Ok, the news some of us had hoped for over the last couple of years has happened…Storm of War is returning to IL2 Cliffs of Dover.
I’ve uninstalled Cliffs and refused to go back to it since I got a load of abuse and accused of all manner of stupid things on the official IL2 forums by the lead of Team Fusion Simulations. However, I will not be sending them any money or doing anything to support them, so I am happy to take part in the IL2 Storm of War if it returns in anything like a similar to form to the model it had when it ended back in 2016. I can not deny how much I used to really enjoy Cliffs of Dover, primarily because of the Storm of War server so the prospect of doing it again is very appealing. Hopefully, it is also able to breathe some life back into Cliffs of Dover.
For those of you unfamiliar with Storm of War it was a 24/7 persistent campaign based on the Battle of Britain plane-set in 1940. The Luftwaffe is on the offensive and is able to pick targets and launch raids, using AI and human flown bombers. There is a realistic supply scenario with the Luftwaffe able to take out aircraft production facilities, airfields, strategic targets and the Chain Home sites.
The RAF needs to defend targets at all costs, there is little offensive action from the RAF, though there is a limited attack capability with the Bristol Blenheim and the occasional AI raid with the Wellington. Aircraft losses need to be replaced with flights from the supply bases. The rate of supply is dependent on the production facilities surviving. Some of this can depend heavily on the ability of the fighter controller effectively using the Chain Home system to direct Squadrons and flights of fighters to intercept enemy raids and properly position patrols. A number of players became very effective fighter controllers with practice.
The server encourages team play outside of just Squadron level, it encourages a thought out process for defence and attack, it discourages foolhardy charges into enemy bombers while the escort sits above waiting to pick you off. You end up valuing your virtual life and doing all you can to survive. We also ended up learning the geography of the south coast really well!
The server thrives with high player uptake so this really is a shout out to get the old IL2 Cliffs players back to Storm of War for new players to come and experience the thrill. At this time the indications are only 2020, but the sooner the better from my perspective.
More information can be found on the IL2 forums…
79vRAF 