Bought it finally, thanks :)

Now I just need a new rig

Personally I can't really see the problem.

We all know what the situation is.The sim has been under developement under Oleg for five or six years. For whatever reason he has left and Luthier has taken over. Again, for whatever reason, the sim seems to have been rushed out in a less than happy condition. Luthier has been steadily improving the sim and has stated that large chunks of code are having to be rewritten from scratch. No small feat considering the time already spent on the code pre-release. The next release is expected to give 50% performance increase.

Already it is all looking pretty good visually and the positive posts are overtaking the negatives. My own opinion, and it is only an opinion but as valid as anyones, is that although the developers are working on the models and maps for the next theatre to be released, Luthier will get the CloD code fully sorted first with good reviews.

Luthier said in his last post: "And here’s where we are in terms of plans. We obviously remain hard at work on the series. We will continue to improve the game up until the eventual release of its sequel."

From this I take it that Luthiers intention is to remove all the bugs from the game and have the engine working properly using CloD as the working version that everyone has. We will all continue to recieve our free upgrades and fixes via Steam. Untile CloD is properly fixed there is no point in releasing a sequel to disatisfied customers but once CloD owners find it working as it should then they are very likely to want to buy the sequel.

It seems to me then that the more people owning CloD and getting thier updates the better for the developers even if they bought it for peanuts. It also seems pretty clear that the quicker CloD can be fixed the quicker the sequel will be released and the quicker IC will get thier revenue stream flowing again which means Luthier will not be sleeping on the job.

The negative people's assumption that the engine will never be fixed is just that - an assumption. We will just have to wait and see.

Considering your nickname, I'm not surprised.

I seem to recall an interview quote from Oleg or Luthier were something about "AI bubbles" was said. You get closerr to the action and from a certain point you get into a bubble with complex AI and FM. Out of your bubble the AI will use simplified FM and fighting techniques. Can't find it now, sadly.

The first time I felt I was robbed with Cliffs of Dover, was when they released the last patch. :!:
Up until that point the game had some elements unmatched in any other game. No other sim had such a beautiful lighting engine. I was getting the worth of my money just flying around at sunset.

They had artistically impared programers, that spent too much time in the basement, "fix" the looks of something created and calibrated by a proffesional photograper. http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/compsmash.gif

This last patch robbed me of most of the fun I had with Cliffs of Dover.:(

+1 May this sim prosper and live a long life.

Yes, I know what you mean but I look at it differently.

I remember when Oleg was having a hard time financially several years back. I bought extra copies of IL2. There really wasn't any way to get money to him that we knew of then. I've still got the unopened boxes.
There is no way I could ever afford to pay Oleg for the many hours of enjoyment I've received from the IL2 series.

So, supporting the developers to me is important and I think that is as it should be for many of us. I say that, because I don't give a flip for any other genre of game, nor do I have anything besides IL2 and COD on my HDD.

This is what happen when you release an unfinished beta bugged software... learn the lesson....

I remember the discussions years ago on the forums with Oleg about photography.
In Mr X 's video everything scenery wise looks a "blue haze".
It's a shame you can't mix and match bits from each patch,the best of each.

It is unfortunate that a vocal few in the community has taken everything the developer was trying to accomplish in the development as a promise. That's the price developers have to pay, keeping the community apprised of some of the work they're trying to do. Yes there are more than a few features unfinished, as the developers ran out of time, and were forced either to release what was done or can it. This software is set up with a ton of immersive features that if the developer is given time to sort out, we could have a great combat flight sim for another ten or more years. The developer is still working on it with very little on going investment, so the developer/publishers must think things can still get sorted. If the developer was Microsoft they would have sold it and forgot about it.

This is not the time to throw the only decent WW2 aircombat developer under the bus. For the price of a case of beer, the upside is huge and downside dismal. There is simply no other developer in the foreseeable future going to make a sim this complex. Yes we can be totally pissed, and help drive away as many customers as possible, but that would be like biting off your nose to spite your face. Luckily most of the community are old enough to understand that the real world is complicated, and the personal investment in this project minuscule.