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Dear Friends, Summer is almost over and many team members are on their way back from vacation. During the year, the IL-2 team has grown at a record pace - 17 talented professionals have joined us. These programmers, artists, and other specialists have now finished their training, settled into the project, and are working full-time on all kinds of neat stuff, both announced and yet to be announced. You may know the only person who left due to family reasons - Kurt, our former Community Manager. (Fortunately, he is doing well and we wish him all the best). Please bear with us - even though it may seem like things are quiet from the outside, there is still a lot of work going on. Of course, all of the team members, old and new, are getting paid for more than just being really nice people. Today we want to show you the screenshots of the new planes that were taken today - they are in beta testing right now. The next two planes in Flying Circus Volume III are already in the air. Meet the legendary Nieuport 17... and Albatros D.II. The Soviet cousin of the C-47, the Li-2, is slowly but surely making its way there as well. This time there is a bit of winter action here. The upcoming 5.106 update will bring even more improvements. There will be new Career Mode missions (including an Intruder mission, a deep strike into enemy territory), updated campaigns, and more. See you in the skies!

Dear Friends, Another update, 5.105, is available now. Today we have released the first two Flying Circus Vol.III aircraft - the Halberstadt D.II and Nieuport 11 early Great War fighters. The emergence of the Nieuport 11 at the front finally put an end to the devastating superiority of the Fokker monoplanes, which for a time had become known as the "Fokker Scourge." During the Battle of Verdun in February 1916, Nieuport 11s inflicted heavy damage on the enemy's air forces, which forced the German High Command to review the tactics of combat aircraft. Many famous aces of WWI (including Georges Guynemer) had their first major successes flying the Bébé. Most of the pilots were impressed by Halberstadt D.II's better performance compared to the older Fokker monoplanes, especially its better climb and speed and very quick, easy, and responsive controls which gave it good maneuverability in the hands of experienced German pilots. Our friends LuftManu and Avimimus have teamed up to prepare interesting videos of these birds that give a nice overview. The release of this update commences the Early Access program for Flying Circus Vol.III - if you consider acquiring it eventually, these new aircraft are only a few mouse clicks away right now. Of course, there are other improvements and fixes in the update change log: 5.105 Halberstadt D.II is available via the Flying Circus Vol. III Early Access program; Nieuport 11 is available via the Flying Circus Vol. III Early Access program; Photo recon missions on the Arado Ar 234 jet are added to Bodenplatte Career mode timeframe (Sonderkommando Sperling); Fw 190 A-3, A-5, A-6, and A-8 external textures and paint schemes improved (Martin =ICDP= Catney); Certain Spitfire Mk.IXe, P-47D-22, and P-47D-28 paint schemes corrected (Martin =ICDP= Catney); Sky Nomads campaign updated: difficulty level is lowered a bit in the first mission, the text is corrected, Spanish and French translations added thanks to enthusiasts E69_Cananas and DN308; Issues with a line drawing order on the map that could result in a wrong-looking mission route on the map have been corrected; Original ShVAK gun sounds are restored due to popular demand - the new sounds will be reworked to better fit in the overall acoustic concept; A couple of bugs in Normandy and Rhineland Career missions that could result in the player flight not traveling to the next waypoint have been found and fixed; Issues in the transport aircraft missions that could prevent them from meeting their escorts have been found and fixed; AI pilots will more efficiently wait for their lagging-behind wingmen and pursue enemy aircraft while being far from the rest of the flight. The work on the next update has already started - according to the plan, it will bring the Li-2 and possibly other new previously announced aircraft. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy the new aircraft and, most importantly, the remaining third of the summer days! Make every one of them count. See you in the skies!

