This was an interesting thing that I was mulling around in my head. The IL-2 patches since 2022 have been great but the game feels so bad right now, that's odd, so I wanted to talk about why. IL-2 Devs if you are watching this, I love your game, we just want to know what the plan is - give us a reason to believe. Thanks 🙏

@larsschroder212

7 ай бұрын

I think one thing which leave me from IL2 and took me to DCS was the Multi core Update and the Cold war Server(no front😅). But all in all, DCS has Not and May will reach the beloved gameplay from IL2.

@k98_zock_tv47

7 ай бұрын

Man, servers! You mentioned you hopped in during beginning of Covid. I started in 2017 and there was a server even better than TAW and Finnish combined. It went down in May 2019 :( due to the one-man-show of the server operator. Wont mention the name, as I think, my reputation for the love of this down server may be seen greatly, if you scroll back in time in the forums. Anyway, nowadays the game becomes a dogfight simulator only. There are only few servers which are playable and to be honest - they are not that good either. Nor Finnish is realistic and certainly not the warm up server called Wings of Liberty. You want to play exclusivly only on Rheinmald / Normandy ? Go than for Combat Box. You want P38 Lightnings over Stalingrad and a ground target cluster with tank garages? Go than for Finnish. You want to never fly with your buddies together? Play on TAW, if you get a seat there. On which server, beside on TAW (all 2-3 months if you are lucky and the crew did not just split up) can you fly during night - at cloud overcast of 400m during a snow storm? Nowhere, right? Where is Air Marshal project? Where are recon flights and recon planes? Drop tanks? Different fuel tanks switches? Mine shells? Flying the old prop planes is more than just a sunny safari without clouds. Its more than dogfighting. Ground attackers and bombers did not got big love - not from the devs, not from the server creators. There are no events, not a dedicated very good server from the developers, in fact - they should care with such a MP server for the community.

@TheRaptorXX

7 ай бұрын

Therein lies the stumbling-block, The elephant in the room if you like...

@bazej1080

7 ай бұрын

Why does it feels worse than e.g. a year ago? It works the same, MP works the same, career works even better. Does every game has to develop fast all the time? Earlier games were often released and that's it, maybe some small patch, and people played them for many years.

@Ricksie

7 ай бұрын

Man! I miss covid times! I was “between jobs” and just started multiplayer flightsims for the first time. It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.

I appreciate you going over the golden days of IL2. Combat Box in its prime was such a special experience. Nothing will match dogfighting someone in a full server, and realizing “I’m pretty sure I know who this is, and I think I’ve got them by the balls.”

@jean-edouardmailhot2980

7 ай бұрын

Hated Talvisota tbh 🤣

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

glad it resonated

@warmox1215

Ай бұрын

@@jean-edouardmailhot2980 LMAO loved that dude

Il-2 will always have a special place in my heart, whether it's 1946, Cliffs of Dover or Great Battles. I barely fly those anymore mainly due to lack of available time but I can very much pinpoint the moment where i started losing interest in the Great Battles series. When Normandy was announced and no more flyable bombers were included, I knew the game was going in a direction I didn't want. I've always been a "bomber boy" at heart, and there was just no way to get these big bomber wings without having huge performance issues. The cooperation between fighter escorts and bombers is an aspect I really loved since you had the impression of being part of a real mission with actual stakes instead of always going for basic air-to-air or air-to-ground engagements. I could tell the Il-2 GB decision makers did not want to work on more bombers due to the complexity of the aircraft (meaning: increased costs when compared to a fighter) and the limitations of their sim engine. This is what killed my interest in the GB series; it just wasn't possible to re-create these "Band of Blennies" nights anymore since allied bombers were mostly an afterthought. I wanted to fly the B-25, B-26, B-17, Lancaster, Stirling or even the Halifax with player-flown escorts... but it wasn't meant to be.

Haven't flown IL-2 months, though my trigger finger is getting itchy. Do agree that lack of visibility is suffocating the franchise. They need to announce something substantial, and soon.

@derneuemensch

7 ай бұрын

True that

@waltergreif4836

7 ай бұрын

What would you consider substantial. Please specify??

@FieldopsOfAA

7 ай бұрын

@@waltergreif4836personally what drove the refreshed interest in IL2 for me and perhaps others is the announcement of the next mainline project a handful of months after the final release of the current one. Without that for the past year it feels stagnant. Without that announcement if feels like there is no progress, no hope, no future for the game. Say what you will about Jason but he knew how to run a publicly favorable product through communication. If this current Dev teams plan is to stay silent until they are finished with the next major installment then I’m sorry that’s a mis-step to what this community has experienced and come to expect for many years.

theres no way im shifting bets over to combat pilot without seeing more than the little 3d model previews we've seen.

@Red-Magic

7 ай бұрын

fr

@zackeryhardy9504

7 ай бұрын

Probably will not get much for at least several years. I mean considering that Jason only left 1 year ago and started his game, there is a lot of ground work needed to make the game. Its no more than a concept right now as the developers are trying to figure out how to make it.

@reggiekoestoer1511

7 ай бұрын

its IL-2 with Zeroes and Wildcats. Simple as that. Yes it'll take some time to make but its not like they need to break new grounds.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Beggars can't be choosers :(

@samwise7538

Ай бұрын

Well it's not like it's on sale yet, I expect more information will come out before and when it releases

hopefully this video makes a big enough impact on the community to kickstart the game again

@arash2236

7 ай бұрын

youtuber is too small for it

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

@arash2236 😰

@OrbEmber

7 ай бұрын

im in.

