IL2 Series Damage/Ai Comparison

[Mr.Goodbytes (topgearuk98)]

Just some observations I've made.

IL2 1946

Damage : Planes break apart with a small burst of cannon fire; burst of machine gun fire can disable engines easily and immediately. IMO, that makes for some extremely satisfying moments.

AI : The AI, even on average skill level, can bring you out of the sky in a small burst and tend to be pretty accurate (at least from what I've seen). However, when they come under fire, they don't necessarily do as much as they should to evade.

IL2 Cliffs of Dover

Damage : The damage model in Cliffs of Dover isn't as extreme as it is in 1946. A small burst of cannon fire CAN rip pieces of the enemy plane off, but so far, I've been unable to cause a complete destruction in mid-air as I could in IL2 1946. That being said, it does seem to be a lot easier to kill both the pilot and the gunner in CloD and have gotten quite a few kills that way (by accident).

AI : The AI is both better and worse in Cliffs of Dover than in 1946. To be fair, I haven't messed with any AI skill level settings in Cliffs of Dover, so for all I know, they could be on the "amateur" setting. Unlike 1946, the AI will evade and deviate from their course when they come under fire which adds a bit more of a challenge. The same can be said about bombers who, at some points, make evasive maneuvers to throw you off course. Accuracy, however, is a different story. I find that the turret gunners are more of a challenge than fighters who, at some points, don't even seem to fire at you. As I said earlier though, the skill level may be set to the lowest level possible.

IL2 Battle of Stalingrad

Damage : The damage model in BoS would appear to be the least brutal of the three. If you aren't lucky enough to kill the pilot, or rip his wing/tail off, you may find yourself using quite a lot of machine gun, and even cannon ammo to bring him down. It does take quite a lot more effort to dogfight (especially with BoS's physics), and in that sense, may give you the sense of tension you'd experience in a real dogfight. IMO, that adds to the experience.

AI : The AI in this game actually really annoys me. Turn fighting seems to reign supreme with the AI in this game, and will continue to turn... and turn... and turn until you eventually shoot them down. At some points, they don't even change direction. I've actually found that setting the AI skill level to the max makes dogfighting a lot more enjoyable and, believe it or not, easier (at least for me. I can't turn fight for sh*t). Because of all the turn fighting, I can't say they really try to evade you as you'd imagine real pilots would. In that sense, I wouldn't argue that the AI is really all too skilled at trying to escape. When it comes to accuracy though, the AI, even on the Novice level, can land some really good shots.
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Remember, these are just some observations of mine, not facts. Many of you may have different experiences. I just thought it'd be interesting to share.

[Myscion]

I've had a simlar exprence with AI in BOS. The german bom and zoom planes try to turn fight. I've heard the devs mention it's a future goal to fix it but at the moment the issue will remain.

Playing the germans vs AI will give a slightly better feel since russians turn fighting makes sense. Then your idiot wing men will all die turn fighting....


In bos it is easy to cause mid air distruction if you fly a twin nose cannon plane. The mig 3 and FW190 will destory any thing with one good burst. The wobbly flight model just makes that much harder to do.

There's still nothing like flying the 262 though. Four 30mm cannons are amazing! Like a shot gun in the skies.


I think your spot on. I agree with your points and it's well laid out.

[Mr.Goodbytes (topgearuk98)]

Originally posted by Myscion:

I've had a simlar exprence with AI in BOS. The german bom and zoom planes try to turn fight. I've heard the devs mention it's a future goal to fix it but at the moment the issue will remain.

Playing the germans vs AI will give a slightly better feel since russians turn fighting makes sense. Then your idiot wing men will all die turn fighting....


In bos it is easy to cause mid air distruction if you fly a twin nose cannon plane. The mig 3 and FW190 will destory any thing with one good burst. The wobbly flight model just makes that much harder to do.

There's still nothing like flying the 262 though. Four 30mm cannons are amazing! Like a shot gun in the skies.


I think your spot on. I agree with your points and it's well laid out.

Thank you for reading! I still haven't invested in any DLC for BoS, so I was only comparing the included aircraft. I suppose I shall look into the FW190 then!

Another thing that bothers me about the AI in BoS which I've noticed recently is the fact that your wingmen will sometimes attack the enemy plane you're attacking, even when there's a sky full of enemies! Ultimate annoyance when you're finally able to get a clear shot