Purpose of this blog

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

Monday, February 11, 2013

[WoWP] On Major (0).4.0 Update

Ok, there has been quite a while since we talked about WoWP last time. It's time to fill the gap a bit.
 
We have been in hard and continuous process of reevaluation and reconsideration and now are happy to announce that our next major update for WoWP is going to bring some significant changes, namely: enhanced controls, new improved UI, and the last but not the least massive visual improvements (like 8.0 for WoT). And I'm going to focus on the last part, since controls are difficult to comprehend from screenshots and UI is now being finalized.

Reminder: this is not the final quality, no Photoshop is used, my laptop (with GeForce 680M) gives me 50-70 fps on maximum settings.
 
Here we go (before&after). All images are clickable.
 

78 comments:

  1. Overlord.: Just tell me pls why is it so dammed hard to actually kill some one in WoWP? I only could kill other aircrafts by actually collidiing with em!

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    1. That's why we are heavily working on flight model and controls now. Wait for 4.0, it will bring some really positive changes.

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    2. until you fix controls, you shouldnt bother writing about poor game (wowp) when you can write about good game

      Delete
  2. OMG, overlord, have you seen the clouds? ... i don't call that kind of clouds visual improvement, everything else looks nice.
    Those clouds only enhance the contrast between the sky and the (accurate)ground, but i understand you have done that for the sake of performance...

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    1. That's not the final quality, clouds haven't been tuned properly yet.

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  3. warthunder still beats you to the hell and back... 10x times better game.

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    1. Can't say I share your opinion. Good that we have got some competition, that will help us come up with better product.

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    2. thats something good allover the place.

      Im still interested how that will work out on your games in future, especially in terms of user-happiness.
      I know alot of people who are totally unhappy with the way wot is taking.

      Now you got some competition, it means ppl can wander off. Okay not for wot so far, but ive heared war thunder wants to give tanks a go, too.

      Hopefully that means that you (will) give community-wishes more weight.

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    3. What is the way that WoT is currently taking and you are not satisfied with?

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    4. Well, Wot is taking the way of a typical "cash cow"
      you got a good player base, now its time to dont think too much about actual stuff.. just keep going tanks for those freaks to level up. Sure thats one way to do a "tank-game".

      Balance is the keypoint
      to mention 3 utterly imbalanced points:

      1. current artysituation (post patch 8.3)
      2. obvious national disbalance
      3. unbalanced goldammo
      (everything over 340 pen is just totally screwing the balance)

      Sure the devs are deciding what to do.
      Yet id welcome a more balanced game.

      Dont introduce new tanks on a nearly daily base... check current stuff from scratch its urgently needed!
      - Btw have you ever thought about newcomers & frequent gamers? They are overwhelmed by the actual tank-list, and you wanna keep going?

      Dont know if that will do good...

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    5. "Cash cow" is not the way we are heading now. The development philosophy of WoT was dictated by objective factors and proved to be right - we have substantially grown on every market (prolly apart from US one). In our strategic plans for 5+ years we have got a lot of new things, including, eg, new game modes and massive CW changes.

      "1. current artysituation (post patch 8.3)" - it's getting better

      "2. obvious national disbalance" - what kind of disbalance? Don't tell me that Germans are inferior

      "3. unbalanced goldammo
      (everything over 340 pen is just totally screwing the balance)" it's not gold only anymore and doesn't even make up for 4% of all shells fired

      As for tank introduction pace, we have decided to slow it down a bit in 2013.

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    6. as to 1.
      my point is that 5 arties is too much every match, and yet that is how it atm is in t10 matches. Mostly at least.

      2. I think i dont need to write much here, i personally dont care much about random balance ("random balance!")... CW & Company is what counts here, bc this is the high end gaming. There IS a imbalance.

      3. Sorry but that stat is not telling much. 4% over all matches... now exclude T 1-6 and were getting quite a number i guess.
      What is about T9-10 matches?

      - I dont raise for removing golden shells, just for a appropriate number of penetration, which still makes it a competition with the need of aiming accurately. Atm its more like a shooting-off competition.

