Dear Players!

Another round of questions and answers, with War Thunder producer Vyacheslav Bulannikov!

Aviation

— Do you plan on introducing the Fw 191 bomber to the German tech tree? It was an all-metal aircraft!

Not in our upcoming plans (the next 2-3 major releases).

— Will there be more “flying wing” style aircraft?

A quick look at our upcoming plans shows nothing. Perhaps there will be something, but it isn’t coming to mind right now.

Armoured Vehicles

— A question about AI in tank locations. Is there a need for them right now? I see the downside of AI as they unmask sometimes when trying to fire through a hill. Also, AI increases the load on a processor and the computer as a whole. AI are included in battle stats. AI can deal damage to lightly armoured vehicles. Destroying AI is just a wasted use of ammo and it reveals your position.

Yes, we’re considering the question of removing AI in random missions (i.e. additional “plotline” tanks).

— In tank battles, almost all battles take place in clear weather, night and day. Why isn’t there a greater variety of weather conditions and times (for example, the different conditions that can be set in a test drive)? Clouds don’t just hide a robust sun, they also make maps look different due to the altered lighting. On winter maps, clouds are essential for protection against the blinding snow. But most of all, weather conditions would add variety, but instead of that, the weather is always the same. There’s also rain and snow to think about.

Because this is the most pleasant weather for appreciating the game, and the weighting of various weather conditions appearing are configured accordingly.

— Is it planned or possible to remove the targeting reticle of guns in SB in commander view, while maintaining the ability to fire only when aiming through optics? Gun targeting reticles and the ability to fire from the commander view in transit is at the very least unnatural for SB and ruins the serious and hardcore nature of the mode.

We don’t want to make controlling the tank in the game harder than it is in real life. In reality, most tanks are manned by crews of two to five people. In the game, all this responsibility lies with a single player. The current implementation of the aspect of tank control mentioned does not reduce the hardcore nature of the game, but makes it more similar to real life – after all, the commander, with a wide field of view, can tell the gunner where exactly to turn the turret.

— Is it possible to show the tank gun’s bore evacuator operating in the shot animation (white smoke issuing from the barrel immediately after a shot)? It’s nothing, but it would be nice.

Not for now. Maybe in the future.

— Will crew training affect ammunition restocking speed on a capture point? This would be logical considering that an experienced crew would obviously be quicker than newer crews to load up the tank with all the necessities.

It is possible.

— Japanese ground vehicles were added to the game quite a while ago, but nonetheless, it’s missing semi-armour piercing shells and other types of AP shells for 70-120 mm calibre guns. Although it seems they were declared as planned. Did you decide not to introduce them?

For vehicles in the 70-120 mm calibre range, we’ve added all the shells we have enough information for.

— The introduction of rank 6 mean that there will be more wheeled vehicles. Do you plan to redesign the movement physics for them soon? Not to the level of Spintires, of course, but at least add more classical features for wheeled vehicles: wheelspin, driving axle skid, the difference in feeling between forward and rear wheel drive vehicles etc. And also add detail to the DM for damaged wheels (maybe movement physics without one wheel or with a damaged/stuck wheel).

Yes, as a minimum we plan to upgrade the DM with wheeled vehicles for damage to suspension and wheels.

— Right now, if the enemy launches an ATGM and is then killed, the out-of-control ATGM flies directly ahead. However, it should behave like an ordinary fin-stabilized shell, and its trajectory should be very steep due to its low speed. Such an ATGM should not fly to its final aiming point, it should sharply descend toward the ground like an ordinary shell with the same speed – since without control, it has no vertical adjustment. Will this be implemented?

The behavior of ATGMs after control loss greatly depends on the method of aiming the rocket. In some cases, the rocket immediately departs from the aiming line, in others – it can fly a certain distance. Currently the rocket “remembers” the last control input from the shooter, and in this situation the rudders are fixed. So if the rocket was in the process of correcting its flight, it will continue to complete the last command and will leave the target line. If the rocket was already on the trajectory and it got no correction commands just before the connection was lost, then it will fly straight. In our opinion, this is perfectly correct behavior.

— Have you thought about adding a prototype based on the Leopard 1 tank with the Rh120 gun?

We’re considering it.

— Will material properties be given to tank track shoulders and armoured vehicles’ fenders? These parts don’t seem to exist in the armour diagram right now, although in some vehicles there are elements made of structural steel. I’d like their thickness to also influence the action of HE and HEAT rounds, and, as a side bonus, I’d like it to be possible to put decorative stuff on them – guns, for example.

The game currently has over 300 ground vehicle models, and redesigning or doing further work on each of them to add new parts is very labour-intensive, and in some cases completely impossible, since there are limitations on the total number of parts in the Damage Model in a single tank. So we can’t promise that all the fine-walled external parts on all tanks will be part of the DM. However, we’re gradually adding them to tanks where it makes sense to do so – i.e., if the tank meets threats that these parts can help against.

— Will it be possible to customize the command scope or build a rangefinder grid into it?

We don’t have any such plans at the moment.

You can ask your question to the developers on our official forum in the "Questions to the Team" section.