FTR Q&A 1 – Answers

Posted on by

So, few hours ago, I sent the 20 questions away and the answers are already here!

To explain, how it works: I gathered your questions in English. I had to change the wording in most cases (typos, sometimes the meaning was unclear), so I hope you get to “recognize” your questions. Then I sent the questions to Zlobny (still in English), who then “redistributed” them to appropriate departments (some are answered by Storm for example). In one case, I was asked to reformulate one question for appropriate meaning.

The replies came back in Russian, I translated them to English. The questions are in the form I sent to Zlobny. The name of the replying developer is behind the answer (where applicable, I assume it’s Zlobny himself replying where there is no name).

1. Will Dragon Ridge come back at any point – if so, soon?

For now, there are no plans to return this map (Storm)

2. TDs lines seem to be getting the public’s eye right now, are there any plans for introducing more mediums?

Well, in any case there will be the Japanese tanks soon and we will add Soviet tier 9 and 10 medium tanks. And of course, it’s not realistic to imagine any new nation tree without medium tanks.



3. Are the WG devs being proactive about adding tanks to the 7/42 scene? Much like the new 416 added some spice to a lineup that went unchanged for months. Eg. when adding new tanks, is it considered, what kind of impact will it have on 7/42?

No, the influence of 7/42 on tank balance is zero. Although I am watching 7/42 and it’s possible there’s some indirect influence.

4. Is there an issue with RU251 implementation? SerB or Storm wrote that there are some issues with Münster, would it be possible to elaborate?

According to the data of Preserved Tanks site, there are only two RU251 (it’s the “Spähpanzer Kette”) left – one is in BWB Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, Koblenz, Germany and the other in Panzermuseum, Munster, Germany. According to our info, there is no such tank left in Munster. Our official request for data in Koblenz was met with official refusal. According to some data, not even Koblenz has one and where both tanks are now located is not known yet. If anyone from FTR readers could help us find it, provide info on it or photos – we would be very grateful (Tiger)

5. What is the winrate percent difference the vehicle has to “stick out” from the tier/class average, so that the developers start paying attention to it, when it comes to buffs/nerfs?

2%. Ideal winrate is considered to be 49,5%. Plus, the influence of vehicle class is not considered in this: class is taken into account only during more accurate statistical analysis, for example regarding average vehicle XP. One of the major advantages of winrate as statistical indicator is the fact you don’t have to consider the class of the vehicle.

6. Ingame, WZ-120 and Type 59 have differently modelled hulls, is this a balance choise or were there differences in real life too?

We have differently sized models for various reasons, we are trying to uncover them and fix them. Although balance-wise it is not as important, each tank can be adjusted separately. And of course (SS: when balancing) the dimensions are taken into account.

7. Is it possible in BigWorld or Havok to create hitbox (collision model) changes during battle: for example, you shoot a tank in spaced armor, spaced armor is torn away and is no longer part of the hitbox?

Yes, this will be implemented (Storm)

8. To what extent can we expect to see foreign tanks in the European tree?

The tree is not yet being developed. SerB said: “as few as possible” (SerB)

9. Will multigunned/multiturreted tanks that are alredy in game (M3 Lee, Maus, B1, Churchill I etc.) be rebalanced after implementation of this mechanism, or will they work like “you either fire one gun, or you fire another gun and both are balanced independently”?

Definitely, they will be rebalanced

10. Is there any chance to see a Maus prototype at tier 9 rather than the overly buffed VK4502B which admittedly is not well liked?

Yes, there is a possibility of that happening


11. Some time ago, it was written that the developers “accidentally” developed a wheeled vehicle mechanism when exploring movable objects, are there any (even long-term) plans in this direction, eg. armored cars or trucks?

We don’t plan to implement player-controlled vehicles with wheels (Storm)

12. Are there any plans (regular, premium, special) for post-war German vehicles, apart from the RU251, such as the Spähpanzer I.C., or the Kanonenjagdpanzer?

For now, there are no official plans.

13. Some time ago, it was written that there is a chance the Jagdtiger 88 would be rebalanced the same way the regular Jagdtiger was. Was any decision taken in this direction?

This has not been decided yet for now.

14. Can we expect in 2014 an third German TD line with heavy assault guns like Brummbär and Sturmtiger?

There is a possibility, but it’s not sure that they will be tank destroyers. This question is being solved.

