World of Tanks: CliffsNotes: Lead Designer Sergey Burkatovskiy Talks The Future of WoT & The Coming T26E4 Super Pershing Premium Tank

• They will not make unique skills/perks per nation.  The many tanks by nation are enough uniqueness.
• More changes are coming for tournament play, via the web.
• Spectator mode coming.
• Replays to be saved to server, better quality, and rewind feature -- hopefully by end of year.
• Will there be matching by skills?  Keep noobs from pros -- like in Dota?  No,  This will not happen.  Noobs and pros always to play together.
• Along with the new physics, map destruction is coming.
• Historical and garage battles coming.
• IS8 and KV4 complaints: no changes planned.
• T-50-2 deletion: why?  It is not based on any prototype.  IRL, it was a slow vehicle for infantry support.  In game, it is a motorcycle with a gun.  A replacement is coming.  They have a guy on their team with a huge stack of photos, who researches tanks.  He has found a replacement for the T-50-2, created in 1943, equipped like the T-50-2.  It will play like the T-50-2.
• How can you get non-clanned players to play on the global map?  Historical battles will be similar to the global map, but without obligations.  The clan global map takes a lot of dedication.  The historical global map will not.
• T26E4 SuperPershing: New premium tier 8 medium coming?  Yes, American super Pershing.  It was apparently a modification of M26 Pershing -- the Americans captured Panthers, removed the armor from them and welded it to the T26E4 SuperPershing.
• New Trees Coming:

                 British
                 Japanese
                 Chinese
                 Europe

• Japanese and British trees are coming.  Also coming: Chinese Tree and European Tree.  Chinese tree: real problems with it.  It did not begin until after ww2.  Its 1st ank is based on      T-34-85 -- tier 6.  Team Europe: more problems -- many vehicles widely built and traded among nations.

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The T26E4 Super Pershing:

T26E4 Super Pershing

World of Tanks: A Thinking Man's Game

This game has sucked me in for many reasons:

#1, tanks. That's like, nice, huge, firm, tits....

I've seen this pic on the internets forever now
I wonder who this kid is, and how old he is now... prolly 30?

#2: an FPS -- a genre I will never tire of ever, and that has staying power forever (Diable 3 being a genre that was honestly good in the 90s if not earlier, like, old ultima, pre-UO; don't be hatin' on me, I'm not dissing D3, just sayin' -- yes, I played me some D3):

What Diablo III may look like

But 3 things have inspired me recently regarding WoT, and had my brain go, "hey, FKD, this is a thinking man's game....":

A. Platooning with a great player
2. A death with defeat in my Marder II
D. Watching a novice player think and grow

A: I platooned with a great player for hours recently. Let's call him: Magnus. At first, Magnus was giving me hard advice, which I typically rebuff (believe it or not, I can be hard to talk to). "You should do this" and "why did you do that?" However, I kept my mouth shut, with mild frustration at his didacticism, but then, like a diamond bullet, something he said stuck, and I realized he was right. Get ready for great words here!

If you don't know, ask. If you know, say. Otherwise, listen.

The great advice of Magnus:

1st, never go to the fight a high-tiered tank destroyer makes. By-pass them. T95s, Jagdtigers, Object 704s, are only successful when enemies come to their fight. If at all possible, simply avoid them. They are slow. They are only a step-up from a pill box. They cannot get-to-the-fight like a medium, or even a heavy tank. What do they do? They plant at a spot where they want to fight, and it will most likely be the best place for _them_ to fight _you_.

I must admit, in the some 12k battles I've fought, I had never thought of this. Yes, yes, one must adapt, and situations dictate you _must_ fight them where they be, but otherwise, if at all possible, avoid them where they decided to place themselves, and if you can win without engaging them, do so. There are plenty of oppurtunities in battles to do this very thing.

