Summer is almost over and many team members are on their way back from vacation. During the year, the IL-2 team has grown at a record pace - 17 talented professionals have joined us. These programmers, artists, and other specialists have now finished their training, settled into the project, and are working full-time on all kinds of neat stuff, both announced and yet to be announced. You may know the only person who left due to family reasons - Kurt, our former Community Manager. (Fortunately, he is doing well and we wish him all the best). Please bear with us - even though it may seem like things are quiet from the outside, there is still a lot of work going on. Of course, all of the team members, old and new, are getting paid for more than just being really nice people.
Today we want to show you the screenshots of the new planes that were taken today - they are in beta testing right now.
The next two planes in Flying Circus Volume III are already in the air. Meet the legendary Nieuport 17...
and Albatros D.II.
The Soviet cousin of the C-47, the Li-2, is slowly but surely making its way there as well. This time there is a bit of winter action here.
The upcoming 5.106 update will bring even more improvements. There will be new Career Mode missions (including an Intruder mission, a deep strike into enemy territory), updated campaigns, and more.
See you in the skies!
Update 5.105
Another update, 5.105, is available now. Today we have released the first two Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft - the Halberstadt D.II and Nieuport 11 early Great War fighters.
The release of this update commences the Early Access program for Flying Circus Vol.III - if you consider acquiring it eventually, these new aircraft are only a few mouse clicks away right now.
Of course, there are other improvements and fixes in the update change log:
5.105
Halberstadt D.II is available via the Flying Circus Vol. III Early Access program;
Nieuport 11 is available via the Flying Circus Vol. III Early Access program;
Photo recon missions on the Arado Ar 234 jet are added to Bodenplatte Career mode timeframe (Sonderkommando Sperling);
Fw 190 A-3, A-5, A-6, and A-8 external textures and paint schemes improved (Martin =ICDP= Catney);
Certain Spitfire Mk.IXe, P-47D-22, and P-47D-28 paint schemes corrected (Martin =ICDP= Catney);
Sky Nomads campaign updated: difficulty level is lowered a bit in the first mission, the text is corrected, Spanish and French translations added thanks to enthusiasts E69_Cananas and DN308;
Issues with a line drawing order on the map that could result in a wrong-looking mission route on the map have been corrected;
Original ShVAK gun sounds are restored due to popular demand - the new sounds will be reworked to better fit in the overall acoustic concept;
A couple of bugs in Normandy and Rhineland Career missions that could result in the player flight not traveling to the next waypoint have been found and fixed;
Issues in the transport aircraft missions that could prevent them from meeting their escorts have been found and fixed;
AI pilots will more efficiently wait for their lagging-behind wingmen and pursue enemy aircraft while being far from the rest of the flight.
The work on the next update has already started - according to the plan, it will bring the Li-2 and possibly other new previously announced aircraft. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy the new aircraft and, most importantly, the remaining third of the summer days! Make every one of them count. ;)
See you in the skies!
Developer Diary #346
Dear Friends, The release of the next update draws closer and we have some new screens to share.
Soviet paratroopers are training in airborne operations using the new Li-2. Their comrades in Winter uniform are preparing and will join them soon. Halberstadt D.II is in the final testing stage. Just like as Nieuport 11 - these two will be the first Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft to appear on your sim rigs. Meanwhile, we have started a screenshot event - if you have Battle of Normandy (BTW, while the Summer Sale on Steam has ended, you still have a couple of days of discounts left on our website till July 16th) you can participate. Make a nice screenshot of Normandy landings and submit it in our special Discord channel or forum threadbefore Thursday, July 20 at, 1900 UTC. The winner will receive a code for the collector plane of his or her choosing.
See you in the skies!
Developer Diary #345
Dear Friends, As the summer goes on, the work continues. One of the collector planes in development, Li-2, is nearing its release. Here are some of the WIP shots we wanted to share with you (no airborne operations shots yet - the paratroopers will learn how to jump from it next week).
