Jan 31, 2013
31.1.2013
- tier 10 light tanks? "I am really not sure" (SS: apparently there was another leak from somewhere saying those might come eventually)
- WG doesn't plan to make a singleplayer game (SS: connected to the question what is WG going to do with the new console game US studio it bought)
- apparently, the Leopard's gun L7A3 might be even more accurate and have faster aiming than the one of the E-50M (SS: 0.28 mentioned)
- there is no en-masse amnesty planned for banned accounts, each case is handled individually
- no special matchmaking for platoons is planned (SS: for example for the cases where one team recieves one platoon of 3xHT8, another 2xMT6) to make them more balanced
- HE shells have no limit on module criticals damaged per shot, this only concerns crewmembers (SS: HE shell can never kill more than half of the crew with one shot, the borderline case being 3 of 5)
- SS: this is a bit indirect answer but from what I understood, there are no light tanks candidates for now for tier 10
- WG doesn't support the P2W attitude despite the fact that the Chinese (SEA) server sort of inclines to it
- T-34/100 has not yet been introduced as a premium vehicle, because there is the possibility of it being introduced as a regular vehicle
- SerB writes that the "late model" E-75 (designated "F") having a rear transmission is a hoax and that there are no existing graphic materials suggesting there was any such things, Doyle also agrees there was no such thing
- holes in tanks after they are hit have no effect on the armor (SS: eg if you hit a place where another shell has previously penetrated, it doesn't count as 0 armor area)
- both US and RU servers have roughly the same amount of people mass-using gold shells
- disabling one map from the random map pool? "Let's say we won't do it for now"
- the system where you can "forgive" teamdamage (SS: the teamdamager doesn't get "ban points" if you forgive him) is not going to be implemented
- tanks in game do not act as a arty splash barrier (SS: if a MS-1 stands hidden behind the Maus, an arty shell falls next to the Maus so that the Maus stands between it and the MS-1, if the splash is big enough to reach the MS-1, it will get damaged despite the fact it is covered)
- it's possible the British crews will get additional names in their name and surname pool in the future ("when it's done it's done")
- T-62A was introduced as the Object 165 without the smoothbore gun instead of the paper project Object 142 because 1) some T-62A's were actually built (around 100 pieces) and 2) Object 142 is practically the same as one of the T-54 versions that already is in the branch, it's possible (but not guaranteed) that the Object 142 will appear as a separate vehicle
- SerB doesn't see any suitable tanks for German premium T8 med tank
- smoke shells and generators are difficult to implement technically, they will come in distant future
- no plans to introduce earning gold in random battles
- Province will be remade "if needed"
- AMX AC 48 mantlet thickness is 150mm
- SerB is exping up the British medium branch, he's at the Cromwell now
- according to SerB, WoT works on Windows 8 just fine
Jan 30, 2013
SturmTiger in 8.4? A FAKE
A Russian WoT news site reported that Sturmtiger would be implemented soon.
Source: http://wg-news.ru/novaya-nemeckaya-premium-artilleriya-postupit-v-prodazhu-v-blizhajshem-obnovlenii/
Unfortunately this was confirmed by The_Chieftain and Falathi from the Polish EU forums to be a hoax. Ah well. Maybe next time :)
Source: http://wg-news.ru/novaya-nemeckaya-premium-artilleriya-postupit-v-prodazhu-v-blizhajshem-obnovlenii/
Unfortunately this was confirmed by The_Chieftain and Falathi from the Polish EU forums to be a hoax. Ah well. Maybe next time :)
30.1.2013
- SerB considers the winrate of a player to be the indicator of that player's skill
- SerB confirmed the fact that when the arty branches are prolonged to tier 10, various arty branches will have new machines inserted on various tiers (SS: eg logically, it's not sure T7 will go to T9 and T8 to T10 automatically)
- 15vs15 companies won't be cancelled according to SerB, they make a great training ground for the CWs
- looks like the Fog of War won't be in randoms after all
- the devs don't introduce a bigger number of low-tier premiums into the game (despite having them prepared in advance) because sometimes, the vehicle designed to be premiums are used to "patch up" the holes in regular trees and to supplement upcoming branches
- it's not totally excluded for 3 branches of the same class to exist in one tree
- the spare tracks mounted on hulls/turrets of the ingame vehicles do not count as armor
- the 59-16 Chinese LT has an autoloader on its top gun. At the same time it can mount a rammer. The rammer reduceds the autoloader loading time, not time between shots - and it's not a bug
- tier 10 TD's have lower MM weight than tier 10 heavies
- Q: "Do you plan to improve the premium account by allowing to buy shorter period premium account?" A: "Yes, we are currently thinking about allowing the player to buy one second and one milisecond premium" :)
Jan 29, 2013
Storm on the topic of 7x7 companies (7x42)
Source: http://world-of-kwg.livejournal.com/147171.html
Basically, Storm confirms they are working hard on the 7x42 companies (ESL format). It seems to be planned that it'll work like WoW dungeon finder and arena (for those familiar with Warcraft): you'll be able to make your own company, or make just a part of the company and the rest will be assigned to you automatically, or you will be able to enter a queue, if you have a suitable tank and you will automatically join suitable battles.
This game mode will work with player ratings and teams will meet the teams of similiar ratings. This system will be built for massive use (SS: not as exclusive as for example current company mode) and it is expected many more people will play this mode, because it's easier to find 6 other members than 14.
Storm states that he wonders what will become of the current 15 vs 15 companies. He sees only two uses for them left: first as a training for clanwars and second - players can build an elite company and go decimate noobs. Currently the idea within WG is that the old companies will be removed and reworked, but it's not really decided all yet.
In the discussion to the article, Storm mentions that he's afraid that when this mode is introduced, old companies will have only few (bad) players left and they won't work anyway. He also states that the statistics of some company modes (4-6) are very bad and that not many play them. He also mentions that Clanwars will be globally reworked.
This mode will be totally separated from random battles, which will NOT have a skill MM.
Oh and WoT-ish game (unclear whether WoT or some other port) will be made for gaming consoles, if I understand this correctly.
29.1.2013
(SS: the amount of bullshit I filtered today is high, therefore the questions will be shorter)
- Q: "Do you fear the War Thunder competition?" A: "Most of all, we fear Farmville" (SS: SerB didn't say exactly Farmville, but its Russian equivalent, I changed it to make the joke more comprehensible)
- BT-5 might become a Chinese premium LT, but not in next few patches
- IS-3 confirmed NOT to become a premium tank
- SU-85(i) and Panzer IV Hydro are not going to be sold in the shops, they are promo/gift vehicles, not clear when they will be given
- It's planned to introduce the possibility to view replays straight from (within) the client (SS: so there will be no need to quit the game and doubleclick the replay itself)
- You recieve less XP by firing on targets that are lower tier than you
- the devs have no relationship with the WoT wiki
- Q: "Will there be British tier 8 heavy?" A: "When it's planned, I'll tell you. It's not possible to answer all of the questions related to various nation - tier tank combinations."
- Recon and Situational Awareness skills work the same way.
- there is no plan to add the Syria flag
- SerB actually misses the times when there were fewer players asking more intelligent questions
- SerB states that all the archives WG collaborated with caused some problems and almost all the problems were settled
- Q: "When dealing with Support, they sent me a program called "wot_check" for testing the client. Do you plan to put this program into the client to fight illegal mods?" A: "We won't comment on this."
- Q: "Did you consider adding ingame voice communication for random battles without the platoons?" A: "We did. It was terrible. Scrapped the idea."
- M47 Patton? "maybe, if we ever need a tier 8-10 vehicle" (SS: this was related to the whole Patton tank family question, whether we will see all the Pattons - M46, M47, M48)
- it's probably not possible to make the ingame platoon voice chat permanently on without the need to press the butten, "there are problems with that"
- different types of shells have different colored tracers, HE shells have orange tracers, so that the arty can recognize other arties. subcaliber (APCR, APDS) shells have light, short and transparent tracers (because it's basically just a small piece of tungsten flying), AP shells tracers look like subcaliber shells tracers but a lot more clear (they are longer, more visible and less transparent). HEAT tracers are yellow and very thin. Tracer colors are the same on all the servers.
- the devs are thinking about adding the Fog of War in random battles
- there will be no multiclassing (SS: a Hetzer with a 150mm short howitzer mentioned, that could work both as TD and as an arty at the same time), in the early development the devs thought about changing the class of the vehicle by adding different modules (for example SU-122 and SU-152 could work as an arty as well as a TD), but this idea was scrapped soon
Jan 28, 2013
: 28.1.2013 (special)
Interview with Evily, the head of Russian community department (if I understood correctly, can't find the guy)
Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/1527906.html
- There will be more events of the type the Chinese have now ("top 100 experience"), in the future there will be XP tables too
- no additional info on the historical battles, ATM the devs are working on CW's
- the closest new mode is the garage battle, needs a lot of re-balancing (Storm adds:
- this year, the Global Wargaming League tournament is coming, it will be a mass event, it will run in seasons and the prizes will be in gold
- 10 new maps planned for 2013, part of them will be "Asian-style", part will be "city-style" á la Himmelsdorf, Stalingrad is possible (Storm adds: 11, not 10)
- there might eventually be special maps for CWs only
- 30vs30 battles are really badly playable, especially in random battles
- a system is being prepared where everyone will be able to deselect 1 map (and that's still considered according to Storm)
- Komarin won't return in 0.8.4
- Serene Coast winrate for bases is unbalanced, one has 58 percent winrate, the other 42
- Westfield assault will be remade (perhaps even removed)
- T-50-2 will be replaced in 0.8.6 (not totally 100 percent), according to Evily, first comes British TDs, then German meds, then British arty, it is confirmed the devs don't to put out too many tanks at once
- the new German med branch will start with VK3002DB (SS: as planned previously)
- T57 nerf will be discussed after 0.8.4
- tier 10 arties will come until the end of summer
- one more medium branch for the US confirmed
- French medium and heavy 2nd line not planned for 2013
- Japanese tanks don't have priority atm, so that's until the end of the year
- Japanese hightier tanks are "rolling coastal defense fortresses", they had tanks planned with 150mm, 200mm, 280mm guns
- regarding the FV215b TD: confirmed ("a 180mm gun based on the FV215b vehicle"), but the HT FV215b stays, after the TD comes, the devs will see, they have a good replacement tank drawings. Devs are not happy with the FV215b performance.
- there will be hightier premium meds for all nations
- premium WZ-111 heavy tank will be on the EU server a bit later
- T23 will most likely become a tier 6-7 premium tank
- SU-100Y will cost as much as other tier 6 TDs
- the platoon-infested battles are not regarded as a problem
- WG will buy rights for some mods and implement them in game
- voice chat in random: no
- gold shells for credits will not be removed, the experiment was a success
- the possibility to "freeze" premium accounts won't be implemented as the premium isn't that expensive
- in order for a ban to be considered, the player has to collect 5 report tickets
- a special tank game is being developed for the pads
- national voiceovers are planned
Source: http://world-of-ru.livejournal.com/1527906.html
- There will be more events of the type the Chinese have now ("top 100 experience"), in the future there will be XP tables too
- no additional info on the historical battles, ATM the devs are working on CW's
- the closest new mode is the garage battle, needs a lot of re-balancing (Storm adds:
- this year, the Global Wargaming League tournament is coming, it will be a mass event, it will run in seasons and the prizes will be in gold
- 10 new maps planned for 2013, part of them will be "Asian-style", part will be "city-style" á la Himmelsdorf, Stalingrad is possible (Storm adds: 11, not 10)
- there might eventually be special maps for CWs only
- 30vs30 battles are really badly playable, especially in random battles
- a system is being prepared where everyone will be able to deselect 1 map (and that's still considered according to Storm)
- Komarin won't return in 0.8.4
- Serene Coast winrate for bases is unbalanced, one has 58 percent winrate, the other 42
- Westfield assault will be remade (perhaps even removed)
- T-50-2 will be replaced in 0.8.6 (not totally 100 percent), according to Evily, first comes British TDs, then German meds, then British arty, it is confirmed the devs don't to put out too many tanks at once
- the new German med branch will start with VK3002DB (SS: as planned previously)
- T57 nerf will be discussed after 0.8.4
- tier 10 arties will come until the end of summer
- one more medium branch for the US confirmed
- French medium and heavy 2nd line not planned for 2013
- Japanese tanks don't have priority atm, so that's until the end of the year
- Japanese hightier tanks are "rolling coastal defense fortresses", they had tanks planned with 150mm, 200mm, 280mm guns
- regarding the FV215b TD: confirmed ("a 180mm gun based on the FV215b vehicle"), but the HT FV215b stays, after the TD comes, the devs will see, they have a good replacement tank drawings. Devs are not happy with the FV215b performance.
