My Experience with BoS – No Bull****

[Chuck_Owl]

Greetings everyone,

I read a couple of topics in this forum and I decided to give you an account of my experience with Battle of Stalingrad. I will be as blunt, direct and no-nonsense as I can be.
I started flying flight sims since the early days of Il-2 1946. I fly FSX, every Il-2 title (1946 including all expansions, Cliffs of Dover and BoS), War Thunder and every module in DCS. I have flown these titles quite extensively, so I think I have a pretty good picture of what you’re signing up for.

I won’t try to convince you to buy BoS. I’m not a salesman, I suck at arguing and I honestly do not care whether you think 777 Studios are a buncha’ thieves or what not. I do not care about rumours; I care about facts. And here are the facts.

People are ♥♥♥♥ed at 1C because of the disastrous Cliffs of Dover release? I was too when this came out. But, believe it or not, a team of dedicated modders completely brought it back from the dead and it is not an uncommon sight to see 100 people flying simultaneously on the ATAG server. Overall, CloD is FPS-friendly, fun and gorgeous to look at. For me, the CloD debacle is a thing of the past. Mistakes were made and a different studio is at the helm for Battle of Stalingrad. 777 Studios is behind a WWI sim called “Rise of Flight”. You may or may not have heard of them, but their title showed that they are competent enough to create a good game that will not make your computer melt while having pretty neat graphics and decent flight models. 777 Studios repeatedly told the community that they had learned from Cliffs of Dover’s mistakes and that they intend not to make these same mistakes. I have backed BoS from Day 1, and I can say in all honesty that they are open to criticism (as long as it is constructive and not utterly clueless) and that they have been doing a surprisingly good job at keeping us (the community) in the loop regarding the development of the game.
Now, about the game itself. BoS is a flight simulator based during the Battle of Stalingrad (d’uh). The map is huge (much bigger than War Thunder maps). It’s not only the city of Stalingrad, but the whole area of operations along the Volga river. On the Russian side, you can fly the LaGG-3, the Yak-1, the Pe-2 Peshka bomber, the Il-2 Sturmovik and the La-5 (for premium edition). On the German side, you can fly the Bf.109F-4, the Bf.109G-2, the Ju-87 Stuka, the He-111 bomber and the FW.190A-3 (for premium edition). The basic game comes with 8 planes, while the 2 other extra planes can be bought separately. It is a matter of whether you really like these planes or not. They do not make matches unbalanced (they are not the Yak-9Ts of War Thunder, don’t worry). Their price is a hefty sum, so I would advise you to watch some videos of these planes in action. If it’s love at first sight, then throw your money at the screen. If it’s rather a “meh”, well just keep your money and shoot them down in flames online. People often tell me that BoS is *****ing expensive. Yes, it is. However, I suggest that you be open-minded about it. One flight sim will bring you hundreds of hours of enjoyment. You do not simply get “bored” of flight sims (unless it’s really not your cup of tea, which is always a possibility). It’s basically one giant sandbox that allows you to do anything you want. Each engagement is different. Every mission is different. Learning in flight sims has never been so rewarding. Why? Because these planes are easy to get into, but very hard to master. And in my experience, there’s always a sense of childish amazement when I learn to do stuff I had no idea I could do. You’ll find people from all walks of life, and flight sim communities are very different from traditional gaming communities. People welcome newcomers and will often help them and teach them without asking for anything in return. But enough sentimentality. Moving on.

Balance is a thing that does not exist in BoS. Aircraft are modelled after real-life design requirements and performance test data. You’re not flying on rails; you’re flying real-world physics and models. If you think you’re a great pilot in War Thunder, BoS is a very nice challenge that can humble even the greatest War Thunder pilots. You do not fly with a mouse in BoS; you use a joystick ,a TrackIR (if you have one… or you can get free headtracking options like FaceTrackNoIR), and rudder pedals (if you have some). You do not “throttle up” like in War Thunder. You actually manage your engine by controlling your oil radiator, water radiator, flaps, propeller pitch (which modifies engine RPM), your mixture and your boost pressure (which is basically controlled by your throttle). Of course, there is an easy-mode for those who do not want to bother with all that technical stuff called “Normal”. Some people are not necessarily into that kind of stuff, but learning how to fly a plane is just like learning how to drive a new car. Most of the things are similar, but there are some differences nonetheless that make each aircraft special and unique. In the complexity department, BoS allows some depth in gameplay while not making it too complicated for those who do not have time to read a 150-page-long manual a la DCS. In my opinion, BoS is a happy medium between accessibility and complexity, which is what makes a game entertaining yet keeps you coming back for more. Regarding flight models, I was not quite convinced during the early physics models with some fishy stuff going on. However, I must inform you that recent patches have fixed MOST of these issues. The result is a flight model that feels great, is historically accurate and that brings the level of immersion to a level that War Thunder will simply never reach despite all its bells and whistles. Aircraft do not spin on a dime anymore and do stall and spin quite violently if you make manoeuvers at high AoAs (Angle of Attack).

