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[WoTB] World of Tanks Blitz: Tanks and Tablets

Popularity of the original World of Tanks did not leave aspiring game development studios indifferent. Since 2011 WoT-resembling (in terms of gameplay) products started to rocket on different platforms including mobile - smartphones and tablets. Naturally Wargaming.net is not going to disappoint their customers and is going to come up with their decent version of tanks for tablets.

Developing games for iOS and Android platforms is a very special case that requires very dedicated and focused professionals. Wargaming didn't have that kind of expertise until recently.

DAVA, a Belarusian development studio, was founded in March, 2008 in Minsk. The guys chose their specialization right away. They decided they would be developing apps for iOS. The date of founding the studio is close to the date of App Store creation (July 10, 2008). So, we may say that DAVA is a peer of the most popular iOS apps store.

While others were examining the newly appeared service, the young studio was already developing products for it and was among the pioneers on the newly-formed market.

DAVA had for co-founders: Andrew Karpiuk, Vitaly Borodovsky, Dmitry Bobrovnichiy, and Alexander Fomenko; as well as six key soldiers: Ivan Petrochenko, Alexey Prosin, Stepan Drozd, Kirill Poliakov, Victor Kleschenko, and Alexey Alexeev. This were the “bones” of the young development studio. Nobody in Belarus had developed anything for iOS befor DAVA was founded. And obviously WoT Blitz is not the first product the team has worked on. They had produced quite a few games and apps (with over 10 mln downloads and over a million purchases) before they started working on WoT Blitz. The team used to work as a subcontractor for Electronic Arts, iWin, Freeverse, and other publishers. The audience of DAVA own product users is about 9 million with a lot of apps and games to appear among TOP100 in free and grossing charts.

Some of the DAVA products include:

Modern Weapons: Small Arms (encyclopedia)

Jewel Quest Mysteries

Space Storm

Wargaming has been in touch with DAVA for quite some time. There even were a few ex-Wargamers working for DAVA. The acquisition finally took place in 2011. The first major game project - World of Tanks Blitz - was started in spring 2012 (first prototype) and officially greenlit in December 2012.

The mobile department of Wargaming currently consists of 3 independent teams:

-       The WoT Blitz team distributed in Minsk and a few Ukrainian cities.

-    Framework team (cross-platorm game engine development)

-       The Service Apps team developing apps assistants World of Tanks and World of Warplanes

Vitaly Borodovsky - tech director

UX/UI design in progress

Designing maps for Blitz

GD is thinking over a new feature - agile board in the background

As for the game, WoT Blitz, it has been demoed at multiple gaming shows throughout 2013 and early 2014, including public gaming areas during G-Star 2013 in Korea and Taipei Game Show 2014, which means that the game in nearing closed beta with iOS release scheduled for first half of 2014.

A couple of new screenies below.

The map is called "Mines". Should be recognizable 

From another perspective with HUD

Another map - Copperfield

[WoTB] Be the First to Know

While we are pushing it hard for World of Tanks Blitz closed beta which is due later this year, you can take a look at the updated promo sites and subscribe for the newsletter so as not miss the beta announcement and submit your application in time.

For EU:
http://wotblitz.eu/

For NA:
http://wotblitz.com/

Mobilize!

[WoTB] New Screenshots

World of Tanks Blitz is now being tested internally. The game was demoed behind closed doors at Gamescom. At this stage we are satisfied with what we have got - closed beta will show though.

Below are some new screenshots (yes, they are not from PC):

[WoTB] Any Questions?

As you might have seen WoT news has started its new season. In the first episode it mentioned WoT Blitz, WoWS, and GPG / Chris Taylor.

If you have got any specific Qs on mobile tanks (I saw there were some on the forums), I will be here to provide replies. Fire!

[WoTB] First WoT Blitz QA (Glafi.com)

What minimum Android version that will be supported by World of Tanks Blitz?

Minimum system requirements for both iOS and Android haven't been finalized yet. Android 4.0+ and iOS 5.0+ will definitely be enough. However it's more about the device than OS itself. 

What minimum display size supported by World of Tanks Blitz?

