Newbie's Guide to IL2 Online Dogfighting

By Jay Hall

Version 3.10 – Last Updated on March 3rd, 2009Offered under the GNU GPL Version 2.0

Table of Contents

Introduction – Page 3 First Stop – Page 3 Basic Terms – Page 4

Pre-Flight Check – Page 8 Quick Mission Builder – Page 8

Main Type of Flying Encountered in Hyperlobby – Page 9 Types of Servers – Page 9 Server Settings – Page 11 Types of Dogfighting Servers – Page 14

Aircraft – Page 15 Types of Aircraft You Should Fly – Page 15 Types of Aircraft You Will Face – Page 16

Online Opponents – Page 19 Classes of Pilots You Will Face – Page 19 Other Interesting Questions – Page 21 Other Classes of Pilots – Page 24

Perspectives and Tactics – Page 26 The Hunter and the Hunted – Page 26 Notes About Strategy – Page 27

Mods, Cheating and Online Etiquette – Page 31 Mods – Page 31 Cheating – Page 32 Online Dogfighting Etiquette – Page 33 More is Not Necessarily Better – Page 35

Conclusion – Page 37

Further Reading – Page 37

Sample JoyStick Setups – Page 38

Credits – Page 38

Introduction

Okay, so you went out and purchased the latest and best edition of UbiSoft's IL2 flight sim, entitled IL2 Sturmovik 1946 (which contains everything you need except the two latest 4.08m and 4.09b1m patches), set things up initially and may even have in some flight time against AI opponents offline, but what you are really itching for, is to go up against real human aces online and see how good your skills are. How do you get started? and What can you expect to face when you do get online? These are the main questions that I suspect you would like to have answered. IL2, unlike many other games that are played offline (say, Oblivion) or online (say, World of Warcraft), has a fairly steep learning curve that can take not just a few hours or days, but months. It is also quite easy to become discouraged and just set the game, or at least the online component of it, back up on your shelf to collect dust. Before preceding any further, I would like to state what I feel is the main tenet of online flying: CONTINUAL PRACTICE ALONG WITH CRITICAL SELF EVALUATION IS THE ONLY PATH TOWARDS ENLIGHTNED FLYING. Simply put, there are no absolute shortcuts or easy cheat sheet methods. I once read that the standard World War II training regimen for American fighter pilots consisted of 225 to 300 hours of both classroom and real-world flight time before ever being deployed to a combat zone, so it should come as no surprise in the fairly realistic IL2, that you will not likely start to do well in combat without a similar time commitment. Your ego must be strong with the Force to take the pummeling that is likely in the first few months as you head up into the virtual skies. There is no information that I can give you that will immediately give you a huge lead up on other experienced flyers. It would be like asking a toddler to start walking before learning to crawl. You can read this guide to save yourself some pain in the beginning and you can practice intensely for hours at a time to shorten the transition, but the transition cannot be skipped, no matter how much you may wish otherwise. To further bring reality into focus, much of your competition that you will face online is experienced, intelligent and cool under fire (the game is seven years old, and many who are playing have been for years). The silver lining is that this difficult transition can be eased by following some basic guidelines below. I do not promise miracles and this guide will not make you a better pilot, only experience and a critical eye can do that. But, it can help you to more quickly identify the situation you are in, the enemy you are facing and their likely skill level, allowing you to make appropriate decisions in return.

Just remember that this guide is a general outline which discusses the most often occurring events. It is not a hard and fast advisory that can be applied to every IL2 or Hyperlobby situation, and some flyers may find areas of this Guide with which they strongly disagree. If this happens to you, then the answer is simple - stop reading. In the end, this guide may be very helpful to you or it may not. Hopefully, at the very least, it will give you a bit of a heads up to the IL2 online dogfighting community.

First Stop – Before preceding further, you will need four things to try out IL2 dogfighting online; a computer with internet connection (duh) , the IL2 1946 DVD, a decent joystick and a client program called Hyperlobby (HL). Your best bet for buying the IL2 1946 DVD cheaply is: Pricegrabber Reputable makers of higher end joysticks include CH Products, Thrustmaster and Saitek. You can download the Hyperlobby client from here:HL Home

Sample picture of Hyperlobby Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Hyperlobby is the program that will allow you to join others in online dogfights and co-op missions. I will not go into all the details of how to set it up and what each item in the GUI is for, but there is a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section and setup guide at their website here: HL FAQ Please remember that when you first connect via Hyperlobby, you need to select Forgotten Battles, under connect/select game in the upper right hand of Hyperlobby's graphical user interface. If you select Il2 Sturmovik or Pacific Fighters, Hyperlobby will not be able to find your IL2 1946.exe program.

Once you have this ready, start by reading the included manual that comes on the IL2 1946 DVD. After this, please make sure that you read Bearcat's excellent Nugget's Guide located here: Nugget's Guide

I would also suggest taking a look at Skycat's Guide, which can be found here: Skycat's Guide

If you would like to get some excellent (and free) virtual flight training before facing real human opponents, I suggest you check out the Joint-Ops Virtual Combat Schools which can be found here: Joint-Ops. A great organization with many knowledgeable instructors.

Yes, yes, ...I know that it seems you have to do a great deal of reading and setup before ever even getting to the action, but then IL2 is a fairly hard core sim with a large and experienced online community. You do not want to start out online, only to be continually embarrassed I suspect.

Basic Terms- Before we get to the meat of things, lets make sure that we have down just a few of the basic terms that will continually pop up in discussions about dogfighting.

Dogfight – No explanation needed. Your plane against one or more enemy planes in aerial combat. Another term for dogfighting is ACM or Aerial Combat Maneuvering.

Furball – A condition where there are multiple planes from two or more teams all involved in one large dogfight. Very confusing to newbies and hard to get in, get a kill and get out unharmed.

Situational Awareness (SA) – This is a three dimensional awareness of who and what is around you in flight, especially when engaged in a dogfight or furball. This includes not only the obvious, such as knowing where the aggressors are and what their energy state is, but also knowing the location of your own friendlies and being able to bring them into the fight if need be.

HOTAS – This acronym stands for Hands on the Throttle and Stick. At the bare minimum, you will need a decent joystick to play IL2 without a maximum of frustration. Even more highly recommended

is a HOTAS setup that includes both a joystick and separate throttle, or a proper and full HOTAS system which includes separate rudder pedals for the feet as well to control yaw. Although many veterans would instinctively recommend a joystick, I would go one step further, and say that if you want to hang with the better pilots, you need at least a joystick and separate throttle, so that you have many more hats and switches to control items like flaps, views, prop pitch and of course throttle control.

(An example of elements needed for a full HOTAS system)

Track IR – This is a piece of retail hardware from Natural Point, that maps the motion of your head outside the game to in-game motions allowing you to look around inside the game from the cockpit. Obviously, you can gain part of the same function by mapping different looks to a hat switch on your joystick, but the Track IR allows you to pan your view slowly in the game and allows you to see planes directly above you and behind you, and therefore, I think most would agree that it greatly improves SA (especially in servers that only allow closed cockpits).

(The Track IR is the small device atop the monitor. As the man's head turns (which cannot be seen in this PDF format), the view from within the cockpit on the monitor will change as well.)

Trim – Any aircraft has three dimensions of movement, pitch, roll and yaw and six degrees of freedom (two directions in each plane). Trim can be explained in many complex manners but simply put, a properly trimmed aircraft is one that you should be able to completely remove your hands and feet from the stick and pedals and the aircraft will still maintain its heading (rudder is trimmed), its elevation (elevators are trimmed) and neither roll to the left or right (the ailerons are trimmed). This creates an aerodynamic envelope of minimal drag and is essential for maintaining both speed and

maneuverability in dogfighting. You should have elevator and rudder trim mapped to a hat switch on your joystick because they will be needed constantly. Aileron trim is less critical since you will spend a great deal of time rolling either in combat or to spot new bogies.

Lead Shooting – This is the skill of correctly gauging where the enemy is now and then placing your shots into the area where the enemy is headed (leading), so that your shots and the enemy meet together. This follows the exact same principles of skeet shooting. This is also the dogfighting skill which is most dependent upon continual practice.

(Some lead shooting from the side.)

Turn and Burn (TnB) – This is the style of dogfighting that relies on rapidly turning aircraft with light armor and light to moderate armament at fairly close range, lower speeds and lower altitudes. The Japanese Zero is a classic example of the turn and burn fighter. The Russian La series and British Spitfire also fall into this category. This is the predominant form of combat on HL servers.

(The Japanese Zero.)

Boom and Zoom (BnZ) – This is a style of dogfighting that relies upon high speed dives from higher altitude upon often unsuspecting prey with short bursts from usually heavier armament. A classic BnZ airframe would be the FW 190 or the F4U Corsair series. These planes can often dive faster than 700 kph with stability and have powerful cannon that will eat off a wing or fuselage in one quick burst. BnZ requires being able to gauge speeds better and having higher precision with deflection shooting, and is therefore more difficult to do well at. This is especially true in the often low altitude contests that take place thru HL. For these reasons, BnZ lends itself to more experienced players.

(The Focke-Wulf 190 from Germany.)

