76.IAP-Blackbird

And check the skins of the different planes, so they match an equal quality and paint level. The Mig-17 looks great, but out of the line compared to the rest (skin)

A nice Map, nice weather effect if possible, push the engine to the next level

You were provided with great coffee, out of huge cups

It was a nice trip and well spend money on both ends, Enoc and the guys are great! Meet Muesli for the first time to pick up Enoc at Breda and get him to Germany. What a funny little guy

Update 5.002 Dear Friends, The huge update 5.002 was just released - it contains both new content and a lot of improvements for all released modules at once. The heavy British infantry tank Churchill IV is released - it is already available in the game for everyone who has purchased it. The tank represents a Lend-Lease program vehicle on the Eastern Front. There is a thorough description of it in the Dev Blog #328 - we recommend you to take a look since there are many interesting features. The update contains really important improvements for ALL aircraft of our projects — now you can customize their tactical numbers. The style of tactical numbers for each aircraft corresponds to the average historical practice: in reality, the numbers were applied with huge differences even on the same model of aircraft, however, the style we have chosen reconstructs historical prototypes well. Unique "fonts" have been created for each country, and the user can choose not only a symbol, but also its color. The available selection depends on the aircraft model according to historical data. In addition to being customizable by the player, in the Quick Mission, Advanced Quick Mission, and Pilot's Career modes the AI-controlled aircraft also have correct tactical numbers. In addition, the technology of dynamic visual damage (DVD) is now applied to ALL aircraft in our project. Essentially it makes the impact marks appear exactly where they should, not just in a general area like part of the wing. You are already familiar with it - earlier it was working on tanks, Flying Circus Vol.2 aircraft and some Battle of Normandy aircraft. Now the new system is used everywhere. It should be noted that since the position of these dynamic marks must be transmitted in a network game, an optimization was in order to avoid a decrease in the performance of the network module: in a multiplayer game, only hit marks from bigger rounds are displayed, bullet hits aren’t due to their number. In single player mode hit marks from all calibers are present. In the version 5.002 ALL aircraft also received a completely new visualization of the rotating propeller. Its appearance is now based on the physical principles and the image is matched to how it looks on video recordings, taking in account interference and strobe effects. The 3/4 view of the propeller corresponds to the direction of its rotation, forming a "crescent" pattern according to how the blades are facing the observer at each place of the propeller disk. The side view at the propeller depends on the propeller pitch. When viewed from the front, there is an effect of scratches flickering in the sun. In addition, the blurred propeller texture changes according to the paint scheme. A long-standing problem related to the excessive visibility of aircraft navigation and formation lights was also resolved. On all aircraft, the visibility of such lights is reduced to a common denominator and in accordance with historical data. There are well over 60 improvements and fixes waiting for you in this update. For instance, three new cargo ships were added for the Battle of Normandy. The full list of changes can be found below. Take a look at the last item on the list - the story of how it made it into the update is very interesting. After the release of Normandy, a gentleman who saw our trailer on YouTube recognized his father’s Typhoon by its tactical number (!), and wrote about it in the comments. He offered to provide more information and send photos. Of course, we updated the information (it is in the description of the paint scheme ‘Collins’), and we have found an excellent use for one photo. As you know, in our sim you can place a photo in the cockpit of aircraft and tanks - by default it is a woman corresponding to the era and country, but the player can replace it with an image of their own loved ones or even put some notes there. Now the Typhoon by default will have the real photo of the wife and child of the 245th squadron leader Jack Collins, who has been killed in action over Normandy - exactly the photo that he would have placed himself in the cockpit of his aircraft in 1944. This is a kind of a digital monument, a tribute to the memory of the pilot and his family. We want to extend this practice to other aircraft and tanks in our simulator - if you happen to know relatives of a pilot or tank crew member who fought in one of them, and they still have wartime photographs showing his family, please tell them to contact us at pr@1cgs.net. 5.002 Main Features Player-controllable detailed tank Churchill IV is now available to its customers; All Great Battles aircraft have new rotating propellers visualization tech; All Great Battles aircraft now use user-defined tactical numbers. The tactical number format for each aircraft reasonably corresponds to historical prototypes and varies by country. The font of numbers for each country is different and was chosen as the most commonly used from a historical and technical point of view. Additional paint schemes that are compatible with customizable tactical numbers are added; All Great Battles aircraft have the new tech of navigation and formation lights visualization, their visibility range became more realistic; All Great Battles aircraft use the DVD (dynamic visual damage) technology that was previously applied for tanks - the impact marks from bullets and shells are placed in the impact location (not just in a general area like part of the wing). The size and appearance of the marks is consistent with the type and caliber of the projectile, as well as the material of the skin at the point of impact; Bayfield-class assault transport ship added; Liberty cargo ship added; 12,000 ton cargo ship Design 1013 added; Normandy Map Improvements River borders in some French port cities corrected; Rivers near railway bridges and landmarks corrected; Churches in some areas were replaced with more historically suitable models; Coastal cliffs positions corrected; Many railway bridges were replaced with ones more suitable for specific locations; Mulberry A and Mulberry B port plans corrected; Windmills, water towers and production workshops positions corrected throughout the map; Some leftover trees removed from airfields; Several French port layouts corrected according to the new historical data; Fixed a problem with fortification objects partially hanging in the air; Fixed a problem with houses, barracks and production shops partially hanging in the air; Road network refined on the entire map; Manston airfield texturing adjusted; Miscellaneous Changes A-20 cockpit canopy reflections adjusted when viewed from the outside; Bf 109 spinners won’t visibly “turn 180°” when viewed from a distance; Red underwing smoke generator works correctly on SPAD XIII; Colliding with certain houses won’t cause tanks and other ground vehicles to be pushed in the air; Player controllable detailed tanks won’t stuck on the ruins of some houses; Rotating a ground object view camera won’t cause it to freeze or jump to the coordinate root in certain situations; MLRS won’t sometimes ‘creep forward’ when firing; Fixed an issue with the wingmen progressively falling behind in altitude when flying in a formation when the leader is climbing; The V-1 cruise missile autopilot ability to recover from a push has been reduced, making it easier to knock off course; V-1 engine flame effect looks correct from a distance; IL-2 airframe sturdiness has been corrected (now its tail is more resistant to damage); In Quick Missions where you control an AA gun the skins of target aircraft are set in accordance with the side, season and theater; Career: fixed an issue where the flight leader could taxi back to the last taxiing point on the runway before starting the takeoff; Career: fixed an issue that caused an empty bridgehead cover mission generation when choosing to start in the air; Normandy Career and AQM: a car on the runway and a parked plane near the control tower on the Thorney Island airfield were removed; Normandy Career and AQM: signal fires were removed from the airfield A1 Saint-Pierre-du-Mont taxiways; Normandy Career and AQM: static aircraft were removed from the edge of the runway on the Plumelot airfield; Normandy Career: now your character can be captured when landing or bailing out over enemy territory; Mission Editor: fixed an issue where changing the model of a detailed building in a mission could make it indestructible and generate script errors; Mission Editor: fixed the assignment of an object script for detailed buildings after changing the building model via the Properties > Model dialog; Mission Editor: Properties > Model dialog for Artillery, Buildings, Blocks, Blocks Detail and Firing Point object types now contains only the objects of the corresponding type; Mission Editor: the ability to link the objects in different groups has been restored due to a popular demand; Mission Editor: logical objects were removed from the Normandy map templates (this caused a large number of error messages during mission integrity checks, but did not affect the game functioning in any way); Mission Editor: the “/” symbol in the path to the object skin will be read correctly; Historically correct single-barreled 40-mm Bofors guns and the rangefinder post are added to the LST landing ships; Now the amount of time an AI aircraft can spend in a negative G maneuver is limited; Camouflage colors of the Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.G tank and the Flakpanzer IV Mobelwagen self-propelled anti-aircraft gun were fixed; A disabled detailed tank won’t incorrectly remain a group leader (previously damage to the vehicle could be incorrectly taken into account); AI wingmen execute commands "Attack air targets", "Attack ground targets" and "Attack air and ground targets" better; AI pilots engage brakes on the runway when waiting for the takeoff; Ar 234B2 drag parachutes and the SB 1000/410 bomb look correctly from a distance; Improved display of translucency of camouflage nets at a distance; Fixed graphical bugs in wagon models, due to which some of their parts began to “glow” in the dark in distant views; Fixed a graphical bug in the airfield barracks model (arf_eu_barrackblack) that caused a destroyed building to look like an intact one at a medium middle distance; Fixed display of balloon cables in multiplayer; Fixed an issue with the visual disappearance of the ammo belt and a false message about reloading when correcting a misfire in a bow (forward firing) machine gun on German tanks; The M2 commander's machine gun on the M4A2 tank can overheat and misfire; In multiplayer Dogfight mode a mismatch of tactical codes has been fixed; Fixed a game crash that could occur when a detailed SPG is following Attack Area - Attack Ground order; P-51B-5 some parts of the landing gear won’t "glow"; The size of HE shell DVD hit marks on thin metal and non-metal was increased by 3 times; The M8 Greyhound and Morris C9B combat vehicles have been temporarily removed for revision; Fixed a game crash for a guest commander when the owner of the tank exited the mission and there was an active order to move or attack; Fixed switching to the visor view when the tank is below a certain height above sea level; Last but not the least: the default photo in the Typhoon cockpit has been replaced with a real photo provided by the family of the 245th squadron leader, Jack Collins, who was killed in action over Normandy. Have fun!!! :)

