[email protected] few questions...

[BikerBabe]

Hi again all.

I got the IL-2 game last week, installed it tonight - and my only problem so far has been to get the %¤%¤ 109 going anywhere, if not to mention take off!
Apart from that, I seem to have some problems configging my joystick...(EasyLine Rage Warrior) /%/% again!
And I dl'ed a few skins - how do one install them in the game?
Can anyone recommend any add-ons/help files/nOOb-help online, please, before I chuck my computer out the window (- again!!!)? Please?

 

[GrauGeist]

All is not lost, BikerBabe...we'll help ya' through this!

First off, your skins are found in \Program Files\Ubi Soft\IL-2 Sturmovik\Paint Schemes\Skins\ (this is generic, just about any version of IL-2 has a similiar path)

Take your skin file, and drop it into the appropiate aircraft folder and launch the game, then when you select the aircraft, select Arming and on the left are drop-down menus that allow you to select your skin, weapons, etc.

As far as getting the 109 to do what you want, it takes a little practice, but you'll find it's an easy aircraft to fly. You can eliminate the take-off sequence by selecting Difficulty (found at the bottom of the Quick Mission screen) and then select Next (again, found at the bottom) which will show you options. On the right side of the options, you'll see the option "Take Off Landing". Toggle this off and exit.

Now you'll be able to load the mission and start in the air. Doing this will allow you to get the hang of flying the machine, and you can even opt to fly by yourself for a few missions, and then perhaps add an enemy or two and practice on them.

To start the engine on your aircraft, press the I key to start, press it again to shut the engine off. Landing Gear is G, etc... There's a number of preset keys for your flight functions, but you'll also have to configure a number of them yourself. This is found in the Controls section, on the Main Menu.

As far as addons, I wouldn't know what to recommend, since I don't know what version of the game you have (IL-2 Original, Forgotten Battle, Pacific Fighters, 1946, etc)

 

[Amsel]

After you are on the runway and your engine is started, deploy your combat flaps. throttle up a bit and begin to roll forward. Your tail wheel should straighten out after rolling a couple of meters. Lock your tailwheel. Go full throttle. You have to use your rudderto keep your nose pointed down the runway. Do not pull back on stick. When you reach around 80 kmh your nose will drop and your tail will pick up. Now you have to really use the rudder to keep the 109 on the runway. do not pull back on stick! When you reach about 190 to 200kmh, pull back gently give it a little bit of rudder to counter the engine torque and then lift your gear immediately and your flaps.

 

[BikerBabe]

All is not lost, BikerBabe...we'll help ya' through this!

First off, your skins are found in \Program Files\Ubi Soft\IL-2 Sturmovik\Paint Schemes\Skins\ (this is generic, just about any version of IL-2 has a similiar path)

Take your skin file, and drop it into the appropiate aircraft folder and launch the game, then when you select the aircraft, select Arming and on the left are drop-down menus that allow you to select your skin, weapons, etc.

As far as getting the 109 to do what you want, it takes a little practice, but you'll find it's an easy aircraft to fly. You can eliminate the take-off sequence by selecting Difficulty (found at the bottom of the Quick Mission screen) and then select Next (again, found at the bottom) which will show you options. On the right side of the options, you'll see the option "Take Off Landing". Toggle this off and exit.

Now you'll be able to load the mission and start in the air. Doing this will allow you to get the hang of flying the machine, and you can even opt to fly by yourself for a few missions, and then perhaps add an enemy or two and practice on them.

To start the engine on your aircraft, press the I key to start, press it again to shut the engine off. Landing Gear is G, etc... There's a number of preset keys for your flight functions, but you'll also have to configure a number of them yourself. This is found in the Controls section, on the Main Menu.

As far as addons, I wouldn't know what to recommend, since I don't know what version of the game you have (IL-2 Original, Forgotten Battle, Pacific Fighters, 1946, etc)

Hi again GG, and thanks for the reply and the help.

The game I've got is the original IL2 w. no add-ons or anything - I should have mentioned that...sorry for the omission.
I've tried a few Quick Missions - fortunately one starts in the air there, so I've had a bit of fun going trough some of these on Kindergarten level.

I've managed to make a few holes in the ground with my poor 109's - and I had a mid air collision with a russian - a couple of times before I started to get the hang of controlling the plane, but I gotta start somewhere, and generally I'm having fun, trying to blast the living *beep* out of the "russkis".

