War Thunder. First impression of tanks

As an avid fan of the appearance of German tanks, I spent a lot of time in World of Tanks. But at some point I abandoned this game - the gameplay became boring, and the local developers were too lazy. WoT's main competitor, War Thunder, recently received a major update that caught my attention. And for good reason - update 1.67 brought me back to tank games.

As mentioned, I haven't touched any tank games for about 2-3 years. During this time, World of Tanks has changed a lot (as far as I heard), but WarThunder has not stood still. I tried this game back in the day and didn't really like it, but now it's been refined and polished. First, a few words about the main gameplay.

Hardcore gameplay motivates you to become better

Initially, the big difference between World of Tanks and War Thunder was the hardcore gameplay in the creation from the company Gaijin. A less random penetration system and a realistic tank behavior system were implemented a few years ago, and over time it was all polished. On a heavy tank you can get a one-shot from a medium tank. This will scare many away from the game, but such a system motivates more to become better - it teaches you to use the features of the map for the so-called “positioning”.

Experience shows that survival on the WarThunder map depends on the player's knowledge of the area and experience. You can take some kind of imba like the American T29 and stand so that one tower is visible, or you can carefully drive along the edge of the map and take the position of a sniper on a self-propelled gun. Variability is present, and its understanding comes gradually.

Regarding aircraft, I can say that I personally am not a fan of air battles. But in WarThunder they are, perhaps, implemented better than other games. A large selection of real aircraft models, dynamic gameplay and the same hardcore nature. After all, these same developers once worked on the IL-2 Sturmovik series.

Best Technique Update 1.67

From left to right: Ru 251, Sturmpanzer II, IS-6, 29-K and FV4005

It so happened that my favorite nation in tank games received some very good vehicles. The German branch has acquired an excellent premium tank Ru 251. A very fast machine that perfectly balances the entire line of German tanks. At mid-ranks, Germany has almost no fast vehicles that could quickly take positions in the first minutes of the battle. Now Ru 251 can do this.

This reconnaissance tank reaches speeds of up to 80 km/h in arcade mode, and even more in realistic mode. In a collision with even the most armored tanks, a penetrating gun, for which cumulative shells are available, will help. Of course, there is no smell of armor here, but the tank is agile and punchy. In the War Thunder 1.67 update, I liked playing Ru 251 the most.

Another new product in the German line is a self-propelled gun Sturmpanzer II. This funny self-propelled gun is a real killer and stealer in its combat rating. All thanks to the 150 mm cannon, which fires powerful high-explosive shells. They will be fatal to any equipment you encounter in battles. The local eight-cylinder engine makes it easy to change position - the main thing is not to get under fire. A funny feature of the Sturmpanzer: the vehicle rolls back slightly after firing from its cannon - you can feel the power of the weapon. Little things like this add realism to the game.

Objective update imba - IS-6. This premium tank is definitely worth the money spent on it. This is a mobile heavy vehicle with good frontal armor and an excellent weapon. Its only weak point is the gun mantlet. The tank can easily one-shot into it, but experienced players are unlikely to expose this small area to attack.

The most interesting vehicle in the update from a gameplay point of view is the Soviet anti-aircraft gun 29-K. Essentially, this is a 76mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on the good old YAG-10 truck. This mix was actually used during the Great Patriotic War. On the battlefields of War Thunder, such an anti-aircraft gun brings a lot of pleasure to the game. Firstly, it is fast - you can quickly change your position. Secondly, its gun is very powerful - it penetrates almost everyone (except perhaps “Mouse”). And thirdly, it all looks quite funny and unusual.

The rest of the cars are typical average cars. The American T34 is much inferior to the imbricated T29. The "Barn" FV4005 is a fun vehicle that can punch through any tank in the game, but its gameplay will disappoint many with its huge turret without armor. They actually made fun of the Japanese a little by releasing the Type 60 ATM missile armored personnel carrier.

Single player mode for PvE

One big drawback of many multiplayer games is the lack of a good single player mode for farming local currency on bots. War Thunder recently got rid of this problem. The so-called “Storm” mode appeared. It can only be played on airplanes for now. You can play alone against bots or with friends or random players.

Guiana Plateau - a new map where you can farm bots by plane

The idea behind Sturm is this: in the case of airplanes, you need to protect your base from enemy bombers. Any equipment in the hangar participates. The developers encourage participation in the “Storm” with separate rewards - amplifiers for farming. Thus, you can farm bots to upgrade your equipment if you don’t want to bother too much in standard battles, where you can fly away from a one-shot.

