The first information about the upcoming entry of ships into War Thunder appeared in August 2016. Then, on the eve of the Gamescom exhibition (Germany), the developer of the var tander, Gaijin Entertainment, provided all participants of the exhibition with the opportunity to try out the first representatives of the fleets of the USSR, Germany and the USA.

An invitation to the test was received by all alpha testing participants, specially invited persons, as well as owners of one of two naval sets with unique ships (torpedo boats) available for purchase in the game store.

As of June 19, 2018, sets with torpedo boats were removed from sale in game stores. They were replaced by other sets with destroyers. One - with German, the other - with American. Both cost 2,499 rubles and the set, in addition to the ship, includes:

• 15 days of premium account;
• 2000 units of game currency (golden eagles);
• some other bonuses in the form of decals.

For those who have already purchased sets with boats, there are 25% discounts.

Currently, you can get into the closed beta testing in one of two ways:

• buy a marine set from those presented in the game store;
• take part in a special event;
• be a participant in alpha testing.

Despite the fact that most players hoped to see sea monsters in the game - battleships, cruisers and aircraft carriers, the developers relied on combat boats and ships of small displacement. There will be no submarines in naval battles.

Firstly, because battles involving small ships will be dynamic and interesting for players.

Secondly, huge aircraft carriers and super-cruisers would simply take up the entire map space, leaving no room for smaller ships. This would not only deprive the game of any dynamism, but also cause outrage among many users.

Thirdly, preliminary testing showed that playing on ships of a class higher than a destroyer requires making most of the ships unrealistic, only vaguely similar to real ships.

Currently the game features:

• more than 40 ships of the Soviet and German branches development;
• 30 premium ships;
• 20 ships American branch development.

Naval battles will take place on one of the 10 ready-made game cards. Over time, all nations represented in the game will receive a line of warships.

Testing takes place in special events and “Naval Battles” tournaments on the main War Thunder server at certain hours.

A specific release date for the ships has not yet been announced, but judging by the dynamics of the project’s development, this date could be this year, 2018.

Development and economics

Currently, War Thunder features 4 classes of ships: torpedo and missile boats, destroyers, light cruisers. The appearance of heavier classes of ships is left for an indefinite future.

The ship research tree is in many ways similar to the tank and aircraft development trees, but there are also differences. In the “ground” and “air” trees, equipment is distributed by rank and arranged in chronological order from top to bottom. At higher ranks - later technology, at lower ranks - earlier technology. However, such a system is not entirely suitable for ships. The combat power of a ship depends not only on the year of manufacture, but also on the class of the combat unit.

In addition, preliminary testing revealed that some players constantly play only one class of equipment, while others play all classes. This is partly due to the gameplay features of the game for each class. military equipment. Partially - by individual preferences of users.

One of key features fleet in War Thunder is a horizontal development system. It allows each player to explore exactly the class of ships that interests him. It is this system that allows taking into account the above distinctive features fleet.

Vertically (by rank), you can open heavier classes of ships for research. Horizontally - ships of later models within their class. Thus, you can choose an individual development strategy: either quickly open a heavy class of ships, or quickly upgrade light ships.

The cost of experience required to open a new piece of equipment and the purchase price increases proportionally both horizontally and vertically. At the same time, the pumping time for all equipment does not differ much from the same tanks and aircraft.

Naval weapons

The aiming system is similar to that of a tank. There is no forced target acquisition, and the player has the opportunity to manually set the elevation angle of the main caliber guns according to the rangefinder and lead angle readings.

A three-plane gun stabilization system has been implemented, allowing for comfortable targeted fire even in heavy seas. This is a fairly realistic system - on real ships At different times, a wide variety of stabilization systems for gun platforms and gun barrels, including three-plane ones, were installed.

Each ship has many guns of different calibers and purposes. It is impossible for one player to control each gun separately, and unified weapon control, one way or another, leads to the fact that the fire from all guns is concentrated on one target.

