Welcome to the fifteenth issue of the Developer Digest series - find out more about the development of the game straight from the developers themselves!

Battle loading in Update 0.17 is too long!

We are reworking loading screens in Update 0.18 which will also improve load times.

Are there any plans to give the AI vehicles the ability to shoot missiles?

With ACs being nerfed we are going to need to have ATGMs working. Otherwise there would be too many AI vehicles rendered near useless.

Are you planning to implement the option to record only the last battle as a part of the Replay system?

The ability to record the last game vs. all games can be especially helpful to those with limited HDD space. While this would be lower on our current priority list, it is still something we can consider doing once we do another full pass on replays altogether.

Are there any plans to give artillery the ability to spot and destroy secondary objectives in PvE back?

You will be happy to know Arty can spot then destroy secondary objectives in Update 0.18 again.

Why was not the “no effect” issue fixed in last 0.17 hotfix?

We are still working on some outlining edge cases with the "no effect" bug which affects ATGMs as well. We will get it into a patch as soon as we can.

How far along is the Global Operations mode in development? It seems like the Lords of War mode was pushed back because of it.

We've been working on the mode since earlier this year. It's fairly fleshed out even for its initial release and has been tested and iterated on by groups of western focus testers throughout its development. Any feedback we get once it goes live will be taken into account for future iterations and maps. We pushed Lords of War back because we got a lot of feedback from everyone and decided to make some changes before releasing for its true prime time debut. Plus, since it's being released around the time of Balance 2.0, the new meta will have been put in place.

Will it be possible to spawn in Global Operations in another vehicle?

You are currently locked into just one vehicle. This is mainly for performance reasons at this time. Any time you add more potential vehicles to spawn in you must also load those into memory. For lower spec machines, this can overload their RAM.

In Global Operations, who gets to deploy pillboxes, UAVs, and bombers when there are multiple people capping the same circle? Is it the player with the most capture points or can anyone do it?

The first person to enter the cap circle gets priority.

Does the team earn more points for killing other players than for killing AI opponents?

Yes, you take away more points from the enemy team for killing players over AI opponents. Holding capture points takes the most though. The bots are there as just added elements to clear out but they aren't intended to be a decisive element of the match. You do earn Reputation and Credits for clearing them out though so they aren't for nothing.

Will there be a separate stats tab available for Global Operations?

Yes, there will be a separate GLOPS stat tab in the dossier.

Do tanks with capture bonuses get those bonuses applied to both primary objective and wildcard captures?

All caps operate the same.

How rewarding will the Global Operations be?

Global Operations are balanced to provide 2.5 times the amount of rewards than a standard PvP match with all factors considered.

Will there be any Global Operations-specific awards that aren't available through other game modes?

Not at launch, potentially later.

Do Global Operations use the same Matchmaker algorithm as regular PvP?

Yes, it uses the same algorithm, although we may set a higher minimum number of players before a match will start.

Are gold/iron stars still awarded to the top players on each team in Global Operations?

Yes.

Is there any way to replenish ammo in Global Operations, aside from dying, similar to field kits in PvE?

While it is not visible in the current build, we are working on a resupply mechanic in-match should you run out of ammo. The shipping version is intended to have an ammo resupply mechanic (and possibly repair, still being determined) that you can fall back to. We don't want you have to suicide just because you're having a good run.

I saw the Jingles Global Operations video – was that taken from Update 0.18?

The video footage is all from versions of 0.18 which does not have the Balance 2.0 changes in it.

I also saw a lot of non-MBTs in the mode, is the mode MBT-viable?

Regarding taking MBTs or other classes, we've seen a lot more non-MBT play in this mode once people have a chance to try it out enough to get a feel for it. Mobility is a big component to being responsive to the dynamic elements that change during the match and having AFV/TD/LT speed to zip around as needed is pretty important. In normal PvP, I'm largely a MBT player, but in Global Operations my favorite vehicles are TDs. The mobile damage per minute value they provide is important and satisfying. There also a lot of good sight lines on the map so longer range engagements are quite possible.

Respawns in Global Operations are unlimited – won’t that promote careless gameplay?

