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Aslain, it's all good thanx for help correcting the situation man. Again, great application you have here, some friends turned me onto it and I turned a bunch onto it myself. Keep up the good work. GWDavis28 |B)

For my fourth installment of the "A Guide to..." Series, I will be discussing Spotting Mechanics. My intent is to clear up any and all confusion that people may have in regards to this complex aspect of gameplay in World of Tanks. I hope this helps! Newbie Ranking: 8 (Advanced) Bushes: Perhaps the most renowned aspect of Spotting Mechanics; bushes are the primary source of camouflage providers that you may find on the battlefield. The larger the bush, the better it conceals your tank. However, it is a bit more complicated than that. Another variable that affects how much camouflage you are receiving from a bush is your own distance and positioning in regards to said bush. There are 5 positions that come to mind when it comes down to choosing where to place your tank in respect to a bush. However, only 2 of these positions are widely accepted, with a third being highly situational. In Front: Hiding in front of a bush is a mistake rarely made; however I have seen a few new players believing that a bush will provide you camouflage as long as you're next to it. Wrong! The bush must be directly blocking the enemy's line of sight to your tank in order for you to get a camo bonus. In the Bush: This is the very situational positioning. Usually, hiding inside of a bush does not provide you with maximum camouflage. However, if you are surrounded by enemies from all sides, and need to try to cover every nook and cranny of your tank, then hiding inside of a large bush is most likely your best hope of not getting spotted. Slightly behind the bush (with the very front of the tank partially inside): This is an accepted form of hiding your tank; hiding mostly behind the bush, with only a small part of your frontal hull inside of the bush. However, be aware that the closer you are to the center of a bush, the less camo it provides you with. 1m to 15m behind a bush: This is also an accepted form of hiding your tank. If you keep a small distance behind the bush that you are using to camouflage your tank, then the bush is providing you with the most camo that it can. However, the bush must be directly in the enemy's line of sight towards your tank. If part of your tank is not being blocked by the bush, then the enemy can easily spot you. More than 15m behind a bush: While hiding far behind a bush still provides you with camo, assuming the bush is blocking the enemy's line of sight, there is a catch with this form of hiding: It also reduces your own View Range. Any bush or tree farther than 15m from your tank provides you with camo, at the cost of View Range. Those bushes and trees will then be providing camouflage to the enemy; thus making it harder to spot them. This is why tanks are so hard to spot in the "Magic Tank-Eating Forest of Death" in Murovanka. This is also the same reason why tanks are so hard to spot in any location with very dense foliage. This 15m concept is what allows even Heavy tanks to stay so well camouflaged when given a large amount of foliage. It's not hacks; just foliage. Some people complain about this system, yet think about it. When you are strolling through a forest, when would you spot a bear wandering around? You probably wouldn't see the bear until it is relatively close to you, am I right? The same thing applies to world of tanks. Even a heavy tank can be hidden entirely if given the right amount of camouflage. Obstacles: Any sort of obstacle, such as a cliff face, rock, building, etc. can also hide a tank. If a tank is completely behind the obstacle; then it will not be spotted. Here is a visual example in order to clear up any confusion as to what this means. In this first image, I am right next to an ELC AMX. In fact, I'm only 70m away from the ELC AMX. Yet I don't see it. See the cloud of smoke coming from the bush directly in front of me? That cloud of smoke is coming from a destroyed tank, which the ELC AMX is hiding behind. Here is the same scenario; except I have moved beyond the bush and the bump in the ground that it was on. Now that my tank is in a different position, I have a line of sight towards the ELC AMX. Note: The destroyed tank in the image is part of the map; thus it counts as an obstacle. A tank destroyed in combat does not provide cover for other tanks. This is one of the reasons why you might not spot an enemy tank until it's right next to you... it was being covered by an obstacle. The same concept applies to bumps and ditches in the ground. If you manage to place your tank outside of an enemy's line of sight, then the enemy will not be able to spot you. Hiding Behind Allies: You see a large heavy tank in front of you, so you decide to place your scout tank directly behind it in hopes of preventing your tank from being spotted. The heavy tank is an Ally, and is 100m away from an enemy directly in front of it. Unfortunately, hiding your tank behind the heavy will not hide your tank as it would if it were a rock or building. I tested this out several times with even an ELC AMX, and the same results came: The scout was spotted behind the heavy tank; despite the fact that it was completely covered by the heavy. A visual example is below. See what I mean? The scout tank is still spotted; even though no part of his tank is directly visible. Ditches and Bumps: Ditches and bumps are also effective methods of hiding your tank. I already partially covered this in the "Obstacles" section, but a visual