NewHorizons_1

That was the other one, but if you've all four on deck, he'll be there ... polishing away. Either way, both rumours have been proven to be wrong now that WG made the mechanism known to the public. FWIW: I don't think I ever got an SC when choosing TYL ... not that I chose it often.

Same here, though recently I got 1000 doubloons. I've had a few coal and one or two steel. There used to be a WG rumour that TYL had a better chance of dropping an SC if there were four sailors on the deck of the freighter. So the only few times I chose TYL was then. However, now they've published the drop rates it is more a case of you need less TYLs than other crate types before you get an SC. Flamu explains the chance of dropping an SC here

Solutions 1) Play low tiers, as per @HARBINGER_OF_SKULLS 2) Play Scenarios - until you get to Raptor Rescue when the team fails hard. 3) Play Okhotnik, so you don't feel any obligation to suicide into depth charge range 4) Play CVs - so you can't/don't interact with subs. I was going to suggest "play co-op", but then remembered that the bot subs often out perform many of the so called "humans" that are driving the same damned class of ship. Silly me.

Game client is the game program itself. That has little effect on how updates are installed and optimizing* it would only make the game run faster / smoother. Sounds like you're criticizing the way updates are deployed, either via WGC or Steam. In what way? You need to identify the bottleneck, eg network bandwidth, disk transfer rates etc. FWIW: I can seen that the download (via Steam) is limited by the speed of my internet connection - transfer rate is near max of that supplied by my ISP. And it doesn't seem too bad given the volume of data that has been transferred. I can't say how WGC processes updates as I don't use it so I have no idea how long "ages" is. I suspect that updates aren't actually patches, but fresh installations - just like when someone installs for the first time. What WG could do is update using delta-patches** - basically downloads that contain the differences between what you have and the new version. Advantage is that it would be a lot less to download, as you're not DL'ing stuff that hasn't changed*** - so would benefit users with slower internet connections Downside it requires more CPU and disk I/O bandwidth as you now have to reconstruct the new asset from the old one and its delta - this could be slower for people with conventional hard disks (not SSDs) as there could be more time spent reading & writing files. It also means WG would have to maintain two installations for each version - a fresh install for new players and a delta patch set for existing users. * Optimizing can either be achieved by enabling compiler features to generate faster (but potentially more unstable) executable code, or by writing the source code in a more efficient manner. ** Many Linux operating systems update themselves using this method. After installing a software package they cache it for patching at a later date. When a new patch is available the apply the patch to the old package and then install it. *** assets that don't change would be many of the 3D models of older ships, textures, maps, sound samples etc

While he's got the issue, he probably not in a rush to extend/renew a premium account. But, back on topic. What WG could do is insert profiling code into the game client. Around certain operations you can start & stop millisecond timers (there's Win32 API functions to do just this). So, when the user clicks on something start a timer before sending the request to the server, then stop it when the client gets the ACK back from the server. Or start a timer when selecting a ship and then stop it when the 3D model has been loaded & rendered. Timings could then be uploaded to the server into a record on the user's database. Support could then inspect these timings to narrow down where the problem lies. By default, the timers would be disabled (so that they do not affect performance) but could be enabled by the player or by support if they're investigating a ticket on the player's behalf.

Back when subs were initially introduced, and the hydrophone had a sensible preparation time**, I went out to deliberately search for the bot subs the first time I tried subs in co-op. I sank both, and came 3rd on the scoreboard IIRC. Since that hydrophone nerf I've not touched them, apart from one or two training room matches with clan mates. I guess I was playing subs completely wrong ... according to WG. ** Not the length of quick a co-op match like it is now. So you can use it as the last ship get sunk.

2nd daily crate was an super container with a 1000 doubloons.

I think the bots (planes & ships) have a kind of RPF / RL skill**. You can see plane squadrons zeroing in on the closest ship to them. DDs spawning in front of the rest of the team, and (typically) being the fastest, usually get targeted first as they're almost always the nearest ship to the bots. ** Can also make it hard to win, when you're the last ship (barely) alive, by going dark and winning on points as the remaining bots know where you are and can always find you.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. A while ago dive bombers were improved, now bot rocket planes are a legit threat too.

There does seem to be an increased number of bot CVs in co-op matches lately. At least the OP was in a ship that had some meat and AA to protect himself. I've been doing the British DD line lately, and had several matches spoilt by, mainly RU, carriers. Although I could be noticing this more as I'm playing a type of ship that is more adversely affected by CVs.

* ahem * Check out these co-op stats

The crew of Weimar still think they're in Operation Narai

Let me guess

Looking on the bright side, if it keeps some CVs out of normal matches, fine.

Seems these are in WGC so if, like me, you use Steam you won't be pestered by them. The in-game pop-ups that do annoy me though are the three in a row you get for same damned thing.

The economy gets more expensive at the highest tiers. So mid tier ships often end up subsidising any tech tree T10s you have that do not have a economic bonus, eg permanent camouflage that reduces service costs. To make credits, you have to perform well as those earnings have to cover the large expenses. Higher tier premium/special ships (which have economic camouflages) can be a good source of credits though.

Lost karma in this co-op match.

I remember port slots being tight too for the first few months of starting WoWS. It's probably an issue for newer players when they are researching low tier ships that do not require that much XP to unlock. So, if you're researching several lines at the same time, the rate at which you purchase ships can be quite high - compared to how quickly you get the ports slots every month.

Every month or so, there's missions that reward a port slot or two. Edit: In this screenie, you can see I've done one and I'm on my way for the second.

Shutting down background tasks to free up memory on my Acorn A5000 so that there was enough to run Sim City 2000. Having said that, Acorn ADFS formatted floppy disks to 1.6Mb. And, if we're really going to walk down memory lane, loading stuff from cassette tape on my ZX Spectrum.

I was thinking of doing more randoms (I've not done many) but subs, and CVs, are the main factors in preventing me from trying. Depends on the op : Narai deffo. Tried Raptor Rescue yesterday. Decked out my Nurnburg with all the signals with the intent of making use of the 200% first win bonus. And the team threw it badly. Our CV died early as he didn't move from the spawn point. So when the bots spawned after a few mins he was the closest target and no one could cover him. I had around twice the base XP of the next guy. So this week I'll be avoiding that one ... again. Heck, I think I'm starting prefer Newport to Raptor Rescue

So, when are you going to take the lead role in The Rocky Horror Show?

Presumably, the ship bonus will stack with that from a premium account, so win-win for those account holders.

Premium torpedoes. Looks a bit like a desync, ie client thinking the torps are in a different position/trajectory to what the server thinks. Client : nice dodge Server : You didn't.

Yup, IIRC the previous skill improved the reload on all consumables so it was far more useful as it affected hydro & smoke. Now it's pretty much worthless. Well done WG, you've enhanced a commander's skill that effects a subset of consumables that aren't available (or frequently used) on his nation's ships. Unless of course WG plan on equipping Minotaur & Daring with a TRB or MBRB.