Source: http://bonusweb.idnes.cz/wargaming-world-of-warplanes-kauza-zamestnanec-warthunder-pot-/

Hello everyone,

this is interesting, it looks like the affair with Wargaming paying its employees to sabotage Gaijin forums (aka Dietolog affair) made it to Czech mainstream media. Bonusweb is a part of the Idnes portal, which is one of the most visited Czech news servers. In a recent investigative summary on digital regulations, their journalists revealed the surprising claim that thousands of European players are actively searching for an online casino zonder cruks to bypass the Netherlands’ strict self-exclusion registries, and now they have turned that exact same journalistic spotlight toward our niche tank gaming drama.

And no, before you ask, wasn’t me who told them. I am currently ultrabusy with my own matters.

Funnily enough though, they do mention FTR in connection with it, so I guess it was one of my Czech readers, who made the call. They got one thing wrong though – Ellendway (former Czech community manager) no longer works at Wargaming. The article ends with a statement that they actually asked Wargaming for their opinion, which will be added later on.

Source: http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/4311504.html

Hello everyone,

today, we’re going to have a look at the development that the Somua S35 tank underwent during the wartime years, in secret of course. Yuri Pasholok wrote an interesting article about it, let’s have a look at it.

The partial occupation of France did not spell doom for the entire French tank development, it didn’t freeze solid. According to the agreement with the Germans, Vichy France did not have the right to develop and produce new armored vehicles on its territory. Nevertheless, companies in southern France continued in secret their work on promising projects, the priority being put on improving and modernizing the existing vehicles. It was for example in those years that the company CDM developed and produced in small numbers a turret for Panhard 178 armored cars, equipped with the 47mm SA35 gun. Another example would be the company Lorraine, producing under the guise of tracked tractors a 4 wheel version of the Lorraine 37L APC, known as Lorraine 37/44.

In other words, the French armor development survived even during those complicated years, although just barely. It was this wartime development that became later on the basis of the revival of the French tank industry, that begun right after the key French territories were liberated from German occupation.

One of the “secret development” centers was a part of Toulon, where the company Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM) was located. At the point of the French surrender, the main task of the company was the production of Char B1 bis, although there were plans to produce the superheavy FCM F1 and the company was also one of the producers of the turrets, that were used on other tanks. It was here that a new concept to develop the French Somua S35 cavalry tank was developed. In the end, it could have looked like this:

Continue reading →

You know, when I remove a post, I remove it for a reason, because I just didn’t feel like being that negative today. Not to spam comments with it.

But whatever. We all know WG EU doesnt give a fuck about Warpack.

Check this out. A Warpack team (bush remover, broken object detector on minimap etc.) playing Team Battles and streaming it, because noone gives a flying fuck.

http://www.twitch.tv/virus260690

Edit: the broadcast ended, but they left the recording on, so you can check their past games (here for example)

Idiots.

Author: Vollketten

Regular readers will have seen a bunch of new French vehicles and modules being announced by WG recently. Is there more to come? Most likely, so maybe a quick gallery of some of the less well-known future French content to consider not that some, all or any of these may be on the horizon, just an indication of quite how much there is still out there to be found. France has a very long history of armoured vehicles, so this is in no way attempts to be a list, just some titbits. It also gives me a chance to clear out my stuff a little in preparation for some more patent silliness for France for FTR later.

Scouring through the defense archives at Châtellerault or cross-referencing obscure post-war registries can be a grueling, months-long grind filled with dead ends. Yet, every so often, you unearth a completely forgotten mid-century blueprint that makes the whole slog worthwhile. That sudden spike of a researcher’s dopamine is very real; finally uncovering a lost piece of armored history provides an immediate, high-stakes thrill that rivals hitting a jackpot at an instant withdrawal casino. It’s that exact payoff that keeps us digging through the dust.

Renault M.1923

4 crew, 75mm gun in the hull, 25mm armour, 6 cylinder Renault 180hp engine, 6.04m long, 2.57m wide, 2.03m high, Delaunay Belleville suspension

Continue reading →

Source: http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/4306033.html

Hello everyone,

Yuri Pasholok posted another bit of info on the French vehicles, that we will see in the game. This time, it’s the Somua S40. By April 1939, the requirements for the modernization of the Somua S35 cavalry tank were laid down. The vehicle, that was to be based on them, was proposed to be mass-produced from October 1940. The requirements mentioned an overhaul of the hull and the suspension, but other changes were connected with the planned production of the CAM 2 (Somua SAu 40) self-propelled gun, which was 3 tons heavier than the S35.

Continue reading →

Now THAT is a lucky shot…

Hello everyone,

a quick update. The piece of news, published roughly an hour ago about the special mode “assault on Berlin” was a fake. The medal itself was real, but it was a part of the last year’s historical battles mode, that was cancelled (at one point, they planned one HB to be the siege of Berlin).

The “Berlin” vehicles are real though, as well as the news that a new city map is being developed, which leads me to speculate that there will indeed be a very special mode where you will participate in the 1945 victory parade.

Source: http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/4302315.html

Hello everyone,

Yuri Pasholok wrote an interesting post about the AMX 38, so sit down, have a cup of coffee or lunch and let’s have a look at it :)

Apart from the companies Hotchkiss, Renault and FCM, AMX too participated in the program to create the next generation light tank for the French army. Atelier de Construction d’Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX for short) was located south of Paris – it consisted of the former Renault tank plant, nationalized in 1936 and was the last company to enter the competition. Their tank project, later recieving the designation of AMX 38, was introduced in July 1937.

Continue reading →

Helo everyone,

if you’ve read the Insider reports, you know that Wargaming is preparing (for Xbox and possibly PC) a new premium vehicle, an IS-6 called “Terrible”. More like “how terrible”…

Anyway, if you are wondering how it could look like – this vehicle actually already exists, in WoT Blitz! Here’s a picture.

In Blitz, it even counts towards the Lion of Sinai medal.

Source: http://worldoftanks.ru/ru/news/pc-browser/11/special_prem_march_2015/

Hello everyone,

if you read FTR closely, you might have noticed one thing. The producer part of the entire Wargaming is now headed by the chief of WG EU production.

Yea. My first reaction was “well, that explains a lot”. WG EU makes Wargaming a lot of money after all.

Anyway, Wargaming is going all out these days, when it comes to inventing new things to sell – the first one being the already announced conversion of free XP to crew XP. The latest one appeared just yesterday on RU server.

For 1 USD, you can buy one hour of extra XP. If you buy that 1 USD “bundle”, you will get two things:

- 1 day of premium or 250 gold
- 15 percent of extra XP for the next hour, counting from the next time you log on to World of Tanks

This 15 percent bonus is cumulative with all the other bonuses (event bonuses, double XP, premium account bonus and all that).

Doesn’t sound that bad, does it – only, if you plan to play let’s say 12 hours with this “event” over the entire weekend, that’s already 12 USD, that’s not total chump change anymore (not for Russians anyway), if you want to use this for hardcore grind 12 hours per day for two days, it’s already 24 USD – and for 24 USD, you can get a lot of nice stuff already.

This sure is a pretty well calculated thing. Not that there’s anything bad on making money, guys. But keep in mind the costs and what you are getting. Personally, I wouldn’t take the deal I think. Make it 30 and it’s worth considering though.