Gamepedia’s November Editor of the Month, Scoaler, has added tons of useful game information to the Armored Warfare Wiki, and his efforts are greatly appreciated! We asked Scoaler a few interview questions so we could get to know our newest Editor of the Month. Congratulations, Scoaler, and thanks for helping to improve Gamepedia!
If you’re interested in becoming Editor of the Month on Gamepedia or if you’d like to nominate someone, you can learn more about the program here.
Where are you from?
Seattle, Washington
Outside of wiki editing, what are your hobbies?
I like to play PC games like XCOM: Enemy Within/Unknown, Star Trek Online, and Star Wars: The Old Republic in addition to Armored Warfare. I also enjoy winemaking and making hard ciders. Reading has been a life long hobby, and I’ve enjoyed reading military science fiction from authors like David Drake and David Weber but I especially like stories from the Weber’s Honor Harrington universe.
What do you enjoy most about Armored Warfare?
I really like that Armored Warfare has a Player vs. Environment component to it. In group PvE mode, it is fun getting a bunch of friends together and fighting your way to your objectives. To me, it’s similar to playing a 5 player dungeon in MMORPGs, but you’re in a tank and fight bad guys in other tanks instead of fighting orcs and dragons with sword and spells. The coop game play is unlike anything I’ve seen in other games, so it’s a new type of gaming experience for me.
Another aspect of Armored Warfare I like is that I’ve enjoyed playing vehicles in all the tiers. In other games I’ve played, lower tier vehicles feel like tedious lessons that teach you aspects of the game rather than playing the game to have fun. I’ve introduced several friends to this game, and playing the introductory and lower tier vehicles is fun! I can jump in a tier 1 M113, and can have nearly as much fun as playing a tier 3 AMX-10P or a tier 6 M2 Bradley, while playing the tier 2 M48 or T-54 can be as fun and challenging as their tier 5 M60A3 and T-72 counterparts. Platooning tier 3s and 4s with friends that are new to the game can be a blast in both PvP and PvE modes. The different tiers add different challenges, for example adding vehicles with composite armor or missiles around tier 4, but the additional abilities change the game play, but don’t affect the fun factor from tier to tier.
How were you first introduced to Armored Warfare?
I first read about Armored Warfare in the blog ‘For The Record’ done by SilentStalker, who now works with My.com. I liked the idea of a World of Tanks type game with modern vehicles. One of my initial thoughts was to wonder if Obsidian would bring enough innovation to the genre. After seeing the product in open beta, I believe they have succeeded.
How did you discover the Armored Warfare Wiki?
I was looking for information on the vehicles in a wiki like I’ve seen in other games, so I asked where an AW wiki was on the Armored Warfare forums. The moderators there pointed me to the site, adding that I was welcome to contribute to it.
What prompted you to start wiki editing?
The first time I looked at the wiki, there was hardly any content to it. I really wanted to find the information on the vehicles I wanted to drive. The OCD part of my personality couldn’t stand to see the lack of content in the wiki and I really needed to have a place to find that information, so I started adding pages. I couldn’t leave the wiki with only some of the vehicles, so I started adding more, and adding more details to the articles. Eventually, I added other content and it continues to grow.
Favorite Armored Warfare vehicle?
I currently don’t have a favorite vehicle. I don’t own any vehicles that really stand out and say “I’m the best” or “I’m the one you want to play all the time”. The game is still relatively new and I’m still exploring which tanks and classes match my play style.
Some of the vehicles I enjoy playing are the tracked Armored Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) that have autocannons like the XM800T, AMX-10P or BMP-2. The American Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and East European (Soviet/Russian) MBTs are fun to play with good armor and firepower with each tank having it’s strengths and weaknesses. The Light Tanks can be a blast, especially the Begleitpanzer 57 with it’s 8 round autoloader and guided missile launcher.
Favorite Armored Warfare map?
Reactor is my favorite PvP map. It has a good mix of terrain types, and various different buildings in good locations. The artists did an awesome job making the map look really cool, with a lot of details, for example, the damage to the side of one of the cooling towers with smoke coming out. I also like the size of this map, which is currently the largest in Armored Warfare.
Operation: Onyx is my favorite PvE mission. It has a good storyline, and good pacing; there are few times where there are too many enemies and it’s rare for you to wait for enemies to spawn. It also has the best immersion of any of the PvE battles with sound and visual combat effects adding to the sense of being in the middle of a active combat zone.
What advice do you have for someone new to wiki editing?
I started editing with the the following thoughts going through my head: “what would I want to see in this wiki and what kind of information can I use to play the game better.” Find articles with subjects you’re familiar with and add information you’ve learned since you started playing the game that you think can help other players. See how other editors are doing things in the wiki and try following their lead. If you like how a particular page looks in any wiki, look at the source of the page, see the tricks that more advanced editors are using and learn to use them in your edits.
Do you have any last words for your fellow wiki editors?
These wikis are made for anyone who enjoys the game by players that have played the game. Being able to have a ‘go to’ location to access the information is awesome. I think it’s great when players can pass on lessons learned from their experiences in the games. Adding this knowledge to wikis is a good way to get that information out there. The wiki makes spreading knowledge and information accessible to anyone and I think it’s great that there are people out there that are spending time and utilizing this resource.
Know someone who should be our December Editor of the Month? Submit your nominations here.