Il-2: Korea Flight Simulator to Become More Accessible for New Players – Developers Detail Lowering the Entry Barrier

The developers have focused on refining control settings and preparing ready-made schemes for popular controllers.

The development team continues to share updates on "Il-2: Korea." Recently, they detailed their approach to designing the interface and controls for the upcoming flight simulator.

Their primary goal is to make the game more accessible for new players and lower the entry barrier, while simultaneously preserving "authenticity for enthusiasts using joysticks with throttles, pedals, and similar specialized hardware":

“The task of simplifying something inherently complex without losing detail and variability sounds impossible by definition. Adding to this complexity is our goal to ensure convenient aircraft control not only with classic joysticks but also gamepads. All of this is necessary to make it easier for new players to engage with the game, lower the entry barrier, and ultimately expand the boundaries of our unique genre. In previous years, many teams, including our own, struggled with this challenge. However, this time, thanks to modern approaches to user interface design, we have managed to find and implement a solution.”

For "Il-2: Korea," the developers have completely re-evaluated the studio's existing approach, removed numerous limitations, and created a convenient and intuitive setup interface.

Key improvements and new features include:

• Unlimited buttons can now be assigned to a single command.
• For 'one-shot' commands, players can assign not only buttons but also the extreme positions of device axes.
• When assigning a device axis to a function, an 'additive' mode can be set, which is particularly useful for view control using gamepad mini-sticks.
• Small mini-sticks are now fully applicable for controlling throttle, mixture, radiator, and trim lever positions, among others.
• An autofill function for 'hat switch' or 'POV switch' assignments for view commands has been added – players only need to specify one direction, and the rest will be filled automatically.
• A significantly more advanced system for setting axis response curves has been introduced.
• A search system for already assigned commands by button press or by their name has been added.

The developers have also created a new control setup assistant system, presented as a "wizard":

“This wizard will guide you step-by-step, in the most convenient and understandable way, through assigning primary game and aircraft control commands to the buttons and axes of your new device. The setup progresses from the most basic controls to more specific ones. The algorithm offers various configurations depending on your device setup, suggesting the most suitable paths for your specific case.”

The developers have created a set of default "layout" templates for various devices. It is anticipated that in most cases, upon first launching "Il-2: Korea," users will immediately be offered a ready-made control scheme tailored to their device:

“We have managed to gather over 50 different types of devices popular among 'Great Battles' players, and for each of them, we have created a unique template. These include joysticks, throttles, pedals, and gamepads. Only highly complex and expensive customizable devices with various layout options could not have standardized templates implemented for them.”

The release of "Il-2: Korea" is scheduled for Q2 2026.