E.g., was on map: Fjords the other day,
Ran into 2 T95s at sector J5, followed Magnus's's advice, did not fight
the huge TDs, went through middle (aqua dotted line), defeated mediums
Capped and won!  It wasn't like a T95 can race back to stop you....

2nd, how to properly play the VK4502PB and Maus. Provide only a very shallow side to the enemy, keep nose pressed against defilade (i.e., a building wall) between reloads. Back up to shoot at an angle. I had seen a Maus do this, and didn't know wtf he was doing. Now, I know. Hey! Maybe I'm the last one to know this technique, but the point of this post is: World of Tanks is a thinking man's game.

What a Maus may look like if you placed a Ken doll next to it....

Both of these nuggets were simple, understandable, deductive and genius, and changed age-old thinking on my part in the areas they addressed. Oh, how I loved my VK4502PB, and how much I lamented my below 50% win rate in it.... Again: a thinking man's game.

2: I died yesterday in my Marder II, resulting in a loss. I did not think beforehand. Had I spent the countdown clock reciting what I knew worked on that map, in that vehicle, I woulda lived, and maybe had a victory, or a draw, or at least not died -- that's the progression of course: worstest=death/loss, worser=live/loss, worse=death/draw, better=live/draw, best=death/victory, bestest=live/victory <-- duh. (Note: please do not take this scale seriously and/or, the markers of worstest, worser, etc. I sorta shit shot that, ikr!)

The map: Abbey. In my TDs, I love to go to the hill-top that runs roughly along columns 2 and 3, and defend my flag from there (I play my TDs heavily and about 99% of the time on defense, especially on natural maps -- city maps, of course, one has to do otherwise, especially on maps like Himmelsdorf).  [Hrm, Abbey is apparently also called, "Monastery"...].  I like to get behind the brush at positions B3 or H3 (depending on side I spawn on), and snipe the enemy flag capturers from there.

What map: Abbey may look like....

What I've learned is this: especially at lower tiers -- but even high tiers too you know, scouts, madmen, might come racing along that ridge, having avoided allies -- or like, allies might have gone that way at all (never happens right?) and you get caught with your pants down.  In smaller, hideable TDs, like the Marder II, I've learned, especially at map start, plant myself with the brush between me and column 1.  You know what I mean right?  Expose my back, if necessary, to my flag, and have brush in front of me, as I turn toward column 1, to get ready for the madmen.  Honestly, you can put yourself in the middle of the brush, and there just enough to cover your front and back, but the key here, is to be facing away from your flag until your team establishes good coverage that way, etc.


Well, I didn't do it.  An artillery had gone up there too.  I think I was so thrown by this fact, that I just sorta sat there with my ass exposed, and fully visible to any ridge-runners.  Sure enough, an astute, but-as-mentioned, madman, Luchs, came racing to my nest, having avoided any allies (thinly dispersed on that side) and, although I did some panic moves and damaged him -- he killed me.


Now, in my Marder II, in that position, I have saved many a victory from defeat, or draw from defeat.  I was the first to die due that fact, and I watched the rest of my team struggle, and then love the match due to being out-capped.


Again, a thinking man's game.

Me on the toilet

D: Watching a novice player think and grow: We'll call him, Parvus.

If his win rate has improved as I see it due to my advice, then this is, indeed, a thinking man's game....

Parvus, for the longest, rushed in, died. Rushed in, died. Fought without defilade, without cover using rocks or buildings or whatnot. I've admonished him for ever to play more defensively, more conservatively, more patiently. Slowly, but surely, he has been. Now, his constant win rate of around 45% has climbed to the high 50s. Realizing this, and hearing he followed my advice, filled the room with dust I say. It was dust! /snif.

This is not me, and I'm not crying!

One last time: World of Tanks is a thinking man's game....

A squirrel contemplating and about to blog about nuts,
the same way I have today about world of tanks

The Capture The Flag Flow Chart: How To Win A Battle In World of Tanks

This past weekend, I'm in a tough battle in my Marder II. 

