Today we’re showing you a selection of the most interesting visual effects coming in the Eagle’s Shadow major update!

Muzzle Flashes

Let’s start with muzzle flashes. We’ve completely reworked them for tank and naval guns, using original photos and videos as a reference. The update covers all calibers, from 12.7 mm machine guns to 460 mm battleship guns. Shots now look even more realistic, as the flash, shape and intensity are matched to each class of gun. Smoke and gas from the shot also rush after the fired projectile, which is how it works in real life and adds weight and direction to the shot. The flash is now brighter and sharper, with air distortion effects. When tank guns fire, the shock wave lifts dynamically, settling dust into the air. For ships, we’ve added new effects of interaction with water. When a shot is fired, foam, ripples and a dust wave raised by the muzzle blast appear on the water surface.

Ground Impacts

We’ve also improved dust effects when large shells hit and bombs fall on ground surfaces. A dust cloud now rises at the impact point, slowly settles and spreads with the wind. This additional dust effect gives a better sense of a heavy shell striking the ground in ground vehicle battles. The dust cloud no longer disappears instantly, instead it dissipates for a long time and swirls in turbulence.

Smoke Trails from Bullets and Shells

Remember what the trails from bullets and autocannon shells look like in action movies and WWII gun camera footage? In the Eagle’s Shadow update, we’ve worked on the smoke trails from all bullets and shells in the game. If previously smoke trails looked like flat ribbons, now smoke is perceived as a true volumetric trail: it twists in turbulence, drifts with the wind, and looks inhomogeneously volumetric depending on the viewing angle. You can now read machine gun bursts in greater detail which is especially important in dogfights, where often only by tracers can you determine where fire is coming from.

The trail starts thin at the bullet or shell and widens over time, so the smoke disperses and thins out like real smoke. In the first meters from the muzzle, the trail fades smoothly so that it doesn’t obstruct the view. On ricochet, the old smoke trail breaks off, and a new one begins at the point of impact.

These changes apply to all bullet and shell types with tracers, from rifle-caliber machine gun bullets to autocannons, tank and naval guns in calibers from 5 up to 460 mm. For systems that do not support the new trails, the familiar sprite trails remain, with the same colors and lengths.

Flame Exhaust

The Eagle’s Shadow major update introduces a new visual mechanic: flame exhaust for ground vehicles with gasoline and carburetor engines. From time to time, a short flame bursts from the exhausts with a sound familiar to anyone who has ever heard a forced engine running at low RPM!

Flame from the exhaust is configured individually for each tank. For some vehicles it is modest and almost unnoticeable, whereas for other vehicles it shows voluminous flames. The flame exhaust effect works under several conditions. First, when the engine starts at the beginning of a battle or after it is shut down. Fire from the exhaust also appears after repairing a tank’s engine on the battlefield. In addition, with some probability, flame exhaust occurs when a tank has been static for a while and starts moving again. Finally, exhaust fire may appear if the vehicle has run into something and you keep pressing the gas but barely move.

Exhaust fire works differently when the engine is damaged. If the ignition is broken but the vehicle can still move, exhaust flames occur on their own, both while moving and while static with the engine running. As soon as the engine is completely disabled and the tank can no longer move, the flame exhaust stops and only smoke remains.

Brake Lights

Another small but important detail for the atmosphere of the game is brake lights on ground vehicles. In the Eagle’s Shadow update, we’re beginning to add working brake lights for ground vehicles that have these lights in real life. The brake light activates during sharp braking or a change of direction.

Bullet Hits on Aircraft

For aircraft, we’ve reworked the effect of bullets and fragments hitting the fuselage and wing panels, where a fire or smoke trail appears at the puncture point. We fixed the positioning of this effect, as previously it could appear slightly behind or even in front of the hit point. Fire and smoke effects have been remade, fire now looks more natural and smoke trails in a thin stream, swirling in turbulence.

Nozzle Smoke

We got rid of the misalignment between the smoke trail from the nozzles of missiles and jet aircraft and the flame effect, which was previously noticeable during sharp maneuvering. Smoke now leaves the nozzle strictly along the body of the aircraft and missile; in air combat it is easier to read and track its path.

Flashes from Incendiary and HE Shells

In Second World War gun camera footage, bright white flashes at the impact points of incendiary and high-explosive bullets and shells are clearly visible. These flashes are now in our game too. The effect is added for bullets and shells of ground vehicles and aircraft. When an incendiary or HE shell detonates, a bright flash forms at the impact point.