MMORPGs

Four New & Unique Vehicles Are Obtainable In This Year’s In-game-Event Series, Plus Plenty of Decals, Decorations And More

Gaijin Entertainment’s vehicular combat MMO War Thunder has launched the “Chronicles of World War II”, a series of in-game events recreating some of the most important battles of World War II. Between mid-April and Victory Day in May, players can take part in more than 40 of the biggest military clashes of the 20th century and earn four new and unique premium vehicles in the process. Available are the armored car T18E2 for the United States, the Lorraine 155 MLE.50 tank destroyer for France, the Whirlwind P.9 attacker for Great Britain and the TANDEM-MAI multipurpose fighter for the USSR. Apart from the exclusive vehicles, event participants can earn dozens of dedicated decals and decorations, which all will be available only during this year’s series.

All in-game events of the series are held in their historical chronological order, beginning with the German invasion of the USSR in 1941 until the final Battle for Berlin in 1945. Pilots and tankers will clash on the hot deserts of North Africa, fight along the narrow streets of European cities and hunt each other in the skies above the Pacific Ocean. Every day, six new events are available in all difficulty settings, through which participants can earn the “Chronicle Awards” necessary for unlocking the aforementioned content.

In addition to the exclusive rewards obtainable in the events, special bonuses including premium vehicles are also available by fulfilling tasks in War Thunder’s regular random battles and earning “Parts” in the process. With those, players can obtain decorative items and decals that were previously available only in specials and later also use them to unlock the premium lend-lease Matilda Mk. II infantry tank for the USSR and premium PV-2D Harpoon bomber for the USA. The number of tasks performed by all players of War Thunder is tracked on the game’s official website, and whenever it reaches a certain milestone, in-game participants receive awards and, ultimately, the blueprints to assemble both the tank and bomber for free.

More information about the events and obtainable awards, including historical and technical information on the unique premium vehicles, can be found on the official War Thunder website HERE.

A Unique Spitfire Up For Grabs, Plus Other Specials And A Massive Discount

Gaijin Entertainment and the vehicular combat MMO War Thunder commemorate the recent centenary of the Royal Air Force this upcoming weekend. Available are a host of in-game specials, including the chance for all players to obtain a new and unique model of the famous Spitfire, as well as a massive discount on a special pack of premium aircraft perfect for British aviation enthusiasts.

Britain, which is one of the oldest nations playable in War Thunder, is a favorite of hundreds of thousands of virtual pilots from all over the globe, fascinating players with its exceptional aircraft ranging from the trusty Gloster Gladiator biplane to the impressive Hawker Hunter jet fighter. Almost 100 different aircraft are playable in total, including not only fighters, but also well-known World War II veterans such as the Swordfish torpedo-bomber that helped sink the German battleship Bismarck, the Beaufighter as the world’s first aircraft designed to fit a radar device, or the Gloster Meteor, the only jet to participate on the Allied side in the war.

The country’s most famous wartime development, the renown Supermarine Spitfire, is represented in War Thunder with more than 20 different models alone. Players will be able to obtain a unique model, the Spitfire F.Mk.IXc equipped with four powerful 20mm Hispano cannons, for the first time ever during the centenary festivities by participating in an in-game tournament hosted on this occasion. A true legend both in real-life and in War Thunder indeed, the Spitfire is perfectly captivated in the recent episode of the game’s “Legends” series on YouTube.

Furthermore, all players will be able to obtain a unique RAF decal to decorate their favorite aircraft with by fulfilling in-game tasks. Two rare premium aircraft, the Spitfire LF Mk. IX flown by Southern Rhodesian ace pilot John Plagis and the Typhoon Mk. Ib, will be available for purchase using the in-game currency Golden Eagles throughout the upcoming weekend.

And as a special treat for all British aviation enthusiasts, the War Thunder store offers a great selection of the country’s most popular aircraft bundled in the special “His Majesty’s Finest” pack available at a whopping 30% discount. Besides plenty of Golden Eagles and Premium time, the bundle includes the Spitfire FR Mk. XIVe flown by the Canadian John Prendergast, one of the last pilots to fly reconnaissance over Normandy ahead of D-Day, the multi-role strike aircraft Westland Wyvern and the Martin-Baker MB 5 prototype fighter, one of the most advanced aircraft of its time.

More information about the centenary specials are available on the official War Thunder website.

