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 
Leave a reply to nunocinacio Cancel reply