New BDE Rules

Here are the new rules for the Brigades. They're very interesting and are worth the read. WWIIOL is now much more strategical, and is certainly more awesome!

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HQ Unit Deployment:

Terminology:

Brigade – The men and equipment that make up a tactical fighting unit
Brigade HQ – The current base of operation for a given Brigade where missions may be posted (also BrigHQ or HQ3)
Division – An administrative organization of two or more Brigades
Division HQ – The current base of operation for a given Division from which resupply missions may be posted for member Brigades (also: DivHQ or HQ2)
HQ Unit – The HQ of either a Brigade or Division

Army Vehicle - Infantry, Trucks, ATG, AAA, Armor, etc
CP - Choke point or "City" (not to be mistaken for 'capture point')
Displacement - Causing HQ Units to be withdrawn from a CP by capturing it
CP Controller - Side that last held all MFs in a CP simultaneously
CP Owner - Side that last held all facilities simultaneously (uncontested)
MF - Military Facility (Army base, Airfield, Naval base)
Off Map - Location for out-of-play HQ Units (Stromness, Brest, Kiel)
Placement - Moving a HQ Unit from Off Map back into play
Return - Delivery a vehicle to the spawn list that it was drawn from
Rout - When HQ Units are not able to withdrawn from a captured CP
Supply - Delivering a vehicle to the spawn list you despawn at
Vehicle - Any unit spawnable by a player, including infantry, armor, planes, ships, etc.

Structure:
• A division is a collection of units
• Each division is comprised of a Division HQ and 2 to 3 Brigades
• The Division HQ may not be joined by a player (see mission origins below)

Initial deployment at map start:
• Each Division HQ has an initial home that can be set by the HC
• All brigades tied to the division are placed at the DivHQ location and can then be moved based on the rules below

Placement (Moving an HQ Unit on or off the map):
• The Off Map locations are the "Training Grounds" placed at the edges of the map near the cities of Stromness (UK), Brest (FR) and Kiel (DE).
• HQ Units can be placed Off Map at any time [same delay penalty as a rout, however]
• DivHQ cannot be placed from Off Map to a frontline town
• Placing a DivHQ from Off Map will also place Off Map Brigades belonging to it
• Brigades are automatically placed from off map at their DivHQ


Movement:
In order to move a HQ Unit the following rules must be met.
• HC players can move the brigade they are in by selecting the destination on the map and typing /moveb
• HC players can move the DivHQ of the brigade they are in by selecting the destination on the map and typing /moved
• The destination CP Owner must be of the same side as the HQ Unit
• The destination CP must have one or more country and branch matching military facilities (An army base for ground brigades, etc.)
• Manual movements may only occur 5 minutes or more after a proceeding manual or automatic move of a member of the same Division.

Additional movement rules for Army Units.
• The destination CP must be within one link (land or water)
• The destination CP must be shared by or adjacent to at least one *other* member of the Division UNLESS all other members of the Division are Off Map

Overrun, Fallback and Routing:
• Players who are defending against an attack may issue the /overrun command to inform the HC of the status of the defense
• An HC Officer in a Brigade operating in a contested town that is reporting overrun may choose to Fallback using the /fallback command
• When the /fallback command is issued, all HQ Units in the CP will attempt to fallback
• When the CP where an HQ Unit is located becomes controlled by the enemy, the /fallback command will be executed automatically
• When a fallback is attempted the HQ Unit will try to move first to the CP in which it was last located
• If it cannot move to that CP based on the movement rules above it will attempt to move to another CP preferring to move towards its Divisional units
• If a Brigade cannot fallback it will be routed
• Routed units are placed Off Map and can be re-placed per the above Placement rules

Mission Origins:

Players can post missions with an origin that is:
• In the same CP as their DivHQ
• In the same CP as their Brigade HQ

Additional Mission Origins for Army Brigades:
• A depot in a contested CP adjacent to their Brigade HQ with a valid link (own both depots, no enemy firebase) back to their Brigade CP
• Army bases in a CP with an Air or Naval HQ Unit

When an origin becomes invalid, all missions from that origin will be closed. Players on the mission will be able to continue on-mission until they despawn, but then must choose a new mission.

Mission OIC:
• Mission leaders can transfer leadership of the mission to another player with the /makeleader command
• If a mission leader goes link dead a new mission leader will be automatically chosen based on rank and time on mission
• If a mission leader chooses to leave the mission the mission is cancelled and all players are notified

Spawning and RTB:

Whenever a player requests to reserve a new vehicle, they do so at their current mission origin. If the player is on a mission for which the origin is no-longer valid, they will be unable to reserve a new vehicle.

