War Thunder "Direct Hit - Changelog

[SeventhRank 17]

Just want to take the time to thank Gaijin for making the gun sound changes. As I've seen posted elsewhere, please don't change them from this--I can't imagine them being any better--or, if you do at some point, keep these on file so they can be reused if the "improvements" don't succeed. Thanks. Also, the new testing range is good and the moving targets are also an improvement.

[Mikuzume 23]

@Smin1080p Was the traction change to ground vehicles during update: Red Skies reversed this update? This is most noticeable using wheeled vehicles on gravel. They feel like they lack traction like they did before Red Skies, but there is no note of this in the changelog.

This video by Gentlespie shows the traction change that I’m referring to. After the Direct Hit update it seems this was reversed and vehicles behave like they did in 2.5 rather than 2.7.

[ALOHA_SNACKBAR 0]

Hello!

I would like to point out 2 things that are of issue with this new patch:

 

1. The AV8A no longer has a functional mirror. While the reflections are great now, the mirror is angled straight down into the seat. Please raise the angle.

 

2. My best friend and i play air sim mostly because we like the low key and relaxed pace of play against bots. We also enjoy PVE games over PVP games any day. While i understand that we'll get into servers full of people, or that servers may become full of people, please bring back bots for player created matches. I only started playing sim once you removed the spawn point requirements for planes, and it's been my favorite way to play. With the PVE Air Assault Arcade mode being absolutely worthless for rewards in both RP and Silver, Sim was our only other alternative for actually having fun. Flying Phantoms is painful enough with a 43k spawn. Being stuck in your cockpit is already quite a challenge. Top tier AI is definitely a challenge. Paying full price for planes now is definitely a challenge. Please give us our bots back to have a chance to not go into the negative every game.

[Ub3rshadow 853]

On 07/09/2021 at 10:53, MysteriousHonza said:

Good changes for the planes, especially AIM7E2 for F4E but R60M for 23 bothers me a bit. Its basically only plane with limited all aspect ir missiles with high G overload at top tier. Only planes capable to counter this in low altitudes are ones with PD or MTI radars and they still have to rely on its radar lock (and iam counting with skyflash and aim7e2 to have 25G overload at that point, not 15g as its unhistorical) . Which USA lacks, even though they were first nation to deploy fighter with PD radar in combat - F4J. Mig23 indeed is in need of better capabilities to compete as its rather mediocre now but leaving usa with F4E only is not that great especially when they deployed F4J with great success in vietnam(far earlier than mig21bis or even 23m flew) . Atleast i hope the r60m will be really easy to spoof with flares as it was way more sensitive to heat than r60. It shouldnt be able to hit headon plane with AB on, if that plane is dropping flares. 

???

If you're dying to a MiG-23's missile in a headon, rethink your choices, reflect on what happened, and try dodging next time. They aren't hard to dodge in a fully loaded maxfuel phantom.

[ToraNishobe 0]

First, I love many of the new changes. I love the new test ground for tanks, I love the graphic updates and the sound updates. I don't play the upper ranks too much just yet, but I look forward to playing some of the new jets and testing out the new weapons eventually.

 

Okay...Naval...I understand wanting to update the targeting and rangefinder and binoculars and all that, but the way it is now is a little frustrating. I automatically get target locks, even though I have that turned off in the settings. When I'm locked onto a target that's moving, my camera pans to follow it. I hate that. It's so frustrating. I can't even change what target I'm locked onto. Please tell me this is a bug, or is something that will be fixed soon.

[[email protected] 219]

On 07/09/2021 at 17:57, Oeilduciel said:

I want to ask why the crusader F-8E (FN) has a repair cost superior to the F8-E? (F-8E (FN): 2530 / F8-E: 1880)

We have the same plane in two nations released today with the F8-E being the superior version.

Somehow, we ended up to have a french plane with a repair cost superior to the american one while having far less weapons (even if it's historically acurate).

To be fair, you can't claim the USN F-8E's repair cost is good.

[Frazer101 10]

Are we able to access the source for the information on the ZA-35? Because 45 Degrees per second seems a bit too much of a nerf if every other nation has on average 90 degrees turret rotation speed

[CakeJuniorMan 176]

When I was playing the ZTZ99-II in a Battle, for some reason that sometimes when I use the QJC88A Heavy Machine Gun the machine gun is having some issues. So the issue is while I was holding spacebar, the heavy machine gun starts firing but the problem is, it just automatically explodes like a small grenade. I wish I can show you the bug but  I can't really do it because I couldn't screen record. But anyways I hope that it gets fixed and also I am enjoying this patch so far! 

Edited September 9, 2021 by CakeJuniorMan

[CoffeeBean100 2,893]

Is the alteration to the rockets expected or an error?

 

The rocket sight could do with an alteration as with the current drop on some rockets the sight we have seems far to small to be of use.

[Kaasjager010 248]

I bought the J-35A. "21" min of fuel however 100% power, so no afterburner, burns 36 seconds of fuel in 20 seconds real time. 

