IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad News

Hello Pilots

Although this crazy sequestered summer of 2020 is coming to an end, life goes on, and our work goes on. Many things are happening in our “virtual office” including finishing a new Free Scripted Campaign for Battle of Bodenplatte featuring the Tempest Mk.V called “A Violent Wind” built by Alex Timoshkov. Also, as a result of recent discussions in the community, work is underway to improve general aircraft visibility, which we hope will appear to be both realistic and more comfortable for players. This may require more than one future update to fully conquer, but we’ll see. Additionally, there is some progress towards the completion of the Air Marshal feature which has taken much longer than planned. We’ve also had to build up technical capacity in the field of map production, which is necessary to implement everything planned for the Normandy landscape. And as always improvements to the AI for both aircraft and ground vehicles continue.

Our engineering department is fully engaged in the development of flight models of three aircraft - the C-47, Bf-109G-6 Late and the Spitfire Mk.XIV, while at the same time work on deepening the model of aircraft fuel systems is in the research and prototyping stage. Creating the technical specifications for all aircraft and other objects of for Battle of Normandy is coming to and end which is was a huge and complex research task. Completion of this allows Viks to now focus some attention to the Career mode. At the moment, 3D models of several aircraft are at various stages of development - the Hurricane, P-51B, Spitfire Mk.XIV, Bf 109 G-6 Late, Mosquito, Typhoon and C-47. It is the last aircraft from this list, the twin-engine C-47 military transport, that today we are ready to show you in the game world:



See you in the skies!

The Sturmovik Team

Attention Pilots!

We are aware that many of you are sight-seeing in your Cessna or flying an Airbus today. We consider this activity a little perverse of course. Not that there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not our thing! However, with everyone being in a flying mood today, we have launched our REAL VIRTUAL PILOTS FLY COMBAT Sale with some mind-blowing savings on several Great Battles products.



If you’ve wish-listed any of our products on Steam or been thinking about grabbing one of these from our website now is the time to make your move! We’re almost giving them away. Get in the cockpit today and BECOME A WARRIOR NOT A TOURIST! Tell your General Aviation friends this hobby is much more than driving a bus with wings.

Here’s what’s on Sale on Steam T

The sale runs from August 18th – August 24th 2020

Battle of Stalingrad – 85% OFF for the first time ever! 

Battle of Moscow – 75% OFF 

Battle of Kuban – 75% OFF 

Battle of Bodenplatte – 66% OFF for the first time ever! 

Flying Circus Volume I – 66% OFF for the first time ever! 

IL-2 Sturmovik on Steam

NOTE: Having at least the base game (Stalingrad) on Steam means you can launch it from the Steam client without entering a login and password and you can access your IL-2 content purchased elsewhere if you link the accounts.

See you in the war-torn skies of Europe combat pilots!

The Sturmovik Team

Update 4.009

Dear Friends,

One month has passed since the previous update, and once again we are ready to present you with a new package of innovations and improvements. The main additions in this version are the new campaign Hell Hawks over the Bulge (website exclusive), new free summer map Velikiye Luki, and new single missions for the Bodenplatte aircraft and Tank Crew tanks - now each model of these modules has a single mission designed for it.



We have also added more beauty to our simulator, in several meanings of this word. First, the P-40E-1 Kittyhawk received 4K texturing of the outer model by Martin =ICDP= Catney. And second, U-2VS, Yak-1 series 69 and Yak-1b series 127 now have female crews option! U-2VS this was done in the memory of the 588th Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment, known under the nickname "Night Witches", and for Yak-1s in the memory of the fighter pilot Lydia Litvyak, the most effective female fighter pilot of World War II.



This update includes a total of 78 points of changes mostly targeted at the two main areas - AI improvements in and the refinement of the recently completed line of player controllable tanks. There are many extremely important changes in this list for other areas of our sim as well. Despite everything that happens in the world this year, our team continues to work on improving the IL-2 Sturmovik game world and keep the fast rate of development.

