Review [Issue 64] Dissected: The «Space» Mode

[Hex 11,520]

 

As far as the addition of a new mode goes, the new «Space» mode was added (or brought back better than ever) into the game on April 12, 2017. A day later, the developers announced that this mode will be staying forever in the game - and this was probably the most liked update of this year.
 
It's been quite a few days since its release, and people have already started to master this mode. This guide aims at giving one just about every bit of information needed to do just that.
 
So without further ado, let's jump straight into dissection!
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~ The History ~

Special thanks to @Savage!

 
 

 
Moon Silence was originally introduced on the 12^th of April 2013, as a part of the 2013 Cosmonautics Day celebrations - which also included a special Tanki-initiated contest called "1000 Cosmonauts", where players had to go up against the developers in a battle to win special prizes. It was exactly the same as the regular Silence map at that time, but with a few changes. The "pull" of gravity was drastically reduced, meaning that tankers would feel almost weightless when playing and their tanks would glide when airborne rather than simply falling. There was also a special space skybox, full of stars, galaxies and interesting (and creepy) space "sounds".
 

The beautiful backdrop of stars in space has not changed from the original Moon Silence's skybox.

 
Originally, the fate of this map depended entirely on the community. If they liked it, it would stay. If they hated it, it would go. The Tanki Community loved it so much that it was added permanently and it remained in the game for half a year, entertaining tankers with its peculiar features. But sadly, all good things must come to an end sooner or later. In October 2013, the complaints about fly hackers in Moon Silence games eventually arose to such an extent, they convinced the developers to remove the map from circulation. Its demise was remembered by the "Farewell to Moon Silence Event".
 
Since then, there have been many tankers (as mentioned earlier) pleading for the map to be returned. But since the event, nothing has been heard about it. Till now.
 
 
 

~ The Gameplay ~

 

 

Normal Battles:
 
In one word, normal battles - that is, the everyday non-format battles - have become heck of a lot more interesting, albeit getting used to this mode from a normal one or vice versa might take some time. There are tanks flying everywhere, even from places where you can't even lean on. This includes the likes of ramps, buildings, walls, pipes and so on.
 
Selecting Equipment:
In any normal battle, selecting the right combination will matter a lot, as reduced gravity can have drastic effects on heavy recoil weapons, like Railgun, Magnum and Thunder. If you flip, you need to shoot at just the right angle to get yourself upright. If shot otherwise, you will find yourself doing a series of barrel rolls and ultimately landing upside down. All this mayhem only to lose a kill and some score. So, the question arises: What weapon and hull should I choose?
 
The bigger the hull, the steadier it will be in this mode. Let's consider an example of a speedy Wasp vs. a beastly Mammoth. Though Wasp will be able to drive much quicker and take sharper turns - which again, is a big risk as cutting a turn too fast can result in you barreling out of the arena, Mammoth will prove to be much steadier, as more of its base will touch the ground; therefore, resulting in better speed and stability. Thus, every hull after Viking can be used to make the gameplay a lot easier. But what if it's a huge map, like Lost Temple or Berlin? Wasp maybe used here, but do care of them sharp, deceiving turns and ramps, as going on one too fast will launch you straight up into the atmosphere, probably resulting in the enemy snipers laughing their chairs off...
 
Now, moving on to the turrets' section. Of course this depends entirely on the map you're playing; for instance, you would've want to use Railgun, Shaft or Magnum in Highways; Ricochet, Twins or Firebird in Noise and so on. But, in medium maps such as Silence, Iran and Kolhoz, both small-range and large-range turrets are used. If one knows how to control their tank, just about any turret can be used in this mode. I wouldn't recommend Magnum however, as its shells are affected a lot due to lesser gravity, and getting a shot spot on can be difficult. This would result in a very boring, slow gameplay.
 
Thus, Isida-Mammoth is probably the steadiest combination you can play with.
 

 
Not if you have poor driving skills though...
 

