Feb 27, 2013
27.2.2013
As you know, the patch 8.4 has been announced (comes out tomorrow on Russian server). English full patchnotes for example here.
- when the enemy tanks damagets your periscope (rangefinder, vision device) while being out of range for the damaged visor (but not the repaired one), it will disappear with the next cycle of visibility check (SS: the visibility checks frequency varies from splits of second to up to 3 seconds I think)
- damaging the rangefinder (periscope, visor) works even for open-topped vehicles (SS: there it apparently counts as the binoculars being destroyed)
- the top German (Bundeswehr) LT's and meds won't be Bundeswehr-green, they will be gray
- the devs won't remove the possibility of changing your tank models (remodelling)
- HESH shells in game work just like HE shells, this won't change
- Q: "There are rumors the IS-7 will have the speed increased in 8.5, is it true?" A: "Interesting, where did you here these rumors?" (and after the player posted the source - some blog post) "Ah, okay. Not rumors. I don't read posts/suggestion for tank rebalance at all, because history shows that they're wrong in 99 percent of cases."
- no plans to allow the crews to retrain for tanks of other nations, not even for gold
- there is no special medal for dealing damage, as dealing damage is already rewarded with silver
- Conqueror will not be made a premium tank
- torque isn't take into consideration when calculating engine performance
- Leopard and Luchs don't have historically drum-autoloaders, but magazines
- VK3002DB a part of the second medium branch? "Wait for official announcement"
- the VK7201 FaiLowe isn't a fake (confirmed by Storm)
- New branch of German heavies planned? "No comment"
- Sturmtiger will not come in 2013
Poll results
Alright, the first FTR poll is officially over. What are its results?
First and foremost, lets look at Overlord's poll - after all, it was the inspiration for the one of mine. Overlord asked, what kinds of tanks do we want. His results were:
Votes: 2017
Expansion of current trees: 40 percent
Japanese tree: 16 percent
Mixed EU tree: 24 percent
Separated EU minitrees: 12 percent
Something else: 5 percent
This is a general result for the EU and NA server - I assume those are the people who read Overlord's blog. The "expansion of current trees" victory is not surprising - after all, this category includes the Leopard 1 branch, the German TD's, the British Firefly and other highly-requested vehicles. I am rather sure that if Overlord asked after their introduction, the results would be a lot, lot lower.
The result of the Japanese tree come (IMHO) mostly from the US server - while the US community has a strong "faction" focusing on Japanese tanks, such a "faction" is missing on the EU server. Altogether the Japanese tree result is unsurprising - if anything, I expected it to be lower (since the US server has nowhere near as many players as the EU one).
EU tree results - altogether 36 percent - are not surprising either. After all, 2 out of 3 biggest EU communities (Czech and Polish) don't have their own vehicles yet (unless you count the Panzer 35t and 38t, used by Germans, which is not exactly the same thing as having Czechoslovak crews). What is surprising is the difference between Overlord's poll and FTR poll. Here's how the FTR poll ended:
EU tree - what would you prefer?
Votes: 2006
First and foremost, lets look at Overlord's poll - after all, it was the inspiration for the one of mine. Overlord asked, what kinds of tanks do we want. His results were:
Votes: 2017
Expansion of current trees: 40 percent
Japanese tree: 16 percent
Mixed EU tree: 24 percent
Separated EU minitrees: 12 percent
Something else: 5 percent
This is a general result for the EU and NA server - I assume those are the people who read Overlord's blog. The "expansion of current trees" victory is not surprising - after all, this category includes the Leopard 1 branch, the German TD's, the British Firefly and other highly-requested vehicles. I am rather sure that if Overlord asked after their introduction, the results would be a lot, lot lower.
The result of the Japanese tree come (IMHO) mostly from the US server - while the US community has a strong "faction" focusing on Japanese tanks, such a "faction" is missing on the EU server. Altogether the Japanese tree result is unsurprising - if anything, I expected it to be lower (since the US server has nowhere near as many players as the EU one).
