Beebop-RIP

OK, I'm a nOOb when it comes to Great Battles but... I'm flying on the Moscow map (the "Green Moscow" mod is a beautiful by the way) and I can't fly to Moscow!? I was going to explore the "Unknown Frontier" (flying off the edge of the map) as I called it in 1946, but the game takes control away from me at either returns me to the "Official Map" (AutoLevel on) or after a few klicks boots me out of the game. How rude! ? Anyway, just an observation.

When you start the game and when you switch to various GUI's (Settings, Graphics etc.) there is the sound of plane engines, ( a near helicopter sound morphing into a generic plane), and battlefield sounds. In 1946 you could eliminate these sounds by checking various boxes or editing the conf.ini. It's not that they annoy me but I am getting a little tired of the same sound. Is there a way to disable it so I can launch and modify my game through GUI in blissful silence? TIA

BoS Premium/Founders Edition BoM Standard BoK Standard P-40E-1 Collector Plane

I've had BoS since the early release of the Premium Edition in late July of 2014 as a birthday present to myself. I got it from a M4T member who got frustrated and didn't like it. And he was selling cheap. He got permission from 1CGS for me to use his key. I also got founder status. It sat on my HD getting very little use as I found the interface a bit confusing as well as setting up my joystick and keyboard. Skinning was (and still is) daunting and only now I'm understanding how to do it although I probably take a few extra steps so I can use my PSP8 program that I am accustomed to. And, as a mission builder in 1946 I found, and still do find, the mission builder to be quite complex compared to 46. Anyway, I have recently got a renewed interest in BoX (Great Battles) and have been able to produce my first skin so I jumped in and got BoM and BoK. If for some reason you don't have these yet, or want Collector planes at an incredible discount, NOW is the time to visit and get caught up on the cheap. For me, getting BoM/BoK has spurred my interest even further. I'm sure that expanding your GB install will do the same for you.

Thanks FT. Good point. Fixed.

Now the skin is on a more correct model seen here flying over Tuapse looking for a train.

DOH! Usually I log in off line. After my BoM purchase I "accidentally" hit the Green Enter box. After my BoK purchase I logged in offline. As Forrest Gump said, "Stupid is as stupid does." So I logged in online and there it was. Thanks for pointing out what should have been obvious. You guys are lifesavers. Now to practice a heck of a lot.

Gentlemen, Sorry I left so abruptly this afternoon. It seems that the server was set up for 'Expert' settings so I had no HUD plus I am so new to the game I use a lot of auto settings for engine management. I couldn't remember the default key settings for the radiator so I kept overheating. I am very familiar with 1046 so more realistic settings like in HSFX are not as difficult to deal with. I need to practice a lot more but am looking forward to flying BoX with you.

OK. I'm getting into Battle of Stalingrad enough that I went out and purchased Battle of Moscow and Battle of Kuban. I found out that there's a sale going on at IL-2 Sturmovik. So when I bought BoM I went to my License Key page at il2sturmovik.com and discovered that the key had been automatically activated. When I started the game it was there, maps planes and all. Good. So I decided to go ahead and buy BoK. I used the same procedure but this time, although on the license Key page it said my purchase had been activated, it wasn't. No map(s), planes, nothing. After opening the game and seeing BoM I took a quick spin around the autumn map then closed out of the game. After making my BoK purchase and ensuring that it had been purchased and the key activated I restarted the game to find no BoK!!! See below. So what's up? Do I have to contact IL-2 Sturmovik?

Buying now. Got it.

Yeah! I just got BoM because it was only 16.99. I got the standard edition because I already had bought the P-40. I think I will get BoK. I may just buy the Spitfire separately as I seldom fly Luft and really haven't flown the Hs-129 in 1946.

Yes I have a rear gunner but for this model but it's the Field Mod version. The plane in Monino is an 'M' version with a full rear gunner cockpit that looks more like the M38F version in BoK. I just might have to spring for that add-on as I would love to fly the A-20, Bf-110G2 and the P-39. Are the additional packs ever on sale?

Hi there. Some of you may know I have done a bit of skinning for 1946. Now that I'm getting into Battle Over Stalingrad I of course wanted to try my hand at skinning. It's been a daunting quest. In 1946 I skin using Paint Shop Pro. However it has limited ability to save files as .dds. Yes the option is there but it becomes complicated (it doesn't want to save the alpha layer) and frustrating. ? So...I got GIMP. I saved the skin as a .psd because GIMP won't accept .pspimage files. ? Then I had to learn how to save/export it. At first I couldn't flatten it to add the needed alpha layer. But finally I figured that out. (I still need a lot of practice to refine these processes. So, with some reservation, I present my first Great Battles skin, and IL-2M42. Now I like making hacks over at M4T and unusual skins have always interested me. Hacks are not really needed here (yet). So here is a skin for a real plane* now in the Central Air Force Museum in Monino Russia. Apparently the odd colors come from the fact that proper this most unusual coloration was due to shortages of the correct aircraft paints during the moving of the factories East of the Urals to avoid being attacked by the Germans. * The actual plane I used as a reference is a later IL-2 M version with a rear gunner but I don't have that expansion of GB yet. I did see a version of a single-seater as a scale model with the same color scheme. So without further ado..(be kind, remember it's a WIP and I need to do some, well a lot, more work on it)

Thanks. With all the "new complexity" this version has it is nice to see that this part will be easy.

