COMMUNITY REPORT - JUNE 14, 2016

CODE RED!!!! All hands prepare for WAR!!!! The High Commands on both sides will be launching massive operations Friday evening. Based on the information I have seen, this is setting up to be one of the largest online battles in years. Look at the secured forums for your side for more information. If you have not returned, and are waiting for a personal invite, well I am inviting you to come give the game a try. You will love it. The 9.99 special expires soon for the WBS players. Now is the time to support the development of the game and save money. The community lost another great member. The recording of the Rat Chat is published.

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COMMUNITY REPORT
June 14, 2016
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CAMPAIGN UPDATE:

The battles have been hard fought across the map and progress has slowed. The Allied Forces have pushed to buffer the Bertrix , and the Axis have pushed to capture some northern territory. An organized effort on the Axis Side kicked off Sunday with several squads forming up. The Operation was posted and the community made aware of the return of KGW, and Axis Squad. Other players and squads joined KGW on the field and they were, Whips, 91st, Blitz Kader, 250H, 1Jager, Iron Wolves, and others who did not sign in. The Axis Forces were able to gain a couple of targets. The Allied Forces showed up in force, and it created some great battles. After the action was over, Gagamel of KGW posted that while their gains could of been more, they posted ahead of time to create some good battles, and the goal of the operation was achieved. Many players are commenting on how the battles reminded them of the well-organized battles of the past.

From north to south, players were finding well organized battles often. Coordinated combined arms attacks and defense were a highlight to many. Close Air Support could be seen at the majority of the battles, while bombers pounded the targets, and fighters provided them cover.

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COMMUNITY UPDATE:

This month has been a very exciting time in the community. We have seen the player population continue to go up. This past weekend we saw the highest player population numbers that we have seen in a very long time. No matter where you turned coordinated efforts were happening everywhere. Both sides were facing each other head on and creating massive battles. Several players were commenting in the game on how the battles were the best they had seen in years.

THE RAT CHAT IS UP!

Last Saturday a Rat Chat was held so that players and others could ask the development team questions. Several topics of high interest were discussed, including the plan for 1.36 and beyond. After the chat I talk with several players who returned for the Welcome Back Soldier and they were impressed by the spirit and talent of the new team at CRS. They commented on the changes to the game so far and are looking forward to what will come next.

No matter if you listened to TS, watched players chat in the game, or read the forums, players are talking about what the new team has accomplished. Several have said their dream of what the game can be in the future is once again alive.

One issue that players are looking forward to seeing corrected is the long delay on the “Did you know,” screen. Thanks to the guys on the QA team and the dev team they have chased down the issue and believe that they are on the brink of fixing it. This and along with a few other items are planned to be released in a patch that is planned to happen in the not so distant future. They are still working on a couple of the issues, but it is getting closer.

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CODE RED!!!!

Long ago a leader in the community had the ability to excite those who followed him and make those who faced him run, all with only two words. Those words were “CODE RED!” Axis and Allied alike saw those posts in the open forums and knew that mobilization was about to happen. It has been a while since the community has seen Shilling use those words, but no better time to bring them back than now.

CODE RED!!!

Both High Commands have announced operations for the battlefield this weekend. Squad after squad has signed up for the operation on both sides. Current players and Vet players alike are jumping on board to support their side. Having read the operational plans I can tell you one thing, it is going to be BIG!!!! It has been a long time since I have seen a mobilization of players like this. This is an all hands on deck type of operation for both sides! No matter if you are a ground lover, pilot, or seaman, your team is calling out to you for your help. This is going to be EPIC! You will not want to miss this one.

If you have not returned to the battle yet, now is the time to join your friends on the field. The Welcome Back Solider Event continues on, and all player accounts are promoted to Premium accounts. You have the chance to help defeat the enemy and only you can decide if you have what it takes to join the battle.

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BECOME ONE WITH THE GAME!

If you have not tried this, you really need to. It will add so much to your gaming it will be like a different game. There is a Team Speak 3 Server for each side. You can join your team on team speak and get enemy updates, get updates on where the next attack will be, work with others to secure a cp, and so much more. One of the biggest complaints that some us to not do it is the volume and that can be adjusted for the game and TS so that you can set it how you like to hear. I know it drives me nuts when someone is talking all the time and I can not hear the enemy coming for me. I found a setting that I can live with. If you happen to catch Xoom on one of the TS servers you may hear some goodies about the future.

