WG is still trying to build their own art department, HOWEVER......

[New_Jersey_prpr]

Source: https://nga.178.com/read.php?tid=38338215 (website NOT in English)

TLDR:

1. WG is still trying to find Art Director and Art Manager. Proving that those copy paste ships are very probably the best they can make so far.

2. According to the comments, WG wants the applicants to master both Russian and English, and they are offering insufficient salary for what they want, totally not surprised.

3. WG set their office in Serbia is very probably, mainly to cut cost down.

 

Personal thoughts:

1. Let's just be honest, offer jobs like these in regions like US/Canada, Western Europe, or relatively wealthy part in Asia will have much more applicants. WG just want to cut cost down in any possible method, not putting game development in top priority.

2. WG didn't complete their waterline plans this year, very possibly hinting the complete break up between WG/Lesta (see the shared comment below), they even dare to do this before having a functional art department. wth are they thinking?

3. They want their 3D/2D artists to know both Russian and English, why not just hire a translator to do the job?

Edited November 9, 2023 by New_Jersey_prpr

[Nevermore135]

38 minutes ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

3. WG set their office in Serbia is very probably, mainly to cut cost down.

 

It’s also much easier to do business with/travel to and from Russia from Serbia than most of Europe in the current environment. I believe they were hoping that much more of the Lesta team would be willing to relocate to Serbia, which would have been more attractive to Russian nationals than just about anywhere else outside Russia.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Nevermore135

[Type_93]

If they were hiring janitors would you make a post about that as well? 
Lots of players know how run a game developer company, maybe they will apply and really bring about the changes they cry about. 

[Kratbowl]

To be honest, even before the division of wows Lesta also did not shine with diversity; identical ships had already begun to accumulate enough even before the war. Now it's just gotten worse for both studios.

[Frostbow]

59 minutes ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

WG is still trying to find Art Director and Art Manager. Proving that those copy paste ships are very probably the best they can make so far.

I wonder what is on the horizon for World of Warships. There has been no announcement yet of the next line of ships, if my memory serves, except for Soviet submarines.

1 hour ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

They want their 3D/2D artists to know both Russian and English, why not just hire a translator to do the job?

Maybe they are hiring for translators, but are finding none because of the low salaries they offer. LOL

[Project45_Opytny]

1 minute ago, Frostbow said:

I wonder what is on the horizon for World of Warships. There has been no announcement yet of the next line of ships, if my memory serves, except for Soviet submarines.

Maybe they are hiring for translators, but are finding none because of the low salaries they offer. LOL

The obvious next branch is alternative USN CVs: Independence, Yorktown and Essex that are currently undergoing testing. Their equivalent in Lesta is alternative Japanese CVs (Zuihou, Hiryu and Taihou) that have their models refurbished and are now considered overpowered (carpet bombing AP).

What is missing is comparable to what Lesta has teased in their Waterline: next supership, next Dockyard ship after Michelangelo and the further next branch that are currently still in modelling stage. Lesta has announced that the entire Spring 2024 for them will be a Soviet-themed event arc, with Soviet dockyard and an alternative branch of Soviet-Russian battleships, while I also wonder what would WG do.

18 minutes ago, Kratbowl said:

To be honest, even before the division of wows Lesta also did not shine with diversity; identical ships had already begun to accumulate enough even before the war. Now it's just gotten worse for both studios.

In contrast WG's development has been marked with prolonged periods of worrying inactivity and take the example of New Year 2024 event, a shocking percentage of recycled and/or low effort assets and material that is obviously no match for a new themed port and other things teased by Lesta that are available on their Devblog site.

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

They scoffed when I pointed out the lack of applicants meant the compensation on offer was too meager...

They said I was daft when I stopped praising the art department because of the obvious flood of copy paste ships...

I really need to change my name to Cassandra.

[iDuckman]

4 hours ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

WG set their office in Serbia is very probably, mainly to cut cost down.

No.  When developers fled St. Pete and Belarus, Serbia was the only EU country without visa and immigration requirements for Russians.  So they went there.  WG opened an office in Belgrade because that's where the developers are.  Looks like it will become a major studio.

 

[iDuckman]

3 hours ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

I really need to change my name to Cassandra.

LOL  You know what happened to Cassandra...

