Commanders!
We are happy to announce another addition to Armored Warfare – Update 0.21 "Eye of the Storm!
This update is bringing both new content – including the long-awaited
new progression vehicles, a new PvP map and existing map overhauls – as
well as a large number of changes and improvements of Balance 2.0 game
mechanics and corrections of bugs. Here are some of the main features
that await you:
- New Progression Vehicles
- Waterway PvP Map
- PvP Map Overhauls
- Ammunition Changes
- Economy Changes
- Garage UI Improvements
- Visual Enhancement Program
New Progression Vehicles
In Update 0.21, we are introducing a series of Czechoslovak and
Polish vehicles. It consists of Tier 6 to Tier 10 vehicles of AFV, TD
and LT classes that are bringing new mechanics currently unique to this
branch, such as the Spike-LR fire-and-forget guided missile system. The
branch consists of both tracked and wheeled vehicles, which all have
excellent firepower (often with very high rate of fire) and mobility for
their respective tiers.
BVP Šakal – Tier 6 Armored Fighting Vehicle
The Šakal (“Jackal”) is an experimental AFV produced by Excalibur
Army, a Czech military vehicle and equipment producer to replace the
BVP-2 in Czech service. A prototype was built and underwent trials but
was ultimately not selected to become the next mass-produced Czech IFV.
It is, however, currently offered to foreign customers for export. The
Šakal is armed with the 30mm 2A42 cannon and a Spike missile launcher.
Gallery (Click to Open)
KTO Rosomak – Tier 7 Armored Fighting Vehicle
Originally a Finnish modular design by Patria, the Rosomak
(“Wolverine”) is a standard wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle of the
Polish Land Forces, replacing the old OT-64. Licensed production in
Poland started in 2002 and the vehicle already participated in combat
operations during the War in Afghanistan. Production is expected to
continue until 2019. The Rosomak does not carry any missiles but is
armed with an exceptionally powerful 30mm Bushmaster autocannon.
Gallery (Click to Open)
KTO Rosomak M1M – Tier 8 Armored Fighting Vehicle
An improved version of the Rosomak based on the combat experience
from Afghanistan. The vehicle features significantly enhanced protection
in form of a modular armor system as well as anti-RPG mesh screens by
Qinetiq. The Rosomak is armed with an exceptionally powerful 30mm
Bushmaster autocannon as well as with a Spike missile launcher.
Gallery (Click to Open)
WPB Anders – Tier 9 Light Tank
The Anders universal platform was developed as the means to provide
the Polish army with an entire family of vehicles, ranging from an IFV
to a powerful Light Tank that was to replace the actual Main Battle
Tanks in the Polish army. This line of thought was, however,
discontinued, as was the development of the Anders platform, although it
recently appeared again under a different name. In Armored Warfare, the
Anders is represented by a Light Tank variant with a powerful 120mm
cannon.
Gallery (Click to Open)
Wilk XC-8 – Tier 10 Tank Destroyer
The Wilk (“Wolf”) is a prototype fire support vehicle based on the
Rosomak chassis. It was developed as a fire support vehicle for the
infantry formations carried by Rosomaks. Its initial 105mm cannon model
failed to catch the Polish attention due to incompatible gun caliber,
which led to an upgrade in the form of the XC-8 turret, carrying a 120mm
gun. The Wilk XC-8 was unveiled to public in 2015 but it was not
adopted by the Polish military either, despite its excellent
performance.
Gallery (Click to Open)
Please note that more low-tier Polish and Czech vehicles of the
branch will be introduced in the future. Additionally, we are adding a
new Tier 8 Chinese Main Battle Tank to the end of the Zhang Feng Chinese
MBT line. Further high-Tier vehicles will follow.
Type 99 – Tier 8 Main Battle Tank
The Type 99 is a Chinese Main Battle Tank, blending both western
technologies and eastern influence. It is also the most advanced Main
Battle Tank of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. In Chinese service,
approximately 700-800 Type 99s of several variants have been built
since 2001 and its production seems to continue still.
Gallery (Click to Open)
Waterway PvP Map
No matter what shape the world is in, one thing will never change –
the trade must flow. And few places on the planet are as important for
world trade as the Panama Canal. Recently, several rogue corporations
hired an unscrupulous band of mercenaries to take over the channel to
pillage the ships passing through Panama’s massive waterway to drive the
already exorbitant commodity prices even higher. Put an end to that,
commander!
The Waterway is a brand new PvP map, coming to Armored Warfare in
Update 0.21. With its 1300x1300 size, it offers all sorts of terrain for
players to use to their advantage.
PvP Map Overhauls
For Update 0.21, we have overhauled two older maps for the needs of Balance 2.0 gameplay – Roughneck and Narrows! Open the gallery to view the screenshots.
Roughneck (Click to Open)
Narrows (Click to Open)
Additionally, both maps will be optimized for better performance and will receive their respective Global Operations versions.
Ammunition Changes
Over the last weeks, we have evaluated the results of the
abovementioned changes and have identified several issues with the
Balance 2.0 system. These include:
- In some cases, the shell damage is difficult to predict due to the complexity of the damage bonus system and its interaction with damage-enhancing and damage-reducing elements such as the Spall Liner for example
- In some cases, the penetration or non-penetration of shells is unpredictable as even vehicles with very thin armor can under certain circumstances withstand high-caliber fire that should be reasonably expected to penetrate and cause damage
- Low-tier HEAT shells are sometimes exceedingly powerful while high-tier HEAT shells are less useful than we’d like them to be with kinetic shells being superior in most situations
- The penetration indicator is in some cases unreliable – shells can sometimes bounce off armor that is marked as green for example
Some of these issues go directly against our vision for the shell
type roles. To improve the shell situation and to bring it closer to the
abovementioned intent, we will be introducing several changes in Update
0.21.
Economy Changes
One of the topics that are hotly debated amongst players and
developers alike is the Armored Warfare game economy – specifically, the
rewards and their relation to in-game prices and costs. In this
article, we’d like to give you an overview of our plans for the future
of Armored Warfare economy.
Update 0.19 and Update 0.20 both brought significant changes to many
Armored Warfare mechanics, including those that had major impact on the
game’s economy. Time to kill, hitpoint amount, shell damage and armor
layout – they all influenced it to a degree. After the launch of Update
0.20, we took a long hard look at the game’s economy itself as well as
the player feedback on it and decided to introduce a number of changes.
Our goal is not to slow down the game progression, but to introduce a
system where both the player contribution to the battle and the
personal performance are justly rewarded.
Additional Garage UI Improvements
Update 0.21 is bringing further improvements to the new Garage User
Interface, introduced in Update 0.20. These improvements include:
- New Vehicle Customization Window
- New Dealer Window
- New Daily Challenge Window with rebalanced Challenges
- New Battle Result window with the added option to share your results on social media
- New Low-Requirement Garage for lower-end PCs
- A large number of smaller changes designed to improve the UI experience based on player feedback
Further improvements to the Garage UI will be added in the future.
Visual Enhancement Program
In Update 0.21, we are taking the first steps to improve the graphics
of Armored Warfare, including the vehicle model look and feel.
Significant graphics updates will come in future updates, but the
improved lighting system represents the beginning of the Visual
Enhancement Program.
At the same time, we are introducing several optimizations that will
improve the game’s performance on lower-end PCs.
List of 0.21 Changes - Basic Update
The following updates are applied on top of each other:
- Update 1 applies on top of the Basic Update
- Update 2 applies on top of Basic Update + Update 1
- Update 3 applies on top of Basic Update + Update 1 + Update 2
Comments
Post a Comment