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javiersreviews · 6 months

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ROBLOX: Multicrew Tank Combat 4 Fan Review

Well, I didn't expect to be writing a Roblox game review of all things. But, it's been fresh on my mind so I should get this out before it fizzles out again.

(Credit to: The official game page)

Up until recently, tanks and tank combat in video games, are extremely stale. The peak of mainstream tank combat used to be 1-2 player operated vehicles that shot at each other until one of their health bars hit zero (Cough cough, Battlefield and World of Tanks). Thankfully, there are games that provide much larger depth for this particular niche. Some of these namely being War Thunder, which attempts to bring to life the details and parts that go into the working machine, though not with a multiplayer aspect, Enlisted, which has both specific modules *and* playable crew members and a few others. Multicrew attempts to reach this level of depth and more, while cutting out a reasonable amount of the not-so-fun stuff. Multicrew's biggest selling point (though it is a free game), is the teamwork aspect. Every vehicle is only as effective as the people, and the amount of people operating within it and it's this cooperative aspect that the game excels at. So, what is Multicrew? Multicrew, or MTC4 is a tank/vehicle combat game which focuses on the teamwork aspect, and the players operating each role in the vehicles. Every tank has its own loader, gunner, commander, driver and (sometimes) bow gunner. Although some of the roles seem rather boring, the game tries its best to reward vehicles for having all of the roles filled.

Gameplay

Unlike the first review, I'm not sure where to start. There's a lot of layers to the simplest things so I will try to break things down in the beginning, and try and bring it all together towards the end.

Vehicle Selection: Though the game is lacking in some areas, and is still subject to heavy change and development, it has a lot to offer. The vehicles you use and fight against are based on what era and team you're on. There are currently two major era's, Modern and World War II. Currently, if I counted correctly, there are roughly SIXTY-PLUS PLAYABLE AND FUNCTIONAL VEHICLES currently available to MTC4. Modern contains modern and late-cold-war vehicles. Characterized by sleek, low-to-the-ground designs, they have quick speed, stabilizers, auto loaders and firepower the game mode is fairly fast pace. Currently the vehicles are not segregated based on teams since there aren't enough vehicles to afford separating them (So each team can get western and soviet tanks). However in the coming updates this is sure to change.

On the other hand, WWII is characterized by the glamorous (and sometimes not so glamorous) tanks and vehicles of the war. Unlike Modern, the vehicles have questionable designs, slower speeds, rarely any stabilizers, no auto loaders and firepower is purely based on what rank they are. From a distance this sounds worse than Modern, but trust me, it's just as fun. It trades fast pace for slow and methodical movement, where every move counts. Cold War is not out yet, and probably won't be for a while but last time I checked, the devs are hard at work on this gamemode. Since it isn't out, I can't really give the fundamentals like the previous. I suspect it will mix the slow methodical pace of WWII with the exciting technology of the modern era.

Ballistics, Module system and Model Accuracy: Let me get this out of the way before I get into the meat. Tank Nerds, you're in luck! The devs put an insane amount of effort to make sure that all tanks included in the game are both real and anatomically accurate to their real life counterparts. So, no, no goofy dimensions and fake tanks. Also, this game has a ballistic system akin to war thunder, no health bars here. I'll talk later about the issues, since this is a roblox game so the engine isn't really optimized for that type of mechanic however it still achieves it's goal. Shells have a chance to ricochet, non-pen and penetrate their target based on the surfaces relative thickness and angle. They can damage modules just like war thunder too, transmissions, breach, barrel, and ammo can detonate when hit as well.

(Diagram of the Tiger II-Porche, Courtesy of the MTC Discord Server)

Classes:

There are two main classes, Crewmembers and Infantry and they help keep the gameplay dynamic. There's also the engineer however I'd argue he's just another type of Infantry.

