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Permanent camouflage:

We introduced permanent camouflage. Such camouflage is associated with a specific warship. It is purchased only once and remains available forever (auto-resupply is free of charge). Permanent camouflage provides additional benefits for a given ship.

Version 0.5.2 will bring permanent camouflage for all premium ships. Each premium ship owner will get a camouflage for a relevant ship free of charge. Apart from that, a special New Year’s camouflage for the Cleveland, Nürnberg, Gnevny and Minekaze ships will be released as well.

Signals and achievements:

New signals will be added:

Signal Name Achievement Quantity in Pack Signal Bonus India X-Ray Arsonist 10 + 1% chance to cause fire by bombs and shells of caliber over 160 mm +0.5% chance to cause fire by shells of caliber less 160 mm +5% chance to detonate the magazine (of your own ship, antibonus) Juliet Whiskey Unaone Liquidator 10 +15% chance to cause flooding +5% chance to detonate the magazine (of your own ship, antibonus) November Echo Setteseven Clear Sky 10 + 10% AA efficiency + 10% efficiency of the defensive armament of the aircrafts (rear gunners) November Foxtrot High Caliber 10 – 5% consumables preparation time Papa Papa Solo Warrior 10 +300% free experience per battle Victor Lima Witherer 10 + 1% chance to cause fire by bombs and shells of caliber over 160 mm +0.5% chance to cause fire by shells of caliber less 160 mm +4% chance to cause flooding Zulu Hotel Confederate 10 +50% commander experience per battle

A new achievement – “Top Gun” – is now available. Granted for destroying 5 or more enemy ships in one battle. The reward will be the “Equal Speed Charlie London” signal (+50% XP per battle) previously granted for the “Confederate” achievement). The operation period for the “India Bravo Terrathree” signal has been extended twice: it now provides a -10% discount for repair costs (rather than -5% previously).



Upgrades

Changed the parameters of the Target Acquisition System Modification 1 upgrade: Added the following parameters: +50% to the range of assured acquisition; +20% to the acquisition range of torpedoes.

Arpeggio

Once a player has selected the Yokosuka Port, it becomes possible for that player to access the premium content themed around the Arpeggio of Blue Steel. The content will include Premium ships, Commanders, a Port, sounds and effects . Players will be able to obtain Arpeggio of Blue Steel ships by completing multi-stage combat missions.

After selecting any Port other than Yokosuka, all Arpeggio-themed content will be hidden in the Port and in battles (‘original’ ship models will be displayed instead).

Ships: (will be added gradually)

ARP Kongō

ARP Kirishima

ARP Haruna

ARP Hiei

ARP Myoko

Commanders

Commanders of Arpeggio ships may not be recruited or dismissed. They may only be assigned to Arpeggio ships. They will be provided together with ships.

ARP Kongō

ARP Kirishima

ARP Haruna

ARP Hiei

ARP Myoko

Effects:

Changed the style for certain effects from realistic to Arpeggio:

Explosion of an air bomb when hitting a ship

Explosion of an air bomb when hitting the ground

Destruction of a plane while in the air

Destruction of a plane on the ground

Destruction of a battleship

Main Battery shot

Fire on a ship

Game maps and modes

New maps added:

The Atlantic

An archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Portugal, a strategically important position to control the pathways of the allied Atlantic convoys heading for Africa and Europe, as well as to track the movements of German U-boats.

A large-sized map (20×20 chunks). Game modes: Domination with 3 key areas and Domination with 2 key areas (a.k.a. ‘Standard Battle’).

Battle tiers: 9-10.

Numerous oddly-shaped cliffs in the vicinity of islands.

Shatter

A large-sized map (20×20 chunks). Game modes: Domination with 3 key areas and Domination with 2 key areas (a.k.a. ‘Standard Battle’).

Battle tiers: 9-10

North Atlantic, picturesque islands off the coast of Canada. Not far from here lie intense transportation routes of Northern convoys heading for Europe and Russia.

The following maps have changed:

Islands:

Strait

Fault Line

Two Brothers

Northern Lights

Land of Fire

Trap

Islands of Ice

Added new types of trees and earth mounds.

The island located at E7,E8 was divided into two parts.

Added cities and other onshore facilities.

Added visual effects for smoke coming from house chimneys.

Added cliff peaks on islands.

Added visual effects for smoke coming from house chimneys.

Added cities and other onshore facilities.

Readjusted the spawn positions for destroyers towards the center of the map.

Added cities and other onshore facilities.

Added visual effects for smoke coming from house chimneys.

Added a mist effect above islands in the “Philippines” Port.

Modes/settings for the matchmaker

Added tournament scenarios for the “New Dawn”, “Fault Line”, “North”, “Strait”, “Land of Fire” and “Ocean” maps.

