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IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus - a prequel

by: Dave - posted: 8/2/2018 4:11:00 PM
More On: IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus - Volume 1

Eschewing the model of moving the IL-2:Sturmovik line forward by essentially standing still with yet another take on eastern European WWII aerial battles, the soon-to-be Early Access IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus takes us back to the early days of military air power. Back to the heady days of blistering speed records of up to 115 mph! Parachutes? Bah, who needs 'em. Dogfights so close you could see the fear in the eyes of the poor guy in the back seat of the recon plane you're shooting down. Basically, the days when knife fights took to the skies. As violent and deadly as it was, WWI aviation still retains a luster of romance to this day.

Somewhere in the lineage of the Sturmovik sims, there is a free-to-play WWI sim called Rise of Flight. I recently bought some DLC for it during the last Summer Sale on Steam - I wanted the infamous Fokker Dr1 Tri-plane that serves as a veritable icon for the Baron von Ricthofen, or The Red Baron more commonly. Sadly, even the Dr1 wasn't enough to entice me back to a non-VR flight sim. The immersion, scale, and head-tracking of VR is far too imbued into my flight simming psyche to ever go back.

Being based on the IL-2 Sturmovik platform, such will not be the case for Flying Circus. Not only is it entering Early Access with the two airplanes that I want the most (one of which is, of course, the Fokker Dr1), it will also inherit the VR capability present in the rest of the collection.

Those having the desire to get in early can find more information on the IL-2 Store page.

Flying Circus – Volume I
 
From the team that brought you Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War comes a new, re-imagined Great War combat flight-simulator as part of the IL-2 Sturmovik Great Battles series. Fly some of WWI’s greatest aircraft in thrilling air to air combat high above the trenches of No Man’s Land. In planes made largely of canvas and wood, dogfight to the death against cunning enemies and see if you have what it takes to become an ACE! Experience what is was like to be an early aviation pioneer and test the tactics and machines that would forever change warfare by bringing it to the skies for the first time. Discover the bravery and courage it took to do battle with no parachute and no radio to call for help! Are you the next Guynemer, Ball, Bishop or von Richtofen? 

Flying Circus includes ten legendary WWI combat aircraft that you can fly alone or with friends in single-player or multiplayer scenarios. Flying Circus also comes with a map of the Arras sector of the Western Front in WWI. 

IL-2 Sturmovik: Flying Circus - Volume I is part of the IL-2 Great Battles series of products and can be played as a separate stand-alone product or be integrated with other Great Battles titles such as Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Moscow, Battle of Kuban and Battle of Bodenplatte. Combine all titles to create one big WWI and WWII air and ground combat simulation. 

  •  10,000 sq. km. map of the Arras sector in WWI including cities, towns, airfields and famous No-Mans-Land.
  •  Ten legendary WWI aircraft to fly - Spad XIII, Sopwith Dolphin, Sopwith Camel, RAF S.E.5.a, Bristol Fighter, Albatros D.Va, Fokker Dr.1, Fokker D.VII. Pfalz D.IIIa and Halberstadt CL.II.
  •  Also includes the Fokker D.VIIF, Bristol Fighter F.III and Halberstadt CL.II 200hp engine modifications.
  •  Numerous types of buildings, hangars, ground vehicles and scenery objects to enhance mission environment.
  •  Detailed and precise exterior models of aircraft with 4K skins.
  •  Full-scale 3D interior of each aircraft that looks amazing in VR.
  •  Fly as an observer/gunner in properly equipped aircraft.
  •  Custom skins support.
  •  Quick Single Mission generator.
  •  Two multi-player modes of gameplay - Cooperative and Dogfight.
  •  Realistic ballistics modeling.
  •  Realistic gun-sight visuals and operation such as the famous Aldis sight.
  •  Detailed physics model and performance of aircraft.
  •  Detailed damage model to simulate damage to planes made of lighter materials.
  •  Mission Editor support.