IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad Discussion

Started by Grim.Reaper, December 28, 2013, 06:51:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Grim.Reaper

This early access game was brought up in the holiday thread, but thought would be nice to separate for discussion.  It really is making me interested, but the price is a little steep t make me immediately jump in.  Would love to hear continued impressions from folks that have it which my entice me in jumping in now:)

Here is what I know about it so far.

- $94 to get early access for premium edition (only version available right now)
- With the early access, it seems you really only get 2 extra planes, plus early access to the game now...didn't see much else in goodies
- The required servers to access are only available during specific time periods - therefore, you might not be able to play at certain times
-  Only single player content is currently available
-  Currently requires you to login to their servers to play...believe there will eventually be an offline mode

So with that said, would love to hear from people who have the game as it gets developed and whether it is worth the $94 right now.....with a birthday coming up, maybe a nice present to myself:)

Silent Disapproval Robot

I've got it.  Is it worth $94 right now?  Not a chance.  It's still pre-alpha so what it offers is currently very limited.  You can fly either the Bf-109 F-4 or the LaGG-3 Ser 29 through a handful of canned missions such as "takeoff practice", "takeoff and landing in a crosswind", "dogfight", "ground attack", etc.  Some features haven't been implemented yet.  Some are only partially implemented with "placeholder" code or graphics. 

Having said that, I'm quite happy to have bought in.  Even in its current state, the flight models are great.  And it's good to be able to give the developers feedback and actually see them implement your suggestions with each new iteration. 

If you're a huge flight sim fan and you can afford it, I'd say get it.  It's already far more polished than CLoD ever was.  If you're looking for a complete game, I'd say wait or go get a DCS title, Rise of Flight, or even War Thunder.  Any of those will give you a lot more depth right now. 

I don't know exactly how this game will end up.  I can already see elements of Rise of Flight in it.  Very nice flight models and lots of cool environmental touches like lighting, tracers, explosions, exhaust flames, and just general ambiance.  However, like Rise of Flight, it feels a little sterile at the moment.  I don't know what they're planning as far as single player goes but if that's going to be your main focus, you might want to hold off to see if they make the SP experience a little more robust and immersive than it is in Rise of Flight.

Will it be worth $94 in the future?  I hope so.   You're paying for the potential of a great sim at this point.  Whether that potential turns into a reality remains to be seen.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and strafe some StuGs with my 37mm.

Grim.Reaper

Thanks SDR...in the end I will be in it for the single player side of the game.  I did see some screenshots and it certainly did look like ROF, not necessarily a bad thing.  Just need to ensure they have a good campaign system and some good missions.  I love the idea of flight sims and recently bought WOFF, just not an expert in them so takes me time to figure things out.  I do like the idea of being part of the development, have been in many early access programs, but they have been far cheaper:)


JudgeDredd

Please please take into account CLoD.

I was in exactly the same boat with CLoD...though not early release. I bought it on release given the company's stock (IL Sturmovick and IL2) and it was a HUGE let down. If you buy into this early, you may completely find yourself as I did on release of IL2-CloD - totally and utterly let down...and my disappointment didn't end on release either. Same for World in Flames...there are lots of problems with the game.

Do yourself a total favour and wait until it's released and been around the block. I'm saying this as an impulse buyer...I pretty much want a game out the block if it's a genre I'm interested in. But I am slowly coming round to the fact that I can wait a couple of months and buy in when it's right.

You know and I know for an absolute fact that this game (and pretty much every other game released for PC) is not going to be bug free...so at the very LEAST these companies should be offering early BETA access cheap as chips...but they're not...because they know people will buy in. The game will be reduced at some time after release and ALL the BETA testing will be done. Do yourself a favour and steer clear for a few months.

You totally know that you are paying not only full price but likely over the odds to beta test a game. Don't do it.

This company has a track record of releasing bollox which turns out brilliant. So wait until it turns out brilliant. Even if you pay $94 for it then, at least it's a working product.

I saved myself over £130 by forcing myself not to buy World in Flames - which appears to be a multiplayer no-go mess and a pretty bug ridden solitaire game.

Regardless of my thoughts of the developers - you KNOW it makes sense to wait. There is TOTALLY nor reason to buy into it early and EVERY reason to wait.

