Review Scrutinized: Friday Raw Episode #1

[Hex 11,520]

 

Greetings everyone! As you all might've heard and seen in the News and Announcements section, EN Community Manager, Sergei Balabanov a.k.a Nives launched a new series of weekly livestreams on May 4, 2018. These streams would not only consist of Nives playing battles (and dropping Golds!) and giving out promotional codes, but would also contain guests from the helpers, the development team and others from time to time.

 

So, here's a full review and highlights of the stream for those of you who didn't watch or understand the questions being answered. Just a little sneak peek, a lot of secrets and plans were revealed in this stream!

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As usual, the livestream is available on the official Tanki Online YouTube channel. So if you missed it, go ahead and watch it. For those of you who don't have that much free time at your disposal or those who are interested only in a specific part of the video, we made this summary with direct links. Let's jump right into it!

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Questions and Answers w/ Sergei

English CM

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► 5:50  Question No.1 - When will the mobile version of the game be released?

 

A: Nives points out that the release date is currently being kept secret, but as promised, selected people will be able to participate in the first-ever testing of the mobile version. This will happen in the second half of May, as announced in this topic. So make sure you sign up for the test and have a chance to be among the first testers of the game!

 

 

► 6:23  Question No. 2 - When will the prizes be handed out to YouTubers under new YouTubers TO program?

 

A: "Tonight, first let me finish this stream and then I will send the prizes. Don't worry, if your name is in the list on the forum, everything is alright."

 

 

► 11:43  Question No. 3 - Will the old Tanki of 2014 ever come back?

 

A: "Sure, sure... We can all dream but in reality, you can't go back in time. I understand, and trust me, Tanki is not the only game that goes roulette, but even if we bring back that version of the game, it wouldn't survive right now. You look at Fortnite and other mobile, PC and console projects, free to play is very different. You simply can't go back, well you can, but you'll remain as a business for exactly two days!"

 

 

► 12:30  Questions No. 4 - When YouTubers will get the Spectator mode?

 

A: "YouTubers who are eligible for receiving Spectator accounts will get them at the beginning of the next week. First, promotional codes for the tier prizes need to be sent out. Also, do not forget that these Spectator permissions will not be on your main accounts, it will be separate accounts whom we will share the nicknames and passwords of."

 

 

► 13:30  Question No. 5 - When will the XT Skins update be released?

 

A: "Before the stream, I had an opportunity to ask the man himself, Hazel Rah about certain things, so basically, the answer is, they are being finished right now and the whole new skin system is being prepared for release, but no new skins will be added to the game." So, if I understood this correctly, there will be the new skin system with only the current set of skins (that is, Thunder, Firebird, Railgun, Vulcan for turrets and Wasp, Hornet, Viking, Mammoth for hulls).

 

 

► 15:30  Question No. 6 -

 

Nives: So guys, when did you start playing Tanki Online? When did you become what each of you are and when did you become official CMs?

Michał Zabraniak / DEMONEKxD: So I started playing like, ahh, oh my God, it was like, let's say six years ago. I was actually applying for Chat Moderator in English community because there wasn't a Polish community at that time and I got rejected, unfortunately!

Nives: Well, haha, did I hear about this sometime before? Something must've happened, because right now you are a Community Manager for the Polish region, you didn't leave the game. What happened?

Michał: Well, it was probably because of my age, it was understandable. I was fourteen at that time if I am not mistaken. Then, I was added to a special group of translators to translate the Polish insults so they could get banned, haha. It was a really long time for me to get into the chat moderation stuff, but it was worth it actually. Our Chat Moderators in the English community are the best guys, you know?

Nives: Sure, if you say so... My PMs beg to differ, haha! I trust you guys, so Kamil, what about you?

Kamil Sękalski / yetj: I started playing Tanki about three years ago, about one month before I became the Community Manager.

Nives: So you don't care about the game, right? You're only here for the money!

Kamil: No...

Nives: C'mon, c'mon, spill the beans! Hahahaha!

Kamil: Now after me, you describe how long have you been playing Tanki?