@TheDominionOfElites

6 ай бұрын

it hasn't gone anywhere lol, playing right now 30v30 combat box

Great video. Players come and go, and in order to sustain a multiplayer community, you have to bring new players in or the game dies. I believe that is what we are watching now - people are gradually shuffling towards the door as no new meaningful content has been announced for over a year. Thank god we still have Combat Box Apollo - without it, I wouldn't still be playing this game.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Well said and thanks for mentioning combat box, a GREAT server

Peak was such a special time, flying with such great groups of people in the discord, the insane near suicide runs with the ryanair guys. Its been a while since i have been il-2 and would love to get back, but the devs need to get more visibility out there, it seems like they are putting much more work into flying circus rather than a new addition to great battles. I hope that one day we can get back the the golden days. Wingleader425

@02CanGT

7 ай бұрын

😂 30% of the time, we made it back everytime! Ryanair Squad.

@HankDG

3 ай бұрын

Covid was weirdly a great time for IL2 and us in the 332FG... it was the golden days. I remember a good 20-30 of us being full time pilots for a bit when everything was on lockdown. I believe Ryanair and 332 did a few ops together?

You pulled the thoughts straight out of my head for this video. Thank you for putting a voice to what many of us have been wondering.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and leaving a comment

I'm not that into WWII stuff but I have followed a few IL-2 KZreadrs for a while, more content has been cropping up recently so perhaps there's a small shift in the tide that's already started, fingers crossed this video gives it a boost. We need DCS's competition to thrive in order for ED to maintain motivation improving things, no progress without risk, and no risk without competition. That said, the IL-2 damage modelling has always looked amazing and if there's any chance they might stretch things to Korea, adding Sabres and MiGs, I would be over there in a heartbeat.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

A lot of people I know are bored of DCS and want to get into IL-2. The servers in IL-2 are simply just better. It is fun, it's just on a really precarious position right now because the public pipeline is empty.

This was really well done! And given the strength of your Channel has real potential to produce change/ have an impact! It's nice when someone who has a platform hits the hammer on the head of the nail!

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

We will see, this channel is still small but I like to think that it punches slightly above its weight.

@DerSheriff

7 ай бұрын

My experience tells me that youtubers have zero to very little impact

@red_storm_

7 ай бұрын

@@DerSheriff idk Jason did leave shortly after being two years late to the boddenplatte joke, some would call that influence... before I came to il2 I found your videos an incredible resource for learning how to do more than just take off with certain planes. Thank you for those, I know they take passion and effort to put together!

I found you from your Naval Action review and your content is great,keep up the good work!

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

I do find myself playing less & less IL2 GB. I'm hoping Combat Pilot becomes excellent. If anyone can do it, it's Jason Williams. I'm also secretly cheering for IL2 Cliffs of Dover/Desert Wings, who just announced a flyable FW-190 & B-17!

during covid every pc gamer has a beautiful beautiful moment

I love IL-2 and every point in this video is a reflection of how I feel with the game. Haven't played in a while but I hope something new comes to the game to get me back into it. Good memories flying on the multiplayer servers

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for leaving a comment

The IL-2 GB devs actually did announce their own Pacific Theater DLC project many years ago. But then reneged on that later on, claiming it wasn't possible due to insufficient aircraft documentation. A huge let-down, for which BoB and BoN never really filled the void. Now Combat Pilot is claiming to be able to do it from scratch. I hope they do, but we shall have to wait and see. IL-2 seems to be focused on WW1 going forward, cranking out mostly FC1 and FC2 planes these days. Despite their multiplayer server population largely panning on the WW1 genre years ago.

Want to add, this is what CloD felt like every day on ATAG server about 10 years ago, especially when you said youd know who you were flying against, always regulars and always a full server, was a great time for combat flight sims

@Flyright07

3 ай бұрын

I miss those days. What a fine group it was.

@bernardthefourth

2 ай бұрын

Cliffs was awesome. I'll never forget flying over the channel only to have have people cursing at me because I was noob and didn't know how to help out lol. The dogfights were a rush.

@71Splinter

2 ай бұрын

So right, some of the best times, with the best people, best rivalry, that game had was something special.

@71Splinter

19 күн бұрын

@@bernardthefourth what was your name in clod? did you play on atag?

@bernardthefourth

19 күн бұрын

@@71Splinter I always just used Bernard. I played on atag

I lived those times with my squadron III/JG52. It was amazing and as you, one of the highlights of my gaming life. I don't have time to fly right now due to real life, but my squadmates still do but it seems things are less populated currently. They still have tons of fun and I want to come back so badly. I don't agree though about Normandy not adding anything. The map added the possibility of 1941-1945 battles, more plane variants are always interesting and I like to have the appropriate ones for each battles. I think that Jason leaving the team made a huge impact and feels that the sim doesn't have a clear direction now. It is still amazing sim and nothing will change that, but the lack of engagement with the community from the devs did a lot of harm. I am also really hopeful about Combat Pilot. Jason has a clear view and direction about what a fun and realistic simulation should be, and the guys from Barbedwire Studios are great. I really think that Gates of Hell is one of the best WW2 games that we had in a good while among all genres.

I didnt really get into IL2 until later on but what honestly blows my mind is that there is no b17 or Lancaster. Sure there is HE 111 and a20 but a ww2 flight sim without b17 seems like a massive missed opportunity

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

so true

i stopped really when they refused to fix the jug, and the devs said the jug was never that great of a fighter to begin with.

