Dear Pilots, 1C Game Studios, in partnership with Team Fusion Simulations, is proud to announce the release of a newly updated and improved BLITZ edition of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover! As announced previously, 1CGS has partnered with Team Fusion Simulations to codify and
Dear Pilots,
1C Game Studios, in partnership with Team Fusion Simulations, is proud to announce the release of a newly updated and improved BLITZ edition of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/754530
As announced previously, 1CGS has partnered with Team Fusion Simulations to codify and improve their previous mod work and make it an official part of Dover. The result of that effort is now here!
All current owners of Cliffs of Dover Classic will receive BLITZ for FREE in their Steam Library starting today. You just need to install to play. It may already be there waiting for you. If you don't already own Cliffs of Dover you can purchase it from the Steam store.
To celebrate the launch, from December 14th until January 4th BLITZ will be on sale for 25% OFF. The regular price after the special will be $24.99.
What's Included?
Team Fusion has spent the past several years improving and fixing issues in the original Cliffs of Dover since its initial release. Their work has greatly improved performance and fixed serious issues. Earlier this year, 1CGS gave the source code to TFS allowing them to further improve the title. Their work is now officially a commercial product and no longer just a mod. Below is some of what is included in BLITZ.
Additional New Aircraft Variants
Flyable:
Bf-109 E-1B (Early Fighter-Bomber)
Bf-109 E-4N (DB601N Engine and 100 Octane Fuel)
Bf-109 E-4/E4B and E-4N Versions (Added Armor for Fuel Tank and Pilot)
Bf-110 C-2
Bf-110 C-4 Late
Bf-110 C-4B (Early Fighter-Bomber)
Bf-110 C-4N (DB601P Engines with 100 Octane Fuel)
Bf-110 C-4NJG (Night-Fighter)
Bf-110 C-6 (Heavy 30mm Cannon Armed Version)
Blenheim Mk.IV Late (Twin-Gun Rear Turret and Extra Bomb-Load)
Blenheim Mk.IV F (Heavy Day-Fighter)
Blenheim Mk.IV F Late (Twin-Gun Rear Turret and Extra Bomb-Load)
Blenheim Mk.IV NF (Night-Fighter)
Blenheim Mk.IV NF (Twin-Gun Rear Turret and Extra Bomb-Load)
Spitfire Mk.I 100 octane
Hurricane DH-520 100 octane
Hurricane Mk.I NF (Night-Fighter)
Hurricane Mk.I FB (Fighter-Bomber)
Beaufighter Mk.I F
Beaufighter Mk.I NF (Night-Fighter)
DH-82A-1 (Field Mod Armed Tiger Moth)
DH-82A-2 (Czechoslovakian Armed Tiger Moth)
DH-82A (Battle of Britain Tiger Moth version with bomb carrying capacity)
Non-Flyable:
Sunderland added bomb capacity
Blenheim Mk.I F (Heavy Day-Fighter)
Blenheim Mk.I NF (Night-Fighter)
Additional Improvements:
64 Bit Support and DX11 Graphics
New Seasonal Map Textures
New and Improved Sounds
New Ships
Better Aircraft Visibility
New Reflections
Improvements to Cockpit Graphics
New Blackout Effects
New Aircraft Skins
Updated Visual Effects
Better Flight Modeling and Aerodynamics
Better Engine and Overheat modeling
Improved Weapons Modeling
Updated Damage Modeling
Improved AI Aircraft Behavior
Player controlled Vehicles and AAA Artillery
New Game Loading Screens
We hope you will enjoy Cliffs of Dover BLITZ! Happy Holidays!
Dear Pilots, 1C Game Studios, in partnership with Team Fusion Simulations, is proud to announce the release of a newly updated and improved BLITZ edition of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover! As announced previously, 1CGS has partnered with Team Fusion Simulations to codify and
Dear Pilots,
1C Game Studios, in partnership with Team Fusion Simulations, is proud to announce the release of a newly updated and improved BLITZ edition of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover!
http://store.steampowered.com/app/754530
As announced previously, 1CGS has partnered with Team Fusion Simulations to codify and improve their previous mod work and make it an official part of Dover. The result of that effort is now here!
All current owners of Cliffs of Dover Classic will receive BLITZ for FREE in their Steam Library starting today. You just need to install to play. It may already be there waiting for you. If you don't already own Cliffs of Dover you can purchase it from the Steam store.
To celebrate the launch, from December 14th until January 4th BLITZ will be on sale for 25% OFF. The regular price after the special will be $24.99.
What's Included?
Team Fusion has spent the past several years improving and fixing issues in the original Cliffs of Dover since its initial release. Their work has greatly improved performance and fixed serious issues. Earlier this year, 1CGS gave the source code to TFS allowing them to further improve the title. Their work is now officially a commercial product and no longer just a mod. Below is some of what is included in BLITZ.
Additional New Aircraft Variants
Flyable:
Bf-109 E-1B (Early Fighter-Bomber)
Bf-109 E-4N (DB601N Engine and 100 Octane Fuel)
Bf-109 E-4/E4B and E-4N Versions (Added Armor for Fuel Tank and Pilot)
Bf-110 C-2
Bf-110 C-4 Late
Bf-110 C-4B (Early Fighter-Bomber)
Bf-110 C-4N (DB601P Engines with 100 Octane Fuel)
Bf-110 C-4NJG (Night-Fighter)
Bf-110 C-6 (Heavy 30mm Cannon Armed Version)
Blenheim Mk.IV Late (Twin-Gun Rear Turret and Extra Bomb-Load)
Blenheim Mk.IV F (Heavy Day-Fighter)
Blenheim Mk.IV F Late (Twin-Gun Rear Turret and Extra Bomb-Load)
Blenheim Mk.IV NF (Night-Fighter)
Blenheim Mk.IV NF (Twin-Gun Rear Turret and Extra Bomb-Load)
Spitfire Mk.I 100 octane
Hurricane DH-520 100 octane
Hurricane Mk.I NF (Night-Fighter)
Hurricane Mk.I FB (Fighter-Bomber)
Beaufighter Mk.I F
Beaufighter Mk.I NF (Night-Fighter)
DH-82A-1 (Field Mod Armed Tiger Moth)
DH-82A-2 (Czechoslovakian Armed Tiger Moth)
DH-82A (Battle of Britain Tiger Moth version with bomb carrying capacity)
Non-Flyable:
Sunderland added bomb capacity
Blenheim Mk.I F (Heavy Day-Fighter)
Blenheim Mk.I NF (Night-Fighter)
Additional Improvements:
64 Bit Support and DX11 Graphics
New Seasonal Map Textures
New and Improved Sounds
New Ships
Better Aircraft Visibility
New Reflections
Improvements to Cockpit Graphics
New Blackout Effects
New Aircraft Skins
Updated Visual Effects
Better Flight Modeling and Aerodynamics
Better Engine and Overheat modeling
Improved Weapons Modeling
Updated Damage Modeling
Improved AI Aircraft Behavior
Player controlled Vehicles and AAA Artillery
New Game Loading Screens
We hope you will enjoy Cliffs of Dover BLITZ! Happy Holidays!
