War Thunder

[Finkeren]

Maybe years down the road it will become more flushed out, but who knows.

LOL, great typo there.

[kestrel79]

As I've said a few times here I enjoy Warthunder.

 

First of all it's FREE, I have been playing for over a year and have yet to spend a dime. Second of all I ONLY play on simulator difficulty. It has less mouse aimers, you need a stick to be pretty good, and runs great on my pc with 3 monitors. Smooth fps all the time.

 

The biggest thing I love about Warthunder is it's a great intro into more hardcore flight sims like BoS for the casual gamer. When I was a kid in the 90's we had all these great flight sims to get us hooked. Nowdays kids don't have those kinda games. So WT is the game that gets them hooked on WW2 aviation and history. If they want a more realistic sim then they can move on up to BoS.

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

So WT is the game that gets them hooked on WW2 aviation and history. If they want a more realistic sim then they can move on up to BoS.

Not rly. It has been like that previously when it still made fun (2 years ago). We had very competent pilots in SB and a growing simulation comunity despite all the acarde thing going on.

 

Now it's just a ridiculously laughtable. Aside form FMs (which are utterly terrible) the MM is totally messed and biased. And that's just a few issues that went right out of hands since open beta started....a pity, since it was a very competetive and enjoyable game during closed beta stage.

 

As for myself I also started with WT to get into dogfighting. It somehow worked there, though I felt I simply couldn't get any better at some point. Than I started to fly RoF (which I still enjoy today) and despite it being a totally different expirience than ww2 planes it teached me advanced ACM and the intuitivity of turn-/stallfights better than any other sim.

 

The best way to get into aviation is starting with a sim, not playing plane games.

Edited August 20, 2014 by [Jg26]5tuka

[617CaptainMilton]

Not rly. It has been like that previously when it still made fun (2 years ago). We had very competent pilots in SB and a growing simulation comunity despite all the acarde thing going on.

 

Now it's just a ridiculously laughtable. Aside form FMs (which are utterly terrible) the MM is totally messed and biased. And that's just a few issues that went right out of hands since open beta started....a pity, since it was a very competetive and enjoyable game during closed beta stage.

 

As for myself I also started with WT to get into dogfighting. It somehow worked there, though I felt I simply couldn't get any better at some point. Than I started to fly RoF (which I still enjoy today) and despite it being a totally different expirience than ww2 planes it teached me advanced ACM and the intuitivity of turn-/stallfights better than any other sim.

 

The best way to get into aviation is starting with a sim, not playing plane games.

I disagree.  i started with WT as a game and progressed up from there and I was a military pilot in my youth.  I still love WT bu only as a mouse player.  BoS is my goto sim for "flying". That and DCS.

[Dutchvdm]

I never even touched Warthunder. In the gap between 1946 and Il-2 BOX, i played ROF and before that left flightsims for a while. I played modded version's of SH3 and 4 for quite a while. 

 

Grt M

[Rolling_Thunder]

I still enjoy WT. The aircraft variety is incomparable. Some of the newer cockpits are great. F4u-4s. The performance, for such detailed maps, is outstanding. If the ai was in anyway worthy of the name "intelligence" id spend a lot of time in SP. As others have said the community and the certain type of folk who play that game is, for me, the main reason it wont realise its obvious potential. It will remain a fps with airplanes.

Its good that folk are looking for "better" and comming to BoX but unfortunately they will bring the WT mentality with them. No tactics, shoulder shooting, "you stole my kill". Theres a learning curve and not just with flying skill.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Rolling_Thunder

[JG5_Zesphr]

Apart from some glaring game issues - compressed jet tiers, automated ranking, FMs, DMs, and hit detection - the community interaction was terrible. Their mod team was, and quite possibly still is, full of people with a power complex making them a pain to discuss with and denser than a lead weight. They would often ferociously defend all the developers decisions even if they were universally hated, be often hypocritical to defend their stance and would even bait people in to getting them banned.