EU tree results - altogether 36 percent - are not surprising either. After all, 2 out of 3 biggest EU communities (Czech and Polish) don't have their own vehicles yet (unless you count the Panzer 35t and 38t, used by Germans, which is not exactly the same thing as having Czechoslovak crews). What is surprising is the difference between Overlord's poll and FTR poll. Here's how the FTR poll ended:
EU tree - what would you prefer?
Votes: 2006
Separate smaller national trees: 43 percent
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One big EU supertree with everything mashed together: 56 percent
Here, the difference between audiences probably takes place. Only about 15 percent of this blog's readers are Americans, the rest is Europe and Asia (China, Vietnam, Hongkong, Korea - altogether roughly 5 percent). Thus, it can be concluded that the Europeans are much more in favour of the separate national minitrees than Americans (roughly 50:50), while Americans would prefer one big EU tree (roughly 75:25 or even more). This is logical due to the EU server demography.
It is already decided that the Japanese tree will come first (possibly end of 2013 or early 2014), but I really hope Wargaming takes a long hard look at their EU pre-concept and will start working on series of minitrees, leaving only the most exotic vehicles for the "EU mashup". After all, considering we do now have a Chinese tree (even though the Chinese civil war was brutal, original Chinese World of Tanks vehicles had very little impact on the world history of tank designs), Polish, Czechoslovak, Italian, Swedish, possibly Hungarian and other vehicles do warrant their own separate minitree as a tribute to the tank history contribution
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Feb 26, 2013
26.2.2013
- each crewmember gets as much XP for the fight as the tank does (unless a crewmember is wounded)
- AMX-13/90 reload time won't be lowered from 40 to 35s
- at some point, the balance weight of the vehicles of different class but same tier (for HT, MT, TD) might be the same (not soon)
"The mods strike back" - Storm writes on the mods topic
The mods strike back
(by Storm)
As a followup to the previous post:
After reading some of the comments under the article, it became clear to me, that when using some sort of weird logic (brain process), it's possible to somehow draw a conclusion from my post that we want to "ban all mods!". I'd like to make this matter clear.
The amount of mods is increasing. The amount of players using them is increasing too. Mods are appearing - both useful and quite harmful to the game. We want to put some order in all of it. Our goal is not to "ban everything". We will analyze the available mods, their popularity and so on. Noone will "fire from the hip" and ban everything just so, or just because "SerB and Storm feel like it." We will investigate them carefully. Some mods (often used and not harmful to the game) we will even implement in the client - which ones we will officially decide, for some things (mostly the interface) we will make my own mod-API, we will also re-work the EULA (so there's no schizophrenia) and we will ban some harmful mods.
Short version:
No need to get hysterical. We'll try to talk straight with the modders and to make this right.
From the discussion:
- it's not decided that all modifications of *.ryc files will be banned (as previously deduced). It's just an idea, currently under evaluation, the previous "ban announcement" was trolling
- the devs are thinking about official mod builds, but there is a problem with support of those during new patches
- dynamic tank properties in garage: when it's done it's done (SS:unrelated to the discussion)
- Storm himself plays without mods
- currently, the most likely first mod to be implemented according to Storm is the reload timer
- Storm describes how to fight laser pointer mod: "It's for example possible to check the gun length in the runtime, if it's longer than for example 30 meters, it doesn't get rendered"
(by Storm)
As a followup to the previous post:
After reading some of the comments under the article, it became clear to me, that when using some sort of weird logic (brain process), it's possible to somehow draw a conclusion from my post that we want to "ban all mods!". I'd like to make this matter clear.
The amount of mods is increasing. The amount of players using them is increasing too. Mods are appearing - both useful and quite harmful to the game. We want to put some order in all of it. Our goal is not to "ban everything". We will analyze the available mods, their popularity and so on. Noone will "fire from the hip" and ban everything just so, or just because "SerB and Storm feel like it." We will investigate them carefully. Some mods (often used and not harmful to the game) we will even implement in the client - which ones we will officially decide, for some things (mostly the interface) we will make my own mod-API, we will also re-work the EULA (so there's no schizophrenia) and we will ban some harmful mods.
Short version:
No need to get hysterical. We'll try to talk straight with the modders and to make this right.
