IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
Update 4.707

Dear Pilots and Tankers!

The IL-2 Sturmovik team is nearing the finish line of our Battle of Normandy development cycle. However, after some deliberation, we decided not to make you wait any longer than necessary for the next update and to prepare an interim release for you containing what is already ready. So, today we bring you the final aircraft in the BON hangar – the Me 410 A-1 ‘Hornisse’ and our new Custom Input Profile feature!

Our Me 410 was bult from scratch and became a very challenging model for us to build. It’s cockpit and rear facing gunner station is very unique and it took several modelers to finish it. There were many engineering challenges and complex equipment to model. It can appear to the user as an example of clever WWII German engineering or unnecessarily complex WWII German engineering long after the war had shifted against the Luftwaffe. Whichever way it strikes you, our 410 is the most highly detailed model of its kind in any combat flight simulator to date. Our very special team has built a very special bird. It comes loaded with many armament options to create several different sub-variants that you can try in virtual combat. Enjoy!

NOTE: This aircraft will be available on Steam just as soon as we complete Battle of Normandy and release it here.




In addition to the new aircraft, we have prepared for you a feature that you have been asking us to make for a long time – Custom Input Profiles and Pitch Response Profiles that can be assigned to individual aircraft. We created a video about this new feature for you earlier, but we recommend that you review it again so you can understand how it works. It’s quite simple, but powerful. Like all other features of Il-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles, this new feature will be available to owners of all titles in the series – Normandy, Stalingrad, Moscow, Kuban, Bodenplatte, Flying Circus I/II and Tank Crew.

The final Normandy release event will take place in the coming weeks as we put the finishing touches on the Normandy map and gameplay modes such as the Pilot Career, QMB and AQMG. We also need to finish our prep work for the V-1 “Buzz Bomb”. At that point we will release it here in the IL-2 Official Webstore and on Steam and remember that shortly thereafter the price will increase to its normal full price. If you haven’t already jumped in, now is a super great time to do so!!!

As always, in addition to the main changes, we have made a number of improvements and fixes aimed at improving the quality of your simulation experience. We hope you enjoy.

4.707

Main Features:
1. The German Me 410 twin-engine two-seat fighter-bomber is now available for all players who have pre-ordered Battle of Normandy;
2. You can now create various Input Profiles and assign them to different planes and tanks;
3. You can now create pitch axis response profiles and assign them to different aircraft;
4. New gunners model (as well as navigator in the A-20 and radio operator in the C-47) for American A-20, B-25, and C-47 aircraft crews added;
5. New bridge destruction visual effects added;

Armament Changes:
6. Machine guns and automatic cannons on aircraft and player controllable tanks can now misfire when overheated (including the turret guns);
7. If a loader is killed in a player controllable tank, the player has to press the reloading key after each shot to reload the gun;
8. The bug that caused too frequent misfires of WWI aircraft weapons has been fixed;
9. MG81 gun barrel overheat value has been corrected (it overheated too fast);
10. Restored the techno-chat message about machine gun overheating in aircraft and tank turrets;
11. The issue where an AP shell could be stopped by one 100mm plate but couldn't be stopped by 50mm+50mm double plates was fixed. Spaced armor plates with total thickness similar to one thick plate now stop AP rounds better than one plate;
12. An explosion of an APHE projectile inside a detailed tank would correctly damage nearby equipment or crew members (previously it could result in no damage in some cases);
13. The issue of large bombs damaging only a small part of a dense scene (many objects) has been minimized;

Arado 234 Changes:
14. The destructive overload value listed in the Ar 234 aircraft datasheet has been corrected;
15. The effect of Ar 234 flight stability loss at overcritical Mach numbers has been reduced;
16. Ar 234 cockpit reflections became more pronounced;

AI Changes:
17. AI controlled planes which rotated on the ground because of damaged landing gear are now removed from the simulation after some time (previously such planes could rotate infinitely during takeoff or landing and thus occupy the runway);
18. AI terrain recognition algorithm has been improved when flying in groups (previously its shortcomings could cause them to crash when flying over a terrain with big altitude differences, like over mountains on the Kuban map);
19. AI aircraft turret gunners now lean to the machine gun and prepare to fire on the target in advance, before it enters the fire zone;
20. AI pilots differentiate by altitude while landing on a same airfield;
21. Due to a bug in the target selection the AI tank gunners operating the guns with a limited fire sector did not fire when they were assigned targets outside their fire sector - this shouldn’t happen again;

