This year we added client support for the German, French and Italian languages. Now players from around the world can play WWIIOL in their own language. This has resulted in the growth of players from outside the U.S. outpacing growth from inside the U.S. for the first time. The introduction of a localizec client will assist in our plans for releasing the game into new territories.


The Special Events Team (SET) launched the Special Events program utilizing a new toolset that allows mission launching from the web. While this may not seem like a huge step, it dovetails into our deployment design and represents a crucial technology for brigade support for the primary campaign server.

SET Ran a series of scenarios linked together in a common historical thread called Battle of Britain, featuring the period at the end of the Battle of France leading into the historical Battle of Britain.

Operation: Dynamo was a recreation of the evacuation of Dunkirk. A force of British and French players tried to hold a perimeter around the Dunkirk CP while German attackers, consisting of infantry with assault gun support, tried to penetrate the defensive line and prevent the evacuation of British troops to destroyers arriving from England. The scenario ended in a defeat of the British, who lost most of their fleet trying to evacuate isolated pockets of infantry. It reduced the number of extra British infantry and destroyers in Sealion.

Adler Tag was a two frame scenario that featured battles between the LW and the RAF as well as some naval elements. Each frame exposed one of the phases of the historical Battle of Britain.

Kanalkampf was a simulation of the attacks against the British navy in the months leading up to the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe tried to destroy a British navy convoy off the coast of Kent while the German navy tried to get a group of destroyers within close proximity of the coast of Kent to “mine” it. At the same time the Germans had to safely get a certain number of transports for the Sealion landing fleet. The scenario ended in the Germans achieving all the objectives save destroying the Royal Navy convoy. It reduced the British destroy numbers for the upcoming Sealion event slightly and increased the amount of landing freighters available to the German forces.

The Few featured a series of air battles with the Germans trying to knock out British air bases with bomber runs while the RAF tried to intercept and destroy the german forces. The result was a draw for both sides, with each one losing a small number of reserve aircraft available for Sealion.

Operation: Sealion was a recreation of the german plan to invade England. Although it never occurred in history, it was planned for and the failure of the Luftwaffe to dominate the Battle of Britain was the reason for its cancellation. The scenario featured a large german landing of troops on the southern coast of Kent, both sides deploying a large Destroyer force to try to disrupt or defend the sea landings. Meanwhile a large air contingent tried to support each sides’ efforts. The result was a large scale battle along the beaches which culminated in the Germans narrowly retaining possession of a thin beachhead in England, and a minor victory.

Watch for new events in 2004 by visiting www.events.wwiionline.com


The first phases of the [un]official WWIIOL Training Corps launched in 2003 combining an online repository of [un]official and player-made documentation and guides with a 24x7 training server. A small band of players run scheduled training sessions on a variety of gameplay aspects. Be sure to visit the Training Corps at www.training.wwiionline.com


Without the on-going support from every player who decides each month to choose WWIIOL we could not continue to create and improve on the game we all want to play. Special thanks go out to the entire Beta test team, High Command staff, Training Corp staff, HQ forum moderators, U.S. and foreign HQ website staff, translation team, Squad Commanders, Gms. Also thanks to all the community members who find time to create fantastic resources like TGPO's maps, WWIIOL Polls and many, many more.

Our plans for the future of the game are no less encompassing than what we've been able to accomplish in the past. Expect to see tons of new features and additions- and maybe a few surprises- in the coming months. We plan to publish a development roadmap early this year after a few things become clearer which should give everyone an idea on what we'll be writing in the 2004 edition of the year in review.

Cheers!

Chris 'Mo' Sherland
Executive Producer