[Issue 54] [Special] Inside Tanki X

[Contradiction 1,242]

 

Welcome, readers. This article will be covering a very interesting topic: TankiX. A few issues ago, we interviewed a few community members privileged enough to be given access to the testing. Recently, I was also given the fortunate opportunity to try out the closed beta test. In this article, you will find out everything you need to know about TankiX - from the differences between it and Tanki Online, to the problems currently being faced in the closed testing. Not to mention, there are four invite codes up for grabs. Let’s jump right in.

 

Also, please note that because of the liberal use of gifs, it would be best to view this article with optimal internet speed.

 

The Video

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSGu10yIaVo

 

Basic Information 

 

Unlike Tanki Online, TankiX is a downloadable client game. It is unlikely that the game will be available for browsers in the near future. To download the game, follow this link: http://static.tankix.com. Keep in mind that even if you have the game downloaded, you will not be able to play the game unless given an invite code. 

 

Invite codes are distributed in a number of ways. Every few weeks, several hundred invites will be randomly given to emails that have been signed up to participate in the beta test. Invite Codes are also regularly given out in contests and giveaways on many social media platforms, including: TankiX Facebook, TankiX Twitter, TankiX VK, TankiX Twitter RU, and TankiX Odnoklassniki. Additionally, invite codes are sometimes hidden in the weekly V-Logs or given out in unofficial youtube giveaways. 

 

Recently, applications have been opened to TankiX. If you would like to participate in the closed test, fill out this form: http://www.surveygiz...pplication-form.

 

Invite codes consist of 32 letters and digits, for example: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX. Invite codes can only be used to create one single account; after this, they are no longer usable. 

 

To stay up to date with TankiX news, follow the official TankiX YouTube channel. 

 

The game’s interface

 

- The out-of-battle menu and organization

 

One of the main features in which TankiX differs from Tanki Online is the game’s interface. There is currently no server chat menu, and the Garage is divided up into four sections: Turrets, Hulls, Paints, and Supplies. Once a player logs into the game, he views this screen: 

 

 

 

If one clicks on the Garage, this menu is then opened (see spoiler). When inside the Garage, a tanker can see his current number of crystals.

 

 

 

From here, a tanker can select which classification of Garage equipment he wishes to view. The Garage allows one to preview equipment he has not yet bought, as shown in the picture below. 

 

 

 

If instead of going to the Garage a player wants to view the battles menu, this screen is displayed:

 

A tanker can then sort through the battles list and choose which battle to join. It is impossible to create a battle; all battles and modes are pre-created and one must simply choose which type of battle he wishes to join. All closed beta testers also have access to Spectator mode and can thus spectate matches in addition to playing.

 

- The HUD (Heads-Up Display)

One of the most noticeable changes from Tanki Online to TankiX is the vastly improved HUD of TankiX. The HUD is the interface that you see when in a battle, including: your supplies, the number of flags captured, the rank bar, and the Garage/battle menu in the top right corner. Personally, many players have found the Tanki Online HUD to feel cluttered, unorganized, and simply lacking sophistication. Fortunately, this is not true for TankiX. TankiX has a rather unique HUD, different from most other games out there. It appears that the developers have strived to implement a HUD that will be extremely subtle and much less distracting. 

 

Basically, everything in the HUD will disappear unless it is currently being used. The number of supplies disappears unless you are holding the TAB key or have just activated a supply. The battle fund and battle timer will also disappear, except for a few seconds at the end of every minute or when the TAB key is being pressed. Additionally, there is no "rank bar" in TankiX - although you can view your progress toward the next rank if you go to a specific page of the main menu. 

 

The Graphics

 

The most noticeable feature of TankiX is the stunning graphics. The graphics outperform Tanki Online by a very wide margin. Everything looks different in TankiX, from the tanks to the maps and even the gold boxes. 

 

- Turrets and Hulls

The turrets and hulls retain their basic appearances, but overall everything is a lot more detailed. The size of turrets in relation to the hulls appears to be slightly larger than in Tanki Online. Possibly the most interesting graphical feature of the turrets and hulls is that when a supply has been activated, the appearance of the equipment being affected changes. When a Double Damage is activated, this is usually displayed with orange lights on the turrets. When Double Armor is activated, side armor-plates unfold from the hull. An armor plate on the rear of the hull opens up, revealing small orange flames and the engine when Speed Boost has been activated. I would definitely say that Double Armor is the most subtle of the supply effects. It is reasonably difficult to discern between a tank using Double Armor or without. Currently, there is no effect for the activation of health kits. For this reason, it is actually impossible to tell if a tanker has activated a supply kit. Fortunately, I believe that in the future we can expect to see some kind of effect for Repair Kit.