Hyperlobby (HL) – A freely available program that allows your computer to connect to IL2 game servers that are hosting dogfights or co-op missions. This is the main manner in which most IL2 players practice online dogfighting. Once again, you can find HL here: HL Home

Teamspeak (TS) and Ventrilo (Ven) – These are programs which allow people to speak to each other in real time as they fly online. They are most often used by virtual squadrons and associations of friends that have flown together for a long time. If you are continually being taken down by what looks like a coordinated group of two or three flyers, it is likely the case that they are communicating with either TS or Ven. You can find TS here: Teamspeak And, you can find Ventrilo here: Ventrilo

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(The GUI of Teamspeak) (The GUI of Ventrilo.)

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PreFlight Check – And now, with some of the basic terms out of the way, lets get into the major areas of importance when heading up into the online skies.

Quick Mission Builder (QMB) – Before heading up into the virtual skies of Hyperlobby it is strongly suggested that you become proficient at basic flight maneuvers and facing your own computer in offline artificially intelligent (AI) controlled combat. Please be sure to read Bearcat's Nugget's Guide approach to getting started offline with the Quick Mission Builder (QMB).

(The GUI of the Quick Mission Builder)

The QMB is part of your regular game (and is not something that you need to download separately) and this is the main tool you will use to setup contests against computer controlled AI opponents. This will be your training ground for a few weeks or months before you face your first real adversaries online. Start out with enemies at the beginner level and in inferior aircraft (like the B-29 or C-47). Work from there up to multiple ace opponents in maneuverable fighters (La-7, Zero or Spitfire) if you can handle it. To try and face online opponents before getting in some training against AI opponents in the QMB will simply bring embarrassment to yourself. At minimum, it is wise to be able to handle AI controlled veterans and ace opponents in one on one dogfights before heading to HL.

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Main Type of Flying You will Encounter with Hyperlobby Servers – The most common situation that you will face when flying in HL servers is opposing bases that are relatively close, contests that begin and end below 3000 meters and contests against multiple opponents, often in furballs. For these reasons, online dogfighting thru Hyperlobby lends itself to aircraft which favor high maneuverability and powerful armament. Slow aircraft that work best at 8000 meters will be slaughtered in HL contests.

Types of Servers Available on HL– There are several different types of servers and therefore flying atomspheres from which to choose when joining a dogfight or co-op thru HL.

(The GUI of Hyperlobby.)

Dogfighting - You will find the dogfighting servers in the far left hand column of Hyperlobby's GUI. The main thing you will find here is much competition of all levels and at all ages of maturity. At any given moment, roughly 90% of the flyers who are currently using HL will be in one of the dogfighting servers. Some servers are a great place to hone your skills and others are terrible. Just remember that most dogfighting servers usually use only the chat window for communication and have no coordinated team tactics. Calling on your mates here for help is often useless. The rest of this guide will tend to focus on these dogfighting servers and the flyers and tactics you will face there.

COOP - Stands for co-op as in cooperative flying. These servers are the ones in the middle columns of the HL GUI. In coops, one flyer is the host and other flyers join up until all the alloted slots are full. The host will then load the map and begin the mission. Coops are better in some ways than regular dogfighting servers in that you have more of a team feeling and others are looking out for you. It is also much more about your team, versus the opposing team or the AI controlled enemy. The positives are that more experienced mates can help out the weaker guys but the negative side might be that it is a bit harder to tell how good you really are. While much of the rest of this guide is applicable to coops, it is more focused on the dogfighting servers.

AirQuake - This is not a specific category within HL but rather a term that refers to frantic and unceasing dogfighting. This term was taken from the popular Quake game of 1996, and a skilled aviator on one of these servers can sometimes make 20 - 70 kills in one hour. The pace is often so frantic though and/or there are too many other flyers on the server that its benefit to beginners is highly questionable. As you become more familiar with the most popular servers, you will quickly come to realize which ones cater to an AirQuake environment.

Game versus Sim - Another question that you may want to ask yourself when using Hyperlobby would concern your view of how serious you want your IL2 experience to be. Some people just want an arcade game and others really want to know exactly how many rivets there are on the Bf 109. Obviously the lower level servers will cater more to arcade type gaming with often no aerodynamic effects and open cockpits enabled etc. While the more advanced servers sometimes do not even allow icons and that is about as close to real flying as you are going to get in a WWII flight sim game.

Server Settings – When you first connect to any dogfighting server in the left hand column of the HL GUI by clicking the 'Join this Game' button, you will see the Brief and three different options at the bottom of the screen as soon as you enter that server; Difficulty, Arming and Fly. Below is a bit of a description about each and how they effect your flying experience.

Brief – This is a written out description of the rules for that server. It dictates what is and is not permissible behavior on that server and unfortunately many newbies just skip right over this. This is where rules about vulching, boom and zoom tactics and team play will be described. To prevent arguments and possibly being banned later, it would behoove you to look over the Brief carefully.

Difficulty (Realism) Settings – Servers in HL are differentiated by the number of difficulty (realism) settings that are enabled. An example of the difficulty settings in the game, looks like this:

(Example of just some of the Difficulty (Realism) Settings that can be toggled in IL2 1946)

You do not have to actually connect to a server to see the realism settings, simply look at a potential dogfight server in the left hand column of the HL GUI, by clicking on it, and then look to see which realism settings are enabled or dis-enabled. Take special note of the following three settings: Cockpit Always On, No External Views and No Icons. These are the main differentiating factors between beginner, intermediate and advanced servers. Also beware, that once you connect to that server, you cannot change the difficulty settings yourself. Only the administrator of that server can make such changes.

Cockpit Always On - If this is toggled off (the button is not lit or the box is not checked) then you can fly without the cockpit enabled (hit control + F1 keys while in game and the cockpit will disappear). This allows you to have a full view screen and more importantly, indicator errors for both friendly and enemy bogies and their location. These indicator arrows will also grow in size as the friendlies or enemies come closer to you. The arrows will help you get used to the flight paths that your enemies commonly take as well. However, it is not wise IMHO to fly without the cockpit on for more than half your training time.

(View with Cockpit On) (Same view with Cockpit Off)

No External Views – If this is toggled off then you can look at your aircraft from the outside and also use other external views that would not be possible from within the cockpit. Two important views to have mapped in this case would then be External Padlock Enemy Air and Next Enemy View. External Padlock Enemy Air usually fixes the camera angle on the closest enemy to you and is excellent for seeing your 'six' when someone is directly behind you. Next Enemy View simply gives you a view of each enemy (if you keep hitting the key that is) from their vantage point. It is very common in HL to see servers which are closed cockpit but allow external views. And therefore, your situational awareness will very much depend upon how well you can use those external views. This is something that will just take practice to get used to. If you enjoy flying with external views, I suggest looking into the purchase of a Track IR. It will allow you to have greatly improved SA on closed cockpit servers.

No Icons – If this is toggled off then you will see icons, which are the colored lettering attached to the plane as it flies through the air, and allows you to determine friend from foe. For example you will have blue lettering attached to the blue team's planes and likewise for the red team. The icons tell you the distance to the plane and sometimes the plane type and callsign of the pilot flying it. If icons are not enabled then caveat emptor because the game is all about spotting the other guy first and you will not be able to positively identify your target until you are relatively close. If you spot the other guy first (which is done by using your gunsight zoom function), then you silently sneak up on his six and open up – end of story in many cases. Servers that employ closed cockpits and do not allow icons are often referred to as Full REAL servers, and are the most difficult skill level wise but also tend to have the longest mission times as well. While it is true that Full REAL servers are much more like real aerial war where most pilots who were shot down were taken by complete surprise, it takes away some from the ace versus ace aspect of the game. I often prefer that I see my enemy and that my enemy see me from far away and that only our airmanship be the deciding factor. Others strongly disagree with me and like not using icons because they believe it encourages better teamwork where one team member is used to bait the unseen opponents while others swoop in to 'bag' them once they appear. With icons

enabled, dogfights will often last more than 20 seconds and can sometimes last up to two minutes (an eternity in aerial combat time). Without icons, there are very few real dogfights and they often last less than 30 seconds. It is very much about whether you like surprise attacks or to face your enemy mano e mano. If you decide to fly on servers that are both closed cockpit and with no icons (Full REAL settings), then you definitely want to invest in a Track IR. Without the SA upgrade that it provides, you will often be the victim of sneak attacks no matter how decent your flying skills.

(Notice the red lettering attached to the A-20s in the distance. These are the icons)

Arming – This is where you select your aircraft, weapon loadout and ammunition. The aircraft that are available to you to actually fly for that server, are known as the Planeset. It is critically important, when you log onto a new server with which you are unfamiliar, to check which planes are available. Often it is the side (say, red or blue teams) or the nation (Germany versus Russia for example) that determines which planes are available if you choose that side. One example might be a server that caters to battles between Japanese Zeros and American Wildcats. In this case, as a beginner, it is much better to choose the Zero since its flying style of turn and burn is better suited to a non-experienced player. Likewise, an upper-level Intermediate or Veteran level player might choose the Wildcat as a test of their abilities. Planesets do have a noticeable impact on your kill ratio as a beginner player so take the time to find your best aircraft. Many servers allow the same planes to be flown by all sides or all bases and others do not, so beware. In the weapon loadout section you pick the type and number of weapons packages that are available for your airframe choice. Just remember that the more bombs and rockets you carry, the more difficult dogfighting will be until you release that ordinance and lighten your plane. Be sure to also set a delay of at least 3 seconds on your bombs or they will go off as soon as dropped and destroy you as well. The fuel that you should take depends on how far away the enemy bases are. On open cockpit servers with close bases I often take only 25% fuel so that I have a lighter airframe and maximum maneuverability for dogfighting. On Intermediate level closed cockpit servers, I often take 50% fuel

and on full real historical servers with missions over one hour it is wise to consider a full tank of gas before departing. Finally weapon convergence is the distance at which the ammunition say from your right wing will cross the path of the ammunition from your left wing. There is much debate as to what is best for new guys but I recommend a convergence of 250 meters for machine guns and 300m for cannons. As your experience grows you will find that you can accurately hit targets from further and further away.

