World War II Online - News

News from the front line. WWII MMO FPS, Play For Free. www.wwiionline.com

Author: XOOM-CRS

Contributor: hyoslvr2

WWIIOL: BATTLEGROUND EUROPE" UPDATE
04-21-08

"!S Komaraden

I write this from a bunker somewhere in Luxembourg. To the west, Europe lies in ruins from the invasion of Allied forces. Heavy fighting has been seen in epic battles around Bertrix, Arlon and Metz. We are holding them off and slowly repositioning to the east as our families toil in factories to bring us new and improved equipment. Be strong! Be brave! Do not be discouraged! You have all fought well and deserve the highest honor for your efforts. New equipment is on the way!"

CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Last weekend saw complete upheaval on the battlefields!  The Allied forces, under the leadership ofsoldiers like "Jpanzerj" and "Sparky78", massed together for a gargantuan push that left the Axis forces fighting tooth and nail to try to stop them.  Despite efforts of exemplary soldiers like "Jaylaney", the Axis army was pushed East until their High Command reluctantly surrendered.  Campaign #43 ended with an Allied victory, and an Axis vow to exact swift revenge!See the latest campaign status by viewing the online map at www.battlegroundeurope.com/map

14 DAY FREE TRIAL - NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED!
Playnet is pleased to announce a special 14 day free trial offer to encourage new recruits to swell our ranks!  Each week, the trial player who scores the greatest number of kills in selected categories will be awarded a free 1-year subscription to "Battleground Europe". A rank bonus, unlocking additional weapons and equipment, will be awarded to those trial players who perform above and beyond in their duty to defeat enemy forces.

NO credit card is required for this trial!

All trial users who create an account can win prizes for weekly high score and will be automatically eligible for a chance to win a Sony Blu-Ray BD-ROM.See the trial information page for more details at

www.battlegroundeurope.com/trial.

RAT CHAT AAR
Thursdays Rat Chat with DOC was a huge success, with close to 100 people logged in to discuss the damage model. Players peppered DOC with so many meaty questions that the chat lasted nearly 2 hours! Topics covered included:

BATTLEGROUND EUROPE ART PACK
Want to show your love of the game in everyday correspondence?  You can download the latest art pack here which includes WWIIOL banners, signatures and screenshots to customize your desktop and email.

PRODUCER INTERVIEW

Every week players send questions to the development team, mostly with questions about game mechanics and future features.  Senior Producer Dana "GOPHUR" Baldwin tackles a few for this weeks PRODUCER INTERVIEW.

Q:

That nice video about the damage model reminds me the need of provide some "visual feedback" for ricochets. Is it possible to add some kind of visual feedback for big armour piercing shells?
-Cid250

DB:

That's certainly on Martini's wish list for post Unity II. In addition to displaying the penetration or non penetration marks we do know if a round is going to riccochet though we probably won't track physics on them for too awful long we can probably show some effect when a non penetrating round riccochets
(click to watch video)

Q:

Is there any way planes can select what enemy units they do not want to see, ex. 'no infantry' to help with the horrible lag spike during heavy battle that prevent you from accurately bombing targets and inadvertently darting yourself into the ground?
-Lockdown

DB:

Sure. They can reduce their vis limit which will naturally weed out infantry first as they are last on the list for units to draw. Alternately you could try bombing from a safer altitude. I know, I know, where's the fun in that!?

Q:

Maybe medics (proposed feature, not implemented) could give the soldier some sort of temporary boost like morphine. [It would act as] one last boost to give everything they've got to the battle, but ultimately they would still die. That is unless of course they use the boost wisely and RTB instead.
-Esanssi

DB:

Drugs are bad mmmkay? No morphine, but we might be able to give a boost, though I'm not sure that a gaping chest wound plus a happy pill would really put a soldier back in the fight. About the best use for a medic that we can see is allowing someone to get a "RTB" or "Rescued" instead of a "KIA".

* How rounds are tracked post penetration
* How fires and explosions work
* What is going to be changed or improved in the future regarding ATG models
* And many more

An AAR and link to the chat MP3 file can be found here.
Thank you to all who participated!

CAMPAIGN UPDATE
The past week in the campaign, battles raged from Venlo to Liege as the Allies attempted to reach Axis factories- a key to winning the overall war. Allied Officers "Genxs" and "Catfive" coordinated efforts to capture key cities and kept the flow of communication going as they fought to break the Axis line and push East. Under the leadership of Axis officers "Potthead" and "Drkmouse", the push was rebuffed and the factories continued to supply armor to the Axis front lines.

See the latest campaign status by viewing the online map at www.battlegroundeurope.com/map

DEV CHAT
Battleground Europe has arguably the most advanced and accurate damage model used in gaming. Research , historical data and a sophisticated physics programming are the foundations of this model. These are coupled with accurate ballistics modeling resulting in realistic and immersive gameplay. Producer and Game Manager Geof "DOC" Evans provides a brief explanation in a damage model video:

On Tuesday April 10th at 6pmCST, players can join Evans in an in-depth question and answer TeamSpeak session about the game's damage model.

PRODUCER INTERVIEW
Every week players send questions to the development team, mostly with questions about game mechanics and future features.  Senior Producer Dana "GOPHUR" Baldwin tackles a few for this weeks PRODUCER INTERVIEW.

Q:
Is it possible to add a medic in the game? Healing a fellow soldier could award
some points too!!

DB:
It is certainly possible to add a medic to the game as an infantry type but I'm
not really sure what he would do in a simulation like ours. Our infantry simulation
uses a life like trauma system that monitors blood pressure and level, brain oxygen
and adenosine triphosphate levels to calculate your health. While we do play around
a bit with your ATP levels, like how long you can sprint and how fast you run,
these are all generally based on a very fit, but ultimately realistic human being.
And therein lies the rub, as they say. This medic that you are wanting really is
only interested in healing someone who can no longer fight. That healing generally
takes days or weeks. So for a game what is the real function of a medic? Well, they
usually give you an instant boost to your hit points and that is something we probably
won't do. We always get the question "could you put in a medic", but a much better
question is, what do you think a medic should do?

Q:
When campaigns begin, myself and others feel that if you start a campaign as either Axis or Allied then during that campaign, you have to remain on that side. This would save people from jumping on the band wagon and going on the winning side.

DB:
It might also prevent people from enjoying the game the way they wish to enjoy it. It's an idea we've thought on for years but at the end of the day, we feel it is better to allow players freedom to enjoy the game and not force players to choose not to play because they changed their mind.

Q:
The “in the field” resupply via supply truck is an outstanding feature and addition to the game. What are the chances of adding an “in town rearming” ammo bunker or building?. In other words have a building/location designated where vehicles and Inf can come and like the “resupply truck” pull up and “boom” your being re-armed and heading back into the battle.

DB:
We're hoping to add that for ships and planes in an upcoming release but we're still undecided on the army. Having a truck do the job is a great alternate gameplay mechanism while having a dozen Bofors sitting around an ammo dump might be less so. If anything, the garage might be the right choice as the mechanism of resupply is designed primarily to prevent the need to despawn and respawn to get the benefit.

ABOUT "BATTLEGROUND EUROPE"
www.battlegroundeurope.com

Report for duty to this first-person, online action game where players choose to fight alongside and against thousands of other players on the battlefields of Western Europe.

Grab a rifle and experience heart-stopping infantry action or choose to advance your skills in one of dozens of accurately modeled combat vehicles, naval vessels or aircraft. Succeed and help the cause of the Allied or Axis forces. Fail and watch your side get pushed back and struggle for a foothold.