WWII Online News

Operation Amplify is WWII Online's next large-scale live campaign operation, now featuring integrated voice comms.

Everything has been unlocked for all players (returning vets, new users, and steam users) for the weekend of January 8th (Jan 6-7-8) with the actual operation being on Sunday, January 8th at 12PM Pacific (2PM Central, 3PM Eastern).

Operations are the best way to experience the game in full scale, so be sure to register now on our discord #global-ops channel (click here) directly.

As this year comes to a close, we wanted to take this opportunity to look at many accomplishments and achievements around here. It goes without saying that the WWII Online community’s continued participation in playing, subscribing, and advocating this game to others is essential in enabling our continuation and growth. To that end, we thank you sincerely, for providing the RATS this opportunity. Please continue reading and share your commentary within. S!


Since the beginning, the community has been asking for artillery and it’s come in swinging providing a whole new dimension to the game. These weapons can be used to lob shells over 10km using server-tracked rounds. It’s an amazing thing to see them being used in-game and the cross-coordination has provided a whole new element to teamwork. We actually have new special effects (visual and sound) on the plan for future implementation which will make these howitzers even more awesome.



WWII Online has seen the use of Roger Wilco, Teamspeak 1 / 2 / 3, and now Discord for the last few years, and finally, we have brought voice comms directly into the game. This has created a very powerful experience with players being able to talk locally with any friendly combatant, and using long-range radios to ensure communication can exist for the Air, Land, and Sea.

We had a goal of getting this out before Christmas and we made it happen. Our team is presently ironing this out so it performs even better, and is a bit more stable (server-side) and we’re going to be expanding some channel availability which will include a private High Command channel and a Target channel.

Target channel will open the door for cross-communication in combined arms situations providing everyone has the same target selected on their mission, just like our current target (text) chat works. This was highly requested and will become the new “DEFAULT” voice channel in the near future.


We introduced four new 81mm motorized mortars to WWII Online enabling rapidly deployable indirect fire capabilities. During this time we were testing and sorting out the implementation of the artillery in a more controlled environment and leveraging some existing assets. The British Universal Carrier we had before was a Mk II but the mortar carrier was actually a Mk I variant, so it required an entirely new model from the chasse up. The M3 Halftrack version for the US/French forces also required extensive renewal work inside the model as well. The German Halftrack was probably the most straightforward model only requiring minimal renovation inside to make it fit its historical presentation.

• British - 3in Universal Carrier
  
• American/French - 81mm Halftrack
  
• German - 81mm Halftrack
  

Free Play access was expanded to include base-level fighter access (BF-109E/1, Hawk 75, Hurricane Mk 1 and all-new P-40B) to help grow and develop the air community more.

We developed one of the biggest expansions to the Paratrooper set since the original release of paratroopers many years ago which included:

• Parachute turn rate/speed increased for greater maneuverability
  
• New Paratrooper canisters: Long range ammo canisters to resupply ground forces for Para NCOs
  
• New Para NCO: SMG w/deployable ammo canister (Hero Builders Only)
  
• New Para Combat Engineer: HE (x4) + Repair Kits (x2), able to be re-armed 50% by ammo cans in field
  
• New Para RPATs: Bazooka, PIAT and Panzerschrek
  

The long-awaited M1919A6 was added to the US kit, and the MG42 was also developed and added as an infantryman and as a later-tier Sd. Kfz 251 halftrack variant.




Infantry visibility was increased to 1,000m and trees were extended to about 4.5km. This is good information to have for better detection of these objects making the experience more true and realistic.


Finally, the long-awaited German Ju-88 was added to WWII Online. This was our first ground-up aircraft that CRS 2.0 has done and let’s just say we picked a really complicated model. For those of you waiting on the Wellington, please note that it is in development still and we’re hoping to get it out there in the beginning of 2023, so it will make the roadmap and we haven’t stopped working on it fyi.

Upon the roll-out of the Wellington, we will be including new load-out options for the Ju-88 (and the Wellington).


Our terrain producer TR6AL is an absolute machine. The work involved with developing new towns and ensuring all links are working is no short of a huge task. In the continued pursuit of expanding the playable area of WWII Online, 40 new towns added is a big deal. Further, the expansion up north into the Holland area represents an opportunity for us to remove the Zealand “cut” and preserve naval gameplay. The bay area up north could become quite the sea battle at some point and we look forward to seeing its continued development.

The new towns of: Aumetz, Blerancourt, Coucy-le-Chateau, Maartensdijk, Hilversum, Huizen, Muiden, Woudenberg, Ede, Elst, Zeist, Utrecht, Culemborg, Vianen, Bruinisse, De-Cochsdorp, Scheveningen, Ijmuiden, Herdecke, Castrop-Rauxel, Herne, Zwolle, Hoogeveen, Meppel, Eursinge, Arnhem, Renkum, Franeker, Harlingen, Woerden, Amsterdam East, Amsterdam West, Mijdrecht, Leiden, Alphen Aan Den Rijn, Haarlem, Aalsmeer, Hillegom, Dortmund, and Limburg have been added to the game.




