War Thunder Options

[Epicedion]

I don't know if anyone else is playing this, but I'm having a blast.

War Thunder is a multiplayer free-to-play sort of like World of Tanks and World of Warplanes, except, well, better. The current release of the game is a selection of aircraft from WW2 through Korea. Tanks are in a closed beta, though when they hit we're going to see combined tank and airplane battles. Naval engagements are in the pipe, as well -- I don't know if we're going to see full land/air/sea at one time, though.

I'm going to compare it heavily to World of *, because that's easiest:

Unlike WoT, you take a selection of aircraft into a fight (when tanks hit you can actually take a mix of tanks and planes on one roster). That means that when you get knocked out, you can come back in with another vehicle.

Damage modeling is highly locational, with no "hit point" bar or anything. You can get holes shot in wings, ruptured fuel tanks, fires, damaged ailerons, etc.

There are multiple modes of play -- basic arcade-style skirmishes, realistic flight modes, and full-simulator. You can jump into online multiplayer fights, set up custom-rules battles, or play (purchased) historical campaigns or dynamic campaigns, all online co-op/versus with friends or random people. This really runs the spectrum from "cheesy simple flight shooter" to "let's recreate the Battle of Britain."

The selection of aircraft isn't necessarily complete, but it's large and pretty diverse. The starting aircraft are early 30's biplanes and monoplanes that progress through the classic aircraft of the era all the way toward jet fighters. There are also dive/torpedo bombers (and dive/torpedo bombing) (Dauntless, Avenger, Stuka, etc), heavy attack aircraft (BF110s, etc), medium bombers (B-25s, etc), and things like B-17s for high-altitude carpet bombing runs. There are also a few oddities like seaplanes and some of the experimental aircraft that never really made it.

Online random battle-wise, the primary modes are Ground Attack, where two teams try to bomb outlying bases and vehicle columns before their opponents can do the same. Also Domination, where there are a series of airfield "capture points" -- landing (or performing a good touch-and-go) on the airstrip will flip the capture point for your team.

You have to research new aircraft, by earning "research points" from playing. Unlike WoT, though, you don't only progress toward the next aircraft by flying the one immediately preceding it. All your points from one nation go toward unlocking the same airplane. There are aircraft upgrades (engine, guns, etc) to unlock, to get a few more horsepower or slightly better gun scatter or a slightly better turn speed, but none of these seem to make an aircraft overwhelmingly superior to its stock model.

Speaking of stock models, there are plenty of variants to choose from, usually either role-specific or just an upgraded version of a plane that appeared later in the war.

Real money is used to make unlocks faster, or to buy special and "gift" planes outright (like a captured P-51 for the Germans), but they aren't unique models superior to the planes you can unlock through play. Upgrades like bigger bombs and specialized ammunition are purchased with the currency you earn through play (and generally pretty cheap in that regard). I've looked for the "I Win" button and can't find it (though after going up against a few Spitfires, the button might be in the Spitfire).

All in all, it's pretty awesome. It's a good looking game, it feels pretty solid, and planes are fun. It's totally worth the free download.