For those who have purchased a new PC and are stuck with Windows 8 (or 8.1) OEM preloaded, here's an easy work around to running Cliffs of Dover:
1) right click on Launcher.exe in the Clod core folder: C:/Programs(x86)/Steam/Steam Apps/Common/IL2 Sturmovik Cliffs of Dover
2) left click on the Properties tab
3) left click on the Compatibility tab
4) check the box beside "Run this program in compatibility mode for: "
5) directly underneath select "Windows 8"
6) left click on Apply
7) left click on OK
Clod can now be started normally by double left clicking on Launcher.exe -- the Cloder.exe and Cloder.dll files are no longer required.
EDITED March 12, 2014:
Story behind this: I had been playing Clod in Win 8.1 using the Cloder exe/dll files. By disabling all my anti-virus programs (Malwarebytes, Windows Defender, Windows Firewall) I was able to get fairly smooth gameplay, also some stutters still persisted -- especially when engaging enemy aircraft. However, for reasons unknown I found my microphone was no longer working in TeamSpeak when in-game.....it worked fine in TS when ALT TAB'd out of the game. Arrgh. By poking around my sound properties I somehow stumbled upon "test compatibility troubleshooter". This led first to trying Cliffs of Dover in Windows 7 Compatibility Mode. Not only did my microphone resume working normally in TS while running Clod, but I was able to start and run the game without the Cloder files.
Although the game was running in Windows 8/8.1, stutters kept eventually creeping in with all video features turned up and at native resolution (1920 x 1080). For the next three months I tried everything known to man, and a few things unknown, to try to get the same creamy smooth gameplay online as I get offline. Frustratingly, the stutters kept coming back. By chance, I changed the compatibility to Windows 8 in the Properties section of launcher.exe. A huge difference! Not perfect, but playably smooth at native resolution and all features, including trees, max'd. Also, you don't have to first play a quick mission for a few seconds in Single Player before going into Multiplayer to avoid menu freezes. I have Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, and Malwarebytes running in the background. I may try turning them off to see if gameplay smooths even more.
The above is completely reversible if for any reason it doesn't work on your system, and should be completely risk-free.
Hope this helps anyone with a new PC.
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