Welcome to Alpha Strike!
Meet War Thunder’s first major update of 2024! We’ve added several interesting ground vehicles, some of which include five rank VII premiums, the formidable Fox light-tank, to the interesting looking 120S and Zerstörer 45. Hungarian aircraft have now made their way into Italy’s tree, where you’ll be able fly a range of fully-capable aircraft in air and ground battles. The nimble Alpha jet has arrived for Germany and France, plus the warmly welcomed Wessex for Britain. Additionally, IJN Mutsu — featuring the largest guns in the game — is now ready to sail for Japan. North Holland is a new ground forces map, featuring a town and plain terrain, perfect for different combat engagements. And lastly, you can also enjoy several Roadmap additions, one of which is an aircraft fuel slider!
There’s plenty of bug fixes, new vehicles and other features in this update, so be sure to read on!
Aircraft
USA
Germany
USSR
- Su-25SM3
Great Britain
Japan
- F-5E FCU (Squadron vehicle)
- F-15J — unique detailed cockpit added
Italy
Hungarian Aircraft Subtree
France
Israel
- BAZ — unique detailed cockpit added
Ground vehicles
USA
Germany
USSR
- ZSU-23-4M4
- T-80UD (Premium)
Great Britain
Japan
China
Italy
France
Sweden
Israel
Helicopters
USA
- AH-1W
- AH-64A, AH-64D, AH-64A Peten, AH-64A (GR), YAH-64 — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Great Britain
- Wessex HU Mk.5
- AH Mk.1 Apache — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Japan
- AH-64DJP — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
China
Sweden
- AHS — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Israel
- AH-60
- Peten, Saraph, AH-64A Peten — unique detailed cockpit and helmet-mounted display system has been added
Naval Fleet
USA
- USS Dealey (DE-1006)
Great Britain
- HMS Diamond (Premium)
Japan
Italy
- RN Bolzano
France
- Kleber
- Bretagne
New locations and missions
- North Holland — a new location for Ground Battles has been added.
- A new Air Realistic Battle mission called “Kamchatka. East” on the “Kamchatka” map has been added.
- A new Air Realistic Battle mission called “Golan Heights (aerial spawn)” on the "Golan Heights" map has been added. Players spawn in the air, but along the front line rather than in a single point. The mission is available on top tier.
Location and mission updates
- Snow textures being too dirty on the Frozen Pass location have been fixed.
- Gaps have been closed and the spawn points on the Carpathians location have been protected.
- The aircraft part of the Karelia location has been expanded.
- A stage airfield has been added to Air Realistic Battle missions based on the Enduring Confrontation logic (Spain, Vietnam, Rocky Canyon, Afghanistan). It is located closer to the front line and can not be spawned at, however it can be used to rearm and repair.
- The physics of fallen trees has been improved. Now, they roll less after falling, and the crown of a tree now lays the ground, taking up less space on the screen.
- Several changes to the “Low cloud” weather preset. The amount of clouds has been increased and their starting altitude has been lowered to make it more difficult for aircraft to attack from high altitudes, while reducing haze to make it easier to spot targets at low altitudes.
- The size of destruction effects have been adjusted relative to the size of the objects being destroyed.
- The airfield positioning mechanic has been improved, affecting all types of missions (air, ground etc). There should now be far fewer situations where the airfield is located on a prominent hill. However if such airfields are still found, please create a bug report indicating their position.
- Destruction effects of different buildings and objects have been changed. The change is aimed to reduce the impact of effects on gameplay (prior to the change they could have caused the player to lose clear sight for a long time), and to fix situations where small objects could have left large destruction effects.
- Structures covering the Northern spawn point of the right team on the “Abandoned Factory” location have been changed to provide a safer start on the way to the capture point.
- Both [Domination] South Kvarken naval missions have been removed from the rotation.
Ground Vehicle model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
- Type 94 — the location and number of fuel tanks have been adjusted. (Report)
- Gun Carrier (3-in) — the side and rear armor of the casemate have been adjusted. (Report)
- ZT3A2 — the amount of missile ammunition has been increased from 12 to 15. (Report)
- ZSU-23-4 (all variants) — gear ratios have been corrected. Source: ЗСУ-23-4М. Гусеничная машина ГМ-575. Техническое описание. Текст (1980)
- Challenger 2 OES, Type 69 II-a — a bug that may have caused the vehicle to receive pressure damage through the transmission has been fixed.
- Leclerc (all variants) — the rate of fire has been increased from 10 to 12 rounds per minute. (Report)
- Strf 9040C — a bug where a unit might not lock the inner track when turning has been fixed.
