28.02.2011, 18:55
I've been chin deep in the Histomod 4.0 for UP 2.01 for around a week now, and after sorting out the difficulties that I had--all of them the result of my long hiatus from playing IL-2 and my resultant unfamiliarity with how the new modded setups work, none of them resulting from the mod itself--I am ready to rave about this mod at length. Consider this a shameless plug and an enticement to anyone who hasn't tried it to download it and play it.
First, thanks to all of the guys at the Histomod forums ( http://histomodforum.forumactif.net/ ) for their patience in helping a non-French language speaker to get the mod into working order. Whether my questions and requests for help were in GoogleFrench, or just plain old English, those guys have been uniformly helpful, informative, and generous. LeBig in particular.
My take on the mod in general: I love the new dimension of realism that has been added in the aircraft systems that can be (must be) controlled by the player. Big things like much more realistic engine starts and smaller lovely details like the necessity of unstrapping your harness before ejecting from the cockpit, manually putting on your O2 mask, arming the weapons and turning on the reflector sight. I don't want to forget the realistic implementation of WEP--it only lasts about 5 minutes now, just as in reality. I always hated the unrealistic infinite WEP in the old IL-2. What a treat to now have to be intelligent and conservative in using this essential asset.
It will take me a long time to become familiar with all of the enhancements to the game (and I know that the Histomod team has benefited from the work of the IL-2 modding community as a whole in creating this grand mod) but so much is truly spectacular at first glance. New, historically accurate load-outs for the planes, old and new; improved (I think) FMs for the planes; an entire new War to fight in the Korean theater with enough variety to make it engrossing, beautiful maps, fantastic planes and stunning cockpits. There is almost nothing in this mod that does not widen the eyes when first encountered. The sounds, the models, the terrain, the weapon systems, the whole thing is absolutely wonderful, and it is free. Attack an enemy armored position with an A-1 Skyraider loaded to the gills with napalm, Zuni rockets, MK 82 bombs, and cannon and when your ammo is gone, if you can shoot at all, you will leave behind a new vision of destruction! Large portions of towns shrouded in smoke and lit by burning vehicles and buildings (visible from more realistic distances), lines of wrecked trucks and tanks, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky...this is a far more realistic picture of what war looks like, and what modern war machines can do. The folders in the mod all have the name Korea in them, but this mod is not merely a Korean war mod--it vastly improves the play and appearance of the WWII era game as well.
The only feature I found a tad underwhelming in the mod was the Effects. They seemed just a little bland compared to the HG & P effects, for example. But after some tweaking I was able to get the mod to use all of the effects from the HG&P Plutonium mod (just disabled all of the "file" files, like 00B509F2DD168B52 in the Plutonium Mod and installed the remaining folders directly into MODS), and now it is all just...fantastic.
Notes on my setup and some advice for the unenlightened....
I have a pretty mediocre system--
Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.101014-0432)
Dell Inc. Inspiron 530s
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E4600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Memory: 2046MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
But since I have this mod installed correctly, it runs at pretty much the highest settings without game-breaking stutters or low frame-rates, including all of Freddy's fantastic cockpits. I would be happy to provide a copy of my config.ini to anyone with a comparable system who is having performance issues. Word to the wise--if the game plays like crap, it might not be because your system is all that inadequate. Make sure you have the game configured right, and make sure that you have the game running as smoothly and error free as possible. If you have trouble with a downloaded campaign, look at the missions in FMB and make sure there aren't glaring mistakes--like planes with vectors that are beyond the speed of the aircraft, or the inclusion of objects you don't have installed, etc. Defrag the game. Close unnecessary services using one of several free utilities, and in general keep your game and computer in top running order. This game needs major TLC to make it run its best. I have never had a slow-down, or any kind of trouble with Dead Space 2, or any of a dozen other relatively brand new games with awesome graphics; my computer runs them like like a champ. Il-2, however, requires work and maintenance to make it play well. But it's worth it.
As an aside, I had a small windfall of money recently, and this mod finally drove me to replace my disintegrating Saitek Evo (first generation, held together, literally, with Scotch tape) with a Saitek X45 flight stick and rudder I found on Amazon for $47--used, like new. Can't wait 'till that and my two GB of ram upgrade get here. So my mediocre system will soon be a much improved mediocre system. Maybe it will even play Cliffs of Dover. Though I have my doubts--the engine looks an awful lot like IL-2 Sturmovik, and with all of the new details...?
