I hope that the section about the collectors aircraft was clear enough. There are 8 aircraft in each of the standard versions of IL-2. You get two more for buying the Deluxe/Premium Version. That usually saves you money compared to buying the standard game and the corresponding collectors aircraft seperately. By the way this is no ad :). I made this video by my own motivation because I see those questions very often. However asked for permission to use the trailer footage, which was granted by Jason Williams. I hope this video clears up some common misconceptions.
I gave you permission to make a professional buying guide and use our footage, not to attack me on a personal level. Not cool. If you want to engage me on why I called it Battle of Bodenplatte you can do an interview and I will explain it. When did I ever say Bodenplatte was a place? Please.
I think you should be able to differentiate between a personal attack and a light hearted joke. Battle of Bodenplatte remains a hard to pronounce title for many and doesn't make sense from the discussed pov either. But thx I keep promoting your game for free in the future bringing hundreds of players. But I will make sure not to seek out support in the future.
@@SheriffsSimShack Sorry, no that was a snide comment and not a light heated joke. You clearly imply that I somehow think Bodenplatte is a place. If you want to say it's a stupid title fine, but no need to bring my name into it. I know it's fun to beat up on me because I make myself accessible, but don't ask for a favor pretending to be something else.
Sheriff got me into this game a long time ago and I wouldnt have spent a dime on your franchise if he didnt make videos. I bought all the modules but no more! I can't believe these posts
Stumbled over one of your video's a while back and thought I would give this game a try as it looked super fun. Had a VR headset, so bought a HOTAS at Christmas and have absolutely fallen in love with this game. Bought all the extras add ons and maps during the big spring sale and now my entire free time is spent flying my beloved 109! Thanks for your video's and when I'm good enough, may see you on a server some day! :)
When I saw that IL-2:Sturmovik has VR, I was sold! Unfortunately I didn`t know that IL-2: Sturmovik has 2 old versions (pretty much obsolete, and without VR). The 3rd (current) version is called IL-2: Sturmovik: The Great Battels (with parts for buying: BOS, BOM, BOK, BOBp, BON..). That is what you want to buy!
Great explanation. IL-2 marketing department can learn from you how to help sales. ;) Hats down to the long term vision of the authors of the game and sticking to its modular architecture.
Nice job on this! It does a great job explaining the most convoluted named sim in history😂... It's a shame this is something the company itself hasn't done. I hope they at least say "thank you" and add this as a sticky in the forums, that is the least they could do....
Since I play with my Index in VR, I really love all the installments! Especially Tank crew and the WW1 Titles too! FC2 will even have a dynamic campaign!
I have fallen in love with this game since buying it for Christmas. I'm finally able to get 1 or 2 kills in Combat Box, I just wish there were more people online in the west coast time zone since servers usually only have 10 or so planes in them. Also, everyone must get SRS for radio communication if you fly on Combat Box or Finnish; it is a total game changer and very easy to install!
2200+ players active now. I just bought BOS for 7 euros and I saw your comment afraid of a dying playerbase but it seems like they grew a lot. I'm from europe.
theyre referring to west coast united states, youre in europe. these types of titles seem to be more popular in europe. im in Los angeles, so ill take his word for it and probably keep my purchase to bos and maybe bop if bos runs well in vr for me and there are players online to kill me.
BoS often goes -85% on Steam (Almost every month lately) and that's how I got it. The deluxe edition was just a little bit more, and had planes I like, so I got that too. For under 10 euro for BoS it's a bit hard to go wrong if you just want to try it. On that note, I heavily suggest to wait for sales to buy anything IL-2, because it's pretty obviously the intended business model for most people and ends up significantly cheaper. I think the other DLCs go -75% on Steam regularly.
Compared to World of Tanks or World Of Warships, etc. etc. this game is so much more affordable and a joy to play for those who work on their skill set that there is no comparison. Biggest expense is your setup, computer and if it has the speed to run the game, also a joystick, throttle and rudder controls add to this enjoyment but which can be very expensive or not depending on what you buy. A joystick is a must have, although I knew some people who played without them at the start and they did just fine without them. A tracking device like Track IR is in my opinion a must have, yes you can use a toggle switch but having a device to track your head movement is such a big advantage in a dogfight. Great rundown of the game Sheriff.
Good video. I think it is important to tell interested potential players, that you do not have to own all titles in the set to enjoy MP servers. I also have seen this mentioned incorrectly in "reviews". I'd like to add two more points thou: 1. Consider buying the title via their webshop. They also explicitly ask ppl to do so. While Steam arguably provides a decent service, they also consume a large chunk of the revenue of each game sold via their platform. The IL-2 series is everything but a blockbuster title and the maker is apparently a rather small company. They aren't many air combat simulators around, so keeping them afloat through the rather small playerbase might be a good idea. 2. Wait for a sale before purchasing additional content. They usually run at least four sales a year, fairly evenly spread. So you are never further than about 3 months away from the next sale. And they do offer fairly steep discounts, especially for older parts of the series. If you look into buying further modules, use the sale. The same very much applies to collector planes. The footage in the video actually shows the discounts for collector planes during such a sale. And finally, a word to the novice players: Don't get frustrated over the lack of initial success. It takes some time to setup the game correctly and tune it to your liking, and it takes time for get used to flying and fighting successfully. And everybody gets shot down. Even the best pilots - just that little less often. WW2 fighter aircraft where horrendously overpowered, somewhat unstable and rather edgy in agressive maneuvers. The simulator accurately reflects this. You'll get around it eventually. I would recommend watching "howto" videos from experienced players, like Sheriff.
I see Battle of Moscow and Battle of Kuban is on sale for less than $10 compared to the normal rather steep price. I think I'll either get both or Battle of Kuban since I'm a fan of the P-39 and P-40. I've been practicing for the last 4 months since I bought the base game. Just flying the different planes is very satisfying. Personally buying an expansion and getting 8 new planes and missions is well worth the money IMHO as I believe 'variety is the spice of life'. I like how I can fly just one plane for several days and return to a different one when I feel the need. IL-2 is a very deep learning experience that delivers if one is patient enough to practice, practice, practice. It's a very rewarding experience totally worth the $8 on special right now.
