Il2 Forgotten Battles

[Thierry]

Picked it in the bargain bin, without a proper manual. Man, this is hard!

After a few hours, I can take off without crashing and more or less find my destination, but flying in formation and landing is beyond my current capacities.

As for attacking anything that shoots back, it is well above my league. Even a measly flak gun can nail me as I line up for the bombing.


How long does it take to become half-competent?

[heijari]

I trust you have a proper stick?

[Thierry]

I trust you have a proper stick?

Bad jokes aside, I have a standard joystick - I don't play enough to invest in expensive hardware.

[Cessna]

I picked it up pretty quick. Remember, you're flying a WWII plane, and not even a particularly good one most of the time. Be gentle when you turn; you can't snap it around like an F-16.

I love the game. Stick with it, and practice.

[Thierry]

I like the game so far, in fact. It's frustrating, but each little progress feels like an achievement even if it's destroying a defenseless bridge on an empty map ;).

[Cessna]

Yep.

Just wait until you try a campaign...


Also - I *think* the manual for IL-2 (the first game, not Forgotten Battles) is available as a pdf on their website...?

[Thierry]

Just wait until you try a campaign...

Well, I have, but I'm afraid that my inability to land is going to hamper my career seeing that I consume one plane for each mission. Of course I cleverly avoided the problem last time by getting shot well before the end ;)

[Cessna]

Well, I have, but I'm afraid that my inability to land is going to hamper my career seeing that I consume one plane for each mission. Of course I cleverly avoided the problem last time by getting shot well before the end ;)

My flight instructor - in real life, whan I got my pilot's license - once told me:

"There are three simple steps to making a perfect landing every time. The problem is that no one knows what they are."

[Barticus]

I found a way around it....I cheated. I am not a pilot by any stretch of the imagination and just want to fly around shooting stuff up so the solution was just to turn the realism down a few notches. In particular, the 'start mission over the airfield' for me was a lifesaver. I want to fly the damned mission, not fiddle with carbeurator and propellor pitch settings.

And you know what? The game is STILL hellishly difficult, and STILL a hell of a lot of fun, just watch out for the bomber gunners with computer assisted radar ranging gunsights.

B

[Tharkun]

I would highly recommend picking up all the expansions for IL-2 they add more flyable aircraft (which doesn't hurt).

[snafubar]

About my only real accomplishments in IL-2 are:

- mastering the art of the stall recovery (I've turned it into a defensive maneuver.)
- surviving a landing (pilot, not plane)
- making another player waste a lot of ammo before killing me

I'd kill for half-competence. :D

[Ataxerxes]

Welcome to the club. I had enough of crash-landings and turned the "end mission immediately" option on. Still, nothing beats the feeling of scoring your first kill against an enemy fighter that keeps trying ot evade you ;)

[Jaakko]

Bad jokes aside, I have a standard joystick - I don't play enough to invest in expensive hardware.

Does it have a twist handle thingie for controlling rudder? You'll definitely need that (or pedals, but those cost money).

[Thierry]

No, I use the keyboard.

Yesterday was target practice - trying to hit one of those big slow Ju52 with a Yak. Taking my time, no enemy fighter, etc.

Guess what? They simply won't fall down - bits flying everywhere as I inflict damage but I ran out of my amno before I could down them (one dropped and another was in flames but the other two were just fine)

[heijari]

Guess what? They simply won't fall down - bits flying everywhere as I inflict damage but I ran out of my amno before I could down them (one dropped and another was in flames but the other two were just fine)
Yaks aren't exactly heavy hitters, but they're agile enough to compensate for this. So try aiming for the engines, and getting good cannon hits in the wingroots. If you can smoke an engine, the plane is as good as dead. In case of Tante Ju, two engines should do it.

The thing is, for precise aiming, you need precise rudder control. :o

EDIT: for target practice purposes, I used the zoom view and 1/2 and 1/4 time for a while - this helps a lot when trying to determine where your bullets are actually going vs. where you're aiming. Also, use the distance icon and get close, real close. You can hit that Ju from 300m, but can you destroy the engine with one burst? Doubtful. Get to 250-200m, and start homing on the target with short mg bursts. In 150, let rip with the cannons. Boom.

[heijari]

How about a multiplayer session some time in the near future?

Next weekend, perhaps?

[Thierry]

I can hardly down a russian bomber with a Me262, so that would be a bit premature.
:o

[heijari]

Well, if you're up for some coop stuff or something in the near future, send me and Jaakko a heads-up.

When we've played online, we haven't bothered with complex engine management, and sometimes use unlimited ammo and other easy-peasy difficulty settings, too.

Meanwhile, if you're looking for another CM PBEM (BB or AK), feel free to send me a setup. I'm cool with any QB parameters, up to 1500 pts. :)

[Jaakko]

Heijari is too good a pilot for his own good, which is why I usually shoot a couple of bursts into him in the beginning, just to even up the odds.

[heijari]

Heijari is too good a pilot for his own good, which is why I usually shoot a couple of bursts into him in the beginning, just to even up the odds.
Sometimes I fly a kite instead of the messerschmitt, to give Jaakko the occasional edge.

[Thierry]

Meanwhile, if you're looking for another CM PBEM (BB or AK), feel free to send me a setup. I'm cool with any QB parameters, up to 1500 pts. :)

Will do - a CMAK QB wil be on its way tonight.


As for IL2 my tactic now is to wait until I feel I'm going to collide with the target and then shoot and turn. Marginally better, though I get hit a lot ;)

[Thierry]

And I'm back (sort of). Couldn't resist the IL2-1946 pack on sale today (IL2:FB + Ace Expansion + Pacific Fighters + new campaigns Manchuria and 1946). Well, I also bought a twist handle joystick this time :o .

PS: after a late-night session, the twist-handle joystick does make things easier (and the little mini-controller thingie to change you point of view is very neat) , though since I had left IL2 sitting on the shelf for a long time, I'm almost starting from scratch again.