Gentlemen, I plan on joining you tomorrow but have never played BoS online. I can get to the Multiplayer page but is there anything I need to know about joining? I have no problms joining direct IP with HSFX and have no router. Or it can wait until I'm on Teamspeak. I'll connect 1/2 hour early.

And another question, when I make my flight 2 -4 planes it looks like all planes get the skin I chose. Is there a way to give each plane in the flight it's own skin? I'm think of a squadron where each plane has different codes even if the basic scheme is similar.

I believe I have done all that. 1st are my "enablements": Enable Mods and Custom Skins checked. 2nd how the Official skins show. I get a visualization of the skin. 3rd how the Custom skins (don't) show. I have to remember what this skin will look like on the plane. 4th where my skins are located. Note that some are "hazy". When clicked they are very dark. They are 5.33Mb. The oOthers as you can see look "normal" and are 4Mb. I downloaded all from IL-2 Surmovik links.

When I'm customizing my plane I can see the "Official" skins but not the custom ones. All I see is the name. I am using BoX skins in .dds format. 46 lets you see all the skins. Is there a way to make the custom skins show on the Settings page? Of do I have to remember what each custom skin looks like from memory?

Thank you! That was not explained in any of the manuals or posts I read. (or my advanced age allowed me to overlook it ? ) So for the diamond, when you approach the target put the diamond over the object and fire rockets. I'll give that a try. I'll have to admit my rockets have not been too effective so far. And the teardrop is a waypoint indicator. OK. Usually if a waypoint map is shown at some time during the briefing I jot down notes about the headings or guesstimate them and that has worked before. And a big thank you for telling me where I can turn these assists on and off. I'm beginning to get the hang of this I think. One final question, I know that with IL-2 46 that the online host sets the difficulty level, icons, map paths, cockpit only view etc Is GB the same? I must say you Dogz are a helpful bunch, just like I remember you to be. Thanks again for the help.

In 1946 I don't fly with visual icons on but being as I'm just starting out in BoS I'm finding them somewhat useful to help me acclimate myself to the game. I installed a mod which got rid of those annoying "Wonder Woman" arrows at the edge of the screen that tell you where to look for both friend and foe and has changed to plane icons from those big wedges to very small triagles with not plane info. I am learning about the tech icons on the side and what they are telling me. But what is that big yellow teardrop and that yellow diamond in front of me? If I aim for the diamond I become a lawn dart. And how would I get rid of them? So far I have figured out that 'H' clears all icons and HUD info. Right now I like having the HUD on the bottom that telss me at a glance my speed, heading and how much ammo I have left. Finally, is there a way to get rid of all icons but not the HUD? TIA.

Thanks for the reply Gypsy. I have been flying tons of Quick Missions to hone my skills (at least that's what I tell myself) and to refine my key mapping, head views and control sensitivities. Being as I'm so new to the game and am finally getting an in-depth look at how it looks, perhaps it's just the gunmetal blue of the cockpit surfaces and the subdued light. I almost always go for Average clouds or worse. Makes the war seem a bit more gloomy as I'm sure it felt to many of the participants. Plus I like the raindrops when I get into the clouds. So maybe it's just me.

When I'm in cockpit there is a marked blue-ish cast to everything like the glass was tinted. The view outside the plane is normal, if spectacular is a definition of normal. Darker I could understand or greenish as that would be a color one might expect as a sunshade or anti glare tint added to the glass in the time period. Is this intrinsic to the game? Can it be changed either through some setting or mod? I can live with it, it's not like it's really distracting but if it can be modified I'd like that.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome back. It's starting to feel like coming back home! ? Re: BoS...I have some visual mods on, Modified Icons, Draw Distance and Map Emitters, Longer Smoke Trails...do I need to turn off mods to fly? And if so what is the best way? Un-tick 'Mods Enabled' in game or unload them via JSGME? I am having a lot of fun with BoS. Just like when I found the original IL-2 Demo I would spend hours at a time just watching the plane fly around the map on autopilot. I am amazed at just how good it looks. So far the only thing I don't like is having to buy add-ons to get some of the planes. $50 USD for BoK just so I can fly a P-39, the A-20 and the Bf-110. Yeah I get a map but outside of the other planes I already have the rest. One thing about Rise of Flight, you can buy whatever plane(s) you want, whatever maps you want and whatever 'accessories' you want rather than buy a whole package. But then I have been spoiled rotten by IL-2 1946 and all the free stuff we get. So I do have a question about BoS concerning the look of the game. Would that be best posted in the Great Battles forum or the Gamer's Hell forum? I am really looking forward to this Sunday!

Oh good! I'll set my wing tips on fire to be sure I'm seen. ?

Ahhh, the calendar shows now. Thanks. Gentlemen, Thank You so much! I have always enjoyed flying with the Danger Dogs and now I am one. Being around all of you makes me feel .... (oh, that's a sheep...oops!) ? Seriously, I look forward to flying with you. I'll probably start next Sunday with a more familiar 1946?HSFX then try a DF with BoS. I really still have a lot to learn about BoS so a DF would be great as I wouldn't impede everyone progress while I figure out how to get off the ground without crashing and not fly like a drunken sailor. (then again I would make an easy target so at lest I'll have something to contribute) Thanks again.