World War II has been the backdrop for hundreds of PC games in the time since the Allies declared victory, but not all of them get it right. Stereotypes or absurd action setpieces leave historians shaking their heads, and at this point we've seen the same famous battled played ou
World War II has been the backdrop for hundreds of PC games in the time since the Allies declared victory, but not all of them get it right. Stereotypes or absurd action setpieces leave historians shaking their heads, and at this point we've seen the same famous battled played out so many times. What would it look like to cobble together a game made from the best depictions of those moments, spread across years and genres?
These are our favorite representations of key World War II moments and battles. Like the games of our most historically accurate PC games, not all of them would pass muster at an academic conference. But they're all commendable for capturing some element of the conflict in a way that shows a reverent, compelling attention to detail.
Best D-Day landing - Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
While Allied Assault’s graphics don’t hold up flawlessly today, it felt grippingly real in 2002. The developers tried to make us feel like we were in Saving Private Ryan, and they knocked it out of the park. I can still hear the final instructions before being dumped into the surf echo in my mind: “Head for cover and get to the shingle! I’ll see you on the beach!”
I was genuinely tense as the ramp to my transport lowered, putting me directly in the line of German machine gun fire. My heart raced as I watched my fellow soldiers drop like flies all around me. Finally reaching safety was pure euphoria. Many games have tried to recreate that feeling since, and none have truly succeeded in such a gut-wrenching fashion.
Best Battle of the Bulge - Call of Duty 1
It’s easy to forget Call of Duty began as a single-player focused World War II shooter that rose to prominence in an era when it was compared favorably by critics and fans to Medal of Honor and Battlefield. The most memorable mission from the original game (and perhaps in the whole series) was the capstone of the American campaign, “Festung Recogne”. It flips the pacing of Normandy on its head. Rather than a sense of dread at the carnage you know is to come, it lulls you into a false calm before the first wave of Germany’s most infamous counter-attack of the war takes you off-guard.
Infinity Ward did an excellent job of making the assault feel unexpected, and the fight to stabilize the situation frantic and challenging.
Best depiction of junior officers - Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault
Sticking to the Battle of the Bulge, I couldn’t complete this list without mentioning CoH2’s fantastic Ardennes Assault expansion. In addition to introducing very interesting dynamic campaign elements, it gave each of its distinct companies a beating heart—voiced officers who each represented an archetype of the types of people who got caught up in the war. The reactive end mission dialogue made me feel each victory and defeat ever more keenly. I’ll never forget Johnny Vastano lamenting the pointless loss of life after a mission where I’d played fast and loose with my boys to get the job done.
Best air combat - IL-2 Sturmovik series
There’s a reason IL-2 is still a darling in the flight sim community all these years later. The meticulous modeling, both visually and mechanically, of the storied Soviet aircraft was enough to set it apart on its own. But it also dialed up the immersion by introducing mechanics like blackout and redout when experiencing extreme g-forces. While most flight sims are content to give you the most immersive experience of a robot flying a plane, not many go out of their way to remind you that you’re playing a flesh-and-blood human being.
Add to this some well-designed missions and wonderfully tense dogfights, and it’s hard to recommend any other game about flying a plane over war-torn Europe more highly.
Best strategic layer - Hearts of Iron IV
Not many World War II games get into how and why the Allies actually won. Unfortunately for the romantic depictions we’re used to, it wasn’t primarily because of the heroic sacrifices of a few gifted servicemen. It actually had a lot more to do with availability of resources and industrial capacity. These concepts underpin Hearts of Iron IV and challenge you to think about aspects of modern total warfare that most normally wouldn’t give a second thought to. Rather than making it across a beach, your objectives often involve securing key oil fields and developing your industrial heartland.
Best depiction of ground combat in the Pacific - Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm
The Red Orchestra series represents perhaps the best infantry-focused multiplayer shooters centered on the conflict, and Rising Storm in particular shines a light on the oft-overlooked Pacific theater. Like Allied Assault, it does a fantastic job of depicting the pressure of coming under attack from all sides. Battles play out amidst the chaos of mortar fire and shouted warnings. It's all the more impressive that Rising Storm accomplishes this using other players rather than scripted NPCs. The confusion and paranoia of jungle combat is tuned perfectly to create hectic, low-visibility firefights and allow for cunning ambushes.
Best high-level tactical experience - Steel Division: Normandy ‘44
Existing at a scale just above Company of Heroes but below Hearts of Iron, Steel Division excels at giving you a detailed and plausible sense of commanding combined arms resources to win large battles. Scouting and intelligence are emphasized, gaining air superiority can be decisive, and every weapon on every tank or infantryman models realistic range, accuracy, and penetration. It exists in a great sweet spot in terms of scope and scale to give you the total World War II experience (minus naval combat) in a single match.
PC games are full of arcane artifacts spurring on ancient civilizations, Nazis riding dinosaurs, and Ghandi nuking the entire planet. Historical accuracy isn’t always a priority, and even the ones that try to get it right have to take some liberties with the facts modern scholars
PC games are full of arcane artifacts spurring on ancient civilizations, Nazis riding dinosaurs, and Ghandi nuking the entire planet. Historical accuracy isn’t always a priority, and even the ones that try to get it right have to take some liberties with the facts modern scholarship hands down to us to be, you know, a fun game. But there is a definite divide between games that offer a mere nod to history (or use some vague, pop culture-informed stereotype of it as a jumping-off point) and those that actually put in enough research time to get at least some of the important facts straight.
It’s hard to measure a variable like “historicity” when it comes to games—and yes, that is a real word. Games that put history first tend to wind up overly complicated rather than fun, so I've highlighted genuinely great PC games that go out of their way to include some historical accuracy. In particular, I chose games that accurately and ably depict a facet of history that is often misrepresented or ignored in other, ostensibly historical games.
In chronological order based on their setting, here are the most historical PC games.
Screenshot via Steam user OriginalNickname
Total War: Attila - Most historical game about the collapse of the Western Roman Empire
Attila pulled Total War’s tired campaign formula out of its slump and gave us a living map that portrayed the cultural, political, and environmental challenges facing Rome in her twilight years. Rather than playing into the stereotype of angry, marauding barbarians showing up out of nowhere to sew chaos, the map really put you in the middle of why these invasions were happening—the oncoming of climate change making northern regions progressively less supportive of large populations, and the migration of the Huns into Eastern Europe.
It was also the first Total War game to model the fact that not all societies have permanent cities, and how tributary relationships could form between cultures as a pressure valve against open war.
Assassin’s Creed series - Most historical depiction of ancient cities
There is very little about the plot of any Assassin’s Creed game that could be regarded as staunchly historical (though we do get some cool nods here and there—the Siege of Masyaf in AC1 is a thing that really happened). However, they’ve gone to great lengths to depict, in full scale, what it would be like to walk the streets of Renaissance Florence or medieval Jerusalem. From the crowds, to the architecture, to the small details, there is a lot of history to experience just by wandering the environments. My personal favorite is Revelations’ post-Ottoman-conquest Constantinople, perhaps one of the most interesting cities in world history snapshotted at one of its most interesting ages.
Screenshot via Steam user Mr.Nekator
Crusader Kings 2 - Most historical modeling of medieval Western European politics
With expansions highlighting Satanic cults and fanciful, “What if?” Aztec invasions, there is plenty of ahistorical nonsense kicking around CK2 these days. But at its core is a system that does an excellent job of modeling how politics worked in Western Europe from about 1000 to 1400 AD. We take for granted the concept of a nation state in our modern world, but if you lived in Auvergne, France in 1150, you were probably loyal to a person, not a flag or a constitution. All of CK2’s titles have holders, and it is they who interact and play the grand game against one another.
