1.35.17 is primarily Terrain Expansion Release. We have added some towns in the north above the zeelands (including two new airfields) and towns in the southwest corner of the map. For those in HC, Area51 will now be the "Training Grounds" and that is where brigades will bounce to. This release will also be introducing the new "old" bunkers to some of the new towns. Both the Pentagon bunker and the AB Bunker. We hope you enjoy it and we look forward to your feedback. Enjoy!
World War II Online Version 1.35.17.0 - February 2019
This release brings totally new towns onto the map and has a large number of other terrain fixes.
Bug Fixes
Updated the map to show only two Infantry spawns in the Talmas AB
Fixed a floating building in Empel and Tielt-Deinze FB
The Vise West AI pit, Temse AI ATG pit, Vliss Hangar AI, Liart AI Tower/ATG pit, Reims AF AI pits and Hastiere AI MG pit is now repairable
Moved a Kaarst Dus Depot, Habay-Arlon Fb inf spawn, Eghezee Building, Cambrai AI and Tents, Albert - Corbie FB, Ieper-Lille, Aubigny building, Talmas depot, Jodogne - Wavre FB, Haybes buildings, Florenville road, Eghezee - Namur FB, Londinieres - Foucarmont FB and Lechesne - Vouzier FB from being clipped into a berm
Removed vegitation from the Temse Depot, Liart Depot, Lockeren-St.Nik FB, Havelange East Depot, Nandrin Depot, Bouillet Depot, Seclin - Lens depot, Seclin-La-Basee depot, Seclin-Lille Depot, Eeklo AI pit, Bailleul, Frevent building, Saulty building, Aubigny building, Bruay building, St.Pol AB wall, St.Pol AI tower, Bethune AI tower, Villers- Bretonneux depot/AB bunker/Vehicle spawn, Lumbres depot, Escoeuilles Depot, Assigny building, Samer AB, Lier - Schilde FB and Roermond West
Fixed a floating bush in Waterloo
Added a gunner to the Knokke South AI, Niklaas South AI tower, Rocroi AI pit, Berry-Au-Bac Docks, Reims South AAA AI, Lille NW ATG AI, Maubeuge ATG AI, Boulogne South ATG AI pit, Abbeville West AAA AI, Walsoorden NW AI pit, Metz North docks, Brussels NE-NW AI tower, Andenne, Jodoigne building, Tienen building, Tienen church, Oudenaarde AI Tower, Chimay AI pit, Deinze AI pit, Margate AI pit, Cambrai AF AI, Dunkerque Docks, Mendig, Wissant, Calais, Boulogne, Fressenneville North/South AB, Montreuil, Berck Plage, Dover, Antwerp SAB AI tower and to the NE sector of the town
Corrected the issue with the Florenville SE ATG AI
Updated the orientation of one of the Orval AI tower and Oudenaarde AI pit
Updated a Reims West Dock AI pit and a Signy MG AI pit so that it's no longer sunken into the ground
Shifted a Betheniville-Sommepy Depot, Spontin Depot and Hannut Depot so that it no longer clips into other buildings
Updated a Spontin AI pit, Oudenaarde AI pit, Talmas depot, Zandvliet building, Bertrix and Liege South AB barracks so that it doesn't clip into a building
Removed the Japanese flags from the Berry Au Bac-Reims Depot and the Roye-Marqueglise Depot
Corrected an issue at the Chauny-Jumencourt depot which was causing a CTD
Removed AI from the Cambrai AF Hangar
Moved the Dunkerque shore AI so they aren't in the water
Made an invisible object SW of St.Ricquier disappear
Shifted the Montreuil Infantry spawns so they are not longer blocked by the AB wall
Moved around the Ypenberg AF hangars
Removed some extra boxes from Varengeville - Sur-Mer
You can now exit the Liege West AB barracks and West ab Breda barracks
Adjusted Content
All Training Grounds have been moved to Area51
The new Barracks have been further optimized
Removed an extra road in Reims
Moved the Waterloo city flag icon so it wasn't so far away on the map
Enabled damage to the Dinant Road Bridge
Removed the extra Dinant Rail Bridge
New Content
The new Pentagon and Town Bunkers have been added to some of the new Towns
The Americans now have a Training Area at Area51
Added towns: Torcy-Le-Petit, Charlois, Scheveningen, Oostvoorne, Brielle, Briell - Maassluis Ferry, Rozenburg, Pernis, Ridderkerk, Hoek Van Holland, Maassluis, Rotterdam, Gouda, Zoetermeer, Delft, Monster, Scheveningen, Den Haag, Saint Valery en Caux, Cany Barville, Fecamp, St.Aubin Sur Scie, Saint Laurent en Caux, Yerville, Totes, Saint Saens and St.Martin-Osmonville
Added Coastal's Armory for the Field Marshall fundraiser
Added additional links from England to the new French towns
Congratulations to the Axis Forces on their Victory of Campaign 160. We are planning for Campaign 161 to begin February 28th.
