Jorge-Vieira
02-07-15, 13:25
World of Warships Preview
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships1-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships1-1920x1080.jpg)
World of Warships PreviewDeveloper: Lesta Studios
Publisher: Wargaming.net
Platform: PC
Release: TBA
It isn't surprising that World of Warships, the third and final game in Wargaming.net's "World of" trilogy that began with World of Tanks and continued with World of Warplanes, has also been the longest in development. Tanks and planes are familiar gaming territory, the basic rules of control and presentation established over two decades of flight-simulators, arcade shooters and tactical wargames.
Battleships frequent virtual wars far less often, and when they do they're usually in the background. Games like the player to be the centre of attention, and in war Battleships are only the centre of attention when something has gone wrong. Under normal circumstances they act as floating launchpads, artillery platforms, and support vessels miles away and from the epicentre of whatever conflict they're involved in.
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships2-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships2-1920x1080.jpg)
Hence it's fair to say that Lesta Studios, the creators of World of Warships, have had a difficult task on their hands. Adapting vehicles the size of a street and with only slightly more manoeuvrability to suit the pace and accessibility of a multiplayer shooter is no mean feat.
"We spent a long time working on the technical backend, before we actually started doing the game," says Artur Plociennik, European Producer on World of Warships. "In general we use the same engine. We call that BigWorld. But this engine had to be somewhat rescaled. So we kind of ended up spending some time first on tweaking the engine, so that we could have the tools to actually build the game."
It isn't merely the technical backend of World of Warships that has proved difficult to get right. Many aspects of the game, including UI, controls, and combat have been reworked extensively over the last eighteen months, the changes based on community feedback and statistical analysis.
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships3-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships3-1920x1080.jpg)
The basic framework of World of Warships remains identical to both Warplanes and Tanks; two teams of battleships trade artillery and torpedo fire for supremacy over a series of oceanic maps. Destroying enemy ships and capturing vital control zones earn you experience and in-game currency, with which you can buy or upgrade the dozens of vessels available to sail. It's free-to-play but not pay-to-win. Every item in the game can be acquired through virtual currency - spending real money just gets you what you want immediately.
Also, like the previous "World of" games, there's a heavy emphasis on historical authenticity, especially with the design and presentation of the ships themselves. Lesta employ a full-time military historian - Sergei Gornostaev - whose job it is to source documents and blueprints related to World War II battleships and their construction, which act as the design basis for the majority of the ships. "We play games to feel some things that we can't try in real life," he says. "If you have a lot of money, you can try a tank, but not a warship. We want to give the opportunity for our players to see the real warships, and make it simple but as realistic as possible."
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships4-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships4-1920x1080.jpg)
A wide range of ships from four of the major WWII armies, including the US, Russia and Japan, are available to pilot, each recreated with as much precision as possible. Gornostaev notes that some ships were easier to recreate than others. The Japanese ships were particularly problematic, as many of Japan's military documents from that era were destroyed in the wake of Japan's surrender. "If the warship was built but we don't have any plans, or much plans, we find the photos and try to calculate all the information we have, give it to the shipbuilder, and he will help us to model this vessel," he says.
Toda a preview:
http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2015/07/02/world-of-warships-preview/1
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships1-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships1-1920x1080.jpg)
World of Warships PreviewDeveloper: Lesta Studios
Publisher: Wargaming.net
Platform: PC
Release: TBA
It isn't surprising that World of Warships, the third and final game in Wargaming.net's "World of" trilogy that began with World of Tanks and continued with World of Warplanes, has also been the longest in development. Tanks and planes are familiar gaming territory, the basic rules of control and presentation established over two decades of flight-simulators, arcade shooters and tactical wargames.
Battleships frequent virtual wars far less often, and when they do they're usually in the background. Games like the player to be the centre of attention, and in war Battleships are only the centre of attention when something has gone wrong. Under normal circumstances they act as floating launchpads, artillery platforms, and support vessels miles away and from the epicentre of whatever conflict they're involved in.
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships2-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships2-1920x1080.jpg)
Hence it's fair to say that Lesta Studios, the creators of World of Warships, have had a difficult task on their hands. Adapting vehicles the size of a street and with only slightly more manoeuvrability to suit the pace and accessibility of a multiplayer shooter is no mean feat.
"We spent a long time working on the technical backend, before we actually started doing the game," says Artur Plociennik, European Producer on World of Warships. "In general we use the same engine. We call that BigWorld. But this engine had to be somewhat rescaled. So we kind of ended up spending some time first on tweaking the engine, so that we could have the tools to actually build the game."
It isn't merely the technical backend of World of Warships that has proved difficult to get right. Many aspects of the game, including UI, controls, and combat have been reworked extensively over the last eighteen months, the changes based on community feedback and statistical analysis.
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships3-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships3-1920x1080.jpg)
The basic framework of World of Warships remains identical to both Warplanes and Tanks; two teams of battleships trade artillery and torpedo fire for supremacy over a series of oceanic maps. Destroying enemy ships and capturing vital control zones earn you experience and in-game currency, with which you can buy or upgrade the dozens of vessels available to sail. It's free-to-play but not pay-to-win. Every item in the game can be acquired through virtual currency - spending real money just gets you what you want immediately.
Also, like the previous "World of" games, there's a heavy emphasis on historical authenticity, especially with the design and presentation of the ships themselves. Lesta employ a full-time military historian - Sergei Gornostaev - whose job it is to source documents and blueprints related to World War II battleships and their construction, which act as the design basis for the majority of the ships. "We play games to feel some things that we can't try in real life," he says. "If you have a lot of money, you can try a tank, but not a warship. We want to give the opportunity for our players to see the real warships, and make it simple but as realistic as possible."
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships4-614x250.jpg (http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2015/07/world-of-warships-preview/warships4-1920x1080.jpg)
A wide range of ships from four of the major WWII armies, including the US, Russia and Japan, are available to pilot, each recreated with as much precision as possible. Gornostaev notes that some ships were easier to recreate than others. The Japanese ships were particularly problematic, as many of Japan's military documents from that era were destroyed in the wake of Japan's surrender. "If the warship was built but we don't have any plans, or much plans, we find the photos and try to calculate all the information we have, give it to the shipbuilder, and he will help us to model this vessel," he says.
Toda a preview:
http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2015/07/02/world-of-warships-preview/1