Unlimited respawns is a valid concern and one we've discussed a lot during the mode's development. We experimented with different approaches, such as having your respawn timer get longer every time you died, but they tended to interfere with the mode more than help. We'll keep an eye on it. For now, dying does cost your team tickets, so zerging to death is still costly. For respawns, I feel like the solution should be after maybe 2-3 deaths, your respawn count goes from 30 seconds to a minute or so. After maybe 5-6 deaths, it goes to a minute twenty or so.

The problem with that approach is after a few deaths you are losing out on a good chunk of gameplay time. The more has a hard cap of 15 minutes so if you are out of the match for 60-80 seconds you are left twiddling your thumbs, which isn't much fun in a mode like this. It also makes a comeback harder for your team and provides fewer opponents for your enemies to engage which would slow down the mode even further.

Is there any mechanism preventing spawn camping in Global Operations?

Spawn areas are semi-protected by ATGM bunkers so you are a bit safer than usual, although still vulnerable. Most of the objective points are in the open which gives artillery plenty of opportunities to prevent caps and provide smoke for allies capping.

The current ATGM status is not satisfactory!

There are several changes which haven't been made to ATGMs yet so the current gameplay is going to change. Beyond the changes mentioned above to firing ATGMs on the move, we are also going to introduce a slight (approximately 1.5) sec delay between switching weapon systems. We are also slowing down missile reaction time, so you won’t be able to whip missiles around instantly as they will need a small bit of time to course correct. Finally, we will also be adding missile noise (think of it as shot bloom) to ATGMs. Lower tiers have more of it, but it will make it somewhat harder to land your ATGM in a pixel-perfect spot like it is now.

Can the sound of DRACO fire be changed? It doesn’t correspond to the gun’s caliber.

In Update 0.19, we are planning to remove the DRACO from the game and replace it with a Tier 9 Centauro 120 (moved there from Tier 7).

Are you going to fix the issue where some vehicles can’t elevate or depress their ATGM launchers correctly?

Yes, elevation/depression fixes for those vehicles which should be able to but cannot are slated to be fixed with Balance 2.0.

Are there any plans to improve Type 98?

Yes, it will be updated in Balance 2.0.

I have an idea – why don’t you add a feature where an experienced tank commander automatically selects the right type of shell depending on what target you are aiming at? HEAT shells for weaker armored targets for example.

While this is technically possible to implement, such a system would be very uncomfortable gameplay-wise, since the game can’t predict where the player aims next or what happens in next few seconds. The same goes for aiming at weakspots where lower-penetration but high-damage HEAT shells can be very useful even against a heavily armored target.

Are there any plans to buff Armata’s gun depression?

We are considering that.

Isn’t Merkava IID over-armored for its tier?

It has good armor, yes, but its statistics aren’t exceedingly good due to the combination of mediocre mobility and thin side and rear armor. We will however take a look at this vehicle during the Balance 2.0 vehicle overhaul.

Any plans for the Leopards?

The Leopard and Leopard 2 series vehicles will be looked at during the Balance 2.0 vehicle overhaul as well.

Are there any plans to overhaul HE shells?

Yes, as a part of Balance 2.0. Our goal is to make them more effective.

Are you planning to introduce minimal arming distance to ATGMs?

We will consider it as a part of Balance 2.0, but we do not have any decision yet. The minimal arming distance varies widely from missile to missile and it might be difficult for players to get used to such a feature.

What other lines are you planning apart from the announced Czechoslovak and Polish AFV/TD line?

We are planning a French MBT line and Tier 9 and 10 Chinese tanks.

Are there any plans to introduce target movement compensation to the auto-aim mechanism?

Not at the moment.

Can you tell us more about artillery changes in Balance 2.0?

We will disclose more in our series of Balance 2.0 developer diaries.

Will you introduce rotary cannons to Armored Warfare?

They are in long-term development plans.

When will you introduce amphibious vehicles?

As an interim solution, all amphibious vehicles in Armored Warfare take 10 seconds longer to drown than other vehicles. We are planning to work on the amphibious mechanics further. At this moment, we are considering options including letting the amphibious vehicles swim and introducing snorkel as a retrofit.

Will RDF-LT and T-80 get a smoke grenade launcher?

Yes, both will. We are already working on the new T-80 model.

That's it for today. See you in the next issue!