Update "Hot Tracks"

Update "Hot Tracks" (changelog) was introduced on 18 December 2020. This update is notable for the introduction of the Italian helicopter tree and new graphical effects for ground and naval forces.

Though the update numbering has been dropped since Update "Starfighters", the game version is still present in-game to indicate the update as 2.3

New vehicles

Aircraft

USA

• A-7D
• PBM-1
• F-84F

Germany

• F-84F

USSR

• MiG-21PFM (event)

Britain

• Buccaneer S2
• Hornet Mk.1 (premium)

China

• V-11G

Italy

• F-84F
• Ro.57 Quadriarma (event)

France

• F-84F
• F-84F (IAF) (premium)

Sweden

• Saab 105G
• Saab 105ÖE (premium)

Ground vehicles

Germany

• Sd.Kfz.251/21
• Class 3 (P) (event)

USSR

• ZSU-37-2

Britain

• ADATS (M113A3)

Japan

• ST-A3

China

• CCKW 353 (M45)
• ZTZ99

France

• E.B.R. (1954) (event)

Sweden

• ASRAD-R

Naval fleet

USA

• USS Baltimore (CA-68) (event)

Germany

• SMS Von der Tann

USSR

• MPK pr.12412

Britain

• HMS Invincible

Japan

• Type K-8 (1942) (event)
• IJN Hyuga

Italy

• Pola (premium)

Helicopters

USSR

• Mi-35M - Detailed cabin has been added.

Italy

• AB 205 A-1
• A109EOA-2
• A129CBT

France

• SA.341F Gazelle - Detailed cabin has been added.
• SA.342M Gazelle - Detailed cabin has been added.

Additions to Dagor Engine 6.0

• Visual effects of all ground and naval vehicle gunfire have been updated.
• Physically accurate vehicle tracks.
• Spark effects have been added for the new ground vehicles tracks
• Game locations have received their own set of GPU objects

New missions and locations

• The Festive hangar has been enabled

Enduring Confrontation

• Helicopter Enduring confrontation has been added for the location “City”.
• The aircraft carrier template has been improved and has been added to all Confrontation modes with open sea - both naval and air. The allied carrier appears in location escorted by AI ships, granting an additional reload\repair platform for allied aircraft. After being spotted by the enemy AI reconnaissance aircraft, the enemy team will get a task to destroy the allied carrier. After destruction, the carrier may respawn after some time to a maximum of five times.

Ground Vehicle model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:

• Physically-correct caterpillar tracks for ground vehicles. Now caterpillar components are physical objects, consisting of separate segments - treads, each of which has physically accurate properties. When a shell hits a track, the tread breaks exactly at the segment where the impact has hit. The broken tread animation depends on the length of the falling tread. The following vehicles have received the new caterpillar tracks in this update:
  • T-34-76 series and SPG ot this chassis (except for T-34 1940 and 1941 versions, as well a prototype)
  • T-34-85 series, and SPG on this chassis
  • KV series, and SPG an this chassis
  • IS-1 and IS-2 series, and SPG on this chassis
  • T-80U, T-80B
  • T-10A, T-10M, Object 268
  • M3 Lee, M4 Sherman series, and SPG on this chassis (except for assault versions of “Jumbo”)
  • T-20
  • M1 Abrams series
  • A.C.IV Thunderbolt
  • B1 bis, B1 ter, ARL 44 series
  • Ram II and QF 3.7 Ram SPG
  • Challenger II series
  • Strv 103 series
  • Leopard 2A4-2A6, and their Swedish versions
  • Type 90/90B
  • Leclerc S1/S2
  • C1 Ariete series.
  • ZTZ-96A
  • Chi-Ha, Chi-He series, SPG on this chassis.
  • Challenger (A30), Avenger (A30), Charioteer Mk. VII tanks and SPG on this chassis
• Ground vehicles with a folding ATGM launcher now have a speed limit of up to a maximum of 20 kph to begin firing. The launcher may be unfolded to begin firing immediately after reducing speed to the max limit or lower.:
  • M901
  • 9P149
  • M3 Bradley
  • Strf 9040 BILL

Aircraft and helicopter model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:

• F-104G (Germany) - Flares have been added.
• G.91 YS - Ballistic calculator has been added.
• Incorrect materials in armour elements have been fixed for the following aircraft:
  • Whirlwind Mk I
  • Swift F.1
  • Swift F.7
  • B-17E/L
  • B-17G
  • J5N1
  • Ju 288 C
  • Q-5A
  • Q-5 early

Flight Model changes:

• BB-1, Su-2 (all series) - the flight model has been updated. Engine running modes have been specified. Fuel distribution among tanks has been corrected. Wing, hull, flaps, and rotor blades polars have been recalculated and specified. Aircraft controls have been corrected when flaps are extended.
• MiG-21 (all modifications) - Rudder deflection angles and maneuverability at high speeds have been corrected. Balance and controllability in landing has been improved. MiG-21bis, MiG-21SMT, MiG-21PFM - Simulation of the flap with boundary layer deflation has been made. Wing lift force will be additionally increased with full flap deflection and 30-50% thrust to provide lower landing speeds.
• Helicopters (all) - Air cushion effect has been improved. The air cushion is now estimated in a ring for a more realistic impact of the surface shape under the rotor.

Naval fleet model, damage model, characteristic and weaponry changes:

Naval weaponry:

• AI gunners firing from overheated guns, that previously AI didn’t take into account, has been fixed.
• Accuracy of AI gunners firing on surface targets has been improved.
• The maximum opening fire distance for AI gunners, depending on the calibre, has been adjusted. Now AI will not open fire at ranges exceeding the aiming range of its cannons.
• Dardo, Bartolomeo Colleoni now have the correct versions of 40mm guns.
• HMS Dreadnought, HMS Colossus — Loading rate for the 305mm/45 mark X/XI cannons has been increased to two rounds per minute.
• Chidori — Torpedo reload has been removed. In reality , the vessel did not have it.
• 152 mm/57 B-38 cannon (Chapaev, Sverdlov, Zheleznyakov) — Fire rate, after the first order ammo racks are exhausted, has been increased from 4.5 to 6 shots per minute.
• 80-mm/60 Type 98 (IJN Agano) cannon - Calibre of the shell has been corrected in the vehicle card.
• 127-mm/50 3rd Year Type cannon - Muzzle velocity and the amount of explosive material in the anti-aircraft shell have been fixed.

Naval characteristics, physics and damage model:

• SMS Westfalen - main 290mm armour belt extended to cover citadel.
• Admiral Graf Spee, Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen, Leipzig, Raimondo Montecuccoli, USS Pensacola (CA-24), Krasny Kavkaz - armoured covers for barbettes have been added.
• Heavy cruisers - heel and sinking parameters have been fixed. Water inflow speed through large holes has been reduced. The heel rate has been reduced.
• Dardo - rail stanchions have been folded onto the deck, extending bow turret aiming angles.
• Geniere - Cannon limits have been corrected.
• Zara — stern boats have been removed to allow the stern turret to fire in these sectors.
• HMS Dreadnought — traverse angles of the side main calibre turrets have been fixed.
• Freccia P-493, Saetta P-494 — listing on turns has been reduced.
• Hunt (L79) — main calibre aiming angles have been fixed to prevent fire through superstructures.
• Pr. 35 — bug with armored parts of the ship has been fixed.
• Chapaev, Zheleznyakov — armor issues have been solved: bow and stern traverses armor has been fixed, stern deck armor has been fixed in the area of stern pumps.
• Leipzig — a few boiler rooms have been removed in the x-ray view.
• Zara — a mismatch between the shot vector and the aiming point for 13.2 mm machine guns has been corrected.