Very clear thank you, I bought the whole pile at xmas and am still plodding along with it. I guess I generally worked out what you described but did not have allot of confidence that I was right.
Thanks Sheriff and thank u for addressing the hardware setup in ur upcoming vid :) As a new player it´s really interesting to genuinely become able to distinguish whether u r skill capped by ur hardware or u just have to learn way more
This was a really good video. Can I suggest a video going over the DLC planes and which ones you personally would recommend? For us more casual fans it would be a big help.
i usualy play on Wings of Liberty, the rotation of most used aircraft is usualy Battle of Kuban or Stalingrad, with a few rotations of Bodenplatte. But the aircraft roster usualy contain Stalingrad aircraft, simply to allow most people to play, as Stalingrad is the most common module.
Excellent, thank the star's somebody's explained this! It does get confusing 🤪 really appreciate this, hopefully when I get better, I'm going to rebuild my PC and give this a go,your videos have been a great inspiration and have given me something to focus on and look forward to 👍
I bought them all, including the dlc planes on sale. I got them all on sale except for Normandy which I purchased early, the only thing that I wish they’d fix was moving in career from one theater to the next glitch......
I am looking forward to your keybind video. I am trying to get back into IL2, and spent an hour yesterday setting things back up, including keybinds, but I'm not sure which ones I might have missed that are important. Also, a request: if you can do a video on VR vs TrackIR, and settings you've used for both, and hardware, that would be great. I switched to TrackIR from VR due to difficulty with spotting with my Vive. I'd like to hear from you your experience and what you found good about both, I'm especially interested in the HP Reverb set you have. Thanks again for the content.
Play the 3 of em: warthunder, dcs, il2. Been playing war thunder since 2020 and damn how the change of regulation keeps punishing me (ex. Repair cost/penalty price if your plane is ruined)💀. Bought the IL2 for the scenery, old school dogfight, and VR specs friendly. Bought DCS for modern aerial warfare as well as "realistically" learn how to control or fly a plane (consider it as $69 air force "flight school" but in a virtual way). Currently, enjoying IL2 and dcs, however since my PC is below the specs, I have modified dcs graphics in total potato oblivion but hey, better to be playing at molded cockpit texture rather not playing at all, right? 😂
Can’t wait for the next video in this series. I own everything except for the early access ones. Trying to get my friends into this game so I’ll definitely share this video with them. I’d like to see WWI tanks in this game. I appreciate the business model that the Devs have implemented. I hope someday that the Pacific Theater is added. Later and thanks for the video.
I think you were pretty clear on how the approach from 1C works. I figured most of this out after the fact when I bought the BOS DLC. However I was unaware of the details of the the early release program. Specifically I did not understand that aircraft were released incrementally if you bought into program. I had not been doing early release, but now I'm going to re-think that a bit. Thanks so much!
Hello from New Zealand. Back in the day I had the entire original IL2 franchise and absolutely loved it. Now some years later I'm looking to come back (Stalingrad & Kuban to start with) - BUT ONLY IN SINGLE PLAYER - Are there any limitations on aircraft availability for single-player users like me ? Thanks in advance.
I kinda understand people saying it is overpriced. There is an IL-2 Sturmovik 1946/platinum edition that you can grab for $10 or so(if you're against tоrrеnts, otherwise free) and that has mods for insane amount of planes. There is War Thunder, which is completely free(except for premium vehicles) to play and has huge amount of planes to unlock
Difference is that War Thunder is a mediocre sim, has much lower fidelity flight models. The other is essentially a 20 year old game without a muliplayer base. If you just after a game you can play in singleplayer and you dont mind really old graphics then yes,y our point is valid. But todays sim enviroment is totally different.
@@Azidic That entirely depends on the plane. The A10A is no more difficult than IL2 as a game. I do have full fidelity aircraft though like the MiG21 and the AJS 37 so I kinda know what I'm talking about thank you
You just wait for sale (and they have more sales than non sales like every month) and then you buy all the modules. Thats why I like IL2 Great Battles, its cheap and great product. DCS on the other hand.........
Do you agree with opinion of this guy (Enigma)? Can Dora climb and circle above an opponent like an 109 to a degree? Inversely, can K-4 retain energy just after a dive as well as Dora (ik K-4 high speed handling is way worse)? Which plane handles better (K-4 is the heaviest of 109s, Dora was said to be smooth but is after all a 190)? "I would say for me for flying solo I would rather fly a Bf-109K4 because of the climb rate. Being able to almost always out climb your opponent is really nice. I mean you can see it in this fight that we were always climbing and extending as we were taking passes. For duo, I like flying doras in a pair but most of the people I fly with also like flying doras." "The other thing to keep in mind is that with the 109 the fight lasts longer, you just aren't going to knock down people as fast. The 190 is more in and out. I always prefer flying 190s pairs but solo I will take a 109 here and there. The 190 is my fave for the high speed handling and firepower."
Hi Sheriffs, What I dont understand is: "Older planes like fw190 A-3, are improved over the time or when you compare them to the graphics of the new ones (like fw190 a-6, vasically the "same" plane) looks outdated? And the same for other things like flights caracteristics or sounds"
Hows the keybinds video coming along? Want to get into the game but I'm not used to those, coming from the DCS Dora which was a breeze to setup in comparison...
Looking to get into this game. Is it fair to say that for a beginner who is looking to future proof (eg I may get VR down the line) the battle of Stalingrad on Steam is the way to go? Are the graphics on Battle of Slatingrad as good as some of the later modules eg. Battle or Normandy?
Fantastic game! I got into DCS awhile back and got fed up with the performance, thats when i tried IL2(for the ww2 content too). This sim is truly a gem, graphics arent the best but damn does it run well! The game play is so much fun! I got stalingrad for like 15$!!! The standard campaigns are so enthraling and make you feel like you actually there(not sure how dynamic they are though). The dlc scripted campaigns are probably even better. The planes are all very well modeled in every sense! The amount of planes they've added is fantastic too! Im astounded by the amount of playable planes there are considering how well they are done. The steam reviews are bogus, but i would still wait for sale before buying adition content.