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    7. can you be more specific on the "new game modes"? cuz, in a recent Q&A it was stated that no other modes is in development other than garage battles
      the VIP one was abandoned due to, and I quote "lack of team play in randoms"

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    8. what I don't like in wot is:
      1. Clan Wars being more and more randomised and more and more suited for huge packs of mediocre clans with limiting options available for top clans (I can go long way about it but most important is how effective are brainless tactics in wot, what changes this game from tactical tank game into tank shooter)
      2. 7vs7 being the only format supported for competitive play (and rare 14vs14 tournament are not even a bandaid).

      to sum up - wot is still fun to play, but it stopped being rewarding to take part in competitive play

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    9. @L3gi: Overlord already stated that they dont plan to change anything about arty, other than bringing arty to tier 10.

      Its a pitty that such a huge gameplay-factor in randoms is ignored and gets no change. I think i can get at least 10 screens from people complaining about too much arty, by playing just one evening tier 10 tanks/tier 7 or 8 arty.

      On Gold Ammo:
      I personally enjoy it a lot, and hope it will never be changed in any way. I bought a premium tank to be able to use it, and so will have thousands of other players.

      What i have to criticise is the CW-Management after the maintenance takedown.
      I dont understand why they didnt do a rollback and fix it,
      before bringing in the new system.
      The waiting time was too long in my eyes.

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  4. Thx 4 the quick answer OverL. Now that I actualy have the pc to play with WoWP I can get back to the Beta testing :) Hope it will be more fun than on my old PC. BTW it would be nice if the packages (different ammo set ups) I dont know if they are still existing would be something simmilar to WoTs resarching way. It is quite difficult to see the changes between the different ammo set ups! Or what r u working on recently?

    Other than that If u need any Hungarian translations I would be happy to do that!

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    1. We are planning an option to customize ones ammo load, eg choose the pattern of ammo belt.

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  5. A few questions, and i have to compare to WT (sorry, but its a direct competitor)
    - Can your engine match the map size of wt?
    - Many people feels the crew training model of wt is better than the WOT model, once the crew is trained for a plane you don't have to retrain if you want to go back to a lower tier plane. Have you similar plans or will you stick to the wot model?
    - is there plans for historical and sim like levels in wowp like in wt?

    - You have stated you are not a produce at wowp anymore(in between projects you said), are you still employed in WG and in what function?

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    1. 1. I believe (don't have the exact specs) that WT's engine allows for bigger maps than BW's version for WoWP. We are working to enable maps of bigger size with engine developers, that should be possible from technical standpoint - eg WoWS has 8-16 times bigger maps. In WoWP we need better level of detail and less area, since we want to focus on aerial battles and intense gameplay.

      2. We haven't finished the crew concept for WoWP yet. It will be different from the one in WoT.

      3. No, we are not planning to copy from WT. We have got our own ideas on game modes.

      4. Current title is producer, same as it was earlier.

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    2. I hope some of WT crew set ideas rub off for other games, I never understood(other than in a money making mindset)why in WoT my crew forgets how to operate a tank when i train it for a new one? I have my fingers crossed that WT will breed competition for better game play all around.

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  6. can you elaborate on something serb said in a very recent Q&A?
    quote: "after some time, WoT might have the same improved render as the WoWp"

    you own quote: "and the last but not the least massive visual improvements (like 8.0 for WoT)"

    I'm baffled, who got what? serb sais WoWp has a better render, you say it's similar

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    1. When referring to WoWP's new render as "similar" to the one from WoT I meant the essence of tech improvement we had in WoWP. Generally speaking, it was similar (leap from 3.5 to 4.0 in WoWP and 8.0 in WoT), from a technological point of view engines are different and most of their elements can't be simply transferred and implemented into the other game. As for the general graphics quality, while it may sound like comparing apples to oranges, personally I found WoWP improvement to be more significant.

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  7. Hi Overlord!

    "...my laptop (with GeForce 680M) gives me 50-70 fps on maximum settings."