The main thing in Assault is to kill bots as quickly as possible, but this is difficult to do. It is important to choose the right fast equipment with a good weapon. Otherwise you will fail. To be honest, the mode is not yet balanced, since the bots take out the base too quickly, and it is difficult to destroy enemy bombers, even if they are computer. “Assault” for tanks will appear soon.

What's the result?

All of the above is only part of the major update War Thunder 1.67. The first big update of 2017 brought many redesigned vehicle models - both tanks and aircraft. Two new locations have appeared - one for air battles, and the second for ground battles. And much, much more that makes me happy. The guys from Gaijin properly support their game by developing the all-in-one concept. Ships will soon be tested to join the planes and tanks.

Naval battles are already being tested

War Thunder is a multi-level game where everyone will find their favorite technique, their own play style and their own mode. However, the network code remained "with quirks". Several years ago, when I first got acquainted with this game, I saw flying tanks, overturned cars, and more. I saw this a couple of times in update 1.67. In general, this did not bother me much, since such bugs happened to other players.

We can also say that, compared to World of Tanks, the creation of the “snails” is much more hardcore, even in arcade game modes. This scares off a lot of players. But it is enough to spend about 50 battles, and even the most casual player will become an inveterate tanker and pilot.

War Thunder is a well-known project that has already proven itself. It is known to many as a next-generation military MMO game dedicated to the military equipment of World War II. From the very start, aviation, armored vehicles and a flotilla were announced. The emphasis is on battles, on the main theaters of military operations.
The universe was not divided into separate game projects; within one battle, players can test out different types of equipment. We waited and waited for this; on May 16, the War Thunder 1.41 update was released. The main change is access to ground vehicles. Adding armored vehicles is as easy as adding planes before. The “Research” tree is designed by analogy with aviation.

Aviation is not forgotten in this update either. New cars have been added to each nation. The USSR received: Il-10 with an AM-42 engine (4th rank), I-185 with an M-71 engine (4th rank), MiG-3 with an AM-35A engine (2nd rank); USA: North American PBJ-1H (3rd rank), North American PBJ-1J (3rd rank); Germany: Messerschmitt Me.262A-1a/U4 Pulkzerstorer (5th rank), Messerschmitt Me.262C-2b HeimatschutzerII (5th rank); UK: Supermarine Spitfire FMk.XIVe (4th rank), Supermarine SpitfireFMk.XIVc (premium) (4th rank), Supermarine SpitfireFMk.XVIIIe (4th rank).

Returning to tanks, combat vehicles are currently available in two nations - the USSR and Germany. The branches are initially well filled. There are various types of equipment, the only thing missing is self-propelled guns. Here it is implemented in the form of an artillery shelling request. Anyone, even a low-level light or medium tank, can change the balance of power by requesting support. An excellent and balanced decision.

Having studied the branches of tanks, one immediately notices the absence of “paper” projects. Only vehicles that actually existed and were tested in battle. There are no German E-series tanks here, no artificially “stretched” post-war tanks. I would like to believe that this principle will continue to be preserved, and not given up for the sake of filling the branches with dubious models.

According to first impressions, the equipment turned out to be well balanced, tanks at the same level fight almost on equal terms, and the balance is really brought up to historical levels. Now this is reflected, for example, in the advantage of self-propelled guns in Germany at the initial levels, opposed to the tanks of the USSR; later the situation changes: the former get smart tanks at their disposal, and the latter increase the power of self-propelled guns.

Having the opportunity to compare the main projects in this topic and contrasting it with the famous World of Tanks, I would like to note the superiority of the graphical component of the area. In War Thunder, these are detailed maps with the smallest details, objects on the ground do not look like cardboard models, the landscape here really is a landscape.

Recently, the issue of physics has often been raised. After riding tanks for several days, I note the advantage in terms of interaction between tanks and objects on the map. And the tanks themselves have become more dynamic and responsive to the player’s actions. Tanks can drift, get stuck, and roll over. And pay attention, if the track is damaged, the tank does not remain helpless, waiting for two textures to be pulled onto the polygon. Each caterpillar works independently; if one is damaged, the body can be tightened. All these are little things, but these little things add up to the overall impression of controlling a tank, rather than a simple cube in the shape of a tank.

