Community Management (Talkin' with Tex) 11/16/21

       Gamers!  You have only SIX weeks left before Christmas so dust off your wish-lists, beg for that new CPU/Video Card from www.extremecovidpcpricing.com . . . . 

I hear selling blood plasma is a lucrative thing if done correctly.  You can also direct your loved ones to the WWIIONLINE Swag Store while taking advantage of the 20% first order discount. We ship GLOBALLY, too.  FYI - Anniversary labeled gear goes away in January so don't delay!  Now, on with the show (the weekly report)!  

Review of Special Event:  The Weygand Plan

A special "thank you" for all who participated and were patient while we reset some things when the Training Server 'belched' as we unlocked it and several issues arose.  Thankfully the CRS team was online for such a possibility and while this was a new wrinkle we had not experienced before, OHM and XOOM were able to get things sorted very quickly.  Hat tip to WESTY91 as his knowledge of the structure and brigade locations for the event allowed CRS to recover with minimal inconvenience.  

Several pieces of equipment that should not have been in the event crept in and were subsequently removed during the event (advanced Panzer IV Gs and M3 Stuarts).  While we spend considerable time reviewing individual brigade spawn lists, we are human so thank you for speaking up and letting us know when some equipment is outside of the established parameters.  A quick comment re: camping of airfields (during an event) . . . that is bad form and you will be asked to cease or withdraw as this is a Special Event and not the live server.  Overall, we had good participation, fierce aerial and ground combat so I look forward to reviewing the stream footage.     

LT COLONEL TOOLS:  How To Use Them:

Listed below are three basic links to help get you up to speed in using the HC toolset.

WWIIOL Youtube Channel - High Command Tutorial Series

WWIIOL High Command Quick Tips

WWIIOL Allied Axis Unit Codes

As always, please remember the "Critical Rules of Town Ownership" . . . 

***** CRITICAL RULE #1 – DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SWITCH TOWN OWNERSHIP UNTIL YOU HAVE BEEN PROPERLY TRAINED EITHER BY SENIOR ALLIED HIGH COMMAND OR A GAME MANAGER ****

IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY ATTEMPT TO SWITCH TOWN OWNERSHIP – USE .HCCP PANEL TO VETO THE SWITCH

**** CRITICAL RULE #2 – QUESTIONS?  SEE CRITICAL RULE #1 ****

Campaign Update - #185

Day 15 of the Campaign and we have already seen significant and strategic captures, losses, and recaptures along the critically important Meuse River.  After early Axis success along the river, the French have pushed East of the Meuse River line and are putting pressure on the Axis Center while the Axis have pushed a narrow dagger of an advance along the Southern border of the campaign map.   With each passing day, another tier is approaching unless you safeguard your factories or join the massed bomber raids which directly impact your opponent's supply.  Push play and defend the British Empire, the Third Republic, or the Double-Eagle . . . this war rages 24/7! 

Rat Chat Question & Answer (continued)

Question:  The 88 High Explosive does nothing to vehicles especially the Pan   I have hit a laffy many times.

ANSWER:  You are generally better served by aiming in front of the target to get a destructive spray pattern. *PRO TIP - don't miss this one*

Question: Will there be VISIBLE damage to the crew?

ANSWER:  Not currently in development for 1.0.

Question: Any work on making it easier to join crews in tanks and so on?

ANSWER:  This would be a 2.0 item. For 1.0 we don’t have that ability.

Question:  Any updates on the JU-88?

ANSWER:  We're still working on the Allied counter to it.  Once they are both complete, they will be released. Hopefully not too much longer of a wait for them.

Question:  Does the damage model come with it also into the Unreal Engine?

ANSWER:  Yes.

 Question:  What about the quality of game items? A fast button for $here and Gamma sliding bar in-game rather than monitor adjustment?  I should not have to log off or adjust my monitor for one game in order to see. Or add lights in the buildings.

ANSWER:  This is not on the table for 1.0. The gamma change is not meant to be changed as you are working around the simulation of night. However, with 2.0 and the Unreal Engine there will be more opportunities for external light sources.

Question:  Where is the change target feature?

ANSWER:  It is still being relooked at to correct some of the issues that it introduced in the .9 patch.

Question:  BMBM you said Axis would see 44/45 kit. Is there a timeline as to when? As the Allies already have that with the firefly and Achilles.

ANSWER:  The Tiger I (and P4H, P3N, Stug3G) was as much a 44/45 item as the FireFly and Achilles, although it does need a gunsight magnification upgrade iirc so it’s unfair to say Axis is facing 44/45 equipment with ’42 gear.

BONUS ANSWER:  We have not put the Panther in our roadmap but it’s a very high priority in my book.  We have lots of vehicles cooking for 1.0, basically everything you might wish for, but there’s a bit of waiting involved :)

The Mailbag (it's baaack!!)

Question:   SMITHY - DIC - I get that the OP side needs a bit of a disadvantage to balance but it needs some work. I was in a CP, EI runs in. By the time I type %here EI downstairs, he already had it at 10%. If I had died I would have then had to wait 10 seconds to spawn and try to clear. Whereas it's taking 3 minutes for 5 of us to capture a CP, due to the timers, and constant instant respawn of EI whittling those numbers down. Makes it hair pulling. Can one system be chosen and not both? Abolish SD and keep the slower timers or remove slow timers and increase SD.

ANSWER:  We appreciate the feedback but there are no current plans to adjust the timers or Spawn Delay; both which are tied directly to the Under-Pop side.

Question:  BOFORS - Please allow the option to set a priority when creating a mission or some other such system so that new players don't get misdirected.  I've created a mockup of how it may look.  Low priority missions can be collapsed by default.

ANSWER:  At present, there are no plans in place to change the UI in 1.0.  Good feedback such as this can help guide our development efforts for 2.0.  Good input, Bofors!

Community Safety:   Follow these steps:

• Press F9 to capture the in-game chat or Print Screen on your keyboard for outside of WWIIOL
• Use .report to notify the GM team
• Contact your CMT via CRS email and attach screenshots

Community Management Team (CMT)

We are here to serve and engage with YOU!

I am honored to be a part of the Community Management Team (CMT) and I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield and if I show up on your kill list . . . I was looking at my map!! 

tex