[Rowddy]

There is review out for Cliffs of Dover, but.... I don't think that 1C is gonna enjoy reading it. It's in Dutch you might wanna translate in with google or something simulair.

http://pc.9lives.be/games/il-2-sturmovi ... ?id=201601

S!

[Fireskull]

There is review out for Cliffs of Dover, but.... I don't think that 1C is gonna enjoy reading it. It's in Dutch you might wanna translate in with google or something simulair.

http://pc.9lives.be/games/il-2-sturmovi ... ?id=201601

S!

Hi, Rowdy


Here is a Bing translation from Dutch to English:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover
Reviewed for PC by Schotenaar



Review | 06 April 2011 8: 59-


An airplane can control for many young lads a ultimate dream, but few succeed there also effective in later pilot. Fortunately there are flight simulators for everyone that their desire not fulfilled saw. The Flight Simulator series is already a fixed value within the simulation genre, but also the IL-2 Sturmovik-games allow their male and runs to some more action. The newly hatched IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, however, is an odd man out, but strange means necessarily bad?





Frankly, it was high time that Ubisoft again came up with a new shoot in her IL-2 Sturmovik series, because it was meanwhile already four years since we have such a action-packed air game on the pc were welcome. In the meantime we still have a part on the consoles appear that it is definitely not bad did (over the horrible DS version of silence I even), but it must be said that pc gamers had at least sense what's new in war violence. A few months ago Ubisoft announced therefore IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, WW II-a realistic flight simulator developed by 1 c, the developers of almost all good IL-2 games for the pc. The only strange thing is that to the Cliffs of Dover you can only purchase through an online platform as Steam, but for the rest seems to be a review completely superfluous since all the ingredients are present to yet another solid flight game. Or am I going to mean?


Not a good friend


Unfortunately, I disagree with that ruling indeed far too short by the dangerous bend, since IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is also by other aspects a remarkable Maverick; and with the ' maverick ' I mean actually studio earlier that developers 1 c: Maddox Games sometimes peculiar stitches. It went all wrong during boot, because this game is clearly not a good friend of an anti-virus program such as AVG. the reason is quite simple: Ubisoft picks up again with her hotly contested DRM protection to piracybut since this system so much information back and forth sends seem some system files according to AVG suspiciously viruses and so the game will be unplayable if you proceed. The developers will undoubtedly this unfortunate incident with a patch does recover, but a first impression can obviously much better.


If this is the only lack of Cliffs of Dover, it would of course very faintly the game accordingly to count, but unfortunately this is only the very beginning of the misery. After the boot process where you rough in a main menu that is all the way to the second world war reminds: gray, dark and anything but pleasant. Note: all of this in an indirect way, because it seems like the developers an hour before the release still had to design a menu with this. The whole interface looks much too simplistic, you need a minute wait for the background music begins to play-if it's already not falters during navigation-and everything looks quite simply far too cheap. This is a free game had to be created by some aircraft enthusiasts, then all this would not be a problem, but a series of IL-2 Sturmovik if we are really just a bit more.


Trial & Error


All hope lies so still what around which IL-2: Cliffs of Dover revolves, namely the flying. This time the game focuses on the battle of Britain, an organ point during the second world war. For the newcomers within the series has 1 c: Maddox Games as it should provide a separate training section where you can make knowledge with all the aspects that Cliffs of Dover has to offer. At least, that's so in theory, because in practice, you will only find five tutorial-levels that average about two minutes. It is true that some important acts are introduced in this mode, but many more elements remain undiscussed. You learn so briefly how you should take off and how you should countries, but the various systems of the aircraft (the undercarriage, flaps, the operation of the engine), you will have to learn a self taught, what makes the first real mission will turn into a complete fiasco for inexperienced pilots. Another frustrating and illogical choice in these training levels is also that you computer-controlled Copilot will take over the control during interesting pieces. As you can in the ' Take-off les so a few seconds enjoying your take-off maneuver, then you already geeuwend the next few minutes see how your supervisor the coffin to the ground and even all the way to a hangar taxiet.


The training mode, you may so let for what he is better, because you can immediately get started with the campaign in which you can choose to be in the interest of England or Germany to fight. In any case, the IL-2 Sturmovik series not known for his impressive or in-depth campaigns and even now is the structure-completely in harmony with the rest of this count-pretty simplistic. The creators have still trouble the whole what to create and personalize your character an entire background, but in the end is soon down to mission after mission complete with ever more or less similar objectives. In comparison with other IL-2 Sturmovik-games this campaign, however, is certainly not inferior and the interesting setting in which Belgium also plays a small role, again interesting chosen from the creators. Nevertheless, in future there really some more meat to this mode.


