Re: Royal Equestrian Armored Division

[Fuzzy]

Naturally it would be the Soviets that gets the most powerful varient of the base Panzer IV rather than the Germans wouldn't it? A Tier 7 late model version with the spaced armour and everything? That should be a German tank for crying out loud!

Basically saying "The Russians made it better."

Urrrrgh.

- greater tank rendering range is possible, but very expensive (development-wise), it’s planned, but not anytime soon

"We don't want countries that rely on long range to utilise their only advantage."

- there will be turrents flying off the destroyed tanks during ammo rack explosions, it’s possible there will be other effects during ammorack explosion, such as secondary explosions, but apparently such an explosion will not do splash damage to tanks in its vincinity

After seeing WT's ammo racking I'm real interested to see this physics element. It's the feather in WG's cap right now to combat WT's technology. Very intrigued.

- according to The_Chieftain, WG is talking about the American premium tank destroyer, it could have a 6 man crew
- from the same source, there was a talk about replacing the T28 with something historical, but no details

The Chieftain is a cool dude from what I hear/see, I'll be interested to see what he's dug up.

[hawkeye92]

Wow, those AVREs are impressive. Looking at the dust kicked up by the shockwave I can belive the stories of a surprised AVRE simply obliterating a German tank when it ran into one. Whether or not the story is true or not I don't know.

Hobart's funnies in general were awesome. There are two near to where I live. One a Churchill Crocodile outside the D-Day museum and another (re) discovered only two years ago, a Valentine amphibious tank which sank in the Solent in a training excercise. All of the crew managed to escape successfully and it went down in shallow water so you can dive on it recreationally. Something I'll have to do when I have the time and money to get back into it.

Hang on, that captured Panzer 4 can't possibly be right. Unless it has some super duper gun even the Germans don't get it shouldn't be tier seven. It'll be completely obliterated.
The old awesome fantasy version is only tier six.
Or they want to sell the captured Panther more, I don't know.

If everyone's getting premium Panthers now maybe te British will get the Cuckoo. Although given WG's history of handling premium tanks the fact that it has the star on it (to prevent american pilots getting confused and bombing Commonwealth forces- go figure), will probably mean it gets given to the American line, like the Ram II tank, a Canadian vehicle.

[Fuzzy]

Wow, those AVREs are impressive. Looking at the dust kicked up by the shockwave I can belive the stories of a surprised AVRE simply obliterating a German tank when it ran into one. Whether or not the story is true or not I don't know.

Speaking of AVRE's, FTR spotted an epic Churchill AVRE version called the Ardeer Aggie. It is...distinctly British. (In that it is somewhat bizarre, works only in the broadest sense of the word and yet is absolutely amazingly over the top in its weird little role upon a theoretical battlefield it never made it to)

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2013/10/08/ardeer-aggie-the-other-churchill-avre/

To put it in simple terms. It's a Churchill AVRE with a 300mm Derpgun.

[hawkeye92]

Oh my god that's amazing. Although as the article pointed out when you start loading shells you lose charge, so there might have been less explosive in there. Unless they managed it, which would have been hilarious.
In that case the damage potential would be completely off the scale, like maybe five or six thousand. But no penetration though so don't expect to oneshot a Maus (although a direct hit irl would probably do it, if only by knocking the crew out with sheer concussive force)

I can imagine it now- vehicles behind you also get hit for a small amount of damage when you fire. Imagine noticing a scout rushing up behind you while aiming at a big enemy. BOOM, the big tank is a crater and the scout lost it's tracks.

But yes, I can entirely see why this tank was never actually used because oh god it has some serious issues but the mere fact that it exists (and still does somewhere), is enough to warm my heart.

[RoboRed]

Re. captured Panzer: A lot of people on FTR are speculating that it's just a placeholder value, since it's still in testing. I'm inclined to agree.

Wow, those AVREs are impressive. Looking at the dust kicked up by the shockwave I can belive the stories of a surprised AVRE simply obliterating a German tank when it ran into one. Whether or not the story is true or not I don't know.

Speaking of AVRE's, FTR spotted an epic Churchill AVRE version called the Ardeer Aggie. It is...distinctly British. (In that it is somewhat bizarre, works only in the broadest sense of the word and yet is absolutely amazingly over the top in its weird little role upon a theoretical battlefield it never made it to)

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2013/10/08/ardeer-aggie-the-other-churchill-avre/

To put it in simple terms. It's a Churchill AVRE with a 300mm Derpgun.

Yep, that's where I found that vid earlier. Definitely would be an awesome thing to bring to the table for the Churchill in game. But it would be VERY HE-only with no pen. Also, knowing WG, they'd likely throw an accuracy rating on it that's even worse than the ConquerorGC.

[Fuzzy]

I honestly wouldn't care about no pen or low accuracy on single targets. It's the splash damage I'm thinking more about. =D

Some of those crowded corners could turn into canned hilarity.

[hawkeye92]

Although the Arder Aggie has issues, at least it's better than the Valiant.
Abandoned after 13 miles of easy on road driving because, amongst many other things using the seat, footbrake and gearlever carried the risk of physical injury.