Mission Editor Changes:
22. It is possible to edit countries and coalitions for multiple locations of the same type;
23. The ability to place outgoing target links from MCU:Complex Trigger has been removed (the necessary links were and still are set only through Events in the Advanced Properties of the Trigger itself, the outgoing target link did not work);
24. Object links for Land and Take Off commands can be set only for aircraft;
25. The performance when copying/pasting objects in large missions has been improved;
26. New Ungroup Recursive command was added for a group of objects, allowing to ungroup all subgroups in it;
27. The durability of Building, Block, Bridge, and Airfield object types can be reset to default values using the Reset Durability button. There is also a new command in the Tools menu with the self-explanatory name Reset All Durability;

Multiplayer Changes:
28. When connecting to a Dogfight server, airfields in the lobby appear faster;
29. Mission script commands in Cooperative game mode work for groups of objects with players;

Other Changes:
30. Oyster_KAI has improved cockpit detail of P-51B, Mosquito, Bf-110E2/G, Ju-88A4/C6 and He-111H6/H16;
31. The (fictional) photographers' names appear under photos in newspapers in Career mode;
32. Landscape parts shouldn’t disappear from view on wide-angle VR HMDs anymore;
33. Pause button during recorded track playback works correctly;
34. Me 410 has been added to the Rhineland pilot career mode to II./KG 51 (joinable by player).

See you in the skies and on the battlefield!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
325

Dear Pilots,

Today’s Developer Diary is a video that shows the Me 410 in action! We’re very proud of this aircraft because it is the most detailed and comprehensive modeling of a 410 ever in a combat flight simulator. It took several team members to complete it and lots of testing from the Beta testers to get it to its final form, but here is a sneak peak of the upcoming ‘Hornisse’ in action. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we worked to ready the 410 for release.












We continue to finish the Normandy map, which is the most complex map we have ever made, and work continues on our other Collector Planes and Tanks as planned. We hope to have more images to show you soon on those. The FC2 map continues to be worked on as well.

Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
324

Hello Pilots and Tankers!

Today’s Developer Diary is a video of a GREAT NEW FEATURE for the Great Battles series – Custom Input Profiles! This will allow you to create many different input profiles and pitch responses for your favorite planes and tanks and assign them to each one. The profiles will automatically load each time you jump into the cockpit. This has been a long-requested feature and we are happy that it is just about ready for release. It makes managing your Great Battles install a lot easier. We hope you like what you see in the video.

Note: Steam users this feature will be available for all users and all Great Battles titles as soon as it's released.



Work on Battle of Normandy and all other content continues as planned and the ME 410 is on final approach. As we have mentioned before, it has proven to be one of the most challenging to build, but we think you will get a kick out of flying it!

Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
323

Dear Pilots and Tankers!

As the team continues to work on finishing the ME 410 and work out the kinks in the Normandy map, here are a few pics showing progress on a some hotly awaited Collector content – the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV and the Stug III Ausf. G. Both are progressing nicely as they are built by Ugra Media and DigitalForms respectively. We look forward to releasing them to you as they will both make excellent additions to Flying Circus and Tank Crew.

Note: The Siemens-Schuckert D.IV and the Stug III Ausf. G. will be made available for purchase on Steam just as soon as they are ready.

Siemens-Schuckert D.IV





Stug III Ausf. G.



Work on our Custom Input Profile system also continues as does work on the Normandy Career. All of our other announced collector aircraft and vehicles such as the C-47, Churchill, IAR 80/81 and Spitfire Mk. XIV “Bubble Top” are also inching closer to being ready. It’s a hot and busy summer for the team!

We also have a new FREE Scripted Campaign for Battle of Bodenplatte coming later this summer called Wild Mustangs featuring the P-51D which was built by our friend and partner Jaegermeister. It’s looks like a lot of fun! More on that soon.

Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
322

Dear Pilots!

Today’s Developer Diary is a continuation of last weeks with more pictures of the upcoming ME 410 release, this time of the very cool looking cockpit along with more images of airfields on the Normandy map.

The ME 410 is the last of the player flyable aircraft from the Normandy plane-set to be released and the cockpit proved to be a challenge to create, especially with its unique defensive armament arrangement and complicated gunner controls. However, our modeling and engineering teams have once again created an amazing combat experience for IL-2 pilots. The ME 410 will enter beta testing very soon and testers can put it through its paces. We’re almost there Hornisse fans!

NOTE: The ME 410 will become available to Steam users as soon as Battle of Normandy is released on Steam this Summer.






A fun fact about the Normandy map is that there are 100 airfields total when you combine the airfields in southern England and Normandy regions. These pics are just a few.




Work on the Normandy map, Normandy Career and remaining vehicles and ships continue full throttle as we march to release in the coming weeks.

Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
321

Dear Pilots,

Today’s DD brings us images of the ME 410 A-1 in the engine finally, showing off some of its paint-schemes and beautiful lines. This beautiful bird has been in development for a long time, but the wait has been worth it. The cockpit was an especially challenging piece of work and we’ll have pics of it in the next Developer Diary, but today feast your eyes on its external beauty. Our 410 an A-1 model, but with various modifications that are included it can also become a B-2 variant. We think you will really enjoy the ME 410 A-1 ‘Hornisse’ as it was known. It’s another triumph for the Sturmovik modeling and engineering teams! The ME 410 will enter Beta in about a week’s time.





We also have several images of airfields that will be present on the Normandy map. It’s nearing completion and will enter Beta soon as well. It should be noted that the images below are still WIP and some textures may not final. As we have highlighted in previous diaries, different fields have different surfaces. These images definitely demonstrate a variety of different types. Just like our previous maps there will be numerous airfields to launch missions from and of course attack! There is just a huge variety of different airfield types to choose from.





Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason


Attention ALL Pilots and Tankers!

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See you in the skies and on the battlefield!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
Update 4.706

Dear Pilots!

Battle of Normandy is getting closer and closer to that special moment - its release! Testing of the map and game modes will begin soon. New mission types are being created for the Normandy Career. Work is nearing completion on the last aircraft on the project list – the Me 410. All this is happening right now and the work is in full swing. However, at the same time, we try to release those elements of the project that are already ready without delay. So, today, we are producing two aircraft created as part of BON. The first one is the Arado AR 234 B-2. This jet powered single-seat twin-engine reconnaissance bomber is designed to be controlled by the player and has a number of new interesting systems we developed for it. It has a dive-bombing sight, reusable boosters, a drag chute, an automatic aircraft control system ("built-in" autopilot) and many other smaller features that should give you many hours of fun learning about the features of this aircraft.

NOTE: The Arado AR 234 B-2 will become flyable to Steam users as soon as Battle of Normandy is released on Steam later this Summer. For now anyone who has any other Great Battles title will see the AR 234 as an AI opponent or wing-mate. The B-26B-55 is available to all users as an AI only aircraft.




The second plane is the B-26B-55 Marauder AI twin-engine bomber. Although the B-26 is implemented as an AI piloted plane, the quality of this bird is just as good as all the other flyable ones. We made unique crew animations for it and created a new airborne gunner model (which will later be applied to the B-25, A-20 and C-47). We also, implemented a number of design features of this aircraft. In general, accompanying him, or attacking him, should be quite interesting for you.




In addition to the two aircraft, some of the last AI objects planned for the Battle of Normandy are included in this update: a Bedford QL truck and tanker variant and several landing craft - LCA, LCM and LCT. Work on missions where these ships will play their main role has already begun.

In addition, several other changes were made to improve the project, the list of which can be found below:

1. The German twin-engine single-seat jet reconnaissance bomber Arado AR 234 B-2 is now available for control by all players who pre-ordered the Battle of Normandy project;
2. AI controlled bomber B-26B-55 Marauder, created as part of the Battle of Normandy project, has been added to the project;
3. The Bedford QLD AI truck and its version of the Bedford QLC tanker, created as part of the Battle of Normandy project, have been added to the project;
4. Landing craft LCA, LCT, LCM, created as part of the Battle of Normandy project, have been added to the project;
5. Improved impact of small arms recoil on aircraft;
6. Improved physics of aircraft collision with static objects;
7. Restored the work of AI priorities set by the Force Complete command;
8. Improved animation of rocket launcher ammo in aircraft cockpits;
9. Mosquito FB Mk.VI series.2 - an artifact has been removed from the windshield next to the wiper;
10. Mosquito FB Mk.VI series.2 - the appearance of the pad on the standard red dot sight has been fixed: the pad from the Mk.III sight displayed on top of it has been removed;
11. Pilot career Battle of the Rhine, for the new aircraft Ar-234B-2, two squadrons available to the player - II./KG 76 and III./KG 76, and one AI squadron Sonderkommando Sperling / 1.(F)/ 123;
12. Pilot career Battle of the Rhine, AI aircraft B-26B-55 added, as well as the following AI squadrons that the player can meet in the career: 453rd BS, 454th BS, 455th BS, 456th BS, 556th BS, 557th BS, 558th BS, 559th BS, 584th BS, 585th BS, 586th BS, 587th BS, 596th BS, 597th BS, 598th BS, 599th BS (BS = Bomber Squadron);
13. Fixed a problem with shooting missiles by AI planes when taking off from the runway;
14. When flying in formation at night, aircraft will use formation lights (RESIN lights on Mosquito FB Mk.VI series.2, formation lights on A-20 and B-26);
15. Achtung Spitfire! Scripted Campaign has been updated to fix an issue with images.

