Solving the “speed inflation” issue

[DocSavage]

Solving the “speed inflation” issue

Mass Testing

Hello! In recent years, the number of ways to boost the speed of the cabin has significantly increased in the game. This led to “devaluing” of speed and increase in the efficiency of armoured cars that use wheels and medium or heavy cabins. Those builds are able to use full bonuses to speed, while builds with light cabins have a maximum speed limit (120 km/h) and other types of movement parts also have their own speed limitations.

We would like to invite you to test a number of changes aimed at solving this issue.

Please note that in order to access the testing server, you will need to reinstall the test game client. Please read the new instruction!

We remind you that all the new features described in this news are not final and may be changed before they are introduced into the game or may not make it into the game at all. You can see all the planned changes in more detail on the special testing server!

Changes to cabins’ speed values and bonuses

The key change is reworking the base speed values for cabins and some of their speed bonuses.

In order to decrease the difference between the base speeds of cabins and their maximum possible speed values, we reduced some speed bonuses from various sources.

Speed bonuses

We then reworked the base speeds of the cabins so that armoured cars with light cabins (with engines) would have about the same maximum speed as before the changes, and builds with medium and heavy cabins would become slower.

Base cabin speeds

Maximum speed

To ensure that the reduction of medium and heavy cabin speeds is not excessive, we increased the maximum speed of armoured vehicles from 120 to 130 km/h.

This change will provide more opportunities to use the light armoured cars (mostly with high PS). In conjunction with the other changes, the cabin types would be more distinct in terms of speed.

Movement parts with speed limits

Engines will now have a new parameter: bonus to the movement parts maximum speed, thanks to which all armoured vehicles that have an engine and movement parts with a speed limit will become slightly faster if the speed of the cabin allows it. The bonus will keep such movement parts relevant in the context of the maximum speed increase, and will allow for more diverse builds in terms of engines and resulting maximum speeds. Upgrading engines’ speed bonuses will affect this new parameter as well.

Bonuses to the movement parts maximum speedMaximum speed

To ensure that the reduction of medium and heavy cabin speeds is not excessive, we increased the maximum speed of armoured vehicles from 120 to 130 km/h.

Wheels turning

We made changes that should make the experience of controlling and maneuvering armoured cars with different masses and number of wheels more distinct:

1. Increased the dependence of wheel turning speed on armoured vehicle mass. Now, wheels on light armoured vehicles turn to their maximum angle a little faster and heavy ones a little slower, relative to the main game server.
2. Increased the maximum penalty to the turn angle of the rear wheels. Previously it was 50% and was achieved by installing 2 rear ST wheels, now it is 75% when 6 or more rear ST wheels are installed (the penalty remains exactly the same for 2 wheels).

Additional changes

1. The effect of mass on the acceleration of heavy cabins increased by 9%. This change will slightly reduce the acceleration of heavy armoured vehicles.
2. The “Golden Eagle” perk is disabled on the test server, because we plan to replace the perk with an alternative one that does not increase speed by the time the present changes are released on the main server.

Testing

You can see the test server schedule in the instruction below. Additional changes may be added before each stage of testing. If we are satisfied with the results of the testing, the changes will be released in the next season. If not, we will continue working on the changes and open a new mass testing later.

How to get to the test server?

How to get to the test server?

• If you have participated in the mass testing before, the client that was used for that will no longer be used and can be deleted.
• Download the new launcher here. Running this launcher will automatically start the installation of the version of the game client used for mass testing.
• Choose a folder to install the testing game client and decide if you wish to create a desktop icon for it.
• After the installation is complete, and all files are downloaded, run the game client using either the desktop icon or launcher.exe in the test game client folder, and then log into the game using your username and password.
• The whole progress of your main account will be transferred to the test server (including parts in storage and levels of reputation in factions).
• If you had not already done it before, you will need to transfer progress from your account after logging into the test server: press the “Esc” key and select “Copy account data”.
• Please note the schedule of the test server. The testing will have 3 stages, before each one some additional changes may be added:
• Stage 1:
• Friday, January 31, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)Saturday, February 1, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)Sunday, February 2, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)
• Stage 2:
• Friday, February 7, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)Saturday, February 8, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)Sunday, February 9, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)
• Stage 3:
• Friday, February 14, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)Saturday, February 15, 2025: from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)Sunday, February 16, 2025: from с 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT)
• Any progress you make on the test server will not be transferred to the live game servers (INCLUDING ATTEMPTS TO BUY PACKS).