I'm a little proud over the fact that I actually managed to bail out when my bird was gunned down (- forget all about flying straight ahead all the time...that's stupid! *giggle*), so that was okay.
I'm working on setting the controls to my liking, so generally I'm slowly catching up.

Concerning the skin files, it was the Arming part that I was missing out on, so thanks for the info.
I'll load some of my fave skins when I play the game later. I am definitely looking forward to that. *bounceBOUNCEbounceBOUNCEbounce*

And thanks for the info on the "Start key", that's just what I was looking for. Y'know, you're very close to getting an online hug?

After you are on the runway and your engine is started, deploy your combat flaps. throttle up a bit and begin to roll forward. Your tail wheel should straighten out after rolling a couple of meters. Lock your tailwheel. Go full throttle. You have to use your rudder to keep your nose pointed down the runway. Do not pull back on stick. When you reach around 80 kmh your nose will drop and your tail will pick up. Now you have to really use the rudder to keep the 109 on the runway. do not pull back on stick! When you reach about 190 to 200kmh, pull back gently give it a little bit of rudder to counter the engine torque and then lift your gear immediately and your flaps.

Hi Amsel, and thanks a lot for the help. I'm looking forward to be trying the start sequence that you wrote for me.
Printers are a great invention.

 

[GrauGeist]

Glad that I was able to help ya', BB

Now, since your IL-2 is "stock", you may want to apply a couple patches, which are recommended. This fixes a couple bugs in the original release, and it'll add a few more aircraft to your lineup.

There's all sorts of sources for the patches, but I recommend going to the original source, Ubi.

Here's a thread in the Ubi forums that show the order of the patches and the direct link to thier FTP archive to download them. I'll post a copy of the posting that applies to your version (found at the top of the thread):

Courtesy of Skycat_2/Tully_:
If you have the original version of IL-2 Sturmovik, then you need:
- il2upgrade_1.1a.exe
- il2upgrade_1.2.exe

And here's the link: Patch order - entire game series. Make sure you have it right! - Topic Powered by Eve For Enterprise

It'll just take some time and practice, but most of all, have fun...that's what it's there for!

I'll be looking foreward to seeing some of your screenshots putting the hurt on the enemy!

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

Hi BikerBabe,

Amsel and GrauGeist have given you good advice on how to work with your current setup.

I would like to add something different to the mix. You may want to consider upgrading to IL-2 1946.

It comes patched to v4.07m and can be patched up to v4.09b1. The b1 patch is an offical beta patch for the game.

The link GrauGeist gave you has the patches necessary for IL-2 1946 to be upgraded, including the beta patch.

This will give you several more planes and maps with which too have fun. Thiis includes some Pacific maps and aircraft carrier operations.

There will be 85 summer and winter maps total if you patch up to v4.09b1. It also has roughly 300 player flyable planes.

I don't know how many maps the original game has but you can compare them by counting the ones you have in your game.

If you buy the US version of the DVD and have it shipped to you it runs without the DVD being loaded in the DVD player.
It does not have a security feature that requires it to be loaded to play the game.

Have fun either way and I think you will find this sim is able to keep you entertained and engaged for quite some time.


Wheelsup

 

[eddie_brunette]

Hi and Welcome

If I may add:

Go for the v4.09b1 it is really worth it and better your sim 10fold especially the 6-DOF and AI mods

and my favourite link for all new pilots: http://web.comhem.se/~u85627360/inpursuit.pdf a fantastic read and bible for all new sim pilots. Happy flying!

edd

 

[BikerBabe]

Hi BikerBabe,

Amsel and GrauGeist have given you good advice on how to work with your current setup.
I would like to add something different to the mix. You may want to consider upgrading to IL-2 1946.
It comes patched to v4.07m and can be patched up to v4.09b1. The b1 patch is an offical beta patch for the game.

The link GrauGeist gave you has the patches necessary for IL-2 1946 to be upgraded, including the beta patch.
This will give you several more planes and maps with which too have fun. Thiis includes some Pacific maps and aircraft carrier operations.
There will be 85 summer and winter maps total if you patch up to v4.09b1. It also has roughly 300 player flyable planes.