As you can see, unlike its unarmed mother C-47, this one was like a gunship wannabe - it had turrets AND a forward firing machine gun - who knows when it might come in handy, right?! An armed transport aircraft with paratroopers and cargo inside - how much more versatile can you get? Well, add the bomb carrying capability to this mix as well and you get a machine that ticks nearly all the boxes you ever wanted.
Usually going the 'jack of all trades' way means sacrificing something in every trade, but USSR needed versatile aircraft. While Western Allies during the war had a plenty of long range fighters to cover bombers and especially unarmed transport aircraft and had air superiority most of the time, Soviet resources were always not enough.
You may notice a lot of other differences to C-47 - different instruments and cargo doors for instance. Even the engines were different, Soviet built.
We hope to release this interesting aircraft later this month or in early August.
IL-2 Sturmovik Team
Update 5.104
Dear Friends,
Today we present to you the 5.104 update. It brings a new campaign and new mission types for Career mode.
5.104 UPDATE
The new historical campaign Sky Nomads now is already available on our website and on Steam. It continues the story of the Soviet fighter pilot you may know from the Blazing Steppe campaign. After having fought in the Stalingrad battle in 1942, in 1943 he found himself in a midst of a hectic battle of Kuban - the campaign title reflects a bit the nomad life of the 43rd IAP which had to constantly change airfields and endure several Luftwaffe strikes on its positions. There is more information about the campaign in our Dev Blog #344. New missions in the Career mode are photo reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and the escort of the transport aircraft on airdrop missions. The photo recon missions are now available with the Arado Ar. 234 of Sonderkommando Götz in Normandy (in the next update it will be also added to Spitfire XIVe). Artillery spotting missions are given to RAF squadrons No. 26 and No. 63 in Normandy which had the [url=https://il2sturmovik.com/store/collector-planes/#spitfire-mk-vb and were specially trained for this task. The transport escort missions happen in the historical timeframes of the Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne, and Varsity airborne operations - you can them in any Allied fighter squadron. Do your best to keep them safe on their way to the drop zone and back home! There are other changes and fixes in the list as well:
5.104
New historical campaign Sky Nomads (Yak-7b pilot in the battle of Kuban). There is detailed info about it in our Dev Blog #344;
New Career mode missions: Photo Recon on jet Arado Ar. 234 in Normandy (Sonderkommando Götz);
New Career mode missions: Artillery Spotting on Spitfire Mk.Vb in Normandy (No. 26 and No. 63 Squadrons RAF that were specially trained for this task);
New Career mode missions: Transport Aircraft Escort of C-47s on their way to their drop zones during Normandy, Market Garden, Bastogne, and Varsity airborne operations timeframes;
Tank campaigns Last Chance and Breaking Point are updated (added tactical numbers to aircraft involved, added new vehicles to some of the engagements);
Many award descriptions updated;
Ju 87D-3: the additional armor plate now moves together with the canopy as it should;
Bf 109 G-6/AS: rockets correctly disappear when jettisoning their containers.
WARBRD RACE 2023 WINNERS
In other news - we have the winners of the air race finals. They will receive or have received gifts from us and VIRPIL Controls.
As you can see, CSW_Tommy454 grabbed the first prizes in both categories - air races are unpredictable and two participants crashed in their Messerschmitts after performing a difficult maneuver! The race stream is available here.
Also, if you have participated in the race qualification, don't forget to check your profile on IL-2 website - there is a -50% off promo code applicable to all released content, including the newest ones like Spitfire XIVe, SSW D.IV or Battle of Normandy.
JULY CALENDAR
Finally, here's an artwork ready to become your desktop wallpaper for next month if you wish (FullHD, 4K).
See you in the skies!
Developer Diary #344
Dear Friends,
Exactly 80 years ago, in 1943, one of the largest air battles on the Eastern front of WWII was fought in the skies of Kuban. One of our modules, Battle of Kuban, and several official campaigns are dedicated to these events, but there is a lot more to tell. We are proud to announce the new historical campaign "Sky Nomads" for the Battle of Kuban. About the Campaign
In May 1943 the battle for the Kuban bridgehead entered its decisive phase. The North Caucasian Front troops managed to capture the village of Krymskaya, but the main German defensive line was never broken through. The Soviet command began preparing a new offensive operation, which began on May 26 in the Kievskoye – Moldavanskoye sector. The success of the actions of the ground forces largely depended on the outcome of the battle that unfolded in the air between the Red Army Air Force and the Luftwaffe.
