[WoT] Don't Pay to Win

So, 8.5 will bring us apart from other stuff:

• Premium consumables are now available for credits.
• Platoons and companies can now be created by non-premium users

 What's your opinion on that? No more pay-to-win elements, right? :)

[ALL] Globally

This recruitment leaflet I have surprisingly found in GDC (Game Developers Conference) goody bag.

All offices, both development (now also in the US) and publishing, are hiring. 1500+ people from all over the world. When I joined the company for World of Tanks project it was about 100, I believe.

Hopefully, will be even more considering multiple projects in development, especially WoT Blitz. :)

Btw, we as a company are now celebrating 15th anniversary. So, I'm assuming some congrats here. 

[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? 

[ALL] Playing On the Move

Just arrived to San Francisco for GDC and related events. Checking out with the poll:

Regarding the most recent poll: I have got 

• Android smartphone - 792 (46%)
• Don't have any! - 527 (30%)
• Android tablet - 254 (14%)
• iPad - 222 (12%)
• iPhone - 219 (12%)
• Windows smartphone - 105 (6%)
• other smartphone / tablet - 112 (6%)
• Windows tablet - 38 (2%)

By the way, just curious out of those who have mobile devices, what mobile games do you play if any. Shooters, city builders, puzzles, social games, etc

As always the new poll is up.

[WoWP] What's New?

So in 0.4.1 for WoWP closed beta we will see the following (preliminary list):

- soft wipe/reset
- nicely tuned joystick (finally)
- reworked upgrades UI
- 2 new maps
- new prem aircraft

Arctic map

Harbour map

Pegas

Сurtiss f-11c-2

BSh-1

Ar. 197

Seversky 2PA-L

Grushin Sh-Tandem

Me. 210

Bell P-77

He. 100

Bell XFL-1

Curtiss P-40 M-105

[ALL] Make Yourself Heard!

I will be heading for GDC 2013 to San Francisco later this week and prior to the event I will be talking to our EU and NA offices regarding (in)formal community relations, blogs, information policy and relevant stuff. I would appreciate any feedback from your side regarding the mentioned stuff, namely: your attitude to this blog, official forums, customer relations of WG in general.
What are the most glorious win and epic fail?

[WoT] End Game

Do you get a feeling of completing the entire game after you have grinded a particular tank line up to tier 10? What's your personal end-game at this stage in World of Tanks and what kind of content would you like to see in game that would keep old and experienced players even more addicted?

Any examples count, including successful ones from other games.

[WoT] SPGs FTW!

Pondering over the recent balancing adjustments and the way we've screwed up SPGs so badly, I have come to the idea why not enable TD sniper more for SPGs.

Indeed, many of the SPGs in real life had optics that allowed to fire directly. And after the MM change with a semi-hard cap for SPGs TD mode has become even more difficult to use.

In the light of upcoming expansion of SPG lines up to tier 10, this might be a nice change making the game a little less arcadish (if you get what I mean :)). Imagine multiple SPGs driving here and there in TD mode.

So, what do you think?

[WoT] How Good 0.8.4 Is

The 0.8.4 update went live. And this is the feedback topic. Let's discuss the pros and ... merits of the latest major patch.

Regarding the most recent poll: What form of eSports are you interested in??

• None of the above  - 752 (53%) - Totally explainable. 
• Participating -  308 (21%) - Not bad at all.
• Watching videos and live games - 255 (18%)
• Reading news and other -  91 (6%) - this and the group above have a good chance to ultimately join those who actually participate once the necessary support is provide and eSports is more accessible in WoT

 As always the new poll is up. 

[MISC] Wargaming Seattle

Gas Powered Games (Wargaming Seattle)

Everyone's wondering about Gas Powered Games, our recent acquisition earlier this year. For Chris Taylor, this was a happy surprise - in 2012, the studio was facing an uncertain future with only a now-defunct Kickstarter project keeping it afloat. Being a part of the Wargaming team has given the studio new life; the feeling of excitement in the offices is evident, from the fresh, new ideas coming out of the development team to the eagerness with which they accept opportunities within Wargaming's structure.

Office decorations in Seattle - they already fit right in!

Last week, I got to visit the offices of the new Wargaming Seattle studio and meet with Chris and his design and development leads to talk about the direction the studio is moving, plans for new game development, and just get to know the team and let them know what Wargaming is all about - bringing the fun to free games. Our shared vision turned out to be even more powerful than anything we would have come up with alone.

Their vision is like our vision - a perfect match!

Gas Powered Games and Chris Taylor are already well known for a number of famous products, including Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, Supreme Commander 2, Dungeon Siege, Space Siege, Age of Empires Online, and Demigod. The studio happens to be the same age as Wargaming - 15 years - so it's no wonder they have developed so many cool games.

Chris Taylor, CEO and Founder, Gas Powered Games

Chris Taylor is the fire under this studio that keeps things hot, in spite of the cold, rainy weather Seattle is famous for. I was extremely impressed with his enthusiasm and desire to take on new projects and become part of the Wargaming team. As he told me over dinner, it's going to be great for him to let someone else focus on administration, so he can go back to enjoying making great games.

Game memorabilia from the past 15 years

The Gas Powered Games offices are located just outside of Seattle, near Nintendo's US headquarters. They're very postmodern, with a lot of glass and steel, and too large for the number of people working there right now, which means they are going to have to start recruiting to get those desks filled. That way they can get to work on The Next Big Game®.

Chris Taylor's desk - clearly a sign of a creative mind!

There is one desk that is already full to capacity - Chris Taylor's! It looks like he's kept every game he's ever played, every magazine and book he's ever read, and enough office furniture to pile all of them on! Fortunately, we all know that chaos is a sign that creative juices are constantly flowing. Another way Gas Powered Games fits right in with Wargaming!  :-)

by ChrisK