Why I want to take a break from Tanki

[Son_Goku 514]

I've been playing Tanki for over 13 years by now, and I've witnessed lots of, let's say disappointments in that time - but currently, the game is just at the lowest point it's ever been. In this topic, I want to rant about a couple things that are making me "quit". It's mostly about Pro Battles and Railgun Master.

1) is aimbot, or aim assist, or whatever you may want to call it. Be it the mobile aimbot, or the gamepad one, or straight up scripts; playing against such tankers is INCREDIBLY annoying. There is still nothing that shows us on what platform someone is playing, and still nothing to make us avoid playing against such players. Meanwhile, they just keep doing this to their heart's content:

Spoiler

I know, I've made lots of topics about this already, but still. It's by far one of the biggest problems that Tanki has currently, and when Hazel said to Taspens that there is no hacking problem in that one interview, it felt like a shot to the foot. You can literally find those hacks in minutes and start using them yourself. The exploit that gets you gamepad aimbot on normal keyboard controls has also not been fixed yet, it's been around for months, and people are still abusing it.

How to fix all this? Give us an option to disable aimbot for everyone when creating Pro Battles, give us something that shows us on what platform people are playing, and look into fixing the mentioned exploit.

 

2) is that critical bugs are not getting fixed, and more are being introduced. I've already mentioned the gamepad aimbot exploit.

By far one of the most annoying things that can happen is when you line up two people for a shot, but it hits only one. Look at this, for example:

Spoiler

They are clearly lined up, and the shot should be hitting both players, instead of just one. But no, the shot goes straight to the moon after hitting the first player. This has been a thing for years already. In Flash, like 9/10 or even 10/10 of doubles would have hit, in HTML5 however, it's completely random. The game simply doesn't register the second player you should be hitting too. It's game winning and game losing at the same time, something that should have been fixed years ago already.

Then there's also this bug. You get self destructed by the anti cheat whenever you hit the hitbox of any object on the map, in a specific way:

Spoiler

Yeah, the video is old. Yeah, I did use it for a bug report, right after I made it. And yes, the bug is still not fixed, you can still get self destructed by doing it. You don't even need the setup I showed in the video, sometimes by just driving next to those objects, you can also get self destructed.

Last, but not least: ever since they changed the turning speed of Wasp recently, it's not guaranteed that you can unflip yourself when half flipped. Sometimes, you can unflip normally:

Spoiler

But sometimes...

Spoiler

...you just get stuck in the map kinda, and can't unflip. As mentioned, this has been an issue ever since they changed the rotation speed and all that of light hulls, some updates ago. Still not fixed.

 

3) is that there is nothing for us to kick players out of our battles. Some tankers have only one mission, which is nothing but ruining your day. We don't want to have to rely on battle moderators to kick them. We want to do it ourselves. You could go one step further and give us blacklists when creating Pro Battles, to prevent those players from joining, but I get that that could be a bit controversial.

 

4) is the final one, which is the lack of quality of life features one could consider common sense. Why are there no battle presets we can create, edit or delete, that allow us to create battles with set options in just one click? Why do I see the supplies bar etc. in battles that have supplies turned off? Why can I not see who returned the flag? Why does the engine of tanks keep revving up, even when you switch between driving forwards and backwards? Why can't I switch between Hornet and Wasp in Railgun Master, without leaving the battle? Why isn't there a confirmation message when you close the client, that asks whether you're sure you want to close it? Why can't I see everyone's ping in real-time? Why is hopper still allowed in Railgun Master ?

The list could go on and on. All of this should be part of Tanki already. And all of this not being part of Tanki is something that contributes to low player numbers. It's not the lack of paints, it's the lack of quality of life features.

 

There are a couple more things that are also incredibly frustrating, but which are not main contributors that make me take a break - such as Hornet surviving 2 shots occasionally in Railgun Master, which adds a random factor to the game that no one needs and is game changing, then there's that you can't get around playing against high ping players, of course the poor server performance as well (but you can't really blame the devs on this, because keyword "special military operation"). That you can pause the game to delay your spawns sucks, that you can self destruct to gain an advantage also sucks.

And lastly, the current competitive scene. Esports is a shadow of its former self, it just looks like random matchmaking. The old Esports formats, especially the Light format, were A LOT better, as they required way more skillful players. Railgun Master is literally the perfect game mode for Esports, but well. Some players who reach the Top 8 in current Esports and have the Star paint literally drive around like toddlers, it's crazy.