Realism is an equally important component of this genre. In War Thunder there is no HP as such; tanks receive and deal realistic damage. During battles there is excitement and the effect of surprise; the health of tanks, like the aircraft themselves, does not fly off in case of any hit, even a small one. The second point is the absence of markers as such. Each part of the tanks is a physical model; the same tank barrel here is just a barrel, and not a meaningless texture.

In conclusion, I would like to note the joint flights of aircraft and tanks. It feels like at the moment in the battles there is a preponderance of forces on the side of aviation. During the entire testing period, I was not able to shoot down a single enemy attack aircraft. But, apparently, this point will be improved in the future; a number of combat vehicles are equipped with an anti-aircraft machine gun. I assume that this option will work like shelling in the form of an activation button. How it will be in reality, time will tell. Now joint active actions on the ground and in the air create a general feeling of an active combat battle.

The War Thunder 1.41 update turned out to be bright and rich. Considering that the project is still at the MBT stage, there is still a lot of interesting things ahead of us.

Hello everyone, friends. To begin with, I would like to wish you a Happy New Year.

Well, let’s actually move on to the topic of the post. Because The snails slightly relaxed the sphincters in relation to the NDA, so I decided to do a little analysis. But first, a brief background.

I got into the second wave. I did a few tasks and bought a packet. This is where the prehistory ends)))

First impressions

Purely positive. Even at the PTA stage, it beats its competitors (hello potatoes) into snot. Although there is not much technology, let’s not forget the CBT.

Advantages over competitors:

• Gameplay. For me, it’s much more pleasant than in potatoes (IMHO - I have an opinion you can’t argue with)
• Grafooon. Well, where would we be without him? Even now he is very pleasant.
• Historicity. There will be no paper projects here, which I am incredibly happy about, because...
• Less influence of randomness. There are no hits with a half-kilometer spread, or, conversely, misses with a full sighting.
• Real DM model. NO THESE DAMN HP. This is just a huge plus. Because there is no targeting of turrets, hatches and everything else..)
• Sound. Potatoes gave way here too (well, not as much as everywhere else). The tanks feel really “alive”.
• Physics. She, unlike what cannot be named, was present from the very beginning. Yes, there may be bugs, but it’s better than any other root vegetable out there.
• More adequate balancing system. I can’t say that it absolutely suits me on airplanes (I can’t say anything about tanks, everything is fine), but it’s better than its competitors, there is no neglect of historical parameters for the sake of balance.
• Availability of full control of the tank (for example, independent switching of the limit switches)
• Mixed battles between tanks and aircraft, and in the future also with ships.

Let's analyze =) Tundra is better in almost everything, but the small (does not mean bad) development team and the absence of an army of hamsters bringing money into the game still have an effect. I urge..just kick it (whether it’s a joke or not, decide for yourself) #exciting#.

Well, we hope that this won’t happen to this wonderful game.

That's all for now, everyone. I think today I’ll post a couple of screenshots from the test.

Currently in the game there are two technological tank branches of two countries - the USSR and Germany. In the future it is planned to add the USA, Japan and the UK. Let's look at those already present in the game.

In total, the game provides five types of tank equipment:

1. Lightweight - for reconnaissance and artillery support.
2. Medium - for breaking through enemy flanks and destroying light ground vehicles.
3. Heavy - used to protect the main forces.
4. Anti-tank self-propelled artillery installations - for cover and protection from enemy attacks.
5. Anti-aircraft installations - for countering aviation and destroying air targets.

Below are screenshots of the Soviet development branch. Click the mouse to enlarge the pictures.

The branches, in turn, are divided into ranks as they progress, of which there are only five. Let's look at the ground vehicles of the Soviets by rank in the game War Thunder:

1. The entry level includes tanks BT-7, T-26, T-28, T-60, T-70 and ZIS-30. It is not necessary to open all the branches; first, you can upgrade the equipment that you think is more necessary at this stage of the game.
2. The second rank already allows you to decide on the further specifics of the equipment and your preferences for the type of game, and includes good intermediate samples, such as E-80, T-34 1941L11, T-34 1941, T-34 1942, KV-1, KV-1 ZIS-5 and SU-76M.
3. The third rank can already be called “playable” for solid farming and further development of your tanks (one KV-2 is worth something). T-34-57, T-34-85, KV-2 1939, IS-1, SU-85, SU-85M.
4. In the fourth, the specifics and the best representatives, in our opinion, of tank destroyers are already visible. SU-100, T-44, T-34-85, IS-2, ISU-122 and ISU-122S.
5. Well, the top of the military technological branch of the USSR is the reward for passing the previous ranks, the best representatives of that time - IS-3, ISU-152, IS-4M and T-54-1951.

