We’ve just learned about 1CGS’ plans for the future of the Flying Circus series within IL-2: Great Battles and there’s an impressive amount of information that has dropped today that should have World War I flight sim fans sitting up in their seats and have a look. Let’s dig into everything announced!
The next two volumes!
We were expecting news about Flying Circus Vol 2 after last week’s announcement, however, what we didn’t know at the time was that 1CGS and series Lead Producer, Jason Williams, also had plans to reveal to us what their longer range plans are. Volume 1 was a test to see if the concept would work and be financially successful enough to get to the point where a Volume 2 and beyond would be viable. This is exactly what happened and I’ll let Jason William’s Briefing Room thread post fill in some of the blanks.
…I created the plan for Flying Circus: Volume I even though I knew it would be a hard sell and a gamble. The bottom-line is we had to start somewhere. I trusted the ROF and IL-2 community would want WWI product development to start up again and would get behind FC1. And over time, you did, even if it was slower than we would have liked. However, today, enough FC1 has been sold and the community has grown to a size to warrant an FC2 and then FC3 and if we’re lucky an FC4. With every new volume, Flying Circus becomes less of a gamble.
Jason Williams on the IL-2 forums
The announcement today covers not only Volume 2 but also news that Volume 3 is essentially a certainty as the team seeks to re-build their excellent Rise of Flight series into the new engine. They are doing it together again with Ugra Media who built the map and the aircraft in Volume 1.
There are ten aircraft planned for Volume 2 including the following:
- Spad 7.C1
- Airco DH.4
- Sopwith Triplane
- Nieuport 28.C1
- Breguet 14.B2
- Handley Page 0-400
- Pfalz D.XII
- Fokker D.VIII
- DFW C.V.
- Gotha G.V.
Volume 2, through this list alone, is clearly a bigger scale and scope than Volume 1. Two heavy bombers, three light bombers, and a good selection of scouts opens the door to more gameplay options and opportunities. Compared to the list that I put together a few days ago, this is close to my best guess although I didn’t quite get everything right. Of note, Jason and team have elected to include one more Entente aircraft with four German, three French, and three British aircraft making up the mix. Fans of American forces in WWI should also note that the Nieuport 28 and Airco DH.4 were both well used by that service.
Expanding map plans
Jason’s post today also covered their plans for maps and there’s good news for fans of the series because we’re seeing a significant expansion. Each volume will cover a significant portion of the main sectors of the Western Front of WWI. Development in Phase II will see a second version of the Arras Sector map for Vol 1 owners expand to encompass more territory. Volume 2 will also get the Verdun Sector map. Volume 3 is planned to cover the Reims Sector.
Every sector map will include Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter variants so we should see quite a bit more variety.
Other details
In addition to the official announcement, Jason Williams made a post in his Briefing Room and here are some key points from that.
- A Career mode will be included as part of Vol 2 and 3 development as well as new Scripted Campaigns but work will only commence on the Career mode after Normandy’s career mode is done
- Additional mission content for Flying Circus Vol 1 is planned
- Pat Wilson’s PWCG and Vander’s EZ Mission Generator will be supported
- 1CGS will be working with Ugra Media to produce a couple of new Collector Planes which are being researched and haven’t been announced yet as references are sometimes hard to come by and they don’t want to over promise
- Zeppelin’s would be a great thing to have and Jason says its on his long term list of desires for the series
- Damage model controversies have been noted and the team will be revisiting damage models
- Special bullet types like incendiary are hoped for but not planned just yet (these may be part of an overall improvement for the whole series if it does happen)
Sale and pre-order
There’s a pre-order discount price of $20 off MSRP at $59.99 USD for Flying Circus Vol 2 from now until January 15th, 2021. During that time, Flying Circus Vol 1 is also on sale.
All of that can be done through the IL-2 Sturmovik store here.
It’s been a very good day for fans of the series and I can’t wait to see the first new content arrive into the sim. Much more to say on all of this coming soon! In the meantime, check out the announcement here and Jason’s thoughts on the news right here.
Stormbirds 
Pre-ordered! Love me some biplanes, especially in VR. Career mode will be most welcome!