- T-50 — gear ratios have been corrected. The maximum speed has been reduced from 64 to 52 km/h, the reverse speed has been reduced from 8 to 7 km/h. (Report) Source: Отчёт полигонных испытаний танка Т-50, изготовленного заводом №174, январь-февраль 1941 // Альбом Научно-Испытательного Бронетанкового Полигона ГБТУ КА "Танки".
- XM803 — values of gear ratios for reverse gears have been corrected, the number of gears has been reduced by two. The reverse speed has been reduced from 64 to 29 km/h. Source: Operator's Instruction Manual for Tank, Combat, Full Track: 152mm/Launcher XM803 (Pilot Vehicle no. 7) June 1972 by Detroit Diesel Allison Division of General Motors Corporation Military Vehicles Engineering
- Warrior, Fox — the filling of belts for the 30 mm cannon have been changed. Two separate belts will be available as default, one filled entirely with Semi-armor-piercing (SAP) shells and the other filled with high-explosive (HEI) shells. The modification for the APDS belt has been moved to the Tier III of modifications research.
- The “long” names (the ones in a vehicle’s stat card) of some of the Italian vehicles have been corrected.
- The “long” names (the ones in a vehicle’s stat card) of some of the Chinese vehicles have been expanded.
- The firing accuracy of 122 mm guns D-25T, A-19S, D-25S, D-25-44T, D-30T, D-25TS, M62-T2S, and D-49 has been increased. (Report)
- The accuracy of the T140E3 and T140E2 105 mm guns has been increased. (Report)
- The firing accuracy of the 76mm M1 and M7 guns has been increased. (Report)
- The firing accuracy of D-5T, D-5S, S-53, D-58, D-70, and Type 56 85 mm guns has been increased. (Report)
- The accuracy of the M58 and SA46 120 mm guns has been increased. (Report)
- T-80 — the position and roles of the crew have been changed, the loader has been replaced by the commander, who now performs both roles. The gunner’s role as commander has been removed. (Report)
- ISU-122, ISU-122 (China), ISU-122S, ISU-152, ISU-152 (China) — engine RPM has been reduced from 2200 to 2000 RPM. (Report)
- T-80 — engine RPM has been increased from 3400 to 3600 RPM. Source: Альбом Научно-Испытательного Бронетанкового Полигона ГБТУ КА «Танки», «Памятка экипажу танка Т-70.
- Chi-To, Chi-To Late — engine HP has been increased from 400 to 500 HP, engine RPM has been reduced from 2000 to 1600 RPM. Source: Japanese navy diesel engines. Index No. S-42.
- Type 93 — gear ratios have been corrected. Engine HP has been increased from 150 to 170 HP, engine RPM reduced from 3400 to 2800 RPM. Source: 高機動車ＧＷ－Ｄ０１１００１Ｙ, 2000年5月メガクルーザー
- BTR-80A (all variants) — gear ratios have been changed. (Report) Source: Бронетранспортёр БТР-80А. Техническое описание. Издание третье
- T25, M36 GMC, Super Hellcat — the turret rotation speed has been reduced from 24 to 21 degrees.
- Pz.IV C, Pz.IV E, Pz.IV F, Pz.IV F2, Pz.IV G, Pz.IV H — the turret rotation speed has been increased from 14 to 15 degrees. (Report) Source: The Tanks of Operation Barbarossa: Soviet versus German Armour on the Eastern Front by Boris Kavalerchik, Panzer Tracts No. 4 Panzerkampfwagen IV - Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV, Panzer IV vs Sherman: France, 1944 Steven J Zaloga
- Т-28, Т-28E, Т-28 1938 — the gear ratios values and their number have been corrected. Source: Наставление автобронетанковых войск РККА. Книга первая, часть 1. Материальная часть, вождение, уход и регулировка танка Т-28. Выпуск 10
- BT (all variants) — the number of transmissions has been changed. According to sources there are four of them. Source: Наставление автобронетанковых сил РККА. Танк БТ-5. 1935, Танк БТ-7. Наставление автобронетанковых войск РККА. 1938
- Begleitpanzer 57 — engine HP has been reduced to 600 HP. Sources: International Defense Review 1978: Vol 11 Iss 2 + International Defense Review 1979: Vol 12 Iss 3.
- ItO 90M (all variants) — engine HP has been increased to 2500 RPM. (Report) Source: Sisu-Auto - Sisu XA 180 : Käyttö Ja Huolto Ohjekirja Published 1985
- Т-44, T-44-122 — engine HP has been changed to 520 HP, and engine RPM to 2000 RPM. Source: Научно-Испытательный Бронетанковый Полигон ГБТУ Красной Армии - Танки 1945 г. Главное Автобронетанковое Управление - Люди, события, факты в документах 1946-1953 книга V
- Challenger 2, Challenger 2 (2F), Challenger 2 OES, Challenger 2 TES, Black Night, Challenger 2E, Challenger 3 TD — the geometry of the armor model has been updated.
