War Thunder - magazine2


The upcoming War Thunder major update Drone Age brings new cool visuals to the game! Check out new explosions for ground and naval vehicles, improved hit camera, and more!

Improved effects for damaged and destroyed vehicles

We continue to improve the visual effects of damaged and destroyed vehicles. Explosions now look better - you will not only see detached external equipment, like canisters, tools, or spare tracks, but also torn off sprockets and wheels. Detached track wheels feature their own physics, and other players will be able to interact with them for some time before detached parts disappear. Sometimes, blown off parts leave trails of smoke and fire behind them. You will also see similar effects in naval battles as well.



An explosion of a ground vehicle as a result of the detonation of an ammo rack now consists of a set of several explosions that are chosen randomly - now such explosions will not be similar to each other. By the way, the same mechanics of explosions will be implemented for ships and boats as well.




Improved hit camera

In the hit camera, kill camera, as well as in the protection analysis menu, we have added high-quality models of shells and missiles - the same as in battles. We also modeled the detailed penetration process (for kill cam and the protection analysis) that is based on a procedural simulation of armor penetration.




Procedure effects of the shell hits

Both ground and naval battles will now have impact effects from the shell hitting armor. Depending on the shell’s type and caliber, you’ll be able to see smoke in the impact point, followed by the flame whirling out of the hole if the armor was penetrated at that point.




Flaming fuel

We improved the fire effects from fuel tanks and introduced a new scenario in the aircraft damage model - fuel tank explosion. New effects have been added for the fuel tank explosion both in the air and on the ground. Also, the fire area is now dependent on the volume of the fuel tanks.

War Thunder - magazine2


Are you ready for the Drone Age?
War Thunder - magazine2


Andrea Doria is one of the two dreadnought battleships constructed for the Regia Marina in the early 1910s and represents an improved version of the preceding Conte di Cavour class. Seasoned Italian captains in War Thunder may look forward to commanding the powerful Andrea Doria as it docks in player ports with the arrival of the next major update!

Briefly: A WWI-era Italian dreadnought battleship, sporting superb firepower and protection.

Andrea Doria, Battleship, Italy, Rank V

Features:
  • 13 12-inch guns
  • Strong armor
  • Multiple auxiliary guns
  • Mediocre mobility


In War Thunder, Andrea Doria will be a new battleship arriving to the top ranks of the Italian naval tree following the release of the next major update Drone Age. Being the second battleship to join the ranks of the Regia Marina in the game, Andrea Doria will, among other improvements, most notably bring with it a substantial upgrade in firepower over the preceding Dante Alighieri - an upgrade that many captains will surely appreciate.

Similar to the familiar Dante Alighieri, Andrea Doria is primarily armed with 305 mm (12’’) guns. However, not only does the latter possess one additional primary battery gun, but their layout is vastly different than that found on Dante Alighieri. Namely, the guns on the Andrea Doria are split between three triple and two twin turrets, giving the ship a rather unique gun layout when it comes to naval vessels in War Thunder. However, the differences don’t stop there. Andrea Doria also features a vastly improved secondary battery. Unlike Dante Alighieri, its successor packs up to 16 152 mm (6’’) cannons, situated in casemates above the ship’s main belt armor on either side.





Additionally, Andrea Doria’s secondary weapons are complemented by 13 76 mm (3’’) cannons as well as two submerged 450 mm torpedo launchers. Crucially however, Andrea Doria’s anti-aircraft arsenal also saw an improvement over Dante Alighieri. Namely, the ship is fitted with an additional six 76 mm AA guns as well as a pair of automatic 40 mm anti-aircraft cannons. While this will by no means enable Andrea Doria to take down entire waves of attacking enemy aircraft single-handedly, it does improve its self-defense capabilities drastically.





In terms of armor protection, Andrea Doria features some similarities to the preceding Dante Alighieri in this regard. In fact, the warship is fitted with a 250 mm belt armor - identical to its predecessor. However, the plating on the turret fronts, for instance, is increased up to 280 mm. This slightly improved armor scheme coupled with a greatly increased complement of 1,260 sailors and officers makes the Andrea Doria a quite tough opponent to take down, regardless of the circumstances.

However, as is the case with many battleships of this type, Andrea Doria can’t boast about its mobility. With its propulsion system generating around 34,000 horsepower, the vessel can reach a top speed of just 21 kts (40 km/h). As a result, captains will need to be mindful of their maneuvering and keep in mind that evasive actions aren’t as easily performed by this ironclad as it may be the case with a cruiser.



