World War 2 Online?

[Rally]

För er som inte spelat någon gång under förra året elelr som helt enkelt undrar vad som pågår i spelet kan jag meddela detta:

WORLD WAR II ONLINE- 2003 IN REVIEW
2003 marked the single biggest year in the brief history of the award-winning MMOG, “World War II Online” with major features added and thousands of new players joining the game. 5 major feature updates and more than 20 “point” releases were introduced as part of every players' premium subscription to the game. Following is a summary of these updates with many not making the list for the sake of brevity;

Vehicles

21 new weapon/vehicles were added in 2003. New aircraft, tanks, armored cars and ships were all introduced this past year. The highlight was of course Destroyers and Freighters which brought a fresh gameplay focus to naval units in the form of moving and protecting infantry and armor over the Channel and North Sea.

AIRCRAFT
- H-81 (P-40B)
- Spitfire MkVb
- Hurricane MkIIc
- Bf-109F4
- Bf-110C4/B
- DB7
– Havoc I
– Bell 14a

SHIPS
- Freighters for each country
- DDE for each country


TANKS
- Crusader MkII (A15)
- PzKpf IIIH
- Daimler Mk1 Armored Car
- H39 light tank
- Laffly W15TCC
- Stuart M3A3
– SdKfz 251C


















A full audit of all flight models was done in '03 bringing even more fidelity and accuracy to our award winning flight model. Damage fidelity was added to flaps, landing gear, engines, and canopies during this development period with both audio and visual cues added to these damage states allowing pilots and aircrew to see and hear when their plane receives damage.

Custom convergence settings was added for aircraft guns as well as new weight and drag calculations for external and internal weapons giving pilots much more flexibility and realism in their ordnance loadoat.

Infantry

Infantry remains the most popular gameplay in WWIIOL. Because of this, bringing compelling and cutting edge infantry play is always a focus of the development team. While the nature of troop combat is very different from first-person “twitch shooters,” we have always held that WWIIOL’s infantry should benefit from as much state-of-the-art FPS features/technology as possible. This past year we were able to really get some feet under that mandate and deliver great strides in trooper gameplay, feel and functionality.

New trooper models were added to bring better detail and fluidity of motion to the infantry. Many new animations were added to these new models and support for the display of spent shell ejections and reloading give the troops even more immersive behavior and effects. New photo-realistic faces were added to all troops, and a random selection allows for a large variety of faces to be encountered on the battlefield.

Light machine guns were added this past year to troopers, along with a re-supply loadout item for Riflemen. These two features allow for the deployment of “LMG”s in the field. Knives were added to trooper loadouts as well for close-in stealthy attacks. Smoke grenades were also introduced and give the troopers a vital tactical tool for concealment. This feature has proven to be most effective for anti-tank ops, and breaking through sieges.

New “ATP” levels were added that give troops more dynamic and better manageable energy resource that has even more affect on how fast a trooper can move, and how well he can aim his weapon.

Riding code was improved and new feedback added so that troops hitching a lift are not only safer, but the drivers and riders are all identified making comms much easier on the way to the front. The ability to ride (and walk on) ships was added as well. Now troops can be transported over the water more efficiently, and can fire their weapons while riding (something that the captains might take umbrage with!).

Spawning

We added the ability to spawn troops into contested towns with new 3D depot buildings created and placed in-game that support troop spawn lists generated by connecting armybases. This suggests a foothold in a city once the connecting depots are captured and helps shorten time to combat on city assaults.

Research Development Production

It was strategic bombing campaigns that eventually wrote the closing chapters on World War II in Europe and the Research, Development and Production (RDP) system brought that function and gameplay to WWII Online this past year. In-game factories were added that power the RDP system outputting the means necessary for vehicle and equipment choices on spawn lists. This system is interdictable by bombers, and can stall out a side’s ability to bring new vehicles into the battle. RDP has given the players a whole new strategic game to play within WWIIOL. With it’s effects visible on the web and updated dynamically, now players can see the state of the strategic campaign right on the front page of the World@War Gazette.

Cities/Facilities

In excess of 100 new cities and towns were added this past year giving more depth to the map in the east and west. The Zeeland Islands were populated with towns and now form a challenging strategic sector in the North. In addition, our terrain team redesigned approximately 150 existing towns and cities bringing them up to the standards set by the newer additions.

