Come on, *some*one must have something to say about Cliffs?

[Andrew MacPherson]

The only thing I have to say so far is that it's downloading in the background and
I've been reading a lot of mixed messages on the whine-ternet. I'm hoping to have a
more positive experience than some.

Andrew McP

[Andrew MacPherson]

I'm hoping to have a more positive experience than some.

Ummm.... I think I may have been a bit optimistic. So far I have to say this feels
(and looks) like a very badly performing higher detail mod for IL2. I must be doing
something wrong.

Probably expecting too much, mainly. :-)

I don't have the inclination to spend more time setting this up to run well on my
lousy ***@4.4 + 5870 at the moment, so I think I'll go watch some TV instead.

Maybe I'm growing up at last... half the fun of a new sim used to be spending six
months working out how to get config.sys & autoexec.bat written for optimal
performance. Now if it doesn't run well first time I want to sulk. :->

Andrew McP

[GaryR]

What "Cliffs" are we talking about Andrew? I seem to remember a new
A10 thing being released, is that it?

GR

Post by Andrew MacPherson

I'm hoping to have a more positive experience than some.

Ummm.... I think I may have been a bit optimistic. So far I have to say this feels
(and looks) like a very badly performing higher detail mod for IL2. I must be doing
something wrong.
Probably expecting too much, mainly. :-)
I don't have the inclination to spend more time setting this up to run well on my
Maybe I'm growing up at last... half the fun of a new sim used to be spending six
months working out how to get config.sys & autoexec.bat written for optimal
performance. Now if it doesn't run well first time I want to sulk. :->
Andrew McP

[Kestrel]

Post by GaryR
What "Cliffs" are we talking about Andrew? I seem to remember a new
A10 thing being released, is that it?
GR

I think he's asking about IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover...

http://il2sturmovik.ubi.com/cliffs-of-dover/en-GB/home/

[GaryR]

Ahh, it isn't available here (US) yet it seems. Not sure I really want
it anyway, just looks like a warmed over 1946, still no dynamic
campaign.

GR

Post by Kestrel

Post by GaryR
What "Cliffs" are we talking about Andrew? I seem to remember a new
A10 thing being released, is that it?
GR

I think he's asking about IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover...
http://il2sturmovik.ubi.com/cliffs-of-dover/en-GB/home/

[Kestrel]

Post by GaryR
Ahh, it isn't available here (US) yet it seems. Not sure I really want
it anyway, just looks like a warmed over 1946, still no dynamic
campaign.
GR

I'll never buy a game/sim with no dynamic campaign. Falcon 4.0
spoiled me. Anybody remember EF2000? God I wish I could get that to
run in Win XP. What a great game for its time.

[Andrew MacPherson]

Post by Kestrel
I'll never buy a game/sim with no dynamic campaign.

I haven't been anywhere near the campaign so far, but I had hoped for something
more involving than previous IL2 versions. As with LOMAC, I never really felt
inspired or involved enough to want to turn on the PC and make some progress.

Still, sim life is what you make it and... well, so far I make very little out of
CoD. In fact I can't even be bothered to turn the sim machine back on again and do
some more testing. I think I'll leave it alone for a few weeks and see how any
patches improve things.

I suspect that, as with IL2, the best version to buy will be the one that comes in
five years' time. :-)

Having said that, if Oleg's giving up soon then I wonder if that means this project
will never really mature.

Oh well, the road to sim nirvana was always a long and winding one, full of
potholes. It is entirely fitting that CoD should add another muddy rut to the
journey, and I'm sure there's plenty of good stuff to be discovered once the mud's
washed off my wheels.

Andrew McP

[Andrew MacPherson]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
and I'm sure there's plenty of good stuff to be discovered once the
mud's washed off my wheels.

Ok, let's try to be positive. The cockpits are really superb. The modelling and
lighting is very immersive. Overall performance is also pretty good *if* you stick
to missions over the English Channel. It reminds me very much of early LOMAC, and
this may well be the new Crysis when it comes to testing a PC. This sim has a great
future as a benchmarking tool even if it falls short on the sim front.

