A Rant About Tanki

[Gamma 10]

Hello Everyone,

I'm Gamma old nick << gammaking >>. I have been playing Tanki since 2013. I started playing due to two reasons. First of all It ran on the computer I had at the time and also because it was free to play and actually very fun! Now you may see where I am going with this. Recently, I have felt that many players are being pushed to buy stuff. It is no longer a game with having fun in mind. It is more so based on collecting all the equipment. This was true before too yes, however, getting equipment wasn't a herculean task. You would play, save, and buy ( maybe wait for a sale ). Now however, too many rare items with no value in particular have been added that only add to the anxiety of playing this game. It makes you feel as if you will never be able to have everything. Also, monetary gain has been prioritized such that it leads to great advantages in battle. I'm not saying that we shouldn't spend money on this game. What I am saying though is we shouldn't be coerced to spend money to have fun. It is not fun to be absolutely ineffective if you do not have amazing equipment.

Moving on, Even though they do this I believe it is fine! Why? because, if the game is to survive you need capital to keep it running. This can only be made through purchases. And honestly as Tanki is not nearly as popular as most mainstream games. It can not survive with all players paying small amounts. Hence, the prioritizing of spending capital and hence a Pay2Win system. So even though I am all for it it is somewhat obnoxious. Nonetheless it will keep the game running and hence is crucial.

But here is where the developers are riding a fine line and I believe they have started to cross it. Modes which do not require insane equipment ( such as format battles, namely most popular xp/bp ) are being targeted. This started with crystals being removed from xp/bp which I thought was a very vile move. If you want us to play matchmaking then make it fun?! Why are you making other parts of the game less interesting??? Also, the developers crack down on the wrong things. Instead of trying to prevent hacking by implementing safer technologies they instead crack down on fire wasp and private games. Instead of making the game serve the players they instead do what they feel is right with little no feedback.

Who's idea was it to make xp/bp 4 shots??? Were you intoxicated at the time of this idea? Did the dev team even discuss this idea with the community? And who? did you only discuss it with a few players who didn't even play xp/bp and would not care by either 2 or 4 shots? Regardless, I believe the developers are needed to be held accountable for what they do. They need to understand that the players are what keep a game alive. If we stop playing this game who will you cater to? You can then do all the updates you want for an empty game. It is obvious the developers do not play the game themselves. They simply do updates that lead to monetization and even if they do play, developers can get any equipment they want.

Lastly, I would like to touch on freedom of speech. Yes I understand that this is a game where minors are also present and hence moderation is needed. However, how do you test your mods? Are they thoroughly interviewed on their abilities? or is anyone who is power hungry let in? Abuse of mod powers is insanely infuriating. Also, once again pushing players to play matchmaking just so they can speak in the chat is a very low move. What if I don't play Tanki all day? what if I want to get my cup of coffee open my laptop, play 1 game of xp/bp, talk in the chat for a bit and leave? What if I want to do that? I can't. Why? Because, first of all I will earn no crystals ( moot point ) and second of all I can't type in the chat without having to play 3 MM battles ( approx 30 - 45 mins ). This is madness. In the end I am powerless and all I can do is look to other games with friendlier staff and a healthier environment. However, If everyone feels like this Tanki will sooner or later bite the dust which I do not want to see happening. 

Hope this message makes some impact on the developers.

Have a wonderful evening.

Thanks and Regards

Gamma γ

[Gamma 10]

@At_Shin Why not make it 3 format battles to chat. Why do they keep pushing me to play MM? Why do format battles have no rewards? What if I wanted to play normal xp/bp right now? why isn't that option there. Why do I the player have no control over what I want to play? These updates are impulsive no warning nothing just suddenly they say we are removing/adding something to the game in a few days. Why make it harder to play a popular mode in tanki (xp/bp no reward ( only reason I see is that because this way we have to play MM to earn crystals and that pushes us to buy stuff)? Is there any other non materialistic reasoning? 

Also, Thanks for the reply!

Much appreciated.

[Maf 32,300]

3 hours ago, Gamma said:

Why not make it 3 format battles to chat. Why do they keep pushing me to play MM? Why do format battles have no rewards? What if I wanted to play normal xp/bp right now? why isn't that option there. Why do I the player have no control over what I want to play? These updates are impulsive no warning nothing just suddenly they say we are removing/adding something to the game in a few days. Why make it harder to play a popular mode in tanki (xp/bp no reward ( only reason I see is that because this way we have to play MM to earn crystals and that pushes us to buy stuff)? Is there any other non materialistic reasoning? 

