1. Q&A - "Stalin Line"
On 10 and 11 September, the Stalin Line fortifications hosted the 70th annual Tanker's day event.
For those who didn’t have the opportunity to attend the event on 11 September, there was a broadcast on our official Wargaming Twitch channel with the following:
- Details of the reconstruction and presentation of the legendary KV-1 tank.
- Vehicle balance changes discussion with Murazor.
- Talk about the future plans and changes for World of Tanks.
Text version of the Broadcast
Answers from Aleksandr Bobko, our projects manager:
Alexander, the KV-1 is not the first tank restored with our help, right?
Yes, this restoration is not our first experience: The first one was the T-34-76, the restoration of which took place at the Stalin Line as well. We are constantly conducting various projects, and our historians are helping museums and restorers all over the world to preserve different vehicles. The T-34-76 was unique because almost all the items in it are the original ones.
In 2014, in cooperation with the Kubinka Tank Museum, we got the KV-1 tank out of the bottom of the Don River. This procedure was extremely difficult: It was possible only to get part of the suspension, and the turret was not found. But this time the turret was found, and the suspension was taken from an ISU-152 (many details had to be made manually). Yesterday was the first presentation of the tank, and it was even involved in a real wedding proposal!
What other projects were there or will there be?
Our main focus is museums that are looking for lost vehicles, and we are always happy to help with such projects. For example, the SU-100 was also restored by the specialists of the Stalin Line, and today it will also be participating.
Very soon, it will be the 100 year anniversary of the tank – could you tell us more about it?
Yes, during World War I, on 15 September, 1916, the British Mark I tank was given its first trial in combat. Today, there is a mock-up of this tank, and on 15 September, in London, a replica Mark IV will be displayed. Recently, we made a panoramic video tour of the first tank, so if you didn’t have an opportunity to see the tank live, be sure to watch the video!
Can players participate in the restoration of vehicles?
Yes, there were several cases where players offered their help, or we asked them to come to a museum and participate in a vehicle's restoration. In Moscow, there is the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, where about forty tanks were updated thanks to the help of our players. In Minsk there were also similar events.
Are any such projects planned for the future?
We announce all such projects on our official website and on our social media networks. Now that we see that players are particularly interested in augmented reality technology, we have created a Tank 100 application, where it is possible to learn about the history of the first tank, and in the game itself there will be a special game mode, Convoy, that will be released on 15 September.
Answers from Daniil Parashchyn, our special projects expert:
What are you doing in Cyprus?
Actually, I am not only in Cyprus now – I am often in the Minsk office as well. I also take part in preparing our updates. We review what is ready, what can be released in the update and what needs to be planned for the next one.
Was there anything shocking for you when you became a developer?
There was nothing shocking, but most problems can be approached from different angles.
You are celebrating Tanker’s Day in Minsk now – did you intend to celebrate it here?
I really intended to celebrate Tanker’s Day in Minsk. There's no such event in Cyprus, so I’m very happy to be here.
As far as I know, you are responsible for the balancing and Sandbox, right?
Yes, that’s true. Sandbox was originally intended to be a platform for testing major changes to the in-game mechanics and the vehicle classes. We want these changes to be clear and accepted by our players, so internal tests are not enough.
The first iteration of the Sandbox is over now. There were some major changes and players have contradicting impressions. What can you say about that?
Yes, it was necessary to get used to the changes, so there was some opposition from the player's side. It’s just because we are all used to the tanks as they are, and we had to learn a lot from scratch.
What conclusions have you made after the first iteration?
Lots of reviews and feedback were collected. We understand that the players want changes, but major revisions are not always really clear to them. From now on, we will do it in a different way: We will release a more detailed list of changes for Sandbox and will listen to players’ feedback. If the players approve, we will work on the change further – if not, we will not implement it.
What will be the next step with Sandbox?
We have selected the changes and mechanics which players liked for inclusion – for example, the fixes to artillery were perceived positively by players. Stunning irritated a lot of players, but we plan to add resources to remove the effect.
A year ago, there was the impression that we don’t do a lot of positive things with the game. What are your impressions since you started working under “Tanks”?
The changes that we have planned will be seen in future patches, so I can’t talk about them yet. From the latest one I was involved in, it would have to be the upgrading of the 112 that will be in version 9.16 which I think will be most positively received.
