War Thunder News

https://youtu.be/vu9V5thgans
You probably already know that from the end of last year we have been working hard on the transition of War Thunder to the new Fmod Studio sound engine. The game is constantly evolving, graphics are improving, new technologies appear, and sound is also evolving. Over the past year and a half, extensive sound work has been done: we reworked essentially all the sounds of aircraft engines, and made them dependent on the player’s view angle. The sound of an aircraft from the front, side and rear now sound different, which undoubtedly has a positive effect on the sound picture of the flight making it more realistic. In the same way, the sounds of guns for aircraft and ground vehicles were reworked, similarly for tank engines. The dependence of a tank shot sound on the terrain, where the tank is located, has been introduced. All these are only a small part of the results of sound improvements made over the past one and a half to two years. All these changes were met by you the players very positively, as we learnt from the results of the polls on our website. In addition, we monitor the War Thunder forums to stay in the loop in regards to your wishes for sound. Some write wishes and critique via personal messages on social networks, or e-mail. Thank you!

During the process of implementing all these improvements, we began to realize that the old Fmod Ex sound engine, which was introduced long ago with any customer support stopped a few years ago, it was beginning to exhaust itself, maximising our potential with it here. Therefore, we decided to transfer all sounds to the new Fmod Studio sound engine, which allowed us to introduce a specific number of new features even at the transition stage, eliminate old bugs caused by the old engine’s features, reduce memory load, which will affect the “stability” of the sound picture and most importantly open ample opportunities for future sound innovations.

Fun fact: The uncompressed sound sources of War Thunder contain more than 82,000 files summing up to about 20 gigabytes!

The transition was quite difficult. The uncompressed sound sources of War Thunder contain more than 82,000 files summing up to about 20 gigabytes. All this had to be transferred to a new project. Even though Fmod Studio allowed us to import the project from the old version - all the resulting sound events had to be checked and finished off manually, since the old project used effects and controllers that were not implemented in the newer version. It was also necessary to make sure that all this would work properly on other platforms besides the PC. Now, finally, we can say that this work is done.

For sound mods enthusiasts, there are two bits of news: both a good one and a bad one. The bad thing is, that sound mods made for previous versions won’t work in 1.91. This is due to the brand new Fmod Studio data formats. However, soon after the release of 1.91, we plan to share the source files for the game’s sound assets for mod creators. So, stay tuned.

The new audio engine offers solid groundwork for further improvements. In the future, we will be able to expand the functionality of the sound design for the game in accordance with modern industry standards (HDRA, binaural sound, occlusion of objects, etc.)

Currently, we can highlight the improvements in the following points compared to the previous version:

• Increased positioning accuracy of sound objects.
  
• The detail of the mix has increased due to the introduction of multiple dependencies of sound groups from each other. For example, if there is an explosion nearby, the volume of other sounds decreases in proportion to the level of the explosion sound.
  
• Many sound producing game objects (explosions, aircraft engines, gun shots) have increased in hearing radius for the listener, thanks to more advanced tools of the new sound engine.
  
• Thanks to a powerful and diverse toolkit for real-time sound processing, the sound changes more dynamically, depending on the in-game parameters (hearing range, viewing angles, rpm engines, etc.).
  
• Earlier, part of the logic for the formation of a sound environment laid on the game engine. Now it is shifted to an audio engine, which has a positive effect on the optimization and stability of the game as a whole.
  
• Thanks to the improved compression and decoding algorithms for the sound content of the new audio engine, we are able to reduce the consumption of RAM, which also positively affects the stability of the game as a whole.

That's all for now friends. We really need and appreciate your continued constructive criticism of the sound in War Thunder. Share your suggestions and ask questions in the comments below, as well as on the War Thunder forums!

The CM11 is a mid 1980s main battle tank, developed as a hybrid design from already available individual components of existing US tanks. Coming as part of the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision”, the CM11 will soon await all seasoned tank commanders at the top ranks of the brand new Chinese research tree!

