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Dear Friends, The huge update 5.201 is live. It contains three major additions and a number of other fixes and improvements. Flying Circus Vol.III is now officially released and is available on our website and on Steam. Most of the Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft were already available via the Early Access program - the last one is the R.E.8 two-seater, a very versatile aircraft for its time (it began to reach the front in late 1916). It was designed to carry radio and photographic equipment for reconnaissance and artillery spotting, and a small bomb load on underwing racks. For more information on this airplane, please read our Dev Blog#354. In total, Flying Circus Vol.III contains 8 early Great War aircraft: the Albatros D.II, Halberstadt D.II, Nieuport 11.C1, French Nieuport 17.C1, Nieuport 17.C1 adapted for British service, and Hanriot HD.1 fighters, and the R.E.8. and F.E.2b two-seater reconnaissance planes. Updates to the Western Front map to include the entire frontline, many new objects and settlements, and five seasons - Summer, Autumn, late Autumn, Winter, and Spring. The WWI Pilot's Career mode has also been updated - it now starts earlier, in 1916, includes all available WWI era aircraft including FC Vol.III and Collector, takes advantage of the updated map and uses all of its seasons. Please note that the updated map and career mode are also available to owners of any Flying Circus volume (If you don't see the new map seasons immediately, please wait a few hours - they are being assigned to eligible accounts on the server). It is recommended that all FC players start a new WWI career, however we have been able to keep the old FC careers playable - they don't include the new additions and are unsupported, but you should be able to finish an existing WWI career if you wish. Another fascinating addition is a new aircraft type, something we haven't had in the sim before - a player-controlled military glider. In our simulator, the visual model of the CG-4A glider was restored with great care, and our engineers recreated in its new virtual life all the main features of its control and use. It should be noted that this is a new class of objects for our simulator and we have developed a number of technologies to make its realization possible - for example, a flexible towing cable. In addition to the Quick Mission Builder and multiplayer modes, if you have the Normandy and/or Bodenplatte modules, you can fly them in career mode on the Western Front during the major airborne operations - Overlord, Market Garden, and Varsity. The third major addition in this update is the short version of the long-awaited IAR-80/81 Collector Plane (the long version is also included in the purchase and will be made available in early 2024 in January or February). We have covered it extensively in our Dev Blog#355. The I.A.R.80-A fighter series 106-150 is the base model for the short version - it has six 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns that fire German ammunition. Its flying capabilities were comparable to those of the Yak-1, but later versions of the IAR had more powerful weapons and bombs: I.A.R.80-B series 181-200 has four 7.92 mm machine guns rather than six, as well as two 13.2mm FN Browning machine guns that fire 13.2 mm Hotchkiss rounds. The I.A.R.80-M has two 20 mm MG-151/20 cannons and two 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns. The I.A.R.81 series 151-175 is equipped with six 7.92 mm FN Browning machine guns and can carry up to three bombs weighing up to 400 kg. The underbelly bomb rack has a distinctive parallelogram mechanism, similar to the Ju 87 dive-bomber, preventing bombs from hitting the propeller during dive bombing. In addition, the Achtung Spitfire! campaign that previously was only available on our website is now released on Steam. 5.201 Changelist The CG-4A Collector Plane has been released; Flying Circus Vol. III has been released - R.E.8 two-seater airplane is added to the sim; Romanian I.A.R.80/81 fighter is available in Early Access (short version, long version will be added in the next update); Added Autumn, Late Autumn/Early Spring, Winter and Summer seasons for the Western Front WWI map (available to either Flying Circus module owners); All Flying Circus Vol.III airplanes have been added to the Pilot's Career mode during WWI timeframe; The accuracy of AI gunners on player-controlled aircraft matches the "Ace" level on AI-controlled aircraft; AI won't turn on the landing light during a daytime approach; A tactical number set by the player is saved; The send message button in multiplayer chat matches the team color; A 100% setting on a control axis should result in 100% value displayed in the technochat instead of 99%; T-34 mod. 1942 and PzKpfW III Ausf. L won't be erroneously listed as part of the Bodenplatte module in the equipment selection menu; Pilot's Career: new options have been added for fine tuning the difficulty level; Assault guns with indirect fire capability (SU-122, SU-152, Stug III Ausf. G, SdKfz 184 Ferdinand) have panoramic sight leveling features to ensure accurate shooting. Ballistic tables added to the Description tab for Stug III Ausf.G and SdKfz 184 Ferdinand ; New training scenarios added for SU-122 (firing at stationary targets and indirect fire); Removed extra aftersounds from the SHKAS machine guns firing sound; Airco DH.4 stabilizer fixed camera position corrected; Pilot protection from the shrapnel corrected on British planes when the canopy is closed; Albatros D.II lower wing aerodynamics data corrected; Li-2 altitude throttle lever function inverted according to its label (forward - poor mixture, reverse - rich); La-5 ser. 8 wing sturdiness corrected; Overlord campaign is updated and translated into French.

