense maneuver;
18. AI pilots won't attempt dangerous evasion maneuvers at low altitudes which caused them to crash;
19. AI pilots won't get too excited following a falling target and crash into the ground after it;
20. AI pilots attacking air targets will attack the planes that take off or land;
21. AI pilots won't get stuck in an upside position during a dogfight;
22. AI pilots won't get stuck in a roll during an evasion maneuver which could end in a crash;
23. AI pilots will try to bail out of a burning plane (now it depends on how fast it will decide to bail out and if he has strength left to do so);
24. Self-propelled AAA switch to combat position if they don't have movement orders and have an attack targets in area command (even if there are no targets present);
25. Ship guns aiming corrected;

Aircraft improvements
26. Ju-87 D-3 has animated servo tabs;
27. Ju-87 D-3 has visual indicators for the extended dive brakes;
28. Ju-88 A-4 elevator trim adjusts automatically when the stabilizer is switched to the landing position;
29. Ju-88 A-4 has animated servo tabs;
30. heavier aircraft like He-111, Ju-52/87/88, A-20, IL-2, Pe-2 won't shake as much when their tails are damaged;
31. Pe-2 and He-111: the camera automatically turns in a correct direction when switching to a new MG in turrets with several MGs;
32. Ju-52/3mg4e 2nd pilot animations have been restored;
33. P-38J-25: canopy close sound won't play too early;
34. P-38J-25: the instruments panel can be damaged;
35. P-38J-25: signal lights won't float in the air on a severely damaged aircraft;
36. IL-2 elevator control rods damage has been corrected;
37. All additional armor elements on Bf-110 correctly shield the aircraft;
38. P-51D-15 rear landing gear can be damaged now;
39. MC 202 s8: MG151 ammo reserves can be damaged now;
40. Fw 190 A-8 ammo reserves can be damaged now;
41. Fw 190 A-8 wing pylons look correctly from various distances;
42. Bf 109 G4/G6/G14/K4: the right underwing cannon won't stop working after the loss of ammo in the left wing anymore;
43. Bf 109s except for G14 and K4: jettisoned canopies are correctly repaired;
44. Bristol Fighter will correctly register radiator hits;
45. Pedals animated correctly on Bristol Fighter;
46. Static U-2VS has winter skin;
47. IL-2 mod. 1942 has its exterior color saturation corrected;

Tank Crew improvements
48. Visual detail of plates above the tracks on KV-1s has been improved;
49. Speedometer added to KV-1s (it is on the engine compartment bulkhead);
50. Batteries are visible in the KV-1s interior;
51. Many visual improvements to KV-1s interior (level of detail, textures, etc.);
52. Recoil indicators added to KV-1s and T-34 mod. 1943;
53. Panoramic sight cupola stopper added to KV-1s and T-34 mod. 1943;
54. T-34 mod. 1943 tracks have been visually improved;
55. T-34 mod. 1943 internal collision model (that is used in damage calculations) has been improved;
56. Engine exhaust is visible at the idle engine RPM;

Other changes
57. Caquot balloons won't disappear at medium distances;
58. The inner walls of the damaged detailed buildings on the Prokhorovka map won't disappear at medium distances;
59. It's now possible to turn off the VR rendering mode for the propellers - any negative values specified for the prop_blur_max_rpm_for_vr parameter in startup.cfg file (like prop_blur_max_rpm_for_vr = -1) will result in the normal propellers rendering;
60. Object Fake_Block can be used on the airfields (its collision object has been lowered below the ground);
61. Levitating buildings on Stalingrad map have been fixed;
62. It's now possible to win the 5th mission of the Turning point campaign after a successful retreat;
63. The excessive effect of concussion and possible loss of consciousness after HE hits at a tank or aircraft has been removed if the player or AI weren't wounded by these hits.
64. Ten Days of Autumn campaign: all static objects have been updated to correct durability values, other minor improvements;
65. Fortress on the Volga campaign: minor improvements;
66. A black line won't appear in the middle of some Bodenplatte timeframe newspapers;
67. Added another (fifth) voice of a Soviet tanker;
68. Trees preventing a takeoff from some airfields were cut down on all Rheinland maps.



