Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Wargaming.net believe that war should take place on a level playing field. Money may make the world go round but it won’t buy you any extra-powerful rounds for your weaponry, whether those weapons be attached to tanks, planes or automobiles ships. In an interview with Gamasutra, Andrei Yarantsau, VP of publishing at the Belarusian behemoth, stated that the World of Tanks and other forthcoming titles, including World of Warplanes and World of Warships, would operate on a ‘free to win’ basis. This seems like good news.

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The strange, sad story of Chris Taylor’s Gas Powered Games in 2013 has taken another unexpected twist – and now we know what the hinted-at future for the deeply troubled Supreme Commander developer is. Increasingly omnipresent Belarus developer/publisher Wargaming.net, best know for the remarkably successful World of Tanks, has stepped in to buy up what’s left of the Dungeon Siege studio.
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I can’t be the only one who appreciates the ever-narrowing gap between official World of Tanks footage and nature documentaries, can I? There’s a certain grace to their low-speed loping, and recent products of Wargaming’s virtual camerawork have captured that in a way that just begs for overly embellished narration. But I digress. New tanks! After originally being announced for update 8.2, Chinese tanks are instead marching eager treads onto the battlefield as part of 8.3. You can hop in right this second, too. Or you can watch the trailer and audition to narrate my upcoming National Geographic tank special.

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Well, that was quick. World of Tanks‘ Britain-themed 8.1 update – unfortunately not titled “Sir, You Are Being Hunted (By Tanks)” – came out just a hair over a week ago, and now Wargaming’s already rallying the troops for update 8.2. This time around, the focus is mainly on a new Chinese tank tree, which actually houses creaking death machines you can buy in succession, but sounds like something humanity must never genetically engineer. And while that’s certainly the main event of 8.2, it’s lugging in a smattering of other bits and bobs as well.

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I was thinking, seeing that World Of Tanks has unveiled its 8.1 update with accompanying video, that this isn’t a Halloweeny thing. What are they doing releasing it today? And then it occurred to me: tanks are actually scary. Ghosts and monsters may be the more traditional source of chills, but their overall efficacy at being frightening is somewhat limited by their not existing. Tanks exist. They blow people up. They could blow you up. Thanks are fucking terrifying. Everyone: dress up as a tank tonight.

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Star Citizen – the newest and spacest thing from mighty commander of all wings, Chris Roberts – sounds impossibly good. And I do mean that, but with more emphasis on the “impossible” part than I’d like. No doubt, Roberts is completely brilliant, but he’s proposing a project of utterly mad ambition. Naturally, it’s made me a bit skeptical. That said, an hour-long chat during GDC Online (the full results of which you’ll see very soon) definitely put a few of my fears at ease. Roberts is dreaming bigger than just about any other designer out there, but his pie-in-the-stars ambitions are actually pretty well-grounded in reality. And also Demon’s Souls, surprisingly enough.

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You’re familiar with the routine by now. If you’ve got a World Of Tanks account and bought anything, to be sure change your password, and any passwords associated with it. And if you’re still not using unique passwords per account, go change all the others too. PlaySpan, the software World Of Tanks uses for financial transactions in WoT and a thousand other games, has been compromised, with two million account details put online. That’s usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. Credit card details are believed not to have been accessed, but obviously keep an eye on your bills.

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Believe it or not, most of the wars waged over the course of human history haven’t been confined to a single variety of vehicle at all times. I mean, tanks are great and all, but they’re a bit rubbish when it comes to swimming and flying, and I imagine the subtle nuances of both thumb wars and food fights elude them as well. So Wargaming, naturally, is slowly but surely expanding its F2P empire into new arenas of war. First up, it’s taking to the skies with World of Warplanes. That, however, doesn’t mean tanks are taking a backseat. Wargaming’s been planning to connect its major franchises all along, and it’s taking the first step with World of Warplanes’ extension of Clan Wars.

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Back in my day, you could rely on certain things – ravages of time aside – to stay largely the same. Sure, times may change and people may come and go, but one shining beacon of stability has always kept me feeling warm and cozy. I’m speaking, of course, of World-War-II-era tanks. But now – at least, in World of Tanks – they’re getting gargantuan sets of new guts and fresh coats of paint. I ask you: is nothing sacred anymore?

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