Dear Friends, The next update, 5.108, is in the works and today we are starting its beta testing. The next version will include further improvements to the career mode - for example, ground support will be added to the Normandy theater for both offensive and defensive missions. There will be other additions if they are ready in time, but one of the highlights of the next version will be the next Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft - the F.E.2b two-seater. The F.E.2 was a biplane with a pusher propeller and a sprung landing gear with a front support wheel to minimize the risk of overturning during a bad landing. The entire trailing edge of the upper center section was hinged along the rear spar and could be lowered to act as a flap-type air brake. The forward cockpit was occupied by the observer gunner, with the pilot sitting behind him at a higher level. The engine was almost completely cowled and drove a two-blade pusher propeller. Interestingly, in February 1915, this type of plane was tested with a brake parachute. This was probably the first time in history that a braking parachute was used on an airplane. A newly designed air brake that had been used on the first F.E.2a was also tested, but the air brake was eventually abandoned. During testing, the performance of the 100 hp Green engine was found to be unsatisfactory, mainly due to its poor power-to-weight ratio, and the machine was modified to be fitted with a new in-line six-cylinder water-cooled Beardmore engine rated at 120 hp. The center section of the upper wing was made in one piece and the air brake was removed. The aircraft with the new engine made its first flight in March 1915, but the first deliveries to the Royal Flying Corps did not begin until May. The first F.E.2b to go to France was flown to the No. 6 Squadron airfield at Abeele by Captain L.A. Strange on May 20, 1915. By September 25th the squadron had four F.E.2b's in its strength. Production of the F.E.2b was undertaken by a number of contractors, but it took some time before the machines were available in sufficient numbers; by the end of 1915, a total of thirty-two had been delivered. The first R.F.C. unit to go to France fully equipped with F.Es was No. 20, which arrived on January 23, 1916. No. 25 Squadron followed on 20 February, No. 23 on 16 March, and No. 22 on April 1st. The F.E.2b was mainly used for the needs of the army: for reconnaissance and for the escort of other aircraft, and it proved to be very worthy in the battles against enemy aircraft. Often grouped with D.H.2 fighters, the F.E.2b fought back against the Fokker monoplanes that dominated the skies at the time. The success of its use in combat was due to the wide sector of fire of the machine guns in the nose of the plane. The plane was also occasionally used to attack ground targets on the front line and in actions on the enemy's rear communications. In the second half of the war, the F.E.2b was widely used as a night bomber; for this purpose, the aircraft were painted black and equipped with night take-off and landing equipment. The performance of the F.E.2b with the 120 hp Beardmore engine was not outstanding and from time to time attempts were made to improve its flight characteristics. At the end of March 1916, a new version of the Beardmore engine with an increased power of 160 hp appeared, and as it was essentially an improved version of the previous model, it could be fitted without the need for major design changes. Between 1915 and 1918, 1,939 F.E.2b aircraft were produced. After the release of the previous update and the new La-5F Collector Plane, some players asked us to provide more details about the changes made to the existing Lavochkin family aircraft. Our Lead Engineer "Gavrick" has personally explained the changes. The La-5 is one of the oldest aircraft in the IL-2 project, it was created during the development of the Battle of Stalingrad 10 years ago and many of the modern approaches and techniques we're using now were just being introduced. The La-5FN was modeled several years later, and while it was built on the basis of the La-5s, certain things were reworked: for example, the effect of engine cowl flaps on aerodynamics was modeled in a different way (but the resulting aerodynamic coefficients remained almost the same). It became obvious that the older La-5 should be reworked to the new technology standards, but we didn't have the time to do it at that time - however, some improvements made to it (the physical models of the constant pressure regulator of the boost manifold and the propeller were made more precise). And finally, recently the new La-5F was created on the basis of the FN. We finally had time to update everything - the airframe aerodynamics modeling of the old La-5 and the La-5 engine modeling with the modern technique used in the La-5F. So what actually changed for the old La-5 characteristics? The lift-drag polar diagram remained mostly the same. Engine power and propeller thrust were corrected - but the resulting speed change remained less than 10 km/h. The aircraft became slightly faster at low altitudes and slightly slower at high altitudes, which is historically more correct than the unmodified model. The effectiveness of the stabilizers and controls also changed slightly, so the handling of the aircraft became "sharper", more like the La-5FN. Therefore, these changes weren't an FM overhaul per se, but rather a list of small corrections and improvements that were necessary to give all three Lavochkin aircraft a common technological base, so that all their differences are caused by design features and not different modeling methods. That's it for today. Please stay tuned for the 5.108 update - it is planned to be released this month!