Can anyone explain if this is normal or a bug?

Hard to operate a jet in sim with 10 real minutes of fuel.

Edited September 9, 2021 by Kaasjager010

[Avetorro 215]

Still lots of weird stuff happening. For example when I am shot there is no sound of gunfire or my plane being hit. Anyone else experiencing this?

[zerotenet 20]

On 07/09/2021 at 15:54, Illyrian_King said:

Overall great update and very nice sound effects (pls don't change them next patch).

But top tier Air RB is quiet unbalanced now.

 

Especially the british Phantoms with their Skyflashes are now easily the best jets of the game. Even normal Aim7E were very dangerous in combination with their PD radar. Now Skyflashes with 30G overload and much faster speed always secure the first hit in BVR engagements against the inferior missile competition.

 

The F4EJ-Kai has the best radar for now, but their Aim7E-2 can't hold up against Skyflashes. Their max overload of 25G is decent enough, but they don't reach the speeds of a Skyflash, which means you are going to get killed (and potentially lose radar lock to guide your SARH missile) before it reaches the target.

 

The F4E also got Aim7E-2, which is a buff for sure. But the top US Phantom is now definitely out of meta. No PD radar and no top missiles is too much of a drawback. I really don't get it, why the US didn't get a naval Phantom with PD radar this patch, instead of an easy wing rip F8E that nobody asked for ...

 

Russia got R60M on their Mig23 and Mig27, which are very deadly in close combat, but against Skyflashes with PD radar ... why should anybody go into the furball with this kind of armament? I will just stay out and score long range kills up high or just above the ground.

 

I really wanted this update to expand top tier, but not only for UK, Japan and Sweden. Their was so much potential to give most/all nations a proper new top aircraft.

Despite that the update brought very cool features and vehicles.

 

Great points man. Thank you. 

[zerotenet 20]

The sounds now make me feel like 50 cal Browning M2 is actually very powerful (which it is). The sound effects somehow give me a placebo effect which interestingly enough makes me aim better. 

[Artemis_XYZ 0]

Is any1 else extremely upset that some people who were researching a squadron vehicle can now put those points into the new helicopter squadron vehicle, where as those of us who already had all the vehicles have to start from scratch? Why didn't I have a lot of points saved up for the new vehicle? Its ridiculous...

[Golden_Tomcat 251]

I LOVE the new Sounds they are so amazing please keep them forever really cool.

The new Vehicles looks also good but I have not unlocked one yet.

 

Overall nice Update thank you

[VT_88 342]

they moved all the bases back. Now you can not get to a base in a bomber.

 

No more bomber flying now.

[Ein79 5,748]

Another interesting, rich update bringing innovations and improvements on many levels apart from the vehicles themselves.

 

As a dedicated AirRB player, I will only comment on Air and only to what in my opinion are the most important matters:

Pros:

 

+ JA37C, the iconic and long awaited Swedish star of the top tier. The look, the weapon, performance - must have!

 

+ Mig-27M, interesting supersonic ground-attack aircraft with new class of soviet guided bombs and ATGM but also with nice AirRB dogfight potential.

 

+ J35A, premium, early Draken. I bought it, though I didn't need it for the grind. I paid for collecting and the fun of gameplay - and I was not disappointed! 

 

+ ECM module with flares for MiG-21SMT and MiG-21MF. The long awaited addition I contributed to a bit. Hopefully its functionality will be extended in the futere to include the actual ECM capabilities.

 

+ MiG-23M with R-60 missiles being replaced with R-60M. Needed enhancement of Mig-23M capabilities, which I have personally pressed for in heated, in depth discussions on forum. Thanks for reading our feedback! Unfortunately still "bit" bugged, see details below.

 

+ Reworked sounds of aircraft machine guns and automatic cannons. Most of them sounds very cool yet realistic and also finally, in most cases, the high rate of fire of rapid-fire guns and cannons is adequately reflected.

 

+ Revision of some old flight models, some of them really comprehensive as in the case of Ki-61/100. I appreciate your effort put into making old content more realistic, historical and up to current WarThunder's standards. 
 

+ Revision of some old 3D models as in the case of B-17s. This brings hope that other very old models, such as the dreadfully neglected Fw 190 family and Ta 152H, will also be overhauled and taken up to the current WarThunder's standards.

+ GSh-23L with changed composition for ammunition belts. Small but appreciated change - this cannon really needed ammunition with more explosive content.

+ Contents in the “Direct Hit” trophy chest. Overall a nice selection of skins, and I would especially like to thank you for THIS one for He-162. I appreciate that this niche and rather unloved aircraft was noticed and received a unique historical skin with interesting inscription I suggested once as decal.
 

 

Cons:

- Major update was a great opportunity to introduce anti-abusive changes in AAA/SAM protection of the airfields in AirRB. Unfortunately, although these changes were announced in your Q&A, this issue was not touched in Direct Hit update. 

