Version 7.4 Public Test (NA)

Tankers!

We are pleased to announce the 7.4 public test.

Please note that clans were not integrated into the test server; nevertheless, they operate as usual on the main server.

Please note that the public test server will have three clusters: first cluster will go through a restart every other day at 1:00 UTC, second cluster will restart every even day at 1:00 UTC, in both cases downtime will last for 25-45 minutes; the third cluster will be restarted each day at 00:30 UTC, with the downtime of 2-3 minutes.

The test server is currently set to have a player cap of 13,000 per each cluster. Once the cap is reached, players will be placed into a login queue.

The World of Tanks development team is pleased to give all of our players the opportunity to participate in the update 7.4 mass test. The update will be released in the near future, and we would like your feedback on the latest build.

During this test a special World of Tanks update v. 7.4 will be available for playing on test servers only. The estimated end date of 7.4 test is June 5, 2012.

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

1.  Download the test game client in a separate directory:

Full test client file (3.1 GB)
Full test client torrent file
2.  Run the game.

Attention! Please, install the test game client version in a different folder, other than the current game client version! Also switch off the game client before installing the update. Only players who have registered prior to 0:00 UTC May 28, 2012, can login the test server.

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

Payments are not accepted on the public test server.
Credit and experience rates for public test server are multiplied by 10. All players are given 15k gold for testing purposes.
Progress won't be transferred to the main NA server.
Important:

We draw your attention to the fact that the test server is subject to EULA and general rules of World of Tanks game server. The restrictions and punishments are the same as on the official game server of World of Tanks. The details of the v.7.4 update public test can be discussed in a special forum section. Bugs related to the 7.4 public test should be posted in this special sub-forum.

Preliminary list of changes of v7.4 changes as compared with v7.3:

Content
Added two new combat modes that will be added to the random battle queue: Assault and Encounter.
Assault: one team defends the only base, the second team will try to capture it or destroy all enemy vehicles. The mode is active for Erlenberg, Prokhorovka, Westfield, Karelia, Malinovka, Sand River, and Siegfried Line.
Encounter: both teams will attempt to capture the only base in the map center, or destroy all enemy vehicles to win. The mode is activated for El Halluf, Murovanka, Steppes, Ensk, Himmelsdorf, Ruinberg, Malinovka, Sand River, and Siegfried Line.
Added two new maps: Airfield (North Africa) and Widepark (European town).
Added French TDs: Renault FT AC, Renault UE 57, Somua Sau 40, S 35 CA, ARL V 39, AC Mle.1946, AC Mle.1948, AMX 50 Foch.
Added French SPGs: Renault BS, Lorraine 39 L AM, AMX 105 AM, AMX-13 F3 AM, Lorraine 155 (50), Lorraine 155 (51), Bat. Chatillon 155.
Vehicles IS-6 and JagdTiger 8.8cm KwK43 L/71 are added to the in-game store, available for all players.
Two premium vehicles were added, available for supertesters only: Dickermax - German TD of tier 6, and T26E4 SuperPershing - American MT of tier 8.
Added one camouflage for each nation.
Added the option of training skills and perks for combined qualifications of crew (for example, training perks and skills of Radio Operator, when a Commander combines qualifications of a Commander and Radio Operator).
Added a dedicated platoon chat channel during battles.
Added new medals:
"Expert" (by nation) - for destroying at least one example of each tank type, existing at that moment in the specified nation tech tree.
"Medal of Raseiniai Heroes" - for destroying the whole enemy team (not less than 14 vehicles).
"Technical Engineer" (by nation) - for researching all vehicles, existing at that moment in a certain nation's tech tree.
"Senior Technical Engineer" - for researching all vehicles of all nations, existing at that moment.
"Sinai Lion" - for destroying over 100 "IS" tanks of any model and vehicles based on its model.
Fixes
Changed the sizing of the following vehicles to match historical ones: JagdTiger (enlarged to the size of TigerII), Object 261 (shrunk to the size of IS-7).
Fixed or reworked damage models of M2 lt, M3 Lee, JagdTiger, Gw E, Т-28, IS-8 (matlet), Е-50 (transmission moved to front), Е-75 (transmission moved to front), VK4502B (transmission moved to the middle part of the vehicle).
Fixed or reworked models of ARL-44, KV-1S, Pz III, Т-54, Valentile LL, T1 heavy, M41, VK4502A, IS-8.
Rebalanced several parameters of M103, T110, KV-4, M18 Hellcat, T30.
SPG LeFH18 B2: fixed parameters of radio FuG-8, changed wrong weight number, changed the combat level.
Fixed the name of suspension for SPG М12.
Fixed several bugs with French camouflage.
Fixed bugs with the camouflage cover for IS-7 and Marder II.
Fixed the cost of camouflage for Т30, KV-2, KV-3.
In order to reduce the amount of issues with "questionable" non-penetration/penetration, reworked the system of damaging with HE and armor-piercing shells. In some cases there's a possibility of damage and critical hits increase from HE shells.
Changed operation of Large Aid Kit: a constant bonus of "+5% to avoiding critical damage to crew" works till the end of the battle, even when the Aid Kit is used.
Changed operation of Large Repair Kit: a constant bonus of "+10% to repair speed" works till the end of the battle, even when the large repair kit is used.
Now Repair Kit fixes both tracks, if they are both damaged.
Added compensation to a team hit player, proportionate to the damage caused.
Now, if a player team damages someone, and the same shot damages an enemy vehicle, the decreasing team damage coefficient is considered for this shot.
Added controls with light-emitting diode glow over game events for ROCCAT mouse.
Added notes about relevant discounts in the game client.
Changed pop-up hints on tank modules, consumables, ammunition, and crew members.
Changed information displayed in the vehicle pop-up window.
All in-game sounds are optimized in frequency and compression.
Added sounds for environment: birds, rivers, sea, forests, villages.
Reworked several sound effects for environment.
Added sounds for several interface buttons.
Fixed the bug with the display of "post-mortem" panel in the interface-off mode.
Fixed or reworked effects for hitting wood and snow.
Fixed the description of Fadin's Medal.
Fixed several bugs with the passability on Siegfried Line, El Halluf, Ensk.
Changed display of bases and respawns on the minimap.
Fixed the bug with the green color of "Invite" button after leaving or excluding a friend from platoon.
Fixed the rare bug with the game client hang-up at the end of map loading.
Fixed the description of Brothers in Arms perk.
Fixed the rare possibility to be unable to gain "Elite" status on T-34-85, T-43 and KV-13.
Removed the "Tankers’ voice by nation" option.
Added the autoloader indicator for the howitzer shooting mode.
Fixed the rare hang-up of tank durability progress bar in the tank over-target marker.
Reduced the neon glow for tank panel interface elements in the garage and pop-up hints.
Changed the terms for earning Lavrinenko's, Leclerc's and Abram's medal.
Base and respawn markers on minimap have been added to the "color blind" mode.
Added the option to turn on the "server reticle” marker to the game settings.
Changed the mechanism for selecting a message channel in battle chat. Now, to switch from team chat to all chat the "TAB" key is used.
At request for battle menu, the mouse cursor is centered on the "Back to garage" option.
Changed the design of free experience and gold conversion windows.
In a platoon or a tank company, when the Commander speaks, the volume of other players speaking in the voice chat reduces.
Fixed the display of tanks with camouflage (tracks without hull and turret) for Radeon video cards of dated series.
Fixed the display of sniper mode cover in the window mode, when the window height is greater that the width.
Fixed several bugs in the alternate color scheme.
Removed mouse inversion in the SPG mode.
Fixed several bugs with the spam filter.