Dear Friends, Today is a big day. IL-2 Sturmovik team is glad to report that after almost three years of development Battle of Normandy is out of Early Access and is officially released - 5.001 update is out! «You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.» Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The official release also means that in addition to Battle of Normandy Premium Edition in our webstore there’s now Standard Edition without two Collector Planes - German jet bomber Arado Ar 234 and British fighter Spitfire Mk.XIV (they can be bought individually). On Steam the new module and its accompanying Collector Planes will appear in the coming weeks - please stay tuned while we work out the details. As usual, Battle of Normandy owners who have linked IL-2 and Steam accounts can access all the new content in the Steam version already. These years weren’t easy, but they were very interesting. During the development we have created many new technologies and approaches, did a lot of historical research, implemented new solutions. The last aircraft for Battle of Normandy were released in Early Access in August and today we add the last pieces - the map of the Northern France and Southern England, Pilot Career mode, Quick Mission Builder and Advanced Quick Mission Generator support for the new map. We have told about the Career mode and the new map in our recent Dev Blogs, but must point out again that they set the new record in terms of the work involved. New mission types, new airfield types, new airfields appearing on the map after D-Day - bringing their total amount to 100 airfields with historically accurate layouts! New objects created specially for the module - ships, ground vehicles, buildings, coastal defenses, V-1 buzzbombs and their launch positions, dozens of new aircraft paint schemes, etc. Battle of Normandy contains 10 player controllable aircraft (8 in the Standard Edition): - Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib – British fighter/bomber, - North American P-51B-5 Mustang – American long range fighter, - Republic P-47D-22 Thunderbolt – American fighter/bomber, - Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 Late – late version of the German fighter, - Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 Würger - German fighter, - De Havilland Mosquito F.B. Mk.VI ser.2 – British twin engine fighter-bomber, - Messerschmitt Me 410 A-1 Hornisse – German twin engine fighter-bomber, - Junkers Ju 88 C-6 – German twin engine heavy fighter, - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV – British fighter (Collector Plane included in the Premium Edition), - Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz – German twin engine jet bomber and recon aircraft (Collector Plane included in the Premium Edition). Each aircraft includes a slew of historically correct modifications - unlike other games where each modification would be counted as a separate aircraft model, in Great Battles you can freely select and combine them. For instance, Me-410 A-1 mentioned above has modifications that, when selected, make it a whole model lineup: 1. Me-410 A-1/U2, 2. Me-410 A-1/U4, 3. Me-410 B, 4. Me-410 B-2, 5. Me-410 B-2/U1, 6. Me-410 B-2/U2, 7. Me-410 B-2/U4, 8. Me-410 B-2/U4 field mod with four MG 151 guns. In addition to the all above, update 5.001 contains the results of the big work on the damage model improvements which are of course are applicable to all the modules as usual - as you can see in the long list below, it required many changes in various parts of the sim. The testing and tuning of these changes by beta-testers from the community took a lot of time. We think this is the big step forward for Great Battles series and hope you’ll enjoy it. There are many other fixes and improvements - for instance, the mission loading time has been reduced dramatically, several times less on some PC configurations! The pilot and tank crew AI got better, etc.: Main Features 1. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to Northern France and Southern England map in two variations (before and after the D-Day). As usual, in multiplayer mode the map can be accessed by all Great Battles players. 2. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to the mid-1944 Career mode (3 countries, 5 phases, 17 frontline states, 225 historical squadrons, 103 of them joinable by the player, many new mission types). 3. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to QMB and AQMG game modes on the new map for a quick action, also with many new mission types. 4. Numerous new aircraft paint schemes added, including different invasion stripes for various time periods of 1944. 5. PzKpfw IV Ausf.H. tank added (AI controlled). 6. Flakpanzer IV «Möbelwagen» SPAA added (AI controlled). 7. Gleaves-class destroyer added (AI controlled). 8. The loading speed of all missions on all Great Battles maps has been improved significantly. Damage Model Improvements 9. Aircraft DM: RHA equivalent of the aircraft skin has been reduced nearly three times to the previous (wrong) values. 10. Aircraft DM: an issue that made aircraft skin damage too severe for larger bombers and some fighters has been fixed. 11. Aircraft DM: like the previously released change for larger caliber ammo, now all projectiles in the game loose integrity and stability after penetrating a significant armor thickness which affects their remaining ability to penetrate armor. 12. Aircraft DM: the relative speed of the target is correctly accounted for projectile penetrations calculations. 13. Aircraft DM: AP bullets and shells make slightly bigger holes in the airframe and aircraft skin. 14. Aircraft DM: powerful HE rounds explosions cause more damage to the airframe, aircraft skin and components. 15. Aircraft DM: small HE bullets cause less damage to aircraft skin. 16. Aircraft DM: it is now possible to damage radiators and fuel tanks when firing 7.62-7.92 rounds from more than 350 m distance. 17. Aircraft DM: bullets are less likely to ricochet from aircraft skin at low angles. 18. Aircraft DM: Bf 109 radiator collision model has been improved (previously its wrong shape could cause most smaller caliber bullets to ricochet when fired directly from behind). 19. Aircraft DM: the loss of the bullets energy hitting Bf 109 F-4 engine has been corrected. 20. Aircraft DM: an issue that caused bullets hitting Spitfire Mk.XIV MGs and guns to not lose energy has been fixed. 21. Aircraft DM: engine fire probability from bullet hits has been somewhat increased for WWI-era piston engines and jet engines. 22. Aircraft DM: engine fire probability from bullet hits has been reduced for WWII-era piston engines. 23. Aircraft DM: fuel tank fire probability from bullet hits has been reduced. 24. Aircraft DM: fuel tank fire and explosion probability from HE ammo hits has been reduced, now it depends on the HE power more. 25. Aircraft DM: it’s now harder to put out the fires by side-slip movement. 26. Aircraft DM: the several years old ‘crew health cheat’ (they required four point-blank 7.62 bullets in the torso or two in the head to be killed) has been removed. Now their ability to sustain damage is much more close to reality. 27. Crew DM: a random error that could cause a death from mild G-loads has been found and fixed, thus improving survivability rate during emergency landings. 28. Ballistics: ricochet tendency has been reduced somewhat. 29. Right wing MGs on P-51B can be correctly damaged. 30. P-51B and D fighters wings (middle-upper parts) can be correctly damaged. Me 410 Improvements 31. Me 410A-1: weapon panel placards corrected for WB 151 and MG 131 modifications. 32. Me 410A-1: missing rods from bomb doors to the forward window added. 33. Me 410 A-1: speed and timer gauges in the pilot’s cockpit corrected. 34. Me 410 A-1: altitude and speed gauges in the gunner’s cockpit corrected. 35. Me 410 A-1: bomb holders for 250 kg bombs and for SB 1000/410 look corrected. 36. Me 410 A-1: radiator fenders indicators light up when the cockpit light is turned on. 37. Me 410 A-1: the rear landing gear state affects air drag. 38. Me 410 A-1: technochat message warning about the gun overheating restored for the gunner. 39. Me 410 A-1: now the gunner can use the entire horizontal range of the guns for aiming. 40. Me-410 A-1: radiators can be correctly damaged by AP projectiles, resulting in coolant leaks. 41. Me 410A-1 intercept missions added to AQMG game mode. Tank Crew Improvements 42. M4A2, KV-1s, Pz.IV.G, Pz.V.D, Pz.VI.H1 hatches close when the turret blocks them. 43. The damage of the gun barrels base on Pz.III, Pz.IV and Pz.VI is calculated correctly when it is hit by fragments. 44. In multiplayer a guest gunner (who connected to someone else tank) won’t constantly hear the turret turning mechanism noise. 45. In multiplayer a tank owner won’t hear the gun or MG reloading sound when another player connected to his tank to the gunner or MG gunner station. 46. In multiplayer turning aircraft or tank turrets controlled by another player emit correct turning sounds. AI Improvements 47. AI controlled bombers keep formation a bit better during climb. 48. AI pilots will attempt to return to base in the event of an oil or coolant leak. 49. Me 410 pilots will correctly drop bombs in a deep dive. 50. Mosquito, Ju 88 C6 and Me 410 pilots will correctly drop underwing bombs. 51. Twin and 4x guns in AI controlled vehicles won’t judder during aiming. Other Improvements 52. Dropping an 1650 pounds bomb from Handley Page O/400 bomber won’t display an error. 53. A visual artifact in front of the right engine of Handley Page O/400 bomber has been removed. 54. An issue that caused guns and MGs to ‘float’ above certain breastwork has been fixed. 55. ‘No jamming’ difficulty option works correctly for aircraft turrets. 56. Me 410 is correctly counted in stats. 57. Visual bomb explosion effects has been corrected for cases when a bomb ricochets and goes off above the ground. 58. Proximity and CheckZone triggers in missions won’t erroneously count non-spawned and inactive objects. 59. External camera works correctly after flying beyond the map borders. 60. An issue that could lower the muzzle speed of an overheated MG before causing additional scattering of the fired bullets has been fixed. 61. Both P-47 have their idle engine RPM corrected (it was a bit too high potentially causing moving with brakes applied.