You have plenty of games Grim - don't throw your money at something that's not ready (and might not even be on release!)

Just my advice buddy - and for the record, in case you didn't get it, I don't have it yet and won't do until considerably after release if at all.
Alba gu' brath

Grim.Reaper

Thanks Judge, always value your feedback since we appear to be so alike:)

Couple questions though....isn't this supposed to be a complete rewrite and not just a bolt on to CLOD?  Isn't the team involved even different?  Not saying it won't end up being bad, but just thought this was kind of a complete do over.

Trust me, I won't be throwing my money immediately at it, unless I can get comfortable with it.  My main goal would be to get early access to learn how to play it and well, get it early:)  But your right, I am sure there will be enough bumps along the way.

Like you said, maybe better to focus on what I have right now:)

sandman2575

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 28, 2013, 07:09:29 PM
If you're a huge flight sim fan and you can afford it, I'd say get it.  It's already far more polished than CLoD ever was.  If you're looking for a complete game, I'd say wait or go get a DCS title, Rise of Flight, or even War Thunder.  Any of those will give you a lot more depth right now. 


I know you have legitimate complaints about CLoD's shortcomings, SDR, but I just don't see how the Alpha of BoS can possibly be more polished than CLoD in its current state -- which is to say, CLoD updated with the TeamFusion patches.

I fully expect to buy BoS down the line, maybe in Beta if it's offered. But it's clear that BoS is simplifying aspects of flight and combat that are more thoroughly modeled in CLoD.  The BoS damage model is more simplistic. BoS won't offer clickable cockpit controls the way CLoD does -- I wouldn't say that makes BoS more simplistic, but it does take away some immersion, particularly if you play CLoD with the "anthropomorphic limits" option.

BoS seems like it is shaping up in very promising fashion. I just think CLoD deserves another look.  Especially if you play multiplayer, it's a great sim -- far better than anything War Thunder can offer, for example.

Grim.Reaper

Sandman,

Not to completely go off-topic, but can you tell me what TeamFusion has to offer that makes CLOD a better game now?  I have heard some speak of it, but haven't really looked into it yet.

Toonces

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 28, 2013, 07:09:29 PM
However, like Rise of Flight, it feels a little sterile at the moment.  I don't know what they're planning as far as single player goes but if that's going to be your main focus, you might want to hold off to see if they make the SP experience a little more robust and immersive than it is in Rise of Flight.


^ This is pretty much why I have not bought into this game yet.

While I have faith that it's going to be a fine game at some point- Rise of Flight is certainly an excellent sim- the lack of a meaningful single player experience has caused me to more or less shelve RoF.  Nothing I have seen has indicated BoS is going to have a more robust SP experience than RoF.

I absolutely hope I'm wrong, and if I am then this will be a definite buy.  However, I'm willing to wait and see at this point.

I contrast this with DayZ, for example, where the mod was most excellent and I have every confidence the stand alone version will be at least as good if not better.  So in the case of DayZ I'm perfectly content to spend now to have a chance to be part of the game's development, knowing that in the end I'm going to be satisfied with my purchase.

If you're a big fan of RoF, BoS is probably (probably) a safe bet.  If you feel lukewarm about RoF like me, wait and see is likely a safer path for now.
"If you had a chance, right now, to go back in time and stop Hitler, wouldn't you do it?  I mean, I personally wouldn't stop him because I think he's awesome." - Eric Cartman

"Does a watch list mean you are being watched or is it a come on to Toonces?" - Biggs

Silent Disapproval Robot

Quote from: sandman2575 on December 28, 2013, 07:24:51 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 28, 2013, 07:09:29 PM
If you're a huge flight sim fan and you can afford it, I'd say get it.  It's already far more polished than CLoD ever was.  If you're looking for a complete game, I'd say wait or go get a DCS title, Rise of Flight, or even War Thunder.  Any of those will give you a lot more depth right now. 


I know you have legitimate complaints about CLoD's shortcomings, SDR, but I just don't see how the Alpha of BoS can possibly be more polished than CLoD in its current state -- which is to say, CLoD updated with the TeamFusion patches.

I fully expect to buy BoS down the line, maybe in Beta if it's offered. But it's clear that BoS is simplifying aspects of flight and combat that are more thoroughly modeled in CLoD.  The BoS damage model is more simplistic. BoS won't offer clickable cockpit controls the way CLoD does -- I wouldn't say that makes BoS more simplistic, but it does take away some immersion, particularly if you play CLoD with the "anthropomorphic limits" option.