I’ve been addicted to this genre since MSCFS….and I think IL2box is great.

@reggiekoestoer1511

7 ай бұрын

MSCFS2 player here...yepp I fully agree

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

It is great but it IS suffocating

@troycrum9294

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 in full disclosure, I’m not a PVP player. I was! I loved it! I’m 90% offline or pve now because it’s just more my speed. So, that said, my position is that MP on/off numbers aren’t the only factor. I think there’s a larger portion of the community today that is in that group than there was years ago. I love your videos, and I get the argument you’re making. I just think it’s great for me.

Thanks for this great overview. I really hope there will be the possibility to fly the He 177 in a modern simulator one day

If this gives anyone hope, I just got into IL-2 and am loving it!

I'm still enjoying IL-2 very much and fly multiple times every week. But then again, we fly in a squadron and focus on improving how we fly as a team, which is great fun on its own (and there is still much to improve 😄). Just meeting up with the guys online, flying some missions in VR, relaxed but also thinking how we can do things better, still very satisfying for me 👍

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

It's still a really good game, and it's better than it was before, that's the crazy thing. It's just the lack of news has sucked the motivation out of a lot of people

Great video, enigma. I think you nailed it. No development news has really sapped my interest in the title. I discovered Great Battles multiplayer late and fell in love with it; I bought the premium edition of every module, and really enjoyed Combat Box. Very well done server! So sad to see the long silence on the part of the developers. For myself, I wanted a flyable Mitchell, B-26 and even more -- 4-engine bombers like the Fortress and Liberator. I don't think that's gonna happen and I was probably crazy to hope for it. Just waiting and watching from the sidelines now for any signs of life now. Funny but I feel there is definitely an excitement and energy present when a development team communicates it direction and goals. It's just not there anymore.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Thank you for the thoughtful comment glad you found the video relevant

Very interesting thank you

As far as the single-player experience goes, Reflected's WW2 campaigns for DCS feel far more substantial and immersive than anything produced for Il-2, even more so since Normandy 2 was released.

Interesting thoughts. I played Il-2 a lot, and I love the variety it offers - I really miss that from DCS. But I'm quite a plane nerd, and after having a taste of the high fidelity warbirds in DCS, Il2 never felt quite the same ever again, and I couldn't enjoy it that much anymore. Plus, as you said, the DCS mission editor is amazing, and allowed me and others to set up missions, campaigns and scenarios that you can't dream of in Il2. I'm happy to hear about Combat Pilot, I love the PTO, however I'll wait and see what it will be like. A more "accessible" sim with stop watch based engine management, or a proper, high fidelity sim. And of course, what kind of mission editing tools will it have. Until then I'm just waiting for the DCS PTO to roll out, we have the Corsair and the Marianas coming, the Hellcat promised, the Zero hinted. It's all very promising, but it can also fail miserably if they take years and years to roll out enough modules and assets that allows us to create something meaningful. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for both projects!

@eagle1_160

7 ай бұрын

100% agree , the Fidelity of DCS is like an addition , hard return to previous sims after experiencing such quality aircraft. I think DCS will eventually provide a lot more for the ww2 timeframe, especially with the help of third parties.

What about Your silence about Tactical Air War server? 😮 if You look for immersion and high competition try that one. If You tried and dont like it tell me why? Cant belive that You never heard of it...

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

I played TAW. It barely had population and it was short lived. Blackhart was also sort of a knob. There wasn't really anything special about TAW.

@ColdmanSnowball

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 well You played it on its worst time and even then it was more immersive than flying P51 vs 109 on Stalingrad map on finnish server...give it a go one more time. It is about to start new season on moscow new redesigned map. It will be a blast!!!

@red_storm_

7 ай бұрын

Blackheart nearly destroyed TAW. It is worth playing. Especially as they have reduced the death penalties to reasonable levels and the work they've put into the supply system. TAW is coded unlike any other il2 server. Give her a run and you'll see what I mean.

il2 back during lockdown was peak. miss it already man if we had to lose everything released or updated since then to have that experience back, id go back

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

It was fun, I miss being able to pop in and just have unlimited targets to shoot at

I've been thinking those same thoughts for the past year...Don't get me wrong, I still fly it a fair bit, but I have been devoting more and more time to DCS and Cold War Jets. I'm also somewhat annoyed by the DM in IL-2. The rate of pilots being instant killed is a bit much, from ridiculous angles, both allied and LW sides. The silence from the Devs on what the future holds is indeed quite deafening. I have been wanting to know the future of IL-2 and have been wishing for an Italy or Korea Great Battle, which could be easily accomplished.

@LordWukits

6 ай бұрын

Would the company going out of business seriously stop you playing? I get it in the modern age we all want instant gratification. I guess it's age cause I recall an era whereas a game was released and you were lucky if you got a patch after that. I do agree the focus has drifted into an "Air Quake", and the real enjoyment came from the friends made, and lost along the way while on bomber missions.

CombatPilot looks superb, cannot wait

Well done buddy.

The only channel I don't regret subscribing to is yours

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Don't worry, i am sure I will screw up like all the other channels :D

I sold my pc back in February of this year, but I was an avid flyer on Finnish (and combat box to a lesser extent). Even though Battle of Normandy brought a bunch of sub variants instead of new airframes, I enjoyed it as much as Battle of Bodenplatte (I am now obsessed with the P-51 B and P-47 D22 because of it) and the introduction of the channel map was great. I’m sad that Il-2’s community is dying out, but regardless of when the next announcement comes, I think the community will come back (currently building a PC again so I can come back). Here’s to hoping for a 1944 or 45 eastern front expansion!