Infantry:

Yes, this is a tank fighting game. But the need for machine guns would be completely lost and honestly the game would become too easy. Infantry have no capacity to crew combat vehicles (only trucks and whatnot). They have rifles and anti-armor weapons like bazookas and anti-tank rifles. They are best for capturing points on the map without being spotted and keeping vehicle crews on their toes. Rather than directly face their foe they mainly rely on stealth, hiding and bushes and buildings until they can comfortably engage their target.

The Crew:

Crewmen make up the majority of the team, which makes sense since you need quite a few of them to crew a vehicle. There are typically five roles (though only four for modern) for the average tank. The Driver; The legs of the vehicle, and technically the most important. The driver is responsible for not only getting the vehicle from A to B, but also good positioning in combat. Most games will boil the driving aspects down to simply pushing one or two of the WASD keys, and while you still need to do that in MTC4, they add an extra layer to driving. This extra layer is the gearbox, which, of course, tanks are not automatics (crazy). So, while driving you'll have to finick with the gears via pushing q and e (very immersive). Inexperienced drivers have a hard time maneuvering and will often stall the tank if not careful, in which more mistakes will be made in the heat of combat. The gearbox system helps distinguish experienced drivers from the inexperienced and that difference can make or break the crew as a whole. The Gunner; The gunner is responsible not just for pulling the trigger, but also knowing weakspots, range finding and having very good communication with the rest of his crew. I'll explain the last part later but for now I can talk about weakspots and rangefinding. Taking advantage of weak spots is both a matter of skill and knowledge, as often they are hard to hit and need to be known in the first place. Machine gun ports, the underskirt (Armor between the inside and the tracks, underneath the thicker side armor... Yes, it's real terminology) and other tiny weakpoints that vary from tank-to-tank. These can all be learned and memorized but I recommend you use youtube videos to learn rather than just trial and error. Range finding is more of just a part of the shooting process. To range find in MTC4 you *very* realistically have to hold down v and wait. It then comes back to you with the exact distance, even if the vehicle doesn't have a range finder. This isn't as hard to get down as weak points, but it's a necessity when in mid-long range combat. You'll also want to have a good short term memory, as you'll have to remember the range you put in since the text disappears after a moment. Most tanks have a coaxial machine gun (machine gun that runs parallel to the main gun) however only experienced gunners can use it effectively as it's a bit awkward trying to switch between the cannon and mg in tense situations and also aiming it at infantry is tough since it's slower than the top MG.

The Loader; Keeps the artillery fed in a timely manner and a necessity for making the tank into an efficient weapon. In function, you simply load the chamber of the main cannon and also fill other roles like repairs while the more important roles continue their duties in combat. Many think it's a pretty boring job but I massively disagree. The devs try their hardest to make sure the class is as entertaining as possible and I personally think they actually do a good job. Once a shell is discharged from the piece, a pop-up for ammo comes up. Typically the gunner or commander will tell you which shell to load though if they forget or aren't there, it's your duty to load the right one. There are three main shell types for WWII and Modern. For WWII, there's APHEC, AP and HE. APHEC stands for Armor Piercing High Explosive Capped. These rounds are jack-of-all-trades and will be the main ammo used for most light to medium armor. It'll make it though most armor and has a small amount of explosive filler which will (theoretically) explode once inside the enemy tank and damage crew members. This filler also helped detonate fuel tanks and ammunition. The cap can be hard to explain. It's a soft cap on the tip of the shell which helps correct the trajectory of the shell when encountering angled/sloped armor which helps counteract their deflective nature. AP stands for just Armor Piercing. It's useful for penning what normally are impenetrable targets however it's post-pen damage is very lacking and it deals low damage to modules like ammo and fuel. Additionally it isn't capped so it actually suffers more with sloped armor compared to its APHEC counterpart. To make things simple, shoot at un-angled thick targets and aim directly for important modules like where the crew is and ammo. HE stands for just High Explosive. These shells have very low penetration, and are not recommended for taking on medium-high armored targets. Historically and in the game it's primarily for destroying fortifications and infantry as it has a *very* large explosive radius. Can usually kill infantry from behind cover and doesn't need to directly hit them. If your gun is big enough, you can shoot the ground next to you if you're getting swarmed by infantry and they'll likely get killed by the blast. For modern you get APDSFS, HEAT and HE. APFSDS, or Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot Fin-Stabilized Is a finned dart which is inside of a sabot. The sabot is a case that sticks with the main dart to collect thrust when inside the barrel, but flies off the main projectile once it hits the air. This helps the thin armor piercing dart with aerodynamics. Incredible at penetrating most targets, even at rough angles but low post-pen damage. HEAT stands for High-Explosive Anti-Tank. It has an equal amount of penetration to the APDSFS round and has an even higher post-pen damage, as it has more spal (flak created from hitting the tank armor). Issue is it's very finnicky. The way HEAT works is the detonation upon hitting the target. This detonation shoots another bullet and since it's point blank, the bullet will easily pen. But if you hit spaced armor the shell will detonate a few inches away from the main armor and fail to pen since the droppoff of the bullet fired from the shell itself loses momentum so quickly. So be careful about hitting the spaced armor or not. HE stands for high explosive and I already explained that. I know I didn't do a great job explaining the ammo types but I recommend you look up videos on it if you *really* want to know, as this is real world stuff and super cool.

