Happy Holiday's from all of us here at Playnet/CRS! We have a monster update for you, some key highlights being: Ricochet problems have been addressed, Destroyers now have Server Tracked Rounds (for long-distance bombardment, like artillery), rifles no longer sway out of control, updated 3D models for WWII Online 1.0 & 2.0, a massive audio pass to improve attenuation and levels has taken place (full briefing within), new towns have been added, LODs have been extended for better graphical presentation on all ground units and trees, we've re-added and fixed the Mercedes W154 race car for special events, and a helluva lot more. This one is jam-packed, so read the notes carefully and get excited!
Note: When logging into WWII Online, make sure your username is lower-case, and no special characters. Campaign 200 will start Saturday morning at approximately 9AM PST (GMT-8).
World War II Online
Version 1.37.6.0 - December 2023
Happy Holidays from the RATS! Our focus for this release was to fix several immediate issues affecting game play, such as the ricocheting rounds, sound issues, excessive rifle sway, and more.
We've also added STO rounds for Destroyers and upgraded the gunner HUD info for long-distance bombardment, extended LODs for better graphics at longer distances, future proofed ATG models and lots of other great stuff.
All of this is made possible by your continued support as a subscriber to WWII Online. Thank you, S!
Features
Bellhead, Lampie and Atticus13 have been added to the Fallen Soldier Memorial
Updated 3D models (Roadmap Delivery):
Pak36 ATG
SA mle 1934 ATG
SA mle 1937 ATG
The game credits have been updated for the fourth quarter of 2023
Playgate will now show different server locked states
The Mercedes W154 (race car) has been fixed and reintroduced to the game
Engine audio volume has been updated
Third person audio for trucks balanced and verified
Audio attenuation for all vehicles and weapon audio has been updated
Bush sizes have been reduced by half
Tree visual distance has been extended
Christmas trees have been enlarged
Capture buildings have been updated with more Christmas theme
Some tanks have had snow texture themes applied
Axis Vehicles
PzIIIH
Stug3B
Panzer II C
Sdfz 231
Panzer III F
Panzer IV D
Panzer 38T
Tiger1e
Allied Vehicles
A13
Vickers Mk IV
Matilda Mk II
Daimler Armored Car
Churchill variants (excluding CS5)
Sherman
Sherman 76
Firefly
M10
Hotchkiss 39
R-35
Char1B
Somua S-35
Panhard
All engine damage levels for ground vehicles has been verified
Destroyer 5in shells have been made into Server Tracked Objects (STOs)
Destroyer 5in gun positions have an expanded Info HUD
The Higgins LCVP has had engine fire VFX updates and can no longer visually clip through while riding as infantry
Higgins can now spawn from any Dock, but FMS can only be used from Deep Water Ports
Extended the first Level of Detail (LOD) of all ground vehicles
Barrage Balloon PPOs have been added to boats/ships
Removed access to the Podium PPO except for CRS
A floating AF has been added to Area 51
The default horn key has been changed to alt+h
Terrain Updates:
Map icons have been updated for the Christmas theme
Red Sand now acts as a normal town
Added 12 new Towns:
Harderwijk
Nunspeet
Elburg
Oldebroek
Heerd
Kamp Nieuw Milligen
Froissy
Saint-Just-en-Chaussee
Estrees-Saint-Denis
Compiegne
Compiegne East
Berneui sur Aisne
Fixes
Fixed an issue that caused the Authentication server to crash
Ricochets: Major bugfix pass to clear issues
Ammo with an HE component should now perform as intended
Smoke rounds should now perform as intended
Corrected the Bell's wheel wells
Updated the docks capture area
Corrected the M1 Carbine's rate of fire
Standardized rifle sway across all rifles
Fixed texture issues on the Lorraine, M10 and A15
Some AAA AI pits have been fixed to show it firing in the correct direction
The SdKfz 231 being able to drive with destroyed engines has been fixed
The Wellington's info text has been updated
Fixed the windshield glare issue found on the Bedford and Laffly
Corrected a clipping issue found in the Trench Mobile Spawn
Fixed the double factory damage cause
The Mle38 AAA recoil has been fixed
Corrected the Flak36 (88mm) issue that caused it to tip over while being towed
Terrain Fixes:
The Tongeren wall clipping has been fixed
Remich AB walls have been fixed
Corrected the terrain bug at the Beauraing FB
Updated the issue found at Cousy-le Chateau
S! Playnet / Cornered Rat Software
Some more information from our Lead Producer, "CORN."
