IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 on notebook PC | Forums

[paradoxguy]

Hello-

I am a WWII enthusiast and PC videogame newbie who is very intrigued by the IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 videogame and will likely buy it. Unfortunately I have two limitations: I have only a notebook PC and its videocard is ok, but not officially supported by Ubi Soft. My laptop PC is configured as follows:

Dell XPS M1330 notebook PC
Microsoft Vista Home Premium OS 32-bit
13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA WLED Backlit LCD
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300(2.5Ghz, 800Mhz, 6MB L2 Cache) Processor
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
NVIDIA GeForce 128MB 8400M GS video card (integrated)
320G 7200RPM Hard Drive
8 X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
HDMI output

I cannot get another PC at this time and the videocard is integrated, which means I cannot upgrade it without changing the motherboard. In fact, I have not seen a M1330 motherboard with a higher-grade videocard.

Can I play the IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 game on this notebook PC? I know the graphics won't be optimal, but is a reasonable experience with the game possible? If not, are there changes I can make in the settings of the PC and game to make it playable?

Thanks much for reading and any help.

PG

[paradoxguy]

Hello-

I am a WWII enthusiast and PC videogame newbie who is very intrigued by the IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 videogame and will likely buy it. Unfortunately I have two limitations: I have only a notebook PC and its videocard is ok, but not officially supported by Ubi Soft. My laptop PC is configured as follows:

Dell XPS M1330 notebook PC
Microsoft Vista Home Premium OS 32-bit
13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA WLED Backlit LCD
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300(2.5Ghz, 800Mhz, 6MB L2 Cache) Processor
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
NVIDIA GeForce 128MB 8400M GS video card (integrated)
320G 7200RPM Hard Drive
8 X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
HDMI output

I cannot get another PC at this time and the videocard is integrated, which means I cannot upgrade it without changing the motherboard. In fact, I have not seen a M1330 motherboard with a higher-grade videocard.

Can I play the IL-2 Sturmovik 1946 game on this notebook PC? I know the graphics won't be optimal, but is a reasonable experience with the game possible? If not, are there changes I can make in the settings of the PC and game to make it playable?

Thanks much for reading and any help.

PG

[FoolTrottel]

Welcome here!

Me thinks this pc should be able to run 1946.

Maybe not on Perfect Landscape, but still, it should run okay.

Processor is ok, memory is ok... graphics can't really tell...
There are plenty of settings within IL2 to tone down graphics to make it run fine FPS wise.

Good Luck!

[Patch_whiner]

Hello paradoxguy

welcome to the world of IL2. The limitation with Il2 is usually the cpu as the game is
very intensive with engine torque models, physics and all the AI that may be present. However
it may be that integrated graphics might well be the bottleneck in your notebook. Usually its
not the graphics cards memory (128MB is fine) its things like the number of pixel pipelines and
the memory interface that can cause severve restrictions. Having said that Il2 isn't that graphics
intensive compared to some other types of games and it is an older game, so its not like trying to
play Crysis on your notebook. I don't know if there is a demo of IL2:1946.
There is also a utility called fraps that shows the framerate. This would give an indication of performance
(30-50fps being good). Il2:1946 is relatively inexpensive so you won't loose that much and can always use it if you get another PC later. Unfortunately older versions while having less overhead (particularly the original IL2 sturmovik) lack many
desirable planes and features. You'll also need a joystick.

[paradoxguy]

(For Fooltrottel and Patch_whiner)

Hi Fooltrottel-

Thanks much for your welcoming words and encouragement. I feel better about the situation and will buy the game shortly.

Thanks and best,
PG

----------------------------
Hi Patch_whiner-

Thanks much for your welcoming greeting and thoughts about the ability of my machine to play IL-2, as well as the FRAPS function. I downloaded the FRAPS tool, free version. On a screen with no movies, FRAPS assesses the FPS between 8 and 30. When I play a DVD movie, the FPS is assessed at 20-35. When I play a web movie, recorded FPS increases to 30-50. I surmise that the FRAPS function works more accurately when a motion picture is playing on the watched screen. Any thoughts?

I am feeling more encouraged and, as I mentioned to fooltrottel, I will buy the game shortly and see how it works. I also plan to buy a joystick at the same time.

Thanks and best,

PG

PS: If you don't mind my saying so, I love both your usernames!

[MaxMhz]

Your laptop should run IL-2 fine paradoxguy.

Dell has made some fine machines with the XPS series.
As for FRAPS; It measures the number of frames that are put on the screen per second (FPS or Frames Per Second). This is a measure of the computing power of a computersystem. Normal media will run at 60 (NTSC) or 50 (PAL) FPS. Computer games use 3D engines that can put more frames on the screen per second. More FPS means better performance and more fluent motion. In general a minimum of 25 to 30 FPS is required to perceive the action as fluent motion instead of slide-show. Anything over 40 fps is very good for IL-2. FPS does depend on how much "eye-candy" is shown and what action is taking place in a video game. Reflective water with moving waves and a big dogfight with multiple planes are possible but will increase demand on processor and graphics card. Flying over a city with thousands of buildings that have to be rendered is another extreme. IL-2 has a lot of settings that can be switched on or of to accomodate a wide range of hardware. I would advice to buy the US retail version of IL-2 Sturmovik 1946. That version comes without SecuROM, so you don't have to keep the DVD in the drive while playing.