After selecting the ammo type you wish for an animation will play of your character loading the gun however some and most tanks don't have this yet. While loading you get a little minigame pop-up. Think of the star wars (EA) battlefront reload where you can skip part of the reload by hitting E at the right time. While loading the breach (chamber of the tank gun) the minigame pop-up shows a red bar filling up the empty space in what looks like the loading screen for a download. Once at around 65% the red bar will reach a small yellow line. If you hit e while the end of the red bar is covering it, you can speed up the rest of the reload, giving an edge during combat. It may not seem hard but an experienced loader can, similar to the other members, make or break the crew. You have to be paying attention 24/7, communicate with the gunner and commander, load the millisecond the gun discharges, get the timing right in the minigame to get that extra shot off in time, help spot outside of combat and help repair. If you find loader boring, you aren't doing enough for the crew. The Commander; Another essential role of the vehicle and technically the only role you'll find in every tank. With this crew member in particular, the context of whether you are playing with friends and playing with randoms is important. When playing with people you know or at least are tying to be professional, (not that playing with friends automatically makes you a try-hard, in fact most are idiots like me) the commander is the glue that keeps the crew well organized and focused on their job. There's this concept of crew-over-load where if there aren't enough crew members crewing a vehicle they will be overwhelmed by the basic tasks of managing the vehicle. The commander helps keep this in order. He will be telling the driver where and how to maneuver, the gunner where and when to aim and the loader what ammunition to use. Imagine the driver having to be the commander. He has to worry about driving all the while directly co-coordinating with his gunner and loader. Same with the others. Second to this the commander is usually afforded a machine gun which has a faster traverse speed as well as higher horizontal and vertical traverse in general. This is INSANELY important for dispatching sneaky infantry that the main gunner might not be able to deal with with his little cumbersome coax being attached to the cannon. Historically the commander was also meant to be a dedicated spotter. He has what is called a cupola which is a little hatch sticking out of the top of the turret. This tube is full of bullet-proof glass and helps him see all around the tank whereas his other crew members get a few view ports next to having to stick their head out (not optimal during combat). Although in MTC4 you don't have to worry about this aspect since the game has third person view, simplifying the issue massively. Untiltheyadd1stpersononlyofcourse. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that since out of combat you don't have much to do other than look around, you should be co-coordinating with the gunner with looking for targets. If you're playing with strangers then you telling others what to do is going to be off-putting for some which is understandable. so stick to the other specified duties and most will like you :). Bow gunner (WWII Only); In the front of the hull, there's some sort of machine gun which can only aim towards the front. This is probably the most niche role, as infantry will try to attack from other angles anyway. The Bow gunner is more valuable for his eyesight and ability to replace other roles than your gun.

