So what you are saying is its Tanki, bitcoin :P

The isada nerf is a perfect example of poor balancing, the Devs have no clue why isada became so popular, it was a turret that was only worthwhile using it, if it was fully MU'd sitting on top of a fully MU'd hull wearing appropriate protection modules of opponents, and spamming drugs continuously, it was perfectly balanced in pro battles with no supply and MU's off. The problem lies with mismatched opponents, when teams are made up of equally players, there was very good gameplay, unfortunately games like those are very rare, this is a terrible endgame! Hazel created this devastating imbalance in the game when he came up with his last hair-brain idea of handing out full M4s to everyone who had MU'd one parameter fully, in the case of isida, MUing one or two aspects was a no-brainer. then, what does he do but put MU's completely out of reach for all the new players coming down the pipeline into the full M4 arena he created. I was critical of his decisions back then, telling them that this would be the outcome, I won't say I told you so, but "I TOLD YOU SO!", so now he resorts to stealing back these things players were given and creates a new micro upgrade system renamed project "Alterations" and now expects players to pay up for them again, what's more this is no different than taking equipment away and telling you you must pay if you want it returned. I can almost hear Hazel telling me to "Fugget about it" You will see fewer isidas on the battlefield, that's for sure. You will see fewer players on the battle field too. Hazels idea of a perfect endgame is this "players want to repeatedly have their garages reduced in quality so that they can open their wallet and take out a creditcard to be able to play again in a totally unbalanced battlefield that freezes, lags, repeatedly, makes you refresh, play against bots, hackers, mults, saboteurs, and under equiped opponents with a slight chance of one good battle per night if you are lucky.

I just have to laugh when I hear Hazel talk about balance.

Well they actually did it, big surprise. Actually it didn't surprise me in the least, that's the problem with F2P (Force to Pay) games They scammed me while I was naive in the bait and hook techniques behind F2P I wouldn't be so bitter if it actually added value to my enjoyment of the game, but that's just not the case, with every re-balance and progression though the game has had nothing but reduction in enjoyment. This makes it really easy for me to move on, as I think everyone who sees through this deception will as well. I'm sure more new and/or naive players will be swindled into parting with hard earned cash. It's clear that those that have wised up to their racket cannot convince companies like these that there are ethical and more profitable solutions. I guess the only silver lining is the fact that that coming January 1st 2017, Russia is imposing an 18% VAT tax on all digital goods and services, and is probably the main reason for pushing through such ill conceived updates. It is nice to know that these changes will in effect cut their operating budgets by 30% - 40% Hope you choke on it, Karma is a (____), good day

Dreamed up by a bunch of devs that obviously don't wish to work on this project anymore.

I guess its time for me to leave the forum again, I see no reason to participate since I have no intention of paying to get back what I already paid for. 48 likes 150 profile views 16 posts It was fun participating again, even if it was only for a week EDIT Nov 3 2016 Up to 65 likes and 260 views Interesting that players are still actively liking my post from Nov 2013 Wow http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=184384&do=findComment&comment=3253728

Why all M3s now become available at marshal but the same was not done with M2s Your answer to this question is very interesting, though quite open ended, it leads me to think about why this is so important. Upon thinking about this, I do agree that this part of the update is very good, and had it been presented and implemented on its own, it would have received the credit it deserves. ( A huge missed opportunity in boosting player moral and promoting positive community involvement ) This one update is very important. First and foremost it will make Gameplay up to the rank of marshal more balanced by removing the possibility of any M4s, great! The biggest and most important aspect of this huge change in game progression is that it allows for the possibility of E-sports to return to the game with the possibility of having dedicated M2 tournaments for players below the rank of marshal, where players can easily transition to an M3 tournament system at the rank of marshal. Edit Oh well that idea was short lived, just watched the new Vlog as M3 kits will be available to players two ranks before marshal, I guess they are more interested in short term financial goals than increasing user base

I see your point now, I was ignoring that fellows posts earlier through the conversation, and in reviewing his posts, see he is just a troll who should not be taken seriously. That being said, this update doesn't fix anything. the sole purpose of the nerfing and blandification of the game is in preparation for the implementation of Alterations.