 

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

4 hours ago, iDuckman said:

LOL  You know what happened to Cassandra...

 

I make the reference with full knowledge of the story.

I note that those that ignored Cassandra's prophecies fared no better.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Daniel_Allan_Clark

[Project45_Opytny]

3 hours ago, iDuckman said:

No.  When developers fled St. Pete and Belarus, Serbia was the only EU country without visa and immigration requirements for Russians.  So they went there.  WG opened an office in Belgrade because that's where the developers are.  Looks like it will become a major studio.

Despite this and Serbia's reputation for Russophilia, it is still immigration and it is assumed that a significant part of the Russian developers opted to stay home (as very possibly they have families and all social connections in Russia while SPB has been one of Russia's leading cities in contrast to a foreign capital) and join an independent Lesta Entertainment, with Mir Korabli's different and often considered superior development bulletins.

A more accurate claim is that such a team of very experienced modellers, programmers and art designers working primarily on dreadnought-era naval theme like Lesta Studio cannot be created from thin air, while WG, besides that objective difficulty, is offering too little and demanding too much (like living in Belgrade and being fluent in Russian) for non-Russian applicants to these vacants.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Project45_Opytny

[Wolfswetpaws]

9 hours ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

3. They want their 3D/2D artists to know both Russian and English, why not just hire a translator to do the job?

In you own post, didn't you mention something about WG/WOWs trying to cut costs in certain ways?  🙂 

Perhaps a translator is a more viable option.  One translator could interpret for a number of people and work-groups, I imagine.

But, will the company spend the money?
And what if the translator gets a competitive job-offer from another company?  🤔

[iDuckman]

2 hours ago, Project45_Opytny said:

it is assumed that a significant part of the Russian developers opted to stay home

No one disputes that.  One or two that I know well have done just that.  No, Belgrade is not St. Pete.  It's likely a minority that left.  But that's not the point.  Here you have a group of experienced, capable employees.  Building a studio there is a no-brainer.  Cost is a minor factor, at most.

I have no idea what a competitive salary would be, and I wonder about the Russian language requirement.  I assume it's because a fair percent of the experienced developers do not have English.  From accounts, Belgrade is pretty nice.

 

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

18 minutes ago, iDuckman said:

Building a studio there is a no-brainer.  Cost is a minor factor, at most.

You say this....and the positions have been open for more than a year.

I would say that perhaps your assumption is flawed.

I agree building the studio there probably initially made sense with the strategy of trying to shift those who wanted to move easily. But that strategy mostly failed, with most staying home. Doubling down on what is increasingly looking like a failure would not be a good choice.

As I said, WG hasn't offered sweet enough compensation to lure qualified candidates. Until WG recognizes that the current strategy is failing and adjust to something that might work...we will be stuck in this development halt and the revenue from new and interesting premiums and shinys to the game will continue to shrink. No amount of reducing the value of rewards for in game performance is going to cover the loss of revenue from a stalled development of the game.

One could also argue this point from the viewpoint of potential candidates. You are interviewing for a position at a company that split itself into two because of the world situation. If the world situation resolves...who will WG want to keep? The new guy? Or the team actually ahead of your non-existent team developing the game? If we remerge with Mir Korabli...the developers THERE are going to be more familiar with the best version of the game.

So you are asking developers to come work in a substandard European country, for substandard pay, with a high risk of being dumped quick if the world situation changes.

That's not an attractive offer set. If you want to recruit under those handicaps...you need to either offer more compensation, or adjust expectations for the job.

Blithely assuming that the current status is 'fine' is not what looks like a wise decision from here.

[New_Jersey_prpr]

2 hours ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

In you own post, didn't you mention something about WG/WOWs trying to cut costs in certain ways?  🙂 

Perhaps a translator is a more viable option.  One translator could interpret for a number of people and work-groups, I imagine.

But, will the company spend the money?
And what if the translator gets a competitive job-offer from another company?  🤔

That's exactly the point.

WG wants to cut cost down so eagerly, they rather demand computer artists to know both languages instead of hiring a translator, not considering how many people can meet the requirements and be satisfied with the salary.

