Developers posts on forum

Major_Rampage:   On the first day of Tanksmas,  by clan mate sent to me.....    The Twelve Days of Tanksmas

Quemapueblos: Anyone can contribute constructively here but we have asked Council Members specifically to check in to help answer questions

Quemapueblos: Anyone can contribute constructively here but we have asked Council Members specifically to check in to help answer questions

pizzastorm: Hehe 

Laera:
If you play both, could you submit the same creation to both contests?   You're free to make one tank and enter it in both contests! Just keep in mind for the WoT 360 contest, the tank should be made out of gingerbread. 
We're seeing some awesome entries so far! Keep'em coming. Feel free to share your creations here too! 

Laera:
If you play both, could you submit the same creation to both contests?   You're free to make one tank and enter it in both contests! Just keep in mind for the WoT 360 contest, the tank should be made out of gingerbread. 
We're seeing some awesome entries so far! Keep'em coming. Feel free to share your creations here too! 

Laera:
If you play both, could you submit the same creation to both contests?   You're free to make one tank and enter it in both contests! Just keep in mind for the WoT 360 contest, the tank should be made out of gingerbread. 
We're seeing some awesome entries so far! Keep'em coming. Feel free to share your creations here too! 

pizzastorm: Japanese armored vehicles continued - Here we continue our look at Japanese tanks in anticipation of the 8.10 update.   The scale of tank forces used in the Pacific Theatre was much smaller than the fierce battles which took place across Europe. The outcome of the war in the Pacific was heavily dependent on naval battles that took place in regions like Guadalcanal, Midway, and the Coral Sea. Even with less emphasis being placed on armored vehicles in the Pacific, they still played an important and interesting part in the war.     In 1937, the Japanese Empire had started full-scale war against China. By that time, their armored forces had approximately 400 tanks at their disposal. Even though they consisted of mostly outdated models, they were used quite successfully. The Chinese army suffered from a lack of antitank equipment, leaving them with little to counter Japanese tanks. Although outdated, the tanks were being used to break through enemy defenses and as mobile gun fortifications.

Military successes in Manchuria and China gave the Japanese army more confidence in their land troops. Taking from their successes against China, Japan then moved against the USSR. The Soviet Union however, protected its land from attack in a series of battles near Lake Hasan in 1938.   The next year, the Japanese army started a new military conflict near the Khalkhyn Gol River in Mongolia, which was under USSR protection. This time, the Japanese brought numerous tanks to the fight. Initially they had 87 armored vehicles, including 35 ‘Type 95 ‘Ha-Go’’ light tanks. It was the first time this vehicle was used in such large numbers. Later, as the conflict escalated, more and more of them were drawn to the Mongolian battlefields.     At the start of hostilities, Japanese vehicles enjoyed some degree of success, but after their first encounters with the Soviet BT-5 and BA-10 armored vehicles, they suffered heavy losses. The 45mm guns which were mounted on Soviet tanks were easily able to penetrate the armor of attacking ‘tots’ (the nickname that Japanese tanks were given by Soviet soldiers). At the same time, Soviet tanks were also vulnerable to shells fired from the Japanese 37mm anti-tank guns. Although the Japanese tanks had less firepower than Soviet tanks, the majority of both Japanese and Soviets armored vehicles only had anti-bullet armoring, making them both vulnerable to turret and field guns. Both sides suffered many losses due to tactical mistakes and a lack of coordination with other troops.   As result of this conflict, Japan and the USSR received valuable battle experience, including practice in using large tank divisions. Many historians believe that the Khalkhyn Gol incident greatly influenced the decision for Japan to avoid further engagements against the USSR. Instead, they started their preparations for invasion in South-East Asia. Many industrial resources were re-orientated towards fleet production.     During the short period from December 1941 to May 1942, the Japanese army had conquered Hong-Kong, the Philippines, Holland, India, Burma, Thailand, and several islands in the Pacific. They were only a few steps away from invading India and Australia as well. In many of these operations, tanks were actively and successfully utilized by the Japanese Empire. For instance, during battles in the Philippines, Japanese vehicles struggled against the newest American tank at the time, the M3 ‘Stuart’. The ‘Chi-Ha’ with its short 57mm guns had difficulty battling against the maneuverable ‘Stuart’s. This forced Japan to introduce an improved version of the ‘Chi-Ha’, the ‘Shinhoto Chi-Ha’, which began to achieve great results in battle. This was one the factors which assured success in their island conquests.   During the first half of the war, the Japanese military managed to use tanks in a variety of conditions: in the middle of jungles, on top of mountains, even near swift rivers. This allowed the Japanese to surprise the enemy, which rarely had means of defending against these vehicles.     Starting from 1943, the situation changed. Strategic initiative in the war passed to the US hands, which liberated island by island and gradually drew towards the heart of the Japanese empire. Americans had already dominated both the sea and air. Their ground troops were also being supplied with M4 Sherman and M5 Stuart tanks, as well as the new man portable antitank recoil-less ‘Bazooka’ rocket launcher for their infantry. Later, all of this equipment was also provided to the Chinese forces, which continued fight with Japanese forces until the end of the war.  
This made successful use of tanks almost impossible for Japanese forces, forcing them to resort to guerilla tactics: night marches, ambushes, raids and even suicide attacks. In 1945, two Japanese tanks (the ‘Chi-Ha’ and ‘Ha-Go’) were dispatched with explosives attached to the armor. They located a column of armored vehicles led by ‘Sherman’ tanks, which they rammed at full speed. Immediately after contact, the crew denoted the explosives, effectively hampering the momentum of the American offensive.     Even desperate acts such as this could not save Japan from losing the war. Kwantung Army’s defeat in August 1945 was the last step in crushing Japanese land forces. The Soviet strike against the Japanese was so unexpected that the majority of Kwantung Army’s tanks were captured before they had even taken part in the battle.
  After Japan surrendered, Chinese Civil war stared anew. USSR passed captured armored vehicles to Chinese communists, who lacked equipment and weaponry. Vehicles which were based on islands continued their service as training vehicles during the ensuing time of peace.    We hope that you enjoyed this look at Japanese armored vehicles during the war. Please discuss below!