Fly – This is the button you hit when you have selected your base, chosen your airframe and completed your weapons loadout. After hitting this, you will usually find yourself on the tarmac of the base you just selected but occasionally you will find yourself starting in mid-air (known as an airspawn) or on the deck of an aircraft carrier. After that, all you need to do is take off and head to the enemy.

Types of Dogfighting Servers -

Beginner Servers - True beginner servers often have no complex engine management (CEM) and may not even have stalls or flutter enabled. They sometimes also have unlimited ammo and unrealistic gunnery enabled. Avoid these servers at all costs because they will not help you out and will only serve to reinforce bad habits. You should never choose a server that does not at the minimum have full aerodynamic flight effects (stalls, stutter, torque, blackouts, etc..) enabled. All beginner servers are marked by the fact that you can fly without the cockpit enabled and with icons enabled. These 'open pit' servers, despite their flaws can still be great fun and you can usually reach the action within a minute or two.

Intermediate Servers – A good intermediate server will have CEM and all aerodynamic effects enabled but will usually allow external views and icons. About one half of intermediate servers will allow flying without the cockpit on while the other half of them will not allow it. Obviously if you fly on a beginner or intermediate level server that allows open cockpits and do not take advantage of this, you will be at a very large disadvantage. These are the types of servers that you should start out on. You will find an entire range of flyers on these servers and you can usually reach the action within two to 2 - 5 minutes.

Advanced Servers – These servers never allow the cockpit to be set to off and you must get used to using your gunsights (shift + F1 keys) and external views (if allowed). The most difficult servers do not even allow any icons and it is then, that IL2 becomes something closer to true war (but is mitigated by the fact that the draw distances and resolutions of the game cannot compare to accurate human visual resolution during real aerial combat). This works well if there are not many people on the server and each side is confined to that nation's specific aircraft. Much of your time on these servers will be spent just looking for the enemy and therefore for some, the fun element will disappear. In some of the Full REAL servers, it can take almost an hour of real time just to reach the action, so you must also have more patience when on advanced servers. It all comes down to your personal preference and how life like you want the sim to become. You will more likely find Intermediate and Veteran flyers on these servers obviously.

Historical Servers- These are servers that are trying to mimic a specific time frame or battle situation. One server might deal specifically with naval aviation over Guadalcanal and another may try to focus on the Battle of Britian in August of 1940. On these servers, you will be confined to choosing usually one of the two sides and your plane choices will be limited to those that were actually flown in that battle.

Team Servers– These are obviously servers that are run by a virtual fighter squadron and are usually their practice grounds. Therefore, you are likely to meet many experienced Veteran pilots who will flame you in no time flat. You will know the flyers are all part of the same team by the initials that precede their callsigns (as in HH_Badass). Do not start out on these servers initially, but as you start to score kills on regular Intermediate servers, you can try some time on different team servers just to get used to more rapid and advanced combat. As your skills progress, you may even be asked to join up!

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Aircraft in the Online Environment

Types of Aircraft You Should Fly – There are no hard and fast rules here and what airframe you begin to learn with is really dependent upon what types of servers you wish to fly on as you progress. If you are a beginner and primarily wish to fly on open cockpit servers at low altitudes (which is very fun but less realistic), then I would highly recommend starting out in the La-5/7 series. The La-7 3xB-20 is a great aircraft for beginners with tight turn radius, high maneuverability, great speed, good cannons and battle damage abilities. It will reach ~585 kph in level flight and ~740 kph in a a dive before the airframe experiences aeroelastic flutter. It also does not stall easily and does not snap roll unpredictably. Its major weaknesses are its very low dive limit, poor high altitude (2800+ meters) performance and easy manner in which a blackout can be induced. You will hear some veterans complain that the La-7 is a newbie's plane or only flown by weak pilots. What they mean is that the forgiving flight and stall characteristics of the La-7 allow you to develop bad habits that you cannot afford in a less forgiving airframe (say the F4U-D Corsair). If you would eventually like to fly on the more difficult closed cockpit servers at higher altitudes, then I would suggest taking a look at the Bf 109-G2 to train with. It is not as powerful as the La-7 in all out speed but does much better at altitude and does not incur blackouts as easily. Overall it is a very balanced airframe that does not excel or disappoint in any major areas. It is also a great transition aircraft to learn from before moving on to a BnZ airframe like the FW-190 or P-51. And likewise, at the other end of the spectrum, I would not choose a FW 190, F4U Corsair, P51 Mustang or F4F Wildcat/Hellcat as they are boom and zoom aircraft and are not well suited to beginners in the tight turning battles that often develop in HL dogfighting servers.

(La-7 3xB-20 from Russia)

Types of Aircraft You will Face and Their Likely Pilots -

I will not go into every possible airframe that can be flown in IL2 or their exact strengths and weakness (climb rate, wing loading, .....) but will just make some quick notes about the most commonly flown aircraft on HL servers. If you would like an even more detailed look at the performance of some of the fighters in-game, look at Neural Dream's guide found here

La-5 FN, La-7 Series – These are lightweight Russian made fighters with high top speeds, tight turning radius' and good to great performance although, mitigated by low dive limits, poor high altitude performance and ease of blackouts. This is one of the, if not the, most common types of aircraft flown in the online dogfight servers for good reason; It is kind to those who are not good pilots. Those who fly the La series can run the whole range from totally inexperienced to master aviators. Possibly, the single best choice for beginners on open cockpit servers and also appropriate for all other classes. Do not fly the La-3 series as I believe most of them had some frame elements made of plywood (yes, plywood) and will fold easier than a Japanese Zero. The La-5 FN and La-7 do not possess strong cannons but the La-7 3xB-20 does.

Spitfire Series – British made turn and burn fighters. Many similar characteristics to the Russian La series but with less speed (much less in some cases), tighter turning radii and slightly better cannons usually. Potential fliers though, must watch out for common snap rolls in combat conditions. The Spit 4V(c) in particular is well known for its excellent turning abilities. Can be flown by everyone from beginners to master aviators and is a good counterpart to the Bf-109s in the early years of the war.

I-185 (71) - Another excellent Russian fighter that is almost an equal (at least in the game) to the La-5, La-7 series. Very fast, good armament with the Shivak cannon, high maneuverability and better airframe damage capabilities over the La series. Excellent choice for early level Intermediate flyers. Also possesses one of the best bubble canopies and is therefore a good choice for low altitude closed cockpit servers.

Zero Series – Japanese made fighter that is more likely to be flown by Intermediate and Veteran class aviators. The Zero is an excellent turn and burn plane with its Achilles heel being that it cannot take much damage. Since the Zero has such a tight turning radius, do not try to out turn it, but rather use accurate deflection shooting and rudder control (slips). Zeros also tend to be a bit slow.

Ki 43, Ki 61 and Ki 84 Series – These are the only slightly less maneuverable and more sturdy cousins to the Zero. The Ki 43 is a very agile but slow TnBer while the Ki 61 is a slow non-agile BnZ plane that should be avoided. The Ki-84c is the real jewel of the series and has 30 mm cannons and is much faster than all the Zeros with a tight turning radii. The Ki 84 also has a great bubble canopy for better visibility on closed cockpit servers. Often flown by Intermediate or Veteran class aviators.

Bf 109 Series – Main German fighter series of WWII. No real major strengths or weaknesses, just a good all around airframe and a great choice if used on a server that is confined to the early years of the war (1939 to 1942). Is outmatched in many aspects by late-war Allied fighters (1944 and later). Not as suitable for early beginners due to its turn radius and speed characteristics. Most often found in the hands of Intermediate and Veteran class flyers.

Focke-Wulf 190 Series – Prototypical BnZ fighter. Very powerful armament in the Anton models and stable at high speeds. Cannot be used well in a turning contest and poor foreword visibility inside the

cockpit. In roughly 40% of all sightings, they will be in the hands of Veteran and Master class aviators. Make sure with this airframe or the Bf 109 series that you do not try to use the kanonenboot (gunboats) when dogfighting as many newbies mistakenly believe this will give them superior firepower but dont realize how much heavier and slower their airframe will become.

Me 262 Series – Most produced jet aircraft of the WWII and a fragile BnZ energy fighter in Il2. Can reach level speeds of 820 kph and has a devastating 30 mm gun. Somewhat to very fragile engines in which care must be taken or the engines will die prematurely or catch fire. Cannot be used in a turning battle and most successful kills are made at range with the huge cannon. Definitely not a good plane for new guys to use in low level combat.

P51 Mustang – BnZ energy fighter that most American fans of IL2 expect to be the preeminent fighter of the sim, only to be sorely disappointed. Does not realize its true potential unless flown above 5000m and below that, it is fairly slow, slightly unstable and handles very badly below 300 kph. Is definitely not a plane to be picked for low level dogfighting on open cockpit servers. One of the few planes that has very different handling depending upon how much fuel you take due to the location of the fuel bladders. A plane that beginners should always avoid and best used once a knowledge of BnZ tactics has been acquired.

