Sunday, April 22, 2012
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Cliffs of Dover Review
The many years of waiting are over, and the Next Generation of flight simulators is here: Il-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. Soon, all of the well known "gaming" sites will have "reviews" up, so it would be helpful to provide an introduction to this simulator now, from an experienced enthusiast of the genre.
People, including reviewers at gaming sites, will understandably be confused by the fact that Cliffs of Dover, or Il-2:CoD, is marketed as a "game", but it is not really a game, it is a simulation system. The game reviewers won't remember the life cycle of a flight simulator from Maddox Games. Those of us who have been fighting WWII in front of flickering screens for the past 20 years or more understand that Il-2:CoD is the preface of not just a story, but the first article in a whole encyclopedia of aerial warfare.
The game site reviewers will write of details they think are important in a game: the music, the "ambiance" or story line, the interface layout; the time spent discussing these trivialities will be a clear sign that the reviewer is not qualified to review a flight simulator. When the reviewer tells you of his bewilderment at long lists of control assignments that don't seem to have any purpose, that's your signal to click the little 'x' at the top corner of your browser and go do something else.
Il-2:CoD is in fact, a Flight Simulator Prototype, not in the sense that it is a brand new design that is undergoing testing, but a prototype in the sense of Le Mans Prototype race cars: a highly specialized design that can only be used to its potential by users of the highest experience level. As a prototype it's designed to be updated with constant improvements and changes. It's made to be used far into the future, on machines that are 5 - 10 times as powerful as today's. Right now it's like a new motorcycle with training wheels on it and the gear selector welded to stay in 1st gear, so you have a chance to get used to it while learning how to ride.
The features of Il-2:CoD are listed on the publisher's web site, and I won't repeat any of them here. There is reportedly a user's guide available for download -- I haven't read it. Everything I needed to know came from using Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946, FSX, and reading the 1C forums about a half hour a day for the past month. The built-in mouse controlled camera feature is nearly identical to what I'm accustomed to from using the 6DoF mouse-look mod for Il-2: 1946, so if you're wondering if you need to purchase extra hardware to enjoy 6DoF in Il-2:CoD, rest assured, you do not.
If you're still reading this, you're probably wondering "What can I do with Il-2:CoD? Can I be entertained?" Given that almost everyone enjoys movies for entertainment, you can most definitely be entertained by Il-2:CoD. There are many ways you can sit in front of a video display and push buttons and see things burn and blow up. Nothing else will give you a totally cinematic 1st person experience of operating a fighter in 1940, rolling and looping and diving in aerial combat over the English Channel, with the shadows and light flowing and swirling around you, the tracers wizzing past, and as you loop and roll, the shores of England and France spinning past your gun-sight. There is nothing else that can give you the sense of satisfaction of sending an opponent hurtling downward in a smoking wreck, and getting your fighter back to the airfield, in perfect running order after managing all the levers and switches properly during the ascent, fight and return, and gently setting wheels down on the grass field in a landing worthy of an air force training film. It's something that 99.9% of people on earth are not capable of doing, so why should a company that's supposedly trying to make money create a product that such a tiny minority can fully appreciate? I can't begin to explain it, but can only be grateful for people who work so hard for this.
People, including reviewers at gaming sites, will understandably be confused by the fact that Cliffs of Dover, or Il-2:CoD, is marketed as a "game", but it is not really a game, it is a simulation system. The game reviewers won't remember the life cycle of a flight simulator from Maddox Games. Those of us who have been fighting WWII in front of flickering screens for the past 20 years or more understand that Il-2:CoD is the preface of not just a story, but the first article in a whole encyclopedia of aerial warfare.
The game site reviewers will write of details they think are important in a game: the music, the "ambiance" or story line, the interface layout; the time spent discussing these trivialities will be a clear sign that the reviewer is not qualified to review a flight simulator. When the reviewer tells you of his bewilderment at long lists of control assignments that don't seem to have any purpose, that's your signal to click the little 'x' at the top corner of your browser and go do something else.
Il-2:CoD is in fact, a Flight Simulator Prototype, not in the sense that it is a brand new design that is undergoing testing, but a prototype in the sense of Le Mans Prototype race cars: a highly specialized design that can only be used to its potential by users of the highest experience level. As a prototype it's designed to be updated with constant improvements and changes. It's made to be used far into the future, on machines that are 5 - 10 times as powerful as today's. Right now it's like a new motorcycle with training wheels on it and the gear selector welded to stay in 1st gear, so you have a chance to get used to it while learning how to ride.
The features of Il-2:CoD are listed on the publisher's web site, and I won't repeat any of them here. There is reportedly a user's guide available for download -- I haven't read it. Everything I needed to know came from using Il-2 Sturmovik: 1946, FSX, and reading the 1C forums about a half hour a day for the past month. The built-in mouse controlled camera feature is nearly identical to what I'm accustomed to from using the 6DoF mouse-look mod for Il-2: 1946, so if you're wondering if you need to purchase extra hardware to enjoy 6DoF in Il-2:CoD, rest assured, you do not.
If you're still reading this, you're probably wondering "What can I do with Il-2:CoD? Can I be entertained?" Given that almost everyone enjoys movies for entertainment, you can most definitely be entertained by Il-2:CoD. There are many ways you can sit in front of a video display and push buttons and see things burn and blow up. Nothing else will give you a totally cinematic 1st person experience of operating a fighter in 1940, rolling and looping and diving in aerial combat over the English Channel, with the shadows and light flowing and swirling around you, the tracers wizzing past, and as you loop and roll, the shores of England and France spinning past your gun-sight. There is nothing else that can give you the sense of satisfaction of sending an opponent hurtling downward in a smoking wreck, and getting your fighter back to the airfield, in perfect running order after managing all the levers and switches properly during the ascent, fight and return, and gently setting wheels down on the grass field in a landing worthy of an air force training film. It's something that 99.9% of people on earth are not capable of doing, so why should a company that's supposedly trying to make money create a product that such a tiny minority can fully appreciate? I can't begin to explain it, but can only be grateful for people who work so hard for this.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Spitfires v 109G-2 over England
Me-109 captured by RAF in North Africa, and flying at the Duxford Airshow, England in 1993. Featuring the original Daimler-Benz powerplant. Digitized from Hi-8 Sony camcorder.
1st Post: Dedicated to George Vukmanich 1941 - 2007
Thanks for tuning in this evening. Welcome to my Time Machine. Eastern Airlines flight 993 now boarding.
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