Flak clouds disappear much too quickly

[Spasticus]

Flak clouds are very atmospheric. Especially in a game with big b29 formations. Just look what the sky looked like irl after flak started shooting:

I would so appreciate it if it was possible to make the clouds linger for a minute or two. I would happily take less smoke detail or whatever to just have the experience of a flak barrage.

Is it really that computationally expensive to have a little black cloud hang in place for a few minutes? Why could we do it on a toaster PC from 26 years ago and not today?

I've never played a flight sim where the flak clouds actually linger and I never understand why. At least give me the option to adjust it!

Edited July 20 by Spasticus

[MajorMagee]

Even in that video an individual flak burst fades out in 10-12 seconds.

[actionhank]

5 hours ago, MajorMagee said:

Even in that video an individual flak burst fades out in 10-12 seconds.

Personally, I think the bigger issue is just referencing another game, since it's better to find historical footage to use from real life, rather than having to know whether or not another title got it right or wrong.

That said, looking at footage from WWII flak bursts, the black cloud does appear to linger for a while in the sky, though the flak itself has long fallen away. 

 

Edited July 20 by actionhank

[Spasticus]

6 hours ago, MajorMagee said:

Even in that video an individual flak burst fades out in 10-12 seconds.

Yeah you're right, it's just my frustration that ancient games ran on potatoes can do this stuff better than modern games can. It's not a technical thing, it's just that nobody bothered to make it realistic, strangely. 

Added a video from real life. 

Edited July 20 by Spasticus

[Husar]

Those flak bursts are really showing their age. I remember them from Rise of Flight back in 2009, and they haven't changed much throughout the Great Battles series. They may use different sprites now, but the underlying technology and behavior are essentially the same.

 

Not to mention the physics. A flak burst detonating beneath or very close to a light aircraft should buffet and rock it significantly due to the blast wave, but currently there is no sense of that at all.

I hope see improvements after release.

 

Edited July 20 by Husar

[Avimimus]

7 minutes ago, Husar said:

Not to mention the physics. A flak burst detonating beneath or very close to a light aircraft should buffet and rock it significantly due to the blast wave, but currently there is no sense of that at all.

Rise of Flight had concussive blasts shaking the aircraft... so the engine can do that. However, I suspect it is only from the directly modelled flak (not the 'flak box' effect)

[BraveSirRobin]

33 minutes ago, Avimimus said:

Rise of Flight had concussive blasts shaking the aircraft... so the engine can do that. However, I suspect it is only from the directly modelled flak (not the 'flak box' effect)

Also possibly only in SP.

[YoYo]

+1 for extending the time and also some kind of shock effect, which could also be felt on Force Feedback bases and seen in the cockpit animation.

The black cloud and dust effect disappears too quickly in the IL-2 Korea, literally after 2-3 seconds. I often turn around and there's practically no trace of it left. Those few seconds would be fine before the smoke is dissipated by the wind and eddies behind the plane. Some examples from WWII:

 

[Avimimus]

Amusing, before they updated the shrapnel damage in Rise of Flight - you could actually use bombs to produce an air cushion to allow one to safely survive a spinning/crash in the Br.14!

[Husar]

9 hours ago, Avimimus said:

Amusing, before they updated the shrapnel damage in Rise of Flight - you could actually use bombs to produce an air cushion to allow one to safely survive a spinning/crash in the Br.14!

Hot stuff! I heard in a BBC interview with Sir Arthur Cecil that those kites could be thrown upward or pushed downward when an Archie shell pass above or below the plane.

In one account, his parasol plane was even turned 180 degrees when a huge mine exploded in No Man’s Land.

[Avimimus]

Parasol... a Morane-Saulnier L perchance? 😍

[Avimimus]

Back on topic - if UnGTP ever gets working again, I'll give it a short at making a mode to increase the endurance of flak bursts.

[Mark_Krieger]

On 7/20/2026 at 7:17 PM, Husar said:

Those flak bursts are really showing their age. I remember them from Rise of Flight back in 2009, and they haven't changed much throughout the Great Battles series. They may use different sprites now, but the underlying technology and behavior are essentially the same.

 

Not to mention the physics. A flak burst detonating beneath or very close to a light aircraft should buffet and rock it significantly due to the blast wave, but currently there is no sense of that at all.

I hope see improvements after release.

 

With the haptic seat with damage set at 100% I can assure you I feel flak explosions that happen near me even when they don't do damage. 😅

[YoYo]

I have a feeling this was fixed in 1.01, and FLAK looks much better now!

[Husar]

58 minutes ago, YoYo said:

I have a feeling this was fixed in 1.01, and FLAK looks much better now!

I think it's the same as in Early Access. The improved particle effects (VFX) showcased in Developer Diary #83 haven't been implemented yet.

[YoYo]

I checked and it's possible. There's a cool new effect, though, and it looks really good.

[Mark_Krieger]

I like better the new effect, but it is still too short and in my opinion, too gray. I think it should be darker.