Dear Friends, Our team has finished the development of the new update 5.004, and it is released. Sopwith Snipe and many updates. The year 2022 is drawing to a close and we did our best to bring you a new update on Christmas Eve. It bears the number 5.004 and adds the Great War Collector Plane Sopwith Snipe to our series. It is a late war aircraft equipped with the most powerful Bentley BR2 rotary engine, producing up to 234 horsepower. By comparison, the Sopwith Camel fighter's Clerget 9B engine produced 130 hp. At the same time, however, the Snipe is 200 kilograms heavier than its predecessor (more than a quarter). Overall, the new fighter is more stable in flight and has better speed and climb characteristics. Everyone who has purchased an airplane now has the opportunity to master it and use it in combat. In addition to the new vehicle, in update 5.004 we are releasing two AI armored vehicles for the Normandy and Bodenplatte projects - the M8 Greyhound and the SdKfz 234/2 Puma. You'll find new scenario missions for Churchill and StuG III in this update, they were created by community enthusiast super-truite and his friends. More than 80 improvements were made to the "Western Front, Spring 1918" map, which is in the early access phase and is currently being finalized. There are a number of other improvements and fixes to player controllable aircraft, tanks and artificial intelligence. A complete list of changes in the version 5.004 follows: 5.004 1. The Sopwith Snipe, a Royal Air Force collector aircraft from the final phase of the Great War, is now available to its owners; 2. Battle of Normandy AI armored vehicle M8 Greyhound added; 3. Battle of Normandy AI armored vehicle SdKfz 234/2 Puma added; 4. Scenarios for collectible vehicles Churchill and StuG III added (super-truite); 5. Mk.37 rig model for the 5'/38-gun Mk.12 on the Bayfield and Liberty ships updated; 6. Fixed a bug in the aircraft AI leading to incorrect maneuver choices and incorrect aircraft behavior in aerial combat, which was especially noticeable on WWI airplanes; 7. AI pilots correctly climb while maintaining formation; 8. AI pilots controlling high speed capable aircraft are less likely to use risky high-altitude maneuvers at lower altitudes (previously these could led to a collision with the ground); 9. AI pilots should better avoid collisions in some maneuvers, especially in a frontal attack; 10. The tail section damage texture has been fixed on all Bf-109s; 11. The placards were corrected along with other minor improvements on Bf-109 E7, He 111 H6/H16, Ju-87 D3, Spitfire Mk.Vb/IXe/XIV (Oyster_KAI); 12. Incorrect operation of GUI information bar in player controllable tanks has been fixed; 13. C-47A: a number of visual inaccuracies and technical problems with the aircraft model has been fixed, including the shape of upper air intakes on engine nacelles; 14. C-47A: phosphorescent cockpit instrument illumination restored; 15. C-47A: fixed a bug with a broken window when the landing door is opened for bailing out; 16. C-47A: fixed a bug in the bail out animation that caused crew members to visually appear outside the cockpit for a moment; 17. C-47A: added a feature to align engine flaps with the flow; 18. C-47A: a fixed bug with radio compass working on powered off aircraft; 19. Me 262A: fixed reflections in cockpit instruments; 20. Stug III Ausf. G gun now takes more time to reload if the loader is unbuttoned; 21. Crew gestures have been added for the Churchill IV and the Stug III; 22. Stug III Ausf. G - fixed an incorrect position of the machine gun after loader's death, if it was in anti-aircraft position; 23. Stug III Ausf.G. - corrected wrong animation of the side correction input control; 24. Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.G - main gun reloading sound aligned with the visual animation; 25. Mission editor: skins which consist of several textures are correctly displayed in the skin list; 26. It is possible to shoot off the trunk behind the turret on Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M, Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.G, Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.H and Churchill IV; 27. It is possible to shoot off the commander cupola on the Tiger; 28. Range of smoke grenade launchers corrected for all player controllable vehicles; 29. Improved sorting of visual effect particles; 30. Western Front map, Spring 1918: Treizennes airfield added; 31. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Clairmarais airfield moved; 32. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Ferme airfield is renamed Filescamp Farm; 33. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Droogland Airfield moved to square 0205-8; 34. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: removed second Epehy; 35. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: added bridge to the fortress in square 0408-9; 36. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Hoog Huys manor added; 37. Map of Western Front, Spring 1918: added Ferme manor; 38. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Removed flooded railroad track; 39. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: corrected railroad tracks in square 1202; 40. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Hoog Huys Airfield moved; 41. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: Filescamp Farm airfield moved; 42. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: added homestead near Droogland airfield; 43. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: corrected wrong track crossing in quadrant 0305-8; 44. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: improved appearance of Thionville Steelworks East and Thionville Steelworks; 45. Western Front Map, Spring 1918: the village of Crochte has been renamed Merckeghem; 46. Western Front map, Spring 1918: Hondschoote village renamed Esquelbecq; 47. Western Front map, Spring 1918: Droogland village moved to square 0205-8 and renamed Winnezeele; 48. Western Front map, Spring 1918: Kemmelberg village moved to square 0207-5 and renamed Kemmel; 49. Map of the Western Front, Spring 1918: Aire is renamed Aire-sur-la-Lys; 50. Map of Western Front, Spring 1918: 25 obstructions on road network removed; 51. Map of the Western Front, Spring 1918: 15 wrong dead ends on the road network were removed; 52. Western Front map, Spring 1918: corrected 18 problematic entrances to railroad bridges. And to see the Snipe in action, check out our Youtube channel:

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).

