Hello Everybody,

 

Several important things happened this week. First of all, we released the new update 2.004 yesterday with many changes and improvements which are listed in detail in the previous news update.

 

In addition, work on the 3D models of the Yak-1b Series 127 and Ju-52 3mg4e is finished and we are working on their physics models and the new mission types for the Ju-52. We plan to finish Yak-1b Series 127 physics and begin its beta test next week.

 

Moreover, we will begin the tests of the DirectX 11 renderer as soon as this week. This will be an alpha test and if it goes well, we'll add it to beta together with the new Yak. We'll tell you about the new renderer and the possibilities it brings a bit later on. We would like to remind you that switching to DirectX 11 opens the way to full support of VR devices such as HTC VIVE, Oculus Rift and others that will be supported by Valve OpenVR API. Even in its current basic state, the HTC VIVE support in our sim sparked much interest in various people, no matter what age or occupation at a recent public army exhibit in Russia:

 

 

 

We also begun work on the 3D models of the Douglas A-20B Boston and Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb. Perhaps you would ask why don't we use the Spitfire model from 1C's previous project Cliffs of Dover. It turned out that would be near impossible because the old Spitfire model had many inconsistencies in its basic fuselage form, we can't leave it as is and keep the current quality standard of our IL-2 project. All in all it was a good 3D model built many years ago, but its quality level in terms of being accurate to the original plane is obsolete. Therefore, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb that we create will be 95% new.

 

 

 

 

Also, we had an interesting event occur last weekend. Three of us (Han, An.Petrovich and Gavrik) were invited by community members (ROSS_Wespe, Kirill, =MG=Dooplet11, ZloyPetrushkO) to visit Staritsa airfield in Tver region (actually we have this airfield in Battle of Moscow, it is in the middle between Rzhev and Kalinin). There, ROSS_Wespe gave us a ride on a SOCATA Rallye to check how closely several phenomena and effects correspond between IL-2 aircraft and this plane. In spite of difference in planes design, this experience was very helpful and interesting. During the course of several test flights we did the following comparisons between the real aircraft and planes modeled in the sim:

 

1. Aircraft pitch behavior while extending flaps with fixed and released flight stick (it turns out this plane behaves just like aircraft in the sim do);

2. Aircraft reaction to fully pushed rudder pedal with fixed flight stick (the resulting roll on this plane and in the game are the same). Plane behavior while keeping the plane horizontal by ailerons with pressed pedal is the same on some planes in the game and different on others;

3. A delay between sharp flight stick movement and aircraft movement (there is no noticeable delay both on real plane and in the sim);

4. Tree size (average trees in this region and trees in the game have the same height, trees in the game are a bit wider).

 

During the event, we also discussed other questions with our hosts, for example, flap operating procedures on MiG-3, win criteria in game statistics, transmission band of pitch and roll periodic effects on flight stick on light and heavy aircraft, Bf-110 pancaking (straight stall descent) at high AoA, Bf-109 power reserve at low speeds, alternative methods of limiting engine work time at critical modes and navigational lights visibility during a day at far distances. This discussion was quite helpful and productive - sure, we did not agree on everything, but our mutual understanding improved somewhat. Here are several photos from this event:

  

  

  

 

We should also mention the event that will take place in November. AiRussia is a virtual pilots competition, where you can prove you're one of the best. It includes three disciplines: Solo Aerobatics, Racing and Orienteering. To win, you need to push your skills to the limit. We suggest you participate! Please visit http://airussiaopen.ru to register and get more information.

 

 

In the end of this Dev Diary we would like to show you a set of skins for Ju-52 3mg4e we made for this Collector Plane: