Recommended WWII Combat Sim

[chickenman]

Hi guys,

Now I know we all have our own opinions on this sort of thing but was wondering if there were any recommendations on a good WWII simulator? I'm looking at something that is good single player, mission based and based on the western euorpe theatre, alhough pacific would be OK. Assume high spec machine (4GB RAM 512MB Graphics).

For some of you older folks I still play Reach for the Skies on a win 3.1 box and was thinking of something similar (but maybe better than VGA graphics).

[Peppermint]

Any of the IL2 games, hands down. IL2 1946 is pretty much all of them in one game.

[ZK-MAT]

I tried MS Combat Flight Sim but found it was quite buggy and disappointing in its missions. I am an IL2 fanboy so my comments are a bit biased towards it but here goes lol.

IL2 is more of a multiplayer experience than single player, however it offers a few options:

* Online dog fighting - team up with players and conduct missions that involve dogfights and bombing missions (one teams mission may be to bomb a harbour with some bombers and others providing fighter escort - the other team is defence)
* Online Co - Op missions. You fly with team mates, all on one side with AI planes making up the rest of your squadrons (so you can give AI planes commands, like to fly in formation, break, attack etc), against an AI enemy.
* Offline missions (i) The built in missions are pretty lame but are a start (ii) Download missions from www.mission4today.com and fly those (iii) make your own with the built in mission builder program (takes some learning but it's fun)
* Offline campaign mode. Fly a series of missions working your way up through the ranks.

The standard built in missions are quite long (ie, flying for 20 mins till you get to the combat zone) but you can speed it up. Co-ops, and online dogfighting are usually more "right into the thick of things".

Head over to http://kiwisim.net.nz/ and click the Forum Link / IL2 forum for more info. We are a dedicated bunch of guys who fly most nights of the week. At least twice a week someone will host a co op mission and we'll team up, learning skills on a per plane basis.

It's a steep learning curve, you can play it in 'arcade mode' in single player but online servers use more sophisticated settings, such as engine management, torque and blackout effects, locked cockpits at times and so on. It took me a while just to be able to take off and land without breaking the plane. Much harder than FS to start off with I found.

Unfortunately IL2 1946 is becoming hard to find, you can get the original IL2 Sturmovik in $10 bins but it's not a patch on IL2 1946, which includes all game updates and patches.

Another game maybe worth a look is Battle of Britain II Wings of Victory (http://www.gpstore.co.nz/Games/1472045.html) for $9.95. I have this and it's not bad, mainly flying Spits and Hurricanes. It has good game sounds and relatively easy to get into.

Hope this info helps!

[SUBS17]

Theres also Battle Of Britain 2 which features 6dof clickable cockpit and a whole heap of other features.
http://www.gmxmedia.net/bob2/
I haven't actually played it myself since I mainly fly jet sims but it does look good.

[ZK-MAT]

That's the same one I mentioned, Subs

[SUBS17]

LOL I didn't read the bottom is BoB2 any good? I was checking out the website it looks quite good.

[towerguy]

found BoB2 to be excellent!

[yak52dude]

also 1 thats dam good is pacific fighters its made by the people who make il2.

[ZK-MAT]

You could try EB Games, Dick Smith, Gamesman, or any other stores that sell the older games that are re-branded as "Value" or "Too Hot". I got mine from Gameplanet, it was free shipping and took only a few days to arrive.

Just a FYI, Pacific Fighters was an add on to the Original IL2 Sturmovik, as was the Aces Expansion Pack and Forgotten Battles. They then brought out a "Complete Edition" with all the add ons in it, then superceded that with IL2 1946, which has all the earlier versions plus some jet fighters and better maps in it. IL2 1946 is what is played now on the online servers, you probably won't find any earlier version servers out there.

There have been a few patches (new planes, bug tweaks and maps) to Il2 1946 and it's now at version 4.08 with version 4.09 due for actual release soon.

[yak52dude]

thanks for that i shall have a look to day.

[Shinobi]

QUOTE (ZK-MAT @ Mar 1 2008, 08:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There have been a few patches (new planes, bug tweaks and maps) to Il2 1946 and it's now at version 4.08 with version 4.09 due for actual release soon.

Hi Ive been trying to get this game for weeks now, tried everywhere (in NZ). Can anyone suggest a good place? Also, with the new patch due out, its looking even better to get. Thanks.

[kiwibarguy]

i have always wondered if you have different versions ex: IL2, IL2 Forgotten Battles or 1946 can we still play online together?

And if not, which is the most popular online at the mo?

[chickenman]

Thanks Guys,

After looking at your responses I have gone for Battle of Britain 2, the genre suits me more than IL2 1946. Definitely worth spending $9.95 + P&P to find out anyway. I had a play on CFS3 last night and forgot how bad it was.

Jamie

[ZK-MAT]

KiwiBarGuy - You will find it hard to find a IL2 Original, Forgotten Battles or Aces over the Pacific server around now - 99% are IL2 1946, which encompasses all the prior mods.

Chickenman - Have fun on BoB2 mate - it's a good game and as you say, not costly to try. If you're into single player it's the one to get for sure!

[chickenman]

BOB2 is quite good, definitely better than CFS3 and easily worth the money Definitely the style of genre I was looking for.

Patched it all the way up to 2.07 and seems quite stable. Just forgot how much of a pain it is to keep the cd in the drive!!

Thanks for the input guys, I would never have looked at this one.

Jamie