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Great news that Career mode is in for Flying Circus. That will satisfy a great many!
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Not to be a jerk or a sourpuss here, it’s just that while I greatly enjoy WW1 aviation, I don’t really like how this is being presented here.
As someone who discovered RoF merely by accident in the late summer of 2016, I greatly enjoyed the demo and quickly bought several DLCs from then to late 2017. If I had known that there was going to be Flying Circus and each volume would cost nearly $100 CDN for 10 planes and a map, I probably would have gotten just the Channel Battles and Ilya Murmomets DLCs and stopped there.
I just feel that the devs were better off trying to find a way to upgrade RoF itself instead of dumping it and completely rebuilding it in the game that it helped build. With IL-2 1946, when 1C Maddox moved on from it to make a newer game with a newer game engine (that being CloD — we know how that turned out), they gave the code to a team of modders, Team Daidalos, and they have been improving IL-2 1946 ever since, and have done a fantastic job at it 🙂
IMO, if 1CGS wanted to return to WW1, they should have given the RoF code to another team and have them improve RoF while they improve/add content to IL-2 Great Battles.
But, I am glad that FC is getting more 2 seaters and bombers — wonder if the Gotha will do its wing stall?
Also, I am really keen on the release of planes that were not in RoF, I’d purchase them instantly. I am also glad that there is a $20 Pre-order discount instead of nothing.
Apologies if I offended you Shamrock, it’s just how I feel about this. When some things are completely re-made, they look much better than the previous.
Ex. Aces of the Pacific -> PF, and IL-2 1946 -> IL-2 GBs. But, with some other things the decision to make them in the present may be questionable.
Novice.
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I think that FC is RoF on IL-2 code; there was a limit to what they could do with the ND script from 2008 so it was updated to use the current engine. That is what we now have. Updating old programmes without a wholesale transition has limited return on investment.
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Hi Novice,
I’m not at all offended. I love the sharing of perspectives and ideas as long as its done respectfully as you have just done.
I’ve heard from you and I’ve seen others react in the same way over the years. The challenge I think that shouldn’t be underestimated is twofold on your suggestion: 1) What other team would handle a Rise of Flight upgrade? There aren’t a ton of teams out there with the concentrated talent to do a highly realistic flight sim. 2) How much technical difficulty would there be in trying to catch the Digital Nature engine up to the follow-on IL-2 Digital Warfare engine? Sure it could be done but the word we have from the developers is that it would be easier to start from scratch than try and do that – so much has changed.
I think we have things pretty good as flight simmers. While a lot of entertainment titles have you buying the newest version on a seasonal basis that throws out the old and starts you fresh. Call of Duty Black Ops is $119.99 CDN with the season pass (so you get all of the content) and most players will toss it out for the newest one the next year. From my perspective, to spend $100 CDN on something that will be integrated into the same platform and that I’ll be able to enjoy for years is very good entertainment value. But that’s just me. 🙂
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Okay. It’s just that I know how passionate you are about FC, so that’s why I stated that you may be offended.
I agree with what you said, but it just seems to me that so much time, work and resources are going in to rebuilding everything that was made by 1C/777 5-11 years ago, and main reasons why it’s being remade is just because of a lack of VR and updated graphics?
And yes, while there would no doubt be technical difficulty in upgrading RoF, I feel that because they have everything there (planes, ships, ground vehicles, maps, and Career) it would seem easier in the long term to improve the game and those things, than to just rebuild it in another game. However, the last part may be a severe understatement.
BTW, if another team got in there, I wouldn’t really expect them to continue improving RoF for as long as TD and Team Fusion have with their games.
To be honest Shamrock, I don’t really know exactly how the whole thing went down with 1C Maddox and TD in regards to IL-2 1946 as back then I was in the latter part of Elementary school, and was more interested in playing the game and not really interested in knowing about game engines. TBH, I never knew until 2015 that there were more patches after 4.08; I thought it stopped there.