Campaign 161 will start in Tier 3, which will include all of the fun toys including the US Forces. We will of course be including British and French forces as well (expect to see 5 US, 4 British and 1 French Division on the map). Allied CinC: Bondpaul, Axis CinC: Lafleur.
We are currently in intermission, and all weapons are available for everyone during this time (including free players).
Version 1.35.17 which will be expanding the game world (see what's coming here) is scheduled for deployment right around the same time. We'll keep you up to date on exactly when this will be released, along with providing the full readme upon release.
There's quite a bit of information here for this Friday's update, with an all new Game World expansion (France and Holland), the re-introduction of the original City and Pentagon Bunker and several terrain bug fixes making up version 1.35.17. We also have some more Tiers in the form of half years approaching. And we'd also like to announce some Community Management changes along with our newest CRS Staff member additions.
CRS TEAM UPDATES
I'd like to officially welcome aboard "BMBM" as our newest RAT at Cornered Rat Software. Bmbm has been responsible for many of the recent work pertaining to new vehicle implementation and is consistently learning how to grow and build our content set. He's also been helping with the implementation of reworked spawn lists aiming to make them more historical.
Also, I'd like to congratulate "TMAN" on stepping up to the Community Manager role. BLKHWK8 will be moving over to the Assistant Community Manager role and continue supporting the Allied Forces along with the CM / CRS team.
And last but not least, I'd like to congratulate "PITTPETE" on becoming our second newest member of CRS. He'll be stepping up to the Support Team Lead where he'll be helping our customers with technical and billing support. Pittpete has been doing this very successfully for sometime now and is deeply dedicated to the success of WWII Online.
If you're interested in participating at CRS, please check out http://www.wwiionline.com/volunteer for technical and non-technical opportunities.
MORE TIERS COMING TO WWII ONLINE
We're excited to announce that after a lot of planning and preparation we'll be transitioning the Campaign experience to include new "HALF" years. You'll continue to see Tier 0, Tier 1 and so on according to the database and in-game world. But these new tiers means equipment will be introduced into the Campaign a little differently.
You can see what that looks like with all of the Tiers laid out in advance by going to our Premium Discussions are in the "Barracks."
Brainstorming > business validation > technical validation > preparatory work > development > testing > release
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Some have been asking to consider micro-transactions for WWII Online, saying that this could be a new source of income that could replace paying subscriptions or DLCs if done "correctly"...
I would like to give you the opportunity to open a serious brainstorming discussion about it here. Consider it as a "market survey" and not an official engagement: - What micro-transaction options would you imagine? What does make sense in our game and what is appealing? - how much should it be valued? - What do you expect in counterpart? (nothing, decreased subscription prices, more F2p content...)
Remind that this is a brainstorming discussion, you can imagine anything.
Today's update will cover various topics, ranging from the community (including commentary from your Side Commanders) to the 2019 roadmap currently in development. There's no shortage of outstanding efforts being made, please join us for this update.
