Unlocking planes and difficulty settings.
 

Can someone please confirm whether difficulty (arcade,realistic,sim) and/or points scored in a mission affect unlocking planes?

Thanks.

I might be wrong, but I don't think score affects what you unlock.. .I think you just need to complete the mission... it is possible that you might unlock more if you do the secondary missions on every mission... but I am not sure yet.

All we need, is someone like Anton or someone else who has the know how about what the deal is with unlocking. It's sorta hard to tell if things are unlocked on completing certain difficulties, (at least for me), since I've played the same mission on Campaign (Realistic and Sim) where you unlock the Yak-1, but have gotten nothing else. Maybe it's the mission? But I've done the other missions, where I would expect to get something. But I don't get anything? We really need a Dev's answer.

One thing I hate is the encyclopedia...

seriously.. I have to UNLOCK TACTICS?????? how stupid... whats the point... I can google the tactics... and have a much better idea of how they are done beside a short paragraph or 2, and some horrid picture behind it that doesn't really show how the moves are actually done.

I do not plan on playing online untill I play through campain and single missions on arcade.. but thats just because I have to wait for my ace edge... I can barely controll the plane right with the controller due to the thumstick layout and the look function not having a toggle!

I've finished the campaign on realistic and my friend has done it on arcade and we have the same planes unlocked.

Also I have done all the BoB single missions on sim mode and never unlocked anything different to my friend who had done them also on arcade setting.

that's good to hear because i don't plan on doing much Sim stuff for a while, for me that will be the replay value (and MP of course), but I'll drag it out

According to several people here on forum+Anton multiplayer unlocks plans and other stuff.