 

 

Format Battles - XP/BP:
 
The «Space» mode completely changed how XP/BP battles work. Everything from dodging strategies to the famous 'Peek-a-boo' tactic, from hiding to them no-scopes are now completely different to do or use. In a normal XP/BP match, you all know what happens. The usual camping, killing, capturing and so on. But, when «Space» mode comes into play, everything literally changes. There are tanks flying upside down, flipping; corpses landing on towers, buildings, props; people doing wheelies, flipping and rolling themselves upside down and so on. Pretty interesting right?

 

To write this section, I entered RU1 and tried some «Space» XP/BP battles, took notes and repeated these steps. First up, Sandbox.

 

Ah, the usual Sandbox. A lifted centre around a grassy patch of the most soft of grass, bounded by a lifted area, with houses, trees and bushes; topped with two flags, a tower and a cool, gentle breeze. The only catch? You guessed it, the map was thousands of kilometers above the surface of Earth, in a random starry area.

 

*dun DUN DUNNNNNN*

 

 

So now that I'd just tested a «Space» mode map in XP/BP, it was time to talk strategy.

 

Taking Cover:

Taking cover is one of the most useful tactics in a XP/BP battle. Staying behind a wall and letting the enemy shoot and miss first is very important, because:

• the enemy will have no choice but to take your shot.
• the enemy will lose half of their health and become one-shot.
• the enemy will probably flip, rendering the game into a 'X vs. X-1' status.

So, take cover and let the enemy shoot first. As soon as they shoot, pop out of cover and shoot straight into their middle. Their is a good chance they'll flip. This is also known as the 'Peek-a-boo' tactic. Do turn your hull in the direction opposite to which you've just made the shot in order to stabilize it.

 

Shooting:

Avoiding unnecessary shots - as I will explain below - is also a good strategy if you want to have a good «Space» XP/BP battle. These shots, when made, can lead to a disastrous flip; which can prove to be fatal, as one less person on the enemy team is a great advantage to the other.

 

For example, if you know a person is one-shot and a Railgun on your team is just about to shoot him/her, do not shoot that person. This is because the other Railgun's shot will reach the one-shot enemy tank in lesser time than you, making your shot there useless. Conserve this shot and try to hit another person. A perfect example of this is below ~

 

 

 

 

Stopping:

If you slam the 'Down Arrow-key' hard, you'll flip. The best way to come to complete halt - even if it is for one second - is to either do one of the following:

1. Press the 'Down Arrow-key' hard and then the 'Up Arrow-key' quickly. Then press the 'Down Arrow-key' again.
2. Or, press the 'Down Arrow-key' and turn your hull either left or right.

 

 

 

~ Tactics & Strategies ~

 

Flying:
 
In this mode, you'll practically being flying all the time. Some part of your hull will always be in the air, mainly because of the lesser pull of the map (due to the reduced gravity). You can utilize this "flying" capability by covering large distances in less amount of time. For example, you could just fly off from the Blue base in Silence and land straight in the Red base, saving you a lot of hit-points.
 

Dodging:
 
Not that we've gone over flying and flip 'n flipping, lets move over to the fascinating subject of dodging. Dodging? Yes, you saw that right, dodging. Let me explain this with the help of a picture:
 

 
In the first picture, where the tank is standing normally, the horizontal distance of the tanks base is greater than that of the second picture, where the tank is doing a hand-stand. The lesser the horizontal distance, the harder it will be for your enemies to shoot you. Though some veteran tankers may counter this by moving their hull up or down, this trick can be used to dodge Railguns, Shafts or Magnums. A person quite new to Thunder, Smoky or Hammer will also face difficulty in shooting someone who's doing this.
 
It should be noted that doing temporary hand-stands in «Space» mode is really easy. All you have to do is drive in a direction opposite to which you want hand-stand in and then quickly drive in this direction. The lesser "pull" of the map will send the tank into a temporary hand-stand.

