06.07.2017
We're happy to announce that we just released the update 2.011. The main addition of this version is, of course, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VB Collector Plane. They were sent to USSR via the lend-lease program and took part in the Battle of Kuban. The aircraft is quite interesting and unusual, our engineer who worked on its flight model wrote a detailed article about it earlier: Dev Blog 162. We can also add that this plane highlights the pros of our flight model. Spitfire is neutrally stable along the pitch axis. Piloting this plane is quite different to piloting classic, statically stable aircraft. This is especially noticeable during intensive maneuvering when instead of moving the flight stick backward and keeping it this way during the maneuver the quick double movement backward and then forward is required so the aircraft will begin the maneuver and stay in it. This effect is especially noticeable during a landing when the landing flaps are extended. It should be noted that these peculiarities don't cause a discomfort, they just make the piloting more interesting and give you the feel of control when you understand what is happening. To summarize, this aircraft should have a significant advantage in a low altitude and slower dogfight thanks to its very low wing loading and high power reserve at low speeds.
30.06.2017
Hello Pilots,
I have been in Moscow all week with the team working on many things both current and future. Before I head home to California I want to share some images of the Spitfire cockpit and our new shadow tech. You heard right, our shadows have been re-worked and they look awesome!! They are sharper, your plane projects its own shadow on the ground while in the cockpit and objects such as trees and buildings and vehicles cast their own dynamic shadows on everything! We’ve also increased the distance at which shadows are drawn. This makes the scenery like villages and ground combat environments looks even more realistic. And shadows in cockpits will also be sharper with all details casting shadows. When everything is in motion is just looks great.
22.06.2017
So, let's talk about Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VB. It took off for the first time in December 1940 and saw extensive action in both Europe and North Africa. Some were also sent to the Soviet Union via the Lend-Lease program for use on the Eastern Front. However, the Spitfire V was considered to be a relatively old plane by the time the battle of Kuban begun in Spring 1943.
16.06.2017
We're finishing our work on 2.011 update. It will bring you another Collector Plane - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb which has been used in Battle of Kuban. These planes were sent to the USSR via the lend-lease program. The update will also include the new historical campaign Blazing Steppe by Alexander =BlackSix= Timoshkov (you can already pre-order on our website).
However, in today's Dev Diary we'd like to tell you what will happen after this update - in update 2.012 that will be released later, possibly the end of July or early August. We already told you about the coming huge update of all aircraft (Battle of Moscow, Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Kuban) flight models which will address such minor effects like oscillations in maneuvers, aircraft banking with full rudder input and control surfaces load changes at different speeds. These peculiarities, while being minor, are caused by deep flight model parameters. Tuning them meant a lot of work, but caused additional positive changes in the flight behavior of every aircraft in our project. We decided it would be the right thing to do to tell you about these changes in advance - what will be changed for each aircraft. We present you the full change list of the coming FM fix (once again, please note that these changes will be published later, in the end of July or early August, in update 2.012).
01.06.2017
Another week has passed and we're moving further in the development cycle of Battle of Kuban. There is only a bit more than half a year left until its release, so many of its parts start to look final already. The base of the new Career mode is already there: almost all the historical texts are ready as well as squadron insignias, we're working on the cutscenes. Its internal elements - GUI and mission generator patterns - are being filled with content. The flight physics improvements (enhanced fuselage tail modeling that will make the FM even more realistic at unstable flight modes and when there is a strong rudder input) are nearly finished, we plan to release the corrected FM in July. The work on Hs 129 B-2 (we did show you several screenshots with it last week) flight model is started. We just finished reworking the airfields on the Moscow map and in the coming update they'll be prettier at close and medium distances and, most importantly, the performance hit near them will be lower.