Hi, CBB!

Just a little over one year ago today, I made almost an identical post. We're doing this again, and we're doing it big.

Let me ask you some questions. Do you love simulators? Do flight simulators excite you in a way that might concern the authorities? Do you ever wish you could just yell "pull up you big fat pig" over and over into a microphone as you hurtle towards the ground at a staggering 400 kilometers per hour?

If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, I'd like for you to come join us in IL-2 Sturmovik 1946. We're running version 4.12.2m (the latest version that Steam will happily give you for only $9.99), alongside the HSFX 7.0.2 mod. HSFX is ACE for IL-2, basically. You want it bad.

Instructions on getting setup are as follows:

1. Install IL-2 from Steam or GoG. Run the game a first time to be sure that you are running version 4.12.2m. You'll see this number in the lower left hand corner of the screen as you initially load in.

2. Make a copy of this folder somewhere else. This will leave you with a backup of your IL2 folder in case you screw up at some point. I'm sure you are a perfect snowflake that would never mess up something so simple as modding a decade old game, but let's just go ahead and do this anyway.

3. Download HSFX 7.0.2. Here is a torrent link for it. "But Fortune" I hear you cry "Why is this mod as big as the game is?". Because it is fantastic and it will make you smile. It practically doubles the content of IL-2, as well as fixes many things to bring us more in line with a realistic approach. We'd either use this or UP3, and UP3 runs on an older version of IL-2, and is an even larger download. HSFX it is.

4. Install HSFX over your copied folder of IL-2. Run the first of the three Setup installers and choose your IL-2 copied folder directory. HSFX will handle the rest.

5. Download the HSFX autopatcher here. Install this into your copied IL-2 folder root as well. You will likely get an error saying your runtime version is higher than it requires. Cancel out of that error and hit finished on your installer.

6. Inside your IL-2 copied folder root, there is a file named HSFX_Client_Updater.exe. Run this file and it will patch you to HSFX version 7.0.2.

7. Inside your IL-2 copied folder root, there is a file named JSGME.exe. Run this file and select HSFX Historical Mod on the left hand side. Hit the arrow in the middle that points towards the left, and HSFX Historical Mod will move to that side. You can now close JSGME worry free.

8. Launch il2fb.exe. This will launch the game. In the lower lefthand corner your version number should read "4.12.2m HSFX v7.0.2". If it says this, congratulations on successfully installing HSFX. You're now ready to crash fly with us.

Disclaimer: IL-2 is a simulator. It is not easy to fly planes that were built and operated 75 years ago. Each plane has it's own temperament, capabilities, and strengths and weaknesses. It will be hard. You will need a HOTAS. You will want headtracking. But you will have a good time with us goofballs as we all fail miserably.

Let's get some simulator tangerines going, folks. Let's do it big.