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War Thunder, the massive online battle game from Gaijin Entertainment just today released the big 1.89 "Imperial Navy" update. It's quite a big one too!

It brings in 24 new Japanese naval units, along with the USSR and Great Britain each also seeing one new naval unit. There's also a new helicopter, a bunch of new ground forces, two new locations, new clouds for higher graphical settings, a new "World War" historical battle game mode, Romanian language support and tons more.

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I've just recently got back into War Thunder and while I find it a little pushy on the in-game shop and the UI is pretty messy, the actual gameplay they provide free really is damn fun. With this large update, I'm excited to jump back in and play some more. The tank battles especially are exciting and I love the way you see how you got taken out, as it shows the shells hitting your vehicle taking out your crew.

Since it's not something I play too often, I forgot just how good some of the scenery can be:

The Linux version can be a little twitchy though, I've seen a number of distorted textures on the sides of some mountain/hill areas and the initial big update did have a few crashes, although it seems to have had another smaller update since and now it's working great. Performance seems reasonable too, mostly sitting well above 60FPS and it feels nice and smooth on high settings.

You can find it free on Steam or the official site.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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mylka May 31, 2019
[quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli][quote=mylka][quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli][quote=Termy]
Quoting: mylkaWell, via Proton it does...
(can't say how things look like on under Windows as OS though)
... and I am still darned surprised how well it turned out, the fps and visual improvement is just staggering compared to what I got used to under the Linux-native version.

Would have preferred a Linux-native Vulkan implementation very much myself but being pragmatic and rather playing than waiting I'm gonna stick to the Protonised-Windows-Vulkan-version for now, just look at that sunset and those gorgeous flames!

war thunder has a linux folder with a .zip in it
i unpacked it an can start the linux version (the aces file), but without the launcher and steam loggin
i tried vulkan again and still just a black screen. opengl works, but still bad perfomance

i wonder if they did anything on the linux version in the past months. most of the files are the same as on windows.... actually just the files in the linux folder are different

it is so sad they started vulkan and dropped it. i mean they know stadia is coming soon and instead of optimizing and testing a linux version, they do nothing
Cecco_d_Ascoli May 31, 2019
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[quote=mylka][quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli][quote=Termy]

The exact differences between the Linux and Win version are not known to me. To my experience replay/recording options are different, sounds (engines, guns) seem a bit different and flight stick controls vary (i.e. get messed up after every other WT-Linux patch).

Presently I have two separate installations of War Thunder:
1) Linux native: the downloaded and upacked archive from WarThunder hompage with OpenGL
2) Windows native via Proton under Steam for Linux:
Got it by going into my Steam account and selecting/checking:
- Settings>Account 'Beta Participation' check
- Settings>Steam Play 'Enable Steam Play for supported titles' check
+ Settings>Steam Play 'Enable Steam Play for all other titles' check
+ 'Run other titles with: Proton 4.2.5'

When WarThunder started downloading
(for which I chose a completely new Steam folder)
- I rightclicked onto it in my library
- went to:
Properties>General ‚Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool‘ check
(set to 'Proton 4.2.5‘)
- Then the Download restarted, and the Windows version was downloaded

Which after completion in itself - via Steam and Proton - already worked like a charm.
- And then I followed Termy‘s hint and set:
- WarThunder>Rightclick>Poperties>launch options "%command% -forcestart -driver:vulkan"

Which improved the performance even further.

All in all fps in Mixed RB went from 20-50 Linux-OpenGL (medium settings, most effects off) to 60-130 Proton+Vulkan, note: with graphics settings much higher (high, middle visual range of trees etc.), more details and nearly all effects (haze, particles, suspension physics, etc.) on


Last edited by Cecco_d_Ascoli on 31 May 2019 at 8:23 am UTC
mylka May 31, 2019
[quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli][quote=mylka][quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli]
Quoting: TermyThe exact differences between the Linux and Win version are not known to me. To my experience replay/recording options are different, sounds (engines, guns) seem a bit different and flight stick controls vary (i.e. get messed up after every other WT-Linux patch).

Presently I have two separate installations of War Thunder:
1) Linux native: the downloaded and upacked archive from WarThunder hompage with OpenGL
2) Windows native via Proton under Steam for Linux:
Got it by going into my Steam account and selecting/checking:
- Settings>Account 'Beta Participation' check
- Settings>Steam Play 'Enable Steam Play for supported titles' check
+ Settings>Steam Play 'Enable Steam Play for all other titles' check
+ 'Run other titles with: Proton 4.2.5'

When WarThunder started downloading
(for which I chose a completely new Steam folder)
- I rightclicked onto it in my library
- went to:
Properties>General ‚Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool‘ check
(set to 'Proton 4.2.5‘)
- Then the Download restarted, and the Windows version was downloaded

Which after completion in itself - via Steam and Proton - already worked like a charm.
- And then I followed Termy‘s hint and set:
- WarThunder>Rightclick>Poperties>launch options "%command% -forcestart -driver:vulkan"

Which improved the performance even further.

All in all fps in Mixed RB went from 20-50 Linux-OpenGL (medium settings, most effects off) to 60-130 Proton+Vulkan, note: with graphics settings much higher (high, middle visual range of trees etc.), more details and nearly all effects (haze, particles, suspension physics, etc.) on

i know that, but some games just dont work on a NTFS drive. i have the same issue with Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut
on NTFS it does nothing, when i move the game to an EXT4 drive it works

i think the downloaded war thunder from the website and steam arent different. steam just starts the launcher. you cant do this with war thunder



you dont need the game twice. as i said. just go to the game folder/limux64
there is a zip file. unpack and the ACES file starts the native linux version. console: aces -forcestart -driver:vulkan
and you play the linux version with vulkan. i tried it and just a black screen, like months ago
still have to "killall kwin_x11" first (but at least it doesnt freeze my pc.... but i just tested it 10min)
FPS went from 30 (opengl) up to 130 (vulkan) with same settings
Cecco_d_Ascoli May 31, 2019
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[quote=mylka][quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli][quote=mylka]

Thanks for the insight, understood, gonna delete one of my two installs.

Just tried what you suggested on my system:
Running the native Linux version with "aces -forcestart -driver:vulkan", I end up with a black screen as well.


Last edited by Cecco_d_Ascoli on 31 May 2019 at 11:30 am UTC
mylka May 31, 2019
[quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli][quote=mylka][quote=Cecco_d_Ascoli]
Quoting: mylkaThanks for the insight, understood, gonna delete one of my two installs.

Just tried what you suggested on my system:
Running the native Linux version with "aces -forcestart -driver:vulkan", I end up with a black screen as well.

https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/415043-testing-vulkan03052019-%C2%A1el-cliente-vulkan-funciona-vulkan-client-working/page/6/&tab=comments#comment-7982632

i use kde an have to kill it, to play with vulkan

seems like xfce has the same problem. i highly recommend some shortcut, to start it again. on KDE i use super+space and run it again....... because after you kill it, you cant move windows


Last edited by mylka on 31 May 2019 at 1:21 pm UTC
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