Dear Friends, This year we have already released two previously announced Collector Planes. Today we would like to share plans for the future aircraft. In addition to the already released Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVe Bubbletop and Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 A/S, the plan for this year includes: 1. Li-2 - Soviet military transport aircraft. Unlike the original C-47 (Li-2 was based on it under license), it was also used as a bomber and had an optional turret and even forward firing weaponry. The planned release date is Summer 2023. 2. American towable glider (!) WACO CG-4A, which has been widely used during the Normandy landings. The planned release date is Fall 2023. 3. Soviet fighter La-5 series 38 with a teardrop-shaped canopy. Its lighter design had a positive effect on the characteristics of the aircraft compared to earlier models. The planned release date is Fall 2023. 4. Romanian fighter IAR-80/81 in two basic variants («long» and «short»). Both variants and 7 modifications of the aircraft are described in detail in DD #334. The planned release date is the end of 2023. Please note: since this Collector Plane will be effectively two significantly different aircraft (different fuselages, different flight characteristics, different paint scheme kits, there are differences in their cockpits as well) in one package, its pre-order price will increase on May 17th to the level of larger Collector Planes like C-47. Of course, the pre-orders placed before this date won’t be affected by this change, so if you’re interested in getting these aircraft eventually, please consider doing so before May 17th. 5. The development of three new fighters scheduled for 2024 has begun: German interceptor Focke-Wulf Ta 152 Soviet legendary biplane Polikarpov I-153 «Chaika» British fighter Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc armed with 7.69 mm machine guns and a different tail. 6. By the end of 2023, it is planned to complete the development of the Flying Circus Vol.III which will include eight aircraft: F.E.2b R.E.8 Hanriot HD.1 Nieuport 11.C1 Nieuport 17.C1 Nieuport 17.C1 GBR Albatros D.II Halberstadt D.II It is also planned to complete the Western Front 1918 map and populate the entire front line with objects. This updated version of the map will be available in different seasons. 7. The story of Flying Circus continues: plans for 2024 include additional improvements to the map and the development of seven new collectible aircraft: Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter B Sopwith Pup Airco DH.2 Albatros D.III Roland C.IIa Fokker E.III 8. We’re also helping a team of enthusiasts who are working on a new map of one of the theaters of operations on the Eastern Front. A significant progress has been made - we hope that the map will become part of the Great Battles game world soon. The details about the map and the development team will be revealed later. Since the Battle of Normandy release, 9 World War II aircraft, 15 World War I aircraft and two maps have already been produced or are in development. And that's not all! Your support motivates us to improve and extend the Great Battles series. A new historical campaign is in the final stage of development - it is dedicated to the operation of Yak-7 fighter armed units. This year we plan to release another campaign and there are ideas for creating three new campaigns already. In addition, this year we’re updating a number of previously created campaigns to integrate new technologies and content developed recently (you can see the Tank Crew campaigns being updated in the screenshots below). The 1C Game Studios team wishes you good luck and aerial victories in the virtual sky! Congratulations on the upcoming Victory Day!