Nives: Since inception, haha! How can you prove otherwise?

Kamil: There is none, but you also don't have proof, all right!

Nives: Of course I have! Gimme a couple of minutes with Photoshop and I will have all the proofs!

Kamil: So yeah, I played Tanki a lot but I don't remember when I got my icons and avatars. I played very often in the beginning because I had time for it, but when Polish version started, there was a lot of work and things to do - translations, rules, forum etc. Writing, translating, updating etc. and yeah... Now, not very often but from time to time I still play. I translate the updates and then try them out in the game so I know what to answer if I get questions from the players, for example on the Help Desk and sometimes on the chat. If you need to be a Community Manager, you need to know the game.

Nives: I hope so!

Kamil: Isn't that why you are playing the game right now?

Nives: I mean, I believe in general. People will give you crap about not being a veteran player of the project, but if you're a Community Manager and you join a project, it's your duty and your actual work to know the game and to play the game before, because you can't possibly understand people and what they think about balance, about the moderators, updates and all that stuff unless you actually play the game and feel it yourself. So... I agree with you. Tanki wasn't my first love, so whenever I started working on a game, I'd take several months before obsessively playing the game and as cheaply as possible, because you can't expect to understand the game as a paid player from the beginning.

 

 

► 20:53  Question No. 7 - Is there an official Tanki Online Discord channel?

 

A: "It is planned, but I don't want to give a specific date. June or July, you will have it, whatever it will cost me you will have it! It's in the works."

 

 

► 23:39  Question No. 8 - When will the new Overdrives be released?

 

A: The new Overdrives for hulls have been delayed until summer, but not delayed just because of any random reason. They have been postponed due to something else that will affect gameplay, the entire details of which have not been shared yet.

 

 

► 55:58  Question No. 9 - Have the Spectators for April been chosen yet?

 

A: No, but Sergei is sorting through the applications and giving them a final look. Afterwards, it will be announced. "I am a bit swamped with the YouTubers TO initiative, or maybe it's just because we're Russian and lazy. Don't worry!" said Sergei.

 

 

► 01:01:44  Question No. 10 - How can I help with the translation of the game into my language?

 

A: "For now, there are no specific positions for new languages, but if, in the future you would like to, we will begin to look for people. First of all, we will choose these people from the VLOG translation crew, so try and join it, prove yourself that you're a responsible and reliable person, and maybe one day, you will get to help with the translation."

 

 

► 01:09:26  Question No.11 - Are there any new parkour tournaments being planned?

 

A: Yes, but both of them are being worked on right now. One will be done by the Events team, while the other one will be done by one of the official clubs.

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This is the first segment of the article, which only contains questions answered specifically by Nives in the stream. Make sure to check out the question and answer sessions with Semyon and Kamil too, which are down below.

 

Until next time, see you in the battlefield!

 

[Hex 11,520]

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Interview w/ Kamil Sękalski

Polish CM

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Being the driving force behind the launch of the partnership between Tanki Online and Electronic eSports League (ESL), Kamil Sękalski, also known as yetj is definitely the first person to come to your mind when talking about how it all started and how everything came to be. Read on below to know the full story of how it all happened below!


Q: So, Kamil, tell me, how are you related to ESL? Tell us all about it, how it came to be and what happened. So, ESL, what's up?

A: Regarding ESL, maybe I should just start from the beginning. When I started working in ESL as a volunteer about five years ago, I just started working, volunteering in many online and offline events. I mostly worked as a referee, helping in organizing everything and to make everything good and etc. Then, when I came about Tanki, I asked questions about why it wasn't with ESL. So, as you might remember, sometime ago, I made a topic on the ESL Forum and started asking for votes on both the EN and PL Tanki forums so we could get this thing started. Now, as you can already see, it's live and the first tournament has already finished!


Q: Tell us about that... Tell us about that first tournament, how did it go?