The public test server is intended only for testing of the upcoming update, and may not accommodate all players without exception. However, absolutely anyone can join the server, as long as there are free spots.

[Poony4u]

@DocSavage

To ensure that the reduction of medium and heavy cabin speeds is not excessive, we increased the maximum speed of armoured vehicles from 120 to 130 km/h.

OMG!

For years I’ve been begging them to raise the max speed, and it’s finally happening!

I haven’t even read the rest of the post yet, because I was so excited to post about this.

[Poony4u]

@DocSavage

The “Golden Eagle” perk is disabled on the test server, because we plan to replace the perk with an alternative one that does not increase speed by the time the present changes are released on the main server

Any speculation or ideas about what Golden Eagle’s new perk will be?

Maybe it could buff reload and/or cooling?

[DocSavage]

IDK. An engine that doesn’t buff speed is sort of stupid, but whatever.

[MudnBeer]

tell that to my old colossus engine…

[Poony4u]

I don’t think they’re taking away the overall speed buff of Golden Eagle. Sounds like they’re just talking about the track/auger/roller speed cap buff that they’re changing, since all engines will now raise the speed cap of limited speed movement parts.

It wouldn’t make sense to keep Golden Eagle’s perk, since all engines now have that same perk, but the others are faster.

Which also means that we’ll be able to use fast engines like Finwhale/cheetah/oppressor with tracks/legs/rollers/hovers/augers and make them move a lot more nimbly.

[DocSavage]

It’s hot garbage…so far, but they are going to run three one week long tests for different parameters, so who knows?

Boosters still don’t work for crap, and even though the top speed on this build is 113kph under the new parameters, the net result is about the same. It struggles to break 105 kph, and even with two boosters tops out at about 120kph, then the boosters time-out.

It really isn’t any different than what it was…but I’m sure hovers will be a lot faster, because hover-magic.

IDK. I’ll warm up my coffee and run a few tests, and try to neutralize my attitude toward this game’s perceived trajectory.

Looks stupid so far, though.

[Poony4u]

Ignore boosters for the moment, as that’s not really what this update is about. I don’t see anything in here that changes how boosters work.

Pick your fastest cabin, and then put your fastest engine on it. In theory, there should be some combos that will get you over 120 kmh. Make sure you’re running Phobos for the top speed buff. If you have Jackie, install it with the nodes buffing your speed too.

They are also making mass have more of a negative aspect on speed, so make sure you’re keeping your armour light. That might be why you’re not seeing much difference on that build.

Keep in mind that they are trying to make sure it doesn’t impact average light builds too much. It’s likely only the fastest ones that will see a buff, and only the slower heavy/medium builds that will see a speed nerf.

The reason I’m so excited about this update is that I’ve made lots of builds that would be able to break the 120kmh barrier if the cap wasn’t there. It was frustrating having fast legendary/epic light cabins and legendary engines like Finwhale, but not be able to get them to actually go any faster than weaker cabin/engine combos.

Edit: the reason why other people should be excited about this update is that it will address the advantage that bricks currently have. I’m not a brick-hater myself, but I have noticed that medium and heavy cabins are outperforming my preferred light cabins lately, because they don’t have as much of a speed disadvantage as they used to, and often handle better than light cabins.

[The_Purple_Snit]

My takeway from this is 3 things.

1. Tracked vehicles relied on Golden Eagle’s speed boost, which is only used on tracks, etc. Time to forget tracked builds except for art builds?

2. All engines are getting speed reductions. Yeah that’s helpful.

3. Medium/heavy cabs are getting max speed increases combined with overall speed reductions. Putting 4 ounces of water into a bigger pail still gives you…4 ounces of water. What purpose does the bigger pail serve? Med/heavy cabs are already too slow as it is.

Oh well.

[Poony4u]

@The_Purple_Snit

Tracked vehicles relied on Golden Eagle’s speed boost, which is only used on tracks, etc. Time to forget tracked builds except for art builds?

You need to read closer: all engines will now buff track top speed, which means your tanks will actually be able to go faster than with Golden Eagle.

[Poony4u]

@DocSavage

even though the top speed on this build is 113kph under the new parameters, the net result is about the same. It struggles to break 105 kph,

Looking through the charts, I think the 113kph speed shown on your build is likely a display error.
Unless my math is off, the top speed of Jannabi with Dunhorse should now be 109kph, which would correspond to what you are describing seeing.
Unless your engine and cabin are both fused, which would explain why it displays 113kph. If that is the case, your build may be struggling to reach that speed because of the impact of the armour you’re carrying.

