I can appreciate what you guys are going through with this topic. IL2 still does have the most content of any WWII sim out there. It is going to go away at some point. Just like Janes WWII fighters and the like did because of the lack of Windows support in one way or the other.
I was not a fan of BOS when it first came out; indeed I fully regretted buying it. That has all changed because they have not only improved the flight models, but the graphics are much better, especially with the addition of the Kuban map. I very much enjoy flying BOX and a number of us fly almost every evening.
With the future addition of the Battle of Bodenplatte which includes 8 Aircraft (P-51D, P-47D, Spitfire Mk.IX, Tempest Mk.V, Bf 109 G-14, Bf 109 K-4, Fw 190 A-8 and Me 262) and 2 Collector Planes (P-38L and Fw 190 D-9) that can be bought separately, I think, currently, that is where the future of WWII simming lies.
Someday maybe DCS will get its act together and fix the horrible damage modes on the AI aircraft, (using simple fight models for them) until then it BOX for me. And but the way about DCS and complexity, you always have the option to use “auto start”. I never thought I could fly the A10C but I learned with the help of some in the community (that would be Capt. Jack) I found the experience to be very enjoyable.
Any one of you that have or thinking about getting BOX, as Jack said, I, Perfesser, Spaulding, Gustang, wingflyer, are flying almost every evening, we’d love to see you there.
I never thought I would be saying all this about a sim I fully rejected from the outset. All I know is that whatever you all decide; I will be all in with my financial support for the Dogz as always.