We lately had the opportunity to meet with Joshua Morris, North American Publishing Producer for Armored Warfare, for an interview on their up-and-coming strategy MMO developed by Obsidian Entertainment. We passed a pretty interesting time with him during which he was so kind as to reply to all our questions, allowing us to learn more about this amazing modern-warfare title with armoured vehicles.
In the improbable case that you haven’t heard of Armored Warfare yet but are into War Thunder or World of Tanks, you certainly want to find out what details Joshua shared regarding this upcoming F2P game.
Q: First of all, thanks a lot for granting us the opportunity to talk with you about Armored Warfare. Could you, please, introduce yourself to our readers?
A: Thanks for having me. My name is Joshua Morris and I am the North American Publishing Producer for Armored Warfare.
Q: Which terms would you use to present Armored Warfare to somebody who hasn’t heard of the game yet?
A: Armored Warfare is a new game from Obsidian that's a strategic, modern, tactical shooter with armoured vehicles.
Players take on the role of the leader of a Private Military Corporation, and drive various armoured vehicles dating from the 1950's to the present day into battle in locations that might be hotspots of a modern military conflict, like oil refineries, shipping ports, and urban sprawls.
Q: Which characteristics make Armored Warfare stand out from its genre? Why should players prefer playing Armored Warfare rather than any other tank game, e.g. World of Tanks or War Thunder?
A: We really respect the work what Wargaming and Gaijin have done with their projects.
We also feel the genre has a lot of room for growth and innovation. The modern setting is more than just a way to introduce new vehicles. Modern warfare is faster, and more deadly than the earlier WW2 era. There were many innovations in both weapon and defence systems that are available in the modern era, giving us lots of room for new toys and interesting gameplay.
More importantly, we would like the game to be more accessible to a larger audience while still appealing to the hardcore. This means features like four person missions, where players can team up and play scenarios against computer AI opponents. It also means we will add in suitable game mechanics to avoid frustration. For example, players will automatically be informed when their tank is spotted after several seconds, this time can be further reduced, depending on the vehicle type and commander the player has selected.
Q: Regarding the number of tanks, how many do you plan on having for launch? Will the game also feature other armoured vehicles such as armoured trucks, for instance?
A: We plan to have added over 60 different armoured vehicles by open beta, but that number will grow rapidly over time. We are also not limiting ourselves to tanks or tracked vehicles. There's a whole range of armoured vehicles out there, and many of them are interesting and haven't been given much attention in video games. We'll have everything from the standard Main Battle Tank (think M1A2 Abrams, T-90 or Leopard 2) to wheeled armoured personnel carriers and armoured fighting vehicles like the M1128 Stryker.
Q: To which extend will you allow players to customise their vehicles? Can they expect modern features like guided projectiles, camouflage systems, night vision or thermal vision?
A: Customisation is a big part of Armored Warfare! Players will be able to customise their vehicles in all sorts of ways in terms of configuring ammunition load-outs, applying upgrades to the vehicles that reflect the real-world evolution of the individual vehicles, and integrating various pieces of global technology such as thermal vision and camouflage improvements.
We've basically categorised functional upgrades for the vehicles: firepower upgrades, armour upgrades, mobility upgrades and technological upgrades, with technological upgrades being a sort of catch-all for everything that doesn't fit the other categories.
Q: Could you explain the functioning of the spotting/ targeting system? Can we expect it to be as realistic as in War Thunder or more simplistic as the one World of Tanks uses?
A: Our system takes into account many variables to determine if a vehicle is spotted and displayed. We are taking great effort to avoid unrealistic situations like large vehicles sneaking up on you in the open, or vehicles firing repeatedly from the same position without being revealed. In addition, our cover system is volumetric, so the size of the concealment and your position within that cover make a difference. So, being in the middle of a bush may give you less cover, but will get that concealment benefit from several angles.
Q: And what about the armour and damage system, how will it work? Will there be realistic damage models for the vehicles or will they have hit points? Will their damage be visible and permanent?