Hello Everyone, Today’s DD brings us some very cool renders of the Me 410 A-1 cockpit. It’s a very unique cockpit and has been a challenge to build, but it’s looking great now and heading into the final stretch. We continue to work on our next update which we hope will be next week. It will be a good one with the new sky and new airplanes like the Ju 88 C-6, Gotha G.V. and we think possibly the Handley Page O/400. Me 410 A-1 Cockpit in Development And our colleague =DED= Rapidus just handed me a link to a short video of our new sky and Ju 88 C-6 in action that he filmed while testing the Beta. You may want to check out. Has some funky beats. 🙂 *Any artifacts are caused by YouTube compression. Enjoy. The Sturmovik Team

Hello P-51 Lovers! We know you’ve been waiting patiently to see more of the P-51B, so today we show you what it looks like both inside and out! This new ‘Pony’ should be ready by the end of this month. It’s the Holiday Season and a time for giving, so there will likely be two updates in December! One with the new clouds and the DFWC.V and the other with the P-51B and maybe, just maybe new fuel systems and drop tanks for several Bf-109 variants. Of course, plans are subject to change pending testing. And as mentioned previously the Malcolm Hood has taken extra work to get it right, so that component is not ready to be shown yet. Without further delay… Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Hello Friends! Happy Monday to everyone! We have a short DD for you today that features the DFW C.V for Flying Circus Vol. II and new 4K skins for our old friend the Yak-1b which were crafted once again by our partner Martin “ICDP” Catney. The Yak-1b completes our initial goal of bringing all aircraft and tank skins along with their templates up to the 4K standard. It took several years, but what an accomplishment!! Thanks again to Martin, Francisco (BlackHellhound1) and Marcus (Raptorattacker) for helping make all this possible! DFW C.V Yak-1b 4K Skins The DFW C.V, Yak-1b 4K skins and our initial release of our new clouds will be in the upcoming 4.701 update later in December. Which we pray to all mighty Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Yahweh, Zeus, Lucifer, Cthulhu, Thanos, General Zod or whatever powerful deity controls its fate, please give us the strength to finish the P-51B so we can include it in update 4.701! Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Update 4.604 Dear Friends, We’re glad to inform you that a new update is released - 4.604! In addition to the new SPAD VII.C1 180 h.p. for Flying Circus Vol II, this update brings many improvements in different areas. There is a whole section of changes related to aircraft armament, including the much-discussed M2 .50 Browning machine gun rounds. We also worked on the improvement of everything connected with aircraft collisions with the ground - improved graphic effects, damage model of the airframe and pilot from collisions. The pilot's physiological model has undergone a new revision as well. A whole section of upgrades is devoted to improvements to previously released aircraft, and another to player controllable vehicles. And some AI objects developed as part of the Battle of Normandy have been introduced into the project. Our team continues to work on improving the IL-2 universe in every possible way. Stay tuned for more updates this year! 4.604 Main Features 1. Late Spad VII.C1 modification with a 180 hp engine is now available to all customers who pre-ordered Flying Circus Vol.II; 2. LCI(L), Landing Craft Infantry (Large), developed for Battle of Normandy was added to the sim (no visible crew yet); 3. The nationality of the player's aircraft in the Quick Mission now depends on which paint scheme was selected before the mission was generated (which in turn determines the voiceover, crew, and tactical numbers); 4. Spad 7 instruments improved by Oyster_Kai; 5. Several additional textures improved by Oyster_Kai for multiple aircraft such as Bf 109 series, P-51D-15, P-47D-28 and Ju 88 A-4; Changes to Armaments 6. Instead of having two sizes of tracers ("MGs" and "cannons"), they now depend on the projectile caliber and the tracer length reduces as the projectile speed decreases (important when viewed from the side). Visible tracers of machine guns and small-caliber cannons became significantly smaller, and the size of tank and artillery tracers increased as the result; 7. Smoke traces from tracer bullets and shells became less dense; 8. Graphic effects of armor-piercing 7...15 mm bullets hitting an aircraft were reworked to look more realistic; 9. US Armor Piercing .50 bullets mass and ballistics corrected. Muzzle velocity of 36-inch M2 .50 MG changed to 864 m/s; 10. M2. 