Friday 27 December 2013

More T95E6 screenies

Few more shots of the model. Looks finished so we should expect this extra mini-branch soon.


I can already notice a number of protection issues.

Turret front lacks the large gun shield that saves patton so often. Yes - its better shaped, but until we know the actual thickness  i'd say thats a problem for hull down.

 The bigger problem for hull down is right on top - a huge tumor turret. I don't like the looks of that turret roof either...it might just end up like the FV4202.

Hull has better angle than the Patton at least
 Not sure about the gun depression too, but it looks like it will be ok. God knows - this tank will need it!
Turret sides look vulnerable too - you will have to keep your gun trained on the enemy at all times if you want to bounce.

Thursday 26 December 2013

New US tier X med tank T95E6


WoT news says 2000 HP, 120mm gun from E5 and decent maneuverability.




First of all - expect it to be part of a new line, probably starting at tier 8 - like the new russian meds.

There is already an ingame icon for T95E2 which is a predecessor prototype with 90mm gun and patton turret. It will probably be the tier 9.

So what I can dig about it. Front hull is at 65 degrees - 95mm armor, so don't expect miracles. About 550-600 horsepowers in the engines of the earlier versions - no idea how heavy it is though. Keep in mind - it might get a bigger one. I'd say -  nimbler Patton with a more accurate weapon?

I know Wargaming said - long break from implementing new tech trees after japanese, but a small branch looks doable. Even for them...

Saturday 21 December 2013

New paper model - Chu Ni

With the coming of the japanese line, another printable paper model has been published.

This time its a Chu Ni tank.





https://worldoftanks.ru/dcont/fb/media/models/017_chi-nu_v01.pdf


And yes - there are figures for the crew inside the pdf - adjusted to scale of the tank and yes Wargaming is banking hard on Girls und Panzer popularity.


Oh and it seems those guys are responsible for the models http://worldofpapertanks.com/ site is under construction though, and the forum is in russian only.

Patch 8.10 coming in Monday

And here are the notes



  • Added Japanese Tech Tree:
    • Renault Otsu, Tier I Light Tank. (Credited upon release to accounts of all registered players with 100% trained crew and garage slot)
    • Type 95 Ha-Go, Tier II Light Tank
    • Type 98 Ke-Ni, Tier III Light Tank
    • Type 5 Ke-Ho, Tier IV Light Tank
    • Chi-Ni, Tier II Medium Tank
    • Type 97 Chi-Ha, Tier III Medium Tank
    • Type 1 Chi-He, Tier IV Medium Tank
    • Type 3 Chi-NU, Tier V Medium Tank
    • Type 4 Chi-To, Tier VI Medium Tank
    • Type 5 Chi-Ri, Tier VII Medium Tank
    • STA-1, Tier VIII Medium Tank
    • Type 61 Tier IX Medium Tank
    • STB-1, Tier X Medium Tank.
  • Added high tier USSR Medium Tanks:
    • Object 430 Variant II, Tier IX
    • Object 430, Tier X
  • Japanese premium Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai tank added to the in-game shop (Tier V)
  • Chinese premium 'Type 64' light tank added to the in-game shop (Tier VI)
  • New map in Japanese setting - 'Hidden village'. Some parameters: 1000mx1000m large, in a spring setting with a village in the valley.

Gameplay and Mechanics

  •  'Port' map removed from random battles
  • Reworked and/or fixed several gameplay moments on 'Karelia', 'Mines', 'El-Halluf', 'Airfield' and 'Steppes' maps.
  • Added possibility that AP and APCR shells can go through 'small' objects like fences, benches, columns etc. With object penetration, the final armour-penetration parameter of the shell will be decreased and the object will be destroyed. 
  • Added a +5% coefficient to XP received in the 'Team Battle' game mode
  • Changed the way a player’s personal rating is calculated (detailed guide will be provided soon)
  • Removed crediting of Battle Hero achievements, Epic Achievements, Commemorative Achievements, several medals and titles of Honour: 'Survivor', 'Kamikaze', 'Invincible', 'Raider', 'Bombardier', 'Reaper' and 'Sharpshooter' from Tank Company battles.
  • 'Ranger' moved to Epic Achievements and renamed as Naidin's medal