Dear Friends, Today is an important day for the project. We are proud to present the results of joint work with our partner "Ugra Media" - the Flying Circus Vol. II release. We have completed the Western Front 1918 map to the planned degree, as well as the development of the Career game mode (the full list of changes is available at the end of the news). During the work on the Career, we created new types of missions and adapted a significant number of existing ones to match the realities of the war in the skies of 1917-1918. FLYING CIRCUS VOL. II Flying Circus Vol. II includes: The map "Western Front 1918" containing northwestern and southeastern parts of the front line and Quick Mission Builder mode for it. Pilot’s Career mode for WWI. French fighter Spad VII.C1 in two variations. British Sopwith Triplane rotary engine fighter. French rotary engine fighter Nieuport 28.C1. French medium two-seat bomber Breguet 14.B2. British medium two-seat bomber Airco DH.IV. British heavy twin-engine bomber Handley Page 0-400. German Fokker D.VIII monoplane fighter. German fighter Pfalz D.XII. German heavy twin-engine bomber Gotha G.V. German two-seat recon/bomber DFW C.V. FLYING CIRCUS VOL. III Also, 1C Games Studios and Ugra Media have entered into an agreement to develop the third part of the project - Flying Circus Vol. III. It will include 8 aircraft: German Albatros D.II fighter German fighter Halberstadt D.II French Nieuport 17.C1 fighter French Nieuport 11.C1 fighter French fighter Nieuport 17.C1 GBR adapted for British service French Hanriot HD.1 fighter. British two-seat reconnaissance aircraft R.E.8. British two-seat medium bomber F.E.2b. In the 3rd part of the project, it is planned to make the Western Front map and the Pilot Career mode final. Map objects and Career mode will cover the entire length of the front lines on the map, complementing and improving the content of Rise of Flight. There will be new industrial plants, farms, front line objects and other details. The map will have five seasons: Summer, early Autumn, late Autumn / early Spring, Winter and Spring. Release of the Flying Circus Vol. III is scheduled for the end of 2023. The first airplanes of the set will be available this summer via the early access program our players are familiar with. FUTURE PLANS After the completion of FC-III, there are plans for 2024 to develop an additional set together with Yugra Media that will reproduce the remaining land-based aircraft in Rise of Flight. It is currently planned to include: British Sopwith Pup fighter. British rear-engine fighter Airco DH.2. British two-seat reconnaissance Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter. German fighter Albatros D.III. German Fokker E.III monoplane fighter. German two-seat reconnaissance Roland C.IIa. We plan to further improve the maps of Flying Circus projects, supplement their development and add the airfields that are located further from the front line. Please note that the Western Front map is available to all players who have purchased at least one of the Flying Circus projects. This map will be further improved and supplemented. SPITFIRE MK.XIVE RELEASED In addition to the Great War news, we would like to present a new British collectible aircraft from the final period of the WWII - the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVe. The main difference between this aircraft and the previous Mk.XIV is the teardrop-shaped canopy, which provides a better view. The aircraft has several modifications available: 150 grade fuel allowing +21 lb boost. Automatic supercharger gear shifting is disabled, stages should be manually switched at 11000 ft altitude (20 km/h estimated speed increase at sea level). Two 250 lb G.P. bombs with racks (250 kg weight increase, 22 km/h speed loss, 11 km/h speed loss after drop). 500 lb G.P. bomb with rack (237 kg weight increase, 12 km/h speed loss, 6 km/h speed loss after drop). Replacement of MkII Gyro Gunsight with MkII* Reflector Gunsight. Clipped Wing. Rear view mirror (1 kg weight increase, 1 km/h speed loss). F.24 photo camera installation behind the cockpit (28 kg weight increase). Clipped wing only. Rounded exhaust pipes. It is already in the sim and available on our website and on Steam. WINGS OVER CAEN FREE CAMPAIGN RELEASED As we have announced in Dev Blog 338, this update contains a gift for all owners of Battle of Normandy. Wings over Caen tells about the tour of duty of No. 245 Squadron RAF«Northern Rhodesia» in the summer of 1944. Over the course of 10 hectic missions, you will be able to feel the difficulties its Typhoon pilots experienced after their rebase to Normandy. We have also added the single missions for all Normandy aircraft plus C-47 (make sure to check them out!) and the last of the ships planned for this theater - Fighter Direction Tender. You can find the full list of changes in this update below. 5.101 Major Features The WWI Western Front map improved, Flying Circus Career mode added, Flying Circus Vol.II released; The Spitfire Mk.XIVe with Teardrop Canopy Collector Plane released; New action-rich historical campaign Wings over Caen added (it's free for Battle of Normandy owners); 11 interesting single missions added for all aircraft of the Battle of Normandy, including Arado and Spitfire XIV, and C-47; FDT (Flight Direction Tender) ship added, it was created as part of the Battle for Normandy; Blazing Steppe, Fortress on the Volga and Ice Ring campaigns updated (tactical numbers and correct paint schemes added for each aircraft, the number of aircraft increased by 15-20% in most missions, missions updated for the new sim version and re-tested); His Majesty Griffons campaign updated (tactical numbers and correct paint schemes added for each aircraft, Ar 234 flight added to mission 9, American vehicles replaced by British in UK held territory, missions updated for the new sim version and re-tested); Hawks Over the Bulge campaign updated (fixed waypoints); Added 9 single missions for Flying Circus Vol.II airplanes; AI Changes Fixed bugs when AI pilots drop paratroopers and cargo containers (difficulty calculating an approach, wingmen not dropping cargo after the leader); Corrected evasive maneuvers for World War I