No new developer updates this week from 1CGS. Jason briefly came on the forums and announced that they were too busy at this point to provide a complete update. After weeks of continuous updates we can definitely let them by with a pass I think! Plus this is a great time to look back at what we have and forward at what we’ve already seen.

We already have a lot of content

Starting in December we got our first taste of BoK “Early Access” content with the Bf109G-4. This Bf109 variant has been little seen in flight simulators (to date I believe this is its first appearance) and while it doesn’t offer much different from the Bf109G-2 I do think that its an excellent fighter and more than able of taking on the best that the Allied side has to offer.

In February it was the Bf110G-2 making its first appearance in the next gen series. An old favourite in IL-2: 1946, the G-2 takes the Bf110 up to a new level with more firepower, engine power, and defensive capability.

In March we gained access to two aircraft! The FW190A-5 and He111H-16 both arrived granting us access to the majority of the Luftwaffe aircraft line-up.

The FW190A-5 is is fast and powerful and it comes with quite a few different armament options above and beyond what the A-3 version offers. Both are credible fighter-bomber types but the A-5 takes it up a notch with more engine power options and a greater bombload potential. It’s also a great fighter!

The He111H-16 is an upgrade to a familiar and iconic Luftwaffe bomber. Its defensive guns are significantly improved and both bomb bays are open enabling it to drop extremely large bomb loads from the internal bomb bays. The absolutely massive SC2500 is still an option for those who need the largest explosions possible.

A lot of new features are here now too

Development of Battle of Kuban has also opened the door to a lot of big new features for the entire series too.

A DX11 engine upgrade improved game performance for many. AI enhancements have made single player more believable thanks to more natural flying and increased the number of AI units possible in one space. New 4K skins have kept the artistic side of the community busy building new very high resolution templates that have made aircraft sharper and more beautiful to look at.

In patch 2.009 released just a few weeks ago we saw 1CGS throw the doors open to the newest killer feature for any flight sim: Virtual reality! A lot of players have had a positive things to say about the feature and just how much “there” they feel while flying in VR mode. It sounds incredible!

Still more to come!

As we enter the summer months there are more exciting features that are due to arrive for IL-2: Battle of Kuban.

Next up we have the IL-2 Model 1943 – a key version of the IL-2 series with a factory fitted rear gunner station and all of the firepower and durability of the earlier versions of the series. We don’t know all of the armament options that will become available with this version but I’m still holding out hope for some of the bomblet options for convoy destruction.

Next up after that is the Spitfire Mark Vb. Flown by the Russians in the Battle of Kuban, the Spitfire is going to be pretty exciting to have and very likely a lot of fun to fly too.

There are dozens of other updates coming our way. A new campaign system, the Kuban map with all of its mountains, sea side villages and open plains, and co-op is slated to return as well. Updates to flight models across the board will hopefully make some aircraft a bit easier to manage in some situations and a little less wobbly in others.

At some point we’ll also see our first ship versus ship combat as opposing destroyers, gunboats, transport ships and coastal vessels move along the Black Sea.

And of course we’re still waiting for the A-20B, P-39L-1, Hs129B-2 and the Yak-7B which will all come in the second half of the year. Each of these aircraft will bring something interesting to the series and I’m pretty excited to see them and everything else that is due before the end of 2017. I’ll be covering all of it right here as each piece of the puzzle arrives. Stay tuned folks! The best is yet to come!