[Aaron_GT]

I have a laptop with slightly lesser specs and IL2 1946 works very well on it.

[paradoxguy]

MaxMHz-

Thanks for elaborating more on FRAPS and FPS.

Aaron_GT-

Thanks for your reassurance that I should be able to run IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946.

Best,
PG

[Ultra_Cheese]

hello, can anybody please help me with a problem i'm having with il2 sturmovik 1946?
I'm having trouble putting perfect mode and having the water detail to 3 or 4.
My computer is pretty decent: Asus k53e notebook windows 7 - 2nd gen intel core i5 2410M - up to 2.9 GHz - 4GB of RAM - Intel HD Graphics 3000, 1.76 GB of video memory - directX version 10.1.

whenever i go to the conf ini. file and put water = 3 and run the game, the conf ini. file changes it back to water = 1 ( so far it only allows me to put water = 2). i also cannot put prfect mode even though i have it on openGl 32 bit with stencil bit 8. please help me find a solution. by the way, this is what i have placed in my conf.ini file;


[il2]
title=Il2-Sturmovik Forgotten Battles
hotkeys=HotKey game

[window]
width=1366
height=768
ColourBits=32
DepthBits=24
StencilBits=8
ChangeScreenRes=1
FullScreen=1
DrawIfNotFocused=0
EnableResize=0
EnableClose=1
SaveAspect=0
Use3Renders=0

[GLPROVIDER]
GL=Opengl32.dll

[GLPROVIDERS]
Open GL=Opengl32.dll
DirectX=dx8wrap.dll

[NET]
speed=5000
routeChannels=0
serverChannels=31
localPort=21000
remotePort=21000
SkinDownload=1
serverName=No Name
serverDescription=
remoteHost=
localHost=
socksHost=
checkServerTimeSpeed=1
checkClientTimeSpeed=0

[MaxLag]
farMaxLagTime=10.0
nearMaxLagTime=2.0
cheaterWarningDelay=5.0
cheaterWarningNum=-1

[chat]
region=(dx=0.6925,dy=0.071666665,x=0.0,y=0.0)

[game]
Arcade=0
HighGore=0
mapPadX=0.6689453
mapPadY=-0.046875
viewSet=32
Intro=1
NoSubTitles=0
NoChatter=0
NoHudLog=0
NoLensFlare=0
iconTypes=3
eventlog=eventlog.lst
eventlogkeep=0
3dgunners=1


[HotKey game]
PrintScreen=ScreenShot
P=pause
Pause=pause

[HotKey gui]
Escape=activate

[HookViewFly Config]
timeFirstStep=2.0
deltaZ=10.0

[HookView]
MouseLeft=Len

[HookView Config]
AzimutSpeed=0.1
TangageSpeed=0.1
LenSpeed=1.0
MinLen=1.0
DefaultLen=20.0
MaxLen=3000.0
Speed=6

[HotKey builder]
MouseLeft=objectMove
MouseRight=popupmenu
Enter=freeView
Shift MouseLeft=worldZoom
Alt MouseLeft=select+
Alt MouseRight=select-
Alt Ctrl=unselect
PageDown=change+
PageUp=change-
End=change++
Home=change--
Ctrl MouseLeft=insert+
Insert=insert+
NumPad-0=insert+
F=fill
Ctrl MouseRight=delete+
NumPad.=delete+
Delete=delete+
Backspace=cursor
Tab=cursor
F10=land
F11=onLand
NumPad-=normalLand
NumPad+=toLand
NumPad-5=resetAngles
NumPad-8=resetTangage90
NumPad-7=stepAzimut-5
NumPad-4=stepAzimut-15
NumPad-1=stepAzimut-30
NumPad-9=stepAzimut5
NumPad-6=stepAzimut15
NumPad-3=stepAzimut30

[MouseXYZ]
F1=SpeedSlow
F2=SpeedNormal
F3=SpeedFast
MouseRight=XYmove
F4 MouseRight=Zmove
MouseMiddle=Amove
F5 MouseRight=Amove
F6 MouseRight=Tmove
F7 MouseRight=Kmove

[MouseXYZ Config]
RealTime=1

[HotKey Console]
Shift Tab=Activate
[Console]
HISTORY=1024
HISTORYCMD=1024
LOAD=console.cmd
SAVE=console.cmd
LOG=0
LOGTIME=0
LOGFILE=log.lst
LOGKEEP=0

