[2020] PSA: WoWS stand-alone launcher will be phased out May 20

Aloha,

Let me address some of your concerns.

1: The WGC launcher has always allowed you to install it where you want, just like any other APP, I have it currently on my D drive verses my C drive.

2: You can have an account on every server if you want launch through the WGC, if you click in the top left where it shows your screen name, down at the bottom it says "Add Account" there you can select what region.

in the case of the PTS you have to download the PTS client in addition to the actual client but WGC makes adding your credentials easy because they are saved in the launcher

3: if you use the WGC, there really is no point in having your old launcher so I don't see a problem here, however, up to the removal of support for not launching through WGC you can have it installed and still launch the client on it's own, so I am not sure how it "breaks the function of the classic launcher" I would need more information to know what you mean.

4: The news is shown on the front page of the WGC on the "World of Warships tab...

Also, I am unsure what the worry is about the WGC "collecting data" the WGC doesn't do so any different than the data that we collect while you play the game. Also both launchers collect the same data...

That being said, the data collected isn't malicious... I've been using the WGC since WELL before I have worked for WG and have never had issues with it.

-Hapa

The game client itself is the same. If you are not seeing the WGC open on your screen (as in the screen shot) then you would need to dload it.

-Hapa

No, all settings and functionality is working using the WGC now. And actually it is better than running the separate client or old launcher because you can set the WGC to pre-install patches if you want.

-Hapa

Well the biggest thing will be the game won't launch or update.

-Hapa

Let me clarify some, you have the client on your computer already, all you would need to do is download the WGC. The old launcher will no longer update the client however and will stop functioning but the client itself will keep working until there is an update. SO, unless you want to continuously download the updates and patches manually the WGC would be the better thing to dload.

-Hapa

Not sure who told you to re-install the game, but it was more than likely more a server sync issue (I don't know because I didn't get the details), but either way, I am glad it worked out for you :) The functionality really is better with the WGC than without TBH.

-Hapa

And that is the thing, the old launcher literally collects and communicates the same information as the WGC, but WGC is more stable, updates faster and is what we are switching to for functionality.

Firewalls will typically always pop for launchers of any game as they communicate with another server and this throws up flags. It is not because of "malicious code."

Well I am unsure how I got it to install on my D drive verses my C drive then but I will look into this, to see if this is a problem. As for adding accounts for regions:

I just added my EU account by going to this tab. And it worked just fine. Currently we have been fielding a large amount of customer service tickets with people having issues with their clients, whether client related or install issues. Centralizing to one launcher is the way to simplify this and the way we are moving forward, furthermore, for those players that play multiple WG programs everything will also be centrally located.

-Hapa

Aloha,

So I am currently filling out a report that is based around this change specifically and I am adding things as I read these posts. So just FYI all, I will gladly take all your feedback but understand.

"It's broken, fix it" isn't constructive feedback, nor is "It's dumb."

I need more in depth feedback to feed up.

In the line of not being able to chose what drive you install WGC into (I think I dragged the entire install folder to my D drive, perhaps that's how I did it), but that is feedback I am currently putting in.

Mahalo,

-Hapa

With the crashes, how do you know it specifically is the cause of your computer crashing? Or do you mean WGC itself crashes not your computer? If this is the case then running a WGCheck will find the issue most times with WGC itself. I have not had WGC crash in about 2 years on me and if the game client crashes or has issues usually running WGCheck has found the files that needed to be fixed, or I had a connection issue with the server that dropped the client.

As for WGC popping windows defender, any time you have a new launcher that is going to communicate with an external server this will happen. Whether or not you realize it even Steam does this upon the initial install, until you tell it that it is a "safe program" Anti-Virus and Defender specifically giving you a warning about an app doesn't always mean there is malicious code.

I have launchers for various other games I play and every single one of them had to be allowed to connect off the computer because my virus program said they are a "potential" risk.

-Hapa

I have had a few people mention that they have had the same thing occur, as have I and we had to just add it to the accepted applications list. Not all things that are marked as a possible issue technically are, as those programs look for certain markers that will ping you for a final decisions.

As for why the WGC is going to be our primary launcher. Both the WGC and the legacy launcher, while serving the same purpose, are very different independent pieces of software. Each of them requires independent support and maintenance, and, while we maintained the Legacy launcher before, it's a constant additional workload that could be focused elsewhere to improve the game or services. WGC provides better features and control for the players, and also can be used as a hub for all WG titles. Though we understand that not everyone players multiple WG titles, there is a very large portion of our players that do. We and other teams are allocating our efforts to it, so WGC will only get better.

-Hapa

Sorry I didn't reply to you, this should not affect you. As you use Steam as your launcher.

-Hapa

We are working with STEAM to attempt to remedy a lot of the issues we're having currently running the client through them. Hopefully they will be worked out soon. Let me ask our peeps about your specific question though. I THINK they are considered separate entities (accounts on STEAM vs not on steam) however.

-Hapa