A strong realm can crumble under a weak king just as a poor realm can rise to glory under a great king. And while the hierarchical depiction of feudalism it presents is highly disputed in modern scholarship, excellent expansions like Conclave have added more weight to the lateral bonds that many historians argue were the greater driving force among the nobility of the age.
Expeditions: Viking - Most historical Viking game
I was impressed immediately by how apparent it was that the designers of Expeditions: Viking put stereotypes out of their mind and hit the books. As my primary historical interest area, I have a high standard for games about the Viking Age, and this one really has you doing a lot of the things a viking ruler would have actually found him or herself doing.
There are kinship-based blood feuds to manage. There is the emphasis on the necessity of presenting yourself as both a strong and a just ruler, not taking for granted that people will follow you based on your name. It even models the effects those notorious raids had on Scandinavia—bringing back captives and wealth that would help build infrastructure and birth three of the most influential kingdoms in European history.
Banished - Most historical game about frontier settlement
Banished is a fairly simple game. I might even argue that it’s too simple, but the mechanics it chooses to focus on are very much the sorts of things that say, an English settler in the 17th Century Virginia Colony would have been concerned with. Keeping your people warm, fed, and healthy are your main goals. You have to use the resources in your environment and trade with distant lands to provide for a growing population. A harsh winter or a disease outbreak can be utterly disastrous and end your whole settlement—as they often did for early European settlements in the New World.
Sid Meier’s Pirates! - Most historical pirate game
While Pirates! does allow itself to indulge in some buccaneer stereotypes, it also models a lot of the genuine realities a privateer captain during the Golden Age of Piracy would have to be concerned with. A crew is a ragtag collection of malcontents picked up from all across the Caribbean who will only stay with you as long as they feel like there’s a monetary reward in it. The political interplay between the Spanish, English, French, and Dutch is an ongoing conundrum, and you’ll usually be working for at least one of them. And of course, its modeling of naval combat with wind direction, hull size, decks, guns, and even shot type really gives you a glimpse of all the skills necessary to be a naval officer in that era.
Screenshot via Steam user [HWK] Turenne
Victoria 2 - Most historical game about the Industrial Revolution
Vicky 2 is probably the most intimidating and inaccessible game on this list, but it deserves its spot for hanging its top hat on aspects of history that often get ignored. The level of literacy among your population matters. More literate societies will become more productive… but they also gain Consciousness, which can lead them towards social movements like communism and demanding an end to slavery, universal suffrage, and labor rights. You know, pesky commoner stuff. It also models industrialization, war profiteering, and the advantages and disadvantages of free markets versus command economies. If you have the patience to learn it, it's well worth the investment.
The Oregon Trail - Most historical game about the Oregon Trail
An oldie but a goodie. The various iterations of The Oregon Trail that have been released since 1971's HP 2100 version (how’s that for some history!) have all been lauded for their educational value. And with good reason. If a modern person tries to imagine the struggles faced by an American pioneer making the journey from Independence to the Willamette Valley in the mid-1800s, they probably wouldn’t give much thought to how many spare wagon tongues you’d need to bring. But that was the reality, and The Oregon Trail put us in the middle of it. It probably also made us a little more afraid of dysentery than we have cause to be in an era of modern medicine and sanitation, but no game is perfect.
Ultimate General: Civil War - Most historical game about the Civil War
I know I’ll take my share of hard tac for failing to call out some hex-based, in-depth wargame that features the weight and height of every soldier who fought at Gettysburg compiled from census records, but Ultimate General is the perfect midpoint between attention to historical detail, accessibility, and fun. Its combat engine realistically models terrain, movement, casualties, and morale in real time. The recently released campaign mode even gets into how generals in this era had to prove themselves to the political leadership if they wanted to be well-supplied and have weight given to their strategic advice.
Screenshot via Steam user Stuart
Steel Division: Normandy 44 - Most historical game about tactical combat in World War 2
A truly impressive feat to a military history nerd, Steel Division’s maps are built from actual aerial reconnaissance photographs taken during the Normandy invasion, down to the village layouts and placement of hedgerows. It also features realistic ranges and damage modeling for all of its vehicles and weapons, and even the relative speed and maneuverability of its air units. It limits heavier units to spawning later in a battle to simulate the simple fact that they would have taken longer to get there after first contact with the enemy.
Possibly most notable of all, though, is that it does an uncommonly good job stressing the importance of ground-based reconnaissance on the battlefields of World War 2, and the idea that engagements could be won or lost based on which side had better information.
Screenshot via Steam user 65y Afrika
IL-2 Sturmovik series - Most historical combat flight simulator
I think most flight sim enthusiasts remember the first time they tried to do a backflip in IL-2 and saw the screen start to fade out, wondering if there was something wrong with their monitor. Not only are the controls and handling in this classic historically accurate, but it simulates the effects G-forces have on a fighter pilot maneuvering at high speeds. Force too much blood into your head and you’ll experience redout. Force too much into your feet and you’ll experience blackout. In addition, the titular IL-2 was depicted in meticulous, 3D detail and the combat missions presented plausible scenarios.
Screenshot via Steam user XaRoS
Verdun - Most historical World War I shooter
Move over, Battlefield 1. Verdun sets out to accurately depict trench warfare on the Western Front, and does a pretty good job of it for a multiplayer shooter. Its inaccuracies are forgivable sacrifices to scale, rather than in the details. it would be very difficult to get enough players on a single server to really depict some of the bigger battles of The Great War, and a lot more time was spent waiting around hoping not to get blown up by a shell than was spent taking aim and firing at the enemy—which isn’t really fun if you just have an hour a night to jump in the mud with your buds. Particularly impressive is the detail that goes into the uniforms, with items as small as buttons being painstakingly reproduced from period photographs.
Kerbal Space Program - Most historical game about the space program
With its science-based modeling of orbital mechanics, propulsion, and aerodynamics, Kerbal Space Program is a great platform to teach about the history of spaceflight. In fact, the developers at Squad agree, and are working on an official Making History expansion. But if you don’t want to wait, the community has already beaten them to the punch. A number of mods, including the Historical Missions Pack, allow you to experience launches spanning from the first German V2 rocket tests all the way up to SpaceX and beyond.
Deus Ex series - Most historical game about… the future?
So this one is mostly my own speculation based on observation of current trends, rather than anything backed up by in-depth scholarship. But I’ve always been impressed with how well Deus Ex depicts what I see as humanity’s likely next steps. Huge strides are being made in brain-computer interfaces, prosthetics, and artificial intelligence, while advancements in fields like spaceflight and laser swords are becoming increasingly hard to come by. Were I a betting man, I’d put my money on the assumption that we’ll see the world of Adam Jensen come to pass long before the world of Captain Picard.
Team Fusion’s work is now offered as an official content update and patch for Cliffs of Dover on Steam, that includes all the current changes and fixes. There is now no need to download Team Fusion patches one by one and install them manually. If you already have your Cliffs of D
Team Fusion’s work is now offered as an official content update and patch for Cliffs of Dover on Steam, that includes all the current changes and fixes. There is now no need to download Team Fusion patches one by one and install them manually. If you already have your Cliffs of Dover updated with the previous TF patches (version 4.312) you do not need to download this new patch. All this patch does is combine all previous patches into one.