I have CLoD on the HD still and have the TF 4.0 mod installed.  Some aspects are great, so as a sim it's got some excellent features.  As a Battle of Britain experience, it's a letdown.  Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory is still miles better than CLoD.  Add in the fact that the CLoD front end interface is an unintuitive mess and is missing way too many features, quite a few of which I personally consider to be essential, and it's just not worth the headache for me.

As for clickable cockpits, that's something we differ on.  As I outlined in a different thread, I don't really care for clickable cockpits.  I find mapping things to the HOTAS much more immersive.  Different strokes. 

As for the damage model, CLoD's is amazingly detailed and I suspect that you are correct in believing that BoS's will be more simplistic.  I'm OK with that myself.  In CLoD, I found it pretty rare that I'd take heavy damage yet still live long enough to worry it.  So for me, it doesn't really matter if the game tells me that I've suffered a cut fuel line and spar damage as opposed to a blown carburetor and a bent aileron.  The end result is that I'm still going to spin in and die, even if the bugger who shot up my engine in the first place doesn't loop back around to finish me off. 

JudgeDredd

#9
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 28, 2013, 07:23:16 PM
Thanks Judge, always value your feedback since we appear to be so alike:)

Couple questions though....isn't this supposed to be a complete rewrite and not just a bolt on to CLOD?  Isn't the team involved even different?  Not saying it won't end up being bad, but just thought this was kind of a complete do over.

Trust me, I won't be throwing my money immediately at it, unless I can get comfortable with it.  My main goal would be to get early access to learn how to play it and well, get it early:)  But your right, I am sure there will be enough bumps along the way.
II
Like you said, maybe better to focus on what I have right now:)
well thx the Grim

I'm not opposed to early access...not at all. I just think these companies ought to get the message that we're not willing to pay full price for it. If we're expected to test a product, the least they can do is offer it to us cheaper.

I bought ArmA III cheap as it was ALPHA. Turns out the game was good in ALPHA and fantastic when the single player campaign was released.

The same was NOT true for CLoD...even months after and in fact the game was dropped and left to modders so they could move onto the very game you speak of.

I have absolutely no faith in any game prefixed with IL2 except that it will eventually be good...maybe even great
Alba gu' brath

sandman2575

#10
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 28, 2013, 07:28:49 PM
Sandman,

Not to completely go off-topic, but can you tell me what TeamFusion has to offer that makes CLOD a better game now?  I have heard some speak of it, but haven't really looked into it yet.

Hey Grim -- I think the short answer is, TeamFusion did as modders what 1C should have done as developers -- they've turned CLoD into a fully realized game.  Not a perfect game, of course, but one that certainly lives up to expectations of what people thought Cliffs of Dover would be -- a great ww2 flight sim.

Here's some propaganda about the most recent patch   ;) -- lots of emphasis on graphics enhancements, but the TF team has done a huge amount if work improving flight modeling and other important stuff 'under the hood'.

http://vimeo.com/77082835


All this is just to say, if you're looking forward to Battle of Stalingrad, as I am, you might want to give CLoD another chance, esp as you can pick it up relatively cheap nowadays.

Grim.Reaper

wow. great video.....I did pick up the game awhile ago for a few bucks so will have to look at finding this mod to download and try.  thanks

Jarhead0331

Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 28, 2013, 08:13:26 PM
wow. great video.....I did pick up the game awhile ago for a few bucks so will have to look at finding this mod to download and try.  thanks

If you have CLoD sitting around and have not tried it with the TF mod, my advice would be to load that up before you blow a 100 dollar wad on BoS.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Grim.Reaper

Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 28, 2013, 08:48:41 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 28, 2013, 08:13:26 PM
wow. great video.....I did pick up the game awhile ago for a few bucks so will have to look at finding this mod to download and try.  thanks

If you have CLoD sitting around and have not tried it with the TF mod, my advice would be to load that up before you blow a 100 dollar wad on BoS.

Yep, good advice and downloading all the patches now.....will give it a shot first.

JudgeDredd

Great vid.

I thought CLoD looked great out the bag...but that takes it to another level!
Alba gu' brath