Aircraft Carriers - WT Discussion

From the previous addition of USS Essex, it appears as though the intention is to have the number of aircraft in an airborne group be specific to the carrier launching them, and/or their classification as bombers/fighters/etc.:
image
image

It is interesting, however, to compare this new carrier-specific HUD to the overarching support_plane file - as implemented now AC 's have three buttons allocated to switch between their airgroups, and one to return to themselves:

But the "supportPlaneConfig.nut " file referenced to use that mechanic has four airgroup buttons allocated - a duplicate fightergroup is attached:
image

Might be added later for the supercarriers such as Midway and Forrestal, which have been in WTM 's files.

It would make sense to believe that 's the plan, the buttons for controlling carriers were also added to WT not too long ago.

5 Likes

More nuance is always better, neat!

2 Likes

All of that stuff from the mobile datamine seems promising, really hope we get them in the base game soon. Naval is boring when its only big ships slogging it out imo, we need carriers and submarines for naval to really shine. (I-400 when)

1 Like

This seems extremly interesting especially the fact that now it seems like WTM is testing RTS style controls for CVs.

I am especially if I am correct and the functionality will be:

  • Point at map to create waypoints
  • Ability to set defended areas (patroling squads)
  • Ability to set aerial target to attack automatically (the Hunt command)
  • Ability to acttack surface ships by taking over the squad
  • Order to send squads back to CV

Interestingly it is what I was thinking when I though about CVs in normal game. This seems promising and I am quite optimistic for the implementation.

2 Likes

They are really going to have to work on the AI if that is the case, as they are pretty trivial to dispatch for a player that knows how to do so (also ensuring that they stay within the high fidelity FM’s constrains will be important, since supersonic Hellcats in level flight break immersion).

I’d also be interested to see if Carriers still retain their player aircraft interactions, since posing one up behind an island and having a second pop out and dump; torpedo’s / AP bombs / various ATGM / AShM rapidly seems like it could be a little busted.

if they were going to address it i would hope it would be something simple like a limited resupply magazine depth (either overall or on a per player basis to avoid exploitation) that could be replenished at a cap.

I’m not sure. It certainly appears that the new AC HUD replaces the normal ships control overlay when active
image

But I can’t yet tell if it also obscures the normal 3ps view, or is just a toggle to another set of buttons a la the multifunction menu wheel here in WT
image
^these lines might not even be related, I don’t know.

These seem to be the buttons in " strategy mode " which do not reference the " supportPlane " file:
image

image
image


image
image
image

It seems they have been:
image
( https://www.reddit.com/r/Warthunder/comments/tcditx/2130175_214028_changes_part_3_first_dev_server/?rdt=54227 )

This was shortly after aircraft carriers were discovered for the first time in WT Mobile, and shortly before the new HQ model carriers( incl. some from Mobile ) were added here in WT.

There are not many differences between the code used here( left, red ) and what 's present there( right, green ):



Other than these lines, they are identical.

My guess is that strategy view is the RTS view where CV players give orders to squads and from which they can switch into the “supportPlane”" controls. I think the way point icon (mark geo) is connected to the support plane AI mainly the section fly to point.

I might be wrong but I think it lines up quite nicely. The different .nut files are cross-connected the supportPlane files seem only to store direct links to the different squads. The Airgroupview seems to be the direct control view I will compare it to scout plane view later.

Only US/UK/GER/JP CVs are in the files for now ?