The update is optional for now. To enable it, right-click on IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover entry in your Steam library and choose Properties. Once there, go to the Betas tab and choose 'teamfusionupdate' entry from the drop-down list. That's it - Steam should start the download shortly. When it finishes, your version of the game is updated with the latest Team Fusion patch (version 4.312).
In the near future, this update will be codified by Team Fusion and officially entered into the source code and file system for the product itself. The title will then be permanently updated through Steam negating the need for a separate patch. Again, this will come later this year.
Team Fusion’s work is now offered as an official content update and patch for Cliffs of Dover on Steam, that includes all the current changes and fixes. There is now no need to download Team Fusion patches one by one and install them manually. If you already have your Cliffs of D
Team Fusion’s work is now offered as an official content update and patch for Cliffs of Dover on Steam, that includes all the current changes and fixes. There is now no need to download Team Fusion patches one by one and install them manually. If you already have your Cliffs of Dover updated with the previous TF patches (version 4.312) you do not need to download this new patch. All this patch does is combine all previous patches into one.
The update is optional for now. To enable it, right-click on IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover entry in your Steam library and choose Properties. Once there, go to the Betas tab and choose 'teamfusionupdate' entry from the drop-down list. That's it - Steam should start the download shortly. When it finishes, your version of the game is updated with the latest Team Fusion patch (version 4.312).
In the near future, this update will be codified by Team Fusion and officially entered into the source code and file system for the product itself. The title will then be permanently updated through Steam negating the need for a separate patch. Again, this will come later this year.
1C Game Studios is excited to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle to cooperate with Team Fusion on future commercial development of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. This includes giving Team Fusion access to the Cliffs of Dover source code so they may continue
1C Game Studios is excited to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle to cooperate with Team Fusion on future commercial development of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. This includes giving Team Fusion access to the Cliffs of Dover source code so they may continue their work to fix and improve Cliffs of Dover and build commercial add-ons for the base title. Such cooperation was made possible only recently as full ownership rights to Cliffs of Dover was returned to 1C Company after many years. We can now allow Team Fusion to continue their work more comfortably and help turn Cliffs of Dover into the product is was intended to be. 1C Game Studios recognizes the hard work and passion that Team Fusion has exhibited in improving Cliffs of Dover and we welcome their continued dedication to the product. We also welcome them to the 1C Game Studios family of developers who help make the combat flight-sim genre and IL-2 Sturmovik series so compelling.
In the coming weeks and months, Team Fusion’s work will be offered as an official content update and patch for Cliffs of Dover on Steam. This update will merge all the current changes and fixes into one update. The update will initially be optional. Not long thereafter, the update will be codified by Team Fusion and officially entered into the source code and file system for the product itself. The title will then be permanently updated through Steam negating the need for a separate patch.
Later in 2017, the first commercial add-on for Cliffs of Dover will be released. The add-on will be focused on the North Africa theater and will update the engine to DirectX 11 and include new airplanes, a new map and other content and improvements. There is a possibility that other theaters will be developed in the future pending the outcome of this first add-on. More information about the North Africa add-on will be made public in the coming weeks.
The Cliffs of Dover product line will be distinct and separate from the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad line produced by 1C Game Studios. Both game engines will be developed separately by each team with the announced IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban development schedule unchanged and unaffected by this announcement.
Cliffs of Dover and its add-ons will be sold on the official IL-2 website (www.il2sturmovik.com) and through Steam. There are no current plans to incorporate Cliffs of Dover into the existing 1C Game Studios user account system. Players will continue to manage their Cliffs of Dover install through Steam just as it is done now.
We hope you find this announcement to be exciting and re-assuring that your favorite hobby will continue to grow and flourish. 1C Game Studios and Team Fusion ask for your support as this new era of cooperation and development begins!
1C Game Studios is excited to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle to cooperate with Team Fusion on future commercial development of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. This includes giving Team Fusion access to the Cliffs of Dover source code so they may continue
1C Game Studios is excited to announce that we have reached an agreement in principle to cooperate with Team Fusion on future commercial development of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. This includes giving Team Fusion access to the Cliffs of Dover source code so they may continue their work to fix and improve Cliffs of Dover and build commercial add-ons for the base title. Such cooperation was made possible only recently as full ownership rights to Cliffs of Dover was returned to 1C Company after many years. We can now allow Team Fusion to continue their work more comfortably and help turn Cliffs of Dover into the product is was intended to be. 1C Game Studios recognizes the hard work and passion that Team Fusion has exhibited in improving Cliffs of Dover and we welcome their continued dedication to the product. We also welcome them to the 1C Game Studios family of developers who help make the combat flight-sim genre and IL-2 Sturmovik series so compelling.
In the coming weeks and months, Team Fusion’s work will be offered as an official content update and patch for Cliffs of Dover on Steam. This update will merge all the current changes and fixes into one update. The update will initially be optional. Not long thereafter, the update will be codified by Team Fusion and officially entered into the source code and file system for the product itself. The title will then be permanently updated through Steam negating the need for a separate patch.
Later in 2017, the first commercial add-on for Cliffs of Dover will be released. The add-on will be focused on the North Africa theater and will update the engine to DirectX 11 and include new airplanes, a new map and other content and improvements. There is a possibility that other theaters will be developed in the future pending the outcome of this first add-on. More information about the North Africa add-on will be made public in the coming weeks.
The Cliffs of Dover product line will be distinct and separate from the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad line produced by 1C Game Studios. Both game engines will be developed separately by each team with the announced IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban development schedule unchanged and unaffected by this announcement.
Cliffs of Dover and its add-ons will be sold on the official IL-2 website (www.il2sturmovik.com) and through Steam. There are no current plans to incorporate Cliffs of Dover into the existing 1C Game Studios user account system. Players will continue to manage their Cliffs of Dover install through Steam just as it is done now.
We hope you find this announcement to be exciting and re-assuring that your favorite hobby will continue to grow and flourish. 1C Game Studios and Team Fusion ask for your support as this new era of cooperation and development begins!
The game has been updated to run on Windows 8 and 10. In addition, Russian and Czech languages were added to the international version of the game. UPD: Since many players reported that the update caused problems for installs with TF mod, it was taken down for now. We'll try to f
The game has been updated to run on Windows 8 and 10. In addition, Russian and Czech languages were added to the international version of the game.
UPD: Since many players reported that the update caused problems for installs with TF mod, it was taken down for now. We'll try to find a solution so they work together.
UPD2: The update is available as an option. To access it, open Steam properties of the game and select 'beta' on Betas tab. Please note that if you have the game and TF mod already installed, modded files will be overwritten after selecting this beta version.
Install this beta update if you want to play vanilla version of the game on Windows 8 and later and/or want Russian or Czech language (the default, old version of the game may not run on Windows 8 and later without TF mod or custom fan made executable). If you want to play with TF mod, use the default version of the game since the mod enables the game to run on Windows 8 and later as well.
