Wargaming (RU of course) announced that they are working on a documentary movie about the cybersports element of the game (life of cybersports players and such). As far as I can tell, this concerns only the Russian server, but Wargaming is actually asking players (who would like to appear in it) to step forward and send them their resume. There are following conditions:
- the shooting takes place in Minsk and will last for two weeks
- all the players have to pay for their “vacation” in Minsk themselves (travel, living expenses)
- only players with over 9000 battles and more than 60 percent winrate are allowed
- they have to have “clear understanding of cybersports component”
As a part of the movie, the chosen players will be trained by the player SL1DE from the team Na’Vi and there will be a preliminary stage in the “attack/defense” mode. In the end, only 7 best players will remain.
Here’s an interview with some WG e-sports PM by the name of Aleksei Kornyshev. I hate translating interviews literally, so here’s a summary of what’s in it. it’s (shockingly) mostly about e-sports:
- e-sports-wise, WG “matured” in 2014 and introduced new features to WG League
- biggest success for WG e-sports is the launch of the new “attack/defense” mode, which is a joint effort of pro cybersports players and WG game designers, it caused the e-sports battles to be more dynamic instead of campy
- there were no unsuccessful (unmet) goals in 2014 in e-sports
- additional player promotion functions will be introduced this year: in team battles (TB) will have static (pre-made) teams with rating, players will be able to show how good they are in TB and will be able to fight for the title of the strongest TB team in the region
- WG stats show that in TB, players are using all sorts of vehicles and not just “e-sports setups”
- the role of armor in e-sports is not always positive, some say that it negates the tactical element in e-sports
- RNG is not a problem in e-sports, other e-sports games (DOTA 2) have random elements as well
- 2015 WGL Grand Final will be “full of surprises as always”
Internal modules are contained within the main body of the tank. Unlike external modules an AP shell needs to penetrate the surface armor before dealing module damage. HE shells can damage them without penetrating the armor, however they usually inflict less damage due to the majority being absorbed. I am considering crew members to be internal modules – except for a few open-topped TDs the crew are represented by hitboxes entirely within the tank. Internal modules are generally difficult to reliably target – their location varies for each vehicle and generally can’t be determined in battle. However, enough general rules exist to justify studying this area – being able to target engines, ammo racks or gunners especially has a debilitating effect on the enemy tank. I will therefore explain each internal module, where it usually is and what happens when you damage or destroy it. First up: Crew.
the Bovington museum invited back the retired British tank historian, David Fletcher, to make series of short clips, where he talks about tanks. The first tank to talk about is the British A13 cruiser.
I must say, I love the idea. Unlike WG EU’s Richard Cutland, who just reads a script and it’s blatantly obvious he has no knowledge of tanks, save for the one he served on, this man simply KNOWS. Very, very enjoyable.
- individual missions slightly changed the popularity ratios of each vehicle class, but it’s too early to say whether these changes are permanent
- it’s possible that one of the “Prokhorovkas” (Prokhorovka/Fiery Salient) will be removed (the one likely to stay is Fiery Salient)
- Storm confirms that the shells are disappearing after the penetration of the track in some cases, this is not something that needs to be fixed according to him
- after one player complained, Storm checked some bushes in the Airport and Monastery maps and yes, some are bugged (wrong camo values), it will be fixed in the future
- it’s possible that all the limited MM premiums will be removed from the premium shop and ingame store: “Anything can happen. But I won’t confirm anything.”
- HE shell mechanism won’t be reworked to become more complicated as it is now
- HE shell buff? “If we buff tank HE shells, we will also have to buff artillery HE shells and that’s not what we want to do.”
this is a sneak peek into the new 9.7 historical map, called “Overlord”.
According to Wargaming, it’s a mixed map, with one part covered with a village area and the other part with various permanent fortifications, while the other part of the map consists of an open area with enough cover, bushes, trees and landscape waves to cover your approach.
