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Unidentified Ship Spotted!

New ship spotted


Guess which ship it is!

Hotfix: Version 1.36.6.1

We released a small hotfix that fixes a few critical game issues that came up with recent releases.
  • Fixed "Capture Point" building staircase, removes bouncing and re-enables capturing
  • Fixed an issue with "Server Tracked Object Bombs" not killing a variety of vehicles
  • Fixed an issue with "mortarman smoke rounds" which were causing massive lag spikes
  • Fixed "player ping info" (num lock) that was showing inaccurate high values

Aircraft Damage Model, Patch notes & new campaign 175

Aircraft Damage Model Overhaul!


These new changes outlined are going live as of today with the release of version 1.36.6.0. Significant work has been done to make WWII Online's aircraft damage models more realistic than they have ever been before. The work and level of detail of this task was astonishing. Based on various historical WWII and Post War WWII AC component and survive-ability documents such as AC Aluminum Alloy Studies, Aircraft Vulnerability and Armament Effectiveness Studies, Ammunition vs AC Fuel tank Studies, and other WWII AC damage oriented documentation, the effort to properly calculate, integrate, and then verify "real-world results" tailored around the uniqueness of every airframe component has taken several months of work and multiple rounds of testing to accomplish. Continue reading for more information.

As an example, on most WWII Online airframes, the wings are made up of multiple airfoil components of varying shapes, sizes, and airfoil designs, for each wing segment from root to tip. Up to now, all of those components have shared the same damage levels even though realistically, a much beefier root segment should be able to absorb more damage before failure than an outboard or wing tip section.

There are also new changes with the differences in survive-ability between airframe designs. Previously, the differences in survive-ability between smaller early war airframe designs and their heavier and/or larger mid and later war contemporaries were not very well represented (if at all in some cases), with some airframes like the Bf109E vs the Bf109G series, or the Spit MkI vs the Spit MkIX sharing the same exact damage levels.

No more.

Now, through Scotsman's painstaking WWII AC airframe and component survive-ability studies and its application to our models through base airframe mass and area computations, not only does each component making up a larger airframe structure such as a wing or fuselage group have different damage levels between each other, but they are now noticeably different between the same components among the different series of aircraft in an aircraft type or model. In other words, it takes fewer hits for damage/failure in the airframe components of a 109E than in a 109G, or a Spit MkI vs. a Spit MkIX.

And last but definitely not least... Due to some inconsistencies in some of the models for both fighters and bombers, the fuselage damage to all airframes was not being consistently modeled. In a model that for whatever reason did not have a "breakpoint" in its 3D model between the wings and the empennage (like the Bf110's, DB7/Boston, and the He111), while you could damage the fuselage components to the point of failure making them much more draggy and less aerodynamically efficient, you could never "break" them. Now the fuselages for ALL planes, both Fighters, and Bombers, will "break" when they reach their maximum damage/failure point. In most models like the Bf110's and the majority of the other fighters, you will be able to see the fuselage actually break and the empennage or the parts that make up the empennage depart the aircraft. In some models that still need their 3D fuselage "breakpoints" modeled, while you will not be able to see the fuselage break, you will still see the visual parts making up the empennage depart the aircraft, and in both cases, the flight model components representing the fuselage and the empennage (controlling the flight dynamics) responding in an identical fashion rendering the plane no longer flight-worthy or controllable.

We know that all of our Pilots and AA gunners have been asking for an AC damage review for the longest time... and well, that day has finally come! Special thanks to Scotsman for his painstaking research and component damage level application algorithms, to Hatch and Xoom for the painstaking and laborious implementation into all of the models, and to Oldzeke and the QA team for the extensive testing to make sure it all worked like we thought it should.

We hope you all enjoy it!



Here is the Readme for today's patch


World War II Online
Version 1.36.6.0 - August 2020
=========================================

This release consists of many updates and bug fixes.


