Mt first experience with IL-2 (1946) was just a few months ago. I had been into other types of games and X-Plane, but I always wanted to get back to my roots in flight combat. I had avoided IL-2 early on because the theaters of war did not interest me greatly and I never followed its' development.
Any new game, if it is good, comes with a learning curve, some frustration, and some absolute wonder.
For me, all of those things were encompassed with flying an F4-U off of a carrier that first day
. Each time, I would drop into the water with the left wing stalling right before impact. So I had to go online and search for some tips on taking off with that plane. Eventually, I got it and it was a great feeling of accomplishment.
Then came landing the Corsair on a carrier....I never knew plane could bounce that high lol. More research followed. Then I tried knocking down some Zekes and discovered the wonderful stall modeling
. That first week was spent tweaking my control settings and learning how to turn each plane without stalling and spinning.
I could argue that first impressions of games are the most important thing. I could also argue that, if the game is good, the first few weeks are the most fun because that is when you are getting to know the basics of the game. Discovery is a wonderful thing.
Of course, if the game is VERY good, playability lasts beyond those first few weeks and you keep discovering new things about the game and refining your techniques.
IL-2 scores high on the initial interest AND with its' onging ability to keep your interest.
Splitter