With FC, I just feel that it all happened a bit too soon, as the devs had already upgraded the game engine to DW when they announced FC1, and they were already tweaking it for the faster planes in Bodenplatte, handling Tanks for TC, and for slower and lighter WW1 planes at the same time; and the Career mode had just been released and was unable to be integrated into FC like it was for RoF. That’s why I feel it may have been too soon for FC.
But with all games, there are things in them that make some people come back once in a while. For example, I come back to CFS3 once in a while because of the flyable B-26; IL-2 1946 because of the PTO, some planes and maps, such as Rabaul, Solomon Islands, and a few new maps, one of which where you can fly over the Kremlin! People come to CloD because of North Africa and tBoB, and I feel that until the time comes, people who have bought FC1/2 may still go back to RoF because of the Pilot Career, Russian planes and Tarnopol map, Channel map and planes/ships, and the Einedecker and DH.2.
Cheers, Shamrock.
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Pre-ordered the moment that email from 1C hit my inbox. This is unquestionably great news, we went from likely never seeing more WWI content to having two-thirds more to look forward to, all in the space of what, a week or so? Magnificent.
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I remained encouraged through the year that we’d see a Vol 2. I wasn’t as certain about a Vol 3 but with that being essentially confirmed as part of the plan, I’m psyched! It’s better news than we could have hoped for.
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I have FC1 and though I’m not all hot and sweaty about FC2, I would absolutely buy the Handley-Page bomber as a collector plane. I’m sure it will be gorgeous.
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I don’t care if I attract enemy fighters like a swarm of bee’s… I’m going to enjoy the heck out of flying the Handley Page 0-400! The G.V too!
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That’s excellent news and I’m happy for Jason and his team that their FC1 project has turned into a success.
I would also love to see if the devs could flesh out the new FC campaign to make it a bit like the original Red Baron from Dynamix, where for example new but successful pilots might be invited to join more famous squadrons or where the player can accept to duel with some enemy pilots.
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It sounds like there is a content plan that will introduce more campaigns into the mix. That’s good news. I love the suggestion on bringing in the duel idea. I’ve flown the QMB a bit like that!
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3 reasons why this FC fan is extra happy by today’s news and has immediately pre-ordered.
1. This news was at least three days earlier than I was expecting.
2. The news is three times larger in scope than I was expecting. Duels between DH2s and Eindekkers are almost a certainty now (just need to be patient).
3. The Breguet made the list for FC2, which I had dared not hope for.
Thanks to Jason and the team, these guys rock!
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I didn’t think the Breguet would make the list either but here it is. Good news for French aircraft fans and those interested in a range of capabilities!
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This was an easy pre-release purchase for me. I’m very pleased the Pfalz D.XII made the list. I never got into RoF and as a VR user am really glad the team are bringing the RoF aircraft to Flying Circus. While I’m mostly involved in the WWII aspect of IL-2 it is great to have Flying Circus available. The expanded map area is a real bonus, as is the certainty of a third release.
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When Zepplins hit, I will be all over this title.
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That is really great news. Now I believe that FC is a good successor for Rof. And that the Breguet XIV is in the lineup is really nice. Interesting is now the question of what the collectors plains are. Maybe the Sopwith Spite?
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@NOVICE-FLYER. I’m sure you have (mare than) a point and many RoF fans feel like you do ! But there is also a lot to support the way Jason decided to do it … putting into the existing GB series (just like he did with TC). I, personally and IMHO, love the idea to have Digital Battlefield with maps that can be potentially (!) used for WWI as well as WWI scenario’s (but I do understand that is not obvious because of the other assets on those maps belonging to a certain era). a.o. I hope that these new and bigger (WWI era) maps will be fleshed out in a way we can have Tank Battles on it and who knows … one fine dat we can even drive and fight on those new maps in WWI tanks etc (although not truly realistic).
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I REALLY like being able to fire up IL-2 and decide what kind of experience I want to have. WWII aircraft, WWI aircraft, WWII tanks… there’s some good options and it runs all in the same application. I appreciate that cohesiveness.
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Yikes! WW1 tank combat sounds nasty, brutish and short.
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“..one fine dat we can even drive and fight on those new maps in WWI tanks etc (although not truly realistic)”
Carbon Monoxide FTW!
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