You're not alone, m8. Seen quite few people complaining about DCS performance especially in VR or so and they were using RTX as well. Guess dcs have some issues on optimization sadly. Had to optimized my dcs into total oblivion (potato graphics/molded textures) 😭
@@snwilliam6886 you just need to know how to optimize it correctly. That can go a long way. GPU prices are coming down though and DCS has been taunting a major core update with multi core optimization as well as Vulcan API for over a year now as well. I haven't been to up to date with IL-2, but i've heard they are making great strides as well. 2022 is really the best time to get into flight sims. We have 2 amazing sims, tons of peripherals to choose from, CPU prices are great and GPU prices are finally coming down.
@@JD96893 DCS did finally release multi-thread and there was a huge performance jump in single-player on my VR rig, unfortunately multiplayer performance still bad though.
I noticed the base game has VR support. But the ad-ons do not. Also, Steam has a warning that the game does not support a joystick.this does not seem right. Thanks all!
There's also some confusion about good beginner servers. Col. Ninny did a good vid but it's pretty old. When I first started with il-2 I saw that Finnish Virtual and Combat box was super busy but so difficult I left the game for a while until I found a good beginner server
@@SheriffsSimShack my favorite beginner servers are the air attack Tactical combat and EU official 👌 I'm not quite up in the CEM for the expert servers and with my VR, I have trouble identifying targets without ID tags. Thank you for your great content.
part 3.....Is there a list of release dates of games? so I can buy the most current? Also, I see thes games all over the net at various prices and I wonder if some vendors are not selling earlier versions of the titles which wont have all the "stuff" I need? But how do you tell if a game is the most up to date version?
@@SheriffsSimShack Let's just say I'm generally opposed to buying games in a piecemeal fashion. It will also be a long time (if ever) before any of these newer games offer the versatility of play in terms of aircraft and environment types (i.e. maps) of IL-2 1946.
Question about the singleplayer campaign. Yes Im a singleplayer scrub :D Still learning the ropes and whatnot. If my plane gets shot down, with me in it, I can restart the mission, yes, but what happens if I dont want to restart the mission now, but leave to desktop. Will I be able to repeat the mission later on, or is it lost, gone for ever? There is an option to restart the campaign, but I don't think I would like to do that just for this one mission.
Love all the negative reviews from people who play war thunder and act like it's premium aircraft (which can individually be as much as a full price game) aren't a problem
Can you please make a video or send me a link if you have already of explanation of the “quick mission” customization? I really need help trying to figure out how to customize missions with the new update. I can’t find anything on it
@@SheriffsSimShack you what? I feel it’s kinda tricky because I try to to a simple “intercept bombers” or “attackers” mission and between me and the AI we can take down 3-4 bombers easily but then it’s like a ton of aircraft just start spawning all over and I have no idea what the objective is. I love how the scenarios are set up I just wish I could choose which planes I want to use for the mission.
@@SheriffsSimShackahh I guess I thought there was a little more too it. Sometimes It just seems a little chaotic with all the planes spawning all over or as soon as I fly into the objective it says mission complete and I am just like “ah that was short.” Thanks
Thank you for explaining, starting to dislike war thunder because it punishes sim players with HOTAS. i saw this on sale was but worried id be seperated from MP by the DLC packs. But since it wont block me from playing with others i dont mind being slightly outgunned by newer planes while i decide for future packs, that could even help me decide what planes i would want to try next.
@@SheriffsSimShack Because any mode outside of sim gives you a massive disadvantage against the majority MKB user, which would be fine but sim mode has now been excluded from battle passes and is having its reward system farmed which is just killing the game mode, and if you dont buy premium planes to use or have a massive stockpile of silver you really cant afford high tier matches consistantly.
@@SheriffsSimShack Basically they have a battle pass and you have to do certain things to progress, and for some reason they excluded sim mode from it, so unless you play in arcade or realistic battle mode you wont make progress on the battle pass even if you pay for it, so for any of us that want to get any battle pass rewards we would have to refrain from playing the only game mode we enjoy.
OK, so I have none of this stuff. So, what is the best plan for purchase if I am mostly interested in multi player combat? And I am located in Eastern Time zone? I am trying to follow your vid but, not sure I understand. Could you for instance, buy Battle of Stalingrad and then fly in a server against all the other games? Or do you need to have the same game as the people who are flying on the server? TIA
I wouldn't call it for free. Like the guns would still need to be bought for example. But the player base would be massive. And older games would still be played. In a game like battlefield this would have drawbacks. Like balance issues. But these are things a game like il-2 does not need to bother with.
Ha, the game is cheap compared to the kit you feel compelled to buy to get that last bit of immersion. Ryzen 5000 series are in vogue + Nvidia 3080s, then a good set of Hotas (try Virpil or VKB's unless you go really boutique with specially built stuff) 😁, then you might get pulled into VR. By that stage you can't even remember how much the game cost.
There was a disc version in 2013 or so. But essentially you end up with the online store version of the game, only the minority of the files from 2013 are still in the original state. You would put in the disk, the OS starts the game launcher, the launcher will find updates, if a internet connection exists and starts downloading lots of data. If you would be able to start the game without internet connection (block it via Firewall for example) the game would be a shadow if its current version.
@@SheriffsSimShack Thank you, Sheriff :-)) I found the latest disc version of the game: Il2 Sturmovik - The Ultimate Edition. Do you know if this works with Windows 10? I want to try something small before I invest money in Steam games. I would appreciate it if you comment on my question. Happy holidays.
@@SheriffsSimShack would I need A pc in order to play though? I just found these videos on these games on VR but the dude I saw playing had like an 8K vr so I’m just wondering.
They money sucking business models of these games is annoying but I think that it leaves room for a properly motivated and talented studio to provide a more reasonable option.
@@SheriffsSimShack Make the game more expensive and the DLC less expensive. It's clear that so much hard work goes into the sim genres and they should be compensated fairly. The problem with this set up is most people will likely not shell out 500 euros to try all the planes. Some will, sure. The rest of us, however, just see all the potential fun we will never have. Just my 2 cents.