I don't know how many maps the original game has but you can compare them by counting the ones you have in your game.
If you buy the US version of the DVD and have it shipped to you it runs without the DVD being loaded in the DVD player.
It does not have a security feature that requires it to be loaded to play the game.
Have fun either way and I think you will find this sim is able to keep you entertained and engaged for quite some time.

Wheelsup

Hi Wheelsup, and thanks for the input.

About the US version of the DVD: Hm, unfortunately I live in Denmark, where any goods bought on the net and shipped from the US is heavily taxed, once they arrive here (+35-50% of the original price)...it must be possible to find a way to deal with that, 'cos that '45 version sounds interesting.
Now that's something to work on...*thinks*...maybe I can get one of my game shops to order the US version for me? Just thinking out loud here.

I'm not that interested in the US planes as I prefer the european/east european scenarios, but the aircraft carrier scenario sounds interesting - if all else fails, I can always try and see just how big a kamikaze hit a carrier can take without sinking. Thank god it's just a game!

About the patches for my game version: Got the patches, installed them - it works perfectly.
But I still can't get the new skins I dl'ed to work in the game, so I must be doing something wrong - I guess all i have to do is to figure out what - and how.

Thanks again, WU.

Hi and Welcome

If I may add:

Go for the v4.09b1 it is really worth it and better your sim 10fold especially the 6-DOF and AI mods

and my favourite link for all new pilots: http://web.comhem.se/~u85627360/inpursuit.pdf a fantastic read and bible for all new sim pilots. Happy flying!

edd

Hi EB and thanks for the link and the input.
That pdf file is great, I skimmed it quickly - that's a must read! \o/
Watch out, Russians, here I come!

Glad that I was able to help ya', BB

Now, since your IL-2 is "stock", you may want to apply a couple patches, which are recommended. This fixes a couple bugs in the original release, and it'll add a few more aircraft to your lineup.

There's all sorts of sources for the patches, but I recommend going to the original source, Ubi.
Here's a thread in the Ubi forums that show the order of the patches and the direct link to thier FTP archive to download them. I'll post a copy of the posting that applies to your version (found at the top of the thread):

And here's the link: Patch order - entire game series. Make sure you have it right! - Topic Powered by Eve For Enterprise
It'll just take some time and practice, but most of all, have fun...that's what it's there for!
I'll be looking foreward to seeing some of your screenshots putting the hurt on the enemy!

Hi again GG.

Patches added in correct order, thanks for the link *curtsies* - I only played the game a few times after I added the patches, but I think I can already feel a slight difference in the gameplay and the handling. Nice, love it!

 

[Amsel]

For installing skins you have to drag and drop them into each individual aircraft file in your IL-2 1946/paintschemes/skins.

 

[BikerBabe]

For installing skins you have to drag and drop them into each individual aircraft file in your IL-2 1946/paintschemes/skins.

Hmmm, I've tried that it didn't work.
If I remove some of the original files, the game won't start at all, and if I copy the new skin files into an existing skin folder (- for example a new Bf-109E-4 skin into the folder of the original Bf-109F-2 from the game) it just don't work, and the new skin just don't turn up in the menu where you can select your skin in the multiplayer/Arming drop down menu.
I've gotten the new skin from this site: http://www.canons-skins.com/, and it's this skin:
Galland Bf 109E-4/N - CanonsSkins.
Any help will be very much appreciated.

 

[GrauGeist]

Hmmm, I've tried that it didn't work.
If I remove some of the original files, the game won't start at all, and if I copy the new skin files into an existing skin folder (- for example a new Bf-109E-4 skin into the folder of the original Bf-109F-2 from the game) it just don't work, and the new skin just don't turn up in the menu where you can select your skin in the multiplayer/Arming drop down menu.
I've gotten the new skin from this site: New Page 1, and it's this skin:
Galland Bf 109E-4/N - CanonsSkins.
Any help will be very much appreciated.

Make sure not to change any of the game's config files (add, delete, etc) unless you have specific instructions...and you need to find original IL-2 skins for the original game (V1.0 - v1.2), as they have a certain file size and later skin files are too large.

The later IL-2 editions (Pacific Fighters, Forgotten Battles, 1946) use a larger file size for the skins and are compatable with any of the games as long as that aircraft is available. (A Ta183 won't work in Pacific Fighters, for example.)