The very best of this was the discussion of the Ju-87D-5 with it's cannons and air breaks when the dive break were removed for "historical (balance) reasons" and there was a large thread with a ton of documents proving otherwise. This all came to boiling point when one of the most hated mods (BBB) posted pictures of a D-8 and field modified D-5's as "proof" the D-5 came factory standard without dive breaks and said the quote "don't argue with idiots, they'll only drag you down and beat you with experience". 

this one one of many different but similar cases of the moderation and community mangers being awful at what they did with others being the captured premiums (jap B-17), Enduring confrontations, tank CBT vs the release, WTPC (a complete shit show), Avarik's response to how shit the mods were doing things, loot crates, balancing issues etc. 

 

The community went from being on of the best I've known online to one I don't ever plan on joining again which I find quite sad and I do miss it a lot

[Mysticpuma]

I am, I understand, one of the few that enjoyed "Wings of Prey" which was Gaijin's previous game to WT. Even now I am impressed by the lighting, ground detail, and effects.

I then became an Alpha tester for War Thunder and along with other members of the original IL2 community (I think Bearcat was in there too) who hoped for the next Sim with the latest graphics (which at that time still seemed possible). Sadly it soon became clear Sim player inputs to the developers were not being taken onboard and then the grind table appeared.... and it then became obvious this would end up as a pay to win/play game.

 

Most of us walked away feeling we had wasted our time and hugely disappointed.

 

I then moved to Cliffs of Dover (as most of you know) but have bought all the packs for BoS as I enjoy Sims and want to support developers as it expands my and others possibilities in the future.

 

War Thunder sadly (for me) could have been so much better and interesting to flight simmers but ultimately ended up as an FPS for aircraft.

 

MP

[Jade_Monkey]

I am, I understand, one of the few that enjoyed "Wings of Prey" which was Gaijin's previous game to WT.

 

MP

 

I actually enjoyed Wings of Prey a lot.

[dburne]

I went from original IL-2, to PF, to IL-2 1946 the Cliffs of Dover, and then BoS.

 

War Thunder has never really had an appeal for me.

[Guest deleted@30725]

I wonder how many times the OP re-started war thunder since posting in 2014. Is the OP even still playing BOS? 

[[CPT]milopugdog]

I've put far more time and money into WT than BoS. All the issues with the game put aside, it really helped shape me into the person I am today. Aside from reading about aircraft in books and stuff like that, flight didn't peak my interest too much.

After I started, I guess you could say it took flight.

 

It was fun while it lasted. But all good things must come to an end.

[=TBAS=Sshadow14]

Was after a more realistic and better modeled large plane and bomber experience.

also i always found it funny playing war thunder as its a plane game.
But it has no Wind or proper weather that acts on the planes handling or engine.

This would be like playing World of Warships without Water or currents in the water

[I./JG2_Sekij]

I never left. Its still my Favorite F2P Game... even tho it was the first F2P where i really put alot of money in and felt good with it. It has it Whales vehicle but most of the time (especial when there special offers) i feel its very budged friendly game. 

 

 

 

Sure its nots BoS kind of Sim but i still like to fly from time to time. Or playing with Friends the Arcade mode. And i never had a grindy feel as i never was interessted in Jets or super high rank prop gameplay.

 

And im in a similar boat like milopugdog. After war thunder i really start getting into 30's / 40's Aircrafts. And this part of History. But for me it never ended, just have bigger breaks from time to time :D

 

 

Also someone complained about the Community... well i think the community here is similar just smaller sized. The most annoyng type of player for me where those German Fanboys which allways felt like their godplanes where to weak. And i see this and debades about this subject from time to time here as well (see the La5FN thread in General which was closed :D)

 

Also sure Gaijin isnt really super hardcore supportive towards the Sim Community (as they are a small part) but at least now all Bomber have a Cockpit even tho they are placeholder but still most of them are fine. And the new Sim mode dont have waiting times of 5 minutes not even a second. The "EC" Mode which is split into diffrent rooms, kinda feels like playing on  WoL just with fewer Player and random spawning Ground Battles :D

 

And i find War Thunder is an excellend Kickstarter for Sim newbs. Only problem its, better to start off with Arcade than "realistic" mode to get more planes because the Biplanes feel weird in Sim mode and also its a nice small learning curve and its a very friendly f2p. 

