A video by Darth_Woras, enjoy :) I swear I like ever new part more and more :)

Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/2170543.html

Straight outta supertest…

Long story short, the Wolfpack situation is fixed, players can now buy the event premium vehicles with 50 percent discount.

Aodheus:

Hey guys, seems like I finally have some good news for you.

Again, our sincere apologies for the hick-up, and hope you’ll still enjoy the 50%!

Okay, in all honesty:

The situation wasn’t as dire as some of the players assumed and it got fixed actually pretty quick, considering it’s weekend and WG EU office is probably manned only by skeleton crew. For that, I think they deserve our praise.

However, it shows WG’s main weakness, PR. Instead of issuing a clear message that this WILL be fixed and that 50 percent discount will come, they simply backedited the original event post to 30. I guess I can understand the “okay, what now?” confusion, still… ah well, let’s just blame it on weekend.

Source: http://forum.worldoftanks.eu/index.php?/topic/263919-special-wolf-pack-weekend/

Well, this time it’s something a bit different.

As you are probably aware, the current weekend event, a discount was offered for two premium vehicles: the Ersatz Panther and Schmalturm Panzer IV. They players were happy about that, as you can see from the thread reactions.

Here is the Wolfpack screenshot from last night (google cache):

It was not to last, however. I am not sure when, but some time last night, the discount was changed from 50 percent to 30 percent without any warning (allegedly, even without changing the news themselves, so some players bought the vehicles 30 percent off, when in fact they were expecting 50 percent off). First reaction of this type came at 7:22 AM this morning, so they did it in the night, without any warning whatsoever. Furthermore, they didn’t even bother to change the official even text before that, so players kept being confused.

At first, players thought it is actually a shop price mistake, only to learn later that the event was “nerfed”.

When called on their bullshit, Wargaming EU first announced they are “working on fixing it” and that the “discount should be 50 percent“, but later, Aodheus (I think he’s a German community organizer, not sure) announced that the discount will in fact stay at 30 percent and that there simply was some confusion.

Naturally a shitstorm happened, with various people asking for refunds, others raging about WG cheating, others posted kinda funny pictures:

In the end, Aodheus at least offered a refund to those “affected” by this, but the shitstorm (that could have easily be avoided, if WG EU people bothered to actually doublecheck stuff on their events) is raging even as I write this.

Yet another day at WG EU office…

Hello everyone,

basically, yesterday evening I was scouring books for some information about the leaked LTP light tank. While I didn’t find anything exact, Ensign_Expendable (you know, the awesome guy who writes about Soviet tanks on FTR and on his blog) has some theories, we’ll get back to it later.

In the meanwhile, I found something interesting as well. In the beginning, there was this picture:

At first I was like “Okay, there is something weird about that Vickers/T-26″. After a few seconds, it did hit me – it’s the suspension. The original T-26 looks like this:

As you can see, it’s a bit different. So, what IS the first suspension (since the second picture shows the “original” suspension)? Well, the answer was somewhat surprising.

Czech-Soviet cooperation

In 1938, the Soviet army asked the Czech Škoda company (by that time well-known for its LT-35 tank, internal company designation Š-IIa, the players of WoT know it under the name of Panzer 35t) was asked by the Soviet army to demonstrate their Š-IIa tanks to a committee of soliders and engineers. Škoda, eager to export the (somewhat aging, yet still viable) design, complied.

The trials of two Š-IIa vehicles (a serial LT-35 and a prototype) were conducted (under the Czechoslovak army representative’s oversight) on Kubinka proving grounds from 14.9.1938 onward. The results were good: the vehicle was relatively fast (36km/h on the road, 32,4 km/h off road) and it did well when its ability to break walls, trees and passing various obstacles was tested. Its fuel consumption was also relatively moderate – during the trials (lasting cca 3 weeks), one vehicle drove cca 1500km in total, while consuming 1947 liters of gasoline (130 liters per 100 km on average, while Soviet Union’s T-26 tank “drank” 130-190 liters per 100 km (depending on surface)). The Czechoslovak army officials even permitted the Soviets to shoot one of the light tanks from a heavy machinegun – only minor damage is caused. It was also found out that when shooting directly at vision ports, the protection of the crew was sufficient.