The summer is ending, just like our Battle of Normandy release preparations. Two variations of the Normandy and Southern England map (before and after the invasion) are ready, Career mode is ready, Quick Missions and Advanced Quick Missions are ready - today we're starting the release candidate testing. This time we want to spend more time and resources on the testing and debugging. The beta-testing of the 5.001 update is going for two weeks already and we plan to test the release candidate for two more at least. There's a reason for that - it will include not only the Battle of Normandy, but a number of global improvements as well. The main global change is the long promised revision of the aircraft Damage Model. This time we have attempted to make more fundamental changes and not just "adjust the airframe durability to meet player expectations", but reverse-engineer the system in search of potential issues in many of its parts. During this process we have found a number of calculation passes which could be improved or tuned. These changes are already in the beta and beta-testers have responded that the damage received by aircraft in various combat situations looks significantly more adequate and realistic. We understand that this is a touchy subject, so the final changes will be explained in detail in the release notes of the 5.001 update. Speaking of the finishing of the new map and Career mode, we want to say that for each new project we have set more and more ambitious goals for ourselves, even if it wasn't clear in the beginning how it would work out and what the final answer to these challenges would be. Once again, many parameters have surpassed their previous records in the series. For instance, the length of the coastline is 990 km on the French coast and 1060 km on the English coast. 490 major cities and towns, not counting the minor ones, were recreated while keeping in mind their overall historical boundaries and main layout features. 100 airfields are waiting for your flight - and not one of them is 'default' or cloned, they all have historical layouts reconstructed using documents and air photos. Moreover, a new set of the airfield surface types was created: 1. Grass 2. CON (Concrete) 3. WC (Wood Chippings) - concrete covered by wood chippings and tar 4. TAR (Tarmac) - asphalt 5. ETH (Compressed Earth) 6. PBS (Prefabricated Bituminous Surface) - canvas saturated with tar 7. ST (Sommerfeld Track) - steel wire mesh reinforced with steel bars 8. SMT (Square-Mesh Track) - square mesh 9. PSP (Pierced Steel Planking) - stamped steel plates. As we have mentioned, there are two map variations created - before and after the invasion. Pre-invasion map lacks newly constructed airfields and constructions erected after D-Day on the Normandy shore. Career mode development required detailed information on symbols, tour of duty, bases, armament and assigned tasks for 285 squadrons acting in this project - players can join 102 of them and others are populated by AI pilots. This is another record for the Great Battles series. 9 new mission types were designed for the Normandy Career concentrating on the D-Day events and V-1 intercepts. Pilot's Career in the Battle of Normandy timeframe contains 5 phases and 17 front line states that change along the progression of time. As always, all the scenarios generated in the Career mode are unique even if you fly to the same target again - the generated combat situation will be different, while the weather will correspond to the real weather on that day. All in all, we're hoping that Battle of Normandy will be the most significant release in the IL-2 Great Battles series and all of you who have supported us all these years will enjoy another virtual, but to a great extent historically accurate reconstruction of a major air battle, that was created with love and respect to our common history.

