WWII Online News

There are some important (positive) changes coming to new accounts, as to the Starter Subscription - Effective June 1st, 2019.
The results of the Welcome Back period during May, combined to our latest community surveys, confirmed the opportunity to adapt our offer. These changes will be made to both our organic and Steam channels. (Content additions added in article)

We believe these changes to be well received and should encourage more players to subscribe and have a more enjoyable on-boarding experience to WWII Online. Career Based Subscriptions announced for the organic channel are in development and closing in on being ready, more details to follow. 


Every player creating a new account will get a 2 week premium trial. Rank restrictions and Tier restriction will still apply.
Once the trial period ends, they will keep a free access with the rifleman unit.
This change applies to both organic and Steam players.


We decided to add more content to the existing starter subscriptions with armored cars, medium tanks and bombers. These will automatically be unlocked for all our existing starter subscribers as well:

• Armored Cars
  • German: SdKfz 232
  • British & US: Daimler
  • French: Panhard 178
• German Tanks
  • Panzer III H
  • Panzer IV G
• British Tanks
  • Crusader Mk II
  • Churchill Mk III
• French & US Tanks
  • Somua S-35
  • M4A2 Sherman
• Bomber Aircraft
  • German: Ju-87B (Stuka Dive Bomber)
    
  • Allied Forces: Blenheim Mk I and Blenheim Mk IV

This will also ensure the Starter subscription is more viable beyond just Tier 0-1, and it marks the very first time we've opened up Aerial Bombardment options for Starter subscriptions, which comes by pair with the return of FB bombing in the next patch.
Note that this extra content is not added to the DLC packs.

CURRENT STARTER SUB CONTENT(reminder)

• Infantryman
  • Rifleman
  • Submachine Gun
  • Mortarman
  • Grenadier
  • All Paratroopers
• Paratrooper Transport Planes (All)
• German Tanks: Panzer IIc, Panzer III F
• British Tanks: Vickers, A-13
• French Tanks: Renault 35, Hotchkiss 39
• Light Anti-Tank Guns: Tier 0
• Light Anti-Aircraft Guns: Tier 0
• Base Fighter Aircraft
  • Bf-109E1
  • Bf-110c
  • Hurricane Mk I
  • Spiftire Mk Ia
  • Hawk 75
  • Dewotine 520
• Armed Patrol Boat
• 2 Rotating Premium Unlocks Per Campaign

We need your help to raise awareness about these changes and should also let you know this is the lowest price entry for a subscription that we've ever gone (or will) go to!

We fully expect that new users joining the game will have an optimal experience with not just the 2 week premium trial but now a very fulfilling and competent line up  of vehicle unlocks with our starter subscription. For the price, you can't argue the value at this stage.

As always, the #1 way to get maximum access is to become a Premium subscriber which is $14.99/mo.

FROM SCKING (QA LEAD):

coming 1.36.1.0 Release Overview
Happy Friday! I had asked Xoom if I could do the Friday Dev report this week in order to talk about the development that is in the pipeline and my team is currently testing. We are working on 1.36.1.0 which is our first release after the big release of Hybrid Supply. We aimed for this release to be a “Maintenance” release to try and focus on the little bugs that have been around. Both the production team and development team have been focused on these tasks. That doesn’t mean we have ignored adding a few features to this release as well.

 Some fixes we have in this release are:

•  Offline Clones are finally fixed. They can finally be placed in whichever direction and be killed as well.
• Many model texture fixes and even some new textures. The R35 will have a new texture, several of the infantry weapons will have new textures, some tanks have had minor texture fixes as well. The ultra bright interior of the 251 has been changed.

• Added the Barb Wire PPO to the Italian Rifle, Flak38 to depot and FMS spawning.
• Fix some tracer round issues with both JU87s as well as the Vickers.
• Many terrain fixes as well as fixing clipping issues into many different building types have been taken care of.
• Improper ownership data showing in some towns should now show the proper information.
• Bomber EWS will no longer show in the Mouse Hover on towns.

 We are still working on a few other fixes that we hope will make this release but haven’t finished testing yet. With the limited resources we have, we weren’t able to fix everything that we wanted but already have another “Maintenance” release planned for the near future that is populated with bugs we could not get to in this release and will add more as we find them.

 Some new things that are planned to show up in this release:

• AAR will now have a tab that will list what you killed and show you the name of the person who was operating that weapon.
• Contact report removal by the player that placed the contact report.
• To add more targets for the bombers, we have added the ability for bombers to partially destroy a Forward Base. You will still need to get boots on the ground to finish it off, but bombs can now destroy the vehicle spawn and the others tents but can not damage the infantry spawn. This will also draw more bombers towards the FBs which in turn will give the AA guns more targets at the FBs. And maybe with more bombers in the air, it will spur on more fighters.
• We have updated Brussels airfield with a new design

 The lists above are just some of the fixes that will be a part of 1.36.1.0. We have approximately 80 tickets in this version. As long as we do not run into any hiccups, we plan to release around the end of the month.

