War Thunder News

We will soon move to a new game client file structure that will reduce the size of updates and speed up their installation.

Hello!
Today we would like to tell you about the transition to the new file structure in the War Thunder game client that the development team has already planned for in the upcoming major update.

In short: the new file structure will speed up the installation of updates on your computers and consoles, as well as reduce the size of download files!

The goal of the restructuring is to break up a number of heavy game files into smaller ones so that when these files are changed, players on consoles and the Steam client will download smaller volumes. On a PC, for those who update through our launcher, a partial file update system has been available for a long time, but this file structure change will speed up the installation of updates. In fact, players will receive War Thunder updates faster - we save bandwidth for users with slow or unstable Internet connections on Steam, PlayStation and XBox versions, as well as speed up the installation of updates for all players.

There should be no change in the game's load speed: on SSD, the speed will stay the same, on HDD there may be a slight increase or slowdown in the speed of installing files, depending on the history of use and receipt of updates (due to fragmentation of data on a disk).

The new file structure will be applied to the installation directory of the War Thunder client in the next major update. If you participate in dev-server testing (see post here), you will receive a new structure in the first session of testing the update. To switch to the new file structure, you will need to re-download about 15 GB of data (the exact data volume will be known closer to the release of the update), but only once. In following updates, the volume of traffic for consoles and the Steam client will be significantly reduced compared to the current file structure.

In one of the next major game updates, we also plan to restructure the texture data, the heaviest part of War Thunder files. Details about the second stage of the transition to the new file structure will be announced later.

It was a pleasure to see all of your screenshots from last week! There was a great assortment of vehicles that could have been seen in the Battle of Stalingrad, and many vehicles from more modern times! The three most popular and three selected by us will get 300 GE. See the winners down below!

[h2]Let’s begin the 54th edition of our competition![/h2]

Create a stunning screenshot and submit it on the War Thunder Steam Community Hub with the tag #WTscreen54. You have time until 17.02.2023 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.

[h2]Important addition: Screenshot theme - Loving the Unloved![/h2]

St. Valentine's day is upon us this week! We wanted to ensure all of our vehicles felt loved this week, especially from nations that tend to be less popular than others.

[h3]Terms:[/h3]

Your screenshot must feature one or more vehicles from the Japanese, Italian, or French tech trees!
You must add the #WTscreen54 tag (title cannot have any other text in it).
• 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 14 working days.
  

[h2]And now, time for the winners of the competition’s 53rd edition - Stalingrad![/h2]

[h3]Winners selected via community votes:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2929693474
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2929665603
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2928322615

[h3]Winners selected by our judges:[/h3]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2930257837
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2929000737
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2928774102

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

The Sd.Kfz.222 light reconnaissance armored vehicle was one of the most successful vehicles of this type in service with the German land army and saw intense use in combat during WWII.

[h2]Sd.Kfz.222, SPAAG, Germany/China, rank I[/h2]
Features:

• High mobility
  
• 20mm autocannon
  
• Shoots both ground and aerial targets
  
• Light protection
  

In War Thunder, the Sd.Kfz.222 will become one of the initial vehicles in the German and Chinese tech trees. The main difference from its predecessor, Sd.Kfz. 221, lies in its magazine-fed 20 mm automatic cannon, the real game changer. The early Chinese version comes with a KwK30 cannon, while the German version wields KwK38 with higher fire rate and punchy sub-caliber AP rounds.



The automatic cannon, coupled with the vehicle's good mobility on hard ground and roads, completely re-energise gameplay. The vehicle is well suited for flanking breakthroughs and supporting allied tanks from the second line of attack. In urban battles against lightly armored targets, which are the majority at the initial ranks, a rapid-fire cannon with armor-piercing belt is always more effective than non-automatic guns of larger calibers. Another huge plus for Sd.Kfz. 222 is the ability to shoot down enemy aircraft, thanks to the high elevation angle of the gun.



The Sd.Kfz. 222’s light armor can be pierced by any heavy machine gun, especially in the area of ​​​​the battle compartment. Although this is not the biggest problem at the initial ranks, you'd better remember that this armored car is one of the most vulnerable vehicles in the German lineup, yielding only to gun trucks.

In War Thunder the Sd.Kfz. 222 will arrive with the release of the next major update, among other vehicles, aircraft, features and new locations, which we cover in our Devblog series - so don't miss it!

According to legend, Jimmu, the first Emperor of Japan ascended to the throne 2683 years ago on the first day of the first Lunar month — that was February 11th, 660 BC.

After the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor decreed this day a national holiday; it was temporarily banned after WWII, but was brought back in the mid-1960s.

On February 11th Japanese temples hold festivals, buildings are decorated with flags, and the royal family addresses the nation.

[h2]

From February 10th ( 11:00 GMT) until February 13th (7:00 GMT)

[/h2]

[h3]Play 3 battles using Japanese vehicles (rank III or higher, with an activity of not less than 70%) to receive the “The Guardian of Japan” decal. [/h3]



“The Guardian of Japan” decal.

Complete the task in random battles, except for Enduring Confrontation missions and [Assault] mode. Track your progress in the hangar by clicking Nickname → Achievements → Holidays → National Foundation Day in Japan.

You can find the decal in the “Holidays” tab in the Customisation menu.

[hr][/hr]
[h3]

From February 10th, 11:00 UTC until February 13th, 11:00 GMT, these two discounted packs can be found in the Gaijin Store through the in-game hangar:

[/h3]

[h3]Japanese Pacific Campaign (1941-1942) -50%[/h3]

• Fighter A6M5 Ko (Rank 4, Japan);
  
• Premium account for 15 days;
  
• 850 Golden Eagles;
  
• Japanese Pacific Campaign.
  

[h3]Japanese Starter Pack -50%[/h3]

• Chi-He (5th Regiment) tank (Rank 2, Japan);
  
• Ki-44-I 34 Shoki fighter (Rank 2, Japan);
  
• 120000 Silver Lions;
  
• Premium Account for 7 days.
  

[hr][/hr]
[h3]

Limited time offer: IJN Kiyoshimo, J2M4 Kai and Type 74 mod G/Kai for Golden Eagles!

[/h3]


Don’t miss the chance to purchase the premium IJN Kiyoshimo destroyer, the premium J2M4 Kai fighter and the premium Type 74 mod G/Kai tank for Golden Eagles!

The offer is open until February 13th, 11:00 GMT.

Did you know how easily you can customize War Thunder, or even add your own content to the game? Meet the official content creation tools pack, the War Thunder CDK!

Get the exact tools War Thunder developers use — we’re constantly updating the Content Development Kit to share new features with our content creators. Recently, we released an updated version of the CDK compatible with the Apex Predators update.

[h2]What you can do with the CDK[/h2]

Create unique missions! All those amazing and crazy missions in Custom Battle mode you see are created with the CDK. Mind-blowing wall on wall clashes, testing grounds for all War Thunder vehicles, “battle royales” and many more on the Live WT portal.

Learn more about War Thunder CDK

Own locations - from custom hangar pad to unique game maps. Check the player created collections on WT Live!

Your dream vehicles - create your models and get real money if your vehicle is added to the game.

[h2]Get started with the CDK[/h2]

Browse the latest version and complete manuals on how to customize War Thunder in your own way, even beyond the CDK - user-created sights, custom localizations, camos, sound mods. All these are allowed in War Thunder and will help you to enhance your game experience!

Download the CDK (Wiki article)