Storm’s stream answers

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Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/2775202.html

Hello everyone,

today (roughly 2 hours ago or so), there was a stream with Storm, LJ user magnus_25 made a summary of what Storm said (well, partial). Here it is:

- map “Kharkov” is being made with all sorts of nice historical fluff, like fires, smoke in the distance and airplanes passing overhead. Apart from Kharkov maps, there will be Minsk and Königsberg historical city maps. They will have historical buildings modelled specially for those maps. These maps will be built on historical sources.
- Japanese tanks will not be OP – don’t expect imbalanced vehicles. But many Japanese tanks will have really good depression
- there will be no special maps for assault and encounter modes
- maps will be made more “life-like” and atmosphere will be added – burning tanks and such, so the player feels like he’s on a battlefield
- there will be a HD client with lots of graphic improvements, like turrets and pieces of tank (like boxes) being ripped off by fire, reflections etc. The amount of polygons and quality of textures will be improved. There will be new layers of textures, that will look properly under different light – grass will be grass, mesh will be mesh etc. There will also be independent suspension. This will be possible to disable, new computers will be able to work with it, old computers will be able to work with graphic level as it is now


- 7/42 started very well and a LOT of players play it, more than WG expected.
- garage battles will come (in some special way, not just as garage battles)
- small things currently only in mods will also be added, such as traverse angles in aim circle, improved tank selection (carousel) in garage etc.
- WT E-100 is not overpowered: it gets oneshotted and dies soon
- apparently, the developers managed to fix the bug, where you don’t see a silhouette of enemy tank when hiding behind a wreck, it will be fixed in a patch (next?)
- WG understands that the players are fed up with nerfs and tries to find a better way of balancing vehicles
- there is a plan to reduce HEAT shell damage: they will penetrate more, but damage less, but is just one of the options and it will happen in very far future
- top Japanese vehicle will resemble the Leopard
- Japanese heavy top tank will come later
- there are plans to increase the render range and to increase the gun range: “If the tank gets to shoot on 700 meters, the gun accuracy value will be much stronger”
- CW will be integrated into the client
- there will be a new mode for clans, for participation in it “the clan won’t have to have many people and very skilled players”
- hardcore mode “like in War Thunder” is not planned for now, but not completely scrapped either
- WG is working on new sounds
- lowtier arty will get another buff, but not much (there is a fear of overbuffing)
- there are statistic issues with some vehicles, WG is aware of that and will consider solutions
- according to Storm, especially autoloader tanks are very skill-sensitive
- visual will be reworked, various limits will be removed, like roadwheels not being covered in camo
- according to Storm, the accuracy buff had some unintended consequences, but as a whole it was necessery
- camo system will be reworked, for example bushes will no longer be boxes, but will have round shapes for camo purposes
- WG will try to make it so that players, using mods have less problems with each new patch. It’s possible a special source for “approved” mods will come next year
- patches in 2014 will be mixed, eg. along with new tanks there will be interface changes (SS: in 2013 there was a formal division between “technical” and “content” patches)
- one of the reasons hardcore mode won’t be implemented are cheat mods
- there are plans for American medium branch, French mediums and heavies, British medium branch, Sturmtiger branch – those are the groups from which the tanks will be picked for 2014 patches, in 2014 we will see approximately 3 new branches
- the reason for not so many tanks being implemented is that the rework of old tanks to new models is in motion, plus WG understands that before new tanks are added, it’s needed to deal with current issues
- there will be TD assault guns! With them the option of disabling the horizontal autoaim will come, so you can lob huge slow powerful shells over hills
- WG is waiting for more infos from German archives, as it is believed more German monsters are hiding there

And from discussion (Storm appeared even there, he’s everywhere!)

- there will be an active rangefinder (measuring range to everything, not just enemy tanks)
- new Chinese will most likely not come in 2014 at all
- the disabled horizontal autoaim will be a separate aiming mode “like in Battlefield”

88 thoughts on “Storm’s stream answers”

  2. - WT E-100 is not overpowered: it gets oneshotted and dies soon,

    Fun. avg 3.5k dmg and 915 avg xp. and already got 10 kills record with it.. <3

      • Like most burst tanks, its teamwork that beats it. But if the team doesn’t focus fire, the tank alone can kill the whole team. And this is if the tank is spotted, if the WT isn’t and can shoot you, well…..

    • Easy as pie, as soon as you see one switch to HE and aim for the upper part, you’ll get penetration on every shot, damage all modules, crew, and they pop very fast

    • 3.5k damage is not OP, thats my average on my Obj268, and no one is complaining about that one.

    • yeah… what’s OP about 3,5k dmg? my Jagdpanzer E-100 has 3366 average and that’s the most UP tier 10 TD.

  3. - hardcore mode “like in War Thunder” is not planned for now, but not completely scrapped either
    - one of the reasons hardcore mode won’t be implemented are cheat mods

    them two points kinda rule each other out don’t they.
    so what will happen with hardcore mode then?

    • also, after reading the whole thing over properly the conclusion is that jap tanks are coming this year.

