8.4 Public Test [UPDATED]

Tankers!

The public test for 8.4 is here! Taking part in the public test is your chance to let us know your thoughts and suggestions on forthcoming updates to World of Tanks. This will allow us to review your feedback and make any further changes before the update goes live. We've got a lot of changes hitting the test server like the addition of British TDs, a new tutorial, and four updated maps.

All World of Tanks players are eligible to take part in the Public Test as long as they registered for World of Tanks® prior to 00:00 PST on February 11, 2013. You don’t need to be an experienced tester to join in; you just need to be willing to try out as many of the new features as you can and send us your feedback.

How the Public Test Works

To participate in the test you need to do the following steps:

• Install a small launcher update found HERE (9.2 МB)
• Update World of Tanks® via the launcher (4.5 GB, approximately)

Be sure to install the test game launcher in a different folder, rather than the current game client version. Also, switch off the game client before installing the update. Only players who have registered prior to 00:00 PST February 11, 2013 can participate in the Public Test.

Please, keep in mind certain features of the public test server:

• Payments are not accepted on the public test server.
• For the first iteration, all test accounts will receive a one-time credit of:
  
  • 100,000,000 XP
  • 100,000,000
  • 20,000
  • Progress won't be transferred to the main NA server.
  • Credits and experience rates will not be increased for this test.

Changes to Public Test 0.8.4 v.2 Compared to Public Test 0.8.4 v.1

• Finalized level of battles and balance weight of tanks in 0.8.4
• Finalized armoring of British TD: AT8, Alecto, FV215b(183), and Tortoise
• Finalized experience and credit cost of modules and tanks of new British TD branch and reworked Germany light tanks branch
• Fixed minor bugs in damage models of 110, Wz-131, Hetzer, and Pz38NA
• Fixed bugs in visual models of IS-6, Churchill, and M6A2E1 (distortion of proportion)
• Fixed shot effects of Valentine AT
• Fixed thickness of lower frontal hull armour of PzV Panther, PzV/IV, Panther M10, and JagdPanther
• Fixed thickness of the beam between upper and lower frontal hull armour of British heavies Caernarvon and Conqueror
• Fixed location in research tree of premium British TD AT15A
• Fixed bug of E-100 lower frontal armoring
• Reworked angles of declination of E-50 and E-50M guns
• Route to British TD branch changed from tier VI heavy tank Churchill VI to tier V heavy tank Churchill I
• Price of 183mm HESH shell of British TD FV215b(183) increased by 20 gold.
• Fixed an error with multiple critical hits voicing during the switching between tanks in the Spectators mode.
• Fixed an error with missing voice actor audio for damaged track during a fall.
• Reworked some text in the battle tutorial
• Fixed  the errors found in the battle tutorial functionality
• Fixed errors of some environment models
• Fixed the omission of the drop-down menu of the “Battle” button and presence of the Clan Wars window for some accounts that are not in the clan.
• Fixed trees disappearance during loading of a battle when the client is minimized
• Fixed the FPS drop for some configurations during the rendering of fire and explosion effects while in a sniper mode
• Fixed damage randomization omission of the HE shells when they hit the ground near a tank
• Fixed, in some cases, the game client crash when using Alt+Tab during battle
• Fixed incorrect display of the data in the post-battle statistics
• Fixed rare freezes for some accounts during the hangar loading (depot unsynchronization)
• Fixed the display of the cursor by pressing the Right Ctrl
• Fixed some problems with the frames rate update
• Added the possibility to choose the first mounted shell type during the battle start countdown
• Changed shells tracer effects
• Improved the performance by 5% to 10% for some configurations which use the improved graphics.

Changes in Test v8.4 comparted to v8.3

Major Changes:

• Added a branch of tank destroyers to the British tech tree:
  
  • Universal Carrier QF 2 pounder, Alecto, Valentine AT, АТ 2, АТ 7, Gun Carrier Churchill, АТ 8, АТ 15, А39 Tortoise, FV215b(183)
• Added three new German light tanks:
  
  • Pz.I, Pz.I Ausf.С , Pz.II Ausf.G.
• The following German light tanks have been moved to tier IV, V and VI to match their rebalanced characteristics: 
  