F4U Corsair Series – BnZ energy fighter for carrier aviation in the Pacific theater. The F4U-1C in particular has some of the most powerful cannons in the game (4 Hispanos). Very versatile fighter than can carry rockets or heavy bomb payloads and also has a fairly tough frame. The fighter which has the greatest discrepancy between its pilots. In 90% of sightings, the pilots will be upper level beginners or lower level Intermediate flyers who are easy targets and cannot properly utilize the fighter's energy characteristics. In 10% of sightings, the reverse will hold true, and the pilots will be upper level Veterans or Master level aviators who will boom down with extremely precise aim. A difficult plane in IL2 to use to its fullest extent and fairly unstable in combat at speeds below 300 kph.

(The F4U-D Corsair, one mean badass during WWII but difficult to master in IL2.)

The F4U Corsair and P51 Mustang Won the War Right? - Although IL2 was developed and produced in Russia, I would guess that fully half of its consumers and fans live in North America. And many North American aviation fans have come to hear the great stories about how magnificent the F4U Corsair or P51 Mustangs were and naturally expect for them to be some of the best aircraft in the game. Unfortunately, you have to take into account (as already stated earlier) the flying conditions that are most commonly found on beginner and intermediate level Hyperlobby servers; which are bases that are relatively close, contests that begin and end below 3000 meters and contests against multiple opponents, often in furballs that favor a turn and burn style of combat. And this does not gel with the roles that American aircraft were designed for, which were primarily energy fighting at high altitudes, bomber escort (main reason for the P 51's production) with mass formations and large scale team tactics. For these reasons, many of the American aircraft in the game will simply not produce good dogfighting results in most Hyperlobby server situations. Occasionally, you will find an advanced level server with Full Real difficulty and no icons where the combat does take place with teams in a historical fashion at 5000 meters, and where the strengths of the American airframes can show themselves in full, but it is rare to find a newbie in those conditions. You will come to form your own opinions as you progress but for newbies I do not recommend most of the American planes (F4U Corsair, P51 Mustang and Wildcat/Hellcat) because it is simply a role mismatch between those situations that many HL servers offer and the circumstances that American aircraft excel in.

(Oleg Maddox, the master guru of IL2 in the center. ..... see, playing and developing games does have rewards !)

Online Opponents

Classes of Pilots that You will Face Online -

Obviously, one of the most important of tasks in flying online is being able to very quickly size up your opponent and have some insight into his weaknesses. While some IL2 fans will feel that opposing flyers cannot be grouped into any kind of arbitrary categories, realize that what follows is both a judgement call and a generalization, and take it with a grain of salt. It is here naturally, that there is the widest latitude as every individual is unique, but there do tend to be some signature moves which help to give each class away.

Class I (Beginners) – These pilots are the new guys for the most part or the unpracticed. They make up very roughly 25 - 35% of the flyers you will face online (but depends on server). Class I yanks and cranks on their stick, usually violently, and often makes fatal errors within 10-20 seconds. They can control the three major axes roughly but do not use the throttle well, never use BnZ tactics, and their signature move is the head on firing pass. They will try to take you into a turning fight when possible but they cannot throttle down and slide correctly to be a real threat. After passing you, they will try to pull a hard turn to come back onto your six, but do not realize how much energy they are losing in the process. They have problems just managing their stick and preventing stalls in combat situations and often have unintended crashes. Beginners, just like infantry men, are mostly tied towards the horizontal plane only. Easy to evade and outmaneuver and easy to bring down. Class II (Intermediate) – These pilots make up very roughly 40 - 60% of the flyers you will face online. Class II, is the group of flyers that have begun to have decent mastery over their three axes of flight, and are beginning to utilize more advanced throttle actions as part of their skill set. Their fire is usually much more accurate, although they still try pot shots from distance and still line up for head on passes. Class two flyers signature move is the way in which they are learning to evade better if someone is on their six. They will suddenly pull up with full flaps, drop throttle and roll over behind you or let you pass if they can pull it off. They rarely attempt boom and zoom but they often seek altitude and try to even the odds when possible. They are better at deflection shooting but not deadly accurate. They have evolving skills in the vertical plane but cannot quite pull off the high rolls and vertical slips that Veterans can. Of moderate difficulty to bring down but with patience and a critical eye, you can learn their flaws.

Class III (Veterans) – They make up very roughly 10-15% of the flyers you will face online. This is the farthest level to which most (but not all) can ascend based upon experience and practice alone. Class III Veterans are the opponents who will often attack you unseen from above and with great altitude when possible. They boom and zoom with good ability and will usually climb after a merge.. You will know them by the fact that if you meet at the same altitude, they will (usually) avoid the head on pass and dive below you with lower prop pitch and then pull up to climb steeply, roll over and come right down on you (the Immelman). Class III s are very good at using external views and some have the Track IR, so they have good to superior situational awareness. Veterans can fly almost as well in the vertical plane as in the horizontal plane and can almost fully think in three dimensions, and so they often submit you to a turning battle, only in the vertical plane, with deadly consequences! It is hard to catch these guys on their six and when you do (as in a furball), they will not only evade like Class IIs, but they will induce slips or scissors into their routines and within a few seconds you will pass right under them. In fact, a signature move of Class IIIs is their mastery of the 'slip', that scoots them just off

to the side and eventually onto your six. They are very good to excellent at deflection shooting and they do not linger in furballs, rather choosing targets of preference, attacking with quick bursts and then exiting within five to ten seconds if they cannot inflict major damage. This is also the first class in this hierarchy that is not afraid to return to base without a kill or with unspent ammo. They search for targets of opportunity and make them fight on their terms and if such situations are not present, they simply circle around on the perimeter until they are, or return to base. Their weakness if they have any, is that they have seen it all before and are used to winning 70-90% of all their engagements, and therefore they have become a little bit complacent towards unexpected attacks by people who approach or exceed their own skill level.

Master Class - They make up very roughly 2% or less of the flyers you will face online. The critical ability which may differentiate them from Veteran flyers is better energy management. They fly without wasting potential energy and also within the 'power band' of correct throttle, engine rpm and prop pitch at almost all times (along with the proper mixture, radiator and supercharger settings). They fully understand CEM and know how to use it in combat to full effect. They are slightly better at very slow speed slips using flaps or rudder than the Veteran class (they can easily loose you with a barrel roll or scissors for example if you are on their six) and can trim their aircraft better in rapid combat situations. They are also fully masters of both the vertical and horizontal planes. They have done a complete loop of the ego cycle as well, and know that anyone can catch them with a lucky shot, and so through correct maneuvering, they almost never put themselves in the position to be shot at in the first place. In a very Zen like manner, it is as if by removing themselves that they place themselves at the all seeing center. Your only chance to bring one down is during the very small window in which they enter a furball to pick off specific targets. I have written a separate guide that details several Master level fliers who are currently active on Hyperlobby servers. You can find the Master's List here or here.

Grandmaster Class - A semi-mythical class that makes up about one in a thousand fliers you will meet online. They possess all the abilities of Masters but their flight intuition and SA is Buddha like. They dont make mistakes and fly the online skies as well as a fish knows how to swim. The people who might find themselves in this class are people who could place a top five finish in a world-wide online dogfighting competition amongst all HL participants. The downside is that these individuals often play many hours per day and in a sad note, IL2 has become their life. I have actually only seen one or two people who might, just might qualify for this highest title.

(The Grandmaster is aware of all that surrounds him)

Other Interesting Questions -

So How Can I find Out Which Guys are the Best on a Particular Server ? - You will be able to see which flyers are on a particular server in HL just by left clicking on a server in the far left hand dogfighting column. This will give you a list of those pilots who are currently logged in to that server, but it will not tell you how they are doing. For this, you will need to log onto the dogfighting server in question through HL. Once you have chosen your base and aircraft, push the S key on your keyboard. This will activate the Online Rating function and you will see something that looks like this:

As you can see from this screen shot, there are six flyers present on this particular server (the seventh flyer is the server itself). The guys who have chosen the red team are listed in red and likewise for the other colored team players. The number to the right of their listing (like 157) is their ping in milliseconds. Next is their callsign followed by the amount of points they have. This is followed by their team (red, blue, etc..) affiliation, the skin/markings they are using (such as < + ) and then to the far right, the aircraft they are flying. The score is determined by whoever sets up the server but the main rule is usually 100 points for shooting down an enemy aircraft with one engine (say a fighter) and then successfully returning to base and landing. Often if you shoot down someone and then are shot down in return (very common in large furballs) you will only receive 10 points. Likewise, shooting down a B-29 Bomber with four engines will net you 400 points if you can return to base safely and land. You will also notice that some flyer named Waryfan has 320 points while some others do not have any points. This does not necessarily mean that he is the best pilot on the server, because those points could have been accumualted over seven straight hours of being on the same server (which is less than one kill for every one hour of game play and would not be very good if true). Someone else, like Greendevel might just have logged on three minutes ago and has not had a chance to even get to the enemy airfield yet, and that is why his score is zero. Within just ten minutes he may make five kills and have a score of 500 points. Although you have to take into account the time factor, the more points a person has, the more an indicator that at least they are good enough to get kills in the first place. You will also gradually learn as time goes by that some flyers are there for the thrill of the action and others are playing the game only for the points (which is the most important thing in squad versus squad combat usually). And as time progresses you will begin to notice who tends to accumulate a lot of points no matter what server they log onto.