dance210:   The gold will go to the first set of tied teams.

Quemapueblos: Battles will be fought on 15th. The last group of Goldfields appeared today.

Quemapueblos: Battles will be fought on 15th. The last group of Goldfields appeared today.

dance210: Registration is now open for Skirmish 49  

Quemapueblos: If you have tried using another browser and clearing your cache, your best bet is to submit a ticket to support. If you are getting charged but nothing is being updated, please contact support as soon as possible

Quemapueblos: If you have tried using another browser and clearing your cache, your best bet is to submit a ticket to support. If you are getting charged but nothing is being updated, please contact support as soon as possible

CatStalker: Back when the T-50-2 was around, that thing was the king of unexplainable bounced shots, especially in tier 10 games.

dance210: F.A.Q.
Skirmish Rules
Tournament Page
Looking for a Team/Players
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Tier Limits
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With a maximum of 6 players per battle, a team (maximum 9 players per team) must field a selection of tanks based on the below, maximum tier limits.6 vs 6
Tier Limits
Heavy: N/A
Medium: 3
TD: 3
Light: 3
SPG: 3
Limit 2 of any tank model per team.
Points: 16
Map: Province .
Victory Conditions
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The winner of each round will be determined as the first to 3 victories on a given map.
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Each battle will last 10 minutes.
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The Standard battle mode will be used for this tournament.
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Schedule
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Note that only 64 teams will be allowed to participate. Teams will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis, see Registration for details.
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The full schedule will be provided at the close of registration, once the final team count has been determined. Rounds will begin at 19:30 PST (22:30 EST, 03:30 UTC the following day) each scheduled day. Curious what time this is in your region? Use this handy Time Zone Converter to help you out!Round 1: Monday, Dec 16th
Round 2: Tuesday, Dec 17th
Round 3: Wednesday, Dec 18th
Round 4: Thursday, Dec 19th
Round 5: Friday, Dec 20th
Round 6: Saturday Dec 21st There will be a 2 minute break in between battles for each round.
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Prizes
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The following prizes will be provided to each member of the respective winning team, including reserves.First place: 5,000 gold
Second place: 2,000 gold
Third place: 1,000 gold
Fourth place: 1,000 gold .
Maps
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There will only be one map used during Skirmish 49. The map will be Province.

dance210: The Tournament Sheet has been buggy, so I doubt you're the only one.
What team are you on? Battles show up for me as 11.12.13, or Dec 11, 2013. Are you seeing something different?