Edit: I looked closer at your screencap and see that the cabin and engine are both fused, which means it’s likely mass that is keeping you from reaching that top speed.
I did a little math, and there are definitely a few build combinations that could reach 130kmh. But you’ll need to use at least some legendary parts to get there

[DocSavage]

@Poony4u

build may be struggling to reach that speed because of the impact of the armour you’re carrying.

And?

If there are no improvements, there are no improvements. Same build performs almost exactly the same on either server, so what’s the point of this update? They’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I can’t imagine what this is going to improve.

@Poony4u

there are definitely a few build combinations that could reach 130kmh. But you’ll need to use at least some legendary parts to get there

Neat. That’ll be great for whales and seal clubbers. Good for them. The elite really needed a boost. I suppose this makes it easier for them to seal club? Increases the value of battle passes? IDK what else it’s going to “improve.”

[Poony4u]

@DocSavage

If there are no improvements, there are no improvements. Same build performs almost exactly the same on either server, so what’s the point of this update

People have been complaining a lot about bricks, because the introduction of Finwhale and Jackie has allowed heavy and medium cabins to go almost as fast as lighter builds, while carrying a lot more armour and having a lot more pushing power.
While I think those complaints are exaggerated, they’re also not completely invalid.
For a while now, we have had this awkward situation where there aren’t big enough differences between the three cabin classes when it comes to mobility, and I do agree that the game is better when it’s more diverse.

At the same time, the playerbase hates any change, so it makes sense that this rework would leave a build like your example relatively unchanged. They don’t want to force too many people to rebuild. And a Jannabi/Dunhorse build doesn’t really need to be changed: it’s fast enough for the power score where it falls.
But while it makes sense that your build hasn’t changed performance much, it also makes sense that a faster cabin and engine should perform noticeably better than your example, to justify the PS cost of using those parts.

I don’t think this is just for whales. Put a cheetah or oppressor on that build, swap in some epic wheels, and remove a bit of armour. Those aren’t strategies that are only available to whales, and while they will raise your PS, you’ll still be far away from true high PS brackets.

What may be more relevant to you are the nerfs to how heavy and medium cabins will handle, which should give you more of a speed advantage against them, even if you’re not going any faster.

Edit:
Short answer is that this update is about increasing build diversity. Make the fastest builds faster, and make the slower builds slower.

[DocSavage]

Never makes it past 126kph (completely naked) despite the top speed supposedly being 127kph, but whatever.

Is there a way to add more speed without fusion?

[Poony4u]

Add Phobos instead of Billie.

Am I right in assuming that you don’t have a Jackie module?

Also, try some epic wheels with less power drain. Got any buggy wheels? Or the new syndicate wheels?

[DocSavage]

@Poony4u

this update is about increasing build diversity.

There will be no way to determine how that all works out until it goes live. Nobody plays this game anymore, and the Test server is nothing but bots.

Also, there will be two more adjustments scheduled for this particular update available for testing in the coming weeks, so…

[Poony4u]

@DocSavage

There will be no way to determine how that all works out until it goes live. Nobody plays this game anymore, and the Test server is nothing but bots.

This is true, but you can at least test how the changes will impact various builds. How that will impact player choices is impossible to predict, but at least we can see whether humpback bricks feel less nimble, and whether the fastest wheeled builds are able to take advantage of the new speed limit. Also useful to see that many builds won’t actually see much of a change.
If you’ve got the time, I’d love to hear how limited speed movement parts feel with some of the faster engines. How fast can we get meatgrinder builds moving now, and do they feel too twitchy with that higher top speed?

[Babuskae]

I remember when i came back to this game the maximum speed was 240 kph or there about , then they doubled down to 120kph because servers were bleeding or something, now they are increasing the speed from 120 to 130 kph.

They just taken a pig from you, then. And gave you back a sausage, now, just like the banks.

Instead of reducing the top speed of med and heavy cabins, they could just maintain things as they are and increase the top speed for light cabs.
But not only they are making the cabs slower but apparently they are giving higher speed to light cabs " mostly in higher PS ",
Not only that but they are messing with the wheels again, they will be doing what they did with supercharge .

Whatever.
I was used to 21 knots…that is around…not even 40 kph, guess i have to be use to that again

[Poony4u]

Top speed was always 120km/h, unless you use boosters.

[Babuskae]

No, they even release a patch note that the speed would be reduced back to 120 ( i don’t remember if the topic was in this forum or on the older one )