The highly anticipated Andrea Doria is soon docking in players’ ports with the release of the Drone Age update coming soon to War Thunder. In the meantime, be sure to keep scanning the horizon for more news as we continue sharing the latest on what the upcoming update has in store for you. Until then, calm seas and happy hunting captains!
War Thunder - magazine2


The T-80UK Main battle tank comes as a new squadron vehicle available with the release of the next major War Thunder update.

T-80UK, main battle tank, USSR, rank VII. Squadron vehicle

Features:
  • Shtora-1 Active Protection System
  • Automatic loader
  • Remote fuze HE shells
  • Well protected


The T-80UK main battle tank will be added as a new squadron vehicle along with the release of the next major War Thunder update. One of the best Soviet tanks in the game gets even better! The first thing that catches the eye are the IR emitters of the Shtora-1 active protection system, which will be recognizable to weathered tankers familiar with the T-90A tank. Shtora interferes with the guidance beam of anti-tank guided missiles, as a result an incoming missile will veer off course when guided towards the tank. In addition, the Shtora's sensors will warn the commander if the tank has been pinged by the laser acquisition system of missiles with a semi-active seeker, in order to give the crew enough time to find cover or hide in a smoke screen.





The second noticeable feature of the T-80UK are the 3OF26 EDKV high-explosive fragmentation shells with a programmable fuse. Measure the distance to the target with a laser rangefinder and send fragmentation shells towards an enemy vehicle behind low cover. The shells will explode above the target, hitting the enemy in the poorly protected turret roof or engine compartment. With some skill, you can also try to shoot down helicopters hovering at a great distance. In addition, the projectile itself has a significant amount of explosive inside and can be successfully used to blow up enemy tanks when landed accurately.





In terms of all other characteristics, the commander variant of the tank is identical to the T-80U, one of the most popular tanks for top-tier battles. Integrated ERA protection combined with composite armor, excellent mobility, ATGMs and decent armor-piercing rounds, a modern fire control system with a thermal imager and a two-plane stabilizer - in short, a collection of the most advanced and useful War Thunder tank technologies.



Like all other squadron vehicles, the T-80UK will be available to players both for squadron activity points and for Golden Eagles. We also remind you that squadron activity points now invest automatically into the research progress of the squadron vehicle of your choice, no need to distribute them manually. Play War Thunder, join squadrons or recruit fighters for your own squadron, and get great squadron vehicles for free!
Aug 31, 2022
War Thunder - magazine2


Please feel free to leave your feedback for this update here.

Ground vehicles
  • ZTZ88A — the number of smoke grenades in a salvo has been reduced from 4 to 2.
  • M60, M60A1 (AOS), M60A1 RISE(P), M60A1 “D.C.Ariete”, M60A2, M60A3 TTS, XM-803 - a bug has been fixed with incomplete first belt of the machine gun in battle.
  • External fuel tanks have been removed from the vital modules list in the protection analysis.
  • A bug has been fixed where the thermal imager remained in the third-person view in the replays.
Aircraft
  • A bug has been fixed which prevented the disabling of the automatic countermeasures launch while the player's aircraft survived till the end of a battle.
  • P-61A-1, P-61C-1 - ammo capacity of the turret M2 Browning machine guns has been corrected from 2,120 to 2,240 rounds.
  • Sea Hawk FGA.6, Sea Hawk Mk.100 - the number of ammo has been fixed from 150 to 200 rounds per gun (from 600 to 800 in total). (report)
  • SNEB type 23 - explosives weight has been increased from 0,22 to 0,34 kg.
  • A bug has been fixed where in some cases, aircraft were unable to drop a torpedo.
Naval
  • Issue with camera toggle while deploying recon aircraft has been fixed.
The current provided update notes reflect the major changes within the game as part of this Update. Some updates and fixes may be not listed in the provided notes. War Thunder is constantly improving all the time and certain fixes may be implemented without the client being updated.
Aug 30, 2022
War Thunder - magazine2


Scout and strike drones will be added to the game with the release of the upcoming War Thunder major update. Learn more from our Developers Blog now!

The use of remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance and even strikes against enemy targets was thoroughly studied in the second half of the 20th century. The heyday of drones came in the early 2000s, and today they are a must-have tactical unit in any modern army in the world.

