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Wargaming.net releases World of Tanks 8.2 teaser
Cue the down-tuned guitars and ready the rock-hard action movie fonts because it's time for a new World of Tanks trailer. Wargaming.net is gearing up for the title's 8.2 update, and what better way to do that than by unleashing one minute and 12 seconds of testosterone-fueled gameplay footage on the masses. Sharp-eyed tankers will spot T21s, T71s, and the T54E1 just to name a few of the machines on display. As always, head past the cut for the full clip. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
World of Tanks producer soliciting feedback for possible clan wars changes
Wargaming.net producer Dmitry "Overlord" Yudo is fishing for player feedback on his development blog. His latest post titled [WoT] Your Global War focuses on World of Tanks' clan wars mode, which he says has been rather "slow lately." Yudo mentions several possible feature additions, including more territories, historical and non-historical events, seasons for the global map, mercenaries, clan tanks, and more. He even hints at a wipe and object construction as possibilities, so head over to his blog and make your voice heard. The news of a possible revamp comes after Wargaming.net announced that the clan wars mode will be temporarily frozen over the Christmas holidays.
My Little Pony megamod cutsifies World of Tanks
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a relatively new TV show that's garnered a huge geek audience, is now invading the most non-pony of places: World of Tanks. Modder RelicShadow has combined several of his and others' modifications for WoT into a definitive 5GB overhaul package. The result? A ground-up transformation of World of Tanks in which ponies pervade every inch of the battlefield. "I was playing this game well before I became a fan of Friendship is Magic," RelicShadow explained. "My newfound interest lead me in search of potential mods for it. After all was said and done and I had my big pile of mods, I decided I might as well be the one to make [the megamod] happen." The conversion package includes 90 audio tracks, renamed nations, new achievements, pony tank skins, and rainbows out the wazoo. Reportedly, it is a somewhat tricky to get the mod to work correctly, and RelicShadow recommends that no other mods are installed in addition to this one. If you're interested in this powerful pony mod, you can either download it here or check out a video of the voice changes after the break.
Tanks, healers, and a daily problem
As someone who plays a guardian/restoration druid, I've had mixed feelings about Blizzard's move to the "dailies model." Of course, you don't need to be playing a tank or healer to feel that way -- it would appear that everyone on the planet has mixed feelings about the seemingly-endless march of Mists of Pandaria dailies -- but there's an special agony to them if you don't have a battle-ready DPS spec. Beefy mob health pools make killing anything as a healer last the approximate length of the Roman Empire, and because quest mobs rarely hit hard enough to make Vengeance a threat, tanks don't fare much better. I will grant that grinding Golden Lotus to revered did give me the opportunity to finish Gone With the Wind after all these years. (Spoiler alert: The North wins the Civil War.) Now, dual-specs exist for just this reason -- i.e., so you don't have to quest on specs that are really designed for group play -- and I could avoid this problem if I really wanted, but here's the thing: I really like being a tank/healer. Whatever it takes to be a truly competitive DPS, I just don't have it, and I will tank or heal 5-mans and raids, happy as a clam, and hopefully contributing to a lower dungeon queue. By contrast, dailies leave me trying to collect every quest mob in sight to get enough Vengeance to AOE them down efficiently, but it feels really inconsiderate to do this while other players are trying to get the same mobs. And other players are always after them, because everyone's on the same rep grinds. Every day is like being trapped in the starting zone of a new expansion, and I honestly don't know if I have it in me to do this all over again on my alts (who are -- surprise, surprise -- tanks and healers).
