[Game] For those thinking about getting IL-2 1946 on Steam...

[Flogger23m]

Don't. Stay far away.

Just bought this crap. Wasted $10 on it.

Doesn't support my monitor's resolution.

The graphics look like s***. Apparently, my pathetic GTX 260 can't even enable the higher looking graphic settings. Wow, those 2005 graphics sure require a lot! Either that, or the game hates 64bit, DX10 or Vista. Or maybe it hates hard drives to.

Now, I can't even get the damn thing to start up.

Bought Splinter Cell: Double Agent off of Steam half a year ago. That was by far one of the most broken games I've played as well.

You would think by the time games hit $10, they would fix them and make them playable. Guess not.

I've stopped paying more than $10 for games, and now it seems like that is even too much. The **** never works, plain and simple.

Well, I am running out of patience. Keep it up developers, and I will no longer pay to get your nonfunctional crapware.

F*** Steam, and F*** Maddox.

 

[PNV]

What resolution are you trying to play at? I have Vista 64 bit with a GTX 260 and it runs great, but I'm running it at 1600x1200.

 

[aktionman]

You can try OpenGL instead of DirectX.

 

[Rak]

It's an old game, and the devs didn't put much time to update the in-game settings so you'll have to them manually. You need to fiddle around with some .cfg file settings. Not much of a hassle.

For resolution(taken from IL2-ubi forums):

1) Open the folder where IL2 46 is installed, its usually 'c:\program files\ubisoft\IL2 Sturmovik 1946' if you used the default install option.

Another way of finding this is to right click in the IL2 46 desktop icon to bring up a drop down menu, click on 'Properties' to open up the shortcuts properties menu, go to the 'Shortcut' tab and click on 'Find Target'.

2) Look for a file called 'Conf.ini', open it up in Notepad or a text editor.

3) Look for the following lines of text, they should be near the top:

[window]
width=1920
height=1200
ColourBits=32
DepthBits=24
StencilBits=8
ChangeScreenRes=1
FullScreen=1
DrawIfNotFocused=0
EnableResize=0
EnableClose=1
SaveAspect=0
Use3Renders=0

4) Edit the lines 'Width' and 'Height'. These lines correspond to the resolution IL2 will display in. Enter in your screens native resolution or the resolution you want to play IL2 in.

The example above is for a 24" 16:10 screen. A 19" 5:4 screen is 1280x1024 which is standard resolution for that sort of size TFT/LCD. A 16:10 19" widescreen is 1280x800 etc. More info on screen sizes can be found here.

5) Look for 'EnableResize=' and set it to 0.

6) Look for 'SaveAspect=' and set it to 0.

7)Save the file, close it and run IL2.

To enable the perfect settings, you have to run the game in OpenGL mode. Make sure o select your graphics card as GF5xxx-GF6xxxx, in little setup program. Then, enable "perfect" landscape in in-game settings. Then follow this guide:

http://mission4today.com/index.php?name=Knowledge_Base&op=show&kid=27

 

[Oldih]

Game looking like crap - considering IL-2 1946 came out in 2006 and the original game in late 2001, and 1946 is a mere compilation - in this case is almost as saying that how 20 year old Commondore 64 game looks outdated compared to Crysis E.G., what do you expect?

Insturctions Rak posted certainly allows you to have widescreen resolution among other things. I'm playing it on 1920x1080 here without any issues, one guy I know plays it on even higher resolution on 64bit Win7 without issues, so if something's at fault it is either drivers or the odd reason that Steam version doesn't seem to work with D3D.

 

[Shadrach]

I got a second copy from Gog.com since i cant be bothered with CDs anymore. Runs totally smooth in 1680x1050, its an old game after all.

 

[The Masta]

Like said before switch to opengl and adjust your settings in the ini.
And they fixed the game pretty well considering the last patch came out a month or so ago.

Edit:
Looks good for such an old game if you ask me.

 

[Tomcat_ha]

its starting to show its age really now though.

 

[KrazyKraut]

I think it still looks okay and could potentially look *good* if cockpit textures weren't so low res (w/o mods). The problem is you need to download a million different mods and skins to update it to more modern looks and then there's the problem of different styles of texture artists so the game doesn't look like it's one solid piece.

It's definetly time for a successor now though.

 

[Nimsky]

Some games require editing an .ini file before widescreen works, that's just the way it is...

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/screenshots/

And it's an old game with a huge playing field, of course it's not gonna look like Crysis.

Steam and Maddox aren't to blame here, I'm afraid.