15. Historically – according to Wikipedia – Object 268 had 4 crewmembers, but in game it has 5, will this be rectified?

According to the data from the book “Отечественные бронированные машины. XX век. Том 3 1945-1965″ (SS: Soviet armored vehicles of 20th century, part 3 1945-1965): “The project was planned with 5 man crew, 2 of who were loaders. During the implementation of loading process mechanization, the crew was planned to be reduced to 4 men.” In general, there are cases in game of crews not matching those in real life (Lorraine 40t, T32), but, unfortunately, we can’t change the crew setup of a tank, that was already implemented into the game. (cannoneer)

16. European tech tree – SerB confirmed that there is an idea, how to do it. No need for details, but does this idea count on single-nation branches, or is there a possibility of seeing multiple nation tank in one branch?

SerB stated, that it’s possible the mixing will appear, because similiar tank construction development and similiar technological solutions have priority. That means that if one nation did not develop quality tank construction, it will be difficult to make its branch. Or – for example – since Swedes, Romanians and Czechs used similiar technological solutions, it’s possible to put them into one branch, or to make branch bridges (transfers) from one branch to another between them. Of course, if all of the above gets implemented, there will be single-nation branches. (SerB)

17. Are there plans to introduce more ammunition types per one vehicle? Today, they all have three, but historically, some vehicles could fire several types.

No – there were such plans, but at this moment they aren’t scheduled in forseeable future. Balance-wise having 3 shell types is enough, increasing their number will lead to the rise of uncertainty.


18. Do the smaller, but late/obscure German vehicles, such the Panzer 38D, or Porsche smaller designs (Type 245, Type 255) have a chance of appearing in World of Tanks?

Yes, there is a chance and it is higher than for German “post-war machines”

19. Is there any plan to improve training rooms, when it comes to UI (easier team/clan invitation) and optional functions?

There are plans for that, but for now for very far future. (Storm)

20. Are there plans to improve the tutorial?

Yes, there are such plans. (Storm)

Well, there you have it. Next session will be up next Thursday. Questions will be possible to ask whole Wednesday, so get ready :)

136 thoughts on “FTR Q&A 1 – Answers”

  1. Nice. These were informative and straight-forward questions and answers. Thank you for doing this, Storm (and Zlobny, if he manages to see this!)

  2. Good stuff! Nice to see a lack of insults and trolling from both the public and the developers for these Q / A

    • Yes. No one will answer like an asshole if you ask them a serious question.

      Once again, thank you for these Q/A, Silentstalker. It was very informative and pleasant to read

    • Agreed. Hopefully the Devs will appreciate the higher quality questions and continue answering.

  5. “- after the Japanese branch, there will be quite a long pause in adding new regular vehicles, only small numbers of premiums and various event tanks will be implemented, just a few pieces per patch”

    “Well, in any case there will be the Japanese tanks soon and we will add Soviet tier 9 and 10 medium tanks.”

    “Can we expect in 2014 an third German TD line with heavy assault guns like Brummbär and Sturmtiger?

    There is a possibility…”

    So we will have to wait a long time to see the new russian meds? Or how long could that “long pause” be if the Sturm branch MIGHT come in 2014?

    • When it’s done it’s done. Although tank-wise, I wouldn’t expect anything else but the Japanese until the end of the year. MAYBE the Soviets with them.

      • It is highly unlikely now that japs will NOT come in 9.0?
        They havent even modelled the all tanks yet.
        Remember that they need to test them etc.
        Also:
        France:7.1
        UK: 8.1
        Japan: 9.1?

    • i think its more about, that in 2014/ the “long pause” we will not see no new tanks but less than now , which means not 1+ new branch per patch but 1-3 new vehicles and/or maybe one branch each 4 patches.

        • No, the Japanese heavies are troublesome apparently. Not enough data or vehicles for a proper branch :-/

          • From my understanding this is the main issue, the Japanese heavy tank development was a very strange creature, as they did not buy into the heavy tank concept until very late in the war (and almost at a point where heavy tanks were on the out as viable military vehicles) and as such, their development was much stranger than other nations.