- A fire indicator for external fuel tanks and ammunition storage with blowout panels has been added. Now, the player will know how much time is left before the fire extinguishes, which cannot be extinguished with FPE.
- The burning time of external fuel tanks and ammunition stowage in blowout panels has been reduced.
- The inability to extinguish a fire in internal modules when external fuel tanks and ammunition stowage in blowout panels were on fire has been fixed.
- Following the Roadmap: The ability to replenish partially spent belts, magazines, and launchers for multiple missiles or rockets on captured points (without having to use all ammunition) has been added.
- Following the Roadmap: A limit on the maximum reload time of belts and launchers for multiple missiles or rockets has been added.
- Following the Roadmap: A pause of ammunition replenishment progress when moving through a capture point has been added.
Ground vehicle models, visuals
- TO-55 — the position of the flamethrower flame has been corrected.
Aircraft and helicopter model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
Weaponry
- Following the Roadmap: The issue of duplicated stock air-to-air missiles in the weapons selector has been resolved.
- GBU-10, GBU-12, GBU-16, GBU-24 — drop limit of 1.01M has been added.
- 30 mm GIAT M781 cannon — the muzzle velocity has been increased from 755 m/s to 810 m/s (Report).
The weight of the gun has been increased from 150 kg to 212 kg (Report).
The rate of fire has been reduced from 750 rounds per minute to 720 rounds per minute (Report). - Armor-piercing bombs in the secondary weapon menu have been moved to the “To hit sea targets” group.
- 30 mm DEFA cannon — the set of rounds, composing the filling of the belts for all DEFA cannons have been adjusted to HEI, HEF API-T.
- Matra R550 Magic 1, Matra R550 Magic 2, AIM-54A, AIM-54C — the flight model has been adjusted, the speed at which the maximum overload is reached has been reduced.
- Harrier GR.7 — a bug that caused the TIALD targeting pod to have a mass of 240 kg has been fixed. (Report)
- AH-64 (all variants) — a bug where the vertical aiming angles for the turret were too large has been fixed.
- F9F-8 — the ability to separately fire the forward-facing weapons has been added.
- Ju 87 B-2 — the SC1000 bomb has been added.
- F-86F-35, F-86F-40 — the M117 750 lb bomb has been added.
- BB-1, Su-2 (all variants) — FAB-500sv bombs have been added (overloaded version).
- J29F — the assortment of rockets has been expanded.
- Vampire F.B.5, Vampire FB 52A — 500 lb bombs have been added. Source: Pilots notes Vampire F.B.5&F.B.9
- IL-2 (all variants), IL-10 (all variants), Pe-2 (all variants), Pe-3 (all variants), Bf 110 G-2, Bf 110 G-4 — a bug that caused all rockets to be launched from one wing first has been fixed.
- Beaufighter Mk 21 — the gun in the rear-facing turret has been changed from 7.7 mm Vickers K to 7.7 Browning. (Report)
- MiG-23MLA — the ZB-500 incendiary bomb pylons were moved from the wing hardpoints to the fuselage hardpoints. (Report)
- MiG-23M, MiG-23MLD — the ZB-500 incendiary bomb pylons were moved from the wing hardpoints to the fuselage hardpoints.
- Ki-61-I hei, Ki-61-I ko, Ki-61-I otsu — for the Ho-103, the number of rounds per gun has been reduced from 400 to 250 rounds.
- MH-60 DAP — the M134 and GAU-19 machine guns, and the LR30 cannon have been added.
- IL-10 — the defensive machine gun has been changed from UBT machine gun to UBK machine gun.
- Tu-14T — the FAB-1000 (welded) bomb has been replaced with the FAB-1000M-43 bomb.
- Tu-4 — the FAB-500sv (welded) bomb has been replaced with the FAB-500M-46 bomb. The FAB-250sv bomb has been replaced with the FAB-250M-46 bomb. The FAB-1000 (welded) bomb has been replaced with the FAB-1000M-44 bomb.
- Canberra B Mk 2 — the 4000 lb H.C. Mk.II bomb has been replaced with the 4000 lb H.C. Mk.IV bomb.
- Meteor F Mk 8 G.41K — additional RP-3 rockets have been added.
- F-104S.ASA — additional Mk 82, Mk 82 Snakeye, Mk 83 and M117 bomb loadouts for the central fuselage pylon have been added.
