AMBIENT INFANTRY IN WAR THUNDER: A suggestion in the works (read disclaimer before commenting)

Game Discussion General Discussion
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Disclaimer: constructive feedback is welcome and appreciated (please don’t start arguments in the comments) AND DO NOT SUGGEST ENLISTED OR ANOTHER GAME, as there is no correlation between those and how this suggestion would work. Infantry would not be player-controlled nor award anything (Under type A) in order to maintain the game’s current age ratings. Also, this thread is simply a way for me to get feedback and make edits to my suggestion before actually submitting it to suggestions.

THE REASON:
Infantry has been discussed throughout the history of war thunders in many forms and, in a few instances, has been added in some form or another, and issues have arisen from their implementation. However, I have an idea that may help to solve some (not all) of those additions. The addition of infantry into War Thunder would help to solve the emptiness that can be felt on many maps; it would also help to increase the immersiveness of the game significantly.

THE TWO VERSIONS OF INFANTRY:

TYPE A (NORMAL)

Purely visual non-interactable infantry (does not award any points or score and cannot be interacted with in any form (EX: will phase through tanks and cannot be hurt/killed or moved in any way)
They would “spawn” in at the player spawn and would immediately begin to move along a predetermined path towards multiple pre-set positions on the battlefield and, after reaching that point, begin to begin an animation to “shoot at the other team’s infantry” (this is not considered AI even in the simplest definition, rather it would be classified as an NPC), TYPE A would also have the ability to move around along preset paths, shoot, and yell random commands: Charge!, Fall back!, Get down!, GO GO GO!, etc.

TYPE B (FOR HELICOPTER INSERTION)

semi-interactive infantry (for use with helicopters) can be transported by specific helicopters and be moved to the battlefield or friendly spawn points and then be dropped off by the player, after which they will become type A, and the player would be awarded a new award called “Troop Insertion*X” once the troops are dismounted the award would be based on the exact amount of troops dismounted. The reward would be limited, but it would help solve the problem of researching helicopters and even allow for new helicopters to be added that otherwise would not have much use in ground battles.

THE VISUAL VARIATIONS OF INFANTRY:
The infantry would not bear any nation-specific markings and would have randomized weapons and uniforms based on the current match Battle rating; they would also wear basic uniforms of different variations (think designs and/or colors)

Types of infantry uniforms and weapons displayed based on BR

1.0-6.3 a mix between pre-WW2 and WW2 uniforms and weapons

6.7-7.7 (due to the presence of quite a few post ww2 tanks at 6.7), a mix of WW2 and Korean war uniforms/ weapons

+7.7-9.3 Cold War era and Vietnam uniforms and weapons

+9.3-12.0 Modern uniforms and weapons

details on weapons by era

Nation>weapon types (based on era used) ____ denotes none for that era, A * denotes that a model already exists in-game in some form (that I am aware of)

US: M1918 springfeild>M1 garand* >M14/M16*>Scar H*
RU:Mosin-Nagant>Mosin-Nagant>Ak47*>Ak74
GE:Gewehr 41>Gewehr 43>H&K 418>H&K G36
IT: CACARNO>CACARNO>Beretta BM-59>Beretta ARX160
FR: CEAM Modèle 1950>CEAM Modèle 1950>FN FAL*>FAMAS
IR:_>>FN FAL*>IWI Tavor
JP: CACARNO>Type 99>Type 89>Type 20
SW: m/96 Mauser>m/96 Mauser> AK4> AK5 (thanks to karnitin75)
BR: lee enfeild*>lee enfeild*>FN FAL*>L85A3*

Images and videos

1941._Бой_на_улицах_Сталино
vffb2hrn7gx41
download (3)
Yes, this a from a movie War Thunder was involved in helping to produce if anyone wondering
victory is ours war thunder - Google Zoeken
yes, this is a war Thunder trailer

POLL BELOW: Would you like to see infantry as a form of ambiance in the game?

  • YES
  • NO
  • Depends on other factors
0 voters

If your choice depends on other factors, please list them below

If you think I missed anything, let me know, and I will try to fix it to the best of my ability.

4 Likes
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Sweden

World War II Era (1939–1945):

Rifles:

  • m/96 Mauser (6.5×55mm): The standard-issue bolt-action rifle for Swedish infantry. It was accurate and reliable.
  • m/38 Mauser (6.5×55mm): A shorter, modernized version of the m/96.

Submachine Guns:

  • m/37-39 (Suomi KP/-31 clone, 9×19mm): A Swedish-made copy of the Finnish Suomi submachine gun.
  • m/45 “Swedish K” (9×19mm): A highly regarded and widely used submachine gun introduced late in WWII and used extensively afterward.

Machine Guns:

  • Kg m/21 (6.5×55mm): A licensed copy of the Danish Madsen light machine gun.
  • Kg m/37 (6.5×55mm): A Swedish version of the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle).

Anti-Tank Weapons:

  • Pansarvärnspjäs m/38: A 20mm anti-tank rifle used against lightly armored vehicles.

Cold War Era (1947–1991):

Rifles and Carbines:

  • Ag m/42 (6.5×55mm): A semi-automatic rifle adopted during WWII and phased out post-war.
  • Ak 4 (7.62×51mm NATO): A licensed copy of the Heckler & Koch G3 battle rifle, introduced in the 1960s.
  • Ak 5 (5.56×45mm NATO): A Swedish adaptation of the FN FNC, introduced in the 1980s.

Submachine Guns:

  • m/45 “Swedish K” (9×19mm): Continued widespread use due to its reliability and simplicity.