The game has been updated to run on Windows 8 and 10. In addition, Russian and Czech languages were added to the international version of the game. UPD: Since many players reported that the update caused problems for installs with TF mod, it was taken down for now. We'll try to f
The game has been updated to run on Windows 8 and 10. In addition, Russian and Czech languages were added to the international version of the game.
UPD: Since many players reported that the update caused problems for installs with TF mod, it was taken down for now. We'll try to find a solution so they work together.
UPD2: The update is available as an option. To access it, open Steam properties of the game and select 'beta' on Betas tab. Please note that if you have the game and TF mod already installed, modded files will be overwritten after selecting this beta version.
Install this beta update if you want to play vanilla version of the game on Windows 8 and later and/or want Russian or Czech language (the default, old version of the game may not run on Windows 8 and later without TF mod or custom fan made executable). If you want to play with TF mod, use the default version of the game since the mod enables the game to run on Windows 8 and later as well.
We're very happy to introduce a slew of new improvements and additions to the game exactly a year after the last official update. We are hoping that this patch finally makes this game worthy of the Il-2 Sturmovik name and that simulation fans will give our game another look and a
We're very happy to introduce a slew of new improvements and additions to the game exactly a year after the last official update.
We are hoping that this patch finally makes this game worthy of the Il-2 Sturmovik name and that simulation fans will give our game another look and a new chance.
NOTE: This patch is incompatible with previous game versions when playing online.
The current version contains the following changes:
PERFORMANCE * Performed a huge amount of work improving both average and minimum FPS in the game. Most recommended-spec machine will see increased average FPS and a significant reduction in the micro-freezes that had previously plagued the game. Their frequency, duration, and overall FPS impact will be greatly reduced or completely removed. * Completely rewritten rended pipeline, reducing CPU load; * Rewritten texture manager, reducing stutter when loading new textures; * Moved landscape geometry generator to its own CPU core, reducing stutters; * Optimized tree code, reducing stutters when moving across landscape or rotating camera; * Moved grass generator to its own CPU core, decreasing stutters during low-level flight; * Moved all building and vehicle damage models to be pre-loaded, rather than dynamically loaded when they are destroyed. This increased mission loading times and memory usage, and reduced stutters when blowing things up; * Improved multithreading in many other aspects of the code, improving minimal FPS on most multicore machines.
AIRCRAFT * Added a Su-26 acrobatics plane. You can toggle airshow smoke by injecting oil into the exhaust manifold. This is done with the WEP button by default. The default smoke is white. You can select other colors by selecting corresponding loadout options. The plane also comes with four easter egg weapons that can be loaded onto the center pylon: - Shotgun – fires explosive pellets with everyone’ sfavorite green tracers; - Laser – fires a beam that sets an enemy plane alight. Effective distance is 700m; - Antimatter mortar – fires anti-matter spitwads; - Railgun – fires a shell that generates electromagnetic pulse that in turn destroys enemy subsystems, especially engines. * Added Hurricane MkI and Spitfire MkI with constant-speed propellers and 100-octane fuel. * Conducted a huge amount of work correcting and improving aircraft flight models as well as most engine models. All work was based on historical flight test data or flight manuals. * Corrected negative G cut-out for carburetor engines. The effect will be noticeable at around +0.1G. * Corrected the mixture control level on Hurricanes and Spitfires. It is now push forward for Lean, pull back for Rich. With that, moving the throttle lever to idle will return the lever to Rich. * Corrected (increased) low-altitude speeds for most Brutish fighters (Spitfire MkI with DH and Rotol aircrews, Hurricane MkI with DH and Rotol aircrews). * Corrected fuel flow calculations for most aircraft. * Corrected (increased) radiator drag when it is opened. * Corrected throttle control. The entire range is now useful. * Corrected overspeed sound. It will now steadily increase in volume depending on airspeed. * Made corrections to rough running on non warmed Merlin engines. Engines still require to be warmed up and won’t work properly when too cold. Please note that engines still start with oil and water at colder temperatures. With Hurricanes, please keep throttle back until the temperature is at least 45 degrees C; * Fixed issue that occasionally caused planes with landing gear raised to still show it in the down position; * Corrected rough running on Merlin engines above 11,000 ft; * Corrected control surface angles on the Hurricanes according to historical documents; * Added drag to canopies opened in-flight on all aircraft; * Greatly increased the effects of punctured radiators on engine temperature to make the effect more noticeable; * Corrected boost operations on British engines; * Fixed the inaudible hit sounds online bug; * Fixed the issue that occasionally caused never-ending Stuka horns online; * Corrected issue with the display of vapor trails; * Corrected default trim tab positions on most axis aircraft; * Disabled WEP for British fighters using 87-oct fuel; * Bf.109 - Corrected rudder behavior. - Corrected auto prop pitch operations. Max RPM target should now be the proper 2400 RPM; - Corrected radiator drag; * G.50 - Corrected temperature models for the engine. Also added +100 boost for WEP mode. - Corrected (increased) horizontal speeds. - Fixed engine heat balance that had previously prevented listed HP from being available at all altitudes. - Added +100 boost that can only be used in emergency mode. - Corrected weights; * BR-20 - Decreased never-exceed airspeed. * Spitfire Mk.Ia - Fixed the top speed above 18,000 ft. - Added pitot heat controls. - Corrected (increased) Mk I's airspeeds at altitudes above 6K m. - Corrected Mk II's speed performance at all altitudes. - Corrected Mk IA 100-Oct Mixture Lever operation; * Hurricane - Corrected (decreased) airspeeds at all altitudes alongside Spit II. - Corrected Hurricane boost indications. Previously shown +5.5Lbs Boost with full throttle, now properly displays +6.25 from Ground level all the way up to Full Throttle height; - Corrected Hurricane 1 100-Oct Mixture lever operation. It no longer requires Mixture lever Forward to maintain smooth engine operation with Boost Cut out activated. Mixture Lever should now be properly held Back for Boost Cut Out operation; - Corrected Hurricane weights. Please note that in-game weights are slightly different from those used in RAF documents, especially what the game calls empty weight. Our fuel is also slightly heavier. The weights in-game have been further finetuned to match desired performance. - Decreased empty weight on the Hurricane improved turn rate, climb rate, and speed characteristics at all altitudes; * Blenheim Mk.IV - Fixed multiple issues with the engine model. The engine no longer overheats at nominal RPM. - Decreased maximum allowed airspeed. - Corrected the engine model. - Corrected altitude performance. - Decreased never-exceed airspeed. - Corrected engine modes at all altitudes (RPM, boost, fuel flow, etc). - Implemented smooth flap control. - Changed the airscrew to two-speed. - Corrected empennage values that created too much interference during take-off. - Affixed springs to bomb bay doors. * He-111 and Ju-88 - Corrected radio compass animations. * Bf-109 - Corrected cockpit animations for trimmer and flap chains. - Corrected flap model - Corrected the flap sounds - Corrected the pitot heat light.
VISUALS * Added racing pylon models for air races. * Corrected Z_Offset parameter in online missions. Mission objects will now properly offset based on mission designer’s input; * Corrected radio beacon code online; * Fixed rare crashes connected to improper Road or LinearObjectManager usage in custom missions. * Fixed the plane label bug, where the label would hide behind the clouds; * Corrected brightness for various light sources; * Fixed the black front line issue; * Various other minor fixes and improvements.
