WWII Online News

FROM XOOM:

CRS is in the planning stages of finding out how we can handle network communication better with a dedicated focus on making game play experiences better. This would include a combination of reworking / adding code, and doing more to our infrastructure to enable best packet transmissions available. Effectively done, this would alleviate bad connection experiences more by further prioritizing the transmission of critical information (like deaths) so that lag-death can be less of a problem. Today our goal is purely to make an acknowledgement here because we know that this is important for you to hear.

Over the years we have tried a variety of different things, one example includes automatically despawning users who are having a bad connection issue but a more surgical approach will be required. Another example is not long ago we boosted our bandwidth cap up 10x and made our internet/intranet 1 gigabit.

While these things have helped to some degree, we channel all of our world traffic into Dallas TX. Since we have one game server setup which you know as the "Campaign experience," this makes managing this sort of traffic substantially more difficult than other games, where they can carve out 100 players to play in one dedicated area. So naturally the packet transmission by default in that regard is way faster and less management.

This is one example of the many things that CRS has to consider with our entire infrastructure in fact. We manage all of our community pages and tools, support and billing pages, and the entire WWII Online experience. When you look at it from that perspective there's a lot going on and it might help shed light that CRS is not just a game developer, it is a service provider with immense responsibilities.





FROM CHIMM:

Huge thanks from all of us at CRS for 18 GREAT years!

Last Thursday marked the beginning of the player events. Players assembled in Rotterdam South Airfield for the event commentary and a moment of silence in honor of those who fought and passed on during D-Day. We are always amazed and honored by our community's attendance. You, our WWII Online Community, is second to none! Thank you all.

Before returning to the battlefield for "Kill a RAT" festivities, kills were activated and everyone grabbed their knives for a massive enemy "carving" contest! I don't know about you all, but my fps dropped into the low teens, and was not rendering everyone lol.

Over the next several days, everyone seemed to delight in killing the RATs

• Friday - All armored vehicles was unlocked
• Saturday - All infantry was unlocked
• Sunday - All air equipment was unlocked

Operation RAT Trap on Sunday was amazing! Huge para-drops, large armor columns, and massive town battles ensued. Allied forces took the day, but Axis forces took advantage of the "target rich" environment. Population was near even for most of the day, and was teetering on 4 AO's :-)

As promised, we have a list of the top players who will receive trophies from the anniversary events. Sorties recorded for the awards began June 6th when "Kill a RAT" was enabled, and ended on June 10th when it was turned off. Congratulations to those who made it on the list (RAT's are seeking revenge on kdped02 though hehe)!

Pictured below is a mock up of the trophies and medals that were ordered. If you see your name, please contact me at [email protected] to verify your physical address so we can mail them out when they arrive...

• Top Rat exterminator- kdped02
  
• Top killer - dasei88
  
• Top fighter - mook2
  
• Top bomber - sbd1
  
• Top tanker - dasei88
  

Once again, THANK YOU for an amazing 18 years!

S! - CHIMM

There were a few critical issues that were noticed by the vigilant players of WWII Online after the last release. This Hotfix patch remedies those issues in quick succession.


Bug Fixes

• Fix the bug causing CTDs around the Echternach area
• Corrected the cause for not being able to delete map marks while not spawned

Updates

• Updated the FB objects back to their original maximum damage values

S! Cornered Rat Software

This release is a hotfix for a few issues that came up with the recent release.

• Updated PPOs so that they are unable to be placed on the new Airfields
• Corrected an issue that was causing ATGs to bounce uncontrollably in some towns
• Removed changes that were made to sound handling that was meant to help with the Engine Bug

S!
Cornered Rat Software

On D-Day, Thursday, June 6, 2001 WWII Online was launched to the public .....and as you know the rest is history. This week WWII Online and Cornered Rats Software (CRS) celebrates our 18th year anniversary with 4 days of special offerings culminating with a 4 hour special event "Operation Rat Trap" on Sunday. Read on for more details!