Update 4.707 Dear Pilots and Tankers! The IL-2 Sturmovik team is nearing the finish line of our Battle of Normandy development cycle. However, after some deliberation, we decided not to make you wait any longer than necessary for the next update and to prepare an interim release for you containing what is already ready. So, today we bring you the final aircraft in the BON hangar – the Me 410 A-1 ‘Hornisse’ and our new Custom Input Profile feature! Our Me 410 was built from scratch and became a very challenging model for us to build. Its cockpit and rear facing gunner station is very unique and it took several modelers to finish it. There were many engineering challenges and complex equipment to model. It can appear to the user as an example of clever WWII German engineering or unnecessarily complex WWII German engineering long after the war had shifted against the Luftwaffe. Whatever way it strikes you, our 410 is the most highly detailed model of its kind in any combat flight simulator to date. Our very special team has built a very special bird. It comes loaded with many armament options to create several different sub-variants that you can try in virtual combat. Enjoy! In addition to the new aircraft, we have prepared for you a feature that you have been asking us to make for a long time – Custom Input Profiles and Pitch Response Profiles that can be assigned to individual aircraft. We created a video about this new feature for you earlier, but we recommend that you review it again so you can understand how it works. It’s quite simple, but powerful. Like all other features of Il-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles, this new feature will be available to owners of all titles in the series – Normandy, Stalingrad, Moscow, Kuban, Bodenplatte, Flying Circus I/II and Tank Crew. The final Normandy release event will take place in the coming weeks as we put the finishing touches on the Normandy map and gameplay modes such as the Pilot Career, QMB and AQMG. We also need to finish our prep work for the V-1 “Buzz Bomb”. At that point we will release it here in the IL-2 Official Webstore and on Steam and remember that shortly thereafter the price will increase to its normal full price. If you haven’t already jumped in, now is a super great time to do so!!! As always, in addition to the main changes, we have made a number of improvements and fixes aimed at improving the quality of your simulation experience. We hope you enjoy. Main Features 1. The German Me 410 twin-engine two-seat fighter-bomber is now available for all players who have pre-ordered Battle of Normandy; 2. You can now create various Input Profiles and assign them to different planes and tanks; 3. You can now create pitch axis response profiles and assign them to different aircraft; 4. New gunners model (as well as navigator in the A-20 and radio operator in the C-47) for American A-20, B-25, and C-47 aircraft crews added; 5. New bridge destruction visual effects added; Armament Changes 6. Machine guns and automatic cannons on aircraft and player controllable tanks can now misfire when overheated (including the turret guns); 7. If a loader is killed in a player controllable tank, the player has to press the reloading key after each shot to reload the gun; 8. The bug that caused too frequent misfires of WWI aircraft weapons has been fixed; 9. MG81 gun barrel overheat value has been corrected (it overheated too fast); 10. Restored the techno-chat message about machine gun overheating in aircraft and tank turrets; 11. The issue where an AP shell could be stopped by one 100mm plate but couldn't be stopped by 50mm+50mm double plates was fixed. Spaced armor plates with total thickness similar to one thick plate now stop AP rounds better than one plate; 12. An explosion of an APHE projectile inside a detailed tank would correctly damage nearby equipment or crew members (previously it could result in no damage in some cases); 13. The issue of large bombs damaging only a small part of a dense scene (many objects) has been minimized; Arado 234 Changes 14. The destructive overload value listed in the Ar 234 aircraft datasheet has been corrected; 15. The effect of Ar 234 flight stability loss at overcritical Mach numbers has been reduced; 16. Ar 234 cockpit reflections became more pronounced; AI changes 17. AI controlled planes which rotated on the ground because of damaged landing gear are now removed from the simulation after some time (previously such planes could rotate infinitely during takeoff or landing and thus occupy the runway); 18. AI terrain recognition algorithm has been improved when flying in groups (previously its shortcomings could cause them to crash when flying over a terrain with big altitude differences, like over mountains on the Kuban map); 19. AI aircraft turret gunners now lean to the machine gun and prepare to fire on the target in advance, before it enters the fire zone; 20. AI pilots differentiate by altitude while landing on a same airfield; 21. Due to a bug in the target selection the AI tank gunners operating the guns with a limited fire sector did not fire when they were assigned targets outside their fire sector - this shouldn’t happen again; Mission Editor Changes 22. It is possible to edit countries and coalitions for multiple locations of the same type; 23. The ability to place outgoing target links from MCU:Complex Trigger has been removed (the necessary links were and still are set only through Events in the Advanced Properties of the Trigger itself, the outgoing target link did not work); 24. Object links for Land and Take Off commands can be set only for aircraft; 25. The performance when copying/pasting objects in large missions has been improved; 26. New Ungroup Recursive command was added for a group of objects, allowing to ungroup all subgroups in it; 27. The durability of Building, Block, Bridge, and Airfield object types can be reset to default values using the Reset Durability button. There is also a new command in the Tools menu with the self-explanatory name Reset All Durability; Multiplayer Changes 28. When connecting to a Dogfight server, airfields in the lobby appear faster; 29. Mission script commands in Cooperative game mode work for groups of objects with players; Other Changes 30. Oyster_KAI has improved cockpit detail of P-51B, Mosquito, Bf-110E2/G, Ju-88A4/C6 and He-111H6/H16; 31. The (fictional) photographers' names appear under photos in newspapers in Career mode; 32. Landscape parts shouldn’t disappear from view on wide-angle VR HMDs anymore; 33. Pause button during recorded track playback works correctly; 34. Me 410 has been added to the Rhineland pilot career mode to II./KG 51 (joinable by player).

