Thx :).

Review of the Balance Update: Some Comparisons This article focusses on hulls, and how particular hulls compare when considering the planned changes of the ‘rebalance’ update. It will go into detail, by considering all of the hull parameters. Some notes: -This article will just focus on M3 and M4 (M3+) level. -This is based on the stats given on the wiki page about this update (Found here). -The red or green coloured text is used to show if values are representing something that will be better or worse after the update, like how it is done on the wiki page. (So the colours are NOT related to the comparison between which hull is better/worse for that particular stat (except by coincidence)). Wasp vs Hornet Protection – Wasp and Hornet will now have the same hp. The hp value will be around what Hornet’s value was before. Top speed – Wasp will still have a greater top speed. Although generally (apart from stock m3 Hornet) all speed values are lower than what they were before. Also, the difference in speed between Hornet and Wasp will be smaller. Lateral acceleration – Lateral acceleration affects how easily a hull can drift. The higher the value, the less the hull will drift. Hornet will still have lower lateral acceleration, and will therefore still drift more easily than Wasp. Wasp’s drifting ability will be similar to before, while Hornet will drift slightly less easily than before. (Note: Previously this section stated that Hornet and Wasp would have equal values. This was due to a mistake on the wiki page) Turning speed, turning acceleration, anti-inertial turning acceleration – These values affect how fast a hull can turn; how quickly a hull can reach its fastest turning speed; and how fast a hull can change direction when switching from turning left to turning right (or vice-versa). Before, Wasp had higher values than Hornet for all of these parameters, and so was faster in all aspects of turning. Now, the values for all of the turning parameters will be the same for Wasp and Hornet, so neither will be have an advantage when turning. Weight – Weight affects a hull’s stability. Hornet and Wasp will now have the same weight, whereas before hornet was heavier. So hornet has lost a stability advantage. Both hulls will be lighter than they were before, so both will be less stable than they were before. Acceleration – Acceleration affects how quickly a hull can reach maximum speed, and its ability to push other tanks. The values will be similar (or the same) as before, with Hornet having greater acceleration than Wasp. Reverse acceleration – Affects how quickly a hull can change direction from going ‘forwards’ to ‘backwards’ (i.e. going from using ↑/W key, to using the ↓/S key). The values are generally similar to before, with Hornet having the advantage over Wasp. Conclusion – With hulls of the same type (heavy, medium, light) being given the same hp, it is already obvious that the update aims at making things more ‘balanced’ (i.e. more similar). But it is not just the equal hp which makes Wasp and Hornet more similar now. Before, aside from the hp difference, the two hulls were distinct because of each having particular characteristics: Hornet having stability, higher acceleration and drift; and Wasp having faster general speed, faster turning speed and instability. But now, with equal weight (so equal stability), and turning speed becoming equal, it is mainly just Hornet's drift and higher acceleration, and Wasp's general speed advantage that distinguish the two hulls. And those characteristics are less distinguishing than they were before, as Hornet will drift slightly less easily now, and Wasp's general speed advantage over Hornet is now less significant (it is half of the advantage it had over Hornet's speed before). (Note: This conclusion has been changed from the original, to take account of the updated lateral acceleration value for Hornet, as the initial value was a mistake on the wiki page) Hunter vs Viking Protection – Like with Wasp and Hornet, Hunter and Viking will now have the same hp. The hp value will be pretty much halfway between Hunter and Viking’s previous values. Top speed – Whereas Hunter used to be faster, now Viking is. Although the difference between Hunter and Viking’s speed is halved (i.e. before, Hunter was 1 m/s faster than Viking at M4 (and about 0.9 faster at M3), and now, Viking is 0.5 m/s faster than Hunter at M4 (and about 0.4 faster at M3)). Lateral acceleration – Lateral acceleration affects how easily a hull can drift. The higher the value, the less the hull will drift. Before, Hunter drifted more than Viking. Now, Viking will drift more than Hunter. Although there will be less of a difference between the hulls’ values than before - before, Hunter was much more ‘drift-y’ than Viking, whereas now, Viking will only drift a bit more than Hunter. Turning speed, turning acceleration, anti-inertial turning acceleration – These values affect how fast a hull can turn; how quickly a hull can reach its fastest turning speed; and how fast a hull can change direction when switching from turning left to turning right (or vice-versa). Before, Hunter had some higher turning stats than Viking. But now, all the turning parameters’ values will be the same for Hunter and Viking, so neither will have an advantage