=========================================
Bug Fixes
=========================================

- Corrected the Daimler driver to be counted as a critical hit

- Fixed the issue causing vehicle hulks to disappear immediately

- Fixed the problem that allowed 20mm AP rounds to kill Churchill tanks

- Repaired the Sdkfz 7/36 SPAA hitmap to conform with the crew members

- Corrected an issue that was causing propeller spinners to disappear

- Numerous terrain issues and tweaks have been made to correct terrain anomalies

- The riding positions for the Morris has been fixed

- Fixed a clipping issue in four different buildings

- Corrected the issue causing the PaK36 to slide down a hill

- The red ammo counter lights within the 109F2, 109F4 and 109G have been corrected to show for the proper weapons


=========================================
Updates
=========================================

- All water shaders have been updated to represent better looking water


- Crew members for the M1, 6-Pdr and PaK38 have been updated with newer models

- Updated a bunch of different unit images within the unit selection menu

- Multiple building textures have been updated with higher resolution textures

- The initial game splash screen has been updated to an updated version of the 1.17 style

- The FlaK38 model has been updated to a more realistic model

- The Infantry Field of View (FOV) has been increased in order to allow for better situational awareness

- The sounds for MG17 and MGFF weapons has been updated

- Some grass textures now render more smoothly as you approach them

- The barriers at some rivers has been removed to allow for larger ships to go up rivers

- Chain linked fences near docks have been updated to allow for players to shoot through it

- New bunkers have been added to Dinant, Schilde, Grobbendonk, Leuven, Namur, Verdun, Longwy, Ramet, Tielt and Vlissingen

- Translations have been updated for the recent changes

- The FW190 ammo counters have been updated to show for only cannon weapons

- Updated aircraft component damage levels to better achieve more realistic values and functionality


=========================================
New Content
=========================================

- Added an "Airbored" picture to a bunker



Campaign 174 Ends - Allies Victorious


After 25 days of hard fought ground the Allies captured 95% of the map and met victory conditions for the win of Campaign 174. In one respect the victory was different than other campaigns as the Allies never captured any of the 4 Axis factory towns. Capturing factory towns reduces the production of weapons and war materials by delaying resupply and usually leads to a more rapid conclusion as the defender loses the ability to match the enemy supply. The allies bypassed the Rotterdam area and drove east well into Germany before driving north and cutting off all remaining northern Axis forces. A risky endeavor as many Axis garrison towns remained in the rear to cause havoc and disruption. In the end, the Allies wrapped it up with huge win. Again congrats to the Allied High Command and the Allied player base. As we know, no two campaigns are alike so get ready for more action soon!

Top Players for Campaign 174

TOP KILLERS:

1. Cptzambie with 2,586 kills with a whopping 4,008 sorties - Great job!

2. Stoy - with 2,585 kills and 2,700 sorties.

3. N8 - with 2,194 kills and 2,046 sorties.


TOP CAPPERS
  1. Doctorit2 - with 644 captures in 1,352 sorties - Great job!
  2. Sgthenning with 568 captures and 2,238 sorties.
  3. D0c7 with 481 captures and 2,020 sorties.



TOP FIGHTER
  1. Zippy with 346 kills and only 38 deaths - Great job!
  2. Halsey with 258 kills and only 52 deaths
  3. Panda1k with 218 kills and 56 deaths.



TOP TRUCKERS
1. Actonman and his 2nd account Actonmaniac logged 504 trucker missions in the last campaign far eclipsing the next highest who is the Allied Commander in Chief (CinC) Jwrona who has 299 trucker missions. A thankless mission and duty but necessary for any side to advance. A reminder, DO YOUR SHARE OF TRUCKING... Tow guns and drive FMS's to targets.

Finally, a hat tip to the Allied FB players. A small of team of them kept most FB's allied for the entire campaign. An under recognized accomplishment so S!



Next Campaign 175
No rest for the weary.... Campaign 175 will start Friday, August 14, 2020 at about 4:30 PM server time (PST). Axis High Command members are meeting by Zoom conference on Thursday evening and the Allied High Command will meet one hour before campaign start on Friday. The senior commands of both sides remain the same. The Axis CinC is Googs and the Allied CinC is Jwrona.


Note a game change for new Campaign: Side lock timers are changing from 15 minutes to 1 hour. This means if you wish to change sides between missions you will be locked out from one side to the other side for an hour.







S! Cornered Rat Software

Terrain Upgrades & All-Access Weekend Event

From our president Xoom:

The Production team is at it again continuing his work on terrain texture upgrades, with enhanced new railways and fields. We also have a Special Paratrooper Event this Sunday at 11AM PST on the Training (Events) Server. All-access has been granted on the Campaign and Training server(s) between now and Sunday night to encourage player participation - this access is extended to all WWII Online players (past and present) from WWIIOnline.com and Steam. Please join us this weekend and be sure to bring a friend along!