NETWORK * Corrected the bug when attempting to connect to a password-protected server after previously entering an incorrect password; * Corrected the issue that sometimes disabled the country selection controls when connecting to a server; * Corrected issues with some plane sounds online; * Exorcised ghost planes; * Corrected the behavior of “jumping” cars and some other vehicles; * Fixed the issue where GamePlay.gpAirports() could return incorrect data. * Added a new feature: user-made map labels that can be used in scripts.
PHYSICS & A.I. * Fixed some non-working orders, removed others from the list. There are no more orders available to the player that the AI does not follow. * Added a request for available targets; * Turned off friendly fire for ground battles (improving FPS); * Added the ability to query current waypoint for scripts; * Told AI pilots not to commit ritual suicide when their leader crash-lands; * Fixed out of turn take offs for AI pilots;
The latest patch adds an entirely new sound engine , new multiplayer maps, and new aircraft. It contains the following changes: MAIN * Drastically reworked graphic algorithms dealing with in-game color; * Rewrote the sound engine from scratch; * Added three new multiplayer maps:
The latest patch adds an entirely new sound engine , new multiplayer maps, and new aircraft. It contains the following changes:
MAIN * Drastically reworked graphic algorithms dealing with in-game color; * Rewrote the sound engine from scratch; * Added three new multiplayer maps: Steppe (medium), Fields (small), and Scimitar (small), as well as a few basic online missions for them; * Updated multiplayer GUI to allow users to easily select a position in an existing plane, and to see the number of planes within each side before selecting it; * Added two new aircraft - Bf. 109 E-4 and Bf. 109 E-4/B. These two are equipped with MG/FF-M cannons and so make use of the famous Minegeschoss; * Spitfire model Mk. Ia has been reequipped with a constant-speed airscrew. * Some changes to the internal structure of Bf. 110s and Spitfire Mk. Ia may cause records created with previous versions of the game to play back with with animations that differ from what was recorded.
AIRCRAFT * Bf. 109 E-4 has been equipped with Komandgerat airscrew automation; * Reworked routines for gyro bombsights; * Removed allusion to Engine 4 from He 111 model; * Improved memory consumption for multi-crew aircraft; * Airborne status is now checked correctly even if the aircraft in question departed prematurely; * Landing status should be applied correctly when ditching in water;
VISUALS * Reworked bombardier cockpits in aircraft so affected (He. 111 and Ju. 8 to accomodate new Lotfe gyro routines; * Small caliber bullet hits on the ground now show difference in material being hit; * Modifications in Blenheim's damage visuals; * Added a range of visual SFX for higher-caliber guns; * New bombsight visuals in Blenheim bombardier's cabin; * Returned the famous Il-2 stall sound effect; * Doubled the distance at which the tracers can be seen; * You will no longer see engine exhaust fires when viewing in a HUD-only cockpit mode; * Reversed movement of throttle and mix in D.H. 82; * Fixed distance input error in gunsight for Spitfire and Hurricane; * Fixed glitch with Bf. 110's prop hub tactical colour band; * Added spinner colouring to Ju. 88.
PHYSICS & A.I. * Increased Lotfe bombsight gyro operational limit to 15 degrees of aircraft roll / pitch; * Lotfe type bomb sight now stabilizes aiming platform to horizontal plane; * Removed sudden jump in view angle when viewing through Lotfe ocular and moving bomb sight elevation for the first time in the flight; * Increased side slip input limit to +/* 30 degrees for the Lotfe bomb sight; * Made Kurssteuerung mode 2 for level bombers. This mode will also stabilize the aircraft in level flight; * Reworked motor startup routines to accomodate new options available in the new sound engine; * Adjusted ricochet angles on firm surfaces; * Redesigned bomb sight in Blenheim and made it easier and more realistic to use; * Blenheim bomb sight plane is now adjustable to reflect changes in plane AoA in level flight. Correction is applied automatically over a period of sustained flight and can compensate up to 3 degree changes in plane attitude; * Fixed issue where overstress would inflict damage to airframe regardless of the Vulnerability difficulty setting; * Fixed an issue where D.H. 82 could retain traction when the engine part was shot off; * Adjusted head shake level for overspeed effects; * Increased critical airspeed for Bf. 110 to 650 kph; * You will no longer suffer certain control difficulties below critical airspeed; * Removed velocity threshold for leading slats operation; * Decreased default harmonizing distance for G.50's guns to 200 meters; * Reworked the way altimeter reacts to pitot icing; * Lowered the speed at which airframe is defrosted; * Fixed stuttering movement of He. 111 P's propellor pitch and indicator; * A.I. artillery gunners will no longer commit suicide by shooting the concrete wall of the bunker they are stationed in; * Bf. 110 fuel reserve warning light recalibrated to turn on at 100 liters remaining for all 4 tanks. * Reworked the Bf. 110 fuel system. Please refer to the manual for operational instructions.
NETWORK * Changes to bombs' detonators setup will now be carried over once applied without the need to rejoin the server; * Increased Lotfe bombsight gyro operational limit to 15 degrees of roll / pitch. This will give more tolerance to aircraft maneuvers as strict limits put too much obstacle to communication between bombardier and pilot while playing on-line; * When flying as a bombardier, you should now use "Aircraft - Drop Ordnance (Bombs)" key (instead of "General - Fire Current Weapon" key) to drop bombs. * Added new server settings that determine the message format for new air group creation.
MISC. * Decreased bombsight altitude indents by ten times. This will give you more control of the altitude input and make bomb sight aiming more precise; * You can now switch off the boost cut-out control in Spitfires; * Corrected a typo where propellor and oil radiator controls for separate engines had increase and decrease key bindings swapped in controls setup panel; * Fixed keyboard propellor pitch controls getting jammed into a narrow range; * Directional controls feedback will no longer disappear from info windows every time you reenter the game.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is now available on Steam world-wide! IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is the next exciting World War II flight combat simulation title from 1C: Maddox Games , the creators of the critically acclaimed IL-2 Sturmovik series. As a member of the Britis
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is now available on Steam world-wide!
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is the next exciting World War II flight combat simulation title from 1C: Maddox Games, the creators of the critically acclaimed IL-2 Sturmovik series. As a member of the British RAF, face off against the deadly German Luftwaffe and the Italian air forces.
Updates to IL - 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include: GENERAL The game will now automatically delete and recreate its cache when a new game version is installed; M
Updates to IL - 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The major changes include:
GENERAL
The game will now automatically delete and recreate its cache when a new game version is installed;
Medium-range terrain detail noise is less dramatic when seen from up-close;
Improved the lighting of spline roads and runways;
Fixed empty tooltips occasionally appearing at edges of the 2D map;
Map zoom extents now reset properly when switching between game maps of different size;
By popular demand, enemy indicator arrows will now only appear in the no-cockpit view, and will not show up when the cockpit is turned on, i.e. work they did in the original Il-2 games.