- Meteor F Mk 3 — 1000 lb H.E. M.C. Mk.13 bombs have been added.
- Su-17M2, Su-17M4, Su-22M3, Su-22UM3K, Su-22M4 — additional drop tanks have been added to the Secondary weapons menu.
- The AIM-7F/M, R-27R/ER, RB.71, Skyflash (all variants), Aspide, Matra Super 530F/D missiles are now less prone to switching to a target appearing in the direction different from the direction of the last target.
- Target acquisition range for the seeker of the AIM-7F/M and Matra Super 530F missiles now depends on the carrying aircraft and illumination parameters of its radar. When using an aircraft with a more powerful illumination signal (F-14, F-15A) the acquisition distance is greater than when using a less powerful one (F-4J, F-16A ADF).
- J35A, J35D, J35XS — 510 liter drop tanks have been added.
- JAS39 (all variants) — the ability to use additional drop tanks on the wing has been added.
- Halifax B Mk.IIIa — incorrect aiming angles of the tail turret have been corrected.
- Late 298D — negative speed and release height of the 1926DA torpedo have been fixed.
- F-14A, F-14B — 280 gallons (1060 liters) drop tanks have been added.
- F-16 (all variants) — 370 gallons (1400 liters) wing-mounted drop tanks have been added.
- Harrier GR.7 — AGM-65G missiles have been added.
- J-8F — the amount of countermeasures has been increased to 80.
- Kh-29T (all variants) — incorrect angle limits of the camera in the Optical Seeker View have been fixed.
- MiG-21 (all variants), J-7 (all variants) — drop tanks have been added.
- Su-25 (all variants) — additional drop tanks have been added.
- IL-2 (1941), IL-2 (1942), IL-2M (1943), IL-2M Type 3, IL-2 M-82, IL-2M “Avenger” — the ability to use 6 x FAB-50 or FAB-100 bombs has been added.
- F-16C Block 50 — AGM-65G missiles have been added.
Other
- Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) — a bug where it was not possible to damage the elevators has been fixed.
- Mi-28A — visual overlaps of several elements in the location of the flare pods have been fixed.
- Tiger UHT — a bug leading to loss of target acquisition by the optical camera at horizontal angles of more than 110 degrees has been fixed.
- MBR-2 — the Radiator and Compressor modifications have been added to the modifications window.
- Ariete, Sagittario 2 — a bug that caused the performance characteristics of shells to not display in the modifications window has been fixed.
- Ju-87D-5 — a bug where the secondary machine guns were not displayed in x-ray mode has been fixed.
- P-38L-5-LO — a bug where the secondary machine guns were not displayed in x-ray mode has been fixed.
- F8F-1 (all variants) — a bug where the secondary machine guns were not displayed in x-ray mode has been fixed.
- PV-2D — a bug where the secondary machine guns were not displayed in x-ray mode has been fixed.
- A-36 — a bug where the secondary machine guns were not displayed in x-ray mode has been fixed.
- SB2C-4, SB2C-5 — a bug where the secondary machine guns were not displayed in x-ray mode has been fixed.
- Mirage 2000C S4, Mirage 2000C S5 — the pylon for the fuel tank under the fuselage has been replaced with the correct one.
- Su-27, J-11 — a bug where the OFAB-250-270 bombs were incorrectly displayed on the pylons has been fixed. (Report)
- Fw 190 D-9 (USSR) — a bug where bomb pylons were displayed has been fixed. (Report)
- Mirage 2000D-R1 — a bug where the center pylon remained attached when the weaponry it carried was not loaded has been fixed. (Report)
- F.C.20 Bis — a bug where information about the characteristics of the 37 mm Breda Model 39 37/54 cannon’s shells were missing in the modification window has been fixed.
- F-14B — a bug with missing HUD elements for the AIM-54C and AIM-7M missiles has been fixed.
- Jaguar GR.1A — the GR.1B TIALD modification has been moved from tier III to tier II in the modifications window.
- AV-8B Plus — a bug that in some cases caused the Mk 77 incendiary bombs to overlap with each other has been fixed. (Report)
- S.O.4050 Vautour II — the locations and dimensions of the fuel tanks have been adjusted in the model. Source: U.C.C. 1021 Le Vautour Manuel de l'equipage - Version N - Annexe II Poids et centrages - Planches. U.C.C. 1021-1 Le Vautour Manuel de l'equipage - Version N - Tome I - Planches.
- JH-7A, Su-25T, Su-39 — a bug that caused the TV guided weapons to lack Optical Seeker View has been fixed.