From the discussion:
- it's not decided that all modifications of *.ryc files will be banned (as previously deduced). It's just an idea, currently under evaluation, the previous "ban announcement" was trolling
- the devs are thinking about official mod builds, but there is a problem with support of those during new patches
- dynamic tank properties in garage: when it's done it's done (SS:unrelated to the discussion)
- Storm himself plays without mods
- currently, the most likely first mod to be implemented according to Storm is the reload timer
- Storm describes how to fight laser pointer mod: "It's for example possible to check the gun length in the runtime, if it's longer than for example 30 meters, it doesn't get rendered"
Another fake Sturmtiger
Source: http://wotbase.ru/archives/2331/%D1%88%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%BC%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B3%D1%80.html
It's a fake.
My contact confirmed no such thing is being supertested. Additionally, screenshots from supertest contain watermarks, visible when the picture is blue-shifted in photoshop to identify leaks. This one doesn't have it. Most likely a changed model. Same goes for the "E-25".
Not much to the story. The server wotbase.ru released an info, that the Sturmtiger is being supertested, alongwith this picture:
It's a fake.
My contact confirmed no such thing is being supertested. Additionally, screenshots from supertest contain watermarks, visible when the picture is blue-shifted in photoshop to identify leaks. This one doesn't have it. Most likely a changed model. Same goes for the "E-25".
Aufklärungspanzer Panther - tier 7 LT
Hello everyone,
yesterday it has been sort-of confirmed (well, confirmed again) by Storm that Wargaming has not abandoned the tier 7 light tank Aufklärungspanzer Panther idea. As an upgrade to the VK2801, it sort of fits - it's big, heavy and cumbersome. Let's have a look at this vehicle.
History
Not a lot is known about the recon Panther. It was a project from early 1942. W.Spielberger in his book "Panther and its variants" (Panther und seine Abarten) states:
"Also worth mentioning here is a recommendation by the Ministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion from 1942, calling for the Panther to be built as a recoinnaissance vehicle along with the planned Leopard combat recoinnaissance vehicle. The turret under consideration had originally been developed by Daimler-Benz for the 8-wheeled Panzerspähwagen ARK. With somewhat increased armor, it was to be used on both the Leopard and Panther recoinnaissance vehicles."
So, as you can see, it was basically a Panther hull with the Leopard turret. It was to be armed with a new 50mm gun, using the KwK 39 L/60 barrel - the contract for development of this gun was awarded to Krupp and Rheinmetall in January 1942. First units were scheduled to be manufactured in October/November 1942, but the development never really continued, it stayed in the "that's a cool idea" phase, much like other German projects. And that's basically it. Not much else is known for sure. We can however look at the planned properties of this vehicle, based on the research.
What would be the point of even proposing such a massive vehicle. Books don't mention this specifically, but after consulting some people, who are big fans of the German vehicles, we came up with following conclusions:
- existing Panther plants, making a Panther based vehicle is cheaper than building a new plant just for that one tank
- the Panther hull was only marginally more expensive than the Panzer IV hull (note that by 1945, Panzer IV's were scheduled for phasing out and were to be replaced by the Panthers)
- the engines and drivetrains were already there also
Properties
Historically, the Panther belongs BEFORE the VK2801 (VK2801 was a later project), therefore we can theoretize it will be heavier (otherwise putting it on tier 7 instead of 6 makes no sense), which means the hull will most likely have the full armor of the Panther.
The turret is more interesting. Spielberger mentions a Leopard turret, while Hilary Doyle (in his Panzer Tracts 20-2) mentions several types of Leopard turrets. The most common variant is already in World of Tanks. Doyle mentions that the turret is very similiar to the Sd.Kfz.234/2 turret (a heavy armored car with a 50mm gun). The turret had 50mm frontal armor sloped at 20 degrees, the sides are 30mm thick at 30 degrees. It's quite possible the ingame AP will use this as a stock turret (quite sure in fact, because the Leopard turret is the most historical option) and the VK2801-ish turret as an upgrade. Second option is the Schmalturm (unlikely, this would make the Panther practically a clone of the medium one). Third option is the Beobachtungsturm (from the artillery vehicle, I'll get to that later).