    This statement is pointless without proper informations like resolution and graphic settings. Any further infos regarding your resolution and settings?

    Q: What kind of AA will WoWP be using?


    In WoT you made many small steps back with 0.8 and the new render. It looks worse than the old one that supports MSAA and even SGAA (unofficial ofc but it looks great). Lightning is worse and tracers are very hard to see with the new render ...

    Thats why I still use the old one though my hardware is powerfull enough to run the new render with min FPS 40+ at full HD and max settings.

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    1. 1. Full HD, very high quality.

      2. FXAA (with temporal super sampling in hangar). Effects haven't been tuned properly yet, I was going to show you the current work in progress for WoWP. In release version it will look better.

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    2. 2)


      Thats new - never heard of FXAA and SSAA/SGAA working at the same time. It's the same in WoT either you use the old render with proper MSAA (gpu driver tweaked for SSAA/SGAA) or the new render with that horrible looking FXAA (no MSAA -> no SSAA/SGAA).

      The only possible solution left for good AA would be downsampling but that is a realy clumsy approach, eats even more gpu power than SGAA and worst problem is that flash-elements in garage and ingame dont scale correctly (at least in WoT)- never tested Downsampling with WoWp


      Sorry Overlord but I dont get it with you guys from WG and your "taste" in graphics. I mean one of the reasons im using a PC for gaming are the much better graphic options compared to consoles. Why you restrict your graphic quality with poor FXAA is absolut beyond me.

      Or do you guys really plan to go after the console markets with games like WoT and WoWp, which already struggle to run smothly and decent PCs? That was my first idea after I saw the new render in WoT in 0.8.

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    3. FXAA is going to be the only mode supported by WoWP for now. WoWP is going to have a decent visuals for its genre after 4.0.

      As for consoles and such stuff, who said what game we are making and what kind of render is used ? :)

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    4. he has a point, the OP that is
      indifferent on what engine you will be using, consoles are more or less restricted to using FXAA instead of real anti-aliasing

      at this point it's speculating regarding the next-gen, but, after 1-2 years, the engines will surpass the limits of next-gen too

      FXAA looks horrible: http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/207598-when-real-antialiasing-is-coming-into-wot/
      it creates a white halo over the objects and mainly, the tanks and other moving objects in the scene

      FXAA should be taken out in the woods and shot in the back of the head

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    5. Then Overlord please explain the reasons for abandoning proper AA and going FXAA. I havnt see any real answer up until today.

      And why did WG reduced the MAX graphic quality/details of the old render with 0.8. I m mean no one expected you guys to improve it after you switched to the new render, but reducing the max-settings?

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    6. because the plan to abandon the "old render" altogether ;)
      if you have an older GFX board or laptop, you're fucked

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    7. There was no such plan, we had to discontinue support for some features of the old render due to architectural reasons.

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    8. oh yes there is ;)
      you might wanna get in touch with your bosses, in a recent Q&A it was mentioned this exact thing

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    9. My bosses don't participate in Q&A.

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    10. As for MSAA vs FXAA thing, it's disputable. While the first can (usually) provide better image quality, the latter is more efficient performance-wise.

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    11. serb and storm, not your bosses?!
      if not apologies

      as for FXAA, as I posted in various topics on this type of how not to do AA: I'd rather play without any AA than FXAA
      even SMAA is more acceptable

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    12. ps:
      take a look at this video for comparison between the types of AA
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75HwcS3iARY

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    13. Without going into the depth of org structure, they are not.

      Deferred shading is not needed in WoT, that made us use FXAA. Again, performance.

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    14. OL:"...we had to discontinue support for some features of the old render due to architectural reasons."

      Would have been nice if you would have provided a possibilty to ad the now missing features/quality settings for the old render via modding as a community project or something alike.