- Me 262 C-2b — a bug that caused the oil cooling system in the engine to be counted as a fuel tank has been fixed. (Report)
- Swift F.1, Swift F.7 — a bug that caused the tail to rip off incorrectly in some cases has been fixed. (Report)
- Mirage 2000-5F — a bug where selecting weapons with TV guidance caused the the guidance cross to not be centered has been fixed.
- Tu-1 — a bug where the FAB-250M-44 bomb located in the bomb bay did not require the bay to be open, thus passing through the closed bomb bay doors when dropped has been fixed.
- F-111A — a bug where information about the 20 mm M61A1 cannon was not shown in the Secondary weapon menu has been fixed.
- JA37 (all variants), AJ37, AJS37 — missing rear wheel animation has been fixed. (Report)
- For radars on the MiG-29 (all variants), Mirage F1C, Mirage-2000 (all variants), Yak-141, F-14 (all variants), F-15A, F-16C/D, Tornado ADV/F.3 the beam width of the target illumination antenna has been reduced to the beam width of the main radar antenna, which will greatly reduce the likelihood of retargeting of SARH missiles to undesired targets
- For all airborne radars, except those of the MiG-29 (all variants), Yak-141 and Su-27, the illumination channel for missiles now continues to illuminate the target after longer breaks in target tracking: up to 20 seconds instead of 5 seconds.
- Airborne radars using different signals in tracking mode will now automatically change the type of signal to continue tracking the target. Manual signal switching is no longer available.
Signals have the following priorities, starting with the highest:- Pulse-Doppler all-aspect
- Pulse-Doppler head-on
- Pulse
- Switching to IRST
- The radar tries to use the signal with the highest priority and temporarily changes it to signals with lower priorities only if it is impossible to track the target using the previous signal. If its not possible for any signal to track the target, then the radar tracks the target in the prolongation mode for a few more seconds, while trying to get back to normal tracking by going through all types of signals.
- Pulse-Doppler airborne radars in ACM mode now only use a pulse-Doppler all-aspect signal, if there is one, or constantly switch between two other signals (pulse-Doppler head-on and pulse), if there is none. Manual switching of signals is not available anymore.
- Tracking radar and IR tracking of SPAA — a limiter to the angular velocity of a tracked target has been added to eliminate abrupt turret rotations on close fly-bys of a tracked target. In such cases tracking will stop immediately.
- Tracking radar of SPAA — multi-path effect has been disabled in Arcade and Realistic Battles. The received reflection of the target is shown with its own marker. The ability to lock your own missile in Realistic Battles has been disabled.
- Now in Arcade and Realistic battles when trying to lock a target selected on a radar indicator or trying to acquire a target selected with a marker on it (MMB by default), radar performs a fine search in a true direction to a target and ignores other targets.
- Fw 190 A-8 — incorrect description of the IAI belt in the English localization has been corrected.
- 12.7 mm machine guns UBS/UBT — the names in the English localization have been changed from the same as the UB machine guns “UB” to “UBS” and “UBT” respectively.
- A bug that caused the use of targeting pods or laser-guided weaponry on some aircraft to not cause laser warning indication on vehicles equipped with laser warning receivers to appear has been fixed.
Secondary weapon customization has been added to the following aircraft:
- BB-1, Su-2 (M-82), Su-2 MV-5, Su-2 TSS-1, J29F, J29D, and A29B.
Crew ejection system have been added to the following aircraft:
- A-7D, A-7E, F-100A (all variants), F-100D (all variants), and A-6E TRAM.