TERRAIN UPGRADES

We'd like to thank our environment team working on the game for their continued efforts - they are changing the way WWII Online looks! Please enjoy.










From ou Community manager TMAN:

Join us on Sunday, August 9, 2020 starting at 11:00 AM server time (PST) for Operation "SUMMER RAIN." This is a paratrooper focused special event which will be held on the Training Server. We expect large para operations during the event but it will not be limited to paras. It will be a combined arms event involving land, sea, and air equipment. Also, Campaign 174 rages on with the Allies advancing deep into Germany and the Axis fighting to defend their factory town of Frankfurt. For updates from the Allied and Axis Commanders in Chief.....

FREE FOR ALL - OPERATION "SUMMER RAIN"

This is another in our series of Cornered Rats Software (CRS) special events. Like the last one, this one will be held on the Training server starting at 11:00 AM server time (PST) on Sunday, August 9, 2020. The Campaign server will be suspended and the arena locked for the 3 to 4-hour special event. Join the Rats and the High Commands from both sides as we bring together the elements to create a lot of action and great battles between virtual warriors of WWII Online!

All equipment will be open to all players during the event regardless of your subscription. We will be manipulating supply around our areas of operation to present some unique challenges to both sides. We are bringing together the elements for great battles, we just need you to join us. What a great opportunity to rally your squaddies for a few hours of intense gaming action that showcases the best of our game! Be sure to download Allied or Axis Discord as we will have special communication channels for the event.




HIGH COMMAND VOLUNTEERS

We have received an influx of High Command applicants since we opened High Command access to all players. We are working rapidly to move these applicants through Officer Candidate School (OCS) and get them graduated and placed into the respective High Commands. From there, the new officers will be appointed an HC mentor who will help take them through the "Field Training" next steps of learning the High Command.

Apply to High Command by clicking below (includes all subscription types now):

Allied High Command Application Axis High Command Application

We ask for your patience as we work through the current applicants. If you have any questions along the way you can reach out to [email protected].

Finally, as announced past week, expect the next patch to be released very soon as well

S! and take care.
The Cornered Rats Software Team

High Command - Anyone is now eligible!

From our president XOOM:

WWII Online's High Command program is one of the most unique aspects of our game. An entirely player-run volunteer organization, HC officers are designed to be a force multiplier for the player base and facilitate large scale combat actions and strategic maneuvers. Until now, joining HC was restricted to "premium" subscribers only, and now everyone ranging from a Free Player, Starter and Career Subscriber (organic), and of course continuing as a Premium subscriber can access HC. Let's dig into a bit of what this means and how it could be the single most beneficial thing to happen to routine campaign operations.

WHAT MOTIVATED THIS DECISION?

As I opened up this article, Premium subscribers have been the sole and exclusive access point to being an HC officer since the beginning. Things have changed with our subscription offerings, and we have many players who are not Premium subscribers expressing an interest to serve the WWII Online community. HC officers are really vital to the in-game campaign experience and we wanted to open the option to people who desire to lead and contribute in a way that we've never done before. In theory, we've just opened up access to 100% of our player base instead of a much lesser percentage.

More players joining the High Command system will reduce the workload on the shoulders of a few and provide better coverage around the clock. Both of these combined mean the WWIIOL campaign runs healthier and players have a more enjoyable experience overall.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN?

They all remain the same as they always have, with the exception of only being a Premium subscriber. Specific requirements can be found on the application pages (seen below). You will still need to be accepted by the Officer Candidate School administrative team and pass initial entry training.

WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER JOINING?

Joining the HC program is service to your side, it's a massive education in what it takes to actually make the game run, and you are most certainly supplying leadership to the troops where it is most needed. And this actually matters a great deal as we have designed the game to be player-driven / unscripted. That's the "stuff" that makes WWIIOL tick so well and so uniquely. Real people duking it out makes for compelling gameplay, it's what keeps us coming back right?

Incentives to being in High Command:

  1. Earn maximum rank (up to side Commander in Chief).
  2. Gain access to specialty weapons:
    1. High Command Officer (Rifleman with Pistol).
    2. Ammunition Bearer (Rifleman with 4 ammo cans).
    3. Non-Commissioned Officer (Submachinegunner who can place resupply point).
  3. Broadcast rally messages across your side (.allied / .axis).
  4. Have a [C] in your name in the game text chat, recognizing you're an Officer.
  5. Have access to a special ingame High Command channel for secure strategic discussion.
  6. Move supply (divisions and brigades) across the game world.
  7. Initiate attack objectives on towns and strategic bridges.


