User Guide – IL‑2 Sturmovik

How to use Tacview with IL‑2 Sturmovik?

Which versions of IL‑2 Sturmovik are supported by Tacview?

Tacview has been tested and validated with the following editions of IL‑2 Sturmovik:

Both the standalone and the Steam editions of IL‑2 are working fine with Tacview.

How to record an IL‑2 Sturmovik flight?

First, you must enable Tacview data recording in IL‑2 configuration file: Open \IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\startup.cfg and make sure that tacviewrecord = 1. It should look like the following:

[KEY = track_record]
    fx_sound = 2
    record_graphics_effect = 1
    record_ground_vehicles = 1
    tacviewrecord = 1
[END]

Now, as soon you are in flight, press LCtrl + R and IL‑2 will record Tacview telemetry data.

How to open my IL‑2 flight in Tacview?

IL‑2 records your flights in \IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\Tracks\. Open the recording of your choice from Tacview, or simply double click the ACMI file you want to open directly from Windows Explorer.

Why is IL‑2 still not recording my flights?

It seems that some versions of IL‑2 do not automatically create the folder where TRK & ACMI files are recorded. Make sure the following folder exists: \IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\Tracks\

Multiplayer

Why my flights are not recorded in multiplayer?

By default, IL‑2 Sturmovik does not record online flights. You can enable data recording by editing the *.sds configuration file on the host computer. Make sure the following line is present in it:

TacviewRecord=true

Why is there no ACMI file generated for my online flight? Can I replay the TRK file to get an ACMI file?

A server may choose to not authorize the creation of ACMI files. In that case, replaying the TRK file will not generate an ACMI file either, because the way that IL-2 writes the TRK file does not communicate with Tacview currently. ACMIfiles will be generated only for offline flights and for online flights where the server authorizes it.

General Questions

Why some of the telemetry data I can see in Tacview (like speed or G force) do not perfectly match what I remember from my IL‑2 flight?

During this early stage, you may notice some discrepancies between your favorite simulator and the numbers displayed in Tacview. This is normal and will be improved in upcoming updates of Tacview and IL‑2.

The terrain displayed in Tacview is not the right one! How can I fix that?

Make sure that Tacview terrain is either set to (Auto) or IL‑2 Sturmovik. The following terrains are included in Tacview:

Moscow
Stalingrad
Velikie Luki
Lapino (disabled by default)
Novosokolniki (disabled by default)

Small terrains are disabled to not conflict with the more important battlefields they overlap. The Battle of Kuban terrain will be added as soon as out or early access.

You can manually enable/disable some of the terrains or add you own by editing the C:\Program Files (x86)\Tacview\Data\Terrain\Custom\CustomHeightmapList.xml file. You may want to save the modified file in %ProgramData%\Tacview\Data\Terrain\Custom\ so your preferences work with any version of Tacview installed on your computer.

My favorite airfields are not displayed, how can I add them as well as additional landmarks?

I did not have the time yet to add major IL‑2 landmarks in Tacview. An easy to use object editor is currently in development and will enable you to do so in a few clicks. Meanwhile, you may want to try the legacy Static Objects feature of Tacview.