WWII Online News

Congratulations to the Axis side who has won campaign 183 after almost a full month continuous battle, and a total of 374 567 sorties.

Campaign 184 has started so we are back to Tier 0 equipment. The only changes to this campaign are to the supply numbers for Air units. We found errors to when some units enter the war. We made these fixes and lowered the amount of supply to make them more valuable.

the new list is HERE .

Remember, WWII Online is now $9.99/mo for premium access, take this time to subscribe!

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



Now is the time to experience the command side to WWIIOL. Can you rally boots to achieve field objectives? Can you direct a bombing raid to raze the factories? Can you lead a patrol to clear the air of the enemy and give our boys air supremacy below? Sign up, now. Do it!

If you are interested in joining the High Command please submit this form

There are now two types of HC roles:

[h2]1) High Command[/h2]

The High Command is our standard entry level program that puts you in an active position to grow in rank, command position, and take priority as an active officer.

• Full time officer
  
• May become Branch Commander or Commander in Chief
  
• No rank limitation
  
• Powerful .allied / .axis communication tools
  

[h2]2) Reserve Program[/h2]

The reserve program is for squad leadership and members who want to help support the High Command program without the full-time requirement. This is beneficial to help improve game operations, but there are limitations.

• Limited to rank of Colonel
  
• Any active officer has command
  

A long time ago, in a WWII Online client far - far away... a Chapel building was introduced and is quite heavily placed throughout our game world. However around 2010 (when a new character model was introduced) the ability to climb the ladder was broken. For sometime that has been the case, but now we're very close to releasing a game update that adds in a new staircase that will once again return the former glory of fighting in this building back. Shout out to TR6AL for taking the initiative here! Screen shots of the building inside.

You see the Chapel throughout WWII Online, but you probably don't use it much anymore because well... you haven't been able to go up to the roof top for a bit. With our upcoming version 1.36.13.0 you will be able to. Pictured here is a US rifleman at the top of the tower. And yes you can jump out the back and get on the main building roof as well. So if you see this building, watch out!





We'd like to let you know that there are many continuing developments taking place here at WWII Online. You've seen progress updates on WWII Online: Chokepoint quite a bit as of late, but we wanted to show our flagship game some love and let you know that there's a lot more than this happening behind the scenes and we look forward to sharing some more news on those items shortly. This particular building will expand the footprint of play space options available and we wanted to give a shout out to everyone who really used to enjoy playing here, and let you know, it'll be valuable once again.

Thanks for your continuing subscriptions - they are helping make WWII Online development carry on with forward momentum.

Thank you, and SALUTE!

This patch has brought a massive Terrain Patch, which includes many new features and a ton of player reported fixes. A big thanks to TR6AL (our Terrain guy) for the countless hours grinding away at providing the WWII Online players continued content delivery. You'll want to read all of these notes carefully because it will have an effect on map strategy.


This update reintroduces the terrain release from 1.36.9.0 plus some additional items. Keep on using the .bug function in-game to report on known terrain related issues and TR6AL can fix them faster.

[h2]Features[/h2]

• New and improved type of pillbox's added to the game (see Lier - Aarschot FB).
  
• New ketch object added for extended early warning on some coastal towns.
  
• Two new types of lake and pond tiles added near Aarschot and Zandvliet.
  
• Small graveyard has been added to some churches.
  
• Polders terrain tilesadded, a very common form of field structure with ditches around it filled with water.
  
• Logs and stumps added as obstructions in some terrain tiles.
  
• Welcheren Causeway added to the map southeast of Veere.
  
• Road and bridge landings added to some tiles.
  
• Cows have been added to the game.
  
• New climbable crane objects added to some of the ports.
  
• Adjusted some map images to suit terrain styles (dunes).
  
• Dyle river added around Brussels.
  
• Amiens and Gilze airfield's have been upgraded.
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Chimay empty AI MG pit has been repaired.
  
• Dunkerque southwest bridge model corrected and is now crossable.
  
• Fixecourt has infantry spawns moved so the stairs are no longer blocked.
  
• Frevent- St.Pol FB has had a berm removed from the infantry spawn.
  
• Havelange warehouse has had 2 trees removed from inside.
  