SchnellerDamon: Todos tranquilos muchachos (o muchachas), mientras no se pasen de raya  todo va estar bien jaja. Siguen disfrutando del juego y yo me encargo que todos se comporten en los foros latinos.

ElPozoleOlmeca: Todos tranquilos muchachos (o muchachas), mientras no se pasen de raya  todo va estar bien jaja. Siguen disfrutando del juego y yo me encargo que todos se comporten en los foros latinos.

Captain_Judo: All disputes have been processed.
The top six teams in each group advance to the playoffs for a total of 102 playoff teams. Teams tied for 6th will also advance without the need for a tiebreaker.
Playoff brackets and seeding will be available later today.

Captain_Judo: All disputes have been processed.

The top six teams in each group advance to the playoffs for a total of 102 playoff teams. Teams tied for 6th will also advance without the need for a tiebreaker.

Playoff brackets and seeding will be available later today.

Captain_Judo: All disputes have been processed.

The top six teams in each group advance to the playoffs for a total of 102 playoff teams. Teams tied for 6th will also advance without the need for a tiebreaker.

Playoff brackets and seeding will be available later today.

pizzastorm: That video was awesome

pizzastorm: Interesting. Can't remember the last time I have even seen a trackball.

pizzastorm: I always try and platoon with someone who is better than me so I can learn from them. This is not always an option but keep an eye out for good players willing to show you a few things.

dance210: I don't have full access at home, so I'll have to look when I get into work to see why a team with only 2 players was accepted.
How it works for the group stage, the team is only disqualified for the specific match that was reported. By all means, feel free to report it, just be aware that it will not disqualify that team for the matches against all the other teams that they faced.

dance210: It's not a PM. All disputes need to be sent to tournaments@wargamingamerica.com by the team captain.
You need to include:Your in-game name
Your team name
Enemy team name
Reason for dispute
Screenshot/replays
Subject line: Battle of the Bulge Challenge, Dispute Let me know if you have any other questions.
Edit: This only needs to be done if you lost. If you won, the dispute isn't really necessary. And no, you won't get in trouble if the other team brings an illegal line-up and you don't report them :-)

pizzastorm: I am very interested in the historical aspects of tanks and everything to do from this period, being a history major and all. Sorry to intrude on your gimmick

pizzastorm: Hello Tankers,

With the 8.10 update on the way, let's take a look at the history of the Japanese armoured vehicles.

Japanese armored vehicles prior to 1939

In the middle of the XIX century, Japan entered the ‘Meiji Restoration’ era. In only a few decades, a backwards island state had converted into powerful country with a strong military. In the meantime Japan had undertaken a course of aggressive external politics. Winning a war with China in 1895, and, afterwards, with the Russian Empire in 1905, the Land of the Rising Sun was ensuring its dominance in the Far East region.

When tanks first appeared in the 1916, they received the close attention of Japanese military forces. Colonel Hoshino wrote the following in the years after the First World War: ‘No country can consider itself defended, if it has no powerful artillery, modern tanks and aviation under control’. Soon a special Imperial General Staff committee was created with its remit being to stand up an armoured force. From 1917 to about 1927 Japan was actively purchasing and testing foreign tank prototypes, among them the Vickers Mk С, Mk A Whippet and Renault FT.

The first Japanese tank was ‘#1 Chi-I’ name. It was produced by the arsenal in Osaka in 1927 from plans drawn up by the IJA Technical Bureau. One of the engineers was future-general Tomio Hara, arguably Japan’s version of Estienne. The tank was equipped with two turrets, one conventional and the other in the front hull, which mounted a 57mm gun along with machine guns. When displayed, it received a rousing ovation from the Japanese officers watching, mainly due to sheer disbelief that the Japanese industry could make a tank which at least ran. Being Japan’s first home-brew design, however, it was inevitably flawed and never entered production.



