Hi guys!

I'm new to this forum, having just registered.  I've been a member of the IL-2 forum for a couple of years, though.

A few points I'd like to make on the general subject of this thread:

Polls of this nature would seem to me to be of limited value, because most of the guys on the IL-2 forum would tend to favour IL-2/FB, while most on this forum would equally tend to favour CFS3.  That's only natural, of course, but the results will always be influenced accordingly.  By the way, it seems kinda strange to me to close a poll after only 27 votes - surely you'd want a lot more than that?  Of course, I respect the decision and you must have had a reason but what was it?

As for which of these two combat flight sims is the better, well I have both installed on my PC, I've run them both and I like them both.  This is not sitting on the fence - I really do like both.  They have very different but equally enjoyable styles of presentation.  My main reason for spending more time with the IL-2 series (until now anyway) is that I'm an Eastern Front nut - I'm fascinated by anything to do with the German/Russian conflict (or Great Patriotic War, as the Soviets called it).

Also, like many of the folks who have posted, I too have been a great fan of EAW which was, IMHO, the BEST WW2 combat flight sim of its time.  In particular, I used to really love the Battle of Britain pilot career, which I played many times.  The later offerings (CFS3, IL-2/FB and others) are technically better in some ways - particularly graphics - but don't seem to have quite captured the sheer pleasure and immersion I remember getting from EAW.  Or is this just emotional nostalgia?

On this forum, I've noticed frequent reference to difficulties people have had getting CFS3 to run properly.  I must say that from the outset, I have NEVER had any problem with the way CFS3 runs, with or without patching.  Admittedly, I do have a reasonably high spec machine, so maybe that's the reason for my good fortune!

Finally, as I've only played the basic version of CFS3 so far, I'd appreciate any pointers on what are the best mods and add-ons (and where to get them), if anyone's got the time!

Best regards to all,
panther3485

Hiya _11_Scarface,

Thanks for the post.  It contained none of the information I was asking for and though I'm a fellow admirer of the IL-2 series, I cannot agree that "CFS3 sucks", as you so eloquently put it.

Having said this, I'm still grateful for your response because it's the ONLY F***ING RESPONSE I've managed to get in weeks since I posted.  I was beginning to think that either this forum was dead or perhaps I'd somehow managed to earn myself the 'mark of the leper', and nobody wanted to talk to me!  I know the Poll has been closed for ages but the discussion was still of some interest and if I could make a post, so could anyone else who wanted to?

Have I committed some heinous crime of treason?  Is is somehow against an unwritten law to like BOTH sims?

Or maybe this whole thread is just a silly game that I was sucked into because I was new to this forum and didn't know the score?

Regards to all (if you're out there, that is),
panther3485

Panther 3485: don't be put off by not getting responses. This is a bit 'slow' forum ,for lack of better word, from time to time but you've done nothing wrong as far as I can see. The thing is, the topic got a bit ouf of hand, borderlining to a civil war at one point so people are nowadays more careful with what they say, that's all.
As for the topic, I agree with you pretty much all the way. I also favor EAW over everything else, after that it's pretty much a tie between Il-2 and CFS2; never liked CFS3 very much. As for the add-ons for CFS3, go with what Woodlouse proposed: they're quality stuff. I wouldn't overlook other stuff either, because you never know what kind of gems you'll find. IMO, AVHistory's 1% planes are just one choise of many available, nothing more. You could also consider purchasing payware add-ons FirePower and Battle of Britain. Both are really nice. There's also D-Day add-on but I've heard mixed reports of it, so I can't recommend it. Anyone care to comment on it?

The poll is closed, allright.
This is called a discussion forum, you know

Well here is my first post here. I do not as a rule use boards but winter is coming so what the heyy. Anyhow I have cfs2,3 and IL-2. I play cfs3 pretty much all the time. Once in a while I will install IL-2 to see if it has gotten any better on it's own...nope never has. I really dislike the game as a whole but that is just personal preference. Cfs2 was a great game until gamers started to get a little too familiar with the files and how to mess with them to gain an advantage. The best advantage is to get a real puter. People seem to have major probs with running cfs3 but there are tweaks out there that make it easy for beginners.
I am using a crappy old dell...933mhz with 512 ram two hard drives and a nvidia 440 vid card on ME and I can get a consistant 45fps and good graphics. The best tweak you will ever find is maxclouds tweak.
Once you get 3 to run smoothly you will never go back to IL-2 and their million patches.
This is my opinion only!