At this point I've begun to realize this isn't actually a review anymore so I'm going to try and wrap this up. This is a bit more complicated so I'll try and take this on with a list rather than just another paragraph (cause I think we have plenty of those)

Things to note while in and out of combat:

If your vehicle is fast, capitalize on this as fast vehicles are fairly hard to hit and it allows you a window to move to a better position while under fire. Just because you're using what's labeled a heavy tank, doesn't make you invincible. Treat armor like a second chance at life rather than guaranteed protection. The larger the gun, the longer the reload. Be mindful of reload rates as they vary from vehicle-to-vehicle. If you don't have a loader available, choose a vehicle that doesn't have or need a loader position. If you can't just choose a vehicle with an already short reload.

Drivers; Always try to present the front of your tank towards the enemy, as the slides and back are easily penetrated by most ammo.

Gunners; Be giving constant feedback particularly to your driver. Tell him what position the vehicle is currently in is optimal for aiming. Tell him when it isn't.

Loaders & Bow-Gunners; Be ready to replace any important roles while still efficiently doing your job. Commander; Keep your head on a swivel and keep an eye out for other dangers during combat, as your gunner and driver are plenty occupied.

As soon as there's a fire, call out who should do it. If there's a need to return fire, the gunner and loader should remain at their stations while the other crew handle it. If you couldn't tell by how vague I've told things, a lot of the strategies are employed on a case-by-case basis and it's really up to you and your crew to figure it out in the moment. There's no room for lone wolfs and mutes. Everyone is forced to communicate constantly and perform their job the best they can as if even one person isn't pulling their weight it will quickly show. The teamwork aspects of this game are a freaking 10/10 and only brought down by their player base aspects. I could write on and on about the tanks as well. The amount in development and already in the game is insane and it's just another aspect that gives the game flavor. You could make all the vehicles the same and the teamwork aspect alone would still carry it but the addition of the many, real world tanks is the cherry on top.

Technical Issues:

One massive downside with the game is, it's a Roblox minigame. This will affect other aspects of the game which I'll get to but for here it's mainly the Roblox engine. Roblox is designed to be (fairly) optimized and easy to use but there are some areas it isn't good for, particularly shooters. This game has a lot of layers in terms of its technical design and even though they work *very* hard to make sure the game is as optimized as possible for players and the game engine, it still gets bogged down. Sometimes rounds won't penetrate the easiest target, and sometimes you'll see a machine gun go through the front plate of a heavy tank, though these are reasonably rare occurrences.

Playerbase Issues:

Roblox is mainly played by young children. Young children have terrible communication skills. If you don't like this, play with friends instead. (I mean playing with randoms is already rough to begin with)

Also, there's helicopters but I really don't care write about them. (Tanks >>>>>>> Aircraft). If you want to learn more....playmtc4todayit'sfreeonrobloxgogoplayit I deeply apologize to anyone who read my schizophrenic ramblings up to this point. I promise the next review will have some semblance of structure.

TLDR

MTC4 Is one of the most comprehensive vehicle shooters out there, next to games like War Thunder. It goes the extra mile, not only does it have accurate and to-scale real world tanks and vehicles that can be played, but it has the selling point of each crew member being a real player. The game does an amazing job at making each role in the vehicles fun and engaging while forcing you to coordinate with each other. Every breathing moment of combat is extremely tense. The amount of factors you have to think about is immeasurable. MTC4 is the true, real authentic tankery experience, all completely free on Roblox. 7/10, good job Grand Hawk.

#Bro #the structure sucks lmao #I'll try to #choose a game that #is easier to write on #lol #games #videogames #reviews #tanks #war #wargames #fps #warthunder #notashill #also apologies for the many grammatical issues and typos #particularly towards the middle point

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