The “Zone” mode is disabled on the following maps: “Ocean”, “Islands of Ice”, and “Trap”.

The “Encounter Battle” mode is disabled on all maps.

Added restrictions for the “Solomon Islands” map to be limited by battles of Tiers II to V (used to be II-VI).

The “Fault Line” map is limited by battles of tiers V to VII (used to be V-VIII).

Readjusted the randomization priorities for maps and modes in the PvE mode. From now on, they will completely coincide with each other.

We have updated the pool of maps for Ranked Battles.

For ships of Tiers V and VI, the following maps will be available:

New Dawn

Fault Line

Strait

Solomon Islands

Big Race

For ships of Tiers VII and VIII, the following maps will be available:

North

Northern Lights

Land of Fire

Ocean

Shatter[SNS1]

The Atlantic

Trap

Hotspot

Islands of Ice

Number of control points varies depending on the map.

Note:

We can remove one or more maps based on the results of the common test. There will be no changes in the specified tiers of ships for the maps.

Ships

For Japanese aerial torpedoes, recalculated the drop distance in automatic mode; torpedoe planes will not run in at a distance that is 15% closer to the target. The torpedo cone for this mode of attack at the intended point of intersection with the target is increased by 14%. Implemented a converging cone for torpedoes launched from Japanese carriers in the manual mode. Increased the efficiency of alternative attacks for all U.S.A. and Japanese fighters by 66%. During an alternative attack, the speed of flight is increased by 15-21 knots depending on the plane. Increased the return speed of U.S. and Japanese offensive aircraft, after dropping bomb loads, by 15-21 knots depending on the plane. Reduced the detectability range of ship-launched torpedoes by 100 m to 500 m, depending on the type of torpedo. For higher tiers, the reduction of the torpedo detectability range is greater. Reduced the maneuverability for ships with displacement exceeding 35,000 tons. The increase in values for a complete rudder shift time (in seconds): Due to a shift to a new mechanism for the calculation of AA operation, the power of AA weapons is now directly dependent on the mounted guns while the guns will be a cross-platform entity. Any change in the characteristics of a gun will bring about automatic changes to the same characteristics on every ship. The transition to a new mechanism resulted in an automatic correction of all local errors and minor changes to the AA gun characteristics for the following ships:

The second type of ship consumables (“Premium consumables”) will receive one additional charge. In case of a through-and-through penetration to the main battery turret, the ship will suffer damage as well. On cruisers, the “Repair Party” consumable may restore up to 33% of damage to the citadel.

Germany:

For the German cruisers Kolberg, Königsberg and Nürnberg, armor slopes are now taken into account in the calculation of protection for the engine and magazine, when hit by HE shell fragments. The probability of damage to the engine room from shells with a caliber below 6 inches (150 mm) or less is reduced to zero. For the Karlsruhe cruiser, the main battery reload time was decreased from 8.57 seconds to 6.5 seconds. For the Karlsruhe cruiser, the traversing angles for the front turrets (towards the opposite ship side) were changed from 25 degrees to 70 degrees. For the Yorck cruiser, the turrets full rotation time was decreased from 51.4 seconds to 34.6 seconds. For the Hindenburg cruiser: the anti-torpedo protection ratios were recalculated.

Japan:

For the Hashidate cruiser: the full damage from an HE shell was reduced from 2,100 to 1,800; For the Zao cruiser, the number of the ship’s hit points (HP) was reduced from 44,900 to 40,800.

U.S.A.:

For the Erie and Chester cruisers, the casemate coating was extended from 13 mm to 22 mm. The hit points (HP) for the Nicholas destroyer were redistributed. 15% of the ship’s HP was redistributed from bow to stern. The firing accuracy of Hull B guns was slightly improved. For the Nicholas destroyer, the option to research artillery guns was removed. From now on, artillery guns will change along with the research of the ship’s hull: the 127 mm/51 Мк7 gun was replaced with the 127 mm/38 Мк21 gun with no option to mount the top gun on the stock hull. Those players who have already researched the artillery gun module, will receive a compensation of 2,500 XP points for the ship, while those who researched and mounted the module on Nicholas will get 2,500 XP points and 210,000 credits. If a player researched the artillery gun module and mounted it, but later decided to exchange it for the stock guns, that player will also receive the same 2,500 XP for the ship and 210,000 credits while the ship will get the guns associated with the hull being used. The Benson destroyer: Hull B was modified. During research, the main gun turret is not removed while the number of hit points (HP) was increased from 12,800 to 15,400. The AA defense mounts were modified: the integral values were increased from 19 to 20 points. For the Pensacola cruiser, the number of guns on Hull A was increased from 8 to 10. For the Omaha cruiser, the bug related to torpedo cameras was fixed.

