Today, Gaijin Entertainment has officially released Aces of Thunder “One Sky for All”, the latest major update in its aerial combat simulator.
Aces of Thunder “One Sky for All” introduces crossplay between PC and PlayStation 5, new DLC aircraft, and a broad range of gameplay, control, mission, and interface improvements. Alongside this, PC and PS5 players now share battles and matchmaking queues by default, while PS5 players can turn off crossplay through the settings menu.
The three aircraft are coming in separate DLC packs: the Ju 87 D-5, I-16 type 27, and Bf 109 Z-1 Zwilling. Players can also take on two new single-player missions, Zero Fuel and Convoy Hunter. The Khalkhin Gol operation is also available in general matchmaking for USSR versus Japan battles, and the Tunisia operation can appear in Germany versus USA matchmaking.
The Pas-de-Calais operation has also been added to general matchmaking for WWI, with a dedicated Pas-de-Calais mission now available for WWI aircraft in Team Death Match and the location added to the Mission Editor. Custom Battles receive Tunisia and Khalkhin Gol missions, while the Mission Editor gains the ability to select allied and enemy aircraft and determine their numbers.
Missing bombing and assault missions have also been restored, and the USSR test flight has replaced the Tu-4 with the Yak-3 and La-5 for improved historical accuracy. Several gameplay adjustments improve the overall battle experience, including changes to AI aircraft turret accuracy and fixes for bot behavior in Air Domination missions.
Ground units in multiplayer now respond to destroyed bridges, with units positioned too close being destroyed and nearby units stopping their movement, while issues preventing players from receiving scores for certain battle actions have also been addressed. Progression systems have been refined with clearer displays for specific skin unlock requirements, and a leaderboard issue that caused a single-player mission to count as multiple battles has been fixed.
Control customization has also expanded with new bindings for toggling collimator sights and cockpit lights, plus separate controls for opening and closing aircraft canopies. Aces of Thunder Update 0.1.2.2 also resolves several control-related issues, including a bug that could cause players to lose spatial control while opening the Multi-Function Menu, problems that could prevent input bindings from being changed, and cases where gameplay actions such as camera zooming or throttle adjustments could accidentally occur while assigning controls during battle.
The interface has received a substantial overhaul in Aces of Thunder “One Sky for All,” adding player cards that display brief statistics and contact actions while moving those functions out of the main contacts menu. Players can now search for other users globally by nickname without first entering the same battle, with local contacts appearing first and group searches also supported.
Additional interface improvements will now make settings easier to navigate, improve spawn point visibility on maps, and resolve various issues involving mission changes, Custom Battle teams, kill logs, QR code windows, controller navigation, and XInput device hints. VR players also receive adjustments to default head positions across numerous aircraft:
- Bf 110 G-2
- Hurricane Mk.IV
- Typhoon Mk.Ib
- SBD-3
- Spitfire Mk.I
- Yak-3, Yak-9T
- IL-2M 1943
- P-40
- Fokker Dr.I
- Bf 109 F-4
- Bf 109 G-2
- FW 190 A-4
The missing landing gear indicator hint has also been restored for the Bf 110 G-2.
A follow-up Aces of Thunder Update 0.1.2.2 addresses several additional issues, including the missing briefing for the Zero Fuel mission and incorrect aircraft appearing in the Khalkhin Gol mission. The mission tuner window has also been reorganized with new grouping options, and we fixed missing localization for several Multi-Function Menu options.
Aces of Thunder is currently available on PC (Steam) and PS5. For more info on this and other military sims, be sure to check back to Simulation Daily for updates.