World of Tanks rolls out Chinese armor for Update 8.2
In today's installment of world-conquering updates to World of Tanks, Wargaming has announced details for a new line of Chinese tanks. Update 8.2 will bring to the game 17 armored vehicles (some that never saw production) plus the Chinese tech tree that will consist of modified versions of the Soviet, French, British, and American tanks. Because Chinese tanks were mostly modifications of existing foreign tanks, they represent the best traits of each, including the maneuverability of the Americans, the accuracy of the Brits, the rapid firing of the French, and sheer power of the Soviets. Update 8.2 will also bring an overhauled rendering and lighting system to four maps in addition to five new tanks to the American tech tree. Be sure to check out the gallery below with the tech tree, screenshots, renders, and artwork, and a video trailer after the cut.%Gallery-96260%
World of Warplanes CEO sees market as the 'Wild West'
Wargaming.net's Victor Kislyi is never short on words when it comes to either talking about either his studio's games or the advantages of the free-to-play format. In an interview with GamesIndustry, he said that the global market is a "Wild West" and offers unlimited opportunities -- if companies can find their niche, that is. "The market for such games is endless, it's a blue ocean," he said. "The beauty and the curse is you have to be very, very good, because you can't fool people." Admitting that World of Tanks "looked like crap" when it first launched, Kislyi said that the company worked hard to bring it up to par with the games of today, not of 2008. Wargaming.net has come to a point that it's not as concerned about raking in money. Kislyi noted that Japanese and Russian players were the most willing to spend money, while Chinese players tended to be more tight-fisted with funds. In regard to World of Warplanes, he talked about challenges of balancing fun, quick action with an accurate flight model. In fact, getting the controls right is the reason Wargaming.net is holding off from stating a release date: "We have two or three parallel control scheme groups developing their own variants. You need to make the controls perfect. You have to find the right balance between making the game historically accurate, and at the same time, fun."
World of Tanks Veteran's Day tournaments will support veterans charities
Recently, we learned of Wargaming.net's support of historic preservation; now the maker of World of Tanks is offering a special e-sport event to support veterans in honor of Veteran's Day/Remembrance Day. In November, WoT will host Veteran's Challenge, a series of three separate tournaments -- one each for tiers four, six, and eight. Winners of the top two tiers will receive cash prizes. How much? That depends on all of the game's players! The cash prize will start at $30,000 and increase for each player over 30,000 that logs in. But folks logging into the game will do more than just fill the coffers of a few tournament winners, they will also directly influence the amount donated to five different veteran-focused charitable organizations. Wargaming.net will take the number of concurrent users at its peak and convert it to a cash donation, splitting the amount between the organizations. One note: All tournaments will be run concurrently, so teams can only sign up for one of the three. For full details or to sign up, visit the official Veteran's Challenge announcement. [Thanks to RMS_Gigantic for the tip!]
Why I Play: World of Tanks
I am not good at video games. It's really no secret -- anyone who's ever tuned in for one of my livestreams can confirm that I spend much more time blown up and in the process of being blown up than triumphantly dominating the battlefield. That's just what happens when I'm responsible for my own survival. So you'd think that a game like World of Tanks, in which victory is based heavily on your skill with a massive gun, would be a turn-off for me. After all, where's the fun in sitting in a smoldering heap while your team attempts to make up for your buffoonery? What exactly is enjoyable about getting repeatedly reduced to scrap metal? Sit back a spell and I'll tell you. This is why I play World of Tanks.
World of Tanks patches in the Royal Tank Corps
Tally-ho, tank drivers! If you've had a stiff upper lip waiting for Wargaming.net to bring to you more British vehicular goodness, then today's the day that Jerry will rue your name! The studio announced that it's pushed World of Tanks' Update 8.1 out of the door, and with it a whole mess of new armored vehicles from the Royal Tank Corps. Update 8.1 introduces 22 new vehicles from the British, including heavy, medium, and light tanks. The British medium and light tanks have an advantage in speed, although they lack the punch of their contemporaries. Players will also find better-looking areas for several of the maps when the game finishes patching. The update is currently available for European players and will make its way to North America tomorrow. You can check out the update trailer after the jump! [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Wings Over Atreia: Aion's classy balancing act
I'm in trouble now. I thought I had it made; I thought I was on easy street. I had one Aion character slot left, open and waiting for that inspiration. Then along came the cloak-donning, guns-blazing gunslinger class. Right on! I know who that slot's going to come 4.0. Or do I? Basically, NCsoft is evil! I had no interest in a musically minded class, none at all... until the Troubadour announcement last week. A healer! Come on, that's not fair; healing classes are my favorite, my passion, my calling in life. Short of a second Aion account, what in Atreia do I do now? This is not a good predicament for the decisionally challenged. Thankfully, at least I know I have no interest in the third class. No, really -- this time I mean it! I know, because even though I gave it a shot once before, I just have no desire to play a tank. And how do I know it is a tank? Elementary, my dear Daeva.
