WoT US Q&A session

Recenty, WoT US portal posted an Q&A session. I'll reproduce some of the more interesting responses below.


Q: Are you guys planning to include Asian maps in the near future?

A: Yes, we are currently on the middle phase of the development in this cycle. We plan to add them after the American maps and a few others. The last stage of the cycle will include Asian maps.



Q: JT 88 premium tank destroyer~ when is it coming?

A: This premium vehicle is currently scheduled for version 7.3, but this is pending testing.



Q: I would like to know more detail on that "client locking" for the "power users" gamebase that rely on mods to play. Was 7.2 delayed to release this patch instead?

A: 7.2 is a very large content update. 7.1.1 is a maintenance update. 7.2 was only delayed because all the content was not quite ready and internally tested. We did not want to drop features that had already been announced so a delay was needed. 7.1.1 is just a maintenance update but it does include some features that lay the groundwork for the future and provides some immediate benefit.

• Mods will be able to be added in a separate folder. No more writing over the base files. You will now just be able to erase a file in this folder without affecting the main game.
• The new file format will DECREASE load times, not only for maps but models as well. This is very important to note as some sighting issues that players experience in the game are due to a model not being rendered on your screen fast enough.
• This patch lays the foundation for new rendering effects. You may have seen the Wargaming news block with Himmelsdorf being played at night and the cool lighting features that were shown. This patch formats the files in a way that will make this efficient enough in the future to add these additional cool features.

Q: After some encouraging reply and a poll made by Jinxx71 which showed an overwhelming number of players wanted the MM tier spread to be reduced, what is going to be done about the MM?

A: As far as I understand, a client patch is not needed for an adjustment to be made to the MM, it is purely server side. We were encouraged by the promises; we now want to see the actions. Please forgive our impatience, but the MM issue has existed ever since the game was released to the public and so far, almost nothing serious has been done to alleviate the problem.

The Match maker is a complicated issue that is being addressed.  Players would like to see both more even battles, (less 15-0), balanced artillery with a maximum number in a game, scouts being available in only those battles that artillery are present, platoon balance, not constantly being put in the lowest tiers in a battle, and the spread of the tiers. This all needs to be done without taking a long time to find you a match.

While complicated, the first version of this new Match Maker should be available around the 7.2 timeframe. It will take into account many of the above listed issues that players have brought up. The one thing that will be absent is a hard 3 tier spread.

The Match Maker does not use tiers as a determination, but instead assigns “weights” to each vehicle or vehicle type. It will try to create fun and balanced matches with vehicles that are available at the time. It will no longer immediately assign you to the first available battle you are qualified for, but rather hold your tank and make it available to several matches that are gathering players. This will add the flexibility of generating better matches.

You may still see some matches with wide tier spreads; however you may also see more matches with lower tier spreads, including some that may only contain one tier. Much of this will depend on server population and the population distribution at the time you enter the queue. The matchmaker will have a better chance to deal with lower populations as it will take a little time to find better matches. If the population is so low, or badly distributed that it can’t find a “perfect” match it will also have the ability to launch with less than 15 players on a side, if it feels it offers a fair match and waiting additional time may not allow for finding the needed players to fill the rosters.

So overall this change to the matchmaker is a large step towards filling the community’s desires. It is also something that can be continued to be improved and balanced.



Q: Can we have someone assigned to vet the information about game mechanics in the documentation and to make sure the players get informed when changes are made?

There have been several instances lately where the published documentation has been absolutely wrong about how the mechanics work, and the incorrect information has been left in place for extended periods of time because no one made sure the changes got published.

It's kinda nice to know the rules of the game, ya know?

A: We will release these as time allows. The first one will be probably be about the HE damage.



Q: What about the undistributed experience of KV-3 when it moves to Tier7? I want to save some for KV-4.

A: This is still being discussed; most likely, the XP will remain on KV-3