Therefore, in War Thunder, weapons for different purposes are divided into groups, and the player is given the opportunity to manually control one of the available weapon classes. The remaining classes will fire automatically at both air and sea targets, taking into account the player's target designation. An automatic firing mode is possible from all classes of guns, when the player only points out priority targets with a marker.

Sailing fleet and other interesting features

Back in 2016, when the fleet in War Thunder was at the stage of ideological considerations, the introduction of a sailing fleet was seriously considered. As ships entry levels. There were even actually developed sailing ships of the British branch of the 1st rank - the Golden Hind galleons.

But over time, this idea was abandoned and currently the research tree represents ships from the World War II era, the pre-war and post-war periods. Finished sailboat models are reserved for special events dedicated to certain holidays.

Of interest and weather conditions, in which occur naval battles. Initially, a variety of weather types were assumed: from complete calm to a wild storm, and weather changes could occur right during the battle, which forced players to change their chosen tactics and strategy in accordance with changing weather conditions.

Subsequently, storms were completely abandoned. All that was left was calm with varying degrees of excitement. The fact is that the force of the waves seriously affects the speed and maneuverability of boats - the lightest class of ships in War Thunder. Stormy weather greatly reduces the capabilities of this class of equipment to the point of their absolute uselessness in battle. And this cannot be allowed.

In the future, storms may be introduced, but only in battles where only heavy ships - destroyers and cruisers - are involved.

The fight for the survivability of the ship - repairing modules, firefighting and flood control - is activated by pressing a special button on the action panel. Moreover, activating several actions at once reduces the time it takes to complete each of them. This forces the player to think about what is more important to him at the moment: putting out the fire, repairing the hole, or repairing the module. In addition, activating any action leads to a significant reduction in the rate of fire of ship's guns.

In the early stages, the activation of each survivability system was automatic, and the execution time of each action was the same regardless of how many actions were performed simultaneously. Now things have become somewhat more complicated.

Almost three years ago, the developer company Gaijin announced the imminent release of ships as the third available equipment for the player. Since then, on forums and in social networks From time to time, topics appear about when it will be possible to fully enjoy a controlled naval battle. Take command of a battleship or submarine. Most often, topics are closed by moderators with the words “we have to wait.” There is not even an approximate date for the release of a controlled fleet in War Thunder.

At the beginning of 2015, enough messages appeared on the network that ships could be controlled. However, this is only available through closed testing, to only a small number of human testers. And this is most likely true, since in the fall of 2014 some information sites close to Gaijin even posted video reviews about Japanese aircraft carriers from the Second World War.

At the same time, an approximate list of future equipment was announced - battleships, destroyers, aircraft carriers. However, given Gaijin's desire for realism, they will not be able to limit themselves to this technique. The above mentioned fleet cannot do without smaller vessels. And don't forget about submarines. Without the famous wolf packs it is simply impossible to imagine the fleet of Nazi Germany. But, more reliable and accurate information has not yet been provided.

However, there is still a fleet in War Thunder! The only pity is that it is currently controlled by a computer. It appears on many marine and coastal charts. Such as Wake Island, Guam, Merchant Marine, Rocky Coast, etc.

Types of ships in the game.

The fleet in War Thunder is currently represented by the following ships - heavy cruiser, light cruiser, aircraft carrier, destroyer, battleship, cargo ship, landing ship (landing craft).

The role of the fleet in War Thunder.

Despite the fact that the fleet still remains under control artificial intelligence games, he sometimes plays a significant role during the battle. It plays both an auxiliary function for attack and the role of a protected object.

On maps like “Pacific Secret Base”, landing ships land tanks to capture a ground point, which ensures a win. If you let enemy ships get to the shore, it will be much more difficult to destroy the tanks. And in the “merchant fleet” mission you need to protect your transports and destroy enemy floating targets.

It is worth noting that the role of the fleet is more visible in arcade air battles.