aircraft AI pilots, which previously sometimes led to a spin and collision with the ground; Fixed an issue with AI pilots climbing in formation, which, in particular, could cause the wingmen to fly with their flaps extended and therefore lag behind the rest of the flight; Improved formation keeping by AI pilots during climb and descent; AA searchlights on a truck chassis function correctly; Aircraft Changes Pe-2 Ser. 35 and Pe-2 ser. 87 - crew models updated; Pe-2 Ser. 35 and Pe-2 ser. 87 - Female Crew modification added; Pe-2 Ser. 87: fixed the texture of the machine gun trigger guard in the upper turret (regular and closed); The location of tactical number symbols has been corrected on the “Two-color” and “White” skins for IL-2 mod. 1943 and the "White" skin for the Yak-1 ser. 69; Airco D.H.4, Handley-Page O/400 and Breguet 14: flight commander flares fired when giving orders won’t damage the aircraft wing; A-20B: fixed a problem with the display of the tail signal lights at a distance; The size of off-road bumpy terrain features on the Normandy map now corresponds the other maps (Kuban, Rhineland, etc.); Balloon operators launch flares when given a mission command MCU Command: Flare; Detailed tanks launch flares when given a mission command MCU Command: Flare; Fw 190 A5/A6/A8: fixed a number of minor typos in the cockpit; Hs.129: SC50 bomb racks are linked to the middle part of the wing (was to the outer one); Spitfire Mk.XIV critical engine operating modes have been adjusted similar to Mk.XIVe. Spitfire Mk.XIV aircraft behavior when extending and retracting flaps has been corrected. Spitfire Mk. XIV formation lights look correct from a distance when clipped wings are selected; Spitfire Mk. XIV: fixed a bug due to which the fuel tank damage could be calculated wrong when hitting wing tanks; Bf 109 G-4: aerodynamic drag and weight of bombs and bomb holders is calculated correctly; Me 410 A-1: Stuvi scope wind speed readings have been adjusted to match the values in the technochat; All Bf 109, all Fw 190, IL-2, MiG-3, LaGG-3, MC-202: the point of application of the air drag of the underbelly and underwing cannons has been fixed (it was applied incorrectly, in the center of the aircraft); All Bf 109: fixed a bug due to which gunpods were linked to the wingtip instead of the middle part of the wing; Bf 110 G-2: fixed propeller blur at low rpm; Ar 234 B-2: increased drop in aerodynamic quality of the wing when its part is shot off; Fixed a random crash bug when setting C-47A engine cowl flaps streamwise; C-47A engine cowl flap control valves are named correctly in the cockpit; Fixed display of the Ju 87D-3 gunner's cockpit in multiplayer when a guest gunner is connected; Recovery time of time limited engine modes have been adjusted (now the required recovery time is proportional to the time limit itself); Tank Crew Changes Fixed excessive damage to gun barrels by shell fragments when hitting the rear of the turret; It is again possible to damage the player controllable tank Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf.G “Panther” undercarriage; The GUI display of the number of rounds left in a player controllable tank has been fixed; Churchill tracks are visible in the first person view; The hull armor is correctly taken into account when calculating an APHE hit at the front part of the Churchill gear box; Western Front 1918 Map Changes General fixes for the Western Front map, Spring 1918: Leveled terrain under the Ochey airfield (2630-1); Leveled terrain under the Pronville airfield (0908-5); Restored objects on the airfield La Bellevue (0905-7); Added airfield Marville (1726-5); Changed the name of the airfield to Avesnes-le-Sec West (0811-1); Removed a flooding from the Etain airfield (1927-2); Fixed forest clearings (1327-4, 1427-8, 1328-2, 1325-3); Removed the overlapping of buildings in the villages on the front line and trenches (1306-7, 1206-5, 0807-4, 0506-6, 0307-6, 0207-3, 2432-1, 2532-8); Airfield Bernes (1209-4) - the sign has been removed from the hangar; Train station Lille (0409-7) - removed the extra model of the station, mistakenly added to the map; Airfields Stenay and Stenay South (1724-8) and Belrain (2425-7) have leveled terrain; Added the city of Luxembourg (1531); Added Fort Verdun (2025-6); Many farms have been added to the countryside; Ypres (0107-3) - added a canal near the city; Bridge markings added (1421-3, 1425-4, 1425-3, 1426-2, 1426-3, 1427-1, 1427-8, 1428, 2831-6, 2831-9, 2832-8, 2832 -9, 2520-4, 2520-7, 2519-6, 2625, 0815-4, 0715-7, 0815-8, 0314-5, 0214-3, 0507-4, 0611-5); Added missing ground textures near buildings (1203-5, 1203-6, 1203-8, 1406-1, 1306-4, 1310-9, 1103-5, 1105-9, 0910-4, 0911-1, 1523-5 , 1425-1, 0806-9, 1621-1, 1721-9, 1624-4, 1624-1, 1627-2, 1820-9, 1820-2, 1921-9, 2027-8, 2028-4, 2029 -5, 2029-3, 0607-5, 0505-2, 2128-5, 0402-3, 2229-8, 2229-1, 2230-5, 2231-9, 2230-5, 2431-2); Corrected forest clearings (1327-4, 1427-8, 1328-2, 1328-5, 1325-3); Removed trees from houses 0506-4, 0508-7, 0508-3, 0510-7, 0610-2, 0610-8, 0608-7, 0608-7, 0606-5, 0605-8, 0605-9, 0606-7, 0608- 3, 0609-1, 0508-7, 1207-1); Added missing textures for railways (1307-3, 0203-3, 0605-9, 0605-8); Toul airfield (2629-8) - the terrain at the end of the runway has been leveled. Other Сhanges An excessive shine of camouflage nets fixed; Fixed a bug in the operation of the air reconnaissance, artillery correction and photo reconnaissance GUI, which led to inability to use it if there were ground vehicles in the mission; Fixed a bug in the work of MCU: ComplexTrigger, due to which the event of dropping paratroopers worked regardless of the specified country; Updated the sounds of air explosions of medium and large caliber AA rounds; Added separate sounds of air explosions for the British QF13-pounder 6 cwt (76.2 mm) and the German Flak 77 L/27 AA guns; Updated external and internal (heard from cockpit) sounds of the ShVAK autocannon; Fixed assignment of tactical codes to the aircraft of the player's cover flight in the Career mode; Tactical codes generated for a mission shouldn’t be applied to the unique skins in the hangar; Mission Editor: Fixed the drop-down list of countries in the Properties section for airfields.