You will take on the role of deputy squadron commander of the 43rd IAP (Fighter Air Regiment), which is part of the 278th Fighter Air Division of Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps. The regiment arrived in the Kuban at the end of April and immediately joined the struggle to gain air supremacy, changing airfields several times and taking part in all the main events at the front.
You can expect both the standard tasks of covering friendly ground troops, patrolling, escorting, and intercepting, as well as intense battles over your airfields and sorties for reconnaissance and strikes deep in enemy territory.
Timeframe: May 6th – June 5th, 1943 Unit: 43rd IAP of 278th IAD Aircraft: Yak-7b series 36 Duration: 15 missions Average playtime: 8 hours
Author: Alexander =BlackSix= Timoshkov
While being an independent creation, Sky Nomads continues the story of the Soviet fighter pilot you may know from the Blazing Steppe campaign.
The campaign is scheduled to be released soon, in June or early July. The origins of the battle
In late April 1943, having thwarted the enemy's plans to eliminate the 18th Army bridgehead around Myskhako near Novorossiysk, the troops of the North Caucasian front launched a new offensive in the central sector. By May 4, after many difficult and violent encounters, they managed to liberate Krymskaya, but their progress was halted once they reached the main German defense perimeter. The Soviet command needed an operational pause to regroup its forces and prepare for a new offensive.
The operational situation as it was at the end of April, at the time of the campaign start and at the end of May 1943: Soviet fighter aviation in the spring of 1943
The battle in the air above Kuban that began in mid-April was growing more intense and reaching a scale never before seen. On the Soviet side, the 4th and the 5th Air Armies participated in the battle, as well as the Black Sea Fleet Air Force which had been exigently supplemented with two air divisions and three air corps. Major General Savitsky's 3rd Fighter Air Corps (IAK) was expected to play a key part in the ensuring air supremacy.
The 3rd IAK arrived at the front on April 19 and immediately joined the combat effort, remaining at the epicenter of events until the end of the active combat phase in June 1943. The corps included the 265th and 278th Fighter Air Divisions (IAD) that were utilizing latest modifications Yak-1b and Yak-7b fighters. A small number of Yak-9s were also supplied to the air corps in May.
The 3rd IAK fighters: Yak-1b, Yak-9 and Yak-7b. The nomad life of the 43rd IAP
Colonel Lisin's 278th IAD included the 15th, 43rd, and 274th Fighter Air Regiments (IAP), stationed on the Novotitarovskaya and Novovelichkovskaya airfields to the north of Krasnodar. These fields were over 70 km away from the front line, which significantly limited the amount of time the Yaks spent in the area of operations. In early May, the 278th IAD regiments received an order to relocate closer to the front, to the Slavyanskaya and Krasnoarmeyskaya airfields.
At this moment the relatively calm life of the 43rd IAP has ended and our story started. The regiment moved to Krasnoarmeyskaya on May 6th, Slavyanskaya on May 8th, and then back to Krasnoarmeyskaya the next day. On May 16th Luftwaffe attacked the airfield, and the regiment moved back to Novotitarovskaya.
On May 27th, after the beginning of the offensive in Kievskoye-Moldavanskoye sector, the 43rd IAP moved to the forward airfield Abinskaya. After surviving another airfield strike and losing nearly all machines in the endless air skirmishes the regiment returned to Novotitarovskaya on June 9th and on June 16th it was pulled from the front. Other news
We welcome you to participate in the ongoing air races qualification if you haven't done so yet (it ends in two days!). Meanwhile, we're working not only on the new aircraft (we'll post new screenshots as soon as new birds become air worthy), but on other improvements as well. In the coming update 5.104 you'll get new mission types for the Normandy career mode - Transport Escort, Air Photo Recon for Sondercommando Götz (time to prep your Arado handling skills) and Artillery Spotting on Spitfire (navy shore bombardment looks nice)! The new mission types will be in the Normandy career at first and added to other maps where applicable after it.
