Dev Blog #72: Clouds

[LukeFF]

Hey everyone!

For military pilots, the sky is a battlefield. We continue working on various elements of Korea: IL-2 Series, and today we'll tell you about clouds.

Read more in the article on our official website: https://media.il2-korea.com/news/dd_72

[Juri_JS]

In my experience trying to escape from the AI in the clouds didn't worked particularly well in IL-2 GB. Will AI spotting ability get a rework in Korea?

And what about searchlight beams. In Il-2 GB they went through clouds instead of illuminating them.

[Kongo]

Pfuaaa looks really good. Can see how DCS has influenced the artistic approach.

 

One thing i just remembered on weather and atmosphere related , are the Contrails going to stretch more than 200m (dont konw exact distance)  and if it is going to be rendered from out more than 10km distance(or 20 whatever it is)  as it is implemented currently in BoX ? It is really silly that you just enter a small bubble and pop there is a contrail. In real life you can spot them from waaaay further out.

I really hope this has been improved

 

 

Edited May 15 by Kongo

[Dash,Polder]

High altitude doesn't look very realistic, way to hazy, the humidity up there is almost zero, should be crystal clear with extra sharp visibility up top of the cloud layers.   Looks like a fog bowl of aerosols all the way up instead, and this was a time of pre-industrialized Asia. 

Colder it gets the clearer it becomes down to lower levels.  Why contrails form and remain in the first place, that colder air can't hold water vapor content.

[Jade_Monkey]

Looking really good!

 

I'm very excited for Korea and decided to splurge on a Pimax Dream Air to immerse myself even more in this beautiful environment and high detail cockpits.

Not very happy with many aspects of my Varjo Aero, so this upgrade is very timely.

[86thFG_Red_Panda]

Awesome stuff! 

[Catch]

No Cumulonimbus Capillatus?

[Avimimus]

2 hours ago, Dash,Polder said:

High altitude doesn't look very realistic, way to hazy, the humidity up there is almost zero, should be crystal clear with extra sharp visibility up top of the cloud layers.   Looks like a fog bowl of aerosols all the way up instead, and this was a time of pre-industrialized Asia. 

Colder it gets the clearer it becomes down to lower levels.  Why contrails form and remain in the first place, that colder air can't hold water vapor content.

That makes scientific sense - at high altitudes it should get pretty crisp, lots of sharp light - basically perpetual deep winter.

 

3 hours ago, Juri_JS said:

In my experience trying to escape from the AI in the clouds didn't worked particularly well in IL-2 GB. Will AI spotting ability get a rework in Korea?

Yeah, I had similar experiences - especially in Flying Circus.

Hypothesis 1: I wonder if it is because the AI can see further into clouds than we can...

OR

Hypothesis 2: AI is simply much better at quickly acquiring targets when they become visible again...

 

I suspect that latter may have something to do with it. I remember there were extensive debates on these forums about how difficult it is for players to spot enemies.,

However, once historical research turned up that something like approximately 80% of fighters shot down weren't aware they were being attacked... I've developed the suspicion that it isn't that we're bad at spotting, it is that the AI is far too good at spotting... (and this is giving us the impression that we're bad at it).

The AI seems to have no trouble tracking its opponent even when the opponent is obscured by the airframe/cockpit, and also seems to almost immediately acquire an enemy (one gets a sense that it is always paying attention in all directions - rather than having to scan one part of the sky at a time).

[Philthy]

First Class job, boys!

[YoYo]

Has the secret technique finally been mastered whereby escaping into the clouds will cause the AI to lose us?

Furthermore, will the AI in the clouds still be a sniper, hitting us blindly with great precision? 😂

Edited May 16 by YoYo

[Koziolek]

9 hours ago, Avimimus said:

Hypothesis 1: I wonder if it is because the AI can see further into clouds than we can...

 

I really wonder if AI sight is in ANY way degraded by clouds. 

I put on autopilot and can see how easy my plane sees, targets and shoots down the enemy plane in full clouds

 

BTW. Did any of us asked the AI pilot if he has the icons on or off? 🤔

[HeavenWolf]

Облака класс. Вид отличный. Но как ИИ видит в облаках. Если так же как в БЗС, то ими только любоваться остается. Обидно когда в БЗС влетаешь в сплошную облачность меняешь курс и по прямой на максимальном газе чтоб оторваться, а тебя ИИ с 500 метров одной очередью выносит.

[Avimimus]

22 minutes ago, Koziolek said:

I really wonder if AI sight is in ANY way degraded by clouds. 

I put on autopilot and can see how easy my plane sees, targets and shoots down the enemy plane in full clouds

 

If I recall correctly, according to the developers the system they coded does limit that ability of AI to see through clouds (superior to DCS).

However, it seems like I'm not alone in having the impression that the clouds aren't effecting the AI nearly as much as the player.

 

22 minutes ago, Koziolek said:

BTW. Did any of us asked the AI pilot if he has the icons on or off? 🤔

That could explain it! 😄

[KC23]

Nice pics, but as most of us know, how the AI reacts in this cloudy environment will be what makes or breaks it. If there is any feeling of the AI elements of the enemy seeing or not seeing you when it should, it will destroy all your hard work and make it look as good as you have. Fingers crossed.

[Mark_Krieger]

On 5/16/2026 at 11:07 AM, Avimimus said:

 

If I recall correctly, according to the developers the system they coded does limit that ability of AI to see through clouds (superior to DCS).

However, it seems like I'm not alone in having the impression that the clouds aren't effecting the AI nearly as much as the player.

 

That could explain it! 😄

There is a system in Great Battles since at least 2018, but away from perfect. I've been told that AI only lose sight in a centered part of the cloud, but not in all of it. I imagine it is something difficult to simulate, but as a easy arrangement I would make this "sphere" larger than it is actually, because it is true that AI sees like it has X-ray vision on way too many ocasions.