Visiting IL2 as an old friend in 2018

IL2 was my first sim over ten years ago and I had to take long break for school and drop it several years back. Now I find myself with much more free time and before I begin to install things, I was just wondering if there is still an online component to the game? Are there still many people playing online or are most of the servers dead or with only 1-3 guys? Is Hyperlobby still the main online site or has it been replaced with something newer? Also, any special tips I should know before I install on Windows 10 64 bit? Thanks guys!

IL-2:'46 MP now is history. Still have people playing, but far away for 'hay days' numbers, at moment Hyperlobby inform 28 players online (number that certainly leave DCS "Normandy" jealous).

BTW - Situation not too different with their "immature small brother" CLoD or their " in-law cousin" BoS.

Thanks Sokol. Trying to install on Windows 10 appears to be a bit tricky......

Install it anywhere but either of the programs directory. Mine lives in C:\ubisoft\

I tried joining HL a couple times the last 6 months but haven't joined any servers. I left off at hsfx 7 from years ago then updated to the latest 4.13 when it came out but seems like no one plays it on HL. I never seen more then 2-3 flying on 4.12 and a few 4.12 with hsfx seen some UP server too with 1-2 only.

I still think its a fun game but no more players. I gave in and got il2 BOK and the new BOB pre order. Even in the new il2 not many players. Just the one populated wings server with 40-70 players sometime.

I do not remember when I stopped playing but I believe it was at the 4.08 patch. Having had a chance to look at all the other patches now, it is really a mixed bag. With what little I can tell, the 6DOF seems great and the AI is much better but what happened to all the "energy" fighters. I used to fly the Dora D9 and it is now an overheating mess. By many accounts this is THE single best piston engine fighter built during WW2. (or its cousin, the TA 152) Did these patches really handicap these planes (Dora, Tempest, Corsair, etc...) or am I just flying it wrong?

Try harder for a few weeks and then tell us

Overheating in most recent iterations comes from low speed/high rpms mostly, even a full open radiator can't compensate.

So unless your plane is vastly superior to ennemy's (tip:Dora is not, vs most contemporaries) favor hit and run, use the other friendly planes wisely, and be ready to accept a draw, when flying a fast but bad turning aircraft. You cannot singlehandedly defeat multiple ennemies any more, unless your plane has significant advantages and you know perfectly how to use them, with great patience.

Rollnloop, just tested Version 4.08 vs 4.13.4, here is what I found with the following planes diving and then leveling out on the Okinawa map with a full tank of gas on WEP (or German equivalent) but no extra armament:

La3 Bx20 - Goes ~ 590 kph in 4.08 and goes same in 4.13.4

I - 185 M 71 - Goes 580 kph in 4.08 and same in 4.13.4

Spit 25lbs - Goes 540 kph in 4.08 and same in 4.13.4

FW Dora 1944 Goes 570 kph in 4.08 and 540 kph in 4.13.4

FW Dora 1945 Goes 555 kph in 4.13.4 (this is way off from several books that all list the speed as 590 kph in level flight)

F4U Corsair 1944 Goes 560 in 4.08 and same in 4.13.4 but handling is way off (wonky FM)

TA 152 H - Goes 585 kph in 4.08 and 530 kph in 4.13.4, ..... what the heck is up here?

No doubt about it, all these patches butchered the Energy fighters and as best I can tell, pretty much left the turn and burn super planes alone. What is up with that? The TA 152 was a monster aircraft that could hit over 620 kph in level flight at sea level. And the Corsair was not far behind. And the Doras, totally ruined. Also, in any offline mission, the AI planes all seem to be able to go full blast with WEP and never overheat, while you do. There was a very fine balance which IL2 got right I believe in the original sim between turn and burn fighters (like the Zero) and energy fighters like the Corsair. And now, for many planes that balance has been destroyed. It seems like many of these changes happened in Patch 4.11. Who designed these patches?

I think I would prefer to skip all the 4.11 and later stuff. What is the best mod pack out there that works with the pre 4.11 game?

BAT is what you seek. It is for 4.12m. However they've fixed all that underperformance, uberperformance stuff and added a metric ton of content.

pre 4.11, HSFX 5.01 was great, Dark Blue World was too.

If you want direct confirmation about how bad these later patches are, look no further than straight from the horse's mouth:

(Start at the 2:15 mark)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvKs9VLUcCg&feature=youtu.be

This dude is still alive and flew over 800 combat missions in all the later FW Doras and he says the 1944 D9 could hit 630 kph in combat (level flight he means). This exactly agrees with the 620 to 630 kph figure given in many books that detail the FW history and production.