- there will be hightier premium meds for all nations
- premium WZ-111 heavy tank will be on the EU server a bit later
- T23 will most likely become a tier 6-7 premium tank
- SU-100Y will cost as much as other tier 6 TDs
- the platoon-infested battles are not regarded as a problem
- WG will buy rights for some mods and implement them in game
- voice chat in random: no
- gold shells for credits will not be removed, the experiment was a success
- the possibility to "freeze" premium accounts won't be implemented as the premium isn't that expensive
- in order for a ban to be considered, the player has to collect 5 report tickets
- a special tank game is being developed for the pads
- national voiceovers are planned
Regarding the new light tank branches
Source: http://world-of-kwg.livejournal.com/146522.html
A player on the developer's blog argues that the best solution how to deal with the blind light tank branches would be to raise the current tier 5 light tanks to tier 6, because they are balanced as T6 vehicles anyway, to put something new at tier 5 and to finish the branch with two more vehicles (the Aufklärungspanther T7 and RU251 T8 for Germans, Walker Bulldog for Americans, "something" for the Russians etc.) - the moneymaking potential would be the same as with the French and Chinese T6 light vehicles in this case.
Developer Makarovslava states to this: "Basically, this is what we are planning, but the T-50-2 will most likely not stay in the new line, there is an "armored moped" needed between the T-50 and MT-25"
Czechoslovak tree part 4 - Medium tanks
Introduction:
This is the 4th part of the series, dealing with the medium branch. For additional background, please refer to parts 1,2 and 3 on this blog (January 2013).
When it comes to medium tanks, we can basically split the Czechoslovak tank evolution into 3 periods. The first one includes the pre-war tanks. Generally speaking, Czechoslovak pre-war tanks weren't really that good. Unlike the light tanks, they were often underpowered, unreliable and slow. Nearly all of them got rejected by the army, but they formed a basis on which the following research (during the German occupation) would take place. Second period was formed basically by the vehicles, designed during the German occupation. The whole T-2X series development, ending with the T-25 (which already is in the game as a German premium tank) took place during the "Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren", one of the darkest times of the Czechoslovak history. And finally, the post-war period, culminating with the TVP universal tank project, that ended in the early 50's, when all the independent tank design research was scrapped in favour of producing local (albeit - sometimes heavily - modified) copies of Soviet equipment.
As with the rest of the blog articles, I will be using Tuccy's original tree as reference and modifying it as I go along. The main difference is that I don't believe WG would ever allow a twin division of the tree on ČKD and Škoda projects, that's why I'm going to mash them up together. Also, considering the fact the two most important Czechoslovak designs - the LT-35 and LT-38 are already in the game and thus we know they can "coexist" in one branch, I will be adding those as tier 2 and 3. I hope you enjoy it.
The tree goes like this:
Tier 1 - Kolohousenka (please refer to this article about the details)
Tier 2 - LT-35
Tier 3 - LT-38
Tier 4 - V-8-H
Tier 5 - T-24
Tier 6 - T-25 (autoloader)
Tier 7 - TVP T-50
Tier 8 - TVP T-51
Tier 9 - TVP T-50/51
Tier 10 - TVP (1954)
Tier 2 - LT-35
LT-35 is already in World of Tanks under the designation of Panzer 35(t). Most of its history is known and it's pointless to quote Wikipedia or translate something that already has been translated, therefore I will only redirect you to the wiki article.
Tier 3 - LT-38
Same with the LT-38, its history has been sufficiently described and it already IS in the game. For its history, I will refer you to the wiki article.
Note: These vehicles were probably the most important and "historical" of the pre-war Czechoslovakia tank force. They fought in numerous battles, from the invasion of Poland, over France and in Russia.
Tier 4 -V-8-H
History:
The V-8-H was the first completely independent construction of ČKD Praga. It was the result of the experience, gained by ČKD during the Šp-IIb cooperation in the mid 30's (a prototype of Šp-IIb was built in 1937). Škoda, however, being the main competitor of ČKD wasn't really that much interested in cooperation and pushed its resources into what would become the T-2X line of vehicles (specifically the T-21 medium tank). Seeing that didn't make ČKD too happy and a decision was made to make an independent medium tank as a competititor to the upcoming T-21 vehicle. The result was the V-8-H (the designation means V-8 engine, H - tracked) and it did inherit the best parts and experience of the Šp-IIb. Unfortunately, it did inherit some of its flaws too (namely an unreliable engine and weak final drive).
The prototype was built and tested from summer 1937 for roughly 6 months. The tests went rather fine and subsequently the project was offered to several countries, including United Kingdom, China, Denmark, Egypt and many others. However, the interest in the vehicle wasn't high for two reasons: first - funnily enough, for its time it was considered too heavy (it weighted cca 14 tons at the time, while most bridges of that time could hold vehicles up to 10 tons). It was also considerably more expensive than the Czechoslovakia-produced light tanks. Only Italy, Sweden and Switzerland showed some margin of interest. In late 1937 however, the Czechoslovak army decided to run official tank trials both in infantry tank and cruiser tank categories. V-8-H took part in these trials and emerged as clear victor of its category (unlike the Škoda's Š-IIc, which was plagued by technical problems at the time). At that time (december 1937) the Czechoslovak army felt it needs a medium tank a lot. The Czechoslovak generals, seeing the nazi Germany arm itself by the new Panzer III vehicles felt that the contemporary light tanks aren't just going to cut it anymore. A competition was announced for the new Czechoslovak army medium tank and V-8-H was there to take part. From April 1938 the vehicle was thoroughly tested and changes were made and the tank got heavier, gaining 2 more tons. Almost all the parts were changed and improved, including the engine, armor and drivetrain.
By that time, the political climate forced the army to act and 300 V-8-H tanks were ordered. However, the tank crews actually successfully blocked that order, since they felt the vehicle is not very reliable (in that time it was believed that the people who would actually operate the tank have to have the last word and that their opinion is the most important one of all). This, along with the fact that ČKD was unable to strike a deal with Škoda (who wanted to produce it under the official designation of ST-39 or Střední Tank vzor 1939) for the manufacturing capacities eventually doomed the tank. The production didn't start until Czechoslovakia was seized by Germany. The Germans eventually took the prototype and tested it, but decided against it. The only other country that was interested was Romania - Romanians tested the V-8-H against the Škoda T-21 vehicle. The tests were effectively a draw, the Škoda tank however suffered a massive drivetrain breakdown. Despite that, it was the Škoda vehicle that was ordered by Romanians (no vehicles would be delivered for political reasons either way) and that was the end of V-8-H. The fate of the prototype is unknown, but it stayed in ČKD's factory for the rest of the war and was scrapped soon after it.
Characteristics:
Armor: 20-32mm
Weapon: 47mm A11
Weight: 16,1 tons
Speed: 45 km/h
Engine: Praga NR, 225hp
Tier 5 - T-24
History:
The bad experiences from the initial attack on the Soviet Union and the first encounters with the enemy T-34's - and thus the need to introduce a new medium tank quickly led the German army to look for alternative solutions. One of them was to commission occupied Czechoslovakia's Škoda company to design a new medium tank for the Wehrmacht. In Fall 1941, Germans contacted the Škoda engineers and designers and by the end of 1941, first drawings of the new vehicle (designated T-24) were ready. At the same time, another team was working on an even heavier vehicle, the T-25. The T-24 project didn't last long - in February 1942, it was cancelled in favour of the T-25. Only a wooden mockup was built in March 1942. Technically, it was one of the most advanced drawings of the Škoda design bureau and just like the T-25, it was inspired by the sloped shapes of the T-34 Soviet tank. For more details see the tier 6 T-25 article.
Characteristics:
Armor: 10-60mm
Weapon: 75mm Škoda A13 (L/36,4)
Weight: 18,5 tons
Speed: 58 km/h (on the road)
Engine: Škoda V12, 374hp
Tier 6 - T-25 (autoloader)
History:
The weapon construction works in Škoda factories in Pilsen were undertaken during the German occupation under very difficult conditions, as the German army and producers weren’t interested in splintering the mass production of new weapons and in spreading weapons of non-German origin. That was also the case of tanks, where Czech Škoda development and production were all but stopped (apart from some exceptions). This changed only after the German command sobered up when the German army met new Russian tanks on the eastern front. Škoda developers therefore used the interest of the German weapons testing office (Waffenprüfungsamt) and the initiative of the German company board and they presented idea projects of new generation tanks and SPG’s.
In february 1942, Pilsen designers provided the German specialists with a base project of the new 18500kg T-24 medium tank to consider. After the mutual agreement it was decided that until the end of 1942, a wooden mockup shall be completed and presented to the German representatives. Therefore, the Special Design Bureau of the Škoda factory further developed the T-24 project (Germans considered the most important factors to be the ease of manufacture (as few manhours as possible), low requirement for rare metals and the tropicalisation of the vehicle), but in parallel it developed a heavier 23000kg tank project designated T-25 of the same tank category.
Based on the negotiation results of the Škoda factory representatives and of the Germans weapons testing office from 26.3.1942 in Pilsen, Czech designers were allowed to present a new project of a higher tactical, construction and manufacturing level and properties, mostly when it came to mobility, speed and terrain passability. The idea project was to be presented until the end of July 1942 along with a wooden mockup of the new vehicle. The preliminary agreement assumed a working prototype to be manufactured until April 1943 if the work went well. The engineers worked hard on the project and on the mockup and the partial tasks were completed in time. The T-25 medium tank proposal itself comes from July 1942 and the technical description from August 1942. The proposal acknowledged a lot of German testing office demands, both when it came to mobility and firepower. Therefore, on 2nd September 1942, the Škoda factory was informed that the T-24 project was to be discontinued and the work will continue on the T-25 project instead. The work on the T-24 tank was definitively stopped and the wooden mockup was scrapped. In the end, however, the T-25 project suffered the same fate. In December 1942 it was decided by the Germans to stop the work on the T-25 tank as well and that the company is not to request further supplies for its construction.
The considered T-24 and T-25 solutions were completely different from the other to-date projected, designed and produced Škoda vehicles when it came to the armor shapes, the in-built engine and the suspension, but mostly the intended armament.
The tanks were inspired without any doubt by Soviet medium tanks and adjusted to fit the German tank specialists‘ expectations. Both vehicles had welded body and turret, consisting of armor plates 30-60mm (front and sides) or 10-20mm (other parts) thick. In case of Škoda T-25, it was 35-60mm on the front and sides of the hull and turret and 20-25mm on other spots. The hull was split into two parts by a 8mm thick armor plate with the crew compartment in the front and the turret set above it. The propulsion (engine) was at the back. The front part had two seats (driver to the left, radioman to the right) with the access for both of them to the turret. Both hull crewmembers had their own viewports in the hull, covered by armored shutters. Such viewports were also present in the side armor for both crewmembers (without the shutters). These side sections with viewports could be opened and used as entry points for the driver and the radioman.
The turret, inteded for the two remaining crewmembers – the shooter and the and the commander – along with the main armament was to be installed on a turret ring with 1700mm in the diameter and could be rotated either mechanically, or via a hydroelectric drive. The turret crew entry point was situated on the right side of the turret roof. For recoinnesance, a rotary periscope was also installed on the roof. The connection of the commander with the driver and radioman was performed either thru an on-board telephone device, or via light signals. The turret also had a back extension with the ammunition rack installed as a counterweight to the cannon. The turret front of the T-25 tank had a hexagonal shape, the back part was rounded. The whole thing was installed on a 1820mm turret ring.