From a personal standpoint 7'' devices provide the best user experience for World of Tanks Blitz due to the weight and size. Generally speaking, screen size is a secondary parameter, first of all, the device should be able to run the game itself. We are developing all the screens and UI elements for both smartphones and tablets to ensure comfortable play on any supported device regardless of screen size.

What will minimum device specs (memory, CPU) be?

At this stage it'd be easier to talk about supported devices. On Apple side we support iPad 2 and newer (3, 4, mini), and iPhone 4 and newer (4S, 5). As for Android, it's tricky because of fragmentation, Tegra-3-like devices will definitely be supported. 

What's the expected client size (Mb, Gb)?

The main content of the game are naturally tank 3D models and maps that require quite a lot of space, so the client size can easily go up to 1GB and even more. So as to allow players to jump into the game more quickly, we are planning to have a "light" client with the basic client package, while other required resources will be downloaded separately.

Will mobile and PC versions share same account or the current players will have to re-register?

Our current World of Tanks players on PC (and World of Warplanes testers) won't have to register once again so as to start playing World of Tanks Blitz on mobile thanks to Wargaming.net ID service. 

What distribution model will World of Tanks Blitz use?

Here at Wargaming we adhere to free-to-play. :) It worked out well for PC game, it works well for mobile these days. So everyone will be able to download the game for free and start playing. 

Are you going to use premium account system? What will it be like? 

Yes, we are planning to use premium account system in World of Tanks Blitz as well. Sure thing, premium account will speed up the progression. At this stage the exact mechanics is not finalized and it may differ from PC side. 

Is World of Tanks Blitz more of an independent game or a port from PC platform? 

We regard World of Tanks Blitz not as a downscaled version of "big brother", but as an independent project which is different from PC version in a lot of ways, e.g. content-wise. Of course, the mobile version will get its own unique features.  

Will we see companies in release version? 

For World of Tanks Blitz we are planning to implement a company mode similar to PC version. Can't give more details on it at this time - a lot can be changed subsequently. 

What tank classes will be in game? PC version has LTs, MTs, HTs, TDs, SPGs.. What will we get on mobile? 

For initial release version we are planning to add medium tanks, heavy tanks, and tank destroyers. I'm a big fan of SPGs and most likely the list won't be limited to the mentioned classes.

How many tanks will each branch have? 

For the launch we are going to have 3 factions - USA, Germany, and USSR. Each nation will get 3 tier 10 branches, 1 per tank class. All in all about 90 tanks. 

Anything about physics and damage model? 

We have managed to make our BigWorld technology work for mobile. This means that we will ensure the safety and security of all transactions as we do on PC. For players, it means that World of Tanks Blitz will take full advantage of tank movement physics (implemented in PC version in 0.8.0 update), accurate penetration and damage models that proved their worth on PC.  It doesn't mean there will be no changes, mobile gameplay is somewhat different and some changes may follow.

How many maps will release version get? 

Can't give the exact number yet, enough to ensure to diversity of gameplay. :) We are building maps for World of Tanks Blitz from scratch, this means that location-wise it will be a new experience for current WoT players.

What type of maps will we see in-game comparing to PC (city, open, mixed)? 

We are not focused on one single map type, on the contrary we are striving for diversity as much as it is possible. Artisits and designers are experimenting with settings, terrains and heights. Right now we have got a desert map, a city map, and a map based on legendary Karelia from WoT PC, and a couple of others in production. Each location will get its own unique terrain elements providing broad tactical options for players. 

What will be the controls?

Controls will use full capabilities of touchscreen devices. That's our main goal to make controls easy and comfortable, right now we are experimenting with different schemes, and doing focus test to shortlist the best option that we are going to show to players. We aslo consider supporting new physical game controllers (bluetooth joysticks) and  other devices that have potential.

What's the release time frame?

It will be released when we get the release quality and are satisfied with the result. Right now we are at pre-alpha stage - not ready to show the game to public yet. The development goes as scheduled and we are making good progress. 

Interview for glafi.com (translated from RU). Link to the original.

[WoTB] Going Mobile

I will just leave it here

http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/26/4148438/world-of-tanks-blitz-wargaming-net-ios-android

More screenshots

Are you excited?