A: Yeah... Actually it was quite funny because despite our preparations for everything, which we had done beforehand, there were still some issues and problems. Some information was not clear and we got a lot of questions in the Discord regarding the tournament, how to prepare for it and so on. So we spent a lot of hours - let's say - in the Discord explaining all the players how to do it, how to do it, how to do it. It was a very exhausting time, even on the tournament day I was explaining players how to do it.


Q: Okay, let me stop you there for a second. Imagine if I'm still dumb enough and I don't understand, so I'm asking you again on how to do it, because on May 6th you have to do it again, I believe? You have an opportunity to tell people how to do it!

A: Actually you can't because you have a low rank, sorry! Hahahahaha...

 

Q: Well, that's a way to rub it in... If I had the rank, then how would I do it?

A: First of all, you have to register yourself on the ESL website - which is not a difficult process so everyone should be able to do it easily. The next thing is to gather a team, which you can also do before registration. However, you must have at least five people in your team in order to participate in a tournament. Then, you have to create a team in ESL, which you can do by going to the respective page.
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[Hex 11,520]

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Questions and Answers w/ Semyon Strizhak
Lead Game Designer, TO
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Semyon Strizhak, the lead game designer for this project, joined the livestream at the twenty fourth minute with a "Oh, okay. Right, right..." which stumbled Nives and made him think that it was actually Michał speaking in an excited manner. It was not until five seconds later when Hazel spoke again that Nives realized that it was actually him! In the stream, Hazel answered a lot of questions and answers, revealing all sorts of secrets and plans of the future. Go ahead and take a look at them right below!


Q: When is the next War planned?

Hazel: IT'S WAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

 

Actually, I am one of those people who are involved with the production of the War but I'm afraid I can't say that for now.
Nives: Okay, this year? If so, first half or second half?
Hazel:  Yes, of course. We are currently discussing some changes to make it more fun.
Nives: Okay, you didn't answer my question!
Hazel:  Let's just say it might be right in the middle, maybe even summer.
Nives: Summer confirmed!


Q: When will we get new hulls and turrets?

Nives: So, do you have a plan for Magnum number two - the sequel?
Hazel: I got all the Magnums you want!
Nives: Actually, do you have zero? Because that's all the Magnums people - well, I want.
Hazel: Fun fact: That thing, Juggernaut is supposed to have double Magnum barrels, not Railgun. That could be so awesome but we just couldn't figure it how to make players control all of that stuff. So yeah, no double Magnum for this time...
Nives: Well, people using Magnum have no skill so it's smart for you to cancel it.
Hazel: Because Juggernaut is all about the skill, yeah right!
Nives: Exactly...
Hazel: Down to the question, what new turrets and hulls...? You know, I love these type of questions. For five years, this question is the first one I'd love to answer. First of all, let's talk about the hulls. But before that, we need to release Overdrives since they're going to define a hull on what it does. So after that, we will discuss on what hulls to add in the game. I mean, there is no reason to add new hulls right now because they're too similar! All you've got is two hulls basically - the Dictator who catches the Golds and the rest of the useless stuff. I'm sure you guys can relate to that. But we are actually thinking about new mechanics we can use to make them way more different than the others. First of which is a hull that can walk, it will have legs. It will be impossible to push that tank away, because first, it will be awkward to push a tank with legs and secondly, I think it will be interesting on how it can't be pushed away by other people. However, it will have some restrictions on how it moves. I mean, it will not be able to move left and right, instead, it will strafe to the left and right if you press the respective buttons. We're not sure it this would work, but we would like to try. The other one - yes, we are thinking about two hulls - should obviously be a hover tank, you know, because, of course...
Nives: Yeah, why not? Looks cool, sounds cool, drives everywhere...
Hazel: You haven't seen it alright, you haven't seen it.
Nives: Okay, I will try to shut up. Please tell us about the hover tank!
Hazel: Well, it also should strafe and it hovers, you know. So if you go over a bridge or some elevated space, you will gradually come down instead of falling. We were thinking about letting it go over other tanks but that would ridiculously overpowered in terms of catching Golds, so we're not sure yet. It seems like it will only be a few centimeters above the ground.