So if you have not used TS yet, you really should. You can find more information on the TS Page here ---->

The Addresses to the servers are:

ts.wwiionline.com:9977 - Axis Server (no password)
ts.wwiionline.com:9988 - Allied Server (no password)

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RIP KEYSIE!

On June 8, 2016 a long time member of the community passed away. Retired Allied Commander in Chief Keysie has severed the community well through the years. While some of her work was well known in the public eye, she also helped behind the scenes. Several members of the community have posted their memories in this thread. I have talked with several of her friends, and I am shocked at how amazing she was. Several folks told me , “She was bigger than life,” and this got me wondering how big that really was. So I kept digging and the more I dug, the more I came to respect her. She stood out many times to her friends in the community. They said she was a strong leader, and someone that everyone knew they could ask a question of her. It was no surprised when I found that this kindness carried over into her real life too.

She was known as Keysie to her friends in the community. She was a member of the 22nd squad. Her name was Theresa Restuccia, and was a retired EMT. She devoted her life to helping those who were in need. She saved the lives of thousands.

The community lost a great member this past week, and for those who were her friends or squaddies, I am sorry for your loss. I did not know her like many of you did, but listening to some of your stories about her, I wished I did get to know her more. Through you I was able to understand what a wonderful and special lady she was.

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BADGER’S COMMENTS!

One of the benefits of writing the community report is the ability to create my own little space when I want to discuss something important. Sometimes I use the space, and sometimes I have nothing to write about. Today I have an important plea from me to you. You may think I am begging, you probably are right, but when it is important I am willing to beg a little. I will also warn you, this ended up pretty long.

First let me state, I am like many of the other Rats on the team in that we volunteer our time to help keep the game going. I, along with many of the other Rats pay our subscriptions, and some have become different level Builders. I want to stress that I do not bring this up to make us look better, but to let you know that what I am about to request is not for money in my pocket, or the majority of the other Rat’s pockets.

Back in October I received a phone call from Xoom, and prior to that I had checked in on the game from time to time, but nothing ever caught my attention enough for me to return. Well he had called on a different subject, but I had to ask how everything was going. We talked for a while, and I became excited about the prospect of the game again. I promised that I would check it out. Last time I tried I had lots of CTD’s and that PC was not going to run it. Since I did not have plans on returning at the time, I did not push the issue. So when I made the promise I expected that I would load the latest and then only get a CTD and it would be a short lived try. Well it loaded up and I entered the world. I found myself lost, had no idea what was going on, and felt like a total green tag. What is sad is that I was part of the meetings to help design an easier way for new players to get into the game, well I can say we failed. So I stumbled my way through the maze and finally ended up on the field. Of course no battle was even near me, so I took the time to figure out some of the commands. Well lets jump ahead some.

Once again I fell in love with the game. It is not the normal kind of love, it is like the love that one would have for one of those ugly dogs. Most people see the warts and no hair, while I am sure their owners see nothing but an awesome dog. We all know the game is behind the times when it comes to graphics, but it is also ahead everything else out there in so many ways.

I started to listen to the Rats, not just Xoom, both all of the ones that I ran into on TS while playing. Sometimes I would stay in the background and listen to what they had planned. The more I heard, the more I got excited. One thing that I noticed about the new team at CRS was they were very protective over what they promised. What I was hearing was making me look forward to the future of the game once again. So when I was asked to join the team at CRS again, I jumped on the chance. Since I have joined the team I have not regretted it at all.
Now what this is all leading up to. My friends and fellow members of the community, I am here to ask you for your support. The company is 100% community funded today. There are no investors or anyone with deep pockets to back the game anymore. What you pay in your subscription is what runs this company and keeps the game alive and development going. For several years it was very questionable. From what I was told there was one time when there was less than 30 days left in the budget. The number of people on the team was down to almost none, and there was no one on the team to actually develop the game.

Those were some dark days. I am actually glad that I was not around during those days. I cannot imagine how the Rats felt being on the edge of collapse. I am not sure how much the community knew at the time, or how the community felt. I can only imagine if I would have been here how I would of felt.
So those days were very sad days, but the good news is that a few Rats backed by a great community pulled the company back from falling off the cliff and gave it hope again. Today the company and game are on a steady foundation that will allow both to grow in a healthy steady pace. The management of the company has led the company to the position that it is today, which is a great place when compared to not long ago. The company is stable, the team that was down to 3 is now at 26 Rats, and development has been happening.