The gun - all we know it was supposed to be a 50mm L/60 - Doyle uses the KwK 39/1 designation. Its (ingame) properties are unknown, but unlikely to differ from the KwK 39, because most of the work was focused on pressing it into the smaller turret. It's also unlikely that the vehicle will be armed only with a 50mm gun. I think that when we look at other tier 7 light tanks, we can expect the (unhistorical but necessery at this point) 75mm L/70 gun. Personally, I very much doubt the 88 will make an appearance, as this would require a massive turret (some sort of Schmalturm), making the vehicle basically a copy of the medium Panther. L/70 seems to be an acceptable compromise.
Engine - well, this is where the big difference will assumingly lie. I think we can assume the original stock engine to be the HL210/HL230 (650-750hp). The top engine - my guess would be the HL234. This 750hp (Spielberger states 850hp) engine was used in Panther II variant under the designation Gerät 544. Now, I am not sure it would fit into the AP, but we can definitely expect stronger engines than the ones of the medium Panther. Another option would be the MB507 (850hp) Panther variant, considered for Panther Ausf.G. A rather exotic option would be the GT 101 gas turbine (1150 horsepower).
How does it fit together, what can we expect ingame?
Please note that this part is a pure speculation. Basically, what we can expect would be a very heavy "light" tank, possibly a passive scout.
First, let's have a look at how the vehicle will move. Let's take the 8.3 (!) VK2801 as a comparison (because not everyone had the possibility to test the 8.4 one). The VK2801, in its top configuration, has roughly 26,1 hp per ton (this influences the acceleration a lot, but also the steering to some extent).
And what about the Aufklärungspanzer Panther? Let's say it'll have the Leopard turret, 50mm gun, a 750hp engine (eg. a somewhat stock variant).
Stock ingame Panther weights 44,9 tons. Let's say we remove the gun and the turret, that's 33,56 tons left. Next, we add the ingame weight of the 50mm L/60 and the Leopard turret, that's 37,26 tons. And as final touch, let's add the best radio (+80kg) and upgrade the engine to 750hp HL 230, that's another 80kg. So, total weight, 37,34 tons for 750hp, that's nearly exactly 20hp per ton
To compare:
Aufklärungspanzer Panther - 20hp/ton
VK2801 (8.3) - 26,23hp/ton
Leopard (8.3) - cca 25hp/ton in its top configuration
AMX-13/75 - cca 20hp/ton in its top configuration
WZ-131 - cca 23,3hp/ton in its top configuration
Well, it seems like the Aufklärungspanzer Panther is not THAT bad, even though it sure looks big and heavy. If we upgrade the engine even more (HL234, 750kg, 870hp ingame), we'll get at 23,3hp/ton and that's really not terrible. A fun fact: if Wargaming decided to go wild and install the GT 101 jet turbine engine (450kg, 1150hp), we'd get whopping 31hp/ton.
What is NOT the Aufklärungspanzer Panther
There was one more proposal based on the Panther chassis, shown in Doyle's Panzer Tracts 20-2: the "Artillerie-Panzer-Beobachtungswagen Fahrgestell Panther". Basically it was an armored artillery spotter post based on the Panther hull - there were several turrets considered, including a modified regular Panther turret with a 50mm KwK 39/1 L/60 gun, or a special Beobachtungsturm (I mentioned in the turret section). Most turret options were however equipped with a mock-up wooden gun. The vehicle was equipped with very advanced series of optics, including a rangefinder, so it can be expected the viewrange of such a turret in WoT would be very high. This is how it looked:
And here a closeup of the turret
(photos uploaded by Vito_Von_Bang, EU forum, originally from Panzer Tracts 20-2)
Summary:
Hard to tell, how will WG implement this vehicle. Could be a relatively decent tank, could be a disaster. Let's hope it's the first.
yesterday it has been sort-of confirmed (well, confirmed again) by Storm that Wargaming has not abandoned the tier 7 light tank Aufklärungspanzer Panther idea. As an upgrade to the VK2801, it sort of fits - it's big, heavy and cumbersome. Let's have a look at this vehicle.