      MSAA vs FXAA

      Every half decent gaming gpu from 2 year ago is able to run 4x MSAA at full HD in most games though sometimes with reduced details. In WoT performance problems in most cases are caused by a "weak" CPU (or better poor engine or your implementation whatever).
      If you want eye candy (16x MSAA or even SGAA) you ll have to pay $$$, that has always been the case. I really recommend to you to test the old render with 4x SGAA it beats the new one by miles (my can GTX570 can handle that while driving tanks - but sadly has some issues in arti mode with high zoom out, not enough memory 1.28 GB).

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    15. if you want performance coupled with more than decent AA, then you should seriously look at SMAA
      not that I support this types of post processing AA, but SMAA is more desirable choice

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    16. zMe ul:

      That SMAA-Mod from the mod-section of the forum caused all kind of strange issues (not only for me) and only improved the "desaster" of the new render in 0.8 to some degree.

      Old render with MSAA still looks better overall in my opinion even with reduced details.

      Furthermore I have issues with seeing tracers in the new render especially with arti, and that is a no go for me.

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    17. well, SweetFX is not exactly a mod, but an D3D post process injector
      SMAA is part of that injector, but SMAA on it's own can be used directly into engine code
      the source code can be obtained here: http://www.iryoku.com/smaa

      Delete
  8. Hello Overlord

    Will performance improve, because I had to quit Wowp because of low fps when firing ( in cases <10 ) and in general the game did not run smooth( gpu is HD5770 and wot/wowp run with less average fps than bf3 on high which is the only thing I really hate about your games), I'd like to come back if performance would improve

    also what does mean ->Overlord:"Can't say I share your opinion. Good that we have got some competition, that will help us come up with better product." ( Have you tried war tunder , because they are serious competition )

    I've tried WarThunder and I must say it beats wowp so I'm not sure if you are saying that subjectively or maybe implying that wowp can become much better

    /*Since NDA on WT is lifted I can say a few things just to prove my statement that WT > wowp
    -It has simple flight controles yet realistic( playing with mouse is easy, like with joystick )
    -It has many planes and plane types
    -Maps are HUGE
    -Fights are big and dynamic, have both arcade style MM and realistic/historical battles scenarios + other game modes
    -Ground and sea targets move and fight back
    -You can respawn with all the planes in given tree you have ( you go in battle with a nation, not a single figher )
    -You can land on bases and repair
    -Damage is registrated on the actual plane ( airframe itself - very complex and realistic )
    -Graphics are great, **tracers are good** ( WOT tracers "suck hard", just had to say it )*/

    I do not say wowp is bad, far from it, but it's not the best on the market like WOT so it wont print money like WOT

    sorry if post feels negative, not my intent but I had to add comment on WT because you seem to dismiss it with ease and I can't wait to see what they have in plan for tank battles

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    1. First of all, we are focused on improving our own game regardless of what out competitors are doing. That's the main point.

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    2. Glad to hear it, but will performance improve ?

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    3. Definitely. It's one of the key priorities. 4.0 will make things a bit better as well.

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  9. That's very nice graphics , But i hope they optimized as well .
    Which HLSL shader model are you using ? 3.0 or 4.0 ?

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    1. No worries, pretty much optimized by now. v.3.0

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  10. Looks good, but as you don't have the RAF from launch I'm not going near it. Promises about Soon(TM) look good on paper, but from the half assed/completed and late British WOT tree I don't believe them.

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    1. Ok, noted. If we do have RAF at launch - you will be obliged to come and visit us. :)

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    2. Well yes, I suppose I walked straight into that one...

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  11. I'm playing WoWp from the start of closed beta and I must compliment progress of this game. But on the second hand I also must say that WT is slightly better (Yes I'm playing both games :-) ) I hope that you consider to add some more types of planes to WoWp. I prefer WT now because I can fly also with bombers as Ju87, B17 etc. not only fighters or heavy fighters.

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    1. At this stage we are planning to have 4 aircraft classes which doesn't mean things will always be that way.

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    2. It is good news and I hope that big planes as B29 will be itroduced to WoWp in the future (the near future :-))

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    3. We don't share that kind of data.