The ships presented in War Thunder are equipped with air defense. Shells from anti-aircraft guns and heavy machine guns that ships are equipped with can damage structural elements of the aircraft, which will affect its flight characteristics. A leaking radiator, a broken oil line, or shot through ailerons can lead to rapid destruction by the enemy. But the ship's air defense itself does a good job of shooting down unwary pilots.

How to destroy the enemy fleet in War Thunder.

To prevent a tank landing on the coast, it is necessary to destroy enemy landing ships. They are equipped with weak air defense, but they can harm or shoot down. It is also worth noting that the landing is almost always covered by enemy fighters. But this type of ship easily shatters into pieces from targeted shots from 20 mm Berezin, ShVAK, Hispano and the like cannons. There is no need to talk about heavier aviation artillery, like the YAK9-K and others like it. Large caliber destroys small ships with a bang.

Destroying small landing ships brings victory in the mission closer and brings additional points to the pilot who destroyed them.

And if boats with landing troops are easy to destroy, then a cruiser, battleship, or destroyer is worth tinkering with. There is no need to fly headlong into the bristling vents of the ship's air defense with your machine guns and small-caliber cannons. Well, you can cause some damage, and also become an additional frag for artificial intelligence. Capital ships it is optimal to destroy with bombs from a height inaccessible to the ship’s air defense. Or torpedoes, launched from the appropriate type of aircraft.

For the destruction of large enemy ships using torpedoes, you can be awarded the title " sea ​​wolf", "sea hunter". For bomb attacks on ships, the titles “destroyer” and “thunderer” are counted.

Still, we should hope that the current modest presence of ships in War Thunder will not last long. And each player will soon be able to say to the other “seven feet under your keel.”

Not long ago, Gaijin Entertainment announced naval battles in War Thunder. Players received the news quite positively, looking forward to naval battles with destroyers, cruisers, battleships, and even aircraft. But that was not the case... The developers stated that at this stage there are no plans to introduce ships larger than a destroyer under player control. To begin with, we decided to introduce boats.

Many took this negatively, because they so wanted to cut through the surface of the sea on a large, powerful ship, but not on a flat-bottomed boat that tosses at the slightest excitement.

Negative reviews from players immediately poured in, saying, “Where are the normal ships?” But let's look at everything adequately. Firstly, the ships have not even entered the closed beta zone yet. Secondly, as the developers stated, it IS POSSIBLE that large ships will appear under the control of players; everything will be decided by the results of the CBT.

That is, the wipe is from scratch, as always.
Just the other day we were shown a ship battle on a small test map.

Naturally, the boats that were already shown to us took part (by the way, most likely they will be placed at rank 1). The battles turned out to be really dynamic. I don’t know how much all this will interest players at the release stage, but at this stage everything looks quite interesting. By the way, regarding optimization they say that it is better than in tanks, but don’t be happy because knowing the “snails” everything can change literally in the next patch.
At the moment we know the following:

Fleet CBT very soon. Possibly at 1.63
Will there be big ships, will be decided based on the results of the PTA.
There will be smoke.
Optimization in ships is better than in tanks.
Joint battles only with aircraft. The CBT will test joint battles with tanks.
The threshold for torpedoes is 50 meters minimum.
Methods for destroying a ship: critical damage to modules, such as explosion of ammunition, fires. Loss of the entire crew, if less than 2 people remain, then the equipment is considered lost. Gradual flooding after receiving damage below the water line, not necessarily torpedo damage.
The CBT will take place in the main game client in events.
Anti-aircraft guns of the boat under full control player.
There will be no submarines.
There will be no homing anti-ship missiles.
There will be no damage from the ram, but the boat can be capsized.
There will be depth charges

We will monitor the development and write what you think about it. Would the War Thunder fleet be of interest to you? What would you like to see in the game?