@MHGames03

7 ай бұрын

CombatPilot will bring the community back together

I still remember days of original IL2 and VEF (virtual eastern front). That gave feel of dynamic war with moving frontlines althought the mechanics on the background were quite simple. I play IL-2 GB and DCS, but both lacks that multiplayer experience of what I used to get on those early days. Nowadays I play them just in single player mode and spend my multiplayer time in WT. WT itself is awful in many ways but at least it gives easy access to multiplayer game right from the box.

My squad slowly shifted over to DCS WW2. Not sure how IL2 lost its momentum so fast but it did. I still love it but without something on the horizon for it I can see why interest is lost. Another variable for their lack of the announcement is probably the on going war. It's hard to know how that has impacted their business

@Tuscarora

7 ай бұрын

Bad graphics and non-clickable cockpits is why they went to DCS. See ya over at 4YA Project Overlord Normandy

@WilliamBrothers

7 ай бұрын

@@Tuscarora I love that server. Cya there

Great video! While the silence is deafening, I think a second huge factor in the player base decrease is the lack of variety in mission design. I’m glad you pointed this out. The DCS mission editor is MUCH easier to learn, and scripting gives multiplayer missions so much potential. Persistence across rounds and a moving front line give people a reason to work with their teams. I for one got tired of air quake, which led me to stop playing IL-2 multiplayer. I miss the days when Tactical Air War was king, and teams cooperated to accomplish the objective. Death was penalized severely, so players took fewer risks. I agree that the largest factor affecting community engagement is silence from the devs. It’s been a year since the new project was announced, and we have no idea what they’re working on. They don’t seem to understand that the community needs to be hyped to stay engaged. The gaming community is not what it was 20 years ago. There is a certain amount of transparency that is expected, and now we see the consequences of not listening to customers. We all told them this new approach to project announcements was a bad idea.

I've always thought Il-2's engine would do well for a Korean map, which also opens the door to DLC potential for all of the various militaries involved. It also opens the door to the carrier operations that were rumored before the Pacific was apparently cancelled due to lack of resources. But there are still fun areas in Il-2 that could be done, much like the original Il-2 did. Forgotten Battles was one of my favorites. Things like the Finnish wars would be a good place to expand with a DLC, and the Mediterranean and Africa would open up some new fronts as well. All with cool new settings that are a change of pace from Europe.

I left near a year ago, but in my case for personal reasons, my squad still flying at top5 of fighters and Jano missions in axis. Il2 needs battle of Berlin to close circle, and begin with mini updates, Kursk, beginning of war at Europe etc.

That friendly fire at 9:00 was tragic lmao

There are things outside the sim itself. Over Covid, it was a way to spend free time and way to hang with people online. After that, you get somewhat saturated and focus on other things you could not do that time more. I still play it, just not as much and so regularly and may have times focusing on something else neglecting it for periods of time.

I saw the MagzTV video and I was immediately shot back in time. Really was an amazing era, he's lost most of his eyesight for the most part now, and most of the other IL2 creators such as Bismark(Military Aviation History) or Bo time and others have moved into different directions with their content. Do miss it, such a fun time for IL2 and aviation games as a whole.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Yeah it's crazy to think about the content creators and how many there were for IL-2 GB and how many moved on. There are so few left and the population of the game is drying up

@TazziedoesWT

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 yeah, finally got myself a decent pc to play Load up il2 aaaaaaand, completely dead. Just been spending most my time either back in WT doing tanks or flying the 21 on your server tbh. Do sometimes have a strong want to fly some 190’s sometimes but no good servers anymore on il2 and i dont really like flying on WT anymore. Genuinely a shame, death of a complete community.

Crazy that I haven't played Il-2 GB since April 2022, I keep it updated but just haven't felt like flying much for no particular reason.

Really appreciating your thoughts about this matter. I was always asking myself, why I stopped playing IL2, because it was never bad. Finish server was a blast and felt like a second home. I switched to dcs because of the fidelity and the graphics but the gameplay never reached the Level from IL2. I was loving the stat system and the ongoing war at finish. Once I was shot I took it nearly personal. 😂 A feeling which I miss in the current days. But let's see what the future brings with it.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

I appreciated your comment, feels like it hit home and that you are of the same mind. Let's hope things get better soon

Il-2 will always have a special place in my heart, sad to see its decline. I am rather excited for Combat Pilot, I think it will be a worthy successor.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Let's hope

IL-2 has some real nostalgia for me, however the pull of full fidelity in DCS won me over. That being said I recently went back to IL-2 for the flying cirus. The WW1 planes have so little in the way of levers and switches that I didn't really feel the loss compared to more complicated aircraft. I absolutely love the old bi-planes, and flying around in an open cockpit in VR is incredible. I'll keep coming back to IL-2 for that alone.

I've been thinking of getting back into Il-2 1946 again myself. Great Battles looks to be a little more than my internet and PC can handle unfortunately.

I've seen it before with RoF. This kind of slow death of the multiplayer side of things happened there too. I think GB is going down the same path RoF did.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

😔 Let's hope their announcement breathes some life back into the game

I decided to have break from IL-2 when the war in Ukraine escalated to invasion, now after the recent Pro russian tweet I may never come back. Hopefully Combat pilot can someday deliver similar experience and in the meantime I guess i'll switch to DCS or Team Fusion's Cliffs of Dover.