Are you a pro at using M3 and 4 Isada in battle through a variety of maps and battle types? You are talking to veteran players who can feel even the slightest balance in game dynamics and know all the attributes of each and every piece of equipment in his/her garage. the problem isn't isida, it is a problem of lack of diversity in battle, isida packs can be shut down just like any other turret in the game if the players had the will to try, but that is not the case, as soon as these players lose one flag,orvget taken over with supplies, the battle is over. The only aspect that needed to be toned down was the healing speed of teammates. if you find it too hot in your house, you don't turn the thermostat down from 78 to 32, you turn it down to 76 and continue reading your paper.

Tankionline is a Free to Play with in-app purchases MMOG -Massive Multiplayer Online Game- Note the word "MASSIVE", this means - Exceptionally Large player base To build a massive player base, the game must provide value to the player. Game Value means - Enjoyment of the game lets look at what gave this game value to the player when the player base was growing. First there is the fundamental principle of the game - Diverse gameplay with 3 classes of turrets and 3 classes of hulls. You can only achieve diverse gameplay by playing with all these pieces of equipment to enjoy the game to the fullest. as players proceed through the game, all players should be able to contribute to that diversity. The Diversity of gameplay should span the entire career of every player in the game, meaning players who choose to play as a Free to Play player must be able to have at least a few of these classes in order to have this game value and diversity. I could go on for hrs about game balance, revenue structure, pay walls, and other aspects of game design, but I feel that is moving into the relhm of consulting. Also I feel providing indepth detailed information regarding all of my thoughts and ideas will be twisted into even more destructive Pay to Win updates.

Exactly right, you are quite perceptive, I am glad that some people can comprehend the issues I am trying to present through my criticisms. On a side note: I wonder how much wasted time and money Hazel's M4 handout cost the company and continues to cost to undo now.

Hey guys, came back to pass on a little wisdom, but I see nothing has changed here. On a happier note, I organized a party for all the Canadian players in the game in my village, with free accommodations in our beautiful hotel, they said they would have no problem finding rooms for all 25 of us :P

When I started this game it was great, and everyone was quite excited, there was a great community both in the forum and in the game chat, full servers, teams and clans with thousands of members, everyone knew all the legends in the game and wanted to be like them, we were happy to buy crystals in order to get equipment like them, when you saw an M3 Rico wearing Clay or an M3 Frebird wearing Zeus you knew you were in a good battle. New players were exposed to all of this in the game chat, players actually wanted there friends to play the game, Mammoths were king, and supplies were very expensive. And now look at what we have :( I'm sure the Developers are very proud of their achievements since the time that they won the prestigious Runet Prize.

The isada nerf is a perfect example of poor balancing, the Devs have no clue why isada became so popular, it was a turret that was only worthwhile using it, if it was fully MU'd sitting on top of a fully MU'd hull wearing appropriate protection modules of opponents, and spamming drugs continuously, it was perfectly balanced in pro battles with no supply and MU's off. The problem lies with mismatched opponents, when teams are made up of equally players, there was very good gameplay, unfortunately games like those are very rare, this is a terrible endgame! Hazel created this devastating imbalance in the game when he came up with his last hair-brain idea of handing out full M4s to everyone who had MU'd one parameter fully, in the case of isida, MUing one or two aspects was a no-brainer. then, what does he do but put MU's completely out of reach for all the new players coming down the pipeline into the full M4 arena he created. I was critical of his decisions back then, telling them that this would be the outcome, I won't say I told you so, but "I TOLD YOU SO!", so now he resorts to stealing back these things players were given and creates a new micro upgrade system renamed project "Alterations" and now expects players to pay up for them again, what's more this is no different than taking equipment away and telling you you must pay if you want it returned. I can almost hear Hazel telling me to "Fugget about it" You will see fewer isidas on the battlefield, that's for sure. You will see fewer players on the battle field too. Hazels idea of a perfect endgame is this "players want to repeatedly have their garages reduced in quality so that they can open their wallet and take out a creditcard to be able to play again in a totally unbalanced battlefield that freezes, lags, repeatedly, makes you refresh, play against bots, hackers, mults, saboteurs, and under equiped opponents with a slight chance of one good battle per night if you are lucky.