You have the right to play anything you want. XP/BP is still there, and in the HTML5 version it's even completely free of charge (no PRO pass needed). But because of its nature with upgrades/supplies/drones/augments/etc. all disabled, it used to be a very efficient way to farm resources, where you get a steady stream of crystals just from playing, with no pressure. Now this sounds great for players (and it was), but the game economy suffereed significant loss because of this method. So yes, the reasons for disabling battle funds in format battles are almost entirely materialistic. The only other reason is to encourage format battle enthusiasts to go into MM more often, since maintaining high player counts makes MM work more effectively.

I must point out that almost all other games, that have an option to make your own matches with custom settings, do not give players any rewards for playing in such battles.

[Potdindy 866]

2 hours ago, Maf said:

 

I'd be interested if there is data on whether the efforts to modernize the game have worked. it definitely looks better than it did...UI changes and all that. Have the changes brought increased player numbers?

[Maf 32,300]

11 minutes ago, Potdindy said:

I'd be interested if there is data on whether the efforts to modernize the game have worked. it definitely looks better than it did...UI changes and all that. Have the changes brought increased player numbers?

That's a difficult metric to calculate, player numbers are naturally declining at the same time. So the question is, did all the changes help counteract that decline, and how big the effect actually was? Either way, the data is not publicly available.

[Potdindy 866]

Just now, Maf said:

That's a difficult metric to calculate, player numbers are naturally declining at the same time. So the question is, did all the changes help counteract that decline, and how big the effect actually was? Either way, the data is not publicly available.

I think everyone except maybe a small group is rooting for the game to succeed. It still is a lotta fun even with reducing some of the value for f2p folks

[cosmic666 1,055]

It's become a chore, there is no enjoyment being constantly out done by OP hulls that can jump onto buildings. 

[Potdindy 866]

Just now, cosmic666 said:

It's become a chore, there is no enjoyment being constantly out done by OP hulls that can jump onto buildings. 

hmmm but you dont win by jumping...shoot hopper a lot and it will not be able to jump anymore

[E_polypterus 2,374]

32 minutes ago, Potdindy said:

hmmm but you dont win by jumping...shoot hopper a lot and it will not be able to jump anymore

Thing is... they jump a lot too : / 

[Maf 32,300]

43 minutes ago, Potdindy said:

shoot hopper a lot

"A lot" is an understatement when the Hopper has 4000 hp, 50% protection from your turret and a fully upgraded Defender drone.

[mjmj5558 2,346]

56 minutes ago, Maf said:

That's a difficult metric to calculate, player numbers are naturally declining at the same time. So the question is, did all the changes help counteract that decline, and how big the effect actually was? Either way, the data is not publicly available.

But as i see, starting from the challanges update, the number of the online players went up from 9K (in peeks) to 12K even without events. That's a great thing to see, however, the AP update was a disappointment for me, because it introduced a lot of P2W alterations. I hope tanki wil fix it in the futere,a nd won't release bad update for F2P.

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by mjmj5558

[Son_Goku 514]

4 hours ago, Maf said:

You have the right to play anything you want. XP/BP is still there, and in the HTML5 version it's even completely free of charge (no PRO pass needed). But because of its nature with upgrades/supplies/drones/augments/etc. all disabled, it used to be a very efficient way to farm resources, where you get a steady stream of crystals just from playing, with no pressure. Now this sounds great for players (and it was), but the game economy suffereed significant loss because of this method. So yes, the reasons for disabling battle funds in format battles are almost entirely materialistic. The only other reason is to encourage format battle enthusiasts to go into MM more often, since maintaining high player counts makes MM work more effectively.

I must point out that almost all other games, that have an option to make your own matches with custom settings, do not give players any rewards for playing in such battles.

I've been playing XP/BP basically nonstop since 2013 and I got only 1 Mk7+, so I'm not that sure if it was a very efficient way to farm resources

Edited November 9, 2020 by Son_Goku

[cosmic666 1,055]

4 hours ago, Potdindy said:

hmmm but you dont win by jumping...shoot hopper a lot and it will not be able to jump anymore

Sigh, i give up.

 

[wolverine848 13,097]

3 hours ago, Maf said:

"A lot" is an understatement when the Hopper has 4000 hp, 50% protection from your turret and a fully upgraded Defender drone.

So... 12,000 health?  And that's not including any module...