Other [Issue 59] The Core Elements of Tanki

[St.Guardian 514]

 
Greetings, players of the Tankiverse! Hhhhhh Tanki. Where and what would each and every one of you be without it? No really, think about it. It isn't a pretty piece of your imagination, now is it? Well, the truth is Tanki wouldn't be the same without some "ingredients" in its life either. Indeed, there are some of intrinsic elements of Tanki Online because without them, Tanki would not be nearly as good as it is now and for all we know, would not exist. So, here I am to explain what these principles and elements of the game that we know are.

 

*clears throat* OK, enough of this, let's get started then. So the basic question for this investigation is, what makes Tanki?
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The Developers
"Stellar job mult, wow!" Yes, I know that you all know that the developers make Tanki what it is, both directly and indirectly. However, did you ever stop to think exactly what they contribute to the game? Allow me to inform you.

 

These guys are the cause and effect of this game, they make it better and fix mistakes. The developers get up, go to work and deal with problems such as fixing the codes for the constant lag in Tanki, sorting out hackers, mults ( :mellow:) and saboteur related dilemmas every single day. Additionally, they not only have to work on fixing the game, but due to intense game competition/business and dynamic-hungry players, they have to improve it. They do a number of things such as rolling out new updates, and as we have seen, there have been quite a lot of those: I counted on the Wiki that there were, get this, 109 Updates since January 2014. Sure a few of them were technical and not dynamic based, but all of them involved hours of coding.

 

A developer hard at work to fix the issue of the "Tankopocalypse" scenario of July 11.

 

Do not forget that the Developers also have to work on the constantly changing game balance to ensure that battles are as fair as possible and keep the general population of Tanki happy; they have to constantly monitor which hulls/turrets are the most popular, and why. All of this in mind, I think Tanki is a very special game. If the developers left Tanki for just one week, the results could be catastrophic. For all we know, lag and bugs could infiltrate the system, cheaters and hackers could begin to become prolific, the main assistants could be overwhelmed and many helpers might just step down - the entire game would collapse maybe.
 

The Helpers
Subsequently, there are the Helpers, those next in line to and appointed by the developers for one sole purpose: to help the game be a more friendly and professional place. The Helper set-up that is present in Tanki Online is probably very different from many other MMO Games. Here, it comprises of tankers from more than 5 different languages (English, German, Russian, Arabic, Hindi etc.), helping with the moderation of chats and various aspects of the forum, constructing the wiki, managing social media platforms for the game, writing a monthly newspaper for Tanki, moderating and protecting Tanki battles, and even organising events for the community to enjoy.

 

They help the game in a way quite similarly to the Developers, but at a smaller scale; they are at the "forefront", working outward with their base as the game instead of constructing the base, as the Developers do. The Helpers are a critical characteristic of the game because they keep the game organised from inside the minds/perspectives of players, and they do so effectively. By organised, I mean that every rule-breaker feels justice, every skilled tanker gets recognition (ultimately), every battle goes smoothly, and every page on all of Tanki's social platforms are monitored.

 

This depicts some of the moderators with their respective avatars and paints. (credit, )

 

If the Helpers we have here disappeared, the game would be seriously degraded by nature. Imagine - newcomers in the game would have no resources to find out about how Tanki works, so it would not grow. eSports would not exist, and clans and team spirit would deteriorate (leading to the return of drug wars). Hackers and saboteurs would all go unpunished, therefore inspiring more rule-breakers to appear, resulting in the quality of battles deteriorating and causing less active players to join battles. Many horrible things would happen to the game. This is why the Helpers are so important to the game.
 

The Community
This is a collection of the Developers and Helpers with the rest of Tanki. Now, our community ain't something simple, it has many components that are unique to Tanki Online itself. Our community here is active, engaging, competitive, and above all, always changing.

 

There are special events, or 'mini-games', created by actual administration, new monthly tournaments to strut your skills, parkour contests, annual holidays such as Tanki's Birthday and Valentine's Day, and sales... anything you can dream of. I like to think of the community as the 'glue' that holds the players of Tanki together, since it links everyone through reasons spanning from the ability to climb a wall to making a shot through a hole in the wall. Every day that you log on, you will see groups of friends bantering in a Parkour battle, over-competitive players posting links to 1v1's, and even YouTubers playing in battles with their adoring fans.

 

 

Look at our little Goldnug celebrating the 'Halloween' holiday. GG

 

In a worst case scenario in which there was no community or communal spirit in Tanki for even one day, bad things would happen. Firstly, Tanki would be boring. Very, very boring. There wouldn't be a spirit (and feeling) of togetherness and no battling with friends, and battles would just be all around static. And of course, due to boredom, the game would slowly lose its popularity and the players in the game would begin to be unhappy, causing them to leave forever. Tanki would die. Thankfully however, there is no way the Community would ever dissipate from the game, as it's so deeply wound into its design.
 