This week on June 6, 2019 WWII Online and Cornered Rats Software celebrates its 18th Anniversary. That’s right… in 2001 the first iteration of the game was released to the public. To mark this milestone, we have planned some events and activities starting Thursday, June 6th and continuing through the weekend. So, let's get started:

On D-Day, Thursday, June 6th. Starting at 5:00 PM server time or 6:00 PM EST or 10:00 PM GMT all troops Axis and Allied will assemble in Rotterdam. The ceremony will start promptly at 5:15 server time. Xoom will offer remarks and we will pose for a group photo. This event will be live streamed. We will also pause for a moment of silence in remembrance of D-Day and start of the liberation of France and Europe in 1944.

After the ceremony concludes, join the RATS in-game for some Kill-A-Rat action! Top killers of RATS from both the Allied and Axis side will receive WWII Online mouse pads!

• Friday, June 7th starting around 9:00 AM server time we will unlock all VEHICLES for all players to use regardless of subscription and rank. We are planning 24 hours of large tank battles!
  
• Saturday June 8th starting around 9:00 AM server time we will unlock all INFANTRY for all players to use regardless of subscription and rank. We are planning 24 hours of intense infantry fights!
  
• Sunday, June 9th starting around 0900 server time we will unlock all AIRCRAFT for all players to use regardless of subscription and rank. We are planning 12 hours of WWII Online crowded skies air battles!
  
• Every player will have access to these groups of equipment on those days as part of our anniversary weekend.
  
• Finally, Join us for Operation RAT TRAP on Sunday, June 9th starting at 12:00 noon server time or 1:00 PM EST or 5:00 PM GMT. This will be another live server event led by the Allied and Axis High Commands and will run for 4 hours. All access aircraft will be available for the event.
  

During this 4 hour event we will tracking your stats and trophies and some 30 day subscriptions will issued for the top Axis and Allied killers as well as a couple other top player categories TBA and the top 2 runner ups in each category will also receive WWII Online mouse pads.

During all 4 days we will turn on the “Kill Credit” player notification and Kill-A-Rat will also be activated.

We hope you can rally your squaddies and join us in-game as we celebrate our first 18 years by doing what we know best "creating great battles" with great friends!

On behalf of all the RATS we thank you for your support!



The D-Day landings are something that will always resonate deeply with me and many others. I grew up in Portsmouth on the south coast of England, around which many of the embarkation points could be found, and throughout the city, you can still see the legacy that the landings left on us both as a nation and as a city.

To the east of Portsmouth in Langstone Harbour, there’s an old mulberry bridge that was built in the lead up to the invasion in 1944, and it’s a permanent reminder of the period which WWIIOL is based. As you follow the coast round into Southsea to look out across the Solent, it becomes pretty easy to imagine what that strait must’ve looked like 75 years ago as troops were embarking onto the transports that would later allow them to kick down the front door of the German Reich and kickstart the liberation of Europe.

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds, for months beforehand there was a massive campaign of deception which fooled the German Army into believing that the invasion would actually be at Calais, opposite Dover in Kent. MI5 and the SOE were heavily involved, as was King George VI and our current monarch, Elizabeth II. Their visits to troops across the country were recently revealed to be in concert with the deception program and orchestrated by MI5. The plan was a stunning success.

The landings started at 6.30am on June 6th 1944 with US troops assaulting Utah and Omaha beaches, plus a detachment of Rangers at Pointe du Hoc, to whom the unenviable job of climbing the cliffs was given. British Forces landed at Sword and Gold beaches, along with free forces from several countries already under German occupation, while Canadian troops landed at Juno. The German defenders were forced to retreat back towards Paris before the breakout broke their backs with the formation of the Falaise pocket.

As we pause to remember the sacrifice of the soldiers of yesterday, let’s also remember exactly what they gave their lives for.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.

United States

• 4th Infantry Division
  
• 82nd Airborne Division
  
• 90th Infantry Division
  
• 101st Airborne Division
  
• 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One)
  
• 29th Infantry Division
  

British and Canadian

• 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division
  
• 6th Airborne Division
  
• 79th Armoured Division
  
• 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
  

S! to those who served and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.


CRS is pleased to announce that HEAVY265 will be transitioning from Lead Forum Moderator to Assistant Community Manager. Heavy will join KMS with a focus on the Axis side and the Axis High Command. HEAVY265 is another CRS volunteer who cares about the game and its future and we are glad to have him!

Blkhwk8 has announced that he is leaving CRS as Assistant Community Manager due to real life commitments. We would like to thank him for his service to CRS and the WWII online community. S! Blkhwk8 we will see you on the battlefield.