50, M2 .30, Browning .303, Hispano Mk.II, Hispano Mk.V, Vickers Class S, M4 machine guns and cannons installed on aircraft (including turreted weapons) have their dispersion corrected according to newly found reference data; 11. Soviet guns dispersion data was adjusted based on a more critical approach to the choice of reference data options (gunnery test reports of obviously defective units were discarded) and using a different method of calculating the parameter of the dispersion function. In general, the dispersion spread either decreased slightly or remained almost the same; 12. The machine gun overheating of German aircraft turrets when firing long bursts was adjusted according to the same approach for all other aircraft (there was a discrepancy before); 13. Inadequate dispersion of turreted machine guns on Flying Circus aircraft was adjusted to match dispersion of these weapons installed on over-wing mounts; Changes to Aircraft Damage Model 14. Improved aircraft damage model: tangential ground impacts at high speed are more likely to cause an explosion, impacts at medium speed cause more damage to the aircraft and fuel tanks are more likely to catch fire on impact; 15. The excessive likelihood of control wiring damage on all Flying Circus aircraft has been corrected; 16. If control wiring is damaged on Airco D.H.4, Halberstadt CL.II, Bristol Fighter, Albatros D.Va and S.E.5a, Fokker DR.I, Fokker D.VII, Fokker D.VIIF, Fokker D.VIII the corresponding rudders will "dangle" along the air stream (other aircraft will be updated in the next update); Changes to Pilot Physiological Model 17. Impact and excessive overload injuries model has been adjusted for aircraft and vehicle crews. Collisions with the ground have become more traumatic for pilots; 18. The accumulation of pilot fatigue from overload during long maneuvers has been reduced. This will allow for somewhat longer aerobatics and combat maneuvering. There is inadequate information on the fatigue accumulation under the influence of prolonged small overloads in the publicly available scientific articles, the rare data is very contradictory and therefore the model in this part was adjusted based on the collected opinion of surveyed pilots. Throughout the year we received feedback from experienced pilots and it became generally clear that fatigue was somewhat overestimated. This was corrected; 19. Pilot's backrest angle was adjusted on Pe-2, He-111, Ju-88, and B-25 (it is taken into account in the G-force tolerance model); 20. P-47D-22 pilot no longer has G-suit due to the timeframe of the war this aircraft was designed for; 21. The maximum value of overload that can be displayed on the instrument panel (HUD) has been expanded; Changes to Graphics 22. Graphical artifacts "thin white stripes in the distance near the coastline" on maps with sea have been removed; 23. Graphics artifacts "white dots along the edge of the sight reflector and some other glass facets when the pilot is wounded or at night when using MSAA and the maximum graphics preset" have been removed; 24. Fixed ships reflections jumping whenl looked at from the shore; 25. Fixed local troubles with sea "climbing at shoreline rocks" on Kuban map; 26. The delay between a high-speed ground impact of an aircraft and the resulting explosion has been minimized; 27. Graphics effects of aircraft falling and exploding when hitting the ground or water or suffering an air collision were improved. A fire now burns for a while at the crash site; 28. The effect of PTAB bursts landing far off the target has been restored; 29. Shadows rendering on tank's hull while quickly turning in 1st person view were corrected; 30. Turret and gun barrel shadows cast by player's tank on the ground during 1st person view were corrected; 31. There are no "holes" in the shadow cast by the Sd.Kfz.184 on the ground in 1st-person view anymore; 32. Airco D.H.4 detailed cockpit model correctly shows in all camera positions inside it; 33. Strong stuttering near Mill airfield on the Rheinland map has been fixed; 34. The visual disappearance of cockpit windows of a damaged Yak-9 at a close distance has been fixed; Changes to Aircraft 35. Restored the cloud cover target obscuring for AI fighter pilots; 36. AI fighter pilots shouldn't fire at a target if there is an allied aircraft in the line of fire; 37. AI fighter pilots will correctly attack a locomotive instead as the last car; 38. Cockpit won't sometimes open by itself at the end of a mission and gunners won't try to bail out; 39. Crews will bail out slightly faster from multi-crew aircraft; 40. Pilots and gunners that were killed while leaving the plane will have correct poses; 41. Fixed roll trimming of Typhoon Mk.Ib; 42. Fixed (reduced) Typhoon airframe resistance to aerodynamic loads (destructive overload decreased); 43. Typhoon constant tail loose on ditching fixed; 44. C-47A can carry British paratroopers too; 45. Added a paragraph about automatic dive operation to Pe-2 aircraft descriptions (both of them); 46. Fixed the appearance of turn indicator on Yak-7 and Yak-9 aircraft; 47. Fixed an error in the RPK-10 instrument model on the Yak-1b; 48. The guest player occupying the position of the lower He 111 H-16 gunner will correctly see his collimator gunsight; 49. Airco D.H.4: mixed up graphic animation of fuel tank leaks and fires has been fixed; 50. Airco D.H.4: a graphical artifact in the gunner's cockpit when looking at it with the photo camera mounted has been fixed; 51. Airco D.H.4: an issue where damaged landing gear disappeared at a distance has been fixed; 52. Airco D.H.4: the front cockpit instrument glass won't be visible through the rear cockpit windshield; 53. Airco D.H.4: bomb racks won't visibly appear at a distance when there are no bombs; 54. SPAD VII.C1 150h.p.: "broken glare" issue won't happen at a medium detail level; 55. SPAD VII.C1 150h.p.: the installed Lewis over-wing MG will correctly cause drag; 56. SPAD VII.C1 150h.p. and SPAD XIII.C1 excessive batting amplitude has been reduced; 57. P-39 "Prototype" paint scheme no longer has the insignia; 58. All Spitfires: an excessive haze of the windshield armored glass has been removed; 59. Both Yak-9s cockpit glass won't visibly disappear at a distance when