Edited November 10, 2023 by New_Jersey_prpr

[iDuckman]

53 minutes ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

I agree building the studio there probably initially made sense with the strategy of trying to shift those who wanted to move easily. But that strategy mostly failed, with most staying home.

You ASSUME that the decision to build a studio in Belgrade happened before the ex-Lesta developers went there.  My information is that the decision was reactive.

The rest of your post may mean something to you.  I means nothing to me,

 

[Wolfswetpaws]

8 hours ago, New_Jersey_prpr said:

That's exactly the point.

WG wants to cut cost down so eagerly, they rather demand computer artists to know both languages instead of hiring a translator, not considering how many people can meet the requirements and be satisfied with the salary.

The phrase "penny-wise, pound-foolish" comes to my mind.  🙂 

[ArIskandir]

On 11/9/2023 at 10:35 AM, New_Jersey_prpr said:

3. WG set their office in Serbia is very probably, mainly to cut cost down.

Honestly I don't see what's the issue about wanting to cut costs down... that's friggin' common sense for enterprises in a globalized market, or why do you think they outsource production to countries like China, Mexico or wherever... because they can cut cost and be more competitive duh!

Maybe 100K might be not much for London or California standards, but I can bet it is good enough for Belgrade.

Also, I understand WG is very careful in their personal selection process... they can be very specific in the traits they are looking for a position like in this case the Russian language, it may as well be they haven't found they guy they want, even more if it is for critical positions as Area Directors and Managers. 

[Admiral_Karasu]

3 minutes ago, ArIskandir said:

Honestly I don't see what's the issue about wanting to cut costs down... that's friggin' common sense for enterprises in a globalized market, or why do you think they outsource production to countries like China, Mexico or wherever... because they can cut cost and be more competitive duh!

Maybe 100K might be not much for London or California standards, but I can bet it is good enough for Belgrade.

Also, I understand WG is very careful in their personal selection process... they can be very specific in the traits they are looking for a position like in this case the Russian language, it may as well be they haven't found they guy they want, even more if it is for critical positions as Area Directors and Managers. 

 

Quote

You would need around 2,553.6£ (341,575.4Дин) in Belgrade to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 6,100.0£ in London (assuming you rent in both cities)

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&city1=London&country2=Serbia&city2=Belgrade

In other words, a 100k salary in Belgrade is the equivalent of close to a 240k salary in London.

[Wolfswetpaws]

37 minutes ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&city1=London&country2=Serbia&city2=Belgrade

In other words, a 100k salary in Belgrade is the equivalent of close to a 240k salary in London.

Which, for me, leads me to wonder "What is the competition offering?"

[Wolfswetpaws]

44 minutes ago, ArIskandir said:

Honestly I don't see what's the issue about wanting to cut costs down... that's friggin' common sense for enterprises in a globalized market, or why do you think they outsource production to countries like China, Mexico or wherever... because they can cut cost and be more competitive duh!

Maybe 100K might be not much for London or California standards, but I can bet it is good enough for Belgrade.

Also, I understand WG is very careful in their personal selection process... they can be very specific in the traits they are looking for a position like in this case the Russian language, it may as well be they haven't found they guy they want, even more if it is for critical positions as Area Directors and Managers. 

It's understandable that a selection process may have important criteria.
Need to find the best match for the purpose(s) and etc. & etc.

Though, I wonder how long they can afford to wait to fill the position(s) in question?

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

1 hour ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Though, I wonder how long they can afford to wait to fill the position(s) in question?

This is the pertinent question, I think...

[ArIskandir]

1 hour ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Though, I wonder how long they can afford to wait to fill the position(s) in question?

 

6 minutes ago, Daniel_Allan_Clark said:

This is the pertinent question, I think...

Something I've learnt from travelling far and wide is different cultures/societies (and individuals!) have different values and priorities. In some places, time is not perceived as pressing as others, or money is understood as a secondary value to other traits/virtues and is not the be all end all of everything. I'm not amazed by them taking ample time in selecting the person they think is right for the role. 

[torino2dc]

I am amused how folks are dumping on WG based on little-to-no knowledge of the region, its talent pool, or the challenges involved in building a functioning enterprise.

[ReDiR20]

Recent new ships and permacamos looks very nice. Particularly Pan-American cruisers and IJN Battlecruisers. I'm absolutely fine with what we get right now