If you RTB to a same-country, same-branch facility (e.g. a British Rifleman to a British Depot, a French Destroyer to a French harbor, a German BF109 to a German Airfield) then your vehicle will be reserved for you at that facility for respawning. For this to occur the facility must be open but does not require a valid supply link.

However if you cancel the reservation or allow it to expire (7 minutes) then the vehicle will be surrendered to the supply system.

Return/Supply rules:

Manual vehicle resupply is controlled by Brigade HQ and Division HQ locations. Depending where you spawn your vehicle and where you return it, the vehicle will either be supplied (delivered to the spawnlist at that location), returned (delivered back to the original spawnlist) or returned with a delay.

Rules are, in order:

Supply occurs if:
• Vehicle is despawned at its origin CP
• Vehicle spawned from your Brigade , despawned at your Brigade
• Vehicle spawned from your Division , despawned at your Brigade (resupply)
• Vehicle spawned from your Division , despawned at your Division

Returned (Sent back to origin with no delay):
• Vehicle spawned from your Brigade, despawned at your Division

Returned with a delay:
• Vehicle spawned from your Brigade, despawned at another Division/Brigade
• Vehicle spawned from other than your Division/Brigade, despawned at any Division/Brigade
• Vehicle is despawned anywhere else

Oversupply:
• Oversupplying is only allowed when despawning at your Brigade
• When the last brigade is moved from a town any overstock at the town is scuttled

Examples:

1. Brigade B1 is placed at Town TA. Equipment is spawned at TA and driven to friendly Town TB and despawned. The equipment is returned to Town TA after a delay. (Aprox 1 hour)

2. Brigade B1 is placed at Town TA. Equipment is spawned at TA and driven to friendly Town TB. While the equipment is in transit B1 moves to Town TB. After it has been moved equipment is despawned at TB. The equipment is supplied to Town TB and any oversupply is allowed.

3. Brigade B1 is placed at Town TA with 10 trucks overstock. Players spawn 15 trucks leaving the town 5 below capacity. Brigade B1 is moved to Town TB. All 15 trucks are despawned. Since Brigade B1 has left, the spawn list cannot rise about stock level, so 10 of the trucks are lost when the players cancel their reservations.

4. Division D1 is placed at Town TA, Brigade D1/B1 placed at Town TB. Equipment is spawned at TA, driven to TB and despawned. The equipment is supplied to TB and oversupply is allowed.

5. Division D1 is placed at Town TA, Brigade D1/B1 placed at Town TB. Brigade Equipment is spawned at TB, driven to D1 at TA and despawned. The equipment is immediately returned to TB where it was spawned. If Brigade B1 is no-longer at TB, the equipment will be returned with a Delay.


Deployements:
• There are no changes to Deployments of paratroopers, destroyers or bombers for this release
• Changes to deployments will occur with the introduction of TOEs (Table of Organization and Equipment)
• In order to use a deployment a HQ Unit must be placed or moved to the location of the deployment
• Paratrooper deployments can be best used by Army Brigades when an Air Brigade is placed at the paratroop deployment location

Version 1.21!

WOOT for 1.21!!! Some major changes in this game, and in the next few days! Here's what we're going to get:

A full list of what we can expect in 1.21:

Infantry:
• Enfiled art redo
• Webley art redo
• Luger art redo
• M1935 art redo
• Mas 38 art redo
• Satchel art redo
• Mills grenade art redo
• Darker French para uniform
• New French commander hat
• Make headshake non state locking
• Bore sight all weapons audit
• Begin work on new infantry predictor and update systems

Vehicles:
• Churchill III
• Pak 40 ATG
• British 17 pounder ATG
• French lend lease M5 3 inch ATG
• Add missing iron cross to Panzers
• Darken texture on Frech Ju-52
• Fix Pak 36 cockpit art issue
• Adjust color on French early tanks
• Fix gauge issues in Bf110
• Replace C47 gauges with Allied versions
• Audit all crew positions for concussive damage irregularities
• Audit track damage thresholds for irregularities
• Fix S35 speeds to match historical documentation

Brigades:
• Brigades deployed on map
• Division HQ on map for Brigade resupply point
• Movement rules for brigades
• OIC for brigades
• OIC for missions
• New map icons for displaying towns with and without brigades
• New ews icon display
• New attack and defend status display for towns, brigades and bridges

Global:
• New materials based lighting effects for darker interior spaces
• Add FSAA functionality when post render filter enabled
• Continue performance enhancements in mesh handling, vertex buffer objects and depth buffer
• Add several updated and new sounds

Will the Tiger make it?

