Welcome to the newest Q&A Session where developers are answering questions posed by players.
Do you have any plans to introduce a third type of client apart from the existing SD and HD modes, something that would even allow players with very poor PCs to participate?
The simplified render was added to allow just that. It activates automatically when using "Low" game settings. We are planning further optimization to improve game performance and visuals on weak PCs.
In real life some autocannons have a very high rate of fire. Are you planning to increase their rate of fire in the game so they can perform realistically?
Yes, that's something we are considering. Even now rates of fire generally correspond to the real counterparts. For example, the 30mm 2A42 autocannon rate of fire is around 200 to 300 rounds per minute in the game – in real life, the gun fires about as fast using the lower setting.
In Update 0.19, artillery will no longer appear in PvP. Aren’t you planning to add smoke shells and illumination shells to other classes?
We are planning to eventually re-visit the artillery class and perhaps return it to PvP in a different role – as a purely support class – based on player feedback. If this happens these shells will return to PvP as part of the new artillery gameplay. If not, it's possible that other vehicles (those that could use them historically) will receive this option as part of improved gameplay diversity.
Do you have any plans to introduce Self-propelled Mortars and Self-propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns as separate classes?
Before we make any decisions about mortars, we have to see what we do with the artillery class as whole. As for SPAAGs, they are in long-term plans.
Are there any plans for a tracked Tank Destroyer branch?
Yes, that is planned.
The Retrofit price in Balance 2.0 is the same for all vehicle Tiers. Will you change it so that it scales with the Tiers the way it did in Update 0.18?
We are not planning such changes in Update 0.19, but it's possible that we will change the prices as we develop the Retrofit mechanism further. Update 0.19 lays down the foundations for future changes that may come in later updates.
You mentioned that the Crew and Commander systems will be overhauled. Can you tell us more about those mechanisms?
The system introduced in Update 0.19 is temporary. It is just the first step towards a complete overhaul. The overhauled system will be far more flexible and will introduce more diverse skills, including some very unusual ones. These changes are planned for the near future – we will talk about them in a dedicated article.
How will the Matchmaker mechanism change in Update 0.19?
There will not be any major changes to the existing matchmaker in this update, but we are planning two upgrades to improve its performance and team composition:
- Improved vehicle balance (taking vehicle armor into account, eg. lighter MBTs such as the Leopard 1 will not be part of the same group as MBTs that can withstand a lot of punishment)
- A mechanism preventing players from always being "at the bottom" of the team (not in any way related to player skill)
Can you give players the option to skip the cut-scenes at the end of PvE missions?
Such an option will be introduced – players will be able to skip them by pressing Escape.
In real life, most vehicles carry considerably less ATGM ammunition than in the game. For example, BMPT and BMP-2 carry four missiles, the Bradley carries seven. Are you planning to reduce the amount of missiles carried for the game to be more realistic?
After Update 0.19, we are planning to perform an ATGM overhaul and one option we are considering is to reduce the amount of missiles carried by vehicles to realistic levels. Generally speaking, a situation where missiles are very powerful damage- and penetration-wise but are only carried in limited numbers sounds reasonable to us.
Tell us more about the fight against cheating in Armored Warfare.
Armored Warfare calculates most of the critical mechanisms such as spotting, damage and penetration on server side, making "classic" cheats such as "wallhacks", higher damage cheats or penetration cheats impossible. When it comes to indirect cheats such as those removing foliage, there is a secure StarForce mechanism in place in the client to prevent such behavior. In addition, there are other, non-public mechanisms in place that prevent cheating (for security reasons no details will be shared about these).
Are you planning to introduce a team mode for pre-made groups that will not have rewards or have its statistics count for players to organize events and tournaments in?
We are not planning to introduce such a mode at the moment. To train and test equipment, players can use the existing Custom Match option – it has no influence on player statistics. As for competitive gameplay, we will be introducing the Lords of War mode, which will be available to both teams and solo players.
Last but not least – a question everyone is asking. Can you tell us more about the future of Armored Warfare beyond Update 0.19?
We will answer this question in a series of articles that are scheduled for the near future.
That’s it for today, we’ll see you on the battlefield!