Changes in Vehicles and Balancing

  • Fixed turret shape of T69 and T54E1
  • Fixed model of frontal armour 'nose' of Lorraine 40t. tank
  • Fixed earlier drowning of German Rhm.-Borsig Waffenträger TD
  • Changed longitude of 12.8cm Rhm.-Borsig Waffenträger TD gun
  • Added welds and 'window' for reticle of the Waffenträger auf E 100 hatch
  • Improved suspension quality for all tanks on IS and KV basis (including all modifications of these tanks).
  • Fixed small incorrect points of damage and visual models of Conqueror and Panzerjäger I vehicles
  • Fixed the longitude of E-50 guns, which was incorrect since the rework of the gun mantlets
  • Fixed small issues with visual models of the Rhm.-Borsig Waffentrager, Pz.Sfl. V, IS-6, StuG III, Object 416, AMX 50 B, M4 Sherman and T1 Heavy Tank.
  • Fixed incorrect size of the Ferdinand TD
  • Returned the possibility of repairing the turret-turning mechanism on the Waffentrager auf Pz. IV.
  • Added slot for second emblem to the Panther II tank for both turrets
  • Added slot for second emblem to the E-50 tank’s first turret
  • Fixed design of 76mm Gun M1A1 mounted on the T1 Heavy Tank
Chinese tanks:
Type 2597 Chi-Ha:
  • Elevation angle for the 45mm 20K gun changed from 21 to 20 degrees
  • Elevation angle for the 57mm Gun Type 97 changed from 21 to 20 degrees
  • Traverse speed for the Type 97 turret changed from 44 to 30.
  • Elevation angle for the 47mm Gun Type 1 changed from 21 to 20 degrees 
  • Traverse speed for the Type 97-Kai turret changed from 46 to 30.
Note: We managed to get updated information about the Chi-Ha tank and other Japanese models, and decided to make the parameters for both Chinese and Japanese versions similar.
WZ-111 model 1-4:
  • IS-3 turret armour values have been made similar to those on the IS-3 in the Soviet tech tree
Note: Patch 0.8.9 was known to include altered armour values according to the revealed IS-3 schemes (see http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/2318436.html). So the 0.8.10 version will include relevant changes concerning the IS-3 turret for the Chinese WZ-111 model 1-4.
German Tanks:
Löwe:
  • Upper side hull armour was thickened by 20mm (from 80mm to 100mm)
  • Weight reduced by 2.5 tons.
  • Ammo rack for 10,5 cm Kw.K. L/70 gun increased from 40 to 80
  • Elevation angle for 10,5 cm Kw.K. L/70 gun changed from 17 degrees to 38 degrees
  • Depression angle for 10,5 cm Kw.K. L/70 gun changed from 6 degrees to 8 degrees
Note: While researching the comments from our community regarding the tank’s weight we discovered that it didn’t correlate with real documentation. So the amendments include a weight decrease, hull armour corrections, an ammo rack increase and elevation angles.
Maus:
  • Traverse speed for Maus turret changed from 14 to 16.
Note: It is not a secret that all tanks in the game have a higher traverse speed than they did in reality. Checking the updated documentation we discovered that the Maus had a lower value for this parameter compared to other tank models.
Soviet tanks:
IS:
  • Ammo rack for 122 mm D2-5Т gun was changed from 26 to 28
Note: Ammo rack for the IS with the 122 mm gun was altered accordingly to historical data (28 shells).
Object 140:
After this tank was included in patch 0.8.8 we received some complaints from our users related to the thin front armour of its turret being too easy to penetrate. Previously there wasn’t enough data to deal with this issue. After we received additional data, appropriate changes were applied. Now the armour is tougher, even though the armour values have remained the same.
The main amendments concern frontal projection. The sloped front and side parts of the turret now have values close to those for vertical surfaces. This means that generally a shell hitting a sloped surface will have to travel through the armour width similar to a vertical surface.

