B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th

Janus · 01-20-07, 04:41 AM

I recently have discovered this game and I wonder if it was worth purchasing?
Does anybody own this one?

How is
the crew management (comared to let's say Silent Hunter III)
the campaign (static or dynamic - and if dynamic how much? do the results of your missions influence the overall situation etc.)
time compression
controls / user interface
stability
flight model
damage model
and last but not least documentation and tutorials

Can B-17 Flying Fortress 2 compete with Il-2 Strumovik series (or the other way round)?

Dowly · 01-20-07, 04:55 AM

The crew management?
You see your crew inside the plane, manning the guns, sitting on navigators seat etc. If you order your navigator to man the tail gun, you see him walking through the plane and take his place on the gun. Then the tailgunner will man the free available position, in this case the navigators seat.

All the crew members have 'skills'. I can remember everyone of them, but some of them were;

Gunnery
Navigation
Bombing
Piloting
First aid

The campaign
I usually get shot down in first or second mission, so cant really say much about this.

Time compression
There is two kinds of time compressions. One is similar to SHIII, ranging from -1/4 to x8. The other one is a time skip, if your plane is leaving the formation, you are close to your target or there are enemy planes/flak nearby the time skip returns to realtime.

Controls / user interface
The controls are easy, just change them from the options to suit yourself. The interface also is pretty easy, you click to your crew member and a menu will popup, letting you to choose what position to man, give first aid, fix something etc.

Stability
BANG! Here´s something I hate about the game. It´s pretty unstable. It varies from PC to PC, but for me, there´s quite a few CTD´s. And on top of that, you cant save your mission fly you are in it.

Damage model
Is beautiful! You see your interior full of bullet holes, your wounded crew members lying around. Same goes for the exterior, when your plane gets heavily damaged, you can see it. Holes everywhere.

Janus · 01-20-07, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

Stability
BANG! Here´s something I hate about the game. It´s pretty unstable. It varies from PC to PC, but for me, there´s quite a few CTD´s. And on top of that, you cant save your mission fly you are in it.

Mh, that sounds bad. Which operating system and patches for the game do you use?

I think I'm going to try this one out when I find a cheap copy somewhere.

Dowly · 01-20-07, 05:59 AM

On my last system (AMD Duron 1.8, Geforce 2, 1024mb RAM) I got alot of CTD´s but the game ran fine otherwise. On my currect rig, I havent played it more than maybe three times. With one CTD.

SmokinTep · 01-20-07, 11:01 AM

I may have to look into getting this game.

Janus · 01-20-07, 01:36 PM

I have searched some forums. There seems to be a company or so which has bought the sourcecode from Atari for 5 years in 2005. There are rumors or announcements that Shockforce - the company that bought the code - is going to implement the multiplayer which the original game lacks. I think they also want to improve the graphics, I'm not sure (how serious all this is...).

CCIP · 01-20-07, 01:46 PM

Shockwave. They are the ones that re-worked Rowan's "Battle of Britain" into "Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory". They are indeed a rather serious company.

Yes, they did have the code to B-17, but...a few months ago they announced that they have cancelled the project

Janus · 01-20-07, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCIP

Shockwave. They are the ones that re-worked Rowan's "Battle of Britain" into "Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory". They are indeed a rather serious company.

I have just read that on simhq.com - many people have stability problems with Battle of Britain II and joysticks not working? Which aircraft are flyable in BoB II (is it more fighter oriented or bomber also)?
Do you think it still will be better than "Storm of War"?
I don't know what the devs of Storm of War promise, especially (dynamic) campaign wise. Anyway I think my notebook cannot handle either of them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CCIP

Yes, they did have the code to B-17, but...a few months ago they announced that they have cancelled the project

That's a pity.

CCIP · 01-20-07, 02:22 PM

I don't think it's really fair to compare BoB II and Storm of War, given that one is still based on an engine that's already over 6 years old, and the other one is shaping up to be the latest word in technology from a developer with a decent budget (that they've recently fattened up with IL-2 addons - Oleg never hid the fact that he's been trying to get more money out of IL-2 to better finance his next project, i.e. Storm of War).

I have never played BoB II, but I hear that like B-17, it varies from person to person. Some claim it's the best single player WWII sim there is; others have ridiculous technical problems with it. Though I think system-requirement wise, it's not incredibly harsh.

Kapitan_Phillips · 01-20-07, 06:50 PM

B-17 Mighty 8th is a great game, I enjoyed playing it. Get it ASAP. Dont worry about stability, there are patches that may help, but I really do recommend this game

Tikigod · 01-22-07, 06:08 PM

The first one was also good. Pretty much the same game but, compartment view was in 2-D rather than 3-D. If SH3 could use a 2-D compartment management model like the first B-17 game it would be excellent.

blue3golf · 01-22-07, 08:28 PM

i had the game about 5 years ago. I had a blast playing it, you can play either as a single ship or squadron commander and pick your targets, routes, altitude, bombload, etc. My favorite part was taking control of the intercepting fighters and see how I could do against the withering defensive box firepower.

Janus · 01-27-07, 06:47 AM

I wonder how B-17 II compares to the IL-2 series, fighter wise (Me-109, P-51 and stuff)?
Can you fly the B-17 in IL-2, too? Is it better, worse than B-17 II (I think it must be worse as B-17 II is focused on the B-17 but I still do not own both of the games, I am still waiting for both games to turn up in my mailbox).

Dowly · 01-27-07, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janus

I wonder how B-17 II compares to the IL-2 series, fighter wise (Me-109, P-51 and stuff)?
Can you fly the B-17 in IL-2, too? Is it better, worse than B-17 II (I think it must be worse as B-17 II is focused on the B-17 but I still do not own both of the games, I am still waiting for both games to turn up in my mailbox).

