[WoWS] Some New Renders

Drooling time!

Iowa

Zuikaku

And Yamato again

[WoWP] Japanese Tree

Check out the initial Japanese tech tree - carrier-based planes.

[WoT] Get Expert Opinion. Updated

Updated. September17. No more questions, please.

With high probability later this week I will be seeing Mr. Hilary L. Doyle whose proficiency in German (and not only German :)) WWII vehicles is totally unquestionable.

To take even more advantage of the upcoming meeting (barring standard business issues) I would like to gather player questions regarding (preferably) German tanks, so as to get Doyle's answers. Post them in comments to this post, I will shortlist everything with love and care and subsequently provide replies. While considering what exactly to ask, keep in mind that Doyle maybe not knowledgeable of the game itself, thus try to keep your inquiries more reality-related than WoT-related.

On a related note, you can also post your Qs on Soviet tanks, since I will also be able to poke one of the WoT warfare experts Yuriy Pasholok whose materials are mostly used for "Digging Through Archives" posts.

[WoWP] WoWP Dev Diaries. Part 5 - Gameplay Variety

New episode is live.

[WoT] Reviving ISU-152

Check out the awesome video below: guys are reviving the ISU-152 found in Chernigov region (Ukraine) and launching its almost 70-year-old engine.

The VO is Russian, but one can some understanding from the footage itself.

[WG] They Produce Games

Guess, some self-PR wouldn't hurt anyone :). Below is the photo of Minsk-based WG's producing team (not complete, but still counts). Those guys are basically responsible for all the good (and bad) things (featues, content, etc) that are now and will be in future WG projects (ofc kudos to designers, programmers, and artists, etc).

So, here they are:

Starting from right:

• Anton Sitnikau - Senior proudcer of WoWP (he is the one who responsible for all aerial-related issues)
• Alex Zezulin - Project manager of WoWP (responsible for for ties with Kiev studio)
• Michael Jivets/Zhivets aka Storm - Producer of WoT (responsible for day-to-day production of tanks)
• Slava Makarov - Executive producer of WG (or just Slava, he is one of the fathers of WoT and most of the other concepts that will in future become games)
• Sergey Burkatovskiy aka SerB - Executive producer / Head of Game design of WG (Sergey maintains the global vision of all WG projects and is capable of solving the hardest and trickiest game design issues of ground, aerial, and naval warfare. Many love and cherish him for good balance in WoT, especially his strong passion for German vehicles)
• Andrey Gashkov - Producer of World of Warships (he is responsible for the project in general)
• And the guy on the left is some useless PR officer :). 

The team is still not complete however, it is missing Alexey Levakov (producer of WoWS), Olga Koshan (producer of WoTG), and myself (Overlord). Since they have skipped the gathering, will leave them for next time.

PS: the photo was taken during Tanker's day celebration on September 9, 2012 near Minsk.

[WoWP] New WoWP Interview

Maybe you will find something new over here.

[WoT] Public Test of 8.0 is On

Public test of 8.0 started with several known and (unfortunately) noticeable issues that are not critical, but important. Here are they:

• new post-battle statistics is not displayed after the battle (most likely will be fixed today)
• penetration holes are hilariously marked with clan logos (for clan members)
• base capture doesn't work on Cliff and Wide Park maps

Unfortunately, fixes to the aforementioned problems haven't made it to the release version of initial build. Please don't report them, so as not to spam (cause they are so obvious). :)

Apart from that there is a number of smaller and less noticeable issues, feel free to report them as well as post your general feedback on the major update.

[WoT] Public Test of 8.0. First Try

This week. :)

Rates, credits and stuff:

- all tanks won't be unlocked
- all accounts will be as of date when database replica was created (a few days ago)
- everyone gets 100 000 000 free exp, 100 000 000 credits and 20 000 gold
- x1 rates will be in place

Summary from the 7.5-8.0 patch notes (not all the points mentioned! full version is to come):

- added new USSR TDs: SU-100M-1, СU-101 (Uralmash-1), СU-122-54, Object 263.

- added new premiums (for testing only!): Panther-M10, Pz IV Schmalturm, СU-122-44.

- British Matilda Black Prince added to Store 
- added new "deffered" graphic render ("advanced graphics" in settings) - this will improve the graphic quality big time!

- old "forward" graphic render can be enabled in settings ("standard graphics") - its performance has been increased substantially
- the following maps have been adjusted for the new render and lighting effects (terrain, lighting, sky, and other): Himmelsdorf, Mines, Karelia, Lakeville, Sand River, Cliff, Fjords, Mountain Pass, Arctic Region, Westfield.
- all other maps only had lighting effects reworked.
- changed physics of vehicle movement. Now it's possible to jump from hills, sind in water, push enemy tanks, leap on rough terrain, drift, etc
- fixed bug with sudden turn of both tanks while continuously ramming each other
- fixed most of the known issues with tanks getting stuck in objects and terrain
- added new functionality allowing to add emblems/logos and text on your vehicle (predetermined sets)
- reworked camo system
Old camos sold at buying price
Each tank now has 3 camo types: summer, winder, and desert which are changed based on the map.
Each camo gives 5% camo bonus.
- fully reworked the design of tech trees in UI. Now it's horizontal and contains prems.
- Assault and Encounter battles are now selectable
- added new post-battle stats. Now they are way more detailed and displayed in hangar after the battle.
- new radial command menu added (press Z to activate)
- in after-death mode it's possible to select vehicle to spectate using CTRL+LMB on team list
- reworked special effects when driving through water
- reworked basic UI elements: buttons, windows, backgrounds, check boxes, etc
- improved UI of exp conversion: added filters, total sum of exp to convert.