 

 

 

- Firing effects 

Tanki X has very advanced firing effects. From Firebird's burn effect to the path of a Smoky shell, everything related to shooting is extremely detailed and far better than Tanki Online. All weapons that have color (Freeze, Firebird, Ricochet, Twins, Shaft, and Railgun) have the option to change the color of their shooting, from among 2-3 different colors (depending on the weapon). Though extreme realism is not a goal of the developers, the graphics of TankiX are certainly aimed at being somewhat realistic. For example, all weapons that fire rounds (as opposed to Freeze, Firebird or Isida) exhibit blow-back and release shells after firing. For a full list of shell-types, see the below image. I'll go through the graphical features weapon by weapon, starting with Firebird and Freeze. 

 

Freeze and Firebird:

For both Freeze and Firebird, the graphical properties have been upped by a long shot. Firebird has the option between shooting an orange or dark red stream, while Freeze can choose between a light blue or purple color. When a Freeze or Firebird shoots against a wall or other object, the stream bends as if it is actually encountering the structure rather than seemingly going through it as in Tanki Online.

The speed of Freeze's stream is a lot slower than in Tanki Online. This is not true for Firebird. Firebird's stream is far less opaque and dense, but it also appears much more characteristic of an actual flame. 

When a tank has been damaged with Firebird or Freeze, their appearance changes. Burning damage elicits a bright orange glow, while frozen tanks have a similar glow, only blue. 

 

Isida:

Isida's beam appears nearly identical to that of Tanki Online's Isida. There hasn't been a lot of change. 

 

Hammer:

Hammer is another turret that is largely unchanged. The pellets released from the turret are certainly more numerous and clearly defined. While reloading, the the barrel spins three distinct times as if loading three different shells. A cloud of smoke is also released from the barrel after firing. Click the spoiler for details.

601EBFE5-D8F9-4C39-94E7-2FF52A7FB5F7

 

Smoky and Thunder:

Smoky and Thunder's firing effects are largely similar to those in Tanki Online. However, it is a lot more realistic. One can see the path of a Smoky or Thunder shell as it travels through the air. The impact of shells upon objects is very pronounced, and and explosion with smoke is emitted from both Smoky and Thunder. Interestingly, Smoky's projectiles explode and smoke with a lot more gusto than Thunder. Perhaps the developers decided that Smoky should live up to its name. Additionally, as in real guns, the barrels of these two weapons experience blow-back; they jerk backward and then forward after one has fired a shell. 

Smoky releasing a shell: 

The two turrets firing:

 

Railgun: 

Of all the differences between the turrets of TankiX and Tanki Online, I like the changes to Railgun the best. Railgun's warm-up is slightly different than in Tanki Online, appearing much more smooth [see spoiler]. For your information, Railgun can choose between shooting Green, Purple and Blue ammunition. 

When the TankiX Railgun begins shooting, the inner piece of the turret's rear begins to spin. This detail alone impresses me. 

 

Vulcan:

Vulcan is a very nice looking weapon in TankiX. This turret isn't a whole lot different from Tanki Online, but it does have its differences. The right-hand piece of the gun containing the ammunition spins while the turret is firing, as well as a stream of bullet casings tumbling out of the back. Click the spoiler for images. When the turret begins to overheat, as in Tanki Online, the tank begins glowing orange until it eventually self destructs.

 

Vulcan overheating:

 

Shaft:

Shaft is a very deadly looking weapon in TankiX. The whole turret is very detailed, but its design is similar to Railgun. Like Railgun, the center piece of the turret spins when reloading. When the turret fires, the bloom is a lot brighter and bigger than in Tanki online. The scope is pretty much exactly the same as it is in Tanki Online, though the crosshairs have a more advanced design. I'm not really sure what this is supposed to accomplish, though. Click the spoilers to reveal images. 

The turret in Garage:

Firing in Arcade mode:

Firing while using the Scope:

 

Twins and Ricochet:

Lastly, we have the two plasma weapons: Ricochet, and Twins. For the most part, these weapons' effects have been unchanged from Tanki Online to TankiX. However, the lighting features for the rounds of these turrets is definitely improved. Overall, the charges are much brighter than in Tanki Online. The firing and shell speed of Twins is markedly slower than in Tanki Online; for this reason, Twins remains one of the more weak turrets in the game. See the spoiler for images.

 

 

 

 

Gameplay

 

Overall, TankiX gameplay is not drastically different from that of Tanki Online. But it does have its quirks, mainly being in the "feel" of the game. When first laying your hands upon the controls, the game feels pretty much identical to Tanki Online. But, as you begin to fight and confront enemies, you will notice small anomalies.

