{"id":11,"date":"2014-05-30T16:36:11","date_gmt":"2014-05-30T16:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grandpagumblings.xyz\/?p=11"},"modified":"2025-06-14T10:22:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-14T17:22:03","slug":"what-are-mods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandpasmods.info\/?p=11","title":{"rendered":"What are Mods?"},"content":{"rendered":"

First of all what is a \u201cmod\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A \u201cmod\u201d is merely the modification of a client-side program file for the game World of Tanks (WoT).\u00a0 WoT allows the modification of files to change the \u201cgraphical presentation\u201d on the client-de (your PC).\u00a0 No modification of actual game play or game data is allowed, only how it is graphically displayed.<\/p>\n

WoT is a client-server game.\u00a0 All the computations of the game are done on the WoT servers, that information is returned to your PC (Client) via the net and the files on your PC display that information in a graphical format. WoT allows changes to these client files in order to get the graphical presentation that best suits you.<\/p>\n

The data to be displayed determines the type of files that WoT uses. The general types are:<\/p>\n

Dynamic data:\u00a0 This is data that changes as the battle progresses.\u00a0 Examples are; sights (crosshairs), damage indicator, damage meter, ammo panel, artifact panel, minimap, players panel, and debug panel.\u00a0 In order to update and display the changing information graphically, WoT uses \u201cflash\u201d files (.swf).\u00a0 These files are mainly located in the \/gui\/flash folder.<\/p>\n

Static data:\u00a0 This is data that remains static during the game.\u00a0 Examples are; the garage, vehicle icons, ammo and artifact icons, crewmember icons, crew medals, crew rank, login background screens, battle loading background screens, battle map content (buildings, trucks, trains, etc).\u00a0 WoT uses static image files to display this information.\u00a0 These are usually .png, .dds, or .tga formats.\u00a0 They can be changed by modifying the image and saving back in the proper format and resolution.<\/p>\n

Hybrid data:\u00a0 I classify custom tank skins and audio mods as hybrid.\u00a0 Although it is static in nature, it interact with the changing data of the battle. Skins and audio also install a little differently that the other mods and sometimes come with\u00a0 various options.<\/p>\n

What do mods do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As stated above, they merely change the graphical presentation of game data, they DO NOT change the data or gameplay.<\/p>\n

Most mods change the battlefield view for the user.\u00a0 They move information to different areas on the screen, display different data in various formats, or add data is is sent by the server, but not displayed in the \u201cvanilla\u201d format. An example of this is damage meters that display a list of your hits.\u00a0 The game sends out this info, but the vanilla display does not use it.<\/p>\n

The most popular mods are those that change the crosshairs or sights in the game.\u00a0 Some add information such as reload time, distance to target, your health status, and rounds remaining.\u00a0 They also can change the shape of the crosshair and the shape and colors of the sights.<\/p>\n

Another popular mod is the Over Tank Markers (OTM).\u00a0 Although this is now included in the vanilla game package, many users like to have more options or to customize the OTM to their design.\u00a0 There are many programs out there that let you do this.<\/p>\n

So mods are your friend, they are not hacks, and can make the game more enjoyable to play.<\/p>\n

Next installment is how to install\u2026<\/p>\n

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