World of Warplanes

[eyebiter]

The NDA for World of Warplanes closed beta has expired.

Currently there are four tech trees, US, Germany, Japan, and USSR.   Aircraft are rated tier I-X similar to World of Tanks. 
http://worldofwarplanes.com/media/?tag=10

Each nation starts with a biplane fighter, then the tech tree branches into fighters and heavy fighters.  Players have the option to upgrade engines, weapons, and equipment on each plane.  You can for example remove an engine from one plane, and move it to another that shares the same equipment.

There are also premium aircraft available with significantly lower repair costs.  However the equipment is fixed and cannot be changed. 

Certain aircraft have different upgrade options depending on your play style.  The US P-36 fighter can either be a fast interceptor armed with a large number of 7.62mm MG, or configured with a pair of 23mm Madsen cannons at the expense of speed and maneuverability.

When you go up a tier, the new aircraft will be underarmed until advanced weapons are researched.  The German Ar80 tier III fighter starts with 7.92mm MGs.  It's a significant grind to get the 20mm cannon installed in the propellor hub.  As in World of Tanks you can use gold to convert experience to free experience to speed advancement.

[jomni]

War Thunder looks prettier in my opinion.

[eyebiter]

Screenshots from World of Warplanes

World of Warplanes is easier to play and more accesible to new players.  The controls are basic, and the planes are easy to fly.  Easy for the casual gamer to pick up.

War Thunder is geared for the hard core flight sim enthusiast.  More planes available, greater degree of customization, larger tech tree.  However with increased complexity there is a much larger learning curve.  You must play the tutorials to learn to fly the aircraft properly.

[eyebiter]

In flight screen shots with all graphic settings on lowest settings

[Greybriar]

If a joystick weren't required to fly a plane well, I might give World of Warplanes a try.

[LongBlade]

If a joystick weren't required to fly a plane well, I might give World of Warplanes a try.

It isn't.

You can fly with a joystick, keyboard and mouse, just a keyboard, or a gamepad.

My recommendation is a joystick, but it's not required.

[eyebiter]

Mouse and keyboard is fine.

Plenty of keys available
http://www.mmorpg.com/giveaways.cfm/offer/427/World-of-Warplanes-Beta-Key-Giveaway.html

[Shelldrake]

World of Warplanes isn't a big draw for me, especially with the availability of War Thunder. World of Warships on the other hand....I can hardly stand the waiting!

[Greybriar]

....You can fly with a joystick, keyboard and mouse, just a keyboard, or a gamepad.

My recommendation is a joystick, but it's not required.

Mouse and keyboard is fine....

Every flight sim I've ever played in the past (except the most basic ones that used the arrow keys) were very lacking without a joystick. But anyway--

World of Warplanes isn't a big draw for me, especially with the availability of War Thunder. World of Warships on the other hand....I can hardly stand the waiting!

+1 That's about how I feel, too!

[LongBlade]

Every flight sim I've ever played in the past (except the most basic ones that used the arrow keys) were very lacking without a joystick. But anyway--

I agree. While you can fly with a keyboard and mouse, the ability to use different viewing angles, use different weapons (bomb versus MG) make the joystick a strong recommendation IMHO.

[Nefaro]

War Thunder looks prettier in my opinion.

Pretty much all of it's game mechanics play better too.

I've tried getting into WoWP many times and it just pales in comparison to War Thunder in nearly every way.

[Nefaro]

If a joystick weren't required to fly a plane well, I might give World of Warplanes a try.

The Arcade Mode in War Thunder works just fine with a Mouse & Keyboard.  You pretty much just aim your intended heading indicator with your mouse and the 'pilot assistant' uses the flight controls to get you there.  You still have to use keyboard sometimes when attempting to go straight up or down in a loop, otherwise it tends to angle it to one side a bit.   Still.. it's pretty forgiving once you get it set to how you like it (may have to invert the up/down axis & such) and makes aiming easier.

I don't see how anyone would pick WoWP over WT once they've put plenty of time into both for a good comparison.  The only thing WoWP has going for it is a stable game economy whereas WT still seems to be juggling rewards & repair costs every update, to find a happy medium.  Hell.. once WT went open beta, most of the WoWP testers stopped playing and went to the other side.  The WoWP server populations have been crap ever since.

[SgtRock]

I was in the early beta where you had to wait 15-20 mins for a game, then you just got killed in the first 90 seconds by two or three people with the top planes. Don't know what's changed sense then, I'll give it another go once released but,  I don't see this as big as World of Tanks, flying & dog fighting takes a lot more skill then driving a tank, which will be beyond the skill level of a lot of WOT players.





 

[Nefaro]

I was in the early beta where you had to wait 15-20 mins for a game, then you just got killed in the first 90 seconds by two or three people with the top planes. Don't know what's changed sense then, I'll give it another go once released but,  I don't see this as big as World of Tanks, flying & dog fighting takes a lot more skill then driving a tank, which will be beyond the skill level of a lot of WOT players.

Yet you still get the dumbass kids firing their weapons off near friendlies in the spawn, after the match starts.   Just like WOT.

This didn't used to be a problem in WT until it went open beta, of course.  Now I see it fairly regularly, and there's occasionally some douchebag who actually shoots you in the back right after the match starts.  Expect it to be an issue in WoWP too. These dev teams need to implement an auto-kick for any friendly fire within the first few seconds of match start.

[ArizonaTank]

If a joystick weren't required to fly a plane well, I might give World of Warplanes a try.

I don't see how anyone would pick WoWP over WT once they've put plenty of time into both for a good comparison.  The only thing WoWP has going for it is a stable game economy whereas WT still seems to be juggling rewards & repair costs every update, to find a happy medium.  Hell.. once WT went open beta, most of the WoWP testers stopped playing and went to the other side.  The WoWP server populations have been crap ever since.

I am having much more fun with WT as well....  Almost everything is better in WT.  Sorry WoWP....  WT is also the first game I've played where the TrackIR implementation feels natural.  I highly recommend TrackIR for WT.