damaged; Changes to Player-Controlled Tanks and Trucks 60. New flame effects from exhaust pipes were added to all Tank Crew tanks (it appears when the engine is damaged and when gasoline engines are outgassed); 61. New powder gases effects were added to all Tank Crew tanks (flashing out of the gun breech when the bolt is opened after the shot is fired); 62. On all player controllable tanks the shading from the sun in a dark area affects gunsights; 63. Wound effects correctly function in all commander' viewports and visors; 64. Hatches won't sometimes open by themselves at the end of a mission and the crewmen won't try to bail out; 65. Poses of unconscious tank crewmen were corrected; 66. The crew leaving sequences of player controllable tanks and anti-aircraft guns were improved; 67. The voiceovers of ammunition type in commander's commands to suppress point and attack target when selecting sub-caliber rounds and machine gun were restored; 68. Single shots of M2 .50 and MG-34 machine guns on player controllable tanks won't create multiple shot sounds; 69. AI drivers of player controllable tanks would correctly close the visor armor shield at the start of combat; 70. Player controllable KV-1s and SU-152 have an additional paint scheme based on historical one but compatible with custom tactical numbers; 71. It is now possible to fold the armored glass block on KV-1s and SU-152 (N key); 72. Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M and Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.G driver's front and side armor flap opening controls are now separate (LWin+C for the front one as it was before, N key for the side one); 73. GAZ-MM driver's side window and windshield flap controls are now separate (LWin+C for the front one as it was before, N key for the side one); 74. Reflections in GAZ-MM windows are improved; 75. Sd.Kfz.10/5 driver's visor opening is now audible; 76. Sd.Kfz. 10/5 single-player scenarios were updated; 77. Sd.Kfz.10/5 notes now contain the info on how to use the searchlight; 78. The missing voiceovers of the commander's orders to fire machine gun on target and suppressing fire were restored; 79. All Steel Birds campaign scenarios were optimized for better performance; You can discuss the update n this thread.

Dear Pilots, Our Mosquito FB Mk,VI for Battle of Normandy is coming along nicely. Some very early WIP shots of it in the engine. Still much support work to do for it still. Will initially be available to fly with 8 squadrons in Career mode. Q. If it's made from polygons is it still a Wooden Wonder? Enjoy!

Attention Pilots! Another hot and heavy Summer in the era of COVID is starting to wind down, but with the release of 4.603 we have decided to offer another MASSIVE SALE this summer! It's available in the IL-2 Official Webstore and on Steam! The Summer Sale 2.0 runs from 10:00am PST August 11th to 10:00am PST August 25th in the IL-2 Official Webstore and on STEAM. IL-2 GREAT BATTLES IN IL-2 OFFICIAL WEBSTORE IL-2 IL-2 GREAT BATTLES ON STEAM Tank Crew - 50% Off (Webstore & Steam) BOS – 85% Off BOM – 75% Off BOK – 75% Off BOBP – 66% Off FC1 – 66% Off Hurricane Mk.II - 50% Off Yak-9 – 66% Off Yak-9T – 66% Off Fw-190 D-9 – 66% Off P-38 J-15 – 66% Off U-2VS -75% Off Ju-52/3M – 75% Off Bf-109 G-6 – 75% Off Yak-1B – 75% Off Spitfire Mk. VB – 75 % Off LA-5FN – 75% Off HS-129 B-2 – 85% Off P-40E-1 – 85% Off Macchi MC.202 – 85% Off Fw-190 A-3 – 85% Off LA-5 Series 8 – 85% Off Ice Ring – 50% Off Blazing Steppe – 75% Off Fortress on the Volga – 75% Off Hell Hawks Over the Bulge – 50% Off (Webstore Only) Ten Days of Autumn – 75% Off (Webstore Only) Havoc Over the Kuban – 75% Off (Webstore Only) Achtung Spitfire! – 75% Off (Webstore Only) RISE OF FLIGHT IN ROF OFFICIAL WEBSTORE RISE OF FLIGHT ON STEAM All ROF Content – 75% Off Enjoy! See you in the skies and on the battlefield! The Sturmovik Team

Dear friends, So, here is the new year 2021! Like anyone else, we're going to hope that it will be better than the previous one. However, for IL-2 Great Battles, the last year was quite positive in spite of all complications. We hope that we'll build on this success this year - the plans are quite extensive. Let's start with the first in-game shots of the British fighter Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib which is being developed for the Battle of Normandy. As you can see, it looks nearly complete, but in fact, there is still a lot to do - a hefty chunk of work is left on its cockpit instruments and the flight model. Nevertheless, we're expecting to finish everything before the end of this Spring and release it to all Battle of Normandy customers. Speaking of the Normandy map, the layout of the towns on its continental part is complete for the first iteration. A bunch of landmark buildings and a significant part of AI-controlled ground vehicles planned for Normandy are already done. We're researching the data for the Normandy Career mode. Meanwhile, the AAA trucks are also showing good progress - the GAZ-MM with the 72-K gun will be ready first. Its chassis is ready both in terms of the 3D and physical models while the crew animations and audio are being worked on. We've managed to find the authentic firing tables prepared by the Main Artillery Directorate of the Red Army and printed by the military publishing house of the People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union in 1943 and made the ballistics of the 25mm rounds and their armor penetration ability in various cases as close to the real thing as possible according to this data. We still have to research and recreate the really complicated correction system for the gunsights, that's what we're working on now while our partners at Digital Forms are creating the complex 3D model of the AAA gun itself as you can see on the screens below:

