Spitfire IX - IL2:GB & DCS Comparison - Part 1 - The Cockpits

This is the first video in a mini-series (total number TBA) that I am publishing. In these I look at the Mark IX spitfies as modelled in both DCS and in IL2: Great Battles.

A short note on the camera use in this video - I refrained from using the free camera due to difficulties using it in cockpit. It was far easier to use the standard i cockpit camera, with minimum FoV used as much as possible.

[chrisburn]

I haven't used IL2 (apart from the original version 15 or more years ago) but the cockpit looks better overall than the DCS one, in spite of the lower quality textures, mainly due to the quality shadows and the less anaemic cockpit green which does a lot for the general ambience!

[thanksskeletor]

Very good comparison, it really amazes me that the il2 team can produce such a product in a matter of months.

[ripper]

Tough to compare the dollar value of each since the IL2 spitfire comes with the price of Bodenplatte but you cannot flip the cockpit switches. DCS is standalone but the cockpit is interactive. I could not decide so I bought both 😀. However my IL2 gets most of my time

[iflycentral]

I heard Central's comparison video was S***. :P Good video!

[jcommtube]

Superb! and very Useful as usual with all your videos! Thx!

[micezo]

This messages on the right side of the screen in IL-2 are the biggest difference, they are gamey and breaks the immersion. But the video is really good, thanks and continue!

[blownglasslide]

At around the 12:30 mark, those screws are countersunk to be flush with the surface. I assume that was the case in the real Spitfire. That's also probably why they didn't 3D model them, they're meant to be at the same level as the panel surface.

[localbod]

I'm surprised how different that they look to each other.
Interesting video.

[rpm]

I admittedly have never had the opportunity to have flown DCS. as of yet...But I will never undermine the amazing threshold that friends delivered to us all ....SHAYBA RUSSIA!! 🏒🍁🍻

[Red-Magic]

Just to point something out Phil, at 17:40ish, when you're talking about 512 and 1024, the only things those settings change in the cockpit, for whatever reason, is just the reflection quality in the mirrors. The actual texture quality of everything else is controlled by the texture resolution option, of which you have low, medium, and high to choose from. 👍🏻
I've got a rather medium PC, so I fool around with my graphic settings quite a lot tbh

[rudelchw]

Really nice comparison review .. love the hands-on approach that anyone can check on their own Sim ... thanks a lot for a wonderful video and I will be expecting the next on the series :)

[kiwihame]

Great comparison Phil. I'd love to know how these compare to their 2021 versions. IL2 seemed to look better, even if DSC had better resolution. I'm not far off jumping in myself.

[aerotorc]

I know Phil doesn’t use VR, has anyone else noticed that in VR the IL2 Spitfire cockpit seems huge compared to the DCS one?

[compairit]

Nice video. I am trying to recreate the visuals on my recently installed games, but am having issues getting the graphics as clear as you have. I have a new pc with an rtx 2080 and i9/32gb. Can you share your video setups for each game please?

[Foxsloth]

DCS seems to warp the edge of the FOV much more than IL-2

[jackem]

Great video Phil - can't wait for the others. A particular bone of contention I have with the DCS cockpit is that the ASI needle is almost invisible in practice, greatly complicating the already-difficult landings in this module. A community member has provided a fix, making the needle visible while still keeping an authentic appearance, but DCS refuses to accept this vital tweak.


Perhaps this will be raised by you in the following video, since it's not a cockpit-related feature, but I couldn't help notice the glaring beginner's mistake in the wing roundel on the IL-2 Spitfire. The yellow and white circles were NEVER used by the RAF in its late war schemes on the wings, just on the fuselage. The wings always had roundels consisting of just red and blue, as DCS's version correctly shows.

[isaacmcpeek]

So as a real pilot my biggest contention that is also shared with requim is the unspoken concept that Harder is more realistic. It is NOT. Flight training is by its nature exorbitantly expensive. WW2 Militaries usually had new men trained for combat in about 300 to 400 hours. With only about less than1/3 of that time taken before they trained in high performance complex aircraft. So devilishly behaving aircraft were not usually put into production on a mass scale Un till those bugs were worked out. So I don't know why the DCS World WW2 aircraft are such monsters on the ground BUT THEY ARE!!! I have know many old veterans and though there were some issues the had to get used to most are heavily over represented here. I would love to see this issue fixed before I buy another prop job from a DCS Developer.