Well, throughout the forums there are calls of sandbagging, of getting the campaign to slow down, etc, etc, just so that the Axis can get their beloved Tiger. However, as RDP looks at the moment, it would seem that the Axis still have the best part of 5-6 days until the Tiger makes an appearance. The Churchill Mk7 and M10, on the other hand, should be out within the very near future (1-2 days), so could we see a campaign turn around?

Or, will the Axis forces win before the Churchill even comes out? Well, I guess only time will tell, but I am sure that this will be one interesting campaign end!

Tigers, M10 and Churchill in game....for 15 mins!

Well, the RATS made a little stuff up today, when the servers had some sort of crash/bug where all Tiers of equipment were put into the map. Apparantly it was lots of fun (bugger I missed it). Here's what DOC posted about it:

15 minutes actually, before we turned them off. That's only because it took 15 minutes to get to the office. B)

Recovering the rest of the database is still underway, it is hours of reconfiguring we have to complete to finish that work off.

Hehehe, quick work by the RATS. Axis got a taste, maybe they'll sandbag for a while, Allies will gain strength and push back for a massive comeback and great campaign. I think it's possible!

I went sailing today...

Wow! It's been almost three and a half months since I went sailing. In fact, the last time I went sailing I was the Royal Navy CO. Since then, I've played Axis for a week, was the XO, then CO of the AHC Training Corps, played with the rifle for over 300 missions straight, and have now finally started playing the game normally (enough) for once! So, today I decided to jump in a ship and hit the waters. First thing I noticed was the pretty neat 8km vis range. Much nicer! And the fact that the engines are slower to start/stop, which is more realistic (woot!).

I engaged 3 EDD's on my mission, and 6 or so EA, from Oostende to Vliss, and then back to Zeebrugge. All 3 EDD's sunk (not by me - Downu, Fruitgum and Rook were with me), and I managed to shoot down 3 EA (2x109 and 1x110). All in all I had fun, and it brought back a lot of memories, but man, time on mission was large, ammo was wasted really quick, and only brief action there.

I've become to much of a ground pounder/flyboy to return Navy just yet, hehehe.

Dynamically predictable?

This is a post from the "Barracks" forums in Playskewl. I linked the heading to it btw. I thought it was a beauty, and I advise all to read it, and if you feel like it, to actually comment on it. The original post was this, by Kc23:

Oximoron? Sounds like one, but campaigns are so easy to predict the outcomes it really getting kind of dull.Don't get me wrong, the action in game is awesome and the battles anything but predictable. However, the campaign outcomes almost feel scripted. Everyone short of the very new to the game could of predicted an Allied victory post the Allied HC summit with CRS. Allies get their quota for the year and poof back to the all too famliar axis roll.I am not suggesting anything is fixed, but geez the campaigns are so obvious to predict I've really stopped caring about the outcome. It just doesn't feel like anything within reason can be done to change the status quo.I wonder if anything will ever change? I sure can't blame CRS. They've tried to throw all sorts of variables into the game, but nothing seems to change the seemingly endless stream of multiple axis victorys with an Allied win sprinkled in here and there. Going on 5 years and it is the same old same old.

To that, my response was:

Kc23, your post is a good one. It is easy to predict the campaign outcome, as you said, quite early. And yes, the design of the map, and the limited tools which we have create a very controlled environment. However, your post touches on two issues. The first is that the Axis win 80% of the time, the other is that the campaigns are all the same.Firstly, for why the Axis win, it's simple, they have numbers. When the Allies are in low-pop, Axis take towns. Then, all the players go Axis for more fun (no-one enjoys getting spanked). This continues, and continues, and continues. It hasn't stopped yet. Obviously people try to blame things on CRS, and RDP, etc, but when it all comes down to it, numbers make or break a campaign. I for one like the challenge of playing Allied, but I do, as others, tire of campaign after campaign of Axis victories, and of the numerous gloating Axis threads, so I work harder when we loose, I play more and for longer. I will always stick it out, win, loose or draw!Numbers are, in every PvP. Team oriented game, the deciding factor. However, numbers on each side are not anyone's fault but the players. If players wanted, we could balance things up, and have some great, long, long campaigns. But while friendships, squads, HC's, egos, etc, exist in game, that won't happen. As much as people want to, don't blame CRS for the numbers imbalance. They do their utmost to make things fair. Hell, I don't think that ever in gaming there has been a company who are so close to their community; it is one of the many factors which makes this game so great.The second issue, campaigns are the same. Again, with the limited tools we have in-game, they can be exactly the same every single time. Over and over. However, again, the players can make a difference! It's up to us which direction the map takes, what happens in it, and who has the most fun. A great saying, and a principle which I use, is "I don't care what the map is doing, as long as we're having fun." This is a game remember, we're here to have fun. With the new Brigade System coming into effect, we are going to see completely new, dynamic campaigns, with the level of strategic decisions increasing greatly within the High Command, as they will have much more influence on which direction each side takes in a campaign. I am personally looking forward to this system; it should be very interesting to see what the finished result brings to the game.In conclusion, this game has limits, however small or large they are. In most cases, the limits are almost endless. It is unlike anyother MMPOG, or PvP game; you can hit an enemy 500 times in the one spot, but if that spot isn't the weak spot, then you won't do nothing. It takes skill, learning, etc. The players make this game what it is; CRS gives us the tools to do that. Each day they develop more ways we can make campaigns dynamic, more fun, and more fair. The players control this game. We make it what it is. The community is awesome in WWIIOL. Again, unique from any other community in online games. As the players, we can make WWIIOL fun or not. As a person, we can aim to have fun or not. What are you going to do to have fun and aim for a win is the question.

