Πέμπτη 31 Μαρτίου 2011

Setting up the game (1) # version 1.00.13820

So, here we are the game loaded!


We see dark colours in the whole design, something different from what we were used to in IL-2. It also feels like a very simple and modern design.

First thing you got to do in each game is going to the options, right? :)


And since everyone experiences problems with the performance of the game, let's move straight forward to Video Options and do some tweaking.


First thing to do, if you're sure that you don't suffer from epilepsy (neither anyone who watches you playing over your shoulder), is to uncheck the Anti-Epilepsy Filter.
Then, it's best to uncheck the Grass/Shadow/Roads tabs and set the Detail Mode to Medium or Low, depending on your system.
It's wiser to set your pc at lower settings and then move higher if possible, than start with high settings, crash to desktop and curse your wife when she asks you why your face is red :P
If you aim high, your best bet is that game won't load ;)
Setting a lower resolution, if it's supported by your screen/VGA, might help if you experience more problems.

So, you press ok and let's have a quick look at the Audio Options.


Nothing special here, neither in Network Options.


One last look at the Realism settings, which are by default set to easiest level.


Keep them like this while you're setting the game, but don't forget to instantly change them when you start the real "flights". You wouldn't want to get used to such unrealistic settings, would you? ;)



To be continued...

Installation

The original download was a 3.86gb folder, named "il-2_sturmovik_cod".
In there we have the "setup.exe" file which we run in order to start things up.

Of course Steam wouldn't make things easy and the moment the setup started it just could not connect to Steam!!!
I spend half an hour trying to connect, changed my password, locked my kids to their room and still nothing.
Steam would recognize a wrong password, but when I inserted the right one it would just get me back to the login screen requesting the password again.
In the end it popped a message that for security reasons (or something like that) I'd had to get a code from an email that they sent me and insert it before I move on. At last it worked, but yes I had to spend half an hour for no reason. Steam it is :)

And then the installation started and to be honest I was amazed to realise that it took shorter time than what IL-2/1946 takes to install!
Was it a good sign or not, that was the real question :)
A rather small file of 3.8gb and a short installation time made me think whether this game is not that "big" as we always hoped and believed.
You know, most of us who are in this community since forever think of this game as the Holy Graal and seeing it "small" can make you wonder if there's gold here or not.
On the other hand, programming is not about size. Good programming should be as short as possible and for such a game the "core" folder with only 400mb seems like good work.
One more thing. Clod has less maps and planes than 1946, therefore much less big files that come with maps and planes ;-)

During the installation it also checks/installs the typical DirectX and Microsoft's Client Redistr. parts, so we can run the game.
Of course this means that you have to restart the game when the installation finishes, so you can have these, and eventually the game, working!!! So...please don't cry if the game won't start if you didn't restart.

Right after the restart Steam should update the game automatically (thank God they have fast servers, so no big wait) and that's all, you're good to go!

Just installed it and...

...I totally agree that game is unplayable.

But first of all let me confess that my current system is outdated :)
Win XP SP3
CPU: AMD 3800XP (single core)
GPU: NVidia 9800GT
RAM: 2GB

So, I never expected much from it.
Still, I'm impressed that even in "Very Low" video settings it's just horrible, EXCEPT from the cockpit and the water.
I will discuss this again later, but no matter how the rest of the game is and looks like, the Cockpit and the Water/Sea are marvelous even at lowest graphic settings!

Will get back soon with more about my first impressions and the whole setup.

Youtube: Adolf H. and IL2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover

A nice one here :D

We're all equal!

[Humour mode ON]
It seems that Oleg is a good communist and offered a game that we're all equal. No matter what PC you have, you get same bad performance :D
[Humour mode always ON :)]

Party upon release of the game

Best price (?)

Haven't checked every online shop, but from the research that I've made the best price is at direct2drive.
They offer it at £29.95 (minus some promo code) compared to Ubi's or Steam's price of €49.99.

What's amazing though is that Amazon.co.uk and Play.com still don't offer the game!

New subforum for technical threads

A very useful addition in 1C's forum for technical threads, hopefully freeing the main forum for Clod-related threads.

Thanks nearmiss or whoever took the initiative :)

Unplayable

Reading all forums and everybody agrees that game is unplayable at this moment.
What they don't understand though is that currently game is in beta mode and we shouldn't expect to see it working as IL-2:Sturmovik.

Download day

At last there came the day when Clod is available for download.
March 31st from 00:01 GMT and as soon as I woke up I started the download so I can find the file ready when I get back from work.