Pre-Introduction: This thread was started by me in early 2007 and updated by me until 2009. It is now summer of 2011 and quite honestly I haven't been following the changes within the IL-2 1946 community. Some of the information below may now out of date. If a link doesn't work for you, skip to Wheels_Cavu's post on Page 5 -- he made a valiant effort to correct the broken links and it has taken me a year to follow up it. ~Skycat

Introduction: As I was waiting for the North American release of the 1946 DVD to actually become available in stores, I began downloading important patches and updates in preparation. In my opinion, there are too many links to follow, especially for somebody who doesn't know the history of this sim or where to begin with updates. So, here is my attempt to consolidate information for absolute newcomers to the series.
* Important tip for Windows VISTA users: Do not install IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 to your Program Files folder. (I changed my install path to C:\IL-2 Sturmovik 1946.) VISTA puts additional protection on programs within the Program Files folder and this interferes with the game's ability to update some user preferences. Similarly, don't install utilities like IL2-MAT Manager or Demon's Uber-Quick Mission Generator to the Program Files folder either.

Part I: Official Patch(es). The IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 DVD-ROM ships as version 4.07m of the game. After installation, you will need to update to version 4.08m. There are numerous mirror links provided at UbiSoft's Pacific Fighters homepage, but I'll let you in on a little secret: you can download the 4.08m patch directly from UbiSoft's server.

* A beta version of the 4.09m patch was released on December 27, 2007. This must be installed after the 4.08m patch above. If you choose to use the beta be sure to back up or rename any files that are replaced by the beta first. Also, if you want to use the accompanying new default skins file, it must be installed after the main 4.09 beta patch's files. (Mirror for download: Filefront)

* The final version of the 4.09m patch was released in October of 2009. This replaces the beta version linked above. The 4.09m skinpack download is also linked on that page. SimHQ is also hosting the download plus the guides, Skins Pack and the Server patch. A SimHQ interview with the patch's developers can be read here.

* The Daidalos Team patch 4.10m is hosted at Mission4Today. A hotfix patch v4.101 was released after that; see SimHQ IL-2 Series Downloads forum. The 4.08m and 4.09m patches must be installed first, then 4.10m and finally 4.101m.


Part II: Dynamic Campaign Generator (DGen) updates. The DVD ships with an old version of the DGen.exe program. It will run all of the dynamic campaigns on the DVD, but it is outdated and therefore incompatible with numerous 'user made' DGen campaigns. Even the official 4.08m and 4.09b1m patches do not update this program. You will need to download the most current version of DGen.exe, which is periodically updated by the program's author on an unofficial basis. (Back up your current DGen.exe first!)
Option 1: (Link is no longer valid. Go to option 2.)
Option 2: DGen.exe v4.0.8.7 is now included in the Enjoyr patches that are described in further detail later in this post. This version of DGen is the most current and will run all DGen campaigns.


Part III: Getting Up To Speed. At this point, you haven't yet added any new campaigns outside of the official channels. We will soon add some free, user-made dynamic campaigns. I encourage you to first become familiar with the basic game by reading this community authored FAQ. It answers many common questions, like how to release the planes from carrier decks or raise the landing gear on the Wildcat. The answer to both of these questions is that you have to assign keys yourself to various functions ... you can get some ideas for getting started in this thread about user defined controls. If you don't know how to read the instrument panel gages, a brief tutorial I made based on the Wildcat F4F-4 is now part of Bearcat99's "A Nugget's Guide To Getting Off The Ground." There is lots of good information within the Nugget thread including links to other tutorials.

Here's a great thread that explains what the difficulty options mean. Set the difficulty before you begin each career because once the first mission is generated you can't change any of the options for that campaign.


Part IV: Adding Free DGen Campaigns. For offline, single player mode, DGen provides nearly infinite replayability. However, the stock game does not provide careers for all nationalities or even for all of the maps. The community has filled some of this void with free campaigns; in addition there are commercially available packs like Battle Over Europe, OstFront, and The Last Days. I'll assume that you don't have any of the commercial packs yet and that you'd like to add some free stuff first. Fortunately, Enjoyr has recently made this very, very easy with his series of patches.

First, before you do anything else, I want you to make a backup copy of your DGen folder that is located in your main 1946 folder. We're about to overwrite and alter files, and you may wish to revert to your original files later. Don't say you haven't been warned.

The Enjoyr patch series: I'm going to narrow this down to just the links you should use if you only have the 1946 DVD:

1. EnjoyrPatch_forNoAddons. This patch will self-install most of its content but you'll have to decompress and manually install the zip files that are included in the "Other Files" folder if you wish to add them.
To use the optional replacement RAF and Luftwaffe pilot portraits in the raf_dgen_pilots_colours and luftwaffe_dgen_pilots_colours packs, look in the "Forgotten Battles" folder of each one, and then copy only the "Dgen" folder from each pack into your 1946 game's main folder.
* Note: Enjoyr's current patch self-installs DGen 4.0.8.7 for you.

2. Optional: Add supplemental textures packs that are listed on the same page as the EnjoyrPatch download. These are custom skins for all of the DGen campaigns included in Enjoyr's patch. These patches make life so much easier for you! The self-installing program puts all the skins where they need to go. Normally you would have had to sort out all these skin textures that come with each campaign yourself and then manually put them in the correct subfolders in your game folder. This is, to say the least, a tedious process. BTW, the campaigns will work fine without custom skins but the skins make the campaigns so much more authentic and immersive. You can also use any of these new skins you've added when you play online, in the Quick Mission and Full Mission Builders, or on your personal aircraft in offline single player modes.


