TWNC (Summer Edition)

[Pythor 1,354]

 

 
Hello and welcome back fellow tankers! This is your very own Pythor reporting live to you straight from the TWNC studio. I’m joined by @Person_Random and also the newest member of the team - a faithful tanker from my very own in-game clan - @MRayquaza. Today’s broadcast will be a bit longer than usual, covering (of course) the weekly weather forecast, hot news, and a recap of the MLB Home Run Derby, which was held on July 9th. So please sit back, kick off your slippers, and enjoy our latest article. This is Tanki’s very own Weather & News Channel at 6:00.
 
 
 
 Weather Forecast
By Editor-In-Chief @pythor20000, feat. Reporter @Person_Random
Today we will be featuring Sandbox, a favorite for aspiring XP/BP tankers to practice and compete in tournaments on. As usual, hull wise, we will see almost a 100% chance of either Wasp or Hornet. It’s sometimes hard to tell nowadays which insect is which. With their speedy approach and quick getaway, many tankers only feel the sting of this enemy without ever catching a glimpse of them. Turret wise, we foresee a high chance of Railgun and Smoky, two turrets that work very well with the aforementioned hulls. As we come into the dusk hours, we might see a couple of strikes of lightning accompanied with, of course, Thunder. Besides this, we have also received news of a hurricane forming over the Kungur which could potentially make its way over to Sandbox and its neighbor, Boombox. Hurricane Nives, named for our late CM, is currently only a category 2 storm, but with a large gust of cool winds blowing east from Solikamsk, there’s no reason to doubt that this storm could get ferocious. Here to bring us up to date news on the movement of this storm is TO Hurricane Analyst @Person_Random. 
 
Hey, Tankers. It’s a rough day for those near the storm. Looking over at the interactive map, a gift from our sponsors at Airpple, it’s highly likely that the low-pressure areas will receive a high amount of rain, and of course, will be hit hardest. Zooming in, you’ll see that Aleksandrovsk is already in peril - three feet of rain expected to land between now and the next three days - but certainly not to the extent of what Kolhoz has to deal with, a record-breaking fifty inches of rain.  Authorities have already warned those living nearby to evacuate as soon as possible.
 
Stores are rapidly closing, and in Kungur, even the garages are simply out of stock. All the Wasps and Dictators have been sold out, presumably for speed and height to survive the flood. Speed Boosts have never flown off the shelves like this - the panic buying is going up a notch that nobody's seen before. While most residents panic, the mayor of Kolhoz, , believes that the storm-proofing should do just enough to prevent significant damage.
 
“We’ve borrowed some shieldings from Polygon to serve as a backup in case the levees don’t work. I have good faith in the levees, especially since it has cost me about thirty billion crystals in taxes to remodel and reconstruct.  We’ll be in good hands, I assure you!” The mayor even boasts that every resident in Kolhoz will have their house in once piece or he’ll rebuild it - free of charge.  Now that I think about it, maybe I should move there too!
 
Alright, and of course, many residents of the nearby counties believe they’re perfectly prepared for the situation that arises.  Here I am with a longtime resident of Kungur, , who claims he’s been through many a storm. As many are stopping in Kolhoz to pick up last-minute supplies, he believes he’ll fare well as long as he gets out of here quickly.  So, sir, what is your game plan?
 

: “Nives… well, this certainly isn’t the first storm that’s touched down on our lands.  I’ve almost been swept away by a Hurricane Cedric a few years back. Now that one was a real doozy. This one should be a piece of cake.  We’re all ready to leave, I've just got to stock up on some Repair Kits and Speed Boosts at this stop. I’m having my brother pick up some supplies along the way and we’ll meet up at Lost Temple. I hear they have a good hotel there.”
 
We’re looking out for you and your community.  Back to you, Thor.
 
Thank you, P.R., that was very enlightening. A hurricane watch has been issued for the counties of Alexandrovsk, Polygon, Sandbox, and Boombox, and a hurricane warning has been issued for Kungur and Kolhoz. If you are located in one of the mentioned counties, we suggest you take cover or evacuate immediately. We now turn to Tanki’s ten-day outlook.
 
SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 60% Thunder 50% Thunder 50% Railgun 85% Magnum 90% Magnum 40% Smoky 40% Railgun 50% Smoky 10% Thunder 5% Fire   10% Fire   5% Freeze 5% Freeze FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY 75% Magnum 55% Freeze 85% Freeze 45% Railgun 60% Smoky 20% Freeze 30% Magnum 10% Magnum 35% Thunder 40% Fire 5% Railgun 15% Ricochet 5% Fire 20% Freeze  
 
As you can see, we are getting a frighteningly high chance of Magnum beginning on Wednesday, due to the fact that a previously dormant volcano has indeed… become active. While we do not have any reporters who live at that particular scene, we are receiving conflicting reports from the innocent tribal natives who live in that region. True, they are hard to understand, but we got the gist of the scenario over there. The Freeze Corps has been deployed to the scene and with any luck the situation there should be under control by the end of the week.
 
With the weather reports now behind us, let’s continue on to the other segments of today’s broadcast.
 
MLB Home Run Derby Recap & Breakdown
Written by @pythor20000
Every young kid who’s ever watched baseball has dreamed to be a contestant on the MLB Home Run Derby - to mash baseballs over the fence, compete against some of the best players in the game, and win a huge trophy. However, 2019 is the first year where the eight competitors would battle it out for a grand prize of one million dollars. This definitely put more pressure on the backs of these players and the derby certainly lived up to its hype. Chosen to compete in the 90th MLB home run derby - which was held in Cleveland - were Pete Alonso from the New York Mets, Joc Pederson from the LA Dodgers, Ronald Acuna from the Atlanta Braves, Vlad Guerrero Jr. from the Toronto Blue Jays, Matt Chapman from the Oakland A’s, Alex Bregman from the Houston Astros, Josh Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Carlos Santana from the Cleveland Indians. A total of 312 home runs would be hit that night, which, if the length traveled by those baseballs were added up, would exceed 24 miles. 
 

ROUND 1 (SEMIFINALS) Alex Bregman VS. Joc Pederson
While Bregman is one of the best pure hitters in baseball, and while he does hit for some power in his home field, Minute Maid Park, his line-drive swing was almost too good for mashing consecutive home runs at the derby. On the other side of the spectrum, Joc Pederson hits for a lower average but has a powerful swing that suited him well in the 2015 derby, where he finished 2nd, and continued to pay off in 2019. Pederson ended up hitting 21 homers to beat Bregman’s 16, eliminating Alex and guaranteeing Joc a spot in the finals.
 
ROUND 1 (SEMIFINALS) Vlad Guerrero Jr. VS. Matt Chapman
Vlad Guerrero Jr., son of the former MLB player with the same name (who competed and won the 2007 home run derby), had a lot of hype surrounding him as he stepped up to the plate first. The rookie had just been brought up to the big leagues a couple of months before and had taken a significant dip in his batting average, although he had hit eight homers. The big story with this guy was the utter strength and power with which he swung the bat. It was as if he was built for the home run derby. In this first round, the youngster broke the current record of most home runs in a round ever with 29 dingers. No doubt Chapman felt intimidated as he began his round and from the very beginning, things didn’t turn out as he had hoped. A combination of him popping the ball up and his pitcher having some trouble finding the strike zone put Chapman at only 13 homers. Vlad would be moving on to face Pederson in round 2. 
 
ROUND 1 (SEMIFINALS) Josh Bell VS. Ronald Acuna
Going into the 2019 HR derby, Josh Bell was one of the favorites to win. He was just coming off a blazing hot stretch where he had been hitting at an outstanding average and displaying extraordinary power, even having multiple games with two or three homers. Up against him was Acuna, an MLB sophomore who had won rookie of the year in 2018, and was putting together another respectable season in 2019. Acuna stepped up to the plate first and quickly proved that he deserved to be there. He ended up tattooing 25 home runs to all parts of the outfield bleachers, putting on an impressive show for the fans. Now the pressure was on Bell to come through and though he put up a fight, something seemed off with his swing. Having only finished with 18 home runs, Bell was eliminated in the first round, crushing Pirates fans’ hearts.
 