What is the Role of Ping in Online Dogfighting ? - The term Ping as applied to Hyperlobby servers, is the amount of time, usually in milliseconds that it takes for a game server to receive an IP packet and a response to be sent back back to your home computer. This round-trip time is reported as the player's 'ping' when the online rating (S key) is viewed. It is used as an effective measurement of the player's lag and is critical to your ability to fight effectively online. The following scale gives you some idea of lag induced effects:

0 Msec Ping - This means that you are the server and everyone else is waiting on your computer for packet transmissions. Obviously one of the benefits of having your own server is that you have a 1/40th

to 1/5th of a second advantage (or greater) in every aerial decision you make. In effect you have a tiny decisive window which allows you to have a minute lead up on your opponent.

1 to 120 Msec Ping – You are connected to the server very efficiently and it is likely the server is in your geographic area or even country. You will not be able to tell the effects unless both you and your opponents are very high level fliers who are using the exact same airframes and tactics, and even then the effects will be very minimal.

121 to 250 Msec Ping - You are connected to the server with a slight lag and the server may be in another distant geographic region (~ 170 to 250 msec is about the average lag for North American players connecting to European servers and vice versa). As a Beginner or Intermediate level flier you will likely not notice any effects but more advanced players will notice small lags particularly when it comes to lead shooting and BnZ intercepts. Not advisable to hold one on one dogfights or formal tournaments where both combatants fly the exact same plane under these conditions and have almost the exact same skill level.

251 to 400 Msec Ping – You are connected to a fairly distant server (if using cable/DSL) or you are using a dial up connection. Players of all skill levels will notice infrequent delays, frame jumps and opposing planes may appear to 'jump' very slightly from one spot to another. Combat is possible but accurate lead shooting will be more difficult. Frame rates may appear to slow and one on one dogfights would not be advisable if the opponents skill levels are the same.

401 to 700 Msec Ping – You packets are being routed through multiple intermediate servers and/or firewalls/NAT protocols and this will appear to the player as frequent jags, frame jumps and 'slow' periods. Combat is possible but you will rarely be able to hit targets when precise lead shooting is called for and the main options will be to maneuver onto their six or a head on pass. Anyone entering a formal match will be at a disadvantage and can be defeated by a somewhat less skilled opponent.

701 Msec Ping or Greater – Very difficult to fly, much less fight and your only options will usually be head on passes or ramming. Planes will appear to jump wildly from one spot to another and skillful lead shooting will be impossible. Anyone entering a formal match could be easily defeated by a much less skilled opponent. So What Server Do I Choose to Go Up Against all the Veterans and Masters ? - There are no specific servers that you can choose where almost everyone is a Veteran or Master. Any given Intermediate level server is likely to have the whole gamut of Class Is, IIs and IIIs (Master level flyers are rare birds and it is very hard to predict where they will appear). There is no such thing as a 'Master level server', where Masters meet each other to duke it out. And, you would not want to choose one early in your training at any rate, even if they did exist, because it would simply be an act in frustration as you continually got downed over and over again. If you truly itch to go up against some of the best,

your two best bets are choosing a higher level server with dedicated flyers that practice regularly (some choices might be War_Clouds_WF or Spits versus 109s) or trying out a team server during one of their weekly practice sessions (if they allow you onto the server). As you become more and more familiar with the different servers, you will quickly come to realize which ones have an above average percentage of good pilots.

Is There Such a Thing as a World Champion of IL2 Dogfighting ? - No, there is not. There are inter-league competitions between different squadrons such as the USL and competitions between multiple squadrons, but there is no organized or competitive worldwide ranking or rating organization for IL2 dogfighting. It may be that at some point in the future, a formalized competition series will come into existance, but currently there is no such format.

(Gary Kasparov, the former World Chess Champion and Grandmaster, and considered by many to be the strongest World Champion that has ever played. IL2 has no such equivalent.)

So How Big is the IL2 Online Dogfighting Community ? - I cannot answer that accurately, to be honest. I can say that a typical North American evening will have somewhere between 250 and 700 players online, with about 90% or more of these utilizing the dogfighting servers. If one uses some simple approximation techniques (as from Stats 101 in university), you might arrive at a number like 3000 total flyers (worldwide) who play frequently enough to log on in any given week. Just realize that this is not the total number of people who have purchased the game or have ever used HL. That would also mean that as a very rough estimate there are something like 450 Veterans, 60 Masters and perhaps 3 Grandmasters who log on frequently enough to play in any given week.

How Does the Offline AI of the Game Compare to Real Human Opponents ? - Not well. Once again, this will be a judgement call on my part, but I would roughly say that an AI controlled ace (the four AI controlled pilot levels are rookie, average, veteran and ace) is about equivalent to a human

controlled mid-level Beginner. The offline AI opponents simply do not weave enough or use many tactics to the degree that a real human opponent would. AI controlled planes also seem to 'flatten' out after about five minutes where they stop more violent turn and burn maneuvers and just fly along without too many avoidance techniques. I can assure you this never happens when facing real human opponents.

Other Classes of Pilots to Watch Out For -

Pilots with Some Uniform Initials before Their Name - Pilots who have callsigns like HH_Bowie, =FI=Gadje and SKY9T_Moon9T are part of an online fighter squadron or a virtual fighter wing. The initials before their names generally indicate which squadron they are affiliated with, which in turn indicates that they have been around long enough to at least join a squadron in the first place. This also likely means that they have been practicing with their squadron for some time and are likely to be more experienced than your average Hyperlobby flyer. Although, this is not a hard or fast rule, they are usually Class II or above flyers and they generally know what they are doing, so watch out. The other dangerous aspect of squadron flyers is that they often have teammates playing with them as well, and in many cases are using TS or Ventrilo to work in a concerted manner. So that while you are engaged with one, the other unseen teammate will pull up and take you out!

(Can you see the blue and red icons attached to planes in that furball in the distance ? These icons will also spell out the pilot's callsign, and that is what you are looking for when trying to spot members of

different squads.)

Pilots with Custom Skins for Their Aircraft - Skins are graphical designs which people use to customize the look of their planes online. One guy might have flames on the side of his fuselage, another a beautiful woman, etc.. By and large, they indicate that the flyer is in the Intermediate or Veteran class. Beginners are usually too busy just learning the ropes to fool with skins and the Master classes like to remain anonymous, so skins often indicate someone whose ability is rising but may not in fact be as great as he wishes it were. This does not hold as true on the team servers, where even

those rare Master players may use special skins since they are so familiar with their mates or as an aid to practice formation flying. On two or three occassions, I have seen Intermediate level flyers with bright red skins on crowded dogfight servers that happened to have fertile green valleys, with the skins serving to act as a bulls eye over them.

(Please note the custom skinning on this F4U Corsair)

Pilots Who Fly Jets Against Propeller Driven Planes - They fall into two categories. The first is filled with beginners who are having as much trouble as anyone else new to the game in getting a kill and therefore look to jets as a way to take a short cut. They will fly around and shoot you down from high altitudes at 900 kph and then brag about how good they are. this behavior is most common on the beginner servers obviously. They can be dealt with by upper level intermediate flyers and above, but with care and patience. Usually, the veteran will quickly bring them down into a turning contest and then they become toast. The other group of jet flyers are more advanced folks who dont need an ego boost and already have considerable time in many prop airframes and are therefore tinkering with jets just to increase the fun of the game. This is also the case on some historical servers that are modeling particular battles from late in the war, where jets like the ME 262 were a regular part of Germany's arsenal. HL has servers which specifically cater to the flying of jets in a WWII environment and I would suggest you check them out if that is where your interest lays.

Vulchers – Vulching, or more correctly straffing, is firing on planes that are stopped or taxing on the runway or have just taken off. Obviously, since it takes less skill to down an aircraft that is stopped or only traveling at 150 kph, rather than 400 kph, these are much easier targets. On some servers vulching is allowed or even encouraged and it is the AAA fire along with the close proximity of multiple enemy bogies which makes it a risky proposition. On other servers, vulching is severely frowned upon as

ungentlemanly conduct. There is a wide latitude and range of opinions about vulching and many servers will allow vulching as long as it is done only by rockets or bombs, so make sure to read the rules for that particular server. Straffing with machine guns or cannons when not allowed is bad form and should be avoided.

Parachute Shooters – Unless specifically encouraged, it is extremely bad form and conduct unbecoming to shoot down guys that have bailed out. Avoid it at all costs.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Perspectives and Tactics -

The Hunter and the Hunted - There is no clear delineation as to when you are getting good but there are a series of viewpoints that you will likely evolve thru, as you become better and better. To illustrate this, I offer the following example (that I see on servers almost any day of the week):

Beginner's Point of View – You notice that a Focke-Wulf 190 is approaching you from a slightly higher altitude. You rise up to meet them head on and while you do this your aircraft slows as it climbs. When you are finally within rough firing range, you try a head on pass, and you begin to fire too early, still trying to find your range. You notice that the approaching FW 190 is not firing and instead dives down below you slightly. As the aircraft passes you, you quickly apply some alieron to roll around and follow them down, coming close to blacking out. After cutting that severe a turn, you have lost speed and are now headed slightly down when you notice that the FW 190 has pulled into a steep climb after passing you and is now circling down from a roll above you. As you desparately try to pick up speed by heading down lower, you see a quick burst of gunfire surround you, coming from your high six and then your screen goes black. You have been killed and it took only fifteen seconds.