[=TBAS=Sshadow14]

i think war thunder teaches more bad habbits than it helps new players learning to fly
like in WT Flaps help fighters turn better at high speeds even WHILE INVERTED omg thats hilarious

Learning to drive in a penny arcade racing booth will not help you much out on the real road

Edited December 14, 2017 by =TBAS=Sshadow14

[I./JG2_Sekij]

In SB the Flaps just break off if you are to fast, which is for most planes quite slow. They work wrong on Yak1 or Spitfire for sure.

[Danziger]

I had been out of simming for a few years and wanted to get back into it. I played who knows how many stupid online battles trying to get my mig-3 pimped out with proper gear. Then I decided I wanted a B17... I ground relentlessly up to the second B25 and got sick of it. I paid like 35 bucks to get from the B25 to the first B17. Just to unlock the plane not even the upgrades. Then no cockpit... Then you can wind up flying your B17 over Stalingrad being shot down by Zeros and P47s...

[6./ZG26_5tuka]

Fact is it's not a good game of you're looking for a full simulation expirience. Infact the devs tried to kill sim mode years ago when faced with the comunity demands of realism (bomber cockpits, removed gunner view, historical plane matchups, realistic FMs). Now it in a coma state with the odd player hosted EC mode that feels unfinished and improvised (a 'do it yourself' mode).

 

About teaching new people sim flying, the sad truth is it won't. How do people feel encourage to but a joystick and learn flying from 0 if you have it way easier unlocking all those aircraft in a mindless action arena that is arcade using mouseaim. People get more addicted by the grind than the game and as soon as they even try a joystick they despise it as their sweet 5 kills per sorty are gone.

 

That is what I witnessed as member of a big squad that tried to train forner mouse aim users to fly with joystick. They tried it a few times, left silently and returned to arcade mouseaim flying soon after.

[I./JG2_Sekij]

 

That is what I witnessed as member of a big squad that tried to train forner mouse aim users to fly with joystick. They tried it a few times, left silently and returned to arcade mouseaim flying soon after.

 

Mhhh but is it the fault of the game.... its more about what the player want. If they like the Arcade mode there and sneaked into the other modes its up to them if they wanna stay. People like me who started in Arcade (and even played in Cockpit view) wanted allways more immersion and realism it was a ... slowly progress for me which War Thunder offered really well. Also it has one of the  best controll settings which i miss on some other "real fly sims". 

 

I think its up to the player if they are interessted in a real fly sim than of course starting with the real thing like Il2 BoX is better. But WT is a good method to see if people will get hooked by air combat and than slowly coming in contact with sim Genre and than even switching to other games. 

[kestrel79]

I still play, I even became Premium member. Don't shoot me. I really like the combined tank/aircraft sim battles events, especially when they have historical events. They have an impressive vehicle list that keeps it fun for me. Flight model is awful compared to BoX but still quick and dirty fun in some unusual vehicles.

 

Also it's a great gateway game into simming. In this day not many games can reach the mainstream and have kids learn about history and tanks/planes which is probably all our passion on here. It's fun being able to play this game with my 8 year old Nephew and teach him the different types of vehicles.

[Guest deleted@30725]

I thought the tanks in war thunder were some of the best I'd ever played in terms of gameplay. The idea of different destruction points based on the real tanks is really good idea. Only problem really is it matches equal number of tanks vs equal number which makes the realism of tanks a bit wonky because there were never 10 tigers vs 10 shermans. They had it best when we had sim tank battles were you were put into tank commanders position with no hit markers and only your eyes to find the target. What made this a bit rubbish was that you can turn off a lot of the grass to see the world open so you're hiding behind a bush that another player can't see because they've got their graphics turned right down. This game as a whole would be great as a pay title without it all being locked behind a grind wall and a lock on how low end a pc can be used to keep more grass and world on. Problem with the grind system is that in tanks it's really hard to progress because it takes so much resources to unlock different items or make enough game money to buy a new tank. Playing for free in this game, playing for fun isn't that much fun. 