      • This is me reading between the lines and could be completely wrong, but what I think they are saying without making any promises is that Havoc and the improved graphics etc are nearly ready and they are shifting resources around to get them across the line for an early 2014 release in 0.9.0 hence the talk of 0.8.10 is probably just a small patch to keep drip feeding some of the little stuff and I reckon theyre holding back the new french heavies to add impact to 0.9.0, 0.9.1 will be a maintenance release for fixes from such a huge patch and 0.9.2 onwards will see the Jap line and resumption of work on other lines. Then again maybe I’m just being optimistic, only time will tell…

  6. I must say, this is one good example for the german saying:
    “Wie man in den Wlad hinein ruft, so schallt es hinaus”
    What means something like, you get a reaction, the way you act.
    And you see without all that bullshit question and unpolite people and if you ask good questions, you get informative answers.
    Really nice Job!

    But one thing: The german tank museum is not located in Münster, but in Munster.
    That are two total different places.

  8. 7. Is it possible in BigWorld or Havok to create hitbox (collision model) changes during battle: for example, you shoot a tank in spaced armor, spaced armor is torn away and is no longer part of the hitbox?

    Yes, this will be implemented (Storm)

    —–

    Well, that’s new and surprising.

  12. This Q&A was great, excited for many more, there actually were interesting questions AND informative and direct answers.

  14. It is great to see that these official Q&A sessions have worked so well so far.
    Kudoz!
    Thank you SS and devs, looks like FTR is finally being appreciated.

  18. I’d still like to know the possibility of seeing the Object-279 in the game in the forseeable future – aside from the awkwardly shaped hull (front would be hard to pen aside from the flat spot between the tracks), the sides and rear are pennable (below the dish or back of the turret), and the gun is rather conventional.

    • Not this crap again please. It was stated at least a hundred times that it will not be in the game. Is it so hard to understand it?
      0%

    • It has fuel tanks in the tracks and is fundamentally OP. It would be horrible to drive or fight and just generally miserable.

      • It has been stated many times that the fuel tanks in the tracks would be emptied before battle, just like the external tanks on most other soviet tanks in game. Also, that vehicle was made for super mobility, why would it be hard to drive ? On the other hand the gun, although rifled would be seriously OP for WoT.
        “450 mm of (RHA) at 90°”
        So, a big NO just because of the gun.

  19. It’s a big step for FTR :) Go to conquer the world SilentStalker!!!1

    There will be any question “news” with questions in comments or we will have to email them to you? Some rules like one person – one question?

  22. Awesome work. Devs didn’t trolled and gave us really cool infos. This might be the best project on FTR so far!!

    • If all the other tanks of the class and the tier are 50%, and a single one is 52%, its overpowered.
      If all the other tanks of the class and the tier are 54%, and a single one is 52%, its underpowered.

  25. 6. Ingame, WZ-120 and Type 59 have differently modelled hulls, is this a balance choise or were there differences in real life too?

    We have differently sized models for various reasons, we are trying to uncover them and fix them. Although balance-wise it is not as important, each tank can be adjusted separately. And of course (SS: when balancing) the dimensions are taken into account

    This is VERY good to know

  26. Interesting read. Sensible questions get sensible answers, what a surprise.

    Sad about the wheeled vehicles, US and France had some really interesting combat car designs.

    And then there are the classic half-tracks.

    • Can some1 think of some sophisticated and meaningful question about Israeli tanks other than “Is there a chance u’ll add tiran tanks?” (0.000000000001% is a chance too :D)

      • They’ve already said no several times :/
        Maybe as a minibranch in the EU tree when it comes?

  28. ‘Then I sent the questions to Zlobny (still in English), who then “redistributed” them to appropriate departments (some are answered by Storm for example).’

    Who is translating them to Russian? For some more technical questions the fine detail of meaning might be important to get a meaningful response, so it would be good to know if they have a high-quality translation (unless all WG staff fluently understand English, but are too lazy to respond in English :-P).

    Hopefully the devs find the quality of FTR questions refreshing, encouraging them to keep at it; especially if someone here can source information they want.

    • I assume they just read them in English and answer in Russian. Contrary to popular belief, SerB and Storm understand English and so does everyone else.

      • It might be like Putin. He can speak English but to save face (trump up Russian importance) he almost always speaks Russian in public at international settings, forcing there to be a Russian language interpreter.

        • Moreover, if one does not speak the foreign langage perfectly, it always better to speak native language to avoid misinterpretations or language-related blunders. Especially in politics. And remember that Russia is still the largest country in the world, why should its leader give speeches in foreign language. No-one gets hurt to hear different language.

      • Yeah, this is not a surprise. English is the pre-dominant language of the software development world.