- The Direct Hit major update doesn't introduce any changes that could at least partially stop the progressive decline of semi-historical immersion in AirRB game mode. I wrote about this problem in Questions to the Team secion: https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/531974-any-plans-to-restore-semi-historical-immersion-in-airrb/ It is also worth taking a look at the dedicated thread with the survey. 

 

 

BTW you did great teaser for Direct Hit update. Apparently a story set in the context of the Cold War, though it's only "what if" scenario, turns out to be the way to go in Gaijin marketing. Apparently someone understands that this is something that makes the war game more attractive: factions, conflict, scenario..the storytelling. If the current multi-mixed mess in Realistic mode with its random "diversity" was such a great fun-increasing solution, then we would get a teaser where the column of US, British, French, Italian and Chinese tanks rushing together across the African desert get ambushed by US, Soviet and Swedish forces? After all, these Mig-27s could fly in one formation with Viggens..and Phantoms...vs another bunch of US Phantoms together with some Chinese jets and East German helis. Wouldn't that be a better story? So much variety, more is always better! Wait...we got semihistorical teaser for reason - it's simply MUCH more immersive inherently. 

 

Unfortunately, the difference between the story shown in the taser and the gameplay is huge...however, I still hope that it's something more than marketing bait and there is a faction in the Gaijin team that wants to build immersion of gameplay.

 

- The flight model of R-60 & R-60M is still bugged. Due to oscillation causing kind of artificial G-lock / control stiffening at high speed the R-60 and R-60M often doesn't hit the enemy despite stable, firm lock and optimal launch conditions. Example with screens and server replay in THIS post. It was highlighted in posts and bug reports made by @Zetaris and is also mentioned in his very informative video about all-aspect missiles in WarThunder. Most likely the problem is due to a missing or wrong setting for 'baseIndSpeed' value. This problem with the R-60 flightmodel largely reduces the enhancement which the Mig-23M got with R-60M upgrade. Please, forward this feedback, Soviet tech tree players really hope the Devs could take a look at it again.

 

- Some gunfire sounds are still suboptimal or wrongly set. Examples:

a) the sound of Japanese Ho-103 machine gun (very common weapon of Japanese army planes) still seems not reflecting its 900 rpm rate of fire, it sounds more like 800 rpm at best
b) relatively weak, low velocity cannons as 20 mm MG FF or Japanese Type 99 20 mm on Zeros sound too deep and loud - stronger than for example Mg-151/20 or Ho-5 of same caliber.

 

- new contrails look cheap and unrealistic:  https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/534539-new-wings-contrail/

 

 

- I can't stand nor understand the persistent lack of EastGerman camouflage for Mig-21MF of German tech tree.

 

Suggestions:

 

1. We already have a really well developed Swedish air tech tree, please consider adding new Scandinavian maps for AirRB similar to the Norway we have. The Swedish landscape offers many opportunities to create epic, extensive maps, including mountainous terrain.

2. Please consider resolving the problem of troll squads in AirRB, which is both gameplay and immersion spoiling: https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/476644-squad-battle-rating-restriction-lets-put-a-stop-to-troll-squads/page/2/&tab=comments#comment-8874214

 

3. Please, add finally the East German camouflage for Eeast German Mig-21MF - it's on your fingertips: https://live.warthunder.com/post/997362/en/?comment=3774857

4.  The skin for Mig-23 you added into Direct Hit trophy is really great one, but pls keep adding them in the future as there is a lot great skins for this aircraft on WT Live:

https://live.warthunder.com/post/985349/en/
https://live.warthunder.com/post/981937/en/
https://live.warthunder.com/post/984877/en/
https://live.warthunder.com/post/987592/en/
https://live.warthunder.com/post/986208/en/
https://live.warthunder.com/post/992273/en/
...

5. And last but least, pls remember the Me 262 B1 / u1 has a full set of drawings, photos and datas to implement it:
https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/454066-me-262b1u1-nachtjäger-how-it-should-be-in-the-game-work-in-progress/

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by Einherjer1979

[ColdHeat 2,098]

So after Direct Hit War Thunder wants me to research and buy for modules I already had..

 

 

 

 

I noticed this on multiple planes regarding now. On others my progress regarding bombs seems to have gone.

 

And I'm somewhat sure I had an expert crew on my Ar 234 before the update..

 

 

 

[Challenger_TA 421]

I have to say I was pretty disappointed with this patch. No Planes added between 2.0 and 5.0 and just 3? props. There are versions of existing aircraft as well as all new aircraft that could be added. I don't have an issue with some being premiums. I just like more content and its hard to get a patch that doesn't have anything I'm likely to use. Better luck next time I guess.