 

The whole game is a bit like playing an interactive museum. They've got many of the tanks and aircraft from ww2 in the game. It almost doesn't matter that they don't have the best plane flight models, or the best tank physics. Many people will as stated by others play war thunder and learn about history, ww2 and go on to learn the real stories, how these things were really used. It's a game aimed more for kids and kids like this type of thing. That's OK as a kid may find normal, realistic history too boring. That's not a problem though and the choice is peoples.

 

No one has to spend any money on this game if they don't want to. I don't pity or think badly of people who use their money in War Thunder, after all people spend their money on more pointless things like drugs and alcohol. If the game was so terrible, so awful people would not play it so there has to be some interest, something that redeems it otherwise why play it at all?

 

I'm writing, speaking, typing as someone who doesn't play War Thunder or Il2 anymore. I got into war thunder years ago and it sparked an interest, DCS, Il2 and sent me all over the country, a quest to visit many ww2 aircraft museums. I discovered Tank Fest and Flying legends. I might even be visiting an aircraft museum in Germany later in the year and I'm planning to visit Hitlers eagles nest. I've seen where Churchill proposed to his wife and sat in thoughtful silence of all the history past and still to be written.

 

DCS allowed me to press the buttons virtually of some of the most iconic planes of ww2 and get a deeper understanding of what it may have been like to actually fly one of these aircraft and then Il2bos made me feel emotions, taught me about less popular conflicts, less well known aircraft, showed me the power of the community, the unrelenting strength of the human spirit and immersed me fully into being a pilot in any one of the scenarios. In Il2 bos I felt like a pilot in a war and the thematic atmosphere was a major part of the enjoyment even if the game was still far from perfect. I only realized then that I was glad it was not real.

 

Thus far I've seen many of the planes in war thunder, DCS and Il2 bos either as static displays or flying in the air. I've touched a real tiger tank and felt the thundering roar of ww2 plane engines. I've gained a great appreciation and understanding of what these normal, young men went through. 

 

When these games loose their relevance and we are all dead and gone. Many of us will be footnotes in history, remembered by people we knew and many, many blank faces. WW2 is a landmark in time that will never, ever be forgotten and the ordinary young men and brave women who did their duty, flung into a war many of them did not want, ripped from their happy lives and forced either into battle or working in factories to support the troops did the best they could against unrelenting hatred and through an experience many of us will never understand. 

 

Each game has its merits. Play what you enjoy or what suits your lifestyle. Don't live for the game.

[VBF-12_Stick-95]

I have never flown WT so I cannot address the differences.  Some however have given the reason that WT is free as a plus.  I cannot count the number of free games that are not on my hard drive.

[NETSCAPE]

I actually only played war thunder for the armor combat. IL-2 is my first flight game really. By default I've always been far more interested in the ground combat of ww2.

 

I left WT due to an array of reasons. They changed game modes to where all modes have mixed factions on a team...meaning if you're in a Stug a guy in a Sherman and T34 can be on your team. That alone KILLS the game for me. Add to that, 3rd person view, incorrect optics, incorrect armor and penetration for certain tanks, STUPID skins, the insane amount of time it takes to "grind" to get more stuff...the list goes on.

 

I've never rage uninstalled a game so hard when one day, I shot a Sherman in the side with a Stug III f/8 and it bounced off...then he turned and one shot me, of course.

 

The world still doesn't not have a ww2 tank sim, or really any new-ish tank sim for that matter... I hope 1C and 777 pull through. Though I am quite disapointed that a Stug isn't on the list of planned tanks...I mean it was the most produced AFV of the Germans...