 

[Gunfan9x19]

It's an old game, and the devs didn't put much time to update the in-game settings so you'll have to them manually. You need to fiddle around with some .cfg file settings. Not much of a hassle. /QUOTE]


A million thank yous, good sir! I knew it was possible to configure it for higher resolutions, but not being particularly technical, I couldn't figure it out. The game plays so much better at my native 1920x1200 (though that's probably just my imagination ).

I'm afraid I can't help the OP with his problems running the game, but I'm sure there's a fix out there. I play the game on a Vista 32-bit with an nvidia 8800GTX and I don't have any problems at all.

 

[Flogger23m]

Quite pathetic that the in game graphics options don't actually do anything.

Does 4 = the best quality setting?

I would like to max out the graphics if that is possible on my new hardware/software. Not interested in down grading to an FX 5600 or w/e to run it maxed out.


Also, I never compared the game to Crysis or any other modern game (disclaimer for those with reading/comprehension disorders).

 

[Pharnakes]

Sheesh you're getting quite worked up about this aren't you. Can't imagine why you choose these boards to get angry at for not having your solution to a totaly unreleadted game. If it anoys you that much don't play it, but you'll be missing one of the best games ever.

 

[Flogger23m]

The title of this forum is:

Gaming Discuss Other Games And Mods Here

Maybe it should be renamed to: Gaming (aside from other games that aren't RO/KF). Not that it would make any logical sense.

And no, I don't take nonworking ****.

Unless I get my cash back (and I doubt Valve will), I will be pissed.

If I got a card that blew up when I turned in on, I'd be pissed to.

 

[PNV]

If you force the maximum anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing in your respective control panel, I think the game looks pretty nice for its age. The only thing that really bothers me with Il-2 are the vanilla sounds.

 

[Oldih]

QNot interested in down grading to an FX 5600 or w/e to run it maxed out.

That would be hardware problem in your end, not exactly the game's own issue. Sad fact of PC gaming.

 

[Flogger23m]

That would be hardware problem in your end, not exactly the game's own issue. Sad fact of PC gaming.

Well that sucks.

Out of curiosity, what are the fastest video cards that work for the game? The FX 5*** series?

Too bad it doesn't work on new hardware. I've played a lot of games from 2003 or so on this PC and they all worked fine.

 

[Tomcat_ha]

i guess it will be a 8800 card series for that.

 

[Reddog]

Quite pathetic that the in game graphics options don't actually do anything.

Does 4 = the best quality setting?

I would like to max out the graphics if that is possible on my new hardware/software. Not interested in down grading to an FX 5600 or w/e to run it maxed out.


Also, I never compared the game to Crysis or any other modern game (disclaimer for those with reading/comprehension disorders).

The highest options aren't in the in game settings because at the time it was released no machine could handle those settings and they were consciously left out as 'experimental' options. It was also released before wide screen monitors were really mainstream so it's no suprise you need to tweak the .ini to set your res properly, as do a lot of older games...

If you don't have the patience to actually discover these things for yourself (seriously google or ask someone) then 1946 isn't the game for you anyway, Hawx would be more up your alley.

Also you don't need to downgrade anything, it runs just fine with the absolute maximum graphics tweaks and 8xAF/8xFSAA on my GTX260 with Vista 32bit ... sheesh.

 

[Flogger23m]

The highest options aren't in the in game settings because at the time it was released no machine could handle those settings and they were consciously left out as 'experimental' options. It was also released before wide screen monitors were really mainstream so it's no suprise you need to tweak the .ini to set your res properly, as do a lot of older games...

If you don't have the patience to actually discover these things for yourself (seriously google or ask someone) then 1946 isn't the game for you anyway, Hawx would be more up your alley.

Also you don't need to downgrade anything, it runs just fine with the absolute maximum graphics tweaks and 8xAF/8xFSAA on my GTX260 with Vista 32bit ... sheesh.

Eh, play a dumbed down game because IL-2 doesn't work? You don't make a lot of sense, do you?

Also, Oldih said something completely different from you. Everyone I've asked has given different answers. So much help that was!

Hell, LOMAC had amazing graphics when it came out. I never needed to spend 5 hours messing around with game files to get it working. Yeah, my PC can't run it at max settings (not even close), but at least it is readily there for those that can.

Really, setting up a game should be installing it and tweaking settings in the menu. Not ****ing around in .ini files and doing all kinds of crazy things to make the game work as it is supposed to.

You must have really low standards.