Dear Pilots! Today’s Developer Diary is a continuation of last weeks with more pictures of the upcoming ME 410 release, this time of the very cool looking cockpit along with more images of airfields on the Normandy map. The ME 410 is the last of the player flyable aircraft from the Normandy plane-set to be released and the cockpit proved to be a challenge to create, especially with its unique defensive armament arrangement and complicated gunner controls. However, our modeling and engineering teams have once again created an amazing combat experience for IL-2 pilots. The ME 410 will enter beta testing very soon and testers can put it through its paces. We’re almost there Hornisse fans! A fun fact about the Normandy map is that there are 100 airfields total when you combine the airfields in southern England and Normandy regions. These pics are just a few. Work on the Normandy map, Normandy Career and remaining vehicles and ships continue full throttle as we march to release in the coming weeks. And just a reminder that BON still has it’s Early Access discount, but time is getting short. If you have not already purchased it, now is a great time to pull the trigger. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots, Today’s DD brings us images of the ME 410 A-1 in the engine finally, showing off some of its paint-schemes and beautiful lines. This beautiful bird has been in development for a long time, but the wait has been worth it. The cockpit was an especially challenging piece of work and we’ll have pics of it in the next Developer Diary, but today feast your eyes on its external beauty. Our 410 an A-1 model, but with various modifications that are included it can also become a B-2 variant. We think you will really enjoy the ME 410 A-1 ‘Hornisse’ as it was known. It’s another triumph for the Sturmovik modeling and engineering teams! The ME 410 will enter Beta in about a week’s time. We also have several images of airfields that will be present on the Normandy map. It’s nearing completion and will enter Beta soon as well. It should be noted that the images below are still WIP and some textures may not final. As we have highlighted in previous diaries, different fields have different surfaces. These images definitely demonstrate a variety of different types. Just like our previous maps there will be numerous airfields to launch missions from and of course attack! There is just a huge variety of different airfield types to choose from. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Update 4.706 Dear Pilots! Battle of Normandy is getting closer and closer to that special moment - its release! Testing of the map and game modes will begin soon. New mission types are being created for the Normandy Career. Work is nearing completion on the last aircraft on the project list – the Me 410. All this is happening right now and the work is in full swing. However, at the same time, we try to release those elements of the project that are already ready without delay. So, today, we are producing two aircraft created as part of BON. The first one is the Arado AR 234 B-2. This jet powered single-seat twin-engine reconnaissance bomber is designed to be controlled by the player and has a number of new interesting systems we developed for it. It has a dive-bombing sight, reusable boosters, a drag chute, an automatic aircraft control system ("built-in" autopilot) and many other smaller features that should give you many hours of fun learning about the features of this aircraft. The second plane is the B-26B-55 Marauder AI twin-engine bomber. Although the B-26 is implemented as an AI piloted plane, the quality of this bird is just as good as all the other flyable ones. We made unique crew animations for it and created a new airborne gunner model (which will later be applied to the B-25, A-20 and C-47). We also, implemented a number of design features of this aircraft. In general, accompanying him, or attacking him, should be quite interesting for you. In addition to the two aircraft, some of the last AI objects planned for the Battle of Normandy are included in this update: a Bedford QL truck and tanker variant and several landing craft - LCA, LCM and LCT. Work on missions where these ships will play their main role has already begun. In addition, several other changes were made to improve the project, the list of which can be found below: 1. The German twin-engine single-seat jet reconnaissance bomber Arado AR 234 B-2 is now available for control by all players who pre-ordered the Battle of Normandy project; 2. AI controlled bomber B-26B-55 Marauder, created as part of the Battle of Normandy project, has been added to the project; 3. The Bedford QLD AI truck and its version of the Bedford QLC tanker, created as part of the Battle of Normandy project, have been added to the project; 4. Landing craft LCA, LCT, LCM, created as part of the Battle of Normandy project, have been added to the project; 5. Improved impact of small arms recoil on aircraft; 6. Improved physics of aircraft collision with static objects; 7. Restored the work of AI priorities set by the Force Complete command; 8. Improved animation of rocket launcher ammo in aircraft cockpits; 9. Mosquito FB Mk.VI series.2 - an artifact has been removed from the windshield next to the wiper; 10. Mosquito FB Mk.VI series.2 - the appearance of the pad on the standard red dot sight has been fixed: the pad from the Mk.III sight displayed on top of it has been removed; 11. Pilot career Battle of the Rhine, for the new aircraft Ar-234B-2, two squadrons available to the player - II./KG 76 and III./KG 76, and one AI squadron Sonderkommando Sperling / 1.(F)/ 123; 12. Pilot career Battle of the Rhine, AI aircraft B-26B-55 added, as well as the following AI squadrons that the player can meet in the career: 453rd BS, 454th BS, 455th BS, 456th BS, 556th BS, 557th BS, 558th BS, 559th BS, 584th BS, 585th BS, 586th BS, 587th BS, 596th BS, 597th BS, 598th BS, 599th BS (BS = Bomber Squadron); 13. Fixed a problem with shooting missiles by AI planes when taking off from the runway; 14. When flying in formation at night, aircraft will use formation lights (RESIN lights on Mosquito FB Mk.VI series.2, formation lights on A-20 and B-26); 15. Achtung Spitfire! Scripted Campaign has been updated to fix an issue with images. Have fun :)