Graphics and UI

  • Improved ambient effects on most maps.
  • Updated loading screens for a majority of the maps.
  • For improved graphics settings:
    • Reworked lighting on all maps: reset the density, colours and brightness, and changed the location of light sources. Significantly increased the accuracy of textures
    • Fully re-worked fog effect
    • Added dynamic shadows from clouds
    • Added the possibility to select one full-screen filter from a predefined list, which varies by density, colour and brightness settings
    • Reworked 'Bloom' effect
    • Added light ray effects and lenses on the sun
    • Added 'Motion blur' effect for movement
  • Fixed incorrect icons of the following tanks: SU-14-1, T54E1, Waffentrager auf E 100, FV207, Waffentrager auf Pz. IV and Birch Gun.
  • Significantly improved the 'Battle Missions' UI.
  • Added information about current specials and discounts to the client.
  • Significantly improved and added several fixes to Team Battles UI.
  • Returned 'Last time player played a battle' to the 'Statistics' tab.
  • Improved and fixed small issues in the 'Statistics' tab.
  • Added 'Save last replay' option, which stores replays of only the last battle by removing the previous one.
  • In post-battle statistics, XP and credits received for 'Honorable resistance'  separated from XP and credits received for the battle.
  • Increased the drawing distance preset for different settings. 'Low' settings will now have the same preset as 'very high' settings, while 'minimal' reserve preset is now similar to the 'high' settings level of graphics.
  • Created a smoother zooming of the camera by mouse-scrolling in arcade mode.
  • Experience is now converted to Free XP according to the order in the vehicles list.

Fixes


  • Fixed the placing of Pz.Kpfw V/IV emblems on the turret
  • Fixed the placing of emblems and inscriptions on the AMX 50 B tank hull
  • Fixed a rare issue with the lost statistics for some vehicles, which happened after the 8.9 release  
  • Fixed performance drop at the time of displaying the tank destruction message
  • Fixed a rare issue with rounds flying through a tank without damaging it
  • Fixed an issue with the display of the tank’s outline while aiming near a destroyed tank
  • Fixed UI lagging caused by display of numerous UI elements simultaneously
  • Fixed message of radio operator skill incompatibility  appearing in the tooltip of IS-7 loader
  • Fixed incorrect cases of disconnecting player from server for reasons of 'spam_protection'
  • Fixed rare Crash-to-Desktop occurring during loading of the map
  • Fixed a rare issue with losing control over the tank during a battle
  • Fixed cases of loading a current but unselected type of ammunition during reloading of magazine.
  • Fixed a rare issue of user settings failing to store on the server
  • Fixed catapulting of small tanks when entering small  objects on 'Tundra' map
  • Fixed client freeze occurring at the start of battle recording simultaneous to minimizing/maximizing game window
  • Fixed pressed-button freeze during simultaneous switching between the windowed and full-screen modes
  • Fixed fuzzy display of some achievements in the 'Statistics' tab.
  • Fixed the failure of voice chat to turn off when leaving a battle
  • Fixed logic of frag counter in the top part of the screen
  • Fixed uncontrolled turning of the camera at the moment of entering SPG mode when a player’s vehicle is hit
  • Fixed the 'Average XP per battle' display in tank crew personal files
  • Fixed a different reaction on pressing 'esc' without focusing on a specific dialogue window.
  • Fixed small issues with the windows for 'Exterior' camouflage and emblem setting

Friday 20 December 2013

Worst server poll

By now WG: EU has become synonymous with failure. I am not even going to mention the IS-6 event fiasco.

   Still I only play there so my opinion might be a bit biased. I know my blog sees attention from players on all World of tanks servers, so I've made a poll to your right where you can cast your lot. Try to be objective too please.


Well, let the best(or rather worst) server win.

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Behold the competition! (Warning - picture heavy!)



And oh, its a fierce one! Initially, Wargaming had to play catch up with World of Warplanes standing up to the already popular War Thunder. Now the tables have turned and Gaijin has to try and take on an already developed and popular World of Tanks. Well, the screenshots show who did his homework better.












 The devil is in the detail as many people say, and well - the rifled gun of the War Thunder KV-2 steals the cake.
How about the Night panther? (thats an infrared projector on top - for night vision)











  Notice the sooth on the IS3 muzzle brake - now that gun has seen some use!
 Unlike this one....



 Well then. Its too soon to write WoT out - they are in for a major HD graphics update, but at the moment, War Thunder simply does it better and that's not good for Wargaming. They were resting on old glories for too long and now the runner up has finally caught up with them. WoWP should have been a rude awakening.  The way they keep trying to force it to us on the WoT portal shows how bad things are.





Monday 16 December 2013

Want to win an IS-6? Button up!

http://worldoftanks.eu/en/news/festivities/missions-way-success/

The global campaign...is OVER! GG boys, you either win a VK, or you don't!

Now WG has another way of keeping us glued to the monitors...

If you can earn 100 000 XP with tier 6 tanks of each nation, you can win an IS-6 tank and some premium time! Not bad eh?