Who is the green viking rico photobombing your Animated GIF in the background? Why not take a screenshot of your profile to ease the minds of curious players so they can sleep at night, that is if they don't have indigestion from eating cloned BACON. :P

I don't know what forum you are reading and coming up with that idea, the forum I am reading shows that it is all in preparation for the alteration additions to the game, first reducing the required parameters of existing equipment and then selling it back to patrons of the game for money. Yes some equipment was too powerful, and becoming too prevalent in the game, but other than vulcan having a little too much impact, isidas healing is too fast , and mammoths speed is too slow. the balance of everything else was pretty good, and certainly didn't need that many adjustments, protection modules easily balanced out the minor imbalances in the game. As Walnut has said many times, "supplies will always be a fundamental part of the game". The removal of the 1500 supply kit from garage will not reduce the use of supplies, the players who use supplies don't care about earning crystals, they have full M3 garages or they only like playing with one or two pieces of equipment, they are the same people who buy the 100 kits and they will never need to buy crystals unless they want to get more equipment, a fancy paint, or a new module, in which case they will buy crystals. The primary reason that the game has a huge imbalance is mainly because there are not enough players in the game. Without addressing the issue of declining clientele, and turning that around, the costs to play this game will have to continue increasing causing an even faster decline. It looks like the future of this game rests entirely in your hands.

You're quite welcome, Good luck with Oxford fingers crossed What I don't like about this re-balance / revenue restructure update and previous ones is that they spend all of their resources on devising new revenue streams from the existing veteran players who had already paid their dues for years acquiring the best equipment and protections. In reality when you look at the costs they place on the veterans to continue as was the case when they added MUs to the game, you are in fact obligated to spend as much to return to your previously enjoyed position and reputation in the game each time they develop a new re-balance / revenue restructure update. This game is no longer a "Free to Play" game, it is in reality a "Free Trial" game. The developers had to, and continue to increase the cost vs in game rewards to such an extent that new players must spend or be faced with having inadequate equipment by the time they reach Marshal, or they become a saboteurs, mults, noobs, farmers, power levelers or any other name referenced to about players that try to keep playing with M1, M2, limited protections, and supplies in the M3 / 4 arena. The first thing this does is make the veterans bitter and spread bad publicity about the game, driving away any new players from wanting to trying it out. Existing players rising up the ranks lose any incentive to progress in the game, which is where the imbalance really comes from. The Veterans, well they just leave, stop playing as much or continue to feed the people who just keep making them pay to stay with fewer and fewer people to play with. The Developers are stabbing themselves in the back because the revenue will just continue to decrease without new players registering, participating, and staying in the game. The multiplying of parameters by 10x is no different than the one they did with crystals, it is just a way that they can increase costs more by giving less and adding room to add new revenue streams on the players in the future. If the developers didn't focus all of their energy on generating revenue from the existing dwindling veteran players who have supported the game from the time the registered on this game, and spent time optimizing maps and communication between client and server to reduce lags, create new battle modes, and maps, marketing the game to generate a vibrant new player base, and building a community to truly make this game a "Multiplayer" experience, they would generate much greater revenue, without making existing veteran players rebuild what they worked and paid for every 9 months or so, existing players would actually start marketing the game for them, creating even larger player base.