Multiplayer and Singleplayer are other obvious questions. “What am I buying, Chuck?” About single-player stuff, you’ll have it in September once the game is released. It’s basically a campaign of the air battle of Stalingrad where you accomplish various tasks during various stages of the battle. In my opinion, multiplayer’s where the fun’s at. You guys are lucky; you’re coming at the exact time where people are starting custom servers. The debugging and has been reported and experienced by early backers. The version we have at the moment is stable, and the game's quite pretty if you ask me. Lighting will make you hate the sun and you'll find yourself gazing numbly at the huge smoke columns floating over the ruins of Stalingrad. In Multiplayer, we generally have a 35-player limit on servers, but some wise voodoo computer gurus are working on testing server capability for higher player-counts (around 50-60). Nothing is set in stone, but so far things are seemingly moving forward in that regard. Now, how could I describe multiplayer? Well, I could talk to you about it for hours, but I’m more of a “Show-don’t-tell” kind of guy. Here’s a couple of in-game videos to help you guys see what you’re signing up for.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANG7ZUICgDU&index=7&list=PLMZJbpYtQsUaRZMhCQl0L0oe_Vj8Lv5FD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vusvgo7f1hk&index=1&list=PLMZJbpYtQsUaRZMhCQl0L0oe_Vj8Lv5FD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOlnRYw9Dsw&index=2&list=PLMZJbpYtQsUaRZMhCQl0L0oe_Vj8Lv5FD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OKcRp5IOUk&index=3&list=PLMZJbpYtQsUaRZMhCQl0L0oe_Vj8Lv5FD

https://vimeo.com/90474183

Multiplayer stability is surprisingly good for this stage of Beta. FPS is also consistent and smooth. As you can see, the map is beautiful and the snows of Russia make for some interesting variety in comparison to other flight sims.

So, in conclusion:
At this stage of the project, BoS is not final. Most aircraft are released and their flight models are much improved over Il-2 1946 and War Thunder. Single-Player will come in September. Multiplayer servers are just starting to get interesting and more and more people are jumping in the bandwagon, which makes for some interesting match-ups. BoS was created in the optic that players want accessibility, replayability and complexity at the same time. BoS developer 777 made many changes after community feedback. Current game engine is proven, stable and 777 made it quite clear that they want to keep the game supported.
If some of you want to give BoS a shot, you’re always welcome. If you’re still sceptical, I recommend you wait for the “official reviews’. If you just want to scream “F*** THIS GAYME!”, well there’s nothing I can do for you; this type of hobby is just not for you.

[tkent2002]

Good review. I've been a die hard fan since the oringinal IL2 debuet. Cod really burned me but not enough to say never again. But I wont even consider buying this not because of price but the exclution of Occulus rift support. If theres ever a game thats made for VR, its a game likes this.Ya I have a Track ir and its great but VR is were this game could make players jaws drop.

[Agent Nerve]

http://steamcommunity.com/app/307960/discussions/0/35221031587974163/#c35221031588311543

[👽🐬 Old Black Nerd🐬👽]

This in fact had a lot of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You have a bull behind you! Pooping!

[Chuck_Owl]

Messaggio originale di A Jam Sesh with DJ Rand Paul:

This in fact had a lot of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You have a bull behind you! Pooping!

Had this been funny the first 398 times I read that on the Internet, I might've chuckled. Now that's just... sad.

Messaggio originale di tkent2002:

Good review. I've been a die hard fan since the oringinal IL2 debuet. Cod really burned me but not enough to say never again. But I wont even consider buying this not because of price but the exclution of Occulus rift support. If theres ever a game thats made for VR, its a game likes this.Ya I have a Track ir and its great but VR is were this game could make players jaws drop.