Overall though CoD is very, very IL2. All the quirks & annoyances are still there,
but you get superb flight models, great cockpits, and the sense that there's plenty
more to discover... if you can be bothered. :-)

Unfortunately it is far easier for me to fire up Wings of Prey and get a much
better "instant" experience. No configuring every single poxy control (in this USB
era you *really* ought to be able to plug in a joystick and have a default basic
config). No occasional stuttering (even over smooth water) and a much slicker
overall experience.

Still, for less than a day's wages I get to buy into one of the few remaining sim
projects going. I'm not complaining, just a bit disappointed.

Andrew McP

[Georgina]

On Thu, 31 Mar 2011>
I'll never buy a game/sim with no dynamic campaign. Falcon 4.0
spoiled me. Anybody remember EF2000? God I wish I could get that to
run in Win XP. What a great game for its time.

Super EF2000 (windows version) does run on XP. There are abondonware sites
that have it for a free dload. But, you also need to slow down your cpu
because it just runs way too fast if you don't. There is no option to
adjust pan view speed either and the pan view is just way too fast on
modern hardware.

[Ian Riches]

Post by Andrew MacPherson

I'm hoping to have a more positive experience than some.

Ummm.... I think I may have been a bit optimistic. So far I have to say this feels
(and looks) like a very badly performing higher detail mod for IL2. I must be doing
something wrong.
Probably expecting too much, mainly. :-)
I don't have the inclination to spend more time setting this up to run well on my

Ouch. Thank you for spending your money so that I don't have to spend
mine. An excellent public service you offer there ;-)

I'm guessing it *really* wouldn't like my Q6600 / 8800GT!

Post by Andrew MacPherson
Maybe I'm growing up at last... half the fun of a new sim used to be spending six
months working out how to get config.sys & autoexec.bat written for optimal
performance. Now if it doesn't run well first time I want to sulk. :->

Ooo...the old himem.sys emm386.sys dance. I'd forgotten that bit of
fun. I think there was one game (F15 SE III??) that I could only get
running if I didn't load my mouse driver into memory.

Happy days.

[Andrew MacPherson]

Post by Ian Riches
I'm guessing it *really* wouldn't like my Q6600 / 8800GT!

Hopefully by the weekend you might have more luck. They do seem to be talking about
a fairly significant improvement in FPS. We can but hope they're right.

Andrew McP

[Ian Riches]

Post by Andrew MacPherson

Post by Ian Riches
I'm guessing it *really* wouldn't like my Q6600 / 8800GT!

Hopefully by the weekend you might have more luck. They do seem to be talking about
a fairly significant improvement in FPS. We can but hope they're right.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it. But from all you've said so far,
they've "fixed" the wrong stuff from IL-2 1946 for me.

When I (occasionally) play that, I don't put it away again thinking "If
only the graphics were better I'd play this more".

I guess I'm more of an "atmosphere" guy. Perhaps having started by
flight simming (Solo Flight on a C64!) in the days when graphics were
green for ground, blue for sky, and if you got anything else you were
very, very lucky I've always been capable of filling in the missing
graphical details from my brain. *If* I'm engaged with the sim.

Somehow, the IL-2 series has never engaged me.

The last WW2 sim that *really* drew me in was European Air War, and the
one that lived longest in heart, mind and HDD was SWOTL.

Maybe I'm just suffering from a severe bout of nostaglia mixed with a
nasty dose of rose-tinted spectacles. They almost certainly weren't as
good as I remember them...

Ian

[Kestrel]

Post by Ian Riches
The last WW2 sim that *really* drew me in was European Air War, and the
one that lived longest in heart, mind and HDD was SWOTL.
Maybe I'm just suffering from a severe bout of nostaglia mixed with a
nasty dose of rose-tinted spectacles. They almost certainly weren't as
good as I remember them...
Ian
--
Ian Riches
Bedford - UK

For their time they certainly WERE as good as you remember. EAW and
especially SWOTL were great games. I yearn for a another flight
sim/game that so completely draws me in and keeps me playing like
SWOTL did.