Well Cedric, I've been a Buyer and I can tell you the buffing and nerfing of equipment to drive sales is a repetitive reality in Tanki, for example, I picked up M3 freeze when it unlocked at the time it was the Buffed turret in the game and i dominated battles with ease, Freezes were so overpowered and that lasted for about 6 months or more and outrage in the forums were rampant. I later picked up the M3 thunder kit two ranks before average players, it was also buffed during that time and I averaged DLs of 60 or more every battle with it. later I got smoky that had a huge critical hit, unfortunately they nerfed it the week after I acquired it. Over the last 9 months or so Isida has been my buffed turret of choice, and enjoyed massacring battles, not only winning but totally ruining any fun for average players. Buyers such as myself had no problems maintaining superiority over most players, winning battles solely because we bought power. This is the reason for the hatred. The other aspect of this is the two class society this created, as the buyers stick together and do not battle against other buyers, and they also form alliances with other buyers and form hunting and takeover groups with the sole purpose to destroy average players and scoop up all the winnings, leaving the table scraps for the average Joe. There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for nerfing and buffing equipment as a revenue stream, in my opinion it has actually been the main factor contributing to the decline in DAU. The major platforms don't do this, yes they may add a new piece of equipment and buff the hell out of it for a few days and come back saying it was a glitch creating a buying frenzy, but within days they adjust the balance to keep the game play fair. Tanki could easily make minor adjustments as they become known. You say the developers have access to all sorts of analytical tools showing all aspects of game balance at their disposal as well as testers who are in the game seeing this first hand, and are monitoring it continuously. Seriously, it doesn't take 9 months or more to realize that there is a major imbalance in the game, they can adjust perimeters at will with a few clicks of a mouse and make minor almost unnoticeable changes without any backlash, so the premise that they are closely monitoring game balance is total rubbish. Everyone likes to win, but at what cost, I for one stopped buying over a year ago because of the direction the game was going. Since that time all I did was win battles and spend winnings on supplies to win more battles which in the end resulted in me quitting the game entirely because it just wasn't fun anymore watching team after team give up or leave in despair. This was limited to Generalissimo battles for the most part, but now that all M3s will be unlocking at Marshal, it seems to me that this disparity between buyer and average Joe will now be subject to the same humiliation after only playing this game for 8 -12 months of game play. I'm sure players are looking forward to that future.

Wow Man, for no other reason than your journalistic and editorial prowess I must give you a huge LIKE You have a great future as a writer, blogger, journalist or in any literary field. As far as the contents, I feel a certain deja vu when reading this article. Its just another nerf and buff all in the name of game balance when in reality its just a revenue restructure.

It's not a RE-BALANCE, its a REVENUE RE-STRUCTURE

One last hurrah for the remaining Gissimo Buyers to massacre a new group of under-equipped players forcing them to buy, lose, or leave!

Cedric Debono, on 30 Sept 2016 - 10:37, said: The developers have no one to blame but themselves for the stigma associated with "The Buyer". It all started with battle rank limits where you could have advantage of higher mods in battles against lower ranks, further unbalanced by purchasing experience. When the developers started intentionally overpowering equipment, buffing and later nerfing each piece once it started to saturate the battles in an effort to make players work on one combo only to have it rendered useless once they acquired it. this gave buyers a slight advantage especially in clan battles where they had a huge superiority against players with limited choices. Buyers would unlock everything as they became available, but they were just as upset having spent money only to have it nerfed later on. To escalate the "Buyer" hatred even more, the developers added kits to the game, offering higher mod equipment to buyers at a lower rank making them very overpowered in battles against the majority of players. This is when the developers really started to turn this game into a Pay to Win game with the implementation of Micro Upgrades, and all of a sudden "Buyers" could dominate at any rank, but made M3 battles the most unbalanced, virtually destroying the endgame for most players. The quick fix by the developers was the handout of full M4 equipment to all players that had one parameter fully MU'd, while it fixed one imbalance, it created an even bigger imbalance as MU's were then only available to buyers through massive price increases, further imbalancing the game. This major imbalance in the game between Buyers and all other players is further imbalanced by garage access while in battle, giving a major advantage to "Buyers" who could switch protections and equipment at will. The biggest aides given to players that was loved by everyone " The Friends System" is actually one of the biggest issues in this game because of the Pay to Win system the developers have been instituting in this game creating "Super Buyer Groups" that can co-ordinate battles and making it virtually impossible to win against the "Buyers". All these things have reduced this game from 1/2 a million daily users down to its current 100 thousand daily users and falling. That's an 80% drop in player base. The "Buyer" hatred is in actuality "Developer" hatred What's worse is that the Developers continue to add major power advantages to buyers with alterations to equipment, and are continuing to nerf/overpower hulls and turrets. At this rate this game will lose another 80% of its user-base leaving 20 thousand "Buyers" with no game to play anymore.

