I’d be 100% fine with most of these changes if it weren’t for you still not having fixed APDS. For the love of god, 1 in 15 rounds just fails for no fault of my own, it still behaves more like a bug than anything, shattering at lower speeds? That’s not how shattering works. So don’t expect me to use Brit 7.3 line-ups I’m already avoiding after you move it up to 7.7.
Also 100mm reload speed buff? That’s not warranted at all, I’m also very sceptical it’s realistic at all considering the previous reload speed came from the manual itself. 8 shots per minute is identical to M48s in game reload speed and let me remind you:
T-54/55: Bigger rounds, Left hand loader, fairly cramped tank.
M48s: Smaller rounds, Right hand loader relatively spacious tank.
M48s should have a MAJOR advantage in reload speed. Not an identical one.
For some bizarre reason also T-54s first stage ammo is 20rds, so that incudes a lot of rounds on the hull walls and even those besides the driver? Besides the realistic first stage being more accessible for M48 than T-54.
We even KNOW that M48s reload speed is too slow in game because footage from here.
You will observe at the 3:12 marker a shot is fired, followed by a second one exactly 6.105 seconds later (worked out using my video editor), which is considerably better than the in game ACED reload speed of 7.5 seconds. 20pr armed Centurion also seems to suffer a slightly slower reload than the footage we have suggests but that at least won’t be as bad as being on par with the T-54s.
So my point is, this 100mm reload may be ahistorical, but if it truly is historical other reloads should be inspected, particularly the American 90mm in the Pattons. Also if it is historical a source would have been nice.
Also what is the point of a 1949 model T-54 if it has mid 60s ammo? HEAT-FS is 1963, APDS is 1966. There should be one T-54 with HEAT but without APDS, 100mm APDS is actually quite rare as it was replaced quickly with dart. APDS is much more of a NATO thing. I think this would be good for balance and variety for the T-54, the late one (1951) can have the full suite of ammo (minus dart), the 1949 can feel balanced mainly relying on APCBC but with HEAT-FS for tough targets, while the 1947 prototype has the older ammo.
ALSO unrelated but you really need to look at ready rack replenishment time, 25s on Vickers Mk7, Challenger 1s and 2s, and a similar time for T54E1 is insane, it makes the tanks very frustrating to use. Either shorten them to be more logical, (I mean 4x more than the gun reload really?), or add a mechanic where you can stop the tank and get the whole crew involved in the replenishment, wherein it is much quicker.