A painful case


The big question remains, of course, how it is to actually in the cockpit of an aircraft to creep into Cliffs of Dover. This section looks still bother, since more than 20 detailed aircraft their obeisance and the game world is as truthful as possible is re-created. The reason why I that important question, however, have so often postponed, is not because I want the best for the end wants to preserve, but rather because it is simply embarrassing to talk about it. Painful, both for your computer as for the loyal fans of this series, because technically is IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover simply ghastly. The developers promised in announcing a brand new graphics engine and beautiful graphics, but the chance is pretty small that you plenty of these novelties will be able to enjoy. A system that Cliffs of Dover can run smoothly, I believe, after all, invented, because in spite of my configuration (Intel Core i-7, 6 GB DDR III, ATI Radeon HD 5850) comfortably above the recommended requirements, it is already very difficult to get 20 FPS to catch up on Medium. Admittedly, the glimpses that I have been able to address some of the graphics on Ultra High, are indeed very neat, but it is clearly a bad development that an average heavy to even heavy gaming pc this game not posh can handle. Meanwhile, the complaints worldwide within, so once again has 1 c: Maddox Games a great deal to do if it's a patch.


But here the problems not yet on; also your ears will be hard to endure. The makers had perhaps Alex Agnew can appeal to the sound of a gunshot or a propeller to include sound, because currently the various aircraft engines and weapons awful. It seems like the developers their box in a distant past have learned, then twenty years have worked elsewhere and since a few months the wire of the gamedevelopment have picked up again. The sound quality of this game is really no longer to tolerate anno 2011 and the same is to say about the rest of the gameplay. So you get when you open the folder is not a nice map of England and the North Sea to see, and you will receive a Windows 95 box in image with about 4 pixels: one for England, one for France, one for Belgium and the last blue dot represents the channel. Also support for joysticks is pretty disastrous and setting of the controls is much too cumbersome developed. And again and again that simplistic and dark interface (created using font Ariel!) for a bit more despair.


However, you had a very strong character, a futuristic pc and far too much time, then you can still explore the other game modes that IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover. What the singleplayer, can you both Quick Missions as Single Missions, but the difference between them is quite small. In the latter game type six missions can give you a disappointment for the rest all are similar to those from the campaign mode. The Quick Missions you can compare with a glorified Free Flight mode, where you are free to fly and shoot where you want and where you can add as enemies. Finally, there's a bright acclaimed multiplayer which 128 players online against each other, but this is simply empty. Not surprising of course, since the people who purchased Cliffs of Dover have either to be lagging behind with the launcher by the DRM protection, either they have the game has long been removed because it technically as good as unplayable.




Conclusion of Schotenaar for this game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I therefore no longer words to waste; IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is an unmitigated flop. Because of the towering system requirements, the silly sound effects and the amateurish interface seems rather a pre-alpha version of the game than the final result. Even though shelter there under this source of annoyance some beautiful aeroplanes and an interesting setting, yet offers Cliffs of Dover far too little for a successful figure. This flight simulator is a real disappointment to many fans, who again are within this genre.



Gameplay: 8 of 20
Sound: 4 of 20
Graphics: 12 of 20
Fun: 6 of 20

REVIEW SCORE: 38


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



hock:


Fireskull

[Rowddy]

txs for translating it Fireskull i am Dutch so i knew what it said just wanted it to share it with you all.

[Fireskull]

txs for translating it Fireskull i am Dutch so i knew what it said just wanted it to share it with you all.

You are, welcome, Rowdy

That was the most negative review of Cliffs of Dover that I have read. ;dd



Fireskull

[Rowddy]

yeah me too. But it is a profesional Journalist and in the past he always wrote very good about Il-2 so... he has partialy right Campaign realy is garbage.

[Planemad]

38 / 100 hock: :-? thats is a rather low score, but the review is quiet in depth

Thanks for translating Fireskull

Planemad

[Bearkiller72]

If I might state my opinion about CloD in a picture:



For those of you not familiar with 70's classics, this, my friends, is a BUGGY. :|
But opposite to our new 1C software toy, this VW engined toy was a buggy, but not BUGGY!
It worked fine from the start, was easy to use and easy to maintain.

Quite the opposite of CloD... :oops:

Please don't get me wrong, I really like the game, only my feelings towards it swing between absolute adoration and deepest loathing.
Why?
Pros:
Smashing graphics - I almost feel like being in the 1968 movie classic "Battle of Britain", I do get goosebumps when I look around in my Spit and
turn my head to my six and can actually see the bulks and stringers, modeled in 3D,
smashing effects - line up behind that Do-17, let the Brownings call Fritz and watch actual debris and recognizable AC parts coming your way,
not just some textures, as in 1946,
new physics - I'm not quite sure, still testing, but flying in clouded areas and not-so-nice weather feels different than in 1946 and
smashing new FM's - OK, 1946 was definetely fascinating, but CloD's flying feeling is definetely better. In the past, when I read about the
Hurricane being a "stable gun platform", flying it in 1946 didn't really feel that way, but now, it's like a thick, wooden board up in the air.
Also the general feeling of the AC's feels much more finetuned, the differences between the types are not as harsh in contrast as in 1946.