Aircraft visual models
- The turret weaponry for the following aircraft have been updated and detailed:
- Potez 633 — MAC 1934 machine gun model
- Pe-2-31, Pe-3, Po-2, SB 2M-105, Su-2 (M-82) — 7.62 ShKAS machine gun model
- IL-2-37, IL-2M type 3, Pe-2-31 — 12.7 mm UBT machine gun model
- IL-10 — 12.7 UBK machine gun model
- SBD-3, SOC-1, TBF-1C — 7.62 Browning machine gun model
- B5N2, D3A1, D4Y1, Aichi E13A1 — 7.7 mm Type 92 machine gun model
- Beaufighter Mk.X — 7.7 mm Browning machine gun model
- Breda 88 (P.XI) — 7.7 mm Breda SAFAT machine gun model
- Bf 110 C-6, Bf 110 C-7, Bf 110 F-2, Fw 189 A-1, Ju 87 B-2, Ju 87 R-2 — 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun model
- Bf 110 G-2, Ju 87 D-3, Ju 87 D-5, Ju 188 A-2 — 7.92 mm MG 81 machine gun model
- A-20G-25, TBF-1C — 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun model
- Ju 188 A-2 — 13 mm MG 131 machine gun model
Flight Model changes:
- Automatic adjustment of the flap extension limit or automatic retraction of the flap depending on the current speed has been added to the aircraft with automatic flaps, “floating” type flaps and flaps with protective blow-up mechanisms. The list of these aircraft is: F8F-1, F8F-1B, P-51H-5, F-14A, F-14B, F-5E, F-16 (all variants), F-4 Phantom (all variants), AV-8A, AV-8C, AV-8B+, Harrier GR.1, Harrier GR.3, Harrier GR.7, Sea Harrier FRS.1, F-105D, A-4 (all variants), A-10A Early, A-10A Late, Mirage F1C, Mirage F1C-200, Lightning F.6, Lightning F.53, F-84F, F2H-2, MiG-21 (all variants), MiG-23 (all variants), MiG-27 (all variants), MiG-29 (all variants), J-7 (all variants), Typhoon Mk.1, F4F-3/4/Martlet, F6F (all variants), F4U (all variants), F2G-1, N1K1/2, J7W1, A7M (all variants), J6K1, Douglas AD-2/4, A-1H
- Mosquito (all variants) — the flight model has been updated. Engine operating modes have been corrected. Distribution of fuel in the fuel tanks has been adjusted. The polars of the wings, fuselage, empennage, and propeller blades have been recalculated and corrected. This aircraft’s behavior while mechanisms (landing gear, flaps etc) are released has been corrected. Aircraft control when diving at high angles has been improved.
- Javelin F.(.A.W.) Mk.9 — the flight model has been updated. The turn characteristics with the flaps extended to the Combat position have been improved. Handling at high rates of speed has been improved. The balance in landing and take-off modes has been improved and the stability margin in these modes has been reduced. Controlled stabilizer has been added. Pitch and yaw dampener has been added to the full-real controls mode.
- A6M5 Hei, A6M6c — the weight of these aircraft has been reduced to 3145 kg (when with full fuel and without secondary weapons).
Naval fleet model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:
Naval weaponry:
The number of shell fragments from ship guns has been increased. Previously, due to technical limitations, the number of fragments that a projectile was capable of producing was lower than it should have been. This was compensated by an increase in the destructive power of some fragments in the nose and side dispersion cones.
Naval characteristics, physics and damage model:
- The damage model for sea mines has been improved. Mines no longer detonate when touched by an ally’s ship.
- HMS Renown — a bug that caused the auxiliary caliber turret guns to take pressure damage from close explosions has been fixed.
- LS 3, LS 4 Esau — the machine gun damage model has been corrected, which was previously smaller than the dimensions of the guns themselves.
- HMS Orion — a bug where the boiler compartment module extended beyond the armored deck has been fixed.
- USS Roanoke — a bug where the aft ammunition magazine module extended beyond the armored deck has been fixed.
- USS Mitscher, USS Wilkinson — a bug where these ships were not destroyed when the magazines detonated has been fixed.
- Drache — the limits of the bow gun have been corrected. Now they do not fire through the superstructure.
- Lorraine — the armor thicknesses of the bridge funnel and chimney protection elements have been corrected.
- USS Atlanta — the location of the central artillery post has been corrected.
- USS Frank Knox — the location of the aft magazine for auxiliary caliber ammunition has been corrected.
- USS Mississippi, USS Alaska — armor belt plate matings have been fixed, gaps have been removed.
- IJN Kurama — the thickness of the armored deck, barbettes, the bow of the armored belt, the sides and rears of the main gun turrets and the decks of the auxiliary caliber turrets have been corrected.
- Z12 Erich Giese, Z15 Erich Steinbrinck, Z47 — the shape and location of the ammunition magazines, fuel tanks and engine rooms have been corrected.
- ML 1383 — the damage model of the 20 mm Oerlikon cannons which were not the same size as the visual model has been fixed.
- SMS Kaiser — the locations of radio room and ammunition magazines have been changed. Fire control room has been added.
Naval Visual models and visual parts:
- USS Barker — the shape of the superstructure and the position of the main caliber on-board guns have been corrected, balconies have been added for the 20 mm Oerlikons.
- Z15 Erich Steinbrinck, Z12 Erich Giese — the shape of side keels has been fixed.
- USS Alaska — the typeface of the name of this ship written on the stern has been corrected.
- PT-808 — the torpedo model has been changed to the correct one.
Localization
- USS Wilkinson — a typo in the name of the gun in the Russian localization has been corrected.
Interface
- A fire control system (FCS) interface has been added to naval vessels. In the upper left corner of the screen where the radar interface is, there is now an indication of the relative position of the player’s ship and the enemy ship in the crosshairs.