Edited September 12, 2021 by Challenger_TA

[Ruhr_Express 0]

Does anyone know of any information on how the new naval aiming system actually works? They kind of threw it at uis blind without even a lick of info of how to use it

 

[Christian70 1,636]

Pro:

The new Sounds

New Stuff from lowtier to hightier

The new Tankmap

Pro

- large

- open fields in the north

Con

again a urban map

 

 

Con

The new naval aiming System. It makes RB to Arcade. Makes me unhappy with the Naval mode

No more Info as before but a Overload on my screen.

[BrainwarsBubi 0]

for me spotting in VR has become very difficult. planes seem to render in and out or are just so faint they are hard to see. map feels dead flying around as you can barely see anyone

 

 

[Target1331 3,024]

Personal top 5 favorites:

1. BV 138 C-1

2. Model updates (though full reworks would've been better, e.g. the B-17s still have incorrect shapes, i.e. cockpit windows are too big. Bug reported in 2018)

3. Shackleton MR.Mk.2

4. He 111 H-16 bomber cockpit & helicopter cockpits

5. Sound rework and new effects are great, though bow wave could be improved & wing tip vapor path should curve more, like previously (texture/cloud shape is good)

 

Spoiler

Aircraft

 

USA

• F-8E – Good upgrade from the F-8C.
• B-17E — (updated model) – Great to see some work on old models again, though would’ve been great to see full reworks incorporating fixes to incorrect model shapes.
• B-17E/L — (updated model) – Great to see some work on old models again, though would’ve been great to see full reworks incorporating fixes to incorrect model shapes.
• B-17G-60VE — (updated model) – Great to see some work on old models again, though would’ve been great to see full reworks incorporating fixes to incorrect model shapes.

Germany

• BV 138C-1 (Made by the player as part of the revenue share program ) – Really awesome to see this and esp. that it is in the standard tech tree, finally giving Germany a non-premium/event sea plane to support in naval.
• He 111 H-16 (Added a detailed cockpit made by the player as part of the revenue share program ) – Amazing to finally have another bomber cockpit added. Plus, the quality is outstanding with great 3D model quality, high resolution textures, and a bunch of animations.

USSR

• MiG-27M – Nice as it brings the USSR closer to CAS capabilities again to the US, though odd placement in the tech tree. It should land at least in the attacker line. The technical progression has been a great aspect of tech trees and it currently continues to get watered down just for the sake of annoying grind barriers etc.
• Tu-1 (pack) – Looks like a really good heavy fighter/CAS plane and great to see some early radar tech for the USSR. On the wish list for a future buy (pending if Gaijin finally returns to more realistic nation matchups in RB, improves RB air maps to not be so low quality in terms of layout and airfield placements, and/or substantially improves SB economy as well as allows SB to finally participate in events).

Great Britain

• Shackleton MR.2 – Despite the overall negative development in bomber gameplay/influence on the game a very welcome addition to finally see again a heavy bomber. Though missing important loadouts necessary for it’s true intended ASW mission. Could see it becoming quite a sight in naval in the future with the correct loadouts and potentially subs.
• Mustang Mk.IA — (updated model) – Great to see this model updated. It was a major eyesore esp. when seeing it along the newer P-51 models (well even the older P-51D models were much better than this Mk.IA model)

Japan

• F4EJ Kai – Nice to see.
• B-17E — (updated model) – Great to see some work on old models again, though would’ve been great to see full reworks incorporating fixes to incorrect model shapes.

China

• A-5C (pack) – Looks like a good mix of capabilities, with also a “good” mix of negatives. Nice choice in terms of minor nation skins.

Italy

• F-104G – Nice to see.

France

• F-8E (FN) – Nice to see.

Sweden

• Saab JA-37C Jaktviggen – Nice to see.
• Saab J35A Draken (pack) – Nice to see.

Ground vehicles

 

USA

• M1A1 HC – No opinion.

Germany

• Marder 1A3 – No opinion.

USSR

• 2S25 Sprut-D – No opinion.

Great Britain

• Vickers Mk.3 – No opinion to the vehicle itself. Though completely unnecessarily caused the medium/heavy tank lines to get ruined in the previous econ update.

Japan

• Type 74 E (updated model) – No opinion.
• Type 74 C – Some small bolstering of the Japanese line-up along that BR range.
• Type 87 RCV – No opinion.
• M16  – No opinion.
• M19A1 – No opinion.

China

• ZTZ99-III – No opinion.

Italy

• C13/90 – No opinion.

Sweden

• Pbv 301 – No opinion.

Helicopters

 

USA

• YAH-64 (squadron vehicle) – Very good choice for a squadron helicopter.
• AH-1F (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.

Germany

• SA 313B Alouette II (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.

USSR

• Мi-24D (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.

Japan

• AH-1S early (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.
• AH-1S (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.
• AH-1S Kisarazu (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.

France

• SA 313B Alouette II (detailed cockpit has been added) – Always appreciated to see more detailed heli cockpits.

Naval Fleet

 

USA

• USS Pittsburgh – Nice bolstering of the cruiser line and with a good choice of differences compared to the USS Baltimore event cruiser, complementing each nicely.
• USS Hoquiam – Looks like a fun machine, if BR compression wouldn’t ruin it.