example is best for illustrating exactly how this concept of hiding your tank with the terrain works. In this first image, I am in my T110E5, less than 150m away from a T29 heavy tank. There are no bushes or trees blocking my lines of sight towards the heavy tank, nor are there buildings or rocks. However, the T29 is in the ditch next to the lakeside, thus his tank is out of my line of sight. He can see me, but I can't see him. See what I mean? The T29 isn't spotted; but nothing is blocking my line of sight (he is not behind one of the patches of bushes). After moving closer however, I now can see his tank. And there he is! If your tank is in a deep ditch in the ground, or protected by a large bump, then you tank is also much harder to spot unless the enemy vehicle is very close to you. 50m Circle (Auto-Detection Range): Around every tank, there is this concept known as the 50 meter circle, which is also called the Auto-Detection Range. Essentially, if your tank is within 50 meters of an enemy vehicle, no matter how well camouflaged or well-hidden the enemy is, you are guaranteed to see him/her. This was implemented into the game in order to prevent tanks from being able to remain 100% invisible even if you are inches away from them. In particular, this affects TD's, some mediums, SPG's, and any tank behind buildings or rocks. Here is a brilliant visual example of this concept. In this image, there are 4 (four!) tanks in the image. Yet only one is spotted, which is the heavy tank. I am 52 meters away from each one of the 4 tanks, yet I only see the heavy tank. So where are the other 3 enemy vehicles? Watch what happens when I drive 3m closer. I am now 49m away from each tank. And there they are! Any tank within 50m of your tank will be spotted; regardless of its location, camouflage, and obstacles around it. Trees: Standing trees also provide you with large amounts of camo; especially when they are in tight clusters. This is why Muronovka's forest is called the "Magic Tank-Eating Forest of Death". Even heavy tanks can easily remain hidden! Once again, I felt as though a visual example would be best to accurately describe just how effective trees can be. In this image, there is a T49 53m away from me! If I were any closer, he'd be automatically spotted. He is inside of one very small bush; which provides him with very minimal camo. However, thanks to the large number of trees in front of him, he remains invisible. However, watch what happens as soon as all of the trees are removed. I am still in the same location, yet the T49 is now spotted! And that ladies and gentlemen, is why invisible snipers are so common in dense forests. Going back to my bear example however, if you were strolling through a dense forest, you probably wouldn't see a bear until it was relatively close to you, am I right? The exact same ideology applies to World of Tanks. Dense forests can easily hide even the largest of tanks. Fallen Trees: If a tree has fallen in the middle of a forest, and no one who is spotted is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The answer is yes. But does it provide camo? The answer is also yes! However, a fallen tree provides less camo than a standing tree; even though it still provides you with some camo. Some people may be skeptical of this; so I have another visual example of this! Over here, I am only meters away from an IS heavy tank, and there aren't even any standing trees providing him with camouflage! But there sure are fallen trees. Lots and lots of fallen trees have managed to hide even this giant machine from my Crew's trained eyes. Here is an aerial view of what was in front of the IS. I have now moved my tank right next to him so that he would be spotted. All of those fallen trees managed to hide that heavy tank. He would be even harder to spot if those trees were standing, however the fallen trees provided him with enough camouflage for him to remain hidden. Tank Destroyers: Massive Guns and low profiles. Tank Destroyers were designed to annihilate anything in their way without ever being spotted, just like a ninja assassin. Tank Destoyers pre-9.0 have camo bonuses after shooting; thus they don't lose as much camouflage as most tanks would after launching a shell out of their barrel. However, after the release of Patch 9.1, Tank Destroyers will lose the same amount of camouflage as any tank on the battlefield after propelling a shot. Despite this, I still have a visual example for you. Over here, I have lined up a Heavy Tank, Light Tank, Artillery piece, and a Tank Destroyer. I then had all 4 of them shoot simultaneously. Which tank was the only one not to be lit up? The Tank Destroyer of course! Fear the mighty tank destroyer! View Ports: The one thing that allows your tank to spot enemy vehicles is your View Port. Below, I have lined up several different kinds of tanks in order to spot one lone T49. The tanks that I have are a Chaffee, with a turret in the middle of his tank, my tall T110E5, with large turret and Commander's Hatch, an E-25, with a very small profile and a View Port mounted on the machine gun port on the very left side of the tank, and a Tier 9 waffle, with a rear mounted turret and View Port. First up is my T110E5. Notice how I don't have to reveal any part of my tank in order to spot the enemy T49. Since my View Port is on the tallest part of the tank, I don't have to worry about exposing my tank to enemy fire. Even though I was still spotted, only an artillery piece would be able to hit me, since the only part of my tank which was exposed was my very small View Port, which if hit, will not damage my tank's Hit Points. Next in line is the