The AR 234 is pretty dang cool. Added some AI B-26 which is also in this update. Enjoy

Dear Pilots, Today’s DD takes a look at our cliff models for the Normandy Map. Making realistic looking cliff faces in a flight-simulator is always tough. Whenever you make a map with the English Channel this becomes necessary. Many other development teams have had to craft them over the years and we are no exception. We had our first crack at them when we made our Channel Map for Rise of Flight about 10 years ago. We’ve gotten better at making them and below you can see some work-in-progress images of how they currently look in IL-2 Great Battles. Work on the Normandy map continues and it is really starting to take shape. The map will be released later this summer. However, the next update is already in Beta and it will include the Arado AR-234 jet bomber. What an interesting and challenging aircraft to model. She’s pretty complex. And the AI B-26 will also be I the next update. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots! In today’s DD we have three new things to show you. First, we have some screenshots of our Normandy Map which is coming together nicely. It’s looking very scenic! Second, we have developed the technology to launch a V-1 “Buzz Bomb” from fixed installations. They will make great targets for mission designers. And finally, we have been working on the technology necessary to portray amphibious landings which is necessary for Normandy. Normandy Landscape Below are screens from the new map. As you can see there are some rather large cities and towns as well as a variety of different airfield types. The landscape is also very beautiful. Together it will make a very interesting and fun map to fly over. V-1 Installations The dreaded V-1 is operational in our project for the first time. V-1 sites were prized targets by Allied pilots and needed to be silenced. The V-1s raining down on the UK in the summer of 1944 were a real problem and caused so much destruction and casualties. Attacking these sites will make for some excellent missions. Amphibious Landings And finally, we can’t have an invasion without landing craft bringing troops and vehicles to the beaches. In the images below we see some testing on one of our non-Normandy maps. We have found a clever way to make infantry objects that appear pretty convincing. These soldiers can advance and shoot at the enemy and of course they can perish. Just don’t ask these little pixel soldiers to make you a sandwich or tea, they aren’t that smart. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends, In today’s DD we see images of the AR-234 in some new skins and geometry of the IAR-80/81 cockpit. We also see the implementation of WWII style barrage balloons which can be used to protect ships and ground targets. These balloons can be towed by ships, winched up and down and if the wire is hit hard enough and severed the balloon will fly away. If the Luftwaffe ever does reach the invasion fleet watch out for these new obstacles! Our AR 234 B-2 jet bomber is nearing its final stages of development and we have some cool skins to show you today. What a great looking aircraft. The IAR-80/81 Collector Plane is also making progress. The cockpit geometry is about done and ready for texturing. Looks like a very busy cockpit! Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Attention Pilots! We are proud to announce that we are now accepting Pre-Orders for three new Collector Planes! We continue to build and offer interesting and legendary aircraft for the Great Battles series that enhances gameplay and offers new experiences to our customers. The following are now available for Pre-Order in the IL-2 Official Webstore! All feature a 20% Pre-Order Discount! - Sopwith Snipe - Siemens-Schuckert D.IV - Spitfire Mk. XIV w/ Teardrop Canopy All three of these planes are in development and we plan to release them later this year and each represents the pinnacle of aircraft design for their respective eras. Sopwith Snipe 7.F1 The Sopwith Snipe was a late-war entry into combat and represented the pinnacle of British Great War fighter aircraft. It began replacing Sopwith Camels in the autumn of 1918 and went on to server post-war after the Armistice was signed in November 1918. The Snipe was the last British fighter to come equipped with a rotary engine – the Bentley BR2. The BR.2 made 230 hp which allowed the Snipe to be a little faster than the Camel. Although not blistering fast by 1918 standards, it was a very maneuverable fighter. The Snipe had a faster rate of climb than the Camel and it could fight superior German machines more effectively at higher altitudes. The Snipe came armed with two .303 machine guns and had improved visibility over its predecessor. It could also carry a small bomb load like the Camel. It’s combat life was short, but both British and Australian squadrons had success with it before the war ended. Siemens-Schuckert D.IV The Siemens-Schuckert D.IV came very late to the Great War that was too late to change Germany’s fortunes, but what machines did make it to front-line squadrons acquitted themselves well. The SS.DIV was the end result of a robust line of Siemens-Schuckert aircraft that saw service in the war and it came with a unique feature. The 200-hp Siemens Haiske SH.IIIa rotary engine had a crankshaft that rotated opposite of the engine and the propeller ’s rotation in an attempt to reduce the torque. The four-bladed propeller gave it a fast rate of climb and a high speed. The SS.DIV was even faster than Germany’s mainstay front-line fighter, the very successful Fokker D.VII. It was also very maneuverable, but reportedly had nasty stall behavior when pushed too far. The SS.DIV was armed with two 2 × 7.92mm machine guns. Spitfire Mk. XIV w/ Teardrop Canopy The Spitfire Mk. XIV, which entered service at the end of 1943, was originally built with a “high back” rear fuselage which restricted visibility to