recommendation for beginners campaigns

[shockandawe]

I have a question about beginner's campaigns. My only exposure to combat flight sims prior to IL2 Complete was MS Combat Flight Sim 1. That had a campaign that started you out slowly on a very simple target (a DO-17... on the ground!) and gave plenty of guidance. There were also on-screen checklists that you could pop up to learn how to do things.

I have now spent some time with my new IL2 Complete and I must say I am pretty overwhelmed. You fire it up and are simply DUMPED into this menu system that gives no clue as to what to do. There is no ratcheting up of your skills - you are simply thrown in the deep end without even a checklist. Sure, I suppose this is like it might have been RL but come on! I want to learn it and enjoy it, too. I'm not having very much fun with this at this time that is for sure.

Last night, after struggling for two hours with IL2 Complete, I actually reloaded MS CFS and tried playing that. The graphics were so horrible that I just couldn't, however. I was already spoiled by IL2.

What I would like is a scripted campaign for total bonehead beginners. I want a campaign (like that in MS CFS) that starts you out slow with some sort of simple targets and ratchets things up. Is there such a thing? I need some guidance for crying out loud!

[MaXMhZ]

Welcome to Airwarfare Shockandawe!
The only thing coming close to a guided tour is probably the single missions; some of these have a (very limited) onscreen display of what's going on. IL-2 series can be overwhelming when starting out. It's very rewarding too though and even after years yu'll still learn new things. That said there are many squadrons that will teach allmost everything about flying, tactics, and the game online. Check the squadrons forum at UBI, then check the squadron's homepage if they have a TO (Training Officer). Airwarfare also has several guides you can learn a lot from.

[MudPuppy]

I remember feeling about the same way when i first loaded IL2. All the settings, options, missions, etc. made my head spin. Then i discovered i could crank the difficulty WAY down and after a week of shooting down any and all foes I tried the higher, more realistic settings. To say it was a humbling experience is an understatement.
The easy settings can give a quick feel for the game and crank up your excitement but it's the more challenging aspects of realistic flight-simming that is most satisfying.

This website (and Mission4Today.com) have some great campaigns and missions to d/l. You might want to check the "Campaign Journals" here:
http://www.airwarfare.com/AWX/features/campaign_journals/index.htm
These are some cool missions with accompanying narrative and screen shots that walk you through from take-off to landing (or crashing!).
Oh, and practice.
MudPuppy

[shockandawe]

Thanks so much fellows! You know, the more I dig around in this glorious site the more neat things I find. I do think that IL2 Complete could have had a bit more intro material for beginners. Just some sort of four page starter to say, "Okay, drunken bonehead. Just start single mission A1, change all settings to Bonehead Par Excellence. Here is your take-off check-list. Here is your landing checklist. Here are the precise steps to complete this first mission.” Four pages. Then maybe a pointer to all of the on-line info and the pdf files, etc., etc.

When you first get the game you just empty a single disk out on to your table. If you don’t already know what you are up to you can be overwhelmed pretty quickly. I crashed something like six times before I made one successful takeoff – I finally realized I needed to lock out my tail wheel and slowly ease up the throttle while correcting with rudder more and more. Again, thanks.

[shockandawe]

Well, okay, I have a tiny bit more experience now and for other noobs I would like to give a recommendation for the campaign "Battle Over Britain" by Paymondo. It starts you out as a new pilot and ratchets up slowly. You really begin to feel like you are invested in it. I give it a high recommendation!!

SaA

[MaXMhZ]

Thanks for the feedback shockandawe -I'm sure many will appreciate it.

Extreme_One and Paymondo's Battle over Britain campaign can be downloaded here at Mission4Today

[Shik]

Hello, I'm new to the whole flight simulation thing but i'm very interested in getting very involved in it and maybe eventually getting good enough to compete in the online dogfights. I just installed my copy of 1946 and was wondering if there was a way to install this campaign "BoB by Paymondo" on it or if there is a different version of this campaign that i can download specifically for 1946. I couldn't find the campaign available to me in the pilot career section after installing the file from the provided link by MaxMhZ. This campaign sounds like exactly what i need to get started.

Thanks,
shiK

[MaXMhZ]

The BoB campaign was developed for V4.04m
All campaigns/missions in FB are version dependant

It might work if you install Version Switcher first, and switch to 4.04m
Version switcher can be downloaded from Mission4Today. here
Note: If you installed to a different drive/location than the default C:/Program Files/Ubisoft/IL-2 Sturmovik 1946/ you will need to edit the batch files FIRST that version switcher installs into the game directory to reflect your drive/location!!

[MudPuppy]

You may also want to try this campaign:
Straight From The Farm by Zeus-Cat

This is a great training campaign! Part of the description by Zeus-Cat reads;

The campaign assumes you are a typical pilot recruit of World War II and are straight off the farm and have little knowledge of flying. I include tips and advice as I step you through each mission. The tips are based on the way I “fly” and may not necessarily be the best way to do things. My intent is to show you how to takeoff and land so you can get started enjoying this simulation.

Checking the forums here and at M4T for others questions just like yours will be a big help too. Perusing the guides and comments can be a great help.

Oh, and man it's good to be back.

MudPuppy