        Almost all programming languages use english keywords and structures (Although interesting during the Cold War the USSR did develop a number of not particularly successful programming languages based on the Cyrillic character set) and a vast quantity of all the documentation on APIs, toolkits, algorithms and so forth is written or distributed in english.

        Simply put, it’s very tough to be a coder and not have a basic understanding of english.

      • To have interpreter is normal in international contact. The point is not to have it translated, even though you understand what the other is saying, the point is to have time to think about your answer when the interpreter is talking.

  29. Yeah relly good work. Have already good question scout marking on scout tanks so some people don’t platoon with those with a lowtier none scout tank.

  31. Much better than the usual q&a from Russian forum (too much trolling). These were good and straight forward questions and answers. Thanks to you, SS, and the wg staff for this opportunity. This is by far the best link between the devs, and EU players

  32. WOW we actually got answers not troll replies this is a really good idea SS i can see this working out.

  33. There is one question i would want to lob to them.

    Version 1.0 is iconic nomatter what program it is that is being developed. Is there anything you really want to get into World of Tanks before or with 1.0?

    • Naw. Version 1.0 is only iconic for non-programmers.

      As a programmer I dread tagging something with 1.0 because it implies that it’s ready for prime-time use, something which is almost never the case because people are always finding new bugs :-(

  35. Extremely well done SS, and also thanks ofc to Wargaming people for finding time to do this. Just amazing! Thank you so much!

  40. Nice, very nice! I think everyone will agree that this is definitely something that should be repeated!
    The questions are all good (useful and smartly formulated) so it’s nice for the devs,
    and that means they give us good answers too :D
    Thanks, SS and send our thanks to Zlobny, Storm and the other devs that answered! Much appreciated!
    Meanwhile, here’s a Q, that I’m sure has been answered before but I can’t find the answer anywhere:
    Is it possible that a tank (not in a platoon) gets a MM of +3 -3 ? A clanmate of mine claims this happens to him sometimes in low-population hours. (And no, he wasn’t in a light tank with scout MM)

    • I’ll answer it to you: YES! SerB answered in one of the Q&A that MM will ignore certain rules to prevent long queue times.

  41. Well, looks like I have to bear with this error without further explanation whatsoever…..

  42. so there will be a new soviet medium t10? i thought it is going to be obj 416 -> new t9 -> obj 140. so 3rd soviet t10 medium?

  43. Very good answers. I’d like to think the developers are happy to respond to a stack of questions screened for the usual idiocy.

    Not sure if this is the thread for further questions, but I have a timely one (with 8.9 coming):

    Q: (Waffentrager line) Understood is that the current 8.9 new German TD line is set for now. I’m curious however what led to the choice of the Waffentrager E-100 as the top-tier, versus say the Waffentrager Panther in its various proposed forms (such as the Rheinmetall’s “Skorpion”, see Doyle and Spielberger’s work). The choice seems puzzling from this side of the screen, as the panther variant appears to fit the line progression and playstyle better, and present a more dynamic package. Would you also give odds on a later Waffentrager Panther addition/split choice?

    • Interesting question, I’d like to know that, too. But you’ll have to repost this question on next Wednsday, when the questions are collected.

  44. Never tought I might see this day, but wow…such informative and to-the-point answers…couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing since I got used with their trolling for over a year.

    If you weren’t doing the FTR, Frank, I don’t think we would ever had the chance to see this…finally a way to talk with the developers.

    I wonder what reaction will Quasar have when he’ll see this xD

  45. Here is one question I have:

    Will light tank as a whole be readjusted just like what has happened to artillery such that Scout MM is removed?

  46. I can confirm that there is no RU 251 on display in the WTS Koblenz, I visited it 2 months ago. There is only a concentrically opened cutaway modell “Mittlerer Kampfpanzer (Standartpanzer-Vorserie)” [Medium Battletank (Standarttank - Pilot production); an early Leopard 1]. Either it is in storage or really lost (which is entirely possible considering the German Army is responsible for the WTS Koblenz ;) )

  47. Elaboration on Awnswer to Question 17.

    Is it possible for there to be more than 3 shell types available for one tank/gun, (AP, HEAT, HE, APDS, SMOKE etc), but with a limit to only taking 3 types into a battle, much the same way consumables work now.

