4

Step 4 of 5

Installing, the first launch and a calm first session

The install itself is the least difficult part of this workbook, and the part people most often rush. This step slows it down into eight actions, then explains what a first launch asks for and how to read whatever happens next.

Before you start: three decisions

The first is timing. A large online title's initial install can run to tens of gigabytes, and on a connection shared with a household or limited by a monthly allowance that is not a background task. Pick a window where a long download is harmless, and check the remaining allowance you noted in Step 2.

The second is the source. The installer should come from the vendor's own site, reached by typing the address yourself or from a bookmark you made, or from a storefront you already use and trust. File-hosting sites, links in chat messages and advertisements offering a faster or modified version are the usual route by which something other than the game ends up installed.

The third is the drive. In Step 2 you recorded free space on a specific drive. Use that one. Installers default to the system drive, which on a laptop with a small system disk and a larger second one is frequently the wrong choice, and moving a large game afterwards is more work than choosing correctly now.

The install, step by step

1. Pick the time. Start when a long download will not disrupt anyone and will not consume an allowance you need for the rest of the month.
2. Obtain the installer from the vendor. Type the address or use your own bookmark. Do not follow a link from a message, a forum post promising a modified build, or an advertisement.
3. Choose the install location. Point it at the drive you checked in Step 2, and write down the folder path. You will want it later for uninstalling or for clearing space.
4. Read each installer screen before clicking. Decline optional extra software bundled alongside the game. Note any component the installer says it needs to add — graphics runtimes and anti-cheat components are common and are described on the screen; if something is added that is not explained, stop and read about it before continuing.
5. Let the first update finish. Nearly every online game downloads a further update on first launch, sometimes a substantial one. Interrupting it part way is the most common cause of a broken first session.
6. Sign in and turn on multi-factor authentication. Use the account and recovery email you settled in Step 3, and enable the second factor straight away rather than planning to do it later.
7. Set the social and graphics settings. Before the first match, not during it. The detail is in the section below.
8. Play one short session and write down what you saw. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough. Note whether the picture was steady, whether the controls felt immediate, and whether anything got worse as the machine warmed up.

Where the files go, and why it matters

An install usually puts files in three places. The bulk of it — the program and its artwork, sound and maps — goes into the folder you chose. A much smaller set of settings and saved preferences goes into your user profile, in a hidden application-data folder. And some components, such as graphics runtimes, are installed system-wide.

Knowing this saves two kinds of trouble. When you want the disk space back, removing the folder you chose is most of the job, but the proper route is always the operating system's own uninstall mechanism rather than dragging a folder to the bin, because that leaves the system-wide pieces behind. And when you want to move a game to a different drive, reinstalling it to the new location is generally more reliable than moving the folder by hand.

It is also worth repeating the distinction from Step 1: uninstalling the client does not close the account. If you want the account gone as well, that is a separate request made to the company, using whatever process its privacy notice described.

What a first launch asks for

Expect a sequence of prompts, and expect to be the person deciding each one rather than clicking through. The common ones are these.

A further update, as described above. An account sign-in or a sign-up form, which is the moment Step 3 was written for. A request to allow the program through the operating system's firewall; online games genuinely need network access, and the prompt is the system working as designed, but read which network it is asking about — private or public — and choose accordingly.

A request to install or run an anti-cheat component, which in many online games runs with elevated privileges. This is normal in competitive online games and it is also a real decision: it is software with deep access to your computer, and the terms will name it. If you are not comfortable with that, declining means not playing that title, which is a legitimate outcome of this workbook.

A tutorial offer. Take it. Tutorials in online games exist because the alternative is learning in a match against people who already know how it works.

The settings to fix before the first match

Three groups, in this order.

Social settings first. Find the chat, voice and privacy options. Decide whether text chat is on, whether voice is on, who may send you messages or invitations, and whether your profile is visible. Learn where the mute and report controls are before you need them. These are the settings most likely to affect whether you enjoy the first hour, and they are almost always buried a layer deeper than the graphics options.

Graphics second, and start low. Beginning at a lower preset and raising it is far more informative than beginning at the highest and wondering why everything stutters. Resolution is usually the single biggest lever, followed by shadow and effect quality. If the game offers a frame rate display, turn it on for the first session: a number is easier to reason about than an impression.

Audio third. Set a comfortable volume before the first match rather than during it, and check whether voice chat has a separate level. If you use headphones, this is also the moment to check that the game is using the right output device, which is a surprisingly common cause of "no sound" reports.

Reading a bad first session

If the first session is poor, the useful question is which of three things is wrong: the picture, the connection, or the heat. They have different signatures.

A picture problem looks like jerkiness that is consistent and tied to what is on screen: smooth in a quiet corner, stuttering when several things happen at once. It responds to lowering the resolution and the detail settings. This is the computer struggling to draw fast enough.

A connection problem looks different. The picture stays smooth but things jump: an object is in one place, then suddenly somewhere else; your inputs take a moment to register; occasionally everything freezes for a second and then catches up. Lowering the graphics settings does nothing for this, because the drawing was never the problem. Moving to a wired connection, playing on a server closer to Australia if the game offers a choice, and stopping large downloads elsewhere in the house are the levers that help.

A heat problem announces itself by time rather than by scene: fine for fifteen or twenty minutes, then steadily worse, with the fans loud. It is most common on laptops and most often fixed by moving the machine to a hard flat surface, clearing the vents, and plugging into mains power.

Symptom and likely cause

If none of these fits, the vendor's own support channel is the right next stop, because only they can see what their client logged. For account trouble rather than technical trouble — a sign-in that fails, a message claiming your account is at risk — the general guidance from the Australian Cyber Security Centre at cyber.gov.au covers what to do, and suspected scams can be reported to Scamwatch at scamwatch.gov.au.

The vendor's own support pages and current requirements for the title named on this site are published by the vendor. Visit the World of Tanks website to reach them directly.Paid affiliate link. The publisher is paid a commission if you create and activate an account after following it. The installation method in this step is general and applies to any desktop title.