IL- 2 Sturmovik Cliffs of Dover Old Version

Svetislav Basara wrote in one of his books that writing about oneself in third person singular is a sign of cowardice. By some miracle, this is exactly the form to which every page on this website conforms. On this page I shall depart from the form used not because I wish to display my personal courage, but because I find it easier to write what needs to be written by referring to myself in the first person singular.

 

While contemplating an appropriate substitute for the Microsoft Security Essentials anti- viral package, for which the support will end on 14.1.2020, I decided to give AVAST Anti Virus Free a try. Upon installing and updating AVAST and starting IL- 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover- Blitz up, AVAST recognized something in the “Launcher64.exe” as dangerous and quarantined the file. A short search revealed that the issue isn't new and that the authors of the Blitz recommend white listing the executable, which would mean exempting it from real time security checks. Although the notion of a false positive detection isn't unknown, it does get difficult to enjoy flying while wondering if there's something active in the computer's memory which will, somehow, manifest someone's unappreciated curiosity. Since a similar topic was already considered on this website, there' s no good reason to analyze the problem again. What's left is an attempt to find out whether it's possible to fly IL- 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover safely and how to do that.

 

The first and the most obvious way would be to install this simulator onto a computer which is dedicated solely to the purpose of simulating flight, on which data wouldn't be kept which could cause negative consequences to the user if revealed. Sadly, only a few have the space and the means at their disposal which would facilitate resorting to such a solution. Another solution would be an attempt to use a different version of the simulator with which the anti- virus wouldn't have a problem, and this is the solution that proved feasible in my case. Installing the original version of the simulator from the DVD or a Steam backup doesn't take long and, after Steam updates the old version, the number 1.11.20362 becomes visible in the lower right corner of the main menu. The settings which work well with the old version are shown on the screen shots below:

 

What exactly happened between the moment at which I started using Team Fusion mods and the moment of cessation of the development of the simulator for which Team Fusion wasn't responsible I don't really know, but the impression prevailed upon me that some models are different as compared to what I can remember from the period before I started using the Team Fusion mods. Attention is first drawn by somewhat shorter period of time necessary for the Merlin engine to warm up sufficiently to taxi. Also, older Spitfires and Hurricanes fitted with the prop pitch control mechanism which has only two selectable positions of the prop pitch lever in the cockpit will maintain engine rpm at 3000 when fine prop pitch is selected, and vary it from 2200 at low altitude to 2600 at high altitude if coarse prop pitch is selected. This is glaringly different when compared to the way the prop pitch control mechanism is modeled for older Spitfires and Hurricanes in IL- 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover- Blitz, which varies engine rpm as airspeed and altitude change for both positions of the prop pitch selection lever. I haven't had the time to research which of the two models is closer to the way the actual prop pitch control mechanism worked. Differences are also percievable in the way constant speed propelors attached to Merlin engines work as compared to what's modeled in the Blitz version. In the older version of the simulator, the airspeed indicator will reflect the change of local drag at the opening of the Pitot tube as the angle of attack changes.

 

From what I can remember, the flight model of the last version I used before I started using Team Fusion mods had inertia over modeled when flying at angles of attack close to the critical value. Taking into account the possibility that the long period of time which elapsed may have created a wrong impression, I'll dare say that the version 1.11.20362 appears to have a better flight model when flying close to the critical angle of attack as compared to the last pre- Team Fusion version I flew. Icing and de- icing while flying through clouds, apparently, still works as it used to.

 

Version 1.11.20362 will not require a DirectX 11 graphics card, and won't crash too frequently either. The only irritating thing about it is a square drawn on the surface of the terrain, perhaps delineating the sector one is flying over. This could be an indication that the version in question is a release candidate from which the development tools were never removed. Those bothered by this can follow the instructions on this or another page and install a different old version. I myself didn't bother with trying out other old versions and am living with the square.

 

The Self Inflicted Dynamic Campaign will, off course, work with older versions of the IL- 2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover desktop simulator as well.