It’s getting darker and colder outside and that means a little more time inside and a little more time with a couple of my favourite sims. This is what I’m flying right now.
Repeat of Ten Days of Autumn
Back in March when IL-2 3.001 came out there were notes about how Ten Days of Autumn and Blazing Steppe had been giving slight tweaks and modifications to bring them up to par with the latest changes to the series. I wanted to go back and see what that was all about – but it took me a really long time to get through Ten Days of Autumn because there was just so much else out there to check out.
The feel of the campaign is a bit different and a lot of that has to do with how clouds are rendered in 3.001+. They are a bit thinner in some of the missions. On the other hand, Black Six added some multi-layered cloud formations to some of the missions and that changes the feeling too giving some of the dogfights a dimension that didn’t previously exist.
I feel like the AI is a bit better now too although nothing dramatic. The scripting behind the scenes is probably what was tightened up. Certainly, I didn’t have a problem before and now everything just feels a little more consistent mission to mission from behind the scenes.
If you’ve never played Ten Days of Autumn, it’s really good and I still wholeheartedly recommend the campaign. What I said in my review before still applies. It now has a few tweaks that make it better and help it take advantage of some of the latest added features in the series.
Back into the Viggen cockpit
Flying on the Georgia at War server a bunch these days has made me appreciate some of the different types of aircraft out there. The Hornet is my reliable go-to (even if the radar is a little less than perfectly reliable) but it’s also popular and sometimes I need to fly something else. The AV-8B is my second and I’ve gotten back into flying the Mirage 2000C a bit more too.
I want to enjoy all of these modules that I’ve bought. Partly because I paid money for them and I want to get as much value as possible but also because I’m that kind of person who wants to experience as much as I can. Jump jet? I’m interested. Delta wing 4th gen fighter? Yep! Multi-role carrier borne aircraft? Yeah let’s do that! How about one more? Low level strike aircraft. I’m in!
The AJS-37 ‘Viggen’ as a DCS World module is an example of what Heatblur as a third party developer can do. Stepping back into the cockpit here makes me really appreciate how hard they worked on getting this module right. It feels more alive and more real than any of the other modules that I have. The overall aesthetic, the sounds, the texture work, the way that buttons feel (through sound), and the glow off of the radar are all very impressive to me. The Hornet is extremely good but I think, in some ways at least, it takes a back seat to this.
The thing that I regret is that I bought it, flew it a bit, but then I’ve been distracted by other things. Now, I want to get back into flying it and really understanding how the systems work. Learning on the Hornet has helped me understand other aircraft better too and that meant my initial test flight back in the AJS-37 was an easier experience.
I look forward to doing some more learning with this jet and then taking on some low level strike missions on Georgia at War or in single player.
What are you flying right now?
That’s a little about what I’m up to right now. How about you? What aircraft are you learning or mastering? Which campaigns they are you flying through? Most importantly, what you’re having the most fun with? Let me know in the comments.
Stormbirds 
Currently, I’m learning how to fly (and more importantly, how to land…) the MiG-3. I really enjoy flight sims, but I’ve never really been *great* at them. Hopefully this winter I can fix that.
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Sounds like a good challenge. The MiG-3 is quite a lot of fun to fly but is a bit of a handful on the landing.
Keep at it and I’m sure you will get better with putting it back on the ground.
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After a long time with Bf 109 I have just started to fly Spitfire Mk V. It is a great plane and great fun to fly – though not so easy as Bf 109. So I am learning how to “dance on the pedals” to avoid pirouettes during taxi and at the end of the landing run. And of course how to fight using time-limited WEP to compensate for the lack of speed and how to spare ammo. 🙂
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It’s quite a shift between those two aircraft. Similar in basic concept but their handling is very different. Landing and taxiing is tricky but flying the Spitfire is such a joy. Just be sensitive with that elevator control.
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I started Sea Dragons campaign, did two or three missions but I’ve been having difficulties keeping up with my flight and when it’s time to drop bombs I have to do it alone. Never knew IL-2 could do level bombing 🙂
In DCS I’ve decided to focus on a plane at a time and started the Su-27 campaign. Last year did the Su-25T (maybe 2/3 of it) but it got a bit boring.
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The IL-2 can do shallow, near level, dive bombing thanks to the marks on the nose. There’s a guide in one of the developer diaries.
As for keeping up. It’s a mix of throttle and pitch plus radiator. If you find the right mix you should be able to keep up fairly easily.
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Brilliant! I’ll have to learn that bombing method. From the distance I was at it just seemed they were flying level.
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I’m currently enjoying the Georgia at war campaign for the Eagle while I keep training the Kamov 50.
On the MP side, I’m starting to love low altitude interdictions with the harrier. Sure the Viggen is better at that, but the jump jet is just too cute!
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Oh, the AV-8B is an absolute blast at low altitude missions. It may not be quite as fast but it’s small and it packs a punch!
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Been working slowly through learning the L-39 and the MiG-21 in DCS.
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Keeping aside Il-2 for some time I went back at learning the MiG-15bis in DCS to prepare myself in testing it online in a Korean War server. As I also planned to buy the Sabre at next sales and Razbam’s future MiG-19 I think it is a good exercise for both.
Went also back to Falcon BMS and started to learn how to operate an older Block 15 for an Israeli Campaign. Having to brave Damascus SAM defense in the middle of the night is definetely thrilling 😁
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I bounce between things depending on my time available and mood.
I really want to get better with the Viggen, but being largely constrained to pre-planned sorties makes it a little harder to just launch into a quick mission and clean up house. On the other hand, my recently purchased F/A-18 is much more friendly with regards to just throwing together a quick mission and buzzing around blowing stuff up.
But so far nothing comes close to matching the Viggen in terms of fun had cruising low-level.
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The F/A-18 is certainly more flexible than the Viggen is. I am learning on it with the idea that I want to operate without necessarily having a set plan in place for times when I hop on GAW and have to adapt to the scenario as it changes. It is a bit more flexible than I first thought.
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Yeah, that’s definitely more my flying style. I love the whole feel of the Viggen, but I’m not really great at the super pre-planned missions where I know everything going in.
Maybe someday, but for right now, it’s much easier to pickup the Ka-50 or F/A-18.
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I had taken a break for a while due to a DCS update that required me to rebind all my HOTAS keys (last time I forget to backup an HTML!) and a reinstall of lefuneste’s mod for VR zooming in IL2 that wasn’t working, so now I’ve fixed both, and I’m back into the hornet, and I’m gearing up to start a new career in IL2 while we wait for bodenplatte!
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Unfortunate that you ran across that issue. I didn’t for some reason and I have no idea why.
What IL-2 career are you thinking of starting?
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Fw 190 A-5
I would like to play the Velike Luki camapign in the A-3, but supposedly 3.006 has broked it
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Indeed, there seems to be problems with an invisible barrier blocking aircraft operations in the second mission. A real shame as its an excellent campaign and prior to this, I could easily recommend it.
Now on the lookout for other campaigns featuring the FW190!
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