Our Community Management and HC teams have been working closely to bring a larger-scale game play experience for everyone through newly founded, "Operations." We have seen a very large and positive impact from these OPS and intend to continue them with supplemental unlocks for users to incentivize attendance and show what else could be accessed along the way.

Here's one of our population graphs showing routine population and how these have a sizable bump.




Garrison supply has been reduced to about 50% strength of an infantry brigade now, making moveable units a bit more powerful. This was done because we're a bit more comfortable that High Command has sufficient staffing to manage these. The strategic element of WWII Online is important to preserve and expand on and this is a big step in that direction. We'd like to give OHM and TMAN big kudos on their continued efforts to make campaign changes transparent and take in community feedback to help guide them. In this regard, it's the best it has ever been.

Additionally, capture timers were reduced slightly and that resulted in more participation in terms of captures and overall sorties. Both of these are healthy as we want to keep WWII Online moving and not get stagnant. Here are some details on the differences between Campaign 190 and 191 in terms of captures and the average number of sorties.






And for a little fun, here are some stats on some of the RATS for 2022, ranked by TOP KILLERS.

Rat / kills/ deaths / k/d ratio
mandrill / 2816 / 1831 / 1.5379574
jcd / 2123 / 908 / 2.33810573
kempi / 2080 / 1317 / 1.579347
xoom / 895 / 593 / 1.50927487
pilotmc / 807 / 1460 / 0.55273973
chimm / 750 / 845 / 0.88757396
tman / 374 / 296 / 1.26351351
oldzeke / 331 / 127 / 2.60629921
tex64 / 294 / 591 / 0.49746193
corn / 271 / 78 / 3.47435897
trevor8 / 241 / 123 / 1.95934959
james10 / 177 / 205 / 0.86341463
zebbeee / 147 / 288 / 0.51041667
b2k / 69 / 222 / 0.31081081
ohm / 38 / 164 / 0.23170732
sniper62 / 31 / 25 / 1.24
tr6al / 20 / 9 / 2.22222222
imbrutus / 7 / 21 / 0.33333333
frisbone / 5 / 8 / 0.625


2022 was a magnificent year of development success and we got a lot of our long-awaited deliveries out there. It has also demonstrated that CRS 2.0 has increased its knowledge and capabilities with the code base, and our team overall has grown quite a bit. A massive congratulations to all of our staff and contributors who have worked so tirelessly - and relentlessly - to pursue a better future for WWII Online. For full details on what was added (features and fixes) to WWII Online, please check out our wiki page here: https://wiki.wwiionline.com/view/Readme_1.36 and https://wiki.wwiionline.com/view/Readme_1.37.

The CRS leadership team is currently ironing out details on the 2023 roadmap and things are shaping up there. Once we have everything worked out we will of course articulate what that plan is for you all, and we think you’re going to like it.

I can tell you it will be quite a bit different than what you’re used to with an emphasis on future development. We will have some work-in-progress items to share with you and give you a solid briefing on what to expect for the year.

To all of you who are subscribed, I want to send my personal thank you. Probably the most difficult (and undesirable - but necessary) decision we had to make this year was to roll back our price point. I want to encourage you by saying those of you who have remained and returned to your subscriptions you’ve made it possible for innovation to once again start taking place. You will see the fruit of that labor articulated in the 2023 roadmap and have a more clear understanding of what CRS is doing to take it further.

From all of us at Playnet / Cornered Rat Software, we hope you had a great holiday with your family and wish you a very Happy New Year. The team at CRS is primarily comprised of those who were players first and share the same passion you do for our future. During this re-charge, we’re prepping to do some pretty significant things and your patience and support will be paramount. You’ll stay looped in the whole time. Be sure to take this time to get folks off the sidelines and back into the fight where we the game needs them.

S!

Matt “XOOM” Callahan
Director | Executive Producer
Playnet, Inc. / CRS

https://store.steampowered.com/app/667291/WWII_Online__Accs_Premium/


Connect to our Social Media to get more updates and help us gain visibility to grow the community and reach new players to play with:

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/wwiionline
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOQ90QTMviaKRqIMlUthW2A TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@wwiionline Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/corneredrats Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WWIIOnline Twitter: https://twitter.com/corneredrats

Have a look at our current Roadmap, and see its progress on our TRELLO.


Wishlist our next game Chokepoint, a prelude to WWIIOnline 2.0!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1576780/WWII_Online_Chokepoint/

Happy Holidays everyone! This patch introduces Integrated Voice Communications (IVC) to WWII Online, forever changing gameplay for the better! Starting now, all players will be connected to voice comms with no third-party software required. This is a massive breakthrough in our technology and will work to retain new players, improve the current experience and develop squads and battles further. You'll get local 3D proximity chat and a variety of primary radio channels to help you connect tactical and squad communications like never before!