History
Not a lot is known about the recon Panther. It was a project from early 1942. W.Spielberger in his book "Panther and its variants" (Panther und seine Abarten) states:
"Also worth mentioning here is a recommendation by the Ministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion from 1942, calling for the Panther to be built as a recoinnaissance vehicle along with the planned Leopard combat recoinnaissance vehicle. The turret under consideration had originally been developed by Daimler-Benz for the 8-wheeled Panzerspähwagen ARK. With somewhat increased armor, it was to be used on both the Leopard and Panther recoinnaissance vehicles."
So, as you can see, it was basically a Panther hull with the Leopard turret. It was to be armed with a new 50mm gun, using the KwK 39 L/60 barrel - the contract for development of this gun was awarded to Krupp and Rheinmetall in January 1942. First units were scheduled to be manufactured in October/November 1942, but the development never really continued, it stayed in the "that's a cool idea" phase, much like other German projects. And that's basically it. Not much else is known for sure. We can however look at the planned properties of this vehicle, based on the research.
What would be the point of even proposing such a massive vehicle. Books don't mention this specifically, but after consulting some people, who are big fans of the German vehicles, we came up with following conclusions:
- existing Panther plants, making a Panther based vehicle is cheaper than building a new plant just for that one tank
- the Panther hull was only marginally more expensive than the Panzer IV hull (note that by 1945, Panzer IV's were scheduled for phasing out and were to be replaced by the Panthers)
- the engines and drivetrains were already there also
Properties
Historically, the Panther belongs BEFORE the VK2801 (VK2801 was a later project), therefore we can theoretize it will be heavier (otherwise putting it on tier 7 instead of 6 makes no sense), which means the hull will most likely have the full armor of the Panther.
The turret is more interesting. Spielberger mentions a Leopard turret, while Hilary Doyle (in his Panzer Tracts 20-2) mentions several types of Leopard turrets. The most common variant is already in World of Tanks. Doyle mentions that the turret is very similiar to the Sd.Kfz.234/2 turret (a heavy armored car with a 50mm gun). The turret had 50mm frontal armor sloped at 20 degrees, the sides are 30mm thick at 30 degrees. It's quite possible the ingame AP will use this as a stock turret (quite sure in fact, because the Leopard turret is the most historical option) and the VK2801-ish turret as an upgrade. Second option is the Schmalturm (unlikely, this would make the Panther practically a clone of the medium one). Third option is the Beobachtungsturm (from the artillery vehicle, I'll get to that later).
The gun - all we know it was supposed to be a 50mm L/60 - Doyle uses the KwK 39/1 designation. Its (ingame) properties are unknown, but unlikely to differ from the KwK 39, because most of the work was focused on pressing it into the smaller turret. It's also unlikely that the vehicle will be armed only with a 50mm gun. I think that when we look at other tier 7 light tanks, we can expect the (unhistorical but necessery at this point) 75mm L/70 gun. Personally, I very much doubt the 88 will make an appearance, as this would require a massive turret (some sort of Schmalturm), making the vehicle basically a copy of the medium Panther. L/70 seems to be an acceptable compromise.
Engine - well, this is where the big difference will assumingly lie. I think we can assume the original stock engine to be the HL210/HL230 (650-750hp). The top engine - my guess would be the HL234. This 750hp (Spielberger states 850hp) engine was used in Panther II variant under the designation Gerät 544. Now, I am not sure it would fit into the AP, but we can definitely expect stronger engines than the ones of the medium Panther. Another option would be the MB507 (850hp) Panther variant, considered for Panther Ausf.G. A rather exotic option would be the GT 101 gas turbine (1150 horsepower).
How does it fit together, what can we expect ingame?
Please note that this part is a pure speculation. Basically, what we can expect would be a very heavy "light" tank, possibly a passive scout.
First, let's have a look at how the vehicle will move. Let's take the 8.3 (!) VK2801 as a comparison (because not everyone had the possibility to test the 8.4 one). The VK2801, in its top configuration, has roughly 26,1 hp per ton (this influences the acceleration a lot, but also the steering to some extent).