@rpersen

6 ай бұрын

Do you also have the same attitude agains US companies when the US start illegal wars?

@mrrkus

6 ай бұрын

@@rpersen Some pretty nice whataboutism you have there. The US haven't tried to invade my fatherland and they dont tell us what we can or can't do.

Dcs is kept alive (barely) by ongoing hype over module releases and the absolutely Herculean efforts of the community to script compelling gameplay via the mission editor. This can only go so far to fill the void left by ED’s inability to add compelling gameplay to DCS over the past several years; and at some point that community will also burn out like has happened with IL2. You already see some content creators burning out and dropping from the DCS community. DCS needs a dynamic campaign and competent AI to work within it, and agree that IL2 needs an engine overhaul to provide scale, and either branch out into the pacific, the very early war or heavy bombers.

The video was certainly an eloquent appeal to the Devs. We, indeed, need a new module for IL-2 other than the WWI setting, which, frankly, isn't as popular (I do enjoy it, though). A 1944-45 Eastern Front with a plane-set that includes a La-7 and Yak-3. I think that would work well to put muscle back on IL-2. I'm mostly into single-player/Co-op, I don't have the time or energy to compete in PvP, so my time is a couple of Career missions occasionally. Everything has a cycle, and with Jason being gone, perhaps, this's a positive change. He can do his work and the IL-2 Devs can do theirs, either way we can have both of them, including DCS. I equally support them all. IL-2 has me more now then it did 10 years ago--so much tireless dedication and work, and artistry. Such a great selection of planes, and amazing maps! I adore the Kuban map, so beautiful, and the air war that took place there lights my imagination. IL-2 is an amazing piece of artwork! They have my dedication because they've earned it time and again. I can't get enough of it. I'm sure something lovely will come forth from the long wait, if not IL-2 currently is still an incredible flight sim, flaws and all.

honestly sad i missed out on il2 golden era. i remember seeing BOX on sale like 4 years ago and thinking about it but i didnt really understand it enough

Ironically, the one non flight module in IL2 has me the most excited. Personally, I'm not into huge PvP dynamic wars, since I don't feel like my actions have any impact. The IL2 editor could really use a bit of love, so I could make better missions.

I’m a huge WWII tank fan, and I would love to see some new armor added for ground battles as well as some better maps? They put so much detail into what is in the game now, seems like a shame to not be able to use it to its full potential.

I care a lot about how things look, sound and feel that makes DCS overall the better sim for me (MUH Immersion) and I also enjoy jets more than props something about dumping flares and slinging that fox 2 makes me feel like a badass, and it also just feels cooler to experience a bit of what is going on IRL right now. But I do still hop on IL-2 sometimes when im bored and need a change or DCS servers aren't populated. An engine update for IL-2 would do wonders.

Lately, I've actually been flying mainly on the TWC server in Cliffs of Dover.

@jonathancox576

7 ай бұрын

How populated are the servers? Are peak times typical (evenings/weekends North American time zones)?

I have been playing IL-2 since the first back 2005 when I was a freshmen and just starting flight school. I played the hell out of Great Battles and deliberately stayed away from DCS. Having said that, a few months ago I started my DCS journey because I really felt I’d seen and done everything there was to do in IL-2. I still play the shit out of Gates of Hell though, that game is a masterpiece and I can’t wait for the Liberation DLC. I’m pinning my hopes on Combat Pilot. The Guadalcanal campaign is sure to be a focus and that along with all the cool features mentioned to come are an awesome prospect. I’ll play GoH and DCS until Combat Pilot comes out. I don’t see myself playing much of IL-2 at all in the next 2 years unless a big update emerges.

Great assessment. ACG member, and we are riding the train for our dedicated weekly campaign. First, my delta between DCS and IL2 is that I feel like IL2 invested in the full theater experience. Directly contemporary aircraft, believable terrain and secondary effects, and immersive feel - but sacrificed damage and flight modeling and the game engine (hence no big bombers) - DCS sacrificed everything for full fidelity, and is now trying to patch together all of the other things they ignored to make an actual sim experience. Plus, their collaborative development model, while it briefs well, seems to be part/parcel of the nightmare of updates, bugs, betas, etc.... I am a consumer of flight sim time - I have zip interest in anything half-baked or in spending hours on end troubleshooting and fine tuning. I notice you didn't say a thing about a particular land war going on in Asia right now, and wonder if that is having an impact on our IL2 team - would only be speculation, but I can't think its without effect. The silence is indeed stark. They announce the RU version of the C-47 like its a big deal, and hope that WWI updates will hold our combined attention. Looking forward to Jason's effort in PTO, but know that is years from a credible experience. I will hold out hope that ALL THREE succeed, though realizing that none will likely do so as quickly or effectively as I'd wish. Oh, and I notice that your rides in the vid were almost exclusively Axis - swing by ACG and do a drop in with us for a Sunday mission sometime!