Veteran'sPoint of View – You notice that a Spitfire is approaching you from the front and a little below, because you have realized the average engagement height on this server and are flying above it.. As the Spit approaches, he begins to climb to meet you and fires from far off, and you see the tracers below you inching upward. Just to throw off his aim, you push downward on the stick for a second and then pull up for two seconds just to jinxe his aim, before pushing the stick downward again and diving slightly below and to the side of him as he passes you. You then climb steeply but in a straight line and drop throttle as you roll over above him and complete your Immelman. You have lost speed at the top of your climb but you know that you are now 700 meters above him and he is in no position to fire on you anyways. You now drop prop pitch to 90%, dive and accelerate to 500 kph and open up on him with one quick burst from 100 meters as you see his airframe disintegrate into a ball of flames.

The Sliding Arrow of Time - Another way in which dogfighting might be viewed, is to analyze how you feel time unfolding as the encounter progresses. Beginners will often feel that each encounter is very rapid and that they have little time in which to do anything. They feel continually hurried and it is as if someone is always breathing down on their necks (which is often true :). They feel as if they must pull very hard turns or rolls so that they can keep the aggressor at bay. As you progress to higher and higher levels, your comfort level will extend and you will begin to feel more and more, like time has become your ally. Instead of violent yanks on the stick, you will begin to pull nice smooth rolls or loops that are added together with short little slides that quickly place you right onto the tail of your enemy, and time will have seemed to come to a standstill. While this may seem like the impossible, I

assure you that it is only natural progression. Although I have no formal ballet training, I have found there is some similarity between different ballet spreads and the beautiful flight maneuvers that Master aviators can pull off. When you are first beginning, you may often pound your head on the table and say, “How did they just do that ?!” You can't understand how they pulled into that seemingly impossible steep climb or appeared out of the blue from nowhere. Even when you do watch experienced aviators, you feel as if you cannot do what they do. Have no fear, …..small steps, .... small steps is the key. Watch and learn. Unfortunately, just like the Matrix as explained by Morpheus, no one can tell you what can make you better; you must see it for yourself.

Important Notes about Strategy - There is no easy way that I can compress hundreds of well written books on aerial combat and gunnery into a few simple tips as there is simply too much information. However, you may find the following tips helpful in your first few months of practice.

Initial Planes - From your very first day, choose one or two planes (my suggestions are the La-7 3xB-20 if you want to go the open cockpit route or the Bf 109-G2 if you want to go the closed cockpit route, and when available in the planeset) and start to accumulate your fighter time in them only. Stick with just these two planes for the first month or so and do not deviate. Get used to the way they fly, brake, fire and land under all conditions. After the first month, then go ahead and slowly add another plane to your repertoire at the rate of say, one a month (next best choice might be a Spitfire or Zero). Gradually build from there. Work your way from TnB planes to those that are best used as BnZ.

Adjust Your Conf.ini File – If you navigate to C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 and look, you should see a conf file. First make a copy of this file and then store it somewhere else safely. The conf.ini file is the master command file for IL2 and you can adjust many settings by making changes to the file thru a text editor (like Microsoft's Notepad). Some of the things that you can do include setting up IL2 to run on large screen LCD monitors correctly, enabling higher detail clouds and water, turning on gore effects when an enemy plane gets hit and manually setting joystick curves. These two sections here and here at the M4T website will describe the process in detail.

Your Joystick – Obviously if you are in the heat of combat and cant get to your different view settings quickly, then you are going to be in flames soon. Correctly setting up, calibrating and assigning functions to all the buttons on your joystick is an art all of its own. The main thing though, that you will be looking for is ergonomical quickness; that is the ability to have the most needed functions setup for the quickest and easiest response by your hands. While each joystick behaves differently (deadband, throw, spring resistance, etc..), I have also written a guide to help new guys set up the ergonomics of their joystick and that can be found here (under Newbie's Joystick pdf). You will also need to fine tune your joystick's different axes (pitch, roll and yaw along with accompanying trim axes and throttle) and this can be done directly (and partially) through the Input section under Hardware Setup after the game first loads. However two other programs that can help you to do this easier and with a GUI are IL2 Joy Control found here and IL2 Sticks found here. Both of these programs allow you to set input sliders for the different ranges of motion along any axis.

(The GUI of IL2 Joy Control displaying the sliders for the pitch (elevator) axis.)

Use one of these programs to experiment but as you do so, beware of two tricks that more experienced fliers use to become more deadly in the virtual skies: Have elevator trim set to a slider or rotary dial on your throttle (which allows you to turn tighter) and increase the sensitivity level of the input sliders until you can fly with with the sliders set as close to all 100s (across all three axes of pitch, roll and yaw), as you can take and still maintain control over the aircraft as you fly. This may make your plane seem twitchy at first, but you want to enable maximum response with minimal delay times for joystick input. Small tricks like this may not seem like much, but when you begin to get better you will be able to notice the difference in gunnery efficiency and in ACM. Needless to say, you must experiment and tinker with your particular joystick until it is zeroed in to your personal preference.

Your Second Joystick - As soon as your joystick gets zeroed in, learn about your second joystick, also known as the throttle. Beginners are all joystick, yanking and cranking with little or no throttle control (ie. they do most maneuvers at close to full throttle). Masters place much more emphasis on smooth throttle control and realize that the throttle is actually another control 'surface'.

(Typical high-end retail throttle)

Yaw and The Slip – Your third axis of control is yaw, and is managed with the rudder. Believe it or not, almost all Beginners and most Intermediate level flyers never use this crucial input or use it poorly. Correctly applying yaw is critical to producing the quick direction changes that you will need to out maneuver higher level flyers (as in a scissors). Also, as soon as you begin to realize the power of the throttle, try working with it to produce a 'slip' (I have also heard it referred to as a 'slide'). This is done by dropping throttle and turning the rudder in one direction while applying aileron in the opposite direction (this can also be mixed in with flaps for even more drastic slides). You may catch up to a Veteran or Master but you will not be able to hang with them without mastering the slip.

Head on Passes - Even as a beginner, learn to avoid the head on firing pass. Irregardless of skill, it is a 50-50 crapshoot as to who will win or be damaged unless one of the participants is drunk. It is also the mark of a beginner and that draws unwanted attention in future engagements. Likewise, if you see someone who never fires in a head on type position, even after repeated passes, watch out because you are likely facing an upper level Veteran or Master. Upper level Intermediate players and above will also be able to dodge you almost at will, so head on passes will have little effect on them. Save your dice for Las Vegas and your bullets for their tailend.

(Someone got lucky on the coin toss here, but dont follow their lead, save your ammo)

Weaving - If someone gets on your six, weave up and down and left and right. Weave like a madman! And vary your pattern both vertically/horizontally and with some rolls. Seems like common sense, right? But, it is surprising how many opponents do not weave and just try to escape with smooth level flight. This is the one time where even if you are not a beginner, you sometimes want forceful joystick input. At any point, where the enemy has an advantage of energy, height or being close behind you, you must weave, use rudder and/or hammerheads. You will find as you progress, that violent weaves are not usually necessary unless the enemy is directly on your six. Just a little bit of up and down motion can throw off even most Veterans aim unless they are closer than 300 meters. To throw someone off your tail if possible, follow a straight path while weaving up and down (but watch the ground !) for about 2-5 seconds until you have drawn them in closer, then drop throttle suddenly and pull a hard turn with rudder and then quickly reverse direction again (this begins the scissors). This will throw off, or at least throw off the aim of all but the most experienced Veterans and above. Gradually, you will learn how to shake loose any stubborn enemies which happen to be hiding in your six.

Climb and Roll Out - This is an advanced Intermediate or early level Veteran technique where you dive slightly under the approaching enemy plane then pull up into a steep climb just about the time you

pass him. At the top of the climb you can roll over to level (the Immelman) or slip out to the side. You will, unless your enemy has followed the exact same technique, be able to look down on your enemy now and quite likely come down for the kill with your enemy desperately trying to dodge your fire. If your enemy has followed you into his own climb, you now have a much tougher battle ahead. Go back to what I just wrote about slips and reread.

The Furball Rule – Better known as the 30-15-10-5... rule, as this is very roughly the amount of time you will have in seconds based on the number of enemies in the furball (not counting friendlies) to safely enter, strike and leave before someone gets on your six. For example, if you are in a one on one encounter, and both you and your opponent know how to fly well, then it may take up to 30 seconds for someone to gain the upper hand in maneuvering. If you enter a furball where you see one of your friends facing two enemies, then you will have about 15 seconds to strike one of the two enemies and exit or extend before heading back into the fray. Likewise, entering a furball where four of your teammates are present along with four enemies, will give you about five seconds to maneuver and strike. And the same applies to a furball with 14 friends and 15 enemies in it; you will still have about five seconds to do something before someone notices you and swivels onto your tail. (The reason why the lower limit is five seconds irregardless of total enemy bogies present is due to the limitations of how fast a prop driven aircraft can close a given distance)

Target Fixation – One of the most common mistakes of the newbie is to continue chasing an enemy deep into the enemy's territory or stay fixated on him when it is no longer prudent to do so. If you have the advantage and cannot reasonably strike or inflict damage within 5-10 seconds then you will probably need to break off. Do not allow someone else, especially if they have a faster airframe to 'draw' you into their trap.

Energy Management – You will often hear more experienced players talk about energy, energy states or energy management. While this guide is far too brief to go into the details, what these veterans mean is knowing when and how to properly transfer your potential energy into kinetic energy. In any directed gravitational field, as over the Earth's surface, the object that is higher in altitude will have more potential energy. This is the reason why you should always try to enter the fight with more altitude than your opponent and then execute smooth rolls and passes along with sometimes quick slips which do not waste your speed or kinetic energy. This is the hardest and most 'intellectual' part of the game to get down, and is also the most anti-intuitive to beginners. Energy management and lead shooting are the two skills of aerial warfare that require the most practice.