[GaryR]

I remember SWOTL with the little disc you had to rotate to get the
password to play, early copy protection!

Post by Kestrel

Post by Ian Riches
The last WW2 sim that *really* drew me in was European Air War, and the
one that lived longest in heart, mind and HDD was SWOTL.
Maybe I'm just suffering from a severe bout of nostaglia mixed with a
nasty dose of rose-tinted spectacles. They almost certainly weren't as
good as I remember them...
Ian
--
Ian Riches
Bedford - UK

For their time they certainly WERE as good as you remember. EAW and
especially SWOTL were great games. I yearn for a another flight
sim/game that so completely draws me in and keeps me playing like
SWOTL did.

[Mitchell Holman]

Post by GaryR
I remember SWOTL with the little disc you had to rotate to get the
password to play, early copy protection!

Ditto with the Microprose Battle of Britain.

That still beat the sub sim Wolfpack, with
it's "type the fifth word on the eighth line on
page 33 of the owners manual" routine.........

[Mitchell Holman]

Post by Kestrel

Post by Ian Riches
The last WW2 sim that *really* drew me in was European Air War, and the
one that lived longest in heart, mind and HDD was SWOTL.
Maybe I'm just suffering from a severe bout of nostaglia mixed with a
nasty dose of rose-tinted spectacles. They almost certainly weren't as
good as I remember them...
Ian
--
Ian Riches
Bedford - UK

For their time they certainly WERE as good as you remember. EAW and
especially SWOTL were great games. I yearn for a another flight
sim/game that so completely draws me in and keeps me playing like
SWOTL did.

That is what I miss about the old sims. They
were clunky and unrealistic, but they were FUN.
SWOTL, Red Baron, KOTS, Tie Fighter, F-117.

Now everything highly technical, requires
multiple levels of input before you see any
action, waypoint maps, cowl flap settings. And
as for copyright protection, well, don't get me
started........

[scatter]

Post by Ian Riches
Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it. But from all you've said so far,
they've "fixed" the wrong stuff from IL-2 1946 for me.

I only wanted a couple of improvements from 1946 - join in play and
respawning in co-op missions, and eliminate ground object popup.

It sounds like the popup is way worse than ever, which would make ground
support/attack nearly impossible.

Oh well, back to the a10.

[Georgina]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
Hopefully by the weekend you might have more luck. They do seem to be talking about
a fairly significant improvement in FPS. We can but hope they're right.
Andrew McP

It's a lie, the way buildings are rendered is fundamentally flawed and can
never be fixed IMO. I think the Speedtree performance is better but the
buildings causing stuttering is just as bad as before.

[N***@.invalid]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
The only thing I have to say so far is that it's downloading in the background and
I've been reading a lot of mixed messages on the whine-ternet. I'm hoping to have a
more positive experience than some.

I'm also pretty disappointed in this sim. After 6 years of development
you'd think they'd be able to release it in a better stated than this.
I bought the Russian version (hey, it was only $14US) and "fixed" it
so I can actually understand all those neat looking letters on the
GUI. The damage model is very good and the gunnery is more like RoF
than the old IL-2. Even over the Channel I can still get some micro
pauses and I have my settings are: Plane Model, Effects and Damage
Decals all set to high, everything else is set to low or very low and
I have grass and shadows turned off and 4xAA. My system is currently
this: EVGA 790i FTW, Core2Quad Q9550 @4.01, EVGA GTX570HD 266.58s, 8gb
G.Skill DDR3 1600, OCZ 700W PS, HP DVD-RW, Onboard sound, 32" Sony
Bravia XBR, Win7 Pro 64bit