New 3D versions of the most-used buildings in-game were added. This is the tip of the spear of a campaign we have put in motion to replace ALL of our “paper walls” with 3D buildings as fast as we can.

Gameplay

Many gameplay changes were added in 2003. Reserving vehicles, new depot spawning, and better firebase functionality all combine to make battlefield choices both more rewarding and critically important. Having an offensive posture with the new firebase ruleset gives the attacker a much needed advantage, but it is harder to maintain in trade. Coordinated attacks are even more rewarding, and a well-planed defense can be even harder to penetrate.

New reporting and help commands were added in-game to give players more support with in-game functions as well as a way to report bugs and bad behavior. The report function outputs a log file that CRS production and live team members review and respond to. This feature alone will undoubtedly increase the visibility of in-game issues that may not be readily seen in the closed beta.

Players that are new to the game will have a better chance of getting some help now with “green” icons attached to all 1st rank personas. The “green horns” can now be ID’ed and the more experienced players can get new guys the help they need faster. Rank icons were added as well to show personas’ rank levels.

Deployment primitives were added that allow the HQs to move bomber and destroyer units. These strategic moves can only occur in RDP cycles and lost or overrun facilities levy a cost to re-deploy the units that were there. This gives even more control over to the HCs and paves the way for a complete deployment system.

Special Effects

Dynamic light sourcing was added to the Unity Graphics Engine, and features were quickly implemented to take advantage. Bombs, muzzle flashes, explosions and fire all emit light sources, making night battles more realistic and intense.

Many more effects were added including enhancements to smoke, fire and sparks as well as flying debris from aircraft and ships when they are hit. Vehicles now throw exhaust smoke, and trail dust as they move. Tanks blow up a dust cloud when firing their main guns. These effects give the battlefield a dynamic and chaotic feel that add to immersion.

Localization

This year we added client support for the German, French and Italian languages. Now players from around the world can play WWIIOL in their own language. This has resulted in the growth of players from outside the U.S. outpacing growth from inside the U.S. for the first time. The introduction of a localizec client will assist in our plans for releasing the game into new territories.

Special Events

The Special Events Team (SET) launched the Special Events program utilizing a new toolset that allows mission launching from the web. While this may not seem like a huge step, it dovetails into our deployment design and represents a crucial technology for brigade support for the primary campaign server.

SET Ran a series of scenarios linked together in a common historical thread called Battle of Britain, featuring the period at the end of the Battle of France leading into the historical Battle of Britain.

Operation: Dynamo was a recreation of the evacuation of Dunkirk. A force of British and French players tried to hold a perimeter around the Dunkirk CP while German attackers, consisting of infantry with assault gun support, tried to penetrate the defensive line and prevent the evacuation of British troops to destroyers arriving from England. The scenario ended in a defeat of the British, who lost most of their fleet trying to evacuate isolated pockets of infantry. It reduced the number of extra British infantry and destroyers in Sealion.

Adler Tag was a two frame scenario that featured battles between the LW and the RAF as well as some naval elements. Each frame exposed one of the phases of the historical Battle of Britain.

Kanalkampf was a simulation of the attacks against the British navy in the months leading up to the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe tried to destroy a British navy convoy off the coast of Kent while the German navy tried to get a group of destroyers within close proximity of the coast of Kent to “mine” it. At the same time the Germans had to safely get a certain number of transports for the Sealion landing fleet. The scenario ended in the Germans achieving all the objectives save destroying the Royal Navy convoy. It reduced the British destroy numbers for the upcoming Sealion event slightly and increased the amount of landing freighters available to the German forces.

The Few featured a series of air battles with the Germans trying to knock out British air bases with bomber runs while the RAF tried to intercept and destroy the german forces. The result was a draw for both sides, with each one losing a small number of reserve aircraft available for Sealion.

Operation: Sealion was a recreation of the german plan to invade England. Although it never occurred in history, it was planned for and the failure of the Luftwaffe to dominate the Battle of Britain was the reason for its cancellation. The scenario featured a large german landing of troops on the southern coast of Kent, both sides deploying a large Destroyer force to try to disrupt or defend the sea landings. Meanwhile a large air contingent tried to support each sides’ efforts. The result was a large scale battle along the beaches which culminated in the Germans narrowly retaining possession of a thin beachhead in England, and a minor victory.

