War Thunder game modes are constantly evolving, while offering players an interesting mix of missions, maps, vehicles and diversity of controls options. Today we going to discuss the changes that will occur in the Simulator and Realistic modes. The combined battle bonus challenges, which were popular with the players, will now be available to you at any time. In realistic ground forces battles we will turn off markers that display opposing players, and in simulator air battles we will disable the interface, and will also introduce a daily nation change. But first things first!

Simulator Battles​

The first change you will notice will be the moving of the SB mode option. Now they will be available in a new section "Simulator Battles", which will be near the "Events" and will hold regular air and ground forces simulator battles, as well as an increased amount of simultaneously run special events and you will be able to choose freely between modes and settings that are of interest to you. Beyond that, we will also be implementing a number changes in the modes themselves:

Aviation​

In simulator air battles we will enable an automatic system that switches nations and locations participating in battle, this will be enabled at 11:00 GMT.

A daily change of nations, as well as a shift of nations that are available for certain days of the week, will allow players to test their skills against opponents in various war theatres. Below we provide an example of how the system may work (the final version may differ from one shown):

Furthermore, you will need to learn the position of instruments in the cockpits of your aircraft, as we plan to disable the HUD indicators for aircraft with a modelled cockpit. Now a player has to keep track of his speed, altitude, engine temperature, fuel amount and ammunition count (if the aircraft is equipped with the necessary indicator) himself. Do not forget, it is now possible to turn on the lights in the cockpit (in aircraft fitted with them). Pilots of aircraft without modelled cockpit at the moment, will be able to keep track of important indicators on the interface, just as before.

Ground Forces

The test of absolute simulator battles has created a huge interest among the War Thunder players - no markers and different combinations of available vehicles and locations allowed players to try themselves in the most difficult conditions. Many of you have asked for implementation of it on a regular basis, and that is exactly what we are doing, as this mode will now replace the standard simulator battles. You will have several options of switchable scenarios for the mode with different vehicle sets available in them. Choose the right option for you! Do not forget that markers in this mode are off - use binoculars to determine whether it’s the enemy or an ally on the horizon.

Ground Forces RB ​

We are making changes in realistic ground forces battles as well. It will offer you the usual battles, but the markers on opponents will be disabled. You'll still be able to see markers over your allies in this mode, and the usual mechanics of the RB mode will apply.

Events​

We will increase the number of simultaneously active events for all three modes. SB events will be located in the SB section and other events will be located in the Events tab, which is already familiar to you.

The changes are planned to be implemented within the next week. Please leave your feedback on our forums!