Maybe the Bob Semple tank was worse. Maybe.

[Fuzzy]

I really really want to see the Valiant in game for precisely those reasons. I love these quirky old things getting a chance to shine the way they never could.

The idea of the driver randomly getting injured in game would be frustrating, albeit hilarious. WG's response? "It's the Valiant, you knew what you were getting into!"

[hawkeye92]

That would be funny, but you'd have to limit the tank to tier 4 beause a top speed of 12mph is awful. With a high chance of driver death thrown in it could be really frustrating to drive. But at least you're invulnerable from the front!

[Fuzzy]

I generally think tier 5 for it, after the Valentine that it was supposed to replace. It's heavier armour than a Valentine and in theory could mount bigger weapons. Historically it's a 6-Pdr, but a 75mm or even a 75mm HV could make it slot in very nicely. Especially if you gave it better depression/elevation than the Churchill as an alternative concept with less speed and armour but more ability to utilise the terrain. Especially given it has a stronger turret than a Churchill IV.

[RoboRed]

Anyone know if there's a way to jump from the current German TD line to the new one other than through the Marder II? Those Waffentragers are damn tempting, but I'd rather not start THAT far back.

I suppose we'll find out anyways tomorrow, provided that the test server client is released as planned.

[RoboRed]

A search on the G1L led me to this old FTR post: http://ftr-wot.blogspot.com/2013/03/straight-outta-supertest-tank.html

Lookit all them French tanks.

[RoboRed]

I think I'm finally getting the hang of this thing: http://www.mediafire.com/?5t52ws6e8t1jfo5

Damnit, I thought I saved the screenshots. I'm really damn tired. Anyways, AMX 12t, got 1st place on team, sniper, and over 3k xp from x2, with over 1k base.

[RoboRed]

Oh god, my sides:

[Fuzzy]

- SerB states that the reason for the drawing distance and spotting limit is that on one hand the typical engaging distance during WW2 was 300-500 meters, but on the other hand also the fact that it’s not interesting gameplay-wise to shoot “dots on the horizon”

Talk about an excuse. Russian tank tactics never valued range, no wonder this is here.

- SerB states that he German tanks killing their enemies at 2,5km were either simply accidents, or the tankers made the story up

WG denying historical documentation. "They couldn't possibly kill our glorious Red Star tanks at that distance even if there's massive evidence saying they did!"

- the fact a vehicle is open-topped and doesn’t need ventilation is taken into account by WG when balancing vehicle characteristics (namely: increased ROF and view range, decreased weight)

Interesting to know, I had wondered that.

- Sturmtiger will be implemented, “when it’s done”, SerB states that while he won’t go into any details, there might be some more German monsters á la WTE100 coming at some point (SerB confirms it will most likely be a TD) (SS: I’d hazard a guess he means the Bär)

Bar = Brummbar?

- for now, no further German branches are planned

Germans are pretty much done anyway, just a couple of odd tanks here and there

[RoboRed]

- Sturmtiger will be implemented, “when it’s done”, SerB states that while he won’t go into any details, there might be some more German monsters á la WTE100 coming at some point (SerB confirms it will most likely be a TD) (SS: I’d hazard a guess he means the Bär)

Bar = Brummbar?

I think they meant this: http://ww2drawings.jexiste.fr/Images/1-Vehicles/05-Assault-Guns/Baer/p1.jpg

Also, test server delayed till tomorrow. Sadface.

[RoboRed]

Got Ace Mastery in my T29 in a close game. Apart from that, nothing eventful. Most of the teams today have been total flops. Finally unlocked my Cromwell, though. Now if I only had the credits.

Also, I caused a lot of fires. It was funny.

T29 Mastery badge game: http://www.mediafire.com/?azph7sxsctgxacf

Spoiler:

[hawkeye92]

This weekend's special gives bonus credits to the matilda (and the M3 lee which will make grinding it a LITTLE less painful).

Also extra crew experience for steel wall with bonus credits on the AT 2- that could be fun. If you don't just get your cupola blasted off.

[Fuzzy]

This weekend's special gives bonus credits to the matilda (and the M3 lee which will make grinding it a LITTLE less painful).

Also extra crew experience for steel wall with bonus credits on the AT 2- that could be fun. If you don't just get your cupola blasted off.

Pity, I'll be busy for a lot of it, going to a flying day at Duxford.

Confirmed flying aircraft: Various Spitfire's, Hurricane, Hawker Hunter, B-17 bomber, Gladiator amongst a ton of training biplanes, light utility aircraft, some early American fighters and suchlike. Also a show by a Lynx and Apache.


Also:

- for now there are no plans to implement Churchill AVRE: “It will be really difficult to balance”

Translated as "We can't figure out how to make it useless."

[Harmony Ltd.]

The AVRE, if it was ever to be implemented, would be an Arty, right ?

[Fuzzy]

Nope, it only had a range of 74m on its gun. It was a demolition gun, designed to roll up to troublesome obstructions, be they metal or concrete and put a definitive end to their obstruction, to put simply. :p

[RoboRed]

mammoth tank and panzer pinkie:

[Harmony Ltd.]