Well , at 8:50 he says the same about A6/A8. I've flown quite a few planes, and if you ask me to give these kind of specific infos on planes I flew 25 years ago, you better double check the flight manual for gross mistakes I could say. Ofc it's a very valuable testimony but give it a 5% mistake margin for safety.

This said, I had a go at testing the 190D 1945 on 4.13.4 and got 600kph IAS on the deck (winter map so I could hold this speed longer without overheating), 780kph TAS (much lower IAS ofc) at 7000m, using MW50. FW190 D9 1944 gets about 20kph less on the deck, no high alt testing.

I don't have any old version installed for testing.

On combat, in IL2 the turning aircraft always had an advantage because downward visibility is terrible, except over sea or white winter landscape. This doesn't prevent me to easily dispose of a pair of spitMk9 on the deck, flying with a medium AI vs medium AIs. Against veterans that's another story, but if I don't wait for ennemy fire to start regaingn energy after missing a pass, I have zero problem separating.

Fighting a pair of medium La7 is also very possible, they're much, much better at BFM than pre 4.11, but I have no performance problem, it's just a question of flying smart, which is not a given when lacking training.

Anyway enjoy your preferred version, whichever it is, happy flying

Question for you Rollnloop, does the big BAT mod fix all the messed up stuff in patches 4.11 and later? Does it restore the FWs, the TA 152, the Corsairs and the P51s to how they should fly?

Well I'm afraid not to be competent to give you a definitive info on this, and have no will to do much "flight testing vs manual" at the moment. I can fly my corsair vs zekes OK but have to be very careful, as with about any scenario it gets very hard if you put every AI on veteran or above, even average are tough since their lead/wingman work is much better than mine with my ai wingman. Once they get in fighting range you're in for trouble, just as Boyington when he got shot down. You may escape if you have some altitude, fancy manoeuvers like barreled scissors won't be enough where it was pre 4.11.Didn't test much germans yet. Was unhappy with .50 recoil on P-47 last time I tested (rocked the wings).
Unless you have only a slow adsl or a full hdd/ssd, you should give it a try.

Now, since it's a behemoth in the 40go download/100go install range, you may want to have a go at hsfx 7.0 initially, it has half the print. But BAT is still in dev, HSFX is considered as finished. There's also VPmedia modpack to consider, focused on improving the official content visually(maps, cockpits, skins and more) with limited additional planes, but quality ones.

Again, the main thing you might want to change when you play 4.11 and later is your own expectation, ennemy AI has really improved its lethality, especially in many vs many scenarii, and fighting energy vs turn n bank has gotten more difficult because of this. Some squadmates never got over it since it broke many old campaigns and you're not "the hero" any more. Therés also the fact that you cannot maintain full revs for too long any more, even with rad open. You'll need to extend and lower your revs much earlier.

If you are into classic aircraft and maps with a few mods, fly UP3.0, if you want about every new map and aircraft and are ready to accept a new challenge go for BAT, if you want the latest official go 4.13 and apply a few mods foind at SAS.

Go read at https://www.sas1946.com/main/ and make your own selection, happy flying.

An MP server with some activity:

http://gamearmy.ru/monitoring/137713

Okay, thanks guys for that info. Next question, how do I install multiple installs of IL2 in Windows 10? I have 4.10 set up now and working fine on my main C drive under a folder I called "Games" (as everyone recommends), and not under Program Files. But when I copy this 5.6 GB folder over to a new drive (D:), and try to run it, I get weird giant screens. (If it helps, I installed the first copy with the IL2 DVD. I am not using Steam) Perhaps, it is some security check with the SecuRom junk from way back in 2006? Not sure.

At any rate, I would eventually like to have about 3 or 4 IL2 installs, one for stock 4.10, one for 4.13.4 (for online testing), one for BAT, and one for VPMedia. Any help would be appreciated.

It's a Win10 thing, if you change text scaling.

right click on il2fb.exe or the the shortcut you use to start your game
select properties
go to the compatibility tab
check the box next to "override high DPI scaling behavior"

That should get rid of the giant screens

The SAS run server has a good turnout (for these days!) on a Sunday at 15:00 GMT, using UP3. Access direct IP or via Hyperlobby. The sever runs 24/7 with a good range and variety of missions:
Statistic/ current missions page:
IL-2 1946 SAS/FAC Ultrapack 3 Gameserver - Statistics

You will need to upgrade to 4.10 then install Ultrapack RC3 and all the community produced features in the latest patch. Info and d/l links here:
U(3 RC4 info

Thank you Cloyd, I had forgotten about that setting. Appreciate the help.