 

Avoiding Props:

 

Simply said, avoid going on dangerous props such as boxes, poles and so on. There is a big chance you'll flip when landing on such props. Save time and choose the easiest way to your objective instead of being like that "hero" who flips and hand-stands his/her way to the Gold.

 

Taking Shortcuts:

 

Taking shortcuts is the most tricky thing you can do right now with «Space» mode. All you need to do is jump off a higher place and shoot yourself towards the direction you're wanting to go to. Maps like Silence, Rio, Barda, Bridges, Esplanade etc., are some examples of the maps where you can take massive shortcuts owing to the lesser gravity.

 

 

 

~ Parkour ~

 

 

One Man Parkour:
 
The «Space» mode completely changed how One Man Parkour used to work. You can now climb the most toughest and tallest of buildings alone. Yes, alone! Even the skyscrapers in Rio and Skyscrapers, but that is further below in the article.

 

Generally, there are four turrets that can be used to conquer a building. But first, there is an 'optimum position' that you must reach before you start to shoot and lift yourself up. To achieve this position, simply:

• The best way to start is to turn your turret towards the back of your hull. In other words, press 'C' and stand in the direction of the building. Now, turn your turret towards the opposite direction.
• Now, drive backwards a few meters; possibly two or three meters.
• Then, jerk your hull forwards (in the direction of the building).
• Your hull will start to hand-stand. 
• ​Eventually, it will be vertical to the ground; or perpendicular in other words. This is the position you want to achieve before shooting and lifting yourself up, as aforementioned.

Now, let's look at some of the ways and techniques one can use to get up on a building. I will also include examples and a number of points explaining some of the variables, such as the distance, use and the difficulty.

 

Ricochet:

Using Ricochet, you make use of its bouncy projectiles to lift yourself up. Once you have reached that optimum position, start shooting. The first shot - and possibly the second one too - will bounce back and hit you. These one, or two shots, will greatly help in lifting you just enough to get your tank on the building you have chosen.

 

Keep shooting and eventually, you will land on the building you chose in the first place. A big advantage of using Ricochet is that it constantly provides the impact force needed to push one towards a direction.  

 

Difficulty: Easy

Best Paired Hull: Wasp

Uses: Climbing walls/ridges; Climbing buildings; Scaling distances

 

Examples:

 

 

Hammer:

Hammer is a turret with immense recoil and amazing impact force. It also has nine pellets which bounce back only one time. This 'bouncy pellets' property, together with the recoil and impact forces can be used to send one high into the air, towards or not towards a direction.

 

The thing with Hammer is that you have to hit yourself with your own projectiles in order to achieve lift - something that is not so easy, but at the same time, isn't too hard. You have to get to that 'optimum position' and then shoot yourself immediately. If delayed or shot before even just by a millisecond, the pellets will miss your tank and bounce elsewhere, rendering the whole procedure into a failure. This is explained below in the spoiler ~

 

 

 

As you can see, first get to that hand-standing position, and then shoot immediately. You will do a number of rolls and then land on the building.

 

 

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Best Paired Hull: Wasp

Uses: Climbing walls/ridges; Climbing buildings; Scaling distances

 

 

Thunder:

Thunder mainly works due to its dealing splash damage. If you fire at a point, you will feel a secondary force together with the recoil of your shot. This is the wave of the splash damage coming back at you. Doing parkour, you'll mainly use these forces to achieve higher places.

 

Thunder is probably the easiest you can get going in this mode, as it as simple as just shooting and controlling your flight. Reach that 'optimum position' and shoot. Note that if you want to scale a larger distance, shoot a little before you reach that position. Also, due to its immense recoil and the splash wave, it will be hard to get upright if you're side-flipped. Just shoot at an angle of 30-40 degrees from the ground and you'll be okay.