Watch for new events in 2004 by visiting http://www.events.wwiionline.com

Training

The first phases of the official WWIIOL Training Corps launched in 2003 combining an online repository of official and player-made documentation and guides with a 24x7 training server. A small band of players run scheduled training sessions on a variety of gameplay aspects. Be sure to visit the Training Corps at http://www.training.wwiionline.com

Thanks

Without the on-going support from every player who decides each month to choose WWIIOL we could not continue to create and improve on the game we all want to play. Special thanks go out to the entire Beta test team, High Command staff, Training Corp staff, HQ forum moderators, U.S. and foreign HQ website staff, translation team, Squad Commanders, Gms. Also thanks to all the community members who find time to create fantastic resources like TGPO's maps, WWIIOL Polls and many, many more.

Our plans for the future of the game are no less encompassing than what we've been able to accomplish in the past. Expect to see tons of new features and additions- and maybe a few surprises- in the coming months. We plan to publish a development roadmap early this year after a few things become clearer which should give everyone an idea on what we'll be writing in the 2004 edition of the year in review.

Cheers!

Chris 'Mo' Sherland
Executive Producer

[Mikael Karlsson]

Usch, har verkligen ingen tid att spela ordentligt!

Hela hösten, hela vintern och hela våren verkar enbart vara full av skola (nationella prov och elände) och hockey (visserligen är det jäkligt kul men ), knappt någon tid över till annat.

[Hans G]

Tiden går och jag började spela först under jul och nyår, har dock ändrat uppfattning. WW2Online är skitkul! Visst det saknar massor av finesser, en oslipad diamant om man säger så. Blev "Captain" WH förra veckan!

Nåväl! Ge spelet 2 veckor, spela kvällar och var med i de stora fighterna, oj va kul!
Har börjat med flyget nu, skitkul!

Är med i en Amerikansk squad men gillar inte läget riktigt, finns det verkligen ingen svensk squad? Alla nationaliteter har egna chatkanaler men inte svenskar, vad e detta? Ni som är gamla rävar ni borde göra något!

/Hans

[Digital_Dödsmaskin]

Är inte långt ifrån till att börja svära nu. Ska tanka 14 dagars versionen och se. Men det enda som jag tycker verkar vara negativt är att man måste betala Gillar inte det riktigt. Nåja, ska tanka och installera nu..


Känner på mig att det blir till att hoppa in i marinen

Pussokramheeeeeej!

[Rally]

Tiden går och jag började spela först under jul och nyår, har dock ändrat uppfattning. WW2Online är skitkul! Visst det saknar massor av finesser, en oslipad diamant om man säger så. Blev "Captain" WH förra veckan!

Nåväl! Ge spelet 2 veckor, spela kvällar och var med i de stora fighterna, oj va kul!
Har börjat med flyget nu, skitkul!

Är med i en Amerikansk squad men gillar inte läget riktigt, finns det verkligen ingen svensk squad? Alla nationaliteter har egna chatkanaler men inte svenskar, vad e detta? Ni som är gamla rävar ni borde göra något!

/Hans

Jo då, spelar du allierad eller axis? Om du spelar axis kan du ju gå med oss om du vill. Vi är en 20 st skandinaver (2 norrmän och en halvfinsk , resten svenskar).

http://vh.shacknet.nu

men om du är allierad så kan du gå med Black Knight Brigade, jag tror de har en nordisk avdelning på en ca 15 spelare.

Men sedan vet jag inte riktigtm hur det står till på de allierades sida.

Välkommen till spelet.

[Rally]

Ljudet ja! Av eller på skulle jag vilja sammanfatta det med, oerhört onyanserat!! Riktning? Styrka?

JAg vet att du redan är omvänd Hasse G, men jag kan meddela (om du inte redan visst) att infanteriljud i tredje person kommer med 1.12 patchen som är runt hörnet.

Vem behöver växla en tank eller opel? Onödigt tillför ingen realism bara problem!

Det är väldigt nyttigt att kunna växla. Kör du på lågvarv så hörs du inte riktigt lika tydligt för fienden, dvs att de tror att du är längre bort än vad du faktum är. Dessutom genom att köra på hög växel men väldigt långsamt kan du smyga runt hörn utan att behöva oroa dig för att köra in inågot som gör att du välter (vilket är otroligt löjlig sak i spelet, men det händer inte så ofta.)

