I’ll tell you what. Buy the game, patch it, and then crack it. Spend time sorting out the views, (hint: A saitek gives you mouse control and sweet view options, rivaling AH even with the Il-2 limiting ultra realistic approach to that particular game play feature) Give it to all your friends, play COOP missions. If they dig it, make em buy it. I crack everything I buy, or take in trade, and if it’s good, buy it anyway. I support the developers. At least it dispels bad PR from demo’s as you make so painfully clear.
Listen, when IL-2 introduces the Western front maps and planesets, it will crush all flight sims of the WWII era.
Why? Because on a GF3, it is like a fluid real-time museum of WWII fighters. Granted, it has flaws. Namely, flaps are used as air anchors, planes take off like dragsters, even though ground-handling models seem dead on, and various planes have suspect performance. Improvements will happen, none, which right now are showstoppers.
In future patches, I see those flaws becoming more extinct, as the user base and the makers of IL-2 are very well in tune with each other. “Secrecy” seems a bad word there, a refreshing developer attitude indeed.
Now whether 32 players at once is enough for you, I dunno. Still, COOP mode makes for endless scenarios, without CT setup problems, sign up headaches, user time attendance issues, etc…
If you got the people to play (squad night) it is just fantastic. And going to get better which is the real kicker.
AH is the toejam, and a lot of fun, just don’t discount other means of WWII flightsim fun out of loyalty. HTC knows their nitch, so should it’s players.
And it certainly gives a benchmark for HTC to bridge the gap, see?