B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th

[Janus]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I may have to look into getting this game.

[Janus]

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]

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]

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.

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]

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]

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 :up:

[Tikigod]

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]

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]

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]

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. :up:

[Janus]

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. :up: 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:D

[Dowly]

IL2:1946 is a combination of all the available IL2 games. IL2 Sturmovik, Forgotten Battles, Aces Expansion, Sturmoviks over Manchuria, Pe-2, Pacific Fighters and as a bonus there´s some new jets and other crazy stuff.

I havent played other than Pacific Fighters for a long time, before the 1946, so IMO the AI is more difficult in ´46. They dont do the circle-fighting so much anymore, but actually use the speed to their advantage. Some times they even get close to the ground to try to shake you off.

And as the 1946 is the newest product on the series, there just might be some patches and/or new stuff that works only in 1946.

IMO, extra 18€ isnt a bad price to pay for it.

Here´s what IGN Review had to say about it:

Presentation 7/10
Some lovely bonus content for the UK release, including a 450-page plane guide. Excellent toilet literature.

Graphics 7/10
Still passable today, but with the series about to be surpassed by Oleg's latest title, IL-2's 2001 visuals are beginning to sag.

Sound 8.5/10
As ever, audio has been a series strongpoint. Volumetric trickery makes those engines hum just like planes, which is handy because that's what they are.

Gameplay 9/10
A near flawless flight model, improved upon in this latest version. IL-2's spectacular damage system still impresses with ease.

Lasting Appeal 8/10
Fall into this hard enough and it'll swallow your life, dynamic campaigns create random and highly replayable scenarios, and player made content is widely available.

:up:

[Janus]

You are right 18€+ is not a bad price for the whole Il2 series. But I know that for me the major drawback will be the non-clickable cockpits in Il2.

[Dowly]

Yes, that´s something I didnt like in the begin. But I soon forgot it, as there´s really no time to tinker with the buttons when you have two Messerschmitts on your tail. ;)

[Tikigod]

You can fly the B-17, B-29, and other heavy bombers only in 3rd person by adjusting a config setting. I have flown with friends to carpet bomb areas in formation. They are fun to bomb with because of their heavy loadout. But, you can only fly them in 3rd person mode which really makes it difficult. There isn't a bombsite view either so you have to guess when you drop your bombs in 3rd person. The AI control your gunners so if you fly close formations you are usually well protected. I doubt we will ever see cockpits and 1st cabin views of the american bombers. Maddox avoids them like the plague.

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]

The IL2´s main theatre has always been the battles in the east, there really isnt even a campaing for the USAF bombers other than the carrier based ones. So that explains pretty much why there havent been interest of doing the cockpits for the US heavy bombers.

But the new game in the works will most likely have B17s, maybe not in the stock game but as a part of an expansion pack.

[dean_acheson]

the game's great, there was/is a bombsaway.net site with some good d/l for the game.

[SUBMAN1]

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 :(

Ahh! Did they cancel MiG Alley 2 too? I don't care for WWII sims as much as I care for the Korean war. Speed coupled with gunnery skill - nothing else matches that in history! I loved MiG Alley. I just hope there will be a MA 2.

-S

[Letum]

This was a freat game althow its a little dated these days.

If you like variety, you wont like B17 TM8th tho.

[Janus]

If you like variety, you wont like B17 TM8th tho. This statement is so easily portable to SHIII :D
I mean the dynamic campaign in unmodded SHIII is totally boring, every patrol has the same objective and all you get to hear from BdU is "be more aggressive" or "good job".

At least B-17 II has a better crew and vehicle management.

[Janus]

Okay I finally got my B-17 2 copy, and I have a question:
Is it possible to control the gun turrets and bomb sight without a joystick? Arrow keys don't work and the manual does not help here...

[kvbrock82]

i dont know if you will read this janus but yes there is a way, however i forgot how.. its been ages.. in fact im thinking about digging up the game again cos im starting to miss it since i got hooked on SHIII again... i would recommend a joystick though

i think there are options somewhere to let it know that u are using the keyboard to control the turrets

[dean_acheson]

i would say try bombs-away. They still have, or had, half active forums.

that or possilby sim-outhouse.

[Chock]

Still a bloody great game, and very immersive in terms of interaction and managing a successful happy crew. The cockpit controls are pretty accurate too. Also the B-17 2 terrain is better than some far more modern sims, and can actually be used to navigate to the target, which is more than can be said for most other flight combat sims. Probably got the most realistic implementation of a WW2 aircraft's bombsight as well. If it had multiplayer, it would blow IL-2 out of the sky, but even without multiplayer, it is without doubt one of the best combat flight sims ever.

Find additional skins for many Bomb Squadrons and Groups here:

http://glewis.us/v7th_Recon/Fabs_Skins.htm

Also you'll need this utility to use the skins, and it will also unpack all the graphics files in B-17 2 if you're feeling artistic:

http://www.checksix-fr.com/bibliotheque/index.php?page=detail&ID=256

:D Chock

[dean_acheson]

If I could find a good 100 BG skin, I'd probably break this baby out.

Has anyone used this with Vista yet?

[Officerpuppy]

I used to have this game a few years ago, unfortunately I sold if off since at that time my rig was crap. I'm currently dl it again via a website, if I get hooked again, might buy it again from the site :yep:

I totally forgot about this game, someone menttioned in another part of the forum about WWII flight sims and the first game to pop into my head was B-17:D

[HunterICX]

I used to have this game a few years ago, unfortunately I sold if off since at that time my rig was crap. I'm currently dl it again via a website, if I get hooked again, might buy it again from the site :yep:

I totally forgot about this game, someone menttioned in another part of the forum about WWII flight sims and the first game to pop into my head was B-17:D

From which website are you downloading it from?

*Edit*Ah found it the 30 min trial version right?

[Officerpuppy]

I used to have this game a few years ago, unfortunately I sold if off since at that time my rig was crap. I'm currently dl it again via a website, if I get hooked again, might buy it again from the site :yep:

I totally forgot about this game, someone menttioned in another part of the forum about WWII flight sims and the first game to pop into my head was B-17:D

From which website are you downloading it from?

*Edit*Ah found it the 30 min trial version right?

Yep, though 30 min is too little time, it took me about that long just to get reaquinted with the controls, by the time I was finally in the air and testing the guns out, my time ran out :down:

[Dowly]

30min is way too short time for a game like B-17 II! :o

[dean_acheson]

Dowly's still gone?

[Kratos]

Yep he still gone http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/1447/ferretlg4.gif he'll be back http://www.online-thecatsmeow.com/images/Emoticons3/believers.gif

[Chock]

Don't worry, he's still alive, I heard from him today

:D Chock

[Kratos]

Just watched the great escape yesterday for the umteenth time.this came to mind..
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4200/ballferret1re5.gif HILTS (dowly) the cooler king
joking aside....hope your getting fed and watered m8 and there treating you well http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/images/avatars/4771885724701ed97b4244.gif