Clouds are just lazy way to try to fix how bad is top tire Air…
They also missed most of their targets - and night with some clouds is not the same as day flying in windless thunderstorms.
We don’t even do that today - weather is a critical factor in planning sorties.
The clouds in War Thunder are simply not realistic - they don’t move (at least as much as they should) there is no wind in the game and they never change shape. There’s no wind in the thunderstorms (which we wouldn’t be flying in anyway) and there’s no real navigation equipment available.
The clouds are also glitched where you can often see ground objects and airplanes through clouds when you shouldn’t.
I’d be fine with some clouds around but it needs to be scaled back drastically and we need to have more clear days than not.
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And the inverse is true. If a plane is flying with a cloud behind it, its black dot might decide not to render despite flying outside the cloud.
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The night interceptions above London in WW 1 were performed with various types, but further discussion about that are imho off topic.
Regarding your overall position:
Should be seen in context to the game mode Air RB - and how the mode is designed.
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The main issue is that Air RB is actually just Air AB+. So adding selective (and randomly implemented) realism like this weather conditions make imho zero sense - simply because the mode Air RB is not Air SB. There is a reason why the term “all weather fighter” was the successor of “night fighter” and covered only planes with the necessary avionics (and crew training) able to take off, fly, fight and most important to find a friendly airfield and land in bad weather / at night.
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As a prop pilot bad weather prevents you from gaining and keeping situational awareness. Even if some pilots benefit from clouds or enjoy playing hide and seek in the clouds - the realism claim by gaijin is absurd. Irl the current weather conditions (and forecasts) decided if you flew a sortie or not - there were no sorties with 10/10 clouds and very low cloud ceiling with day fighters / bombers simply due to a lack of flight instrument and crew training.
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As a jet pilot you face serious AAM threats at higher alt, which forces you to stay low. Using your radar (if you have one) compromises your position, etc. Earlier cold war jets did not even have radar as targets were either assigned by ground controls or had to be located with the Mk. 1 eyeball.
So if gaijin implement stuff like this, your conclusion:
looks somehow reasonable, but imho their main goal is totally different.
The “bad” weather just adds another factor to their efforts to make the outcome of a match a random event as the resulting furballs in case a poor soul gets spotted first.
I do agree that clouds (correctly implemented) add a lot of fun and immersion, but (at least for props) i see just 2 player types gaining any benefits from clouds in Air RB:
- The imho very rare battle-hardened veteran in a fast single engine fighter - able to read a match and able to use the clouds to his advantage.
- The hordes of untrained rookie pilots (mostly tankers) farming ai ground units early and late game as more experienced pilots won’t sacrifice position for a strike aircraft / ground pounder if enemy fighters are up and it is unclear where they are.
In other words:
It becomes easier for both player types to score points - whilst the rookies are in the absolute majority. I am really tired of losing matches which were decided by ground pounders whilst you fight “real” threats like enemy fighters high above the clouds…
IMO, at some distance, the target should be visible even if flying through clouds just like legacy clouds.
In the current games, you can’t see these targets at same situation.
You’re missing the point, what I’m talking about is when above an entire cloud and you see all white but the bridge on the ground or a plane flying through below the clouds. It’s probably the least of my complaints about clounds and I don’t have a screenshot.
Gaijin has a vision and will stick to it.
So it doesn’t really matter if we like clouds or not, we just have to learn to work with them!
Considering the trailer of the new update “Firebird”, I feel that they have added clouds regarding their future plans.
To your last paragraph…
When WT came to the gaming market, it was … Wow, Wow, Wow !!! …
There was only the air component of the game, perfect.
The moment the tanks came I knew there was going to be a problem…
On the current Air Top tier I’m not sure the maps are big enough … a lot of powerful planes are missing …
In addition, the meaning of the game maps is still the same from the low tier - a ball of hell in a small space in a ratio of 12 vs. 12 players… the tactical nature of all maps
So this is how I would see it for myself (I assume that Gaijin probably won’t care)…
Air Battles - air supremacy format only game, interception and ambush pursuit, high altitude bombers, medium bombers, fighter bombers, highly range fighters … minimum of destructible ground AI targets
Air Battle Targets - Military Factories, Military Refineries, Military Stations, SAM Systems Stations, High-altitude Combat, etc…
Ground Battles - Tanks, Vehicles, Area/City/Port Combat, Fighter Aircraft, Attack Aircraft, Medium Bombers, Medium Range Fighters.
Ground Battle Objectives - Bunkers, Ground AI, Supply Bases, Area Control, etc.
Naval battles - everything that belongs to naval battles, either in coastal areas or on the open sea/ocean,
Objectives of naval battles - convoys, islands-supply bases, refineries by the sea, controlled area … plus all types of naval aircraft …
As it is, it seems like random chaos to me…
But that’s just my opinion and over the years of playing, I’ve long since found out that Gaijin follows his line and only reacts to a lot of crying from the players…
But the clouds in the trailer are acceptable - light rain and partly cloudy… it’s the windless thunderstorms (especially in the desert) that are problematic (for the most part).
Also F-117s are specifically one of the worst vehicles to fly into bad weather - they can’t even be in the rain.