Today 1C Game Studios in partnership with 777 Game Studios announced the forthcoming release of their new combat flight simulator Ilya Muromets, based primarily the Russian Ilya Muromets bomber, the first four engine aircraft to see combat service. The project has been funded by the Russian Military Historical Society.

The stated aim of the project is to allow players to become “better acquainted” with the story of the Russian air force in World War I as well as to promote interest in World War I on the Eastern Front. The Imperal Russian, Austro-Hungarian and German air forces are all promised to be represented and the map they are to fight on is aimed to represent a part of the Eastern Front in modern day Ukraine. The time period to be represented is that of the 1916 Brusilov offensive, one of the few successful Russian offensives of World War I.

Albert Zhiltsov, producer at 1C Game Studios commented that the game is “a Unique Opportunity” for the development studio and remarked that: “World War I, especially the Eastern Front, is a topic not widely covered in videogames.”

Single missions, campaigns and multiplayer have all been promised, as well as the studio commenting that they are experimenting with a new control system allowing for the use of the mouse to control the aircraft - newcomer friendliness being a stated intention of the developer.

Ilya Muromets is to derive from the World War I Combat Flight Simulator Rise of Flight, which is set on the Western Front of World War I. Most of the aircraft to be represented in Ilya Muromets are already in Rise of Flight. The only new aircraft to be made for the project is the project’s namesake, the gigantic four-engined Ilya Muromets. Ilya Muromets is, however, to remain a separate game and isn’t being treated as an expansion pack; the reason, we’re told, is due to technical aspects such as flight models being redesigned for the addition of mouse controls. The suggestion of allowing players to use the mouse in Ilya Muromets has drawn the ire of some in the flight simulator community, who fear that newcomer friendliness will begin to supplant hardcore accuracy and flight modelling.

Despite those concerns, so far the community’s response has been largely positive. On the Rise of Flight forums in particular, there has been demand for a map set in the Eastern Front for several years now.

Meanwhile, in amongst the developer answering the community’s questions, there appears to have been confirmation of a possible sequel to Rise of Flight: in answer to a question on whether Ilya Muromets would act as a springboard for the so-far ethereal Rise of Flight 2, a developer remarked: “No, this is not [to be a springboard for Rise of Flight‘s further development into Rise of Flight 2]. ROF 2 will have way more new features and improvements.”

Preorders and an Early Access Program are to begin August 1, 2014. In the meantime, take a look at the first “very early” screenshots below.