Germany

• M-17 – Should be pretty decent.
• Karlsruhe (premium) – Alright.

Japan

• IJN Yubari (premium) – Interesting design.
• IJN Aoba – Alright .

USSR

• Smelyi (premium) – Loved the Pr.30bis, so, great to see another one, esp. as a premium.
• Parizhskaya Kommuna – Alright, though adds to the BR compression issue.

 

Great Britain

• HMS Vega (a new British reserve destroyer to replace HMS Churchill. HMS Churchill will not be available in the regular research tree and will only be available to those who managed to get it before the release of the current major update). – Very good choice to replace the definitely underwhelming HMS Churchill (which did get a buff through the destroyer DM adjustment when going up against coastal vessels, so isn’t as bad in those matches)
• LÉ Orla (premium) – Uff, for that price not really a good choice, despite the positive addition of secondary armament.
• Fairmile H LCS(L)(2) – Difficult to place, but definitely looks like an interesting machine.
• HMS Norfolk – Ok.
• HMS Verdun - will replace HMS Montgomery, which will not be available for purchase after 21st of September. – Decent replacement, though not as necessary as HMS Vega – HMS Churchill replacement.

Italy

• RN Gabbiano – Interesting vessel, and gives Italy also finally a bit of a coastal heavy brawler, though overall had a positive experience with most of the Italian coastal boats.
• RN Leone – Ok.

 

New locations and missions

Spaceport – Ok.

Breslau – On the negative side another city map, but that is completely offset by the very positive side that we finally have a tank map recreated to match the real world location as close as possible. This is how most maps should be layout wise, match real world locations and offset potential negative landscape features through different spawn placements and/or placement of e.g. tank wrecks, traps, etc. things that would’ve been there in a war zone, but easily explainable to be removed after a war was over and/or after some minor redevelopment in the area.

• Aircraft missions:
  • New alternate history mission of Operation Honolulu. – Bad.

 

Location and mission updates

• Aircraft missions:
  • A complete reworked version of Operation Dover, including updated logic and moving the mission to the ranked airfield system. – Have not had it yet, but if it also got the terrible AI unit layouts with everything bunched up in one single spot to cater to brainless straight-in rushers, the low quality effort placement of airfields with no regards to seamless integration in the base scenery, the crappy base mechanic where bases count almost nothing anymore towards tickets further making bombers unimportant… then go way with that crap.
  • A complete reworked version of Operation Krymsk, alternative history, including updated logic and moving the mission to the ranked airfield system  – Have not had it yet, but if it also got the terrible AI unit layouts with everything bunched up in one single spot to cater to brainless straight-in rushers, the low quality effort placement of airfields with no regards to seamless integration in the base scenery, the crappy base mechanic where bases count almost nothing anymore towards tickets further making bombers unimportant… then go way with that crap.
  • Moving of the alternative history missions “Afghanistan”, “Berlin”, “Guam” and “Spain” to the ranked airfield system and updating of the mission logic to the new format. – Have not had it yet, but if it also got the terrible AI unit layouts with everything bunched up in one single spot to cater to brainless straight-in rushers, the low quality effort placement of airfields with no regards to seamless integration in the base scenery, the crappy base mechanic where bases count almost nothing anymore towards tickets further making bombers unimportant… then go way with that crap.
  • Changes in the mission Operation Ruhr. Logic update. Addition of ground vehicle presets: now on different ranks there will be different vehicles in the columns. Mission design changes for better balance. – Haven’t had it yet, but hopefully nothing changed on AI units placements or bases.

 

Enduring Confrontation

• • [SNIP] – Overall looks like some nice progress.

 

Ground Vehicle model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes: – Always looking forward to these fixes.

• The animation for shell ejection has been added for the following ground vehicles:
  • [snip] – These look really good, hopefully more vehicles will continue to get them.

 

Aircraft and helicopter model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:

 

Weaponry – Good to see more fixes and/or additional loadout capabilities.

 

Other – Good to see more fixes

 

Flight Model changes:  – Good to see more reworks, though have to see how they have affected some vehicles and if they caused any unrealistic behaviors.

 

Naval fleet model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:

 

Naval weaponry: – Good to see more fixes

 

• Weapon control - a Fire direct system has been added on all large artillery ships - stereoscopic rangefinders, director control towers, artillery directors that take the necessary measurements are separated into independent modules. Modules in the fire control rooms that create fire solution calculations have been added. Binoculars have been reworked. – (not counting the FCS mechanic itself) Having these important rooms taken into account is great to see.