 

 

Q: Any plans of making Tanki Online in French, or any other country?

Nives: If he's talking about support for multiple languages, then the answer is yes. We do have plans for supporting multiple languages in the future. Small teams of actual players are working on translation of the game, but we have no specific date on when this will be implemented. Some of these languages are, although not confirmed, Arabic, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Lithuanian and something else I forgot. It's not entirely confirmed as of now, because we're working on this as a community team, not as a developer team.
Hazel: No, no, no! You don't say it's planned, you say it's confirmed, just like what you said to me!
Nives: Hahaha, okay, everything is confirmed. New hull? Confirmed. Double pay for Community Managers? Confirmed!


Q: Can we expect a voice chat to be added in the game?

Nives: Oh come on guys, you have Discord, it's free and you can get it in a second!
Kamil: It's a bad idea.
Hazel: Actually guys, you know, HTML 5 does support voice communication, and we can try that. But it wont be for everybody, because that would be totally... I- I can't even come up with the word on how bad it would be. However, it could be for matchmaking parties or groups where you play with your friends. That would actually be great, so if it is possible, we will do it.


Q: When is HTML 5 coming out?

Hazel: It's actually postponed until we are done with the mobile version. Right now, no browsers have ended support for Flash, so once they do that we will shift to HTML 5 for good.


Q: What is the reason behind making the Matchmaking System?

Hazel: I guess the main difference should be that Matchmaking actually takes a bit of time to make sure that the game you end up in is not, you know, one-sided - all supplies against no supplies funfest. You can relate to this everybody, and its not fun to get inside a battle and having, like, no people that can actually use supplies on your side and all those guys on the other side that are doing so, and you will be like "Come on, why I'm wasting of my time in this kind of games." This is the main problem we're trying to fix with the Matchmaking System, because the current system allows anyone to go anywhere. Since there are two types of people, one who don't care where they end up and those who have had enough of this and they want to get in a battle where they have the upper hand; which messes it up because then these players make the teams unbalanced and so, people leave, lobbing the battles in unfair conditions and then, no one joins back. In a nutshell, the new system is a way to make sure the game's are always balanced.
Nives: Well, since we are on the same topic, tell me about the changes made to the battle timers and goal caps? Are the changes final?
Hazel: Let's just say that the score limit, like the flags and points, I'm sure we can tweak it in the future. But for the timer, it's final. This is because of the mobile version, you can't just sit in one place and play something for fifteen minutes straight, so that's why we reduced the time to ten minutes. Right now, players just sit in the lobby and wait for a good battle to come up. That is okay, I'm not going to change that, at least not for Pro Battles. However, with ten minute games, you then end up with six minutes of the battle left, maybe even less - and this is not optimal. This is in accordance with the Matchmaking System, which will make sure you start at ten minutes every time. You would still be able to join battles in the middle but most likely you will end up in a new battle. So, the short answer is, ten minutes is because of the preparation for the Matchmaking System, which is actually going to be released this month!
Nives: Woah, woah! So yes, we have the first confirmed update/leak of the whole stream!
Hazel: Well, we are trying to make it before Tanki's Birthday, because the things that's going to happen then is much more important you know...
Nives: Woah, woah, woah, hold up, hold up! Tanki Birthday? Special event, you say?


Q: Will there be any tournaments for low-ranked players? If not now, then when?

Nives: Well, as for the English community, you know that ESL is on going and we have just finished the International Championship. So for the sake for our poor Lucifer, give the poor guy a break! Let him rest for a while. Otherwise, it's a good idea, I mean, why not? I could finally wreck some people! You, me, one on one.


Q: Will there be any new alterations to Railgun, or just any other turret?