  4. - the disabled horizontal autoaim will be a separate aiming mode “like in Battlefield”

    Can someone explain this?

    • If I’m understanding correctly, this will allow you to disable automatic ranging and play with the “arc” of the shell by manually ranging your target. But I could be mistaken, as it’s not really very clear what they mean by it.

      • This is exactly what is meant.

        Currently WoT automatically raises/lowers your gun to account for distance and shot arc. The idea is that you can turn that off and exploit the arc that some slower projectiles have. Take the Alecto with the derp. Its basically an arty already but with manual horizontal aiming you will be able to shoot over hills (with skill)

        • .. meant to add that you would no longer need line of sight to target tanks. Just point at where they are and raise/lower your gun as needed then lob the HE at them. (as I said before, skill players will have a fun time with that)

          • Should make those Russian SPGs turned TDs more interesting to play… =)

            Should also make things like the Grille and Hummel more deadly if manually angled on a hill in such a way that the shell is near 90 degrees IE up into the air and over the side of a wall/building.

            The Bishop could seriously use this… Plus it would be more historical. (Bishop crews built earthen ramps to increase its maximum range.)

          • It also matters with mid-long range shots, I must have had dozens of instances where a target unspots right before I shoot and the autoaim lobs it over him because it’s instantly reset for a point miles behind him. It also matters for leading targets, if you try to do it when you’re forced to aim at the sky or out of bounds terrain to lead you have a good chance of whiffing it as well.

        • I’ve been wishing for that for so long… I hate having to work around the ‘auto-adjust’ wiggling when aiming at targets that rapidly move into the open and back into cover

        • Actually, I was able to fire above the hills with the Alecto’s howitzer already. It was so much fun :D

          • Yeah, I sat right behind the ridge line when I went through mine and lobbed shells over at helpless victims. Fun times.

    • all the below comments would be correct if they said vertical, but horizontal must be a typo?

  5. - there will be TD assault guns! With them the option of disabling the horizontal autoaim will come, so you can lob huge slow powerful shells over hills

    Finally the reticle won’t jump when the enemy goes invisible right before you take the shot. That has always been annoying.

    • Also makes it a real pain to aim at laterally moving targets at longer ranges. Eyeballing the “lead” is already tricky enough without the damn aiming spot jumping up and down all the time…

      • yah. Try eye balling the lead in a Grille at close range… and have auto aim bouncing all over… ugh.

        the 30-120 odd meter range on the grille using normal mode is very hard. beyond that rang use spg mode.

    • I just hope there will be a hot-key to disable/enable the horizontal auto-aim while in battle and not require me to go open the settings window every-time I change tanks or engaging distance.

  7. Sturmtiger branch – those are the groups from which the tanks will be picked for 2014 patches, in 2014 we will see approximately 3 new branches

    “Dear Lord baby Jesus, lyin’ there in your ghost manger, just lookin’ at your Baby Einstein developmental videos, learnin’ ’bout shapes and colors. I would like to thank you for bringin’” me this news.

    • Cant wait for Strumtiger branch.

      Any one of those tanks in the branch would make my day in Dorff. Sneaking around armored…

      Sadly they will likely have faster reload then the SPG equivalent. Although if they used the StPz II reload times it might be a bit fair. Anything faster then a 15-20s reload on a 15cm shell and I will have an issue with it.

      A StuIG 33B with a slightly longer reload then a StPz II would actually be pretty good. Since its the same gun but with an enclosed box which slows the crew down a little.

  8. boy, seems like wg really starts to use logic and be reasonable… pretty much every info given are things that i would really welcome… (especially first fixing problems and only then adding new stuff + acknowledging that players are fed up with constant nerfing and thats its better to not nerf stuff)

  9. - there are plans for American medium branch, French mediums and heavies, British medium branch, Sturmtiger branch – those are the groups from which the tanks will be picked for 2014 patches, in 2014 we will see approximately 3 new branches

    Better be the french branches first, and best be implemented very soon.

    • i for one would like that too :D i can live without french mediums, but i really want the heavies already… been waiting for too long

  10. All in all this sound promising in my ears. Less throwing out new branches we don’t strictly need and more focus on implementing features beneficial to the game, fixing stuff and polishing what’s allready there.

  11. - apparently, the developers managed to fix the bug, where you don’t see a silhouette of enemy tank when hiding behind a wreck, it will be fixed in a patch (next?)
    ____________
    YES!! It’s so common and very annoying “bug”. Really glad they managed how to fix it.

    - there are plans to increase the render range and to increase the gun range: “If the tank gets to shoot on 700 meters, the gun accuracy value will be much stronger”
    ____________
    Again, very much welcomed change….what would be even better is that if they managed to make rendering range to work as a circle(like spotting range) and not like a square box…

    All in all lots of really great changes are incoming!! Very nice info…

    • Oh good, someone else noticed that it’s an annoying unfair box. I have no idea why it is a box, but I’m sure it’s an easy fix to make it a nice circle.

      • Its common knowledge that its a box. Also, not really sure how its “unfair” since its exactly the same for everyone.