What's annoying is that like 90% of the things I mentioned are fixed just like that, but they're never being fixed, and slowly, I'm getting tired of waiting. Current Tanki is nothing but a pointless, endless cycle of desync after desync and getting destroyed by hackers or aimbotters over and over again. And that there is no attention to details by the devs, is just the cherry on top.

So yeah, I'm gonna take a break and hope things will get better. I really don't want to fully quit Tanki since, as sad as it may sound, I've actually grown up while playing this game. But the aimbot especially, is simply making it pointless to play right now.

Edited January 15 by NikmanGT
Removed some caps

[Hypersomnia 1,695]

not readin' all that yap boi but

games are meant to be played for fun not to grind or make it your second job (looking at you phoenix grinders and tryhards). If you don't enjoy the game anymore you should leave without a second thought. This applies to every game. Wish you luck and remember Saitama solos Ultra Instinct Goku

[Spy 14,687]

Unfortunately I can relate to the issue revolving around the aimbot/controller method that's been going on lately. To me, XP/BP was the most skillful format since everyone was on an equal standing. Now I see two main issues; 

1. Players who abuse the controller 'aimbot' or those who use third-party software to gain advantages in such battles.
2. HTML5, which as is, is extremely bad for XP/BP player since even innocent players may seem like cheaters sometimes.

These two problems combine into one - The format is not fair anymore. I can tell from personal experience that every time I play against someone who seems 'suspicious', I have this doubt within myself, whether he's actually cheating or it's just HTML5.

[Dopamine 2,161]

On 1/15/2025 at 3:30 PM, Spy said:

Spoiler

Unfortunately I can relate to the issue revolving around the aimbot/controller method that's been going on lately. To me, XP/BP was the most skillful format since everyone was on an equal standing. Now I see two main issues; 

1. Players who abuse the controller 'aimbot' or those who use third-party software to gain advantages in such battles.
2. HTML5, which as is, is extremely bad for XP/BP player since even innocent players may seem like cheaters sometimes.

These two problems combine into one - The format is not fair anymore. I can tell from personal experience that every time I play against someone who seems 'suspicious', I have this doubt within myself, whether he's actually cheating or it's just HTML5.

Yes, I dont play XP/BP but it is the same in MM. My accound is about as old as @Son_Goku's, and I have been playing with keyboard-only ever since. Recently I decided to try mobile to see how the autoaim actually works and I was dumbfounded by how easy to play it is. With the right combo, it feels like a completely different game and strips away most of the skill needed to play.
Either way, I returned back to PC now and try to pretend the mobile aimbot doesnt even exist, because it is kinda sad it does .

[Potdindy 866]

Fantastic in depth review. I do t know enough to understand why some of those bugs are things but good post. I have. Noticed my hull getting stuck in a half flipped spot before and it is quite annoying.

I have found in any games I play that when I take them seriously, I lose interest and get frustrated, while if Im just playing a bit, I dont get tilted by things like random selfD!

[LambSauce 1,884]

On 1/15/2025 at 4:45 AM, Son_Goku said:

1) is aimbot, or aim assist, or whatever you may want to call it. Be it the mobile aimbot, or the gamepad one, or straight up scripts; playing against such tankers is INCREDIBLY annoying. There is still nothing that shows us on what platform someone is playing, and still nothing to make us avoid playing against such players. Meanwhile, they just keep doing this to their heart's content:

  Reveal hidden contents

Surely this is just lag?

[Son_Goku 514]

On 1/15/2025 at 4:07 PM, LambSauce said:

Surely this is just lag?

If it happens over and over, it's lag exposing someone's aimbot. In their POV, you're not in cover yet.

Edited January 15 by Son_Goku

[LambSauce 1,884]

On 1/15/2025 at 3:09 PM, Son_Goku said:

If it happens over and over, it's lag exposing someone's aimbot. In their POV, you're not in cover yet.

I believe it's the Tanki servers, ever since they introduced that delay to counter the DDoS attacks.

[Son_Goku 514]

On 1/15/2025 at 6:12 PM, LambSauce said:

I believe it's the Tanki servers, ever since they introduced that delay to counter the DDoS attacks.

