Dear Friends,

As today’s Dev Blog issue is the last one for this year, it is time to summarize the year’s results and share our plans for the next one. We managed to accomplish a lot in 2024:

• Released the WWI module Flying Circus Vol. IV, containing 7 aircraft and a significantly revised map of the Western Front in 1918, available to owners of any Flying Circus module;
• Released the Spitfire Mk. IXc, IAR-80A, IAR-80B and Ta-152 aircraft;
• Released the historical campaign Gestapo Hunters and improved many previously released campaigns;
• Significantly improved and expanded the Pilot Career mode with new types of missions;
• Announced a new project on a heavily updated engine "Korea. IL-2 Series" and published weekly dev blogs or dev brief videos about the progress of its development — more than 30 in total;
• Completed the development of new fundamental graphics and game engine technologies for the Korea project (Physically Based Rendering, DirectX 12, Ray Tracing Atmosphere Shading, etc.);
• Created new visualization technologies for grass, trees, bushes, and rocks, visualization and in-game interaction of railroad tracks, power poles, tunnels, bomb craters, and water bodies, including a new system of water reflection and transparency, night lighting of cities, roads, airfields;
• Created new character animation technologies, added the ability of pilots to get out of the plane and climb into it, new animations of various crews from machine guns to destroyers;
• Completed the entire set of AI ground vehicles and ships with new damage technologies, as well as all Korean buildings;
• Finished the basic map landscape of Korea and started filling it with cities, airfields, and other infrastructure;
• Finalized the game design and started development of the new "Regiment Commander Career" and "Museum" game modes;
• Completed a core set of new technologies in the physical aircraft model, including a new aircraft systems model and damage system;
• Completed research on the feasibility of implementing carrier-based aircraft in our game engine, which yielded positive results;
• Completed external visual models of F-86A Sabre, F-80C Shooting Star, F-51D Mustang, B-29 Super Fortress, C-47B Skytrain, MiG-15bis, Yak-9P, Tu-2 and Li-2T;
• Completed physical models (without instruments yet) of F-80C, F-84E, F-51D, Tu-2, and B-29;
• Completed about half of the planned visual and sound effects;
• Developed a prototype of a new radio voice technology.

There is much more to be done in the coming year 2025, we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. We can’t reveal everything in advance, but we can outline some of what we plan to create now.

For the WWI era, we will finish the 1918 Western Front map used in the Flying Circus modules. We also plan to release something new that has never been attempted in Rise of Flight or Flying Circus — an interceptable airship (their usual altitude and speed made them a difficult target for the first heavier-than-air aircraft).

For our most extensive World War II period we plan to release a new Great Battles module with two maps, the Odessa region and Karelia, and 8 aircraft from the early and late periods of the war. Its career mode will be divided into two parts for historical reasons: around 1941 and 1944, when the front there started to move again.

And of course, most of the development and news will be related to "Korea": there is still a lot to be done for this new project.

The landscape, buildings, airfields, new trees, grass, bushes, and other objects will be completed for the Korea map, all of which will require new textures. Cities, ports, factories, villages, and airfields will have people and night lighting to bring them to life. Our audio engineers will finish creating sounds for the entire game world, from aircraft cannon fire to the sounds of nature.

Our artists will complete a completely new set of graphical effects and work with our engineers to complete the visual models of the F-84E Thunderjet, F4U-4 Corsair, F9F-2 Panther, La-11 and the Il-10, as well as the cockpits of the player-controlled aircraft. Our engineers will create an ejection system, a system of interaction with radar stations, and complete physical models of all aircraft — the description of this task is short, but it is very extensive.

Our programmers of other simulator systems also have a lot of work to do, and it’s not only the new AI wingman control system and general revision of the aircraft AI. It is necessary to finalize all game modes (Mission Planner, Multiplayer, Singleplayer, Campaign) and a new control system that will allow using a HOTAS and/or gamepad to control the game without mouse and keyboard, which will be much more convenient, especially in VR.

Our mission designers will finalize various types of scenarios, including special ones for the "Museum" mode, and the main task — combining a set of different combat missions into a meta mode "Regiment Commander", in which the player will distribute the available material resources and personnel to achieve the goals set by the high command.

In addition to the completion of the Korea project, its release and the start of development of its add-ons, we plan to open a new website for the series and hold a new online tournament in Great Battles, the winners of which will be awarded prizes.

Of course, the above list is not complete: much of the work we’re doing is either too specific to describe in one sentence, or it’s too early to talk about it. All of this work is aimed at improving and developing our simulators, and ultimately providing you with a great new experience. We can talk about each of these points in detail in our Dev Blog and Dev Brief videos in the coming year, so stay tuned!

By the way, another Dev Brief about the "big boys" of the new project (B-29, Tu-2, C-47B, Li-2T) will be recorded soon — if you have any questions about this topic, please ask them as usual in this online form.

And here's our calendar in 4K resolution for the first month of the new year (also available in FullHD resolution).