Sat Dec 29 07:20:22 2001

Incedentally, AYB was born in the same hostpital where Charles Lindberg died, and only a day later.  Maybe That makes AYB an expert, or if you believe in reincarnation, it makes AYB Charles Lindberg.

I crossed the Atlantic all alone and have a dance named after me.  What have you guys ever done?

Riso, what the hell did you do with my kid!!!!!

Anywhoo, IL-2 involves the airwar between Germany and Russia on the notorious Russian front.  There are no Spitfires, no Hurri's, no Mustangs, Thunderbolts, or Lightings.

Instead, there are Yak's, Aircobra's, and La-5's.

neat huh?

The flight physics are the best I've ever played with.  The graphics are detailed and richly beautifull.  The AI is second to none as far as piston engined based flight sims go. (I don't do much from the jet age).

One of my favorite features of the game is the Autopilot funtion where the AI actually takes over flying the plane.  You can switch on the AI, hit F2 for an external view of the aircraft, and watch some dazzling evasive maneuvers on the part of the AI (on Ace level), as well as enjoy the beautifull modling of the plane your flying.

Battle damage is fairly realistic.  After being hit and viewing the outside of your craft, there are marks on the textures of your wing, gaping holes in your rudder, or parts or whole's of surfaces missing.

Hitting targets is a challenge (as it should be)  I've spent hours working on my aireol gunnery skills and have gotten decent, but there's so much more to perfect.

One thing I like about the AI is that it is far different from Air Warrior III.  In AWIII, the enemy always flys like shit, but they always hit their targets no matter how difficult the shot.

In IL-2, the AI is balanced according to pilot/crew skill.  Aces don't shoot perfectly all the time, but they do shoot better and usually close to the target moreso than lesser AI airplanes.

A couple of things bother me about the game.  Sometimes the AI makes huge mistakes in judgement (like flying into the ground for no reason) or fails to engage the enemy when it is at an advantage, even when the plane in question has a veteran or ace-level crew.

Some of the planes in the game aren't flyable, like the Me262.  That's not what really bothers me as I'd like to take some of the more pitifull aircraft like the FW-189 or one of these neat bi-planes that they have, or the double-decker He-111 that consists of two He-111's goined at the wing like a twin mustang.  Gosh those things are cool!

While the ground detail is amazing, it lacks any serious topography apart from low hills.

Altogether, it is the best sim I've ever flown

it gets a AYB index rating of 94%

Sat Dec 29 11:56:53 2001

We shall crash into yuo!

All yuor outdated aircraft are belong to us!

Sat Dec 29 14:35:30 2001

Superior as in: kicks a Messerschmidt's ass.

AYB: Which Messerschmidts are you able to fly?

Sat Dec 29 19:15:18 2001

The Fw190 is a bit undermoddeled IMO.  It's too slow compared to other airplanes.

Which fighter design did the Ruskies kipe off the Kraut?

Sat Dec 29 22:12:24 2001

But it wasnt a Messerschmidt or Focke Wulf Design.

Funny, a FW 190 should fly circles around a 109.

Sat Dec 29 23:23:01 2001

Funny, a FW 190 should fly circles around a 109.

Not really, put that way.

The Messershmidt was a more manuverable airplane, except that it lost much it's agility as larger and more powerfull powerplants were installed to try to keep it's speed competitive.  Unlike it's RAF counterpart the Spitfire, it didn't scale extremely well.

The messershmidt, compared to the Fw was slower, and speed was a lot more important than turning radius in WWII.  With speed, you could dictate the terms of the fight.  If the fight wasn't going well, you could outdistance your opponent.

The Fw also had more lethal armament than the 109, but The 109 cllimbed better in general.

Sat Dec 29 23:30:53 2001

which is funny as the P-40 was a plane that was outdated by 1941, yet saw service throughout the war.

Mon Dec 31 14:36:46 2001

WTF!?

Next thing you say is that it was very easy to fly too.

Mon Dec 31 18:35:07 2001

It was reported by the pilots of the Luftwaffe and the RAF that the early war variants turned about as well as a Spit,

Later war variants were not as nimble.

Why do you think it was not manuverable?  compared to a Dr 3 it wasn't, but the top end on a triplane like that was about 150mph.

Oh, and the Me109 could climb very well.

What have you heard Riso?

Mon Dec 31 18:56:51 2001

That was a twin engined fighter-bomber that didn't amount to being much of either.  It was slow, sluggish, and prettymuch single handedly put the RAF into the history books in the Battle of Britan.

That one was a prewar design that was just horribly outmatched by the early 40's and suitable only for nightfighting and as a light bomber.

Mon Dec 31 20:15:54 2001

First plane without a starshaped engine.

A fucking nose heavy thing that needed an experienced pilot to handle it.

FW 190 > Me109

Mon Dec 31 21:09:15 2001

All airplanes like that were nose heavy.

FW 190 > Me109

Considering what was important in fighter aircraft at the time, I'd tend to agree.

Tue Jan 1 01:58:51 2002

I believe the Me109 was the first all metal monoplane Germany developed, yes

Actually the sentence should go like this:

I believe the Me109 was the first all metal monoplane worldwide developed, yes

Wed Jan 2 21:59:15 2002