, Cruisers:

Aiming and shooting system

IN Arcade mode The shooting mechanics are simulated in a simplified mode. After the player selects a target, the message “Target captured. Take a sighting shot.”
After this, the player will be required to fire a shot at the target area. The range correction will be taken automatically and with some error; with each subsequent shot, the location of the projectile impact will be analyzed by the virtual crew and the range will be specified.
After firing three separate shots at the target area, the range will be determined with the highest possible accuracy for your ship's equipment, after which the range to the selected target will be adjusted automatically, and shooting will be carried out with maximum efficiency for the current distance.
In this case, by moving the sight horizontally, the player will independently determine the necessary correction for the target’s speed, and vertical movements will make it possible to select the area where fire will be fired - on the superstructures or closer to the waterline. However, if the player selects a new target, the shooting cycle will repeat again.

In Arcade mode to increase the dynamics of battles and better balance Arcade boosts have been added between torpedo boats and larger ships. Different types ships received various boosts that improve engine thrust, steering torque, and torpedo speed.

IN Realistic mode the player gains more control over the shooting process and some of the processes automated in Arcade mode fall on his shoulders here.
The shooting process also begins with the selection of the required target, after which the virtual rangefinder displays the calculated distance to the target and a possible error in determining the range. After this, the player can open fire and, observing the fall of the shells from the splashes, determine the magnitude and nature of the error (overshoot/undershoot) in order to manually adjust the correction.
To do this, you need to select the keys that are convenient for the player in the control settings, or assign the correction to the mouse wheel, which is a fairly convenient option and allows you to quickly make adjustments.
Unlike Arcade mode, the range correction required as you approach or move away from a target is not automatically entered into the sight in Realistic mode. The player can judge the change in the distance to the target based on the readings of the rangefinder post, but the correction will need to be entered manually. However, in Realistic mode it is possible to request new installation range using the “manual input of guidance correction” command, after which the range determined by the virtual rangefinder will be transferred to the guns. But it should be borne in mind that as the distance to the target increases, the effectiveness of this method will decrease faster than in the case of manual range adjustment.
Any maneuvering will significantly reduce the shooting accuracy of both the player himself and the opponents firing at him.

“Manual target designation for auxiliary caliber” and “Manual target designation for anti-aircraft caliber” is the ability to indicate a priority target, surface and air, for auxiliary and anti-aircraft calibers, respectively. Automatic shooters assess the degree of threat and open fire on the target depending on the distance, type of enemy, type of weapon and direction of movement. For example, if the distances are equal to a fighter with machine guns and to an attack aircraft with PCs or bombs, auto gunners will open fire on the attack aircraft first. If two attack aircraft are detected at an equal distance, one of which is flying parallel to the course of the player's ship, and the second is approaching it, the shooters will open fire on the aircraft entering the ship.

The detection range of the marker and model depends on the size (height) of the ship. Also, the detection range depends on the view used (third-person or first-person), and when using binoculars, it increases by 3 times. For example, the detection and identification ranges of the Pr.183 boat are as follows: detection - 6.9 km through binoculars and 2.3 km when viewed from a third person; identification - 3 km through binoculars and 1.1 km when viewed from a third person.

The internal components and mechanisms of ships are damaged in various ways by explosions, kinetic damage, shrapnel and fires. For example, boiler rooms are more susceptible to damage from shells and shrapnel than rudders, which more often fail from exposure to explosions.
Engines, transmissions and ammunition magazines located in flooded compartments fail, are damaged or become inaccessible until the water is pumped out of the compartment.
Anti-fragmentation bulkheads, without being destroyed, retain fragments depending on their thickness and the destructive power of the fragments.
An explosion and a dense sheaf of fragments will cause much more damage to the crew than an armor-piercing shell passing right through the compartment.
A fire and explosion of first-stage ammunition is not fatal for a ship and can only damage the modules surrounding it and cause damage to the crew stationed in them.
For ships whose guns had separate loading, the ammunition magazines were divided into shell and charging magazines. A fire in the charging magazines is not fatal for a ship and can lead to the loss of some or all of the ammunition in the magazine, as well as damage to surrounding modules.
Large ships can withstand a hit from a light torpedo (for example, SET-40), but receive serious damage in the process. Torpedoes have a cocking range of 50 m, which means it is useless to fire them at point-blank range - they will not explode.
Damage to chimneys will cause the ship to lose speed.
An incoming torpedo can be destroyed by a direct hit from a shell or a nearby explosion (for example, from a depth charge or bomb launcher).