But the dlcs are dirt cheap when on sale. No one in his right mind spends 500€. Or needs too for that matter. The player can get all essential DLC for 100€ total.
@@SheriffsSimShack Well if they go on sale then that changes the dynamic here. I own several games and some of them I'll never fully experience due to the dlc pricing. So yeah, hugely discounted sales prices would remedy that nicely.
I have always been a huge fan of all the IL2's but The Battle of Stalingrad really feels like a cash grab, especially since there is not that many airplanes in the base game compared to IL2 1946.
I cut my teeth on birds of prey. Now I can't play any of them because I got priced out of the market and I don't have a PC. Ps 3 was the best console ever. It was meant for everyone not just those with lots of money
@@Wolfpack345I wasn't talking about time periods but you are right it is not a correct plane for the period, i think il2 is ok but it's more arcady and, saying it's better because it has more content then DCS is looking at just one side of the coin because you can use the same argument when talking about war thunder. In WT you have even more planes then in il2 and you can create more reallistic scenario and/or more of them, yes the reallism factor of planes' behaviour is poor but look, we got more planes! Go hide in your sub or "fly" against bots in a campaign
@@dr.polansky4192 I actually like and play both games! I never said one was better than the other in my original comment. I think both games do some things better than the other. What I really dislike however, is condescending and unhelpful comments like what you originally posted. Seeing these sorts of comments, from both sides of the community, gets pretty old. Also, way to keep it classy at the end there.
@@Wolfpack345 i don't care about being classy, this isn't an investor call so i don't care about choosing right words just because some guy gets offended, but whatever go wobble around in an anton
Guys, this new 1C bullshit is not worth to buy at all, i highly reccomend to play IL-2 1946 with mods. It's FREE and far more filled with content (Great Battles have approx. about a 5% of 1946 content (except graphics)). Late stage capitalism is killing game industry,
@Sheriff's Sim Shack yes, flight models are better for the Great Battles, but to notice them you must be a hard aviasim fan with corresponding pro level hardware. 1946 have multiplayer in which it is hard to find games in time that you want (because of obvious reasons like the age of the game), but it can be a thing with discord servers. If i want Great Battles type of multiplayer (press the button to find random momentary game) i can play games like Birds of Steel or WT and such for example (which still have a lot more content and a much lower price). Also multiplayer in 1946 can be somewhat replaced with great mission builder, which i assume, Great Battles doesn't have. And I already said it about the graphics.
I hope that the section about the collectors aircraft was clear enough. There are 8 aircraft in each of the standard versions of IL-2.
You get two more for buying the Deluxe/Premium Version. That usually saves you money compared to buying the standard game and the corresponding collectors aircraft seperately.
By the way this is no ad :). I made this video by my own motivation because I see those questions very often. However asked for permission to use the trailer footage, which was granted by Jason Williams.
I hope this video clears up some common misconceptions.
I gave you permission to make a professional buying guide and use our footage, not to attack me on a personal level. Not cool. If you want to engage me on why I called it Battle of Bodenplatte you can do an interview and I will explain it. When did I ever say Bodenplatte was a place? Please.
I think you should be able to differentiate between a personal attack and a light hearted joke. Battle of Bodenplatte remains a hard to pronounce title for many and doesn't make sense from the discussed pov either.
But thx I keep promoting your game for free in the future bringing hundreds of players. But I will make sure not to seek out support in the future.
@@SheriffsSimShack Sorry, no that was a snide comment and not a light heated joke. You clearly imply that I somehow think Bodenplatte is a place. If you want to say it's a stupid title fine, but no need to bring my name into it. I know it's fun to beat up on me because I make myself accessible, but don't ask for a favor pretending to be something else.
Sheriff got me into this game a long time ago and I wouldnt have spent a dime on your franchise if he didnt make videos. I bought all the modules but no more! I can't believe these posts
And I quote "you know it, I know it but anyway" I actually said you know it.
But doesn't matter I will just ignore this.
Perfect. This should be very helpful.
Wolfpack love your content with all the games you play and was really happy to see you in an il2 game a week ago
The flying submarine commander has spoken.
I'm a bit late but heyyyy it's ol wolfie
Stumbled over one of your video's a while back and thought I would give this game a try as it looked super fun. Had a VR headset, so bought a HOTAS at Christmas and have absolutely fallen in love with this game. Bought all the extras add ons and maps during the big spring sale and now my entire free time is spent flying my beloved 109!
Thanks for your video's and when I'm good enough, may see you on a server some day! :)
Thanks for this Sheriff, it's a good review and will hopefully get even more people into this wonderful sim.
this type of video will always be current. Even having the products is cool to see how you show them
When I saw that IL-2:Sturmovik has VR, I was sold! Unfortunately I didn`t know that IL-2: Sturmovik has 2 old versions (pretty much obsolete, and without VR).
The 3rd (current) version is called IL-2: Sturmovik: The Great Battels (with parts for buying: BOS, BOM, BOK, BOBp, BON..). That is what you want to buy!
Great explanation. IL-2 marketing department can learn from you how to help sales. ;)
Hats down to the long term vision of the authors of the game and sticking to its modular architecture.
Nice job on this! It does a great job explaining the most convoluted named sim in history😂... It's a shame this is something the company itself hasn't done. I hope they at least say "thank you" and add this as a sticky in the forums, that is the least they could do....
Since I play with my Index in VR, I really love all the installments! Especially Tank crew and the WW1 Titles too! FC2 will even have a dynamic campaign!
I have fallen in love with this game since buying it for Christmas. I'm finally able to get 1 or 2 kills in Combat Box, I just wish there were more people online in the west coast time zone since servers usually only have 10 or so planes in them. Also, everyone must get SRS for radio communication if you fly on Combat Box or Finnish; it is a total game changer and very easy to install!
2200+ players active now. I just bought BOS for 7 euros and I saw your comment afraid of a dying playerbase but it seems like they grew a lot. I'm from europe.
theyre referring to west coast united states, youre in europe. these types of titles seem to be more popular in europe.
im in Los angeles, so ill take his word for it and probably keep my purchase to bos and maybe bop if bos runs well in vr for me and there are players online to kill me.