Recently there were a lot of upgrades to Premium tanks. Will regular tanks be upgraded?
It’s easier to fix Premium tanks as researchable vehicles are part of a branch, so we don’t want to fix just one vehicle – we want to fix the whole branch.
Do you have time to play?
Yes, I do, but not as much as I would like to have... in a hotel, the Internet is bad, and it’s not always possible to carry a gaming laptop with me. But I try out all the tanks that we release, especially the Premium ones.
We have had a positive trend since Update 9.14 – do you think that it will continue?
I believe so. I would like to mention the improvements to the spotting mechanics in 9.16. It was a major problem in the game, and its fix required serious changes to the servers.
Battle chat will be disabled – why?
We have lots of players, in every region, that complain about chat abuse. Much more often, opponents would write negative comments than positive ones.
Should we thank you for the German Skorpion?
You may thank me for that as well.
It's a common question from the players, but where is the skill balancing and +/-1 Tier?
We don’t need skill balancing in Random battles, as it will result in the skilled players playing with each other and they won't be able to dominate. If you mean that we need separate modes, that’s true.
We won’t be implementing +/- 1 Tier, but we are working hard on the matchmaker right now. I’m not sure yet, but the plans are to show the results on Sandbox.
Answers Maxim Chuvalov, projects manager
Maxim, what do you do?
I’m promoting our game in all regions. In order to do that effectively, I’m closely interacting with the developers. I communicate with the media, our players, and I speak at events.
Do you think 9.14 and 9.15 were good updates?
Yes, I think 9.14 and 9.15 were perceived positively. We have changed our approach to development: We started to communicate with players more closely, and after the release of the improved physics and sounds, we gathered a huge amount of reviews and feedback that helped us to further improve the sounds in 9.15, and we will improve them even more in 9.16.
Please, tell us about the Common test of 9.16. What is the most important thing from the update in your opinion?
The new spotting mechanics, as it is one of the most significant changes that will affect the players. Previously, spotting occurred in 1.5-2 seconds, and now spotting an opponent when they move away from obstacles will be instantaneous.
Convoy mode – what we will have in it?
We will have the in-game mode dedicated to the Mark I tank. On 15 September, it will be 100 years since the first tanks were used in battle, and we wanted to support this event. The mode will have dynamic battles, and players will get to experience the atmosphere of World War I. The mode will have wheeled vehicles – it has become possible due to the physics that was introduced in 9.14. Teams will consist of 7 players, and one of the teams will have a Mark I that will need to be escorted to the finish point. We will try for the first time to introduce short-term weapon improvements – it’ll be possible to get a game item that will significantly increase the gun's characteristics for a short period. There will be personal missions in the mode with medals as awards. Players will also see a special Hangar dedicated to the event.
We announced the Swedish tank line at gamescom. Can you tell us more about this nation?
Yes, we announced the inclusion of Sweden at gamescom. Swedes historically were prepared to fight a defensive war. They were preparing for combat in a landscape with lots of difficult terrain against a numerically superior enemy. That’s why they have unique features and technologies. Swedish engineers were not afraid to experiment, so there will be lots of interesting vehicles at the top Tiers. Air suspension on the Tier X TD will allow the player to adjust the level of the tank above the horizon, and its rearward speed will be almost comparable with its forward pace.
When will we be able to see the tree?
The nation will be released by the end of this year. It will consist of a TD branch and a LT-MT-HT branch. In 9.16, there will be a Premium tank from this nation, a Tier VI with an autoloader and three crew members, the same number of crew members as a top HT.
The STB-1 also had an air suspension – what about its future?
First we need to see if players like it, and if it will be convenient and useful for them. If that is the case, then we will probably add it to the STB-1 as well.
Is there any news about the second iteration of Sandbox?
The second iteration is coming. I think that a future developers’ diaries will talk about it in detail.
What are the plans for the matchmaker?
Currently we are working with the new matchmaker, and it’s difficult to say for now which version will include it and which event will test it: on Sandbox, on the internal test or on the common tests. The main goal of the new matchmaker is to increase the number of convenient battles for players. Put briefly, the number of battles at the top, middle and bottom of the list should be equal, and teams should be balanced by the number and classes of vehicles.
Will Premium Vehicles be nerfed? Players are worried about the Skorpion.
There won’t be anything bad happening to Premium Vehicles. You might have noticed that with the latest update we upgraded them instead.