Naval modifications and crew skills: – Good to see more fixes

 

Naval characteristics, physics and damage model: – Good to see more fixes

Naval Visual models and visual parts: – Good to see more fixes

 

Interface – Nice QoL updates

 

Economy and research

• Ju 88 A-1 / Ju 88 A-4 moved to rank II. – Good, Ju 88s are capable aircraft deserving a higher rank, esp. in light of their long real life service record.
• He 111 H-6 / He 111 H-16 grouped. – Ok, just sad that it means the H-16 cockpit will now be with a vehicle that people can skip more easily.
• HMS Montgomery - Will become unavailable for purchase after 21st of September – Understandable, even if a bit sad, but gives the opportunity to use it as a reward for some small event (e.g. Royal Navy anniversary or so).

Customization

 

• The standard camouflage for postwar Japanese ground vehicles has been changed – Ok
• Forest camouflage of Soviet tanks has been fixed. – Ok
• The bushes decorations from the “Camouflage” section have been updated. The shape and volume have been changed and colour correction has been done. – Ok
• New bush decorations have been added to the “Camouflage” section: pine, olive, autumn wood, banana leaves, straw. – Nice, even if I slightly dislike those decorations due to the unfair advantage provided to esp. those that bought the 6 pack.
• New player icons for modern aviation have been added. – Cool

Interface

 

• The reticle in the binoculars has been reworked in naval battles. – Looks good, as those numbers help getting a better grip on how to adjust aim.
• The interface elements in naval vessels' binoculars have been changed. Part of the unimportant information has been removed or moved under the horizontal reticle scale. – Didn’t feel the information was unimportant.
• The rangefinder range is now tied to the selecting frame on targets in the naval RB. – Unsure, feel it could be bad (eyes often focus on center of screen and aim) or good (eyes switching to enemy to see how shells are landing)
• The corrected range is now tied to the target selecting frame in the naval RB. The value shows only the correction entered relative to the rangefinder range. – Unsure, feel it could be bad (eyes often focus on center of screen and aim) or good (eyes switching to enemy to see how shells are landing)
• The central cursor circle is hidden in the ship’s binoculars. – Major interface used to aim etc.
• Target selection frame has been reworked. – Unsure

Game mechanics

 

• Fire control system mechanics have been added to Naval battles. It is the new system for aiming, target acquisition and aiming correction. Fire control system consists of several modules, which can be found on larger ships in different combinations:  – While realistic (and as written above, good to see the equipment be included now as important, damageable units), unintuitive control.
  • Fire control room - usually located within a ship’s hull under the bow superstructure deep below the waterline, or in the superstructure itself. Specific ships may have up to two fire control rooms. This module is responsible for fire solution calculations based on data received from rangefinders and fire directors to correct aiming at acquired targets. If a ship lacks a fire control room, but has rangefinders or director control towers, fire solution calculations are made by the bridge.
  • Rangefinders - are located on different levels of the superstructure and in main calibre turrets. Rangefinders measure distance to an enemy ship.
  • Director Control Tower (DCT) - located in the superstructure top and sides in special towers. The DCT is responsible for measuring the target's distance, bearing and speed.

• Turret markers have been reworked for naval battles. Status of each turret is pinned at the screen’s bottom. – Great improvement to status awareness of own armament’s condition.
• A projectile drop marker has been added to the ship's binoculars. This marker shows up-to-date information about the averaged place of shells falling both horizontally and in range. – Unsure, feels a bit like cheating

Graphical

 

• Nvidia DLSS supersampling has been updated to version 2.2. The update improves image quality, as well as reduces artefacts and ghosting, especially in low light conditions – Very nice
• An option has been added for choosing the resolution to display textures on dynamic effects created with particles – Very nice
• Visual effects of large calibre round hits (from 80 to 480 mm) have been increased for all surfaces.  – Really good improvement and helps a bit to differentiate what shells are impacting where.
• Visual effects of shells hitting the water have been reworked for all shells. – Really good improvement.
• Visual effects of explosions of torpedoes, depth charges and mines have been reworked. – Really good improvement.
• Differences in the visual appearance of an underwater explosion depending on the amount of explosive have been added. – Really good improvement.
• Visual effects of explosions of different types have been reworked for coastal and bluewater fleets. – Really good improvement.
• Visual effects of fires of different types have been reworked for coastal and bluewater fleets. – Really good improvement.
• Splash effects have been added for ship hulls collision with waves. – Nice, though still room to improve (would also be good to have the actual 3D waves react better and more realistic to impact with ship hulls)
• Assets disappear when moving out from the player now equal for all (not depending on graphics settings). – Unsure, while making it more equal between players playing on different graphic settings, it reduces the immersion by more visible pop-ins.

Sound – Really good improvement, very immersive

 

 

 

Best regards,

Phil

Edited September 16, 2021 by Target1331
Re-added colors that got lost during posting that indicating if it is a good, not so good, bad, unsure change

[[email protected] 1]

I would be enjoying this update were it not for that new aiming system in Naval battles. I really dislike it. 

 

Other than that, I'm liking the new sounds and new ship unit additions.

