Saturday 14 March 2015

14.03.2015 Stream (Ended)

Streaming now some WoT, will be playing initially on the test server so if you wanna see any tank in particular (mainly the new ones) don't be shy to ask. If I get fed up of test server just gonna hop into normal WoT and do some grinding that is necessary.

http://www.twitch.tv/ritagamer2

Render and Reality

Hello warriors, check this out. Remember the beautiful renders of the French tanks (especially AMX-30) you were drooling at? Well, as usual, the reality is quite different. Let's compare them to how well the AMX-30 looks in the game on highest details. It's a shame that not even the most powerful PC users cannot play on higher details (like it was possible with the early HD models).



Extras that EU Staff forgot

Thank you "Trent" and "Panerakis".

I shit you not, apparently EU staff didn't added to their event specials on the webpage that we are getting some few discounts and extras:

On crew training and retraining for credits: 50%
On crew training and retraining for gold: 50%
On resetting crew skills for credits: 50%
On resetting crew skills for gold: 50%
On purchasing Premium Account for 3 days: 46%
On purchasing Premium Account for 7 days: 46%
On purchasing slots in the garage: 50%
And on purchasing a bunch of vehicles: 15%

There is also a Crew coefficient experience 3.


This is the page currently (before it hopefully gets changed):


Ectar even posted some information about the specials on reddit:


It amazes me how so little is posted on the WoT EU Website, and somehow they still manage to, excuse my words, fuck it up (Yeah, today I'm feeling feisty as you can read)!


0.9.7 Test Server now UP

It seems like the Test server is now live, took me almost 15 minutes to get in (no queue, just a strange delay), let's hope it stays on!

If you haven't downloaded yet, you can do it here: http://dl.wargaming.net/wot/ct/files/WoT_internet_install_ct.exe

Have fun!

14.03.2015 QA.

One of the major 9.7 changes is separating new players from experienced ones on tiers 1-3 (no more pedobears, unless you make a twink)

-9.7 will not bring changes to individual missions, 9.8 will bring a large set of changes however;
-It's not possible to release the set of changes via a mini-patch;
-Platoon finder will not come in 9.7 or 9.8, but later;
-The IM changes will include both description fixing and actual changes in IM conditions;
-It's not clear yet whether the penetration changes in first 9.7 test will appear in final 9.7 version, developers will think about it (it's possible it will, it's possible it will not);
-It's not clear what the conditions for making a difference between newbie and experienced player on tiers 1-3 are (RG: Seriously?);
-"Want skill MM? Play team battles with leagues.";
-There are more plans (apart from the penetration nerf in 9.7) "to make the life of HT's easier";
-Some extremely high pen gold shells will have their penetration nerfed;
-More complicated shell mechanisms (like special properties for sub-caliber shells or crit like in War Thunder) will not be introduced, because it would make the game too complicated and when shooting at large distances, the game would behave "randomly". Storm states that one of the main reasons why the game was so successful is the simplicity of gameplay;
-Gold ammo (as a premium improved option) will not be removed;
-Q: "With the appearance of special MM rule to separate newbies from experienced players, I'll make a twink" A (Storm): "Spitting on you!";
-The rules to protect new players do not mean that the old SerB's motto "if you are skilled, you can pwn" is no longer valid, but newbies have to be protected. The issue of sealclubbing grew a lot recently, pedobears are driving new players away (RG: Not just recently);
-According to Storm, the pedobear argument of having skilled players play with newbies is good because the newbies learn from them is false: "newbie leaves before he manages to learn something";
-The reason why 9.7 has so few HD tanks (again) is WGL Grand Finals, "cybersportsmen do not like surprises" (RG: Seeing the low numbers of the WGL, they should revise their priorities);
-Storm denies that the reason for penetration nerf is the need of Wargaming to make money on gold shells;
-Q: "Why are the ASAP/KTTS videos so short these days? They used to be 10-15 mins long." A: "Because there few new things in patches. For now." (later, Storm adds that the "for now" concerns the future content in 2015);
-Havok will come in very distant future, it's being completely reworked due to insufficient performance (RG: Looks like Roaming got completely scrapped too);
-Developers are working on the motion physics based on the test results;
-Storm doesn't agree that patch 9.7 has little content - especially the changes to team battles are massive;
-HE shells do not count towards damage blocked by armor WHATSOEVER, this will be reviewed;
-The information that HD IS-3 would appear in 9.7 was wrong;
-No new info on the FV4202 (why it was nerfed) - Storm will ask his colleagues on Monday;
-Storm cannot say whether mid-tier penetration will be nerfed as well;
-It's possible there will be further artillery changes, developers are currently thinking how to do it;
-Third physics test: "when it's done it's done";
-The worst (least successful with most corridors) maps will be removed from the game. Currently, following maps are reviewed for that purpose: Hidden Village, Sacred Valley, South Coast and North-West (RG: Glad that its being done, mainly the Hidden Village, it looks like a proper map for a MOBA game);
-Storm states that Foch 155 has to be changed to a non-autoloader TD with "normal gun parameters". Either that, or nerf the gun more. But this is still just an idea, not a decided solution;
-Regarding whether to buff E50M, no decisions were taken yet;
-Artillery autoloader was not discussed yet;
-Foch 155 autoloader is unhistorical;
-The 9.7 test server was unstable, that's why it was stopped, but on the other hand, the new BigWorld version boosted the performance on some PC's by as much as 25 percent (not on very poor ones, but on mid-range ones);
-There will be new Stronghold features, but the developers cannot disclose details yet;
-Regarding World of Tanks working on a different engine - "Other alternatives produce significantly worse results on very bad PC's. We had a look at all the trending engines - they don't work well on bad PC's.";
-Bonus XP for tanking will hopefully come in 9.8;
-There are plans to introduce dynamic mud on tank (the way War Thunder has it, you start with a clean tank and end with a dirty one when driving through mud);
-Q: "You suck. When Armored Warfare comes, it will kick your ass." A: "Stop talking shit already.";
-T-62 and Leopard 1 in HD will not come in 9.7;
-Apparently, HD models of either Jagdpanzer E-100 or E-100 are fucked, one has wrong lower frontal plate angle, resulting in a nerf;
-New premium tanks will come in 9.7.

