I just came back to Tanki after about 10 years and I’m genuinely enjoying it—there’s a lot that’s changed, but the game still feels fun and familiar.
One thing I’ve noticed, though: bots are extremely easy to identify, especially at lower ranks. I understand why bots exist (filling lobbies and keeping queue times short), but right now they feel too repetitive and “fake,” which I think could hurt the new-player experience.
A few things make them stand out:
The usernames are often obviously artificial (ex: “Miss Barbara Roberts”) and don’t feel like real player names, we all know grandma isnt playing this lol.
They tend to run the same exact hull/turret combinations over and over (Twins + Mammoth, Thunder + Viking, Firebird + Wasp, Railgun + Dictator, Isidia + Hopper, and a few others.).
On a new account, I was seeing these same bots and combos constantly from Rookie onward, which gets repetitive and easy to notice fast.
My concern is that new players will recognize the bots quickly and get bored of playing against the same bots over and over before they reach the ranks where more real-player matches become common. (I feel like i definitely would get bored of that as a new player)
Suggestions (without removing bots):
Use more convincing/realistic usernames (more variety, fewer “full name” patterns).
Expand the pool of hull/turret combinations so matches feel less repetitive.
If possible, slightly improve bot decision-making—especially in Juggernaut mode. Right now bot Juggernauts often rush around and die quickly, and the team with a real-player Juggernaut usually has a big advantage.
I hope this feedback is useful—thanks for keeping the game alive, i'm hoping Tanki can get a bigger player base agian!