Armor Changes in 9.12 HD Models
World of Tanks Update 9.12 introduced another 28 HD vehicles models in the game. Of these vehicles, 27 of them were reworked in HD quality, and one was the replacement of the FV4202 at tier X, the Centurion Action X.
Why Does Armor Change When Vehicles Are Made HD?
Reworking existing vehicles in HD greatly enhances realistic detail, and adds to the atmosphere of smoke, fire and steel that armored vehicles convey in World of Tanks. But in addition to aesthetic changes, HD reworking also lets us revisit a vehicle's armor values. This happens for at least a couple of reasons:.
- Over time, we obtain more accurate historical data (i.e., updated information on schematic drawings)
- Remodeling parts of the hull, turret, etc. naturally creates new angles in the model geometry, altering where a tank can be penetrated
Vehicle models in World of Tanks come in two forms: visual and collision.
Visual/Collision
Basically, the visual model is the tank everyone sees in battle; a graphical image of the hull, suspension, turret and gun. The collision model is an abstracted representation of the vehicle used for server calculations -- it contains full information about armor, module arrangements (internal and external), and positions of the Crew members.
Thus, reworking a vehicle in HD not only changes the visual model, but also demands a revision of the collision model. This way, everything is consistent with the new geometry.
Among the 27 vehicles reworked in Update 9.12, the most considerable changes to armor happened on the following three vehicles:
- T34: The standard value of the hull and turret armor was increased. Collision model tracks were added to the frontal armor, which added an extra 20mm to the armor face. Additionally, the commander's hatch was made smaller.
- IS-8: Renamed T-10. Its frontal armor's standard value was altered and its side armor was improved.
- KV-220-2: The lower frontal armor was improved, and the standard armor of the armor face was also altered.
