IL-2 Sturmovik Readme file After the main manual was sent for final production, we had time to implement some new features as well as to describe some important points not covered beforehand. Consequently we have included last-minute changes and additions in this text. Warning The game requires the installation of DirectX 8.x in order for joysticks and sound cards to work properly. If DirectX 8.x is already installed on your computer, you do not need to reinstall this program. Online: Playing on ubi.com The process of searching, connecting and playing on different servers has already been included in the instructions for the Game Service program that is also installed from this disc. Individual paint scheme of aircraft and squadron insignia When playing IL-2 online, you can use your own paint schemes for all the aircraft you use. These paint schemes will be observed by all the other players who are also online. Individual paint schemes are created using Void.bmp files that are placed in the directories corresponding to each aircraft. For example, in the Paintschemes/Skins/Yak-3 directory, load the Void.bmp file into the image editor and paint it as you like. You can assign the completed BMP file with the name of your choice. Save it in Windows BITMAP 256 colors format. Copy the completed BMP file into the directory corresponding to your chosen aircraft. If you want to create a new insignia for the squadron you are going to play for, follow the instructions below: 1. Paint the 64x64 pixel squadron’s insignia using any image editor. 2. Save it in Windows BITMAP 256 colors format. 3. Copy the completed file in the Paintschemes\Regiments directory. You can use the filename of your choice, for example, the name of your squadron. 4. Using the Windows notepad, create a text file without the .TXT extension, with a name corresponding to that of your file (squadron). You can also copy the filename from the those included in the list of existing files. Specify the country and the name of the squadron in this file. By way of example, open one of these file from our list to have a look at all the necessary information and to avoid mistakes: country = DE (country, a standard double-letter international abbreviation) id = ZZ (identification - using 2 letters - only used for German and British bombers) gruppeNumber = 1 (a group number. Only used for German aircraft) short = JG 101 (short / abbreviated name of the squadron) info = Jagdgeschwader 101 (full name of the squadron) From the mission briefing multiplayer menu, select Arming and choose your new paint scheme and squadron insignia before you take off. After that, you will fly with the new paint scheme on your plane; if other players have their Skin download option set to On, they will be able to enjoy observing your aircraft's new paint scheme. Possible problem when playing online Some PCs have several connection devices or special Internet software. In this case, the game is unable to recognize itself which device and IP address you are using. To get around this problem, proceed as follows: 1. Start il2setup.exe and select the Network section. 2. Make sure you have selected the right connection type (it must correspond to your connection device). 3. In the IP combo box, select the correct IP address (read the manual on how to detect IP addresses) 4. In the Port field, enter the number used by your port between 1000 and 65000. By default, it is 21000. This port is very important if you use firewall software. Firewall software should be configured for this port. 5. Note: if you play across Ubi.com Game Service, 2 ports are used: - the one you defined (or default) - a second one with the number +10 (e.g.: 21000 +10 = 21010) Voice chat in IL-2 (additions to the main description) The voice chat is controlled by the ‘radio’ console command. To activate this console, type “>” in the chat window. The command is thus entered as follows: >radio [arguments…]. To cancel the console, press Del. radio TEST [on/off] - activates the voice chat test. You can hear the signal from your microphone having come through codec. You can also adjust the mic's input. The other players cannot hear anything. Sample: >radio TEST on radio LEVEL [value from 1.0 to 5.0] - voice activation level from which transmission begins. The higher the level, the greater the volume while inputting, which starts the transmission. Sample: >radio LEVEL 1.3 radio LATENCY [value from 0.2 to 2.0] - value of the signal reception delay (in seconds) required to compensate for incoming data irregularities. If the sound has dropouts or makes unwanted noises (which is usually the case with a slow connection), you must increase this value. Sample: >radio LATENCY 0.5 radio CODEC [lpc or hq] - creates the form of speech coding that will be implemented on the channels you create. The Lpc - codec provides you with a low-speed data flow (about 800 bps) but has a very poor sound quality. This codec is used on two basic channels - COMMON and ARMY - and is also used by default on the new ones created by the players. The Hq codec has a high data flow (about 8000 bps) and high quality, but it can only be used if you have a good connection (faster than 38K) or on a LAN. You can only have one codec type on one channel. Sample: >radio CODEC hq radio AGC [on/off] - automatic microphone adjustment. It is switched on by default. If you experience problems with the microphone, you can switch it off. Sample: >radio AGC on You can find out about the current settings after entering a command without a parameter, e.g. radio CODEC. 