major update War Thunder "Sky Guardians" - Changelog

[Civos23 1]

Please give us choice to not play "big maps" in ARB its hugely boring to stare for 5mins and you afterburner and it makes base bombing impossible bc enemy fighters will alwys ge to you first so you have to drop bombs to have fighting chance or just J out....

[The_Tea_Rex 801]

Feedback: the German Hunter F.58  should not be at BR 9.3 when it is objectively the best Hawker Hunter in the entire game.

 

- it has a better engine
- it has AGMs
- it has AIM-9Ps and Countermeasures

 

Question: what justification is there for the Hunter F.6 to be at 10.0 if this thing is at 9.3? Clearly balance is no longer a concern.
Additional question: why the German tree? Is not Italy, another bordering country with Switzerland, hurting for a squadron vehicle right now???

 

The consistency of the decision making when it comes to battle ratings makes curdled milk seem smooth in comparison.

[Type10BestGirl 137]

Extremely disappointing that the Yak-141 got features it was "planned to have" yet the Japanese F-16 is lacking features that it actually physically had, for the same reason the Yak got its planned features. Sad and nonsense gaijin decision as usual with circular reasoning and non-answers

[Fireball_2020 467]

10 hours ago, Stona said:

If you think you have found a bug, please take a minute and submit valid bug report here: https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder

Thanks 

Is Gaijin planning on fixing the Skyflash track rate, everything apart from the track rate was changed in this update and it has been reported.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Fireball_2020

[InterFleet 357]

12 hours ago, Stona said:

A few missions have a new layout of airfields designed for high rank battles. The airfields are located at 46 km from the mission’s centre (might be changed after collecting statistics and players feedback):

• [Operation] Golan Heights
• [Operation] Vietnam
• [Operation] Sinai
• [Operation] Moscow
• [Operation] Pyrenees

 

Very nice change:

However here is the issue: Bases are too close together so all the planes with bombs goes the exact same route, causing a furball, which is not very pleasant because you will have to deal with  so many players at the same time.

 

this issue does not exist on vietnam, because the bases are spreaded out evenly across the map, so bombing players can choose their path carefully to avoid facing the entire enemy team

It mainly affect Golan Height, Pyrenees, and Sinai, where objective locations are close together.

[InterFleet 357]

4 hours ago, twitchTV_Anstrum said:

 

engines are not smokeless, F-4S cannot even go above mach 1.1 on deck level flight meanwhile F-4j goes mach 1.14 on deck level

Addition of slats reduce top speed of F4S to mach 1.05 at sea level according to standard aircraft characteristics

If you turn better you would lose more speed, this should be expected as well. Do not perform hard turn unless you absolutely needs to.

 

[Draco_Argentum 1,504]

The game tells you what type of missile shot you down now. Either this or the ejector seats are the best thing in the patch.

[HauptmannPingu 294]

New guns ounds are great, don't change them

[Golden_Tomcat 299]

Have to say I like the new Update overall

 

+ Russian Tank Armor seems to finally be fixed with Spal and Ammo Explosion THANK YOU

+ new Animations Mig21 / F-14

+ new Graphiceffects please let the Afterburners follow next

+ many little QoL Improvements overall

+ Game /Armor overall feels better dont know how to describe it

+ Big Maps for AIR despite there are Things to improve I would always prefer the bigger ones

 

- FlaRakRad buggy as hell doesnt lock doesnt reload lol

 

[Debotime 42]

The bigger maps at top tier is refreshing and so much better you have room to maneuver  I hope they keep making bigger maps for top tier

[BleedingUranium@live 1,774]

13 hours ago, Johny404_ said:

So sad to see no more ban options on maps. Those winter variants just completely negates some map bans...

 

The three new winter versions are bundled with the base versions; they have no effect on likes/bans whatsoever.

 

The two Polands that were previously added are still separate, but it's pretty clear given this that they'll be patched together soon.

[Hartfield2010 29]

can we get air spawn for A10? now the map has been enlarged  at least twice than last version. play A10 in this huge map is painful!

[PremiumFuelOnly 1,603]

Unfortunately, as a primarily prop & mid-tier jet pilot, the gravity and significance of the bad attributes this update outweigh the positives.

 

To start with the good:

• The new vapor cone animation effect is fantastic. Looks aesthetically pleasing, seems to be realistic enough in how it deploys (even though it's not temperature/humidity dependent yet), and doesn't appear to cause any performance issues thus far. Good stuff.
• Even though many are just copy/paste, I like that WWII enthusiasts were thrown a bone with some of the new props (the same goes for some of the tanks added)
• It's great to see additional planes receive custom loadouts
• Love that Beaufighters & Lancasters got their 3D models updated. I hope to see this trend continue with other iconic planes with similarly antiquated models (La-7, Doras, F8Fs, etc)

 

Now for the bad..

