Pilots,
While every other airplane class has gotten multiple extensions over the six updates that we’ve deployed since release, Attack Aircraft have largely remained untouched, resting solely in the depths of the Soviet tech tree. With Update 1.7 this is about to change, as we’re introducing eight powerful ground attack pounders to the German aircraft fleet. But not only that; apart from adding new planes, our developers have also made sure to fill 2015’s first full-fledged update with even more gameplay goodness! Expect to find two entirely new maps, helpful social features as well as new daily missions that will keep you entertained for months to come.
Eight New German Attack Aircraft
Fans of Attack Aircraft will love the addition of eight new warplanes to this much-beloved airplane class. From legends like the Junkers Ju 87 to daring experimental designs like the Messerschmitt Me P.1102 B, the new tech tree extension features a multitude of new warbirds that will take ground attacking to a whole new level.
Two New Maps – Observatory and Province
The second highlight of Version 1.7 is the addition of two new maps: Province and Observatory. Both levels are exceptionally well-designed, featuring beautiful landscapes in two very different locations. While the first takes you into the warmer regions of a Toscana-inspired countryside, Observatory lets you travel to the icy peaks of a Scandinavian mountain resort. Take a stroll over the large basin that’s opening up the picturesque terrain on Province or fly along the curvy river that’s carving its way through the vast valley on Observatory to see the beauty of the new levels with your own eyes!
Flight Auto-Search Function
Another great item of the latest update is the Flight Member Auto-Search function. This nifty little tool does exactly what it name implies: it helps you find friendly pilots to team up with so you can conquer (or terrorise) the skies in good company. Whether it’s because all of your regular contacts are unavailable, or you’re just looking to switch it up and take your chances with a stranger – the Flight Member Auto-Search is sure to make for some fun matchups that will help you succeed in battle.
Daily Missions
Following the introduction of Personal Missions for World of Tanks, Update 1.7 now introduces an array of new missions for challenge-hungry World of Warplanes pilots as well. Every day, you’ll be presented with up to three new missions – ranked in difficulty from those best completed on aircraft of Tier I-IV, V-VII and VIII-X – that you will be able to complete in order to win credits or XP. What sets these daily missions apart is that, unlike weekly or monthly missions that are shared across all World of Warplanes players, Daily Missions are assigned randomly – so that no two players will have the same set of these missions assigned to them at any given time. Use these new objectives to score additional rewards in order to boost your progress even further!
And so much more…
Lastly, the developers also took the time to further polish the game with smaller but nonetheless helpful technical features such as the ability to better customise ground target and aircraft markers. Using this, you’ll be able to better adjust the game to your personal likings. Other under-the-hood additions include improved training rooms, reworked sounds as well as the always welcome matchmaking and balancing improvements. As you can see, Update 1.7 is as stuffed as the fuselage of the new Ju 88 P, a.k.a. “The Fat Bertha”.
World of Warplanes Update 1.7.0 has some new features aimed to make the game not only diverse, but also much more comfortable for our players.
We've implemented a new branch of German ground attack planes. These planes have a really original appearance and are markedly different from ground attack planes of USSR tree in their flight characteristics and armament, making ground target attacks more interesting.
We've also added a new fine-tuning feature for in-battle markers of planes and ground targets. Now a player can choose how they will look for planes of different classes (more visible markers for ground targets for ground attack planes, or more visible markers of aerial targets for fighters).
We've also implemented a quick Flight auto-search for players who prefer team play.
German Ground Attack Planes
A new branch of German ground attack planes will be introduced in this update. In contrast to the "flying tanks" of the USSR, these planes offer a variety of game styles. At lower tiers you will get classic ground attack planes, middle tiers begin to focus on using the primary weapons, and high tiers become speedy and "die hard" general purpose planes, somewhat reminiscent of heavy fighters.
New Regular Planes
New Gift Planes
The flight auto-search button was added to the flight creation window. Our players will be able to play in a flight, even if all friends are offline. After pressing the button, a player can join a flight with other players who have taken a plane of the same or close tier, and have also applied for a random flight. Only one player can be added automatically. The player who applied for the flight auto-search earlier becomes the flight leader. After this flight mate is added, the flight commander can add one more player from his contact list (and bring the total number of players in flight to 3).
Shooting
Increased accuracy of the primary weapons when shooting at ground targets.
USSR
Il-40 — Fixed problem with the nominal speed of the AM-5F engine (mounted) which was higher than the nominal speed of the RD-9B engine (mounted).
Germany
Me.262 — fixed the bug which caused reduced turn speed value shown in the hangar when the HWK 509 engine is mounted.
Markers
Training Room
Other
Two new game locations were added. They will be available for battles of medium and high plane tiers:
"Province" — available for Tiers V-X.
Spring map, based on the theme of military confrontation in Italy. This map is composed of an extensive system of canyons and plateaus. You will also find several towns connected with bridges.
"The Observatory" - available for Tiers V-X.
Winter map, based on the European theatre of war. This map is composed of mountain ranges and a wide canyon in the centre of the map.
A lot of changes for the existing maps:
Balancer’s algorithm has been improved to reduce the frequency of some issues:
We've added special awards for Public Test participants. They have 10 ranks: Participant, Specialist (3 ranks, bronze), Expert (3 ranks, silver) and Master (3 ranks, gold). A new rank is awarded for completing a minimum set of combat missions during the Public Test of any further update of World of Warplanes, starting with 1.7.0. Upon receipt of each subsequent rank, the award in the player’s profile will be replaced with a new one.
Legal Information
Take a look at the Release Notes section to see the full list of changes and additions of Update 1.7!
Please leave your comments in the forum section!
Have fun with Version 1.7, pilots!