Keep reading to learn more and see our Wiki (manual) inside. Thanks for your continued support as a subscriber, making developments like these possible. Salute!


World War II Online


Introducing Integrated Voice Communications to WWII Online!

IVC Wiki Page / Manual found here: https://wiki.wwiionline.com/view/IVC

Features

• Lobby voice radio channel for general comms and choosing sides
  
• Side voice radio channels active when no mission has been selected (Separate Axis, Allied channels)
  
• Mission radio channels (side unique) becomes primary radio channel (whether spawned or not)
  
• Squad voice radio channel for dedicated squad ops (always available)
  
• In-game 3D voice chat providing attenuated and directional positional-based voice audio
  
• Configurable key mapping
  
• Cycle through available voice channels
  
• Transmit on selected voice channel (PTT)
  
• 3D voice activation (talking)
  
• Temporary IVC Disable (Mute/Deafen) for tense moments
  
• IVC Hud Enable/Disable
  
• IVC Hud displays who is talking, Icons over talking players (Radio vs 3D Chat)
  
• IVC Configuration
  
• Voice audio input/output device selection
  
• Input/Ouput volume
  
• Enable/Disable channel types (uncheck all for IVC opt-out)
  
• Sensitive to .ignore list for muting other players
  

Note: There is a planned follow-up release to expand on IVC and some extra polish items, after the holidays. Please enjoy!

A tremendous amount of work has gone into delivering Integrated Voice Communications to you all. We'd like to thank our developers, testers, and operations team for a full-on collaboration in making this technically achievable and workable in time for you this holiday.

S!
Cornered Rat Software


Don't forget to subscribe and support the war effort! Each person here makes a big difference, so please do back the team up - thanks!

WWII Online's next major game operation - is coming December 4th 2022 at 10 am Pacific/12 PM Central/ 1PM Eastern US/ 7 PM Brussels. With already 100 players signed up, it is poised to be a significantly large campaign operation. This time we'll be unlocking all tanks (with no rank restrictions) for veteran and free players alike, including Steam users.

Register now on our Discord server events section (click here), and be sure to pass the word to get more players/squads there. Check out our promo video (inside) for this OP assembled by CHIMM - see you there!

Check out our promo video provided by CHIMM!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt32gVMRCMU

Artwork by Propa

Introducing OPERATION FURY V, a global Campaign event for Allied and Axis players to join!

We have unlocked free ALL INFANTRY access (free for Veterans and Free Players) for this weekend!

On the 20th of November, this Sunday, 12PM Server Time (12PM PST/2PM CST/3PM EST/8PM GMT), the Allied and Axis players of WWII ONLINE will engage in a global campaign event. With over 100 players already committed to the event and another 50 tentatively attending, there will be targets and mayhem galore!

No other game can provide the scale of air, land, and sea like WWII ONLINE so join the fun, register for the event on Discord, and get in-game EARLY. Whether to bring up additional supply of tanks or airplanes from rear supply depots, battles such as these will likely hinge on logistics, or take the time to fine-tune your equipment keymaps; whatever the reason, early coordination PRIOR to the attack can make all the difference before the chaos of massed tanks, fighters, bombers, ground and airborne infantry, and 105mm howitzer artillery barrages disrupt the battlefield.

You, the players, working in conjunction with the player-run High Command organization will dictate the when and where of battle so buckle up, shuffle to the door with shouts of “Geronimo!”, batten down the hatches, and wind up the engines as we all engage in a vicious Götterdämmerung.


If you have never experienced WWII ONLINE, or currently free-to-play, have a lapsed subscription, CRS has generously granted you ALL INFANTRY access for the weekend. This means ALL submachine guns, automatic rifles, machine guns, anti-tank soldiers with RPATs are available for you to enjoy.

Next steps:

• Register on the official WWII Online Discord Server at https://discord.gg/wwiionline
• Select the “global-event” channel and select your commitment to battle
  
• If needed, go to the “welcome” channel to pick a side and be assigned the proper Discord roles
  

WWII Online is community-driven and 100% player-funded as we continue our efforts to transition the game to Unreal Engine 5. In the coming months, we will begin to further showcase our present efforts toward UE5. Our game continues only because of our dedicated gaming community which pays a monthly subscription which not only maintains the game but provides us with the financial resources to maintain and acquire the tools, talent, and infrastructure to continue our journey to UE5. We hope that you will subscribe to join us!

Our most recent update is 1.36.19 - Readme.

Field Artillery Article – https://www.wwiionline.com/community-notes/reports/field-artillery-in-wwii-online

See you at the Front!