Source: http://world-of-kwg.livejournal.com/278531.html

Hello everyone,

what follows is the preliminary account of patch notes 9.0 from Storm, as patch 9.0 reached supertest today.

Important: Storm adds that some features are missing from this list, like improved graphics (shaders) and HD tanks, as those are still being worked on.

- new vehicles: Panzer IV Ausf.A (tier 3), Panzer IV Ausf.D (tier 4), StuG III Ausf.B (tier 4)
- fixed maps: Malinovka, Serene Coast, Steppes, Redshire, Mountain Pass
- added historical battles
- removed the “confrontation” mode
- added new window of graphic settings
- added the dynamic resulution option (reduction of game resolution while keeping the UI resolution the same)
- added the possibility to manually set your FOV in settings
- added the option to set the “power” (intensity) of color filters
- added turrets being ripped off after ammo rack explosion
- reworked tank exhausts (smoke) effect
- added the keyboard language indicator on the login screen
- added new awards (medals) for team battles: “Recon by combat”, “God of War”, “For the Will to Win”, “Decisive Shot”, “For Tactical Operations”
- fixed some bugs and added improvements in the “Vehicles” section of the Achievement window
- reworked the “Statistics” section in the Achievements window
- changed the wording of the Steel Wall award
- Light Tank Mk.VIc and T7 CC buffed
- term “potential damage” changed into “damage blocked by your armor”
- fixed bugs in voice chat
- fixed the bug where the aim circle was displayed incorrectly in replays
- fixed the bug where artillery shells fell outside of the aiming circle in arty mode
- fixed the bug where artillery shells exploded in mid-air
- fixed freezing of the account when quitting the game

- Tiger P and Tiger H having different depression while using the same turret is a bug, it will be fixed
- there is a chance Sacred Valley will not return to random battles: Storm posted that it’s being reworked, but it’s a complicated case, so it’s not sure they will succeed
- Q: “Can we trust your answers in this thread?” A: “Of course not”
- the amount of maps available to new players on low tiers is limited in order for them to get used to the game better
- shader changes in 9.0 on HD tanks will be noticeable a lot
- currently, developers are focusing on releasing 9.0, but when it’s out, they will focus on reworking the vegetation (grass and trees) render
- the amount of HDtanks-per-patch will increase by every patch, the first batch in 9.0 consists of 12 tanks only, because the entire system of tank modelling was changed and it takes a while to get used to the new system
- Wargaming developed a “library” of common model parts, so it doesn’t happen that one tank has different-looking D-10T gun than another tank for example

Check out Listy’s article from Indo-Pakistani war, if you are interested!

- the question, how the European tech tree crew nationality will work, was not decided yet
- wrong icons in today’s historical battles info are simply placeholders
- both teams in historical battles can have different amount of tanks
- the setups of vehicles in historical battles released today, are NOT final, they are just concepts, it’s too early for final setup versions according to the developers (SS: it was mentioned that for example the M10/Panther could appear in Ardennes campaign)
- Tiger in historical battles will not have the L/71, but the 88mm L/56
- historical battles will work like a different mode, they will not be a random battle mode like encounter, assault and confrontation
- according to Storm, 9.0 will bring two major features: updated (HD) tanks and historical battles
- 9.0 test will not come this week (SS: end of the month/beginning of April for now)
- apprently the “hotspot” of 9.0 will be the comparison between WG and War Thunder HD models

- Storm confirms that a part of the tanks in the game will have real sounds, recorded from real existing tanks of the proper type. The rest will have apparently sounds from roughly the same class of tanks (analogues)
- according the Wargaming, the following situation is not a bug, but a result of shells originating (flying out) from the mantlet while shooting with the unaimed gun

- apparently, the situation above is a result of a compromise between game mechanics and historical realism
- occasional desynchronisation between client and server is unavoidable with current state of world network development
- artillery shells flying outside of the aim circle was identified as a bug, it will be fixed in 9.0
- Russian “Valuev” voiceover will not be reworked

- crews in historical battles will be just like in random mode (SS: as in, it’s possible to use your 6 perk crew in historical battles)
- (related to the question above) Q: “That’s unfair!” A: “In the beginning, in the name of Justice, we will make Soviets win in 100 percent of battles and if the battle is without Soviets – 100 percent draw!”
- SerB hardly has time to play, because he travels a lot
- apparently, one of the reasons there is no account-to-account gold transfer is country legislature
- Q: “Will there be material (solid) gun barrels?” A: “Want solid gun barrels? Join the army”

- wheeled vehicles will not be implemented (SS: in connection with the new truck motion from the physics video)
- when “hiding” behind rubble from destroyed buildings, your silhouette will be visible normally
- it will be possible to knock down the turret-mounted machineguns from tanks
- in the Kursk historical battle, it will be possible to use current tier 7 Panther
- turrets will become “solid” only once the ammo rack explodes (SS: as in, the fact the turrets that fly off get to be solid does not mean your turret will be prevented from rotating by an obstacle, in other words – nothing will change)
- debris from destroyed buildings will not affect vehicle camouflage
- debris from buildings will not damage tanks – at least in the first round of physics implementation
- BigAngryCat (SS: some sort of WG RU guy – sorry, no idea what is his position) states that the screen settings leak is obsolete, there are some settings missing, such as the FOV setting for example
- it will not be apparently possible to make (and save) your own graphics preset according to Storm
- the “dynamic resolution” in the settings is “a change (reduction) of 3d image resolution, while keeping the GUI resolution the same”, for example GUI (interface, letters etc.) can be in 1920*1080 resolution, while the ground is in 800*600 resolution

Storm explains some points about the new motion mechanism (connected to the developer video released today)

- apparently, torque (in connection to tank friction, eg. the ability of the tank to “grab” on sloped surfaces without slipping) will not be implemented
- crew skill will influence the new tank motion physics just like it does now
- the issue with the T-26 suspension was its model being very complicated
- the “friction” (whether a tank slips or not) is calculated on the points under roadwheels, not for the entire surface of the track

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Pretty much nothing today again

- according to Tanitha (SEA server), a CW “minicampaign” is coming soon (SS: thanks to Mick42 for this info, although it’s not sure whether this will be limited to SEA server only)
- apparently, the KTTS (ASAP) video will come tomorrow evening
- regarding the T-34 restoration video, apparently the vehicle restored is quite unique, there aren’t many T-34/76′s around

Special thanks to Mr.Popescu for providing the link and the translation of the entire article.

Source: Overheat.ro

Answered by Michael Zhivets, World of Tanks Producer

Hello and welcome to Overheat.ro. Thank you for accepting our invitation to the interview.

Hello and thank you for taking an interest in World of Tanks.

What can you tell us about yourself and the work that you do. Also, I think that our readers would like to find out how your career started. What can you share with us?

I was among the founders of the Minsk-based Arise studio that merged with Wargaming in 2005. It focused on real-time strategies and shipped several well-acclaimed niche projects with WW II setting. Having joined Wargaming, I worked on Operation: Bagration and Order of War until World of Tanks concept came up in 2009. Familiar with the mid-20th century warfare from my previous titles, I lined up into the team as a game designer. As the project grew and gained mass appeal, I became a producer and now overlook the development process, managing the content and features for new updates.

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