[kkang2828 1,415]

My feedback on the new naval fire control system mechanics

 

Pros:

• Having target bearing calculation, or "lead indicator", makes aiming more realistic and easier.
• Interesting possibility of differences in fire control equipment affecting gameplay for different ships and nations(it's all equal right now, but I assume that is just a placeholder).
• More visible direction/bearing indicator at the top of the screen, making it easier to communicate with other players.
• New turret indicators that display lots of useful information, such as the reload timer in seconds.

 

Cons:

• Constantly scrolling for correction is still a requirement. The guns do not automatically align with the updated range. Instead, the actual gun elevation is still tied to the vertical movement of the mouse and the 'Distance correction' keybind. This is very repetitive and feels like a chore. Range/bearing calculation is also still basically instantaneous and the "Measuring/Updating range" indicator does not affect range/bearing calculation at all. On the dev-server version it was clearly intended to have the guns  automatically  align with the most recently calculated range, with correction being a controllable value that was relative to the most recently calculated range. And range/bearing calculation took some time that was displayed by the "Measuring/Updating range" indicator. It was bugged and didn't work as intended, but I liked the way it was intended to work. Why was it changed to the current live server version instead of being fixed? It's also annoying that the 'correction speed' is tied to the gun elevation speed because you can't see how much correction you are applying until the guns have finished moving. The fact that mouse vertical movement affects gun aiming range is also annoying at times when you accidentally move the mouse vertically while moving it horizontally, and you have to set the range again .
• The new turret indicators are yet another poor copy of WoWS. You can't see where exactly each of the guns/turrets are pointed at and where the dead-zones are. This makes aiming and shooting at aerial targets and fast small boats very hard. Also it's hard to tell exactly which turret indicator is displaying information for which turret , especially for ships with lots of turrets.
• The UI elements are scattered everywhere with turret indicators at the bottom, range being attached to the target bracket/marker, and the actual firing range and the "Measuring/Updating range" indicator in the binoculars. It is hard to see everything at once. Also the UI elements can overlap , making them unreadable.
• The projectile drop indicator is nice for visualizing the corrections you're making, but makes aiming too easy and too unrealistic in RB . In AB, it needs some improvements.
• Range somehow displaying immediately after target lock before the initial range measurements are finished is unrealistic and makes the "Measuring/Updating range" indicator even more useless .
• The color of UI elements are  not ideal with bright green everywhere.

 

Suggestions:

• Vertical correction with mouse movement should be an option that can be turned on and off with a keybind. This would allow players to use it or not use it depending on the situation and their preferences.
• The actual range the guns are aimed at should be displayed separately from the measured range and the (relative) correction value, as all three values have their own usefulness. I propose the name "Firing range" for this value and it would show the actual range the guns are aimed at in real time, at the speed of the gun elevation, like the range displayed below the central chevron in the current live server version(but in meters instead of kilometers). Measured range should be named "Range" and periodically updated, like on the dev server. This would make the changes below possible.
• Range should only display after the initial range/bearing calculations are completed. Before that, it should be displayed as "- m" or something similar. It is more logical and realistic this way.
• The vertical axis of aiming should work in 3 different modes as follows:
  • If you are not locked onto a surface target, the guns should try to follow where you aim the cursor/central chevron with your mouse and correction should be disabled . This would allow players to aim and shoot whenever and wherever they want, at the cost of accuracy. This system should also be used when you are locked on to an aerial target . 
  • After you lock on to a surface target and before the initial range/bearing calculations are finished, the guns should stop following the mouse in the vertical axis and "Firing range" would be set to the value it was at right before the lock-on. From there you would have to adjust the firing range only through corrections , either with the mouse and/or the keybind. This would allow players to shoot while the range/bearing is being calculated, but it would be very inconvenient, and accuracy would depend totally on the players' skill.
  • After you have finished the initial range/bearing calculations on a surface target, make the guns automatically align with the most recently calculated range, even without any input from the player. So it should be (actual range the guns are aimed at)=(firing range)=(measured range)+(correction) with measured range being periodically updated , and correction being a relative value that does not change unless you control it with a keybind and/or mouse movement. This would remove the need for constant scrolling.
  • For example, let's say your firing solution calculation time is 22 seconds, the firing solution update time is 12 seconds, and the enemy ship is at 7000m and closing(but players wouldn't know the range at this time). You're in a hurry and aim the central chevron slightly behind the target at 7300m and lock on. The firing range is set to 7300m and the camera starts following the target. You press the keybind to enable "vertical correction with mouse movement" and move the central chevron slightly in front of the target. This sets a correction value of -500m so that the firing range becomes 7300m - 500m = 6800m. You open fire but the shells land far from the target. You wait, and 22 seconds after lock-on, the initial range/bearing calculations are completed and the measured range of 5000m is displayed. The firing range is automatically set to 5000m - 500m = 4500m. You disable "vertical correction with mouse movement" and adjust the correction value to -300m using the keybind. The firing range is set to 5000m - 300m = 4700m. After 12 seconds, the measured range is updated to 4500m. The guns are automatically set to fire at 4500m - 300m = 4200m. If you change the correction value to -400m, the guns would be set to fire at 4500m - 400m = 4100m.
• Correction value should be displayed as +000m when correcting further and -000m when correcting closer. It's more intuitive that way.
• Guns that have a caliber of 76mm and below (plus some larger caliber weapons on small boats such as the short-barrel 114mm gun on the Dark Adventurer and the 81mm mortar on several US PT boats) should simply aim where you aim the cursor/central chevron with your mouse and should not have any sort of range/bearing calculation( unless they used fire directors/rangefinders/fire control radar in real life). During WW2 in real life, such small caliber guns lacked sophisticated FCS such as fire directors and rangefinders and were individually aimed by their operators using simple direct-fire sights in most cases. With rapid-firing and automatic weapons, both the old and new in-game FCS interfere with your aiming more than it helps you, especially in RB. It is much simpler and semi-realistic to have those guns just follow where you aim. Only minor visual adjustments to the binocular reticle to match the appearance of the large caliber gun fire control system would be needed.
• The old(pre-Direct Hit) turret indicators should be reintroduced . They should be used alongside the new indicators. Both types of turret indicators have unique advantages. The old indicators allow players to actually see where each turret is aiming and where exactly the dead-zones are. On the other hand, the new indicators display information separately for each turret, showing us more detail . Showing players the reload timer in numbers for each turret is also very useful, especially for slow-firing turrets. The two indicator systems should be combined to give players a more complete indication of their turrets' status.
• Turrets should be given a numerical identification and the new turret indicators should use these numbers to indicate which indicator is for which turret. The US Navy numerical system should be used for all ships, because it is more generally recognizable compared to the Royal Navy ABXY system. So the turrets would be numbered fore to aft with turrets not on the centerline being assigned odd numbers on the port side and even numbers on the starboard side. The turret numbering count should be split between primary, secondary, and AA armament. Turret numbers should be shown in the X-ray view in hangar, and players would have to memorize it and/or apply the numbering system rules to figure out which turret is assigned which number. Unfortunately, putting a turret number diagram in the HUD, like in WoWS, would clog up the screen too much IMO.
• The UI elements should be reworked and repositioned . Range and correction should be displayed only in the binocular reticle and not attached to the target. The projectile drop indicator should be removed from RB . It should be retained in AB, but it should be a larger circle that is within the game space and not on the HUD. That way, the projectile drop indicator can overlap vehicles and terrain, allowing players to see clearly whether it is on target or not.
• The color of the various naval FCS interface elements, such as text and indicators, should be customizable , like how marker color and cursor color can be customized.
• Combining all suggestions, the first-person view UI should look something like this:
  Spoiler