A: It’s a mixture of both. There are complex calculations when determining ballistics and penetration but we felt having hit points, combined with critical system damage, gave the best result for portraying damage to the player.
Again, we would like to make the game more accessible. We will have penetration indicators reflect actual chance of penetration including the angle of attack that will reduce new player frustration, while still allowing veterans to take advantage of their knowledge to line up better shots. We would also like to limit the random factors to an appropriate level.
As far as visible damage, vehicles can have a wide array of armour types and systems like cage armour. For example, Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) panels can be detonated by shell impacts, leaving them no longer effective at providing protection to the vehicle.
Q: Will Armored Warfare provide different game modes for those who want, for instance, more realistic battles?
A: We don’t really want separate players into different groups. We really want to create a good mix that appeals to all gamers.
To this end, we are concentrating on making features that give players important choices and incentivise teamwork.
Artillery is a good example. We are currently testing a system that promotes "Counter Battery" tactics. When an artillery vehicle fires, its location is revealed on the map to enemy artillery players. This creates a more dynamic role for artillery as they must choose between supporting their team by targeting enemy vehicles on the front line or, attempt to destroy their opponent’s artillery. In addition, while our artillery does damage over a large area, it needs help in the form of recon vehicles to reduce aim time and deliver that damage efficiently.
Q: What sorts of environments will be available for combat? Could you tell us the approximate size of the maps? Will there be more than two teams on a map?
A: There will be environments representing hot spots from all around the world. There will be urban and rural areas. The Crytek game engine will also allow us to model snow, dust storms, fog, and different times of day and night.
Maps will initially be around 1.2km square, but it will be possible to create larger maps in the future to support new game modes. You might think that doesn’t sound that big, but consider that 1.2km square is about 40% greater area than 1km square, which is a map size that many players have experience with , and the size increases quite rapidly if we want to make bigger maps later on.
We currently only have plans for two sides in PvP, but there could be some scenarios in PvE that might include more sides if it fits into a particular story line.
Q: Could you please elaborate on Armored Warfare’s PvE missions?
A: The PvE mode in Armored Warfare to go on special missions with a group of friends. This allows players to improve their combat skills, learn to play in a team, or just relax and have some fun.
All PvE battles will take place on maps specifically designed for this mode and modelled on real-world locations. Tank commanders will have to operate in very different surroundings: in deserts and mountains, forests and swamps, towns and deserted steppes, in snow or slush.
Missions will be divided by difficulty levels: easy, normal and difficult. The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward upon successful completion. These rewards include experience, reputation and game currency.
PvE gives players a great introduction and alternative to competitive play, while still allowing you to earn rewards.
Q: Do you plan on implementing anything like Clan Wars as in World of Tanks or anything similar for users to compete against each other?
A: We are very interested in having long term strategic and competitive game mode. We want to spend time to design, test, and polish such an important feature. Before we implement something of this magnitude, we would like to support competitive features like ladders, rankings, and tournaments.
Our immediate focus is to build a strong foundation of features and systems that will support these future efforts. Things like having a match making system that incorporates factors like player skill and vehicle upgrades and a spotting system that gives results that do not frustrate the player are of critical importance.
Q: Will Armored Warfare allow for micro-transactions and feature any premium tanks or will players have to pay a specific monthly fee to be able to play?
A: Armored Warfare is a free- to-play game in the best sense.
Money will never provide a combat advantage. All of the purchasable items in the game will either be cosmetic upgrades or will save the player time. We will offer several unique and interesting premium vehicles, but they will be carefully balanced to be less powerful than other vehicles of the same level.
Q: Do you already focus on a set launch date?
A: Our Closed Beta test is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015.
Q: Thanks a lot for your detailed replying. Would you like to mention anything else?
A: Thank you! I’d like to ask everyone to sign up for Beta. We want you to be involved in helping us make this the best game possible!
Fell free to activate the INFO button further below in order to find out more about Armored Warfare.
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