 As a small volunteer team, we at CRS are putting in a lot of time to help try and better the game for everyone. Our community is very passionate about this game and everyone has a different view of what is best for the game. We appreciate your subscriptions. Without your subscriptions, keeping the servers running, so that we can all play the game, would not be possible. Attached are just a couple before and afters for the R35 and Sdkfz251.

 S!

 SCKING – QA Team Lead

From XOOM:

So you've all heard about this big glorious patch called "1.36 Hybrid Supply." We've talked about it for the last couple of years and we're right now in the middle of the first Campaign of this, and we have some great observations to share with you. Here's the big news: it's working as intended, and has received an 84% approval rating from in-game polling. Players are now deciding where to go, supply is available for all personas on a greater scale, High Command officers are not overburdened and that old school WWII Online feel of battles is back! Let's dive into this update and get some more detail.


Our team worked very hard on the design and implementation of 1.36. It was a great illustration of CRS tackling a long standing large issue, and we made a very intentional effort to incorporate player feedback from both sides. While we don't aim to say it is perfect, it's a really great step in the right direction for the game.

A list of day-day improvements

• A climb in concurrent user population
• Supply for all play types more available
• No more soft-caps
• No more time zone 3 cut offs
• High Command is spending time to help the community
  • Communicating priorities and direction
  • Moving optional brigade supply
  • Establishing AO's for towns and bridges
    • More bridge AO's were recently added to help with the whole map
  • HC Officers personally feel a bit relieved / enjoying the game again
• It's easier to navigate to battles using right click --> join garrison
• We're seeing a lot more mobile spawns in game
  • Recent changes helped make mobile spawns go up faster, and closer to enemy towns
• Attrition battles are a thing
• Overstocking is actually happening, and it's really easy to do
• And with overstocking, comes interdiction! (That's where you blow up that poor tank enroute to resupply his base)
• Zealand Island area is more stable / not getting cut off quickly
  • Every Port has supply and an Army Garrison
  • Recent new town additions in the north are increasing and stabilizing strategic value
• We've seen a rise in the .j (.join) command, where users can quickly join each others mission by text command
• Army Base ownership change does not boot all supply from the town, sustaining the battle

Kilemall: 1.36's biggest change isn't town-based garrisons/limited ToEs. It's the AB cap doesn't bounce the list. It's the sleeper change, and absolutely huge.

Jsilec: So lowpop cant cutoff 3 divisions while we sleep anymore? imagine that.

Matamor: No more softcapping. No more warping brigade system. No more unlimited flags stacks pilling. No more people yelling and crying to HC on channels asking to move new supplies in. It's a win.

Kazee: Excellent, don't change a thing i would say. Extra AO is great, glad u guys finally added that, and honestly I have seen it actually help the low pop side a few times.

Aismov: Personally I love it... killing enemy actually means something; would say fewer tanks and fix the dFMS/resupply/overstock loophole but otherwise very good! I would tell a returning player that there are lots of new gameplay styles that you can enjoy but now actually make a difference in the battle due to supply/attrition.

Tribard: Driving up a truck load of infantry can make the difference in a fight. Don't think there are enough lmgs, snipers, sappers etc. then drive some up. Playing for a high k/d can help your side. If you take out five enemy and rtb your unit you attrit the other side. 

These are just a few of the many positive experiences being shared. We hope they helped to make a more clear picture on just how big of a deal this is and why you should login and start playing.

More comics from WillyTee


We'd like to thank everyone who participated so far to our Welcome Back Soldier and encourage you to return to WWII Online to help us continue these and many other tremendously good developments we are making to the game. It is safe to say WWII Online has received massive development boosts in the last couple of years and every player resubscribing fuels these initiatives through CRS even further.

The WBS has ended for organic players but will continue for our Steam players until 31th May. A bug broke units access this Friday. Please apologies as this should be fixed soon and WBS be available for the weekend.

Meanwhile discover our two new bundle packs. Complete your existing set of DLCs, not requiring any subscription and exclusively available on steam!
GROUND-ONLY DLC bundle (-29%)
AIR-ONLY DLC bundle (-26%)



Thanks for your support,
Salute!

In todays Community Management news we will recap Operation Catapult and some of the huge battles we had this past Saturday AND Sunday. We will announce the two more “Top Player Awards so far in this campaign and finally a report from our Allied Commander in Chief, Bondpaul and the Axis Chief of Staff to the CinC Dudecan.

During our last weekend in our Welcome Back Soldier promotion we hope you joined “Operation Catapult” another one in our series of live server, High Command led events.