The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots!

We have a few important announcements to share with you about our BOBP and FC Steam Releases and our latest Collector Planes Pre-Orders.

BOBP, P-38J-25, Fw-190 D-9 and FC Steam Release Date

We are thrilled to announce that Battle of Bodenplatte and Flying Circus are coming to the Steam store immediately after the Autumn Sale ends. We are aiming for December 3rd 2019 for the release. The BOBP release on Steam will be the Standard Edition with the two additional Collector Planes being sold separately. Flying Circus will include all ten aircraft, same as on our website. Each product will have a launch discount equivalent to the current Early Access discount enjoyed by customers on our website. The prices are as follows.

Battle of Bodenplatte on Steam - $44.99 (Reg. $49.99)
P-38J-25 Collector Plane - $17.49 (Reg. $19.99)
Fw-190 D-9 Collector Plane - $17.49 (Reg. $19.99)
Flying Circus on Steam - $69.99 (Reg. $79.99)

The launch discounts on Steam will be in effect for one week once launched which is the maximum time Steam allows.

Hurricane Mk.II, Yak-9 and Yak-9T Pre-Order Launched

We are proud to announce that we have begun taking Pre-Orders for the Yak-9, Yak-9T and Hurricane Mk.II Collector Planes in the IL-2 Webstore. These planes will be available on Steam when they are finished and ready to be flown.

The legendary British-built Hurricane came to fame during the Battle of Britain where it did the heavy lifting for the RAF in that pivotal battle. The Hurricane Mk.II series which consisted of the a,b,c and d variants was outfitted with a few different armament configurations. This included either the 12 x .303 machine guns in the wings or 4 x 20mm Hispano cannons also fitted in the wings. Many of the Mk.II’s were of the ‘Hurribomber’ variety with wing racks for 250lb or 500lb bombs. One later variant could also carry two 40mm cannons for anti-armor duty. The Hurricane was built in large numbers and the Mk.II series was sent to all corners of the war to fly and fight, including the Eastern Front where the Soviet VVS put them to good use in several sectors.



The Yak-9 was the first model in the most mass-produced family of the WWII Soviet fighters - with its many modifications the total amount of units produced reached 16,769. The work on the new long-range recon and fighter plane began in the Yakovlev design bureau during Spring 1942. Compared to the earlier Ya-7, it had a boosted M-105PF engine, a lighter wing of composite structure, and the lower spine with a bubble canopy that significantly improved the rearward visibility. However, the armament was reduced to one nose-mounted 12.7mm UBS MG and one engine-mounted 20mm SHVAK cannon firing through the propeller hub. The mass production of the new fighter and its arrival to the frontline units begun only in 1943. In combat, the Yak-9 proved itself as very maneuverable and easy to control fighter, earning the love and respect of many Soviet pilots along with volunteer French from the Normandie Niemen fighter regiment.



An important variant of the Yak-9 family was the Yak-9T (tank), which appeared in early 1943. In addition to one 12.7mm UBS MG it was armed with a 37mm engine-mounted cannon model 11P (later NS-37) instead of the usual 20mm SHVAK. The installation of such a heavy and large weapon required reinforcing the airframe in the nose section and moving the pilot cabin 40cm (1.31 ft.) rearward, which resulted in worse forward and underside visibility. Combat trials showed that Yak-9T is capable of not only engaging bombers and various ground targets, but it could also hold its own as dogfighter. Its flight characteristics were only marginally worse than Yak-9 while packing a much bigger punch. Its production started in March 1943 and ended only in June 1945 with a total of 2,748 units produced.



Note: This announcement includes items not yet available on Steam, but will be once they are completed.

The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots!

The Autumn Sale is here to officially kick-off the Holiday Shopping Season and we are giving you the opportunity to purchase our Great Battles modules, Scripted Campaigns and Collector Planes for an amazing 75% OFF right here on STEAM!

Remember, these make great Christmas gifts for friends, family or wingmates!

