Greetings, Salutation, and Happy (almost) New Year!
This year, we have seen, waited, and, finally, witnessed the addition of Thailand into War Thunder Line Up, something that we had all been waiting for long before the creation of this thread. Through our suggestions, dedication, and Gaijin’s efforts, we finally saw the proper addition of Thailand as a sub-tree for Japan, something many Thai players and you guys had been waiting for. Today, as a farewell to 2024, let’s remind ourselves of the journey of the Thai air sub-tree throughout this year!
In March of this year, the first Thai vehicle was introduced as the squadron vehicle for Japanese Air Tree, none other than the beloved F-5E FCU. The F-5E FCU was loved by the communities, from the players and content creators alike, as it provided the alternate way to grind Japanese Air Tree’s top tier as well as a somewhat Close Air Support Capable plane to the Japanese Tree. The “Thai Fighter”, as dubbed by many in the community, was welcomed with open arms and signaled the true possibility of the implementation of Thai Sub-Tree to Japan
Several Months later, in November, another Thai plane was added to the game, this time as a premium. The second Thai plane added to the War Thunder was none other than the AV-8S (Early). While it was not as surprising as the F-5E FCU, the addition of AV-8S (Early) was, in itself, a signal of a thing to come; The (Early) part of the name implied the existence of the (Late) variant, something which would come later, but sooner than what we had expected.
In the last update of this year, the thing we had been waiting for finally happened, the implementation of Thailand as the sub-tech tree for Japanese Air Tree was announced as well as added in the last update of the year, a New Year and Christmas gift for both the Thai players, communities, and many of us who had been eyeing for this occasion for a long time. While many of us were happy for such an addition to the game, this implementation and update, however, were not as smooth as many had hoped; many iconic planes weren’t added, and many perceived it as another “Copy and paste” galore. Coupled with bugs and missing features, many early receptions of the Thai sub-tree were heartbreakingly negative, and, while many Thai players were happy, I was saddened by many complaints and negative responses by players and content creators alike. As someone who started this thread in the hope of bringing Thai Sub-Tree to life, I felt responsible for such negative reactions and feedback. Yet, despite such responses, I still feel optimistic for the future of Thai Sub-Tree, for what wasn’t added can be added in the future. Who knows? We might see T-50TH or L-39ZA/ART in the year 2025! After all, not many people believed that Thailand would come to War Thunder in 2024!
The journey for the Thai Sub-tree began ten years ago, in the year 2014, when Gaijin published an article about the interesting history of the Royal Thai Airforce, acknowledging and bringing the history and development of the Thai Airforce to the international audiences of War Thunder. This article inspired many players, Thai and international alike, to suggest the possibility of Thai aircraft and camos in War Thunder. The idea of Thailand as a sub-nation under Japan, however, wasn’t initially welcomed, with many early players who suggested such an idea being doubted and even harassed for daring to suggest such an idea. As more and more Sub-Trees were introduced, the idea of a Thai sub-tree was, once again, brought up to the discussion as a possible sub-tree for Japan, but this time, with welcoming responses, resulted in this thread and subsequently several suggestions for Thai vehicles.
For many of us, the year 2024 might be the end of our journey, Thailand was added and many of its vehicles are now in the games. This, however, is far from the truth. Many of the Thai vehicles are not yet in the game, the ground part of the Sub-Tree has yet to come, and the existing vehicles still contain bugs and inaccuracies. Our little Thai journey has not yet come to an end but has only just begun!
I am grateful for your support and company throughout this journey. Let’s enjoy the final moment of 2024 and embrace the possibilities awaiting us in the year 2025.
A Little “Gift” From Royal Thai Airforce ^-^