World of Tanks 1.0 introduces complete graphics & sound overhaul, collaboration with Intel, Sony Music Entertainment, and Google

World of Tanks first roared onto PC in 2010 and to date has recruited 160 million registered players, becoming one of the most popular games in the world. The new World of Tanks Update 1.0 lands today in Europe and North America, unleashing Wargaming’s high-end Core graphics engine exclusively for PC players. The biggest ever update to the game takes tank combat to new heights with improved visuals, 29 completely reworked battlefields, a new soundtrack, and the new Glacier map.

The new graphics engine, Core, has been in development for over 4 years and was engineered entirely in-house. Update 1.0 will see World of Tanks PC switch to this new engine and take advantage of the latest technology for graphics processing and rendering. Core’s introduction marks a new era for World of Tanks PC with PBR, post-processing effects, advanced lighting and shading, particle effects, and a multitude of other optimization and performance-enhancing features. Watch the World of Tanks 1.0 trailer HERE.

Together with greater visual fidelity, Update 1.0 adds a brand-new dynamic soundtrack, recorded by the Prague Symphonic Orchestra after more than a year of development. To create a specific atmosphere to each map, local ethnic instruments were added and mixed to the musical score. Each in-game location gets its own theme that resonates with its setting, in every battlefield. Published by Sony Music Entertainment, the World of Tanks official soundtrack will be available to stream and download for free across all major music platforms including Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and many more.

Update 1.0 is released in partnership with Intel Corporation to help ensure that World of Tanks remains up to date on the latest technological advances and uses them to enhance its gaming experiences.

“Update 1.0 improves the baseline technology for the game, introducing the in-house developed Wargaming Core graphics engine,” said Milos Jerabek, Development Director for World of Tanks PC. “Thanks to it, we’re now capable of elevating the entire game and can ensure World of Tanks is a fun and immersive experience for years to come.”

Click here for more information on the World of Tanks Update 1.0, the full list of changes and watch a seven minute plus video review,

Massive Update 1.77 ‘Advancing Storm’ enhances visuals, audio, and enters next-gen armored warfare with M1 Abrams, Challenger 1, Leopard 2K, T-64B & more

Gaijin Entertainment today announced the release of major Update 1.77 ‘Advancing Storm’ for its vehicular combat MMOG War Thunder. ‘Advancing Storm’  introduces the PC and console versions of War Thunder to Gaijin’s new and improved Dagor 5.0 engine, capable of near photo realistic environments and vehicles. The update also adds nearly two dozen new vehicles, including five next generation tanks on Rank VI: the M1 Abrams, Challenger 1, Leopard 2K, T-64B and AMX-30B2 Brenus.

Among the graphical improvements introduced with Dagor Engine 5.0 are technologies like Global Illumination (GI) and Contact Shadows. Together with photorealistic weather effects, volumetric fog and smoke, War Thunder is now visually more much more life-like and detailed. Also new is Temporal Anti-Aliasing (Variance Clipping TAA), an anti-aliasing algorithm that greatly reduces the visible “noise” on distant vegetation, smooths the appearance of objects, and adds more detail to surfaces. Furthermore, the creation of landscapes was improved with the addition of visible reliefs via displacement mapping, resulting in much more visually diverse environments. Roads, for example, now have potholes, ruts and may show puddles of slush, water or mud – with the latter depending on the current weather and type of terrain. These landscape changes are visible to players on all graphics settings.

Accompanying the visual improvements is a complete redesign of in-game sound effects. Each shot effect is now created from several layers of sounds that correspond to peak and residual effects. Thus, experienced tankers are now able to determine the caliber of the cannon that fired the shot, even from distance. The effects themselves received additional details, so players can now hear the sound of cases dropping as they fire, or the working loading mechanisms of their cannons. Aircraft sounds are more vibrant and powerful. Further improvements are also planned for future updates.

Several next generation main battle tanks of the 1970s and 1980s now reinforce the arsenal of War Thunder on Rank VI: the U.S. M1 Abrams, British Challenger 1, German Leopard 2K, Soviet T-64B and French AMX-30B2 Brenus. All of them boast powerful weapons, armor, high speed, and mobility. Noteworthy here is the special cannon of the T-64B that allows it to fire ‘Cobra’ guided anti-tank missiles and the AMX-30B2 Brenus’ powerful reactive armor. Some of the vehicles introduced with Update 1.77 are still in service today.

German pilots can look forward to the heavy Heinkel He 177 A-5 Greif bomber, which was created by a War Thunder player under the Revenue Share Partner Program. You can follow up on the He 177’s creation process on War Thunder Live.