In War Thunder, the CM11 will be one of the vehicles available to players at the top ranks of upcoming Chinese research tree, coming to the game with the release of update 1.91. The CM11 combines familiar aspects of several well-known US tank designs, thus offering a completely different dynamic to what might appear as just a regular M48 or M60 tank at first glance.





Being in essence a hybrid of the M60A3’s hull and M48A1’s turret, the CM11 offers exactly the same levels of protection and mobility which seasoned US tankers in War Thunder have come to expect from these two vehicles, albeit with a little twist. This twist comes in the shape of ERA packages, mounted on the CM11’s turret and hull. Although the ERA will certainly help shield the vehicle from chemical munitions, it does increase the vehicle’s standard weight, thus reducing overall mobility as a result.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

The ships of the Project 68K class are a group of Soviet light cruisers initially laid down before WWII, but were later completed during the early Cold War. Soon, Soviet captains in War Thunder will have the chance to take command of Chapayev - the lead ship of the class - after its arrival to the game with the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision”!

In War Thunder, the Chapayev will become available to all captains at rank IV of the Soviet naval tree. Sporting excellent firepower for a light cruiser, combined with good mobility, a sizeable crew complement and decent protection, the Chapayev will provide captains and fans of Soviet naval vessels in War Thunder with a highly versatile ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ type of warship.





Despite sharing some visual similarities with the Kirov-class, the Chapayev is quite distinctly different from its predecessor. For starters, unlike the Kirov, Chapayev was roughly built around the terms dictated by the Second London Naval Treaty. As such, the Chapayev didn’t receive 180mm guns, but was instead fitted with four triple 152mm main guns, more befitting of a light cruiser design. This also makes the Chapayev the first Soviet cruiser in War Thunder to be equipped with 152mm guns.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

HMS Arethusa is the lead ship of her class of four light cruisers, built for the Royal Navy between 1933 - 1937. This class of British light cruisers saw extensive action during WW2, mainly in the Mediterranean, and now HMS Arethusa herself will come to War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.91 “Night Vision” to join the ranks of the Royal Navy once more!

In War Thunder, HMS Arethusa will be a new light cruiser coming to rank IV of the British naval tree, with the release of the upcoming update 1.91. With her light protection, good mobility and typical early light cruiser firepower, HMS Arethusa will help bridge the gap between older and newer, more powerful British cruiser designs by combining certain aspects found on both into a single vessel.





HMS Arethusa’s primary armament consists of six BL 6-inch (152mm) Mk.XXIII cannons, split between three dual turrets. While this may seem a bit modest to veteran captains, well versed in the capabilities of some of the more powerful cruisers, for a lower ranked light cruiser, this primary armament will prove itself as quite sufficient in dealing with most threats that this vessel will likely face in battle.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

The Type 75 is a Japanese self-propelled howitzer, developed in the early 1970s for the JGSDF. Still serving as one of Japan’s primary mobile artillery units to this day, the Type 75 SPH will soon become available to all Japanese tankers, coming soon to War Thunder as part of the upcoming update 1.91 "Night Vision"!

In War Thunder, the Type 75 will be a new SPG, coming to the game as part of the next major update and will become available to all tankers at rank V of the Japanese ground forces tree. Combining the destructive power of a massive 155mm howitzer with a high rate of fire and a very nimble chassis, the Type 75 is bound to quickly find many fans among tankers who enjoy simply blasting away bits and pieces of tanks with big guns!





The biggest and most noticeable feature of the Type 75 is of course its 155mm NSJ L/30 howitzer. Although generally performing similar to other canons of this caliber in the game, tankers will have access to several key features on the Type 75, which distinguish it from other vehicles of this class in War Thunder. Namely, the Type 75 is fitted with a fully rotatable turret, giving it far more flexibility and tactical opportunities in engagements than other SPGs in the game. Furthermore, the Type 75 is also equipped with a drum-fed autoloading mechanism for its main gun. As a result, the vehicle has a flat 10 second reload time before the next round is ready to reduce another tank to ashes. Thanks to this handy feature, the Type 75 is also the first SPG in the game to offer such a fast reload for this gun caliber.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!