BoS often goes -85% on Steam (Almost every month lately) and that's how I got it. The deluxe edition was just a little bit more, and had planes I like, so I got that too. For under 10 euro for BoS it's a bit hard to go wrong if you just want to try it.
On that note, I heavily suggest to wait for sales to buy anything IL-2, because it's pretty obviously the intended business model for most people and ends up significantly cheaper. I think the other DLCs go -75% on Steam regularly.
Thanks, this helps. I’ll keep an eye out for those sales
Compared to World of Tanks or World Of Warships, etc. etc. this game is so much more affordable and a joy to play for those who work on their skill set that there is no comparison. Biggest expense is your setup, computer and if it has the speed to run the game, also a joystick, throttle and rudder controls add to this enjoyment but which can be very expensive or not depending on what you buy. A joystick is a must have, although I knew some people who played without them at the start and they did just fine without them. A tracking device like Track IR is in my opinion a must have, yes you can use a toggle switch but having a device to track your head movement is such a big advantage in a dogfight. Great rundown of the game Sheriff.
Ty! This is very helpful, as I was looking for just this info for the steam sale
Good video. I think it is important to tell interested potential players, that you do not have to own all titles in the set to enjoy MP servers. I also have seen this mentioned incorrectly in "reviews". I'd like to add two more points thou:
1. Consider buying the title via their webshop. They also explicitly ask ppl to do so. While Steam arguably provides a decent service, they also consume a large chunk of the revenue of each game sold via their platform. The IL-2 series is everything but a blockbuster title and the maker is apparently a rather small company. They aren't many air combat simulators around, so keeping them afloat through the rather small playerbase might be a good idea.
2. Wait for a sale before purchasing additional content. They usually run at least four sales a year, fairly evenly spread. So you are never further than about 3 months away from the next sale. And they do offer fairly steep discounts, especially for older parts of the series. If you look into buying further modules, use the sale. The same very much applies to collector planes. The footage in the video actually shows the discounts for collector planes during such a sale.
And finally, a word to the novice players: Don't get frustrated over the lack of initial success. It takes some time to setup the game correctly and tune it to your liking, and it takes time for get used to flying and fighting successfully. And everybody gets shot down. Even the best pilots - just that little less often. WW2 fighter aircraft where horrendously overpowered, somewhat unstable and rather edgy in agressive maneuvers. The simulator accurately reflects this. You'll get around it eventually. I would recommend watching "howto" videos from experienced players, like Sheriff.
I see Battle of Moscow and Battle of Kuban is on sale for less than $10 compared to the normal rather steep price. I think I'll either get both or Battle of Kuban since I'm a fan of the P-39 and P-40. I've been practicing for the last 4 months since I bought the base game. Just flying the different planes is very satisfying. Personally buying an expansion and getting 8 new planes and missions is well worth the money IMHO as I believe 'variety is the spice of life'. I like how I can fly just one plane for several days and return to a different one when I feel the need. IL-2 is a very deep learning experience that delivers if one is patient enough to practice, practice, practice. It's a very rewarding experience totally worth the $8 on special right now.
Very clear thank you, I bought the whole pile at xmas and am still plodding along with it. I guess I generally worked out what you described but did not have allot of confidence that I was right.
Thanks Sheriff and thank u for addressing the hardware setup in ur upcoming vid :)
As a new player it´s really interesting to genuinely become able to distinguish whether u r skill capped by ur hardware or u just have to learn way more
Excellent review. I'm still waiting for " IL2 - Weird and Wacky" Fairy Battle, Boulton Paul P96 & P92, Lysander, etc etc .. I'd pay $200 for that.
This was a really good video. Can I suggest a video going over the DLC planes and which ones you personally would recommend? For us more casual fans it would be a big help.
Awesome SIM series, VR users will love the Flying Circus dogfighting.
i usualy play on Wings of Liberty, the rotation of most used aircraft is usualy Battle of Kuban or Stalingrad, with a few rotations of Bodenplatte. But the aircraft roster usualy contain Stalingrad aircraft, simply to allow most people to play, as Stalingrad is the most common module.
Excellent, thank the star's somebody's explained this! It does get confusing 🤪 really appreciate this, hopefully when I get better, I'm going to rebuild my PC and give this a go,your videos have been a great inspiration and have given me something to focus on and look forward to 👍
I bought them all, including the dlc planes on sale. I got them all on sale except for Normandy which I purchased early, the only thing that I wish they’d fix was moving in career from one theater to the next glitch......
This was very helpful, thank you. Went for Stalingrad on Steam and Bodenplatte from the website. Hopefully this will be enough to get started.
Dang i read that review wiw what a review that guy seems to have a fair point.
Why am I watching this? I have all the DLCs lol
Great vid for new players !
I am looking forward to your keybind video. I am trying to get back into IL2, and spent an hour yesterday setting things back up, including keybinds, but I'm not sure which ones I might have missed that are important.
Also, a request: if you can do a video on VR vs TrackIR, and settings you've used for both, and hardware, that would be great. I switched to TrackIR from VR due to difficulty with spotting with my Vive. I'd like to hear from you your experience and what you found good about both, I'm especially interested in the HP Reverb set you have.
Thanks again for the content.
war thunder and DCS can be 50 pounds for one plane il2 gives you 6 for that money
...and a whole new Map.
Me on my way to sell my soul to the snail only to teleport into the earth
You give 50 Pounds to DCS and you learn to fly that plane irl, You give 50 pounds to warthunder and you get an addiction and an uptier
@@Azidic i have started playing DCS and love it, have all the maps and to many planes i regret nothing
Play the 3 of em: warthunder, dcs, il2. Been playing war thunder since 2020 and damn how the change of regulation keeps punishing me (ex. Repair cost/penalty price if your plane is ruined)💀. Bought the IL2 for the scenery, old school dogfight, and VR specs friendly. Bought DCS for modern aerial warfare as well as "realistically" learn how to control or fly a plane (consider it as $69 air force "flight school" but in a virtual way). Currently, enjoying IL2 and dcs, however since my PC is below the specs, I have modified dcs graphics in total potato oblivion but hey, better to be playing at molded cockpit texture rather not playing at all, right? 😂
Excellent helpful video CERTAINLY needed. Great job!