- With ship indicators, it is now much easier to assess the exact direction of the enemy’s movement and take the right lead.
- The interface also clearly displays undershoot, overshoot or coverage, indicating the value in meters.
- For those who appreciate accurate shooting calculations, the interface contains information about the heading angle and target speed.
- Take aim at the enemy, wait until the fire control system (FCS) calculations are completed, and the interface will display the position of the enemy vessel, heading and speed.
- The data is updated with each update of the FCS calculations.
- If the vessel is equipped with both an FCS and a radar, the switch between interfaces is performed using the “Toggle radar search on/off” key.
- If all observation posts or the fire control room is destroyed, the display will turn off. After the repair of these modules is completed, the interface will be functional again.
- Changes to the hit camera. The vessel’s hit camera is constantly displayed while the enemy target in the crosshairs.
- The numbers of destroyed and intact modules have been added under the indicators of damage to guns and torpedo tubes. Under the motion indicator, percentage of the enemy’s maximum speed that they can develop at the moment have been added.
- Information about enemy crew losses as a percentage at the bottom of the hit indicator has been added.
- Indication of the threat of a ship colliding with the landscape has been added. The warning sound about approaching shallow water has been replaced.
- Incorrect rotation of the main caliber turrets on AI ships in aircraft missions has been fixed.
- The collision model for AI ships in aircraft missions has been adjusted. An issue of flying through some ships has been fixed
Other
Customization
- The number of positions for placing decorations on ground vehicles has been significantly expanded (mud flaps, protective screens, ERA elements etc).
- Situations where decorations could not be placed on sections of a ship with complex shapes at the bow or stern have been fixed.
- Situations when the placing of decorations was interfered with by internal parts of a ship (bulkheads, pipes, etc) have been fixed.
- The “Game update (2022-2023)” decal collection has been added.
Interface
- The targeting camera interface for TV guided missiles and bombs has been updated. This now displays the viewing angle of a narrow field of view (small rectangle) and target acquisition can be turned off by moving the seeker direction indicator from the center of the captured target.
- Following the Roadmap: The following options have been added to the combat interface settings: “Show ammunition type in the destruction log”, and “Show squadron names in the destruction log”.
- In graphics settings, an option to select on which monitor the client will run has been added.
- In helicopter battle settings, an option to hide the interface in the cockpit view has been added.
- In battle, a current status display has been added to the multi-function menu for the landing gear switch and manual roll control mode buttons.
- When installing weapons on an aircraft that limit the sweep wing angles, a warning notification is now displayed.
- Following the Roadmap: New training missions have been added, which allow you to familiarize yourself with the following weaponry:
- Laser-guided air-to-surface missiles on aircraft with a targeting pod;
- Laser-guided air-to-surface missiles on aircraft with a fixed beam;
- Air-to-surface guided missiles with a TV seeker;
- Air-to-surface guided missiles with a thermal imaging seeker;
- Air-to-air guided missiles with an active radar homing seeker;
- Laser-guided bombs on aircraft with a targeting pod;
- Bombs with a TV seeker;
- Bombs with a thermal imaging seeker;
- Training missions, which allow you to familiarize yourself with weaponry, now can be played with preset vehicles with preset weaponry via the “Tutorial” menu. Previously, these missions could only be launched after receiving a specific modification through the vehicle modification window.
Game mechanics
- Sensor vision rendering in battle replays has been added. To activate, click on the “Sensor view” button while in a replay. This new view transforms the visualization of the battle, allowing you to see a range of different data and the functionality of features such as radars. You are able to filter different types of functions too: Markers, Sensors and Weapon parameters to your liking. More details about this new feature is in our dev blog here.
- In Ground Realistic Battles, the ability to fly a nuclear carrying aircraft without leaving the current controlled vehicle has been added. When the relatively close amount of spawn points has been accumulated, an inactive button for flying the aircraft will appear on the action panel with an indication of the current amount of spawn points. When enough spawn points have been accumulated, the button will become active. Taking off with a nuclear carrying aircraft is available when controlling both ground vehicles and aircraft. It is not possible to switch to the controlled vehicle and back, so make sure to safely position your vehicle before using the nuclear carrying aircraft.
- A bug where the nuclear explosion and the “Doomsday” reward could be issued when the battle was a defeat, and after the battle was finished has been fixed. Now, the reward is only given when a bomb explodes, and the bomb will only explode if at least one team still has points left and the mission is not considered finished.
