It's that time of year again - PATCH FEVER - Merry Christmas boys and girls! New vehicles, game play changes, fixes and a whole new look at WWII Online's snow are inbound tonight at 6PM Server Time (at which point we will activate the new snow for the remainder of December). This is one of the biggest patches of the year and it's loaded with goodies! Mark your calendars as Welcome Back Soldier" will be activated December 20th - 27th, be sure to pass the word and get those vets back in-game! Did you know they can enter right now with Free Play access? www.wwiionline.com/join
It's now time to find out what Santa Xoom and his Crafty Elves have been doing these last few months - so buckle-up and keep reading to see lots of great screenshots and game play changes!
The Elves have been tweaking small things, big things with several Easter Eggs are out there in the gaming world so you will have to seek and explore to find out those wonderful things in terrain, environment, and structures that are sprinkled about. KEMPI, "General Winter" as he's known at the North Pole / Rat HQ, has been working for weeks to give you an immersive environment during the 'snowy season'. We cannot overlook the work of TR6AL with his seasonal trees. BMBM, HATCH, and CORN have gone 15 rounds with the new (and existing) models and they are now ready to come out of the history books, archival footage, and are ready to be played with. Gone are the bouncing anti-tank guns when towed and they should react as expected when interacting with the terrain when fired. We think you will enjoy it all and don't worry, snow blindness should be a thing of the past. 
CRS has been grinding for months to get this significant patch to your desktop. We have overcome unexpected technical issues, gone through a series of testing/refinement and so finally... it's here! Strike up the band, spike the eggnog... it's time to tear the wrapping off our present to you, the steadfast and ever optimistic and hopeful community that is WWII Online!
Here's a quick look at the new and improved snow textures coming to WWII Online - tonight!
Tactics & Combined Arms Teamwork versus Speed to Combat
Each faction's kit has its own plusses and minuses...there is no 'perfect' platform; the perfection comes when the players work together to be a force multiplier at the point of attack or defense. Whether it be speed, firepower, concealability, or cross-country traverse - you will need to adapt to what platforms can do given the situation.
A quick mention of the new 'rules' for the trucks and APCs and how it impacts gameplay
- Truck Urban Mobile Spawn / Trench Mobile Spawn - minimum distance from an enemy facility is 250 meters with a maximum target distance of 3,000 meters
- APC Fortified Mobile Spawn - minimum distance from an enemy facility is 400 meters with a maximum target distance of 3,000 meters
Mobile Spawns are the fundamental core for most scenarios in WWII Online including attacking/defending towns and Forward Bases. The Fortified Mobile Spawn (FMS) is the most valuable of the three types due to the ability to be driven and then deployed to spawn equipment at the forward edge of battle like:
- Light anti-air
- Anti-tank guns
- All infantry classes
The Urban and Trench Mobile Spawns (UMS and TMS) are limited to spawning only infantry. Historically the Opel, Beddy, and Laffly were the "go-to" vehicles for setting up Mobile Spawns, but that has changed as pictured below:
Germany - The Germans already had the 251c in-game, the iconic troop carrier of blitzkrieg warfare. With the introduction of the APC patch, the 251c is reintroduced as TIER 0 kit and should become popular once again as Fortified Mobile Spawns (FMS) are now solely linked to the APC. This trendsetting equipment became heavily copied by their opponents such as the American M3 Half-track. Other in-game variants include the 251/10 with the welcome addition of the Pak36 gun mounted on the front superstructure and a pintle-mounted MG34 facing to the rear. We should also note the old 251C that we've had has received a great art treatment - GJ BMBM!
France - Our French faction has several new vehicles that will be introduced as the tiers progress. In Tier 1, the French Lorraine 37L APC platform is unarmed but its low-silhouette will be a real asset on the assault when deploying a clandestine FMS due to its small size. It will really shine when climbing steep slopes that trucks cannot easily climb. When paired with the deadly Panhard armored car - it is a winning combination if engaged en route to combat. Of course, the 37L could also bring along its big brother, the 37L Anti-Char with its powerful 47mm anti-tank cannon. In Tier 3 (as the US enters the battlefield), French Forces receive the M-3 Halftrack and M-3 75mm Tank Destroyer that replaces the Lorraine variants. These Lend-Lease platforms and their Detroit Motors are quick accelerating and have high top-end speed, too.