But the best part was: unlike with Soviet tanks, medical examination of the crew proved that even after 8 hours of driving this tank, the crew fatigue was very, very low – the tank was easy to drive, easy to handle and comfortable (a trait even the Germans and their allies praised when Czechoslovakia was occupied).

Here’s how the LT-35 suspension looks like, for comparison:

The Soviets examined the tank very closely – for example, they demanded to measure EVERYTHING, down to milimeters. They also demanded the engineers to “demonstrate” the tank maintenance by removing and dismantling the engine and transmission components. At that point, the Czech army staff got really suspicious that the Soviets are not trying to evaluate the vehicle for purchase – they are in fact trying to basically copy some of its components. After that, the trials quickly deteriorated, the Czech staff forced the Soviet engineers to destroy any such “notes” with exact measures/numbers and the delegation went home, along with the prototypes.

Further tests were agreed upon (including comparative tests between Soviet and Czech vehicles), but after the Munich treason, nothing came of it.

But that was not the end for the Soviets. They liked the Škoda suspension. They liked it in fact so much that they decided to copy it, no matter what. Many Soviet engineers and tank designers studied the test results, including some drawings that were left (some were even present during the tests themselves before) – the result was, that the design bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant No.185 (in cooperation with Plant 174) designed several Soviet tank modifications and designs, based on the T-26 tanks.

Here’s a timeline of the vehicle development, based on Jiří Tintěra’s work from the valka.cz server (will be quoted in sources):

T-26M

As can be seen from the table above, the T-26M was based on T-26-1, which is better known as “T-26 mod. 1939″. The first picture of this article (that caught my attention), represents exactly this vehicle. When you compare the LT-35 and T-26M suspensions, you can see clear similiarities.

T-26M was built as a prototype in the Leningrad plant No.185 (as mentioned before) in 1939, under the guidance of Semyon Ginzburg (who was later stripped of his chief designer position for the failures of the initial SU-76 design and sent to the front, where he died in 1943). Apparently, 2 prototypes were made, but it was never accepted in service. Unlike the T-26 mod.1939, it was propelled by a 97hp Vickers engine, it was less armored (15mm frontal armor), but it was a bit faster (30km/h, compared to 28km/h of the original). The 45mm armament recieved was the same.

T-26-5

The T-26-5 (project name “Project 126″) was further developed on the T-26M in 1939 in the Plant No.1985 by the same team, led by S.Ginzburg. It was never accepted in service and an unknown number of prototypes (at least one however) was made.

Compared to the T-26M, it was higher, but narrower (by cca 20cm). It had its armor improved to the T-26 Mod.1939, even surpassing it at some points (20-25mm frontal armor), it was also tested with two stronger engines: the gasoline Type 745 I6 (130-150hp) and the diesel Type 744 I4 (130-180hp). The armament remained the same. The effect on the weight and speed of these modifications is unknown.

T-126-1

T-126-1 (“Project 126-1″ designation) is the ultimate evolution of the “Škoda” T-26 series, made by the same team to design the previous vehicles, this time in cooperation with the Voroshilov Plant No.174 in Leningrad. It was made probably in 3 prototypes between 1939-1940. It was basically a redesignated T-26-5, with some partial modifications. This time, only the diesel engine was selected for trials (Type 744, producing 130-180hp). The armor was increased once again, reaching up to 40-45mm (this is including the “screen” armor one of the prototypes had added, the “regular armor was 30-40mm thick). This of course increased the weight of the vehicle, reaching up to 14 tons.

This project also never entered service. By the time these were built, the war was looming ahead and it can be speculated that (as was the case of other Soviet designs, the T-34M in particular) existing mass produced types were preferred in order to simplify and increase the production as much as possible.

T-125

There was one more project with the Škoda suspension, this time by the Voroshilov plant No.174. It was designed by the chief plant designer, F.A.Mostovoy in 1939 to 1940. No prototype was ever built however.

It was supposed to be a 13 ton tank, powered by the aforementioned Type 744 diesel (tuned to 180hp), it was supposed to be lower, but wider and longer vehicle with 40mm frontal armor, armed with the same 45mm gun as the other tanks. The tracks were also wider (400mm, compared to the 350mm of all the other T-26 “Škoda” models), giving it better mobility.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find and drawing thereof.