The suspension consisted of six double motion wheels on either side with either a 640mm diameter (T-24) or 700mm diameter (T-25) with rubber rims, with two opposite wheels always connected to each other. The suspension was also smoothed by 12 torsion bars situated under the hull floor. The tracks were either 420mm (T-24) or 460mm (T-25) wide and they were led thru the front drive wheels. The lower part of tracks (where tracks meet wheels) were structured like a comb, while the upper rollers for leading tracks and the roadwheels were not included. The T-24 project counted on introducing a new Škoda powerplant, based on gasoline 4-stroke water-cooled V12 engine (cylinder diameter 115 x 130mm) with a displacement volume of 16200ccm, rated at maximum 380hp at 3000RPM. The T-25 project on the other hand counted on a diesel engine. That demand, however, was cancelled and in the end, the project had a petrol engine with a smaller auxilliary engine, also running on gas. The main engine was an OHV air-cooled V12 engine (total displacement: 19814ccm), giving 450hp at 3000 RPM. The auxilliary engine was an in-line 4-cylinder engine with a 2383ccm volume, reaching peak power of 50hp at 3000 RPM. The auxilliary engine served to power up the main engine and to power two massive fans. It was started either by electricity, or by a crank from the combat compartment – the main engine was in turn started by the auxilliary one via a geared flywheel. The steering system was doubled – one for steering while driving, one for steering on spot, with separate steering levers. The maximum speed of both vehicles was estimated at 58-60 km/h.
The main armament of the T-24 tank was to be the 75mm A13 Škoda cannon (L/36), projected simultaneously with the tank in the gun division of the Škoda factory. With the muzzle speed of 790 m/s while penetrating 70mm of armor at 1500mm, it was an effective weapon. The gun was paired with a coaxial 7,92 heavy machine gun in the same mount. Another heavy machinegun was mounted in the middle of the front hull on an independent mount. The tank was to carry 50 gun rounds and 3000 rounds for both machineguns – they were supposed to be carried either in the back part of the turret, or in the hull.
The main gun for the T-25 was to be the 75mm L/55 A18 Škoda cannon (German designation KwK 42/1) with an automatic autoloader, using a revolver magazine. The gun (its rounds reaching 600 m/s) penetrated a 98mm armor plate at 1000m. After each round, the barrel was automatically cleaned by compressed air. The factory-estimated rate of fire was to be 15 rounds per minute and the tank was to carry 60 cannon rounds. The gun, along with its mount and other accessories weighted 1600kg. Mounted on the right side of the cannon, there was a heavy coaxial machinegun with 3000 rounds of ammo. Unlike the T-25 project, this gun was completed during the war as a prototype and after the war, it was tested in a captured Tiger tank.
Both projects T-24 and T-25 were to be equipped with German communication devices and regular German accessories.
Characteristics:
Armor: 20-60mm
Weapon: 75mm Škoda A18 (L/55), autoloader
Weight: 23 tons
Speed: 60 km/h (on the road)
Engine: Škoda V12 (20liter), 443hp
Tier 7 to tier 10 - TVP
First idea of TVP (1946)
T-50 (Škoda model) (late 1946)
T-50/51, Final version (1952)
History:
I will just copy here the article I wrote earlier (a few months ago) at the same topic.
Pre-war Czechoslovakia always had strong presence in the tank development branch and its pre-war designs were one of the best in the world (especially the LT-38, later adopted by the Germans under the name Panzer 38t). It is no wonder that by the end of the 1945, first ideas about the new generation of tanks emerged in the Czechoslovak republic, freshly liberated from German occupation. On 17.10.1945, 1st Department of the Czechoslovak High Command sent its ideas about the new tank to the VTU (Military Research Institute). It was supposed to be a 30-33ton machine, armed with an 85mm to 105mm cannon, with the armor of 20 to 65 milimeters. It was to be propelled by a diesel engine with maximum speed of 50 km/h and it was to have a 5 member crew. The VTU institute proposed to use the captured German 88mm-105mm anti-aircraft guns as its armament.
On 1.3.1946, VTU design bureau presented a miniature mock-up proposal, named "Tank všeobecného použití" (TVP). It was based on the best elements of studied German, British, Russian and Czechoslovak constructions. There was one especially interesting element of the first proposal, the tank was to have a bow machinegun (BESA, or Vz.37 HMG) paired with a flamethrower. Smoke and defensive grenade launcher was also considered, along with a protective thin (in fact mesh) layer of spaced armor. The projected engine was a diesel powerplant with 20 hp per ton ratio. The suspension was however inspired by pre-war constructions (leaf springs). Two prototypes were planned to be made in case more companies take part in the vehicle production - each prototype from a different company.
The Škoda Pilsen company replied to these demands with a design drawing (drawing indexed as Am-P, 8.12.1946) proposal. In the years 1947 and 1948, this project was worked on, the demands and construction elemends of the vehicle were further refined. There was a parallel development in the other big company - ČKD (Pilsen and ČKD used to compete a lot before the war for military contracts), there is however no info on their involvement in these years.
The official request for the new tank from the High command was however given only in 1949 (all the previous army involvement was on an unofficial level). The Škoda project recieved thus an official designation - T-50, the ČKD project recieved the T-51 designation. The official demands were as follows:
Weight - 35 tons, maximum 40
Length - 6500mm
Width - 3200mm
Height - 2800mm
Suspension height - 500mm
Armor - 65mm (front hull), 40mm (sides and rear), 20-30mm (the rest)
Armament - 100mm cannon (60-70 rounds), 2x 7,62mm MG + 1x 12,7mm AAMG
Diesel engine
The date when the development was finished, prototypes tested and mass-produce estabilished was estimated to be June 1952.
The Škoda company introduced their T-50 project along with a wooden mock-up probably in 9/1949 (the archive files are still considered to be military material and thus secret), but the project wasn't accepted. The second proposal was introduced in 11/1949 and in 12/1949, another wooden mock-up was ready (this time in 1:10 size). One interesting feature, that was ultimately denied, was that this project was supposed to have a "pike" front hull, looking much like the one of IS-3. From this time, there are no pieces of information about the T-51 project.
At the turn of 1950, both projects were unified under the designation of T-50/51. From January 1950, both companies (formerly competitions) ran a series of negotiations, in which it was decided who does what. A unified engine space and suspension model was agreed upon and both companies cooperated heavily when deciding the hull shape. The Škoda company was tasked with the development of a new 100mm gun, code name AK1 (two versions were considered: L/53 and L/55). Six running wheels of the T-50 project were agreed upon (T-51 had five) and the considered engine was the ČKD AXK revolutionary prototype (with cylinders set into the X shape) - while Škoda proposed the AHK engine (cylinders set into the H shape).
On 15.2.1950 it was decided to produce 3 prototypes - 2 from mild steel and 1 fully armored. Both companies were to produce 2 engines with transmission each. However, ČKD was also to present a temporary solution of mounting the V-2 engine into the tank, as the new engines were expected to take longer time to develop. The final version of the tank was authorized by a Czechoslovak Tank Force committee on 27.2.1950.
Compared to the contemporary tank T-34/85, the TVP project was vastly superior. Although extremely hard-pressed by the Army, both companies promised to have the mild prototypes on 30.4.1952 and the armored prototype in November 1952. This however proved to be the beginning of the end - due to limited manufacturing capacity of Czechoslovak steel plants (which was completely occupied by the Soviet-forced "contract" - in reality an order - to produce licensed T-34/85), the quotas could not be met. Forced by the Soviet Union and pressed into accepting the Soviet tanks into their army, the Czechoslovak High Command had to abandon the support of the project. Few months later, all the independent design and construction works in Czechoslovakia were ended and that marked the end of the last truly independent Czechoslovak tank project - from now on for decades, all the Czechoslovak tanks would be (although in some cases significantly improved) derivates of the Soviet models.
Characteristics (refers to the latest version):
Armor: frontal hull 65mm, turret 100mm
Weapon: 100mm AK1 (autoloaded)
Weight: 40 tons
Speed: 50-60 km/h
Engine: ČKD AHX or Škoda AHK, V16 (983hp)
TVP in World of Tanks
As you can see, I stretched the TVP over 4 tiers. Basically, there is enough potential to spread it that long. There are basically two solutions.
One is the one presented in this tier proposal. It starts with the initial T-50 version, moves to the competing T-51 (5 roadwheels, different frontal armor shape), followed by the merge into the T-50/51 project and finally, a fictional design for the Pattern 1954 TVP. In real life, the project ended, so the tier 10 vehicle would have to be a "what if", something like the E-50M. Imagine it as a crossbreed between the TVP and the Soviet T-54. Game-wise, it'll probably play like a Batchat.
Second option is to insert the "first proposal" (seen at the first picture) at tier 6 and then kick everything up one tier. What would we basically get would be a very light branch of overengined but very thinly armored vehicles with autoloaders, sort of like more French. The line would go: T7 TVP (1946), T8 T-50, T9 T-51, T10 - T-50/51.
Alternative Soviet branch
As many players on the forum have pointed out, post-war Soviet bloc armies were using Soviet vehicles. Czechoslovak vehicles were (sometimes heavily) modified, as I wrote. The branch could look like this: T5 - T-34/76, T6 - T-34/85, T7 - T-34/100 (this is an indigenous Czech project, NOT the LB-1 T-34), T8 - early T-54A, T9 - T-55, T10 - T-55M(AM).
Premium vehicles
There are tons of premium medium vehicles available for this branch: T-21, T-22, T-23M, Šp-IIb, Šp-IIc and many others. For higher tiers, there could be the captured Czechoslovak Panzer IV and Panther vehicles (Panzer IV's served under the designation T-40/75, some were later sold to Syria).
(photo from 1966-1968)
This is the 4th part of the series, dealing with the medium branch. For additional background, please refer to parts 1,2 and 3 on this blog (January 2013).
When it comes to medium tanks, we can basically split the Czechoslovak tank evolution into 3 periods. The first one includes the pre-war tanks. Generally speaking, Czechoslovak pre-war tanks weren't really that good. Unlike the light tanks, they were often underpowered, unreliable and slow. Nearly all of them got rejected by the army, but they formed a basis on which the following research (during the German occupation) would take place. Second period was formed basically by the vehicles, designed during the German occupation. The whole T-2X series development, ending with the T-25 (which already is in the game as a German premium tank) took place during the "Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren", one of the darkest times of the Czechoslovak history. And finally, the post-war period, culminating with the TVP universal tank project, that ended in the early 50's, when all the independent tank design research was scrapped in favour of producing local (albeit - sometimes heavily - modified) copies of Soviet equipment.
As with the rest of the blog articles, I will be using Tuccy's original tree as reference and modifying it as I go along. The main difference is that I don't believe WG would ever allow a twin division of the tree on ČKD and Škoda projects, that's why I'm going to mash them up together. Also, considering the fact the two most important Czechoslovak designs - the LT-35 and LT-38 are already in the game and thus we know they can "coexist" in one branch, I will be adding those as tier 2 and 3. I hope you enjoy it.
The tree goes like this:
Tier 1 - Kolohousenka (please refer to this article about the details)
Tier 2 - LT-35
Tier 3 - LT-38
Tier 4 - V-8-H
Tier 5 - T-24
Tier 6 - T-25 (autoloader)
Tier 7 - TVP T-50
Tier 8 - TVP T-51
Tier 9 - TVP T-50/51
Tier 10 - TVP (1954)
Tier 2 - LT-35
LT-35 is already in World of Tanks under the designation of Panzer 35(t). Most of its history is known and it's pointless to quote Wikipedia or translate something that already has been translated, therefore I will only redirect you to the wiki article.
Tier 3 - LT-38
Same with the LT-38, its history has been sufficiently described and it already IS in the game. For its history, I will refer you to the wiki article.
Note: These vehicles were probably the most important and "historical" of the pre-war Czechoslovakia tank force. They fought in numerous battles, from the invasion of Poland, over France and in Russia.