 

The most prominent change with the actual feel of gameplay involves acceleration. In TankiX, every hull is much heavier than one would expect, hence accelerating slower. Basically, hulls do not get airborn as easily, and do not travel as far when going off jumps. The acceleration of the hull is quite a lot slower than in Tanki Online, meaning that it is difficult to gain speed quickly. This trend also is true with turrets: the acceleration of turret rotation is also a bit slower than I would have anticipated. Aiming at dodging and zig-zagging enemies is very difficult because of the added time it takes to reverse the direction of the turret's rotation. Players find that using Railgun in close quarters confrontations may result in an unexpected miss for this reason.

 

Personally, I appreciate these changes: they add a more realistic feel to the controls, whereas in Tanki Online driving is often described as controlling a "card board box". As I mentioned, the weight of hulls in TX is higher than in TO. In fact, I find tank combinations to be more "top heavy" than I anticipated, leading to more rolls when jumping from a platform. If you hit the ground on your side, you will likely roll twice and find yourself upright. But, this trait of top-heaviness has its disadvantages: Using the "helicopter maneuver" when making a jump will not work with the effectiveness as in TO. If you make a mistake, you may discover that your only recourse is to self destruct. 

 

Another one of these differences is with the autoaim. It is hard to put one's finger upon what is different about the TankiX autoaim, but it is certainly different. The degree of autoaim from turret to turret is definitely lower than in Tanki Online. The autoaim is also to some extent less accurate, and many players find that the phenomenon of "shooting over the shoulder" occurs with regularity. These minor troubles with autoaim will no doubt be sorted out with further game development.

 

Because of these changes in weight, acceleration, and auto aim, rocking your hull to achieve high-altitude shots is very difficult. The trickshots that could previously be made in TO are now impossible in TX. However, I believe that there is hope: TX only has M0 modifications. The M0 modifications in TO are also very slow to accelerate, and are generally poor in making rocking shots. I believe that once we begin seeing M1, M2 and M3 modifications in TX, we will be able to perform similar shooting feats as in TO. 

 

As far as game balance actually comes, I won't remark on this subject in too much detail. The balance of the various weapons and hulls is constantly changing with developmental rebalances. Thus, it is hard to predict how the balance will be in a week from now, let alone when the game is out of closed beta. But there are a few overall trends that I will draw attention to. For one, Thunder and Isida have remained arguably the most powerful weapons in TankiX throughout various rebalances. As this is being written, the game is actually very balanced and it is difficult to make the claim of Isida and Thunder superiority, but these turrets are nonetheless stronger in TX than in TO. However, one irking characteristic of Thunder is the unexpectedly low autoaim degree. I find it very difficult to make shots with altitude when using turret. Surprisingly, Freeze is one of the most powerful close range turrets in TX, while in TO it is by most counts the weakest turret. But, when playing TankiX, I stick to the dependable Smoky/Viking. There is really nothing wrong with this combo in either versions of the game, and I believe it is in general the best choice for Tanki gameplay. 

 

---

Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Bear in mind that all article content is subject to change due to game development. TankiX is in a testing phase for this very reason: to identify problems, and to implement solutions and improvements. Any opinions shared are not to be taken with much weight, as interpretations vary from person to person. With that, good luck on the battlefield!

 

Oh and by the way, four TankiX invite codes have been hidden throughout this article. Let the search begin....

 

[Yisroel.Rabin 16,224]

Ha ha, got one! Now time to read.

 

And jjust to save you guys time in case you find it, the one I used it the link by "The game’s interface"

Edited July 1, 2016 by Yisroel.Rabin

[beaku 2,656]

Got all 4... ^_^... Won't be reserving any, though. I've already had enough of TX -_-

[Quarks 2,255]

Fantastic job Contra, and in-depth view of a highly anticipated game.

[donaldo9000 1,342]

Found 3 codes, all taken :/

[Yisroel.Rabin 16,224]

601EBFE5-D8F9-4C39-94E7-2FF52A7FB5F7

 

 

Quite genius, but I expected it: a text with a similar colour of the forums background. I couldn't find it the 1st time, I went through it again though, and found it. Thanks Con :) Another giveaway coming!

Edited July 1, 2016 by Yisroel.Rabin

[Lethal_Injection 586]

A well written and detailed article about the game's mechanics and features. Great job! However, I honestly don't see a point in switching from Tanki Online and re-ranking just for "better" graphics (in my opinion, Tanki's graphics are just fine), considering I've accomplished so much on this account. I'm sure many of you will agree with this point, as it was also brought up by Contradiction in his video.

[Mr.Ace 1,116]

Good Guide still finding the codes <_<

i think i know where they are but...

Edited July 2, 2016 by Mr.Ace

[Magenta 5,165]

found 2 code :(

[INNOCENT_HUNTER 107]

When will Tanki X will release?

[Zenyth 6,494]

When will Tanki X will release?

There is no fixed date or time-bracket yet because it's still in the closed beta testing stage.

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

Great article! Tanki X as it is at the moment in a nutshell.

 

Personally I 'm only "playing" or perhaps better described "testing" Tanki X and completely stopped

playing Tanki Online, so I 'm biased...