 

[BikerBabe]

Make sure not to change any of the game's config files (add, delete, etc) unless you have specific instructions...and you need to find original IL-2 skins for the original game (V1.0 - v1.2), as they have a certain file size and later skin files are too large.

The later IL-2 editions (Pacific Fighters, Forgotten Battles, 1946) use a larger file size for the skins and are compatable with any of the games as long as that aircraft is available. (A Ta183 won't work in Pacific Fighters, for example.)

Okay GG, thanks again for the help and the info. I'll see what I can find online.

 

[BikerBabe]

Yay! Found some nice skins that works beautifully!
Thanks for the great help so far, everyone.
[w. Arnold-dialect]...I'll be back!

 

[GrauGeist]

Yay! Found some nice skins that works beautifully!
Thanks for the great help so far, everyone.
[w. Arnold-dialect]...I'll be back!

Glad we were able to help ya'...

 

[BikerBabe]

Glad we were able to help ya'...

And I'm glad that y'all helped me.

 

[Demetrious]

As far as gunnery in the Bf-109 goes, don't be ashamed of inaccuracy. The guns package of pretty much every 109 ever was full of fail; with their only effective weapon having horrible ballistics, rate of fire, and reach. Eric Hartmann himself crashed a few times from hitting debris from enemies because he made sure to fly right up their arse in order to be sure of scoring hits.

Second- before you launch yourself into serious IL-2 adventures, I've got some fun reading for you:

http://web.comhem.se/~u85627360/inpursuit.pdf

It's a PDF essay on the basics of air combat and how to be a successful fighter pilot; hand-tailored to piston-engined planes in WWII sims- like IL-2. These are the 70 pages that will change your skill level for ever and ever. Highly recommended. <3

 

[GrauGeist]

Demetrious, I have to disagree with your summary of the Bf109 and it's armament. Hartmann chose to "fill his windscreen" with the enemy as a personal preference, as opposed to one of the greatest distance/deflection shooters of all time, Marseille who flew a tropi "E" with amazing results that were never equalled.

Galland wasn't a close-up shooter, but rather an intermediate range hunter. All of the experten had thier own forumulas they applied to the basics and made it work. And for extra emphasis on the Bf109's abilities, count how many Luftwaffe aces reached thier scores flying a Bf109.

As far as the Bf109's basic armament, it was quite capable of accuracy at range. Also having a cannon on your centerline helps tremendously. Later variants had the extra weapons to give it better punch, but out of the gate, it carried two cowl MGs, a cannon in the nose and two weapons in the wings. That's one more weapon than the A6M Zero carried...

 

[beaupower32]

I agree with GrauGeist. The guns of the 109 are very deadly, up close and at distance. In the sim, i am just as deadly with long range shots as well as close range.

 

[Demetrious]

Demetrious, I have to disagree with your summary of the Bf109 and it's armament. Hartmann chose to "fill his windscreen" with the enemy as a personal preference, as opposed to one of the greatest distance/deflection shooters of all time, Marseille who flew a tropi "E" with amazing results that were never equalled.

The "Emil" model 109 had twin MG/FF cannons in the wing roots that put out a delightful density of fire, but the limited ammunition supply meant you had little room for error if you missed a difficult deflection shot. The 8mm guns had nearly limitless ammunition (1,000 rounds per gun!) but anemic reach, just like British .303s, making them bad for deflection shooting.

The Friedrich F-2 is just hopeless, because you still have the 8mm peashooters and the low-velocity MG/FF cannons, but now you only have one of them. Sure, you have a longer firing duration, but the cannon is still entirely too slow to make deflection shots without great difficulty. The centerline mounting of the cannon would help, you'd think, but for some perverse reason the centerline gun can be harder to use then wing guns, if you're used to them. (Actual German experten observed that same phenomena in real life, in fact.) The later Friedrich F-4 model gets the MG-151 cannon, which much better ballistics and the same good ammo supply, but even then a single cannon isn't quite enough to be decisively effective against anything tougher then a Spitfire. Your best bet still lies in saddling up and unloading with the whole package. One benefit of the fuselage gun mountings becomes evident here; there is no such thing as "inside convergence" for the 109, so it's lethality only increases as range decreases.