[sound]
SoundUse=1
SoundEngine=1
Speakers=0
Placement=0
SoundFlags.reversestereo=0
RadioFlags.Enabled=1
RadioEngine=2
MusicVolume=8
ObjectVolume=14
MusState.takeoff=1
MusState.inflight=1
MusState.crash=1
MusFlags.play=1
MasterVolume=14
Attenuation=7
SoundMode=1
SamplingRate=2
NumChannels=2
SoundExt.occlusions=0
SoundFlags.hardware=1
SoundFlags.streams=1
SoundFlags.duplex=1
SoundExt.acoustics=0
SoundExt.volumefx=0
SoundFlags.voicemgr=0
SoundFlags.static=1
VoiceVolume=12
Channels=2
SoundExt.extrender=0
SoundFlags.bugscorrect=0
SoundSetupId=8
ActivationLevel=0.02
Preemphasis=0.85
RadioLatency=0.5
AGC=1
PTTMode=1
SoundFlags.UseRadioChatter=0
SoundFlags.AutoActivation=0
RadioFlags.PTTMode=0
RadioFlags.PlayClicks=0
ActLevel=0
MicLevel=0
SoundFlags.forceEAX1=0

[rts]
;ProcessAffinityMask=1
mouseUse=2
joyUse=1
trackIRUse=1
DisableIME=0
locale=

[rts_mouse]
SensitivityX=1.0
SensitivityY=1.0
Invert=0

[rts_joystick]
X=0 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100 0
Y=0 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100 0
Z=0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
RZ=0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0
FF=0
U=0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0
V=0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0

[Render_DirectX]
TexQual=3
TexMipFilter=2
TexCompress=0
TexFlags.UseDither=1
TexFlags.UseAlpha=0
TexFlags.UseIndex=0
TexFlags.PolygonStipple=1
TexFlags.UseClampedSprites=0
TexFlags.DrawLandByTriangles=1
TexFlags.UseVertexArrays=1
TexFlags.DisableAPIExtensions=0
TexFlags.ARBMultitextureExt=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineExt=1
TexFlags.SecondaryColorExt=1
TexFlags.VertexArrayExt=1
TexFlags.ClipHintExt=0
TexFlags.UsePaletteExt=0
TexFlags.TexAnisotropicExt=0
TexFlags.TexCompressARBExt=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombine4NV=0
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineDot3=0
TexFlags.DepthClampNV=0
TexFlags.SeparateSpecular=0
TexFlags.TextureShaderNV=0

HardwareShaders=0

Shadows=2
Specular=2
SpecularLight=2
DiffuseLight=2
DynamicalLights=1
MeshDetail=2
VisibilityDistance=3

Sky=2
Forest=2
LandShading=3
LandDetails=2

LandGeom=2
TexLarge=1
TexLandQual=3
TexLandLarge=1

VideoSetupId=4
ForceShaders1x=0
PolygonOffsetFactor=-0.15
PolygonOffsetUnits=-3.0

[Render_OpenGL]
TexQual=3
TexMipFilter=3
TexCompress=0
TexFlags.UseDither=1
TexFlags.UseAlpha=0
TexFlags.UseIndex=0
TexFlags.PolygonStipple=1
TexFlags.UseClampedSprites=0
TexFlags.DrawLandByTriangles=1
TexFlags.UseVertexArrays=1
TexFlags.DisableAPIExtensions=0
TexFlags.ARBMultitextureExt=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineExt=1
TexFlags.SecondaryColorExt=1
TexFlags.VertexArrayExt=1
TexFlags.ClipHintExt=0
TexFlags.UsePaletteExt=0
TexFlags.TexAnisotropicExt=1
TexFlags.TexCompressARBExt=1

TexFlags.TexEnvCombine4NV=1
TexFlags.TexEnvCombineDot3=1
TexFlags.DepthClampNV=1
TexFlags.SeparateSpecular=1
TexFlags.TextureShaderNV=1

HardwareShaders=0

Shadows=2
Specular=2
SpecularLight=2
DiffuseLight=2
DynamicalLights=1
MeshDetail=2
VisibilityDistance=3

Sky=2
Forest=2
LandShading=3
LandDetails=2

LandGeom=2
TexLarge=1
TexLandQual=3
TexLandLarge=1

VideoSetupId=17
Water=1
Effects=2
ForceShaders1x=0
PolygonOffsetFactor=-0.15
PolygonOffsetUnits=-3.0

[steve_v]

Lets start with the obvious. Is 46 installed in C/Program Files? If yes, it needs to be moved to another location. No reinstall is required, simply move the Folder to a new directory, create a new shortcut, and try again. Vista/7 prevents some file overwriting as a security measure in the Program Files directory.

Have a look at the Readme for additional info on water rendering.

edit: The Perfect option can be selected ingame or changed manually in the conf.

[Render_OpenGL]
HardwareShaders=0 Perfect off
or
HardwareShaders=1 Perfect on