when turning. Weight – Weight affects a hull’s stability. Another swap around – Hunter will now have the greater weight, whereas Viking did before. So it looks like Hunter will now be the more stable hull. Acceleration – Acceleration affects how quickly a hull can reach maximum speed, and its ability to push other tanks. Again, a swap - Hunter will now have higher acceleration than Viking, and therefore now be the hull that will able to reach maximum speed more quickly and push other tanks more easily. Reverse acceleration – Affects how quickly a hull can change direction from going ‘forwards’ to ‘backwards’ (i.e. going from using ↑/W key, to using the ↓/S key). The values are generally similar to before, with Viking having a slight advantage over Hunter. Conclusion – As is the trend of the update, there is more ‘balance’. But a key point here is that the distinct characteristics of Hunter and Viking have been swapped over. Viking (instead of Hunter) is now the ‘drift-ier’ and faster hull, and Hunter (instead of Viking) is now the more stable hull and can push other tanks more easily. (I think two things people tend to mainly focus on are speed and hp, and I’ve seen some people saying that Viking is now better, as both hulls now have equal hp and Viking has more speed. However some points to consider: -As I mentioned when looking at speed values, the difference in speed between the two hulls is halved, so Viking has less of a speed advantage over Hunter than Hunter used to have over Viking. -Also, being more likely to drift, (which is what Viking will now be), can make a hull harder to drive. -And, unlike Viking’s ‘swap’ to be the speedier hull, Hunter’s ‘swap’ to be the heavier hull was more significant. By that I mean that where Viking now has less of a speed advantage than Hunter used to have, Hunter has at least as much of a weight advantage (which means a stability advantage) over Viking as Viking used to have over Hunter – in fact actually, Hunter has more of a weight (stability) advantage. -Also, Hunter’s new acceleration advantage is similar to what Viking’s old acceleration advantage was. And higher acceleration can be a useful ability to have, as it means the hull can push other tanks more easily. So I don’t think Viking is necessarily better than Hunter, considering the changes to all the parameters.) Titan vs Mammoth Protection – Like with the other hulls of the same weight class, Titan and Mammoth will now have the same hp. The new hp values are significantly less than the hulls’ previous values. Top speed – Like before, Titan will be faster than Mammoth. Although, as with Viking and Hunter, there will be less of a difference in speed values between the two hulls – Titan was 1 m/s faster than Mammoth at M4 before (and about 0.9 m/s faster at M3), but now will be 0.5 m/s faster than Mammoth at M4 (and about 0.4 m/s faster at M3). Both hulls will be faster than they were before, though, at M3 and M4 level. Lateral acceleration – Lateral acceleration affects how easily a hull can drift. The higher the value, the less the hull will drift. There won’t be much of a change in lateral acceleration values for either hull. Like before, Titan will have lower lateral acceleration. Turning speed, turning acceleration, anti-inertial turning acceleration – These values affect how fast a hull can turn; how quickly a hull can reach its fastest turning speed; and how fast a hull can change direction when switching from turning left to turning right (or vice-versa). Before, Titan had slightly higher turning stats than Mammoth. Now, the acceleration values are the same for both hulls, although Titan keeps a faster-turning speed (and gets a very slightly increased advantage over Mammoth in turning speed at stock M3 level). Weight – Weight affects a hull’s stability. As it was before, Mammoth will be heavier than Titan, although the difference between the hulls’ weights is much smaller, making them much more similar in terms of stability. All of the values are lower than before, and therefore both hulls will have less stability than they did before. Acceleration – Acceleration affects how quickly a hull can reach maximum speed, and its ability to push other tanks. There is a swap – Mammoth will now have the greater acceleration, and therefore be able to push other tanks more easily. Although the difference between the hulls’ acceleration values is smaller than before – Mammoth will not have as much of an advantage over Titan as Titan used to have over Mammoth. Reverse acceleration – Affects how quickly a hull can change direction from going ‘forwards’ to ‘backwards’ (i.e. going from using ↑/W key, to using the ↓/S key). Titan has a slight increase, where Mammoth has a very slight decrease. Titan will still have better reverse acceleration than Mammoth. Conclusion – Again, like with the other hull classes, there is more of a balance. One thing of note is that Mammoth now has the better acceleration, so can push other tanks more easily. Overall, in terms of characteristics of each, Titan has faster general speed and faster turning speed than Mammoth and Mammoth has greater stability and greater pushing power than Titan. Although the hulls are now very similar stats-wise – the advantages each hull has over the other are less significant now.