the rear of the plane. To rectify this problem, development of the Mk. XIV with a cut-down rear fuselage and tear-drop canopy began to be developed and built at the end of 1944. These improved Spitfire Mk. XIVs featured full-span wings and were equipped with 2x .50 cal. machine guns and 2x 20 mm Hispano cannons; they could also be fitted with bomb racks to carry 250 lb. and 500 lb. bombs. An additional 64-gallon fuel tank was also fitted in the rear fuselage, which increased the range of the Mk. XIV to over 610 miles on internal fuel. The same Griffon engine that powered the original Mk. XIVs also powered this new model. For reconnaissance work, a camera could be fitted behind the canopy; such planes were known as Fighter Reconnaissance Mk. XIVs and were fitted with clipped wingtips as standard. Spitfire Mk. XIVs with the cut-down rear fuselage and tear-drop canopy started entering service with the Royal Air Force’s 2nd Tactical Air Force in March 1945 and continued in operational service after the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. These improved Mk. XIVs also began to be sent to the South-East Asian Theater in June 1945 but arrived too late to see any combat against the Japanese. The Sturmovik Team appreciates your continued support as we complete our current development schedule and plan for a busy future! See you in the skies! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots! Today’s DD is all about the mighty Mosquito FB Mk.VI, which is nearing completion for Battle of Normandy! We are finishing her systems and flight model and preparing her for release. As you can see from the images, she is a really good-looking aircraft and there are tons of armament options. She packs one hell of an offensive punch with awesome flight performance. We think she will be an incredibly popular ride in Great Battles. Below you see the almost completed cockpit along with several armament options and skins that will be included. Unfortunately, some systems were not functioning yet, so I was unable to launch any weapons or engage in combat, but she will be entering Beta very soon where the testers will put her through her paces. Stay tuned for more as we get the “Wooden Wonder” ready for release! Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

You will love it when they release FC.2 and FC.3 combined into one huge map

Dear friends, The Sturmovik Team and Ugra-Media have completed the Sopwith Triplane which is the final aircraft planned for Flying Circus Vol.II. The new Western Front map is still in development. The "Tripe" as it was famously called, has three beautiful wings! Each wing has its own ailerons making it quite maneuverable in battle with enough armament to allow its pilots to be confident in a dogfight with any adversary of the era. We think you will enjoy her! In addition to the new aircraft there are many changes and additions in this update that will improve your gameplay experience: 1. Sopwith Triplane is available to all owners of Flying Circus Vol.II; 2. Distant buildings visualization system has been improved, single medium sized buildings that are viable targets are displayed from farther away; 3. Shadows rendering in the hangar is more detailed; 4. Tank gun firing visual effects are further improved; 5. Fire effects are improved for various vehicle types; 6. Additional optimization of the landscape rendering system reduced the potential stutters while moving on the map; 7. Loading times of larger maps were improved a bit; 8. Sensitivity settings for the pitch axis, the vertical guidance axis of the tank turret and other similar axes, now have correct namings for hte axis limits; 9. Adjusting the axes control settings was made clearer thanks to better dead zone visualization; 10. Second and third engine axes response settings have correct labels; 11. GUI instrument panel turns off after bailing out; 12. A rare GUI issue that sometimes could lead to generating a Quick Mission Builder scenario without a player flight if the player flight count has been set to random has been fixed; 13. Balloons now have markers like aircraft do; 14. Bombs dropped from a bomb bay backwards (tails first) won't visibly jerk along their axis; 15. Simple ground vehicles and ships will correctly engage the targets assigned by MCU_CMD_AttackTarget command with High priority; 16. Square visual artifacts on the water surface that were visible from high altitude at certain sun position won't appear on Rheinland map anymore; 17. AI pilots will switch off their navigation lights when engaged by the enemy during the landing; 18. All German gauges have been redrawn to be as historically accurate as possible. Different gauges are assigned to each model variant (Oyster_KAI); 19. Colors of all German interior equipment/placard have been checked and repainted to their correct color or design (Oyster_KAI); 20. New different throttle quadrant markings & pitch control switch for Bf-109 F/G/K. 21. New drop tank placard & oil cooler placard for Bf-109 E-7 (Oyster_KAI); 22. New headrest for Bf-109G6 (Oyster_KAI); 23. New details for He-111s (Oyster_KAI); 24. New rudder pedal belt texture for all German planes (Oyster_KAI); 25. In the Me-262 exterior view, the 2 pixelated circular holes behind the seats have been redrawn (Oyster_KAI); 26. Added circuit breaker markings on the instrument panel for Bf-109s, Fw-190s, and the Me-262 (Oyster_KAI); 27. Added screws for the Fw-190A's left & right canopy frame (Oyster_KAI); 28. Bf-110s, M.C202, and P-51D external views now have visible instrument reflections (Oyster_KAI); 29. P-51D placards won't glow at night (Oyster_KAI); 30. Scrollbar in the aircraft selection menu in Dogfight won't overlap with the aircraft images 31. A minor issue in the tactical number selection menu has been fixed; 32. Mission Editor won't crash during loading of the Prokhorovka map; 33. Aircraft lists in the Mission Editor are sorted correctly (alphabetically).

