A Christmas Day update from 1CGS is the last one planned for the year and it shows off some great new details including a look at upgraded I-16 textures, the Sd. Kfz. 10 half-track mobile AAA vehicle, and the Typhoon’s cockpit. Let’s have a look and pick apart at some interesting comments made during the post.

I-16 4K textures

Martin =ICDP=Catney has been one of the key community contributors and architects behind upgrading all of the official IL-2 skins to 4K quality level. The process has played out over the last couple of years to the point where a large part of the IL-2 series’ aircraft including some of the oldest types in the series are getting the 4K treatment. Now it’s the I-16 Type 24’s turn.

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Now that you’ve seen them, go back and look at them a second time because the dev update says that another community contribution has made its way secretly into the update. I’ve examined everything in detail including the map in the background (its Moscow, no the barrage balloons have been there since map release), the clouds and effects and the aircraft itself and only two items stand out.

First, the winter skin with the number 10 on it is new. This is either a new winter skin or perhaps its a tease of a dynamic letter/numbering system finally making its way to the sim. It’s one area that IL-2 lacks in compared to the original and it is something that the developers suggested could happen but not right then. Some time has passed so maybe this is finally happening? Again, it could easily just be a new skin and with the I-16 having a few less than the usual so an extra skin or two would be welcome.

Second, the cockpit looks really good! Although its hard to tell from these screenshots… it may have been the work of Oyster_KAI who has been meticulously upgrading all of the series aircraft with 4K cockpit textures. You can see them now with the mod mode on but I wouldn’t be surprised if these made their way to the sim sooner than later.

Half-track flak makes progress

The team at Digital Forms, the folks who did the tanks for Tank Crew, are working away on their mobile flak guns for the series and we’re getting a good solid look at the Sd. Kfz. 10 sans the 20mm anti-aircraft gun that will eventually be mounted on the back of the half-track.

The update also reports that their efforts to improve wheel physics for both of the mobile AAA platforms is going well and that their ability to incorporate both wheel and tracked vehicle modeling at once is also coming together well.

Also shown is the player model for the (presumably) winter version of the AAA gunner skin.

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I think the flak guns are going to be interesting additions to the sim and I’m interested to see them in action online.

Typhoon cockpit coming along

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Several images including the two above have been released showing off the cockpit of the Typhoon Mark IB. It appears that modeling is complete or mostly complete! It also sounds like the Typhoon will be among a few aircraft that are released, possibly simultaneously, this coming spring.

It will be a while before new aircraft are released because several of them are at the same stage of development at the moment, but in Spring we plan to release a number of player controllable content we’re preparing right now.

Han on the IL-2 developer diary

Although very similar to the follow-on Tempest, the Typhoon is a different aircraft in the details of which there are several major and minor differences. The Tempest was reserved for tactical recon missions and fighter sweeps while the Typhoon was used as a fighter and fighter-bomber employing some tactics that differed only slight from that of the IL-2 Sturmovik.

In the history of combat flight simming, the Hawker Typhoon has been represented precious few times. To the best of my knowledge, the last two sims to model the aircraft were War Thunder and Combat Flight Simulator 3 before it. War Thunder aside, the last combat flight sim I played with a Typhoon in it, the sim was called Aces Over Europe and it was 1993. I’m beyond excited to relieve that experience!

Also coming soon, we’ll be getting a look at new buildings and ground vehicles for Battle of Normandy. I’m excited to see what 1CGS has been cooking up there as well.

For all of this and more, visit the latest IL-2 developer diary update.