Just wondering - the description just says 'the pictures are themed', but do the captions have to match the theme? Or can they be anything that 'goes' with the picture, with it being irrelevant to the caption that the pictures happen to follow a theme? :huh:

My entry Words: 846

I'm surprised more people didn't enter, as I think it was a nice contest idea. Anyway, I'm very happy to get second. Thx :). And congrats to the other winners, all your entries are great!

I actually found the bonus code! Surprising since I'm usually not very good at 'THE GAME' :P.

Ok, thx :).

My entry: http://imgur.com/a/5nYqV (Hopefully you can access it ok, cause I wasn't sure how to post direct to forum since imgur changed)

Ah ok, I didn't know that. I'm glad that that's happening.

Yes, this is my main issue with the update. I think it interrupts gameplay, having to hold down 'r' and look to work out the protections, rather than just glimpsing the paint design, and knowing straight away, like we used to be able to do. It was easier in the old system, to memorise a few paints and their protections, than now, in the new system, having to remember the info you've got from holding down the 'r' button. And there's no way to know what protection you've got equipped, in case you forget (unless you go to the garage, which takes time). Also, another point is I totally disagree with taking protection away from wasp in xp/bp, because wasp and hornet each have disadvantages and advantages. Wasp may have more speed, but hornet's stability makes it more steady, for when you're making shots, as well as making it less likely to be flipped or be knocked off aim when it's hit while shooting. I do not think it needed to be 'balanced', because I think it was already balanced before. Now it has put me off using bp.

I try to play no-supply battles, so I don't have to worry about drugged enemies, but I know what you mean about running out of ammo sometimes. I think the damage dealt per second is similar to twins, yet twins has infinite ammo, so for example, if you find yourself close range, with no cover, then it is a problem. Especially as in some battles at the higher ranks, many people have titan and mammoth m3, and possibly with clay paint as well. Twins, for example, because it can keep firing, can still do ok, even against tanks with rock paint. But in closer range when rico runs out of ammo, then you're dead. I know that twins and rico are different, so rico can do things that twins can't, but it can be annoying sometimes, when you're dealing with rico's reload in certain situations.

I was so indecisive over what m3 kit to get, and still unsure after choosing to get redneck. Lumberjack persuaded me a lot because it's such a good close range paint to have. I wanted a medium hull, but I'd rather have got Viking than hunter. And I know that people say that rico is a good m3, but I'd not really used rico before, so I wasn't sure if I'd personally like it. Anyway, now I've used the kit for a while, I'd say I do like it. I had been using twins-titan before, so I had to get used to a different playing style with rico-hunter. I think you need to think more about what you're doing when using rico because of having to consider the reload - I sorta miss just charging in like you can do with twins. But I like how rico can reach many places that other turrets can't. Hunter's speed is good, but it's pretty drift-y, which makes it fun, but harder to control. I think the drifty-ness and instability of hunter, combined with the recoil of rico, means that rico-hunter can be a tricky combo. But that's what makes it fun I think, and when you can control it, then it can be great. So overall, I'm happy I chose redneck.

I saved for the atlas kit, and then I saved for redneck later. I'm not a buyer, so it took a lot of saving, but I managed to do it in the end... so just to say that I think your plan is possible :). Also I've found both kits were good, so I think it's a good plan. I was ok into the higher ranks using atlas.

^ :( Sad to hear. Well, if no one else can take over, it was fun while it lasted :). And it was a great idea F1ASC0 :).

Yay! A draw isn't too bad :P. Congrats! :) I don't think I'm that good at scoring in real life football, but it's ok as I play defence usually :P. Yay, we won... just. It was super close :P. Gooo BVB! :D

Yay! :D Scoring on the 87th minute though... :P. It's obviously the type of football that can also be known as soccer.

Awww! :P Oh well. Hopefully we can do better next time. Congrats ! :)

^You don't have to say sorry. You're putting effort in to organise this, which is great! :) (The suspense though... :P :lol:)

^Thx, good luck to you too! :P (I only just noticed I'm against your team :P) Goooo BVB! Goooo! :ph34r: :lol: :D

Wooo! Good job BVB :P.

^ Yeah, I wanna know how well ma team did :P. Gooo BVB! Gooo! :lol:

I am manager of Borussia Dortmund. :P

Cool. Do I just have to write 'I am the manager of Borussia Dortmund' to confirm?

I don't know if there's any teams left. If there is, can I join in. I don't mind any team :P.