• Ieper-Diksmuid spawn has had a tree removed.
  
• Ijzendijke-Terneuzen FB has had trees removed from vehicle and infantry spawns.
  
• Jodoigne- Gembleau FB has had a tree in the infantry spawn removed.
  
• Kaisersesch vehicle spawn no longer clips out of the AB walls.
  
• Knokke-Brugge FB has had a berm clipping into the infantry spawn removed.
  
• Landrecies floating building has been grounded.
  
• Lillers floating berm has been grounded.
  
• Merbes - Maubeuge FB infantry spawn is no longer buried.
  
• Montreuil - Bernay FB has had a berm removed from the infantry spawn.
  
• Northeast of Knokke has had a water tile gap fixed.
  
• Piennes barracks rear exit has been unblocked.
  
• Ronse-Tournai FB has had a tree from the infantry spawn removed.
  
• Rotterdam North Harbor floating building has been grounded.
  
• Roulers-Ieper FB has had a tree in the vehicle spawn removed.
  
• Roye empty AI towers are now fixed.
  
• Roye North AB vehicle spawn moved to fit in the AB better.
  
• Schilde tree clipping a building has been relocated.
  
• St Quentin oil tanks removed from inside a building.
  
• Stekene no longer has buildings sunk into the ground.
  
• Tielt-Kortrijk FB had a large berm removed from the infantry tents.
  
• Tielt-Roulers FB has had a tree in vehicle spawn removed.
  
• Valenciennes-Tournai FB has had a berm removed from both spawns.
  
• Verviers - Spa spawn rear exit unblocked.
  
• Vireaux - Couvin FB infantry spawn no longer floats.
  
• Waalwijk-Oosthout capture point berm has been removed.
  
• Zeebrugge-Brugge FB has had the tree removed from the vehicle tent.
  

S! Cornered Rat Software

From our President XOOM:

As we announced in our, "The Future of WWII Online", article/videos (which places all the plans on the table) - we have now completed all elements of our transition with consolidating our subscriptions and we're back to having a "Premium" subscription only. With that, we've unlocked the games original pricing of $9.99/mo (USD), this is the first time it has been at this retail rate in over 15 years.
As we said in our original announcement unveiling this plan, this is a big risk for us to take and in order for us to keep it at this rate, we're going to need to see a growth with this new rate (free players or returning players subscribing). We've done it to meet customer requests and remove as much entry barrier as possible, we can't go any lower than this. We do reserve the right to roll this back if required, as we have briefed everyone upfront.

This isn't just about keeping the lights on, or focusing strictly on what content and features you get... it's much bigger than that. It's about the FUTURE of the game. I want you all to think of this like an internal funding campaign ~ because it really is. Help us innovate and bring the next 20 years of WWII Online to the masses. We need 100% of your support - right now. Spread the word about this exciting and big news and help us get everyone involved, let's go!

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



This patch removes the "Mission Target" changes which we believe are directly responsible for the recent server crashes (sorry about that everyone). We've collected a lot of feedback from you all, and the server logs to get back to work on refining that for future deployment. WWII Online development continues and we sure appreciate your support!

World War II Online - Version 1.36.11.2 - June 2021

• Removes the new addition that allows for updating the Mission Targets
  

S! Cornered Rat Software

Monday - June 21st 2021 - 1.36.11 will be released to the live campaign server around 3-4PM Server Time (expect minimal downtime around then).

Version 1.36.11.0 re-introduces two critical roadmap deliveries that have since been fine tuned and improved upon, which are
1) Bomber Loadouts and 2) Target Change for Mission Leaders. Stutters that were occurring when large quantities of bombs were being dropped have been cleaned up nicely thanks to a joint effort between our Development and Production teams, along with a pretty rigorous test cycle by our QA team. Continue reading to see additional features and fixes.