No, the B17 isnt flyable in IL2. Tho, IL2 has alot of planes, so the detail of a single isnt overwhelming. But in B17 II, the planes detail is huge. You´ll love it.

PS. Please, tell me you bought the IL2: 1946? It has all the released IL2 games in one pack + the AI & the flymodel has been tweaked.

Janus · 01-27-07, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

PS. Please, tell me you bought the IL2: 1946? It has all the released IL2 games in one pack + the AI & the flymodel has been tweaked.

I haven't bought IL2 stuff yet. There will be a bundle on amazon.de in early february which contains Il2, IL2 forgotten battles, pacific fighters and aces expansion pack for 10€. Il2 1946 still costs 28€ at the same site, is it worth it? (I am not intrested in the fictional 1946 planes but if it comes with fixes that are not included in the bundle for 10€ :hmm:
I am also going to buy Battle of Britain II on ebay in a few hours so I will have lots of different sims to learn these days

01-20-07, 04:41 AM	#1
Janus XO Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 434 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th I recently have discovered this game and I wonder if it was worth purchasing? Does anybody own this one? How is the crew management (comared to let's say Silent Hunter III) the campaign (static or dynamic - and if dynamic how much? do the results of your missions influence the overall situation etc.) time compression controls / user interface stability flight model damage model and last but not least documentation and tutorials Can B-17 Flying Fortress 2 compete with Il-2 Strumovik series (or the other way round)?

01-20-07, 01:46 PM	#7
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Shockwave. They are the ones that re-worked Rowan's "Battle of Britain" into "Battle of Britain II: Wings of Victory". They are indeed a rather serious company. Yes, they did have the code to B-17, but...a few months ago they announced that they have cancelled the project __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

01-20-07, 02:22 PM	#9
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	I don't think it's really fair to compare BoB II and Storm of War, given that one is still based on an engine that's already over 6 years old, and the other one is shaping up to be the latest word in technology from a developer with a decent budget (that they've recently fattened up with IL-2 addons - Oleg never hid the fact that he's been trying to get more money out of IL-2 to better finance his next project, i.e. Storm of War). I have never played BoB II, but I hear that like B-17, it varies from person to person. Some claim it's the best single player WWII sim there is; others have ridiculous technical problems with it. Though I think system-requirement wise, it's not incredibly harsh. __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)

01-20-07, 06:50 PM	#10
Kapitan_Phillips Silent Hunter Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Swansea Posts: 3,902 Downloads: 203 Uploads: 0	B-17 Mighty 8th is a great game, I enjoyed playing it. Get it ASAP. Dont worry about stability, there are patches that may help, but I really do recommend this game __________________ Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into.

01-20-07, 04:55 AM	#2
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,005 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	The crew management? You see your crew inside the plane, manning the guns, sitting on navigators seat etc. If you order your navigator to man the tail gun, you see him walking through the plane and take his place on the gun. Then the tailgunner will man the free available position, in this case the navigators seat. All the crew members have 'skills'. I can remember everyone of them, but some of them were; Gunnery Navigation Bombing Piloting First aid The campaign I usually get shot down in first or second mission, so cant really say much about this. Time compression There is two kinds of time compressions. One is similar to SHIII, ranging from -1/4 to x8. The other one is a time skip, if your plane is leaving the formation, you are close to your target or there are enemy planes/flak nearby the time skip returns to realtime. Controls / user interface The controls are easy, just change them from the options to suit yourself. The interface also is pretty easy, you click to your crew member and a menu will popup, letting you to choose what position to man, give first aid, fix something etc. Stability BANG! Here´s something I hate about the game. It´s pretty unstable. It varies from PC to PC, but for me, there´s quite a few CTD´s. And on top of that, you cant save your mission fly you are in it. Damage model Is beautiful! You see your interior full of bullet holes, your wounded crew members lying around. Same goes for the exterior, when your plane gets heavily damaged, you can see it. Holes everywhere.

01-20-07, 05:59 AM	#4
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,005 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	On my last system (AMD Duron 1.8, Geforce 2, 1024mb RAM) I got alot of CTD´s but the game ran fine otherwise. On my currect rig, I havent played it more than maybe three times. With one CTD.

01-20-07, 11:01 AM	#5
SmokinTep Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Suffolk, Virginia Posts: 1,027 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I may have to look into getting this game.

01-20-07, 01:36 PM	#6
Janus XO Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 434 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	I have searched some forums. There seems to be a company or so which has bought the sourcecode from Atari for 5 years in 2005. There are rumors or announcements that Shockforce - the company that bought the code - is going to implement the multiplayer which the original game lacks. I think they also want to improve the graphics, I'm not sure (how serious all this is...).

01-22-07, 06:08 PM	#11
Tikigod Grey Wolf Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: United States Posts: 777 Downloads: 28 Uploads: 0	The first one was also good. Pretty much the same game but, compartment view was in 2-D rather than 3-D. If SH3 could use a 2-D compartment management model like the first B-17 game it would be excellent.

01-22-07, 08:28 PM	#12
blue3golf Weps Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Traverse City, MI Posts: 352 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	i had the game about 5 years ago. I had a blast playing it, you can play either as a single ship or squadron commander and pick your targets, routes, altitude, bombload, etc. My favorite part was taking control of the intercepting fighters and see how I could do against the withering defensive box firepower.

01-27-07, 06:47 AM	#13
Janus XO Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 434 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	I wonder how B-17 II compares to the IL-2 series, fighter wise (Me-109, P-51 and stuff)? Can you fly the B-17 in IL-2, too? Is it better, worse than B-17 II (I think it must be worse as B-17 II is focused on the B-17 but I still do not own both of the games, I am still waiting for both games to turn up in my mailbox).