Nives: Wait a minute.... Is that I.Follow? Is that I.Follow? Who is asking that question?
Hazel:  Why? Is it because of the Railgun question?
Nives: Hahaha, stability is good, you know.
Kamil: Why not just remove the turret from the game?
Hazel: Perfect! That would be nice way to start some fights in the game, some fires you know...
Nives: Or, or, there's an alternative. Maybe we can remove Magnum from the game? See, see, just keep this in mind, ju- just at the back of your head.
Kamil: It doesn't work.
Nives: It doesn't work, that's the whole point, it doesn't work.
Hazel: Yeah... It works so good, it doesn't work! Well, back to the questions, we have stopped making alterations right now. But we will come back to it at some time, because you know, Striker has no alterations, Magnum has no alterations-
Nives: That's good! I'm sorry, I have this strange condition. Every time I hear the word "Magnum", my heart is like... *sets back and coughs* Okay, okay, I'm sorry for interrupting, please continue.

 

 

Q: What will happen to micro-upgrades once XT Skins are released?

Hazel: Do no worry, you will not lose any of your levels. XTs and normal items will be merged and they will become a skin option. The level you will get is the merge level, so you will get the level which is the highest. Information on how it will work is going to released at a later date, maybe around Tanki's Birthday or sometime later.

 

 

Q: What about iOS? Will the game be released on Apple devices too?

Hazel: Yes, the game will launch on iOS as well, but only after we are done with the Android version. Firstly, we will make sure the game is running smoothly and then we will release it on the other platform.
Nives: Well, feel free to correct me, but working with Apple and releasing betas on iOS is much harder than on Android, so let's do the easy thing first.
Hazel: Well, there are some internal reasons why we chose to go with Android first.
Nives: Or that, or that!

 

 

Q: Will there be a new map?

Hazel: Eh, the voice of Hazel-Rah is going to sound really, really upset about that topic. Being the editor of all new maps, creating them is still painful, you know...
Nives: Oh, Jesus!
Hazel: There will be a new map, we're working on it right, but progress is slow, you know.
Nives: Well, let's talk a bit more about this topic. Is there a possibility that we will accept maps designed by players of the game. Are we, as a company, open to the idea that adding maps from players to the game?
Hazel: I, as a person, am open for this idea because this is how I became a game designer as well. So I am actually all up for that stuff. Right now we have all of the prop libraries, so you can't expect some new props for a while right now. So, I am sure we can do that, but I'm not sure when. I mean, it will be interesting!

 

 

Q: Can you update the texture of the supply boxes and make them more futuristic? Right now, it looks like they're made of wood!

 

Nives: Well, maybe we can-

Hazel: Why do we change that? It's Russian wood!

Nives: Maybe we can do some sort of an sci-fi event with futuristic textures, which just celebrates sci-fi in general, that would be cool, who knows?

 

 

Q: Can you up the Gold Box drop rate seeing as the battles got shorter?

 

Nives: Well, if we increase the drop rates, then you wouldn't have them in holidays.

Hazel: I mean, I can talk about this matter. Right now, as you can see, we want Gold Boxes to drop in every other battle, not every battle because that would be... Also, Gold Boxes are dropping very frequently in higher ranks and rarely in low ranks, and this is not good. We will change it so the rate is same for every rank, but before this, we will finish the Matchmaking System. There's always the Golds you can drop from your stash!

Nives: So what you're saying is Tanki is a game of drugs and you should buy more drugs! I hear you, I hear you.

Hazel: Oh, Jesus, what are you doing!?

Nives: Hahaha.

Hazel: I'd like to return to the topic of fine Russian wood, please!

 

 

Q: In Tanki X, everybody has Spectator mode by default. But in Tanki Online, we do not. Why is this?

 

Hazel: That is because they didn't bother to make it any special, you know... And also because they already made their Matchmaking System - almost from the beginning. I mean, I don't know, we will think about it. I know spectating is fun because that is the thing I do all the time. It is much easier to watch over tanks from above, and it looks like little tanks playing in a sandbox, it's fun; and you think you are playing a real-time strategy game. I'm not sure we will allow it to everybody, maybe to Premium users, I'm sure we will discuss this from time to time. But we will make a system that can't be abused. We have to think about this first and then we will think about giving it to everybody.

 

 

Q: How will the payment system work in mobile version of the game?