Russia/U.S.S.R.:

For the Kiev destroyer, the number of hit points (HP) was reduced by 3,000. Damage from the HE shells of B2LM guns was reduced from 1,900 to 1,600; the chances of causing fire were reduced from 9% to 7%. These changes were made in respect of the following ships: Gnevny, Ognevoi, Kiev, Tashkent and Udaloi.

Aviation

We reworked the visual display of the aiming spread for fighters and torpedo carriers. Implemented a parallel, dispersing, converging and self-crossing aiming spread for torpedo carriers. These aiming spreads will be available to players once the relevant settings are enabled for the game units (ships and aircraft).

For fighters, the air assault cone will overlap the landscape rather than be cut off by it. For torpedo carriers, the air assault cone will be cut off by the landscape. If the torpedo drop point is set on the landscape, the cone will not be rendered (displayed).

Minimized the possibility of an assaulting re-run for air groups. From now on, air groups attack ships correctly the first time.

There is a time penalty for instances when an air group is completely destroyed. If a player decides to destroy the remaining aircraft in an air group to quickly launch a new one, the servicing time for that new air group will be increased two times for US aircraft and 3 times for Japanese aircraft. If a damaged air group reaches the carrier and lands on it, no penalty will be applied.

Now, an attack may not be canceled if the air group has already reached the approach point.

Fixed the bug that made it impossible for a player to rotate the lower cone of torpedo carriers in instances when cones were located under one another.

Fixed the bug that caused the final order (set by pressing and holding SHIFT) to be displayed on the air groups panel and on the air group itself rather than the current one.

Karma

We implemented the Karma feature for players, which will be displayed near a player’s nickname in the profile. Karma is calculated as the difference between the number of complements and reports received, and may not be less than zero.

It is prohibited to complement and report players in your division.

If a player is complemented or reported, a system message appears after a battle. The system message for reports will be displayed only if a player has been reported by at least two players.

The system message for complements will show the specific number of people who complemented you (without specifying their nicknames, however).

The system message for reports will contain the following words: “At least two players reported you.”

Selling modules when selling ships; compensation

For any sale of a ship, all modules belonging to this ship will be sold as well (at half price and no more than one unit). If that ship is repurchased, all modules will need to be purchased anew.

The first time the game is launched, following the release of this version, modules currently available in the depot will be sold automatically. Only one unit of each module will remain in the depot for ships that a player already has in the Port.

Attention! As part of this version’s release, the majority of players will receive a large one-time compensation in credits as a result of such sales.

Introductory Mission

Added an “Introductory Mission”, a new battle type available from the Port that allows players to replay the mission under certain conditions (currently, there should be no more than 10 Co-op or Random Battles on a player’s account).

Added an option to select a nation for completing the Introductory Mission (U.S.A. and Japan).

Added a scenario for the Introductory Mission to be accessible on a Japanese ship (Japanese ships against U.S. ships).

Added a message about the lack of server capacity to run the Introductory Mission (if it’s not possible to run it for a particular player).

Improvements for bot-piloted aircraft carriers

Being undetected, bots will carry out patrolling operations from one carrier spawn point to another, choosing between them randomly. Bots will travel straight forward at maximum speed.

Upon detection, bots will try to escape from enemy ships (at maximum speed, too) by making tracks. The bot will stop making tracks and proceed to the patrolling of carrier spawn points as soon as it has remained undetected by enemy ships for 30 seconds. On re-detection, bots will set a course to escape from the enemy.

Aircraft carriers will not attempt to avoid collision with islands any more: in version 0.5.1, a change was introduced whereby carriers and battleships sought to lay their routes bypassing clusters of islands, and sticking to open water. For aircraft carriers, that decision turned out not to be particularly successful, especially on the “Strait” map. It was reversed to make carriers choose the shortest path in setting their course. Given their tendency to stay in the rear, the changes will be nearly invisible, except for maps where carrier spawn points are separated by islands, as on the “Strait” map.

Aircraft carriers will tend to use their fighters more actively.

Chat

We implemented a battle chat channel for Divisions.

It will also be possible to disable messages in the battle chat. Either all messages, or messages from particular players can be disabled. Messages from all players can be disabled directly in the battle screen when the chat is active. Messages from certain players can be disabled in the statistics screen by pressing the TAB button. Messages can be enabled and disabled in the context menu that appears after right-clicking on the name of a particular player.

You cannot send chat messages if messages from all players are disabled.

Quick commands and in-battle reward notifications will remain active regardless of the state of the chat.

The chat will be automatically re-enabled once the battle during which it was turned off is over.

Sound

This version will offer better opportunities for modders to create sound mods in a quick and easy way. At this stage, it is possible to modify voice messages.

Making sound modifications guide

Optimized the high and low sound configurations; implemented a system of priorities for playing sounds.

Added new music tracks.