The Forum
Intricately designed and with live updates/posts to every section every day, the Forum is something truly special. Every time a Tanker first logs onto it, they say, "Ohh here's where I look for a girlfriend Wow, I didn't know that this existed". It has basically everything to do with the hottest news or events, and provides a database on all the moderators, clans and players logged onto the Forum. I am pretty sure at least 70% of players have the Forum bookmarked on their browser/computer. This is where every doubting tanker can go, where all those who wish to socialise and get to know their fellow Tanki friends better can do so, and where players can freely post their opinion on something (under moderation, of course).

 

An image of sections that are very popular on the Forum, judging by the number of topics and posts here.

 

If the Forum wasn't ever created by the developers, things wouldn't be too bad in the game, but for one, I think that the game chats in Tanki would be a bit more active because, let's face it: if you couldn't go onto the forum, wouldn't you go into the game itself to chat? Additionally, the developers and event organisers would have to post their information on some other interface, maybe the home page and some players may not even read about it there (if they log onto Tanki straight from a server page). They would probably go uninformed on many community happenings such as contests and future updates. It would also be harder to get in touch with "unfriended" or professional players, as the ability to use PM outside of the game would be absent. So in a nutshell, the Community's bonds would be slackened but not broken if the Forum was removed.

 

 

Diversity in Players

Every single tanker out there is different, in some way or another. We each have a different fingerprint, right? Truth be told, each of us have our own abilities and potential to the game, and this adds a diversity in overall playing styles, and of course, the players themselves. Diversity in players is what I believe mainly keeps things in motion and lets battles flow. 

 

We all love new experiences and look for surprises and thrill, and we always wonder, "What would this battle be like?" or perhaps even "Should I really duel today?" I think this really helps the game be continuous in the way that battles/discussions are: always created and ended, with good moments in between, and the fights somewhat equal so it can be like a real war-zone. It also helps tankers to develop battle etiquette or moral standpoints because to grow in the game you have to be compatible and respectful to all kinds of players.

 

 The perfect example of the wide variety of players is the Top 100 ratings.

 

If this diversity in players was somehow removed (breaking the laws of nature ofc.) I think that, again, the game could be more bland. Conversations and friendships would become less entertaining, and the game could get more over-competitive than it already is. It would also be undesirable thanks to everyone having a certain expectation of another Tanker, and if that was not reached, that person would not be accepted into the society properly. Respect for each other could deplete over time and the community's bonds would be broken.

 

 

Variety in Game-play
Ponder on this. There are four game modes in Tanki: CTF, CP, DM and TDM. There are 11 turrets - 11 ways to destroy your enemy - and 9 hulls of very different characteristics, six intriguing supplies and 74 maps in the game. Inevitably, we arrive at the fact that Tanki Online is an extremely diverse game with many different aspects to it, which is one of the reasons to like the game, right?

 

The truth is, every time developers talk about improving the game or making it more dynamic, they always add things that ultimately vary game play. First, there was the night mode in maps that made it harder to play/see your enemy. Then, there was the ability to use a mouse to control your tank, as other action games normally would. Then, they even added private messaging in-game, new turrets such as Hammer and Vulcan (and in the future, a rocket launcher and artillery, which I love by the way), even new ways to personalise your tank with many new paints. And now, there are even more alterations coming to the game!  In the Vlog #109, the developers announced that you would be able to alter your turret in four ways: changing the color, two ways of changing your turret's statistics and a surprise alteration unique to each turret. 

 

My main garage, a typical example of an M4 garage with a broad range of types of turrets and hulls.

 

To just begin to think of what Tanki would be like without this critical element is not a pretty thought. Primarily, again, the game would be increasingly boring. Imagine if there were no Railgun and no XP/BP, and no drug wars with Mammoth Vulcans. If there was only one bland hull of constant speed with a basic turret in every battle, tell me something, would you really keep playing? Even if there was the most complicated turret with lasers and plasma and conditional firing to play with, nothing lasts forever. Boredom will overcome eventually. As a practical example, I'd think that you (hopefully) get bored after playing an XP/BP battle or Drug Polygon CP for five hours, and therefore I am pretty sure players would get tired of the game and leave. 

 

 
Battles
Presently we arrive at something extremely prolific in Tanki which is of course, the actual playing of it. Battles are pretty much the basis of the game (obviously). Here is where all skills are made practical and things are tested; where every Tanker is judged based on how you perform and where he/she learns. On many occasions, I went from multing away in a Barda CTF to rocking out and placing first in a Bridges XP/BP - with players from Star Series! Every battle is different as well, and I believe that all battles, no matter how minuscule, have an effect on the game.  Little Brigadiers can see Legends (literally) playing and this will inspire them to stay in the game and improve to be the best they can be: it sets goals in the minds of players and gives an element of continuity to the game. This is where all kinds of players whether is be a Colonel or Commander can test themselves and make friends and rivals while having as much fun as possible whether it be in a CTF, CP, TDM or DM. If Battles were theoretically gone (which is impossible by the way) there would be no objective to the game and it would basically crash, no more to say.