Update 1.77 ‘Advancing Storm’ features plenty of other graphical improvements, vehicles and changes. Read more on the official War Thunder website.

Battlestate Games published the map of innovations and updates that will be coming to Escape from Tarkov in 2018, as well as plans for technical enhancement of the project. The studio is currently finishing preparations for the launch of Open Beta testing, primarily concerning technical conditioning of the game: rectifying all known errors that break the gameplay or game, optimizing and enhancing the network code for the purposes of reducing the frequency of desynchronisation, reducing delays and eliminating disconnects, as well as improving the overall game performance. BSG also started the groundworks for the transition to the new version of Unity, 2018, with the active support of the specialists of the engine developers.

Following the start of Open Beta and introduction of the new Interchange location, the studio will commence adding new features and game mechanics, although their order of appearance in the game is not determined yet and subject to change.

Visit the Escape from Tarkov website for more about the games continued development for 2018.

Sail the seas with the most famous battleships of France in World of Warships

Vive la France! Everyone knows France for its baguette and red wine, but also for its diversified and beautiful landscape and cities. Normandy, Bretagne, Alsace or the town of Lyon are famous all around the world.

World of Warships gives you a unique opportunity to re-visit what France produced as the most spectacular, powerful, breathtaking innovations in the naval engineering field. The French Battleships are now joining the game with Normandie, Bretagne, Alsace or Lyon, as well as Richelieu and Republique. Not only are these battleships among the most beautiful ever created and will enlighten your visual experience of the game, but if you think warships are slow or lack action, then you will revise your judgement. Take Normandie, (a tier VI warship) all the main battery turrets have 4 guns, with Lyon (tier VII) holding the absolute record in her 4×4 configuration. 16 canons ready to unleash their wrath on their opponents. And they are the fastest ships of their class.

Each ship has been meticulously recreated from blueprints after weeks of research. The developers spent many hours in the archives provided by Service historique de la Défense (Vincennes, Châtellerault) and Musee National de la Marine (Paris) to get access to photos and blueprints.

Sergey Gornostaev Senior Museums and Militaria Relations Specialist said, “we already knew from the history of French armaments and military vehicles that French war machines were quite unique in design. It was awesome to find that the French military love their heritage and are proud of it. We found special sets of references already prepared for scale modelers – this was a first for us in any archives we visited!”

Each model needed several months of works to be recreated. Et Voilà!

Everyone can now enjoy the best of France from his PC and understand why France was one of the most dangerous naval nation in the world.

Visit the official World of Warships website for more game information.

Battlestate Games kick off the load testing of the Escape from Tarkov game servers before the official start of the Open Beta testing at the beginning of 2018. Also the studio starts a holiday event which will allow the game to be purchased with a 25% discount during the week, and some of the users will receive a free 7-day access to the game. A full description of the event, participation requirements and instructions for redeeming the gift can be found on the project website in the news section.

Moreover developers released the last update of the game in 2017. This version of the game introduces the complete Shoreline map along with new weapons and weapon modifications, including AKMS, AKMN, Gyurza pistol and Trijicon REAP-IR thermal sight, as well as new equipment like customizable Ops-Core helmets. Moreover, several gameplay systems have been seriously redesigned, most importantly, deployment and extraction system, weapon mastering and dynamic changing of its size. Other notable changes include customization of helmets and head gear slots. The end of the Raid screen now features the opportunity to view the list of characters killed during the game session. Furthermore, players can now take dogtags off deceased enemies, which contain info on nickname, level and PMC affiliation. The complete list of new developments and changes can be found on the official project Forum and in social network communities.

At this point, users purchasing any game package get access to the Beta testing and can start playing immediately after purchase.

Learn more about the project testing plans and the estimated completion time frame, and purchase the game on the official website of the project.

Major content update also adds new game mechanics, maps, vehicles and sets stage for the popular New Year’s Marathon offering free unique vehicles to all players

Gaijin Entertainment released Update 1.75 “La Resistance” for its vehicular combat MMO War Thunder. Besides adding more than a dozen aircraft, new locations, and a new reconnaissance mechanic for light tanks, the update introduces the previously announced Ground Forces research tree for France. Furthermore, the update sets the stage for the popular New Year’s marathon, where players can obtain tanks and aircraft unique to this year’s event. Watch the War Thunder: Update 1.75 ‘La Résistance’ trailer HERE.