More or less in parallel came the development of the Type 87. Another tank of limited capability it did, however, provide some basis for the first successful Japanese tank, the Type 89, which also borrowed very heavily from the Vickers C. This became Japan’s first domestic production tank, but the factory could not keep up with the demands of the nascent Japanese tank corps, and additional tanks still needed to be imported from overseas: Some two dozen Renault NCs (Locally named “Otsu”) were purchased to fill the gaps.



NC was not the only “Otsu”, however. About a third of the Type 89s manufactured through the production run were powered by a 120hp diesel engine, this was the “Yi-Go Otsu”, as opposed to the petrol-powered “Yi-Go Ko”
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Interestingly, the Japanese Army in the early 1930s had a quirk in common with the US Army of the period. “Tanks” belonged to the infantry. The cavalry had to make do with “Heavy Armored Cars” (Jyu Shokosha) which looked suspiciously like tanks. Type 92 was the Japanese cavalry’s light tank. US documents for some reason seem to call it the Type 93. Later versions of this tank…erm.. armoured car had the elliptical springs replaced by the more typical Japanese Bell and Crank.

There was one additional quirk to note of the Japanese tank development before they settled down into the mass production of the tanks which saw wide-spread service, and that was the Type 95 Heavy Tank. Of course, ‘heavy’ was a relative term, but at 26 tons, it was far and away the heaviest thing the Japanese were messing around with in 1934. Armed with a 70mm and 37mm in a tandem turret arrangement, with a whopping 1.5” or so of armor, the vehicle had a blissfully short run of four vehicles.

Japan got into the Tankette business in a big way with the Type 92 “TK”, which looks like nothing as much as it does a Vickers MkVI with the bell crank suspension system. Coming in at 3 tons, the armour was good against rifles only, and the vehicle was the oldest to see significant service during the war with the USA. A development of the vehicle was the Type 94 which modified the suspension to incorporate a trailing idler.



In the second half of 1930s ‘Tokio Gasu Denki’ corporation presented a prototype of another tankette, the Type 97 ‘Te-Ke’ tank to the Japanese military. Although the suspension was basically identical to that of the Type 94, as US reports put it “[t]his tankette shows a definite attempt on the part of the Japanese to design a simpler front plate and to improve the deflection angles of the armour. Its whole appearance evinces better design and cleaner features than its predecessors.” Combine the new slope with a heavier weight of over four tons, and this vehicle could actually stop a rice-ball if it wasn’t thrown too hard. Thanks to small size and good speed (up to 42 km/h), the tankette could undertake reconnaissance missions. ‘Te-Ke’ entered service in 1937. Aside from scouting missions, it was also use as an infantry support unit or observer vehicle. The tank was fielded in China, Burma, Philippines. In 1944 this tank formed part of team, which landed on Kwajalein atoll.



Mitsubishi started to get it right by 1935, however, with the Type 95 Light Ha-Go coming in at about 7 tons. It was of a conventional design of the time, with the transmission placed in the front of the tank, while engine space was put in the vehicle’s rear. Hull armor thickness was about 10-12 mm. The turret had space only for one crew member, and was to the left of the hull’s centerline. It was equipped with 37mm gun in the front and 6.5mm machine gun in the rear turret rear. Another 6.5mm MG was also placed in the front hull. The tank had a diesel 120-h.p. engine, and could reach speed of 30 km/h on cross-country terrain. The engine was selected with economy in mind, since its gasoline counterpart consumed more fuel. The vehicle received the typical Japanese suspension system.. Japanese tankers liked ‘Ha-Go’ for its simple and reliable design. On the other hand, tank had several weaknesses. Among them, a lack of modern communication devices, coaxial machine gun, and numerous access doors and removable armor components, which reduced the effective turret and hull armor even more than the startpoint for a light tank. ‘Ha-Go’ was manufactured until 1945 with over 2,300 being made. ‘Ha-Go’ also holds the distinction of being the only enemy tank to ever invade North America, during the occupation of the Aleutian Islands.