The late G models, with the 30mm cannon, certainly have the firepower to destroy an enemy with one good hit, but the 30mm cannon has both a very low velocity, low rate of fire, AND low ammo supply. Making a deflection shot with that gun past 150 yards is just not worth it, in real life or IL-2, and as usual the cowling guns just don't cut it. The german pilots referred to the 30mm cannon as the "melon launcher" for a good reason; that's what the ballistics felt like when you used it. It was very much a weapon that favored close-range. The G models also received new 13mm cowling guns, which actually had some reach and some firepower, but again, twin 13mm are just not enough against anything tougher then a spitfire and you need to unload a really long burst into somebody to see results. However, in close-range knife-fights they can be handy, since a ship with wing-mounted guns will likely only have two guns hitting the target because of convergence issues anyway. The cowling guns at close ranges are a "you see what you get," point and shoot weapon, and thus excellent for snapshots in fights like the rolling scissors or even a head-on-merge.

And for extra emphasis on the Bf109's abilities, count how many Luftwaffe aces reached thier scores flying a Bf109.

Hey now, I wasn't trying to imply that the 109 wasn't a good ship. It is! I was just commenting on it's guns package, which was always sufficient, but never stellar. The "optimal" application of ANY fighter armament was always at point-blank range, no matter what you were packing, but the Bf-109 was one of those planes that generally needed to be saddled up at close range to make the kill. Their cannons were generally plenty destructive for the job at hand, but the low ammo supply meant that the first burst had to be the last. The later models 13mm cowling guns provided a little more reach and a good weapon for snapshots in head-on merges, but they just won't cut it against anything tougher then a Spitfire.

Thankfully, the high speed and excellent acceleration of the Bf-109 makes it one of those fighters that doesn't have as much trouble getting close, and for a newbie like our Original Poster, saddling up on the enemy is what he should be working for at all times, even after he learns the fine art of deflection shooting.

In short, the Bf-109s gunnery package, much like the Zero's, is entirely dependent on it's cannons for it's lethality, and those are generally low-velocity and short-ranged. (The Friedrich with it's high-velocity MG-151 doesn't have sufficient concentration of firepower from the single cannon alone, and the 8mm guns have little reach, leading to much the same problem.) Taken together with the fact that the centerline-mounted guns make convergence a non-issue, and it's clear that the Bf-109 pretty much requires a point-blank approach to achieve ammunition-efficient kills.

This is not to say that the Bf-109 has a bad guns package- compare it to the firepower of any American bird with their convergence issues. Six .50s are lethal at any range, but then you have to choose between setting convergence at "long" range- 300 yards or so, which means you'll probably only have two .50s hitting home at point-blank distance- or "short" range, 100 yards, which means you pretty much sacrifice all longer-range opportunities. The 109 could always apply its maximum firepower at point-blank range, and could still retain some limited firepower at range (with either the MG-151 or the 13mm cowling guns of the G-6.) Expecting either of those weapons to produce consistent kills at 300 yards against manuvering targets in IL-2 is a recipe for epic sadface, however, unless you are a phenomenal marksman. The 13s don't hit hard enough and the MG-151 has too low a rate of fire.

I agree with GrauGeist. The guns of the 109 are very deadly, up close and at distance. In the sim, i am just as deadly with long range shots as well as close range.

That depends entirely on what you define as "long range." Scoring kills from 300 yards with a Friedrich F-2 or a Gustav G-2 with the MG-151 cannon I can see, but it wouldn't be easy.

 

[BikerBabe]

Just one more question for now:
How do I make screen captures in IL-2, and where does the game save the pictures?
So far I've used PrtScrn + PS CS, and that's a bit cumbersome, to put it mildly.

Anyway, I've started racking up victories on Easy level, which tells me that it's time to move on to the next level.
And yes, I've discovered the hard way that it's pretty important (- if you want to survive, that is...*giggle*) to break away fast, if you sneak close up behind your opponent and gun him down...I've already made at least one big hole in the ground with my poor 109 from a crash caused by too much debris coming from the russian plane that I blasted to pieces...I did manage to bail out, though, but it sure as hell is a stupid feeling, when you know that it could have been avoided. *scratches head looks slightly bemused*
Oh yes, and it's also pretty practical to avoid hitting your mates, when gunning down russians...*broad grin*...that was among the very first "lessons" I learned, together with the fast break away when giving the russkis an a$$ full of Jerry lead.
Damn, I like this game!