No german carriers have been in the files yet to my knowledge, but there has been an Italian carrier of the old style low-detail type - RN Aquila:


( https://old-forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/393479-italy-deserves-the-re2001-or/&do=findComment&comment=7363777 )

Apparently it was used on the Spain Air RB map at one point, it must have become disused when or shortly before the Forrestal/Baku pairs were added there in update " New Power " before carriers were completely removed from there.
th-1601279252
th-2026100044
th-1054355104
( War Thunder :a missing model of Italian aircraft carrier Aquila )

1 Like

I have done some testing in user mission in my Mississippi against squadroon of 15 Buccaneer S.2s with full bombs. And this is the results:

  • Down to 73% crew from 88% at the start
  • 3 hull sections destroyed
  • Only 2 Buccaneers survived
  • Several managed to drop the bombs and I got 1 main caliber turret knocked out

Video of the test: Watch Battleship AA test | Streamable

But I would say that 15 plane squad is a bit too much I wouldn´t expect to see this large squads to be present in game. But on other hand I would expect the surviability be a bit higher then in this test since it looks like there will be option for player to take control of the lead plane. And I would expect that these could eventually get some stand of range weaponry like Martel and other kinds of ASMs.

I just wanted to test how would the AA refit BBs fare against the jets.

I think that considering the AA capability of ships with actual AA the conventional bombers will be quite bad, both just player aircraft and CV squadroons will need actual stand of weaponry be it ASM, guided bombs or even just torpedoes launched in walls from the 2 km range.

2 Likes

Datаminе: Aircraft carriers that were once in the mobile version of War Thunder (text only).
They have now been removed. But you can now know what kind of aircraft carriers were there and what year they were presented. Taken from discord
image
Most aircraft carriers are presented before 1945

2 Likes

Nooooooooooooooo! :'(

Idea on how multiple aircraft would be controlled. Don’t know how it’d work in RB, but I think it’d work very well in EC

You’d be sailing a carrier and you’d press a button to bring aircraft from the hangar to the flight deck, either fixed wing or rotor craft.

The number of fixed aircraft is determined by either deck space or number of catapults. As they’re being brought to the catapults/put in position the game sends out a prompt to all the other players which, upon accepting, are brought into the cockpit of one of the aircraft. The player who brought the carrier will always fly the lead plane. The planes take off and the players work together to bring down a ship and then return to the carrier. Upon shootdown, crash, or landing, the players are returned to their ships.

Rotor craft would work identically to scout planes, however they’d be used mostly for anti-submarine warfare.

1 Like

Maybe like artillery of medium tanks, where you pick a target and the planes fly there to do their business.

Or maybe similar to the game Battlestations Pacific, which is similar to what you’re proposing

1 Like

The Floats! event has returned, aircraft carriers used as part of the capture zones are the low-poly IJN Soryu.

4 Likes

Some screenshots of the high-detail USS Enterprise(CV-6) from today 's video:


image

image

And low-detail IJN Ryujo:
image

3 Likes

I would really love carriers!!

1 Like

@Motherhen357 Sorry for the bother, I reread the thread before asking but just to confirm, the full list of HQ / WTM-files WWII carriers is?

  • Kaga (1936) - Mobile
  • Shoukaku (1942*) - WT model
  • Zuikaku (1944) - Mobile
  • Lexington (1929) - Mobile
  • Lexington (1941) - WT model
  • Saratoga (1942) - WT model
  • Enterprise (1942) - WT model
  • Essex (1942) - Mobile
  • Illustrious (1940) - Mobile
  • Implacable (1944) - Mobile

 

As Shoukaku is the only one without an explicit text-form year, I did a quick check wikipedia check (yes yes, I know…) and apparently she received six additional triple Type 96s in June 1942 (two at the bow, two at the stern, one fore and one aft of the island) which, comparing to the very high-res announcement shots, are present on the WT model.

In September '42 she received a large Type 21 radar atop her bridge, and in October two additional triple Type 96s were added (bow and stern). None of these are present, thus her WT refit is June-September 1942.

1 Like

There was also USS Midway in 1945 fit, but yes, this is all the high-detail carriers which saw active service during WW2 that we know about atm.

Seems accurate to the appearance in the CDK, the main gun turrets are listed _01 to _08 and AA gun turrets are listed from _01 to _18.

2 Likes

Ah true, it’s probably best to include “planned for the invasion of Japan” stuff as WWII, not unlike “planned for the Spring 1919 offensive” stuff should really count as WWI, in other contexts.

Thanks as always! :)