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Hit World War II online game War Thunder will receive a Naval Battles update this year titled Knights of the Sea, Gaijin Entertainment has announced.
When Naval Battles are introduced it will give War Thunder players the ability to fight on land in tanks, in the air in planes and on the sea in a range of torpedo, artillery and missile boats, coast guard vessels and patrol boats.
If you’re wondering why the included boats are on the smaller end of what’s available for military, this is because large battleships, battle cruisers and aircraft carriers were deemed too slow and boring from a gameplay perspective.
“The high level of realism is one of the key design features of War Thunder. Vehicles are as close to their real life counterparts as possible,” said creative director Kirill Yudintsev, Gaijin Entertainment. “Classic large ship battles during the war were contests of patience and planning, where engagements could last from several hours to several days. In War Thunder, where all kinds of vehicles fight in one battle and players can control aircraft, tanks and ships, it is not possible to change the size of the ships or make time run faster, as everything needs to remain consistent.
“Our internal testing showed that battles with large battleships were too long and slow or required design changes that made ships entirely unrealistic. For this reason, we are leading with fast attack-based craft, which are rarely reproduced in games. Ships, that are more suitable for the formula of our game. These fast, agile and dangerous ‘Knights of the Sea’ are worthy contenders for aircraft and tanks on the ground.”
Each nation in War Thunder will receive attack boats, with players who purchase pre-order naval starter packs granted access to the closed testing from the moment the test servers go live.
Starter Pack One: Includes a Soviet Project 1124 Armored River Boat. The T-34 turret located in the bow of the boat and two 12.7mm machine guns allow the gunboat to efficiently eliminate enemy ships and low-flying aircraft; but the main destructive power of the Project 1124 lies in her M-13-M1 unguided rocket launcher, the legendary Katyusha.
Starter Pack Two: Includes the famous American PT-109, a motor torpedo boat on which the future US President John F. Kennedy served and performed acts of wartime heroism. During one of the operations the boat was subjected to a surprise ram attack from the Japanese destroyer, Amagiri. In War Thunder, this boat is a fast and manoeuvrable ship destroyer. Her four torpedoes, each weighing almost 1,200 kg, come in handy for destroying large naval targets, and a direct hit against a small enemy vessel will immediately send opponents back to the dock.
Furthermore, the Naval Battles of War Thunder will be available to visitors of Gamescom later this month.
Source: Gaijin