Can’t wait for the next video in this series. I own everything except for the early access ones. Trying to get my friends into this game so I’ll definitely share this video with them. I’d like to see WWI tanks in this game. I appreciate the business model that the Devs have implemented. I hope someday that the Pacific Theater is added. Later and thanks for the video.
I actually enjoyed this overview. Nice
Well done Sheriff. Always good content
Wow!
This is very handy.
Thanks, man.
I think you were pretty clear on how the approach from 1C works. I figured most of this out after the fact when I bought the BOS DLC. However I was unaware of the details of the the early release program. Specifically I did not understand that aircraft were released incrementally if you bought into program. I had not been doing early release, but now I'm going to re-think that a bit. Thanks so much!
Yeeeessss!!!! I was waiting for a video on this subject
Hello from New Zealand.
Back in the day I had the entire original IL2 franchise and absolutely loved it. Now some years later I'm looking to come back (Stalingrad & Kuban to start with) - BUT ONLY IN SINGLE PLAYER - Are there any limitations on aircraft availability for single-player users like me ?
Thanks in advance.
This game is so underrated
I kinda understand people saying it is overpriced. There is an IL-2 Sturmovik 1946/platinum edition that you can grab for $10 or so(if you're against tоrrеnts, otherwise free) and that has mods for insane amount of planes. There is War Thunder, which is completely free(except for premium vehicles) to play and has huge amount of planes to unlock
Difference is that War Thunder is a mediocre sim, has much lower fidelity flight models. The other is essentially a 20 year old game without a muliplayer base. If you just after a game you can play in singleplayer and you dont mind really old graphics then yes,y our point is valid. But todays sim enviroment is totally different.
"behind a paywall" at least it's better than DCS, where you get literally 2 aircraft and have to buy everything else
DCS is an ACTUAL sim that requires you to click shit in the cockpit and actually learn the whole plane bro
@@Azidic That entirely depends on the plane. The A10A is no more difficult than IL2 as a game. I do have full fidelity aircraft though like the MiG21 and the AJS 37 so I kinda know what I'm talking about thank you
@@vriesvak9094 Ok but the A10A is only $15, Comparable to IL2 prices yeah?
I heard your accent and knew this would be a wonderful videos
all Il2 games on sale on steam guys! Just grabbed BOS and the 3 dlc campaigns for 12 pounds! gogo
You just wait for sale (and they have more sales than non sales like every month) and then you buy all the modules.
Thats why I like IL2 Great Battles, its cheap and great product.
DCS on the other hand.........
Do you agree with opinion of this guy (Enigma)? Can Dora climb and circle above an opponent like an 109 to a degree? Inversely, can K-4 retain energy just after a dive as well as Dora (ik K-4 high speed handling is way worse)? Which plane handles better (K-4 is the heaviest of 109s, Dora was said to be smooth but is after all a 190)?
"I would say for me for flying solo I would rather fly a Bf-109K4 because of the climb rate. Being able to almost always out climb your opponent is really nice. I mean you can see it in this fight that we were always climbing and extending as we were taking passes. For duo, I like flying doras in a pair but most of the people I fly with also like flying doras."
"The other thing to keep in mind is that with the 109 the fight lasts longer, you just aren't going to knock down people as fast. The 190 is more in and out. I always prefer flying 190s pairs but solo I will take a 109 here and there. The 190 is my fave for the high speed handling and firepower."
ok. I’ll get it tomorrow.
I really would like to get into this but find it completely overwhelming
perfect thanks
So are Battle of Normandy, Cliffs of Dover, and that desert one modules that released since this video?
Hi Sheriffs, What I dont understand is: "Older planes like fw190 A-3, are improved over the time or when you compare them to the graphics of the new ones (like fw190 a-6, vasically the "same" plane) looks outdated? And the same for other things like flights caracteristics or sounds"
Where do i say that? Planes are updated. In their looks and occasionally their FM as well.
@@SheriffsSimShack you dont say it.. that is why I ask - So, you can buy the BoS and the planes on that game will be up to date right?
Might need an updated video now haha
Great video
Outstanding game.
Are multiplayer servers different for each game? The Stalingrad servers were pretty dead last I checked
Subscribed
Wow great stuff thank you
VR headset ? Hotas? Played with joystick and track IR . Can I use a virtual headset , it would be amazing !
all of it, you can use it all. VR support is good, but needs a powerful PC
It's tough to get people into this game if they aren't airplane people already. Then the keybind thing is a whole other obstacle.
I think thats the nature of it. Such a specialised game is of course attracting mainly the players which like aircraft.
Up to the next Steam sale, Normandy wasn't included yet with the last one 😔
Hows the keybinds video coming along? Want to get into the game but I'm not used to those, coming from the DCS Dora which was a breeze to setup in comparison...
Also....part 2 of my questions....do I *need* Steam at all? Why? Can I just buy the proper games and log onto a server somewhere?
part 4. Is this oneof those games where you have to buy the latest most expensive plane to be on equal footing with the competition? TIA
Looking to get into this game. Is it fair to say that for a beginner who is looking to future proof (eg I may get VR down the line) the battle of Stalingrad on Steam is the way to go? Are the graphics on Battle of Slatingrad as good as some of the later modules eg. Battle or Normandy?
Fantastic game! I got into DCS awhile back and got fed up with the performance, thats when i tried IL2(for the ww2 content too). This sim is truly a gem, graphics arent the best but damn does it run well! The game play is so much fun! I got stalingrad for like 15$!!! The standard campaigns are so enthraling and make you feel like you actually there(not sure how dynamic they are though). The dlc scripted campaigns are probably even better. The planes are all very well modeled in every sense! The amount of planes they've added is fantastic too! Im astounded by the amount of playable planes there are considering how well they are done. The steam reviews are bogus, but i would still wait for sale before buying adition content.
