New and Old!

[Fotoflyer]

Hi there, I'm very new to this and could really do with a bit of help. I've just purchased IL2 Sturmovik 1946 and it looks great. The only problem is that there's no manual and although I can fly ok (having cut my teeth on Falcon F4), it's pretty trick finding my way round.

I'm also old (ish) so many of my little grey cells have started to die off and maybe I'm not as quick as catching on to new things as I used to be, lol.

Anyway, great sim, great site and if anyone wants to say "hello" and tell me the best way to get started, I'd be most grateful.

Fotoflyer.

[MaXMhZ]

Hi Fotoflyer, Welcome to Airwarfare!
The manual is located in the main game directory; default c:/Program Files/Ubisoft/IL-2 Sturmovik 1946/ It's a pdf file called manual.pdf and can be read using Adobe Reader from http://www.adobe.com. The planes might seem a bit less complex than a modern jet, but there's still more than enough to learn. I would first setup your video optionsand commands. Both can be done through the game from the main menu.
Video modes and options are highly dependable on the system you have (Processor(s), Speed, and your graphics card.
When you click Controls in the main menu this will bring you to the control setup list. To the left is a long list of control names. Just browse to the one you want to assign to a button or key, click to the right of the name and then press the button or key to assign it to. If it's an axis you want to assign (all axis are at the bottom under "HOTAS", the procedure is to click and then move the axis. How many you can assign depends on what joystick/HOTAS you use. IL-2 is highly configurable and can be run on allmost any system. Next it's on to Quick Mission Builder where you can setup a quick mission and fly to test things out. If anything is incorrect, just press Ësc", and you will see a menu from where to enter the Control section again and can re-assign anything if needed. Just play along with it and if there are any questions just post. We'll all be glad to help.
A good plane to start with would be the La-7. This has all the trimmings available and is quite easy to handle (and fast too).

[MudPuppy]

Welcome to Airwarfare, Fotoflyer! I think you'll find that this site is exceptionally helpful and user-friendly. The purcahse of IL2 Sturmovik 1946 is a great choice in my opinion, all of the planes developed to date and all of the patches and such in one handy DVD.

Check the Adobe files that are on the disk and the readme files within the game. Their is an airplane guide to cover every plane in the sim, some with more narrative detail than others, but still a great resource.

As for tips on flying with this particular sim, check the links on this sites GUIDES and you'll find lots of good information on IL2 flight basics.

The forum is also a good source of information and you can use the "Search" option to complete a keyword or topic search. Once again, welcome and as for being old(ish), I think many of the flyers for this sim are well past the point of being asked for ID when they buy beer.

MudPuppy

[Fotoflyer]

Thanks for your help fellas.

Well, things are moving. Can shoot a few things down, but bombing is still something of a mystery.

Question please. I've made a bombing mission under the build quick mission and have looked at training and a few forum posts. I can now get the TAS, but how do I get the target height above sea level? There's no real briefing on these missions and I can't seem to find it on the map which comes up during the flight.

Hope you can help.

Regards

Fotoflyer

[MaXMhZ]

Under Controls you will find a command called "Speedbar". Assign this to a keyboard key, e.g. ctrl-S. When you're flying and press Ctrl-S there will be some information shown at the bottom left. Speed, heading, and Altitude. pressing Ctrl-S again will cycle through different units; Metric, Imperial, Knots
You could also convertr indicated airspeed etc displayed in the cockpit to TAS using a conversion table/calculator. I believe several are available for download at our sister site http://www.Mission4Today.com under the downloads section. You can search the database there to find them.
There are also missions, campaigns, tutorials etc. available there.
It might be a good idea to join an online squad (many post at UBI's Squadron forum) that has online training. By now you must have realized this is a very extensive simulator. It will keep you busy and interested for many years.
There is also a Community Created Manual with a lot of information - it works just like Wikipedia