Oculus Rift is still an unknown at this point. As long as devs will not have access to anything other than DK1 or DK2 (which is much better, but still not quite the Consumer Version we're waiting for). 777 did confirm time and time again, as quoted by Phant0m, that they plan to integrate OR in BoS as soon as they can.

[SJWs R TRAITORS]

Nice review, the first video showed some strange flight characteristics but the other ones seemed ok. Damage to 109 was not what i expected. If you hit the end of its wing, it should just take off the tip ? yes? not half the wing ? unless the 109 F has weak spot there ? i'm no expert. plus the game seemed to slow down when showing close ups of damaged planes with fire and smoke. Is this the dreaded 2D sprite slow down problem ?

[👽🐬 Old Black Nerd🐬👽]

Messaggio originale di 71st_AH_Chuck:

Had this been funny the first 398 times I read that on the Internet, I might've chuckled. Now that's just... sad.

You've done 398 reviews with the title "My experience with (insert game name here) No ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥?"

You're the type person who does video game reviews on youtube and yells a lot and does the angry white guy thing, aren't you? Like... you know.. all youtube video game reviews if they don't have an accent as their gimmick.

[Yggdrasil]

I own CoD and BoS as well as RoF and WT, and I concur 100 percent with the OP. I too was burned by CoD at its release. I know it's much better now, but I had worried whether BoS would come out with a similar poor release. However, I actually researched the development of the game starting a year ago and it was very clear the dev who were leading the BoS team were using the RoF model which is a real beauty and extremely stable. I bought the beta of BoS a month ago and it is quite nice even as beta.

[SS-Rekr.Ludwig.9SS]

Messaggio originale di tkent2002:

Good review. I've been a die hard fan since the oringinal IL2 debuet. Cod really burned me but not enough to say never again. But I wont even consider buying this not because of price but the exclution of Occulus rift support. If theres ever a game thats made for VR, its a game likes this.Ya I have a Track ir and its great but VR is were this game could make players jaws drop.

Oculus isn't what you think it is, mate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxCWwa7u7uM

[Blooddawn1942]

This is a fair and well written preview. Well done!

[Chuck_Owl]

Messaggio originale di HuckleTheHutt5:

Nice review, the first video showed some strange flight characteristics but the other ones seemed ok. Damage to 109 was not what i expected. If you hit the end of its wing, it should just take off the tip ? yes? not half the wing ? unless the 109 F has weak spot there ? i'm no expert. plus the game seemed to slow down when showing close ups of damaged planes with fire and smoke. Is this the dreaded 2D sprite slow down problem ?

The early funky FM behaviour I was mentioning earlier are what you saw in the first video. But, like I said, the flight model has been slightly altered. Keep in mind that most of these videos were done with early versions of the game that sometimes had small stutters. At the moment, smoke and fire do not really cause significant FPS drops.

109 damage model is detailed. I have once been hit at mid-wingspan and had part of my wing tip fly away, while the wing itself was cracked and bended. Landing the bird in this state was rather hairy as lift characteristics are altered by combat damage.

[Yggdrasil]

That's a good review on the state of the Occulus Rift...a year ago. It's resolution has improved since then as he was working with the first dev kit. At any rate, not having OR at the onset doesn't mean never. This, taken from the BoS forum in regards to implementing OR:

"...We promised support at some point. That means when we feel it is time for our product to do so. Our focus is on completing our title. We never promised support during early access and it's not our fault OR have been moving the goal posts making support a longer process. And I ask for all the OR fans here to read my posts above again. I explain or current relationship with OR and the situation plus I have clarified Loft's words and Zak has posted we will address this issue more near release.

Jason Williams (BoS producer)"

from http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/6912-why-start-braking-procedure-oculus-rift/page-3

[76561198039195597]

Good review Chuck and dead on..

[leaf]

Good review Chuck, I will be buying this I have no problems with pricing I have spent atleast £1500 on fsx so whats £69.99 for a quality sim, I got time off from work coming in a couple of weeks I will buy it then and have a blast.

[Cik]

As an Air Warrior fan, I want to preserve my long-term memories of the good'ol days and won't tarnish it by purchasing this.

[Bishop]

Good reviw but sounds like too much effort.If the controls were simplified I'd consider it.