Battle of Britain 2 "Wings of Victory"

[JScones]

Originally Posted by TarJak

I've had this game on my shelf for a while. Tried it once or twice but found that the stability still seemed to be a problem. I hadn't installed any of the updates though. Do these make a difference to the stability?

Absolutely! Until a few days ago I was running 2.06.1 and the difference in stability between it and stock is quite noticable (never had a crash with it actually). The latest Summer Terrain update referred above includes a 2.07 beta exe, and so far I haven't noticed any problems (albeit I haven't played it that much lately).

The beta exe included adds a single player campaign (thanks for clarifying GE) which suits me perfectly, although according to the devs it really only works well if you play the RAF side. The SPC means you set yourself up in a squadron and spend the whole career flying the campaign, rather than plotting the campaign.

Here's a review of 2.06 to give you an idea of the differences... http://simhq.com/_air10/air_293a.html

[GlobalExplorer]

It was written somewhere that the incremental improvements added by the 2.06 patch did as much to 2.0 as BoB2 did to BoB. I think it was in the same simhq review that JScones linked to.

My personal experience with 2.06 and higher is that this might not be the stablest game I have ever seen, but I can not remember more than 2 or 3 major crashes since I had it, which imo is absolutely ok for such a complex program.

XabbaRus I am (still) playing on a 3200XP, 1 GB, GF6800, everything somewhat overclocked, with most on high and the only time I get slowdowns is when there are hundreds of planes in the air.

It was written somewhere that you should not set horizon detail higher than medium with such a machine, because it is a very costly option.

[SUBMAN1]

You guys are getting me excited to play this game. MiG Alley was a fav of mine, dodging ground fire on in my P-80 at times, and this is the same engine, so....

-S

[AFRIKAKORPS]

The one thing I like about BoBII are the sounds. They are far superior to IL-2 and I would play it just for those. The only problem for me is that none of the aircraft seem very responsive. Maybe I'm too used to IL-2 but it seems like I'm always struggling to my plane into place.

Is it my settings perhaps? Because I want to love this game but the planes just don't seem to move how they're supposed to(at least to me).

[JScones]

The Merlin engine sound as the plane wizzes past your cockpit is amazing. Never heard anything like it in any other flight sim I've ever played.

Re the FM, others will know more, but I think there are FM mod packs that may help.

[AFRIKAKORPS]

I think it just has a more realistic FM, so I have to play for a while until I get the hang of it. Its interesting to see how different IL-2 and BoB are, almost night and day IMO.

[TarJak]

Originally Posted by JScones

Absolutely! Until a few days ago I was running 2.06.1 and the difference in stability between it and stock is quite noticable (never had a crash with it actually). The latest Summer Terrain update referred above includes a 2.07 beta exe, and so far I haven't noticed any problems (albeit I haven't played it that much lately).

The beta exe included adds a single player campaign (thanks for clarifying GE) which suits me perfectly, although according to the devs it really only works well if you play the RAF side. The SPC means you set yourself up in a squadron and spend the whole career flying the campaign, rather than plotting the campaign.

Here's a review of 2.06 to give you an idea of the differences... http://simhq.com/_air10/air_293a.html

:hmm: Sounds like I might have to dust off the disk and give it a spin. It certainly looks like it is much improved based on what I've read so far. I used to play EAW a lot a few years ago and it had some great mods for the pacific and med theatres but my favourite was the BoB mod which let you choose from a selection of sqadrons and limited the aircraft to those available in Summer of 1940.

Thanks for this.

EDIT: Did just that tonight. I'm actually reasonably impressed. The new mod certainly gives things a more stable feeling. IIRC I was lucky to get half an hour out of it before it CTD, but played around in both instant action and campaign for about 3 hours without any major problems. I get a similar stuttering to what Dowly reported when there are lots of planes in the sky but not very pronounced.

I like the terrain upgrade and the graphics are quite outstanding. One thing I was disappointed in though was the damage graphics. I think IL2 has done a better job with holes actually becoming see through rather than the flat "holes" textures shown in Bob2. Was quite disappointed when using an external view, the alpha channel showed a reflection through the damage. My verdict, Not perfect but still far better than the original. I'll probably play it again soon.

[GlobalExplorer]

It appears that with all the new patches most people seem to be extremely positively surprised that they have missed out on the game, so may I ask that everyone who likes the game tries to make some propaganda at other, similarly inclined forums because these guys are still struggling with a catastrophic rep - they unfortunately got it from the initial release two years ago, which seems to have been very unstable.

There is also a new thread with some information about the next patches:

http://www.shockwaveproductions.com/...t=9079&start=0

I really like the fact that BoB2 has more or less become a community effort with slow but constant improvement and imo thats why it does some things so well - the guys enjoy working on it.

The question of FMs was raised, I am not the right person to judge myself but some people who appear to be have praised it in very high tones.

The damage modelling is primitive compared to IL-2, but it didnt bother me very much because I am happy if I just hit anywhere. But if your used to IL-2 it might be disappointing. The pyrotechnic effects are however, much better than in any other sim I know, and generally more realistic.

[TarJak]

I've got to say I'm pretty happy with it although I'm a little overwhelmed with the "campaign" management thing. I'd prefer to see a pilot career mode rather than the strategic management of the battle.

[SUBMAN1]

Originally Posted by TarJak

I've got to say I'm pretty happy with it although I'm a little overwhelmed with the "campaign" management thing. I'd prefer to see a pilot career mode rather than the strategic management of the battle.

That might be nice, but you'd loose the ability to 'hurt' the Germans. In Rowan's campaign engine, pilots will get skittish if they take a beating and be reluctant to mix it up on subsequent flights. WIth control of the campaign, you have the ability to hit them extremely hard at one specific point. Then that airfield will be reluctant to battle you in the future for a long while.

-S