Main Features

1. The new map Velikiye Luki (Summer) is available to all owners of any IL-2: Great Battles module;
2. Velikiye Luki (Winter) map has been improved and updated;
3. The new historical campaign “Hell Hawks over the Bulge” is released;
4. The visual models of the U-2VS Collector Plane crew members were replaced with new ones in the correct uniform (according to the year set in a mission, without a helmet and a parachute);
5. Female crews option added to U-2VS, Yak-1 ser. 69 and Yak-1b ser. 127 aircraft;
6. P-40E-1 now has 4K quality external textures thanks to Martin =ICDP= Catney;
7. Each Bodenplatte aircraft now has its own single mission;
8. Each Tank Crew - Battle of Prokhorovka tank now has its own single mission;
9. Since the technochat can be disabled by difficulty settings, the critical information such as the service maintenance indication (refueling, repair, first aid) will be visible in the HUD anyway;

Aircraft AI improvements

10. An AI flight leader shouldn’t circle on the ground after landing;
11. An AI error in the following terrain routine has been fixed that could cause the AI-controlled aircraft to stuck in the climb spiral and the AI wingmen in the formation to stall;
12. An AI flight leader will correctly maintain the set speed on the route;
13. AI climbing on the route corrected (they shouldn’t do too shallow of a climb and accelerate more than required as a result);
14. AI pilots shouldn’t climb on the route too steeply and, as a result, lose speed too quickly;
15. The low route speed limit has been corrected for a number of aircraft, enabling them to reach a maximum climb rate;
16. AI settings corrected for Yak-1, Yak-1b and Tempest, making them able to correctly maintain their position in a formation in level flight;
17. AI settings corrected for P-47D-22, making the formation flying more stable;
18. AI settings corrected for Flying Circus aircraft, making the formation flying more stable when descending;

Player controllable tanks improvements

19. IMPORTANT: all player-controllable tanks have detailed descriptions of their equipment, general control and functionality recommendations and individual lists of input commands accessible from the in-game Esc menu;
20. All the player-controlled tanks have animated and audible MG and main gun traveling locks;
21. Important information on sighting and radio communication equipment has been added to all tank help screens;
22. The powered turret traversing drives (where available) are automatically switched to manual mode at low turn speed for precise aiming and from manual to the powered mode drive for turning the turret fast;
23. Pz.III Ausf.M, Pz.IV Ausf.G, Pz.V Ausf.D, Pz.VI Ausf.H1 and M4A2 have functioning gyrocompass course director (controlled by the LShift + Z / LShift + X keys);
24. DT machineguns (T-34-76UVZ-194 and KV-1s) and M2 .50 AA machineguns (M4A2) iron sights can be adjusted for range (RAlt + Semicolon / RAlt + Period keys);
25. All tank radios have audible umformers (electro-mechanical converters) sounds;
26. Pz.III Ausf.M, Pz.IV Ausf.G, Pz.V Ausf.D, Pz.VI Ausf.H1 have audible gyrocompass sounds;
27. SU-152 and KV-1s: the control levers are locked in the parking position by the corresponding buttons;
28. Enabling and disabling a parking brake is reflected in the technochat;
29. To view a correct fuel reading on the KV-1s and Pz.III Ausf.M tanks, it is necessary to pump the fuel gauge first using the F key;
30. KV-1s: it’s possible to switch the fuel gauge indication between the different tanks with the LShift + F key;
31. M4A2: it’s possible to switch the fuel gauge to display the oil level as well as switch between the different tanks with the LShift + F key;
32. You can raise and lower the M4A2 commander visor;
33. M4A2 engine clutch lock buttons are correctly animated in case of a clutch failure;
34. You can use the loader visor when playing as the gunner on M4A2;
35. M4A2 AA machinegun can be shot off;
36. SU-152, Sd.Kfz.184, Pz.III Ausf.M and Pz.IV have functioning gun recoil indicators;
37. Pz.V Ausf.D ready to fire signal lamp has been corrected;
38. Pz.V Ausf.D gun mantlet armor has been corrected (its upper and low parts became more detailed);
39. All crew members who did not have access to tank intercom equipment are correctly displayed without headphones and microphones;
40. MGs and main guns won’t move a little in a stowed position;
41. The German tank commander model as been corrected (he is easier to hit in the unbuttoned position).
42. The crew models won’t appear and disappear when the camera moves in the cockpit (except the no-restrictions mode in VR);
43. The lateral aiming correction marks were corrected on German tanks;
44. It’s no longer possible to control tank weapons from certain crew stations that did not have access to them;
45. The ‘no ammo left’ message shouldn’t be repeated many times anymore;
46. AI controlled SPGs turn to face the target when ordered to engage it;
47. The ‘fuel system repaired’ message shouldn’t be repeated many times anymore;
48. The ammo counter correctly displays the remaining rounds when certain ammo load-outs are selected;