IL-2 Sturmovik Team
Developer Diary #343
Dear Friends,
Today is the first day of summer (finally!) and it's time to start the races even that was announced before.
To participate, join one of the multiplayer race servers (they are called WarBRD Race Tournament =Group A= and WarBRD Race Tournament =Group B=) and fly the track on the selected aircraft (Bf-109 F-4 in Group A and Yak-1 series 69 in Group B) as fast as you can - the number of attempts during the qualification stage is not limited. The completion time in each attempt will be recorded automatically, the best time in the group will be taken into account.
Please note that after the end of the event all the participants who have flown the track at least once will receive a small gift on our website. If you are playing the Steam version of IL-2, then the IL-2 and Steam accounts must be linked so that the server could identify you (your nickname must be visible in the main menu of the game). If you have not linked your accounts yet, you can do it quickly - click on the automatically generated pilot name in the main menu of the Steam version of the game and then either enter your IL-2 login and password or go through registration there.
If you wish to make your results eligible for the race finals and receive special gifts from VIRPIL Controls and 1C Game Studios, please visit Virpil-servers.com and register there - you'll get an unique code via e-mail. You have to enter this code in the multiplayer chat on the racing server to have your race results tied to VIRPIL Controls account. You can view the results of all participants at any time here.
The qualification stage ends on June 11. Ten selected finalists will participate in the finals on June 17th - three fastest racers and other finalists will receive special gifts from 1C Game Studios and VIRPIL Controls.
In other news - at the moment several aircraft are in the works as usual. We'll love to tell you about them in detail closer to their release, but today we can at least show you how the first two aircraft of Flying Circus Vol. III look in the sim at the moment (other planes including collector ones are either at an eariler development stage to show or were already shown on screenshots before). Here are Halberstadt D.II... ... and Nieuport 11. IL-2 Sturmovik Team
5.103b Patch
Gun convergence settings are stored correctly;
SSW D.IV appears in the game stats correctly;
Bofors AA guns changed to QF 13pdr 6cwt in the Gotha G.V and Handley-Page O/400 scenarios, as well as in the campaign Against the Tide;
Ar 234 B-2 and Me 410: target altitude setting range corrected for the BZA-1 bomb sight;
Ar 234 B-2: a small cosmetic change (button on the flight stick);
Bf-110E2 and G2: typos on cockpit placards corrected (Oyster_KAI).
Update 5.103
Dear Friends,
Today we have several pieces of news for you at once. Firstl, patch 5.103 has just been published - its changelog is not very long, but contains some important points:
Fixed Animation Operator objects animations in multiplayer for the upcoming in-game event;
SSW D.IV stall behavior has been corrected (now the aircraft stalls without warning shaking);
Fixed the virtual camera position on the SSW D.IV wing;
A new type of task has been added to the Battle of Normandy career - escorting transport aircraft with various cargoes, including ambulance ones;
Fixed the continuation of the career of a German pilot from Jasta 24 on the Western Front after August 25, 1918;
When attacking enemy balloons, enemy AI pilots will engage the player and his group as it should be;
Scenarios for Gota G.V and Handley Page O/100 WWI bombers added;
Fixed a bug in the operation of the bombsight instruments when the interface is hidden;
Hidden GUI state will no longer persist across game restarts;
Fixed a bug in the Bodenplatte Career mode that resulted in an error message in some missions that included the new Bf 109 G-6AS;
Against the Tide campaign updated;
Campaigns "Against the Tide" and "Wild Mustangs" are translated into Spanish.
Also, remember the plans for 2023 and beginning of 2024 we have shared with you earlier in DD? Here’s a visual illustration.
You probably noticed a mention of a certain in-game event - now we can reveal what it will be.
The event is an air race on fighter aircraft we’re preparing together with VIRPIL Controls company. There will be two aircraft, Bf 109 F4 and Yak-1 series 69, which are included in our base module Battle of Stalingrad standard edition (if you play IL-2 on Steam, you have it already). You can pilot the bird you are more familiar with: the best results will be determined in each category separately.