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

The massive consumption in COVID + the war in Ukraine which slowed down development is a big culprit. I went deeper on this topic here kzread.info/dash/bejne/lKqhyqytmJfFY6Q.html

@PappaBear_yt

7 ай бұрын

Asia, you say? 🤔😲🗺️

@pnzrldr

7 ай бұрын

Misstyped. Eastern Europe, how bout.@@PappaBear_yt

@PappaBear_yt

7 ай бұрын

@@pnzrldr Nah, too late. 🤭😉 Just kidding, no hate. Valid points in your op comment, Asia kinda threw me off. Cheers! 🙋🏼‍♂️

Yesterday I flew a mission in IL-2 FC in a Gotha G.V to bomb an entente Army HQ on the Flugpark server. The weather was rather lousy for bombing, with a broken cloud layer from 1000m to about 3500m. I was only able to transit at 3000m due to heavy bombload. Escorts were unavailable due to their covering low-level bombers/recon, so I hoped that my meager altitude would keep me safe enough. Navigation was a nightmare due to very inconsistent ground reference. Through dead reckoning and a few lucky breaks in the clouds I was able to find my target, and set up my bombsight calculations. Bombs released and every single one carpeted the HQ. Started the long flight back home, FLAK bursting all around as I now tried to use clouds to cover my egress. To my surprise, I made it home and landed that monster without getting jumped by entente scouts. That is an experience almost completely missing from WWII IL-2 Great Battles... flying a heavy bomber in a hectic combat environment. I really miss flying the B-25 in IL-2 1946, and even having AI-only heavy bomber formations is VERY important for immersion... but this is something that the IL-2 developers don't seem to understand or care about. It is very limiting, and feels completely out of place to have battle of Normandy without doing any sort of strategic bomber escort. And now, Team Fusion's new DLC for IL-2 CloD will be a 1942 "Battle of Normandy" (Dieppe) which will include the B-17... apparently as a flyable aircraft. This will hopefully light a fire under the IL-2GB devs to improve their game, because the older Maddox developed engine for CloD is starting to make them look a bit foolish.

From a livery maker's perspective, we could slowly see the interest in Il2 slowly dying off due to the lack of new liveries coming out on a regular basis. When BoBP and BoN came out all the new aircraft got tons of new liveries from many great artists see the light of day and as the interest is waning livery makers are pumping out less and less skins.

Combat pilot looks interesting. I've been wishing for a Il2 carrier ops for a long time now. A new gameplay loop is really needed. Also sad I missed the Covid high player count on other games. I want to put my bet on the next game that can play like Aces High. Unfortunately aces high can't pull the numbers anymore due to its age.

I'm really interested in Combat Pilot. But it's also a game I cannot play *today*. In the meantime I'll just float around between IL2 and DCS depending on what I want on a given day.

Re: Combat Pilot. I like everything I've heard so far, so in theory this is where I am "placing my bet." That said, to continue the horse racing analogy, that feels like a later race in the proverbial weekend. We haven't even seen that horse at the track yet. When it arrives, my money's on it, but I think we have a bit of a wait ahead of us. What happens in the interrim? Also, what of Cliffs of Dover? Some seem quite taken with that and there's been recent dev activity.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

CloD while I mean them no harm may dead be in the water from a multiplayer perspective unless they fix their UI and keymapper. Way too many people just can't seem to get that game going for them and they commonly cite the keymapper. If they can make it so more people are willing to try it and don't get wiped out by the keymapper then they may have a really interesting thing going on. Who knows. I have never seen a populated server in that browser the few times I have checked which sucks because I heard the engine is good

I'd imagine the big difference in amount of free time between now and 2020 would have something to do with it, as well. Not IL-2, but we had some pretty dope DCS ops going in 2020, big coordinated package ops and shit. Organizing that kind of thing is hard now because everyone is back at work, back at school, so there's less free time to go around and it's rare to get schedules lined up.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

This for sure. It's just a damn shame that so little was done to capitalize on the momentum. COVID suddenly happen and then the war in Ukraine caught everyone flat footed twice. This I understand and can't really blame people for. With that said the communication on what is to come has been really dead for IL-2. At least in DCS we have a general idea of what is coming albeit a tiny bit more visibility into core stuff could be nice.

@waltergreif4836

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 need B17!!

I have been playing IL2 since the original, before IL2 1946, however I think it's too far behind DCS at this point and IL2 needs a whole new engine. Combat pilot might be great but it's too soon to tell.

@JG4Widukind

21 күн бұрын

Same here 20 years of Il2 and yes the game need a new Engine... But I prever still only Ww2 for the future

Excellent, thoughtful video! I got into IL2 right before the pandemic after a very long break (I'm getting up there so we're talking things like Aces of the Pacific and SWotL were my jam). Earlier this year I upgraded all my gear to WinWing, and it doesn't work 'easily' with IL2, so I switched my focus to DCS. Part of that decision was yeah, IL2 hasn't announced anything in regards to where that franchise is going, and I already have nearly all of it, and what they are 'finishing up' i have low interest in. Only Combat Box was keeping my interest, and I'm not the best Multiplayer PvPer, so it was still low priority for me, even as a patreon of it for a while. On the DCS side, yes the AI is atrocious so the wonderfully built campaigns are nearly impossibly to actually play cause you have to Rambo the whole thing yourself, which simply doesn't work, so I'm spending my DCS time on your server, Tempest's, Rotorheads, and I am eagerly looking forward to Longshot's server. But I think both IL2 and DCS current offerings are really showing their age, and both need a total new version to be able to expand and give us more options. So, related to that, yes Combat Pilot holds a lot of potential! Especially since both camps have been screaming for a modern Pacific Theater sim. I'll buy the DCS Corsair day one, but I know that it will collect a lot of dust cause....what are we going to do with it? Fly it over Normandy against 109s?!? (I mean, yes we will...but...wut?!) Keep up the good videos and servers, and I look forward to seeing what you do with whatever game 'wins' the Horse Race!

