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Hello,  tankers!

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Today we will discuss the topic of adding 
bots to the game for the first time ever.

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In the near future, we will dedicate 
the resources of our team to this task;

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that’s why we decided to cover 
this feature in a special episode.

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This year we will do major work on adding bots 
in the early stages of the game, at low ranks.

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Previously we only had bots in the 
tutorial of the mobile version of the game.

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We have always said that Tanki Online is a 
game where your opponents are only real people.

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Will this change after adding bots 
for low ranks? Let's find out...

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Stage 1. Battles only against bots

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We decided to divide the introduction 
of bots to the game into 3 stages,

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from the easiest to the hardest.

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The first stage will bring battles where there is  only one real player in a battle and all other tanks are bots.

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They won’t be using supplies and overdrives,

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even their equipment won’t be upgraded.

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They will be moving across the map,

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shooting at each other and 
ignoring the player if possible.

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The latter can use the supplies available 
and the powerful overdrive button.

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Yes, you got it right, you can 
destroy bots in any way you want,

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shoot at them, or blow them up, they do not mind.

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The issue is that experienced 
players create new accounts

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and do not leave a chance for newcomers 
to understand how to drive and shoot.

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Moreover, you can meet tankers with 
higher ranks even in your first battle.

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Adding bots at this stage of a player’s experience  

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will let inexperienced players 
quickly master shooting skills,

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understand how the physics of the game 
works, and how to complete missions.

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This is the first and most 
important argument for adding bots.

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We started implementing bots to the game just now

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because we are adding more 
and more remastered maps,

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and they are being built on the Unity engine.

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Its technical capabilities let us add points 
and trajectories for the movement of bots.

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At the moment, we have everything ready 
to start working on the first stage.

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The actions of bots are calculated 
on the player's computer’s side,

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and only send information about movements to 
the game server, and the game server replies.

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This is called validation.

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Herein ends the first stage, 
and we come to the second stage,

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which is even more interesting.

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Stage 2. A team of players against a team of bots

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After the first few battles, the 
lineups of teams will slightly change.

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All the bots will be in one team, and the 
other one will consist only of players.

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Bot equipment itself and levels of its upgrades 
will be calculated based on ranks of players,

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but it will still be easy to destroy them. 
And that’s what players will need to do.

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In the previous stage, everything 
was easy on the technical side.

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The second stage is harder

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as it will be necessary to synchronize data of 
bot movements among multiple computers of players.

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Moreover, any player can leave the 
battle and another one may join.

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That’s what we will take care 
of with the second stage.

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The solution to this problem allows us to add 
one more bonus to implementing bots to the game —

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a way to let a player learn from 
the examples of other players.

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Once you are in a team with 
more experienced players,

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you can see how they effectively use supplies and 
overdrives, how they move, and how they shoot.

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And you are still safe, for 
the players cannot attack you.

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For now, we will focus on these two stages

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and will only start working on the third stage

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after a long procedure of tests and 
collecting feedback on the first two.

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However, there is something 
we can tell you about it.

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Stage 3. Bots for matchmaking (experimental)

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The third stage is a challenge 
for us, the experimental stage.

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It’s about adding bots to both 
sides of a battle on all ranks.

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We already had such an experience in Tanki X, 
and to be honest, it was not very successful.

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Players started to ignore each 
other and just shoot at bots.

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So why do we still consider the 
implementation of this algorithm?

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The most common complaint 
about the matchmaking system

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is that the diversity of ranks of 
players in one battle is too wide.

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Currently it is not possible to decrease the range

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and at the same time provide players with the experience of finding a battle on any rank at any time of the day.

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Bots are the solution to this problem.

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If it takes too much time to find players, the 
system creates a battle with bots on both teams,

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instead of increasing the rank range.

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To let players enjoy taking part in 
such battles under such conditions,

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bots must be as smart and advanced as possible.

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In addition to essential features 
such as using supplies and overdrives,

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they should not interfere 
with players while moving.

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Theoretically, this level of 
intelligence is achievable,

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but we are not sure it is justified.

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After all, a bot will never 
behave like a real player.

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Perhaps at this stage bots will be 
taking some special places in the game,

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be it having special equipment or 
being limited to only some game modes.

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For example, players against zombie tanks ;)

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The third stage is still far away in the future.

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For now the development team will 
actively focus on the first two stages.

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Question of the Week

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Last time, you had to guess 
who would destroy the Titan?

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The correct answer is: D.

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Congratulations to the winners!

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And here is the next question:

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Which Scorpion will destroy a Juggernaut faster?

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That’s all for this special episode.

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Share your thoughts on adding 
bots to the game in the comments,

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and send your answers to the question 
of the week to the special form.

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Press the thumbs-up button, subscribe to 
the channel, and we'll see you in a week.

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Bye![]