Developer Hour - Mods

As usual, the Friday "Developer Hour" show on Wargaming FM, this time with Anton Bobrov, product manager and the topic is "mods":

-Currently the idea is to expand the modmaker community, to work with modmakers and to support them directly from Minsk. There are a lot of issues in this endeavor, such as the fact that there's no unified knowledge database or set of tools, an official discussion platform etc. (RG: this concerns mostly RU server, don't expect miracles on EU);
-Mods appeared in the game in version 0.7.1.1;
-More than a half of players uses mods;
-The "Battle Assistant" artillery mod is not banned, but also not recommended by Wargaming and doesn't appear in popular modpacks. Nevertheless, the person who made it is very talented (RG: Funny because Wargaming chose it as the winner of a Mod contest);
-There is no clear definition as to which mod is a cheat and which is not. WG reviews each mod individually and decides ad hoc.
-A "mod manager" (an application allowing you to easily select which mods to run) is a really good idea according to WG, they are thinking about it. It would look something like the App Store magazine.
-Currently, developers are working on the WG Stream mod, there's an idea to make players able to watch streams within battles;
-Mods DO affect FPS, especially larger modpacks - situations where modpacks "eat" 10-20 FPS are not uncommon;
-"AutoMessage" mod (the one that writes in chat that the player was spotted and other stuff) will be "fixed", developers are not happy with the chat spam;
-At one point, WG wanted to create their own modpack, but then they realized an official WG modpack would "strangle" all other modpacks to death and WG would gain a monopoly, which is not something they wanted;
-XVM will not be implemented into the game;
-Next week, there will be a meeting with WoWs developers and it will be decided what will happen with the mod situation in WoWs (RG: Hope they keep a strong fist on cheat mods);
-WG wants modmakers to make new mods, mods will not be banned as a whole;
-It's possible there will be another Wargaming Developer Contest;
-WG developers want players to use mods;
-WG is working with certain modmakers, helping them in writing their mods, it's very productive work;
-WG Stream and Wargaming FM mods were made by modmakers on WG commission;
-It's possible cybersports will have a list of mods that are allowed;
-There has been a "tactical pad" mod for clans for a long time, but it found its users among solo players as well;
-How WG identifies cheat mod users is a "secret" (RG: It's understandable, other companies tend to do the same but just start on banning them already!).

St. Patrick's Day EU event

On the European server from today, 14 March until 18 March at 06.00 CET (UTC +1) the St. Patrick Event will be celebrated.
WG EU has two missions prepared for us where we can win... 5x Large Repair Kit and 1x Enhanced Gun Laying Drive (600.000 Credits).


Not too bad, but meanwhile only I can think about is that on the NA server players will be getting a total of 3 million credits just for logging in on the next two months.

Couple days ago Ectar wrote on the EU forum and a message about the event situation between servers but it gave me the feeling that EU is getting shafted. Again, no free stuff for you, European capitalists!

Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go replica and re-enactment


A Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go replica (you can clearly see the modern engine inside). The Ha-Go was one of the most common Japanese tankettes and was used throughout the war, especially during the fighting on various Pacific islands. Poorly armored and armed, the Japanese tanks have a lousy reputation, but this is a bit undeserved. By the time they were designed and mass-produced, these vehicles were completely adequate. They were not designed to take on Shermans or Stuarts in one-on-one combat, their purpose was to defeat droves of untrained (Chinese) infantry with bad morale and leadership, a task in which they excelled.


New Tier 10 Discount - Maus

Just like FTR predicted, the new tier 10 discount for the second half of the month on EU server will be the Maus and its branch. Enjoy!

New Ranzar video

Good Morning,
last week I was still fresh trying to manage the blog to the best of my capabilities (all getting smooth now) and forgot to post the Ranzar video, not gonna miss it from now on.

Enjoy!


Type 59/Patton hybrid, new tier 8 Chinese MT

Here are the pictures of the new upcoming tier 8 Chinese premium. It's a combination of Type 59 hull and Patton turret - but whether such a thing existed or is a Wargaming invention... who knows?

There are no characteristics are available yet.


(Update) 0.9.7 Test is NOT up!

Just to warn that the 0.9.7 test server is now available to download but the servers are not active, will most likely return on Monday according to the Russian support team.

You can download it here: http://dl.wargaming.net/wot/ct/files/WoT_internet_install_ct.exe

Oh well...