@kamicosmos

7 ай бұрын

I should add that yes, I know about HidHide and Joystick Gremlin, and I have got my new gear working in IL2 now (and Elite Dangerous) but...while fun to get back in a 109 or Spitfire again, well, 'I've done it already' so, I keep maintaining proficiency in my DCS Airframes instead)

I am really exited for Combat Pilot, always dreamed of a pacific focused combat sim.

Not sure how relevant it is for others but for me one thing that certainly cut into my IL2 AND DCS time was MS2020! If you come home after a long day sometimes its just fun to fly a GA aircraft or explore Alaska with a Bushplanes and a bunch of friends in multiplayer. A bit layd back approach to flight siming is really nice sometimes. And after you flew for a few hours I dont really feel the itch to log into IL2 or DCS right now

Combat pilot has definitely taken me over on the WWII side of things given Jason's pedigree. I really don't know what IL-2 is thinking for their future plans or where it goes but a year with nothing is a sure way to kill a sim.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

You share my hope

I think the whole no four engine bomber thing is a big nail in the coffin ⚰️

i would love a B25 Mitchell or even a B-17 in IL2

I’ve found it frustrating that since late 2021 a collision with an object on the ground is far too sensitive - almost always results it being fatal for everyone on the plane - and there are magic bullets and phantom bullets (bullets which fly past you and for some reason explode on your plane) which usually results in you frequently dying. I’m fed up with this and gave up on a Battle of Moscow Hurricane career.

To our squad of dedicated bomber pilots the Patch which overcorrected the aiming of the AI gunners actually was something bad that happened.

This is a shame, I sunk so much time into IL2 1946 MP back in the day, that game was one of my all time favourites. Been tempted to try one of the IL2 GB packs for a while but holding off for now

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

It's still a good buy for its price, the servers are also still incredible. It's just not popping as hard as it used to. I would still get it.

@happee_meal8302

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 begs the question, which bit to buy? Seems obvious for a fan of the P-39, but is there a way to get more of the content for less?

If Il2 were to fix optmizations when it comes to air units, add the mission system from 1946 where tons of Ai are actively doing REAL tasks with consequences, it'lll beat DCS hands down. The problem with sims is that we have a big map that feels empty. Every game turns into a GS server, Hop on to kill each other, with afew people doing ground targets that otherwise dont impact the server.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

I tend to agree

I feel exactly the same. I wished that Jason could do the Pacific Theater while he was with IL-2 but the team there seemed very much blocked on the eastern front even if we had Bodenplatte map which was a failure and Normandy that is a little better. The Kuban map remains for me the best map they did. I would not be surprised if the come for the next maybe a new game but of the like Battle of Kursk or something similar were they can use all the tanks and plane that exist already. So I have high expectations if Jason is able to pull it out with an up to date modern graphic engine and visuals and make it in with the Pacific Theater. After all for me Pacific Fighters was the best release of the previous series.

Was never into IL2:GB too much as the few people I fly with just wanted the fully clickable cockpits of DCS (whereas I was fine with non-clickable due to spending a LOT of time in 1946), but I remember having quite a bit of fun with the campaign system years ago (flew Battle of Stalingrad FW190 A3 and Mig-3 for the most part). Missed most of the highs of the multiplayer, sadly. With regards to the pros of IL2 vs DCS, another pro that DCS has over GB is the control binding menu. I'm not sure if it was just me, but going through all the controls in GB and figuring out what needed binding was a miserable time whereas doing so in DCS was pretty straightforward. On the flip side, GB has simplified engine control options (among other things) that make the game super accessible for more casual fliers, which I think is a great feature. I hadn't heard of Combat Pilot before now, but I haven't really checked what new flight sims were coming out recently. Pretty excited as I used to do Pacific missions in 1946 with the F2A Buffalo. Seems like it'll have some cool features and I'll be keeping an eye on it.

I LITERALLY googled "Is IL2 GB dead" because this thought crossed my mind as well today and one of the results was your video :D Before I checked the dev blog if there are some news and .. not really? Like there are few pieces but nothing interesting, also no new theater announcement, nothing. I personally think they are slowly sunsetting this piece of software and to be frank, they do need a restart with a fresh engine. Personally I play mainly DCS and WT now .. I have uninstalled IL2 just last week realizing it just sits there unused wasting SSD space.

The Flying Tin Cans campaign on Sundays is my only motivation to play IL2. But I'm putting my money on the Combat Pilot horse.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

I never got into FTC but I have no control over my schedule on the weekends so can't really do it reliably.

I didn't knew this was happening, I started flying MP on Finnish in January with my beloved Hurricane and I had a blast, flew for 6 hours straight one day and I loved every moment, my virtual squadron that motivated me to play and train disappeared (DCS mostly) and IL-2 felt like home, even tried to create some content but I'd didn't had any traction so I started playing less until I stopped. Now I simrace most of the times but I miss IL-2. Is kinda sad because IL-2 fills a scratch that DCS can't for me, immersion and man-plane connection, as I don't have Track Ir IL-2 is easier for me for SA, and to be honest the times I tried to hop MP lately servers were less populated. Now I see a lot of people upset with the devs due to some political opinions they had on X, don't know if this is affecting the game too.