[h2]Features[/h2]

• Bomber pilots can select their payload choice (Bomber Loadouts)
  
• Mission leaders may now adjust their "TARGET" while on the same mission
  
• Updated Playnet address within installer text and terms of service
  
• Updated Antwerp river mouth bridge texture
  
• Capture Point exterior textures updated
  
• Updated textures for AB vehicle spawn stairs and balcony
  
• Dinant hill has a new pathway for infantry
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Invisible collider removed from docks
  
• Bofors no longer able to penetrate Churchill armor
  
• Deuce and a half wheels may now be blown off independently
  
• Several enhancements to mission target change made from 1.36.9 feedback
  
• Users can no longer hover their mouse over a town to see Bomber EWS
  
• Bombs overloading CPUs resulting into crashes has been fixed
  
• Missing road texture added
  
• Riverbanks are more climb-able
  
• Map now shows larger airfields correctly
  
• Several SpeedTree fixes
  
• Corrects and issue that caused the Primary Ammo and Health HUD windows to be not movable
  

Remind that from 1July the Premium monthly subscription is going to be reduced at $9.99, and in counterpart the Starter subscription will no longer be available.

If you haven't heard about our new stand-alone FPS WWIIOnline: Chokepoint, it's time to add it to your wishlist! Read more here
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1576780/WWII_Online_Chokepoint/?l=french

S! Cornered Rat Software

From our president XOOM:

"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of WWII Online. I'd like to congratulate you all on making it to our 20th Anniversary of WWII Online, which is an extraordinary accomplishment that you should all be proud of. With that being said, we need to be looking at the future. For sometime, CRS and the Community has desired innovation into the future, so as to create the next 20 years. 87% of you said we need to do something bold - and innovative to stay relevant. Today, we have a series of extraordinary announcements to share with you that help bring us in that direction. Please watch the videos in order contained in this article."



During our 20th Anniversary virtual convention, this 6th June, there were four key announcements we covered, which included:

• Integrated Voice Communications (IVC)
  
• Steam Release
  
• Pricing and Subscriptions
  
• Technology Advancements
  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR87WUFnC90&feature=emb_title

[h2]Integrated Voice Comms[/h2]

We are rapidly approaching internal testing phases to validate IVC. For the longest time we have wanted to bring voice comms into WWII Online, without relying on any third party software to accomplish this. We are on the brink of finally achieving this extraordinary achievement which will dramatically improve player retention and overall quality of game play. This is an exciting an immersive feature with tons of benefits.

[h2]Full Steam Release[/h2]

For sometime now, WWII Online has been in "Early Access" on Steam, and it has been really valuable for us to get feedback and make important changes to set us up for the most success. Several changes have since occurred, which has made us confident that upon the completion and implementation of IVC, we will be in a position to transition from Early Access --> Full Release on Steam. We anticipate this will generate another large wave of players joining the game, populating our virtual battlefield tremendously.

[h2]Pricing And Subscriptions[/h2]

The following subscriptions will no longer be available in WWII Online as of July 1st, 2021:

• Starter
  
• All Infantry
  
• All Air Forces
  
• All Ground Forces
  

All these active subscriptions will be transitioned to the Premium account at a rate of $9.99/mo.

Our public line up for subscription plans as of July 1st 2021 will look like the following:

• 30 day free trial
  
• Free to Play (like we have now)
  
• $9.99/mo premium subscription
  
• Monthly & Yearly Hero Builder Plan(s) for our organic players (wwiionline.com)
  

[h2]Technology Advancements: migration to Unreal Engine[/h2]

During our convention we announced our intention to bring WWII Online into the Unreal Engine 4 (and eventually UE5). Our demonstration (within the above video) shows the conversion progress that we were making, that is bringing over our existing assets and popping them into the Unreal Engine to see how it'd look like.

We have a working plan that specifically states we need to bring over what we have into Unreal and then expand forward from there. We anticipate that this will take a few years to accomplish and there is some unknowns we are working to get past. The idea of getting into the Unreal Engine and then publicly announcing it to you now, is a really exciting and bold proposition.

We promised to keep you posted on the progress of these developments and need you to realize that making this move comes at a cost in some areas, some off hand would include:

• WWII Online 1.0 (current version) will receive primarily - production updates (vehicles, textures, terrain, etc)
  
• 1.0 will have almost no development taking place once IVC is completed
  
• All developers are to be transitioned to the WWII Online 2.0 (UE4 conversion) initiative
  
• We need the players to embrace this fully, as 70% of you requested we do this, and 87% of you said we need to do something bold and innovative
  

So we need 100% of your support in this effort, by subscribing - immediately - and going with the maximum plan that you can. You aren't just subscribing to keep the lights on, you are now backing us up to do some significant innovation that we must do.