You're not alone, m8. Seen quite few people complaining about DCS performance especially in VR or so and they were using RTX as well. Guess dcs have some issues on optimization sadly. Had to optimized my dcs into total oblivion (potato graphics/molded textures) 😭
@@snwilliam6886 you just need to know how to optimize it correctly. That can go a long way. GPU prices are coming down though and DCS has been taunting a major core update with multi core optimization as well as Vulcan API for over a year now as well. I haven't been to up to date with IL-2, but i've heard they are making great strides as well. 2022 is really the best time to get into flight sims. We have 2 amazing sims, tons of peripherals to choose from, CPU prices are great and GPU prices are finally coming down.
@@JD96893 uses few mods to make it 30fps at least :")
Still blurry potato textures but I guess it's a price to pay for playing it in gaming laptop
@@JD96893 DCS did finally release multi-thread and there was a huge performance jump in single-player on my VR rig, unfortunately multiplayer performance still bad though.
I noticed the base game has VR support. But the ad-ons do not.
Also, Steam has a warning that the game does not support a joystick.this does not seem right.
Thanks all!
That's just wrong and I don't believe steam says that.
There's also some confusion about good beginner servers. Col. Ninny did a good vid but it's pretty old. When I first started with il-2 I saw that Finnish Virtual and Combat box was super busy but so difficult I left the game for a while until I found a good beginner server
I will tackle that in the future, too.
@@SheriffsSimShack my favorite beginner servers are the air attack Tactical combat and EU official 👌 I'm not quite up in the CEM for the expert servers and with my VR, I have trouble identifying targets without ID tags. Thank you for your great content.
what hardware setup in your pc you use ? and what do you think you should have to experience a good play feeling ?
part 3.....Is there a list of release dates of games? so I can buy the most current? Also, I see thes games all over the net at various prices and I wonder if some vendors are not selling earlier versions of the titles which wont have all the "stuff" I need? But how do you tell if a game is the most up to date version?
Reading your questions it almost seems that you either haven't watched the or have not understood one thing i said. Its all answered.
Is there multiplayer in flying circus or only solo also what about battle of tobruk and cliff of dover total other game
Thereis mp in fc. But servers are not populated everyday. Cliffs and tobruk are separate games
il2 store sale atm, do steam sales usually follow? rather buy all in same place
So if i only buy the ice ring campaign would i be able to use it without anything else
you need at least stalingrad
@@SheriffsSimShack ok thanks
Thanks, but I'll be sticking with IL-2 1946 which gives much better value for my money.
well depends what you want. For visuals, flight model and Multiplayer there is no way around GB.
@@SheriffsSimShack Let's just say I'm generally opposed to buying games in a piecemeal fashion. It will also be a long time (if ever) before any of these newer games offer the versatility of play in terms of aircraft and environment types (i.e. maps) of IL-2 1946.
you mentioned flying early air craft as a disadvantage to later air craft but I don't think you said which game or add on had the latest aircraft
right at the beginning of the video where i go over the different DLCs.
I feel so called out lol.
I didn't find the video about system, hardware requirement in your channel. it'd be great if you send the link here.
ua-cam.com/video/p2afWpMNACU/v-deo.html
Question about the singleplayer campaign. Yes Im a singleplayer scrub :D Still learning the ropes and whatnot.
If my plane gets shot down, with me in it, I can restart the mission, yes, but what happens if I dont want to restart the mission now, but leave to desktop. Will I be able to repeat the mission later on, or is it lost, gone for ever? There is an option to restart the campaign, but I don't think I would like to do that just for this one mission.
if you exit you can continue at the last save.
@@SheriffsSimShack thank you so much for such a quick reply ;)
Good hunting.
Love all the negative reviews from people who play war thunder and act like it's premium aircraft (which can individually be as much as a full price game) aren't a problem
Can you please make a video or send me a link if you have already of explanation of the “quick mission” customization? I really need help trying to figure out how to customize missions with the new update. I can’t find anything on it
I didn't used it myself. But I clicked through the menu a bit and found it quite self explanatory
@@SheriffsSimShack you what? I feel it’s kinda tricky because I try to to a simple “intercept bombers” or “attackers” mission and between me and the AI we can take down 3-4 bombers easily but then it’s like a ton of aircraft just start spawning all over and I have no idea what the objective is. I love how the scenarios are set up I just wish I could choose which planes I want to use for the mission.
You select your map, your mission, your plane and off You go. Not more to understand here
@@SheriffsSimShackahh I guess I thought there was a little more too it. Sometimes It just seems a little chaotic with all the planes spawning all over or as soon as I fly into the objective it says mission complete and I am just like “ah that was short.” Thanks
Thank you for explaining, starting to dislike war thunder because it punishes sim players with HOTAS. i saw this on sale was but worried id be seperated from MP by the DLC packs.
But since it wont block me from playing with others i dont mind being slightly outgunned by newer planes while i decide for future packs, that could even help me decide what planes i would want to try next.
Nice. But how does war thunder punish sim players with hotas. Just out of curiousity!
@@SheriffsSimShack Because any mode outside of sim gives you a massive disadvantage against the majority MKB user, which would be fine but sim mode has now been excluded from battle passes and is having its reward system farmed which is just killing the game mode, and if you dont buy premium planes to use or have a massive stockpile of silver you really cant afford high tier matches consistantly.
@@alaskan_bigfoot9090 What does it mean if the gamemode is excluded from the battle pass?
@@SheriffsSimShack Basically they have a battle pass and you have to do certain things to progress, and for some reason they excluded sim mode from it, so unless you play in arcade or realistic battle mode you wont make progress on the battle pass even if you pay for it, so for any of us that want to get any battle pass rewards we would have to refrain from playing the only game mode we enjoy.
I have cliff’s of Dover and clod blitz. Are these part of the same thing? Im confused :(
Nope this is another game.
@@SheriffsSimShack cheers, have done some research on it now.
OK, so I have none of this stuff. So, what is the best plan for purchase if I am mostly interested in multi player combat? And I am located in Eastern Time zone? I am trying to follow your vid but, not sure I understand. Could you for instance, buy Battle of Stalingrad and then fly in a server against all the other games? Or do you need to have the same game as the people who are flying on the server? TIA
If I have my steam account and 1C account linked. Can I buy DLCs from the store if I bought BoS on steam ?