Flying near or over land is pretty jerky a lot. I've read that they
have a couple of patches that should double the FPS because of
screwing up the multithreading code for multiple core CPUs and video
usage. Tme will tell. Even though my FPS aren't that bad I can still
get some stutters, it's like new textures are loading. So spawning in
a QM over the Channel takes a few sec. for the FPS to settle, then
when an enemy plane comes into close view I get more stutters of a
couple of sec. as those textures load, and then the first radio sounds
I get a pause for them... Piss poor release that's probably going to
bite them in the ass. Hopefully they'll straighten it out a bit more
before NA gets their hands on it or it's not going to last and that's
probably the last thing (flight sim wise) we'll see from them. Even
though Oleg is leaving Ilya will be taking over (he's already been
doing most things lately from what I've heard/read) so it will
continue if it sells enough. I'm optimistic and hopeful as I still fly
IL-2 quite regularly with my squad.

Avatar

[Andrew MacPherson]

I've read that they have a couple of patches that should double
the FPS because of screwing up the multithreading code for
multiple core CPUs and videousage. Time will tell.

Sim history is littered with hopes for sudden, dramatic frame rate improvements.
But hopefully this time you're right. I know flight sims have always pushed the
boundaries, but when you see what kind of landscapes Wings of Prey is capable of
rendering, it's hard to see why CoD is such a chug-fest.

I'm hopefully this project will go from strength to strength, whatever happens. Or
should that be from mediocrity to strength? My biggest concern is that sales will
be so weak, based on this ill-conceived release, and that the team doesn't get the
time it will need to "finish" this project.

Either way I spent a few more hours trying to find settings I was happy with, but
I've given up for now. If a ***@4.4 and 5870 can't make the sim look impressive
and smooth at the same time (1680x1050) then it's definitely a software issue of
some kind.

Andrew McP

[N***@.invalid]

I totally agree, Andrew, and I think mediocre is being a bit generous
unfortunately. I think they spent so much time in minute details that
most people won't ever be aware of that they lost sight of the
forest... I hope the sales are enough to continue work on it otherwise
it will be a said last chapter to a fine series. If things do improve
where it runs and looks as good as IL-2 on my rig I'll definitely buy
another copy, though I'm no longer interested in the Collector's
Edition after reading this post on SimHQ:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3258886/Collectors_Edition_just_a_bit_.html#Post3258886

It's hard to believe UBI could think releasing this game in this state
could possibly be a good idea. After the debacle of SH5 you would
think they would have learned something but maybe it's all part of a
larger plan? After time passes they can claim there's no longer
interest in the PC market and therefore only concentrate on the money
making Console market? Conspiracy theories abound! LOL

Avatar

[Andrew MacPherson]

Post by N***@.invalid
It's hard to believe UBI could think releasing this game in this
state could possibly be a good idea.

Indeed. I suspect there was a desperate need to hit Q1 sales targets and any
revenue counted... even that from unfinished projects.

There are flashes of immersive brilliance in the CoD code as it stands, but overall
this product reeks of unfinished, untested, and -- most depressingly for me --
uninspired.

Maybe all the beta testers had secret mega-PCs? Or only enjoyed flying one on one
dogfights at 10,000' over the sea? Or weren't listened to, which seems more likely.

Of course it's always possible that the long, slow progress led to a kind of
programmer's 'Stockholm syndrome', where everyone involved simply grew to accept
the status quo. Flight sims are, after all, supposed to destroy computer
performance.

I'd just rather they did so pushing real boundaries rather than looking less
impressive than titles already painting pixels far more successfully.

Fingers crossed the patch later this week (possibly) produces a minor miracle. All
of us want this project to succeed, and it needs a bit of brutal defibrillation to
bring it to life.

Andrew McP

[CJ]

Since this is "Steam Exclusive" and you are forced to use it to
be able to play I pass on this one and judging from the initial
reports I ain't missing much.

Hopefully UBI will considering releasing a Steam free version for
people that - for various reasons - do not like/accept Steam's
moronic terms.

If they do I will buy it in a year or so when/if most bugs are gone to
support Oleg & Co, if not I have other things to do.