ROUND 1 (SEMIFINALS) Carlos Santana VS. Pete Alonso
For the last semifinal matchup Carlos Santana, being a lower seed, hit first. This guy had a major turnaround from last year, when he only hit for a .229 batting average with 24 homers. This year, only halfway done, Santana already had almost as many homers with 21, and was hitting over .290. His power numbers over his past nine years were pretty good, making him a nice fit for the derby. Unfortunately, he didn’t perform his best in front of his home field crowd, only hitting 13 home runs. This put Pete Alonso, a 2019 rookie, in a good position to pounce. Pete capitalized on this, and with some time remaining, blasted 14 homers which ensured his spot in the finals against Ronald Acuna. 
 
ROUND 2 (FINALS) Joc Pederson VS. Vlad Guerrero Jr. 
This matchup was a nail biting, heart pounding, record breaking battle that lasted for nearly a half hour. Provided below is the live replay of the round sponsored by Semyon’s Snack Shack. 
 
In the end, after an overtime round and two swing offs, Vladdie Jr. took the dub away from Pederson. The fans would see the Blue Jays rookie in the championship.
 
ROUND 2 (FINALS) Ronald Acuna VS. Pete Alonso
Ronald Acuna started off the round hot, mashing eight home runs in the first minute and a half. He then cooled off a bit, hitting 11 more in his final three minutes. To beat this, Alonso would have to hit six more home runs than he had in his first round. The “Polar Bear”, as he had been nicknamed, pulled off another gutty performance. Despite a slow start to his round, around the two minute mark he turned it on, hitting three in a row and cruising to 20 homers with still 30 seconds remaining on the clock. The championship would be rookie vs. rookie.
 
ROUND 3 (CHAMPIONSHIP) Vlad Guerrero Jr. VS. Pete Alonso
For the final showdown with one million dollars on the line, Vlad Jr. stepped up to the plate first. This was the moment the crowd had been waiting for, and the adrenaline was flowing hard through Vlad’s veins. He was looking to become the first Blue Jays player with a home run derby title, hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps. Unfortunately for him, it was obvious from the beginning that the 69 previous homers he had hit, and the long battle he had against Pederson, had worn him down. A minute passed, then two, and Vlad was only sitting at seven home runs. Realization started to jolt through the crowd that maybe, in fact, he wouldn’t take home the trophy. At the end, however, Vlad got really hot and in his last two and a half minutes crushed another 15 homers, bringing his total to 22. This would be a hard, but definitely attainable number for Alonso to reach. The pressure was mounting. Could Pete Alonso hit 23 home runs was the question of the hour…
 
Discarding his water bottle and hyping himself up, Alonso assumed his stance at home plate, ready to make history. The round was a rollercoaster. At first, he looked strong, hitting nine home runs within a minute thirty. Then, he missed a few in a row, and the future did not look too bright. All of a sudden, he got into a rhythm and started driving baseballs over the fence. With a minute and a half left, sitting at 18 dingers, Pete called his timeout to catch a breather and even proceeded to hype up the crowd himself. He then pulled through when it mattered most and hit the final five home runs, finishing by doing a tremendous bat flip and giving a huge hug to his pitcher, who was actually his own cousin. Pete Alonso, the Mets rookie, was the official 2019 MLB home run derby champion.
 

 
 Tanki Online Writer Awards
 
Well, we've looked far and wide for entries, and sure enough, many of you writers will walk home with a prize.  Please contact @Person_Random to claim your prize, and if you have complaints about the judging.  This time, we are not including the Overall Writer awards, but you can vote for your favorite writers and pieces in the feedback survey below.  Down here, we have a prizes list.
 
