Dear players,

We have another round of questions and answers for you, with War Thunder producer Vyacheslav Bulannikov!

Armoured Vehicles

Q. Regarding American tank shells, can you tell us anything about current reports and issues? For example the T33 performance and muzzle velocity? Will you also consider adding the missing T50E1 round for the T32 / T32E1 as it has been suggested for quite some time.

A. We are looking at such questions but with the proviso that we don’t want and don’t plan to implement into the game the parameters of shell durability at least for regular composite shells. And about known bug reports we can say the following:

• Implementation of the T50E1 shell - even though the ballistics are generally close to or similar to the ballistics of the T41 shell, this particular shell will use another, more durable alloy. As mentioned above, we don't want to implement shells parameters which is related to durability characteristics.
• T33 shell — the fixes for this shell are planned and will be done. We will revisit its initial speed as well as the slope-effect parameters for AP shells.

Q. Does anti-spall liner effect work for those tanks which had it in real life?

A. Yes it works, at the moment all vehicles in the game that used a spall liner of some sort have them or will be added in the future as more data becomes available. Spall liner in the game stops the weakest shards from the fragmentation cone, therefore in effect decreasing after-penetration effect. Post war Soviet tanks have radiation liners, that works similar to anti-spall, but only for the tiniest shards.

Q. Are you planning to make the automatic loader a damageable module? It is quite extensive and fragile. Let's make it that its damage will decrease the reload time.

A. It is not planned for now but we are not ruling out implementation by analogy with ship elevators. It just needs some time.

Q. Should we expect a change in the view mode for the ground vehicles? Especially by taking into account of the implementation of new more modern vehicles?

A. Not planned for now.

Q. One of the biggest requests for Ground Forces for some time has been the implementation of regenerative steering. This affects many tanks as the game treats all of them as clutch based, so lots of tanks (mostly postwar and higher tier) suffer huge losses of speed whilst turning. Can you tell us if you have plans to address this or need more information? 

A. Yes we're looking at it.

Q. Are there any plans for more obvious differences between tank RB and SB? For now the only major difference is the location of the camera on the tank. 

A. If you analyse it closely, you will see that the differences between two game mods are more significant. The absence of allied markers changes the gameplay in ground SB. So far we don’t have any plans to change the mechanics of these game modes.

Q. Several updates ago, you tested drastic improvements to APCR and APDS on the dev server, however these changes did not make it to the live server and have not been tested since. Can you tell us if you have to revisit these plans or improve the post-penetration effects of these rounds if not?

A. Yes, the conversation of the APCR/HVAP penetration based on the formula is planned, but earlier iterations contained a number of inaccuracies. After they are fixed and the calculated values are close to the reference values this mechanics will be tested again. APDS shells are also planned to be reworked but will most likely be revised after APCR/HVAP.

Aircraft

Q. There are a lot of questions to implement soviet giant-aircraft K-7. Is it in the plans?

A. It's a very specific vehicle. Its appearance in the research tree is not planned not only because of its dubious efficiency, but also because of the very mediocre flight characteristics.

Q. You have done very cool radar station mechanics, but there is no one to shoot down at the top ranks. There is no aircraft entering the attacker zone in the range of anti-aircraft (except 2C6). Maybe you need to lower the requirements for aviation at the highest ranks?

A. We will analyze the statistics on the use of aviation at the higher ranks and will make a decision based on the results. In addition we are reworking and improving the radar warning system to make it more convenient to use.

Q. Jet Aviation is developing more and more, however a consistent problem jets have always faced in game is lack of fuel in certain situations. Is there any new plans for the addition of external / droppable fuel tanks for aircraft that had them? 

A. Not planned for now but we do not exclude the implementation of such a system.

Helicopters

Q. Are radio warfare systems for aircraft and helicopters in development? How close are they to be added to the game?

A. At the moment we’re refining the radar warning systems to make them more convenient and informative. In particular, different warnings for radar and homing lock, more precise positioning of the radiation source, etc. In future, we will probably consider radio warfare, or even anti radar missiles.

Q. The aircraft have new construction parts which can be shot off. How is it with such things in helicopters? Sure they have less construction parts but is it also possible to expand the range of damage: vibrations, incorrect operation of the propeller pitch, damages on the ATGM guidance system, etc.?

A. At the moment helicopters have a damage system which is similar to the system on aircraft but taking into account the design features of the former, such as propeller shafts and transmissions. For now we are satisfied with this detailing of the Damage Model. In general the logic of the realisation for any system in the DM is quite simple: it should give new and interesting gameplay - either for the shooter (in this case you need to be able to hit any specific part separately) or for those on whom are fired upon.

Q. Are there any plans to add to the helicopter vehicle card such important parameter as the range of the ATGM?

A. Yes, this information should be added to the vehicle card. In addition, we have some ideas on how to refine the helicopters HUD - there is room for displaying the permitted launching range.

Q. The Americans and British also had the H-34 (Westland Wessex to the British) which were both capable of a range of armament presents. Is it possible we will see these variants in their respective trees as well as the current French H-34?

A. There is a chance.

Q. Are there any chances for lightly armed scout helicopters with a scouting mechanic that could work like light tanks? Certain current ones such as the Gazelle could also be considered for this. 

A. We have some doubts about that. Unlike light tanks the helicopter can overview the whole location from one point which will made such scouting too easy for them. For sure the presence of anti-aircraft missile systems complicates it a little, but still you can stay out of the range of anti-aircraft missile system and observe the entire map. That’s why to award such scouting on the same way as light tanks is not right.

Navy

Q. Its been some time since the VS-8 appeared during the minefield test event, can you tell us any news about mines and this vessel in particular?

A. The last patch in terms of the fleet was very large and we simply didn’t have time to implement mines on different platforms but we do have plans for such a type of weapon.

Q. Is there any news regarding any progress for Submarines? Is it something being internally tested or has it been ruled out for now? Whilst they are slow, there are many slower vessels in game (Siebel Ferries, LCS, Flower Class) and we have plenty of Anti-Submarine vessels at lower ranks. 

A. Not yet.

Q. Lots of the newer larger vessels have beautifully modeled aircraft on them that we don't yet have in game yet. Is there any chance these aircraft will be introduced?

A. There are chances that this aircraft has some combat value in the game. But it is also required to understand that aircraft models for ships are created a little easier than full-fledged models for players, so it will be needed to create such models from scratch.

Q. Are there plans to develop the fleet for any other nations besides Japan?

A. Yes, there are some plans. And even more - we are already working on this.

Other

Q. Are there any works in progress regarding totally/full destructibility?

A. Destructibility has already been working within acceptable limits for a long time. Large houses fall apart, taking damage from shells of sufficient power. But we need to take care about performance values on the client side as well as about gameplay in which buildings often play an important role - and total destructibility can harm the balance.

Q. How do the developers assess the last launch of the World War? Should we wait for radical changes in the mechanics of it (for example possibility of fleet participation or the awarding the commanders with the points)?

A. In our opinion yes it was very good! In the first season of the World War several thousand squadrons took part and helped us to improve this game mode. In the future we don’t exclude the appearance of the fleet in battles and additional motivation for the squadron commanders.

The War Thunder Team