One thing I love about the new team is that while they are bold in their dreams, they are also using caution. Let’s look at what has happened since the team has started to make a comeback. Imagine sitting down to work and being handed a book in a language that you do not know. Your project is based on that language and it is something that is not taught in school anymore. You now have to perform surgery on a living thing following what is in that book.

Just like playing the game, the backend had a steep learning curve for the new team. So the team decided to take baby steps. Taking on one thing at a time you might say. Well it probably was more than one thing, but you get the picture. They cut off sections to work on and set out to improve the game. Some of the gains were the ability to introduce new infantry weapons. The team could not do much more with art since everything else required special software. Working with the infantry allowed the team to get their feet under them with the least amount of cost associated with their effort. They did not just run out and buy something that they were not sure they would need or could use, they used what they had at the time to learn and do. This approach also allowed them to introduce new content to the players in the quickest amount of time.

After building their knowledge one the workings of the game, one piece at a time, they continue to get into new areas of the game and have to learn how to make things work. Another major accomplishment was the 1.35 patch. The team totally rewrote a major part of the game. I think VICTARUS said the number of lines on the forums, but I do not remember exactly and I do not want to just spit something out that is not true. It was a bunch!

The 1.35 patch was a major gain for the team at CRS. It showed that they could do major changes to the game and it also prepared the team for future development. The actually work that was done for 1.35 also laid the ground work for easier development in the future.

I am sorry for the long winded write up, but this is important to me and I want to make sure you understand my thoughts on this. Having been part of the team for a while now, I have knowledge of plans for the future. The plans are bold to say the least. List to the Rat Chat if you have not yet. There you will learn some of the plans for the future.

I will leave the future plans in the Rat Chat in order to cut down on some of the words here. This leaves you and me at this position in time. You and I have a choice to make right now. This choice is not life or death, but one of great importance to those of us who once again believe in the Rats and the future of the game. I ask that you take a look at the past year. Do not look back at the old team and what happened 5, 10, 15 years ago, but look at what has happened in the last year. It is not fair to judge the new team by your memory of the old team. Do not get me wrong, I highly respect the old team, some are my friends. There is a difference between the two teams, and the team that is holding the reigns today is the team you need to judge. A team of which 90%+ comes from the community. They play the game and can see what you see. The majority of that team are volunteers. They are community members who have brought their professional skills to help our game get better. Within the last year I would say that they have made the game better. We have seen development start up again, and we have heard their plan for the future. They understand some key game issues need to be addressed. They are going to take us back to a form of town based supply, they want to bring in new player placed objects, and they want to do many other great things.

Through the years many of you have wanted to go back to town based supply, and while it will be different than it was, it is happening. Many have wanted different things and while not all things can be addressed overnight, many things are being done to improve the game. The game has changed drastically in the last year. Imagine what it will be like one year from now?

Some of you I have talked with in the game, and you have told me that you were not planning to sub back up. You just come in to see what has changed. You admit that you like the new game, and like how the development team has made positive changes. Yet, you still do not want to help support the game? I am not asking you to pay in a subscription that goes into some deep pocket. If you subscribe to the game your money will go into giving us the ability to speed up production. It will allow us the ability to hire some full time employees maybe? Just imagine if we add 2 more employees who get paid to do 40 hours a week. That alone would speed up production and allow the game to move ahead quicker. One quick note, I only know your sub will speed up production, I do not know if it would be full time employees or part time, I used that as an example.

The game will be developed as quick as possible with the only limitation of how many people subscribe to the game. The more subscriptions, the faster it will be developed.

I have been around watching this company since before the game was released. Never before have I seen it with so much potential. I think you can agree with me that through the work of what the new team has accomplished we can believe in their ability to move the game forward in a healthy fashion.

Yes if someone is out there who has deep pockets and would like to invest, we are willing to talk, but in reality we know that the future of the game rides on community members like you. With your support we can do wonders.

So, the choice I believe we have is not if we want to back the new team at CRS, but which plan to choose that we can afford. For the next 24 hours(?) returningg vets can take advantage of the $9.99 per month. This is your price until you change your subscription or unsubscribe. That is about thirty two cents per day if you play every day. You would get hours of enjoyment from a little investment. When compared to other entertainment sources that is pretty cheap.