1st Place - Teddy Bear (or equivalent)
2nd Place - Like (or Dislike, if you really want one)
3rd Place - Badge
 
 Article Awards
Just to clear things up, articles are guides, reviews, interviews, and the occasional humor and 'other' category pieces.
 First Place - The Long-Awaited Guide to Procrastination
By @Blackdrakon30
I have to say, this article is probably the most hilarious piece of work I've read this year.  With the amazing description and unique idea, I couldn't think of any other article that deserved the first prize.  It totally slew the rest of the competition and made any of my attempts at humor look like cat sick.  The only downside was that I ended up taking the information seriously.
 
 Second Place - Gauss: To Buy, or Not to Buy?
By @Mr.Nibbles
Enjoyable second piece coming from , definitely a helpful and versatile guide for anyone debating whether or not to buy Gauss.  The author includes several interesting anecdotes and adds a personal touch to the guide. Although the description is a little shorter than I would have liked, and it would have been even better with more inside info about the new turret, I think it's an article that deserves recognition.
 
 Creativity Piece Awards
These awards are here to recognize any writer who has a knack for crafting brilliant stories and poems.
 First Place - Thoughts
By @Cyber2_O.o
I've always been partial against poems and have always really disliked them, but this work just opened my eyes to thin about my surroundings.  Every rhyme is perfectly positioned and each stanza touches the reader in an indescribable way.  This piece has shattered the stigma I've had about poems.
 
 Second Place - Darkness [Part 4]
By @Lose
Few have noticed the complexity of the plot that  puts into every single story written.  Every bit of the plot has been crafted into a spectacular storyline, leaving the reader asking for more.  Sit down, get a warm drink, and enjoy.
 
 Third Place - The Lost Tank and Battle For the Flag
By @Sacrifice (The Lost Tank) and @Cyber2_O.o (Battle For the Flag)
The pair of stories sports an impressive amount of detail around two completely separate plots.  Both of these pieces show off different styles by two authors who have the ability to craft perfect stories about Tanki.
 
Congrats to the winners, and happy writing! 
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 

 Story Series - The origins of Juggernaut
A new feature - a tanker returns after a short hiatus and finds that his teacher is the one behind a secret project!
Written by @Person_Random
After a long week or several spent in solitary, I was finally freed from my confinement and allowed to go back to the Tanki Academy to earn the required credits for my Tanker's License.  The first hours I spent were in the BattleSim room, familiarizing myself with the confiscated tank that I had used a while back, and then I had to go to classes.  Perhaps I would earn my Tanker's license by the time I was a Master Sergeant.
 
During my first class, Basic Geography and Navigation, I looked at the board for seating assignments and shakily took a seat next to a short, timid kid with greasy hair. He adjusted his reading glasses and scribbled down notes on his own composition book, while the rest of the new recruits laughed and joked around.  His facial expression, a scheming look accompanied by a sinister smile made him look youthful, but the way he acted?  Well, he was probably a ninety-year-old stuck in an eleven-year-old's body.  I tried to ignore him since he made me feel like I was chewing on ice cubes.  He just stood out.
 
Strangely, I could never find him after classes, when we were supposed to get in our battle practice hours done.  Here, we would be randomly grouped into teams of 8 and try to accomplish our goals. It was a full hour of Battle Simulation, or BattleSim.  BattleSim was supposed to be like way for all the classmates to actually take everything they had learned in the dull classes and apply it.  Looking around, I peered through hordes of young nine and ten year olds, looking for him.  But where was he?  I supposed, knowing that he usually got lost in the wide expanse of the dining hall, he probably couldn't find his way to the BattleSim room after classes.  But then days, and then weeks, passes, and no one could ever find him.  Even the other classmates knew about him, and we could try to keep track of him, either by sitting next to him or asking for help on Tanki Stats homework, which was by far the most difficult subject. However, all our attempts were fruitless, he would always keep disappearing.
 
Finally, one day, I had a surprise breakthrough.  Our elective teacher, a rotund man named Mr. Breckinbridge, a distinguished Legend, had assigned a "Make a Tanki Instrument" project, and I was ready to make mine.  I only needed a new exhaust tube, and I was going to get that during his prep period, which was during BattleSim.
 