Chaffee. The Chaffee is not nearly as tall as my tank, so he has to reveal the front half of his tank in order for the T49 to be spotted. Next up is the poor E-25. One of the worst off in this scenario, the E-25 has to reveal his entire tank due to the positioning of his View Port. Last but not least is the Tier 9 waffle. With a rear mounted turret and View Port, the mini-Waffle has to expose 75% of its tank to enemy fire in order to spot the T49. In this scenario, I would turn my tank around and reverse the 25% of the rear out, so the enemy would have less to shoot at. The point is, know the location of your View Port. If your View Port does not has a clear line of view to the enemy vehicle, than you will not spot the enemy! Sitting next to Allies: This has been extremely well covered by Lert. Here's the link to his Mini-Guide to this. http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/204215-psa-what-not-to-do-when-someone-is-sitting-in-a-bush/ And here's my version of Lert's guide... Here are 2 different images. In the first, I see an AMX 50-B. Oh mah God Oh mah God Oh mah God! I must open fire upon the AMX and try to kill it! Die you bloody AMX 50-B, die! *machine gun fire sound effects* And I've killed it! Wait, no I didn't! The AMX 50-B is still alive! But instead, I killed the BT-SV that was right next to it. The morale of the story is: If you see a smaller tank hiding in a bush, don't sit next to it. Otherwise, you can easily be spotted, and thus fire will be attracted towards you. The enemy thinks that they're shooting at you, but in reality, they're hitting the ally that is right next to you! And that ally hasn't even been spotted! Thus this same scenario may end up happening. The ally will end up dying, and so will you. Thus because you decided to carelessly sit next to the ally, you not only got yourself killed, but you also indirectly caused the death of your ally. Please don't make this mistake!!! Maximum View Range: No matter how poor the enemy's camo is, or how good your View Range is, it is impossible to spot any tank that is farther than 445m away from your tank. Maximum Draw Distance: Around your tank is a theoretical 500mx500m box that denotes the maximum distance at which you can see any tank, whether it's an ally or enemy. This is one of the reasons why you are always being shot at by invisible snipers. If you have been spotted by one tank, any tank inside of that 500mx500m box can also now see you and shoot at you. Yes, this means that KV-2 that is 700m diagonally away from you can now see and shoot at you! Morale of the story? Try not to get spotted. Or if you have to be spotted, make sure you have cover around you. Radio Range vs. View Range: If an ally has a low Radio Range, then any allies outside of that Radio Range will not be able to see that first ally; even if they are within the 500x500m square around the tanks. In order for you to see an ally, you must either be within their Radio Range, or they must be within your View Range. This is why at lower Tiers, your allies on Malinovka so often disappear out of sight. Also, if an ally is spotting an enemy that is outside of your View Range, but that ally does not have enough Radio Range to signal the location to you, then you will not be able to see the spotted enemy. This is why Radios are, yes, important! Spotting Checks (Text for this section borrowed from the WoT Wiki): You will not necessarily spot an enemy tank as soon as you have line of sight on it. The rate of visibility checks is limited as follows: within 50 m range - every 0.1 sec within 150 m range - every 0.5 sec within 270 m range - every 1.0 sec within 445 m range - every 2.0 sec NOTE: While Overlord confirmed the above as still correct for 0.7.1, US community manager Vallther claimed on 23 January 2012 that the frequency of the visibility checks depends "a lot on the map" and that he "requested a total check from Q&A regarding the matter". [2] The rate limitation on visibility checks means that it is entirely possible that a hidden tank moves out of cover right after a visibility check, shoots you, and returns back into cover right before the next visibility check, thus never getting spotted and staying hidden. This can also lead to fast tanks getting spotted only closer to you than your spotting range would normally allow - at a maximum speed of 72 km/h a tank can cross 40m between spotting checks past 270m range. Updates (Things I missed and edited into the guide): Dead tanks also do not block your tank from sight, just as living allies do not. If you are farther than 15m away from a bush, than the bush's camo bonus does not drop. This also contributes to invisible snipers. Once a tank is spotted, as soon it goes out of your ally's View Ranges, then it will remain spotted for an additional 5-10 seconds, determined randomly. This is why tanks sometimes go invisible in the middle of a field... they are now out of your ally's view ranges, so it's only a matter of time until it is no longer spotted. Camouflage skills assist your tank in staying hidden. The greater your skill percentage, the less likely your tank is to be spotted. And that is all for now! This guide took me several weeks to prepare, and I hope it is useful! I would also like to give a very special thanks to all of the following people for contributing to this guide in one way or another: orinn123 SupSupCanadian SkunkButt Mikosah Inciatus hwboy3 XSlay_J1 ANiceGuy Lert CharAzn NightWolf5628 I hope this guide was very useful, and I hope that you enjoyed it! (I accept donations of +1's ) If I missed anything, or made an error, please let me know! For I must fix it immediately!