World of Tanks Generals Announced

[LongBlade]

Wargaming.net has announced that it is working on a browser-based version of World of Tanks. The text of the press release follows:

Wargaming today has unveiled details of World of Tanks Generals, a free-to-play, browser-based MMO game combining elements of real-time strategy and collectible card gameplay.
World of Tanks Generals will feature gameplay focused on World War II and will allow players to engage in strategic and intense combat using various military units, including tanks, artillery and infantry. Players will also be able to research new technology, as well as buy new tanks and units for more varied gameplay options.
Across several single and multiplayer gameplay modes, players can join battles taken from historical events, fight for dominance on a global map and destroy the competition in matches where carefully planned tactics and well thought out game plan become the key to victory.

The game will feature four nations at launch: the US, the U.S.S.R., France and Germany.

"The Wargaming universe is evolving onto new platforms," said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming "World Of Tanks Generals will merge the worlds of tabletop and video games, featuring solid mechanics, strategic thinking and tactical twists in a fun, approachable way. It will feature the same great multiplayer tank warfare that Wargaming fans have come to love, just from an entirely new perspective."

World of Tanks Generals will also be available as a card-based strategy board game.

OK, that last part is pretty crazy.

http://wotgenerals.com/

[TheCommandTent]

I am assuming you will be using your contacts to find more out about this.

[LongBlade]

I am assuming you will be using your contacts to find more out about this.

Yes.

Probably easiest is to start with an interview. If you can think of some questions LMK and I'll help us work up some.

[ChrisK]

Necro, sorry...  ::)

I'd be happy to answer your questions or explain the game's mechanics. IIRC we recently posted a video interview with the lead producer where he explains a bit about the game. Basically, it's a browser-based CCG where you level up your deck by researching new cards (mostly tanks, naturally! 8) ). I've been playtesting it a bit, and although I am generally (pun intended) not a CCG fan, the game is pretty fun. More strategy than action, and with a good dose of random (card draws) to keep it from becoming seal clubbing for experienced players against n00bz.

[SgtRock]

Other then World of Tanks, Wargaming.net doesn't seem to have much of a track record.

World of Tanks has been dumbed down sense it's release?
World of Warplanes - still in beta after what 2 years?
World of Warships - never seen a gameplay video, not even in beta yet.

[Steelgrave]

Eh, World of Tanks is a helluva lot of fun with a pretty big following. Like any MMO, there are kids playing that will annoy the life out of you, but there is a lot of fun to be had with the game. The main thing I dislike (besides the kiddos I mentioned) are the availability of tanks which never saw the battlefield, so I tend to play more at lower tiers and ignore those beasties. Meaning the tanks. And the kids.

[FlickJax]

Crumbs these Serbian developers seem to have forgotten again that Britain was a major player in the war and that the result would have been different if we hadn't held on at the start and kept the convoys to Russia going!!!!! And no offence but the US didn't join in for 2 years.

[ChrisK]

Other then World of Tanks, Wargaming.net doesn't seem to have much of a track record.

We've been making games for 15 years - scroll down to the bottom of this page to see some of them. Notice they are mostly wargames for some reason... 8) While World of Tanks is by far our biggest hit, it's not our first rodeo. And aside from the sequel "World of..." games, we have several other projects in the mix that we're hoping will be even bigger, as well as our announced expansion into other platforms (mobile Blitz, browser Generals, and Xbox WoT).

World of Tanks has been dumbed down sense since it's release?

Fixed. ;D And no, while we have simplified parts of it to make it friendlier to new players (adding a tutorial and increasing the proportion of the game that can be played for free), the game itself has not been dumbed down but has actually become more complex, with more tanks, maps, and nations, a more realistic physics model, and tighter matchmaking. We're working on improving eSports, clan wars, and mod integration too, too better support the hardcore gamer community.

World of Warplanes - still in beta after what 2 years?

You can have it Fast, Cheap, or Good - pick any one. We've decided to let players have it Cheap (it's costing us more to delay it though) and Good (we've improved it a lot in the past year). The game has been in beta too long, but that's where we found the issues we've addressed (flight model, controls, physics, cloud cover, terrain detail, lag, etc.), so rather than close beta to fix things, we've kept the beta open to continue receiving valuable feedback from our testers.

World of Warships - never seen a gameplay video, not even in beta yet.