Nope, it only had a range of 74m on its gun. It was a demolition gun, designed to roll up to troublesome obstructions, be they metal or concrete and put a definitive end to their obstruction, to put simply. :p

Well, yeah, but given it's a mortar, the projectile's trajectory would be very ballistic, right ? As for the very short range... let me introduce you to the FT BS artillery.  

[Fuzzy]

A 75mm artillery gun would have had a range numbering into the 7000m territory in reality. The 74m range was the AVRE's maximum in reality. Also bear in mind SPG's fire on a fairly high angle, the AVRE was more of an arced direct fire. It didn't fire indirectly. Check out the video posted in the topic to see it in action.

Just imagine what kind of range/accuracy that will translate to in WoT. It's a point blank reality ender. :P

[Harmony Ltd.]

I still have difficulties believing that only 18kg of explosives could be that devastating.

But yeah, get it on a map like Himmelsdorf, or in the heavy corner of the map on Steppes, and that could be fun indeed.

[Fuzzy]

I still have difficulties believing that only 18kg of explosives could be that devastating.

Not all explosives are created equal. 1kg of Semtex will be very different from 1kg of C-4. Frankly, the results speak for themselves, AVRE's would bring down entire buildings with a single shot. There was one particular story of one on D-Day that got ashore. Remember those huge concrete bunkers in Saving Private Ryan? (That didn't actually exists on Omaha, just to note) An AVRE encountered one outside of Caen a few days after landing. It ripped the entire thing inside out, interior bunker and all, with a single shot. This is something designed to resist naval bombardment and it didn't even stand a chance against a direct fire petard mortar. That's really the advantage of it, it can hit things directly and transfer the entire force of the strike into it.

Then there's always the legends about them hitting German vehicles in rare situations. Suffice to say, not much was left.

[RoboRed]

Messed around with the test server earlier. Played around with Chi-Nu Kai. Not bad. It's slow, gun's average, armor is pretty worthless, but it has great turning speed, and great gun depression.

Also messed around with the T34, since I'm thinking of getting one next time it's in the gift store. Not bad, handles like the T29, except with slower speed, turret traverse, and reload. Thing is, I can't get a spectacular game, but I blame basic test server environment and the sheer amount of waffentragers.

[hawkeye92]

Enjoy Duxford Fuzzy, that sounds like a fantastic time. I wonder if the Hurricane is the last Battle of Britain survivor? I saw that flying at Abingdon earlier in the year.

Harmony, 18kg of explosives is a LOT to be fired from a gun. A lot of the weight of bombs and shells are their casings (for example, a 260lb aircraft bomb only has about 95lb of charge). In addition, these petard mortar rounds were a very early HESH round, designed to channel the shockwave like a shaped charge rather than evenly distribute the force in all directions (although it still makes a heck of a bang even so).

I had a go with the new German TDs. They could be a lot of fun but only if you can stay hidden, the lower tier ones without the autoloader of doom will lose any straight up fight they get into because of paper armour all round. The Tier 10 has an absolutely ridiculous gun. I actually prefer the 12cm because it's aim time is lightning fast, same with the reload and it has a lot more pen, while still having the burst damage to kill most things, doing 3,300 damage in 12 seconds. So an enemy without an autoloader will get one, maybe two shots off if he's lucky.
however it has a crippling 60 second clip reload time and is fairly slow and thinly armoured. If it has to fight one brawling tank it can kill it with ease if it can hit weakpots, but if it fails it's in trouble. I can see IS-7's and mice rolling over this thing in close quarters in particular.

Don't rush this thing in a medium and try to circle it while it has shells because the turreted gun turns really fast.

The Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai is kinda meh. Compared to the German T-25  (of which Fuzzy knows my fondess for), the Type 3 is much slower, has less armour (which is really hard to pull off), and a lot less hp.
Its' gun is marginally better, with a slightly better accuracy and aiming time (those being the big downsides of the T-25), slightly more alpha at the price of a lower rate of fire, 8 more pen (though 17 less penetration with premium) and faster turret rotation.

Gun depression is about the same.
The major  thing is that I believe the Type 3 gets premium matchmaking, only seeing tier 6, while the T-25 doesn't.

It also says something about the quality of play on the test server when me, a barely above average player, comes top of the team in three games in a row and manages to do more damage than two thirds of my team in a tier 5 medium tank on a more than two thirds tier 7 game and walk away with both sniper and Levaslaiho's medal.

[RoboRed]

I think I'm going to have to disagree on the premium matchmaking for the Type 3. I've been running into E-25s, SU-122-44s, and Sturer Emils.

Also, ffs team...

Spoiler:

[Harmony Ltd.]

Class 1 mastery on the Cruiser IV => https://www.dropbox.com/s/kar6atz08iz95cq/20131012_2221_uk-GB59_Cruiser_Mk_IV_08_ruinberg.wotreplay

588 XP
10,701 credits

583 damage dealt
51 spotting damage

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