- In Ground Realistic Battles, the nuclear carrying IL-28 and Canberra B Mk 6 now have an air spawn right above the airfield, like the Tu-4 and B-29. This change is meant to reduce the approach time of these nuclear carrying aircraft to the tank battlefield to the values close to other nuclear carrying aircraft.
- Following the Roadmap: In Ground Realistic Battles, detection zones for enemy aircraft have been added near air spawn zones and helipads. The size of the detection zones depend on the distance between the corresponding team spawn points: if the distance between them is less than 15 km, then the radius of the detection zone is 2 km, otherwise it is 5 km. When a player in an aircraft is in an enemy detection zone, they will not receive any message letting them know this. This is because this message is not as useful in air combat as it is for ground vehicles, however the player in an aircraft will be able to see the detection zones on the mini-map when they are in one. When enemy aircraft are in the detection zone, it is shown to the entire team on the mini-map, regardless of their position and condition.
- In Ground Battles, air defense at nearby helipads have been removed, since they only performed the function of detecting enemies, which is now performed by the detection zone. In Simulator Battles, air defense have also been removed, despite the absence of aircraft detection zones, since air defense shots without damage do not combine with other mechanics in this mode.
- In Ground Battles at a Battle Rating of 1.0-2.7, an airfield with a longer runway is used. This airfield was previously used in sessions at a Battle Rating of 3.0-7.3.
- In Ground Battles, closer airfields and closer spawn points are now used in sessions at a Battle Rating up to and including 7.7, rather than 7.3.
- A bug in Ground Realistic and Simulator battles that caused the last player alive in the team to be considered inactive if they had no respawns left and was at an airfield or helipad (even in a fully operational vehicle) has been fixed.
- In Ground Arcade, Realistic and Simulator battles, as well as in Custom Battles sessions with the option “Keep destroyed units” enabled, the repeated effect of the explosion of ground vehicles when the player who controlled this vehicle respawned has been removed.
- A bug that caused a tow to become detached from a towed destroyed ground vehicle at the moment the player who was destroyed respawns in a new vehicle has been fixed.
- Following the Roadmap: The ability to select any amount of fuel ranging from the minimum to the maximum values for internal fuel tanks before an aircraft spawn has been added.
- In Helicopter battles (PvE), wagers have been disabled because of the absence of enemy players, similar to how it works in the “Assault” mode.
- A bug where AI-controlled aircraft with severe damage were not converted to being destroyed at the end of a battle has been fixed.
- A bug where, in some cases, when writing off a severely damaged aircraft at the end of a battle, the destruction of the enemy was not counted towards the player who inflicted the severe damage has been fixed.
- For severely damaged enemies written off at the end of the battle, the “Finishing off” column of the “Destruction of aircraft” item in the battle results now indicates the value “Mission end (no reward)”, by which they can be easily seen and distinguished from other options.
Graphic
- The visual smoke effect from a missile launched by the player has been made more transparent when aiming through sights. This has solved the problem of smoke interfering with player’s vision while aiming.
- Incorrect effects on ground vehicles after their destruction in water has been fixed.
- A bug that caused sparks from fires to stretch out on maps has been fixed.
- The brightness of the fire effect on ships has been reduced.
- Visual details have been added to the smoke effect on ships.
- More visual details for explosions and hit effects of large caliber shells have been added.
- The visual effect of a plane crashing into ground and exploding has been changed.
Sound
- The Leclerc series have received new engine and track sounds, which are different from the previously used sounds of the Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks.
- The AMX-30 series have received new engine and track sounds, which are different from the previously used sounds of the Chieftain tanks.
- The C1 Ariete series have received new engine sounds, which are different from the previously used sounds of the Leopard 2 tank.
- The HSTV(L) has received its own engine sounds, different from the previously used Abrams sounds.
- The 2A70 gun has received its own firing and reloading sounds, since the gun has a low muzzle velocity and has a specific automatic loader.
- Piston and subsonic jet engine sounds are now accurately positioned on aircraft models. Previously, when the speed of sound emulation was enabled, they followed behind aircraft models, thereby emulating a sound delay.
- A bug when shooting smoke grenades from enemies and allies sometimes caused the sounds of an ATGM passing by to play for a nearby player has been fixed.
- Norwegian ground vehicle crews in the Swedish tree have received Norwegian voice lines.
- The US ground commander’s voice has been changed.
- Video tips have been added for some aircraft modifications.
- La Combattante — the voice acting of the crew has been changed from English to French
Controls
- The ability to control the seeker of air-to-surface missiles and bombs in third-person view has been added. When you turn on the seeker, a mark appears in this view indicating the direction of the seeker coordinator, which follows the mouse pointer and allows the player to lock onto the target by pressing the launch button.