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:

Update 5.003 Dear Friends, Our team has finished the development of the new update 5.003, and it is released. This time we will launch three new pieces of new content at once. The first object is the C-47 "Skytrain" we have talked about in Dev Blog #331. This big guy has been developed together with Yugra Media company which created the 3D model of the cockpit and updated the external model of this aircraft. It wasn't easy, but this plane is interesting to become familiar with. This most popular military transport plane of WWII is now available in Pilot's Career mode during the Normandy and Rhineland timeframes. You'll be assigned missions like Cargo Delivery, Special Forces Paradrop and Cargo Paradrop (the second and third mission types can occur both during daytime and nighttime in Normandy career). We're hoping you'll enjoy flying it. The second one is the Western Front 1918 map created for Flying Circus Vol. 2. At this time the flyable zone corresponds to the Rise of Flight map while the buildings and objects are placed in the two most important zones as it was planned for FC Vol.2: Amiens - Lille - Saint Quentin (North-West) and Thionville - Saint Dizier - Nancy (South-East). Both WWI maps, Arras and the new Western Front one are available to owners of either Flying Circus Vol.1 and Vol.2 as we have promised during the project announcement. We hope to continue WWI development in the future and complete the scene along the frontline. For now, the map is WIP even for FC Vol.2 and the development of Career and Advanced Quick Mission modes for it are ongoing. The Quick Mission mode for it is already available, while Yugra-Media continues improving the map itself. The third new arrival is StuG III Ausf.G - we have talked about this steel German beast in Dev Blog #333. The modeled assault gun was created by MIAG factory using the Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M chassis produced by MAN factory. This combat vehicle is the popular Ausführung G version. The most mass produced modification, numbered around 7800 units. They were armed with the 75mm StuK 40 L/48 gun with artillery periscope and equipped with Schurzen side armor sheets, smoke grenade launchers and an infantry MG34 stowed in the fighting compartment which was operated by an unlucky loader who had to expose himself to fire it. The completion of StuG III allows us to present new Tank Crew editions: Premium and Deluxe. Tank Crew Premium Edition offers the complete Tank Crew - Clash at Prokhorovka experience by adding 4 Collector Vehicles to the already impressive list of 10 legendary combat vehicles. A detailed Prokhorovka map and two campaigns of the original Tank Crew. This Premium Edition is available on our website. The Deluxe Edition is available on Steam and includes Battle of Stalingrad in addition to all this. Either edition offers huge savings compared to purchasing its contents independently. Of course, this is not all. For instance, Steel Birds campaign has been updated to accommodate the new tactical numbers system and is now available on Steam. There are dozens of other additions and fixes and the work on improving Great Battles continues. The full changelist follows: Main Features 1. The "Western Front, Spring 1918" map is available in Early Access to all customers who pre-ordered Flying Circus Vol. 2 and to all owners of Flying Circus Vol. 1 as we promised at the time of the announcement. Quick Mission mode works already, the work on finalizing the map and implementing the Pilot's Career and Advanced Quick Mission modes for it continues; 2. The C-47 "Skytrain" transport plane is now available to all who have pre-ordered it. In addition to QMB and AQMG modes, this aircraft can be selected in Normandy and Rhineland Career mode timeframes; 3. The German StuG III Ausf.G assault gun is now available to all who have pre-ordered it; 4. AI-controlled tank Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf.G Panther added; 5. AI-controlled Morris C9B self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with Bofors 40/L60 cannon added; 6. AI-controlled Universal Carrier Mk.II added; 7. The variety and historical consistency of aircraft and tank tactical numbers in Quick Mission, Advanced Quick Mission, and Pilot's Career modes increased; 8. Added the ability to remove external fuel tanks on player-controllable T-34 and SU-122; 9. Smoke grenade launcher functionality added on player-controllable Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.M, Pz.Kpfw.V Ausf.D, and Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf.H1; 10. Improved structure damage modeling of WWI airframes under load (their G-limit drop from rifle caliber bullet hits is not as drastic as before). Other Changes 11. The target distribution in AI aircraft groups has been adjusted. Priority targets like anti-aircraft guns are engaged by one to four planes in the group depending on the leader's AI level, other wingmen will choose other targets; 12. Steel Birds historical campaign has been updated. All flights are assigned tactical numbers according to the time period and specific unit, many other fixes and improvements were made;. 13. The animation of guns in turrets when switching positions has been corrected. 14. Turrets return to default positions when the crew leaves the plane. 15. The cocking animation when reloading the magazine has been restored. 16. Dynamic damage hit marks correctly appear on auxiliary armor panels on Fw 190 A-8, Fw 190 A-6, B-26B55 and others. 17. IL-2 mod. 1943: formation lights won't visually double at a distance. 18. USS Gleaves: torpedo launcher effects are aligned with its position. 19. USS Gleaves: torpedoes in the water are visible at a distance correctly. 20. Custom paint schemes won't have tactical numbers automatically assigned. 21. Normandy videos now have subtitles in Russian, Chinese, German, Spanish and French.; 22. Career ground attack aircraft escort missions won't be randomly generated in a corner of the map. 23. AI-controlled Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun now aims correctly. 24. Churchill IV gunfire sound replaced by a more suitable one. 25. PzKpfw IV Ausf.H is correctly visible at a distance. 26. PzKpfw IV Ausf.H model updated in many ways. 27. The PTK commander's panorama on SU-152 works correctly again. 28. Churchill speed indicators corrected. 29. Ferdinand gunner station now has a mirror for the bubble level indicator. 30. Ferdinand station notes (in-game help) updated. 31. Previews for T-34 mod. 1943 skins restored. 32. Fixed an error in submarines' torpedo launching algorithm, which sometimes caused the torpedoes to explode prematurely. 33. Radiator leakage effect excessive brightness has been reduced. 34. AI pilots won't sometimes taxi after landing in the wrong order. 35. AI pilots whose aircraft are unable to land will now be put at the end of the landing queue. 36. Tank fuel tanks can catch fire even if the engine is knocked out (previously this was blocked to prevent effects doubling). 37. In a case of MG misfire in a player controlled tank the cocking sound can be heard. 38. The disappearance of techno chat messages in Dogfight that could occur in a next flight after bailing out has been fixed. 39. Parachutes appear in multiplayer correctly when there is a wind. 40. The death animation of the A-20 top gunner has been corrected. 41. Yak-9 and Yak-9T: corrected the appearance of extended landing gear warning lights. 42. The rear landing gear of Flying Circus airplanes leaves a correct sized trail on the ground. 43. GUI: the operation of the armament panel in the HUD when there are multiple switchable positions has been corrected. 44. GUI: fixed HUD elements "blinking" at commander's seat. 45. Airco DH4 wreckage appearance has been corrected. 46. Damaged Gotha G.V. airplanes look correct at a distance; 47. Mission Editor: Entente and Central Powers units are displayed in blue and red respectively. 48. Mission Editor: Entente and Central Powers countries are correctly displayed in the Order/Opposition lists in the object properties of the Location type. 49. Mission Editor: the Move Camera to Object command for objects in the mission tree now has a keyboard shortcut Shift+RClick. The right mouse button click with Shift on an object in the mission tree will move the camera to this object. 50. Mission Editor: the Set on Ground command now works recursively for objects in groups and for groups within other groups. 51. U-2VS: a missing rocket on the left wing was added to ammo variants #20 and #29. 52. Tactical number colors were corrected in scenario campaigns. 53. Bomb and rocket aiming helpers won't jitter when enabled.