First thing after dinner, I ran to his classroom and knocked on the door.  Apparently, another kid had got there first, and he had a spare part in his hands.  Shoving it into his knapsack, he muttered a short "Hello"  before dashing off to the other side of the corridor.  As I was thinking about the missed hours of defeating tankers with my overpowered Firebird, I failed to notice that the door had closed with a slight slam.
 
I knocked, but no one would answer.  Conversations could be heard, but still, no one came to the door.  Confused, I knew nothing else to do besides peeking through the peephole.  Everything appeared convex and distorted, and all I saw were sparks emerging from a welding torch.  And of course, two figures, one student and one teacher.
 

Mini-Contest!

Want to be featured in the TWNC?  Do you miss "Continue the Story?"  If you said yes to both, then this contest is PERFECT for you!  Read on!
 
Your task is to write a continuation of this story because I don't have any time to continue it.  The rules are extremely simple: it must be on-topic, no plagiarizing, no kidnapping me and stealing my brain for ideas, and of course, as there are always is, we have a word limit.  Keep the story below 1,000 words, no exceptions.  Please PM your story to @Person_Random.  The winner gets their story featured in our next issue!
 
That just about wraps things up for us today, folks.  Thanks for tuning in to today's broadcast.  We hope you enjoyed it and we'll see you when we return next time... You have been listening to the Tanki Weather and News Channel at 6:00.
 

 

• 
   
  
   ANNOUCEMENT: If you wish to become a subscriber of the TWNC, please either comment #TWNC below or DM me or @Person_Random.  You will receive access to special sneak peeks of upcoming articles, and a ticket to one of our in-game events.  I will also be creating an official forum topic for the TWNC.  You will get your name in the subscriber list there as well.  But before you do anything, please go here to complete a feedback survey.
   
  If you wish to join the actual TWNC team and help us write articles, please contact me on Discord: @Thor T.O. #9198
   
  

  Join us on Discord!

  

   

   Selected Works from Our Team Members

   

Best of Thor's Articles

• Tanki Online Weather Channel
• TWNC, Issue 1

 

​Best of Random's Articles

• Gaining Popularity in the AWS
• The Beginning (A Tale of Yesterville)
• Challenges Conquered!
• Random's Rewind

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

Edits:

Some minor edits to do with formatting and links. No complaints with the text though.

 

Approved.

 

Although this is my first time reading a TWNC article, I love it already. The first part with the weather forecast for different maps just reeled me in straight away. @pythor20000 and @Person_Random, you guys work wonders with your pens. I really hope to see more of this quality content, because it really is that amazing - to me, at least.

 

I do apologize for holding this article for so much time - we've been very busy lately in terms of workload, so I do hope that you can understand. Nevertheless, continue with the TWNC - it has great potential.  :) 

[Pythor 1,354]

Nice to see a new face approving AWS articles :)

 

The ten day outlook got all messed up though... We submitted it in a spreadsheet, now its all bunched together and doesn't even make sense.

Edited September 7, 2019 by pythor20000

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

Nice to see a new face approving AWS articles :)

 

The ten day outlook got all messed up though... We submitted it in a spreadsheet, now its all bunched together and doesn't even make sense.

Yeah, I don't know what happened there. I did the best I could with formatting, but I must have messed something up in the progress. Sorry  :(

[Pythor 1,354]

Yeah, I don't know what happened there. I did the best I could with formatting, but I must have messed something up in the progress. Sorry  :(

All good, you just started doing this 

Edited September 8, 2019 by pythor20000

[Cyber2_O.o 64]

That... was... awesome!  :)

I'm normally not interested in long articles or guides, but that was pretty creative. (Hurricane Nives lol)  :lol: And there was tons of humor, which kept it interesting. Great images, too. I liked the sponsors XD. 

As for the awards for AWS, why do I have two articles on the top 3? Doesn't seem kind of fair...

 

#TWNC