Purpose of this blog

Dmitry Yudo aka Overlord, jack of all trades
David Lister aka Listy, Freelancer and Volunteer

Saturday, December 29, 2012

[WoT] On SPGs and MMing

Too many SPGs in battles is one of the persistent issues in WoT. It does affect the gameplay and can change the perception of the entire game.

Additional match-making requirements that are already live on RU servers and pending implementation worldwide are the following:

5 SPGs per team is a so called semi-hard cap which means 5 is maximum number of SPGs per team if the battle is created correctly, ie without any errors. The prerequisites for that are relatively high CCU (that's why might be somewhat hard for NA server) and no particular imbalance or disproportion between vehicle classes in waiting queue.

In addtion to the above the SPG-cap for high tier battles is floating and varies from 2 to 5 arty units per team.

Simplifying things, battles are created by the server in succession with different SPG limits: 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc

For lower tiers the limits are a bit different and depend on the average SPG percentage for that particular battle tier.

Such matchmaking adjustment will increase waiting time in queue for all tanks:
- for tanks/TDs the increase is going to be relatively small - up to a few seconds (under normal conditions)
- for SPGs the increase is going to be more noticeable - up to 30-60 seconds in worst cases.

The cap mechanics was chosen taking into account possible increase of waiting time. The harder the cap and the more restrictions, the longer waiting times. Especially for less-populated servers (on single RU cluster there can be 140-200k players)

Friday, December 28, 2012

[WoT] Misc

Some misc info in this post.

Get Expert Opinion: Soviet Edition is now locked for new questions.

Follow the blog updates to check Pasholok's replies. Next week I'm going to post the last batch of Q&A with Doyle.

As a continuation of the famous hatred thread, below are the results of the related poll:

What annoys me most is ...
  1. 0 damage hits - 786 (32%) - that's one of the persistent complex issues to be seen to in 2013
  2. Arty parties - 636 (26%) - going to post some more info on possible solution
  3. No skill-based matchmaking - 220 (9%) - just no way
  4. Lack of tactics in random - 181 (7%) - some pre-launch IQ test?
  5. Visibility / spotting system - 168 (7%) - no overhaul planned for now
  6. 25% randomization roll - 121 (5%) - not subject to change
  7. Insufficient optimization and bugs - 116 (4%) - 8.2 did a great job, however this is a continuous task
  8. lack of game modes - 93 (3%) - more game modes are in plans
  9. smth else - 40 (1%)
  10. Ramming / TK damage system - 30 (1%)

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

[WoWS] People, Who Are Making the Game for You

Hi guys!

I came up with a great idea to introduce you those who’ve been developing the highly anticipated naval MMO World of Warships.

Let's start!

Anrew Gashkov aka Tarn, Lead Producer for World of Warships
It is he who makes final decisions on gameplay, economics, balancing and other project’s issues. He is also acts a mediator between Minsk and Saint Petersburg offices, promptly acting if something goes wrong.


Ivan Moroz aka Black Warrior, Production Producer for WoWS
An extremely experienced game industry professional, who’s published dozens of titles, including notable Pacific Storm by Lesta Studio.


Malik Khatajaev, General Manager at Lesta Studio (Wargaming’s St.Petersburg studio responsible for WoWS development)
The real stager at game industry, who founded the studio more than 21 years ago. Being a merit professional manager, he is also famous for creating comfortable and cozy atmosphere within World of Warships development team. 
 

Danila Volkov aka Danny, WoWS Project Manager
His will-to-win spirit and eagerness do their best for World of Warships’ future success.

Petr Porai-Koshitс aka PPK, Head of Game Design at Lesta Studio
An unbelievably creative person who leads GD-team with his ideas on how to implement just the best game features. 
 


Slava Makarov, the mighty Vice President of Wargaming. Each upcoming title by Wargaming depends on his approval and – just believe me – World of Warships’ strategic vision is in safe hands. 
 

Slava Goncharov aka Uldor, Historical Consultant of our game
He is the person who seeks the best references, drawings and blueprints for every ship, which will be delivered in the game just for you. 


Well, that's me, Alexey Levakov aka KGB. Being a producer for World of Warships, sometimes I perform as a talking head… As you can see, I’m incredibly fond of DSLRs (and mirrorless cameras), though I’m far from calling myself a professional photographer.


Vladimir Gremitskiy. Guess, who's the Head of Art Department? Yes, exactly the person, who’s looking at you with sharp eyes from the picture. His religious exactitude and thorough attention to details let us be sure that World of Warships is going to have the highest quality ship models ever made. 
 


Polina Malisheva is a Creative Director at Lesta Studio. Her experience and inapproachable artistic taste are the traits that will reliably assure World of Warships a perfect look. 
 

These are the people patiently developing World of Warships. In the near future you will get a chance to evaluate the result of their joint efforts and talents, playing our ass-kicking game! 
:)

Thanks for reading, folks.

KGB