In conclusion: Histomod revamps and revitalizes the WWII Era IL-2, and it opens up a completely new Theatre of war with modern combat that feels authentic--which can only grow more detailed and immersive as the Histomod team continues their work. Who would have thought that IL-2 would be mod-able to that extent?
adieu
First, thanks to all of the guys at the Histomod forums ( http://histomodforum.forumactif.net/ ) for their patience in helping a non-French language speaker to get the mod into working order. Whether my questions and requests for help were in GoogleFrench, or just plain old English, those guys have been uniformly helpful, informative, and generous. LeBig in particular.
My take on the mod in general: I love the new dimension of realism that has been added in the aircraft systems that can be (must be) controlled by the player. Big things like much more realistic engine starts and smaller lovely details like the necessity of unstrapping your harness before ejecting from the cockpit, manually putting on your O2 mask, arming the weapons and turning on the reflector sight. I don't want to forget the realistic implementation of WEP--it only lasts about 5 minutes now, just as in reality. I always hated the unrealistic infinite WEP in the old IL-2. What a treat to now have to be intelligent and conservative in using this essential asset.
It will take me a long time to become familiar with all of the enhancements to the game (and I know that the Histomod team has benefited from the work of the IL-2 modding community as a whole in creating this grand mod) but so much is truly spectacular at first glance. New, historically accurate load-outs for the planes, old and new; improved (I think) FMs for the planes; an entire new War to fight in the Korean theater with enough variety to make it engrossing, beautiful maps, fantastic planes and stunning cockpits. There is almost nothing in this mod that does not widen the eyes when first encountered. The sounds, the models, the terrain, the weapon systems, the whole thing is absolutely wonderful, and it is free. Attack an enemy armored position with an A-1 Skyraider loaded to the gills with napalm, Zuni rockets, MK 82 bombs, and cannon and when your ammo is gone, if you can shoot at all, you will leave behind a new vision of destruction! Large portions of towns shrouded in smoke and lit by burning vehicles and buildings (visible from more realistic distances), lines of wrecked trucks and tanks, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky...this is a far more realistic picture of what war looks like, and what modern war machines can do. The folders in the mod all have the name Korea in them, but this mod is not merely a Korean war mod--it vastly improves the play and appearance of the WWII era game as well.
The only feature I found a tad underwhelming in the mod was the Effects. They seemed just a little bland compared to the HG & P effects, for example. But after some tweaking I was able to get the mod to use all of the effects from the HG&P Plutonium mod (just disabled all of the "file" files, like 00B509F2DD168B52 in the Plutonium Mod and installed the remaining folders directly into MODS), and now it is all just...fantastic.
Notes on my setup and some advice for the unenlightened....
I have a pretty mediocre system--
Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.101014-0432)
Dell Inc. Inspiron 530s
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo CPU E4600 @ 2.40GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Memory: 2046MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
But since I have this mod installed correctly, it runs at pretty much the highest settings without game-breaking stutters or low frame-rates, including all of Freddy's fantastic cockpits. I would be happy to provide a copy of my config.ini to anyone with a comparable system who is having performance issues. Word to the wise--if the game plays like crap, it might not be because your system is all that inadequate. Make sure you have the game configured right, and make sure that you have the game running as smoothly and error free as possible. If you have trouble with a downloaded campaign, look at the missions in FMB and make sure there aren't glaring mistakes--like planes with vectors that are beyond the speed of the aircraft, or the inclusion of objects you don't have installed, etc. Defrag the game. Close unnecessary services using one of several free utilities, and in general keep your game and computer in top running order. This game needs major TLC to make it run its best. I have never had a slow-down, or any kind of trouble with Dead Space 2, or any of a dozen other relatively brand new games with awesome graphics; my computer runs them like like a champ. Il-2, however, requires work and maintenance to make it play well. But it's worth it.
As an aside, I had a small windfall of money recently, and this mod finally drove me to replace my disintegrating Saitek Evo (first generation, held together, literally, with Scotch tape) with a Saitek X45 flight stick and rudder I found on Amazon for $47--used, like new. Can't wait 'till that and my two GB of ram upgrade get here. So my mediocre system will soon be a much improved mediocre system. Maybe it will even play Cliffs of Dover. Though I have my doubts--the engine looks an awful lot like IL-2 Sturmovik, and with all of the new details...?
In conclusion: Histomod revamps and revitalizes the WWII Era IL-2, and it opens up a completely new Theatre of war with modern combat that feels authentic--which can only grow more detailed and immersive as the Histomod team continues their work. Who would have thought that IL-2 would be mod-able to that extent?
adieu