The next major game update will bring combat drones to War Thunder - scout and attack UAVs will be hovering over the battlefields of high-rank tank battles. Scout drones will become available for all rank VI-VII "light tank" class vehicles as a researchable modification. The commander will be able to launch the scout drone into the sky during the battle, and switching to it to view the battlefield and scout enemy vehicles. A small scout UAV has a battery large enough to patrol over the battlefield until the end of the battle, or until it is shot down, or the vehicle from which the drone is controlled is destroyed. You can “reload” a drone destroyed in battle at captured points.



The strike combat drones at the time of adding to the game will only be available in the Realistic Battles mode. It can be taken into battle for a certain number of Respawn Points, which the player receives for active actions in battle. Three attack drone models are introduced into the game: Orion for the USSR/Russia, Wing Loong 1 for China, and MQ-1 for the USA and other game nations. The strike UAV carries anti-tank guided missiles that come in handy against entrenched or camping opponents.



UAVs will have full physic parameters, damage models and flight models. They can be shot down with both guns and missiles. SPAAG will be able to lock on drones with their radars. UAVs fly and maneuver according to real-life models, incoming damage affects the flight model as well. Both scout and strike drones have an targeting camera, which will allow you to view the area of ​​interest from a long distance. The targeting station is activated by the camera view toggle button (default “V”). Some drones available for rank VII vehicles are also equipped with thermal imaging equipment, which will allow you to identify hard-to-see targets by thermal signatures.



The drone age is coming! Wait for the next major War Thunder update to test the drones in battles!
War Thunder - magazine2


We received an anonymous email with drone footage attached.
Aug 29, 2022
War Thunder - magazine2


A new location for combined battles that was inspired by the landscapes of the foothills that surround the Himalayas.

Here, on the border between India and Pakistan, begins the first stage of the majestic and ancient Himalayas. The plains turn into wooded hills, with mountains rising behind. This textured terrain inspired the War Thunder artists to create this new location named “Pradesh”, an arena for combined battles, which will be available with the upcoming major update.



“Pradesh” in Hindi means “region”, “area”. Here you will find typical landscape features commonplace for the northwestern regions of India and the northeastern part of Pakistan. Grassy hills and forested rocks adjoin meadows and shrubland plains.

This new location is one of the largest in the game. The size of the detailed zone is approximately 3 by 3 km. The full size of the location for airplanes and helicopters is even more immense at 128 by 128 km.



This dynamic and varied location will be added to War Thunder with the release of the next major game update. In the meantime, we will continue to introduce you to interesting new features and the most interesting vehicles of the new update! Stay tuned!
War Thunder - magazine2


For the whole month, you will have 8 tasks available to you one by one. Completion of each task will award you with a trophy containing a reward, while completing all tasks will award you with a unique in-game player icon.

A detailed description of the current task as well as your overall progress can be found by clicking on your nickname → Achievements → Pages of History

Reward for completing all 8 tasks

Special profile icon of Marcario García
Marcario Garcia was the first Mexican immigrant to receive the Medal of Honor, USA's highest military award. Garcia participated in the Invasion of Normandy and received his hirst honors in the summer of 1944. In the Battle of Hürtgen Forest while fighting the German forces under Grosshau, Garcia destroyed two enemy machine gun nests and took four prisoners all by himself, and kept fighting until completing his task despite being injured.

You can immediately purchase the profile icon for Golden Eagles until October 3rd, 11:30 GMT without completing tasks. Click Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History (September).

Trophy with a reward for each task
Completion of each individual task will bring you a trophy with one of the following rewards:
  • 20-50% RP booster for 3-10 battles;
  • 20-50% SL booster for 3-10 battles;
  • 3-5 universal backup vehicles;
  • 1 day of premium account;
  • A random camouflage for ground vehicles (out of the selection of camouflages currently obtainable in game for completing tasks, or purchasing with Golden Eagles).
Other terms
  • Tasks are available from 11:00 GMT until 11:30 GMT on the final day of each task.
  • Tasks can be completed in random battles, except for “Assault” mode.

September 1st — September 4th
Operation Grand Slam
The pivotal operation of the Second Indo-Pakistani war of 1965. Pakistani forces had cut off Indian supply lines under Jammu and had an overwhelming advantage in numbers at the beginning of the attack, but on the second day of the operation its command had suddenly changed. The Indian army used that pause to strengthen its contingent in the region, so in the end the battle ended in a stalemate.