View File Photorealistic default skin for Geezer's Martinsyde G100/G102s Photorealistic skin for excellent Martinsyde G100/102 (all modifications) by Geezer. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 07/03/2022 Category Other Entente Aircraft Skins  

View File Default skin for Sopwith Triplane Skin for excellent Sopwith Triplane by Stephen1918 There are alternative default skin for British Triplane. You can use that skin for SopwithTripe2Gun after rename files "Tripe..." files to "2Tripe..." files. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 06/11/2022 Category Sopwith Skins  

View File Skin for Airco DH-4s Skin for excellent Airco DH4s by Stephen1918/ You can use this skin for AircoDH4_250 and AircoDH4_375 aircraft. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 06/04/2022 Category Other Entente Aircraft Skins  

View File Skinpack for Sopwith Sop1A2 stock aircraft Skinpack for excellent Sopwith Sop1A2. There are two skins - for British and Russian Empires. You can use skins for Sop1B2 after rename "SOP1A2-N" files to "SOP1B2-N" files. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 05/29/2022 Category Sopwith Skins  

View File Skinpack for stock SPAD VII's Default skinpack for stock SPAD VII's. There are two skins - for French and Russian aviation. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. I removed wing's cockades and rudder's emblems from "Decals.ini" because they were integrated in my skin. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 12/27/2021 Category Spad Skins  

View File Default skin for stock Albatros D.Va's Default skin for stock Albatros D.Va's. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. I removed wing's and rudder's crosses from "Decals.ini" because they were integrated in my skin. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 12/26/2021 Category Albatros Skins  

View File Default skin for Albatros D.V Default skin for stock Albatros D.Vs. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. I removed wing's and rudder's crosses from "Decals.ini" because they were integrated in my skin. Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 12/18/2021 Category Albatros Skins  

View File Default camo skin for SPAD 13's family It's the time of default skin for the most popular stock aircraft of all flight sims about WW1 - SPAD 13. I tried to add some "photorealistic" textures for more impressive image of this aircraft. I removed wing cockardes and rudder's tricolor from "Decals.ini" because they were integrated in my skin. Put folder "D' into "Objects/Decals/SPAD13". Eugene Submitter Eugene2 Submitted 05/29/2021 Category Spad Skins  