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  13. I will tell hust one more thing. I logg in to world of warplanes and i see 89 ppl on-line ,that is correct.you read it well 89 only... i dount even want to bother to wait for MM after 8min of waiting ,yes 8 minutes. then i log on to war thunder... There is 12000 ppl on-line... just EU server. and then i look... what will i play... arcade battle...no,historical battles...hmmm no... ohhh full real battle...ah no.. o look dynamic campaign....10 + of them.. x 10+ missions in every one of them... ahh no i dount want... hm single missions... over 30 of them... hm no.. o mission editor.... o that looks fun... at the end i tested planes that i have unlocked..before i bought them,yea you can do that.. you even can test premium planes before you buy them... and the story goes on... wowp in this state is doomed. and they are adding tanks and ships.. and they say all the things you can play with planes, you can with tanks and ships..all single mission.dynamic campaign ,major battles with up to 4 ppl cooperative play or just you and 3bots... arcade,historical or full real. etc....

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    1. Is it a dedicated EU server for WT or a combined one? Cause I failed to find a EU one after a brief search.

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    2. do not know, i know i can switch in game RU server,EU server or combined. it dosent even mater,ppl are there and playing,waiting time is 5 to 30 sec,2k ppl in queve . What you do in wowp they make better. do not get me wrong. I love WG and WOT. i have 30k games played on eu server, Manijak82 is nick. But warthunder ppl are very serious competitione.

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    3. and srry for my bad english. :)

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    4. there are 2 servers right now, an EU one and a RU one
      and you have the option to play with "any" selected, meaning you get placed in the shorter queue every time you press battle

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    5. Ok, I was under impression that physically it's the same HW, cause you could switch between them in-game.

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    6. nop, they are not
      the EU server is located somewhere in Amsterdam, Netherlands
      and the RU one in Moscow

      they also have a 3rd server, for NA, ready

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    7. Ok, thanks.

      What are the CCUs on EU side? In Russia, where I play gets around 17-20k.

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    8. at this moment there are:
      - ~3000 in arcade
      - ~200 in HB
      - ~40 in FRB

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    9. I think its a good sign that you see what the competition does right to improve your product.

      My guildmate already told me that WoWP-Beta is dead (~100 Players online),
      so first you need serious changes that bring back a good word of mouth from testers, before it goes live. Only when ppl can harldy await its release, it can succeed.

      It seems it will take a lot of time, and hopefully it will get it, to be a quality game everyone enjoys.

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    10. We havent been inviting new testers for some time, until we get some really crucial changes. We are all waiting for 4.0

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  15. Impressive! Shame WoWP is too much arcade and without cockpit :(

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  16. Hey overlord thanks for the great update! I been waiting for a big change in this game because it was definitely needing something last time I played it! Can't wait to try it out again! It looks like it is really coming along!

    I actually have the same graphics card in my laptop! What settings do you run on WOT if you don't mind me asking?

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    1. On the same laptop I'm playing WoT on max settings in full HD getting around 40-60 FPS.

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  17. I was a long time a loyal customer in WOT. Probably in top 5% in how much money I used on the game.
    Was part of the closed beta WoT and Alpha of WoWp, but after starting playing War Thunder I have never looked back.
    Why? When playing War Thunder I get to choose between Arcade, Historical and Real Battles.
    This is why War Thunder will win in the long run. Older people with money to spend will chose WT, just because this simple option. (Or maybe I should say three options).

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  18. Any chance we can get an ETA on update 4.0 and when WOWP may possibly enter open Beta? I feel like we have been waiting forever for it!

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  19. You guys have your work cut out for you. The guys making Warthunder have made a damn good game. Most of it is because of the atmosphere. (night battles with tracers and search lights from the battle ships is just breath taking) The only thing i would change with warthunder atm is the maps are too small and they feel too arcade. Games with planes need to have strategy other than being able to see a enemy as soon as u spawn.

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  20. Patch 4.0 is an unmitigated disaster. Pretty clouds and graphics I'll grant you but they have taken out all the good elements and made it a bad copy of War Thunder. Gaijin must be laughing their collective asses off at this. Haven't seen this epic of a fail since Bioware.

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