BOS = 75% OFF
BOM = 75% OFF
BOK = 75% OFF

All Collector Planes = 75% OFF

Blazing Steppe = 75% OFF
Fortress on the Volga = 75% OFF

All Rise of Flight Content = 75% OFF

We hope you enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team

235

Hello everybody,

Only one week has passed since the huge release, but we're already preparing for the next update. Of course, it won't be as massive - we can't do so much each month - but it will bring a number of important things nevertheless. As we promised, we're working on improving the overall quality of the product.

First of all, we have found a way to improve the situation with the planes disappearing too early against a cloud. This won't fix the pixelization issue (it is a different matter), but we hope the coming update will address the problem when a plane can visually disappear at 2 km or so. We plan to start the work on minimizing the pixelization issue before the end of this year. Another good news is that we have managed to fix a very old problem with excessively long login into the game - if the testing goes well, in the next update you'll see your login times decrease nearly tenfold, from dozens of seconds to single digits, and the dreaded login fail error #2 should be gone as well.

We also have managed to find the cause of the random bug some of you have reported, when some planes suddenly lose their rudders in the flight. It turns out this issue is caused by the signal noise in some joystick controllers. Such noise spikes in the input cause the control surfaces in the sim to turn so sharply that their durability limit is exceeded and they are torn off by the ram air. This means that fixing this particular bug is no trivial matter - on one hand, we need to keep the durability limit of the control surfaces realistic while on another we don't want to add a new layer of filtering for the joystick axes input we have minimized so recently before. This is a very fine work involving re-checking every plane control behavior, but our engineers have done it and we plan to include its result in the next update as well.

Another important improvement is for Tank Crew users that play in VR - now you won't have to rotate your head when looking through the gunsight and rotating it using the mouse. Like most improvements for the tanks, it will be also useful for aircraft - operating turrets in VR will be easier. We're also starting the work on two other important things for the tanks (they won't be ready for the next update though) - improving the gun aiming (fixing the problem when the rotation marker 'jumps' too far) and adding the binoculars for tank commanders.

We also hope to include important AI improvements in the next update - aircraft AI should better attack the ground targets in hilly areas while ground vehicle AI should better navigate through numerous obstacles like driving through a village.

SU-122 assault gun will be the main addition of the next update. It demanded several new technologies and some of them, like aiming for indirect fire at large distances, will be added later. 122mm HE shell is very powerful since when it hits the turret its fragments can penetrate the thin hull roof armor while 122mm HEAT rounds can penetrate up to 120mm of armor, enough to engage any tank in the game from any angle. Of course, there's a catch - low muzzle speed and narrow range of vertical adjustment of the howitzer (+-10°) make aiming at large distances a nontrivial matter. The 45mm front armor inherited from T-34 tank the assault gun is based on (and the fact that its slope is less than on T-34) make the face-off with enemy heavy tanks very difficult. At least this task is much more realistic than engaging them having only a 76mm gun at your disposal.



The work on another cat in German arsenal, Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.D "Panther" is underway as well and we hope to have it ready for the release before the New Year. Here are several WIP screenshots from our partners at Digital Forms:



And to finish today's diary we'd like to show you two promo videos. One of them showcasing Flying Circus Vol. 1 was created by ShamrockOneFive while another promoting Battle of Kuban is the work of =HH=Pauk. Here they are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkRmBD3VQpA&feature=emb_title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uuK1ZRqkYk&feature=emb_title

The Sturmovik Team

Update 4.001

Dear Pilots!