Source: Jiří Tintěra – T-26M,T-26-5, T-126-1 via valka.cz

Source: http://worldoftanks.com/en/news/19/new-mission-system-revealed/

Hello, everyone!

Basically, US server gets its own missions now. And they are pretty cool!

Mission 1 (repeatable):

If you kill 3 tanks, you get a bonus of (100*yourvehicletier) XP (eg. a Ferdinand would get 800XP) AND you get a bonus of (5000*yourvehicletier) credits. (ergo for 3 kills, a Ferdinand will get an 800XP and 40000 credits bonus)

That’s not bad :)

But there’s more. In July, more missions will come:

- 20 percent more XP and 30 percent more credits for the tank that does the most damage for each team (SS: sucks compared to the RU event, but still, good)

- destroy a vehicle of each nation (once per day) and get 1 of each gold consumables

- destroy 20 T4+ medium tanks and get a day of premium account (one time only)

And in the future, there will even be SETS of missions with their own rewards (“complete mission 1, 2, 3 and get some bonus”) and special weekly missions. Not bad, not bad…

Oh, and what about the EU server?

Well… I guess we’ll get them…. later.

Hello everyone,

apparently, server called ZAM offers some INVITE codes (for US server only, new players only), containing:

- T2 Light Tank
- 50000 credits
- 1 day of premium

You can get your codes here: http://www.zam.com/giveaways/world-of-tanks.html

I am not American, so let me know if it works (the registration/issue system does).

Just a quick post about the preliminary comparison of both vehicles (keep in mind though that MT-25 will be tier 6):

Current T-50-2 / MT-25

Hitpoints: 560/570
Weight: 14,7/25,82
Engine: 550hp/600hp
Hp/T: 37,4/23,23 (major nerf here, we can expect slower acceleration)
Traverse: 38/48 (major buff, we can expect more maneuverability)
Maximum speed: 72/72
Hull armor: (37/37/37)/(45/40/40) (minor buff)
Turret armor: (45/40/40)/(45/45/45) (minor buff)
Shell damage for top gun: 85/85 (same)
Shell penetration for top gun: 112/112 (same)

If the gun is the same, we can expect:
Dam: 85/85/95
Pen: 112/189/29
Acc: 0.34
Aim: 2,3s

Rate of Fire: 20,69/22,22 (minor buff)
Turret traverse: 45/48
Viewrange: 370/370
Radio: 730/730

Preliminary verdict

We can expect something not as quickly accelerating (thus reducing the motorbike effect), but somewhat more maneuverable. On flat ground, it’ll be even more motor-bike like, but on slopes it will have more problems due to the lower hp/t, it will possibly be a bit more challenging to play. The weaponry and armor practically remains the same – the difference here is: T-50-2 armor could be “double-overmatched” (improved normalisation) by 75mm guns, while MT-25′s armor will have that for 88-90mm guns only. Thus, we can argue MT-25 will be a bit more tougher than the small armor upgrade would suggest. The weaponry remains the same, with a slight buff in RPM. Overall, it will be an interesting and maneuverable tank, with roughly the same properties as the T-50-2.

For those who haven’t noticed yet, here’s a new ASAP video about 8.7 (better to tell everything in advance than let leakers leak it anyway, good choice):

Amongst other things, it brings:

- new Belogorsk 19 map (see previous FTR entries)
- Updated Port and Highway maps
- E-25 and 112 premium vehicles
- British arty:

Tier 2 – Loyd GC
Tier 3 – Sexton I
Tier 4 – Birch Gun
Tier 5 – ???
Tier 6 – ???
Tier 7 – Crusader SP
Tier 8 – FV207
Tier 9 – FV3805
Tier 10 – Conqueror GC

- the T-50-2/MT-25 switch

Elite MT-25 stats (juding from the turret)

570hp
25,82 tons
600hp engine
72 km/h speed limit
48 traverse
45/40/40 hull armor
45/45/45 turret armor
85 shell damage
112 pen
22,22 ROF
48 turret traverse speed
370 view range
730 radio range

Some screenies:

British arty

Crusader SPG

Highway rework

Loyd GC

MT-25

Port rework