The German development branch in the game War Thunder is almost the same in complexity as the Soviet one for completing and discovering new equipment.

By rank, German ground vehicles in the Var Thunder game are distributed as follows:

1. The first initial rank includes - PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf.A, PzKpfw II Ausf.C, PzKpfw II Ausf.F, PzKpfw III Ausf.E, PzKpfw III Ausf.F, PzKpfw IV Ausf.C, StuG III Ausf. A.
2. At the second rank, you should already decide on the priority of the development of the branch and the type of equipment. PzKpfw III Ausf.L, PzKpfw III Ausf.M, PzKpfw IV Ausf.F, PzKpfw IV Ausf.F2 and StuG III Ausf.F.
3. The third rank is intermediate and interesting in it are the tank destroyers. Jagdpanzer IV, PzKpfw V Ausf.D, PzKpfw IV Ausf.H, PzKpfw IV Ausf.G and PzKpfw VI Ausf.H1.
4. Those who reach the fourth rank become owners of good cars with excellent “killer” and dynamic characteristics. Includes Ferdinand, Jagdpanther, PzKpfw V Ausf.G, PzKpfw V Ausf.A and PzKpfw VI Ausf.B.
5. Well, the top of the German tank branch includes some of the best representatives - Panther II, PzKpfw V Ausf.F and PzKpfw VI Ausf.B mit KwK46. The Maus line is not yet considered in the game.

Which country should you start with the ground vehicles branch? The balance of the game does not allow us to give precise recommendations on choosing a nation, and each player probably has his own preferences in technology, but we still dare to recommend pumping both branches in parallel to at least the third rank; someone will probably like the clumsy power of the advice, or maybe vice versa - More tactically flexible, but weaker in terms of fire, German technology at the initial stage of development of the branch. But the Soviet branch is still considered the easiest at the beginning of the game.

Types of ground combat in the game War Thunder.

The game provides three types of battles for tanks in Var Thunder:

1. Arcade.
2. Realistic.
3. Simulator.

To begin with, we advise you to choose the option of arcade battles, since in them you have the opportunity to see the impact location of a projectile fired by your tank, which in turn makes it possible to “get your teeth into” accurately hitting the weakest modules of enemy tanks. If your tank is hit at the beginning of the battle, then the arcade version provides the opportunity to continue the battle for the selected country by transferring to another tank from the hangar. The mode is good for earning silver, although it gives less experience points than in other modes.

The more complex and “expensive” type of combat in War Thunder in terms of gaining combat experience is realistic. Here you need to use all your gaming skills and the skills of your crew. There is no possibility of changing the vehicle selected before the battle and re-entering after the destruction of your tank. The controls are complicated - without markers or distance indicators to the target. Increased experience is given for destroying enemy equipment, but a lot of money is taken to repair your own. As a rule, they participate in Battles at more “mature” ranks and top tanks. The battles have a historical basis and involve the battle of one nation against another.

Tank crew in War Thunder. Upgrading combat skills.

The crew of ground vehicles in the game always consists of five people: a tank commander, a gunner, a driver, a gunner-radio operator and a loader. Each one here has its own combat characteristics that increase the overall combat damage from your vehicle. Let's take a closer look at the specialties of each.

Tank commander. There are five skills to learn - survivability, leadership, machine gun shooting, vigilance and field repair. You can choose leadership as a priority to study, which improves the characteristics of the crew as a whole.

Gunner. The five combat characteristics for the gunner are survivability, vigilance, field repair, ranging and guidance. Here the recommendations depend on your preferences for the battle mode in the game - if you mainly play or plan to participate in arcade battles on this machine, then you should improve the range detection, since it is most important in this mode. And if you are a supporter of realistic or simulator battles, then you should pay attention to guidance.

Driver mechanic. There are four combat skills: driving, vitality, vigilance and field repair. The absolute first characteristic here is to improve driving, which increases the combat vehicle’s maneuverability and braking speed.