We're hoping that by being this transparent and putting all the cards on the table that you have a renewed commitment - and stick with it long term. This will take years, it will not be simple and it comes at a cost as outlined above. But it IS the right call to make and we need to make the move, NOW.

Here are some before and after screenshots (1.0 vs UE4 Demo) - Please remember that this is a heavy work in progress and may not reflect the final result.




















And here we have some night time screen shot tests that put together to test out lighting effects. Do note, these are only tests and may not include the full engines capabilities - yet.














https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-QRY_h9Wlk

In order to accelerate our migration towards Unreal Engine, we have acquired the company "Talos Interactive". They have been developing a game under UE4 called "Resistance & Liberation," which has now been re-branded to WWII Online: Chokepoint and is now a part of the WWII Online family / community.
They are now part of Cornered Rat Software as Wing 2, specializing in future development of 2.0 within the Unreal Engine 4 - soon to be Unreal Engine 5.

WWII Online: Chokepoint is an authentic F2P WW2 Multiplayer Tactical Shooter, driven by teamwork and built-in voice comms.
Join 1 of 4 fireteam size elements as either an NCO, Rifleman, Support Gunner, Machine Gunner, Sniper or Engineer - all who are performing a variety of essential tasks leading to the success of your team.
Chokepoint focuses on making experiences authentic and enjoyable, without making things gamey and unrealistic. Expect methodical play and enjoy a minimalistic HUD for maximum suspension of disbelief.

Chokepoint will be offered as a standalone game, where we can validate new assets, tools and concepts, to be ultimately used in WWIIONLINE 2.0 as well.

Here are some important benefits through this:

• We have a new team working on this - it doesn't take away from WWII Online 1.0-->2.0 conversion
  
• It will be F2P, with extras for players subscribed to our franchise
  
• We've been able to develop new content, assets and IP to support future growth into the Unreal Engine - the destination for WWII Online 2.0.
  
• Intellectual Property created in Chokepoint will be available for WWII Online 2.0
  
• Each game supports one another
  
• We'll attract more development personnel to bolster efforts
  
• We are tapping into a different demographic who can still appreciate our game
  

This acquisition represents the creation of the WWII Online Franchise where users will access content in both games. So one account will open privileges in both games simultaneously.

WWIIOnline.com will host both WWII Online and WWII Online: Chokepoint under a single banner, and they will help attract players to one another and advance our technology forward in a big way.

Welcome aboard to the RnL community!

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

Here's the short teaser trailer we plan to have on our Steam Store page (coming in June 2021).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-d1qGy1hmw


Now more than ever is a great opportunity for everyone who has ever been a fan of WWII Online, to embrace all of this exciting news as a call to action, on your part and ours. CRS is putting ourselves out there, listening to your feedback and now making an extraordinary high number of commitments to do the best we can. But it's not all on CRS, we need the community's support - 100% of it to pull this off. And we promise to keep you appraised of developments on a monthly basis (this isn't one of those things we announce and go quiet on).

Pick up your original yellow game box, and realize this is our moment to do that again, and this time we'll be doing it openly - with you.

To achieve these goals we need to solve our #1 problem: Getting full time developers working on WWII Online 2.0. If you are a C++ programmer with the time and commitment, step up and volunteer with us so we can do this together, www.wwiionline.com/volunteer. If you're not a programmer, become a subscriber right away.

The future is bright and has tremendous potential. It's what we do now that makes the difference. Subscribe, right away, and support this. Standby for future funding initiatives which were requested during this convention.

One last thing: Please spread the word. There's so much news that we're spilling out here for you that we need folks to really understand the magnitude of it. Share this article, the videos and let's rally around this.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the prospect of WWII Online's future. It's in our hands now - let's DO THIS!

Subscribe to WWII Online (account pages).

S!

Matt "Xoom" Callahan
President and CEO
Playnet, Inc. / CRS
[email protected]