Part IVb: Making the Italian Campaigns Included in the Enjoyr Patch Actually Work. (This section was added on 01/10/2009) The Enjoyr patch series has experienced many revisions since the first version. In the early versions all of the items that are required to make the Italian campaigns work properly were included in the "Other Files" folder of the Enjoyr patch download. Either by accident or by design, these necessary files have been ommitted from the Enjoyr patch downloads since sometime after v3.4. (This observation was valid as of v4.7 but may have been corrected since.) Unfortunately, because 1946 does not come with an Italian nationality folder or Italian speech pack by default, the Italian campaigns in the Enjoyr patches won't work if these are not somehow added.

However, there is a handy solution. First, go to CombatACE.com and create an account so you can log on to that site. Next, download DGen Updates by Skycat! It's an old, outdated pack now but there are important items within it that you can extract to complete the Italian campaigns in the Enjoyr patch:
1. Copy the PaintSchemes folder to your 1946 game's main directory.
2. Copy the Missions folder to your 1946 game's main directory. (You may wish to remove the GB subfolder from the "Campaign" subfolder first; otherwise you will get a new menu background for your RAF campaigns).
3. Copy the Samples folder to your 1946 game's main directory. This will add the Italian language speechpack and national music.

If you don't want to use my 'mega pack', here's where some of Italian campaign components originally came from:
1. Italian Campaign Pack -- includes speech files and campaign medals. (And here is analternate host.)
2. Italian Pack -- Pilot textures.


Part V: A Better Quick Mission Builder. Many newcomers soon ask, "How can I add more maps to the game's Quick Mission Builder?" Unfortunately, you can't. The good news, though, is that UberDemon has developed the UberQuick Mission Generator, a utility that works a lot like the QMB but it gives you access to almost all of the game's maps. At first glance, the UQMG might appear overwhelming and difficult to use, but actually it is pretty easy to learn. If you've been wanting to set up a simple dogfight scenario over Normandy or Kurland but you don't want to plot everything by hand in the Full Mission Builder, UQMG is definately the way to go. It even has a built-in tutorial.

1) Download, unzip and install UQMG 5.0.32 Full Release for FB+AEP+PF. * Note: If you are using Vista, do not install UQMG to your "Program Files" folder. (I changed my installation's path to C:/UberQuickPF and this allowed UQMG to work correctly.)
2) Launch UQMG from your Start menu and go through the initial set-up.
3) Create a mission and play it in IL-2 1946. Don't skip this step!!!
4) Download, unzip and install Upgrade 0016, version 5.0.44. * Note: If you are using Vista, simply copy the upgrade's "ini" folder over to your UberQuickPF folder.

Note: The original version of UQMG 5.0.44 is available at Mission4Today.


Part VI: Online Multiplay. Earlier versions of IL-2 software included a program that allowed access to UbiSoft's free server at Ubi.com. This feature is noticeably absent from IL-2 1946. However, Hyperlobby, an alternative 'online system' (and also free to use), has long been very popular with the IL-2 community. The 1946 version is supported at Hyperlobby's Forgotten Battles area.
1) Download and install the Hyperlobby client.
2) Launch Hyperlobby. (With Vista, I get several error messages here but then Hyperlobby works fine after that.) Accept the licensing agreement and choose a username and password for yourself.
3) In Hyperlobby, choose Forgotten Battles -- you may have to click on the circle in the upper right corner to bring up CONNECT/SELECT GAME. Direct Hyperlobby to your 1946 game's main folder; by default the location is C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\IL-2 Sturmovik 1946.
4) There should be a list of active Games In Progress in Hyperlobby's left margin. Find one that you can join; the fraction shows how many players are in that game vs. the maximum allowed. Click on any game's name for information about that game; you'll see the type of combat, the mission's difficulty options, who is playing, and whether a password is required to join. If the options suit you, click on the JOIN THIS GAME button. Hyperlobby will launch IL-2 1946 for you.


Part VII: Improved Aircraft Markings. The national markings, fuselage codes, and squadron insignias that appear on the aircraft are rendered by decals called MATs. The stock MATs are less than perfect however; for starters, they are too opaque and the aircraft's panel lines are obscured beneath them. More importantly to many players, the stock MATs are often historically inaccurate. Even at best, they are just too 'clean' for typical front line combat aircraft. Aces Artwork tackled this problem by creating the IL-2 MAT Manager utility and including hundreds of replacement MATs to choose from.

Installation into Windows XP should be pretty straightforward; just follow the procedure below. If you are using Windows VISTA, both IL2-MAT Manager and IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 must be installed outside of your Program Files folder to work ... I learned this the hard way.

1) Copy your 1946 game's "il2fb.exe" and rename the copy to "il2.exe." (You should now have both versions in your game's main folder. Don't simply rename il2fb.exe or else Hyperlobby and other utilities won't work.) Note: the .exe part of the name is a file extension and may not be visible in your game directory.
2) Edit the [Game] section of your game's conf.ini file so that ClearCache=0.
3) Go to your PaintSchemes folder and make sure that Cache and NetCache are not 'Read Only.'
4) Steps 4-10 replaced by the "All In One" installer linked below since the Aces Artwork site is no longer available.
Update: There is now an unofficial 'all-in-one' installer that is located at Mission4Today. More details on this patch can be found here.