1. I can start to see how many of the design decisions in Mechwarrior Online were made. They seemed to be on the most part, in response to this game. The most obvious is the dead tank left on the battlefield, leaving the game to start a new game with a spare tank. Ditto with the spectator mode after you die. And the Hero editions. The third person perspective. The 15 vs. 15 man player that is adjusted to 12 vs. 12 in MWO. The 300 gold for a new bay. Even the pricing structure for the gold. And so on. Stuff like that actually made me feel at home.
2. Unlike MWO, which is expressed in a single time year, WoT covers a long period, from the early thirties --- the genesis of modern tank warfare (no its doesn't include WWI tanks) --- all the way to the Cold War tanks in the sixties. For that reason it is divided into Tiers, so that Leopard 1 tank isn't going to fight a Renault FT-17. The Tiers are more or less ordered by chronological and technological order, progressing through the Tiers is like progressing through the evolution of tank design itself. If a Panzer Mk II is Tier 2 for example, Mk III would be Tier 3. Should note that all maps are not available for ever Tier. As you progress through the Tiers, the maps become increasingly complex and challenging, with more and more places to hide for ambush.
3. Tiers are allowed to fight each other, through a limited range. A Tier 2 can fight with Tier 1 and Tier 3 tanks or even Tier 4, Tier 3 tanks can end up with games up to Tier 5. When this happens, each side will have the same number of tanks per tier, so if Team A gets 3 Tier 3 tanks, so will Team B.
4. WoT is a simulation. Unlike other games, simulations are not meant to be perfectly balanced. They are meant to be authentic and faithful to the historical canon. Thus when the shells of my Panzer Mark III bounces off a KV-1, tough luck, that's what the Panzers in World War 2 actually experienced. As a player you have to make tactical adjustments to these authentic historical inequalities. If some tanks are better than others, that's how it is supposed to be. Despite the inequalities, the fights however tend to be more equal, cascades and roll overs tend to be less frequent than in MWO. More fights tend to be a fight to the last.
5. Having said all that, right off from Tier 1, the game is outright fun. If a player doesn't want to leave the lower tiers, then its okay.
6. Unlike mechs, tanks can die that quickly. It can go bam, you're dead. Having said that it pays to maximize cover and make use of terrain. Tanks are essentially snipers on tracks. WoT is much more positional than MWO. Mobs don't play well here. Some guy playing a mobile antitank gun (tank hunters) hiding in the hills can decimate a rush. This is also why a game is never won early or midway, and its always fought to the end.
7. P2W? I don't like the fact some premium ammunition is only replenished with gold (the MC here). There isn't a lot of Heroes here, and they're mostly foreign tanks that were adapted to a regional force like the French Somua 35 with the German Panzers, or British tanks with the Russians. There is the usual premium time to boosts cash and experience. I don't feel the P2W here is anything more than I have seen with other games.
8. The graphics feels nothing to complain about, though it doesn't feel that special either Having said that I experienced problems starting the client up in Windows 8 when it had not problems on Windows 7. It turns out it needed some legacy DirectX files that were removed on Windows 8. Download the DirectX9c update from Microsoft restored all those legacy DirectX files and the game runs.
9. No problems running here with WTFast. In MWO, with WTFast when I start a game, the game will disconnects, and puts me back to the main lobby interface.
10. Learning how to move your tank, aim and shoot is easy enough. The game has a short learning curve in learning how to drive and fight in your tank. After a short tutorial, I am already fighting. Mastering the tactical nuances however, is another thing though. I can see why the game is a hit. Its remarkably easy to get into, and quite addictive once you're there. Should note that this game has been around for four years now. That maturity in content, features and stability all shows.
11. I think they have covered every stone in historical tank warfare from the thirties to the sixties. Recently they have added the Japanese. Either they progress into the modern era for content, or just polish the game up like the graphics,
Edited by Anjian, 18 January 2014 - 06:08 PM.