View File Caporetto V2 (Terrain & Campaign) Caporetto Terrain WW1 V2.0 ******************************* INTRODUCTION The Italian Front during WW1 refers to a series of battles fought between 1915 and 1918 in northern Italy between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Germany against Italy. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol (today's provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol), the Austrian Littoral, northern Dalmatia and some areas of western Carniola. Italy had hoped to begin the war with a surprise offensive intended to move quickly and capture several Austrian cities. Well, the war soon bogged down into trench warfare similar to the Western Front fought in France. The included terrain represents the situation around September/October 1917, just before the battle of Caporetto. The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was the greatest defeat in Italian military history. The battle was fought between the Entente and the Central Powers and took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid (now in north-western Slovenia, then part of the Austrian Littoral). The battle was named after the Italian name of the town (also known as Karfreit in German). Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian forces opposing them. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers and the infiltration tactics developed in part by Oskar von Hutier. The use of poison gas by the Germans also played a key role in the collapse of the Italian Second Army. INCLUDED - Italian terrain/front WW1, situaton around summer/late summer 1917 - 544 unique tiles - 10798 targets and 589 target areas - Terrain represents the most important battlegrounds on the Italian front (Monfalcone, Mt. Hermada, Doberdo and Doberdo Lake, Mt. Fajiti Hrib, Gorizia, Mt. Sabotino, Bainsizza plateau, Caporetto, Mt. Krn, Mt. Tre Cime, Mt. Cristallo, Mt. Lagazuoi, Mt. Col di Lana, Mt. Marmolada, Mt. Ortigara, Mt. Pasubio...and many other historical places) - Needed ground objects are also included - Important mountains where done via satellite images (the tiles), like Marmolada, Mount Krn, Monte Cristallo, etc. all unique - All historical fortifications are included (mountain bunkers, etc.) and locations/naming correct (as good as it gets) - Major railroad lines included - Port of Triest acts as port of Pola with all the major Austro-Hungarian Dreadnoughts stationed there - Flying boat stations included with stationary Lohners and Macchi aircrafts PREREQUISITES - FE Gold or FE2 - Very strong PC and GPU INSTALLATION 1. PRELIMINARY WORK 1.1 Extract file into a temporary folder like 'c:\temp' 1.2 You'll find a new folder called 'caporettoV20' within 'c:\temp' 1.3 For the campaign to work properly you'll need the following aircraft (you'll find them at the usual places) --- AlbatrosC3 --- AlbatrosD3OAW --- AviatikC2 --- AviatikD1 --- Ca3 --- Dfwci --- Hanriot_HD1_CAM --- Hansa_BrandenburgDI --- LloydC2 --- Nieuport12 --- Nieuport17 --- oefD3_ba53a --- oefD3_ba153a --- oefD3_ba253 --- PhoenixD2a --- PomilioPE --- RumplerC1 --- SAMLS2 --- SP3 --- SPAD7_150 --- SPAD7_180 --- SPAD13 --- SVA5 2. TERRAIN INSTALLATION 2.1 FIRST EAGLES 2 - This terrain uses the stock wwiCambrai.CAT file, You must have the "wwiCambrai" terrain from First Eagles for the wwiCaporetto terrain to work properly. - Look into your personal Windows folder like 'C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2', e.g. your MODS Folder - create the folder 'terrains' within if not already there - Move the 'wwiCaporetto' directory from your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Terrain\wwiCaporetto') to 'C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2\terrains\', e.g. your MODS Folder - Move the folders within 'GroundObject' directory from your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Objects\GroundObject') to 'C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2\Objects\GroundObjects', e.g. your MODS Folder 2.2 FIRST EAGLES GOLD - This terrain uses the stock wwiCambrai.CAT file, You must have the "wwiCambrai" terrain from First Eagles for the wwiCaporetto terrain to work properly. - Move the 'wwiCaporetto' directory from your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Terrain\wwiCaporetto') into your FirstEagles installation directory (like 'c:\Program Files\First Eagles\Terrain') - Move the folders within 'GroundObject' from your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Objects\GroundObject') into your FirstEagles installation directory (like 'c:\Program Files\First Eagles\Objects\GroundObject') - If you've already my previous Italian WWI terrain, then you probably don't need these objects. In any case if asked to 'owerwrite', click NO. 3. CAMPAIGN INSTALLATION 3.1 FIRST EAGLES 2 - Look into your personal Windows folder like 'C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2', e.g. your MODS folder - create the folder 'Campaigns' within if not already there - Move the 'wwiCaporetto01' directory from your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Campaings') to C:\Users\<username>\Saved Games\ThirdWire\FirstEagles2\Campaigns\', e.g. your MODS Folder - Move the files (bmp's) from your your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Menu') to your FirstEagles2 installation directory (like 'c:\Program Files\First Eagles2\Menu') Aircraft Skins - All needed aircraft skins are included. Look for them into your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Objects\Aircraft') add them like any other FE2 aircraft skins. You'll already have the majority probably. 3.2 FIRST EAGLES GOLD - Move the 'wwiCaporetto01' directory from your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Campaings') into your FirstEagles installation directory (like 'c:\Program Files\First Eagles\Campaigns') - Move the files (bmp's) from your your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Menu') into your FirstEagles installation directory (like 'c:\Program Files\First Eagles\Menu') Aircraft Skins - All needed aircraft skins are included. Look for them into your temporary folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Objects\Aircraft') add them like any other FE aircraft skins. You'll already have the majority probably. 4. EXTRAS - You'll find several ZIP files within the temporary 'Extras' folder (like 'c:\temp\caporettoV20\Extras') Description: Terrain_wwiCaporettoFolder_oldCarst.zip - I've repainted the carst region tiles to make them look more like limestone in this new version. If you like more the previous look, then just extract this file and overwrite the tiles within the wwiCaporetto folder. Terrain_wwiCaporettoFolder_oldIsonzo_trench_dry.zip - I've added wet fields and water filled shell holes in this new version. If you like more the previous look, then just extract this file and overwrite the tiles within the wwiCaporetto folder. MenuFolder_Music_MainScreen.zip - If you like a bit more exciting musing in the main menue. Just drop this file into your 'Menue' folder. PilotDataFolder_Additional_PilotImages.zip - These are all the portraits of all aces on the Italian front during 1915-1918. Quite a lot of work went into this. If you like a more historical approach then use these and drop them into your 'PilotData' folder. CREDITS As usually I want to say thank you to all guys who helped me to create the Italian terrain, to TK, Jan Tuma, Stephen1918, ojcar, Gepard, Heck, geo, quack74, Edward, and specially Geezer. Sorry guys, can't remember all the names. Please contact me if you want to be named here. Thanks for files, suggestions, bug fixing, etc. DISCLAIMER The Italian terrain is freeware. You are free to modify and share it, BUT Commercial use is prohibited. If you find bugs please post them in First Eagles section of Combatace.com forum. Submitter gterl Submitted 07/23/2019 Category First Eagles - WWI and Early Years - Terrain and Environmental Mods  