2. Use of autonomous connection programs, for example, RogerWilco. To start using RogerWilco, you need to switch in-game voice chat off by setting [?] ‘AudioInput’ to ‘None’ in the Sound menu of the il2setup program. Music in IL-2 Sound files should be standard Windows RIFF files (with the .wav extension), however the data format should be MPEG - layer 3, 44100Hz, stereo. You can create such files using various widely-available converters, for example, CDEx ( http://www.cdex.n3.net ). This program - CDEx - also enables you to convert mp3 files into wav files directly (menu ‘convert’ -> ‘MP3->RIFF-WAV’). You can change music supplied with IL-2 in the Intro and the Main Menu. You must copy the new files with the corresponding names into the following directories: samples\Music\Intro - sounds in Intro. File name - intro.wav samples\Music\Menu - sounds in main menu (depends on the country chosen). Files for the menu should have the corresponding name: ru.wav - for the Russian party; de.wav - for the German party. If you like, you can also play IL-2 accompanied by music. Choose your favorite music, convert its format as specified above and copy the completed music files into the game. The music files played while playing the game should be placed into the following directories: samples\Music\TakeOff - while taking off. samples\Music\InFlight - while flying samples\Music\Crash - while crashing your plane. Except for intro music and in the menu, you can have several music files in each directory. These are played at random. In this case, the file name is unimportant (make sure you keep the right format and file extension). Online score When playing online, you may want to know your own rating or that of your opponent in your current dogfight. For this purpose, in the chat window, type >user Pilot Career Since it was impossible to recreate the exact view of each separate squadron or of its pilots together with the Il-2 maps and airfields, in some cases we allow certain digressions from such aspects of our game. However, for the main events, we try to depict them as exactly as possible. Recommendation On some missions, you might experience some shuttering or low FPS on low-middle range PCs. In this case, we advise you to set the video options to medium (such as textures and ground objects) or even to low (you may find the best settings for your PC for these situations on an individual basis). This mainly occurs when playing over big cities (Stalingrad, Berlin) or over ground battles with a very large number of tanks, military vehicles, etc. Some smart features If you like, you can use additional features, such as: - No subtitles for pilots' voices - No pilots' voices (radio chatter) - No HUD text messages and warnings - No lens flare effects - Invert mouse control Up/Down for the rear gunner's position How to use them: 1. Using the Windows notepad, open the conf.ini file. 2. Find the string [game] and in it, set 1 instead of 0 to switch these functions: NoSubtitles=1 (No subtitles for pilots' voices) NoChatter=1 (No radio chatter) NoHudLog=1 (No HUD text messages and warnings) NoLensFlare=1 (No lens flare effects) 3. Find the [rts_mouse] section. Here, you can invert the mouse for the rear gunner position. 0 = normal, 1 = inverted. Invert=0 4. Once you have finished your changes, save the conf.ini file and start the game. Pause mode If you're holding the pause mode (using the P key) for a long time during a mission (about 10 minutes), the game's performance may be slower. The only workaround for this issue is to exit the game and restart IL2. Naming conventions for track files When saving a track file, please make sure you do not use any special character or regional symbol in the filename. If you ignore this limitation, you'll get the message "Track file 'records\ not included section [$$$record]" upon loading the file. If you already saved the file by mistake using these special characters, you may simply rename the file using Windows Explorer. The file will then load properly. Track files are located in the "Records" folder of your installation directory. Known problem on Windows 2000 When playing the game in OpenGL on Windows 2000, the amount of virtual memory allocated by your Operating System will be too low. You can either increase the amount of virtual memory or switch to DirectX mode, which does not have this problem. Known problems on Windows XP Windows XP has no OpenGL hardware support as of yet. We suggest you run the game in DirectX mode. The current drivers for Windows XP do not support Force Feedback as of yet. Contact your manufacturer for more information on driver support for Windows XP. We also recommend 256MB RAM for Windows XP for better framerates and overall performance.