 

Difficulty: Easy

Best Paired Hull: Wasp, Viking

Uses: Climbing walls/ridges; Climbing buildings; Scaling distances

 

 

Magnum:

Magnum is probably one of the most hardest turrets you can work with, because again - it has two variables to control and it is a new turret. One way you can parkour with it is to launch some projectiles up into the air. Since the projectiles take a lot longer to return to the ground due to the lesser gravity, you can fire up to three-four shots before each one of them lands, making enough force to send you miles into the air.

 

The other way is to stay on the ground with your turret at 0-20 degrees; then doing the optimum position thingy to get yourself onto the building.

 

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Best Paired Hull: Wasp

Uses: Climbing walls/ridges; Climbing buildings; Scaling distances

 

 

  
Two Man/Group Parkour:
 
Generally speaking, this mode has made Two Man Parkour and group parkour a bit of unnecessary, as most of the buildings can be conquered by One Man Parkour. But what about the skyscraper in Rio or Skyscrapers, but again, who knows? Maybe we'll find a way to reach them in the future? Turns out, we did found a way. Look here to see what I mean!

 

Thus, we conclude that with the release of «Space» mode, every building in Tanki Online can be conquered by One Man Parkour. Now that's impressive!
 
 
 

~ Gold Boxes ~

 

 

Staying Aware:

Make sure you stay aware for the Gold Box siren and its zone. One way you can do that is flying across the map and changing camera views. Doing this is a substitute for the previous self-destructing technique and can generally prove worthy in a lot of cases. For instance, if its a Silence Parkour battle, one man parkour onto the middle building using the ramp-like wall next to it. From there you'll be able to 'one man parkour' your way to the Gold.
 
Countering a Sudden Onslaught:

If such a situation arises where you are driving in the direction opposite to the Gold Box and the Gold Box starts to drop, the people coming in your way will slam into you no matter what to take that box. If you spot this, you should immediately turn your hull to the left or the right and move in the direction of these tanks. Slamming into them makes for a huge risk of you flipping or rolling in the air, wasting precious time.

Moving Slowly and Steadily:
 
The best way to handle the reduced gravity is to take things slowly. Much more thought is required for every movement because one wrong motion could result in your tank to be extremely vulnerable to enemy fire, or even worse: flipped over. The easiest way to counteract the gravity is by spinning your tank when you begin to fly up into the air. This works fairly well for switching directions, stopping, jumping, and most other scenarios. In order to stop your tank when going in a straight line, it is advised to quickly stop and then go forwards a little more after that. This will take slightly longer to bring your tank to a complete stop, but will avoid accidents relating to floating in almost ever possible circumstance.

Utilizing the Gravity - a.k.a Flying:

As I explained this previously, you can fly off of a building, prop or any high place while attempting the tricks aforementioned in the 'One Man Parkour' section to grab a Gold Box. All one needs is practice; and to do that, I suggest you trying this on supply boxes. The best map for practice - in my opinion - is Silence, since it has many props and buildings that can allow one to jump and eventually grab them supply boxes.

 

Or, you can troll your way to the Gold:

 

 

This can be one of the many ways you can grab a Gold in Space mode. Just stand below, shoot everyone jumping from the top and take the Gold!

 

Credits go to @Yisroel.Rabin!

 

 

 

 

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So there it is - a lengthy, comprehensive and hopefully a helpful guide to this freakishly-awesome «Space» mode. I, for one, am really enjoying battles set to this theme, as it is new for most of us and the fact that we have never seen anything like this before in the game, except the original Moon Silence of course.

 

Tell us your experiences with the «Space» mode. Do you enjoy playing in this mode? Which map suits the best with it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

 

 

✯  Antartica  ✯

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Yisroel.Rabin

[r_Hatchet1 11]

Awesome read. I especially liked the Gold Box section, it helped a lot. Thanks!

[bc200214_777 582]

It's depressing how little comments there are here :/

[heyhey829 1]

Perfect guide!

I learned a lot!

Thanks^_^

[M-axis 589]

Loved it. Thanks for writing :D

[CabbageRoll 3,018]

wow dead topic

 

but good guide

Edited June 18, 2017 by CabbageRoll