In an announcement today War Thunder developer has revealed the first details for an upcoming update which will allow players to wage war at sea. Called Knights of the Sea the update will begin with a closed beta later this year, with visitors to Gamescom 2016 in Cologne, Germany, able to get their hands on the first playable demo.
Knights of the Sea will be made up of torpedo, artillery and missile boats, coast guard vessels and submarine chasers. Every nation in War Thunder will get naval forces. Invited players and those who purchase one of two Starter packs with unique ships, will be able to join the closed beta testing.
In the first Starter pack is a Soviet Project 1124 Armored River Boat. This vessel features a T-34 turret and two 12.7mm machine guns. For added heavy weaponry the boat also includes the legendary Katyusha, a M-13-M1 unguided rocket launcher.
While the second starter pack features motor torpedo boat the PT-109. It’s a fast and maneuverable ship destroyer with four torpedoes, each weighing almost 1,200 kg – especially useful for destroying large naval targets. Both of these ships will be available at the start of closed beta testing.
“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. 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,” said creative director Kirill Yudintsev, Gaijin Entertainment.
“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.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of War Thunder, reporting back with any further updates.