Tier 4 -V-8-H
History:
The V-8-H was the first completely independent construction of ČKD Praga. It was the result of the experience, gained by ČKD during the Šp-IIb cooperation in the mid 30's (a prototype of Šp-IIb was built in 1937). Škoda, however, being the main competitor of ČKD wasn't really that much interested in cooperation and pushed its resources into what would become the T-2X line of vehicles (specifically the T-21 medium tank). Seeing that didn't make ČKD too happy and a decision was made to make an independent medium tank as a competititor to the upcoming T-21 vehicle. The result was the V-8-H (the designation means V-8 engine, H - tracked) and it did inherit the best parts and experience of the Šp-IIb. Unfortunately, it did inherit some of its flaws too (namely an unreliable engine and weak final drive).
The prototype was built and tested from summer 1937 for roughly 6 months. The tests went rather fine and subsequently the project was offered to several countries, including United Kingdom, China, Denmark, Egypt and many others. However, the interest in the vehicle wasn't high for two reasons: first - funnily enough, for its time it was considered too heavy (it weighted cca 14 tons at the time, while most bridges of that time could hold vehicles up to 10 tons). It was also considerably more expensive than the Czechoslovakia-produced light tanks. Only Italy, Sweden and Switzerland showed some margin of interest. In late 1937 however, the Czechoslovak army decided to run official tank trials both in infantry tank and cruiser tank categories. V-8-H took part in these trials and emerged as clear victor of its category (unlike the Škoda's Š-IIc, which was plagued by technical problems at the time). At that time (december 1937) the Czechoslovak army felt it needs a medium tank a lot. The Czechoslovak generals, seeing the nazi Germany arm itself by the new Panzer III vehicles felt that the contemporary light tanks aren't just going to cut it anymore. A competition was announced for the new Czechoslovak army medium tank and V-8-H was there to take part. From April 1938 the vehicle was thoroughly tested and changes were made and the tank got heavier, gaining 2 more tons. Almost all the parts were changed and improved, including the engine, armor and drivetrain.
By that time, the political climate forced the army to act and 300 V-8-H tanks were ordered. However, the tank crews actually successfully blocked that order, since they felt the vehicle is not very reliable (in that time it was believed that the people who would actually operate the tank have to have the last word and that their opinion is the most important one of all). This, along with the fact that ČKD was unable to strike a deal with Škoda (who wanted to produce it under the official designation of ST-39 or Střední Tank vzor 1939) for the manufacturing capacities eventually doomed the tank. The production didn't start until Czechoslovakia was seized by Germany. The Germans eventually took the prototype and tested it, but decided against it. The only other country that was interested was Romania - Romanians tested the V-8-H against the Škoda T-21 vehicle. The tests were effectively a draw, the Škoda tank however suffered a massive drivetrain breakdown. Despite that, it was the Škoda vehicle that was ordered by Romanians (no vehicles would be delivered for political reasons either way) and that was the end of V-8-H. The fate of the prototype is unknown, but it stayed in ČKD's factory for the rest of the war and was scrapped soon after it.
Characteristics:
Armor: 20-32mm
Weapon: 47mm A11
Weight: 16,1 tons
Speed: 45 km/h
Engine: Praga NR, 225hp
Tier 5 - T-24
History:
The bad experiences from the initial attack on the Soviet Union and the first encounters with the enemy T-34's - and thus the need to introduce a new medium tank quickly led the German army to look for alternative solutions. One of them was to commission occupied Czechoslovakia's Škoda company to design a new medium tank for the Wehrmacht. In Fall 1941, Germans contacted the Škoda engineers and designers and by the end of 1941, first drawings of the new vehicle (designated T-24) were ready. At the same time, another team was working on an even heavier vehicle, the T-25. The T-24 project didn't last long - in February 1942, it was cancelled in favour of the T-25. Only a wooden mockup was built in March 1942. Technically, it was one of the most advanced drawings of the Škoda design bureau and just like the T-25, it was inspired by the sloped shapes of the T-34 Soviet tank. For more details see the tier 6 T-25 article.
Characteristics:
Armor: 10-60mm
Weapon: 75mm Škoda A13 (L/36,4)
Weight: 18,5 tons
Speed: 58 km/h (on the road)
Engine: Škoda V12, 374hp
Tier 6 - T-25 (autoloader)
History:
The weapon construction works in Škoda factories in Pilsen were undertaken during the German occupation under very difficult conditions, as the German army and producers weren’t interested in splintering the mass production of new weapons and in spreading weapons of non-German origin. That was also the case of tanks, where Czech Škoda development and production were all but stopped (apart from some exceptions). This changed only after the German command sobered up when the German army met new Russian tanks on the eastern front. Škoda developers therefore used the interest of the German weapons testing office (Waffenprüfungsamt) and the initiative of the German company board and they presented idea projects of new generation tanks and SPG’s.
In february 1942, Pilsen designers provided the German specialists with a base project of the new 18500kg T-24 medium tank to consider. After the mutual agreement it was decided that until the end of 1942, a wooden mockup shall be completed and presented to the German representatives. Therefore, the Special Design Bureau of the Škoda factory further developed the T-24 project (Germans considered the most important factors to be the ease of manufacture (as few manhours as possible), low requirement for rare metals and the tropicalisation of the vehicle), but in parallel it developed a heavier 23000kg tank project designated T-25 of the same tank category.
Based on the negotiation results of the Škoda factory representatives and of the Germans weapons testing office from 26.3.1942 in Pilsen, Czech designers were allowed to present a new project of a higher tactical, construction and manufacturing level and properties, mostly when it came to mobility, speed and terrain passability. The idea project was to be presented until the end of July 1942 along with a wooden mockup of the new vehicle. The preliminary agreement assumed a working prototype to be manufactured until April 1943 if the work went well. The engineers worked hard on the project and on the mockup and the partial tasks were completed in time. The T-25 medium tank proposal itself comes from July 1942 and the technical description from August 1942. The proposal acknowledged a lot of German testing office demands, both when it came to mobility and firepower. Therefore, on 2nd September 1942, the Škoda factory was informed that the T-24 project was to be discontinued and the work will continue on the T-25 project instead. The work on the T-24 tank was definitively stopped and the wooden mockup was scrapped. In the end, however, the T-25 project suffered the same fate. In December 1942 it was decided by the Germans to stop the work on the T-25 tank as well and that the company is not to request further supplies for its construction.
The considered T-24 and T-25 solutions were completely different from the other to-date projected, designed and produced Škoda vehicles when it came to the armor shapes, the in-built engine and the suspension, but mostly the intended armament.
The tanks were inspired without any doubt by Soviet medium tanks and adjusted to fit the German tank specialists‘ expectations. Both vehicles had welded body and turret, consisting of armor plates 30-60mm (front and sides) or 10-20mm (other parts) thick. In case of Škoda T-25, it was 35-60mm on the front and sides of the hull and turret and 20-25mm on other spots. The hull was split into two parts by a 8mm thick armor plate with the crew compartment in the front and the turret set above it. The propulsion (engine) was at the back. The front part had two seats (driver to the left, radioman to the right) with the access for both of them to the turret. Both hull crewmembers had their own viewports in the hull, covered by armored shutters. Such viewports were also present in the side armor for both crewmembers (without the shutters). These side sections with viewports could be opened and used as entry points for the driver and the radioman.
The turret, inteded for the two remaining crewmembers – the shooter and the and the commander – along with the main armament was to be installed on a turret ring with 1700mm in the diameter and could be rotated either mechanically, or via a hydroelectric drive. The turret crew entry point was situated on the right side of the turret roof. For recoinnesance, a rotary periscope was also installed on the roof. The connection of the commander with the driver and radioman was performed either thru an on-board telephone device, or via light signals. The turret also had a back extension with the ammunition rack installed as a counterweight to the cannon. The turret front of the T-25 tank had a hexagonal shape, the back part was rounded. The whole thing was installed on a 1820mm turret ring.
The suspension consisted of six double motion wheels on either side with either a 640mm diameter (T-24) or 700mm diameter (T-25) with rubber rims, with two opposite wheels always connected to each other. The suspension was also smoothed by 12 torsion bars situated under the hull floor. The tracks were either 420mm (T-24) or 460mm (T-25) wide and they were led thru the front drive wheels. The lower part of tracks (where tracks meet wheels) were structured like a comb, while the upper rollers for leading tracks and the roadwheels were not included. The T-24 project counted on introducing a new Škoda powerplant, based on gasoline 4-stroke water-cooled V12 engine (cylinder diameter 115 x 130mm) with a displacement volume of 16200ccm, rated at maximum 380hp at 3000RPM. The T-25 project on the other hand counted on a diesel engine. That demand, however, was cancelled and in the end, the project had a petrol engine with a smaller auxilliary engine, also running on gas. The main engine was an OHV air-cooled V12 engine (total displacement: 19814ccm), giving 450hp at 3000 RPM. The auxilliary engine was an in-line 4-cylinder engine with a 2383ccm volume, reaching peak power of 50hp at 3000 RPM. The auxilliary engine served to power up the main engine and to power two massive fans. It was started either by electricity, or by a crank from the combat compartment – the main engine was in turn started by the auxilliary one via a geared flywheel. The steering system was doubled – one for steering while driving, one for steering on spot, with separate steering levers. The maximum speed of both vehicles was estimated at 58-60 km/h.
The main armament of the T-24 tank was to be the 75mm A13 Škoda cannon (L/36), projected simultaneously with the tank in the gun division of the Škoda factory. With the muzzle speed of 790 m/s while penetrating 70mm of armor at 1500mm, it was an effective weapon. The gun was paired with a coaxial 7,92 heavy machine gun in the same mount. Another heavy machinegun was mounted in the middle of the front hull on an independent mount. The tank was to carry 50 gun rounds and 3000 rounds for both machineguns – they were supposed to be carried either in the back part of the turret, or in the hull.
The main gun for the T-25 was to be the 75mm L/55 A18 Škoda cannon (German designation KwK 42/1) with an automatic autoloader, using a revolver magazine. The gun (its rounds reaching 600 m/s) penetrated a 98mm armor plate at 1000m. After each round, the barrel was automatically cleaned by compressed air. The factory-estimated rate of fire was to be 15 rounds per minute and the tank was to carry 60 cannon rounds. The gun, along with its mount and other accessories weighted 1600kg. Mounted on the right side of the cannon, there was a heavy coaxial machinegun with 3000 rounds of ammo. Unlike the T-25 project, this gun was completed during the war as a prototype and after the war, it was tested in a captured Tiger tank.
Both projects T-24 and T-25 were to be equipped with German communication devices and regular German accessories.
Characteristics:
Armor: 20-60mm
Weapon: 75mm Škoda A18 (L/55), autoloader
Weight: 23 tons
Speed: 60 km/h (on the road)
Engine: Škoda V12 (20liter), 443hp
Tier 7 to tier 10 - TVP
First idea of TVP (1946)
T-50 (Škoda model) (late 1946)
T-50/51, Final version (1952)
History:
I will just copy here the article I wrote earlier (a few months ago) at the same topic.
Pre-war Czechoslovakia always had strong presence in the tank development branch and its pre-war designs were one of the best in the world (especially the LT-38, later adopted by the Germans under the name Panzer 38t). It is no wonder that by the end of the 1945, first ideas about the new generation of tanks emerged in the Czechoslovak republic, freshly liberated from German occupation. On 17.10.1945, 1st Department of the Czechoslovak High Command sent its ideas about the new tank to the VTU (Military Research Institute). It was supposed to be a 30-33ton machine, armed with an 85mm to 105mm cannon, with the armor of 20 to 65 milimeters. It was to be propelled by a diesel engine with maximum speed of 50 km/h and it was to have a 5 member crew. The VTU institute proposed to use the captured German 88mm-105mm anti-aircraft guns as its armament.
On 1.3.1946, VTU design bureau presented a miniature mock-up proposal, named "Tank všeobecného použití" (TVP). It was based on the best elements of studied German, British, Russian and Czechoslovak constructions. There was one especially interesting element of the first proposal, the tank was to have a bow machinegun (BESA, or Vz.37 HMG) paired with a flamethrower. Smoke and defensive grenade launcher was also considered, along with a protective thin (in fact mesh) layer of spaced armor. The projected engine was a diesel powerplant with 20 hp per ton ratio. The suspension was however inspired by pre-war constructions (leaf springs). Two prototypes were planned to be made in case more companies take part in the vehicle production - each prototype from a different company.
