A new developer diary is out from 1C Game Studios and this one is all about water in the sim. They’ve talked about it before but have made some significant changes to the tech and some assets ahead of Deck Ops DLC which is expected to release sometime in 2027.

On the deep blue

The latest IL-2 developer diary is focused on water. With Deck Ops DLC and its carrier based operations focus, it makes sense that 1CGS is looking to make sure their water rendering is top notch for the series.

Water now has depth to it with appropriate levels of visibility and light scattering as the water gets deeper. Coastlines have a more realistic appearance and ships, boats, piers, docks and other assets can be seen beneath the waves. Ships also now have detailed 3D wake trails that interact with the water.

It sounds like they made changes to the technology beyond what they had originally intended as the developer diary details work being put into improving coastlines and various assets that interact with water (bridges, piers, docks, etc.) to take advantage of updated water rendering.

The update also says that further optimization is underway and a new grass rendering method will improve FPS near the ground by 15-30% while maintaining the same look.

Read the full report here.