And what about the Aufklärungspanzer Panther? Let's say it'll have the Leopard turret, 50mm gun, a 750hp engine (eg. a somewhat stock variant).
Stock ingame Panther weights 44,9 tons. Let's say we remove the gun and the turret, that's 33,56 tons left. Next, we add the ingame weight of the 50mm L/60 and the Leopard turret, that's 37,26 tons. And as final touch, let's add the best radio (+80kg) and upgrade the engine to 750hp HL 230, that's another 80kg. So, total weight, 37,34 tons for 750hp, that's nearly exactly 20hp per ton
To compare:
Aufklärungspanzer Panther - 20hp/ton
VK2801 (8.3) - 26,23hp/ton
Leopard (8.3) - cca 25hp/ton in its top configuration
AMX-13/75 - cca 20hp/ton in its top configuration
WZ-131 - cca 23,3hp/ton in its top configuration
Well, it seems like the Aufklärungspanzer Panther is not THAT bad, even though it sure looks big and heavy. If we upgrade the engine even more (HL234, 750kg, 870hp ingame), we'll get at 23,3hp/ton and that's really not terrible. A fun fact: if Wargaming decided to go wild and install the GT 101 jet turbine engine (450kg, 1150hp), we'd get whopping 31hp/ton.
What is NOT the Aufklärungspanzer Panther
There was one more proposal based on the Panther chassis, shown in Doyle's Panzer Tracts 20-2: the "Artillerie-Panzer-Beobachtungswagen Fahrgestell Panther". Basically it was an armored artillery spotter post based on the Panther hull - there were several turrets considered, including a modified regular Panther turret with a 50mm KwK 39/1 L/60 gun, or a special Beobachtungsturm (I mentioned in the turret section). Most turret options were however equipped with a mock-up wooden gun. The vehicle was equipped with very advanced series of optics, including a rangefinder, so it can be expected the viewrange of such a turret in WoT would be very high. This is how it looked:
And here a closeup of the turret
(photos uploaded by Vito_Von_Bang, EU forum, originally from Panzer Tracts 20-2)
Summary:
Hard to tell, how will WG implement this vehicle. Could be a relatively decent tank, could be a disaster. Let's hope it's the first.
Feb 25, 2013
25.2.2013
- it's theoretically possible 8.4 on RU server will come this week (SS: a very weak hint)
- the render range of tanks might be prolonged, but not anytime soon (definitely not this year)
- no tier 9 premium tanks
- Aufklärungspanzer Panther confirmed, both it and the RU251 will be light tanks, but that's all the info the devs will release for now
- there will be no special reward for setting a record result on a tank (SS: meant server-wide record)
- dynamic map objects (SS: for example random positions of various bushes, trees, wrecks) are not planned
- Q: "Why don't you make such a skill MM as DOTA has?" A: "Well, you can always return to it"
- according to SerB, there are no overpowered premium tanks in the game, because selling them would be less profitable than the current regular grind system
- there will be a new replay system - the replays will be stored on the World of Tanks server for a limited time (when it's done it's done)
- SerB states that overall, the gold ammo for silver had little effect on balance of tanks
- SerB is currently in Charleston, North Carolina
- there will definitely be no arty introduced in next couple of months (excluding Sexton, the answer was meant for the tier 10 arty)
Also, as you have already read perhaps, there is a new mod policy going to be implemented. Overlord talks about it on his blog, but so does Storm. Storm's post was actually translated by Overlord, so I won't post that here, but here are some points from Storm's post discussion:
- there will be new extended statistics introduced for each player (for example split of company and random battles statistics)
- apparently the "Damocles sword" artillery aim helper is a cheat according to Storm
- it's theoretically passible 2D hitzone skins will be banned too, it's still discussed
- ENB and SweetFX "shader injectors" (whatever that is) are legal
- if I understand this correctly, "zoom mod" (sniper mode zoom more than usual) will be banned also
- Storm plans to implement "special checking of client files and other measures", will work for bots
Please keep in mind I can be wrong in these translations. Storm and others are using IT lingo I don't understand even in English.
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