War Thunder is rebuilding its graphics with melting tank snow and new effects for aircraft
War Thunder's next major update will make snow melt on a tank's engine deck and gun barrel, while aircraft gain vapour effects that respond to weather and manoeuvres. The changes are part of a rendering overhaul planned for Eagle's Shadow.
Developer Gaijin has outlined several improvements for ground, air and naval battles. Some will apply across existing graphics presets, while the upgraded reflections on water depend on the selected quality setting.
Snow and dirt will react to a vehicle's shape
In its rendering preview, Gaijin says it rebuilt the ground-vehicle dirt system. Snow will accumulate in thicker patches with a three-dimensional texture, while dust and mud will have their own grainy and bumpy appearances.
Image: Gaijin Entertainment
Light dust can settle higher on a hull, with heavier mud staying lower. The new system also takes details such as rivets, welds and gaps into account. Heat from a running engine will gradually melt snow around the engine deck and exhaust, and firing the main gun will warm its barrel.
The studio says the most expensive operations happen once when a map loads. The dirt system is planned for the graphics presets where the old version already worked.
Image: Gaijin Entertainment
Aircraft vapour and water reflections are changing too
A new humidity model combines weather with an aircraft's speed, altitude and angle of attack to influence vapour. Wing vapour sheets can appear during manoeuvres and change with variable-sweep wings.
Image: Gaijin Entertainment
On water, muzzle flashes, fires and other lights will reflect in addition to the sun. Gaijin says the new glints and glow require High or Ultra water quality; Medium and Low will retain the earlier rendering.
The update also aims to remove repeating cloud patterns and restore visible sun shafts at high altitude. Gaijin has not given a release date in this preview and says it will share more about the renderer later.