If you are one who would like to do more and can afford it, then we have several levels of subscriptions that you can choose from. You can find them listed in your account page. Your support will help develop the game and bring the items talked about in the Rat Chat quicker.

Personally I answered the same questions myself not that long ago. I looked at what the team has accomplished, and I looked at their plans for the future, based on that I decided that they had earned my trust and I made the commitment to back them. I am asking you to join me, if you have not yet, because together we all can help make the development go quicker.

You might be able to help a little more, if you can, I would suggest you look at the builder programs. They not only help provide extra funding for development, they also get some extra features.

Now is the Time to become a builder!!! If you have ever thought about becoming one, the time has never been so right. You have the power to help advance the game by so much. There are several levels of Builders, some are yearly, and others are lifetime. Every Builder account is important and helps the game greatly. I hope that you will join us and help the game become what we all would like for it to become.

Be a hero!

If you would like to become a Lifetime Silver, Gold, Platinum Builder - submit a support ticket for more information

Again, I am sorry for the length, but it is important and I wanted to get my thinking in place so you could see how I decided to come back and back this team.

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SCREENSHOT CONTEST!

The Screenshot Contest continues to go on. We want everyone to be part of this contest and hope that you will take part too. Everyone has the ability to snap that one perfect shot of action and end up winning this contest.

At the end of the month, a panel of Rats will go through the screenshots and select the top 10. The community will then select the top screenshots from those 10.

1st place winner will receive 3 months free game time
2nd place winner will receive 2 months
3rd place winner will receive 1 month.

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FROM THE DESK OF THE AXIS COMMANDER IN CHIEF:

June 13, 2016
Operation Rabbit update:
It was bound to happen and on Saturday afternoon it did. As I was guarding the Weert ­ Maasiak FB
with the squad BlitzKader and after we had dispatched numerous ET’s I had pushed out an 88 as a
Sherman was pushing in close. Just as I was about to pull the trigger after lining it up I was
dead….to waver25… head hung low I respawned as a 75mm but my Country CO, hector781, had already
avenged my death and waver25 has not been seen since. The Game is on as the Hunt for the Wabbit
continues.
Promotions and New Officers:
LW ­ none
KM ­ none
Heer ­ Venomash ­ 17IDKG3 XO (returning Officer)

Awards:
Meritorious Service Cross ­ sydspain
German Defense Medal ­ hastien & dandare9
Weekly MVPs were not available at the time of when the dispatch runner left to deliver the CinC
report to HQ.
S!
­ ehstrike, Axis CinC

FROM THE DESK OF THE ALLIED COMMANDER IN CHIEF:

We’ve had some major gains in the past week! The Allies have rallied together to capture the key cities of Liege, Maastricht, and Verviers in the center. We’ve toppled Eindhoven in the north and now hold the key town of Bastogne in the south. The battles we’ve seen have been some of the fiercest in recent memory. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication as we continue to drive the Axis back into Germany!

Allied High Command is in the process of preparing for a massive operation this Friday. Our plan is to run this operation well into the weekend. Keep an eye on the Allied Secure forums for mission critical orders in the next few days. At the time of writing, specifics remain classified at the highest levels; here is what I can share with you for now.

CODENAME
OPERATION: ELMER

KICKOFF:
Friday 06/17 at 20:00 (CST) server time

Join us on the Allied TeamSpeak Server and report for duty Friday night – ts.wwiionline.com:9988

Promotions and New Officers:

Gassault – promoted to Army Branch XO
Ltsolina – placed XO 1st ID 3rd Commandos Command

Awards:

Player of the Week
Ella

Officer of the Week
Rabitldr

Squad of the Week
Anzac

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Special Allied Officer of the Week
Keysie

We were all disheartened to learn that Keysie had recently passed away. She was truly a pillar of the Allied side, and a testament to the good and kind hearted souls that are forever prevalent in this online community. A former Allied CinC and long-time HC Officer, Keysie devoted many hours to helping new senior officers learn the ropes of what it took to make HC function behind the curtain.

To honor her memory and her contribution to the AHC, as well as to the community, we will be holding a final retirement ceremony for her at the end of Campaign 124. Details will be posted in the forums upon campaign conclusion.
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S!

LES GO ALLIES #alliedwarcry

-Waver25, Allied

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END
COMMUNITY REPORT
June 14, 2016
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