Machine Guns:

  • Ksp m/36 (6.5×55mm): A Swedish version of the Browning M1917 heavy machine gun.
  • Ksp 58 (7.62×51mm NATO): A licensed copy of the FN MAG, introduced in the 1960s.

Anti-Tank Weapons:

  • Carl Gustaf m/45 (84mm): A recoilless rifle developed during WWII and improved over time.
  • Pansarskott m/68 (74mm): A single-shot, disposable anti-tank weapon.

Modern Era (1991–Present):

Assault Rifles:

  • Ak 5 (5.56×45mm NATO): Still in use, though modernized to variants like the Ak 5C/D.
  • Ak 6 (potential replacement): Discussions about future rifle upgrades, possibly aligned with NATO standards.

Machine Guns:

  • Ksp 58 (7.62×51mm NATO): Remains the standard GPMG.
  • Ksp 90 (5.56×45mm NATO): A licensed FN Minimi light machine gun.

Sniper Rifles:

  • Psg 90 (7.62×51mm NATO): A variant of the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare sniper rifle.

Anti-Tank Weapons:

  • Carl Gustaf M4 (84mm): The latest iteration of the iconic recoilless rifle.
  • AT4 (84mm): A disposable anti-tank launcher widely exported and used globally.
  • NLAW (Next-generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon): Modern guided anti-tank missile system.

Sidearms:

  • Pistol 88 (Glock 17, 9×19mm): Standard-issue sidearm.

Other Equipment:

  • Granatgevär m/48 (40mm): Automatic grenade launchers.
3 Likes
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Here me out:

12 Likes
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its not that good i say Arma 3 dose it better for ww2 for most of everything but the tanks and aircraft are good but i wish they would make the flying be like war thunder tho but it would be alote more fun if they would make it so ur able to play infantry in warthunder and have large map battles like arma3 tho

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Infantry would sap any of the remaining soul from war thunder by causing crippling server issues, the game is centred around the abilities of the vehicles themselves and has hardly any externalities (things like artillery), so convoluting this with more AI in matches will lead to FPS drops and gaijin taking shortcuts in optimisation and performance to accommodate these infrantry.
On a positive note it would make the matches feel a bit more alive and realistic but only really feasible on urban maps since having a confused AI try and run the length of sinai or red desert would be pretty comedic

4 Likes
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You’re asking for a completely different game though, something along the lines of HLL instead of war thunder

1 Like
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yea true but it would be cool to do a D-Day game mode tho

8

The game you are looking for is Enlisted go play that game for infantry

4 Likes
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Enlisted uses WT models for tanks and planes - has a much more limited set of those than WT but they work reasonably well other than some of them being fantasy…

1 Like
10

We already have those kind of ground troops in game. Some can be seen in vehicles in ground battles. We see them on ships in naval manning guns.

We have some we can actually interact with, seen in on gun positions. We have even been able to control some infantry in mech suits in a past april fools event. We could even control a dude in the hanger recently.

If you play air arcade you can see maps featuring ground troops firing at each other. Machine gun positions anti air, and anti tank guns mostly. If you threw those engagements into a ground battle, it would be too distracting in my opinion.

Not sure what you could make out of what we have now. Knowing they are already here, maybe it would help the suggestion?

2 Likes
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@Caernarvon02 This is an idea for a visual effect not controllable/playable infantry It is completely different than Enlisted (although they could possibly import over some of the models from enlisted for use with this), I literally knew that someone would bring up enlisted that’s why the disclaimer says that infantry is not able to be controlled by any player and don’t interact with the players in any way except heli insertion as an exception

This is a similar thing, but instead of crew members in tanks, they would be for ground battles “fighting” each other as foot soldiers, running around firing their rifles, yelling etc.

2 Likes
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also never said they would affect the match, in fact I said the opposite:

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80% of enlisted “players” are bots because of how the squad mechanics work and the ai is several steps below lobotomized vegetables in intelligence. AI soldiers lend themselves to enlisted very poorly (other than getting even easier kills than what America mains are in that game already, I love playing japan its so easy.I cant tell players from bots half the time) and it would do nothing but clutter WT, this game is 120gb already and a mechanic like this wouldn’t change gameplay and only add file bloat

14

so do all other visual effects like vapor and afterburners

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those are visual effects directly on the vehicle and also serve as indicators of what your aircraft is doing

these are functionless to the game

16

it would exist in order to make the game feel more alive and not empty (you would know what I mean if you enter a custom battle and just drive around), however the Type B would give rewards so not functionless

17

so ambience? I dont think it would really fit any maps to be honest, like flanders is meant to be deserted trenches

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Basically yea, and the trenches oh boy, that is where they would shine, mainly on ww2 maps, though like Normandy and Eastern Europe, for things like Flanders it would make sense more for them to simply move around to different areas, for higher BR it would make more sense for them to just run around to different spots shoot for a little bit then move to another spot and repeat

19

An anti-tank infantry squad in a Strf platoon would be broken XD

Another cool thing to see would be the Finnish CV9030 get a infantry squad with the Jatimatic

3 Likes
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I have updated the layout and condensed the different parts, as well as updated some of the wording in some places, feedback is welcome especially about layout and structuring of the post

@leroyonly, what do you think of this? Would it be accepted as a suggestion (accepted as in be added into the suggestions not accepted as in labeled as accepted)

Also I have updated the disclaimer because people keep ignoring what it says.

JAN 16 Updated once again added more info with the weapons and modified some puncuation.