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Hello! My name is Vitaliy Borodovsky, and I'm the chief technical director for Wargaming's mobile department.
Today I will tell you more about World of Tanks Blitz.
Please share some details regarding the new World of Tanks Blitz project.
World of Tanks Blitz is a free to play MMO shooter for mobile platforms.
It's an adaptation of World of Tanks for mobile devices.
Despite the fact that WoT Blitz is a part of the Tank universe, it's a completely independent product.
As a result, there are differences in vehicle classes, vehicle specs, in-game economy, monetization and some other aspects.
WoT Blitz doesn't use the unified Wargaming account, and your progress in PC version of Tanks does not affect Blitz.
This decision was made due to the requirements of the platform-owners, as well as the needs of the game itself.
It's a standalone product after all!
Which mobile platforms is the game developed for?
We are developing the game simultaneously for two platforms: iOS and Android.
The biggest challenge for us is optimization for Android, due to the huge fragmentation of Android devices.
Therefore the game will go to both closed beta and final release on Android with some delay.
This will enable us to use all time and resources available on getting the iOS version ready ASAP.
When it comes to your Internet connection, stability will be more important than speed.
I think that a stable 256 kb/s connection is good enough to play Blitz.
For sure, higher speed will make your gaming experience more enjoyable.
Any information on client-side and server-side technologies for WoT Blitz?
On the client-side we are using our proprietary engine that's proudly named "DaVa Framework".
On the server-side we've got BigWorld - the engine, our players are already familiar with.
As a result, a lot of important server features from World of Tanks, such as physics, detailed penetration and damage systems,
the ability to reconnect to battle will all be in Blitz from the very beginning.
Please tell us about the in-game vehicles and their progression system..
Just like in PC version, there are 10 tiers of vehicles.
The game will be launch with three nations -the USSR, Germany and the United States - all in all that makes more than 100 vehicles.
Tank progression will be quite similar to PC version, but progress will be a little faster.
From my standpoint, the biggest difference, comparing to PC version, lies in crew mechanics.
We've totally reworked this aspect of the game, by substantially simplifying crew management and skill training.
There will be no SPGs or high tier light tanks in Blitz.
The reason for this is that in Blitz we've made maps smaller.
As a result, there is also less cover.
WoT Blitz will have three vehicle classes: Medium tanks, heavy tanks and tank destroyers.
Some light tanks are still in the game, but only as low-tier intermediate vehicles on the way to high tier vehicles of main classes.
Tell us about the current World of Tanks Blitz controls.
Most of mobile shooters do have complex and lousy controls.
So you're in the development we've experimented with multiple control schemes, and focus-tested and improved them repeatedly.
We are satisfied with the result we've got, and we hope that the players will find controls easy and comfortable to use.
During closed beta we are going to pay special attention to players' feedback, improve and polish controls even more.
As well as all other aspects of the game.
Tell us about the battles' duration and the maps where the battles will take place on.
Currently, based on our internal playtests average battle lasts about 4-5 minutes.
That's why we've decided to limit the maximum battle time to 7 minutes.
It could be possible to fight shoulder to shoulder with your friends.
However, in our game a platoon will be for two players.
This is because teams are almost two times smaller than in PC version.
All maps for Blitz are created from scratch.
They are approximately 4 times smaller than on PC: 500 x 500 meters.
Along with the reduction of team size, we have also adjusted maps accordingly to make gameplay more intense and dynamic.
At the moment there are 10 maps in development.
All of them have different setting - deserts, industrial areas and small towns.
One of the maps is called "Mines".
This is our attempt to adjust carefully the level from PC version for a mobile game.
I think our PC tankers will recognize it easily.
We are planning to introduce a clan-mode some time in future.
Most likely it will differ a lot from PC version of Clan Wars.
Right now, this clan mode is at an early concept stage.
The goal we will be trying to achieve with the new clan mode is to make it more accessible for players.
We are very excited about putting our first mobile game out.
World of Tanks Blitz is going to be available on your favourite mobile devices shortly.
I invite all of you to take part in our closed beta test.
To find out how to join the beta, follow the news on the official websites and wait for further instructions.