Other [Issue 33] In the Beginning, Tanki... - Part 11

[hogree 4,179]

 
And we're back where we've been before. The second finale. Time to close off the longest series to grace the paper - once again. Recent memories; treasured nonetheless. Let's take a trip down Memory Lane and enjoy some of the most action-packed months in the history of Tanki. I can assure you that we are well and truly going out with a bang. One last time, people? On your marks, Get Set...
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Previous articles in this series:
Read Part 1 Here (Beginning - December 2009)
Read Part 2 Here (January 2010 - June 2010)
Read Part 3 Here (July 2010 - December 2010)
Read Part 4 Here (January 2011 – June 2011)
Read Part 5 Here (July 2011 – December 2011)
Read Part 6 Here (January 2012 – June 2012)
Read Part 7 Here (July 2012 - December 2012)
Read Part 8 Here (January 2013 - June 2013)
Read Part 9 Here (July 2013 - December 2013)
Read Part 10 Here (January 2014 - June 2014)
The Complete History of Tanki
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Kick-off in July, and Tanki's World Cup Celebrations are in full swing. Brazil paints everywhere (7-1 plz) and a pleasant atmosphere in the game. Only one month after Tanki's memorable birthday celebrations and as always, players were glued to Tanki, unknowing that the next six months would hold some seriously major changes.

 

Just two days into July and a chunky balancing update hit the game. Among updating stats to ensure balance was better between hulls and weapons, the Tanki team also introduced the ability for Isida to remove Freezing and Burn from both its team-mates and itself when engaging in healing. Healing was clearly on the developers' minds as they also updated the First Aid to speed up the effects of it and also enable it the ability to remove the Freeze and Burn effects. On top of this, the delay of mines was reduced to one second and a penalty feature was introduced for self-destructors. Although that wasn't the greatest news for Thunders, it meant that players would think twice before jumping off the map to avoid being killed.

 

It was still the season of Double Battle funds with weekly treats being handed out the players' way including regular discounts on equipment. As August approached, even more gifts would be given out as the players with the Germany paint were rewarded handsomely and the first season of StarSeries came to a close with NooBest coming out champions. Strangely, a glitch in the system rewarded several players who had bought paints with tons of supplies which was taken in good heart by players, believe me!

 

The year was progressing quickly and Tanki were starting to make evident their plans. The announcement that Smart Cooldowns were being developed was met with mixed reactions from players including some rather hostile pleas that drug wars would remain from a few of the older players. As for other things, the in-game Server Switcher was in development - an update that was certainly less dubious. It was preparation time for the developers as the summer drew to a close and the working year started once again.

 

And so September dawned, the start of what would be four of the busiest months in Tanki's history. The speed of the updates was frightening - it is no surprise that 6 of the "Most Memorable Moments of 2014 in Tanki" which I published a couple of months ago occurred in the final four months of the year.

 

The first update took place mid-September when the awaited Server Switcher was released to the public. On top of this came a new URL system and dedicated EN Servers for the growing English community. Taken in good spirits naturally, as the developers also assured players that the Fatal Error problem had been reduced. 

 

However, a week later, it was to become mayhem in Tanki as one of the most controversial updates of time hit the servers - the long-anticipated Smart Cooldowns. An update that would ruin druggers and bring an equality to the battlefield that some adored and many despised. The announcement was met with largely negative reactions from the playerbase although many showed support for the decision. The difficulty was that Tanki had completely deleted one thing from the game - one thing that was keeping many players interested. Drug Wars. Many threatened to leave, particularly from the Arabic community, and several did.

 

Smart Cooldowns was accompanied by an "appeaser", just like Micro-Upgrades had been released with Crystals for Ranks the previous year. Each player's supplies were doubled and several large gifts of extra supplies were given out. However, that wasn't going to make players satisfied like free crystals had done with Micro-Upgrades - particularly in the light that the use of drugs had just gone out of the window! On the other hand, several newbie battles were improved as not only were drugs used in limited number but drugging buyers did not dominate the battlefield in the way they had once done.