Cons:
All to early released - allright, allright, I know. I've also been one of those dudes, who yelled out loud: "Release it! Release it!".
But after what I've experienced, Oleg should've been given another 6 months, at least. But as I know it, Ubi "forced" him, if I'm not mistaken.
High system load - now improved by patch, but still needs work. I know someone with an Intel Quad and a GTX295 SLI system who couldn't
run the game properly. Huh? I have a PhenomII, 6x 3,2GHz, GTX570 system and still can't run the game maxed out? Win7 64bit tells me,
my system is a 7 point something regarding performance, so where's the fat man in the eye of the needle, blocking everything?
The latest patch (#3 :roll: ) - Hey, the performance has improved! Woohoo! No more freeze frames over London, still a bit laggy here and there,
but a general boost, for sure. Let's have a go at my new DogFight map with a buddy!
BANG! "Launcher.exe has caused problems and needs to be restarted." Wot? This is new, haven't had this before, well, let's try again... BANG!
Told my buddy to host and BANG! System restart, game restart and it looked good until I loaded my mission.
All of a sudden his controls weren't reacting as they should (but all settings were unchanged) and when he hosted, I couldn't select any AC.
System restart, game restart, mission loaded and suddenly everything works fine. Until one of us had to respawn... Same probs all over again.
General problems
- like the skin bug.
You can't select your own custom skins and fly with them, unless you create a new mission in FMB and assign your custom skins to the AC's you set.
- like the "Engine Stopping" bug.
On some occasions, I have it regularly on my aforementioned, self-made map, you hop into a DF game, enter your crate, engine is off, so you hit "I"
and all of a sudden it says "Engine Stopping" and nothing happens. Change sides, hop into another AC, start the engine, stop it and then change sides
again and climb into the AC you had selected first and: voilà, the engine starts. :?:

All this and the practically non-existent documentaton make this game a "bad case of loving you", just to quote Robert Palmer.

Hope I didn't bore you too much and wish everyone around the happiest of easter family reunions!

[Heinkel-162]

Bearkiller, what you mean by Non-Existenet documentation?

I have an entire game Manual with how to fly all the planes with the realism and engine setting on, I have a full list and explanation of all difficulty setting and controls for what does what specifacally, and even explanation on terms like magnetos.

Mind you I also have the collectors edition, which perhaps in the normal version you do not get all this information?

[Fireskull]

We do have an English Manual thread:

Cliffs of Dover - English Manual
viewtopic.php?f=99&t=31619




Fireskull

[{HVY-E}Jinxx]

Well my first impressions of CoD bring back flashbacks of Battle Cruiser 3000.

For those of you who don't remember it, and I'd understand if you didn't, it was a game on the cutting edge of the simulation realm. Hyped up to be the best, most immersive and most dynamic simulation of it's time.

When it hit the shelves, it was filled with bugs. It was due to the fact that the developer was told by the publisher to get it out or loose his funding. He obliged and released a game that was in all respects a "pre-beta". It was so full of bugs that the game was recalled from the shelves after only 3 or so weeks.

He spent the next few months reworking and repairing the game. It was then re-released about 6mos later as Battle Cruiser 3000AD. Unfortunately the damage had already been done and buyers that had flocked to the stores during it's initial release were no where to be seen. The game was a massive flop. Although it had and still has a rather well formed cult following, the game in general has fallen into obscurity.

With all the problems that CoD is having, it is very reminiscent of BC3000.
Just waiting for the fixes or the recall not to mention the actual release here in the states.........

[Bearkiller72]

Bearkiller, what you mean by Non-Existenet documentation?

I have an entire game Manual with how to fly all the planes with the realism and engine setting on, I have a full list and explanation of all difficulty setting and controls for what does what specifacally, and even explanation on terms like magnetos.

Mind you I also have the collectors edition, which perhaps in the normal version you do not get all this information?

Thanks for pointing out a flaw in expression and thanks to Fireskull for the link to the manual!
But I also own the collectors ed. and while it was great to have a "real" pilots manual in hand (missed that since Janes' dropped from the sim market),
it wasn't enough in-depth as for game functions, IMO.
If I said "practical non-existent documentation", I meant a little more in depth info about e.g. how to setup your own DF map in FMB
and hosting it over the INet and such. Also that skin "problem" could've been explained.
My bad, I'm, as I said, torn between love and hatred and I'm a very emotionel person. Sorry.

Again, don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the effort 1C has put into that game and am anxiously awaiting the patches to come!