The Škoda Pilsen company replied to these demands with a design drawing (drawing indexed as Am-P, 8.12.1946) proposal. In the years 1947 and 1948, this project was worked on, the demands and construction elemends of the vehicle were further refined. There was a parallel development in the other big company - ČKD (Pilsen and ČKD used to compete a lot before the war for military contracts), there is however no info on their involvement in these years.
The official request for the new tank from the High command was however given only in 1949 (all the previous army involvement was on an unofficial level). The Škoda project recieved thus an official designation - T-50, the ČKD project recieved the T-51 designation. The official demands were as follows:
Weight - 35 tons, maximum 40
Length - 6500mm
Width - 3200mm
Height - 2800mm
Suspension height - 500mm
Armor - 65mm (front hull), 40mm (sides and rear), 20-30mm (the rest)
Armament - 100mm cannon (60-70 rounds), 2x 7,62mm MG + 1x 12,7mm AAMG
Diesel engine
The date when the development was finished, prototypes tested and mass-produce estabilished was estimated to be June 1952.
The Škoda company introduced their T-50 project along with a wooden mock-up probably in 9/1949 (the archive files are still considered to be military material and thus secret), but the project wasn't accepted. The second proposal was introduced in 11/1949 and in 12/1949, another wooden mock-up was ready (this time in 1:10 size). One interesting feature, that was ultimately denied, was that this project was supposed to have a "pike" front hull, looking much like the one of IS-3. From this time, there are no pieces of information about the T-51 project.
At the turn of 1950, both projects were unified under the designation of T-50/51. From January 1950, both companies (formerly competitions) ran a series of negotiations, in which it was decided who does what. A unified engine space and suspension model was agreed upon and both companies cooperated heavily when deciding the hull shape. The Škoda company was tasked with the development of a new 100mm gun, code name AK1 (two versions were considered: L/53 and L/55). Six running wheels of the T-50 project were agreed upon (T-51 had five) and the considered engine was the ČKD AXK revolutionary prototype (with cylinders set into the X shape) - while Škoda proposed the AHK engine (cylinders set into the H shape).
On 15.2.1950 it was decided to produce 3 prototypes - 2 from mild steel and 1 fully armored. Both companies were to produce 2 engines with transmission each. However, ČKD was also to present a temporary solution of mounting the V-2 engine into the tank, as the new engines were expected to take longer time to develop. The final version of the tank was authorized by a Czechoslovak Tank Force committee on 27.2.1950.
Compared to the contemporary tank T-34/85, the TVP project was vastly superior. Although extremely hard-pressed by the Army, both companies promised to have the mild prototypes on 30.4.1952 and the armored prototype in November 1952. This however proved to be the beginning of the end - due to limited manufacturing capacity of Czechoslovak steel plants (which was completely occupied by the Soviet-forced "contract" - in reality an order - to produce licensed T-34/85), the quotas could not be met. Forced by the Soviet Union and pressed into accepting the Soviet tanks into their army, the Czechoslovak High Command had to abandon the support of the project. Few months later, all the independent design and construction works in Czechoslovakia were ended and that marked the end of the last truly independent Czechoslovak tank project - from now on for decades, all the Czechoslovak tanks would be (although in some cases significantly improved) derivates of the Soviet models.
Characteristics (refers to the latest version):
Armor: frontal hull 65mm, turret 100mm
Weapon: 100mm AK1 (autoloaded)
Weight: 40 tons
Speed: 50-60 km/h
Engine: ČKD AHX or Škoda AHK, V16 (983hp)
TVP in World of Tanks
As you can see, I stretched the TVP over 4 tiers. Basically, there is enough potential to spread it that long. There are basically two solutions.
One is the one presented in this tier proposal. It starts with the initial T-50 version, moves to the competing T-51 (5 roadwheels, different frontal armor shape), followed by the merge into the T-50/51 project and finally, a fictional design for the Pattern 1954 TVP. In real life, the project ended, so the tier 10 vehicle would have to be a "what if", something like the E-50M. Imagine it as a crossbreed between the TVP and the Soviet T-54. Game-wise, it'll probably play like a Batchat.
Second option is to insert the "first proposal" (seen at the first picture) at tier 6 and then kick everything up one tier. What would we basically get would be a very light branch of overengined but very thinly armored vehicles with autoloaders, sort of like more French. The line would go: T7 TVP (1946), T8 T-50, T9 T-51, T10 - T-50/51.
Alternative Soviet branch
As many players on the forum have pointed out, post-war Soviet bloc armies were using Soviet vehicles. Czechoslovak vehicles were (sometimes heavily) modified, as I wrote. The branch could look like this: T5 - T-34/76, T6 - T-34/85, T7 - T-34/100 (this is an indigenous Czech project, NOT the LB-1 T-34), T8 - early T-54A, T9 - T-55, T10 - T-55M(AM).
Premium vehicles
There are tons of premium medium vehicles available for this branch: T-21, T-22, T-23M, Šp-IIb, Šp-IIc and many others. For higher tiers, there could be the captured Czechoslovak Panzer IV and Panther vehicles (Panzer IV's served under the designation T-40/75, some were later sold to Syria).
(photo from 1966-1968)
28.1.2013
- Q: "Is there any comprehensible explanation for why there is will be no hightier premium arty in the game?" A: "Unfortunately, our understanding of "comprehensible" is different than yours, as far as I can see." The answer is "no".
- Type 58: there is no difference in the hitbox size of various engine models
- the camo factor of a firing tank is changed at the moment of the shot, not the shell impact
- SerB considers it okay that the Chinese competition (max experience, we have it the same) can be influenced by gold shell clan platoons
- China won't have a "dead end" tier 5 scout vehicle (such as Chaffee, T-50-2, VK2801). In fact, all those scout branches ending with tier 5 will be prolonged so they don't end at low tiers
- a player reported a bug where vehicles run around with broken tracks, SerB says there is no such bug
- "Deadeye" perk doesn't affect the chance of the engine catching of fire directly, only indirectly
- SerB notes that the Chinese tier 10 WZ-111 was one of the cases where the tank had a model done, was introduced to the test server and was tested, but in the end not implemented
SS: there might be Part 2 today
Jan 27, 2013
Regarding commenting on this blog
Hello everyone
As some of you noticed, I deleted a whole bunch of comments, posted by butthurt players from Czechoslovak section - they all basically said I am an asshole (true) who makes them look bad (not true, you manage that all by yourselves - the days of "I'll write in Czech and noone will understand me" are over, they have been over for years now).
Just a small clarification on comments: I won't delete comments just because I don't agree with then - anyone can rant about Wargaming or whatever you want - feel free to. The only comments I will delete are personal attacks against me (which originate from the aforementioned section). Make no mistake, while I respect freedom of expression, this is my blog. The people mentioned in the "Filth of the EU community" articles are not welcomed here. I mean - you wouldn't let such people walk around your house, would you?
Anyway, this is all, from now on, business as usual
As some of you noticed, I deleted a whole bunch of comments, posted by butthurt players from Czechoslovak section - they all basically said I am an asshole (true) who makes them look bad (not true, you manage that all by yourselves - the days of "I'll write in Czech and noone will understand me" are over, they have been over for years now).
Just a small clarification on comments: I won't delete comments just because I don't agree with then - anyone can rant about Wargaming or whatever you want - feel free to. The only comments I will delete are personal attacks against me (which originate from the aforementioned section). Make no mistake, while I respect freedom of expression, this is my blog. The people mentioned in the "Filth of the EU community" articles are not welcomed here. I mean - you wouldn't let such people walk around your house, would you?
Anyway, this is all, from now on, business as usual
Jan 26, 2013
26.1.2013
Not many answers today
- if tank A has a top engine that doesn't need to be researched in order to unlock tank B and tank B has the same engine as stock, by unlocking tank B you automatically research the engine that can be used with tank A (works the same with all modules) (SS: related to the question whether by unlocking the FV215b you automatically unlock the Rolls Royce Griffon for the Conqueror)
- so far, the number of arties has decreased after the nerf, however, SerB is not yet decided whether it's enough or more nerfs will come
- IT-130 tank destroyer (SS: Basically SU-122-54 with a 130mm gun) won't be implemented in the game. SerB states that he doesn't have any data about the vehicle and that it's possible it was a misidentification of one of the SU-122-54 mutations equipped with the M-62 cannon. Either way, SU-122-54 isn't getting a new gun.
- SerB states that after the US autoloader branch introduction, there were fewer French tanks playing randoms, but only by a little
- more Kolobanov-like archievements won't be implemented into the game
- the separate statistics for random and company (CW) battles currently have extremely low priority
- Q: "Will the historical battles be a more complicated (as in complex) mode?" A: "Yes, they will be more complicated. But the level of complexity won't be simulator-like, as many here dream."
- it has happened several times that the developers made a tank model, they tested it in game and then decided not to implement it
- as for the amount of ammo carried, developers are trying to be historical, but the ammo was increased with some machines that in real life carried too few shells to last thru the game
- the developers know which celebrities are the fans of World of Tanks but they won't disclose that info
- "national voices" will be implemented (WIDID) - (Russian tanks speak Russian etc.)
- there is an "indirect" relationship between the overall HP pool of the tank and the HP of the installed modules
- tier 5 LT and tier 6 MT have roughly the same MM weight. A question was asked, since they are MM-weight-wise roughly equal, if when a tier 5 LT destroys a tier 6 MT, whether it counts as a kill of a tank that is one tier higher. It does.
Jan 25, 2013
WoT - some upcoming vehicles
Hello everyone,
today, a few new vehicles were confirmed by SerB to be implemented into the game. Let's have a look at them, shall we?
Previously, it was confirmed by Storm that the tier 7 "light" German tank will be the Aufklärungspanzer Panther. Well, I really hope Wargaming dropped that idea, because today it was confirmed that the tier 8 light tank will be the Spähpanzer Kette RU251 prototype.
Spähpanzer Kette RU251
(Tier 8 LT)
Basically, it was a light scout tank prototype from 1963 by Hanomag, armed with a 90mm gun (it's unclear at this point, what kind of weapon will it have ingame, as SerB said it will not have the 90mm Bord K), designed to replace the ageing German Bundeswehr fleet of M41 Walker Bulldog tanks. If the hull looks familiar to you, well, that's because it is connected with the Kanonenjagdpanzer hull. It's designation is a sort of an enigma to me, because while several sources claim the builder of this vehicle was Hanomag, RU stands for Ruhrstahl, which eventually became Rheinstahl and then Thyssen Henschel if I remember correctly. Either way, this vehicle never reached production stage. This site says:
The Spähpanzer Kette was designed to replace the Germany Army’s old American M41 light tanks in the reconnaissance role. Its development began in 1960 and a prototype was completed in 1963. It mounted a Rheinmetall turret armed with the 90mm Bordkanone as used in the Jagdpanzer Kanone.
By the middle of the 1960s the Leopard tank was in production and it was decided that reconnaissance units did not need their own specialist vehicles. The development of the Spähpanzer Kette was dropped without any further vehicles being built and its role was given over to the Leopard. With hindsight, this may have been a hasty move as the wheeled Spähpanzer Luchs was eventually developed to take back this role from the Leopard.
Performance statistics are unknown, as far as I can tell, the maximum intended speed was estimated to be around 78 km/h, armament was either some sort of 90mm gun, or possibly the 76mm from M41.
SG-122
(SPG)
SG-122 was classified as a medium SPG (SAU - Samochodnaja Artilerijskaja Ustanovka), built on the chassis of the captured Panzer III and StuG III vehicles. These vehicles were produced in Mitisshtinskij Mashinostroitelnij Zavod No. 37 by the end of 1942 until the half of 1943. It was armed with the 122mm M-30 howitzer. It is not clear how many were manufactured, but it is estimated that 8 pieces were made from the StuG tanks until the end of 1942 - plus 2 test vehicles based on captured Panzer IV and III tanks. Two of these vehicles were tested in December 1942 and compared to SU-122. The production was ended because there was enough Russian equipment to arm the troops and thus there was no need to convert captured tanks. It is estimated that 20 were made in total.