What my Marder II may look like

I did the dying part, and watched as it came down to my last 2 teammates vs. 3 enemies.  My teammates -- an M4 and a tier 4 Russian TD -- entered the enemy flag circle before 2 of the enemies could enter ours.  The capture clock was going to be close, but we were just a few seconds ahead of the 5 second window to avoid a draw, and win the battle!

Suddenly, the 3rd enemy appeared on the horizon -- a small artillery -- he fires when we are deep into the 80ish seconds area of the capture-clock.  He misses, landing between my two teammates.

"YES!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHA!!!  Now, he has to reload, with not enough time for that AND my teammates can possibly make a long-disance shot and take him out!!!"

But then, to my horror, I see it: our M4 ... he ... he leaves the flag capture to go and kill the artillery....

He does exactly, precisely, the _only_ thing he could have done to cause a loss.

I raged, railed, moaned, kicked the cat, beat the dog and burned-down my neighborhood.

So, wanting to convey just _how_ bad of a decision this is/was, I took all of 30 seconds and made this really, really bad flow chart on how to/what to/the 1,2,3s of doing whatever to win (or lose) a battle in World of Tanks.

Ergo, "The Capture The Flag Flow Chart":

A really, really, bad flowchart that tries to illustrate what one can/should/must do to win a battle in World of Tanks and/or, lose one (note: you sukc if you plan to lose)

Who is fatkiddown?

I get asked this a lot.  I must admit, I'm a mystery even to myself.  It goes way back, the mystery of me.

This Spaniard I once fought asked just prior to the event, "who are you fatkiddown?..."

Everyone's always asking me, "do you know fatkiddown?"

Am I the fkd on the left? or on the right?

You cannot know rly, who I am -- you must know?  Well, get used to disappointments...

There are clues however.  I thought I'd tease/help  you out by listing stuff people have said about fatkiddown:

"You are the most articulate and intelligent bastard I've ever known."

"You are like saliva, you encourage digestion."

"I hate you! [Usually preceeded and/or followed by] I love you!"

"Your stats suck.  He should not play with you."

Back in my biker days....

"You're fucking cancer."

"You are really good in bed."

"You're not that good in bed."

"Boy, you fucked-up just then...."

"fatkiddown, you got hacks or something?"

"You're retarded and your w/r is puny"

[This last one sounds very similar to what a woman once said:]

"You're stupid and puny"

[Odd thing, another woman once said to me:]

"It hurts!" <-- if only that were my thingy I was using....

Me in my (cloaked-jedi) halloween costume worn last Oct.
I felt, when fully closed, it robbed me of the better look

"Well done fatkiddown, (golf clap)" <-- was this regarding: A. a video game, B. sex or C. golf?

"Let's see if we can save the fat from the fire." <-- sed to me in kollage, by a prof. who had no clue I was indeed, _the_ FKD....

"You can have anything you want from our family.  Just name it.  We owe you that."

"Get out of here! Stay away from my family! Never come back!"

"Thank you god!" <-- overheard whispered by a woman just after we deed eet

"I pray god never makes me do that again" <-- overheard whispered by a woman just after we deed eet

"You are a perfect example of what a good player is" <-- was this regarding: A. a video game, B. my ability to pick-up women in a bar? C. my abilities at guitar?

"You are a perfect example of what a suck player is" <-- was this regarding: A. a video game, B. my ability to pick-up women in a bar? C. my abilities at guitar?

"You suck and your blog sucks too."

"Lol! Read your entire blog, love it!"

And last but not least:

"Please, can you just stop talking?..."

Me at a bar just this past weekend

How to get free credits in World of Tanks

1st, take advantage of the recent promotional:

Victory Day Bonus Code

2nd, go to your garage, click on, "Depot."

3rd, choose on the left hand side of the "Depot" menu the "Consumables" selection.  Make sure to also select, "On Vehicles" and then, "My Vehicles." This will list all consumables.