Well, I hope you got out of my post what I was hoping (that's it's up to the players how this game works), because that post took a while, lol!

Blog updated

Ok, I got rid of the javascript popup for the Blog, and I added a "CRS Blogs!" link on the right hand side of the page. Just thought I'd keep ya'll updated...anything else I'm missing? :-)

S!

Tomba

CRS Fires Employees!

Well, today it was announced that two members of the CRS team were being laid of by the Playnet Corporation. TOTO and HATCH were removed, however a statement saying why has not yet reached us. A link to the announcement is in the title of the thread.

Well, that's just business I suppose. Skies not falling, things won't change, new face will appear. I think things will be fine.

S!

Tomba

Expanding the Blog

I think it's time I expanded this blog. Perhaps other games will make their way into the new format. All I know is that I think it's time that this became WWIIOL and other stuff, not just WWIIOL, so that a) I'll probably post more and b) I'll probably post more :-)
Anyhow, expect some Axis & Allies, Call of Duty, Civ4 (soon), Quake 4 (soon) and COD2 (soon) threads I'd say :-).

Cheers,

Tomba

Javascript btw...

Just an FYI, I was testing Javascript with the opening alert "Welcome to Tomba's WWIIOL Blog" or whatever it says. It was a fun, tiny, tiny script that I learnt, and I was eager to give it a go. If anyone finds it annoying, I'll take it out for you, or even change it so it says " *** Says this is annoying, do you?" :-)

Anyhow, thought I'd fill ya'll in, hehehe.

Cheers,

Tomba

Still here...

Yeah, I'm still here, and still using the rifleman. I suggest everyone have a go at just using the rifleman for a certain amount of time. At the moment I have over 220 missions, and I'm sooo close to having a K/D of 1 :-) I'm about #60 on the top rifleman list as well, which I'm happy about.

Anyways, midnight here, I need sleep,

See ya'll later,

Tomba

Rifleman

The Rifleman. A very, very interesting unit. The most numerous unit in the game, often related to the new guys of the game, or 'greenies' as that's all they can spawn.
I've seen a few guys who know how to use the rifle well, but mostly I see guys use it as a last resort. This is where the Axis and Allies are different. I once observed, while playing Axis for a night, that they go for their Rifle and worst tanks first. Complete opposite for the Allies. We take our good stuff first, and then last of all comes the bad stuff. This is, of course, in a defence.
So I've decided to use only the rifleman for a bit. Get to know him, how to use him, get some accuracy practice. And, have a hell of a lot of fun. So far in the last week, I've been having a great time with the rifleman. Kills include 2x Opel, 2x 232, 2x HT and 1x 110, as well as many EI and the odd Pak/Flak gun along the way. Atm my kills equal something like 70 or 80, for 87 deaths, with a K/D around .9 or .91, which for me is great :-)
Anyhow, just thought I'd keep ya'll upto date, sry for the lateness of this post, I've been very busy in the last week. I retired from AHC, and have been playing just as a grunt with my squad, which has been awesome.

S! and goodluck all,

Tomba

Campaign #25

Well, campaign #25 has kicked off really well, with some great action all along the front. French troops are fighting well, taking some and loosing some, and British forces are fighting a fierce battle to hold onto the buffers of Antwerp.
Unfortunately the key island town of Vlissingen was captured by the Axis and an attempt to re-take it today was to no avail. The town provides the Axis with an Air Field and Naval Base on the Allied Northern Front, and could potentially open up a third fighting front if the Axis advance onto mainland.
This campaign, I think, will be another long one, with great fun to be had, however, the RDP war seems to be going the Axis way atm, so it might be over quicker than I think...

S!

Tomba