 

The transition into October was riddled with people getting to grips with Smart Cooldowns. However, the devs weren't holding back. Immediately, a number of other updates were added to the game including added security for accounts and a change to the appearance of Team Chat. A week later, a smart "New-Look" Gold Box was added to the game, after the Gold Box released with the "new-look drop boxes" added at the Smart Cooldowns update had been slated for looking too similar to the Nitro box. This white Gold Box was clear, visible and a popular design which would remain in the game.

 

It seemed like Tanki was flowing from positive to dubious as once again, they attempted to change one of the most controversial inventions since the beginning of Tanki - product kits. New kits were added with less variety and a time limit which would show how long the kit was available in the garage. The attractive names of the kits caught the eye but most players were unimpressed with the lack of variety - this opinion would change though when new kits started replacing the old.
 

Of course, let's not forget the community and what was going on outside updates. The Battle of Rusty Barrels was brought back just after the summer and the V-LOG was still in full throttle each Friday. And let's not forget the institution of Brazillian Tanki which took a stand in BGS 2014 as the playerbase grew in South America. As for discounts, need I say anything? Any of us who can remember the golden days remember expecting a discount on some equipment each week. It was a staggering level of opportunities to save crystals - so much so that very few high-ranked players bothered buying equipment unless under an offer of over 25%. Some players were even annoyed at the "meagre 31% off everything" when Halloween struck at the end of October! The cheek of it!

 

If you've thought September and October have been busy, the updates in November take things to a whole new level. The news of the upcoming release of two new weapons were setting hearts racing but before that, another controversial update would hit the servers. The introduction of Predictable Drops.

 

At heart, this was a great plan. Making sure players knew where the drop boxes were falling to increase planning and strategy in games. However, the thing that got it really fired up was the change in the Crystal Boxes that accompanied this update. Not only were the spots for Crystal Box Drop Positions marked out in the game but there was a new mechanism. For the first time in Tanki's history since the Happy New Year 2012 Celebration, there would be a different number of crystals in each box, ranging from as low as 1 to as high as 100.

 

Again, it sounds good. But the saboteurs were having an absolute field day. While others were working hard around them for flags, they were camping for crystal boxes, not helping their teams and making a profit for doing so! On top of that, the mechanism for the Gold Box was smashed up to nearly three minutes between the alert and drop. And with the marking on the ground clarifying to players the whereabouts of the Gold, it was another reason to sabotage and led to less skilful gold catches. It wasn't improving gameplay - players were all starting to move back to their Mammoths and camp at Crystal Box Spots!

 

Tanki saw the problems this was causing - players were no longer fighting for the reasons that Tanki had been so popular in the past few years. Battles were no longer fought to be won; the aim was simply to grab some crystal boxes. Thus, they took action immediately. What was labelled the "experiment" was brought out to the audience. Its main feature? No more crystal boxes.

 

When I say many players actually cried, I'm not joking. Some were stricken by the loss - on the other hand, many were pleased. Battle Funds would grow higher, Gold Boxes would be more common and the "distraction" of crystal boxes no longer was an issue. The +73 on the topic showed the general consensus of positivity at this change but to many, it was the end of an era. As for the experiment's other features it included a strange test of a Gold Siren sounding at the exact moment the Gold Box appeared in the sky. Unpopular but Tanki would take action soon.

 

And so, in a week, the experiment came to a close, and Tanki made their final long-term decisions in an announcement of epic proportions. Crystal Boxes would say Farewell. Funds would be increased. Gold Boxes would have a twenty-second gap between alert and drop. Funds would be split more evenly between teams. Kills on enemies in CTF and CP would have shared points by damage given. Non-Pro Battles would be only allowed simple time limits. And my favourite - Drug Wars would return.

 

The response to this update was mixed but I was joyful. One update I can say I truly loved. Drug Wars returned in Pro Battles and with that, an area of the game that had been missing for a couple of months. Also, funds were larger and Golds were common. Great times. Predictable Drops, in my opinion, had been perfected.

