Public Test of Version 8.0

Commanders,

The World of Tanks development team is conducting a test of the changes coming in Version 8.0 and is especially focused to test the new physics within the regular battle conditions.  They would like you to take part in the test! 

The public test starts today and is expected to last for approximately one to two weeks.

The development team wants to make the game as good as possible and getting your feedback is a big part of that.  Taking part in the public test is your chance to let us know your thoughts and suggestions on forthcoming updates.  This means we can review your feedback and make any further changes before the update goes live.

All World of Tanks players are eligible to take part in the public test as long as they registered before 2^nd September.  You don’t need to be an experienced tester to join in; you just need to be willing to try out as many of the new features as you can and send us your feedback!

Main Features of version 8.0

• New Physics
• Reworking of maps
• New Soviet Tank Destroyers
• UI Improvements

Read more at the bottom of this news! 

How the Public Test Works

When it is time to run a public test, the developers will release a test version of the client.  This can be downloaded by following the instructions below.  Make sure that you follow all of the instructions carefully, so that you don’t accidentally cause problems to your main play account.

Your test client account will usually be a copy of your play account, meaning that all the vehicles purchased and research that you have completed will be the same.  However, please note:

• The test account is completely separate to your normal account.  Achievements and research that you complete on the test client will not be carried over to your play account.
• Financial transactions are not possible on the test server and payments will not be accepted.
• Depending on the needs of the test, your test account may be credited with gold, credits or experience.  In addition the experience gain rate may be increased substantially.
• The test server is subject to the same EULA and general rules as the World of Tanks game server.  This means that you still need to play nice and enjoy the game with the community.

Once you have logged into the test client, you are encouraged to play as much or as little as you want.  Feel free to try out all the new features and see what you can do!

Once you have been playing for a while, please let us know your feedback by posting to these special forum threads:  The first is for bug reports  and the second is for general feedback about the test version.  The community managers will collect up all your responses on the thread and send them to the developers.

The sort of feedback we are particularly interested in includes:

• Any bugs or glitches that you have found in the game.  Got stuck in the scenery?  Game crashes when you do a certain action?  Tell us all about it!
• Honest feedback about vehicles and game mechanics.  If you think something doesn’t function well, then please tell us.
• Anything you particularly like?  Do you love the new stats for a previously underpowered vehicle?  Confirm to the developers that the community is now satisfied with that feature, letting them focus on other new improvements.

How to Join the Public Test

1. Eager to get going?  Follow the instructions below to join the test!
2. Download the test client installer.  (8.74 MB)
3. Make sure you pick a save location that is different to your regular World of Tanks game files.  Save and run the installer.
4. Run the new copy of the game.  The launcher will download all the additional data (3.52 GB)
5. Log in and start playing.  Remember to post your bug reports to the specific thread and all other feedback to the general forum thread.

Please be aware of the following:

• This public test is intended to focus on the testing of the new physics within regular battle conditions.  This means that players could be experimenting using both regular ammo and gold ammo.  They could also be trying out some of the premium tanks.  Feel free to enjoy the new physics, but remember that there are enemies out there and a battle to win!  Dangling off a bridge may be fun, but it also makes it easy for the enemy to shoot you!
• In order to make the test experience more efficient, it may be necessary to limit the number of players on the test server.   If the server is full when you log in, you’ll be placed into a queue.
• The test server will be restarted regularly, according to the following schedule: 
  • First Periphery:  03:00 CEST (01:00 GMT) every odd day (ie 7^th, 9^th, 11^th etc), lasting around 25 minutes.
  • Second Periphery:  03:00 CEST (01:00 GMT) every even day (6^th, 8^th, 10^th etc), lasting around 25 minutes.
  • Centre:  02:30 CEST (00:30 GMT) every day lasting around 3 minutes.
• The test server may be subject to unscheduled restarts and maintenance.
• And of course, remember that it is a test server!  This means that you may encounter bugs and temporary features. Everything in the test version could change before the final release.  

Thank you for taking part in the public test!  Good luck and have fun!

Preliminary list of changes between versions 8.0 and 7.5

Content:

• Added new Soviet TD line: SU-100М-1, SU-101 (Uralmash-1), SU-122-54, Object 263
• British Premium Tank Matilda Black Prince added to the in-game shop
• Added ability to add inscriptions and emblems from preset album on tanks via the ‘Exterior’ menu
• Added ‘Enhanced Springs’ equipment for French and American vehicles
• Added new achievements:
  • Variants of Boelter’s medal: Radley-Walters’s (8-9 kills), Pool’s (10-14 kills)
  • Variants of Billote’s medal: Bruno’s (3-4 kills), Tarzai’s (5+ kills)
  • Variants of Burda’s medal: Pascucci’s (3 SPG’s), Dumitru’s (4 SPG’s)
  • Variants of Oskin’s medal: Lechvesligho’s (2 kills), Nicholas’s (4+ kills)
  • Lagland’s medal: given to player who destroys 4+ enemy vehicles which were capping the base within the cap circle (they could all be capping simultaneously or gradually during the battle)
  • Bombardier: granted to player who destroys more than one vehicle with a single shot.
  • Wicked Eye: granted to player who spotted 5+ enemy vehicles which were damaged.  The player must have been the only person spotting those vehicles at the time.  If two or more players spot an equal number of damaged vehicles, the player with higher XP is awarded the achievement. If two players have the exact same amount of XP, the achievement is not granted.
  • Tamado Yoshio’s medal: granted to player who destroyed 3+ SPG’s in a light tank.  Targets must exceed player’s vehicle by two tiers and the vehicle must survive the battle. 

