Rise of Flight: ILYA Muromets Reviews

Thanks for rating my old review, everyone. As it stands, this review stands at 37 of 51 rating it as helpful (73%)! Changing my recommendation status will clear these, so please help it get back up if you feel compelled! -EDIT II: NEW REVIEW (POSITIVE)- I am changing this review to positve as of writing this because it has come to my attention that using the 3rd person Career Generator PWCG ([url=]http://riseofflight.com/forum/topic/49098-pwcg-unified-21/[/url]) that it IS possible to fly the planes made available in this pack in single-player mode. (Thank you pilot Cybermat47) I still have not flown the in-game ILYA Muromets campaign in game, nor am I interersted in doing so. I also have not looked to see if there are any Eastern Front missions online, but hey. You've got the game, you've got the mission editor. If you want it, make it yourself. -ORIGINAL REVIEW (NEGATIVE)- Please don't get me wrong, I love the planes, but as of right now, I would not recommend this pack. The main reason I bought this was to fly the planes, but soon after, I realised that there are only 3 Russian planes in the game, no option for career mode, and only 1 Eastern map. The only time you will be able to fly these planes so far with an objective is the campaign, but that only includes missions with the S-22, D.III, and Neuport. This leaves the S-16 with no objective based mission. Therefore, unless you want to play with them in the QMB, or just want to own the planes, this pack is a no go. -EDIT I: HISTORY OF PACK- A little history on how this pack came to be: http://ilyamuromets.net/ - This website means that this pack was a stand alone title first, then added to RoF for whatever reason. There is no career because the team didn't have one in the first place, and due to IL-2 BoS being developed with this, the team didn't have time to make one. Since ILYA Muromets and RoF use the same engine, they just took the game and put it into RoF. Adressing no missions in multiplayer: The issue here lies with the mission makers for RoF simply not making one (That is, if there are any around...). But who knows where this will go in the future? Could the devs be working on adding these things? From a consumer standpoint, only time will tell.

the ilya muromets is very strong, its defences are bad and its bombload is huge. if you like to fly whales this pack is for you!

I just bought this 2 days ago, and I think that it is very great because this was the first plane to have a bathroom, and even Tsar Nicholas II flew on it. This airplane is very difficult to shoot down, so that's an advantage if you're flying it. This is one of the best DLCs to get so I would highly recommened getting this one.

This is a bit of a hit and miss, hot or cold feel. You'll either love it or hate it, with no inbetween. I love it, but I also love the bomber playstyle. If you don't like big, heavy, slow flying bricks, don't get this pack. The fighters are a neat addition, sure, but you're looking at this pack for the bomber. If, however, you enjoy flying these monstrosities, you will most likely love this bird. Unusual design, but a pleasure to fly. It is VERY underarmed, so rely a lot on your escorts. You get a single defensive gun. It carries a decent payload, as well as recon cameras. The missions are fun so far. Its a smooth plane to fly, but VERY slow. You MIGHT get it above 100 on a level flight at full throttle.

The ILYA Muromets is a gigantic Russian bomber plane from WW1. Its definitely one of the hardest planes to take off and fly in but it is one of the most magnificient looking ones too. +ILYA Muromets, one of the biggest if not the biggest plane of WW1 (not counting zeppelins of course) One of the few Russian planes available and the only 4 engine plane in the entire game. +Don't forget its a bomber so it has gunner positions available! Which means in multiplayer you can be the pilot while your friends can jump into the gunner seats. +A new Russian campaing. +A (very early war looking) Russian fighter plane as well as an earlier varient of the German Albatros series of fighters. Great DLC.

The pack is a little expensive but it is well worth it. The work and detail that the developers put in to these aircraft is stunning and WORTH the cost!!! I get so excited with each aircraft released by this developer that I'm reading up on each aircraft. Best way to compare this simulator to, is DCS but in a way this is slightly better on the fun factor!!! Thank you for bringing this to steam!!!!

[u][b]Summary[/b][/u] A DLC with a rather unusual plane set. The S-22 is interesting, but it will not give you a lot of gameplay for a rather expensive DLC. The D.III and S-16 are also of limited use. It's a tough call, but on balance there are better DLCs to be had. [u][b]Full review[/b][/u] The Ilya Muromets DLC gives you an Eastern Front map, and three flyable aircraft: [list] [*] The Sikorsky S-22 "Ilya Muromets" bomber/recon plane [*] The Albatros D.III scout [*] The Sikorsky S-16 scout[/list] The [b]S-22[/b] is a stunning aircraft. It is a giant bomber, which first flew in January 1914, way ahead of western developments. It handles well, the forward visibility is superb, and is straightforward to fly. Although there are other "heavy aircraft" in [i]Rise of Flight[/i], this is the only four-engined one. It carries 10x1pood, 10x2pood or 2x5pood (a [i]pood[/i] is a Russian measure, being equivalent to 16.38 kg or 36.11 lbs). It has a single very-exposed gunner position on the top providing meagre defence. The S-22 saw a lot of service on the Eastern Front, with only one loss (12 September 1916, one S-22 vs four Albatros D.III). The [b]Albatros D.III[/b] is also included. It is an early war variant of the D.Va, which comes free with the game. It is the perfect matchup for the S-22 on the Eastern Front, but is otherwise unremarkable. This DLC includes all the field-modifications for the aircraft. The [b]S-16[/b] scout is a delicate early-war Russian fighter. It is slow and poorly equipped. It is easily annihilated by the D.III, which is 50% faster and twice as heavily armed. Still, it is nice to fly and has superb visibility. There is a new map included (Tarnopol) with three separate seasons (summer, autumn and winter). The map is not needed for multiplayer games, but it is nice to have if you want to try an eastern-front campaign. The landscape has rolling countryside, a few large towns and a lot of rivers and forest areas. It is very easy to get lost on this map. However, ultimately, this DLC is about the behemoth S-22 Ilya Muromets. [u][b]So, why the negative review?[/b][/u] Overall, I really like [i]Rise of Flight[/i] and I am usually very supportive of unusual or quirky aircraft. It was very difficult to rate this one. I wish there was a "Maybe", rather than "Yes/No" review option. So, what's the problem? Well, if you are looking for a bomber, the Handley Page (from the DLC [i]"Legendary Bombers"[/i]) is better, cheaper, and comes with other good aircraft. The HP carried 6x the bombload and flies faster and higher. It is better armed and has more gunner positions and options. The S-22, while nice, is so slow and so weak and so vulnerable that it is a novelty to fly a few times, but it is too cumbersome to sustain dedicated interest. From a multiplayer perspective, all the other heavy bombers are better supported on maps. The S-22 will get little use. If you are looking for an early Albatros, the [i]"Furious Wings"[/i] DLC has the exact same D.III. and the [i]"Bloody April"[/i] DLC has the Albatros D.II. Both of those DLCs have lots of other good aircraft. And the S-16 is a small spindly thing, again of very limited use. You are better off with the Russian N.17, which comes free with the game. [u][b]Conclusion[/b][/u] So if you are starting out... I'd suggest steering clear of this "Ilya Muromets" DLC. There are better, cheaper, and more engaging DLCs out there, and I'd seriously recommend [i]"Legendary Bombers"[/i] in preference to this one. If, however, you really are interested in this particular area of the war or this particular aircraft, then you probably know what you are doing, and this review will encourage, rather than dissuade you.