Hi everyone!
In the previous episode we visited the battlefields of World of Warships,
and today we'll uncover the purpose of flags and camouflage in our game.
Full speed ahead!
Flags are one of the main naval insignias for distinction
Beginning in the 12th century,
flags started to gradually replace badges drawn on a ship’s sails and coat of arms on a ship’s boards.
By the beginning of the 20th century, flags not only defined the nationality of a vessel,
but also became an international system of communication.
Signal flags consist of a set of flags,
each of them having a separate meaning.
To introduce them into the game we had to perform a great deal of work with regards to the renderer.
Among others, we created what we call "rag physics" to make our flags movement natural and dynamic.
Once we added textures, the flags appeared in the game as a visual component.
All the flags in World of Warships have real life analogues, either in the past or present naval forces.
However, in the game they are not only a means of communication, but also a reward for players.
Every game has personal achievements - at least, every online game.
With World of Warships we decided to go a little further: we have in-game achievements, of course,
but alongside these achievements
players receive signal flags that provide bonuses for subsequent battles.
The flag sets will provide bonuses in battle,
for example, they can increase the ship's speed or decrease the chance of magazine detonation,
fire, critical damage, and so on.
For example, we have quite an ironic achievement: if a player's ship burned down during the battle,
we’ll give them a set of flags which will protect them from onboard fires.
The crew was defeated by a fire, held certain exercises, and now they can fight fire better.
Accordingly, this flag asserts that this crew will have a fire protection bonus
in the following battle or, to be more exact, will have a fire extinguishing speed bonus.
After receiving a flag set in the game, you can use it in the next battle.
When the battle is over, the used flags disappear, while new ones can be obtained according to specific rules.
The sets of signal flags in the game
are hung on special halyards
stretched across the ships - just like on the real-life vessels.
All ships in the game, except for the aircraft carriers, can use a maximum of eight signal sets simultaneously.
The halyards simply wouldn't have any extra space for more.
Unfortunately, the aircraft carriers have significantly shorter halyards.
For this reason, they can have no more than four signal sets.
We also limited the number of signal flag sets
awarded for the achievements - players can earn them only once a day for each achievement.
We've made it this way to prevent experienced players from stockpiling flags
because this would give them an unfair advantage when coupled with their higher skill level.
This means that a newcomer has the ability to obtain and use flags the same way an experienced player does.
Apart from signal flags, you will be able to select a camouflage for your ship
a special paint job that makes it difficult for the enemy to spot your ship and estimate your direction and speed.
The British were especially distinguished in the use of camouflage, implementing lines to break the silhouette
and loud color combinations. However, other countries also resorted to unusual camouflage...
Here is one historical example:
when Tirpitz was anchored in port, half of her board was painted like the surrounding city.
Bricks, doors, windows - very funny.
Another example, near the end of the war the Japanese masked their ships with a green forest-like camouflage.
It looked strange out at sea but was intended to hide ships near islands and in bays.
Two types of camouflage will be available in the game: spotted and striped.
The first one adds bonus to the concealment,
while the other reduces the accuracy of the enemy who fires at you.
At the same time, the war paint colors will differ from nation to nation.
Players will be able to identify the country of ship's origin by its camouflage.
If you have your ship camouflaged,
it will look as unique as possible for this specific nation’s ship.
Players will be able to apply it to any ship in the game.
The camouflage is a sort of consumable, this means it lasts for only one battle.
After a battle you will have to buy a new one or start the following battle without camouflage.
Any ship's customization element, be it flags or camouflage, has two effects.
The first effect is just customization, visual improvement of a ship.
At the same time, they add small bonuses to the ship's characteristics.
As a result, they allow you to customize your ships to your liking and stand out from other players.
Additional signal flag sets with new abilities and new types of camouflage, including unique ones,
are currently in development and will appear in new versions of World of Warships.
They will become an excellent bonus for both newcomers and experienced commanders.
Good luck!