homepage Forums Air Combat & Civil Aviation IL-2: Great Battles Dev Update 39

Hello Dear Friends,



Today is Friday, possibly the last one where we still know more about the game than you because you still haven't gotten your hands on it. Everything so far has been going fine and we're expecting no major issues. However, your reaction to all news is very sharp and you will no doubt insist on significant changes during the course of development. We listen very carefully and of course we're aware of all the concerns you've expressed.



We hope that November 12-14 will become the dates of the very first early access session. In a very unpleasant case if something really serious and game changing comes up we'll need to postpone the start for 1 week max (November 19-21). The final decision about dates will be made and announced to you next Friday when internal tests are over.

And now a couple of words about what early access means for us. We hope this knowledge will help you to understand us better. Developing a big game like ours is always a very complicated process that unites people who have different professions, live in other countries, and even speak different languages. Some decisions are made several months prior to the moment when their validity and correctness can be proved, so any mistake we make is capable of ruining months of hard work. Unfortunately, many things depend not only on our efforts, but also on numerous external circumstances. Also, the genre we're working in adds more complexity to the development - bigger scale, more object details, etc. We can't just say "let this plane fly that way because it looks cool" - no, it must fly in a very specific way and have an absolutely particular appearance. All that serves as a solid reason for serious research, which is sometimes unique and have never been done before in our industry. I mean actual scientific research, where a long-awaited result may show something �impossible� � and still it must be considered a result. Obviously, after spending much time and resources we cannot accept �impossible� as a good result. That�s why early access to IL2:BOS is a full scale system check for us that helps the actual development. And since the game is a system we surely expect to encounter technical issues within it.

If you�ve ever had to repair some device then you know that everything starts with precise defining of the cause of the problem. That�s why we decided to give the game you in parts. That will help us to realize easily where the week links are and to fix them fast.



As it was said before that about 30% of the game is now ready. And in the very beginning it may bring you not so fun moments and complicated moments. Regardless, we risk a lot by doing what we�re doing and allowing the public to play such an early build. As has been said by myself, Jason and Zak and others on the forums, we believe that our approach to this process is the responsible approach that will provide maximum results and success for the finished product. You get to experience what normally only the internal team gets to experience which is something new for us and we think for the genre. And we have no intention of failing our end goal of making you a quality combat flight-simulation. All we ask is that our customers allow us to do our job in the easiest and fastest way possible. This will be a fun time where we all get to experience BOS for the first time.

Our current estimation for 72 hours per week sessions is two months, after that early access will be provided 5 days a week with breaks for version updates which take time to prepare and server maintenance conducted.



The Mission Editor will become available in the Spring. Until that you�ll be provided with missions that we�ll be designing for you.

The first session will include the LaGG-3 and a 500x50km test map. The general Stalingrad map will be finished by January. For the first 2-3 weeks all aircraft are going to have no weaponry, so you�ll need to concentrate on piloting, game settings, input settings and game performance on your PCs. By December you�ll get your ammo and we�ll start trying out various sorts of un-lockable mods. In a word, our program for the upcoming events will be appreciated by true combat sim lovers. I�ll give you further details in the next Dev Blog.



Also today we�re glad to show you the result of our work at the gift skin for Bf 109 F-4. This color pattern will only be available to Founders who have pre-ordered IL2BOS before October 1st.

What's not to love about a $90 early access??

Now I just have to negotiate some shorter bed times stories with my daughter so I actually get some time to fly.

Nah, that time with your little girl is much more precious - trust me.

I have the same issue. I tried skipping pages but she knows them all off by heart and pinged me. shocker.

The 90$ is the game you preordered. Earyl access was always the bonus for the early-supporters.

But we get a real cool fitional skin for the F4 and we get 3 weekdays a week for two, count em, 2 months.

What's not to love about a $89 early access??

First and last time for me to prepay for any flightsim.

What is unique here is that there is a group of individuals that get a chance to place input on the creation of the game almost from the beginning. This could be a real plus.

To be honest, the version of BoS is not much different from the first versions of IL2 that I got to play. We had two planes and the ability to shoot at each other but it wasn't much more advanced than that.

Here is the thing. This is an early, early look at the game, something you rarely if ever see. As time goes on and things are expanded you will get a chance to see how a game is fleshed out.

What is unique here is that there is a group of individuals that get a chance to place input on the creation of the game almost from the beginning. This could be a real plus. I've never seen this in any sim development, it is a gamble by the devs for sure. It could help in creation of a good game or it could bog it down as different people clamor for different things.

It could be- however seeing what is going on with BoS forum I do not hold out alot of hope (maybe I'm just a cynic). It reminds me very much of when 1C forum opened for il2- a bunch of very 'agenda driven' types flocked there and and proceed to push any debate in their particular direction. They might be a relatively small minority compared to the overall simming population but they are 'rather vocal'
I worry that other's concerns/styles of play will be 'forgotten about'