War Thunder – Dev Q&A 01.06.2017

The PR department delivers us some sparse info again!

 REGIA AERONAUTICA

Will packs be added to Steam that provide access to the Italian closed beta?

Answer: All packs in the store can be bought through Steam, just click on the “Order” button on the vehicle of interest in the tech tree.

When will packs arrive on the PSN?​

Answer: We estimate that by the time this article has been published, the packs will have become available.

Will a bonus crew slot be added (the one awarded for the “Invite Friend” program) to the Italian line and any new playable nations in general?​

Answer: Bonuses for inviting friends were provided for existing nations at the time of the invites. Italy appeared after this.

Will the achievements on Italian aircraft in the German tech tree be moved to the Italian tech tree?​

Answer: Achievements always count toward the Nation that the vehicle represents in the tree.

Will Italy have ground vehicles?​

Answer: Yes, we plan this. For the time being, we can’t say when the full ground vehicle tech tree will appear, but we are not ruling out a vehicle-by-vehicle addition. As happened with the British tree, for example. This will allow you to use Italian assault aircraft in mixed battles.

Why haven’t already researched aircraft moved across to the Italian research tree in the updates with existing progress saved?​

Answer: Because these aircraft’s research was begun in the Germany tech tree and with the support of German aviation, this isn’t the same as researching them in another Nation’s tree.

Will Italy have a navy?​

Answer: We don’t rule out this possibility. Actually, we’d like to see every nation with every vehicle type eventually.

Will different skins be added for Italian aircraft? If yes, then when?​

Answer: Of course they will. New skins will be added over time.

How many days can you miss while unlocking 12 “arrows” (to become an Italian tree researcher)?​

Answer: Quite a few. The tests will certainly last longer than 20 days.

Why isn’t there an actual combat branch (aircraft that participated in real combat operations) for the Reggiane?​

Answer: The release tree contains many real aircraft that were involved in battles. The Reggiane models will appear in the future. Work is currently being done on these aircraft.

Why were the S.M.79 Series 4 and S.M.79 bis/N not added to the Italian tech tree after previously being removed from the German tree?​

Answer: These models require certain improvements and updates for their armament and appearance. They might be added later after the required changes have been made.


Ground Forces

When will ground vehicles from WW2 be separated from post-war ground vehicles?​

Answer: We have never stated nor planned to separate vehicles or aircraft by year of production, or, set up the same matchmaking levels for vehicles or aircraft using the same year of production. BR, first and foremost, determines the combat capabilities of vehicles. Some vehicles designed and even built during World War II (the T-34-85, T-44, T-54, IS-3, M26/46, and even German vehicles that the Allied  countries obtained) continued to be used for a long time after the war and took part in post-war conflicts. Additional matchmaking stages, particularly at high ranks, make it harder to create a game session because a greater number of players are required – so we always take a careful approach to expanding the BR range. However, if a more powerful vehicle appears, the number of BR levels will be increased automatically.

When will Soviet tanks get an EESS (engine exhaust smoke system)?

Answer: Setting up a smoke screen with an EESS is different from other ways of doing so, and that’s why it requires a new mechanic. We’re working on this currently, but can’t talk about specific timeframes yet.

Why should I fire a smoke shell if it is better to use a normal one?​

Answer: It’s handy if you need to reach a point through an area under enemy fire. Or if you’ve been hit and you need repairs, where your opponent is well hidden. Or if your ally is being attacked from a spot you can’t fire on and needs some cover. Or if you need to disorient clearly more powerful or even invulnerable opponents. Or if you want to distract your opponents. As you can see, there are lots of reasons.

Will signal shells be added?​

Answer: Who and what are you planning on signaling? 🙂 We have the ‘attention-to-the-point’ function – in war, this was a distant dream.

When will smoke ordinance be introduced for all the vehicles?​

Answer: Smoke ordinance will be given to all vehicles that historically had them, we will add them over time. There are quite a few ground vehicles with similar equipment.


 Other

When will the Ultra Low cheater graphics settings be removed?​

Answer: Are they really cheater settings? Switch them on and try to play. These settings haven’t given any significant advantages for a while: vegetation is rendered at a great distance and, in contrast to standard minimum settings, is not transparent. We’re not planning to get rid of Ultra Low. After all, many War Thunder players just like you use these settings.

When will a Ukrainian localization be added?​​

Answer: The Ukrainian localization is 95% ready thanks to a team of translators from among the players. We hope that the remaining tasks will soon be completed, and you’ll be able to see the Ukrainian language in one of the upcoming large updates.

Metal (for Mac OS) is a good thing. Will there be support for DX12 and Vulkan, and if so, when?​

Answer: DX12 and Vulkan won’t provide any performance increases without a thorough reworking of the renderer. Such reworking would mean losing DX9 support, and the performance increase still wouldn’t be significant. At the same time, DX12 support provides no new effects that can’t be obtained on DX11.

Why is the new line Italy and not France?​

Answer: Because we really wanted to give you one of the more interesting air forces from the Second World War. Also, Italy has a big advantage over France in terms of the number of interesting aircraft.

Will helicopters appear in the game?​

Answer: As the 1st of April event showed, attack helicopters can easily have a place in mixed battles in our game, but this issue requires further development both in terms of balance (countermeasures and vehicles that could efficiently counter attack helicopters all need to be looked into) and in terms of other issues. If and when such a decision is made, we tell you about it separately.