Yes
@@SheriffsSimShack Oh alright thanks for letting me know
Battlefield or CoD are perfect analogies. Imagine buying CoD WW2 and expecting 3 other games included for free.
I wouldn't call it for free. Like the guns would still need to be bought for example.
But the player base would be massive. And older games would still be played. In a game like battlefield this would have drawbacks. Like balance issues. But these are things a game like il-2 does not need to bother with.
Is it saying you can’t use VR with a HOtas and peddles (says it needs kb and mouse in steam)
Thats wrong
Well you need a mouse and keyb for tge menus ofc. But that's it.
@@SheriffsSimShack great…that’s what i needed to hear since vibe is delivering me some stuff this week!
does this game allow for aircraft carrier landings and take offs?
there are no carriers in the game at the moment as there is no pacific or mediterranen theatre at the moment.
Ha, the game is cheap compared to the kit you feel compelled to buy to get that last bit of immersion. Ryzen 5000 series are in vogue + Nvidia 3080s, then a good set of Hotas (try Virpil or VKB's unless you go really boutique with specially built stuff) 😁, then you might get pulled into VR. By that stage you can't even remember how much the game cost.
Lol i got my vkb stick and am wating on my thrustmaster throttle and the difference from the hotas X is miles. Now all i need is head tracker
😄
Can't you buy the disc version of these games and play independently on a PC rather than being online?
There was a disc version in 2013 or so. But essentially you end up with the online store version of the game, only the minority of the files from 2013 are still in the original state.
You would put in the disk, the OS starts the game launcher, the launcher will find updates, if a internet connection exists and starts downloading lots of data.
If you would be able to start the game without internet connection (block it via Firewall for example) the game would be a shadow if its current version.
@@SheriffsSimShack Thank you, Sheriff :-)) I found the latest disc version of the game: Il2 Sturmovik - The Ultimate Edition. Do you know if this works with Windows 10? I want to try something small before I invest money in Steam games. I would appreciate it if you comment on my question. Happy holidays.
This is the wrong version. There was never an ultimate version. The only game released on disk was Battle of Stalingrad for a brief time.
👍
i think i will stick with IL-2 1946....the new game is already priced over a thousand bucks with DLCs....
Is this game still getting developed?
It's getting some updates. It's likely that this will stop next year
Can this be played on oculus ?
Sure
@@SheriffsSimShack would I need A pc in order to play though? I just found these videos on these games on VR but the dude I saw playing had like an 8K vr so I’m just wondering.
The game in general is pc exclusive
@@SheriffsSimShack thanks for the heads up!
Damn I was writing a video exactly like this...
If we play really well, can Germany win?
@@alekjwrgnwekfgn sure
its way to complex for a game like this they could have used the easy way but i mean idk
They money sucking business models of these games is annoying but I think that it leaves room for a properly motivated and talented studio to provide a more reasonable option.
what is a more reasonable option in your eyes and what's an example of such a business model?
@@SheriffsSimShack Make the game more expensive and the DLC less expensive.
It's clear that so much hard work goes into the sim genres and they should be compensated fairly. The problem with this set up is most people will likely not shell out 500 euros to try all the planes. Some will, sure.
The rest of us, however, just see all the potential fun we will never have.
Just my 2 cents.
But the dlcs are dirt cheap when on sale. No one in his right mind spends 500€. Or needs too for that matter. The player can get all essential DLC for 100€ total.
@@SheriffsSimShack Well if they go on sale then that changes the dynamic here.
I own several games and some of them I'll never fully experience due to the dlc pricing. So yeah, hugely discounted sales prices would remedy that nicely.
I have always been a huge fan of all the IL2's but The Battle of Stalingrad really feels like a cash grab, especially since there is not that many airplanes in the base game compared to IL2 1946.
The base game of the newer franchise doesn't have the content of a 5+ expansion compendium?
I'm shocked...
@@gravytrader Whatever just look at every single sim game out there they all sell over priced content.
I cut my teeth on birds of prey. Now I can't play any of them because I got priced out of the market and I don't have a PC. Ps 3 was the best console ever. It was meant for everyone not just those with lots of money
lol...for me the answer was easy...all, but nazi collector planes :-D
or just buy DCS ww2 stuff if you like realism
Ah yes! Realism! Flying my K4 over the 1944 Normandy map.
@@Wolfpack345I wasn't talking about time periods but you are right it is not a correct plane for the period, i think il2 is ok but it's more arcady and, saying it's better because it has more content then DCS is looking at just one side of the coin because you can use the same argument when talking about war thunder. In WT you have even more planes then in il2 and you can create more reallistic scenario and/or more of them, yes the reallism factor of planes' behaviour is poor but look, we got more planes! Go hide in your sub or "fly" against bots in a campaign
@@dr.polansky4192 I actually like and play both games! I never said one was better than the other in my original comment. I think both games do some things better than the other.
What I really dislike however, is condescending and unhelpful comments like what you originally posted. Seeing these sorts of comments, from both sides of the community, gets pretty old.
Also, way to keep it classy at the end there.
@@Wolfpack345 i don't care about being classy, this isn't an investor call so i don't care about choosing right words just because some guy gets offended, but whatever go wobble around in an anton
You know. Its not an investor call but its just...Nice to be nice for change.
All this crap is way too Expensive to the extent that it's a joke.
What a con this series is!
Guys, this new 1C bullshit is not worth to buy at all, i highly reccomend to play IL-2 1946 with mods. It's FREE and far more filled with content (Great Battles have approx. about a 5% of 1946 content (except graphics)).
Late stage capitalism is killing game industry,
and what about flight models, a populated multiplayer? Somewhat modern engine?
@Sheriff's Sim Shack yes, flight models are better for the Great Battles, but to notice them you must be a hard aviasim fan with corresponding pro level hardware. 1946 have multiplayer in which it is hard to find games in time that you want (because of obvious reasons like the age of the game), but it can be a thing with discord servers. If i want Great Battles type of multiplayer (press the button to find random momentary game) i can play games like Birds of Steel or WT and such for example (which still have a lot more content and a much lower price). Also multiplayer in 1946 can be somewhat replaced with great mission builder, which i assume, Great Battles doesn't have.
And I already said it about the graphics.