 

The community events were thriving too. Over in Russia, the StarSeries Lan Finals were taking place - an incredible climax ending with Arcade (previously Noobest) grabbing the title once again. As for our side of the game, it was jogging along as usual. Contests in the newspaper were becoming more popular whilst a new generation of forumers was growing up in our midst.

 

And the events were honestly only just heating up. Another major update was released on the visual aspect of things as December dawned. Night Mode was added to a number of popular maps and players were stunned at the brilliant lighting in the dark. On top of this, Shaft was given a laser scope to add to the skill needed to wield it - and to dodge it - as players could see the Shaft's light shining upon them.

 

Personally, I believe December 2014 was the busiest month in Tanki's history. Just the depth of things that happened was absolutely incredible. Players were invited to take part in choosing the name for the upcoming two weapons as both releases approached. Testing was opened as the developers tried to involve their customers as much as possible. 

 

Dubious updates always get a field day on ITBT, and there was one just coming along. An Updated Battle List was added to the game. Removing the old "Names" added to Battles, this list would be sorted in a completely different way - by alphabetical order of maps. However, there were sincere problems. Firstly, players would no longer be able to distinguish between standard battles and XP Battles; and it was also causing problems all around for low ranks as Private Battles were only given availability to those with Pro Battle Passes.

 

Tanki knew things needed to change - 282 Negative Votes was not something they could take with a shrug of the shoulders. So they quickly got working on their Format Battles and made the Updated Battle List more user-friendly a couple of days later. But they couldn't spend too much time focusing on it - they had a new weapon to release! And that they did -  Hammer was released in mid-December to the delight of players.

 

Of course, I reckon everyone can appreciate the happiness of tankers. For many veterans in particular, who had been around at the release of Shaft back in 2011, this was glorious news. 3 Years of a lack of new Tank Combinations was finally over. Players got settled, and those waiting for a discount were rewarded as Tanki announced a superb "New Year Promo Calendar" for all players to enjoy. A week after Hammer's release, all turrets were put on Half Price giving many players extra incentive to test out this new weapon.

 

And the end of December approached and the discounts were rolling in as the New Year grew closer. However, Tanki weren't taking a break yet. A couple of days after Christmas, they added a feature which would make Battles end sooner if the game was already decided. This was approved by the majority although changes to this in the coming future would mean that they would have to tweak with it later on. And the long-awaited Format Battles were also added, to the joy of the large XP playerbase. It was back to Railgun-Hornet games as XP once again went wild on the servers. Along with this came a special option for Parkour Battles which would not be able to be ruined by those hunting crystals among parkourists.

 

Not done yet! The release of an Elite Tank for Rent flashing back to the old days of Smoky XT was a pleasant surprise for many as a unique Railgun-Hornet XT Combo with a beautiful "Frost" paint was added for a temporary period with a price that reduced as the days passed. And as always, a special New Year Map crowned off the year in style. New Year Celebrations - a great place to finish after an absolutely mad final few months. A year of ups-and-downs - typical Tanki, huh?

 

And there we are! What a year! We've come to the end of it once again. Updates dividing opinion but great to look back on our memories fondly. And so ITBT hangs up its boots for another year - thanks for following us as we've travelled through 2014!
 
Thanks for reading!  ;)

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[deadtoyou 2,502]

Just a walk through this history makes me feel nostalgia for the times I missed in Tanki. ^_^

[jazz20 1,181]

I remember when Smoky's critical damage used to travel through players...

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Brazil paints everywhere (7-1 plz)

ROFL :lol:

[liverpoolaum 811]

nice

[fightermalikio20115 374]

very good *bravo*

[Firenze_PRO 80]

wow! all that updating......:D

[general_abrams 424]

10/10 stars on this article, one of the best I've ever read. Truly amazing.

 

I remember those days of weekly discounts, it was so fun. I hope that Tanki will soon go through another romance with sales :D.

[jono_the_cool 0]

I've stopped tanki from August 2014 to August2015 i have missed so much i was surprised when i saw two new guns