I do have IL-1946 but would really like to play in Europe rather than the Pacific theater. Is there a beginner friendly sim out there that covers the European Theater?

Wings Over The Reich covers the Battle Of Britain. And OBD just announced an expansion (no release day yet) That will cover the air war in France.
This sim is the one I am most excited about. OBD spent years lovingly creating their WWI sim. They have now shifted there attention to WWII. I am going to enjoy watching it grow.
It is based on the MS Combat Flight Simulator 3 engine, which is a little more forgiving than IL-2 1946.
https://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/388/1/wings-over-the-reich

Very reasonably priced at 29.99 https://www.wingsoverthereich.com/

Also, not big downloads. I know you are on slow internet at the moment. Only about 3.4 GB, game and patch.

To bad it does not support VR , or else I'd buy it myself.

I think I'll finally be ready to take the VR plunge by Christmas this year. Hopefully there will be some good sales going on!

For me VR is a must for flight sims, but right now is not the best time to buy IMO. Several new VR headset options are on the near horizon, probably by Christmas but maybe not. If you were buying just 2 months ago Quest 2 would have been practically a slam dunk winner based on price and performance. But right now the waters are muddy.

Thanks for your suggestion! I may then just wait for the after-Christmas sales to see what is available.

IL2 Battle of Stalingrad might work. Much bigger download files than Wings Over The Reich, but it does support VR. The downside is to play in Western Europe you'll need to buy the Normandy and/or Bodenplatte expansions.

Avoid anything DCS if you're looking for a beginner flight sim.

I too have been putting off VR for a few years. Bought one very high end set along the way and sent it back for a refund -- the technology wasn't ready for my tastes.

I'll keep track of what you folks say about your new VR sets.

+1

The WWII stuff for DCS is simply a la' carte planes and a couple of maps and that's it. No missions, no campaigns, no careers, no "outside the cockpit" content so hence the immersion is pretty much zero.

As for the original question, if it is still available, I'd suggest to go for the free demo of the original "Rise of Flight". It comes with two flyable planes, Albatros DVa and Spad.13 iirc.
The nice thing abuut it is, that as WW1 sim, the available controls are simple, stick, rudder, throttle, maybe also mixture, and cooling. Pretty good to learn the ropes of the flight controls, With the weak engines and light frames things can be a bit tougher, but both planes above are quite forgiving in this respect.

Just stay away from planes with rotary engines, like Sopwith Camel and Fokker Dr.1 - if you are new to flight simming, you'd think the sime, the plane or your controls are broken with the stuff those planes do with you

For start and landing you have wide airfields instead of runways, so you can avoid crosswind landings, no bothing with flaps, trimming, and such stuff either...


Just checked, seems you can still download it here: RoF Free2Play, might also be on Steam as well....

I'd like to try VR but the whole glasses thing makes it difficult...

As for easier sim, IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad series isn't that hard to jump into and has plenty of difficulty settings. I love Rise of Flight, but as has been mentioned, stay away from the Sopwith Camel and a few of the other rotary engine planes. There's a reason it was called the "widowmaker" and the sim models this well. You have to heavily use your rudders and in ways that are not intuitive to other aircraft, such as the primary surface for turning and avoiding spins.

If you want to try modern jets then Strike Fighters 2 may scratch your itch.

Flying WWI aircraft practically demands a head tracking system. The wings take up a lot of your view. POV switch does not do a good enough job IMO.

Personally VR does not appeal to me at all. I don't ever see me taking that leap. Between the family and the dog, I like to be aware of what's going on around me.

Does IL-2 1946 with B.A.T. not have a European theatre terrain? I did not know this. I assumed that it did.

Wizard

Yes it does. But Snow46 's current situation does not allow large downloads. He does not have BAT yet.

I just looked at the web site for wings over the reich and it looks great. If you are playing this, does it have an easy mode that would help me ease into the game?

My internet download speed is not greater than 5Mbts and streaming a new game is limited to 100k-1Mbts. I will be adding BAT in November when at another location and have 100Mbts capability. I am hoping to download the game to a portable hard drive and install it back in Idaho later.

Yes, there are options to make it very forgiving. It's a great sim, that is only going to get better.

Purchased WOTR, downloading now

Thanks for the advice!

You are welcome. I believe you will be very happy.

Snow46. With WOTR only being 3gb, why not go somewhere with free wifi, (coffee shop, burger joint) and download it to your phone ?

Does the zip file include a manual? The zip is only 2.8GB, it will still take about 5 hours to download.

I honestly cannot remember if there’s anything in the Zip..but here’s a link to the page where you can download the FAQ and Also a key guide for WOTR..Don’t forget to download the latest patch from the downloads page. (1.24 is the latest)..and definitely BACK UP your downloaded zip file.

Support page

And downloads page Downloads

No manual in the zip.
Yes, definitely backup your download, and save your key. Or you may end up purchasing it more than once, like me

I had some trouble when I installed WOTR on my PC. Apparently some virus and malware protection will identify it as a problem. I finally got it done, but it was a bit of pain in the ....

How do I backup the download…never mind figured it out. Key guide is massive…is there a more simple version? Beginner friendly. Is there a manual?

Just copy and paste the zip file to USB drive or external hard drive.
Backup just means save a copy.

Snow46, read the Faqs before attempting to install. It is very important to follow the steps correctly.

It seemed to install correctly, I still dont know how or what to load into the FCS, but got a little confused on the first mission as there doesnt seem to be a "skip" button and my guns didnt fire. I didn't take the time in the prebriefing to look that my guns were not loaded. Still trying to learn the game, I guess I need to simplify the key chart until I get more familiar.

Did you program your joystick within the game ?
Go into Workshops............Re Map Keys and Controllers...(Make sure to SAVE)

You don't have to use Thrustmaster's programming software (T.A.R.G.E.T)

Just install the driver/firmware. https://support.thrustmaster.com/en/product/t16000mfcs-en/

It is much easier to program within the game.

Here are the keyboard commands, there are increase/decrease time keys.
https://www.wingsoverthereich.com/index_htm_files/WOTR-KEYGUIDE.pdf

I did install T.A.R.G.E.T, do I need to delete prior to installing the driver/firmware? Thanks for the keyboard commands, now to figure out which ones to start with on the “easy” mode. Thanks for all the help.

You only need the TARGET software to program outside of games. I prefer to program within the game, so much easier. It's up to you if you want to keep TARGET or not. I would uninstall TARGET. Then download install the driver/firmware. You need to connect your joystick for the install.

Then go into the game, go into Workshops............Re Map Keys and Controllers and see if your controller is displayed in the top right.
From there you can program commands to your joystick.

I decided to “simplify” the keyboard commands focused on flying in an “easy” mode. I practiced taking off and landing and getting used to the typhoon. When I started a campaign I was just about the last person to take off. Even though I was at 100%, the group flew away from me. Using the map, I followed the tracks through the waypoints but totally missed any action as I didn’t see anyone until I returned to base. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I did turn the training on, but after 2 miles of falling behind, I was just flying by myself. Is there a way to see on the map the friendly aircraft and the enemy aircraft?

I will be in France starting Tuesday and should return on the 7th of October. Thanks so much for the help, the visuals are very good!

Yes, there are controls to show what you want on the map, or TAC display . Just read through the controls.
I fall behind all the time. I have yet to master the art of flying in formation.
BTW, just like in real life, there is not always a lot of action.