Release Notes Version 1.4

Planes:

New Premium planes will be added both in the game as well as in the Premium Shop:

• Bell P-39Q-15 Airacobra - Tier VI Soviet fighter
• Supermarine Spitfire V DB 605 - Tier VI German fighter
• North American Mustang Mk.I – Tier VI British fighter
• Kawasaki Ki-88 - Tier VI Japanese fighter
• Grumman XP-50 – U.S. Tier VI heavy fighter

The Chinese server will further receive:

• Curtiss Hawk II – Tier II Chinese fighter
•  Breda Ba.27 Metallico – Tier III Chinese fighter

New gift planes (introduced but kept on hold for the moment):

• Curtiss XP-31 – Tier II U.S. fighter
• Fairey Fantome – Tier IV British fighter
• Blohm und Voss Ha.137 – Tier III German fighter

We will also add the following planes for testing purposes (available only to developers and super-testers):

• De Havilland 98 Mosquito FB 26 - Tier VI Chinese Heavy fighter;
• CKB I-7 - Tier II Soviet fighter
• Kawasaki Ki-5 - Tier II Japanese fighter
• Hawker Hurricane IID - Tier V British Attack Aircraft

New Maps

Two new game maps were introduced:

• Secret Airbase – available for battles using Tier V-X planes
• Winter War – available for battles using Tier I-V planes

HD/SD Client

Starting with Version 1.4 there will be two versions of the game client – SD and HD. The SD-version is aimed at people who do not wish to play on the highest graphical settings and are looking to save space on their hard drive. They will thus be able to download a reduced version of the client, which contains all the assets that are necessary to play on up to the ‘Medium’ graphical settings.

The HD-version on the other hand, will continue to feature the full range of options, including all maximum-size textures for people who will want to play on ‘High’ and ‘Very High’ settings.

When updating to Version 1.4 through the launcher, the game will by default automatically download the SD-version, which is designed for play on ‘Personal’, ‘Very Low’, ‘Low’ or ‘Medium’ settings. Your final client folder will subsequently shrink in size by around 50%. If you want to play on ‘High’ or ‘Very High’ settings, you’ll have to download the HD-textures, which will add around 1 GB of additional data to the final size of your current client.

Naturally, if at any point you wish to unlock the higher graphics levels, you’ll be able to do so. SD-users will have to simply restart their client and select the appropriate option from the top bar in the game’s launcher. This will trigger the download and allow you to switch the Texture Quality in the in-game Settings to High. 

SD-users will have the possibility to upgrade to the HD-version from within the client. If you’re installing the game for the first time, you’ll be able to choose, which version you want to use during installation.

Aircraft Balancing

Module Progression

Update 1.4 introduces new airframes for a multitude of planes. Players who have previously researched any of these planes will have the new modules researched as well. Players who already owned any of these planes will have the new modules not only researched but also added to their inventory so that they can be mounted immediately.

USSR:

• Yak-7 – added a new top airframe "Yak-7B" that will be researchable after the initial "Yak-7А" module
• Yak-9 – added a new stock airframe "Yak-9Т", while the previous stock airframe "Yak-9М" becomes researchable as the upgraded module
• La-7 - module "3х 20-mm B-20 (S)" can now be researched from the previous "2х 20-mm ShVAK (1941) (S)" and also be mounted on the original "La-7 (1944)" airframe
• Yak-3 – added a new top airframe "Yak-3 (1945)" which will be researchable after the stock "Yak-3 (1944)" airframe
• Yak-9U – added a new top airframe "Yak-9U (1945)" which will be researchable from the stock "Yak-9U (1944)" airframe
• Yak-15 – added a new stock airframe "Yak-15-UMO" while the previous airframe "Yak-15" becomes researchable as the upgraded module

Germany:

• Bf 109 F Friedrich – added a new stock airframe "Bf 109 F-3" while the "Bf 109 F" airframe was renamed "Bf 109 F-4" and moved so it is now the upgraded module
• Bf 109 Z Zwilling – added a new top airframe "Bf. 109Z (G)" which will be researchable after the initial "Bf 109 Z (F)" module
• Fw 190 D – added a new top airframe "Fw 190 D-11" which will be researchable after the initial "Fw 190 D-9" module

USA:

• P-51A Mustang – added a new intermediary engine "V-1650-1" which will be required in order to research the P-51D Mustang. Players who have the P-51A Mustang and the top engine "V-1650-3" researched will receive this new, intermediary engine researched as well.
•  P-51D Mustang – added a new stock engine "V-1650-1". The previous stock engine "V-1650-3" becomes researchable as the upgraded module. The former top engine "V-1650-9" was removed from the list of available modules for the P-51D Mustang. Players who had the P-51D Mustang purchased with this "V-1650-9" engine mounted will receive the new top configuration with the former intermediary engine "V-1650-7". Former owners of the "V-1650-9" engine will be compensated 150,000 World of Warplanes Credits.