Added the sound of in-battle transition between the main cameras.

Added new voice messages for the “First Blood” and “Double Strike” achievements.

The sound of quick commands will differ for the player and his teammates (added a radio transmission effect).

Added new complex sounds for ships’ engines.

Added a squeaking sound that is produced once angle turning is enabled (by pressing the QE buttons).

Added a siren to warn the player when his ship has lost 50% of her hit points (HP).

Reworked the general music pattern of the game.

Port

Apart from the new Port selection functionality, we added new Ports as well:

The “New York” Port. A festive evening in the New York of the 1940s with its bright lights, Christmas atmosphere, falling snow, and many recognizable landmarks like the skyscrapers of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. USS Akron can be seen in the sky.

The “Ocean” Port. Inspired by an idea that came from modders, we added the “Ocean” Port, the most lightweight port in the game. It allows the Port to load quicker regardless of PC configurations.

Ships’ screws no longer spin in the port.

Performance characteristics

Implemented the mechanism to display changes in ships’ integral characteristics after the installation of upgrades, flags and camouflage, taking into account all skills mastered by the ship Commander.

Commander management

Implemented an option to display the comparative values of the integral characteristics of a ship in a tool-tip and in the skill-mastering modal window. The comparative values will only appear if a skill directly influences a particular integral characteristic of a given ship.

Implemented a mechanism to cancel the dismissal of a Commander that will operate for a short period of time (at present, 5 minutes).

Added a list of all Commanders to the Personal File to enable a player to switch between Commanders the way they switch between ships.

In case there is a mismatch between a commander’s specialization and the ship that the Commander is assigned to, their basic specialization will be shown separately.

When a Commander is assigned to a ship, a dialog window will show the number of points required for retraining.

Players will be offered a chance to retrain the Commander automatically once he is assigned to a ship, similar to the process of purchasing and mounting ship modules after research; it will also be possible to return to the retraining process at a later stage if initially the player selected the 1st or 2nd retraining option when assigning the Commander.

Browser

Added an option to watch video tutorials using the built-in browser

Until a player has reached the 4th Service Record level, the browser will be accessible through a banner in the Port; once the 4th Service Record level is achieved, the browser will appear in the Escape menu only.

Clock

In the Controls menu, added an option to enable/disable the display of a clock in the Port to show the current time. By default, this functionality is disabled.

menu, added an option to enable/disable the display of a clock in the Port to show the current time. By default, this functionality is disabled. The clock will be displayed on all tabs of the Port.

Miscellaneous

If a camera is rotated in the Port with the right mouse button pressed, the interface fades away to show only the Port and the player’s ship.

Economics

The reward in credits for capturing key areas in the Domination mode has been reduced by 20%. In light of this, and in order to bring the amount of XP and credits earned to our planned values, we changed the reward ratios for the majority of researchable ships. We draw particular attention to a significant increase in the amount of XP and credits earned on ships of Tiers IX and X.

Mini-client

Implemented a mini-client, i.e. a trial version of the game client that makes it possible to join the game without downloading it entirely. The mini-client is about 30% of the size of the complete version of the game.

It offers access to ships of Tiers I and II, including Premium ships, as well as maps for those tiers. For any unavailable functionality and content, the following hint is shown “Available in the full version”.

The full version of the client will continue to download automatically after exiting from the game client. There will also be a “Continue download” button in the Port if the mini-client is launched. When pressed, this button will close the client to resume the download process.

The main restrictions of the mini-client in terms of functionality:

No option to create a Division

No option to be invited to join a Division by another player

No option to select a Port

All warships and maps (except for those mentioned above) are unavailable

System changes

Improved performance of the visual effects subsystem for CPUs with more than 2 cores

Added a ‘borderless window’ screen mode (an option to launch the game client in full screen without the header and the borders.

Now, when a player switches to the full screen mode, by default the resolution of the game client will match the resolution of the desktop, i.e. if the desktop resolution is 1920×1080, a switch to full-screen mode will make the client resolution 1920×1080.

Optimized the game interface in the Port.

The screen with information about missions, challenges and events will now launch faster regardless of the number of challenges.

The lists with challenges and combat missions will now launch faster.

Optimized ship carousel performance for players with numerous ships (application of filters, switching slots, enabling/disabling compact view).

Optimized scrolling for ranks and levels in the player’s Service Record.

Implemented a new technique for the visualization of the solar disc.

Reduced delays related to the generation of water surface normal.

Fixed the flickering bloom issue.

Added an option to change Gamma in the windowed mode, not just in the full screen mode. Any change of Gamma will apply to a 3D scene only.

Updated the legal information about the game.

Fixed the error that caused delays in the reproduction of visual effects when switching between camera modes.

Fixed the visual bug that caused ships to twitch during turns.