This is a repost of this information, which was lost in the server crash. As it represents the future of skin tech for the IL2 series, it's worth reposting for those who didn't see it before.

Originally posted by luthier:
The planes in BoB will have dynamic weathering effects applied to them - you'll see exhaust stains growing, paint chipping away as you fly, etc; and also there'll be bump mapping and other technical sounding effects that make the planes much more detailed and life-like. All those features are turned off in this version of the engine, although they are fully working in engine tools.
Originally posted by adlabs6:
Could you comment a bit more on the dynamic weathering system you mention? Sounds quite interesting, but will skin artists need to always paint a fresh unweathered skin, or will the dynamic effects be optional? In a best case scenario, will a player/skin author be able to create the dynamic wear effects themselves?
Originally posted by luthier:
I don't know. The weathering texture is obviously a separate overlay, like the damage textures in Il-2 (and by the way, just to make sure I'm clear on this, there are multiple weathering stages from none to max, not just on and off). There are also lots of other new overlays in BoB, and I can't tell you which will be user-modifiable, and which won't be.

I will say however that skinning will be entirely different. The basic paint and the panel lines aren't even stored in the same file - and that's just the tip of the iceberg