Wings of Prey is great..as has been said it has really good grafx, and is easy to get into, unless you fly it in simulation mode, where you will find the big V12 Merlin will get antsy if you don't look after it..

 

It would be cool to bomb a cruise ship???

 

Yeah! As long as the right people were on board Hard to miss, too...

 

But seriously, I can't work up enough steam to go into kill-fly mode anymore..Just want to sightsee

I installed IL-2 1946, patched it to 1.11.1, and finally got antialiasing, widescreen, and TrackIR all working. I played a couple of quick missions, and, once I realized that we have to add planes manually, had a blast! I love shooting down rookies! :) So far, I'm having a lot more fun with IL-2 than I did with Rise of Flight.

 

What is confusing me, however, is the tutorial system. The training missions don't seem to be missions; they seem to be more like movies, with no interaction. I couldn't find a way to fast-forward through them, and didn't watch until the end of them, so I don't know if an interactive segment follows the movie; does it?

 

And then there's the question of which campaign to try first. I want to start simple and work my way through them, ideally chronologically. However, I have no idea how they are ordered. Is there a description of these campaigns somewhere, with recommendations on which to try first?

 

(One thing I like about Flight and FSX is that they baby-step us through the basics, even if we have been long-time followers of the series).

 

I'm still wondering whether to get Wings of Prey. I've read that it's based on an earlier version of IL-2, so I'm guessing they share some of same learning curve. Do they have enough in common to warrant using Wings of Prey as a stepping-stone to IL-2?

And then there's the question of which campaign to try first. I want to start simple and work my way through them, ideally chronologically. However, I have no idea how they are ordered. Is there a description of these campaigns somewhere, with recommendations on which to try first?

 

There are some absolutely incredible user made campaigns out there for IL2, a large variety made for everything from rookies to the most experienced experts. It has been a while since I have played, but the most fun I ever had with IL2 was with some of these user made campaigns. A search for them should take you to some good sites to get them from.

 

I'm still wondering whether to get Wings of Prey. I've read that it's based on an earlier version of IL-2, so I'm guessing they share some of same learning curve. Do they have enough in common to warrant using Wings of Prey as a stepping-stone to IL-2?

 

From everything I have read about it, Wings of Prey certainly would have a much smaller learning curve, so if you are fairly new to this type of series, I would think it would probably be a good stepping stone. I myself did not have too much trouble with the learning curve of IL2, but was already fairly experienced with combat sims when I got into it.

If you want to just shoot or bomb something and not have to worry about settings, joining, too much realism find old copies of Microsoft CFS or CFS3. Very basic good WWII shoot them up and then go do something else type sims.

Seeing that you are comfortable with IL-2 I suggest forgetting about Wings of Prey. Wings of Prey was sort of a follow-on to IL-2 with better graphics but with less content and more arcade-like features, which is why the hardcore IL-2 community didn't embrace it. The IL-2 mod packs only add icing on the cake, they are not really needed (but add substantial content that does enhance the experience and available aircraft).

 

IL-2 tutorials end with you doing a training flight on the materal covered. Its stock missions are presented in no specific order, but the pilot career is. There are also static and dynamic campaigns that can be added which have multiple missions in a historic context (well, at least the good ones do). http://www.mission4today.com/ is an amazing IL-2 resource for DLC. IMO the best IL-2 experience is to join an online squad which flies as a team against either AI or other online players. As mentioned, you will soon discover the friendly IL-2 AI are usually not helpful and can be a complete PITA, while the enemy AI works flawlessly as a team to shoot your rear-end out of the sky,

Wow, thanks for the info!

 

I'll try to watch the IL-2 tutorials through to the end next time. I don't suppose there is a way to skip or fast-forward through the movie parts?

CFS3 was a major letdown so I would stick with IL2. The only thing it had going for it was the modding and visuals. Unfortunately multiplayer was like Flight before the patch that fixed the skipping aircraft. It was impossible to aimand multiplayer never took off as a result.

 

Other issues I had were around the LOS.

 

I mean LOD, you have to be real close before the detailed models become visible. It makes TrackIR virtually useless if you want greater immersion. everything seems to be far away and then all of a sudden it pops into a big aircraft up close.

 

It's a shame because the mudpond guys did some awesome work in there.