Operation Catapult drew the second highest event server numbers topping off at 4 attack objectives for each side. We had very high action on the map for more than 8 hours during the event on Saturday and almost as many players came back for more on Sunday. These operations demonstrate the best features our game has to offer with intense infantry fights, large armor columns supported by infantry, guns and ammo for resupply and of course the legendary high action air war! The Allies finished the day capturing 5 Axis towns and the Axis were unable to capture any. Great communication and hard work from the Axis Map Officer in Charge (OIC) Actonman and the Allied Map OIC Colsmith. Thanks for your hard work guys! The next event will be announced soon.

In week two of Campaign #163 we recognize two “Top Player” winners tonight. Both players will receive a WWII Online mouse pad!


He has 1,886 kills in the campaign and ekes our last weeks Top Killer winner Dasei88 who on has 1,835 kills so far… Congrats to Kgarner who plays only Axis and scores very high in the Top Trucker and Top Capper categories as well.


This player has a whopping 464 captures in the campaign far eclipsing the next closest player with 242 caps. Congrats to Agenda21 who plays only Allied this campaign. He is a huge credit to Allied side.




Today is day 13 of Campaign 163 which features our new 1.36 update with Garrison supply, and what I have been hearing in private messages from the Allies, is that it is a big hit. Sure, there are things that people still would like to see, some valid, some not so much. But overall people are pleased with how things are working out. Past players are returning to us and some have even volunteered again to serve the player-base though the Allied High Command. We can use them, and many more. Our goal is to be able to supply you with direction that will help you to better enjoy your in-game experience. Be that through in-game leadership, by suggesting means and ways of managing Attack/Defense Orders, moving Divisional Supply for your needs, recognizing individuals for Awards based on their commitment to Teamwork and achieving announced objectives and goals. We support your ideas and suggestions in the Forums and attempt to establish a long lasting dialog with a two way flow of ideas in order to make this game experience better for us all. Currently, the Allied High Command is working through the changes that 1.36 has presented, whereas we need not focus on movement of supply as we once did, but focus more now on your in-game support. We are actively recruiting new people to come on board in the Allied High Command, so that they may become the Leaders for tomorrow. I ask you to consider volunteering and to bring your ideas to the table for all to share.

I also wish to announce the following people returning to serve in the Allied High Command. “Augetout”, who will serve as the Allied Country Chief of Staff, and “SW1” who will serve as the British Expeditionary Force Commander, both very experienced people who desire nothing more than to assist the Allies to Win our Campaigns by bringing well earned knowledge to share with you.

I also wish to announce the promotions of “Wilko160” to the position of 1st Infantry Division Commander, and “N8R” to the position of 2nd Infantry Division Commander. They also will share in their experience of the game for your better enjoyment.

I present the following Awards to some of our dedicated Allied Soldiers.

• I present the CinC Commendation Award to “ PLAYTIME”. This is the highest decoration that can be awarded by the Allied High Command. It is bestowed only by the Allied Commander in Chief, in the name of the Allied High Command to Allied members who have distinguished themselves through conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty.
  
• Allied Player of the Week is presented to “FRT” for his dedication in making sure that proper FMS’s are established and re-established when setting up our Attack Orders. Without FMS’s there is no attack, and too few dedicate themselves to this task.
  
• Award for Meritorious Service is presented to “Goodeaston”, for working to recapture several lost depots in the defense of numerous towns in the past week.
  
• Award for Enemy Forward Base Busting is presented to Bloodybill for his tireless work in taking down enemy FB’s.
  
• Award for the Silver Star is presented to “BLUDNGUT”. This is the third highest decoration that can be awarded by the Allied High Command. It is awarded to any Allied Member who distinguishes themselves for Valor in the face of the enemy.
  
• Award for the Bronze Star is presented to “CAPTRON” . This is the fourth highest decoration that can be awarded by the Allied High Command. It is awarded for acts of merit or meritorious service.
  
• Award for RDP Bombing is presented to all RDP Bomber Pilots for their work this past week in keeping the Axis at a lower resupply percentage.
  

Congratulations to All of you on your promotions and awards and for a “JOB WELL DONE”

Side Commander Bondpaul, Allied Commander in Chief.




With Campaign 163 in now full swing for a few weeks Axis players have seen some great battles and with Welcome Back Solider promotion back some new and old players are on the battlefield testing out the new gear and game play , We are seeing some great attacks with good results , also our Front base Teams are going above and beyond for the Axis even taking the attack FB and as a result killing the Allied AO , FB and town defense is at an all time high. When the call goes out, defenders come to help. This is Teamwork at its best . One of the tools we have that can’t be talked about enough is Axis Squads and Discord. Communication is the Key to winning so if you do not use Discord jump on and give it a try. It’s free and makes your gameplay even better with enemy call outs and real time communications with fellow Axis players.

Go Axis!