 

Also we need a new u-boat sim.

 

All I can do is pray.

[Blitzen]

I'm looking for the best sim representative of a B-17F for a current project.The vid of the one on War Thunder seems to fill the bill.Except for a fleeting experience with the sim,I really know nothing about it & all I really want to do is use the B-17F featured for in flight exterior reference shots screenies .My question is after downloading the sim 9 free as i recall,) how difficult is it to acquire the B-17 ? Can I simply buy it  somehow right away outright without having to earn it in the arcade game fashion? can someone give me a bit of advice?

( Please post to the correct forum if this is incorrectly placed.)

[JG5_Zesphr]

iirc there is a "captured" B-17 for the Japanese that can be bought. the skin can then be replaced on live.wathunder.com 

to grind it out in the tree it shouldn't take too long but will definitely get grindy. Also it should be noted unless there's been an update, bomber cockpits look worse than IL-2 -1946 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Guccigang_Zesphr

[Blitzen]

No Can't spend the time & effort .

Il-2 has a pretty good one but dated..it might have to do.

BTW I did the illustration for the now very dated B-17 Mighty Eighth a long time ago.

[Rolling_Thunder]

The FSX aeroplanes heaven B17F may be cheaper than the warthunder premium and has a much better cockpit than warthunder

https://www.justflight.com/product/b17-flying-fortress-aeroplane-heaven

This is of course if you have FSX or P3D

Edited May 16, 2019 by Rolling_Thunder

[II/JG17_HerrMurf]

7 hours ago, Blitzen said:

No Can't spend the time & effort .

Il-2 has a pretty good one but dated..it might have to do.

BTW I did the illustration for the now very dated B-17 Mighty Eighth a long time ago.

 

Confirm you did the box art for that game?

[Danziger]

Does WT have an F? I know they had early and late E models and a G. I slaved for months to get my E and was so sick of the game by then that I quit playing before bothering to get the "upgrades" for it.

[SYN_Haashashin]

13 hours ago, Blitzen said:

No Can't spend the time & effort .

Il-2 has a pretty good one but dated..it might have to do.

BTW I did the illustration for the now very dated B-17 Mighty Eighth a long time ago.

Hell yeah, I played that game like it was not tomorrow!! hehehehe (Found my CD copy right now) B-17 has been my favorite WWII plane since...ever. We need a B17 sim yes or yes.

 

And this one even earlier...

 

Haash

[Lusekofte]

I loved that game too. I think I went into a depression after it would not work when I got a new pc and new operating system. And I could not make it to work. I liked 1 much better than 2

[Blitzen]

9 hours ago, II/JG17_HerrMurf said:

 

Confirm you did the box art for that game?

Yup!

[Blitzen]

The trouble with Great Battles is that it spoils you for most sims of the past that don't feature the kind of detail & shadows that GB has as standard.Just look at the wonderful A-20 and the B-25 will be equally as sharp when it finally lands. For now , for my purposes I think I can make the old trusty Il-2 Forgotten Battles B-17F's in formation work, the good folks at S.A.S. have improved its exterior quite a bit even without shadows ...sigh...

[blockheadgreen_]

The best sim B-17 is surely the A2A Accu-sim model for FSX. Not sure whether it's an F or G though.

[NETSCAPE]

On 5/16/2019 at 1:39 PM, Blitzen said:

BTW I did the illustration for the now very dated B-17 Mighty Eighth a long time ago.

 

ha! very cool. I remember that game.

[ZachariasX]

On 5/19/2019 at 12:45 AM, Lythronax said:

The best sim B-17 is surely the A2A Accu-sim model for FSX. Not sure whether it's an F or G though.