The Community Management team will be looking to replace Blkhwk8 and and new ACM to join WESTY91 as ACM with an Allied side focus.

Servers will come down around 9:00 PM CDT/3:00 AM BST. 

This is a maintenance patch fixing a list of your bug reports.
Please continue to use the in-game chat command .bug to directly report to the QA team!
The patch also includes some updates and new features (read bellow):

• The issue preventing a player from being able to walk behind the French TT crane has been resolved
  
• The RPM Gauge, used in some British and French aircraft, has been reverted to its original form
  
• The Italian Rifle unit now has the same PPO options as the other Infantry units
  
• The FlaK38 has been added to FMS and Depot spawning options
  
• The Gouda and Aalst city name has been fixed
  
• A floating berm in Charlois and Warmeriville has been corrected
  
• The river bank near Vise is now updated to be corrected
  
• The Barracks location has been adjusted in Warmeriville, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Zaltbommel, Gouda, Faulquemont, Luxembourg, Wyler, Nijmegen, Heijen, Longwy, Thiaucourt, St.Quentin, Mons and Hillesheim
  
• A clipping issue is now resolved in the AB Vehicle spawn, Abbeville Railway and a City Building
  
• Fixed an issue that caused a Japanese flag at a Hellevoetsluis FB
  
• Found and fixed the issue that was causing some Depots to have incorrect ownership on the map
  
• Removed an ATG from a Gent AI MG pit
  
• Corrected an invisible tree in Maubeuge
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed non-aircraft to be able to be spawned at the Ypenburg Airfield
  
• Fixed an issue that allowed aircraft to spawn at the Rotterdam Aircraft Subassembly Store
  
• Infantry Grenades and Smoke Grenades are now using the proper image and textual indicators
  
• The PzIII-N now has a proper weapon barrel
  
• Removed a grey panel that appeared in the German 38t's commander view
  
• The British P40 Kittyhawk's windshield has been updated to correct an issue with its appearance
  
• Player Decals have been fixed on the British Sherman M4A3 and M4A2 tanks
  
• Offline Infantry clones can now be positioned properly
  
• The position of the pilot and gun sight for the H87b3, P40F and KittyHawk has been fixed
  
• A bush has been removed from an Eind building
  
• Third person tracers are now fixed for the Ju87B/G and the Vickers IB
  
• The Crusader III tank's weapon breach texture has now been corrected
  
• When deploying a PPO from a truck, players will now see "Backspace to Cycle | Z to Place" similar to what they see with infantry placed PPOs
  
• Whenever a player joins a Paratrooper mission, the Paratrooper Infantry selection menu will be the first to open instead of the plane selection menu
  
• The RTB text when despawning during the Tutorials has been updated
  
• Flags within the City Detail map menu has now been fixed
  
• Changes have been made to better help with handling engine sound bugs
  

• The sound for a large bomb's explosion has been replaced
  
• The Steam Up-sell message has been updated with recent pricing changes
  
• The "Netcode 3" text alert has been disabled from always showing up during spawning
  
• The French R35 tank now has an updated exterior texture
  
• Numerous planes, ships and all ground vehicles have been updated to have closer to realistic crew body mass values
  
• The German Sd.Kfz. 251's white internals have been toned down in order to not be so bright
  
• Xxsalxx and Hvyoutput have been added to the Fallen Soldier Memorial
  
• New translations for the Italian and Chinese languages have been added
  
• The manual pages have been updated to remove references to the British HEAT rifle grenade
  
• The French LMG's texture has been updated to look better than it was
  
• The British Havoc Mk I has been updated to be the British Boston I
  
• Ammunition variance has been updated to be a maximum of 1% difference from their currently set values
  
• The Fliegerhorst Airbase has replaced the old airfield at Brussels
  
• Autopilot has been updated to better deal with the ability to "float" a plane
  
• The default aircraft convergence has been updated from 0 meters to 200 meters
  
• The Pentagon bunker's map icon has been added
  

• The in-game AAR screen will now list the player's name that you have killed during your sortie
  
• Standard SMGs (Submachine Guns) have been added to the HCMS (High Command Mobile Spawn)
  
• Bombers are now able to destroy both the FB Vehicle spawn and the "Other" objects
  
• Contact reports can now be removed by the player that placed them