• The high frequency of large map missions for mid-tier jets (i.e. 8.0-9.3) in Air RB is genuinely terrible for their gameplay.
  • They are simply far, far too slow to make use of the size of these maps for positioning, especially since the match timer is still just 25 minutes.
  • These large maps do not bring any interesting objectives, dynamic features, increased airfields, lengthened match time, etc that make them viable for jets of this BR range. It is beyond agonizing to get one of them in something like a Meteor or MiG and effectively do nothing for the vast majority of the match, as it'll be ~10 minutes before an enemy is sighted, with no guarantee of getting within range of a 2nd enemy even if you do manage to subdue the first. Even in a relatively high-TWR jet like the Javelin, which can position itself better than other jets at its BR due to its climb performance & acceleration, you will struggle to make full use of the match since there is just far, far too much downtime. It's just mind-numbingly boring (and in my opinion, gamebreaking enough to instantly leave the match).
  • SOLUTION: Lock the large maps to a certain BR where only aircraft with "high performance" (i.e. significantly over Mach 1 capable) can receive them. Say, at and above 10.3-7 BR.

• While I don't particularly care that it was introduced in the German tree, the Hunter F.58 should not be 9.3.
  • I have absolutely zero clue why you would release it at 9.7 (already questionable, should arguably be 10.0), then drop it to 9.3 when it's head and shoulders above the other Hunter variants at 9.3 (FGA.9 "only" has AIM-9Es and lacks countermeasures, J 34 has a much worse engine, just AIM-9Bs, and no countermeasures).
  • At 9.3, the F.58 is vastly superior to other high-performance subsonics that lack countermeasures or high-performance missiles (G.91Y, J 32B, F3H-2, CL-13B, Shenyang F-5, etc etc etc).
  • When downtiered (which might not be that often on an individual basis, but when the matchmaker is eventually saturated with them, it'll become a common occurrence to see at 8.3), planes at 8.3-7 that will regularly run into it have absolutely zero recourse or ability to counter it. This time, unlike the Yak-38 (another undertiered missile bus) which could at least claim terrible flight/maneuvering performance, the Hunter F.58 is wholly capable of holding its own on the defensive and against other missiles (again, vis a vis countermeasures)
  • SOLUTION: Move the Hunter F.58 to 10.0, as it is the single best subsonic in the game considering its frankly too-good-to-be-true combination of performance, countermeasures, and 2 great missiles.

 

Overall, I was looking forward to the QoL features this update was about to bring, but as someone who primarily plays 8.0-9.0 jets these days, I'll unfortunately be playing less considering the map issue.

 

I genuinely hope that the large map frequency gets reverted to pre-patch levels at minimum. I also hope to see the Hunter F.58's BR addressed in short order, as it's just disgustingly low as it currently sits.

[CheddarMilk 6]

The high-tier SAMs are so hard to play after the patch. Tunguska can’t even hit a thing with its missile, not even a stationary drone ~9km away (missile does spiral motion at long range even if your cursor sits still) and at close range the missiles have 0 maneuverability. The top-tier SAMs are almost unplayable now

[cortbowan@psn 225]

21 hours ago, Stona said:

9М311, VT-1 missiles - transferred to a new more accurate physical model.

I now understand why the update is called "Sky Guardians", but "CAS Guardians" would have been more apt.

 

This change renders the VT-1 using SPAAs obsolete, they are still good against helicopters and drones, because their movement options are more limited. 

Against a CAS player at more than 3km away...no luck unless the pilot is braindead and flies directly towards you...at which point he probably launched some laser guided bomb and you're dead anyways. 

The missile movement and ability to follow a plane has been nerfed to zero and what should be a possible kill at 8km distance is no longer possible. 

 

Also, I found out the hard way that hitting a KA-50 with one VT-1 damages it's tail, a 2nd hit provides a "hit" and only after the pilot messes up the landing I get a kill. 

If you want to transfer things to a more accurate physical model, start with those. 

 

 

 

[Pr0letari0s 73]

16 hours ago, Noir89 said:

All 3D Decorations are gone (Bushes / shields / Weapons) -- anyone has the same problem?

Yup, thats true. All messed up..!

 

[AAC Polaster@live 1]

When will all new and premium vehicles be released on the xbox?

Edited March 8, 2023 by AAC Polaster@live

[yfxxiii 30]

Feedback for the new air realistic map sizes, applicable mostly to very high BRs (10.0 and up): In general, I like them quite a lot. I think they strike a good balance between the chaos of the small maps and the vastness of the EC maps. I like that they give each time more time to set up positioning before engaging, and that escapes to base are longer and less safe.