Game Mechanics:

• Changed physics modeling of tank movement. Vehicles can now ‘jump’ from edges, drown in water, push enemies and allied vehicles and so on.
• Reworked camouflage system:
• All camouflage patterns present on your vehicles at the time of the update will be sold according to the purchase price.
• Now, up to 3 camouflage patterns (summer, winter, sand) can be purchased for each vehicle simultaneously.  When you enter a battle, the specific pattern will be automatically selected by the system to suit the map. If none of your camouflages are the right one for that map, no camouflage will be applied to the vehicle
• Having suitable camouflage pattern for the map now adds 5% to the camouflage characteristics of the vehicle for that battle.
• Added option to exclude ‘Encounter’ and ‘Assault’ game modes from random rotation in settings
• Reworked the way quick commands are used, with additional commands added. It now works in conjunction with your aim:

• In training battles, it is now possible to switch the places of teams.
• Enlarged the list of available complaints about a player, and added option to send a complaint about a player during the after-battle statistics.  Also increased limit of daily complaints from 3 to 5.

Vehicle rebalancing

• Improved accuracy and penetration of 7.5 cm L43, L48 and L70 guns on all vehicles.
• PzIV second turret and 7.5cm L/70 gun removed
• 100mm D-10T2S gun added to the T-54 tank
• Normalisation of all AP and APCR rounds decreased to 4-5 degrees.
• Experience cost for researching T-54 tank reduced from 160,100 XP to 142,000 XP.
• Armor level of Top T-43 turret slightly increased
• Basing on statistical results, many vehicles have had preliminary rebalancing. Final list of changes will be available along with final 8.0 update notes.

Graphics:

• Added first iteration of new renders (which can be activated using "improved graphics" in settings), which provides much better picture.
• Olds renders can be enabled by choosing ‘standard graphics’ in settings  
• Following maps reworked for new renders and lighting:
• Himmelsdorf, Mines, Karelia, Lakeville, Sand River, Fjords, Mountain Pass, Arctic Region, Westfield
• Reworked lighting on all other maps.
• Reworked some special effects. Implemented wave and water splashes due to vehicle movement

UI:

• Completely reworked Tech Tree interface.  It is now horizontal and includes Premium vehicles
  
• Added new battle statistics.  They will now be displayed in hangar after the battle and include a wider list of parameters
  
• Added radial menu for quick commands
  
• Added option to select player to follow in ‘post-mortem’ mode by clicking on their nickname in the team list with Ctrl+LMB. Now LMB also returns camera to the previous tank, instead of your vehicle.
• Reworked design and some available settings for tank markers
• Added different settings for markers for different types of vehicles: allied, enemy, destroyed
• Added alternative color scheme for vehicle markers
• Reworked all basic interface elements: buttons, windows, backgrounds, checkboxes etc.
• Reworked transfer XP window design: added filters and sum of XP available for transfer from all vehicles.
• Added new hints to the map loading screen.
• Reworked design of quick command markers on minimap and in the battle
• Reworked scaling of minimap symbols during minimap resize
• When pointing out a sector on minimap, sound is played once along with first flash of the minimap square
• Reworked design of pop-up hints over the vehicle in hangar 
• Reduced brightness of colored status in pop-up hints

Audio:

• Improved firing sounds. They are now divided into 11 groups depending on the calibre of the gun and the availability of a muzzle brake
• Added new sounds for the suspension. Suspension sounds are now divided into 4 groups depending on vehicle type. Sounds also depends on hardness of surface and movement speed
• Added new sounds for driving on sand, wooden bridges, gravel etc.
• Added sound ‘support’ for new physics: eg. sounds of tank turning, sliding on surface, strong and weak hits on tank body, shaking sound of the tank while driving on rough ground, sound of falling in water or on the ground
• Improved sounds of ‘penetration’, ‘ricochet’, ‘tracks critical damage’
• Balanced all sounds

Fixes:

• Fixed a rare bug involving 2 vehicles making an instantaneous turn after a long turning whilst colliding on the sides. 
• Fixed most cases of vehicles getting stuck in landscape and textures.
• Fixed turning of camera whilst under a bridge after switching between sniper mode and arcade reticules
• Fixed turning of camera when switching the camera between sniper mode and arcade reticules
• whilst there are big objects or buildings behind the vehicle
• Fixed elevation of gun while switching the camera between sniper mode and arcade reticules
• near big objects or buildings
• Fixed errors in sounds occurring when many events happen at the same time: vanishing of sounds, object destruction etc.