World of Tanks claims Golden Joystick's best MMO award
The 30th edition of the Golden Joystick Awards is in the books. Yep, the venerable video game awards ceremony really has been around since 1982, and this year's event at London's Westminster Park Plaza hotel featured some big names from across the gaming spectrum. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim opus walked away with the ultimate game of the year trophy, while best MMO went to Wargaming.net's World of Tanks.
PointMMO goes into open beta
Despite what the name may have you believe, PointMMO is not a game but a digital distribution service specializing in online RPGs. Today the site announced that it has transitioned into open beta for those looking to test out its system and features. Currently, PointMMO's library is rather anemic, with its most well-known titles being World of Tanks, Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and Allods Online. Some of the game pages include mentions of special promotions for signing up through the service, such as an Anarchy Online leets giveaway. PointMMO claims to offer the fastest way to get into MMOs with its downloader and comes with several social options that are integrated with Twitter and Facebook. The service is currently available only in North America, although the company plans to expand into Europe in 2013.
Choose My Adventure: You decide the MMO and how I play it
It's finally time for my second round of Choose My Adventure. The last time I helmed CMA, Lineage II was top pick, and I had a lot of fun with it. I took tons of screenshots and video to keep you in the loop as to my progress, and you can expect the same, whichever game is chosen this time. MJ's turn with The Secret World was a lot of fun to read and follow. She even livestreamed some of her shenanigans... I mean, adventures. You can bet I'll be playing with one finger over the PrtScn button and livestreaming some of my adventures as well. I hope to make this a multimedia extravaganza of epic proportions. Take a look through your choices and vote, vote, vote. And make sure to get those votes in by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday the 21st!
GDC Online 2012: Flying high with World of Warplanes
Wargaming.net CEO Viktor Kislyi is a busy man in charge of one of the fastest-growing online studios in the world. Since the launch of World of Tanks and its rise to superstar status, Wargaming.net has grown to encompass 1,200 people in 11 offices around the world. Half of these are developers on the studio's three main projects, while the other half run support for the highly lucrative World of Tanks. With World of Tanks under their belts, Kislyi and his team are preparing to press the starter switch for World of Warplanes. If you haven't paid much attention to it yet, perhaps you should, particularly if you're a fan of flight simulators. World of Warplanes covers the early days of air combat from 1930s-era biplanes to Korean War jet fighters. We grabbed a few minutes of Kislyi's time at GDC Online this week to see how World of Warplanes was shaping up and whether there were any new surprises that the team was prepared to reveal at the event. Read on, flyboys and flygirls!
Cold, tired, and dead: Hands-on with PlanetSide 2's newest continent
PlanetSide 2 is a game that's all about huge maps and war on an epic scale. The MMOFPS title's continents are massive -- dozens of times larger than the average first-person-shooter map and packed with structures to dominate, vehicles to crash, and enemy players to kill. For the last few weeks, players have been content to murder one another in the various environments of Indar, the only continent available when the beta went live, but everything changed over the weekend. Now, there's a new kid in town: a vast, frozen wasteland that brings new challenges and new stories to the game in a way that Indar perhaps never could. It's called Esamir, and I gave my life (several times) to control and defend it. This is my PlanetSide 2 story.