Finally, we have reached a very important milestone for our latest IL-2 Sturmovik titles. Today, two projects moving from the Early Access phase to Official Release. The first of these is Battle of Bodenplatte, which acquired the last major content components that were missing - the seasonal textures for the Rhineland map and the Pilot's Career. However, this does not mean that work on this project is completely done, we plan to spend some time before we begin our next project on fine-tuning and polishing a number of its components and adding a couple yet to be completed pieces such as Air Marshal. However, we feel it contains enough content and features that we can begin to sell it in all our channels including Steam as we head into the Holiday Season. In addition, we plan to closely monitor your messages in order to improve the quality of the project as much as we can in the last part of 2019. Bodenplatte turned out to be a truly record-setting job for us, the volume of work done on the development of maps and aircraft of the late period of the war is unprecedented for us. The late period imposes serious additional requirements on the manufactured equipment; however, the result is extremely interesting. The included aircraft make an incredible impression, because this is already the "apogee" of piston powered planes and, at the same time, the "dawn" of jet aircraft. The Rhineland map impresses with its scale, size and richness of cities and the number and historically researched airfields. The career "Battle of the Rhine" takes place over a fairly long period of time that includes four seasons - from September 17th, 1944 to April 1st, 1945. The Career covers a very significant part of the war on the western front - more than half a year. Battle of Bodenplatte was a bold step for us and when coupled with our other two projects, it pushed us to our creative limits. We hope you will enjoy it! Also, a Standard Edition of BOBP will be coming soon with the P-38J and Fw-190 D-9 offered as Collector Planes to give users more buying options. BOBP will also be available on Steam in the coming weeks, there are still a few details we must work out there first.

Flying Circus - Volume 1 is now available in its fully planned state and all the remaining ground-based equipment of the First World War have been added in our new standard of visual quality. Observation balloons with observers who may leap from their post when under attack are also included now. A number of improvements were also made on the map, primarily to the front line. We hope that users who purchase this project will like the step forward in comparison with our previous title Rise of Flight, especially in the visual quality of aircraft and the environment that we, together with our partner Yugra Media, have created for you. Although the flight models generally correspond to the ones from Rise of Flight, many of the improvements that have been made over the past 7 years for Il-2 Sturmovik play a role in Flying Circus as well. Such improvements automatically benefit all projects within the framework of our one common game world and give a new, previously unavailable experience of virtual flight and combat in the First World War. All these new opportunities unfold in their fullest when playing with the use of virtual reality devices. FC includes so many new things - new landscape technology, new lighting and clouds, better sound, new AI and improved ballistics, new graphic effects and new materials for aircraft surfaces, new detailing of textures and models - all this and much more gives the virtual pilots of the First World War something that is not available anywhere else. We hope to make more Flying Circus volumes in the future and we thank those who have jumped into this new product so far!

Note: We have extended the $10 Off Early Access discount for days more, but it will go to full MSRP very soon. Make your purchase before the price goes up!

Tank Crew – Clash at Prokhorovka is still under development, as one more tank and three self-propelled guns are being built by our DigitalForms partners. However, from the point of view of the gameplay, this project has almost reached its planned goals - this is expressed in the release of the Breakpoint and Last Chance scenario campaigns in this version. These campaigns tell the story, in the maximum possible historical manner we can, about the complex and intricate events of one of the greatest tank battles on the Eastern Front - the battle of Prokhorovka.


This battle was not limited only to the events of July 12th, it took place over several tense days, from July 6th to July 16th, 1943. The events and outcomes of this battle are extremely complex and controversial. Although the Soviet troops and armored forces suffered heavy losses, the German command was never able to achieve their planned goals. At the end of the battle, the situation in this sector of the war front almost returned to what it was before it began. However, numbers or the “net book balance” does not always determine the magnitude of the event. The incredible tension, power, complexity and intensity of this military clash, which practically merged into one single and continuous epic multi-day battle, has few equals in world history. And the ambiguity of the outcome of the battle only enhances the intensity of the drama of these events, which do not require any embellishment - simply being retold "as is", without exaggeration is incredibly exciting. It should also be noted that the release of these tank campaigns is accompanied by the completion of the development of some of the most important features of Tank Crew – the radio and command interface. This will allow you to better control your own tank and your tank platoon. We also plan to continue the refinement of our tank project in the coming months as this project too readies for official release.

And finally, the Achtung Spitfire! Scripted Campaign is also now released and ready to be played! Developed by our friends The Syndicate, this historically inspired campaign contains 20 missions featuring a fictional story-line that is inspired by historical events. Your character is a young Russian pilot from Siberia serving on the North Caucasus Front in late May 1943. The campaign features missions inspired by the Soviet 37th and 56th Armies attack on the German 44th Army Corps west of the city of Krymskaya. You’ll fly a bird of a different feather in the lend-lease Spitfire Mk.Vb over the beautiful Kuban region of the Soviet Union. The campaign is great fun and full of action.