This hasn't been an issue ever since the DDoS attacks or whatever measures they introduced to counter them. Actual aimbot videos and scripts started circulating after that, and ever since then, shooting through walls like shown has become a problem.

Ever since gamepad controls with their built-in aimbot were introduced, I've experimented with them with friends of mine. They had never shot me through walls before, but with the gamepad's aimbot, they did. Now you tell me whether that's just a coincidence.

Also, if it's lag, it wouldn't be always the same players doing it, literally everyone would be shooting through walls the whole time, which is not the case.

Edited January 15 by Son_Goku

[Son_Goku 514]

Look, I've talked about this may times already, but this is what aimbot is doing:

Spoiler

I took this screenshot from some YouTube video. As you can see, the player running the aimbot doesn't have to aim at all, their shot just bends to the targeted player on its own. Now, if you are the player who is getting hit by this, and you happen to be going around a corner at the same time, the shot will appear to be going through your cover in your POV. In the hacker's POV however, you didn't go around the corner yet, which is due to normal lag/desync.

So yeah, shots going through walls are just server-sided miscalculations in the end, which are caused by a combination of lag, desync and in most cases also by aimbot. But you all don't seem to understand what the actual problem is. The actual problem with the aimbot is that people hit shots they wouldn't be hitting otherwise, that often even surpass human capabilities. That is the frustrating part. Doesn't matter that we "get hit through walls".

I have to add that in the screenshot, it's obviously scripts. Compared to normal aiming, where your turret scans for players in a pretty much straight line in front of you, aimbots give your turret a sort of cone, with a horizontal range in which your turret scans for something to hit. With the mobile, as well as gamepad aimbot, you get a range of 3-5 degrees, whereas with scripts, it goes up to 20 degrees. 360 degrees actually, but when above 20 degrees the anti cheat kicks in, which makes you deal 0 damage then. Which means that in parkour, where there is no anti cheat, you can hit people behind your tank with it.

Edited January 16 by Son_Goku

[Spy 14,687]

On 1/15/2025 at 7:12 PM, LambSauce said:

I believe it's the Tanki servers, ever since they introduced that delay to counter the DDoS attacks.

In some cases Tanki servers to play a role in such cases where shots seem to go through objects, although, it's never as consistent nor as obvious as in the clips like Goku provided. The more you play the format the easier it becomes to tell the difference.

[zdochnuta_mucha 18]

On 1/15/2025 at 5:45 AM, Son_Goku said:

The list could go on and on. All of this should be part of Tanki already. And all of this not being part of Tanki is something that contributes to low player numbers. It's not the lack of paints, it's the lack of quality of life features.

This is one of the things that bothers me and many other players as well. Many problems that never existed before are now present in the HTML version. The fact that most of them did not get fixed after several years of full development of HTML is quite disappointing. I would prefer to have those bugs fixed and see the game run properly again over having tons of new content.

There are bugs that are easy to notice in XP/BP but there are also many bugs related to other formats like MM or Parkour, or just in the game in general. I came across most of them just by doing Parkour and testing a lot of stuff regarding physics. Most of them could be added to your list since they serve no purpose, they are straight up annoying. Many players do not notice them or do not mind their presence simply because it doesnt affect them as much as it affects people whose formats depend on details and precision.

[Xsader 37]

On 1/15/2025 at 8:20 AM, Hypersomnia said:

not readin' all that yap boi but

games are meant to be played for fun not to grind or make it your second job (looking at you phoenix grinders and tryhards). If you don't enjoy the game anymore you should leave without a second thought. This applies to every game. Wish you luck and remember Saitama solos Ultra Instinct Goku

Whatever you do - work, play, communicate, etc - must be done wholeheartedly and with integrity and responsibility for the others involved.

This is valid for any social activity, be it  in real life and/or online, and there is no exception whether it concerns your job, your relations, your game, etc.

One should always display fair attitude and is surely entitled to receive such in return!

 

"it's just a game" or "it's just a job" and etc, are lame expressions to justify one lacking the good will or concentration or capacity to handle the load/resposiblility ... in games it also suggests disrespect and ignorance towards the others and if one happens to have such a mindset, may be it's better to leave, rather than spoiling other people's experience.

[jerry2975 56]

Son_Goku said: shots through walls. It's true! try to undertand the drama... 2019, no problem. Five years later  problem. Cheer tanki!