Battle fleet

Correctly “Vor Thunder”, not “Var Thunder” (Vorthander and not Varthander varsander) ;-)

At gamescom, seasoned Scot Keith Donaghy, international community manager for Gaijin, begins the story about the Knights of the Sea expansion from afar.

“I like to launch and fly in real time from London Heathrow to, say, Cologne. I don't care if it's long and boring. I like it. But at the same time, I understand that I am an exception. Most players will get bored with this.”

Donaghy has played every simulator (and not so simulator) imaginable (and unimaginable) sea ​​battle, so he had something to tell. In his story about the ships that will soon appear in Russia, he gave a thousand examples of what not to do.

It was suspiciously interesting to listen to him.

“...For example, . A wonderful, wonderful game... but it had four by four kilometer maps. If anything, real ship battles of the Second World War lasted from several hours to several days. One of the most quick fights in history, it took two hours, ending after one successful hit from a distance of fifteen kilometers - and even before that they had been taxiing to the shooting position for several hours.

Oh yes, you know that warships usually come into line of sight only when they need to finish off someone?..”

Sea battle and the time factor

It’s clear what Donaghy was leading to all this time.

“They’re good in their own way,” he says. - But they greatly compress the time factor so that matches don’t drag on: huge battleships or, say, aircraft carriers in WoWs sail five times faster than in reality.

Now think: in War Thunder, ships can meet in the same game with planes (just like tanks with planes - the opportunity to collide in one battle different types Gaijin techniques are used diligently). Imagine a ship accelerated for the game, moving at a speed of two hundred kilometers per hour to get into position. And above him is an airplane flying at a normal speed of two hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. The game definitely won’t work like that, you’ll have to speed up the planes too, and in the end the whole game will break.

Well, if the ship moves at normal speed, imagine how disappointing it will be when you spend three hours going to a shooting position only to have one bomb successfully dropped on you, forcing you to take new ship and again take three hours to enter the position. I repeat, I don’t mind, I love this. But most players will not agree to this.”

As a result, the Gaijin problem is solved radically: there simply will not be large ships in the game. There will be small nimble vessels such as torpedo boats, patrol and assault ships. Larger pieces of equipment may appear as, for example, targets for escort. Personally taking control of ships heavier than destroyers will be allowed in some modes, but only if the upcoming CBT shows that this makes sense. The test starts later this year.

There were no health points in War Thunder either on land or in the air, and there will be none at sea - ships are also subject to a complex zonal damage system. A new concept has appeared in the game mechanics - buoyancy. If a ship's hull is penetrated below the waterline, it will begin to leak, and if the onboard pumps fail, sooner or later the ship will sink. With a fire, everything is similar: if on a tank there is nothing special to burn, then on boats the fire walks as it wants, spreading from one system to another. Ships are destroyed beautifully and always in different ways.

At launch, the expansion promises a total of thirty ships, including ships from all five major nations. In the future, Gaijin intends to display all theaters of war to the maximum: the Mediterranean Sea, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the North Sea, and so on. Several maps will be available in the CBT - some in open waters, some in coastal ones, with large and small areas of land between which it is convenient to set up ambushes.

And in most cases, aviation is involved in ship battles. In talking about all this, Donaghy talks a lot about the scenarios that could play out. When I ask about ships and tanks in the same game, Donaghy gives the example of Vietnam, where they shot from water into the jungle: maybe one day we'll get to that.

Open testing of ship combat will begin in 2017.