/CJ

[Don B]

Post by CJ
Since this is "Steam Exclusive" and you are forced to use it to
be able to play I pass on this one and judging from the initial
reports I ain't missing much.
Hopefully UBI will considering releasing a Steam free version for
people that - for various reasons - do not like/accept Steam's
moronic terms.
If they do I will buy it in a year or so when/if most bugs are gone to
support Oleg& Co, if not I have other things to do.
/CJ

I just realized you guys are talking about the much anticipated release
from Oleg.
I have been looking forward to to it, as I have had many hours of
enjoyment out of IL2, and now IL2 1946. I did not realize that it had
been released.

Based on what I am seeing in this thread though, sounds like I may want
to hold off a while. And like CJ mentioned, I really don't want a Steam
version.

[Andrew MacPherson]

I really don't want a Steam version.

I've been using Steam for the best part of ten years now, and although I was
concerned at first, now I actually prefer a Steam release. And I definitely prefer
Steam sale prices. There are periods throughout the year when a general gaming itch
can be scratched very cheaply indeed.

As for CoD, the lack of info for you guys is because of the split release. We Euros
get to beta test the code for you. And it's probably fair to say that anyone who
enjoys IL2 will definitely enjoy CoD. It is an evolution, but not the minor
revolution I was hoping for in terms of gameplay. I'd have been happy if they'd
stuck to 1946's code but just made that code operate in a game world I cared about!

Obviously it's a Russian thing. I have the same problem with all ED's work. After I
finish enjoying flying around admiring the low level scenery I soon start to drift
away. And in CoD the low level flying (over land) is a bit of a challenge unless
you dial the detail down significantly.

I think it's important not to trash CoD. It is far, far from perfect, but the
satisfying flight modelling will please everyone. It's just that for a while you
may have to fly over the sea.... on your own. :-)

Andrew McP

[Georgina]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
As for CoD, the lack of info for you guys is because of the split release. We Euros
get to beta test the code for you. And it's probably fair to say that anyone who
enjoys IL2 will definitely enjoy CoD.

Anyone in the USA can get CoD now by buying it from justflight.com. They
offer a download of it bet there is no need to do that as you can just
enter the code into Steam and download it over their servers, which are
probably a lot faster than dloading from justflight.

[Georgina]

Post by CJ
Since this is "Steam Exclusive" and you are forced to use it to
be able to play I pass on this one and judging from the initial
reports I ain't missing much.

Steam didn't stop me from buyin it but if I had known how the 3rd party DRM
worked before purchsing I wouldn't have bought it. If you go to 1C forums
you will see the 3rd party DRM has already burned people. It is hardware
based so upgrade your video card, ram or cpu and it will consider that a
new PC and cost you one of your 3 activations. One person did upgrade
hardware three times already and now has no more activations and
Solidshield has not responded to his email requesting more for days now.
You do get one more activation added per month though but he has tyo wait a
month for that to happen. Time to boycott these pricks and their Nazi DRM
schemes.

[CJ]

Time to boycott these pricks and their Nazi DRM schemes.

Thats why I vote with my dollar regarding Steam! Are you
sure you read their terms and understand how much power you
really hand over to them?

I do not hate Steam and it have it's place for those who likes
it but I personally will not pay for beeing forcefeed crap and
bloatware to fly a flight simulator and on top of it going
backwards in my consumer rights!

Solidshield sounds much like the DRM used by ED in DCS-series
(not the same but similar). I'm OK with that myself as long as
they offer additional registrations if needed.

Different strokes for different people I guess and my limit
goes at Steam Exclusive and I just spend my money elsewhere!

/CJ

[Jagg]

Post by CJ
Solidshield sounds much like the DRM used by ED in DCS-series
(not the same but similar). I'm OK with that myself as long as
they offer additional registrations if needed.
Different strokes for different people I guess and my limit
goes at Steam Exclusive and I just spend my money elsewhere!
/CJ

The patch for CoD removed the DRM so now it is just Steam protected which
is fine for me.