Hello everybody, While, as you know, we're working on several projects at once, today we'll tell you about our the current main one - Bodenplatte. The most important new tech we're developing for it is the FM improvement to take into account the air compressibility and its influence on the aircraft stability and handling that is noticeable at high speeds. The late war aircraft are a pinnacle of the piston engine technology and they can approach the sonic barrier, especially in a dive. And of course this new tech is paramount for our first jet - Messerschmitt Me.262 'Schwalbe'. You may have wandered will the new tech work for the existing aircraft released before - it certainly will, we always update all aircraft to take advantage of the new tech so they all have the same modeling fidelity. Meanwhile, our artists are working on several 3D models simultaneously (some are nearly complete and the work on others has just begun): Bf 109 K-4, Me 262 A-1, P-47D-28, Fw 190 D-9, Hawker Tempest Mk.V and P-51D-25. We also decided to improve the recently released Fw 190 A-8. It will be able to carry 1000 kg SC 1000 bombs with reduced ring stabilizers and "M8 Panzerblitz 1" HE rockets and you will be able to remove the nose-mounted 13 mm MG 131 machine guns, resulting in four different modifications of this plane: Fw 190 A-8 (fighter) Fw 190 A-8 Sturmjäger (better armoured interceptor) Fw 190 F-8 (attack plane) Fw 190 G-8 (fighter-bomber) So, while it may appear we have only one Fw 190 A-8 in the sim, in fact, you'll have 4 different modifications. This is also true for many other aircraft - in one of the coming Dev Blog releases we'll compile the complete list of aircraft including the possible modifications. Since the words are best followed with visuals, today we can show you the WIP screenshots of Messerschmitt Bf 109 K-4 'Kurfürst', Republic P-47D-28 'Thunderbolt' and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 'Langnasen-Dora': Our map designers also have something to show you today. In Dev Blog #193 we presented the early European map prototype. At the moment, th designers are working on the road network and settlements. The total amount of settlements will be around 300 including so many towns we have never modeled on one map before. To be able to finish this work in time while modeling the general layout of the cities and towns the special settlement block designer tool has been created. This is a small teaser, a Western European town made using this approach (this is not a particular historical town, but a test layout): You can discuss the news in this thread

This is from 777 Studio Official Announcement Good day pilots! So, the long wait is over and we're ready to put the rumors to rest. 777 Studios partners with 1C to form 1C Game Studios (1CGS) and develop IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad We invite you to our new forum, where you will find additional information about the project and will be able to ask questions and chat with the developers. You can read the full announcement on the official website of the game at http://il2sturmovik.net. To all our ROF customers and fans - this is not the end of ROF development or new content. Please do not panic. We are still working on the details and we will inform you once we have them. Right now all current releases we promised are on schedule. On a personal note - the ROF community and your support has made this day possible. We have always wanted to make a WWII product and your support of our WWI product has afforded us this opportunity. Now you will be able to enjoy both WWI and WWII products produced by our team and new expanded team. If all goes to plan there will be much to be happy about in the coming months and years. We hope you will stick by us and continue to support our flight-sim endeavors. Onward and upward! The Entire 777 Studios team" This is from the 1C site " NEW IL-2 STURMOVIK TITLE IN DEVELOPMENT 1C Announces Partnership with 777 Studios to create 1C Game Studios MOSCOW, Russia – December 11, 2012 – Leading Eastern and Central European publisher, 1C Company, is proud to announce that it has partnered with award winning developer 777 Studios to form a joint venture and new studio named 1C Game Studios. This new studio is set to create IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, a new sequel to the award-winning WWII combat flight simulator IL-2 Sturmovik. 