View File Caporetto Terrain Caporetto Terrain WW1 ********************* INTRODUCTION The Italian Front during WW1 refers to a series of battles fought between 1915 and 1918 in northern Italy between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Germany against Italy. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol (today's provinces of Trentino and South Tyrol), the Austrian Littoral, northern Dalmatia and some areas of western Carniola. Italy had hoped to begin the war with a surprise offensive intended to move quickly and capture several Austrian cities. Well, the war soon bogged down into trench warfare similar to the Western Front fought in France. The included terrain represents the situation around August/September 1917, just before the battle of Caporetto. The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was the greatest defeat in Italian military history. The battle was fought between the Entente and the Central Powers and took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid (now in north-western Slovenia, then part of the Austrian Littoral). The battle was named after the Italian name of the town (also known as Karfreit in German). Austro-Hungarian forces, reinforced by German units, were able to break into the Italian front line and rout the Italian forces opposing them. The battle was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the use of stormtroopers and the infiltration tactics developed in part by Oskar von Hutier. The use of poison gas by the Germans also played a key role in the collapse of the Italian Second Army. INCLUDED - Italian terrain/front WW1, situaton around summer/late summer 1917 - 539 unique tiles, 10226/574 targets/areas - Terrain represents the most important battlegrounds on the Italian front (Monfalcone, Mt. Hermada, Doberdo and Doberdo Lake, Mt. Fajiti Hrib, Gorizia, Mt. Sabotino, Bainsizza plateau, Caporetto, Mt. Krn, Mt. Tre Cime, Mt. Cristallo, Mt. Lagazuoi, Mt. Col di Lana, Mt. Marmolada, Mt. Ortigara, Mt. Pasubio...and many other historical places) - Needed ground objects are also included - Important mountains where done via satellite images (the tiles) - All historical fortifications are included (mountain bunkers, etc.) and locations/naming correct (as good as it gets) FAQs Q: Is the scale of the map correct A: No Q: Are all the named towns and cities correct (placement and naming) A: Yes as good as it gets. Q: Does it include more than one season? A: No Q: Is the frontline correct? A: Yes representing late 1917 Q: The river Isonzo seems to cut through the mountains, is that correct? A: To a certain degree, but I had to modify massively the heightmap in order to make things look right (e.g. river not flowing up/down the mountains) Q: The northern part of the map, e.g. toward Munich, seems without further towns? A: Correct. All forests and lakes are there but apart from the major cities (Salzburg & Munich) I've not included smaller towns. INSTALLATION 1. Make a backup copy of your First Eagles folder (just in case) 2. Extract the file into a temporary folder (like c:\temp\) 3. Copy all the relevant folders into the respective First Eagles game folders (example: c:\temp\First Eagles\Terrain\wwiCaporetto into your c:\Program Files\First Eagles\Terrain folder) 4. Copy the Objects\GroundObjects folders into your GroundObjects folder. If you've already my Italian WWI terrain, then you probably don't need these objects. In any case if asked to 'owerwrite', click NO. PREREQUISITES - FE Gold (might work also with FE2, sorry guys don't know), with the latest patch - Very strong PC and GPU CREDITS As usually I want to say thank you to all guys who helped me to create the Italian terrain, to TK, Jan Tuma, Stephen1918, ojcar, Gepard, Heck, geo, quack74, Edward, and specially Geezer. Sorry guys, can't remember all the names. Please contact me if you want to be named here. Thanks for files, suggestions, bug fixing, etc. DISCLAIMER The Italian terrain is freeware. You are free to modify and share it, BUT Commercial use is prohibited. If you find bugs please post them in First Eagles section of Combatace.com forum. Hope you enjoy it. Sincerely gterl Submitter gterl Submitted 12/21/2018 Category First Eagles - WWI and Early Years - Terrain and Environmental Mods