2019 Roadmap Under Development
Fortunately the 2019 Roadmap is nearly completed and is going through some final checks. It will include items not delivered (but are currently in progress) from 2018 and new items not yet announced. You should be prepared to see a variety of items from both Development and Production. We will be doing another fundraiser this year so get prepared for that as well - details to follow upon 2019 roadmap being published.
Greater transparency of Development efforts
It is our intent at Cornered Rat Software to keep you all aware of Development progress as best as we can. To further continue our tradition of being an actively engaged developer, we've decided that upon the 2019 Roadmap being outlined we will be providing a public facing Trello. The objective is to show you development progress in a public manner so you can follow along. Of course it will not include every nook and cranny of detail, but our hope is to show you at a relatively easy glance the moving parts and their current stages of development / integration.
JG51 is the first Squad back with HC
Congratulations to Squad "JG51" for completing the requirements of getting involved with the High Command program. They'll be receiving their Squad name on a Brigade within the user interface of WWII Online. To learn more about this program and how your Squad can receive the same check out our "Squads wanted for HC" article. Be sure to let your Squad know about this program and the benefits involved with become part of the collective TEAM effort of your side.
Axis forces flipped the balance of power on the Map by the end of the first week Campaign 160, from 55%/45% of towns being Allied at the start to 55%/45% Axis at the beginning of Week 2.Severe supply problems hampered the Axis advance through the weekend, with Allied RDP raids reducing capacity from our factories and creating a significant time delay in restocking equipment as compared to Allied units.However, the Luftwaffe rallied through interdiction of Allied bombing raids and counterstrikes on Allied factories.By the beginning of Week 2, Axis factories were back in action to levels equal to the Allies, restoring much needed supplies to our front lines.
Week 2 also brought strong Allied counterattacks on towns just west of the center and south river lines.Fierce battles raged all week around Grandpre, with Axis High Command having to work around the clock to keep our foothold in the southwest.In the Center, the Allies recaptured Couvin and threatened to push our units back to the river.However, as of midweek our forces had recaptured Couvin and moved our lines even further westward.Battles in the north featured a tug of war for Lier and Schilde, with the Allies desperately trying to dislodge our units around Antwerp.These efforts failed in the face of stiff Axis defense.
Of particular importance in each of our victories and successful defensive battles this week was excellent coordination between the Luftwaffe and Heer to keep bridges down and provide combat air support for our boots on the ground. Luftwaffe Branch Commander Rustylk and his brave pilots have made a big difference in the past week, but we need to continue to provide timely and accurate intelligence to the Luftwaffe on Channel 20 about ground targets and bridges that need their attention and Allied air activity over our areas of operation.
Keep up the great work going into Week 3!
Allied CinC Commentary (Westy91)
Since our successful friday offensive last week, axis forces have since taken the upper hand and pushed hard towards their objectives. The key to stopping them in their tracks will be communication and teamwork. Allied RDP raids continue to ravage German supply lines and it is something I'm eager to see continue. Taking away their supplies will hand the initiative back to us, but it is you guys on the ground that everything rests on. Be brutal in defence and clinical in the attack, and victory will be yours. On the HC front we have seen a rise in officers applying and coming through the JTC le by Spowie/Coila and Imbrutus/Boobear. I can't stress this enough:- your High Command needs YOU.
In the days and weeks to come there will be testing times, and it is critical that our side comes together to face the "dark side" head on.
S!
Steam survey & support
Have you had the opportunity to complete our big Steam survey yet? It will help us with the future priorities so drop your thoughts now!
WWII Online continues to attract many new visitors on a daily basis. Many of them may miss important things to know about the game. So if you enjoy it don't forget to tell them why this game deserves attention with a review on the main store or on the dedicated DLC/premium/starter stores!