Hey everyone, we're really excited here to get you this patch and I wanted to shed some light on what some of these specific points mean because a single line may not give the most context.
This patch is quite a big deal, and here's some more information as it relates to the audio adjustments that have been made:
- Engine audio volume has been updatedThis refers to the 3rd person engine audio and the dynamic difference between a vehicle up close vs at a distance. There is now a difference between aircraft, tanks, and haulers in their intensity and volume. This will be expanded in further updates.
- Third person audio for trucks balanced and verifiedThere have been long-standing reports of trucks driving around that had no 3rd person audio, making them virtually silent. A couple of issues were found and now all trucks have been verified, in data AND in-game, to have proper 3rd person audio. No more silent trucks...unless of course you just cut your engine and coast....or then again...maybe not. All trucks now have proper ground roll audio applied, so even coasting along...you're gonna make some noise. Most notable up close, but can still be heard from a distance.
- Audio attenuation for all vehicles and weapon audio has been updatedThis is the big one. Digging through it was found there were a number of errors and misinterpretations within the Attenuation distance data. All kinds of audio weirdness would have been the fallout of such a setup. REALLY loud sounds that degraded very little if at all over distance, inaudible audio...just no good all around. We took the time to go through and reestablish proper and expected attenuation over distance. So now things like guns have a proper attenuation.
In case you are unaware of audio attenuation is, it is the degradation of the volume of a particular sound over distance until it becomes inaudible. So in the case of guns, you will hear a 105mm MUCH farther away than you will, say, a .30 cal. In the case of vehicles, aircraft have much less 'obstruction of audio' due to all the muffling obstructions being on the ground, aircraft audio carries futher. Tanks can be heard from greater distances than trucks. Infantry, yes...we checked and verified that ALL infantry audio not only works, but also received the same treatment.
What does all of this mean CORN?!?! Make it simple!! Ok, I will. This all boils down to setting the stage for a MUCH more dynamic battlefield experience. You can absolutely hear, not only the direction but get a really good idea of how far away somebody/something is...much better than before. Battles at a distance will sound like they are at distance. Over the next coming updates we will be continuing to polish the audio and in fact, are currently progressing toward a major audio overhaul. Some of this has been 'leaked' out in the form of new engine and gun audio for several aircraft. New GMCCCKW audio in THIS update! So while great progress was made with this audio update to provide a much more dynamic and impactful experience, you ain't seen nothin' yet! Err...heard?!
- All engine damage levels for ground vehicles has been verified
This is a HUGE one! I am sure many of you remember when the updated/new VFX were put in place? Many cries of suddenly HUGE gameplay issues were caused. Make no doubt, we were quite concerned. Firstly, the VFX update didn't touch ANY vehicle modules or weapons/ammo. But the complaints were quite valid, 'Why is so and so driving around with their engine on fire and a column of smoke following them around like a balloon on a string??!?!! We call FOUL!
'Well, turns out it was NOT the VFX causing this issue. Turns out, that VFX update made a 20yr old bug suddenly stand out. We did a lot of digging, and in the last update prior to this one, it was discovered there was a bug in the damage sequence of engines on a couple of vehicles. This was resolved and we then began exploring into all other motorized ground vehicles. Well sure enough, like a plague that ran rampant for years unchecked, this bug existed in the majority of all motorized ground vehicles. This was a HUGE undertaking as it required going through and fixing each vehicle one by one, testing and verifying along the way.
I can proudly say that our team did an outstanding job! Now, I challenge you to find a vehicle that drives around with an engulfed engine fire. In fact, I'd say this as we tested every single ground vehicle prior to this release and verified that every engine dies and/or eats itself on catastrophic oil loss.
S!-CORN
Destroyers now have their 5inch main guns upgraded to bombard long distances (well beyond visual distance, similar to how Artillery functions in WWII Online) to support the ground war. This is a massive added bonus to the impact that naval players can have!
Don't forget to subscribe and support the war effort at http://account.wwiionline.com.
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