The fast light tank Type 98 ‘Ke-Ni’ was an interesting project, developed in 1938 by ‘Hino Jidosha Kosho’ company. Thanks to a powerful diesel engine it could speed along at some 50 km/h. Changes in suspension design decreased longitudinal oscillation during tank movement. ‘Ke-Ni’ was equipped with new turret, which had enough space for two crewmembers, which should have increased the combat effectiveness of the vehicle. The turret had a 37mm gun and 7.7mm machine gun mounted to the right of the main gun. There was also a Type 98B modification, which had radial cylinder engine and Christie suspension. ‘Ke-Ni’ was never mass produced. In 1942-1943 vehicles were created in a limited quantity of up to 113 tanks (different sources mention different numbers).

In 1936 Japanese military officials reviewed required performance characteristics for medium tanks. From that point engineers had to construct more maneuverable armored vehicles with bigger caliber guns. In order to meet the new requirements, Imperial army engineers created a 9.8 tonnes ‘Chi-Ni’ prototype. ‘Mitsubishi’ specialists also constructed a 15 tonne 'Chi-Ha' prototype.



‘Chi-Ni’ had a 135 h.p. engine, which allowed a 30 km/h maximum speed. The rear part of hull had a ‘tail’ designed for negotiating ditches, trenches and escarpments. Armor thickness was also increased by use of armor plate angles.The tank required three crewmembers for regular operation. Initially, the military favoured this tank, but the war in China showed that small weight and cheap production was, in the end a poor trade-off for the tougher armor of ‘Chi-Ha’ tank.



Chi-Ha’ entered service in 1937, but mass production has started only in 1939, when active battle engagement in China had ended. Considered a medium tank by the Japanese, but weighed in similarly, and was fairly analogous, to the American M3 light tank. This vehicle could travel at some 40 km/h, was armed with the 57mm Type 97 gun and two 7.7mm machineguns. Frontal armor plate thickness was equivalent to some 25mm. The hull was constructed by riveting rolled armor plates. The conical turret was offset to the right of the hull’s cental axis. In 1940, after tank combat around Nomonhan from which the Japanese did not come out the better, a new modification of tank appeared – ‘Shinhoto Chi-Ha’. It was equipped with new turret, which had a 47mm/L48 gun mounted. The shell from that gun penetrated 50mm armor at some 500m distance. ‘Chi-Ha’ tanks were used in China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Guadalcanal. From 1938 till 1942 approximately 1200 vehicles of that type were produced.



Compared to Western nations, Japan started the creation of their own armored forces relatively late. But by the start of the Second World War Japanese constructors were able to create almost twenty domestic projects. This shows how fast and dynamically Japan was developing its own tank production.

Feel free to chime in below with your own Japanese armoured vehicle knowledge!

Laera: They're in the process of getting wiki 2.0 launched. I'll see if I can get an update on the ETA for you.

Laera: They're in the process of getting wiki 2.0 launched. I'll see if I can get an update on the ETA for you.

Laera: They're in the process of getting wiki 2.0 launched. I'll see if I can get an update on the ETA for you.

Mugsy_: Hey guys,
Thanks for joining us today.
We ran much longer than we planned, I guess there was a lot of questions.
We will do this again soon! Congrats to everyone who won gold, promo codes, xbox beta codes and Jinx shirts!
Rewatch here: http://www.twitch.tv...ing/b/486165301

Mugsy_: Hey guys,
Thanks for joining us today.
We ran much longer than we planned, I guess there was a lot of questions.
We will do this again soon! Congrats to everyone who won gold, promo codes, xbox beta codes and Jinx shirts!
Rewatch here: http://www.twitch.tv...ing/b/486165301

Mugsy_: Hey guys,
Thanks for joining us today.
We ran much longer than we planned, I guess there was a lot of questions.
We will do this again soon! Congrats to everyone who won gold, promo codes, xbox beta codes and Jinx shirts!
Rewatch here: http://www.twitch.tv...ing/b/486165301

Hypnotik: I don't think the devs want to go that far down that road, it's too scary and so few of us ever come back unchanged.

Hypnotik: I love how that number keeps getting changed over time. 207776.
                    
This is actually one of the least complicated parts of the spreadsheets, the automation I built into them was crazy.

pizzastorm: Nicely done.   I will be joining you one day in the future.

pizzastorm: Pretty cool!  It is a very nice layout.

pizzastorm: Where is the transcript =(

pizzastorm: I keep a lot of my tanks. Never know what I will feel like playing in the future.