Call on Friends - Do not head to an enemy base where there are five guys waiting by yourself. Once again, seems only natural, right? But again, this happens all too often. Remember that two Intermediate flyers can usually take down one Master if they watch what they are doing. The Master flyer will pull up on one and begin to track or fire, and while he is doing this, the other Intermediate level flyer can pull up on the Master and do likewise. Do not head into a group of two or more enemies if you are not proficient yourself, as you will not come out alive usually. Also, when you first leave your base, circle around for a good minute or so, gaining altitude and setting your trim, magnetos, prop pitch and radiator, and wait for friends to climb up and meet you. Don't just head off John Wayne style.

So How Good are You ? - To get better estimates of how your skills are progressing, log onto servers that have about six other flyers or less. When you log onto servers with 40 flyers, you will have only seconds to spot a bogie and fire before someone does likewise to you, and the furballs will simply be too big (along with a great deal of shoulder shooting). With only four or five other guys, you will have many more opportunities for longer more drawn out encounters.

Open Cockpit versus Closed Cockpit – It is probably a good idea when you first start to begin with intermediate level servers (make sure they use full CEM and aerodynamics at a minimum) that allow open cockpits (hit control + F1 on your keyboard). You will still have your firing reticule but no cockpit and best of all, you will have warning errors on the sides of your screen that grow in size as the enemy approaches. Just remember that it is probably not wise to fly like this all the time. If you do, and then enter a closed cockpit server, you will be toast. Both environments are very different even when flying the same plane. In open cockpit, you can see the arc of your shots and track the enemy. In closed cockpit you must time the shots ahead of the enemy because the plane's dashboard blocks your view and this means that you will not see him when you fire ahead of him for deflection shooting. That alone makes closed cockpit more difficult. As a beginner, try to work with open cockpit about 50% of the time, and then gradually spend more and more time in closed cockpit servers. As you become more and more proficient, you may want to consider investing in a Track IR if you intend to fly primarily closed cockpit servers.

Review Yourself (Ntrk Files) – The IL2 game allows you to make small movies of your engagements (both offline and online) and you can use these self-made movies as an excellent review tool to evaluate your own performance and mistakes. This is also the best way to review how you fly from all three dimensions and to realize what energy management mistakes you might be making. IL2 does this by way of using Ntrk files using the Q key on your keyboard for Quick Record normally. You can also find other pilot's Ntrk files online for download and you must place them in the C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\IL-2 Sturmovik 1946\records if you want to watch them from within your game. I will not go into the details of how to make the movies here, but there are two excellent guides by Frank “Dart” Giger here, and Flying Nutcase here.

Do You Need to Fly for Seven Years to Get Good ? - No, you dont. If you have high intelligence and good four dimensional awareness (counting time as well), and choose continually more difficult servers, you should be flying fairly well after two months or so of online dogfighting practice. If you are of average intelligence and have mediocre situational awareness, then it may take you up to a year or so to get decent, but you will not need to play for years to become a Veteran. Some long time players would like you to believe that you must have years of experience to fly well in IL2, but it is not true.

Learn Real Tactics (In Pursuit) - As you broaden and begin to master the tips above, you may want to dig even deeper, and for this I recommend reading 'In Pursuit' by Johan Kylander. It is an well written mini-book on aerial maneuvers and tactics as concerns flight sim gaming. It can be found here

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Mods, Cheating and Online Etiquette

Mods – These are files or programs that can be downloaded from several fan based IL2 websites. The modded files or programs, once installed into the correct directory, then allow the user to have more detailed cockpits, better sound effects, new flyable plane options, etc..... In short, there are mods that address almost any issue you can imagine within IL2. The largest and most honest mod site is the All Aircraft Arcade (AAA) and can be found here. Several other sites also offer IL2 mods but I would be

weary of these both because they can be illicit and because they often contain viruses. Most mods are the work of folks who really love the game and want to see their favorite plane modeled more realistically or want to include a plane that Oleg (the developer) did not have a chance to include. They also address many sound and graphics issues and help to keep an aging game engine (IL2 is eight years old) more current. Unfortunately, the knowledge needed to make the more complex mods has also opened the door to illicit mods that radically change the aircraft's IL2 frame model (FM) or damage model (DM) attributes. This might allow a Corsair for example, to fly as fast as a jet, turn as tight as Zero and take several times its normal damage; in effect making it a super plane. Most mods by themselves are not illicit and are not cheating but if you, as a new guy happen to face a pilot who is flying with several mods that help increase SA and targeting, then it is essentially the same as facing someone with an unfair advantage. It is true that technically the other guy is not cheating as he is simply using several mods which are not cheats in and of themselves, but the end effect is that he has a tremendous advantage over you. While the author personally is not a fan of mods because they can be adjusted to become a back door to illicit activities ..…. there are two mods worth mentioning. The first is called the 6DOF mod (which stands for six degrees of freedom) and is best used in conjunction with the Track IR. This mod adds in Track IR application Direct X libraries to allow rolling head movements in the game. It also allows the viewer to actually lean forward in the cockpit to 'zoom in' so to speak on the crosshairs or instrument panel or to lean back and retract their view backwards which is very nice for looking around canopy struts that may be blocking your view. This really makes the cockpit environment seem fully three dimensional and ups the realism factor. The other critical mod is the AAA Unified Installer 1.1. This is a compilation mod pack that includes the work of many modders all packaged together under one wrapper. It also contains the 6DOF mod and makes positive changes in many aspects of the game. This mod is slowly gaining traction now as a legitimate extension of IL2 1946 (which Oleg's team has abandoned for now to work on SOW) and many servers in HL may switch to this in the coming year. Aside from these two mods, I would be weary of mod products when using HL online both for compatibility reasons and because you might be labeled a cheater (see below). For more legitimate information on all things mod, head to the AAA website here

Cheating - Cheating is a very polarizing issue to many in the online IL2 community; so much so that many IL2 based forums or web sites refuse to allow discussion of the matter or will lock any thread that brings up the subject (and it is therefore even more difficult to get honest and reliable information from decent people). This often leaves the new guy wondering whether the awesome opponent that just downed him seven times in a row was really that good or cheating. First let me state most importantly that in roughly 95% of the cases where you feel that someone is cheating, the answer is far simpler (and more damaging to your ego); they are simply better than you. As painful as it may be to watch the same flyer down you over and over again, it is almost always true that they are not cheating. At the same time, I must also say, that as of 2009, IL2 1946 has been throughly cracked, and the knowledge of how to hack IL2 is slowly spreading. When the latest non beta 4.08 patch was released in 2007 it contained a common cheat (or mod) detecting device known as crt=2, which stands for check run time. I will not go into the technical details of how this works (or is implemented from a C++ programming standpoint) but this addition to the source code of IL2 supposedly made any Hyperlobby server that uses 4.08m (or 4.09b) 'uncheatable' by essentially not allowing anyone to join who had custom files or mods enabled. Actually crt=2 can be circumvented by individuals adept in computer science and the author has personally shown Ntrk clips where this has been observed to numerous forum moderators. Unfortunately, some nefarious minded individuals decided to go one step further and use one of sound mods in 2005 as an exploit to create greatly enhanced airframes that cannot be damaged with normal bullets or that had much tighter turning abilities. This exploit branched out and grew in

popularity and eventually the IL2 development team responded to it by deploying the 4.08 patch with check run time which does not prevent all cheating but does shut out almost all mods. Therefore any HL server that runs the 4.08 patch with CRT set to '2' will automatically prevent you from joining if you are using most mods, although, new mods have come along as of late which can circumvent CRT. And therefore, there really is a large grey area between those who are very good honest flyers that incur suspicion since they get so many kills, those who fly with multiple mods that give them much improved situational awarenes, etc.... but who are not actually 'cheating' per se, and the much smaller community of individuals who really have found the cracks in IL2 and are exploiting them with their technical knowledge to truly cheat. Despite the fact that CRT can be circumvented and that you can almost never know for sure whether someone is really cheating (without submitting the Ntrk file back to Oleg's team which they almost never accept anymore), you can minimize your exposure to it. To lessen the chances that real cheating is taking place, make sure that you only fly on Intermediate level servers or above that are set up for IL2 with the 4.08m patch or 4.09b beta patch and with a crt=2 setting. Do not use servers that allow custom files or sound mods or other types of tinkering, unless you specifically know the people running the server and report any suspicious behavior by recording with Ntrks and then submitting to the server admins for review.

Online Dogfighting Etiquette - This is an area where there are some fairly hard and fast rules about what is acceptable and what is frowned upon. You would be wise to take note.

Shoulder Shooting and Kill Stealing - Shoulder shooting is where you fire beside or over the top/bottom of another person of your same team at the enemy that he was chasing before you arrived on the scene. Usually this is bad form. You are welcome to come into the fight alongside your comrade, to act as a wingman, but withhold fire so that your teammate can complete the kill. If you see that he is smoking, on fire or his prop has stopped then you can go ahead and help him out. Likewise, kill stealing is suddenly coming into a dogfight and downing an opponent that was engaged by one of your comrades. If he has done all the work, then let him continue with the kill. Do not take his prize. Avoid this behavior at all costs.

(Do not shoot from directly behind or below someone from your own team at a target they are already engaged with.)

