A new developer blog has emerged from 1C Game Studios with some news on the IL-2 Great Battles Series. A new update shows us the latest visuals on the Odessa map. They are also showing off a new multiplayer video. Let’s have a look.

New map

New screenshots and details have emerged from 1CGS of their progress on the Odessa map. Buildings, docks, rail yards, lighthouses and other details can be seen clearly.

Today’s developer blog indicates that there are 400 settlements and at least 30 airfields are planned. They also indicate that Odessa, Tiraspol, Beltsy, Bolgrad, and Kilia, located on the map are complete and Chisinau, Kotovsk, Izmail, Voznesensk, Rybnitsa, Galati, and others are still planned.

This project actually dates back several years to at least as far back as 2017. The developer, Zeus, later joined the 1CGS team but progress on the map appeared to have stalled for quite a while before remerging more recently. We learned at the start of the year that 1CGS are planning a “mini Great Battles release” with a two episode campaign that could cover both a 1941 and 1944 time period.

The exact plans, release structure, pricing, and aircraft have yet to be revealed.

New trailer

A new cinematic trailer has emerged showing off some epic dogfight action. You may recall an earlier ask for multiplayer clips and this is the result.

Read the rest of the update here.


12 responses to “IL-2 devs update on Odessa map, more”

  1. “The exact plans, release structure, pricing, and aircraft have yet to be revealed.”

    Is it actually going to be a full on release like previous BoX titles with a dynamic campaign, aircraft, etc?

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      The wording they used was “mini Great Battles release.” There’s aircraft and a campaign reference too with both 1941 and 1944 era parts. How this fits together exactly is still unknown but we know the I-153, Yak-3, and others are coming.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Odessa was primarily occupied by Romanians, so this may be a theatre for the IAR, recently released.

        I would love to see some late-war Soviet action like Operation Bagration, Lake Balaton, etc.

        I also think BoX is missing Romanian and Hungarian radio chatter like we had in 1946, if we’re going down that route.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. An He-114 would be great as it saw service by both Romanian and German forces in ’41 for shipping interdiction. I know 109 exhaustion is a real thing and all, but the G-10 would be a great addition as it was operational at the time. It was also the fastest 109 produced.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Hopefully we will see more third party maps in the near future. I would like to see Eastern Front maps like Crimea, Smolensk and Kursk. Though I’d also like to see other maps like Balaton, Slovakia and Pomerania (Vistula-Oder Offensive).

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      There’s really just the one group that’s a third party at this point, the Finnish map makers that I interviewed have spent several years doing the job. It’s quite possible but the lead times are long.

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  3. If you do not have the tools then it’s indeed a monks work. 1C should release a SDK to make that easier, but maybe better a SDK to improve the actual maps, like that very cheap made 2D inkspots at FC nomansland or the terrible made Bodenplatte map, with all those repeating objects, like German style houses in the Netherlands and Belgium. Glad they did not made a USA map that would supposedly contain repeating Russian objects. 🙂

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      With the next generation of their sim technologies underway I suspect that any improvements we see in that area will be for that. Odessa obviously using whatever current technologies are on hand.

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  4. Il2 still takes the cake for WWII action. Could it be better? Absolutely. But it still wins as far as plane selection, missions, dynamic campaign and content. WWII DCS is more of a museum-sim if you ask me.

    My only real gripe with it is the lack of clickable cockpit systems. This is often a polarizing issue, but I think it adds a lot of depth and appreciation for the planes, as well as the immersiveness of being in the cockpit and having to do a cold start procedure.

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    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      It’s still a very good overall experience absolutely.

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  5. Sham, have they said anything about the Karelia map and what it’s going to entail as far as being a standalone product?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ShamrockOneFive Avatar
      ShamrockOneFive

      I know the team behind it want it to be a free add-on so I would suspect that it will be added to the sim in much the same way that the Velikiye Luki map was added. It’ll be part of the base game.

      What could be interesting is if 1CGS decide to sell a collector plane or two surrounding it. A Finnish spec B-239 (Brewster Buffalo) would probably be a semi-popular choice if my IL-2 1946 days are any indication.

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