Dungeons and you - a guide to basic etiquette
I am generally a tank, and therefore when I run heroics I tank them. This is not always the case. If I want DPS gear, I queue as DPS because it's only fair to perform the role you intend to gear up. This results in me ending up switching to tank after a previous tank has left, or the group has wiped a few times, about half the time I sign up to DPS. This is intensely frustrating to me, because I don't like having to switch and end up seeing the gear I came for, and signed up for, going to someone else because I'm tanking. I also don't like tanking after waiting in a queue for twenty minutes. Therefore, this is a basics guide to dungeon running that covers a few things all groups should know, because I'm seeing a lot of groups that don't seem to know them. Five man dungeons are all about personal responsibility in the Mists of Pandaria era - you need to help keep yourself alive by making smart decisions.
Security breached in PlaySpan hack, multiple games affected [Updated]
Some MMORPGs have been affected by a security breach at PlaySpan. User IDs, encrypted passwords, and email addresses for the players of multiple unconfirmed MMOs have been compromised, according to Develop. Upon detecting the breach, PlaySpan locked all accounts and closed the PlaySpan Marketplace. The company is asking users to reset their passwords while the firm investigates the hack; it also encourages folks urges folks to reset passwords on other websites as a precaution. A PlaySpan spokesperson stated, "We sincerely apologize for any frustration or inconvenience this incident has caused our customers. We know PlaySpan's business depends on consumer trust. Security is a top priority for us, and we are redoubling our efforts to strengthen PlaySpan's overall system security." [Thanks to Chris for the tip!] [Update: We've removed EVE Online, Guild Wars, and RuneScape from the list of compromised games as they were not affected as Develop originally reported. CCP has released a statement denying that it shares customer information with PlaySpan; ArenaNet has likewise posted that it does not use PlaySpan for its games. Turbine has likewise confirmed that contrary to rumor, "Turbine game accounts are not connected to the Playspan Marketplace".]
Hands-on with World of Tanks' patch 8.0
World of Tanks is one of the biggest MMOs in the world, boasting over 40 million registered users and a record peak concurrency of around 500,000 players. The game is simple on its surface: Two teams of tanks head out into a variety of battleground maps, then blow the heck out of each other until a base is captured or one team is obliterated. However, deep tech trees, customizable ammo and supply loadouts and dozens of tanks across five tank types make for an experience with plenty in the way of personalization and flexibility. Wargaming.net, the developer of World of Tanks, keeps players engaged with frequent content updates. Most of the time, these updates contain small tweaks. Other times, they reinvent the game from the ground up. The recently released patch 8.0 falls into the latter category, so I hopped into World of Tanks to see what changes Wargaming.net hath wrought.
World of Tanks' 8.1 patch to feature British heavy armor
Things are looking lively around the Wargaming.net offices. What with World of Tanks' recent 8.0 update as well as the news that 40 million people have registered accounts with the company, these are the salad days for the action MMO studio. Now comes word of WoT's next patch, and 8.1 is bringing with it a whole slew of British heavy armor. "The Brits invented the first tank, pioneering the evolution of the whole industry, and it's an honor for us to greet them in World of Tanks," says producer Mike Zhivets. The patch will allow players to master everything from the Vickers Medium Mk I to the heavyweight FV 214 Conqueror as well as the legendary Churchill tanks. No release date has been set as of yet, but you can learn more at the official WoT website. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
World of Tanks sets new PCCU record, boasts 40 million registered users
OK, let's start with the standard disclaimer. Registered users doesn't mean active users, and in today's free-to-play climate it certainly doesn't mean paying users. That said, 40 million of anything is a fairly staggering amount, and it just so happens that Wargaming.net has 40 million registered users for its World of Tanks title. The game has also set a new peak concurrent user (PCCU) record thanks to over 500,000 players simultaneously connecting to its Russian shard. World of Tanks recently released its 8.0 patch which brought about a physics and lighting overhaul. Head to the official website to check out the game for yourself, or tune in to Massively TV this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EDT to watch us play. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
