regardless of "when" - one thing is for sure, SOW will kill the IL2 modding community stone dead, when it arrives.
And the modders - bless their hearts - are the cutting-edge crew who keep this dear old flight sim alive, for all its followers like myself.
The other day, one such modder (PeterD: of recent Sabre/Mig fame) was asked by some punter what plane he was developing next. He replied something like: "not sure - but if SOW comes out, I wont be touching Il2 again".
True of all the best modders, I fear. They are not followers, and definitely not a sentimental bunch. And rightly so !!
Sic transit gloria mundi - simulans ????
But, it will be sad to see it go.
i just hope they put more detail into the game then they did with IL-2 It a old game revolutionary even but the graphic
The Il2 series is old, dating back to 2001, so yes, the graphics in unmodified form are bland by today's standards. The new maps and repainted stock maps as well as modded effects do bring new life to the sim.
As for SoW being the spiritual successor to Il2, that remains to be seen. Il2 is still very popular a full eight years after its initial release. Il2 is now enjoying even more interest with the mods and is likely to remain popular for many more years. It will be a long time before we know if SoW will achieve the same or better popularity and longevity.