- in training battle window it's possible to swap teams

- added "improved suspension" equipment for French and USA tanks

- added new "report player options", you can send up to 5 per day now
- reworked rescaling of mini-map and its markers and symbols
- map ping is played only once per indication of a particular mini-map sector

- fixed the effect when gun goes up when swtiching from sniper to 3rd person view near buildings and big objects

- improved firing/shooting sounds. There are 11 categories based on caliber and muzzle brake factor (yes/no)

- added new sounds for tracks. There are 4 categories based on vehicle class. Sounds differ based on terrain and speed.

- added extra sounds when driving on wooden bridges, sand, and other

- added multiple new sounds for new physics: turning, drifting, ramming various parts of the vehicle etc

- improved sounds for "penetration", "ricochet", "detracking"

- other "sound" improvements

- Added 12 new medals

Balancing:

- changed accuracy and penetration of all German 7.5cm L43, L48, L70 guns
- Pz IV: top turret changed, 7.5cm L/70 removed

- T-54: new gun 100mm D-10T2S added

- Normalization of all AP and APCR shells reduced to 4-5 degrees.

- T-54: reserach cost via T-44 decreased from 160100 to 142000

- T-43: Increased armour of top turret.

- Tier 7 and 8 SPGs: substantially increased repair costs.

- Rebalanced multiple tanks. Full details will be available upon the final release of 8.0 update.

More detailed patch notes and more info on public test will be on the websites soon. :) 

[WoT] Misc Info. Updated

Updated. Added stuff in red. 

This post contains some misc information of World of Tanks.

Penetration mechanics is one of the hottest topics in WoT. Below is the summary of the most widely asked questions with answers, of course. :)


AP and APCR penetration and normalization:

• There is no normalization when hitting external modules - tracks and gun.
• Rounds ignore the armour slope when hitting external modules - tracks and gun.
• Rounds get normalized only when hitting main armour or spaced armour
• Normalization doesn't change the real round trajectory. This simplifies the calculation.
• Normalization is taken into account to calculate penetration / non-penetration at the point of impact (where round meets armour).
• If round penetrates the outer spaced armour and after that penetrates the inner main armour, it doesn't get normalized twice on the main armour. In both cases, when penetrating spaced armour - regular normalization value is used, for main armour - the same one is in place (no xN increase). The real round trajectory again stays the same for both penetrations. 
• Normaliztion value for all rounds will be substantilly decreased in 8.0 update: approx it will go down from 7 deg (on average) to 5 deg (on average).
• Ricochet angle is 70 deg. 
• Overmatch is the situation when round caliber is 3+ times bigger than armour. In this case, there is no ricochet. Round tries penetrate the armour regardless of the angle.
• After the ricochet, round changes its trajectory and continues its journey. Its penetration power is reduced by 25%. Only 1 ricochet is calculated by the server.
• Semi-overmatch is the situation when round caliber is 2+ times bigger than armour. In this case, normalization is increased proportionally to the semi-overmatch value, ie x2, x3, xN.

Saving throws and gun hits:

• Being inside the vehicle round can go as long as 10-caliber distance inflicting damage to modules and crew.
• If module/crew is lucky to get saving throw, round doesn't go further
• If module/crew doesn't produce saving throw, round goes further having its damage reduced by the amount of HP module/crew had. If the remaining damage is <= 0, round doesn't go further (it gets stuck)
• Gun also has saving throw, but if it dodges, round goes further. However if round has penetrated the armour and inflicted damage before hitting the gun / gun dodging, it won't go further
• When gun (gun hitbox) is penetrated (2 outer spots of the model hit), round gets its penetration reduced accordingly
• Crew members don't stop AP rounds under any circumstances

Publicly available hitboxes

It is planned to display hitboxes (without internal stuff) in the game client, specifically in hangar submenu. Clicking on a particular spot, one will get its exact armour thickness and possibly angle of possible impact (based on camera angle) - thus it will be more clear what and where you can penetrate and when you have little chance.

Voiceover

The current algorithm (or sequence) of hit and penetration messages will be reconsidered. Yes, "we are on fire" shouts will finally get higher priority. Additional sounds will be added when hitting tracks or gun. ETA - soon! :)

PS. Latest poll results (votes / %):
Your opinion on "Digging Through Archives" posts.
keep them coming!  - 866 (50%) - sure thing, will do!
propaganda! - 371 (21%) - come on! :)  
don't care  - 333 (19%) - that's the right approach
let them be - 153 (8%) - see above
 
The new poll is up.