[CJ]

Post by Jagg
The patch for CoD removed the DRM so now it is just Steam protected
which is fine for me.

As I said, differnt storkes for differnet people and if you accept
their terms it's up to you.

Myself (and lots of others) do not like/wan't Steam for various
reasons so if UBI/1C Maddox are interested to reach as many customers
as possible they should re-consider releasing an alternative to this
Steam (IMO) crap!

/CJ

[Jagg]

Ja> As I said, differnt storkes for differnet people and if you accept
their terms it's up to you.
Myself (and lots of others) do not like/wan't Steam for various
reasons so if UBI/1C Maddox are interested to reach as many customers
as possible they should re-consider releasing an alternative to this
Steam (IMO) crap!
/CJ

Well, I decided to get a refund on CoD anyway. But not because of Steam
DRM, because the game is so broken it won't be worth playing for another
couple of years so I can buy it then on sale for at least 50% off of what
it costs now.

[Graham Thurlwell]

Post by Jagg
Well, I decided to get a refund on CoD anyway. But not because of Steam
DRM, because the game is so broken it won't be worth playing for another
couple of years so I can buy it then on sale for at least 50% off of what
it costs now.

Pity it isn't getting a good reception, I was looking forward to it.
Maybe I'll get it when they've fixed it and scrapped the Steam DRM.
Might even have a machine powerful enough to run it properly by then!

Loads of life still in IL2 '46. May even try an Italian career.

[Andrew MacPherson]

Are you sure you read their terms and understand how
much power you really hand over to them?

I decided a long time ago that this is only computer games we're talking about. If
it was something which really mattered I'd definitely think twice.

If Steam closed down tomorrow and I lost all my games I'd be disappointed for a
while, obviously. But not for long. I might actually get back to playing the guitar
or writing or reading or studying, or...

Acgtually I should probably pray for a Steam failure. :-)

Andrew McP

[Don B]

Post by Andrew MacPherson

Are you sure you read their terms and understand how
much power you really hand over to them?

I decided a long time ago that this is only computer games we're talking about. If
it was something which really mattered I'd definitely think twice.
If Steam closed down tomorrow and I lost all my games I'd be disappointed for a
while, obviously. But not for long. I might actually get back to playing the guitar
or writing or reading or studying, or...
Acgtually I should probably pray for a Steam failure. :-)
Andrew McP

Well maybe I will give it a go when it is available in the states.
From reading the forum, it appears there are some fairly positive
results from the first official patch, which I understand is now being
pushed through Steam.
And sounds like another will be coming soon, which improves multicore
support, which I would think should help dramatically regarding performance.

I would certainly like to support 1C and Oleg, probably without question
I have gotten more hours of enjoyment from the IL2 series, than any
other sim/game to date. I just hope Cliffs eventually gives the same.

[Georgina]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
Sim history is littered with hopes for sudden, dramatic frame rate improvements.
But hopefully this time you're right. I know flight sims have always pushed the
boundaries, but when you see what kind of landscapes Wings of Prey is capable of
rendering, it's hard to see why CoD is such a chug-fest.

Well, Wop maps are no where near as big as CoD maps. WoP team does have
much better skills at coding for modern hardware though and I'm hoping WoP2
will be more sim like, which is what they are saying it will be. WoP is ok
but I don't like the arcade style missions much at all.

[Andrew MacPherson]

With the release of a largely ineffective beta patch, this thread has been very
interesting. I fear he may be right...

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8071032709/m/5181035919/p/1

Andrew McP

[PW]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
With the release of a largely ineffective beta patch, this thread has been very
interesting. I fear he may be right...
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8071032709/m/5181035919/p/1
Andrew McP

Darn. I preordered it at Amazon and I am now thinking I should see if
I can cancel it although it's out in a few days.

I certainly have pretty good hardware.

Besides, someone here mentioned that there isn't a quick mission with
this thing and I don't want to have to spend a 1/2 hour planning a
mission everytime I want to fly.