This campaign also has a new feature. We have added support for special assigned skins for the player’s plane and other planes I the mission. This is a first for us in a pay-ware campaign such as this. However, to see them, you must download the free skin pack from HERE and place the skins in the Spitfire Mk.Vb Skins folder. We have decided to offer the skin pack as an optional download to lighten our distribution costs and the size of your install if you don’t own this campaign. The skin pack is offered free of charge of course.

We thank you for your patience as we have readied this product for release and many of you have already pre-ordered it and we appreciate your support. Products like these add more diversity to our product line and help fund many new innovations and content for all of you.

And now we proudly present version 4.001 to you, our friends, partners and customers. And like most huge updates, there are likely to be some bugs or other unintended issues missed in testing. We of course, as always, will address them just as fast as we can. We appreciate your support as we have worked hard to build all of these new products. Here’s to you and to more great combat-sim goodness in the future!

The Sturmovik Team

Note: This announcement showcases content that is not yet available on Steam, but it is coming soon now that we reached this milestone in our development.

Full change-log is on our forum here.

https://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/12826-game-updates/?do=findComment&comment=848043

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Dear Friends,

October has ended and we'll release the next update very soon - once again it will be a huge and very important milestone for our project. Version 4.001 is the release of Bodenplatte and Flying Circus, but it is also a huge step forward for Tank Crew.

For Bodenplatte, this update will bring the previously missing parts - the promised 4 seasons of its map and Battle of Rheinland Career timeframe. The Career required a huge amount of work - 115 squadrons, 65 of them are joinable by the player, operate from 70 airfields (most of them are correctly recreated using historical layouts) according to historical images and data. It should be noted that we'll continue to improve both the Battle of Rheinland Career and Rheinland maps after the release.




Flying Circus has its scenery finished - our partners from Yugra Media have finished the development of the ground vehicles and artillery and the Amiens cathedral. Please note that AI-controlled ground objects both for Flying Circus and Bodenplatte (Allied ones) are made at the next level of detail, previously unseen in the series. With this content added, Flying Circus is now complete as it was planned and announced.



Tank Crew players get the three important gameplay elements which the project lacked before - scenario campaigns, player tank and tank platoon commander functionality, and radio messages.

To give orders as a tank commander, turn the autopilot from the driver seat by pressing A key, then switch to the commander station and press ~ (tilde) key to open the orders menu. After that, you can use the cursor to point at a target or place on the ground and choose what to do, i.e. attack it or move to it, and choose who you're giving the order to - your own tank, entire platoon or a selected tank in the platoon. There are also many commands that don't require selecting a point or a target - change formation and spacing, speed, turn at various degrees, move forward or backward, change ammo type, fire from stops, while moving slow or moving at full speed, temporary stop, cease firing and so on).

Two historical scenario campaigns included with the Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka tell about the heavy and strenuous fighting that took place there. The campaigns themselves were designed to not only entertain but also to tell about these events with the highest degree of historical accuracy possible in our sim. 20 scenarios (10 in Soviet and 10 in German campaign) were painstakingly recreated using real combat reports and the latest works of Russian and Western historians who specialize in these events. All the details like location and time, weather, approximate unit strength and composition, movement routes, operative decisions of the commanders of various ranks, artillery and air bombardments made it in.

A good illustration of the attention to detail in modeling the combat are the briefings of the first missions of Breaking point and Last chance campaigns. Here are also some screenshots taken just in these two missions that show the intensiveness of these dramatic events.







And don’t forget that this update also includes the Achtung Spitfire! Scripted Campaign created by The Syndicate. It includes 20 interesting and historically inspired missions in the beautiful Kuban theater of operations. We think you will enjoy it. Thanks to all who have already pre-purchased it. It all adds up and keeps us going!

https://il2sturmovik.com/store/campaigns/



Examples of Tank Crew Campaign Mission Briefings

Breaking Point - Chapter 1: Difficult start

At dawn on July 5, 1943, the German 4th Panzer Army (PA) launched its main attack on the positions of the 6th Guards Army. Despite stubborn resistance from the troops of 52nd Guards Rifle Division (GRD), by the end of the day, the formations of the German 2nd Paul Hausser Panzer Corps broke through the first defensive line of the 6th GA and reached the perimeter of the 2nd defensive line near Kozmo-Demyanovka with the support of the 8th Air Corps. The 22nd Guards Rifle Corps (GRC) was defending the flanks alongside the 375th Rifle Division and managed to keep the enemy from breaking through the first line.