The developers have no one to blame but themselves for the stigma associated with "The Buyer". It all started with battle rank limits where you could have advantage of higher mods in battles against lower ranks, further unbalanced by purchasing experience. When the developers started intentionally overpowering equipment, buffing and later nerfing each piece once it started to saturate the battles in an effort to make players work on one combo only to have it rendered useless once they acquired it. this gave buyers a slight advantage especially in clan battles where they had a huge superiority against players with limited choices. Buyers would unlock everything as they became available, but they were just as upset having spent money only to have it nerfed later on. To escalate the "Buyer" hatred even more, the developers added kits to the game, offering higher mod equipment to buyers at a lower rank making them very overpowered in battles against the majority of players. This is when the developers really started to turn this game into a Pay to Win game with the implementation of Micro Upgrades, and all of a sudden "Buyers" could dominate at any rank, but made M3 battles the most unbalanced, virtually destroying the endgame for most players. The quick fix by the developers was the handout of full M4 equipment to all players that had one parameter fully MU'd, while it fixed one imbalance, it created an even bigger imbalance as MU's were then only available to buyers through massive price increases, further imbalancing the game. This major imbalance in the game between Buyers and all other players is further imbalanced by garage access while in battle, giving a major advantage to "Buyers" who could switch protections and equipment at will. The biggest aides given to players that was loved by everyone " The Friends System" is actually one of the biggest issues in this game because of the Pay to Win system the developers have been instituting in this game creating "Super Buyer Groups" that can co-ordinate battles and making it virtually impossible to win against the "Buyers". All these things have reduced this game from 1/2 a million daily users down to its current 100 thousand daily users and falling. That's an 80% drop in player base. The "Buyer" hatred is in actuality "Developer" hatred What's worse is that the Developers continue to add major power advantages to buyers with alterations to equipment, and are continuing to nerf/overpower hulls and turrets. At this rate this game will lose another 80% of its user-base leaving 20 thousand "Buyers" with no game to play anymore.

I must say this is one of your best posts since I joined forum. "Grim Russian character" Lol,I heard somewhere that Russians never smile. The reorganization of the Dev team 8 months ago is has been quite obvious. In some ways I think it is making the game a viable business from a monetization standpoint, it is sad though that this requires the game to be much more automated and less community driven, I think that was one of the main reasons this game was so successful in the beginning. It's too bad automisation is the only solution to the problems running Esports, contests, and dealing with game violations. It's unfortunate that the Grim Russian can't see the value of community driven user experience and allocating resources to hire proffesional staff to keep the uniqueness that made this game so different from its competitors.

There is no such thing as RU or EN servers, those desegregations are nothing but a pathetic attempt to segregate players of different regions and rank from interacting with eachother, in a failed attempt at appeasing the russian community who felt game play was being ruined by having to play with players in battle who cannot speak russian. Everyone accesses the same hot servers reguardless of languages in battle chat. RU1 is the xp, xp/bp servers, RU2 is the no supply server and back-up when RU1 crashes, RU3 & 4 are the Drug war servers, and most others are noob servers where RU 3 players go and Wr3k the noobs and non-druggers.