This weeks report highlights several videos that were released this past week including a live stream as XOOM shows the progress of 1.36 Hybrid supply, an official tutorial video release "The Rifleman", and Campaign #159 Map and Stats video. Also in this report, I also discuss RDP bombing and how it effects the supply needed to attack/defend towns in the campaign, and a word from LaFleur, Axis CinC. Read it all here...
Highlighted Videos of the Week
An impromptu live stream by Xoom occurred yesterday discussing/displaying the 1.36 "Hybrid Supply" developer beta product. Many players joined the stream and asked many valuable questions about the most anticipated change in WWII Online. As stated by XOOM in the stream, "The hardest part is done, now it's just fine-tuning the project". After the adjustments are made (end of Q1 2019) the High Command teams will get a chance to "put it to the test" before it goes live! Yes, it is coming to fruition!
The second tutorial video was "officially" released. The Rifleman Class is one of the most versatile units of WWII Online. This video gives you a brief introduction, but it is up to YOU to make it menacing for any enemy you encounter!
There are so many "strategic" levels of WWII Online. RDP (Research and Development) bombing is just one example how a few players can devastate an entire side!
We see the available weapons as we spawn in, but what happens to that "weapon" if you get killed? ALL weapons take time to rebuild before they are displayed in the supply list for you to spawn with 100% factory output:
If you "RTB" (Return to Base), your weapon (rifle, smg, tank, etc) returns to the spawn list within 3 seconds
If you are "Rescued", your weapon returns to the spawn list in 15 minutes
If you are "KIA" (Killed in Action) or "MIA" (Missing in Action), your weapon will take 12 hours to return
In the image above (text chat images were taken today), you can see the Axis RDP is at 95% destroyed. This effects the "KIA" and "MIA" timers to rebuild those units, and will take near30 hours for 1 rifle, 1 smg, 1 tank, etc. to return to the field! Every kill makes a HUGE impact on your available supply, thus the ability to attack/defend towns effectively.
You can check the RDP% status by typing .rdp in the chat bar while in game.
Typing .factories in the chat bar will display each factory facility, and its status.
Axis Message from CinC LaFleur
Congratulations to all Axis Officers and Soldats for a well-earned victory in Campaign 159! We crossed over to England in the closing days of the campaign and then had short intermission before beginning Campaign 160 on Monday night. The opening days of Campaign 160 saw the Axis quickly drive to capture towns on our South flank down to the border. The opening Allied deployments had additional brigades poised to break out in the North, but our strong defense prevented the loss of any towns beyond the initial drive on Jodoigne. The Allied gambit failed and left the South under-supplied and ripe for the taking.
Axis forces pushed in the Center towards the river line and by Thursday we had a foothold in Haybes to cross the river. In the meantime, the Axis drive in the South resulted in the surrender of all Allied towns on a line from Virton down to Fresnes, with Axis forces reaching Verdun. Late in the week the Allies sent additional supply South to counter-attack and recaptured Verdun and the airfields at Etain. Battles in the North continued, with Schilde changing hands back and forth.
Axis HC recruitment remains strong, with two new officers joining the ranks this week and a total of 9 cadets in the training. Squad JG51 will be the first to formally enter the Squad HC Alliance program upon graduation of its next cadet. JG51 will soon be the named/designated squad for 3.Jg.II Luftwaffe brigade. Other squads are in the process of having cadets trained to get designated brigades as well. In other news from the OKW, SHAGHER was promoted to Country Command CO and REDLEGS was promoted to Armee Branch XO.
Intelligence reports indicate that superior Axis in-game communications and cooperation among squads on objectives were a key factors in our Campaign 159 victory. The Allies are aware of this, and they have put together a strong team in AHC that will try to use these same techniques to steal back a victory in Campaign 160. We should expect strong opposition and coordinated attack and defense from the Allies through the current campaign, so we will need to step up our game even more in the coming weeks and use what we have learned about tactics and supply in the updated brigade strength/unit environment. Early days will require coordination with the Luftwaffe and truckers hauling 88s to blunt the onslaught of Matilda tanks the Allies will through at us.