For new testers/players it 's better to be aware that it 's still in the testing fase, so don 't expect a

similar gameplay feeling as you can now have in TO.

Things are looking bright though. Now that a decent amount of basics of the game have been developed

the devs recently could put a lot more time in game optimization, as a result lags and crashes are

diminishing with an amazing pace!

First I could only play at low settings with still a lot of a jerky kind of lag. Nowadays I can play at high settings

with almost no noticable lag at all. (I do play at medium settings for the best performance, while still

having the Tanki X graphics with the beautiful waving grass and stuff)

Gameplay balance is still off, but is also improving steadily and I believe at least has the chance

to overgrown the always present unbalance of TO.

(if you don 't dislike DM 's: they are the best gamemode at present to have fun in TX)

 

There is only thing I really miss from TO 's gameplay and I really hope it is going to work out as you think,

which makes a lot of sense:

quote: "Because of these changes in weight, acceleration, and auto aim, rocking your hull to

achieve high-altitude shots is very difficult. The trickshots that could previously be made in TO

are now impossible in TX. However, I believe that there is hope: TX only has M0 modifications.

The M0 modifications in TO are also very slow to accelerate, and are generally poor

in making rocking shots. I believe that once we begin seeing M1, M2 and M3 modifications in TX,

we will be able to perform similar shooting feats as in TO."

 

If you have a standard rig and internet connection, Tanki X is a very fast loading game.
Much, much faster than TO in my case.

There always will be players that are not happy with TX being a client game instead of a browser game,

but I think a client game has a lot of advantages.

A major advantage will be the room to expand the game without increasing loading times.

Tanki X is still very similar to TO, but I think in time it will evolve into a game that keeps the basics of TO,
though will have a lot more advanced elements. We will get new TX Maps after the last TO Map Iran and

I think it will be the first time we will see glimpses of the new directions TX will go.

TX is based on a real game engine (Unity) and this will give plenty of options to alter the game fairly easily,

certainly compared to TO 's Flash.

So as I see it: good times ahead! :)

Edited July 2, 2016 by Lord-of-the-Snipers

[Gordiel_Belizar 4]

is it just me or do the turret:hull ratios in tank x make the tanks look like gypsies?  best example isida+hornet

... and waaay too top-heavy  (hammer+wasp). Anyways this could be an easy fix, i hope :( and everything else looks awesome!! :D

Edited July 2, 2016 by Gordiel_Belizar

[NamesAreForNoobs 324]

Is the example code with all X's one of the 4 legitimate codes or not?

[GoldRock 6,165]

Is the example code with all X's one of the 4 legitimate codes or not?

Nope, hence why it's an example using the same letter repetitively.

[gpo2001 0]

This info is so old an inaccurate lol

Posted 09 May 2016 - 03:25

  :P

Hope to see some of you guys in TX soon!

[God2008_Adhyayan 0]

can it will also be played in Android phone?? 

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

can it will also be played in Android phone?? 

Yes, that is or at least was the plan, but don 't expect that mobile version soon.

It will be a somewhat different scaled down version of TX, and I doubt

the TX devs are putting much, if any effort in it at the moment.

They are way too busy developing the main TX game.

 

My guess is we will first see the release of Tanki X and some further development on it

and only than they will (might) focus on a mobile version for tablets and phones.

(if it 's still a part of future plans)

Edited July 3, 2016 by Lord-of-the-Snipers

[GoldRock 6,165]

This info is so old an inaccurate lol

Posted 09 May 2016 - 03:25

:P

Hope to see some of you guys in TX soon!

That's just when this idea was thought up and the topic was created. The article itself was finished and edited very recently, so it's the latest info on TX!

[Barra 1,445]

I agree with you, most of TX weak points are pointed out in your article and hope to see them fixed soon.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Barra

[SnowWhiteKing 1,372]

Still app is way to bad.It gives me server restart every time. -_-

[swiftbillyle 0]

But Tanki X doesn't load.

[CybertronDestroyer 60]

Thanks, great article. As a tester, I'm not positive I agree with some of your points, but I liked it. One thing that drives me *insane* is the turning speed of turrets and hulls: it seems like your driving a race car and can only press that button for a millisecond or your going to the moon and back. One of the things I liked about TO is that you can give the game to a new person, tell him the controls, and he can adapt instantly to the game and be able to play, even if not well. I've been playing TX for a week at least and still am terrible at it. I don;t know if it is because of the fact I am just used to TO and can't adjust or what. I'll have to get someone to play in the place of me and see how he does. Maybe it's just me, IDK. Anyways, thanks for the article.

[I..Winter 0]

I already got invited to CLBT  B)

[gavx_PRO 321]

I have been waiting over 1 and 1/2 months for a invite code... still... nothing... -_-