Questions about the game
 

Anton, can we expect a list of planes?

Hours it takes to beat?

Will the game feature things from IL2 1946? Like the ta-183, bf109z, or SAM sites (stuff that was planned in WWII but never made it to production)?

The ability to slow or speed time?

Also, because there is sim mode, will there be button sequences on the controller or will we have a window (like if we hit "select") with a list of options?

I hope we don't have the ability to slow time...unless you're talking about the replay mode. Being able to slow down the action so you can get a better shot sounds too arcade to me. If it's ONLY in the arcade mode, it would be alright. I'm guessing that is what you mean?

Speeding-up time would be helpful if you are flying a really long mission and need to hurry up between the action. The PC game "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe" had this feature when you were flying real-time full missions.

It will be soon - on a web site.

Needs to measured. In acrade mode, without completing Secondary Objectives, and Campaign only (there are a huge amount of unlockable Single missions) - it can be rather fast (don;t know exactly now - something like typical Call of Duty time).
Finishing all Single missions - will at least double or tripple this time.
Finishing all objectives on Simulation can take huge time.

Nope. Not this time.

Nope - there is no need to.

Even in sim mode, you can't control, for example, different weapons separately (actually, real pilots rarely did also). So just in-game menu and FlightStick control will be enough.
The good idea is to use flight stick though - it provides more buttons and analogue axis, than gamepad, and better located.

anton kicks so much ass

I have never seen somebody support the game they are making like anton has , its wonderful

but its also sad that he is so rare in this industry :(

I am anxiously awaiting the plane list hoping my favorites will be on it. My flight stick just came in yesterday. Played the HAWX demo with it. Unfortunately it was kind of lame. The physics in HAWX are so non-existent it is actually kind of difficult to pull maneuvers you are used to doing with a flight stick. I almost want to put the stick away and wait for IL-2 so I don't pick up any bad habits in HAWX. IL-2 can't come out soon enough for me. Of course I have my pre-order in and am trying to be as patient as possible but it is very difficult...

I need a real sim.

Okay, awesome info! Thanks, Anton.

(out of lurker mode)

I've got a question about the difficulty adjustments. As far as i can tell there will be three tiers of play - the arcade, the in-between and the simulation...

...my question is will you be able to micromanage the settings for each level of difficulty (mostly simulation)?

I've been a console guy for the last while but I use to play sims on the PC all the time, classics like Aces over Europe/Pacific and European Air War and I loved the ability they gave you to customize the realism.

For example, could I toggle advanced damage model, stalls, red-out, etc. to active and say keep unlimited ammo. Strike me down ye hardcores but I am an unlimited ammo kinda guy!

Anyways as an option this is deep and solid, and maybe a good way to wean the sim newbies onto the harder settings assuming the game is going to attract some new blood to the genre - if it turns out as good as it looks its a given.

The screenshots are gorgeous, with many of the views from outside of the plane (eye candy) - will you be able to toggle the views back and forth in all difficulties? The standard three; cockpit 1st person, cockpit cut-away 1st person and 3rd person plane view?

I imagine being glued in cockpit view sounds like a simulation thing, but it would be a crime not to be able to see the models in their full glory from the outside, as i'm mostly going to be playing sim mode. Always nice to be able to flip outside the plane to watch a 109 plow into the Channel. Gooood times.

Again, Anton your input to the community is refreshing and amazing - thanks!
As far as gaming goes, Birds of Prey is my whole year.

Cheers.

Thanks, Anton.
 

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

I have another question...

Will we will still be able to crash our planes (for fun) and watch them rip apart into a hundred pieces or will it just show a camera showing us die and start over? -Cuz I look forward to doing that and witnessing the damage model first hand like in the original.:cool:

Hi Crabman,

Anton has confirmed in a different thread that all modes will feature unlimited ammo.

On another note, i hope the sim mode doesn't feature the "Pull up" message when you fly too low to the ground. I dislike that message. I plan on mastering death defying inverted low passes. :grin:

360 Achievement : Decapitate German soldier with Spitfire's wing

It is possible in training, multiplayer, and partly in Single Missions.
Campaign mode will have only those three pre-defined options.

There are those standard three views, yeah.
But in 'Simulation' relism level, you can't switch to 3rd person site view.
Try 'realistic' then (you can even hide HUDs there, too. Still not as simulation as 'simulation', but probably it's what you need).

That's for campaign.
But you can switch to limited ammo in other game modes.

There are no HUDs in simulation mode.

Both.
Plane will rip, and you'll be able to see it. That's for explosions.
Of course, you can cut off just one wing, or blow only one engine of a bomber plane, and see how it burns.

Thanks for reply Anton.
 

Thats very good to know. I saw some footage of a crash and it showed a camera and I was hoping it was only because it was early developement and not going to be how the crashes would work.

Will we still be able to bail out of our aircraft if we felt like it?

Will you be able to turn off the HUD in arcade mode?? Can you adjust these settings in arcade? Just wondering how much customizing will be possible in this game...

Thanks for any info!

Yes.

More Q's
 

Will we have skins for our aircraft?

Can we get an idea of the difference between Realistic mode and Simulation mode? (Besides the camera views)

Will there be unflyable aircraft?

Will we still have the scroll on the side of the screen showing the plane's condition? (Like "Rear gunner killed", "Fuel tank on fire", etc.)

BTW: Thanks for the Answers Anton!:grin:

Agreed!! Anton is awesome! To have someone so close to the game answering our questions is truly amazing.

Long live BoP!!!

Do we know yet which flight sticks will be supported across the platforms?

I sure hope the Aviator for the 360 will be, that's why I bought it already! LOL
Doesn't work 100% with OGF, so not much use for it until IL2 comes out.