ZIS-30
After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Soviets were literally desperate to stop the armored onslaught of the Wehrmacht. On 1.7.1941, an order was given to the automotive factories to quickly develop lorry-mounted weapons and other desperate stopgap measures. The factories were supposed to use 37mm, 57mm and 85mm cannons. The projects were to be ready in 15 days. One of the projects developed in Gorky factory no. 92 involved mounting a 57mm ZIS-2 gun on top of the T-20 Komsomolec artillery tractor. By the time this project was introduced however, the T-20 tractors were no longer manufactured and in order to get a testbed, the vehicle had to be confiscated from a regular artillery unit. The cannon was mounted on the rear end behind the driver and was protected by small thin armor plates - when preparing to fire, these plates rolled down and served as space for the crew to stand on. The cannon had a very limited traverse rate and it had to be aimed by turning the vehicle. The crew was practically unprotected, the only cover was provided by the gun shield. The amount of ammo carried was also very low and the vehicle had to be practically followed by an ammo truck, that caried spare rounds and also the rest of the men, needed to fire the bulky gun.
The prototype passed very short series of tests and by 21.9.1941, series production was started. 101 vehicles were made until 15.10.1941 - after that, there were simply no more T-20 tractors available and the production stopped. Other versions, carrying 45mm and 76,2mm guns were developed, but those never got to be produced.
The vehicles fought on the Soviet western and southwestern front and as many as 20 brigades were equipped with them. Despite its many flaws (low speed, low armor protection, unreliable drivetrain), the vehicles were considered successful and archieved some victories.
today, a few new vehicles were confirmed by SerB to be implemented into the game. Let's have a look at them, shall we?
Previously, it was confirmed by Storm that the tier 7 "light" German tank will be the Aufklärungspanzer Panther. Well, I really hope Wargaming dropped that idea, because today it was confirmed that the tier 8 light tank will be the Spähpanzer Kette RU251 prototype.
Spähpanzer Kette RU251
(Tier 8 LT)
Basically, it was a light scout tank prototype from 1963 by Hanomag, armed with a 90mm gun (it's unclear at this point, what kind of weapon will it have ingame, as SerB said it will not have the 90mm Bord K), designed to replace the ageing German Bundeswehr fleet of M41 Walker Bulldog tanks. If the hull looks familiar to you, well, that's because it is connected with the Kanonenjagdpanzer hull. It's designation is a sort of an enigma to me, because while several sources claim the builder of this vehicle was Hanomag, RU stands for Ruhrstahl, which eventually became Rheinstahl and then Thyssen Henschel if I remember correctly. Either way, this vehicle never reached production stage. This site says:
The Spähpanzer Kette was designed to replace the Germany Army’s old American M41 light tanks in the reconnaissance role. Its development began in 1960 and a prototype was completed in 1963. It mounted a Rheinmetall turret armed with the 90mm Bordkanone as used in the Jagdpanzer Kanone.
By the middle of the 1960s the Leopard tank was in production and it was decided that reconnaissance units did not need their own specialist vehicles. The development of the Spähpanzer Kette was dropped without any further vehicles being built and its role was given over to the Leopard. With hindsight, this may have been a hasty move as the wheeled Spähpanzer Luchs was eventually developed to take back this role from the Leopard.
Performance statistics are unknown, as far as I can tell, the maximum intended speed was estimated to be around 78 km/h, armament was either some sort of 90mm gun, or possibly the 76mm from M41.
SG-122
(SPG)
SG-122 was classified as a medium SPG (SAU - Samochodnaja Artilerijskaja Ustanovka), built on the chassis of the captured Panzer III and StuG III vehicles. These vehicles were produced in Mitisshtinskij Mashinostroitelnij Zavod No. 37 by the end of 1942 until the half of 1943. It was armed with the 122mm M-30 howitzer. It is not clear how many were manufactured, but it is estimated that 8 pieces were made from the StuG tanks until the end of 1942 - plus 2 test vehicles based on captured Panzer IV and III tanks. Two of these vehicles were tested in December 1942 and compared to SU-122. The production was ended because there was enough Russian equipment to arm the troops and thus there was no need to convert captured tanks. It is estimated that 20 were made in total.
ZIS-30
After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Soviets were literally desperate to stop the armored onslaught of the Wehrmacht. On 1.7.1941, an order was given to the automotive factories to quickly develop lorry-mounted weapons and other desperate stopgap measures. The factories were supposed to use 37mm, 57mm and 85mm cannons. The projects were to be ready in 15 days. One of the projects developed in Gorky factory no. 92 involved mounting a 57mm ZIS-2 gun on top of the T-20 Komsomolec artillery tractor. By the time this project was introduced however, the T-20 tractors were no longer manufactured and in order to get a testbed, the vehicle had to be confiscated from a regular artillery unit. The cannon was mounted on the rear end behind the driver and was protected by small thin armor plates - when preparing to fire, these plates rolled down and served as space for the crew to stand on. The cannon had a very limited traverse rate and it had to be aimed by turning the vehicle. The crew was practically unprotected, the only cover was provided by the gun shield. The amount of ammo carried was also very low and the vehicle had to be practically followed by an ammo truck, that caried spare rounds and also the rest of the men, needed to fire the bulky gun.
The prototype passed very short series of tests and by 21.9.1941, series production was started. 101 vehicles were made until 15.10.1941 - after that, there were simply no more T-20 tractors available and the production stopped. Other versions, carrying 45mm and 76,2mm guns were developed, but those never got to be produced.
The vehicles fought on the Soviet western and southwestern front and as many as 20 brigades were equipped with them. Despite its many flaws (low speed, low armor protection, unreliable drivetrain), the vehicles were considered successful and archieved some victories.
The filth of the EU community - part 2
Hello everyone,
in part 1, I wrote about a bunch of retards from Czechoslovak WoT forum section, spamming anti-Polish and antisemitic crap over the forums. Unfortunately, these playeres were not banned from the game, they were not even banned from the forums. Since this is NOT an official forum, I will happily tell you who they are: most active one is Absint69, the clanleader of the CTB-P clan (apparently they have CW ambitions).
Today, this shithead and a bunch of his retarded friends spammed anti-Polish crap all over the forums. See for yourself:
Absint69 spammed this shit over several threads:
Translation: I'd like to know how many Czechs and other nationalities dislike the Polish in this game (cNNk - don't comment on this at all, you're just a snitch)
And his friends tagged along:
Translation: Well, I feel like... I am allergic to them (don't take me that seriously), 90 percent of all stupid players are Polish... it's like an epidemy.... they're just everywhere
Translation: If they (WG) like the Polish so much, why don't they give them their own server? I'd even pay for that.
Translation: Do you know what is the shortest Jewish-Polish joke? "I am paying the bill"
Seriously, why can't these fuckers get banned? Yea, this makes the wonderful Czechoslovak community look even better....
in part 1, I wrote about a bunch of retards from Czechoslovak WoT forum section, spamming anti-Polish and antisemitic crap over the forums. Unfortunately, these playeres were not banned from the game, they were not even banned from the forums. Since this is NOT an official forum, I will happily tell you who they are: most active one is Absint69, the clanleader of the CTB-P clan (apparently they have CW ambitions).
Today, this shithead and a bunch of his retarded friends spammed anti-Polish crap all over the forums. See for yourself:
Absint69 spammed this shit over several threads:
And his friends tagged along:
Translation: Well, I feel like... I am allergic to them (don't take me that seriously), 90 percent of all stupid players are Polish... it's like an epidemy.... they're just everywhere
Translation: Do you know what is the shortest Jewish-Polish joke? "I am paying the bill"
Seriously, why can't these fuckers get banned? Yea, this makes the wonderful Czechoslovak community look even better....
25.1.2013
- visibility checks have the same frequency in sniper and arcade mode, they are performed by the server and the server doesn't care, whether you are in sniper or arcade mode, that's a client function
- "teleporting" and "appearing" tanks are usually caused by packet loss, Storm advises to check connection
- the devs haven't dealt yet with the issue that enemy tank silhouette is not highlited when the tank takes cover behind another dead tank wreck
- different viewpoints and targetting enemies in arcade mode that you can't target in snipermode comes from the fact that both arcade mode camera and sniper mode camera use different axis (in sniper mode the axis is identical to the axis of the gun).
- Storm will check reports of a bug that when a tank is moving behind certain obstacles (wooden fense and the wire fence in Port map mentioned), it moves jerkily, eg. "teleports" or "jumps" (but Storm thinks this is caused by some other factor, not the obstacles themselves)
- autoaim doesn't aim at the center of the silhouette, it aims at the point, around which the gun of the vehicle rotates (tanks have it in the turret, TD's in the hull).
- Russian tree on the RU server has new premium vehicles planned: SG-122 arty (basically a Panzer III hull with a 122mm howitzer), T-35 heavy, SU-76(I), SU-85I (these two will be gift tanks most likely) and ZIS-30 TD (SerB will tell whether it will be a regular or gift vehicle when it gets introduced)
- US tree has a new premium arty planned: Sexton
- French tree new premium SPG's: R35 AC and ACL135
- Q: "Why does tank A have more HP than tank B?" A: "If you give us historical amount of that tank's hitpoints, we'll correct it immediately" :)
- Q: "I've read two branches of British TD's are going to be implemented, will they come at the same time? What will be the second British tier 10 TD?" A: "Wait for the patchnotes"
- devs are considering new Chinese tier 8 premium tank to implement (so they don't have to sell the Type 59), they recently discovered several possible candidates, but so far no details
- SerB states that the Soviets did have turreted tank destroyers, namely the Object 416, based on the chassis of Object 112 (SerB states that Object 416 was a hybrid, it's possible to implement it both as medium tank and as a TD)
- the reason for ingame shell normalisation is "it's historical"
- TS-31 tank destroyer won't be implemented, there is the T110E5 already on the spot it would fit
- SerB states that the Kanonenjagdpanzer and Jagdpanzer Leopard aren't entirely appropriate for the game (because historically they were post war vehicles, but they don't really meet the criteria for hightier tanks)
- Spähpanzer Kette (respectively its prototype called RU251) will be introduced, according to SerB it will be introduced before the Leopard 1 prototype as tier 8 LT (as for how the branch will look: "You'll see") (SS: interesting, it could end up being a combined branch). RU251 won't have the 90mm Bord K gun.
- According to SerB, for now the arty nerfs do have the desired effect, not sure however if the nerfs are final
- SerB states that although timeframe is secondary when implementing a tank, vehicles such as ASU-85 are difficult to implement into branches as they don't fit
- European tree is not yet ready
- The option to install additional armor screens as an equipment is not yet ready either
- The British Mk.I tank has not yet been implemented, because the devs want to release it with both 57mm guns and not just with one, eg. required the multiturret implementation
- Russian tree and the USA tree could have 2nd arty branches, but SerB states "are you sure we need more arties?"
- no tanks have special hidden "modifiers" that increase their ramming damage
- the new LT MM won't bind the amount of LT per team to the amount of arty per team
- Q: "Where did the French AMX M4 (1949) go?" A: "Nowhere for now"
- Chinese T-34 is missing some guns from the Russian original, as those were historically not available in China
- Q: "SU-5 top mortar got nerfed too much? Explain!" A: "Oh poor, poor SU-5... *crying*"
- Physics interaction (for example Maus breaking houses, collapsing bridges by its weight...)? "We aren't too keen to have a "why does the Maus break the bridges under it" whine..."
- Christie tanks (М1919, М1921, М1931, М1932, М1935) weren't abandoned
Retarded Russian projects part 2 - "Broneistrebitel"
Earlier: Retarded Russian projects part 1 - "Bezdechod"
Author: Yuri Pasholok
Original source: http://world-of-kwg.livejournal.com/145661.html
Translated by: Silentstalker
Original source: http://world-of-kwg.livejournal.com/145661.html
Translated by: Silentstalker
On 12.4.1942, a proposal came to the local NKVD office in Rostovska Oblast (Rostov region) from a citizen by the name of P. V. Dudka, designated "Broneistrebitel" ("armor destroyer"). The vehicle, that was to be "shaped like a bullet" had a gun, but the gun wasn't supposed to be the main way of destroying the opponent. Rather than that, Mr. Dudka strongly suggested that the vehicle had blades and scythes installed on the frontal nose part, which would make the vehicle an ideal candidate for the Carmageddon.
