World of Tanks: Slava Makarov Q&A Diggest

Slava Makarov, developer and one of the creators of World of Tanks, was invited to participate in a Q&A with Jove. Using the information shared by WOT Express, I’ve made a digest of what I consider most relevant for the community.

Source: WOT Express

• KV-5 characteristics are not final, testing has just begun. After the tests, Wargaming will look at the results with the KV-5 and decide what to do. If the implementation is successful, then they will start looking into the other vehicles too.
• Overall, the existence of the preferential matchmaking vehicles in the current matchmaking is very bad.
• About the KV-2 (R), the reason why it was introduced as a Premium was because the customization system isn’t complete yet. The tank as two turrets and several guns, Wargaming couldn’t complete the style for the regular tank on time, so they decided to release a fixed configuration of the tank as a Premium vehicle.
• Wargaming wants to introduce styles players could buy, also know as skins. Warhammer 40,000 was just one of the many possible ones, Wargaming decided to pick two tanks that looked like some of the tanks in the Warhammer 40,000 universe and made these new styles. It was an experiment, in the future Wargaming wants to make more of these with new Premium styles and because they stand out they won’t be cheap.
• Slava was overall happy with Update 1.0 but maps were changed too much in his opinion. initially, there weren’t any plans to change the maps, but when they were being worked on, the Development Team asked for an opportunity to change a few things.
• There will be another wave of corrections, Ruinberg is the next one and it’s Slava “personal pain”. The map became worse in terms of balance, but with these imbalances removed the map will be a lot better.
• Wargaming has an “inside project” where they compare how balanced the maps are after being reworked, the timings, how the “death zones” change, etc. When issues show up, they are flagged to be fixed.
• Slava was happy that the team was able to rework and test 30 maps, but openly admits it wasn’t perfect. But delaying the release of Update 1.0 for another six months wasn’t something he was ready to do.
• Slava agrees with the discontent about Province and that it shouldn’t be available for high tiers, he will communicate with the development team.
• Currently Wargaming has a big list of “small issues” to fix since Update 1.0 and it’s working hard on it, these take time, Anton Pankos is especially worried about this.
• Wargaming work is processed in packages designated, for example, “World of Tanks 1.5”, where they tank 1.0 and fix everything they didn’t have time for, and it’s a pretty big list at the moment.
• The name of these packages have nothing to do with real Updates.
• Currently Wargaming is working on interface, maps and balancing of preferential matchmaking premiums.
• Slava admits there is a problem at low tiers and revealed there are big plans for their re-balance. This however, will take time, the number of tanks available on these tiers is huge, requires a lot of work to re-balance them.
• Frames per second are very poorly optimized for Frontline.
• Once it’s has been optimized and there isn’t the risk of losing part of the playerbase, Wargaming will think about introducing it on a more permanent basis.
• Wargaming will also conduct some experiments with it, for example a 15 vs 15 mode but with abilities, but this depends how successfully the FPS issue is solved.
• There is a “World of Tanks 2.0” package, where Frontline will bring some other amount of new modes.
• Frontline will receive changes, that’s for sure and perhaps even drastic ones.
• In regards the Battle Royal mode, players liked it and Wargaming will do some testings with it to see how it performs, but there are no deadlines.
• The mode was prepared by enthusiasts from the Development Team in their free time, they did what they wanted, they were free to experiment whatever they wanted and no one interfered with them.
• Slava doesn’t agree that artillery is toxic and inadequate to the game.
• Slava doesn’t think landmines would be a problem if introduced to the game. (H: He isn’t saying they will be, he just made a comment how he feels about them in-game.)
• There are no plans to return the general chat to the game. The Support Center was spending 30% to 40% of their time with tickets regarding general chat abuse. Since it was removed from the game, it became a lot easier for the team to Support other issues.
• There is a long-term plan to rework Crew Perks, but it can’t be releaved now, Slava wants the players to see the whole picture and have a big surprise.
• What is happening around perks is part of a bigger story, that is called “World of Tanks 2.0”. Generally speaking, Update 1.0 is something Slava wanted to see before the “Rubicon”.
• Murazor still works for Wargaming as a Consultant for the Blance Team, he is Slava subordinate. He is also actively participating in a “big and secret plan”.
• Wargaming regularly thinks about a European tree. The existence of current trees wouldn’t interfere with new ones in any way, Slava says that combining them in one tree and put some connections between them wouldn’t be an issue.
• Slava would like to do something with European nations who don’t have enough tanks but still have something. For instance, the Swiss, they have three top tiers, but nothing else from what Wargaming studied.
• There is an idea to implement ST-I with a new mechanic (IS-4 replacement), but Wargaming couldn’t allocate anyone to this yet. There are works required in the interface to make both guns reload, etc. The task is just hanging there at the moment waiting to be done. Slava thinks the vehicle turned out quite unique.
• KV-5 will receive an exclusive list of trade-in vehicles that will include some that are rarely sold.
• Unforuntatelly there isn’t much that can be added to the Czechoslavkian tech tree.
• Bonds will be massively used in the future and they will always stay as a reward currency.
• Bonds are an encouragement for in-game activity of different kinds.
• Players will be able to buy a lot of things with them, from camouflages, some specific HESH rounds, to various Premium vehicles that were withdrew from sale, etc.

About Author

Harkonnen

Tank Nut and Gamer Wannabe! Huge fan of tanks and World War II history. Playing video games since I was six years old, from Streets of Rage on my Sega Mega Drive to World of Tanks, I’ve never stopped since and will always love games.

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