We’re closing in on the early access release of IL-2 Series Korea which will be happening on June 25th. In the lead-up, the developers are talking about the historical match-ups between jets and, in the second part of the series, how propeller driven aircraft will face off against jets and mix into the overall picture. Meanwhile, IL-2 Great Battles continues to see updates with update 7.008 fixing and adding features.

Props versus jets

One of the most challenging things we’re liable to see with IL-2 Series Korea is the competitiveness of propeller driven aircraft versus jet fighters. While propeller fighters reached their zenith during WWII, jet fighters were still just getting started in Korea where the first ever jet versus jet combat occurred. 1CGS have already done a Dev Diary about the F-86 versus MiG-15. Now they tackle a broader subject of propeller versus jet.

I wanted to, in particular, highlight two pieces of the diary because I think they capture the subject well. What is it like to do combat in a jet fighter? This covers the subject fairly well.

The beauty of combat in jet aircraft lies not in an abundance of maneuvers, but in an incredible concentration on the remaining essence of flight. The slightest error, the smallest inaccuracy — and all your advantages become useless. You must think ahead, know the limits of your machine better than ever, and shoot more accurately than ever before. But if you master yourself, if you master this speed, your jet-powered machine will give you an incredible feeling of power.

And then how does a propeller fighter fight off a jet fighter with the deck stacked against them in so many ways.

But what should the pilot of a piston fighter do when encountering a jet opponent? The most important thing is that your task is to spot them in time. Your aircraft is capable of changing flight direction much faster than an opponent diving at you at enormous speed, and you can and must take up a position where it will be difficult for them to aim effectively at you. The second point, and an equally important one, is to constantly keep in mind the characteristics of jet fighters described above. If you can force the opponent into making a mistake and drag them into a low-speed fight — they are yours.

This will be a bit of a challenge for the series to offer compelling multiplayer (and single player) gameplay with aircraft of such varied performance levels. It’s a unique challenge of the Korean War scenario and we’ll just have to see how it goes. That said, Cold War era jet fighter combat has become quite popular with DCS players so this may well appeal to a varied group of flyers.

Read the full report here.

Today we’ve also had confirmation that an offline mode is available for IL-2 Series Korea and that it will work for all users.

New update for Great Battles

Meanwhile, IL-2 Great Battles Update 7.008 fixes a few core features.

Reportedly some players were having problems with the game becoming demanding of their internet connections. Offline access was no longer working for Steam players as well. The issue has been found and an update has been made available. Steam users, thanks to some changes to that platform, will need to use the offline mode login on an additional screen for offline to work. Quick mission, campaign and single missions will continue to work in offline mode.

Two other small items were also changed:

• Updated the “Operation Munich”, “Under Siege” and “Overlord” campaigns.
• AI pilots will no longer try to return to base in Duel and Skirmish mission types.

Read the full update here.