I have now had a chance to test 4.13.4 somewhat online against other fliers, and I have found that the Team Diadalos patches pretty much tore the s#$! out of American and German energy fighters. The Corsair while not excellent used to be decent if used properly, .... not so now. The TA 152 was a monster plane (and was in real life). Try to fly it online in 4.13.4 and even with altitude and proper energy management, it flies poorly. I could go on..... but my main point is, is this Team Diadalos all turn and burn pilots who fly Spit 25lbs around and can anyone confirm they actually know what they are doing? I get the sense they are competent java programmers but not competent pilots who understand the carefully balanced framework that Oleg made, that allows a FW Dora to correctly engage a Spit. The crazy Oleg UFO, .... the 185 -71 .... it flies even better now in 4.13.4, as if it needed any extra help. It hardly overheats at all, turns like a Zero, goes 585 kph, etc..... Why did someone not protest these changes to Team Diadalos. Just because something is free does not indicate it is good.

So then...should I go back to 4.13.3?

If you agree with his opinion you need to go back to 4.09 beta and all its flaws since that is the last patch without any involvement by the Daidalos Team.


Wheels

Actually Nick, patch 4.10 by Team Diadalos did not change the majority of the flight models (FM - ie... the java code that executes how a plane will perform in the sim) and added a few useful features. I would go back to 4.10. Patch 4.11, is where Team Diadalos decided to downgrade several energy fighters and added on a new engine overheat function which further impairs many American and German energy fighters.

And what is your opinion Wheelsup? 6DOF is nice but not if the TA-152 which goes 585 kph at sea level in 4.09, goes 4.35 kph in 4.13.4. You can ride around in Oleg's UFO, the 185-71 for many minutes and never experience overheat, but the P-51 overheats in less than 30 seconds. I am no aviation historian but I suspect that is not even close to correct. What say you?

Thanks for enticing me to fly again, it's been pretty fun

So here are my results:


4.13.4 crimea, runway start


Ta152H could reach 550kph below 100m (using MW50), not too long due to overheating. Could cruise at 500/510kph.
La7 3XUB20 could reach 600+, cruise at 540.
SpitIX25Lbs, CW could reach 560kph, keep it for 3 time as long as Ta152 before overheating, then cruise at 520kph.

So well, Ta152H is pretty screwed at low alt.

Same test at 7000m, speeds are very comparable between the 3 types, but since Ta152H is the one that can turn the least, I wouldn't bet much on her at same energy state at this alt.

Same test at 9500m, using GM1, and there Ta152 shines. It has 30kph IAS margin, doesn't overheat as fast, can turn as well with its long wings, you have a winner there it seemed.

So I went for 1 vs 1 combat, vs ace La-7 and Spit25, at very low alt and at 9000+

La7 ate me twice at low alt, got him once on first head on, and won 4th twist and turn contest but what a fight !

At 9500m La7 got me once on a head-on, second try I avoided it and won the energy fight very easily.

Proceeded to fight Spit25 at 9500m, was much harder, stalled once then cooked my engine when engaging MW50 at high power, won the second contest by gaining altitude superiority then boom n zooming cautiously. Again, what a fight !

Ai was really easyer in 4.09, now it feels like I'm fighting an above average online player.

I use UP3RC4, it is still maintained and uses the flight models from 4.10, in fact UP3RC4 is the base of B.A.T. The SAS guys have a server on hyperlobby that is COOP called ~SAS~Ultrapack~
go HERE (https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/board,186.0.html) to read up about it

If you want a fully updated copy let me know and I'll PM you a Download link. OR you can download the mod and install it yourself.

I find the AI not as hard to beat and the flight models more realistic for US and British planes. They have incorporated the AI from 4.12.2 but the server keeps them set below veteran, but the AI will work two ship defensive and offensive tactics against you. I also recommend HSFX but this mod is no longer being updated. UP3RC4 is patched to 301 as of 02 DEC 2018

as far i remember DT doesn't touch FM since 4.11 or 4.12 ... and it was more than 5 years ago... other fm changes was only with new flyable plane...

I just bought the whole IL2 BoX set while the sale was on, after a good 8 years away from sims.

New PC, 4k monitos, all i need now is some pedals and a throttle and back to the good old days.