  • Luchs, VK 1602, VK2801
• New USSR premium tier VI tank destroyer now available: SU-100Y.
• The following maps were reworked for improved graphics: 
• • Steppes, Fisherman's Bay, Ensk, Live Oaks
• Dragon Ridge and Serene Coast maps removed from random battle mode for re-working
• World of Tanks now supports NVIDIA SLI configurations
• Battle tutorial for beginners has been added (tutorial mission has its own map).
• "Assault" mode has been temporary disabled for the following maps: Malinovka and Westfield
• Tanks with auto loader system will reload the whole cassette/drum instead of one shell when the “Intuition” skill is triggered

Minor Balance Changes & Fixes

• Reduced slope of the lower nose plate of the Pz. V Panther to 55 degrees
• Reduced slope of the lower nose plate of the T-44 to 45 degrees
• Fixed minor bugs with the damage model of the following tanks: 
  • AT-15А, Matilda Black Prince, Matilda (USSR), Grille, AMX 13-75, AMX 13-90, AMX 12t, Churchill I, VK 4205B, M12, M41, Object 212, Caernarvon, M46 Patton, Maus, Е-100 
• Improved the protection offered by the joint between lower and higher nose plates on Caernarvon, Conqueror and FV215b tanks
• Fixed bugs in visual models for the following vehicles:
  
  • IS-3, Churchill LL, М41, Т69, KV-3, TOG-2, SU-14, S-51, Hetzer
• Fixed mix up of left and right tracks in the damage model of the WZ-131
• Fixed camo costs for Chinese T-34-2
• Fixed appearance of the final drive cover for Т-34 and vehicles built on its hull
• Fixed damage from falling received in vehicles with open top turrets for TDs and SPGs
• The FPS rate in the garage is limited to 60 FPS
• Reworked and optimized tank engine exhaust effect
• Fixed implementation of certain internal ricochet calculations

User Interface & Gameplay Adjustments

• Added the ability to customize the addressing system for battle chat: with or without an auto save of the last channel used
• Fixed the error that in certain situations would display a sold tank as 'not researched' in the tech tree
• Returned the option to train crew members for tanks missing in the Garage. A separate warning window has been added for this purpose
• Added a windowed full-screen option (maximize button in the right top corner)
• Fixed descriptions of the "Sniper" and "Steel Wall" achievements
• Fixed some bugs in achieving Kolobanov's medal for cases when the members of both teams quit to the hangar before the end of a battle
• Fixed display of team damage and team kill for the post-battle statistics window when allied tank was destroyed by fire after your hit
• Fixed the loss of performance on some configurations while using server reticule in sniper mode
• Added information on "potentially received damage" to the post-battle statistics. This takes into account all the potential damage that a tank could receive from ricocheted or non-penetrated shells (including side skirt armor)
• Fixed a rare client crash when going to the tank research window
• Removed the restriction of the “external view” button for vehicles with incomplete crew
• Added display of the drowning timer and module repair indicator in the post mortem observation mode
• Fixed after-shot rattle in the left speaker for some configurations
• Fixed inconsistent amount of credits received for selling a vehicle being displayed in both vehicle selling window and following system notifications
• Fixed complaints in the post-battle statistics for players not involved in the platoon
• Added new pictures to the login screen
• When the client is minimized, the taskbar icon now blinks five seconds before the battle starts rather that at the start
• Implemented restoration of voice chat functionality after disconnection
• Added the ability to remove heavy weight equipment and modules and replace them with lower weight ones when the chassis is overloaded
• Fixed glitch with "Sniper" achievement when damaging allied tank with an HE shell
• Added to the descriptions of commemorative medals
• Fixed the ammo order after a turret or gun change in the Garage
• Fixed a bug which mixed up the command order "Affirmative!" and "Negative!" for tank destroyers in some situations
• "Damage upon detecting" in the after-battle statistics reworded to "Damage upon your detecting"
• Fixed audio interruptions during the voice chat test
• Fixed a rare client crash after fast quitting and then connecting to the game
• Fixed client crash when pressing "Update Device" in the settings menu
• Fixed wrong output for FPS values, ping and lag indication for the Logitech G19 keyboard
• Fixed barrel movement discrepancy in some cases when targeting a nearby obstacle
• Fixed barrel movement and turret turning discrepancy after a hit

Graphical Changes & Fixes

• Fixed some bugs in the visual models of surrounding objects and building damage
• Added additional destruction effects for destroying big tanks
• Fixed automatic camera angle adjustment when close to some objects
• Fixed some bugs in the display and update rate of dynamic shadows
• Gameplay and visual fixes for the following maps:
  • Cliff, Prokhorovka, Abbey, Ruinberg