Now don't be so fast to cry foul. I think its perfectly doable. Especially if you have enough T6 tanks in garage or unlocked.
The event will go on for a month. From 16th to 16th.  I will take you just 25K XP daily to win an IS6. XP bonuses count - premium account, daily doubles and other bonuses WILL count, but only if you are in the top 10 XP earners of your team. This is a simple bot catcher though, I believe anyone serious can manage. Per nation that would be 3-4k XP daily just grind your doubles every day. Some nations like Germany with its many tier 6 tanks can be finished in just a few days if you have the tanks ready to play.

Now WG is not stupid and there is only one X5 event for the month - otherwise getting IS-6 would be trivial. Still, even with daily doubles only - its doable.

Saturday 14 December 2013

World of tanks art 2


Blitzkrieg - when you only stop for kittens.







You know they called the BT series - flying tanks right? 




Friday 13 December 2013

Wargaming's attempts to force WoWP on us.

Well you've probably noticed it so far. Ever since release, Wargaming is trying hard to make us tankers play sign up for WoWP.  First it was unified premium time - a lot of people banked on that by farming WoWP beta tokens, claiming months in prem account time.

Now we got the December specials calendar....And it seems someone thought it will be a great idea to mix in some discounted planes with the tanks. After the uproar that caused, there hasn't been any more such...eh I was about to say discreet, but WG is worse than obvious.

Now we get unified Premium account - again a minor call for - please please play our planes game.

Sorry governor, that has exactly the opposite effect and a lot of people are now adamant they won't even try WoWP.


I am not even mentioning the quality of the game itself, but thats because I am polite.


Make your own conclusions folks.

Monday 9 December 2013

Wot Funnies 13 - Gif edition


Round starts. A player with decent stats is acting completely noobish. All around people start asking wtf is he doing.
- That's not my account
- Yeah kinda obvious you bought it.
-Thats my mother's account.
- Wait your mum plays WoT?
- No, my father plays tanks, but only mum knows the password.




- Shit, half this team is stock!
Enemy T92 - don't worry I love you the way you are!




Chocolate, Cola, Pudding and Tea...nothing helped! Vacuum cleaner for +30 FPS? Now that's the real deal
(which reminds me to clean my PC too...)

Sunday 8 December 2013

How come I see these only now? A whole modeling section on WoT russian site

As it seems there is a whole section full with printable models on the russian WOT site. The BT-2 is only the newest addition, not the first of the line. There are about 20 models with some of the more iconic ones like Maus, T-34/76, Panzer IV etc. and some others.


http://worldoftanks.ru/ru/media/10/


There is even a Ratte in there http://worldoftanks.ru/ru/media/10/ratte-paper-tank/


Not sure what's the scale though. Its tempting to try and make it, though its likely the cost to color print the pdf will make it almost equal to a Revell plastic model tank, so its not that cheap.

The first model was uploaded in 2012, this whole thing has been going on for 1 year by now. That brings the natural question - why its only on RU server? 1 year later, could they not find a brain damaged monkey to make a minor adjustment to the EU media section and translate the model sheets from russian to english?!

I mean really? No one in WoT EU can be bothered to do it? I've generally kept away from bashing WG-EU's team, but this one steals the cake for me. Its a nice, wonderful idea, that can help the game popularity a lot.


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Something nice from Wargaming RU a paper model BT-2/BT-5 tank

Here is something nice from WG for a change - a pdf with a paper model of a BT-2 (or BT-5 - depends on what parts you pick) tank.



Just download, print it, cut and glue together. Its all in russian I'm afraid but I'm sure google translate can help. 



I have not tried it out, since my printer is out of commission but if you want to give it a try, please do so and show us the results.

The question why RU server keeps getting all the nice stuff...I'd rather not bother with. 

Apart from that its a nice initiative from Wargaming, I hope they make a whole series of them eventually. 

Thursday 28 November 2013

World of tanks supertest leak - Japanese tank stats

Some kind soul leaked all the japanese tanks in elite configuration.
















I don't know, on one hand - not much to look at - non-existent armour and they are not exactly fast. Well, we will see them in test server next week. STB-1 seems to have quite the DPM...7.5 RoF with 390 damage - not bad - thats 3k you got there. About the rest - well I have to see them first. Except the Renault...thats the 3rd Renault we see ingame with a different paintjob. I know the Ft-17 is the granddad of all tanks but come on now...