War Thunder vs IL-2 Cliffs of Dover

Let's take a look at these two beauties. Both are WW2 plane simulators with some great aspects to them.

For this exercise we'll take a look at;

Graphics
Audio
Physics
Gameplay

[KarayaYT]

Very nice video but I'd have to argue that comparing these two is very much like apples and oranges. It is about the same as comparing Call of Duty to Armed Assault. People who like quick action and a large variety of aircraft & maps and are not concerned with historical accuracy are going to lean towards WarThunder. On the other hand people who like the simulation part of actually managing an aircraft and its systems and want to recreate actual warfare will be most pleased with Cliffs of Dover.

As others have already mentioned the Team Fusion patches for Cliffs of Dover make all the difference and flying on a full 100 slot server is definitely something that any WWII air warfare enthuasiast should try out at some point!

[Ode]

As a real life pilot I must say War Thunder physics and gameplay feels so arcade-like and overlooked compared to IL-2. IL-2 definitely emulates realistic plane behavior much better. 

[Cybermat]

Both awesome games, but Cliffs of Dover with the game-fixing Team Fusion mod is my personal favourite.

[justragequit]

Maybe historical accuracy should have been a category since there both ww2 flight sims

[bananabutt]

War Thunder was awesome when people used to play in simulator mode with joy sticks. Now every fucking noob on there only plays "realistic" with mouse aim. Random Sim battles even got taken out of the game.
Sim mode is still arcade like, since you can toggle engine management to auto or manual, but still required you to have skill and be able to spot enemy planes. Now everything is done for you.

[HoboTango]

"In war thunder you can see the pilots' hand and not in IL-2"

Well of course, because in IL-2 you actually NEED to watch your plane's instrument to control your plane.

[JohnPaulFrew]

From what you ranked the games in (War thunder having better graphics and gameplay while Cliffs of Dover has better audio and physics), I think these game were targeting different people. War Thunder is made for gamers who want a big, online, fast-paced battle. Cliffs of Dover, on the other hand, is more meant for simulation, realism, and people who more prefer simulator-style games.

[sc]

why dont you compaire it to Battle of stalingrad instead ?

[DannyMNL]

War Thunder is a newer game, but a lot of the plane models have been lifted directly from Il2: Birds of prey, which is actually older than Cliffs of Dover.

[gungriffen]

For those looking for the "correct game" to choose make sure you youtube the IL2 Cliffs of Dover Team Fusion v4.13 mod. It completely over hauls the game to the point that I haven't seen a multiplayer game yet that ran the official version. Also if you want to use a Joystick then you was IL2 COD, if you want to use the Mouse and Keyboard then you want War Thunder.

[ChuckOwl]

Merry Christmas BlackMaze! While I agree with most of your points, I think the Graphics section should take into account the Team Fusion mod for Cliffs of Dover. Game support for CloD was dropped by the publisher in 2011 and a merry band of modders succeeded in giving the game a new life (for free) with better graphics, better lighting, better sounds and hundreds of bug fixes. It makes a pretty big difference.
 
Before Team Fusion patch:
After Team Fusion patch:

[misterXmeh]

righty, i need to ask you a you install TeamFusion's mods for Cliffs of Dover?

[DoodeWarrior]

People don't seem to realize that having extremely in depth physics modeling and all that study sim type stuff detracts from the eye candy.

War Thunder has much more juice left over to throw at graphics.

[DBSTHR]

The video might be true when stock Cliffs of Dover are considered. With TF patches, points / stars 1-4 are by far in CloD favor IMO.

[Speedster]

Any chance of an IL2 BoS compared to war thunder?

[dexterfitben]

War thunder is primarily for mouse and keyboard. Planes fly-by-wire in AB/RB with most of the physics controlled by the computer. Mouse aim is like lasers. For joystick users its not a lot of fun. I like it a lot but its not a simulator by a loooong way. BTW...graphics in CoD are so much more detailed (geometry) but WT does a great job at atmospherics/skies/water etc. Overall i like them both for different reasons

[pedrola]

Its like comparing beef with pasta. And please don't call the alerons flaps. Looks like you don't know so much about FM and DM. Thats the big difference between a game and a simulator thus they cannot be compared.
I don't want to be disrespectful but you don't know what are you talking about.

[stevezee]

You can't beat an 80+ Cliffs of Dover server for campaigning with a squadron.  It is a realistic (as far as a sim goes) experience.  Of course one needs the Team Fusion patches which transform the game.  WT feels arcadish in comparison.  That said, my own opinion is that DCS has the very best Flight models for realism in flight and function. If the upcoming DCS "edge" game engine and the new maps coming on 2015 are anything like the aircraft, it could be a game changer if the MP server numbers can handle 80-100 human players like Cliffs currently can. 

[hughjass]

woah, the thunder of the guns in il2...

[rolandedwards]

Well in that case I'm not suprised you reached that conclusion. Current CloD is far from vanilla -