G. They have plans to update her to todays accusim standards for P3D.

[US63_SpadLivesMatter]

I had tried War Thunder a while back, and quickly decided that mouse-controlled aircraft just weren't for me.  Even though there was a simulator mode, it was never populated, and so I never was able to give it a try.  However, someone I know had just started the game, so I decided to reinstall it to play with them.  Mouse-controlled aircraft still weren't my thing; but I was surprised to learn that the simulator battles were much better populated than before, so I've been flying them for the last few weeks.  Some observations:

 

1.  The game mode, Enduring Confrontation, is a lot of fun.  In most ways it resembles the multiplayer maps in IL-2, except that objectives are dynamic to a degree, and you are often presented new objectives over the course of the map.  This gives the game a much greater feel of being a living battlefield than a static map.  I hope that with Air Marshal, IL-2 can capture some of this feeling.

 

2.  AI-controlled flights of bombers, attack aircraft, and recon aircraft act as objectives to be protected or shot down by players.  Bomber formations usually consist of 6 to 8 aircraft, which is cool.  These provide less skilled players a way to contribute meaningfully to their side's efforts to win the map.

 

3.  Player skill is significantly lower across the board.  In Rise of Flight and FC, I'm decent in the WW1 aircraft, but in IL-2 pretty awful in the WW2 birds.  In War Thunder simulator battles I've been clubbing people.  Your average "good" pilots in WT are about as good or maybe below my own skill level, while the rare and exceptional ace-type dudes tend to resemble the typical russian you're likely to encounter in IL-2 multiplayer (which is to say, much better than me!  at least in my timezone).  It's weird to me seeing my own flat scissors and lag displacement rolls resulting in a firing solution with regularity.

 

4.  The aircraft all fly a bit easier, with less engine management, but by and large still fly different enough that you know what you're flying by the feel of the aircraft; and if you've flown it in IL-2, still feels generally right in WT, and the planes mostly perform as you would expect them to.

 

5.  WT doesn't use icons in simulator mode, but instead shows dots within a certain distance, which transition from dots, to silhouettes, to aircraft models as you close distance.  At first I assumed that this would significantly decrease my ability to bounce people.  In practice, this wasn't the case.  All in all, I got roughly the same proportion of successful bounces vs guys that saw me.  I think this is a just a function of the overall lower skill level I mentioned earlier.  However, with AI bombers CAP aircraft, and friendlies visible with dots, it is a lot more difficult to determine what is a threat and what isn't, even though you can see them.  That objectives will have you operating in all areas of the map doesn't help either.

 

6.  The simulator mode uses a system of "spawn points" which you earn by performing tasks on the battlefield.  This gives players a reason to fly the "lesser" aircraft available for the map, rather than everyone choosing the top performers.  Landing the aircraft refunds the points, while they are lost if you exit or crash the craft otherwise.  A downside I noticed though, is once you are able to select one of the best types, it is unlikely you'll have to downgrade again, while others, unless flying the bare minimum rigs for the map, will have a hard time getting to the best planes.  I'm not sure if I like this system yet.

 

There are other things I noticed about the simulator battles, but those are the things that most stood out to me.  Has anyone else here tried them out?  What were your impressions.  For me, IL2 is far and away the better simulator, but the WT simulator was pretty cool, and a lot of fun as well.

Edited August 25, 2019 by hrafnkolbrandr

[SharpeXB]

The FM in War Thunder is so awful there’s no point in it. 

Honestly this game looks better too for what that’s worth. 

I’d rather play a sim with more historical authenticity and accurate aircraft. It’s better to have 40-50  well done aircraft than 300 poorly done ones. 

[PatrickAWlson]

I have never played WT but I will defend it anyway  .  It is what it is what it purports to be - light entertainment.  I seriously doubt that anybody into GB will be pulled away by WT.  What I do think is possible is that somebody dipping their toes into the water with WT might progress to GB.  If WT gets people interested in WWII planes it's all good.

[SharpeXB]

Sure. War Thunder is perfectly fine as a gateway sim. An easy starter game that encourages players to seek out greater authenticity and challenge. After all the game that originally got me hooked on flight sims was IL-2 Wings of Prey.