After determining the direction of the main attack, by the end of July 5, the VF command was forced to push almost all of its operating reserves to the front line, consisting of the 1st Tank Army, one rifle corps and two tank corps, as well as artillery formations. Unable to further influence the situation, General Vatutin requested that the Supreme Command Headquarters strengthen the front line with strategic reserves.

The 1st Tank Army led by Lieutenant General M.E. Katukov secured the Oboyan axis and was supposed to defend the Melovoe - Yakovlevo section, the 2nd Tatsinskiy Guards Tank Corps led by Colonel A.S. Burdeyny was tasked with covering Gostishchevo, and the 5th Stalingradsky Guards Tank Corps led by Major General A.G. Kravchenko had to cover the Prokhorovka axis. On July 6, at 5:00, the 5th Guards Tank Corps, including the 20th, 21st and 22nd Guards Tank Brigades (GTB), the 6th Guards Motorised Rifle Brigade (GMRB) and the 48th Heavy Аssault Tank Regiment reached the Ozerovskiy khutor – Kozinka urochishche – Teterevino line.

Combat operations began at dawn on July 6, on the sections of the 375th Rifle Division and the 22nd GRC, and it was not until 11:00 that the main forces of the German II Panzer Corps launched an offensive. After receiving a report that there had been a breakthrough in the positions of the 51st GRD defending the second army line, General Vatutin issued the order to counterattack with the forces of the 1st TA, 2nd and 5th Guards Tank Corps (GTC) on the flanks of the enemy's tank spearhead. At the same time, Pz.Gr.Div. Das Reich, pursuing the units of the 51st GRD and 5th GTC that had been pushed out of Luchki, attacked in the direction of Ozerovsky khutor and in the direction of Sabachevsky khutor – Kalinin khutor. The frontal counterattack carried out by the forces of the 22th GTB was unsuccessful, and by 16:30, the 21st and 22nd GTB, as well as the 48th Guards Heavy Аssault Tank Regiment were surrounded near Kozinka urochishche.

'... Waiting was exhausting. After a long night march, our 20th Guards Tank Brigade took up defensive positions in Teterevino, waiting for the enemy to attack in the morning. However, the German soldiers were clearly not in a hurry and only launched their offensive at about midday and somewhat away from our positions. The main forces of the corps had been fighting for a long time and, judging by the abrupt and panicky radio messages, their situation was extremely difficult. We continued to wait while our comrades were fighting and dying somewhere else. The order to advance was only received from the corps commander at about 17:00.

... I arrived at the brigade in late 1942 as junior lieutenant, when it was being restructured in the Tambov tank camps. If it hadn't been for my experienced crew, who had already experienced the smell of powder at Stalingrad, I would have hardly survived the subsequent events. In the gruelling battles for Gorshechnoye and Kastornoye near Voronezh in January 1943, the brigade lost almost all its equipment in just 7 days, and the commanders of both the tank and motorized rifle battalions were killed. In February, our forces were replenished again, but after an unsuccessful battle near Kharkov in late March, the brigade was finally taken out for restructuring. In early summer, I was given command of a platoon, and now I had to lead men, who were just boys yesterday, in their first battle and take full responsibility for them.'

Date: July 6, 1943
Time: 17:30
Formation: 20th GTB of the 5th GTC

Combat mission: after breaching the defences of the 51st GRD, the enemy strikes in the direction of Kalinin khutor – Belenikhino station. The order was given to advance the 45th and 250th Tank Battalions to the forest north of Sabachevsky khutor leaving one tank company in Teterevino, thereby preventing the enemy from spreading in the direction of Belenikhino.