Britain - Another iconic, historic, and yes, very British platform is here - finally! The Universal Carrier was widely used throughout WWII by Britain and the Commonwealth Forces during WWII. These low-profile vehicles will be hard to spot in dense vegetation as an FMS and the Universal Carrier MMG variant, while not an FMS, packs a punch as it not only sports the Bren LMG but the Vickers Gun with its .303 (7.7mm) rounds! When paired with the Daimler Armored Car it becomes another deadly example of teamwork whether on offense or defense.
United States - The US forces received two new truck platforms/variants with the M3 Half-track carrier, mounting an M2 .50 caliber HMG and the M3 Gun Motor Carriage equipped with the 75mm M1897A4 anti-tank gun. These platforms are fast, lethal, and the 75mm gun is a threat to Axis armor!
In addition to the half-tracks, the US receives two infantry models: a standard infantryman and a paratrooper, both are equipped with the M1A1 semi-automatic carbine with the wire-frame stock. At a later date, we will be introducing the M1 model with its wooden stock for the US standard infantryman (there will be no functional difference between the two - only cosmetic). These lightweight rifles were one of the most used Allied rifles towards the end of WWII and being a .30 caliber carbine, there is little recoil (historically) with a magazine boasting 15 rounds. We are excited about the introduction of these pieces of equipment as it further expands the US kit in-game.
ATG/AAA STABILIZATION AUDITS
Tremendous work has been placed into several light ATG/AAA weapons that had an issue with tipping or acting weird and potentially flipping while being towed. CORN has done some great work here - with the support of HATCH - to get several long standing issues resolved. We can't wait to get your feedback on these, testing showed very promising results and our test team was going full Dukes of Hazard over berms and hard turns trying to cause any issue. They were holding together well but who knows, for those under the influence truck drivers we have in-game anything is possible.
JU88 & WELLINGTON BOMBERS
Now that this patch has been completed the RATS full focus is on completing the Ju88 and Wellington. We will get them out as soon as possible and we will avoid any un-necessary delays to doing so, such as if one vehicle is ready and the other is still in progress, we will release that aircraft as soon as we can. Hang in there folks, it's making good progress and it's almost there.
World War II Online
Version 1.36.14.0 - December 2021
This release adds in a bunch of new content that was on the 2020/2021 Roadmap and also includes some new towns along with other updates and fixes.
Features
- Adds the US Paratrooper: M1A1 Carbine
- Adds the Universal Carrier
- Adds the M-3 Halftrack
- Adds the M-3 75mm Tank Destroyer
- Adds the Sdkfz 251/10 Ausf B
- Adds the Lorraine 37L APC
- Adds the Lorraine 37L Anti-Char
- 6 New Towns have been added to the map: Goes, Middelburg, Aumale, Schoonhoven, Neufchatel-en-Bray, Lignieres-Chatelain
- There is now a new canal between Veere and Vlissingen
- New cliffs at Dover
- New antenna cluster (NE Dover) (Home Chain)
- New river tile with template (SE Mechelen)
- New road/forest tiles (E Waterloo / NE La Roche)
- New Ketch model without collider for EWS (Whitstable)
- New Lighthouse prop (Dover and West of Breskens)
- Dragon's teeth added just east of Lier
- Destroyed Castle as prop (North of La Roche in the woods)
- Winter Trees
- Improved winter textures
- Sandbags added to the towers of the Church and Chapel
- Steam and Mac clients will now see a TOS agreement before being able to play
- Reduces the AWS check frequency by 50% which should quicken the AWS response of planes crossing into a new AWS square
Fixes
- Clipping issue at Abbeville Railway
- Clipping issue with CP Building secondary damage state
- Several minor fixes to the Church and Chapel buildings
- Terrain around Hallschlag changed to suit actual terrain
- Fixed an issue that was preventing Mac users from adjusting their mouse sensitivity
- ATG/AAA Stabilization Audits: 2lber, Pak 36, Flak 30, Flak 38, Mle 38 and M5
- Corrected the R35's bad LOD
- Disabled all other language options until they are fixed
We wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season, and thank you for 20 amazing years of WWII Online!
S!
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TAGS: wwiionline, ww2 games, Lorraine 37L, Lorraine 37L Antichar, holiday release, armored personnel carrier, game play change, m1a1 carbine, m-3 halftrack, sdkfz 251, Universal Carrier
