GAIJIN ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES NAVAL BATTLES FOR WAR THUNDER
Naval Battles Launches in Closed Beta Later This Year with “Knights of the sea”
(MOSCOW, RUSSIAN FEDERATION) – August 11, 2016 – Gaijin Entertainment today announced the forthcoming start of closed beta for Naval Battles, the highly sought after combat mode in War Thunder, its award-winning MMO WWII online game with first exclusive hands-on at this year’s Gamescom. The inclusion of Naval Battles will provide fans with the ability to battle from the land, sea and air.
The participants of naval battle’s upcoming closed beta will be called the “Knights of the Sea”. Made up of torpedo, artillery and missile boats, coast guard vessels and submarine chasers, they are the so-called “small” naval contingent that served in all oceanic theatres of World War 2.
“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.
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” – says creative director Kirill Yudintsev, Gaijin Entertainment.
All nations 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 testing as soon as the testing phase begins later this year.
The first Starter Pack includes a Soviet Project 1124 Armored River Boat. The T-34 turret 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.
The second starter pack 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. Despite a serious back injury, Lieutenant Kennedy acted wisely and decisively, saving all ten surviving crew members. In War Thunder, this boat is a fast and maneuverable ship destroyer. Her four torpedoes, each weighing almost 1,200 kg, come in handy for destroying large naval targets. Both ships will be available at the start of closed beta testing.
The first to take part in the naval battles of War Thunder will be the visitors of Gamescom 2016. In the game booth in Hall 6, Gaijin Entertainment has organized a special closed area, where guests can try their hand as captains of attack boats. For those unable to visit the exhibition, there will be a special video broadcast from the official Twitch booth and new devblog updates each day, where developers of the game will talk about the new regime, present ships of different nations and run giveaways of closed beta access codes for the viewers.
Naval Starter Packs: https://store.gaijin.net/catalog.php?search=special_offer_wt&tag=1
Devblog link: http://devblog.warthunder.com
The story this time around begins with Jesse, Ivor, Petra, and Lucas traveling through numerous portals in a montage sequence that sees the group running from different kinds of danger such as a literal fire world, a world that looks like it was filled with sheep, and other strange oddities. While no timeframe is given, it is clear that the group has been attempting to find their way home for quite some time now and frustration is starting to build.
The gang soon learns that a large and power hungry computer named PAMA has managed to enslave all of the residents of the world, including monsters and animals, using redstone chips installed in the back of their heads in an effort to make everyone “useful.” The problem is, the world has reached peak efficiency some time ago and PAMA is looking to extend her skills to other worlds. With a pair of his friends taken hostage and only a mysterious stranger willing to help out, Jesse must take down PAMA in order to prevent the dystopian nightmare from spreading to other lands such as their home world and also save those close to him.
The action sequences this time around are far more plentiful than they were before and thanks to the use of a certain headset in the game players are treated to a unique situation that is only capable thanks to the more scientific nature of the world the gang is in.
As mentioned, the pair of characters introduced are voiced well enough, with PAMA given a fitting digital filtered voice, while all of the core cast continues to fit their roles well in this series.
