Commanders!
Following our call to submit your questions to the CEO of Wishlist Games Alexey Larionov, we have prepared the first batch of answers for you. Without further ado, here they are.
UnknownWarrior0: Are you planning to add DLSS support to the game?
We definitely are going to improve the performance of the game for high-end PCs, especially those running AMD chips. We have a research set for that and are working on it. As for the DLSS specifically - we like the possibilities it offers, however at the moment our goal is to provide everyone with good performance at a base level. Afterwards, DLSS and FidelityFX introduction would be the first things to look at.
Ragewort: Hello! I’d like to know about further plans to develop the game’s engine. We all know the game’s engine is obsolete and very poorly optimized. So my question is, is there any work being done on a new engine for the game? And if so, what kind of work?
Good question, but hard to answer. Like you said, we know the game engine has its flaws that we constantly work on. At the same time, to be clear: moving the game to a different engine (UE5 for example) would take years to accomplish even if we didn't do anything else. And that’s not counting the additional costs. Effectively, it’s building a new game. With that being said, to answer your question... we are searching for different ways to make the performance of the game more stable and all PC specs. We will definitely keep you updated on our efforts in this regard.
Wonder_Worker: Hello! One thing we all know is that the amount of players is very important for the game to stay alive. What are your plans to improve the amount of players and to bring more tank game lovers to the fold? What about advertising and game direction?
Another good question. So, what we’re doing right now is basically reinvigorating the advertising and preparing for a (relatively) big push towards player acquisition that should come with something we’re working on for this autumn. We’d sure love to welcome more of you in our ranks! However, as you might imagine, it’s a difficult process that’s being worked on simultaneously with us going independent and, to be clear, it won’t happen until the separation is complete, which should be around the end of summer with a new launcher. We’ll be on our own then, which is an incredibly exciting prospect, but equally a frightening one because Armored Warfare always has had the backing of a large company. But we’re confident we’ll make it.
So, to sum things up – first, the separation and then the marketing activities (we’re looking at autumn right now, although some activities are running even as I write this).
And to make things even more interesting, we’re currently re-evaluating all the game systems because some can really use improvements or an overhaul. We’ll be celebrating a decade on the market soon and want to polish the game for another decade to come. I could tell you that this will all go swimmingly and there will not be any hiccups, but that would be a lie. The truth is, there will be obstacles to overcome and some things will not go as planned. But we’ll deal with that. What I can promise you is that we’ll stay dedicated to the game.
Simbion: Hello, Alexey! Right now, we don’t have any new progression vehicles coming up and the only new ones can be obtained via Battle Paths. Are you planning to add new progression vehicles to the game?
Yes. As we announced already, we have the T-80BVM coming up soon, followed (without any specific deadlines) by the line’s Tier 10 MBT, Object 292. But I guess that’s not what you’re asking since these vehicles have been promised for like a year now. So, first, what happened?
I don’t want to use going independent as an excuse too much, but it really hit us hard in the sense that we hired a lot of new people around this time last year – and those guys started learning the game. By the time we finally got the team together, we were behind the original promises and were only starting to catch up. And that’s where we are now, pretty much.
So yes, we are absolutely planning to add more progression vehicles, but it’ll take time. We’re also scaling up the production, which will take time as well. Please be patient for now.
ЮрПалыч_37рус: Dear Alexey! I have two questions. The game once, back in 2016 or so, had a feature called Base where you could build buildings to get additional bonuses. Are you planning to return it? And what about artillery? I feel the overhaul killed it, are you planning to bring it back to the previous state?
Oh yes, I remember the base. But I also remember why it failed – it was effectively an unfinished feature that we never got to work. The bonuses provided by the base were not done in any meaningful fashion and the whole thing turned into a clicking simulator that only worked in the not-so-generous economy back then. That’s why it got removed and that’s why we definitely won’t be bringing it back. However, the concept of a clan base is intriguing and we might revisit it in some form later down the line, if that is the wish of the entire community.
As for the artillery – some aspects could have been handled better and we’re actively looking into improving things further. But the overall number of players playing artillery vehicles increased by a substantial number compared to the previous PvE-only state so, at this moment, we are not considering reverting the changes.
nomisG: How did you get the idea to make Armored Warfare?
I guess you expect to learn that Armored Warfare was launched after seeing the success of World of Tanks, but that is not so. In fact, the pre-production phase was launched around the World of Tanks’ initial release (in 2010 or so) so back then the founding team had no idea how big a global hit WoT would become. They just thought it would be a good idea back then but the truth is that the initial steps were even before my time. The actual development phase took off in the August of 2012 with Obsidian Entertainment – back then it was 8 developers working on AW, which was gradually scaled up to around 120 people in 2015.
I tend to remember my time working on Armored Warfare fondly and it was awesome to work with people from Obsidian Entertainment. I’m older now but the drive to win and to realize Armored Warfare’s potential is still within me even now, a decade later. I’m also perhaps wiser –at least I’d like to think that – but the flames of passion are still burning within us all.
ShumiQ: Any chance of having a server outside of the EU?
This question appeared a lot in many different forms. After all, everyone wants a server in their country, especially those far from the central cluster.
Right now, we can’t really split the servers again. Aside from the logistical issues, splitting the playerbase would not be a good thing when the queues are as long as they are. Armored Warfare has a lot of dedicated players (roughly 80 thousand active ones at the moment, who play at least every now and then) with more joining to try the game every day. But it has a lot of modes and different queues as well and splitting them would only make the situation worse.
The location of the server is another matter – a matter of stability, first and foremost. In short, we want to keep the servers in the EU at the moment and the providers (and their server clusters) that come in question are located in two cities only – Frankfurt in Germany and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. We analyzed the benefits and issues of each option and decided to keep the servers in Amsterdam. It’s not an ideal solution by any means but it is the best option for the largest number of players.
If the player situation allows it – like we hope it will in the future – we will definitely consider opening new sites.
That’s all the answers that could be fitted in this issue. We are already working on the next one. Until then:
See you on the battlefield!