The French Ground Forces research tree starts with a staggering amount of 35 vehicles from Rank I all the way to Rank VI, encompassing early tanks of the 1930s as well as modern vehicles from the late stages of the Cold War. The production of the most modern model in War Thunder, the AMX-30V2, began in 1982 and it is still in service today with several armies worldwide.

Together with the French Ground Forces comes the new combined battles location “Maginot Line”, portraying one of the sectors of France’s famous fortification line against Germany with its bunkers, a small town and even a medieval castle. Another new location, “Middle East”, sees combat between a ruined city and an oil plant located in the blazing desert sand.

A new reconnaissance game mechanic has been introduced for light tanks of all nations, which greatly expands the teamplay value for this type of vehicles. Now, light tanks can transmit information about enemy vehicles to their teammates and can assist all allies with repairs on the battlefield. More information about this is available HERE.

The air forces of War Thunder have received more than a dozen of new machines, including the twin-engined World War II machines Yak-2, Yak-4 for the Soviet Union and the British Whirlwind. New post-war fighters wait for the US and Japan, with the F3D-1 Skyknight and F-86-F40 Kyokko, respectively.

To celebrate the festive season, pilots and tankers of War Thunder can obtain unique Premium vehicles for free. For pilots, the P-40C for the USA and a captured Fw 190 A-8 in the French tree are available, while tankers can get the British wheeled armored car AEK Mark II, which is equipped with a tank turret, and a German Panther tank that is disguised as an American M10 tank destroyer. Specifically created for the New Year’s marathon this year, these vehicles can only be obtained during this event by fulfilling specific tasks available from 22 December to 22 January. Further rewards include boosters, decals and 3D decorative items.

To download War Thunder, please visit the official War Thunder website.

Battlestate Games announces the final stage of the technical preparations for the Open Beta Testing of Escape from Tarkov. Thuswise, starting December 28 and over a few weeks, developers will conduct load testing of game servers in order to adjust processing for a large number of new players at the start of the OBT in the beginning of 2018.

For this purpose, the studio has planned a New Year event, which will give free access to the game to a part of users who are registered on the official website of the project (www.escapefromtarkov.com/registration), but are not playing yet. 7-day access to the game will be granted to a part of the players, who will be picked randomly among the total number of subscribers, with bias for those who have been registered earlier.

Gaijin Entertainment announced today that the next content update to its vehicular combat MMO War Thunder will introduce French Ground Forces. Following the addition of the French Air Force early in November with Update 1.73 “Vive la France”, the French Army will enter the battlefields of War Thunder with dozens of armoured vehicles available from rank I to rank VI. New technology peculiar to French tanks, such as oscillating turrets and drum-fed autoloaders, will open new tactical opportunities to players.

On the early ranks, French tanks are generally well-armoured, which will provide good protection for the small crew of only three men. Most outstanding here are the heavy tanks, the Char B1bis and Char B1ter, which are not only exceptionally well protected, but also offer a large crew and powerful armament. Their low speed and maneuverability however leaves them vulnerable whenever rapid movement is required, e.g. to position correctly against the most powerful cannons or evade airborne attacks. To avoid rockets and bombs, players of the early French heavy tanks will have to pay close attention not only to the battlefield itself, but also to the situation above it.

Starting with the medium ranks, several French tanks are equipped with automatic loading devices. These autoloaders allow for a number of shots to be taken in quick succession, followed by a very long reload time. This allows players on more modern French vehicles equipped with this technology to push fast aggressive armored assaults against the enemy.

Post-war vehicles of the French nation feature yet another characteristic new to War Thunder – oscillating turrets. These turrets are divided into two sections, with the upper responsible for cannon elevation and the lower for turret traverse. This ingenious engineering solution significantly reduced the size of the turret, making it a much more difficult target.

The first two tanks in War Thunder that combine both of these new technologies are the AMX-13 SS.11 and the M4A1 FL10, with the latter being a modification of the American Sherman tank. The turrets of both vehicles are equipped with an autoloaded 75mm cannon featuring two six-round drum magazines, allowing each to take a series of 12 shots in quick succession. Due to the long time required to change the two drums, finding a safe place after an attack is important. However the AMX-13 S.11 is also equipped with four guided anti-tank missiles, so even being spotted during reload does not necessarily mean game over.

For more information about these vehicles and other upcoming French tanks, follow the War Thunder Developer Diaries page.

To download War Thunder, please visit the official War Thunder website.