gamescom Developers Interview

A good gamescom is nothing without its fair share of scoops and revelations. In order to uncover these for you, we grabbed World of Warplanes developers Michael Zinchenko, Development Producer, and Oleg Gotynyan, General Manager of Persha Studia, and questioned them on the current state of the game and what the future holds.

Since its release in November 2013, you guys have published four major updates, introducing a load of new content. Does this show that development never stops?

Indeed, we never stop development and continue work on the project. Our studio now employs more than 500 people overall in three locations in Ukraine. Most of those are dedicated to World of Warplanes but we also help with other projects. On top of that, our studio also handles web development. For example, the WGLeague-website was designed and programmed at one of our locations. Our plans for the future are huge and the upcoming Version 1.5 is just the beginning!

Probably the biggest feature of the new Version 1.5 is Battle Against Bots. What do you hope to achieve with this battle type?

The ‘Battle Against Bots’ type was introduced to facilitate entry into the game for newcomers. We realised that PvP, at first, might be a little overwhelming for people without experience.

We, as a company, want to explore this PvE-route further. We will try things out on World of Warplanes and then maybe, if the feedback is positive, use the mechanics in other Wargaming products as well.

Another big thing that’s already coming next week is Complex Ground Targets. What can you say about this?

While ‘Battle Against Bots’ is more for newcomers, Complex Ground Targets is more oriented towards veteran players. You can now win only by concentrating on ground targets. Overall, the destruction of ground targets is now more logical: you can’t destroy an aircraft carrier using just a fighter. It enriches the gameplay and adds another layer to the game.

You said that both these features are just at the beginning and would be developed further. This is particularly interesting because you say that they will tie into the production of new game modes. Can you elaborate on that?

The new, multi-part ground targets will be used in a future new game mode that we’re developing which will combine PvE elements and our classic PvP gameplay. People will fight among themselves over the control (or the destruction) of these ground targets.

In fact, the long-awaited bomber escort game mode will be adapted in this new battle type. It will be something that no other WWII games or air combat games have ever used. We think people will be surprised!

The last real Tech Tree extension was in update 1.3 in April. What can we expect in terms of plane-production for the end of the year?

Expect the next big Tech Tree extension of an existing nation in one of the coming updates. We can’t say which it will be but can reveal that it’s a legendary aircraft line, without which World of Warplanes just couldn’t be complete. There will also be additional Premium aircraft and gift aircraft which will be introduced before the end of the year. Attack Aircraft are also on our to-do-list. Now that we have improved the ground game, we’re putting a lot of resources into the production of new planes for this type as well.

In terms of map creation, you have added four maps since release. Now another new map, Canyon, is coming up. What made this map interesting for you as developers and what other maps are in production?

Canyon is very interesting to us because of the technology that we employed to build it and make it run smoothly. The map contains very high vertical walls, which is an element that our level designers appreciate. They now have more liberties when creating maps because of the advancements that we have made in our programming. Of course, when creating any map, we look at the gameplay its design enables. On Canyon, this gameplay will be very varied: Attack Aircraft will have a “hidden” corridor to make their way to the masses of ground targets while the fighters will probably battle it out in the mountains above.

We have two maps in production at any moment in our development. So expect to see a steady flow as the game progresses with future updates.

You’re also reworking old maps like Harbor and National Park. Will all “old” maps be reworked eventually?

Nowadays, our methods and tools are more advanced and gameplay has changed too. We need to adapt to this. A good example is National Park, which is not only a revamped version of an old map but, in essence, a completely new level in itself with a heavy focus on the new ground game. El Halluf is going to get this beauty-treatment next. It will be slightly bigger and will see the positions of its ground targets shuffled.

World of Tanks was a huge success on the eSports-scene at the Grand Finals in Warsaw in April. Last year, you said that we would see eSports-functionalities for World of Warplanes as well. We saw some development in this regard with the new cinematic camera that will be introduced with Version 1.5. Does this mean that we can expect to see a more substantial eSports-related update in the future?

Yes, the new cinematic camera will be used for dedicated eSports features at a later point. We made the cinematic camera first because it’s not purely an eSports functionality but is actually useful for regular players. Everybody can observe and learn how they get shot down – so it’s not only a visual gimmick but actually educational too. There will be more eSports features now that we’ve got the ball rolling. Namely, in the next updates, we will revamp and extend the training rooms.

A lot of people LOVED the UFO for April Fool’s. Is there any chance the vehicle might return as a Premium plane or for another surprise event?

Yes it might be that it will make a return for surprise events. In fact, as we were developing it, we even half-jokingly had the idea of creating a separate game mode for it. We stopped before we got too carried away! (laughs)

Is there anything you want to add? Maybe a message to our players?

We want to thank all the clans and Wargaming fans that came here. People dressed up and brought flags and were very passionate about our games. This is incredibly heart-warming for us to see. We even recognised people from other gaming expositions, who came here to be with us again.

For developers it is magical to see people play the games that we work so hard on all year. It makes us proud to be with you guys and to know that we’re all part of a living and breathing community.

We thank Oleg and Michael for their time with us and wish them all the best in their future World of Warplanes endeavours.

Get Airborne!