Other improvements

49. Yak-9T engine control helpers won’t cause the engine to stop when turned on at low temperatures;
50. Engine control helpers won’t incorrectly limit the engine speed after a short shutdown on twin-engine aircraft;
51. Ice Ring campaign is available in the French language thanks to our community member DN308;
52. Tank and aircraft turrets with 3 degrees of freedom have correct stowed positions;
53. Paratroopers jump from Ju-52 correctly;
54. P-38J: drag and pitching moment from the released dive flaps have been increased;
55. Il-2 model 1943: the front iron sight won’t fall off at minimal damage;
56. Pe-2 series 35 bomber: interrupting the startup procedure won’t make it impossible to start again;
57. The problem with resetting the controls to zero when switching between the engines on multi-engine aircraft has been fixed;
58. Bristol Fighter F2B control stick animation has been corrected;
59. A-20B: black artifacts that could be seen from the upper gunner station were removed;
60. Lewis and DT machine guns ammo drum won’t visibly ‘jump’ when reloaded;
61. Aircraft guns ammo reserve is correct now (it was 1 round short);
62. It is no longer possible to reload the magazine when the machine gun is cocked, which led to reloading animation errors;
63. Fighter and tank crew models are being loaded in the sim faster;
64. Character animations were further optimized, which could reduce the stuttering on some configurations;
65. Soviet and American pilots won’t be invulnerable when holding a flare gun or a pistol;
66. MLRS artillery won’t try to shoot at paratroopers;
67. The jerky behavior of rail cars on terrain bends and bridge slopes has been fixed;
68. A bug that could destroy a train when it changed the direction of movement has been fixed;
69. Sorting the list of game servers by the number of players now sorts from highest to lowest on the first click;
70. Fixed an issue that caused the world lighting to have a wrong shade for several seconds at the beginning of the mission;
71. The “F4” camera (chase camera) won’t cause graphics artifacts to appear;
72. A correct hangar will be displayed in the multiplayer lobby (previously it was always the summer one);
73. Camera behavior on mission end has been improved;
74. Numerous static objects won’t disappear from view to early and their collision models were corrected;
75. IV / JG27 will correctly continue after January 23rd in Rheinland career mode;
76. Rheinland Career mode cutscenes added;
77. The service times for all equipment have been adjusted. Now a service operation takes 2-4 minutes at the default service speed (x1 value set in Mission Editor).
78. The tank and aircraft repair settings were clarified in the Mission Editor dialog window.

See you in the skies!

The Sturmovik Team

Hello!

We are currently preparing version 4.009 for release, the process is not easy, but we hope for its successful completion very soon. In view of this, the diary today will not be very detailed, but the topic is interesting. Today we show you the P-51B / C being developed for Battle of Normandy and will be available in a future update for all BON Early Access customers. This single-seat fighter is the predecessor to the P-51D previously created for Operation Bodenplatte. Although she is a predecessor, the B/C model is somewhat superior to the D model in speed at ground level and maneuverability. The reason for this unusual situation is that the teardrop canopy creates more aerodynamic drag than the high-backed design. In addition, the P-51B / C is somewhat lighter than its successor.

In the sim, the aircraft will be presented with a set of modifications allowing the use of two engine options. The first version of the engine is the Packard-Merlin V-1650-3, created on the basis of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 63. The second, more powerful version is the V-1650-7, which was based on the Merlin 66. 150 -Octane gasoline will also be an available modification, significantly increasing the capabilities of the power plant.

It should also be noted that our P-51B / C will come with a rather famous modification - a special canopy called the "Malcolm Hood" which was used in rather significant numbers by Mustang pilots. There will also be as many as three options for gun-sights, one of which will be gyroscopic.

All in all, it should be a very interesting aircraft, with a wide range of equipment options and outstanding flight performance. Like the P-47D ‘Razorback” the P-51 B/C also flew in mixed squadrons as units transitioned from the B/C to the D model.



Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team

Hello!

Have you heard about wave interference? It's amazing when the processes in people's lives have direct physical analogies. In particular, how topics for our journal entries appear is a good example. In the development of projects of the IL-2: Great Battles series, there are a lot of very voluminous and lengthy tasks. And sometimes it happens that the intermediate results of different large tasks appear one by one, creating a subject for the diaries. Sometimes it happens that the "wave" processes of development progress in all directions and it gets to a stage when the intermediate results cannot yet be published, but sometimes it also happens that in all directions at the same time appears something that can be gladly demonstrated. And exactly this variant of "superposition of wave development processes in different directions" happened this week, which, of course, is always pleasant.

The first thing we can show you today is a 3D render of the Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib, the legendary fighter-bomber of the RAF, which is very much anticipated by many in our simming community. In Battle of Normandy, this aircraft will, as it should be, presented with its late version with a drop-shaped cockpit canopy, a modified stabilizer of the type used on Tempest aircraft, and with two versions of the propeller (three- and four-bladed). It will be armed with four 20 mm Hispano cannons and also rockets and bombs. Despite the fact that the aircraft belongs to the class of fighter-bombers, due to the mighty 2200-horsepower Napier Saber IIa engine (and when using the 11-pound boost and up to 2400hp), it possessed strong flight performance. All in all, it will be an extremely interesting Allied aircraft that will help its virtual pilot achieve success in battle against both the ground and air enemy forces.



The second thing that we will show you today is important for the owners of all products in the IL-2: Great Battles series. We are talking about a new map! The new "Velikiye Luki, Summer 1941", will be made available to everyone in the next update. This map was developed on a personal basis by one of our map team-members, and although it does not include all of our most modern map tech (such as buildings with increased detail), thanks to the creativity and variety of the implemented terrain and scenery, it looks extremely interesting and will add a lot of variety in your flights. The Velikiye Luki summer map, as well as an improved and updated winter version, will be available to all players. A lot could be written about the positive aspects of this map, but it seems to us that it is better to show them in the following screenshots:



The third bit of news is that work on the Battle of Normandy is progressing, not only in terms of creating new aircraft but also in other directions. For instance, a lot has already been done in creating the map which will include some promising new technologies for our series. But it’s still early and we plan to show the progress on the development of the map later. Additionally, aircraft crews are also being created and as you already know, the G-suits worn by USAAF pilots appeared after the events of the Normandy, and therefore we created a model of an American pilot in an earlier uniform:



And in FIRST for the combat-sim genre - the U-2VS, Yak-1 Series 69 and Yak-1b series 127 aircraft will receive a Soviet female pilot option! We have completed the process of animating the new female pilot model and they will be available in the upcoming 4.009 update. It is these aircraft that have the greatest basis for possessing this modification because the famous "Night Witches" from the 588th Night Light Bomber Aviation Regiment fought in the U-2, and the heroic ace pilot of the Soviet Air Force Guards Junior Lieutenant Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak and her fellow female squadron mates flew the Yak-1 and Yak-1b. Also, the U-2VS aircraft will receive new models of male pilots.



And to finish the today's Dev blog, here is the news about the "Tank Crew" project. As we said earlier, the completion of the vehicle lineup does not mean that work on improving it has stopped. Update 4.009 will introduce a lot of new features that will definitely give you an interesting new experience in our tank simulator. Drivers of the German panzers and the Sherman tank will have the opportunity to use the course director. KV-1s, Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M and Sherman tank drivers interact with pneumatic fuel gauges in a realistic way. The working sounds of the radio motor-generators were added to all tanks and the German tanks have the working gyrocompass sound as well. All traveling locks of turrets, main and machine guns are now animated and have sounds as well. In general, due to these changes, the sound environments inside a tank has become much richer and more realistic. DT and M2 .50 machine guns now have a working range correction setting. Other changes have been made to improve the player experience - many of you have previously expressed the opinion that one cannot fully discover the possibilities of the project due to the lack of a description of what equipment each tank has and how to use this equipment. To resolve this issue, a new "Notes" dialog has been implemented, which can be invoked at any time by pressing the ESC button.



Enjoy!

The Sturmovik Team