1C is the owner of the best-selling IL-2 Sturmovik franchise of combat flight simulators and 777 Studios is the developer of the popular and technologically advanced WWI flight simulator Rise of Flight: The First Great Air war. "1C is proud to take the next step in flight-simulation history with 777 Studios, a company and team that has grown to be one of the best flight-simulation developers in the world and has proven that their attention to detail and product quality speaks volumes about their talent and dedication,” said Nikolay Baryshnikov, VP of 1C Company. “We look forward to bringing a new era of development and spirit of enjoyment to the combat flight-simulation community together." This venture brings two of the world’s leading combat flight-simulation franchises and development teams together under one banner to form a new, dynamic team led by 777 Studios management. Giving respect to the roots of the IL-2 Sturmovik series, the partnership will start with the development of Battle of Stalingrad which focuses on the Eastern Front air war during the titanic struggle over the industrial city of Stalingrad in 1942-43. The battle of Stalingrad was an important turning point for both the Soviet and German armies in WWII, with the air war playing an important role in the outcome. Jason Williams, President of 777 Studios, had this to say, "The 777 Studios team is very excited to be partnering with such a publisher and developer like 1C. Their passion and support for PC combat flight-simulation as well as historical warfare titles has always been a blessing to these genres and we look forward to producing an excellent product for the Sturmovik legacy and continuing to bring additional content to our existing Rise of Flight product line." This partnership is also a turning point for the combat flight simulation genre that will streamline development of flight-simulation products and allow collaboration between former competitors. The outcome should be increased opportunities for combat flight simulation fans to enjoy their passion while also increasing the likelihood of success in the marketplace. Both 1C and 777 Studios see the flight-simulation genre as an important one for PC gaming with a dedicated fan-base that is eager to support interesting and immersive products. 1C Company is located in Moscow with offices throughout Europe and 777 Studios is headquartered in Southern California with development teams in Russia and Ukraine. Battle of Stalingrad will include both single-player and multi-player scenarios for virtual pilots to enjoy as well as brand new gameplay modes. Initial client release is slated for early 2014 with add-on content and additional features and theatres to follow. IL-2 Sturmovik is an award winning WWII flight-simulator video game franchise and includes such bestselling titles as IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Pacific Fighters, 1946 and Cliffs of Dover. IL-2 Sturmovik titles feature intense aerial combat and dozens of historically accurate warplanes and missions. Named in honor of the famous Soviet Ilyushin IL-2 ground-attack fighter, the Sturmovik series features all major theatres in WWII, from the freezing eastern front to carrier combat in the vast pacific theatre. The IL-2 Sturmovik series of titles is widely regarded as the standard by which all other combat flight-simulators are measured and remains a top seller worldwide. About 1C Company 1C Company specializes in distribution, publishing and development of business, entertainment and educational software. Founded in 1991, 1C has become the largest publisher and distributor of computer and video games in Eastern and Central Europe. 1C Company is widely acknowledged as a game developer and has several internal studios. Internal development of 1C includes IL-2 Sturmovik series and Theatre of War series. 1C Company works as a publisher and producer with over 30 independent development studios and has produced over 100 projects for PC and consoles including titles like Rig'n'Roll, Space Rangers, Soldiers: Heroes of World War II, Faces of War, Men of War series, Perimeter, Fantasy Wars, Death to Spies, King’s Bounty Series . In 2012 1C Company launched its iOS apps series for iPhone &iPad. For more information on 1C please go to our website at www.1cpublishing.com. IL-2 Sturmovik IL-2 Sturmovik is an award winning WWII flight-simulator video game franchise and includes such bestselling titles as IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Pacific Fighters, 1946 and Cliffs of Dover. IL-2 Sturmovik titles feature intense aerial combat and dozens of historically accurate warplanes and missions. Named in honor of the famous Soviet Ilyushin IL-2 ground-attack fighter, the Sturmovik series features all major theatres in WWII, from the freezing eastern front to carrier combat in the vast pacific theatre. The IL-2 Sturmovik series of titles is widely regarded as the standard by which all other combat flight-simulators are measured and remains a top seller worldwide. About 777 Studios Founded in 2007, 777 Studios specializes in the development and publishing of games and simulation products for the PC platform. 777 Studios is the North American publisher of Tourismo Carretera and Wings of Prey and in 2009 published Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War. In 2010, 777 Studios assumed the continued development of Rise of Flight and released Rise of Flight: Iron Cross Edition worldwide. For information about 777 Studios please visit www.777studios.net. Rise of Flight Rise of Flight is an award winning combat flight-simulation title for the PC. Built on the Digital Nature engine it brings the deadly dogfights of WWI to life and features realistic and advanced flight, damage and physics modeling systems. State of the art graphics and terrain scenery puts you over the Western Front of WWI andan in-depth, immersive Career mode allows players to discover their inner fighter pilot as member of a several famous squadrons. Rise of Flight features over 30 vintage warplanes to fly and fight against and includes adjustable settings to satisfy novice and expert pilot alike. For more information about Rise of Flight please visit: www.riseofflight.com."