A generic allied landing site from 1944 was taken as the inspiration for this map and it’s worth noting that the landscape perfectly reproduces some of the local Normandy characteristics. The fighting on the map takes place between 5.6. and 7.6.1944, when the allied forces already landed and broke through the defense, but the remnants of the battle are still there, such as smoking wreckage and the beaches are filled with destroyed landing boats. Also worth noting is the fact that this map will introduce several objects unique to it, such as the bunkers, some houses and the new church model.
Raw video can be found here:
The bunker defense line, that can be seen on the map, was made according to German plans for that period. The only exception is the battery of giant defense guns, that in reality was situated 10-12 kilometers from the coast and was only added in order to make the map look cool. Real historical schematics of bunkers were used during the map development. The coastal line however was somewhat simplified, as in real life, it was completely filled with anti-landing and anti-tank obstacles. This simplification was made for gameplay reasons – in real life conditions, the beach area would be unplayable and optimization also had to be taken into account – large number of destructable objects could affect performance negatively.
The map is large (1000*1000) and all sorts of vehicles can find their place on it: MT’s are universal and can use the entire map, heavies can find their directions where they can get in close with the enemy, there are also enough positions for TD’s and arty to use and places where LT’s can scout.
More pictures (warning, large) in the article. Right-click and select “view image” for full resolution. Continue reading →
MaxL_1023 contacted me not so long ago and expressed his interest to actually publish his guides on For the Record. And – I was like, “why not”, looks decent enough. So, this one is about module targetting. Enjoy!
- SS
The strategy series intends to help tankers build a comprehensive mechanical, tactical and strategic background. As opposed to a few large articles the focus will be on a series of smaller guides covering individual aspects of gameplay. Divided into three primary levels, the series articles will be tailored to players of varying skill to allow a smooth progression into the upper echelons of player ability. This is a dark green level guide representing material which is slightly more complex but is still within the realm of intermediate play. This level is intended for newer or intermediate players who are steadily progressing through the general set of green level material and have integrated most of the more basic skills into their play. This level is also suited for “Dark Green” players looking to begin a push towards Blue Level or “Light Blue” players who are weak in the area covered. The subjects of this tactics guide is Module Targeting.
Introduction and Background
Thanks to incredible advances in game development, processing power and internet infrastructure (few of which WG uses) WoT incorporates the ability to deal damage in ways other than simply removing HP. If you have made it this far into the strategy series, you (hopefully) know that to destroy a tank you need to reduce its HP to 0. You have also noticed that when taking fire, your vehicle often loses various aspects of performance. Your gun might be disabled, you might not be able to move, or your turret may stop turning. These are serious disabilities which substantially reduce your ability to fight. However, the correlation between these effects and HP loss may seem unclear. Sometimes, you are immobilized without taking damage, other times your turret randomly flies off. At this point, you understand why being able to inflict this kind of “status effect” would help you in game – a disabled tank is much easier to kill, and is less likely to shoot back effectively. The issue (which plagues players of many skill levels) is how to go about doing it.
as it sometimes happens, Wargaming got hold of some of N.Shashmurin’s memoirs (files, five pieces). Nikolai Fedorovich Shashmurin was a Soviet tank designer, who was, amongst other things, involved in the development of IS-2 and IS-7. In his files, he referred to heavy tanks as “tanks of extreme parameters” (literally “limit parameters”, as in parameters reaching the limits of possibility). It was his opinion that these “extreme tanks” were to be the backbone of modern armored forces instead of the more common medium tanks. As Yuri Pasholok notes, his opinion was – given the fact that modern MBT’s evolved into what was considered a heavy weight category back then – completely reasonable.
Shashmurin’s memoirs and notes contained various tank proposals (including illustrations and drawings), one of which looks like this:
It’s called “Tank of extreme parameters /universal/”. The last vehicles Nikolai Shashmurin was involved with were the Object 286, 287 and 288 experimental rocket tanks (tanks, equipped with missile launchers instead of guns) – and so, it is completely possible that the guns of this vehicle is in fact a pair of rocket launchers…
