
  == BF-109-E3B = For IL-2 1946 ==

War Thunder aircraft import 	: by Jos Diago Pando
Cliffs of Dover cockpit Import 	: by Sam Plews

 * For IL-2 VERSION 4.09 *
 
   Beta : 17/01/2025

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! Please read important notes + known bugs & issues below the install instructions !
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INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
       * 4.09 *

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* HD-MOD IS REQUIRED FOR THIS ADDITION *
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* DIFF-FM IS REQUIRED FOR THIS ADDITION*
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Make sure the following folders are contained within your mods folder;
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! 00_BF-109-E3B-CoD-WT-[412]
! MIRROR MOD [1024]

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* ONLY enable the mirror Mod when using this version of BF-109-E3      *
* The Mirror mod will disable all other mirrors for all other aircraft *
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ADD TO AIR.INI
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Bf-109_E3B         air.BF_109_E3B 2                                g01   SUMMER


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Important notes Etc:
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Version testing / compatibility.
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This addition was originally built in IL-2 1946 for version 4.15.1.
The 4.09 version also works in versions up to 4.12.2. However, I can only validate it works in 4.09 & 4.12.2.
The 4.09 version may also work in versions 4.13.4 & 4.14.
The 4.09 version will work in HSFX, but the night time cockpit red-lamp does not switch on for HSFX.

Using with other incompatible versions.
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If you do want to try this in any other version of IL-2 than what is listed above, use the 4.09 version.
It is most likely that if you do try the 4.09 in any incompatible version, the red-night lamp will fail.
The 4.15.1 version is unlikely to work at all in any previous version to 4.15.1.

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Reflections / and the Mirror Mod 
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(Mirror mod only required for 4.09 and 4.12)

The 4.15.1 version of the BF-109-E3B takes advantage of the 4.15.1 multi mirror code. 
This allows multiple dynamic reflections to be created from different angles. 
This is why for the 4.15.1 version, there is also reflections on all the blister glass surfaces. 
This is to demonstrate multiple dynamic reflections at differing intensities at multiple angles.

For all compatible versions of the BF-109-E3B, the gauge reflections require the Mirror mod to be active in your Mods folder
The mirror mod forces IL-2 to use 1024x1024 resolution for the mirror / reflections.
* Please note that this is not the same as the 'Carsmaster' mirror mod, for 4.12.2.

* When the mirror mod is active in your Mods folder, all other aircraft that use a mirror will also require a 1024x1024 resolution mirror.  

The reflections are, I feel realistic on the gauges. 
In 4.15.1, for the glass, rather than being perfect reflections, they give more of a feel and effect of dynamic reflectivity & varying light levels.
In 4.12.2 & 4.09 the reflections are limited to the guages only.

Removing; switching on/off reflections :
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(Relating also to performance issues)

Reflections use more resources.

Any reflections are a customisation of the Mirror, and so therfore can easily be turned off, or made static, using the Mirror on/off controls.
In particular, for 4.15.1, if you find the reflections too detrimental to performance, you can simply use the mirror control to switch off the dynamic mirror effect, and set the mirrors to a static type.

You can easily remove reflective components. All meshes containg a mirror.mat have been seperated to help adjustments or removal of mirrored components.
Look for anything tagged as _REF inside the cockpit Hier.him. You can remove these entries without further adjustments to other Hier entries.  

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Bugs & Known issues;
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- There is a bug when track recording. The Ammo counter does not reflect correctly in track recordings.
- The swinging bar & cord, which connects the rear to the tilting cockpit at the rear behind the pilot's head, is not animated to a finished state. It works, but currently the animation is very primative. 
- As already mentioned, the blister glass dynamic reflections are not accurate, and currently are more of an effect. 

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Final statement :
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Working with Jos is what made this all happen. Without him, this project would not have started.
This is the most important aspect to this project.

We wanted to get this as close as possible to the original Cliffs of Dover version, and so this import addition took about 8 months to complete.

Having worked closely with this beautiful cockpit, I delevoped a deep admiration for the original creators of the CoD cockpit.
It is probably, by far, the best BF-109-E cockpit to date, and has also been optimally created. 
The poly count is excellent, and very low poly for such visual detail. 
The textures and texture mapping is beautifully done, with none of the cockpit textures exceeding 1024x1024 resolution. 
At its release date, this cockpit would have set the new high standard, which then followed in other simulators.

Working with this cockpit has taught me how to make optimal high detailed 3d works.
I learnt new tricks, refined my mesh texture layering technique much further, and of course learnt new coding skills.

This was hard work to import, and deserved nothing but our best efforts.
It's working proof that very high detailed, new generation works, are able to be produced for the original IL-2 1946.  

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I hope the community will find the time to take on the task to make more improvements.

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Special thank you to Mick! for his testing, and resolving some bugs & issues.

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I hope you enjoy!

Wishing you all a great new year!