Dear Great War Pilots! We have some awesome news to share with you in today’s DD. The images below are the first to show the Sopwith Snipe and Siemens-Schuckert D.IV Collector Planes we have in development. They are being built by our friends at Ugra Media with our supervision and they are coming along quickly. The Snipe’s external is looking good and the cockpit is well under way, but not ready for a public reveal yet. The SS.D.IV is in a less developed state, but it’s coming along nicely. Both of these are challenging little birds to build, as great reference material is sparse, but when complete they will represent the pinnacle of WWI fighter design at the time of the Armistice. These are also the first truly new aircraft for Flying Circus that were not made for Rise of Flight in the past and we think you will really enjoy them! Both of these will be made available for Pre-Order soon, now that they have made significant process in their development. More about these two interesting warbirds as development progresses. Sopwith Snipe Siemens-Schuckert D.IV Enjoy!

Dear Pilots and Tankers, Today’s DD is a collection of images of new content in development by our partners such as Ugra Media, DigitalForms and others. First, we have a few very much WIP images from the C-47 cockpit being built by Ugra Media. As you can she its coming along nicely and it will add a new dimension to Allied air operations! Next, we have some amazing cutaway shots of the Churchill Mk.IV tank being built by our partners at DigitalForms. The engineering and work they do for Tank Crew models is simply the best in the business. Looking great! They are also working on the Stug III which as you can see is not as complete as the Churchill, but the modeling is just as detailed. Here are a few shots of some sub-assemblies. Finally, we have the Sd. Kfz. 234 which is built by a collection of professional modelers we call Luchin Team. This armored vehicle will be on the Normandy battleground later this summer. Please cheer on our partners as they work to bring some very interesting new toys to your favorite combat simulator – IL-2 Sturmovik! Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Can't wait to have it flyable

Dear Pilots! Today’s Developer Diary brings us pics of the classic Sopwith Triplane in action along with some pics of B-26 liveries. The Tripe is the tenth plane for Flying Circus - Vol. II and it will be in the next update which is due at the end of the month. We continue to work on the map for FC2. The AI B-26 will be in a later update. The Tripe will have the option of mounting one or two Vickers machine guns. Work and testing for the 4.704 update is well underway and will include some new optimizations that should speed up loading times for many of you. Sopwith Triplane B-26B-55 Enjoy and Happy Easter to everyone! The Sturmovik Team

Hello Everyone, Happy Easter Sunday to those of you who celebrate it in the West. I hope the Easter Bunny brought you an Easter basket full of goodies and that you had a nice day with friends and family. In the spirit of Easter I have have an Easter gift for you! I know many of you are anxiously awaiting the flyable C-47A we have been working on. Actually, it's being built by Ugra Media with our supervision. Working with third-parties on aircraft is not easy and it's usually a pretty slow process, but progress is being made. Below is a very much Work in Progress screen of the C-47 cockpit. It's been grafted onto another model so we can test it in the engine, that's why it may look a little funny. It will be mated to the C-47 external model soon. This image looks quite nice, but be aware more work on textures, animation and connecting it's systems tot he engine needs to be done before it is ready. In other words, don't assume it will be released next week and what you see here may change a bit before release. I just wanted to show you that it indeed is coming along slowly, but surely. Hope you enjoyed your little Easter surprise. 🐇🥚

Dear Friends, Today’s DD features two great, new additions that we think you will be excited about! First, we have in-game pics of the awesome and often overlooked workhorse of the USAAF – the B-26! The B-26 was considered a fast medium bomber and it saw action on all fronts in WWII for the USAAF. It was somewhat tricky to fly and had a not so good reputation in the eyes of early aircrews. Accidents were known to happen quite often. But once in theater the B-26 rose to the occasion and usually bombed tactical targets from lower altitudes than the heavy bombers like the B-17 and B-24. Targets like bridges, airfields, command posts, beaches and railyards are all prime targets for the B-26. The B-26 in Great Battles is the Block 55 model which were numerous in the European theater during the Normandy timeframe and this model also came in both olive drab and natural metal finishes which will add variety to our skins. Our B-26 is an AI controlled plane, like our B-25. However, with the inclusion of the B-26 we can have much more interesting missions and gameplay with some proper Allied level-bombers playing their role. Plus, it is just a beautifully streamlined aircraft that really makes for some great photos! Also, we cannot wait to see what skin artists will do with her. On a personal note, my grandfather served in B-26s during WWII in England and France with the 9th Air Force and seeing the B-26 take flight in Great Battles makes it extra special for me. It's this kind of personal connection to history that makes this job and hobby worth the effort. I addition to the B-26 we have finally begun work on improvements to our controller assignment system. In Rise of Flight, we had a great system for assigning key maps, joystick curves to custom input profiles which could be assigned to individual planes or set as default. The system worked well and was popular. We are now taking the time to add a similar system to Sturmovik and we think you’re going to be very happy with it. I hesitate to show you such early, early draft images, but they demonstrate where we are headed. Also, we are adding the ability to virtually adjust the pitch like we had in ROF, which for WWI crates makes them much more comfortable to fly and increases the fun factor. Enjoy! Jason and The Sturmovik Team