Thanks Andrew.

-pw

[PW]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
With the release of a largely ineffective beta patch, this thread has been very
interesting. I fear he may be right...
http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8071032709/m/5181035919/p/1
Andrew McP

And I bought a new TrackIR 5 to replace my TrackIR 3! I just checked
and it's not out until the 28th and the option to cancel is still
there.

hmmmm...

[Andrew MacPherson]

the option to cancel is still there.

Patching efforts so far have helped a bit, but IMO there is no point buying this at
this stage unless you are a serious IL2 fan. The 'gameplay' side of things is still
as sterile as midday on Mercury.

These days though it's no use pretending I'm a hardcore sim pilot, so take my
thoughts with a pinch of salt. I still love a great flight model, and one-on-one
combat (over the high FPS sea) can be excellent in CoD. But I long for involving
gameplay which will give me a good reason to get in the cockpit for more than half
an hour.

Still, it's not as if new sims come out every week... or even year! I should
probably be more forgiving. :-)

Andrew McP

[PW]

Post by Andrew MacPherson

the option to cancel is still there.

Patching efforts so far have helped a bit, but IMO there is no point buying this at
this stage unless you are a serious IL2 fan. The 'gameplay' side of things is still
as sterile as midday on Mercury.
These days though it's no use pretending I'm a hardcore sim pilot, so take my
thoughts with a pinch of salt. I still love a great flight model, and one-on-one
combat (over the high FPS sea) can be excellent in CoD. But I long for involving
gameplay which will give me a good reason to get in the cockpit for more than half
an hour.
Still, it's not as if new sims come out every week... or even year! I should
probably be more forgiving. :-)
Andrew McP

Thanks Andrew. I am still debating. I do have Rise of Flight but
haven't started it yet. I've got to make the time to study the
manual. And Lock-On Platinum.

But all my CH stuff is now hooked up along with my new Track-IR 5!

That's a start :-)

-pw

[PW]

Post by Andrew MacPherson

the option to cancel is still there.

Patching efforts so far have helped a bit, but IMO there is no point buying this at
this stage unless you are a serious IL2 fan. The 'gameplay' side of things is still
as sterile as midday on Mercury.
These days though it's no use pretending I'm a hardcore sim pilot, so take my
thoughts with a pinch of salt. I still love a great flight model, and one-on-one
combat (over the high FPS sea) can be excellent in CoD. But I long for involving
gameplay which will give me a good reason to get in the cockpit for more than half
an hour.
Still, it's not as if new sims come out every week... or even year! I should
probably be more forgiving. :-)
Andrew McP

Amazon just sent me an email that it's going to be delayed about a
month so I cancelled the order. I don't like preordering games any
way. I'd rather wait for the reviews.

-pw

[Andrew MacPherson]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
Still, it's not as if new sims come out every week... or even year!
I should probably be more forgiving. :-)

I just found a reason to be slightly more forgiving. I fired Cliffs up for the
first time in months, and not on my main simming rim. So I was just fooling around
in low detail mode using the keyboard to fly.

I flew through a cloud, and when I came out of it the windows had fogged up with
condensation. It took a while to fade and I was on the verge of getting annoyed (or
searching for a keyboard shortcut for opening the window or canopy) when I noticed
that my virtual pilot had drawn a little smiley face with a Hitler moustache on the
glass with his finger. :=)

It amused me anyway. :->

Andrew McP

[Georgina]

Post by Andrew MacPherson
The only thing I have to say so far is that it's downloading in the background and
I've been reading a lot of mixed messages on the whine-ternet. I'm hoping to have a
more positive experience than some.
Andrew McP

I've wasted too much of my time on it already so will keep my review brief.
Nice plane models, cockpits, dynamic shadows and water effects but the rest
of it just plain sucks. Tried the beta patch and see no benefit, it is
still a stuttering mess. I have requested a refund from justflight because
I really don't think the issues with performance problems will ever be
fixed.