 

This battle was quite fierce, and surprisingly ended with a 2 flag difference in my team's favor.

 

 

Esports

Ah, we were bound to reach here sometime. Here in Tanki, eSports is something really unique. Sometimes it is abundant in the game, the topic of everyone's fingers in the chat. Other times... well, you know the flip side.

 

The point is, eSports adds a competitive spirit to the game, along with improving player's game-play; the quality of battles improves due to eSports/clans. As well as this, teamwork and strong bonds are formed between clan-mates, and some people actually find lifelong friends in the game through it. Players learn how to communicate effectively, and this proves that as active players of Tanki, we are being socially productive.

 

 

A classic "last second capture" from a battle way back 'n Season II. It was a valiant effort but it unfortunately failed.

 

If eSports faded from Tanki, the community wouldn't dissipate, but it would suffer some consequences. Remember that period after Star Series season IV in which there were no eSports competitions? Well, some people weren't happy and a few veterans left the game for a short time due to the lack of activity that they were used to. Also, clans weren't training as much and the quality of some Xp/Bp battles was reducing, but that's just my educated opinion. It was only when clans began playing in Blitz tournaments that the community was alight again.

 

 

Graphics

Second to last, there are the graphics, which are the first things players notice when they register onto Tanki. Indeed, they compose the interface of the game both in and out of battles. I find it useful that the graphics panel can be personalised, such that you can choose exactly what suits your personal 'thirst' for an attractive game environment or your PC's capabilities. Some components of the graphics such as the skybox, shadow effects and lighting make the game seem more realistic, whereas some settings like dynamic lighting and "show drop zones" remind players that they are in a futuristic, sci-fi battlefield.

 

 

This shows the massive difference between enabling no graphics settings (left) and full graphics settings (right).

 

If graphics were changed, nothing too bad would happen; the game might improve actually. As proof, in the past graphics improved massively and the game followed suit. However, if graphics were contaminated many players would get pretty upset, and it would take some serious adjusting to. It may even have the possibility to lower people's skills (slightly, of course) as they will be attempting to play in an unfamiliar environment.

 

 

Lag

Finally! We made it to the last element! Drum roll, please! "It is... lag!"

 

"What?", you ask yourself? You didn't see this coming (or you did, depending on how closely you looked at the title picture). I have deduced that the last critical element of the game is lag. This may seem controversial, but hear me out. Lag is something in Tanki that everyone hates, even its own creators, the developers. It makes Tanki feel like Tanki and a day without any sliver of it is quite odd (no offense meant developers).

 

Five players on the Red team in Sandbox. At least my team has an advantage, but it's not too unfair, right?

 

The thing is, everything no matter what, has its flaws and its these flaws that give it some character/properties. Lag gives Tanki its difficulties and dilemmas that have to be endured by players; this makes them stronger and greater willed while teaching them to be patient. It shows that not everything can go your way, and that some things are out of your control. It trains one to endure and look at the better days in a new light. If lag was magically gone from Tanki forever, I think that players would be generally happy and a lot of battles would go much more smoothly, but players in the long run may not have learned or developed some values - theoretically.
 
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These were the ten major elements of Tanki Online. What do you think, readers? Do you agree? If you've found any others, please feel free to share them below!

 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Hexed

[Lewis.Hamilton 1,110]

Yea nice topic. Well written

[GeeVuh 1,647]

Well written...  :lol:

 

 

 

What a noob thinks:

 

 If Battles were are theoretically gone (which is impossible by the way) there would be is no objective to the game and it would basically crash, no more to say.

Noob: "omgosh tenki onln remofe battle, i leaf the game. tenki nub mult devlopr nub

 

 

[St.Guardian 514]

Well written...  :lol:

 

 

 

What a noob thinks:

 

Noob: "omgosh tenki onln remofe battle, i leaf the game. tenki nub mult devlopr nub

 

 

hah! that was quite clever  :ph34r:

[NERF836 202]

Nice topic!

[Viking4s 10,791]

I like the progression of importance of the elements and  how you finish with the best of Tanki ;)

[ftp 1,696]

Core element of Tanki is to ENJOY the game.
Games were made to ENJOY BOii

[fordmustang12345 3,910]

*looks at battle part of article* Dude! You are friends with and PLAY with Holy_Hero_alexxxxxx!!!!!!! :o

[GeeVuh 1,647]

Still surprised at how little attention this article is getting ._.