Work together and help your comrades by keeping them supplied, marking targets, and using waypoints in missions. When we work as a team, we move West – and that's the goal!
Sub Machine Gunners (SMG): better equipped for close combats with 4 magazines of ammo, a grenade, and a knife.
M1928 Thompson SMG
M1A1 Thompson SMG
Sten Mk II SMG
M3A1 Grease Gun SMG
Mas38 SMG
Beretta SMG
MP40 SMG
Trucks: Trucks are capable of deploying a fortified mobile spawn point, transporting infantry, re-supplying any ground unit, and towing small anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns.
Opel Blitz (German Truck)
Laffly S-20 (French Truck)
Bedford Truck (US & British Truck)
Fairmile B Patrol Ship (Royal Navy, French Navy, Kriegsmarine): patrol ship fits within the rivers across the game map. It can transport infantry. It has a 2 Pounder anti-tank gun on the bow, several machine guns, a single and double barrel anti-aircraft gun that fires a devastating high-explosive round.
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." - George S. Patton
The Germans have began attacking marking the opening stages of Campaign 160. Report to a local command post for orders, your help is needed! The Army is recruiting and in need of more Rifleman. HAVE YOU ENLISTED? Check the state of the fronline and the latest stats on our WORLD@WAR GAZETTE.
HIGH COMMANDS
Westy91 is taking command of the Allied side from Hateract. Thank you for your dedicated efforts!
Campaign #159 has come to an end as Axis Forces captured 9 Allied factories. Intermission will begin shortly with FREE ACCESS FOR ALL and NO SPAWN DELAY. Its duration will be announced at a later date.
Here's a quick review of version 1.35.16.2 which will be coming this next week. Several bug fixes, two critical ones (DLL and DPI), increased player placed object lifetimes, some art updates, bomb ballistic coefficient updates and more. Plenty of good things going into this one.
We're continuing to make improvements where available and these notes do not reflect the entirety of our efforts here at CRS (such as 1.36 hybrid supply [which is nearing closed beta] and finding network improvements).
If you didn't take the new Steam survey to vote for you most wanted game changes, please share your opinion here. If you love the project and want to help us move faster, the #1 way to support WWII Online's game development is to subscribe to our game! Sharing your comments on the store to attract more players is also a great contribution!
WWII Online: Version 1.35.16.2 - February 2019
This release is a hotfix for numerous issues that came up with the latest release.
Bug Fixes
The FlaK36's (88) collider has been adjusted so it doesn't hit the top of the FB tent
Bombs that were not showing explosions are now fixed
The British M10 and Achilles decals have been fixed so that they are no longer upside down
Fixed a clipping issue for the Fuel Tanks, Loading Docks, AF Bunker, Castle Wall, Mansion Stairs and Church
The Mobile Spawn box will now remember if it has been unchecked
The PzIIc and Pz38(t) commander's view has been fixed to be in line with the gunner's view
Corrected an issue during installation that required external DLL files to be installed
Disabled High DPI scaling by default
Adjusted Content
An "Instrument" view (num-pad .) has been added to the FlaK36 (88) in order to assist players with seeing in front of the shield
The Credits have been updated
PPOs now have a 120 minute life span
Tank Traps and Gun Emplacements will have a 240 minute life span
Bomb Ballistic Coefficient (BC) values have been updated so that they are closer to the real-life values
The Netcode3 option is now removed from being in the Preferences menu and will be forced to being enabled
Country flags, next to town names, have been updated to look better and sharper
The M10 and Achilles internal sounds have been updated to match other units
The gunner's forward view port for the Pz3-L and Pz3-N has been unblocked
The old crew members for the SA 37mm have been retired and replaced with updated crew members
The internal art for the Churchill tanks has been updated
Keysie has been added to the Fallen Soldier Memorial
The Sdkfz 7/2 SPAA's Bofors has been replaced with the Flak37 model