See you in the skies!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
DD 320

Dear Pilots,

Today’s DD takes a look at our cliff models for the Normandy Map. Making realistic looking cliff faces in a flight-simulator is always tough. Whenever you make a map with the English Channel this becomes necessary. Many other development teams have had to craft them over the years and we are no exception. We had our first crack at them when we made our Channel Map for Rise of Flight about 10 years ago. We’ve gotten better at making them and below you can see some work-in-progress images of how they currently look in IL-2 Great Battles. Work on the Normandy map continues and it is really starting to take shape. The map will be released later this summer.





However, the next update is already in Beta and it will include the Arado AR-234 jet bomber. What an interesting and challenging aircraft to model. She’s pretty complex. And the AI B-26 will also be I the next update.

Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad - 1CGS - Jason
Update 4.705

Dear Friends,

We just released the 4.705 update that contains one of the most awaited aircraft of the Battle of Normandy lineup - the British twin engine fighter/bomber De Havilland Mosquito F.B. Mk.VI series.2. This plane is very interesting - its speedy, and powerful while carrying an entire arsenal of guns, bombs and rockets.She's capable of retaining its speed even with a bomb load thanks to the internal bomb bay making her more streamlined. Moreover, there is a modification called "Tse-Tse" with a 57mm(!) Molins automatic gun that had nearly the same capabilities as the 6 pdr gun installed on Churchill tanks. This big gun was intended for attacking submarines, but in skilled hands it might kill a tank. This aircraft looks remarkable both inside and out and we did our best to show it in our 3D model. Of course, the flight model is as accurate as possible too, representing its handling peculiarities.

NOTE: The Mosquito will become flyable to Steam users as soon as Battle of Normandy is released on Steam later this Summer. For now anyone who has any other Great Battles title will see the Mosquito as an AI opponent or wing-mate




In addition to the new aircraft there are many other changes in 4.705 update:

Main Features

British twin engine fighter/bomber De Havilland Mosquito F.B. Mk.VI series.2 is available to all Battle of Normandy owners;
Balloons now have tethers which you can collide with and ruin a pilot;s day. They can also be towed by ships and vehicles;

Quad and Daimler DR.4 balloon winches added for Flying Circus (for mission designers: a balloon will tether to a truck or ship with a winch that is closer than 50 m on mission start);

Fire effect of collapsed buildings now shows on ground level (it could show in the air before);

Building collapse effect has been improved and better corresponds to it size;

Ships and Vehicles

Ship turrets no longer can damage their own ship;

Firing arcs of the ship turrets located near the superstructure were corrected (widened);

AI SPG gunners will correctly fire at the new indirect coordinates (previously they fired additional round at the previous coordinates);

Mission command Formation - Backwards correctly functions for wheeled vehicles;

Dust effect in non-rainy weather works correctly for detailed vehicles;

The driver of a detailed SPAA won't be erroneously shown as dead in the GUI when other crew members are killed;

Instrument Panel difficulty setting functions correctly for detailed tanks: on Expert or Custom difficulty with the panel switched off only the ammo and damage overlay (invoked by Enter key) will be shown;

Aircraft

AI pilots will cease firing at ground targets faster when pulling up;

AI pilots will correctly acknowledge the emergency bomb jettison (previously they could erroneously begin the attack run even having no bombs anymore);

Rear-upper Handley-Page O/400 turret gunner will engage the targets correctly;

An issue has been fixed in the Gotha G.V and Handley-Page O/400 pilot AI that could result in the plane crash or endless circling when doing a climbing spiral;

A Spitfire Mk.XIV issue that could cause additional wing guns to be shown has been fixed;

Tempest and Typhoon gun sights were corrected (vertical position of the horizontal line projected on the windshield);

Control mapping dialog text has been updated for the main throttle and separate throttle axes for three engines;

Stability Improvements

The sim won't crash when trying to repair a burning aircraft;

The sim won't randomly crash on mission start or end or adjusting responsiveness curves of Microsoft Force Feedback 2 joystick;

Hopefully, the old issue of TrackIR causing stutters when used together with Microsoft Force Feedback 2 joystick should be gone;

Aircraft crew members are correctly rendered after mission restart (previously they could render visibly outside of the aircraft if they were killed in the previous mission run).

We hope you enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team
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