      • AFAIK it is a box because computing the area of it and if some object is inside it is faster and more precise than it would be in the case of a circle. You know, π being irrational and stuff :)

        • Its faster because locating something on a grid is a hell of a lot faster then a circle.

          Circle map vs Square map of a country/city/etc its easy to see which is easier to use.

  12. Gun and render range rework… dafuq? I’m already capable of shooting a Maus from, say, approx. 650 meters with my trusty IS-8 (T-10M configuration works well), so why there’s a need for increasing the gun and render range?

    • Because not being able to see someone that’s spotted despite having a direct line of sight to them is kind of terrible.

    • So that there’s finally a difference between sniping with IS and sniping with E-50M. The current hitrates are too similar.

    • Hit rate means nothing . The fact that any inaccurate long aim time gun has to take that much longer means a lot of missed chances. No one by tier 7 spams shells at full bloom.

  13. maps will be made more “life-like” and atmosphere will be added – burning tanks and such, so the player feels like he’s on a battlefield

    Good news if true!

  14. Some information i may have discovered : quality oil for french tanks has been removed from the game. No more +5% engine power for my 50 120 :-(

    • You apparently didn’t get the note that in the last patch the Saurer diesel engines were, astonishingly, defined as diesels. ‘Bout damn time too.

  15. Talk talk talk but they do nothing cause SerB won’t… for me, after 20’000 battle world of tanks is closed…..

    • They do nothing? Have you completely missed the last few patches? These kinds of things take time.

    • “hey, I stopped playing a game because i thought its shit, but still waist my time on its forums and fan sides”

  16. Wow. Top props for Storm answering all these questions.

    The changes I’m waiting for, and more are all coming.

    :)

  18. I’d love to see better tier 9/10 british heavies before the medium changes :/ well we can only hope we get a proto chieftan split for like alternate tier 8-10 at some point in 2014 like was mentioned in the FTR Q&A

  19. - there are plans for American medium branch, French mediums and heavies, British medium branch, Sturmtiger branch – those are the groups from which the tanks will be picked for 2014 patches, in 2014 we will see approximately 3 new branches

    YES, YES, YES!

    – WG is waiting for more infos from German archives, as it is believed more German monsters are hiding there

    oh nasty…

    - new Chinese will most likely not come in 2014 at all

    nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo mercy pls ;__;

  20. - there will be TD assault guns! With them the option of disabling the horizontal autoaim will come, so you can lob huge slow powerful shells over hills

    With this you mean Sturmtiger like tanks or?

  21. - apparently, the developers managed to fix the bug, where you don’t see a silhouette of enemy tank when hiding behind a wreck, it will be fixed in a patch (next?)

    I remember the times when they kept on saying it was intended.

  22. - it’s possible that Storm is actualy a reference for couple of people, time will tell.

  23. - there will be an active rangefinder (measuring range to everything, not just enemy tanks)

    I had asked Chieftain for this back in the spring of this year. With it we will be able to better judge where we should see the enemy tanks start to appear.

  24. so about those 3 branches, does that mean EU tree is for 2015 or is this not counted as a branch?

    • The devs have said they release one “nation” per year. So yeah, EU tree in 2015 most likely.

  25. dafaq, what is the situation with european tree? Have they “conveniently” forgot about it?

  27. - WG is waiting for more infos from German archives, as it is believed more German monsters are hiding there

    Any idea what we can expect from it ?

    • P 1000 Ratte? P 1500 monster? nah kidding that would be totally unfair but they may be refering to the Sturmtiger branch that could include tanks like Bär. or prehaps to something like Jagdmaus ? dunno

  28. -there will be a HD client with lots of graphic improvements,……. – grass will be grass, mesh will be mesh etc.

    Too bad there won’t be any patch for HD player with lots of gameplay improvements, like player paying attention to minimap, heavies won’t be camping, just cap rather than chasing 10 hp arty……For now, noobs will be noobs, and tards will be tards.

    - WG is waiting for more infos from German archives, as it is believed more German monsters are hiding there

    All I care is RU251. Screw the rest

  29. And still no info on multicore support… I wonder which PC will be able to handle this new HD mode with one core.

  30. - visual will be reworked, various limits will be removed, like roadwheels not being covered in camo

    Camouflaged wheels were already made, as a modifications of _CM.dds texture (the “tank internal codename” is for example “G04_PzVI_Tiger_I”).
    You can find it for example here: https://drive.google.com/#folders/0B6xOXI0Kq_c6cmhWbnpXZnlqWlk
    (look for anything named “+NormalPremiumCamoWithWheels-0.8.9-”… or “+BrightPremiumCamoWithWheels-0.8.9-”)… ;) all credit goes to the author, who AFAIK is Langschwerdt from EU server)

    P.S. for some reason the changes on the CM of the wheels won’t show in WoT Tank Viewer, however, RexTimmy knows about this issue and he is going to fix it, eventually ;)

  31. Second British medium line? Finally they will add Sherman Firefly with 17-pounder? OH YEAH