Overlord comments on map development
Source: http://overlord-wot.blogspot.cz/2013/01/wot-map-thing.html#comment-form
As always, questions are modified for better comprehensions.
Q: What will happen to Ruinberg?
A: As for Ruinberg, we will be mostly streamlining the streets.
Q: Will Dragon's Ridge get a massive overhaul?
A: Since we are disabling it, massive overhaul is quite possible. A significant part of Dragon Ridge is not available for usage. Plus we generally don't like the gameplay pattern we get on this map.
Q: What about Serene Coast?
A: I do agree that Serene Coast map doesn't promote gameplay diversity. What we see there is mostly stationary gameplay with those on the hill having advantage. Will be thinking how to improve the map.
Q: Did you ever thought about making the map Dragon's Ridge only avaible for low tiers? I only landed there with tier 7 and above
Why not Tier 3 to Tier 5?
A: Basically we don't limit maps that way. There are only two options - available for all tiers, available for low tiers (battle tier 1-2 afair).
Q: More sand and winter maps?
A: I do agree that we need more winter and desert maps. To justify camos at least. :)
Q: Malinowka needs an overhaul: its very arty friendly and the bases of each team are too close together (line of sight).
A: Cmon! Malinovka is a classic masterpiece of our level design. ;)
Q: Worst favourite map is Malinovka. Personally I think it would be fine if the buildings on the south side of the map were moved into the middle of the field.
A: Malinovka's field of death is sacred. No building should ever spoil it.
Q: And it was hinted at a long time past that we'd get the option to deselect a couple of maps from the list, but there's still no sign of this feature.
A: Regarding deselect option, we haven't dumped it completely. Still under consideration.
Q: What about more Himmelsdorf-like maps
A: We were thinking of making "Stalingrad, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, etc" maps, but have put the idea into trunk for now. We don't have enough resources at this stage to produce such unique maps in bulk. Plus their Clan Wars availability will be limited.
Q: A goal of 1 new map per month is too much ? Or maybe even 1 map/2 months ?
A: One map per month on average is actually doable. We are streamlining the process and hoping to get back on that track.
Jan 24, 2013
Warning - a gold ammo bug confirmed
Attention!
A bug has been discovered and confirmed by the developers: if you load up your tank with golden shells for silver and shoot them while you selected automatic reload on the tank repair and ammo screen, if you have gold, the shells will be bought for gold and not for silver. Be careful. Developers suggest that if you insist on using gold shells for silver while you have some gold on your account, you should stop using automatic reload after each battle.
Update: according to a test by Tupinambis, this bug does not seem to affect the NA server. EU server is yet unconfirmed.
Update2: according to some other players' tests, it doesn't seem to occur on EU server either. Nevertheless, be careful.
Source
SU-100Y - new tier 6 TD in 8.4
Source: ITDUDE, US Forums
Tier: 6
HP: 700
Max Speed: 35/12 (forward/backwards)
Engine: 870 HP
Engine Fire chance: 20%
AP (1,118 silver) pen/damage: 196/440
AP (10 gold) pen/damage: 176/510 (yes, less pen for gold rounds!)
HE (978 silver) pen/damage: 65/580
Vertical Gun depression range: -5 to +15 degrees
RPM: 3.75
Accuracy: 0.38
Aim Time: 2.9
View Range: 350
Radio Range: 440
Cost: 3,250 Gold
Crew:
-Commander/Radio-man
-Driver
-Gunner
-Gunner
-Loader
-Loader
Tier: 6
HP: 700
Max Speed: 35/12 (forward/backwards)
Engine: 870 HP
Engine Fire chance: 20%
AP (1,118 silver) pen/damage: 196/440
AP (10 gold) pen/damage: 176/510 (yes, less pen for gold rounds!)
HE (978 silver) pen/damage: 65/580
Vertical Gun depression range: -5 to +15 degrees
RPM: 3.75
Accuracy: 0.38
Aim Time: 2.9
View Range: 350
Radio Range: 440
Cost: 3,250 Gold
Crew:
-Commander/Radio-man
-Driver
-Gunner
-Gunner
-Loader
-Loader
24.1.2013
- Japanese tree: "when it's done it's done"
- there might be new premium arty vehicles, but not hightier ones
- SerB does play random battles on RU server, unfortunately it happens that when he appears in battle, his team goes "OMG WE GOT SERB NOW WE KILL EVERYONEOMG!!!!11111"
- ST-I won't be included in the "Lion of Sinai" medal, but it's possible Chinese IS-2 will
- there is a possibility that the field of Malinovka will be re-worked (SS: as in "made more bumpy") ("if it needs to be reworked, we'll do it")
- Q: "Will the second heavy French tank branch start from M4 (1945)?" A: "We'll see" - no info about when it'll come ("WIDID")
- the MM doesn't "prefer" any battle mode, if you have encounter and assault enabled, on average (SS: !!!!) they should be roughly equal
- SerB states that vast majority of lags is caused by ISP's, SerB advises the players to use "pingplotter" (SS: is that a word for packet tracing?)
- SerB doesn't use interface mods
- there is no difference (in splash) when the arty HE shell hits a spot near a tank and the tank is standing in water or on hard ground (SS: in other words, water does not reduce splash)
- there won't be another "Lion of Sinai"-like archievement for middle-east battles (Centurions...)
- Q: "Why won't there be a Stalingrad map? So that tollerant Europeans aren't offended?" A: "No, so idiots don't ask stupid questions such as 'why is there a map named Stalingrad in the Moscow CW province?' However, idiots will always find things to whine about."
- Chinese players do ask about more Chinese maps, but they don't ask Wargaming, they ask WG's Chinese partners
- British TD and arty branches are ready and will be introduced one after another, Chinese TD's (SS: and arty? not clear) have vehicles missing in mid tiers, the Chinese will have a TD based on the M5 Stuart that will quite possibly use its radio and engine (SS: it's basically a Stuart tank with turret removed and a 57mm gun (SU-76 style) installed in the frontal part), it's possible some other modules from other lowtier tanks will be used in the TD line also
- it's not yet decided whether and how crew perks/skill will work in historical battles
- it's possible Panzer B2 will appear in the gift shop (SS: Russian GS that is) during some special events, not guaranteed however
- (Premium) Type 59 might have its MM weight changed "if necessery"
- drawing distance (SS: NOT view range) depends on the angle and direction you are looking at (diagonally it's longer), it is however the same on all the maps
- SerB states that (Russian) players making clans with names like Totenkopf, Leibstandarte and Das Reich will not be banned straight away, because they are usually just little kiddie idiots. If they keep doing that, they get banned
- SerB is a Russian citizen - he doesn't have clear preference between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, he might write a memory book when he retires
- autoaim works on both client- and server-side, it's practically useless when the target's movement is perpendicular to yours
- confirmed: new arty pieces (when the arty branch is prolonged to tier 10) do not have to be inserted after tier 6 or 7, but anywhere really, it's also not guaranteed that the economical model (profit, costs) of current tier 8 arties will remain the same at tier 10
- the average age of WG employees is 25-30, but the developers are somewhat older
- regarding the MM, MM does not guarantee you will get the opposite vehicles of the same weight, only the total team MM weights have to match
- other ideas of arty change were considered (SS: changes in the satellite view etc), but those were deemed bad
- new decals and writings might be introduced, possibly as awards (for something)
- ammo size is generally historical, with a few balance exceptions
- Leopard 1 will have the L7A3 gun, it will have "magical" golden HE rounds (SS: earlier HESH was mentioned), that will comply with Wargaming's historical data (SS: the underlining made by SerB)
- FCM50t has the profitability comparable to other tier 8 premium tanks
- Lowe won't be replaced by another tank (SS: no idea where that came from), players won't be able to sell premium tanks for gold
- Chinese IS-2's frontal armor angle is 60 degrees, the 90mm frontal armor is historical and so is the depression
- Q: "Will there be other German post-war vehicles apart from Leopard?" A: "If you find some right ones, we'll implement them"
- Russian WoT portal has the new version of US and French trees (Changes: French - 2nd medium line is gone, US - Christie tanks are gone)
- SLI support is being developed, the number of the patch where it will be is going to be announced
- there are no plans for 2nd tier 1 tanks
- Q: "Will there be a change in the high tier battle economy?" A: "If necessery - and we define what's necessery"
- SerB would like to have a project with a clearly defined "end" (when everything is done and implemented), he states that it is unfortunately not possible
- there might be a transition from the French heavy branch to the TD branch, not clear how
- some map elements are not penetreable (for example telephone booths) because it is technically difficult to implement, but it might be implemented in the future, it's not considered critically important for the gameplay
- T-34-2 is unlikely to get buffed at this point
- it's possible Soviet IS-2 will appear as a tier 8 heavy tank
- there might be new premium arty vehicles, but not hightier ones
- SerB does play random battles on RU server, unfortunately it happens that when he appears in battle, his team goes "OMG WE GOT SERB NOW WE KILL EVERYONEOMG!!!!11111"
- ST-I won't be included in the "Lion of Sinai" medal, but it's possible Chinese IS-2 will
- there is a possibility that the field of Malinovka will be re-worked (SS: as in "made more bumpy") ("if it needs to be reworked, we'll do it")
- Q: "Will the second heavy French tank branch start from M4 (1945)?" A: "We'll see" - no info about when it'll come ("WIDID")
- the MM doesn't "prefer" any battle mode, if you have encounter and assault enabled, on average (SS: !!!!) they should be roughly equal
- SerB states that vast majority of lags is caused by ISP's, SerB advises the players to use "pingplotter" (SS: is that a word for packet tracing?)
- SerB doesn't use interface mods
- there is no difference (in splash) when the arty HE shell hits a spot near a tank and the tank is standing in water or on hard ground (SS: in other words, water does not reduce splash)
- there won't be another "Lion of Sinai"-like archievement for middle-east battles (Centurions...)
- Q: "Why won't there be a Stalingrad map? So that tollerant Europeans aren't offended?" A: "No, so idiots don't ask stupid questions such as 'why is there a map named Stalingrad in the Moscow CW province?' However, idiots will always find things to whine about."
- Chinese players do ask about more Chinese maps, but they don't ask Wargaming, they ask WG's Chinese partners
- British TD and arty branches are ready and will be introduced one after another, Chinese TD's (SS: and arty? not clear) have vehicles missing in mid tiers, the Chinese will have a TD based on the M5 Stuart that will quite possibly use its radio and engine (SS: it's basically a Stuart tank with turret removed and a 57mm gun (SU-76 style) installed in the frontal part), it's possible some other modules from other lowtier tanks will be used in the TD line also
- it's not yet decided whether and how crew perks/skill will work in historical battles
- it's possible Panzer B2 will appear in the gift shop (SS: Russian GS that is) during some special events, not guaranteed however
- (Premium) Type 59 might have its MM weight changed "if necessery"
- drawing distance (SS: NOT view range) depends on the angle and direction you are looking at (diagonally it's longer), it is however the same on all the maps
- SerB states that (Russian) players making clans with names like Totenkopf, Leibstandarte and Das Reich will not be banned straight away, because they are usually just little kiddie idiots. If they keep doing that, they get banned
- SerB is a Russian citizen - he doesn't have clear preference between Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, he might write a memory book when he retires
- autoaim works on both client- and server-side, it's practically useless when the target's movement is perpendicular to yours
- confirmed: new arty pieces (when the arty branch is prolonged to tier 10) do not have to be inserted after tier 6 or 7, but anywhere really, it's also not guaranteed that the economical model (profit, costs) of current tier 8 arties will remain the same at tier 10
- the average age of WG employees is 25-30, but the developers are somewhat older
- regarding the MM, MM does not guarantee you will get the opposite vehicles of the same weight, only the total team MM weights have to match
- other ideas of arty change were considered (SS: changes in the satellite view etc), but those were deemed bad
- new decals and writings might be introduced, possibly as awards (for something)
- ammo size is generally historical, with a few balance exceptions
- Leopard 1 will have the L7A3 gun, it will have "magical" golden HE rounds (SS: earlier HESH was mentioned), that will comply with Wargaming's historical data (SS: the underlining made by SerB)
- FCM50t has the profitability comparable to other tier 8 premium tanks
- Lowe won't be replaced by another tank (SS: no idea where that came from), players won't be able to sell premium tanks for gold
- Chinese IS-2's frontal armor angle is 60 degrees, the 90mm frontal armor is historical and so is the depression
- Q: "Will there be other German post-war vehicles apart from Leopard?" A: "If you find some right ones, we'll implement them"
- Russian WoT portal has the new version of US and French trees (Changes: French - 2nd medium line is gone, US - Christie tanks are gone)
- SLI support is being developed, the number of the patch where it will be is going to be announced
- there are no plans for 2nd tier 1 tanks
- Q: "Will there be a change in the high tier battle economy?" A: "If necessery - and we define what's necessery"
- SerB would like to have a project with a clearly defined "end" (when everything is done and implemented), he states that it is unfortunately not possible
- there might be a transition from the French heavy branch to the TD branch, not clear how
- some map elements are not penetreable (for example telephone booths) because it is technically difficult to implement, but it might be implemented in the future, it's not considered critically important for the gameplay
- T-34-2 is unlikely to get buffed at this point
- it's possible Soviet IS-2 will appear as a tier 8 heavy tank
Jan 23, 2013
How are the Chinse doing? RU server statistics
Number columns, from left to right: Amount of battles played total, amount of victories total, winrate, amount of tanks. What does it tell you? Compared to the introduction of the alternative US branch or even the British tanks, Chinese tanks are actually way more popular. As you can see, most people used free XP to skip straight to tier 5 and from there it goes roughly equally, although the heavy and light branches seem to be marginally more popular than the medium branch. However, considering the light and medium branch end up merging, altogether they are more successful than the heavy branch. How much - too early to tell.