Infinite ammo
 

Anton,

Regarding your reply;

"We have gun overheating to compensate infinite ammo. In campaign, players are more interested in interesting play and mission design. It is really very frustrating to restart a mission, if you have all ammo finished, but undamaged plane... Console players won't forgive it."

Personally I think this is the right approach but I imagine some players would like the option to toggle infinite ammo off in Simulation mode at least. Really looking forward to the game - have been waiting for a decent console sim for years.

Hey Anton, I hope I can get a question in here. I have two main concerns with this being on console.

What Flight sticks are we going to be able to use on the 360 ?
I currently own a Saitek X52 and the Xbox 360 Ace Edge.
Will I have to buy yet another flight stick or will one of these work ?


My second question is are we going to be able to customize our control layout ? I really dislike not being able to make my control layout however I like.
Thanks for your Time and Consideration, Desode

X52 is not working with Xbox360. Each Xbox360 peripherial device should have MS security chip or something like that.

But Ace Edge will work. The best flightstick available for Xbox360 now, I guess.

That's not likely, sorry.
It adds a lot or problems to developer - and adds a little to a game. I think, you'll be happy with our layouts for Ace Edge though.

Well, if the Ace Edge works, then the Aviator should. They both use the MS standard layout and work with AC6 and Hawx.
I'd rather have the Ace Edge, but cost is a factor. The X52 will work for the pc, you can always program it yourself. You could just about type with that thing if you put the time into configuring it. ;)

Aviator will work as well.
But actually, we DON'T use standard layout.
It will be wasting of a lot of potential possibilities.
We use special layout for both of this flightsticks.
Each one utilized 100%.
For example, on standard gamepad, we use triggers for shoot&lock target, right stick for rudder&throttle (2 axis), and you can look around while keep right stick pressed.
Of course, it is OK, but not perfect.
Good thing on flightsticks - that there is special button for Right Stick down, and each trigger (analogue) can be used as a separate axis - it can be used as a rudder and throttle SEPARATELY. That frees us right stick to make it able to use as observing stick, no need to keep something pressed.
Etc, etc.
So we made flightstick support as good as possible (better than in HAWX, for example).

anton will you guys be bundling your own version of the ACE edge with certian BOP boxes?

Or will gamers have to hunt down old ace combat sticks?

another question too

The observation stick on the ace edge ( the little tiny stick on top of the joystic )

Will the view be a snap view or a pan view? ( when you let go of it does the camera center back in place, or does the view remain at that angle?)

I hope you're telling me that the throttle will control the throttle and twist grip controls the rudder on the flight stick! And that hat for looking around?

I can say that I've used the 360 controller for the PC IL2 using Pinnacle game profiler to map the controls. I was able to set it up nicely, just used a shift button in there. Crammed a ton of controls in there that way.

Gotta say, flight games--using the regular controller--that use the right stick for throttle and rudder just never works out well. Hard to get used to. I'll take your word for it though, you've got it there in front of you. ;) I don't plan on using the controller anyway, but I know most in my gaming group will be.

Flight Controls
 

Will it be possible to change Control Schemes on the controller?

Because I would like to make the RB and LB my rudder controls. But if I can't, I'll just get used to it.:cool:

Camera centers back.

Nope.
But we spent a lot of time on controller settings, so it should be best possible for our game.

ah , yes

good news indeed

Setup
 

I like it the other way around where LB/RB is the rudder and the Triggers are the throttle.

Anton, can u tell us the xbox360 controller setup like which buttons do what?

Easily. But it requires some time from me.
But it will be soon on site, I guess.

Of course we did :)

Flightstick will help :).

The only thing I don't like about what your saying, that's the way Hawx is setup and it makes you fly at a certain speed. You can't put it up to 70% throttle and keep it there you would have to hold the trigger down to keep it at the 70% It's either full throttle or no throttle.

yah i know
 

i was jus sayin i liked it that way. (not what i want it to be of coarse.) i was just saying i like it the other way around but i can get used to other way easily.:cool:

this game is gonna be so awesome i'll get used to controls right away anyway.:cool:

but i heard we use one of the sticks to adjust speed. (true?)

and yes, i hate the way ac6 make you either fly at idle or afterburner speeds.

When we adjust the throttle and let go of the button will it drop throttle back down or will it stay where we left it.

WEP (afterburn) - is only on when throttle 100% AND you are truing ton increase it (right stick up on gamepad).

In all other ways - throttle is staying where you left it (between 1% to 100%).
But I have to notice, that our 'throttle' is combined throttle+'propeller pitch', and behaves different on different planes (more noticable in simulation mode, of course).

wait you can control propeller pitch?

The flight stick throttle works in that respect.
I did like OGF, using the shoulder buttons and the throttle would stay set. The flight stick throttle does work with other flight games on the 360 though. Unfortunately none are sims. LOL

If right stick is for power and rudder. How do you look around the plane. Are the controls the same for ps3 as for 360?

This is what I like most about Over G was the throttle placement. I loved the setup on the controller.

By clicking and holding right stick. Anton has already confirmed this.

Hi there

I have a quick question regarding BOP - will it have a freeflight facility ? I used to enjoy just taking a spit for a spin and it would be nice to have the option to just practice a bit of flying over the cliffs of dover :)

That seems a little much or one button. So you will not be able to use your rudder and look around at the same time? Seems odd.

i agree. that does sound inconvinient.

You'll be able on a flight stick.
But for gamepad there is 'target camera' whic allows to look at your current target, simultaneously with controlling a plane.

Hello, I am interesting to know if this view of weapon's turret will be possible in Il-2 Sturmovik : Birds of Prey ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpuT_taKMxE

IIRC Anton has said that this feature will not be included in BoP.