Update 9.17.1 is nearly here, and we have more on upcoming features and improvements. This time, we’ll walk you through updated vehicle comparisons and new tweaks to the simplified display of technical characteristics. Shall we?
Vehicle Comparison
When this feature was first introduced in 9.16, many of you noted that these vehicle rundowns aren't complete without the few elements that influence performance, namely Crew Skills and Perks, equipment, consumables, camouflage, and ammo. In 9.17.1, you can cherry-pick those parameters in a special menu and get a more cohesive lowdown on a vehicle’s worth.
Furthermore, the dropdown menu for Crew proficiency will be replaced with a vehicle configuration list, where you can choose between default, current, or custom setups:
- Standard: Stock configuration
- Current: Present config
- Configured: Manually-set configs of modules, Crew proficiency, equipment, consumables, ammo, etc.
The Vehicle Configuration screen (above) is where you get the full story on default or current setups, and can customize a tank however you want:
- Crew: Set at 100% by default; you can also choose 50%, 75% or current Crew
- Skills and Perks: Listed here are additional proficiencies that influence vehicle performance: Concealment, Brothers in Arms, Recon, Clutch Braking, Off-Road Driving, Signal Boosting and Situational Awareness
- If you decide to go with the current vehicle configuration, you’ll see all the Perks/Skills fully or partially trained, and their effects, in a tooltip to the right. For convenience, partially-trained proficiencies are considered 100% trained here
- If you don’t have a certain Perk, but want to see how training it will increase a tank’s overall performance, make sure you have the Crew set at 100%, then select it. Perks you add will be considered 100% trained
- Modules: gun, turret (if applicable), engine, suspension, and radio. As with proficiencies, you can go ahead with the current setup and create a manual configuration. Just click any module to get started:
If you aren’t that into it, just flag “Select Top Configuration,” and we’ll get that done for you. Of course, it's easy for special vehicles (Premium, rewards, and the majority of tier X vehicles): the top configuration is the only one for those
- Consumables and equipment: With these, you can choose any item from the list. To keep things simple, we highlighted those that don’t affect technical parameters with an exclamation mark (“!”). Keep in mind that any consumable or equipment that adds to the vehicle’s overall weight, and may slightly reduce its mobility
- Camouflage (unavailable for vehicles with pre-installed camo): Since all camo types provide the same bonus, you have just two options here: on or off!
- Ammunition: The default type are marked in a tooltip on the shell. In addition, you can see it compared to others, in the same tooltip, which will make it a lot easier to choose the most useful shell for the job. By the way, these new tooltips aren’t just for vehicle comparisons -- they're but a small part of the improvements to the simplified technical characteristics display, and will make their way to the game in the next update
Simplified Technical Characteristics Display
In 9.17.1, this display is made more informative:
- One-time-cost equipment that affects combat performance (e.g., Binocular Telescope; Camouflage Net) will show their familiar icons. On top of that, you’ll see how much of a bonus they give you in solid numbers
- Instead of the “Standard Shell Penetration” and “Standard Shell Damage” ranges, you’ll get an average number for each, shown in the Garage and Vehicle Preview Mode. Ranges remain and will still be shown in a tooltip
- Ammo type representation will get a slight revamp a well. Just as in the comparison screen, the default type is underlined in a tooltip, while others will be compared to it right there
These are long-awaited changes we hope you’ll enjoy. Teams around the studio are continuing to monitor and optimize your experience. And as we get closer to 9.17.1’s release, we’ll continue priming you for what to expect with the update!