We’ve got a new developer diary, the first in several weeks, from the team over at 1C Game Studios and this one is packed with some details on near term releases. We have the official release of Flying Circus Vol 2 coming up, the release of the Spitfire XIV bubble canopy version, an announcement of the Li-2 and a livery contest. Let’s get to the details.
Update 5.101 coming next week
The next update for IL-2 Great Battles is coming next week. It packs in Flying Circus Vol 2’s career mode and its official release together with the Spitfire XIV bubble canopy Collector Plane. We’ve been waiting on the Career mode for Flying Circus for some time and now its arriving which is great to see.
Meanwhile the bubble canopy version of the Spitfire XIV adds increased visibility and likely some extra range too. More on that when it releases.
The release will also pack in Wings over Caen, the Typhoon Mark IB scripted campaign by BlackSix, that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
Li-2 announced
We’ve known about this for some time but we now have an official announcement and some added details. The Lisunov Li-2 was a license built version of the Douglas DC-3 design. Although superficially the same as the C-47 that was released into the sim late last year, the Li-2 comes with its own set of features.
Those features include different engines (the dev diary doesn’t say but Wikipedia reports them as Shvetsov M-62 9-cylinderair-cooled radial piston engines), a spherical turret mounted on the top of the aircraft with a UBT 12.7mm machine gun, a completely different cockpit, and they hint that the Li-2 will be able to carry bombs as some did during the war.
That makes the Li-2 quite unique and different from the C-47 that we’re flying purely as a transport or paradrop platform. Speaking of paratroops, they do show off model for Russian paratrooper equipment too so that will be done too.
Read the full news update here!
Skin contest
Haluter’s Skin Downloader is celebrating 10,000 unique skins uploaded to the community created and operated utility. A milestone like this deserves recognition so the group is running a skin design contest open from now until April 30th.
A panel of judges will determine the best submitted projects across two categories offering cash prizes.
This is no ordinary contest as everyone is encouraged to participate. Even those of us lacking in skin creation abilities. Sketch out your design, draw it in MS Paint, or find some other way to submit your design and a skilled skin artist will take winning entries and turn them into honest to goodness liveries to be uploaded to HSD!
Stormbirds 
I’m not sure paying for a second MKXIV just for the bubble canopy is worth the price of admission. Yes, they are all very nicely put together planes, but… some variety please.
How about an He-219 for example? A2A Simulations made one for FS2004 and it was a riot. There’s a plane I’d buy for IL2.
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Do 335 or a flyable B-26 would be preferable. Either way, content wise, looks like they’re concentrating solely on different versions of aircraft we already have. I get why as it costs them nearly nothing given they already have the existing models in some variant, but this is not what people are interested in.
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I’m not expecting anything as ambitious as those two at this point. We’ve moved into something different since the end of last year.
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Yeah, I feel there should be Collector plane packs where you get 2 planes for $20 US: Bf-109G-6 A/S and Spitfire Mk. XIV Teardrop canopy.
If a Mosquito Mk. IV Bomber was added then I would pay $20 US for that without any objections
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“We’ve moved into something different since the end of last year.”
Yeah, mediocrity and disappointment.
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The 219, 355pfeil or 177 would be great only not many would buy this, same btw for that Russian Dc3 plane. The real seller is not another twin engine plane. It most be a plane used at the Western front and something differently more thinking of a big bomber like the B17.
Making all kinds of variants from existing planes and making AI planes flyable is I think a very economic way to bring in extra cash. Expanding the BoX team do cost money, so I can not blame 1C to get the easy money first as lots of BoX fans do buy them anyway.
No sound of improvements for VR users, like reducing the graphical artifacts like shimmering/flashing/jaggies. 😦
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The career for Flying Circus is what I’ve been waiting for and now that’s it here, I’ll probably get the two volumes. I like the career mode in Rise of Flight so it seems logical to get Flying Circus now.
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They are not exactly wowing the crowds. Just decent offerings would seem a lot more interesting with even some suggestion that there was a plan. Announcing a ultra-niche Russian aircraft is not what I would call a roadmap. Happy for FC enthusiasts, though.
The DCS vs. Il-2 turnaround over last 6 months is extraordinary.
Whatever happened to the 109G-14 A/S? That still on the cards, I presume?
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G-6A/S is still coming!
I don’t know how many times I have to tell folks that Great Battles is very likely at an end and what we’re seeing right now is more sustainment than the full production that we’ve seen in years past.
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Well:
– If it were at an end then what of the current TBD list? Why an Li-2? Not saying that you are wrong, just the information vacuum and odd decisions are open to varying interpretations
– What are they actually doing?
– Why are they being so obtuse? It is not winning them any fans in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market.
It comes down to this (any management types that might be listening): when you finally get round to announcing your Special Military Project there will be a deficit of trust that will hit pre-orders. They can burn through even more good will without apparent care, but they should not be surprised if the next announcement is met with a high degree of skepticism.
Being Russian is not aiding their position. Fulfilling Western (likely largest potential market) stereotype of a closed and untrustworthy people – however unfair thar might be – would be high on the list of ‘not to do’.
They make their decisions, but should not be surprised if obvious errors bite them on the backside.
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We’re completely agreed on their communications plan not being a great one. I could speculate on why but that’s a deep rabbit hole I don’t want to go down right at the moment.
The current development list is inertia. The Li-2 had a soft announcement years ago. Ugra Media have been collection data and resources to build it. It’s contracted so whatever other plans are happening, it’s still proceeding.
The same is/was true with the Snipe (released) and the SS D.IV (still coming). The G-6A/S and Spit XIV bubble canopy we knew about more recently and they are obviously easy conversions of existing projects. They may have even been given to some of the newer members of the team (seeing as we know they are growing the team) to get them up to speed.
And the IAR… a passion project by a two man team. Several years in the making. That one I’m very excited about.
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Fair points and I do not want to darken the tone of your uplifting, cheerful and informative site.
Wish they would drop a few maps (appreciate that is a lot of work), but a Minsk, a Smolensk, a Kiev (OK, maybe not!), an Orsha? Leningrad too difficult, understandably.
Aircraft get the big news, but – barring a 2nd production unit on a ‘44-45’ EF small collection for Seelow – (not happening), the maps at least would round out the EF.
Then we could reach a closure point while they feed tantalizing amuse-bouche for the next course.
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They are making the same mistake DCS is making – starting to cater to purely the “western front” crowd because that’s where they think the money is.
It’s a mistake because plenty of us (east and west) would love to see late-war USSR aircraft and theatres (Yak3, La7, etc) and would pay TWICE for anything Pacific-related.
From what I gather, they had some people leave and it’s not affecting the company in a good way. I hope I’m wrong, I’ve loved Il2 since 2000s
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