    • That was actually in the answer, and it is no: It would add to many uncerntainties: This means, that facing against an enemy, it would be even harder to guess which amo he uses, and you wouldn’t know how to react. At least, my understanding.

  48. Hi, and thanks for the effort to do this it seems to be a great wat to get some direct answers.
    We all have out favourite tanks that are not in the game but that may be. Is this the place to ask them about specific tanks being implemented? If so I would like to ask them about the Australian Sentinel tank. I realise it will be part of the UK tree. When is that likely to be updated do we know?

    Peter

    • The next session for posting question will be on Wednesday. Come back then. We need to keep this organised people :P.

  49. This is exciting!

    Anyone else notice when asked about wheeled vehicles the answer was kind of cryptic… no plans for player controlled wheeled vehicles…

    I would love to see a command tank that is able to call in mechanized infantry NPCs or supply trucks to rearm a tanks depleted shells! would need larger maps for this kind of RTS style management though… and off i go on a wild idea! Oh the possibilities

  51. sorry since I don’t know where to ask these but I have some questions for the devs

    1: What is the Averaged number of tanks that will be Consolidated into Hauls, to allow for new tanks to be added and will earlier middle or Later Tiers be the most affected by these changes?
    2: Would it Be possible to add a feature for an Individual who has obtained the Engineer badge for a specific country or all countries, Like be able to go within the in game shop and be able to purchase tanks for gold that other wise would not be in the shop like the M4A2E4 or a B2, basically rewarding the the player with the ability to purchase tanks otherwise no longer obtainable simply for the reason that the individual put forth enough time and effort to achieve such a lofty goal while patches of new tanks and what not work against them.

    sorry I missed out on asking Questions the last time because the post was locked before I even knew it was up, also it’s a pet peeve of mine to see a game with some sort of restriction simply because you were not playing at the time or did not have the money at the time, and I think hard work should be rewarded in some fashion.

  52. great questions — and relatively straightforward answers.

    I kinda miss serbs trolling -but the lack of is a breath of fresh air.

    Thanks a lot to everyone involved!

  53. There’s possibility to implement different weather (fog, rain, …) or day/night on actual maps ?

  55. We can’t repeat this often enough: Great work !!!
    This idea was brilliant, and I think many of us were quite frankly shocked to hear that the devs themselves made this gesture of goodwill and offered FTR this option. Hat off to them. Kind of makes the EU office obsolete, but nobody is shocked about that. Kind of makes up for the 83mm HE affair, and the Stalin inscription altogether. Just a little goodwill is enough.

    I just cross my fingers that WG doesn’t try to reroute this through the EU office because the whole idea will just get killed. This should stay on FTR because SS put in the work and within the EU community he is probably the best qualified guy to act as the all so important filter between us and the devs.

  56. Nice variety of questions and good answers, this is large plus for the site FTR and SilentStalker as a spokesperson. Big hand for Zlobny, Storm, SerB and those with smaller name to be mentioned. Nice boosting kick. Good questions get good attention. SerB does not troll for hobby, but for frustration.

    And as always, have a nice day.

  57. Interesting on the policy on Crew changes. Especially considering the shit-storm that developed from the switch to the MT-25 from the T-50-2. Shame, though, since I’d love the extra loader requirement to be dropped so I’m not swapping them back and forth in my SU-122-44.

    Would be painful, though, adding a 4th crew member to the Lorraine grind (13 90 and Bat are 3 only).

  60. “the overly buffed VK4502B”

    Overly buffed?! ROFLMAO. Somebody’s never driven an Ausf B. It’s the worst of the tier 9 heavies by a long, long way.

    • You misunderstand. IRL, the 4502B was similar in terms of armour, etc to the 4502A. It’s current status as a heavily armoured behemoth only exists for game balance.

  61. “We don’t plan to implement player-controlled vehicles with wheels ”

    The interesting part here is “player-controlled”.

    Speculation: armored cars as part of convoys for the still-in-development Escort gameplay mode?

  62. “7. Is it possible in BigWorld or Havok to create hitbox (collision model) changes during battle: for example, you shoot a tank in spaced armor, spaced armor is torn away and is no longer part of the hitbox?

    Yes, this will be implemented (Storm)”

    Well this will put the last nail in the coffin of SuperPershing, an already crap tank, they will make bigger crap out of it.

  63. Very sad to hear that Dragon Ridge was most likely scrapped. I liked this one so much! I know many people disagree, the best would be a map-disable option anyway.