IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles
IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles, originally released in 2013 under the title IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, is the third generation game in the IL-2 Sturmovik series of World War II combat flight simulation video games.
| IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | 1C Game Studios |
| Publisher(s) | 1C Company |
| Engine | Digital Nature Engine  |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | 19 November 2013[1] |
| Genre(s) | Single-player, Combat flight simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
History
The original brand was created in 2001 with the first IL-2 Sturmovik air combat simulator. That latter is in the present day officially titled IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 as this was the title of its "Complete Edition" back in 2006, the final compilation of add-ons in the first generation of IL-2 games.
The second generation was released in 2011 under the title IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover.
All three generations, IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946, IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, and IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles, are still in use and supported by the current owner of the IL-2 Sturmovik label, Russian company 1C Game Studios.
Before the IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles brand was coined in 2017, two "IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of" modules were released: IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad in 2013 and IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Moscow in 2016. The original Battle of Stalingrad module resulted in 2013 of a combined effort of 1C Company, the publisher of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, and 777 Studios, developers of Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War who reused the 2009 Rise of Flight "Digital Nature" game engine in order to develop the Battle of Stalingrad game. On 17 November 2017, accumulated improvements in the Digital Nature simulation engine led the development team to change its name to "Digital Warfare Engine".[2]
Theaters of operations and compatible simulations
At launch in 2013, the game was a combat flight simulation set during the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), specifically the time period between Operation Uranus and the surrender of the 6th Army. From 2016 onwards, advanced improvements of the game started allowing users to fly aircraft in other World War II battles (Battle of Moscow, Battle of Kuban, Operation Bodenplatte), fly World War I aircraft (Flying Circus series) or drive World War II tanks (Tank Crew: Clash at Prokhorovka).[2]
Development and release
After 1C Game Studios halted development for IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, they officially announced development for IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad in December 2012.[3]
Access to an early alpha was made available for "Premium Edition" owners on November 19, 2013.[1]
The release date was originally planned for the first quarter of 2014.[4]
The full release date has been marked as October 20, 2014 on the Steam digital market.[5]
Released modules in the Great Battles series
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad is the 13th installment in the IL-2 Sturmovik series, but due to differences between game engines, it is considered to belong to the third generation of IL-2 Sturmovik simulators series. On 17 November 2017, the development team announced several new titles for that third IL-2 generation and that the generation would be called IL-2 Great Battles series.[2] All modules are standalone games and do not require any other module in the series to be played.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
The first simulator in the series, released on 19 November 2013[1]. On 22 October 2014 the game was added to the Steam online gaming service.[6]
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Moscow
Series has received next part IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Moscow in 2016. This expands Battle of Stalingrad with new areas and aircraft keeping most of technology the same.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Kuban was released in 2018,[7] bringing graphics support for DirectX 11 and virtual reality.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Bodenplatte
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Bodenplatte was released in October 2019 on early access (Premium edition) and on full access in November 2019 (both Premium and standard editions). The pack includes aircraft that were operated by the USAAF, Royal Air Force and Luftwaffe during Operation Bodenplatte, the last and final large-scale offensive by the Luftwaffe in the closing stages of World War II.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus
IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus, directly taken from the nickname of Jagdgeschwader I, a famous German aviation combat unit during World War I, is the title of a series of simulators set in the Great War. The series was announced on 17 November 2017 as a first module yet to be released titled IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus – Volume 1.[2] That first volume was finally released on 7 November 2019.[8] Further volumes are expected to be launched as well.
IL-2 Sturmovik: Tank Crew
IL-2 Sturmovik: Tank Crew is the title of a series of tank simulation games, all of them set in World War II. Tank Crew is compatible with all other World War II combat flight simulation modules in the Great Battles series: while some users are playing an online game on the simulated tank crew seats, others can seat on simulated cockpits and fly on board simulated aircraft, as usual in the Great Battles series. The first module in the Tank Crew series, titled IL-2 Sturmovik: Tank Crew – Clash at Prokhorovka, was announced on 17 November 2017[2] and finally released in November 2019.
Reception
SimHQ gave the game a score of 7/10, noting that the game was "a very clinically nice piece of software, but lacking the immersion and emotion of other titles of the period."[9]
References
- "Early access is now open!". Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- "Announcing Battle of Bodenplatte, Flying Circus, Tank Crew and more..." Retrieved 24 October 2019.
- December 11, 2012: The 1C Game Studios website announces not only the creation of the company (by means of the association of 1C Company and developer 777 Studios) but also the development of the incoming simulator IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
- May 8, 2014: Developer Diary official announcement of the IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad simulator release
- "IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad". Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- "Now Available on Steam - IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad". Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- "Announcing Battle of Kuban and Development Plan!". Retrieved 2016-12-22.
- "Gamepressure.com, IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus - Volume I PC". Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- "IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad Review". Retrieved 2016-12-22.