September 5th — September 8th
Berlin Victory Parade of 1945
Even though the fighting in Berlin had died down in May of 1945, the big victory parade with all the Allies took place some time later: the Allies decided to hold it after World War II was over. So after Japan had surrendered on September 2nd, the soldiers of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France held a victory parade on September 7th in Berlin.

September 8th — September 11th
Operation Achse
In the summer of 1943 after the Allies had landed on Sicily, a coup d’etat happened in Italy: Benito Mussolini’s government was removed from power, and the new leadership surrendered to the Allies. Hitler couldn’t tolerate his main ally resigning from the war, so he sent German forces to establish control over Northern and Central Italy, including Rome. The Wehrmacht had successfully completed its tasks, and from September of 1943, a marionette Salo Republic led by Mussolini was established in the occupied territories.

September 12th — September 15th
Riga offensive (1944)
After the success of the Siauliai Offensive and the victory over the German forces in Estonia, the Red Army had to execute a final operation to split the North and Center Army Groups of the Wehrmacht. As a result of the Riga Offensive, the Soviet forces advanced to the Baltic Sea, while the Wehrmacht’s North army group was cut off and surrounded in the Courland Pocket, where it remained until the end of the war.

September 16th — September 19th
Battle of Chawinda
In mid-September 1965 the biggest tank battle since the Battle of Kursk took place. Having stopped Pakistan’s attack, India started its counteroffensive, utilizing its overwhelming force in the Chawinda region. The Pakistani forces used air support to last long enough for reinforcements to arrive, and the battle once again ended in a stalemate — with huge tank losses on both sides.

September 19th — September 22nd
Battle of Hürtgen Forest
The battle of Hürtgen Forest began on September 19th 1944, and lasted for three months, thus becoming the longest battle in the history of the US Army. The Wehrmacht fought on its home territory, using dense forests and fortifications, mining paths and setting up traps. Despite the Americans having more manpower, their advance was slow with heavy losses. The successful defense of Hürtgen Forest became a prelude to the large Ardennes Counteroffensive by the German forces.

September 23rd — September 26th
Tuapse defensive operation
September 25th, 1942 saw the start of the Tuapse Defensive Operation, part of the strategic Battle of the Caucasus. The Red Army successfully stopped the German forces under Tuapse, not letting them capture the town and reach the Black Sea. By the end of November the Wehrmacht’s advance in the region had completely stopped, and the Soviet army went into counteroffensive, beginning the liberation of Kuban from the Tuapse area.

September 27th — September 30th
Operation Halberd
In late September of 1941 the British Royal Navy delivered a supply convoy to Malta. The Italians tried to intercept it but were deterred by the strength of the escorting force: 3 battleships, 18 destroyers, 8 submarines and an aircraft carrier. Using its overwhelming force, the British fleet easily repelled the attack from the air and delivered the cargo to its destination.
War Thunder - magazine2


Welcome to the 30th War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition!

We loved screenshots of your green vehicles, they looked brilliant, well done everyone! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

Let’s begin the 30th edition of our competition!

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen30. You have time until 02.09.2022 to submit your screenshot.

After that date, 6 winners will be selected (3 of which will be the highest rated by the community and 3 selected by our judges), each of which receive a reward of 300GE.

Important addition: Screenshot theme - Leonardo da Vinci!
Terms:
  • Create a screenshot of the beautiful scenery/sunsets - you don’t even need to include a screenshot of a vehicle, or you can, it’s up to you!
  • You must add the #WTscreen30 tag (without other text).
  • Screenshots need to be compliant with the War Thunder rules.
  • You need to be the author of the screenshot.
  • Screenshot needs to be new. You cannot use those which have previously been published or used in other competitions.
  • We will only accept raw screenshots from the game. You cannot use any editing software nor any other visual enhancements (like Nvidia Ansel filters).
  • You can use filters and settings built into War Thunder.
  • You can use the replay functionality built into War Thunder.
  • Rewards will be delivered to the author's account within 7 working days.

And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 29th edition - Shades of Green!

Winners selected via community votes:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2851522029
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2852737022
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2851333574

Winners selected by our judges:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2853964403
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2851773396
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2851567165



Each winner will get 300GE! Congratulations and see you next week!
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