CALLING ALL LEADERS - STEP UP!

At the end of the day, if you see yourself possessing and desiring to contribute your leadership capabilities, this is the #1 way to give back to the game community and find a great deal of fulfillment.

I'm encouraging all players who are interested to join High Command to do so and help lead your side to victory. With more officers inside of our HC system, we will see a radical improvement in campaign health, we will see stronger retention of our existing officers with a distributed workflow shared by many, and we will see the development of new players learning the ins and outs of how to succeed in the game.

On that note, I also want to strongly suggest veteran players come back to HC. Not long ago we issued Free Play to all veteran players in the game, and we'd love to see you come back and in this capacity to share your knowledge and help the game.

Steam players who wish to participate in the HC program must e-mail agm - at - corneredrats.com directly for consideration.

VISIT THE OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL APPLICATION, CLICK AN IMAGE BELOW BASED ON THE SIDE YOU WANT TO JOIN.

Axis HC application.

Allied HC application.



CRS Thanks you allCRS would like to take this opportunity to thank our active paid subscriber base for helping us keep things operational, and we hope you join us in embracing the door being opened to all who wish to participate and serve in our High Command program. We fully believe that an opportunity should be made available to any willing member in our community to contribute and serve in ways that help bolster our community and improve the game.

But without you keeping those subscriptions active, we wouldn't be here. So keep it up, let's get some more folks in HC, and get ready for some great content coming in the pipeline made possible by YOU.

SALUTE!

Readme: 1.36.6.0 (Coming August 2020)

S! WWII Online Community, today we wanted to give you a sneak peek at the upcoming release notes for version 1.36.6.0 which is scheduled for release in August 2020. This includes a massive overhaul on how aircraft components are damaged (the most realistic it has ever been), and several other good fixes to optimize gameplay. There are also several good updates ranging from increased infantry field of view, enhanced textures, improved characters on anti-tank guns, 10 new pentagon/city bunkers added in key strategic points along the frontlines, and much more. It's going to be a BIG update loaded with content for you all! Thanks for your continued subscription support making all of this possible! Please continue reading to see the full release notes.


Current version 1.36.6.0 release notes

(work in progress and may be subject to some change prior to delivery) - Estimated Delivery: August 2020

[h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]
  • Corrected the Daimler driver to be counted as a critical hit
  • Fixed the issue causing vehicle hulks to disappear immediately
  • Fixed the problem that allowed 20mm AP rounds to kill Churchill tanks
  • Repaired the Sdkfz 7/36 SPAA hitmap to conform with the crew members
  • Corrected an issue that was causing propeller spinners to disappear
  • Numerous terrain issues and tweaks have been made to correct terrain anomalies
  • The riding positions for the Morris has been fixed
  • Fixed a clipping issue in four different buildings
  • Corrected the issue causing the PaK36 to slide down a hill
  • The red ammo counter lights within the 109F2, 109F4 and 109G have been corrected to show for the proper weapons


[h2]Updates[/h2]
  • All water shaders have been updated to represent better-looking water
  • Crew members for the M1, 6-Pdr, and PaK38 have been updated with newer models
  • Updated a bunch of different unit images within the unit selection menu
  • Multiple building textures have been updated with higher resolution textures
  • The initial game splash screen has been updated to an updated version of the 1.17 style
  • The FlaK38 model has been updated to a more realistic model
  • The Infantry Field of View (FOV) has been increased in order to allow for better situational awareness
  • The sounds for MG17 and MGFF weapons has been updated
  • Some grass textures now render more smoothly as you approach them
  • The barriers at some rivers have been removed to allow for larger ships to go up rivers
  • Chain linked fences near docks have been updated to allow for players to shoot through it
  • New bunkers have been added to Dinant, Schilde, Grobbendonk, Leuven, Namur, Verdun, Longwy, Ramet, Tielt and Vlissingen
  • Translations have been updated for the recent changes
  • The FW190 ammo counters have been updated to show for only cannon weapons
  • Updated aircraft component damage levels to better achieve more realistic values and functionality


[h2]New Content[/h2]
  • Added an "Airbored" picture to a bunker in recognition of being a platinum builder


Support our development and play a greater role in this virtual war: become a premium soldier or leader!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/667291/World_War_II_Online__PREMIUM/

Join our Facebook group.


S!
Cornered Rat Software