We sat down with Project Director Alexander Zezulin to talk about World of Warplanes, an MMO that will cement Wargaming.net as the leader in vehicular combat..

ZAM: I've read a quote that Warplanes will "require more skill" than World of Tanks. Can you explain what this will mean? Will players have a single-player mode in which to practice and refine their skills?

Alexander: World of Warplanes, unlike World of Tanks, features a fully three-dimensional battle space. It has several unique features that can't go unnoticed for gameplay. Combat is so dynamic, you have to think and work out your strategy two steps ahead of time. And obviously, you won't find houses, shacks, hills and trees to lurk about and attack from ambush. As for the maps, they will be balanced in such a way that you constantly have to take the position of the sun into account. The game will feature some other weather effects (clouds, fog, rain, etc.) that call for intricate combat tactics as well. We don't want our players to get frustrated adjusting to the game. Thus players are initially given early aircraft (biplanes) so that they can develop piloting skills and get accustomed with the gameplay in general.

Moving to upper tiers, the game will require more skills and gunfire will affect aircraft controls. Plus, we have already implemented lead-finding sight and are now working on a number of other seamless assists to help you adjust and learn. The lead-finding assist, for example, will do spotting for the guns to hit the target. The amount of harm done to enemy's aircraft will correspond with one's initial precision. 

ZAM: What types of planes and countries are being introduced initially, and what do you plan to add later? How will the plane types be balanced?

Alexander: Upon the release, the game will field three nations - America, Germany, and Russia - with two fully implemented branches for every nation. The total number of warbirds will reach 70 machines. We'll introduce all the three primary classes: fighters, heavy fighters and ground-attack planes. Each class will have its unique basic missions and combat capabilities. For instance, fighters will be highly maneuverable and ideal for close dogfights; heavy fighters are good at a wide spectrum of mission types but lack agility as a drawback against higher firepower. Whereas attack planes use their force and durability to dive into strafing attacks on ground targets.

If we compare planes and tanks, I would say that fighters will have much in common with medium tanks; heavy fighters are the same as heavies, and, finally, ground-attack aircraft can be compared with top-tier heavy tank destroyers. However, plane classes will be more flexible than tank ones. For instance, fighters will be able to fulfill intercepting functions, while heavy fighters can be used as fighter bombers (if you load them with respective armament). To add some juicy details, I can tell you that the American tech tree will come with carrier-based fighters, and as soon as we introduce the British national tree, there'll be a couple of warplanes with no forebody weaponry.

ZAM: What payment method will be used for Warplanes? Will there be any interaction with other games from Wargaming.net?

Alexander: We'll stick to the free-to-play concept for World of Warplanes. This means that the game will require no investments into it, unless you want to save your time on your upgrade and growth. This is where you'll be able to make micropayments and get the premium account (+50% to your earned credits and experience), the ability to get Free Experience, as well as purchase premium machines and consumables. Unfortunately, you won't get any significant advantage in combat; it's all about proper tactical thinking and great fighting skills. As for the second part of the question, there will be interaction between the projects. There will be an integrated profile for all titles, and players will be able to transfer Free Experience and Gold from one to another. Clans from different games will be able to cooperate with each other on the Global Map. It's not going to be direct encounters (hard to imagine a pack of tanks fighting against a fleet of destroyers), but mutual off-map help during battles for provinces. Plus, we will most probably hold various cross-title contests and specials.

ZAM: What's the time frame for testing and release of Warplanes? Any word on how frequently updates will be released?

Alexander: The Closed Beta, which will last for several months, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2012. This is the only more or less exact date I can give you right now, but we'll sure keep you informed of WoWP development and updates. As for the latter, after the game's release we'll provide updates on a monthly basis, because there will be tons of content to share with players, apart from the stuff that will be included into the release.

ZAM: And that's all we've got for now, thanks for the interview, Alexander! We're looking forward to some high-flying antics when World of Warplanes goes live this year!

Alexander: Thank you!

Paul "LockeColeMA" Cleveland, Staff Writer.