Today’s update for the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles Series comes packaged with some interesting new features together with the usual list of bug fixes. There’s new things to check out so let’s get to it.

Dynamic battlefield system adds variety to Career mode

The biggest change is something that 1CGS has just revealed today. They are calling it the dynamic battlefield system and they are introducing it as part of career mode on one specific mission type for now: escort missions.

A new resource controller works in the background to manage the number of objects in any given moment of a mission. A truck driving on a road, which is pretty low on CPU resources, will have a small number of points assigned while a bomber with multiple gun stations will have a higher number of points assigned. The point of the controller then is to keep the number of points in a mission to a set value to ensure that the mission remains fluid. If points are freed up because a vehicle/airplane leaves the mission area or is far away from the player, then they can be reallocated to new objects.

That’s not all because it looks like they are attempting to make career missions more varied too. Early warning posts along the frontline will report on your location if you’re in range and then call for interceptors to patrol their zone which may appear mid-air a long way from the player or take off from a nearby airport. More randomized events such as fighters on a free hunt, transport planes, and recon aircraft all on their own missions will factor in more as well.

This is all for one mission type for now but 1CGS appear poised to add it to other missions if this initial test is received positively. I am very interested to see this in action.

Other updates

Some other key updates are here too such as Advanced Quick Mission Builder support for the Prokhorovka map and the first support for the feature with Tank Crew.

There are new mission types for Career with evacuation missions available for all theatres now (previously only on Normandy) as well as new night variants of Attack Railway Junction and Traffic Interdiction missions. The AQMB gets a new glider towing mission for Rhineland and Normandy maps. WWI AQMB missions on the Western Front map now have Balloon Defense, Artillery Spotting and Photo Recon.

Another key piece to this update is the addition of two popular Scripted Campaigns by the community. Kerch-Eltigen Operation for a Bf 109G-6 pilot in late 1943 (by Juri_JS) and Battle of Hürtgenwald flying the P-47D in late 1944 (by AEthelraedUnraed) are now included as part of the sim’s base install.

Lots of good content and feature updates here. Check the full update out right here.