Charging. There are also four combat characteristics: vigilance, survivability, field repair and gun loading. Here, of course, we first pump up the loading of the gun, which will increase the rate of fire of our gun.

Gunner-radio operator. It is possible to upgrade as many as six perks: survivability, vigilance, field repair, radio communications, shooting from a course machine gun and reloading a course machine gun. First of all, we download the specialized skill - radio communications.

It is noticeable that in addition to the basic characteristics of the military specialty, there are also general ones that increase the skills of the crew - survivability and field repair.

In addition to pumping up the crew's combat skills, the Var Thunder game has an additional feature for a general increase in performance - this is qualification.

It should be remembered that in order to gain qualification, the crew must be pumped up to one hundred percent level.

Modules and improvements for tanks in War Thunder.

Modules and additional equipment of tanks in the game are divided into three types:

1. Mobility.
2. Firepower.
3. Security and camouflage.

The mobility section includes all maneuverability and speed of movement of the vehicle. Includes the ability to pump up the tracks to improve traction and ability to overcome various obstacles on the maps. The suspension and braking system improve the handling and overall dynamics of the tank in the game War Thunder. The transmission is responsible for the gearbox and control rods, which has a positive effect on control.

Firepower modules are responsible for tank improvements related to weapons; the turret drive adjusts and lubricates the vehicle's turret rotation mechanism itself and slightly increases the speed and smoothness of rotation. Artillery support allows you to call in artillery fire at a specified point, but it should be remembered that only light and medium tanks have this ability.

Security and camouflage allows you to install modules that improve additional protection for the vehicle using padded armor and reduce visibility for enemy tanks and aircraft. We hope our guide to tanks and crew skills in the game Var Thunder will help you quickly upgrade your combat vehicles and defeat more opponents in the vastness of the game.

What will happen at the start of the ground launch?

When ground vehicles are launched in War Thunder, two development trees will be available - Germany and the USSR. Then, of course, new countries will be added.

Players who play War Thunder using a tablet will only face players with tablets and nothing else.

If you buy a Playstation 4 for this game, then good news awaits you - all console players will compete not only with PS4 owners, but also with PC users. Cross-platform multiplayer in action!

During launch, six dozen tanks will be available to players, but in a very short period of time the fleet of armored monsters will increase by another 90 units.

The quality of the landscape will be 1000 times higher!

Despite the stunning graphics, War Thunder can also be played by those with weaker PCs using a variety of graphic settings.

Support for SLI technology will be introduced.

All virtual reality systems like Oculus Rift are supported.

There are very big differences between historical and arcade battles. For example, in historical battles, repairs are more plausible, damage is much more detailed, and the speed of tanks is lower.

Absolutely all types of ammunition will be available!

The video clearly shows how a person is simply stunned by the quality of the visual component of tanks in War Thunder. If this highest level of graphics development is complemented by fairly (moderately, of course) realistic gameplay, then it seems to me that this will benefit Wargaming, since it is the players who always benefit from competition.

We should also not forget that all this tank splendor will take place on one map while planes are also fighting on it. Taking, for example, an IL-2 and dying on it, you can immediately switch to a tank on the same map!

However, don't think that planes will kill tank gameplay due to the fact that they can be easily blown up. This is far from true, because a 20mm caliber is not enough to penetrate armor, and most bombs require a direct hit on the tank to destroy it, which is quite difficult to do. In addition, the maps are designed in such a way as to make it difficult for bombers to aim.

Well, tankers, it’s time to sum it up. While writing this article, I couldn’t shake the feeling that War Thunder is a new word in the genre of tank arcade simulators. If everything is at the level that the developers talk about, then the leader is clear. I, for one, would prefer a game with well-developed mechanics than a project whose goal is to add more, more, more tanks, as has been happening with World of Tanks for the last year. And I am by no means a fan of the same Tundra, because I already have 15 thousand battles in World of Tanks, but if the development of World of Tanks continues in the same direction as now, the transition to War Thunder is inevitable, if, of course, there is enough Interesting. And this same interest has been repeatedly confirmed.

There are only a few months left before the appearance of the tanks, as the developers assure that it will be possible to test ground vehicles this year, and visitors to Igromir will be able to do this during the exhibition.

In the meantime, the developers are preparing tanks for release, you can enjoy flying on airplanes:

Impressions from the closed display of ground vehicles in War Thunder: