Dear players,

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

Aviation

Q. Do you have plans to include Germany’s F-4F model? We already have the F-4E that it was based on and F-4EJ. It would also be nice to see the F-4J and F-4J(UK) at some point perhaps in tabs with the F-4C and FGR.2 respectively. 

It’s too early to say, but it is possible. 

Q. Can you tell us what's the progress with the decision on J35D’s RB24J missiles? Right now it's really subpar compared to the F-4E/EJ and MiG-21s that not only have better performance, but better missiles too. RB24J is equivalent to the AIM-9J on F-4E.

We have already answered this question. Initially, the J35D was estimated as a rather capable jet fighter even without advanced guided missiles. If statistics shows us that they are required, such missiles could be added in future.

Q. Almost all NATO top jets (F-4s, T-2, G.91s, Lightning, Super Mystere etc) always receive multiple unique and interesting skins. However so far, MiG-19 and MiG-21 for both the USSR and Germany have only bare metal skins. There are numerous camouflages and more interesting liveries used by both the Soviet air force and East German air forces for these aircraft, can we expect to see them?

Unfortunately, almost all MiGs historically served unpainted. We are eagerly trying to find more spectacular variants. 

Q. Are there any analogues of the “manual input of the sight range” in the plans for aviation? Not like the settings before the battle, but directly in the battle for the vehicles where it was possible.

If you are talking about the guns convergence, then no.

Q. Would you like to add to the multifunctional menu such as settings like: propeller pitch control, fuel mixture, blower (supercharger) and other functions of the full engine control?

In such a menu it isn’t very convenient to use functions that require gradual change, rather than switching between modes and because of that there the current composition of controls will be used . 

Q. In the recent update you added a ballistic calculator. It works now on some helicopters and aircraft. Is it planned to add the bomb and rocket sight HUD for MiG-15bis (ISh)?

Yes, in one of the future updates we will add the mechanic of the ballistic calculator, which simulates the refinement of the standard sighting system with a differential circuit.

Q. Is it planned to add large aircraft carriers where “Phantom” and its analogues can land? 

Yes, it is planned.

Ground Forces

Q. France is now the only main nation without a backup top MBT. Do you plan to introduce another Leclerc soon to resolve this?

Well, it is not that bad, you still have AMX-40 that may be used in BR 10.3, but a new Leclerc is planned as well. We do understand that some nations still lack top tier MBTs, and we will try to fill these gaps as soon as we can. 

Q. Can you tell us if Japan and China's missile SPAAGs are close? They are the only 2 nations that remain without one.

New missile SPAAGs are delayed indeed, and we will work hard to add missile SPAAGS for these nations too, if the vehicles existed and can be properly implemented into the game.

Q. With the recent low rank lend-lease tank additions to France, will you consider the possibility of bolstering Italy's lower ranks with German equipment that they historically used such as Panzer III, IV and StuG? 

Yes, we’re considering such variants, as well as filling gaps in other nations too.

Q. Are there any plans to rework ground vehicle transmission and to update the behavior of the wheelbase?

Yes, there are such plans.

Q. For ground SB you have implemented the mechanics of the “Request location of allies” which helps to identify captured vehicles in battle. Should we expect the return of this mechanic on a permanent basis?

We have conducted mass testing of the feature and received some feedback and results. We plan to return the mechanics with some improvements with it which you will learn about in game update news.

Q. Is it planned to implement premium vehicles with thermal imaging cameras in the Chinese, Soviet or Italian research trees? 

Yes, we have such plans.

Helicopters

Q. Can you tell us the status of the Japanese Helicopter tree? Is it possible to create a preliminary branch with the existing AH-1S model and AH-64DJP (Same as the AH-64D model) that are already in game until more helicopters can be made?

We’re discussing this issue at the moment. We understand that the Japanese Self-Defence Forces utilized a very few types of the strike helicopters, and we consider the possibility that the Japanese helicopter tree will only have 2-3 vehicles.

Q. Will the AH-64 Apaches receive a full cockpit? Currently they have only a placeholder. 

Most of the helicopters in the game have cockpit prototypes, and at the moment we are working on cockpits for some helicopters. Probably, some of them will appear in the upcoming major update.  We plan to introduce more cockpits in future, in order to equip all or majority of helis with proper cockpits. As for the AH-64 series cockpits, they are planned as well, but we can’t say when exactly they are going to appear. 

Naval Forces

Q. Do you have plans to improve the quality of Naval tracers? It's not very clear or easy to follow your own tracers and improve your aim with larger ships because the tracers are extremely hard to see, particularly when fighting at long range. 

We consider current tracers to be of a decent quality. If you are suggesting making them more visible, it may ruin their appearance at regular distances - short and medium. Main calibre gun tracers are already a compromise between historical accuracy and gameplay. In most cases, such shells didn’t have tracers in reality, since they are not visible at large distances. Aim spotting is achieved with water splashes and instruments. In AB mode we additionally indicate the shell drop point, in RB we have salvo drop timers, which were actually used in war ships.

Q. Will you please consider improving the “Not enough crew to repair” mechanic? Although it's more of a historical feature, it makes gameplay complicated as you cannot repair your ship after a certain point.  

By introducing this feature, we aimed to visually diversify ship destruction, forcing them to sink more often. Please consider that the crew state, when you can’t repair your ship anymore, meant the ship’s destruction previously. So we just made a ship’s death more vivid and interactive.

Q. Regarding Naval EC, can you tell us a little more about its progress? Do you plan to fully move Naval RB over to the EC format (like what was done with Simulator air battles) or just keep it as a separate event based mode?

We are unlikely to change RB to EC completely, since our statistics shows that EC affects RB random battles insignificantly. This means that these two modes don’t share the same audience. But we will try to run EC more often.

Q. Are there any chances of seeing ironclad warships of the second half of the XIX - beginning of the XXth centuries?

This is a rather vague concept that covers the period of 70-75 years. But if here it means pre-dreadnought battleships so such ships should be in our opinion in a separate game or game mode. Using them as a part of the current War Thunder game is extremely difficult.

Other

Q. Can you please tell us when we can expect new squadron vehicles to come? It's been over 6 months since the last one was introduced. 

Yes, we plan to introduce new squadron vehicles. We can’t say when exactly though, but hopefully some to come before the summer.

Q. What about the rough sea? Storms? Do you plan to add any such weather effects?

Current implementation allows us to turn on storm weather but we are not using them because fighting under such conditions is problematic, especially for ships of small displacement which can also participate in battles even at high BR. Now we use the maximum possible excitement of 4.5 points in the weather settings.

The War Thunder Team