  Arcade Battles:

   

  

   

  I originally wanted to use the RB "lead indicator" for AB as well, which is why the image looks like this. But I have changed my opinion, and changing the image is too much work, so ignore that part. The AB "lead indicator" should remain as is on the "Direct Hit" live server.

   

  Realistic Battles:

   

  

   

  The old turret indicators would not display reload. When the old turret indicators reach the center of the reticle and turn white, they would quickly fade away to prevent overlapping with the "lead indicator" and central chevron.

  Only the "lead indicator" should change color from red to green(or whatever color you have customized them to) when you aim near it. The central chevron's color should be used to indicate reload so that you can quickly check if you are ready to fire. The central chevron should be red if none of the guns aligned with it are ready to fire. It should be green if at least one gun aligned with it is ready to fire. Any more detailed information about reload is not needed here since you can check the new turret indicators above the action bar for that.

   

  Small caliber guns in RB(AB only needs enemy markers and the projectile drop indicator on top of this):

   

  

   

  Here, the old turret indicators would display reload and/or overheat and not fade away when they reach the center.

   

• The third-person view should display both the old and new turret indicators and the projectile drop indicator(only in AB) and the target bracket, but nothing else related to fire control(apart from the actual real-time distance to the enemy displayed in the AB markers).

• We absolutely need a proper detailed in-game tutorial(not the completely useless ones in the game right now) for naval fire control in AB and RB, similar to the advanced tutorials for aviation. This will help so many new players who leave naval because they are frustrated with the aiming system.

• Maybe some sort of aircraft lead indicator for ships that had high-angle anti-aircraft fire directors with such capabilities IRL such as the USN Mark 37?

• The fall of shot bell should be much louder . Currently, it is too quiet and easily drowned out by the sounds of battle.

 

Unlike what some players think, the "lead indicator" is not an aimbot. It is only a reference point that becomes inaccurate when you or the target make course changes between firing solution update intervals. Any proper naval player should know to zigzag and change speed when under fire. If you sail in a straight line, you will be targeted and sunk very fast, no matter the type of FCS being used.

 

This suggestion isn't perfect and there could be some unforeseen issues. So it needs to be properly tested on the dev-server before being introduced on the live server, like with the overpressure damage mechanics but better.

Edited September 18, 2021 by kkang2828