 

Hazel: You will go into the Shop and buy stuff from your Google Play account, or stuff like that. It wont be something special, it will be easy.

Nives: An advantage of working with established platforms like Steam in the past, and now Google and Apple is that they already have their built-in function. We are not handling the payments, it's handled by the system.

 

 

Q: Can you decrease spawn times because of the Gold Boxes?

 

Hazel: No, the system is meant to be that way. That is to make sure that there will be less players under the Gold. So yeah, the answer is no.

 

 

Q: Why is the game becoming pay to win?

 

Hazel: You know, last year we cut the difference between M4s and M0s. It was three times, now it's two times, so if anyone comes up and says that the game is pay to win, I be like "Whut." We also keep all the pay to win mechanics in check, because all players like to buy some sort of efficiency so if you exploit this, the game will destroy itself. So if now you're saying that the game is pay to win, like WHHHHYYY? Can you explain?

Nives: So, I understand this. I understand that a person who buys supplies will play better and kill more people than the person who doesn't, that's a fact - that's the gameplay system. But as a person who doesn't buy, I can just do that too by completing mission chains and making sure all of my missions are being completed, like see, this is how many supplies I have.

Hazel: Also, if there is ever a probability that we make a new Tanki Online and then decide whether to add supplies in it or not, I'm not sure about that. They're part of a problem, along with micro-upgrades which take too long to do and only give a small advantage. So yeah, we will think about this as well. Supplies, eh, I don't. I think the current system with mission chains is working just fine, you know.
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[Hex 11,520]

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Stream Highlights and Moments

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Important Timestamps:

 

00:00 - Stream starts

02:30 - Stream starts, for real this time.

18:02 - Hax

 

 

1:18:58 - Creepy message by Semyon, albeit being exciting!

1:20:21 - "And join us again next week for some more Russian wood!"

1:21:18 - Stream ends

 

Leaks and Development Plans:

 

Sum of all the news, updates, leaks and plans shared in the stream is as follows:

• Matchmaking System
• HTML 5
• Mobile Version
• iOS and Android Version
• Spectators
• YouTubers TO
• Tanki Online War 2.0
• New Hulls and Turrets
• Supply Boxes and Drop Rates
• Tanki's 9th Birthday
• Voice Chat in Battles
• Language Support
• XT Skins
• Low Rank Tournaments
• Official Discord Channel
• New Maps
• Overdrives
• Spectator Mode
• Pay to Win Mechanics
• Spawn Rates
• Payment System

 

Nives' Container Opening:

 

About an hour and seven minutes into the stream, Nives opened up seven of his remaining containers and got some pretty good items:

• Rhino Paint

"Guys I got Rhino paint, Rhino paint, what's up? It looks like chocolate."

• 3x Days of Premium

"Oh sweet, three days of Premium! I should've done this before the stream!"

• 3500x Crystals

"Sweet."

• 10000x Crystals

"'OLY SMOKES! Ten-k crystals! Not bad, not bad... I'm saying it mostly because I'm a free player, you know."

• 125x Double Damages

"Double Damage."

• 10000x Crystals

"Woh-oh-oh! Another ten-k, sweets!"

• 125x Speed Boosts

"Thank you Semyon, 125x Speed Boosts, thank you so much."

"That is awesome! You know, fun stuff actually - the chance of getting Speed Boosts and Mines is actually lower than Double Damages and Armors, but people are still upset about this stuff. They actually accuse me of it being the opposite, and I be like 'C'mon man, I'm not that evil!' Haha."

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[Hex 11,520]

Hello readers, enjoy this review of the first Friday Raw livestream, and make sure to stay tuned for some awesome content in conjunction with the annual Tanki Birthday celebrations!

[You.Have.to.die 519]

Very Nice! Enjoyed the reminder of the first stream.

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

This is exactly what a lot of us needed! Didn't have time to watch the first stream unfortunately but this covered what I missed really well!

Edited May 22, 2018 by GrandExecutioner

[lukey0 27,543]

Nice!

[cryptor 589]

Nice!