The “TOW” brawl is on (2022.07.02). It seems OK for the format. But it also shows the developers’ ignorance. Some sample footage, for the record.
The problems with this brawl:
a) It presents the Clarinet as a weapon for low-PS battles.
b) May suggest it’s only good for sealclubbing.
c) It doesn’t even teach the player to combine it with a detector, which is indispensable for PvP. (A detector may have made the brawl too easy/predictable/boring, but this way, the players may get the wrong impression.)
d) The brawl’s author’s confidence in the weapon was so low, they gave it the highest taler reward ratio so far. Seriously, why this weapon of all? It can be the only reason. They also copiously sprinkled the tank with stickers to make it more attractive.
It’s obvious the brawl vehicle was designed by someone who doesn’t care about the Clarinet and doesn’t realize the advanced ways of using it. Again, that’s all fine for a smooth and perhaps enjoyable brawl, but it belies the weapon’s true potential.
The way this game is being developed is unispired overall. Just a pretext to make new players spend money, with no interest to make them stay and enjoy it for a long time. BTW, the prices for Russian players are half of those in other regions (except South America, which are reportedly lower). So NA players pay double the RU prices and all the servers are in Russia. It’s not only unfair to have players from abroad pay for those in Russia having the lowest ping and at the same time putting everyone else at a disadvantage. On a more fundamental level, it’s short-sighted business-wise, because a smart investor would want to place some servers in more remote countries/regions, to make the game more attractive with just low latency. I mean, does Crossout bring in so little revenue that they can only afford hosting it on servers in Russia with American dollars, euros, etc.? I think those in charge are just cheap and don’t care about the fun factor.
Now, a summary poll.
- Do you like the brawl?
- Yes.
- No.
- Is the tank fun enough, or would you prefer the boosted Clarinet car (shown 3 minutes into the video below, or “Firelash” on the exhibition)?
- The tank is fun enough.
- I’d prefer a boosted Clarinet car, e.g. the Firelash.
The following part was posted on 2022.06.28, under the title “Let’s save the upcoming “TOW” brawl! (Video + Poll).”
This video shows what the brawl would look like with the tank prepared by the developers and with a boosted Clarinet car. (Fast forward 3 minutes if you just want to see the brawl footage.)
Which of the two vehicles would you prefer to use in the brawl?
- The fast & funny boosted car (“Firelash” on the exhibition.)
- The slow, unfun tank.
There’s still time to change the developers’ mind and use something better than what they were able to come up with. Doesn’t have to be exactly the same car I show in the video, but it’s properly built, tested and available.
The tank was recreated from the picture in the event news post.
The video is what it is because I wanted to upload it ASAP.
The reason the developers didn’t know about this type of car is because parties associated with Gaijin and/or Targem have been ignoring my attempts to promote it. In March 2021, it was mentioned in a Garage episode they were interested in showing a high-PS Clarinet vehicle. I PMed Sipovec, who was in charge of the series at the time, explaining that I had the the car they needed, and included the link to a video 90% identical to the main one on my channel, “Firewhip: The Road to Valhalla.” Six weeks later, a Garage episode featured a Clarinet tank, and the narrator even said it wasn’t doing very well at that high PS. This year, I found out Sipovec is some kind of moderator, despite having a “developer” tag back then. In late 2021, I sent three supercool short videos to the Crossout Show, but all of them were ignored in favor of less impressive clips. I assume it’s the moderators doing the selection, and they don’t like me because I speak up when their behavior in the general chat is against the rules. (Another player told me his video was rejected when he sent it to the Crososut Show, but it was featured after a friend sent it in under his nick.)
I PMed TheLittleSam about this recently, but it doesn’t look like he’s read the message.
I’ve been trying to help improve the game, but it’s hard getting the developers interested in actual fun stuff. It may have something to do with the culture, where there’s one big boss and he bullies everyone, and when someone has an opportunity to be a boss of something, he starts behaving in a similar fashion to make up for years of such treatment. That’s not conducive to the improvement of anything.
I can see this topic isn’t getting much traction in the community either. When the brawl rolls around and the complaints start, at least I’ll know I tried.