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War Thunder News

[Development] Better Graphics for the “Northern Wind” Update!

In the upcoming big update War Thunder 1.95 “Northern Wind”, our game will look even better, thanks to the latest graphics technologies!


Hi! This spring at the NVIDIA GeForce RTX Launch Event at Gamescom 2018 conference we presented our own vision of scalable global illumination for large scenes, Ray Traced Global Illumination, compatible with DirectX 11. We are already successfully using this technology for our other projects, such as Cuisine Royale and Enlisted. In the upcoming update, Ray Traced Global Illumination will appear in War Thunder at low and medium graphic settings for any GPUs with DirectX 11 support!



In our game, there are three large groups of locations: air battles, mixed battles (a.k.a. “tank” locations) and naval environments. The prototypes for War Thunder locations are the most diverse corners of our planet - from the African desert to snowy Russia, from the Pacific islands to the American plains. For each group of locations, different times of the day are provided, from the first dawn rays to late at night, as well as the most diverse weather conditions - clouds, haze, rain, storm, blizzard, and so on. The nature and properties of global illumination for each location in any weather and time of day is an important feature of the picture, which gives the realism and involvement to what is happening in the battle.

Read more in the full article here

HDR - High Dynamic Range


The dynamic range is the difference between the darkest and brightest parts of a picture. Modern technologies make it possible to add additional depth and realism to the picture, adding depth to the transitions of shadows and lights that are visible to the eye in such areas. For monitors and TVs with HDR support, we are able to make light sources brighter and add contrast to the image, while shadows and highlights will retain their naturalness.

HDR shows more color gradations, making banding artefacts disappear. Also, HDR presents more information both in dark areas of a picture (shadows), and in light areas.

Read more in the full article here

Physical sparks


Another small improvement is sparks from hits, explosions, fires and shots with its own physical model. They occur at the moment of the shot at the muzzle of the barrel, at the moment the projectile hits the surface that can produce sparks - for example, armour; and also at the time of fire or explosion inside the vehicle when it is hit. Now sparks reliably fly away from the center, each spark falls off and dies out after some time, and at the moment of falling off, the friction force and elasticity of those objects along which each spark rolls over are taken into account. “Physical” sparks make battles more beautiful and do not require connecting additional resources of your system.

For more information, read the full article on the Official War Thunder website!

[Special] Operation F.R.O.S.T.



2020 comes for all our players whether you are a pilot, a tanker or a sailor and therefore everyone deserves worthy gifts and awards! Join Operation F.R.O.S.T..

From 11:00 GMT on the 20th of December until 11:00 GMT on the 13th of January


Earn stars by completing the tasks in the adventure. The more stars you get, the more prizes you will win including premium and event vehicles, New Year “Pin-up” decals and “Weapon” decorations!

For more information, check out the full article on the Official War Thunder website by clicking this link

[Development] New location: South Kvarken



It makes sense that major update 1.95 “Northern Wind” should bring with it a Northern location! We accordingly present to you a new arena for War Thunder naval battles - South Kvarken, a seashore of granite rocks and stone forts!

South Kvarken is a new location coming to naval battles in War Thunder, and will be available in the upcoming update 1.95 “Northern Wind”. Our artists chose the coastal sea area of Finland as the basis for this location, and is arguably one of the more difficult areas for naval vessels to navigate. We set out to convey, as closely as possible, the harsh nature of these waters - granite rocks scatter the location, and many islands, differing in size, are interconnected by various bridges and scenic forts.





In total, this location holds as many as 70 islands, as well as structures recreated according to real-life counterparts, such as the Replot bridge, the large Olafsborg fortress, the the small forts of Svartholm and Sveaborg.

Meet the South Kvarken naval location in War Thunder’s upcoming update 1.95 “Northern Wind”!

Check out the full article here!

[Development] J32 Lansen: Flying Lance



The update is coming really soon, and it is time for us to get hands on with a top tier aircraft of the Swedish lineup. Say hello to the SAAB J32B Lansen jet fighter, which will be available in two variants - a strike aircraft and an interceptor.

In our game, J32B will become, by the time of the release of update 1.95 “Northern Wind”, the top fighter aircraft in the Swedish tech tree, and will occupy rank VI. As an interceptor, this aircraft surpasses most of its neighbors at its BR in terms of fire capabilities, and only slightly inferior to them in speed (and even then not to all). Indeed, the J32B is not capable of crossing the sound barrier, although it does closely approach it with a maximum speed of 1145 km/h. At the same time, the aircraft has good control, has an air brake for sharper maneuvers and, of course, excellent weapons. 4x30mm guns provide dense, well-controlled bursts with clear and simple ballistics. In addition, on board we have “Sidewinders” - a very rare and pleasant bonus for an aircraft at the entry to rank VI, which means that we can potentially do anything with any air target at almost any speed! While the heavily armed A32A is by far the best choice for mixed battles, the J32B is a genuine air hunter, and this aircraft is a great master of its craft!





J32B - one of the best sub-sonic fighters in the game - will appear in update 1.95 “Northern Wind” very, very soon. Stay tuned!

Check out the full article here!

[Development] Isuzu: Hard hitting Frigate



The Isuzu-class was a group of four frigates built for the JMSDF in the early 1960’s as a replacement for older vessels in service at the time. Soon, Captains will have the opportunity to take command of this Japanese Cold War-era vessel, arriving on War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.95 “Northern Wind”!

In War Thunder, the frigate Isuzu will appear in rank II of the Japanese naval forces tree with the arrival of the next major update coming to the game. Unlike its direct successor - Chikugo, a familiar vessel to some sailors - Isuzu is an older design, but one that offers enhanced firepower and survivability - traits that will most certainly be welcomed by many captains!





Isuzu is arriving soon to rank II of the Japanese naval tree with the release of the upcoming War Thunder update 1.95 “Northern Wind”, and will become available to all Captains. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to the news for all the latest information surrounding the next major update coming to the game in the near future. Until then, calm seas and happy hunting, captains!

Check out the full article here!