The Runway – At most airstrips on HL servers, you should land in the direction that people are taking off. For example, when you respawn with a new plane and take off on an initial direction of 220 degrees, you also need to come in and land so that you are facing 220 degrees for the landing. You would not come in and land in the opposite direction of 40 degrees because then you would be landing against the flow of traffic. Landing privileges also go to the most damaged aircraft first. When landing

it is recommended that you turn on the navigation lights to let others (including enemies who may think you are fair game) know your intent. When you respawn please try to use the taxi ways and move out to the runway in an orderly manner rather than just cutting across three runways and through the cow fields. Likewise, when you respawn with a new plane, wait just a second to get your bearings and make sure that no one is immediately in front of you before taxing. Similarly when you land, dont linger around, get your butt off the runway as soon as possible so that others may land/take-off.

While in Chat - In IL2 you can hit the tilda key (~ key on your keyboard) to type messages that can be seen by all the flyers on that particular server. A common newbie mistake is not realizing that the chatbar can be extended by simply clicking on it with the mouse and dragging it larger. This will allow you to see messages that normally would only be up for a flash of a second if the chatbar had not been extended larger. Try to keep your messages succinct and to the point. The best and most common acronym you will see is ~S~, which stands for Salute, and is very much the verbal equivalent of a hand salute as rendered by an inferior officer to a superior in the military. It is also a sign of respect or a type of congratulations for good flying or a good kill. GK or gk means good kill and should be offered to those who have downed you with their flying skills. Likewise, gs or GS, means good shot and should be offered to someone for their excellent aerial gunnery. There are many more acronyms avaliable and as you become more experienced you will get used to the common shorthand (much like texting on cellphones) which has developed. Please also leave the foul language and boorish behavior to the fourteen year olds on XBOX Live! Chat is also not the place to go into all the details about your latest treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.

Chatting through Teamspeak or Ventrilo - Your best bet here is to take a good look at Dart's etiquette article here: Teamspeak Rules of the Road

Whining - Even more irritating than accusations of cheating are those that continually whine and complain about every encounter that does not go their way. “I was typing as you killed me”, “My flaps just suddenly jammed”, “I ran out of ammo from shooting at you from too far away”, whine, whine, whine ... will not endear you to the online community. If someone gets a kill on you, just suck it up and give them a Salute or Good Kill message in chat, and return to fight another day with improving skills.

(Don't be tempted to start up with the whining.)

Egoism and Elitism and Priggishness– Although I believe that eventually (say perhaps ~ 2100 to 2150 AD) virtual and economic warfare (and possibly transhumanism) will replace most forms of real warfare (because less is at stake to be risked), the down side is that any game that simulates war and/or allows individuals to test themselves against one another is bound to be rife with name calling and

personal insults. Just as 'gentlemen' of Antebellum New Orleans would face each other in a duel over the slightest of insults, so it is true for IL2. There are many flyers in IL2 who are quite testy (it has been my experience that many, but not all, of the very best IL2 pilots are actually not 'nice' guys) and with the anonymity that the internet offers they are free to express their rage with less constraint. Some border on needing anger management therapy and so if you receive some insults or threats, dont take it personally. One case in particular that I see over and over again is that of the inexperienced guy who is shooting at the same plane that some other more veteran pilot is shooting at from a different angle. If the new guy is the last guy to get hits on the enemy before he goes down or explodes, then he will be credited with the kill. Within seconds, the veteran pilot will begin to cuss the new guy for stealing his kill or shoulder shooting etc... What many dont realize at first is that the veteran pilot is playing for the points and that what he is so upset about is that the newbie took 100 points away from him. Veterans also fail to realize in many cases that newbies didnt even realize they were shoulder shooting, etc...in the first place, and so it is fairly hard to blame someone for something they are not even aware of. Others actually look to IL2 as an escape for releasing their anger from their job or a poor home life and so they love to engage in smack talk and trade barbs about everything. There is also a strong streak of elitism in many experienced flyers who will laugh at you for flying a 'newbie' plane (like the La-7) or because you crashed accidentally or because you offended some personal code of theirs. Once again, dont take it personally. As long as you follow the rules set forth by the server you are currently on, you will stand in good graces. Finally, if you only play IL2 offline then I agree with the North American ESRB rating of 'Teen'. However, if you fly online, your ego needs to be strong with the Force gentle souls. If you believe that you can bring your 12 year old son onto a packed dogfighting server and not see the words S#$! or F$#! or worse in chat, then you need to reconsider. I once saw an Italian flyer cuss a British flyer's girlfriend, mother, sister and grandmother for over 5 min (in Italian and garbled English) because he felt that he had been shot down unfairly. If in the end, you take it all with a grain of salt then you will be fine and if you tend to take things very personally then perhaps Tetris might be a better game.

More is Not Necessarily Better – Many newbies and intermediate flyers feel that they can acquire better and better flying abilities by continuously engaging in hours long dogfighting sessions. Actually the opposite can happen; continually flying hour after hour especially against those of inferior ability to your own can actually reinforce bad habits. I would be lying if I said you can reach the Veteran class of flyers without many hundreds (or more likely, thousands) of dogfights under your wing, but at the same time, remember that it is quality that you seek and not quantity. What I would recommend is one hour, to one and a half hours of practice a day for five days of the week. And make sure that you keep going against guys who are better than you. In the early days, also spend some of your time to review your own flight performances through in-game Ntrk movie files, as this can prove an invaluable tool for spotting your own mistakes. While I am no great moralist, I would also say that it is not worth losing your significant other, your job, your friends or your other hobbies over a simple game where there is no monetary reward for your time investment. On a rather sad note, one of the masters that I ran into, said that he had spent so much playing online, that he had run into severe martial troubles. So, if that is what it takes to become the best, better weigh your priorities.

(You and your significant other before IL2 online dogfighting)

(You and your significant other after Hyperlobby)

Conclusion

It is Likely You Will Suffer Before Ascending – Please do not get down on yourself or become discouraged if you find the early days tough going.

(Typical Hyperlobby newbie response)

It is unlikely that you will get a kill in your very first online outing and you may even go several days or weeks before making any kills. This does not indicate that you are worthless or that your hand-eye reflexes were damaged by some rare congenital defect. It simply indicates that you are starting up the learing curve that we all had to follow. Critical evaluation of yourself and your adversaries along with practice will quickly remedy many of your ills, so take heart and enjoy the learning process. Well, I hope you enjoyed this guide and that if you are a beginner, it will make your transition to the world of online IL2 dogfighting a little less painful. Happy hunting in the virtual skies !

Jay Hall

I would also highly recommend that you give Ubuntu a look. Ubuntu is an open source, totally free (as in zero dollars) Linux operating system and it beats Windows hands down in everything but gaming and Photoshop compatibility (but it has the GIMP, which is even better). You can find it at the Ubuntu Homepage It is just about impervious to viruses and malware, does not need defragmentation and uses the industry quality IP Tables as its firewall. It is not good for IL2 gaming thru Wine, but that is about its only weakness. Also, take a look at Open Office; very nice, can be installed on Windows systems, freely converts documents to PDF files and no continual Microsoft Office security holes. You can find Open Office here (also, completely free): OO Home

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Further Reading – As already mentioned much earlier, two of your best bests for getting started off on the right foot are Bearcat's Nugget's Guide found here and Skycat's Guide at the Ubi Forums.

Bearcat's signature at the end of the Nugget's Guide also contains a link to dozens of other good resources that should keep you busy for months. Frank “Dart” Giger has also written several good articles on many interesting aspects of IL2 and these can be found at the censorship heavy SimHQ.com. Other excellent resources for the beginner include the aerial combat mini-book In Pursuit by Johan Kylander and a good introduction to CEM by Vulgar at Mission4Today.com, and found here. Neural Dream also has a very nice guide to many of the main aircraft in IL2 that can be found here. IL2 is such an interesting and deep sim that I am sure you will find plenty to occupy yourself with for quite some time.

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Sample Joystick Setups – Obviously, setting up and configuring your joystick or HOTAS is an art unto itself and is often a confusing subject for the true neophyte. I have worked on an illustrated guide to help out new guys, and that can be found here: Newbie's Guide to IL2 Joystick Setups

It has some suggested setups for major higher-end joystick brands. While getting your equipment setup to your own individual tastes is a trial and error process, the guide can hopefully give you a few good starting suggestions

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Credits

Helpful advice in improving this guide came from Bearcat, Frank “Dart” Giger, WWSandman, X32Wright, Xiolablu and Crucislancer. I am indebted to their comments and vast experience.

Unless otherwise noted, all images are without copyright, trademark or patent and comply with the DMCA of 1998 and most international laws concerning 'fair-use'. This guide is also offered freely under the GNU GPL Ver 2.0 (which you may read in its entirety here ) and no attempt is being made to earn profit from it. This document is also hosted on servers that reside outside the United States to avoid that country's absurd environment of suing everything in site.

The opening image of Erich Hartmann is copyrighted but qualifies as fair-use under US copyright law. The same applies to the images of CH Products and Track IR equipment, Oleg Maddox and Gary Kasparov. Special permission has been obtained from Miramax Studios to show the image of Pai Mei.

If you have intelligent and constructive criticism or feel that I missed something vital, please private message me at jayhall0315 at the Ubisoft IL2 Forums here: IL2 Forums

Version 3.10 - Last Updated on March 3rd, 2009You may find copies of this file at: MediaFire and at Filefront