Call sign of the battalion commander: Badger-1
Call sign of the company commander: Wolf-1
Your call sign: Wolf-8

Additional instructions: you command the third platoon of the 1st Company of the 250th Tank Battalion. Follow the battalion commander in the northwest direction to Sabachevsky khutor, following all orders.

Last Chance - Chapter 1: Big plans

The main strike of the German 4th Panzer Army came at dawn on July 5, 1943; it was aimed at the positions held by the 6th Guards Army. The XLVIII Panzer Corps advanced from the Butovo – Cherkassy area along the road to Yakovlevo, and the II Panzer Corps, made up of the Panzer-Grenadier-Divisions Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (LAH), Das Reich and Totenkopf advanced along the Tomarovka – Bykovka – Yakovlevo road. At the beginning of the operation, the II Panzer Corps had 390 tanks, 104 assault guns and 98 self-propelled guns as well as combat forces of 39,106 men. The 238th artillery regiment and the 3rd Mortar Division were attached to the II Corps.

Despite heavy resistance from the 52nd Guards Rifle Division (GRD), by the end of the day, units of the II Panzer Corps, supported by aviation of the VIII Air Corps, broke through the enemy's first defensive line and were facing the front of the second defensive line in the Kozmo-Demyanovka area. Operating on the flanks, the XLVIII Panzer Corps and Army Detachment Kempf, were unable to make headway. According to the plan, by the evening of July 5, the 4th Panzer Army should have breached both defensive lines, approached the crossings near the Psel river and continued on to Prokhorovka, so the entire schedule of the Operation Citadel collapsed in its very first hours.

On July 6, the II Panzer Corps was ordered to breach the second defensive line of the 6th Guards Army. On the Yakovlevo – Luchki section, they were to attack in the northeastern direction, destroying the Soviet mobile reserves. By 06:00, only Pz.Gr.Div. Totenkopf had engaged in active combat at the line held by the 375th Rifle Division. It was not until 11:00 that, after half an hour of artillery barrage, the Corps' main forces joined the offensive. After breaking through the lines of the 51st GRD, a combat team from the Das Reich Division rushed to the Luchki – Kalinin khutor direction, while Pz.Gr.Div. LAH captured the southern part of Yakovlevo and continued its offensive on Northern Luchki. By that time, the Soviet command decided to counter-attack with all available reserves—namely, the 1st Tank Army as well as the 2nd and 5th Guards Tank Corps, striking at the flanks of Hausser's Corps.

'... I stuck my head out of my command hatch and watched as four Messerschmitts leapt northward, followed by nine dive bombers. The Junkers circled and began to take turns nose-diving and dropping their deadly load on targets we couldn't see but that we knew were in the Russian position. Spurts of flame and plumes of smoke swept into the sky, shortly followed by the sound of explosions. The Stukas had finished their work and began to withdraw, when two flights of Focke-Wulfs arrived, attacking the enemy with equal ferocity. Our aviation had been operating flawlessly that day, providing invaluable support to the division. We hardly saw any Russian planes that day.

Suddenly, the radio came alive, and I immediately retired to the turret, pressed my headphones to my head and tried to make the message out from the static. After our grenadiers had taken over Luchki, the 6th and 7th Panzer companies immediately moved on in the direction of Sabachevskiy khutor and were now reporting a clash with numerous Soviet tanks, asking for support. The battalion commander contacted us and ordered that our company, which was temporarily on standby, should prepare for immediate deployment. The short rest was over'.

Date: July 6, 1943
Time: 16:00
Unit: 2nd Panzer Regiment of the Pz.Gr.Div. Das Reich

Combat mission: the defeated enemy units are retreating northward, constantly trying to counter-attack. The 5th Company is ordered to support the tanks of the 6th and 7th Companies fighting north of Luchki and then strike in the direction of Sabachevskiy khutor.

Call sign of the commander of the 5th Company: Puma-1
Call sign of the commander of the 1st platoon: Jaguar-1
Your call sign: Wolf-1

Additional instructions: you command the second platoon of the 5th Company of the 2nd Panzer Battalion. Follow the tanks of the first platoon northward, following the orders of the Company commander.

NOTE: This Dev. Diary showcases some content not quite ready to be released on Steam, but it is coming soon.

The Sturmovik Team