GRAPHICS
Added ATI Crossfire support. NVidia SLI support will become available when a profile for the game is added in an upcoming official driver release;
Reworked the lighting system in the game to improve the visual experience;
Added True full-screen mode. The game was previously playing in a stretched window; that mode is also still available. Switch between windowed, pseudo (stretched window) and true full screen modes in the Video Options. NOTE: If you are running an ATI video card and you notice reduced performance in True full-screen mode, please switch back to Pseudo to improve framerate;
Greatly improved performance over large cities, especially with Buildings Detail settings set below Very High. NOTE: if you do experience stutters over cities with Building Detail set to Very High, please consider turning it down. Even setting this to Medium will have almost no noticeable effect on visual quality of the game;
Introduced background landscape loading that slowly creates landscape under the player's camera. You can now quickly switch from England to France with virtually no slow-downs. Performance gain is most noticeable on CPUs with four+ cores;
Fixed a bug with distant forest lines appearing at close distances;
Fixed a bug with shadow stripes appearing at edges of screen;
Fixed improperly loading plane textures in the DirectX 9 render.
AIRCRAFT INTERNALS
Removed warnings of a missing "Select_F1" piece when flying a Hurricane.
The Sunderland will no longer cause errors when loading a mission.
AIRCRAFT VISUALS
Propellor visuals are now tied to epilepsy filter settings applicable regions;
Reduced head motion effects, especially in terms of G;
Added a range of new SFX for bombs hitting or exploding inside a building;
Increased draw distance for markings and decals on aircraft;
Reworked stopwatch behaviour on German planes. The minute elapsed needle now indicates minutes as it should.
Fixed minor Bf. 110 damage and animation issues;
Fixed weird movement of Bf. 110's magnetic compass dial;
Fixed Bf. 109 gunsight misalignment;
Fixed a hole under a damaged engine cowling in the Defiant;
Fixed visual issues with Defiant's tail damage;
Put a mirror onto the Hurricane;
Fixed Hurricane's tail damage visuals;
Updated Hurricane radiator animation;
Ju. 88 gear now open properly;
Fixed minor Ju. 88 damage visuals;
Asked the Ju. 88's pilot to keep his feet on the pedals;
Made minor changes to cockpits of G. 50 and Ju. 88;
Fixed a visual issue with the Spitfire's antenna;
Fixed minor Sunderland damage visuals;
Made minor modifications to Spitfire cockpit;
Fixed minor damage visuals in the Ju. 88;
Fixed minor damage visuals in the Hurricane;
Fixed minor damage visuals in the Ju. 87;
Made various modifications to SFX;
Made various changes to victory marking decals;
Fixed minor Blenheim damage visuals;
Fixed a rare instance where a propellor could be visible when an engine was detached from a 2-engine plane;
Inverted the movement of the Bf. 109's radiator flap indicator (raised when radiator closed).
Planes won't knock dust off the water any more when they land on it.
AIRCRAFT PHYSICS & A.I
Spitfires' payload in outer-most machine guns changed to contain tracers. The more historical no-tracers loadout can still be selected and applied manually in plane options.
Removed the ability to feather propellors on Daimler-Benz engines by increasing the pitch angle beyond normal operational range manually;
Carburetter backfire effects now require a certain amount of gasoline mix to be contained in the intake to actually do some damage;
The propellor pitch control on all Daimler-Benz-equipped Messerschmitts is now a spring-loaded electrical switch;
Aircraft fires now burn crew members;
Reduced the ability of bombs to bounce off certain surfaces;
Changed magnetic inclination to 10.11 degree west to reflect actual 1940 values;
Removed ignition control handle from the Bf. 109;
Defiant's gunner now opens both hatches when bailing out;
He. 111 top gunner's machine gun won't dip into the fuselage any more;
Made all fuel pressure gauges a single-tube type;
Made turret mounts unlock faster;
Removed the effect that made Bf. 109's motor shake at higher altitudes;
Added aircraft buffeting to wing icing effects;
Increased wing lift loss during wing icing;
Fixed the issue where non-symmetrical damage to landing flap mechanics resulted in symmetrical air flow over both wings.
GENERAL
Added Force Feedback support to the game;
Added six new Il-2-style Quick missions. See them at the bottom of the list
three each for German and British attacks of Airfields, Bridges and Transport Columns. Fly in bombers, escort and intercept and scramble fighters, with missions of up to 128 aircraft!
Improved the damage model for radar;
Made sure plane selection and other user modifications stick in Quick Mission Builder when returning to the interface after flying a custom mission;
Restored throttle-up smoke from non-player planes;
Fixed some pilot animations;
Updated some briefings and other in-game texts;
Improved the overall look of the 2D Map;
Added a Scale control to the 2D Map (imperial for British, metric for Germans and Italians);
Added city and airfield labels to the 2D Map;
Added larger 64x64 icons to the 2D Map;
Improved the order in which icons are drawn on the 2D Map when on top of each other;
Improved the look of the Battle Area grid;
Fixed icon size selection options;
Fixed issues encountered when destroying certain types of railway cars;
Improved ground crewmembers in online games;
Made sure Bobbin Cable can be selected in the FMB without issues;
Fixed an issue encountered when trying to load a mission with a balloon winch placed too near a hangar;
Fixed an issue encountered when trying to place crew into an object without a regiment;
Fixed an issue with launching night missions with search lights on dedicated servers;
Fixed an issue with launching missions with certain ships on dedicated servers;
Fixed an issue with launching missions with armor when sound is disabled.
MULTIPLAYER
Improved server and client stability and performance;
Improved statistics;
Improved user interface;
Made parked planes disappear after a certain period of time so as not to clutter the airfields;
Fixed phantom crewmembers occasionally appearing in place of dropped planes;
Made sure airborne planes are created with sufficient airspeed in online games (born speed now tied to the plane's top speed);
Conversion settings should properly synchronize between all players;
Fixed the weapon selection grid in online games requiring an extra click to save;
Made sure all players see the same time of day in an online server.
CHANNEL MAP
Made Dungeness Point look more like the real-life location;
Added the town of Horsham to the map;
Added Westhampnett airfield to the map.
SPECIAL THANKS
Sean Trestrail for his tireless efforts to test and improve the game;
3GIAP_Atas, Doug Watson, "The Oden", Repka Server, and other server hosts and testers that helped us iron out the multiplayer.
The current patch contains the following changes: MULTIPLAYER * Added a new Steam Lobby feature to the Multiplayer section as an alternative to the existing server search. A lobby is a place for players to gather before joining or creating a server. The most important feature of
The current patch contains the following changes:
MULTIPLAYER
* Added a new Steam Lobby feature to the Multiplayer section as an alternative to the existing server search. A lobby is a place for players to gather before joining or creating a server. The most important feature of a Lobby is that it allows one to join servers running on a non-public IP, bypassing network address translation. It will of course also allow you to send players to a public IP server just as well. When a lobby links to a public IP server, that server can be accessed both from the Lobby, or directly from the Server search. With a non-public IP, the only way to access a server is through a lobby. When running a dedicated server, the lobby host can link to it by pressing the Find Server button. Otherwise just press Play to create a new Server. * Fixed certain aircraft flame and smoke effects not syncing when playing on-line and recording tracks.
GRAPHICS
* Made massive improvements to framerate in regards to the terrain engine. This will be most noticeable on machines with 4+ CPU cores. * Made SSAO optional. It can be toggled on the fly with a checkbox in Video Options. Turning SSAO off will slightly decrease the graphical quality of the game while improving performance. * Texture quality slider added to video options. The settings are Original (no change), High (reduced 2x), Medium (reduced 4x) and Low (reduced 8x). Lowering texture size will cause significant performance gain on lower-end machines at the expense of the graphic quality. Please not that the feature is smart enough not to downscale aircraft textures, so the most crucial components of the game will remain unaffected. * Made sure that grass no longer grows through runways or roads. * Re-enabled anti-aliasing on DirectX 9.