Jan 22, 2013
The filth of the EU community
Hello everyone,
today, I am going to write about something pretty serious, at least in my eyes. As some of you know (and others might have figured out from the blogspot.cz domain), I am Czech. For quite some time (practically my whole WoT career, until December 2012) I was a part of the Czechoslovak community and I left for reasons unrelated to this article.
However, after more than a year spent on the official Czechoslovak forums, I must say that I consider the Czechoslovak community to be one of the worst EU server communities, possibly THE worst. While some members are quite nice people and great to talk to in real life and in the game (you know who you guys are, next beers are on me), I have never EVER in any other forum section (I generally go thru the German, Polish, sometimes French and naturally the overall english sections) seen such vile hostility, anti-semitic and anti-Polish rants and more. Especially the last issue seems to dominate the Clanwars, but not only that. Last November, during the Polish Independence event, the Czechoslovak thread about this was the only thread from what I could see that degraded into a vile anti-Polish rant. It was so bad the Polish community organizer had to come in and actually apologize for the Polish having the event. It was totally humiliating. I know I myself sometimes made "siemka" jokes in the English and Czechoslovak forum sections both, but this was just ugh....
Of course, it wasn't the only case. Only yesterday in an official forum CW thread some pretty vile comments sprung up. Everything started with player Cnnk (who is Czech, but also a member of a Polish clan) posting that certain Czechoslovak clan (CTB-P) spouted anti-Polish bullshit in Clanwars chat.
Translation: What happened yesterday on the CW channel around 21:45 ...that was again an example of the Czech cream of the crop - insulting Polish, insulting homosexuals, insulting the Jews... genocide, threats.. etc. I can take a lot, for in my whole time this was for the first time when I took screenshots a bit and sent a support ticket ....some people should really think on their behavior - especially the CTB-P clan, of which most of the offenders came, including its leadership...
Well, it didn't stop there. The mentioned clan came to have a "nice chat" in that thread.
Translation: And we can get insulted by the Polish? You didn't see that? You cowshit... don't forget to send screenies to support, you collaborator. It was a Polak who provoked it, you didn't see that? How do we calculate the escape velocity of a Jew from a concentration camp? The height of the chimney + wind velocity. PS: black humor
As you can see, such "jokes" of poor taste are not banned from the CZ section of EU server. At least not for a while - I really hope the Czech mods will pull their shit together and ban these fuckers. If there is something I really can't stand, it's antisemitism. Also, as you can see, a Czech player playing with the Polish players is not tolerated and is called a "collaborator" (as in "with the enemy"). Anyway, Cnnk reacted by stating he'd like them to get banned for this, because they behave like pigs. The reaction came swiftly:
Translation: For cNNk - Pigs? Are you normal? Looks like my taxes are paying for the computers in Bohnice mental asylum! That's where you belong, for starters. You aren't supposed to talk about us, you asshole! Mind your own business and keep us away from your conversation, did someone attack you? If you don't like what we write in the chat, leave and go play tic tac toe... you'd be better off with other mental retards talking about new pills! You are a complete shit, who acts like a nations delegate! The worst people come from Poland and that's a fact, but everyone gets mad when they hear the truth. Go play in a sandbox and don't talk about us you pig! Or the Polaks (SS: "pšonci" is a derogatory Czech term for Polish) will learn what "Vanďák" is. (SS: Vanďák is a local name for the town of Varnsdorf, which is partially Polish - basically it's a call for national conflict).
And to top it off, one last player from the same clan posted a really nice wish:
Translation: We might not be a better race, but to meet such a collaborating cripple like you are.... I can only say a few words... take a pill and change the tyres on your wheelchair and go play with your own kind and I think the avatar you are using is your authentic photo and that speaks for itself.
Nice, isn't it? This is not an isolated incident. This sort of shit happened several times in the past. I have never seen such crap in other sections. Anywhere. To be fair, other "usual" forum members didn't approve of this crap, but this is why the Czechoslovak community has (often rightfully) the reputation of one of the worst and most aggressive communities of WoT. Yes, I do not like them in general. That much is known and after the "Czechout incident" and their reaction to it, I like them even less. But that doesn't change the fact that this sort of shit really shouldn't happen.
today, I am going to write about something pretty serious, at least in my eyes. As some of you know (and others might have figured out from the blogspot.cz domain), I am Czech. For quite some time (practically my whole WoT career, until December 2012) I was a part of the Czechoslovak community and I left for reasons unrelated to this article.
However, after more than a year spent on the official Czechoslovak forums, I must say that I consider the Czechoslovak community to be one of the worst EU server communities, possibly THE worst. While some members are quite nice people and great to talk to in real life and in the game (you know who you guys are, next beers are on me), I have never EVER in any other forum section (I generally go thru the German, Polish, sometimes French and naturally the overall english sections) seen such vile hostility, anti-semitic and anti-Polish rants and more. Especially the last issue seems to dominate the Clanwars, but not only that. Last November, during the Polish Independence event, the Czechoslovak thread about this was the only thread from what I could see that degraded into a vile anti-Polish rant. It was so bad the Polish community organizer had to come in and actually apologize for the Polish having the event. It was totally humiliating. I know I myself sometimes made "siemka" jokes in the English and Czechoslovak forum sections both, but this was just ugh....
Of course, it wasn't the only case. Only yesterday in an official forum CW thread some pretty vile comments sprung up. Everything started with player Cnnk (who is Czech, but also a member of a Polish clan) posting that certain Czechoslovak clan (CTB-P) spouted anti-Polish bullshit in Clanwars chat.
Translation: What happened yesterday on the CW channel around 21:45 ...that was again an example of the Czech cream of the crop - insulting Polish, insulting homosexuals, insulting the Jews... genocide, threats.. etc. I can take a lot, for in my whole time this was for the first time when I took screenshots a bit and sent a support ticket ....some people should really think on their behavior - especially the CTB-P clan, of which most of the offenders came, including its leadership...
Well, it didn't stop there. The mentioned clan came to have a "nice chat" in that thread.
As you can see, such "jokes" of poor taste are not banned from the CZ section of EU server. At least not for a while - I really hope the Czech mods will pull their shit together and ban these fuckers. If there is something I really can't stand, it's antisemitism. Also, as you can see, a Czech player playing with the Polish players is not tolerated and is called a "collaborator" (as in "with the enemy"). Anyway, Cnnk reacted by stating he'd like them to get banned for this, because they behave like pigs. The reaction came swiftly:
Translation: For cNNk - Pigs? Are you normal? Looks like my taxes are paying for the computers in Bohnice mental asylum! That's where you belong, for starters. You aren't supposed to talk about us, you asshole! Mind your own business and keep us away from your conversation, did someone attack you? If you don't like what we write in the chat, leave and go play tic tac toe... you'd be better off with other mental retards talking about new pills! You are a complete shit, who acts like a nations delegate! The worst people come from Poland and that's a fact, but everyone gets mad when they hear the truth. Go play in a sandbox and don't talk about us you pig! Or the Polaks (SS: "pšonci" is a derogatory Czech term for Polish) will learn what "Vanďák" is. (SS: Vanďák is a local name for the town of Varnsdorf, which is partially Polish - basically it's a call for national conflict).
And to top it off, one last player from the same clan posted a really nice wish:
Translation: We might not be a better race, but to meet such a collaborating cripple like you are.... I can only say a few words... take a pill and change the tyres on your wheelchair and go play with your own kind and I think the avatar you are using is your authentic photo and that speaks for itself.
Nice, isn't it? This is not an isolated incident. This sort of shit happened several times in the past. I have never seen such crap in other sections. Anywhere. To be fair, other "usual" forum members didn't approve of this crap, but this is why the Czechoslovak community has (often rightfully) the reputation of one of the worst and most aggressive communities of WoT. Yes, I do not like them in general. That much is known and after the "Czechout incident" and their reaction to it, I like them even less. But that doesn't change the fact that this sort of shit really shouldn't happen.
Storm writes on the topic of maps for the third time
A reaction and summary of cca 500 player posts written under the previous article (Storm summarizes the player input)
"Negative vote" leaders (maps considered worst by players)
- Dragon's Ridge (bad gameplay in general, only a small part of the map used)
- Port - annoying tank "rocking" when driving over the railway all the time, annoying "maze" of railroad wagons, upper spawn area easily scoutable (lighteable) by scouts on the bridge, lower spawn area too difficult to scout and to shoot at
- Serene Coast - too few ways to attack, often ends up in a "standoff", the hill is dominating too much
- South Coast - generally considered as "bad", many players are annoyed by the map being labyrinth-like
- Widepark - railroad camping, arties die too fast, the upper side gets scouted too quick
Negative moments of the other maps, that are frequently mentioned by players
- Ruinberg - make the roads straighter (SS: possible sense also "not so full of holes") and to remove the broken terrain in the east open part
- Karelia - too much broken terrain (SS: "bumpy")
- Abbey - too bumpy on the left flank (SS: Russians call it "the ear"), one base can be scouted easier than the other
- Prokhorovka - too bumpy, players complain mainly about the field part
- El-Halluf - too bumpy on the slopes, too little cover from arty
- Redshire - too little cover from arty after the middle "ridge" was lowered, the northern side is dominating
- Highway - southern team has it more difficult to go to the city, there is the railroad and not enough cover for one side
- Cliff - players are annoyed by the fact that scouts can reach the mountain now - if the teams generally have slow tanks, a scout from the northern team can easily get on the top of the mountain and light up the entire map from there
Most frequent wishes
- open maps such as the Steppes
- more sand and snow maps
- more clean city maps, such as the Himmelsdorf
- many players wish special maps designed for the new modes
Individual bugs
- crossing the railway - there was already one case of fail on the test server where on the Ensk map, while crossing the railroad, you rock the tank so much that actually you get stuck under one of the rails, this is just an example of railroad bugs
- small tanks, such as the Somua get stuck on the railways often, M41 got also stuck badly in some situations
Also unpopular is the inability to destroy the house accessories, such as the stairs, ladders etc., it's considered a nonsense that stairs can stop a 50 ton tank going full speed ahead. And also the indestructible tractor.
SS: So much for the article, this whole thing (asking players what they want) is Storm's own private initiative - after that, he'll take the results as an input for the map-making developer section. The results of this debate will be discussed with the mapmakers tomorrow. Russians also cry out for more "Russian-themed" maps, but that's not really considered as the maps are made for all the regions.
This post and the fact
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