United Kingdom:

• Westland P.1056 - weapon "2х 40-mm Vickers S (W)" replaced with "2х 40-mm Rolls-Royce BH (K)".

Adjustments to Required Modules in the Tech Tree

• The Tier V Beaufighter, for which you previously had to research the “2x .303 Vickers K” rear gunner on the preceding Tier IV Blenheim F, will now require the "2х 20-mm Hispano Mk. I (F)" gun to be researched in order to unlock it.
• The Beaufighter’s research cost was reduced from 11,700 XP to 9,630 XP.
• The tier of the airframe "Blenheim V" for the Tier IV Bristol Blenheim F heavy fighter was reduced from Tier V to Tier IV. Its corresponding research cost was also reduced from 4,350 XP to 2,150 XP.
• Fixed the bug with the research cost of the machine guns "4x .303 Browning Mk.II (F)" for the Tier IV Bristol Blenheim F. The corresponding research cost was reduced from 5,200 XP to 2,100 XP.

Other

Corrections were made to the displayed tiers of certain modules in the hangar:

• "АМ-38F" engine (available on the IL-2(t) and IL-8) increased from Tier VI to VII
• "АМ-42" engine (available on the IL-8 and IL-10) increased from Tier VII to VIII
• "Mercury VIS" engine (available on the Bristol Bulldog, Bristol Type 133 and Blackburn Skua) increased from Tier II to III
• “Bristol 146 K8088" airframe (available on the Bristol Type 146) reduced from Tier V to IV
• "20-mm B-20EN" turret (available on the IL-10) increased from Tier VII to VIII
• "20-mm B-20EN" turret (available on the IL-20) increased from Tier VII to VIII

Changes to planes’ characteristics

USA:

• P-51A Mustang - reduced weapons’ accuracy and the acceleration/deceleration with the top engine "V-1650-3"
• P-51D Mustang - increased accuracy of stock weapons and the energy loss when using flaps
• P-51H Mustang - increased accuracy of the stock weapons, the optimum speed for all configurations and the energy loss when using flaps

Graphics and Interface

New lead-compensating aim point

A new version of the lead-compensating aim point was introduced for testing purposes. The icon now has four different stages that show up depending on the distance to your target:

• 1st stage — gray point on the lead vector shows direction of the target flight; the target is out of the firing range.
• 2nd stage — small red circle on the lead vector shows that the target is at maximum distance for the most ranged weapon.
• 3rd stage — big red circle on the lead vector shows that the target is at the effective firing distance for all weapons.
• 4th stage — when your crosshair directly superposes the lead-compensating aim point at close distance, you can open fire for the most accurate hits.

Interface modifications

• Added a new animation representing the plane’s arrival on the battle scene during the loading screen. Also added the option to return to the loading screen table once in-game.
• Reduced transparency of the planes’ markers in the battle interface to increase readability. Marker settings updated.
• The in-game help screen (reached by pressing the F1 key) was updated.
• Chat shortcut messages from Flight-mates are now displayed in a different colour than messages from regular team members.
•  Notifications about scored assists in battle are now being displayed to all players in-game.
• Improved the free camera in the spectator mode.
• New feature: You can now switch to another allied plane in spectator mode by clicking on the associated player’s name in the team list.
• Updated the display of viewed plane’s HP, class and tier in spectator mode. Also added new feature that displays the viewed plane’s module condition and player’s achievements.
• Improved visibility of certain mission types in the first tab of the After-Battle Menu.
• Removed the possibility of dismissing a plane’s crew via the right mouse button.
• Changed the way that module tooltips are displayed so that they don’t obstruct the view on other modules in the progression tree.
• Added new event types to the first tab of the after-battle statistics window.
• Changed some of the visuals regarding battle events on the mini-map. Left-clicking anywhere on the mini-map in order to indicate something to your team will now have its own visual that is different to the one displayed when one of your team’s ground targets is under attack.
• Added tooltips for equipment and consumables to help explain their purpose and functioning in the hangar.
• Added new graphical elements to the battle missions interface.
• Minor bugs fixed for the display of battle missions.

Other

• Fixed some bugs that had to do with the mechanism responsible for recording and playback of replays. As a result, replays that were recorded with Versions 1.2 – 1.3.1 will no longer be compatible with Version 1.4.
• The achievements “Thunder” and “Destroyer” are now available for all plane classes.
• Greek and Lithuanian localisations added.