Right now it's in internal-only "Friends and Family" Alpha. I expect closed beta early next year, but don't hold me to that as we're trying to avoid a too-long beta period as we've had for World of Warplanes. FYI I have played Warships and it's amazing - I've never been a fan of naval games, but this one has changed me. Flight sims, including Warplanes, on the other hand, are still not my cup of tea.

Eh, World of Tanks is a helluva lot of fun with a pretty big following. Like any MMO, there are kids playing that will annoy the life out of you, but there is a lot of fun to be had with the game. The main thing I dislike (besides the kiddos I mentioned) are the availability of tanks which never saw the battlefield, so I tend to play more at lower tiers and ignore those beasties. Meaning the tanks. And the kids.

Actually, the kiddies tend to play more at the lower Tiers, while the more serious (but sometimes also obnoxious) players tend to play Tiers VIII and up. On the other hand, I also prefer the historic tanks. I play through the prototypes and "back of a napkin" tanks to get to the real tanks I like (King Tiger, Jagdpanther, ISU-152, etc.) so I can play them. With so many ahistorical tanks in the top Tiers, I end up playing mostly Tiers VI to VIII, which gives me a nicer balance of actual tanks and players who have played enough to know what they're doing.  ;D

Crumbs these Serbian developers seem to have forgotten again that Britain was a major player in the war and that the result would have been different if we hadn't held on at the start and kept the convoys to Russia going!!!!! And no offence but the US didn't join in for 2 years.

Thanks for trolling! ::) We don't have any Serbian development studios yet, but if you can suggest a good one, maybe we'll take a look. We currently have studios in Australia, the United States (2 here), Belarus (also 2), Ukraine, and Russia. The UK made a great contribution to WW2 and we haven't forgotten it. You might even notice that the British tech tree has more tanks than the French one, even though the French declared war on Germany the same day (51 vs. 40). The US tech tree only has more tanks because we produced both the widest variety and the greatest number of tanks among the Western Allies (4x as many as the UK, and the UK used mostly US-made tanks). Luckily, the game is free to play, so you don't have to play it if you don't like it. ;D

[FlickJax]

That still doesn't explain why again you choose to leave the British out? It's as though history is only a bonus to your games at the moment.

[Keunert]

WoT is incredibly fun and free. i do not get the bad vibes here? if i buy WitE on the other hand for 70 bucks i may would bother with ahisorical or gamey mechanisms. WoT is some sort of Tank Internationale, i witnessed german and russian tanks working together.

[Steelgrave]

Other then World of Tanks, Wargaming.net doesn't seem to have much of a track record.

World of Tanks has been dumbed down sense it's release?
World of Warplanes - still in beta after what 2 years?
World of Warships - never seen a gameplay video, not even in beta yet.

Just a thought, but....how many successful games do you need under your belt in order to be considered a successful gaming company? WoT is unquestionably a hit and played by many on here. There are a lot of games people play that don't interest me, but it doesn't make them any less successful or less enjoyed by their fanbase.

[ChrisK]

That still doesn't explain why again you choose to leave the British out? It's as though history is only a bonus to your games at the moment.

We didn't leave the British out! As I mentioned, they have over 25% more tanks in their tech tree than the French. Where do you see us bashing them or leaving them out? In fact, for our Xbox version release, the British tanks are coming in right from the beginning, just as their planes are already in World of Warplanes before we have even released!

[FlickJax]

'The game will feature four nations at launch: the US, the U.S.S.R., France and Germany.'

That is from your press release.

[ChrisK]

Ah, right - for Generals. Actually, we don't even have the French in the closed beta yet. My expectation is that the reason for this is that France was attacked directly, by tanks, during the early stages of the war, while the British attacked (counterattacked I guess would be more accurate) a bit later. Although war was declared, the invasion of France was fought and done before the British army launched any major offensives. I'll ask the lead producer for that project if that was the reason, and whether he has a timeline for the British cards that he can let slip.   :o

[FlickJax]

Ah, right - for Generals. Actually, we don't even have the French in the closed beta yet. My expectation is that the reason for this is that France was attacked directly, by tanks, during the early stages of the war, while the British attacked (counterattacked I guess would be more accurate) a bit later. Although war was declared, the invasion of France was fought and done before the British army launched any major offensives. I'll ask the lead producer for that project if that was the reason, and whether he has a timeline for the British cards that he can let slip.   :o

Oh dear, you need to look at your history books young man.

British fought in Belgium and France, have you not heard of Dunkirk?