AIRCRAFT
* Completely removed overload assessment from carburetters. Rolls-Royce engines will now cut if overload is negative, and will not cut if it is positive. (old values were sneezing at .5G, and cut-out at .25 which we felt were dead on, but this apparently confused most of the players) * When starting in mid-air, all gyro instruments will be spinned up so you don't have to wait for AH to get in shape, as well as course setters and DI set to actual heading for you. * Reworked damage module to work dramatically faster when a plane is under heavy bullet bombardment. * Elevator trim is now set close to neutral when starting in air. * Returned the water splash when a plane plummets into the water. * The Spitfire DM will no longer occasionally ignore detached rear fuselage. * Changed WEP control feedback on Bf. 109. Rather than showing an 'On-Off' message, it now will show if it actually is switched on, and when it actually switches off. * Fixed minor Bf. 109 damage visuals. * Ju. 88 gear struts now break off gear well covers when they detach from the plane. * Fixed missing power cords in Bf. 109 and Hurricane cockpits. * Fixed visual issue with bullet holes in cockpit glass. * Fixed issue with FW. 200 radiator flaps floating on detached engines. * Fixed missing geometry on Spitfire's damaged right wing under the landing flap. * Reworked movement of the Hurricane boost cut-out pull knob. * Fixed minor Bf. 110 damage visuals. * Propellers on detached motors will now appear stalled. * An invisible mental force won't raise your landing flaps on the strip after you start the engine any more. * Replaced every tachometer in every British and Italian plane with an electrical type, since some people find needle movement on the mechanical type not what they expected. * Jammed and stuck motors won't budge when flying at high speed. * Adjusted behavior of broken engines. * Doubled quantity of air in Bf. 109 undercarriage emergency discharge containers. This makes it more likely that your emergency gear will have enough momentum to push the struts down till they lock. * Landing flaps on Bf. 110 can now be ripped off only as whole, not in halves. * Bf. 110 hydraulics pump is now driven by its right motor as it should. * Fixed a bug with carburetor backfire always causing intake damage. * New assessment causes less initial destruction to surrounding area when fuel storage explodes. * New spectacular fuel storage explosions (blow up those large round cistern buildings around the map) * Flames and heat from aerial fires will now make a plane catch fire, rather than break its parts. * Fuel storage fires, on the contrary, will be more destructive. * Implemented new getParameter() to AiAircraft interface to allow more access to aircraft state in mission scripts.
MISC
* Added four new benchmark tracks. The Black Death is the new version of the most famous track from Il-2. It will tax your system to the absolute limit.
Thank you for purchasing Cliffs of Dover! If you have previously purchased our sims, you should know that they are a constant work in progress. We as a team are proud of the fact that we continuously support, expand and improve on our releases. We hope, with your support, to cont
Thank you for purchasing Cliffs of Dover! If you have previously purchased our sims, you should know that they are a constant work in progress. We as a team are proud of the fact that we continuously support, expand and improve on our releases. We hope, with your support, to continue this tradition and to help the series grow in the coming years.
The current patch contains the following changes:
DRM * Solidshield protection was removed from the game. The game no longer requires a second authentication key. Cliffs of Dover only needs to be authenticated once with a single key during first install. NOTE: this action is automatic and does not require any action from the player.
GRAPHICS * Significantly optimized buildings. Performance gain is less noticeable on above-recommended specs; * Removed momentary freezes caused by trees and other vegetation; also changed the way far-away trees are generated; * Improved block loading, i.e. the periodic loading of 8x8km terrain blocks as the player moves about the terrain. Performance gain is most noticeable on above-recommended specs; * Expanded the resolution selection in Video Options to include non-native options; * Streamlined cockpit render. Also made sure that stars and other bright objects no longer shine through the cockpit at night.
AIRCRAFT * Removed “rubber bands” from player aircraft that made its movement smoother by delaying graphical representation of the plane behind its physical position, with the rare unintended consequence of making tracers appear to fly out sideways; * Reworked aircraft visual fx and added some new ones, such as new MG131 hit FX; * Improved performance in FM module by 0,001%; * Turned on cockpit gauges in the FIAT G.50; * Fixed fps drop when zooming in on a bomber formation; * Added a special penalty to aircraft with large parts of wing missing. Though this is less realistic, this will address most common misconceptions while we work on even more accurate wing calculations specifically for this scenario; * Fixed issue when missing control surfaces could still control aircraft; * Fixed some damage visuals on FIAT G.50; * Fixed FIAT G.50 visual and control animations; * Fixed FIAT G.50 receiving too much lift despite wing damage; * Fixed FIAT BR.20 radiator flaps disappearing in rare cases; * Fixed Blenheim propellers and turret visuals; * Fixed some He 115 visuals; * When a He 115 loses a float, the physical behaviour model will no longer lose a marble; * He-115 nose gunner will no longer attempt to hang out of a detached nose section; * Fixed a visual issue with the Hurricane radiator flap; * Ju 87 floor window no longer affects the sea; * Fixed minor visual details in the He-111; * Damaged Wellingtons will no longer occasionally disappear at a distance; * Sunderland's top turret will always behave properly when the plane is broken in half; * Fixed an issue when engine controls could fail to react to user input for 2 seconds after mission start with Anthropomorphic Control switched to ON; * Fixed an issue when the Bf 109 on Anthropomorphic Control with Complex Engine Management would also lock other controls; * You will now see overspeed FX and damage when expected; * Bumped up engine radiator drag to more realistic levels; * Exposed bulkheads left after engine detachent on 2-motors will now produce significantly more drag; * Adjusted magnetic compass damping to match the characteristics of a Soviet A-4 compass, as many were unhappy with its present wobbling; * Fixed minor Bf 109 damage visuals; * Reduced Bf 109 flaps deployment time to 25 seconds.
MISC * Redesigned multiplayer client and server GUI; * Fixed multiplayer server search; * Added Voice and Music volume control options in Sound Options; * Made multiple other fixes to the sound engine; * Cleaned out some stuff being stored in memory, putting less stress on lower-end machines, especially running DX9; * Changed bail-out camera sequence for the player; * Captured AWOL location labels in Full Mission Builder and put them back to work; * Fixed some erroneous location labels around the map; * Made numerous changes to localization texts;
WHAT TO EXPECT FOR US IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS: * SLI and Crossfire support; * Improved multicore support; * Additional optimization; * New multiplayer maps; * Additional variants of existing aircraft; * New missions and campaigns!
Pre-Purchase IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover and receive a copy of Silent Hunter® III ! Already own Silent Hunter® III? Give it to a friend! IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is the next exciting World War II flight combat simulation title from 1C: Maddox Games , the creators of th
Pre-Purchase IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover and receive a copy of Silent Hunter® III! Already own Silent Hunter® III? Give it to a friend!
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is the next exciting World War II flight combat simulation title from 1C: Maddox Games, the creators of the critically acclaimed IL-2 Sturmovik series. As a member of the British RAF, face off against the deadly German Luftwaffe and the Italian air forces.