Joina oss i 41st PzJgAbt

[Stege]

När det gäller ljudet så måste man enabla 3d ljudet i Sttings, Det är default disablat. Om man sedan ökar värdet "Maximum sounds" till 64 så kan du i princip skjuta på fienden efter ljudet

Ljudet är förövrigt en av dom viktigaste sakerna i spelet för att lokalisera fienden.
Vår hemsida (vh.shacknet.nu) är nere för tillfället, Förväntas vara uppe under morgondagen.
Jag kan också berätta att vi tillhör en division med mest skandinaver i och enligt vissa rykten så är vi runt 350 medlemmar, Men då är det en del från USA, England och Tyskland med också, Men huvuddelen är som sagt skandinaver.

Lycka till

[volgar]

jag skjöt ner en stuuuka! ha ha ha ha haaa ha! Inlevelse = roligt = beroendeframkallande.. : P

[Hans G]

Har faktiskt bara spelat German än så länge, får väl testa på "motståndaren" någon gång kanske. Har skrivit några inlägg i WW2 forumet angånde ingame mappen. Den borde dom göra något åt väldigt fort.
Nåväl man ser allt en del svenskar när man är ute på korståg, flesta verkar inte vara med i någon squad dock.

Skall kolla Er squad, låter intressant! Kör ni TS? När brukar ni köra? Vart är ert operationsområde? Några flygare?

Just nu håller jag på att jobba upp ranken i LW, segt!

/Hans "Kubel"

[volgar]

tjoho..

När man går med grupper i wwii onlnine så finns det inge roligare!
VI gjorde 2 bakhåll.. första så skjöt vi på en lastbil med 2 gubbar i, de dog:P
andra gången så vaR det en pnz 1 och lite infanteri på.. vi dog allihop.. alla 5..


Detta spel är så otroligt realistiskt och tufft.. alla borde åtminstonde testa det

[Stege]

Kör ni TS?

Ja, Vi har en egen TS server.

När brukar ni köra?

Vi har squadkvällar på Tisdagar, Torsdagar och Söndagar kl 20.00

Vart är ert operationsområde?

Vårt operationsområde ligger i den norra delen i området runt Antwerpen.

Några flygare?

Vi är ju en Panzerjägeravdelning men vi har folk som är duktiga på att flyga. När vi har många på så använder vi oss av eget Air recon. Ibland när vi sitter illa till så händer det att några hämtar varsin Stuka.
Men vi är framförallt en enhet som fightas på marken.

Du kan kolla in oss på vh.shacknet.nu

[Mille1]

Det finns en annan stor squad. Kampfgruppe wiking.

Vi är ca 100 st dom flesta skandinaver men även några fån usa och övriga eruropa.

Squad kvällar är söndag och Onsdag.

Vi är uppdelade i olika abteilung,bla där Oden är infanteri Thor är
Pansar,Hugin är flygvapen, Sleipner artelleri, Loke är recon.

Tillsammans är vi ett fantastiskt team och där teamkänslan är stark

Gå gärna in på hemsidan http://www.kgwiking.com

[Moxica]

Låter onekligen kul synd bara att man är och med största säkerhet kommer att förbli en modemriddare långt in i 2006

[Stege]

Jag kan som info bara nämna att Vi, KG Wiking och Nordland tillhör samma Division, 4 Panzerdivision.

Nordland är också en "svensk dominerad" squad som även har en del folk från andra länder. Vi är minst av dom tre. Det brukar vara grymt kul när vi samlar hela divisionen

[Rally]

Det finns en annan stor squad. Kampfgruppe wiking.

Vi är ca 100 st dom flesta skandinaver men även några fån usa och övriga eruropa.

Squad kvällar är söndag och Onsdag.

Vi är uppdelade i olika abteilung,bla där Oden är infanteri Thor är
Pansar,Hugin är flygvapen, Sleipner artelleri, Loke är recon.

Tillsammans är vi ett fantastiskt team och där teamkänslan är stark

Gå gärna in på hemsidan http://www.kgwiking.com

Bort med tassarna från våran prospect. .