bclmax
should work no problem, u have track ir? let me know when u wanna fly.
I'm actually
using this instead of TrackIR with my regular webcam. Doesn't work as well, of course, but it's pretty close - and
any head tracking is MASSIVE orders of magnitude better than trying to be competitive using just the joystick hat for looking around.
As to the games...well, I've certainly put a lot of time in IL-2. I actually played the series from the very first game, through all the expansions, and still managed to put several hundreds hours into IL-2:1946, alone (only have definite numbers on that one, because that's the first one that - between XFire and Steam - I have tracking of my play time on).
But I'm not playing it that much, anymore. The mod scene just got too confusing - needing to run different patches, different versions of UltraPak, different other mods, etc...for each and every server. End result is that you could get your install at best set up to run on maybe one or two MP servers, and that was it. And just TRY complaining about that on any of the 'official' forums...they'll tear you apart complaining about "only kiddies play MP" or "who wants to play Air Quake? I have no idea why they even included MP in the game" or "It's only single-player that matters" and such. So basically, between the mess of mods, lame community, and general weariness at the
tremendously dated graphics...I just kind of lost interest. What flying I do in IL-2 at the moment is pretty much just with my office mates.
Now, 'Cliffs of Dover' definitely has more promise. Somewhat more locked down engine, so if you can find an MP game...you can join it, there isn't any quagmire of mods to worry about. And the game doesn't even need an external client to manage MP like '46 does - CloD has an in-game server browser, and is rather nicely integrated with Steam. I'm pretty sure this will be where it's at...some day. At the moment, though, performance is still pretty "poor" (even with the latest beta patch, although it does make HUGE differences), and the lack of any form of anti-aliasing
really grates on my nerves. It might possibly be a good looking game some day, but the amount of very fine detail, wires and struts and stuff, means that without any anti-aliasing, it's sawtooth-jaggy-
hell.
Of the games making use of the core of IL-2, I actually think 'Wings of Prey' might be closest to the best. Graphics that look better than 'Cliffs of Dover' at the moment, it actually runs just as good as IL-2:1946 (so very, VERY fast), amazing production values (voice acting and the soundtrack by Jeremy Soule...of Icewind Dale/Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim fame), decent story in the campaign, etc. Unfortunately, they then proceed to crap all over themselves by insisting on the YuPlay client for match-making in MP. When it works, it's okay...almost as good as the original 1946...but it usually doesn't work. I've had MP matches with office mates that worked fine, we try again the next day with nobody changing anything, and suddenly only 2 of the 3 of us can connect. Next week, everyone is fine again, then next match someone drops off and nobody can see them online anymore. The game's netcode is fine, it's just that the YuPlay client is
****E.