The races will be held in two stages - qualification, which will last at least for several days starting on June 1, and the finals, the date of which will be announced later.
To participate, it will be enough to go to one of the race servers and fly the track on the selected aircraft as fast as you can - the number of attempts during the qualification stage is not limited. The completion time in each attempt will be recorded automatically, the best time will be taken into account. Please note that after the end of the event all the participants who have flown the track at least once will receive a small gift on our website.
If you are playing the Steam version of IL-2, then the IL-2 and Steam accounts must be linked so that the server could identify you (your nickname must be visible in the main menu of the game). If you have not linked your accounts yet, you can do it quickly - click on the automatically generated pilot name in the main menu of the Steam version of the game and then either enter your IL-2 login and password or go through registration there.
After the end of the qualification stage there will be final flights to determine the winners among the pilots who showed the best results. All finalists will receive special gifts from 1C Game Studios and from VIRPIL Controls.
You can train on the qualification track right now on our servers in the Coop mode (server name: WarBRD Race Tournament).
Wait for the announcement of the beginning of the qualifying races!
Developer Diary #342
Dear Friends,
This year we have already released two previously announced Collector Planes. Today we would like to share plans for the future aircraft.
In addition to the already released Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVe Bubbletop and Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 A/S, the plan for this year includes:
1. Li-2 - Soviet military transport aircraft. Unlike the original C-47 (Li-2 was based on it under license), it was also used as a bomber and had an optional turret and even forward firing weaponry. The planned release date is Summer 2023.
2. American towable glider (!) WACO CG-4A, which has been widely used during the Normandy landings. The planned release date is Fall 2023.
3. Soviet fighter La-5 series 38 with a teardrop-shaped canopy. Its lighter design had a positive effect on the characteristics of the aircraft compared to earlier models. The planned release date is Fall 2023.
4. Romanian fighter IAR-80/81 in two basic variants («long» and «short»). Both variants and 7 modifications of the aircraft are described in detail in [url=https://il2sturmovik.com/news/772/dev-blog-334/. The planned release date is the end of 2023.
Please note: since this Collector Plane will be effectively two significantly different aircraft (different fuselages, different flight characteristics, different paint scheme kits, there are differences in their cockpits as well) in one package, its pre-order price will increase on May 17th to the level of larger Collector Planes like C-47. Of course, the pre-orders placed before this date won’t be affected by this change, so if you’re interested in getting these aircraft eventually, please consider doing so before May 17th.
5. The development of three new fighters scheduled for 2024 has begun:
German interceptor Focke-Wulf Ta 152 Soviet legendary biplane Polikarpov I-153 «Chaika» British fighter Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc armed with 7.69 mm machine guns and a different tail.
6. By the end of 2023, it is planned to complete the development of the Flying Circus Vol.III which will include eight aircraft:
It is also planned to complete the Western Front 1918 map and populate the entire front line with objects. This updated version of the map will be available in different seasons.
7. The story of Flying Circus continues: plans for 2024 include additional improvements to the map and the development of seven new collectible aircraft:
Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter. Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter B. Sopwith Pup. Airco DH.2. Albatros D.III. Roland C.IIa. Fokker E.III.
8. We’re also helping a team of enthusiasts who are working on a new map of one of the theaters of operations on the Eastern Front. A significant progress has been made - we hope that the map will become part of the Great Battles game world soon. The details about the map and the development team will be revealed later.
Since the Battle of Normandy release, 9 World War II aircraft, 15 World War I aircraft and two maps have already been produced or are in development. And that's not all! Your support motivates us to improve and extend the Great Battles series.
A new historical campaign is in the final stage of development - it is dedicated to the operation of Yak-7 fighter armed units. This year we plan to release another campaign and there are ideas for creating three new campaigns already.
In addition, this year we’re updating a number of previously created campaigns to integrate new technologies and content developed recently (you can see the Tank Crew campaigns being updated in the screenshots below).
The 1C Game Studios team wishes you good luck and aerial victories in the virtual sky! Congratulations on the upcoming Victory Day!