Naval Visual models and visual parts:

• Porter (DD-356), Moskva (leader), Tashkent (leader), IJN Kako, IJN Yuudachi, Тype K-8 (1942), HMS Arethusa, S-100 (1944), Aquilone - Flag animation has been added.
• HMS Peacock - The location of the buoy in the hangar has been fixed.
• IJN Tone, Type 4 Model 4 - Visual displaying of cannons has been fixed.
• HMS Colossus - The height of the structural edges of the coal bunkers in X-ray view has been reduced for a more conducive display.
• IJN Ikoma, Admiral Hipper - Position of gunners in the secondary calibre guns has been fixed.
• Tashkent (leader) - Displaying of the ship’s superstructure in the destroyed state has been fixed. At great distances it was the case that the superstructure disappeared.
• MS-53 - Visual problem with shadows on the ship’s superstructure has been fixed.
• Akebono - Depth bomb mode has been hidden in the modifications that have no depth bombs.
• IJN Kiyoshimo - Artifacts on the main calibre gun mantlet have been removed.
• SMS Helgoland - Artifacts on the ship’s flag have been removed.
• Poltava — main calibre gun mantlet view has been fixed.
• SMS Westfalen — orientation of the coat of arms on the bow has been corrected.
• Fairmile D (5001), Fairmile D (697), Fairmile C (332) — artefacts of the shell casing sacks have been removed for 20mm Oerlikon guns.
• IJN Shimakaze — a bug with the inversion of navigation lights on the wheelhouse has been fixed.
• IJN Ikoma — Navigation and control instruments have been added in place of the unnecessary rangefinder on the deckhouse.

Other

• Critical depth and depth at which the player will be warned of an approaching rock shoal has been fixed for battleships.

Economy and research

• AH-1S Kisarazu, G-Lynx, Tigre HAP - Now available for purchase for Golden Eagles.

Customization

• Identification marks and decals on the vehicles listed below have been transferred to a standard camouflage layer. Previously issued decals also remain available:
  • Achilles (65 Rg.)
  • IS-2 "Revenge"
  • T-34-85E
  • T-III (USSR)
• MiG-21bis — Additional camouflages that can be obtained by completing tasks or purchasing them for Golden Eagles has been added.

Awards

• The award for all basic training missions has been changed from 100 GE to unique decals for each vehicle type. Golden Eagles for previously completed training will not be taken away and for receiving the unique decal you will need to complete the training again.
• Instead of the Golden Eagles award for each basic training one time award for completing the first basic training for an account has been added. For players who have previously completed any basic training it will not be possible to receive this award.

Interface

• The collection menu has been improved:
  • Filter for already received collections has been added.
  • A link to the collections from the appearance menu has been added.
  • Icons for the collection decorations have been improved.

Game mechanics

• The number of points required to air strike with a nuclear-armed bomber in Ground AB has been reduced from 20 to 15.

Graphical

• Visual effects of all ground and naval vehicle gunfire have been updated.
• Visual effects of shell hits from automatic cannons and machine guns 7.5-40mm calibres have been updated for ground vehicles.
• Physically accurate vehicle tracks. Now each of the track links have physically valid properties. Whilst driving, the track sections have their own mass and inertia. When passing over bumps the track bounces on the rollers (track wheels), when accelerating and braking, it stretches or slackens and also swings around for a while after the vehicle fully stops.
• Spark effects have been added for the new ground vehicles tracks when braking at high speed on hard surfaces (asphalt, concrete, paving stones) and also when tracks hit the shoulder of roads.
• Game locations have received their own set of GPU objects: small stones, plants, moss, mushrooms etc.
  • More details can be found in the devblog.

Sound

• Sounds of the rapid-fire for ground vehicles and naval vessels are now effectively tied to each individual shot in the burst. Previously a series of gunfire sounds were triggered at a rate roughly corresponding to the burst rate.
• Drops of the shells for ground cannons are now sounded according to the physics.
• Propaganda speech played over loudspeakers has been added to the Vietnam location.
• The sounds of cartridge extraction and the operation of the extraction hatch locking mechanism (if any) have been added for ground vehicles with shell cartridge external extraction.
• Small adjustments to the volume of some engines in player controlled vehicles.

Changes specific to the PlayStation platform.

• Thrustmaster Hotas 4 support was added to the native PlayStation 5 version.
• In-game voice chat is now available on PlayStation 5.

Changes specific to the Xbox platform.

• Players without Xbox Live Gold subscription will now be able to login into the game, but they will only have access to single-player activities (no multiplayer).
• A bug that caused only one device to work on the Xbox Series S/X when connecting a wireless keyboard and mouse via separate receivers, has been fixed.
• A delay in the operation of some keyboard keys on the Xbox Series S/X has been fixed.