 

That said, I do feel very fondly about the smaller maps and the ability to have extremely quick games. Without the small maps something is fundamentally lost in high tier RB. So while I like the medium sized maps, I would prefer that they have something like a 25-50% share of top tier games, with the rest being small maps. Put differently, I think they could outright replace the EC maps in the same or somewhat higher frequency that those had prior to Sky Guardians, as I feel like they are very poorly implemented as they are.

 

As I am advocating for their removal, I think I owe an additional comment for EC maps: I do not necessarily think they have no place in air RB. I think they could stay as an RB game mode that allows for multiple respawns. I am not talking about the return of RB EC - I am talking about the current implementation of EC maps with the 25 minute timer, and just with respawns enabled. It would make more sense for a sprawling, mission-focused map like the EC maps to allow that, as they are quite different from the normal (and now expanded) air RB mission profile.

[Mike Oxlong 8]

• Information about the type of ammo which has been used to hit players has been added to the in-game kill log.

Can you add a option to turn is off as it's pointless information to me.

[AceOfAces99@psn 4,109]

@Stona After a check, I noticed that the Ro.44 has the cockpit of the C.R.32, the chrome one. Is it planned the original cockpit of the Italian seaplane?

[T_reaper_01@psn 18]

@Stona  So since this update I am experiencing 2 bugs in every match. I'm playing on Ps4. Both issues have to deal with the rendering of the vehicles while looking through the thermals, through cannon barrel sniper mode.

• The first is - instead of the enemy vehicles lighting up bright white in thermal, they are faded a dark color that blends in with the background. I cannot see the enemy now unless I'm close up and it's obvious they are moving. But it's terrible now, basically unplayable. I can't see the enemy.

• The second one is - the "dead" vehicles are now actually lighting up in the bright white (opposite than what it's supposed to be) and flickering. Something is wrong with the vehicle rendering colors in thermals now, since this recent update. Please fix ASAP. Never had this problem before.

 

The attached image is just a screenshot from the video of them flickering in bright white, when dead. They should not be bright white when dead. Nor flickering really fast, or at all. I have the video but don't know how to attach it here. I do not have a picture of the enemy vehicles grayed out in the darker color while alive. But it appears the thermals are now opposite /switched. The alive tanks are dark colored and cannot see to shoot them, and the dead enemies are bright white, the opposite. This is a game - breaking bug that needs fixing ASAP please. 

 

Ps:  Now a few hours later, randomly all vehicles are flickering while in thermal, even friendlies. And I noticed in the training map just now , the enemy appeared normal at first in thermals, but once I hit them with machine gun they turned to the dark color making them un-seeable. But in real battle (RB ground) the enemy is constantly dark and not highlighted in thermal mode, cannot see from the start. Thermals are now broken. On other forums am having people say that they're experiencing same problems in the air. 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by T_reaper_01@psn
Added a picture

[Brendan2097@psn 114]

Why are the download speeds for updates so slow? Are they capped? I have 1000mbps fibre but am only getting 6-7 MB/s maximum through steam, and even slower (in the kilobytes) through the standalone launcher.

 

What's inhibiting the download process?

[ElHornero 208]

There always a lot of new high realistic mechanics and high realistic graphical effect in this and previous updates, and many times discussion about the crash between realism and balance.

Is not the current God gunner view the most unattractive and unrealistic mechanic in the game right now?... In RB and SB, also currently the main element that discard WT as a serious simulator IMO for SB.

When could we have a more realistic, beautiful and immersive gunner action in the game?

 

Is not needed to add photorealistic gunner cockpit, just add multiple gunner views attached to the airframe in ideal positions to get an incredible effect.

Even with a good mechanic design (to quickly change the ideal gunner view for the threat) could be even more effective than the current method with less parallax effect, and where crew AI members could assist the player in Situational Awareness (could be by AI speech the was recently added in naval battles). Additionally, the big multicrew planes will no maneuver unrealistically like small fighters in SB because they have access to a God view for their plane.

 

 

 

[RXDimA 8]

The burn effect seems too extreme, it looks like just a pure, matte black texture. I'd suggest a rework for this effect.

I looked up some burned plane images on google, and it looks like after burning you get a mix of black, gray, and silver elements left, with a possible orange discoloration around the burn edges.

It could also just be my graphics settings, so correct me if I'm wrong.

[_retro__gamer_ 400]

On 07/03/2023 at 11:05, Stona said:

Information about the type of ammo which has been used to hit players has been added to the in-game kill log.

Wouldn't be more meaningful/useful for the average guy to really have the ammo type instead of its name? I for sure would rather see if some tank destroyed some other with APCBC/APCR/HEATFS/... than with the particular shell name, which 99% of the time I don't know of and then I just ignore that piece of intel.

Edited March 9, 2023 by _retro__gamer_