1CGS as usual is working away on new content for the IL-2: Great Battles Series and this week’s developer diary gives us some specific details on some new content including the Hurricane II’s cockpit and new pilot models for the Night Witches but it also teases what the team has been up to and there are some interesting details on how soon we might see the next batch of aircraft. Let’s have a look and … do a little speculating!

Hurricane II cockpit

For everyone wondering where the Hurricane is… well it’s coming! This iconic British fighter is coming to IL-2 as a Collector Plane and it’s been highly anticipated ever since the announcement back last year. Now we have our first look at the cockpit!

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Looks good with all of the usual complexity of a British fighter cockpit. Very excited to see this in-game when the time is right!

The Night Witches come to IL-2

Swappable pilot models are coming to IL-2 and the U-2VS is one of the aircraft that will benefit from this treatment. The famous Night Witches, an all-female squadron that the Soviet Union employed on some of the most difficult night missions flying the U-2 biplane, are coming to IL-2!

Pictured below is the new model with three versions including a summer 1942, summer 1943, and winter version. Although not strictly necessary, the pilot model will help increase the realism of a Night Witches scenario and hopefully means a few more sales for the U-2VS (a third party developed aircraft) and perhaps some more content being generated by Yugra Media in the future.

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Reading into the next content releases

Also included in today’s developer diary was news on what the team has been busy building. We know of course that the P-47D-22, the first Battle of Normandy aircraft to be released, is coming in the near future with the next patch. But we have a bit of news on the other aircraft too.

The P-51B, P-47D-22, C-47, Spitfire Mk.XIV, Typhoon Mk.Ib and Hurricane Mk.II are all on the production line at once, many of them are in a fairly high degree of readiness.

Han on the IL-2 developer diary

That’s very exciting actually. Although I don’t expect 1CGS to rush through these aircraft and release them immediately, it does mean that there is a growing possibility for seeing all of these aircraft released before the end of the year. In relative terms… that’s fast!

Meanwhile, work on the Normandy map is now underway with Han reporting that borders have been defined, cities and airfields identified, and work is underway to create “ground equipment” which I might translate as buildings needed for the scenery.

Finally, two other core systems have been mentioned. AI work on dog fighting has improved so the work has turned to improving the way the AI prioritizes and approaches targets. Also a more detailed simulation of the fuel systems are also being worked on which should bring the long awaited drop tanks to the sim.

Progress looks good

This update from 1CGS has me even more upbeat than usual from the 1CGS team. The last few updates have introduced new content and rolled in new changes to the series that have had mostly positive effects on the series – a few graphical issues with AMD cards not withstanding.

Overall progress looks good with a steady flow of new content and core systems being upgraded. From AI improvements to fuel systems being worked on I feel like there are meaningful changes to the IL-2 series that will improve the overall feel of the sim. And new content like the aircraft mentioned above are exciting developments too. The next six months should bring a lot to the series! Read the full update here.