[Gabe2607 215]

On 1/14/2025 at 11:45 PM, Son_Goku said:

I've been playing Tanki for over 13 years by now, and I've witnessed lots of, let's say disappointments in that time - but currently, the game is just at the lowest point it's ever been. In this topic, I want to rant about a couple things that are making me "quit". It's mostly about Pro Battles and Railgun Master.

1) is aimbot, or aim assist, or whatever you may want to call it. Be it the mobile aimbot, or the gamepad one, or straight up scripts; playing against such tankers is INCREDIBLY annoying. There is still nothing that shows us on what platform someone is playing, and still nothing to make us avoid playing against such players. Meanwhile, they just keep doing this to their heart's content:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

You are a smart grown-up guy: you are not a Buyer, play Pro Battles, know how to play, see problems, recommend fixes, etc. You even did something I always refused to do which is to prove your point with videos: I always found it useless and this post is confirming it

Tanki has been constantly looking to attract people opposite to you. Young kids spend their money, play their MM battles, do not learn how to play but use the brute force of their newly purchased equipment. They do not see bugs. These young kids get excited by any new piece of OP equipment that Tanki throws to them. 

There is no interest to fix issues because the only ones caring about are the very few smart grown-up guys left in this game that do not feed $$$ to the game.

[Son_Goku 514]

On 1/21/2025 at 2:11 AM, Gabe2607 said:

 

To be fair, I used to be a kid too when I started and the OP equipment attracted me as well, so I guess that strategy is really working

But yeah, didn't take me long to figure out that for me at least, matchmaking is pointless. So I have been playing XP/BP ever since, without ever looking back pretty much. For more than a decade by now, lol.

You can see it on my profile even, all the hours that are not on Railgun are from matchmaking

[alkyng 3,080]

I have a similar experience to you, playing from 2012. Although I do find Xp/Bp as an overrated mode but your points still make sense.

HTML5 is clearly way inferior compared to the flash player version even after 5 years of forcing it, rather than saying in its first releases in 2020. And over that, maniac players and moderators were rushing to call you backward and nostalgic. Although you talk about real points and some blatant flaws in the version, but they insist into framing you into "nostalgic frame".

My points stand from that time, that I may have tolerance for things that were over developers' abilities like the end of flash life but some idiotic decisions into making things that worsen the situation definitely had effect on tanki number of players. What I mean, is having a strong gravity that randomly pulls you down and flip you is understandable to an extent due to the developers lack of skills, but introducing in the same year a flying hopper? and even with blatantly high numbers. That's the meaning of disrespect. PRO battles were headache to access, whenever you click in a battle to browse they move you to a new page and when you go back everything refreshes and you start over from home page. I have suggested many SIMPLE solutions to the unskilled developers but they delayed the fixing for months and months.

 

[Venerable 2,967]

i read this as "why i want to break tanki" and i was like, "bro tanki is already broken"

[natrolite 1,049]

On 1/15/2025 at 7:45 AM, Son_Goku said:

 

3) is that there is nothing for us to kick players out of our battles. Some tankers have only one mission, which is nothing but ruining your day. We don't want to have to rely on battle moderators to kick them. We want to do it ourselves. You could go one step further and give us blacklists when creating Pro Battles, to prevent those players from joining, but I get that that could be a bit controversial.

 

This. 

It's incredibly frustrating at times when you're in a 4vs4 and there's one player which all 7 others want to leave but just wouldn't... and everyone else has to go make a different game. Sometimes trolls would follow you around maps and literally would not let you play, or purposefully do the bare minimum of activity so that they're "technically" playing and thus avert actually being considered saboteurs, so voting them is essentially useless.

We had this system in the game previously, the team had to unanimously vote a player out and the player would then be kicked out the game. I understand the exploitability of such a system and why it had to be removed back then, but today's Tanki is a different scene entirely. We did not have PRO Battles back then, or even format battles, and I truly believe such a system can be reintroduced into the game with enough failsafe measures in place as to prevent exploitation, a unanimous vote, for example, would be the bare minimum needed, or perhaps it can be made so that everyone in the game, be it from the player's team or from the opposite team has to vote a player out in order for the player to be forcefully removed from the battle.

[Jeers4U 665]

After being flipped by my 5th dead tank today, I think it's time to take a break from this farce.

Imagine. Programming a dead tank to be able to flip one that isn't.

Edited July 26 by Jeers4U
grass