4th, simply left-click on the recently added "gold" consumables you got through the promo code to sell them.

These will be:

• Extra Combat Rations
• Case of Cola
• Chocolate
• Improved Combat Rations
• Strong Coffee

The stacks will sell x5 each for 50,000 credits a pop.  x5, that's 250,000 credits for free!

A lot of grinding done in no time!

(Note: some accounts will not have all "gold consumes" available.  That is, if you do not have the Chinese T59, etc.  A friend who just made an account this weekend had acccess to 3 stacks of sellable consumes instead of 5, and made 150k instead -- still!...)

Enjoy!

-FKD

The March of The E-75

"Comrades fast and little, fearful and brittle, follow me as I drive,"
 Said the lumbering hulk, that huge steel bulk, known as the E-75.

"Many guns have they, but scared I say, are they as much as we."
 And he turned and faced, like a runner at race, the sun it seemed with glee.

All were amazed, dark smoke was raised, from the mouths of his great exhaust,
 And thus drove on, that leviathan, who seemed not to know the cost.

As though pulled along, his brethren fell on, his flanks but not ahead,
 Of the great dark hunk, that towering chunk, rolling on as an ominous dread.

It wasn't long, before a sniper song, of pings and chinks and lead,
 Speckled his coat, battle-worn and smote, in a hail that he could not shed.

Still on he stroked, through the churned-black smoke, toward their battle-line,
 Some comrades bowed, as he continually plowed, now with holes where
 metal shined.

Enemies alit, and seeming to quit, he stopped dead in his tracks,
 but not with fear, for he was sincere, and raised his great gun-rack.

His aim was true, and soon all knew, his gunner was not poor.
 He killed a tank, who realized too late, this was no easy score.

On he marched, soon all took part, in the awe that he inspired,
 And more and more, of the enemy core, came to end his furious ire.

Then larger tanks, filled the ranks, of those opposed to him,
 And damage deep, into him seeped, for his engine with fire brimmed.

Now his tracks, turned into wax, for foes had shot them out,
 And in this arena, of the goddess Athena, they meant to end his route.

They must assemble, instead of tremble, if they wish to bring him down,
 So all surrounded, hammered and pounded, this titan commanding the ground.

Round after round, blow after blow, landed into his hull,
 He refused to show, and he refused them know, that soon his life they'd cull.

Turned this way and that, like dragon spit and spat, he seemed to damage all.
 They were amazed, bright-eyed they gazed, for he refused to fall.

Now most his life, had gone away, and soon the end would come,
 But not before, he felled four more, who thought that he was done.

And so he died, while none could hide, him seeing his gamble pay,
 As they had ignored, his brethren corps, who capitalized on the day.

The last enemy died, and some did cry, o'er the hulk who had no fear,
 Who instead had chose, give his life for those, fast and little and dear.

Can I has a can of air?

Apparently, there is a mo' betta way to give blow jobs now, vs., the old, dangerous, way.  It's the:

Canless Air Systems O2 Hurricane Computer Duster!

It slices, dices and juliennes! (wtf does juliennes mean?), and look at that shine!

It will produce approx. 150mph air flow for upwards of 18 minutes, and has 500 charges.  It will apparently replace $100s, if not $1000s of dollars in cost for old-fashioned, chemical-based, gas-based, "canned air."

And eets about $80.

The _only_ question I have, is: how fast is the air flow that comes out of old-fashioned, sucky "canned-air?"  If it is significanly faster than 150mph, then you might be tempted to reach for a can of it the next time you have some stubborn debris, and the fancy/shmancy new fangled, Canless Air Systems O2 Hurricane Computer Duster! don't cut it.

Please someone tell me how fast old-fashioned canned air-flow is -- my googles skills are t3h fails....

And now, a couple more images of folks using the Canless Air Systems O2 Hurricane Computer Duster!