Source: The Age “Digital Life” web
Hello everyone,
recently an interview with the abovementioned gentleman came out in the Age Australian magazine. Apparently Mr. Nicholas is Wargaming’s general manager for the Asia-Pacific region. They are talking mostly about ASIA server and Japanese tanks, but the interview is full of really odd answers. For starters, to quote Mr.Nicholas (allegedly a “tank enthusiast”):
During World War II, Germany and Russia had to design petrol-powered tanks, as both countries were often too cold for diesel fuel, which would freeze at low temperatures. With Japan being a warmer country, and operating primarily in Asia and the Pacific region, they were free to enjoy the greater torque granted by diesel, which helped when lugging 40 tons of armour across a battlefield.
As far as I can tell, that is complete garbage. First and foremost, all major Soviet tanks used DIESEL engines. KV-1, T-34, T-54, IS series… diesel. Second, Germans used petrol engines not because of freezing temperatures, but because petrol engines corresponded to the required operating hours per day, as set by OKH requirements. As Hilary Doyle (I believe it was) explained: if the German tanks were required to operate for two hours more per day, they would have gone with diesel. Third, and this is not something I am completely sure of, I do not think that the Japanese used diesel engines because of the torque, but because of the logistics and access to it. Feel free to correct me though.
Another interesting thing:
“We’ve already studied an Australian tank, and we’re considering a multinational tank release, not just a specific country,” Nicholas said. “Australia only has one notable tank, but there are other countries with a few tanks, like Taiwan. Italian tanks didn’t see a lot of action, and development was a bit scarce.”
Well, there were at least two interesting Australian tanks: the Sentinel AC and the Sentinel AC4 “Thunderbolt”. Both already have their models ready actually. Taiwan – yes well, maybe. But Italian tanks not seeing a lot of action? This WG guy is an idiot.
The reporter also stated that he found World of Tanks “very challenging for beginners”. Yes, four keys, a mouse and two mouse buttons for start, that’s a real challenge for someone writing about computer games. Very challenge. Much hard. Wow.
“This system isn’t like anything else that you’ve ever seen in an online game,”
and
“The way things are laid out is completely different from any other online game that you’re used to”
Again, correct me if I am wrong, but pretty much EVERY modern game I played has this control scheme. How else is this guy playing, using arrow keys and no mouse? And the following made me laugh:
“When I started playing the game, it took me about thirty battles before I got to a level where I could say, okay, I’m no longer a newbie”
Ladies and gents, we found ourselves a noob. Not a newbie, a noob. Also:
Once you get into it, it’s a very deep game with a lot of content and a lot of things that you need to understand – which engines to use
Uhhhhhh…. the top ones? And to conclude this article, let’s end with Mr.Nicholas’ in-depth analysis of the game gold ammunition model and its effectiveness:
“Premium ammo isn’t really that great”
Stunning. In the beginning of the article, the reporter was praising this guy for “not being one of the PR guys”, but you know what… there is a REASON Wargaming employs PR people, to avoid interviews like this.