This year is a right off abandoning WW2 players. I take that back there will be a new glider an C47 release with multiple WW1 plane additions. Sincerely, The Stepchild 😢

Totally bummed to hear of the demise of this game. I got on at the tail end of COVID, my guess is that most people like myself have limited time and resources now to dedicate to the hobby. During COVID everyone had unlimited amounts of at least the former. During the quarterly sales IL2 is a great value. For me I’m hoping the franchise makes a comeback because although I own a couple DCS modules the investment in time and $ just doesn’t isn’t there for me.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

They just need to announce what the plan is and i am sure life would come back if it looks interesting

@LordWukits

6 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 This is what is confusing me.... People will come back to a game if there is "News", and leave if there is "no news"? The game is the Game. All the titles are tools in the SIMers tool box. Heck I still fly Rise of Flight on the regular.

Enigma another il2 1946 event soon? Just joined your discord hoping to get in on the next one!

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

We don't have the resources to do anymore sadly. The expertise to build the missions is just not around anymore. If I get time I can try to make one but don't bank on it

@raytapio4313

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 Sad to hear! Maybe I can corral some folks for basic multiplayer or some older created MP/coop missions off the discord.

Finnish virtual pilots at its prime was the best MP experience i have ever had. Thanks to this server i bought all DLCs including tanks + AAA. This game also pushed me to VR. There were so many things happening when server was full. 20 tanks fought for CP, supply runs, bombing runs, paradrops and never ending dogfight. I played allieds the most of the time but when i was axis (usually for balance) I remember i always escaped from dog fight when i saw P-39 and Krupinski was online. It is didfferent today. I see MP server online stats e.x. 30/84 and i dont log in because maps are huge and i want some action. I can imagine that there are many people doing the same and if we log in without thinking to much server could be full again. Little offtopic now. There are some VR headets very popular in flight sim comunity. Some of them are supported by WMR (e.x.reverb g2). Microsoft will remove WMR in next big update for WIN 11 (24H2) and all those WMR headset will not work anymore... It can be another hit for IL2 in the future. Maybe it will change but this is the last info i have now. Players with WIN 10 are still fine..

very interesting i think combat pilot will be promising I also think microprose an old company that is currently resurfacing maybe a good match for this type of market

need B17 and/or B24!! Still great!! looks like IL2 is not going Pacific any time soon since Jason left!!

@waltergreif4836

7 ай бұрын

let's add Heavys from Italy (15th USAAF) before Korea. Those Alpine views would be breathtaking!!

on top of that i heard that there will be no any news until November but i guessing it might not be until Christmas

catching up to my backlog of games / simulators is still going to take several lockdowns if not several lives 😂

I personally fly single player and used to fly exclusively IL-2 1946(European Air War before that) and then GB. I was really excited about the release of the Normandy map but I found flying long missions over the Channel to be tedious and then hearing that nothing new would be added for the forseeable future. with Il-2 Gb becoming stagnate, I started playing DCS and really haven't looked back. I think the lower fidelity models of Il-2 really lend themselves to the WW2 and before theaters and allow for a much more immersive single player campaign but in the end the game got stale to me and sadly I haven't really flown this year. The only reason I can think of for their silence is they have reached a dead end with their current platform and are looking to create a new platform from the ground up and don't want to hurt sales of their current system, but I can say I am more excited about Combat Pilot than I am about the mystery game they are supposedly developing.

One of the biggest changes I would like to see for IL-2 is the ability to keymap for individual aircraft. Unless there already is, but I just haven't been able to figure out how. I also think that DCS Burnout is because although we have several great modules in development, it just takes so long for them to be released. Not crapping on the devs, that's just the nature of it. Take the Strike Eagle for example. I was pretty hyped for it, although having another MFD packed BLUFOR aircraft was nothing particularly exciting. By time it was released, I did fly it some but the experience was just kind of "Meh". I'm realty excited for the Heatblur A-6 whenever it gets release, going to be years I'm certain, but I don't know if DCS can really hold my interest too much longer. Especially with the demands on hardware.

@CaseyBartley

7 ай бұрын

You can map individual AC, been that way for a while.

@Flyboy_Gospel

7 ай бұрын

@@CaseyBartley I had no idea! I feel dumb...lol

Loved flying against you back then. Peace 🙂

Time for DCS to pull out the stops and capture a genre they don't yet dominate. Wags himself they are starting to run out of compelling modern aircraft that don't have security issues. The IL2 market is ripe for the taking. ED just has to prove they care.

Love IL 2 just wish I could figure out using my vr headset with it

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

I would post on the forums, my understanding is that IL-2 GB is one of the best VR games out there

@Boslandschap1

7 ай бұрын

@@Enigma89 I would say it is

I agree enigma. I started dlight sims on il2 a few years ago and after normandy its been pretty uneventful. Its still great imo, but it really has no future im aware of.

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for commenting, it really helps

I agree with your take. Myself, haven’t flown for four months. Just been busy livin outside. Us Canadians gotta get while the gettin’s good ya know?

@Enigma89

7 ай бұрын

Feel ya

im just glad i was around during the peak of flight sim gaming, fvp summer 2021.

So is Battlebit, so is everyone. People are going back to work!

It is fair for the devs to want to keep their cards close to their chest when Jason left, but it has been a year now. Lack of communication does not create confidence and if they say they have things underway by now, wouldn't now be a good time to announce it? I wouldn't say the game is dying but it is personally frustrating to not know where the sim is going, especially as a video maker for the game.

Coinbird here. I miss the old days of air warrior, warbirds and the like. Mmo style sims with everyone on one giant server. It worked in the 90s why not now

@Enigma89

5 ай бұрын

Coinbird from WWIIOL? JG3 and JG26?