Happy 7th WWIIOL

Big seven years for us today. There aren;t many around that can say that. All in all I'd have to say I'm very proud to be a part of this project. Sure, there are other things I'd like to do and I wish I had the resources to make this game more than it is but you know what? WWIIOL is a great game, the community that supports us is amazing and the people that I've had the opportunity to work with past and present are amazing. I get up every morning smiling at the chance to go to work. That is the biggest prize of all. Thank you to all of our players, past and present for allowing us to make this amazing game.

From today's Newsletter

REMEMBER WHEN?

Many people have contributed to the success of WWIIOL over the years. Former Senior Producer Chris "MO" Sherland and CRS President John "KILLER" MacQueen remember what those early days were like:

"One of the things I'll never forget is designing the game on a park bench in Grapevine TX over the course of about a month." MO recalls. "We just had yellow pads and pencils...it was a super creative time."

"The most striking aspect (of WWIIOL)", KILLER muses "is that much of the team was from a background of multiplayer gaming going back into the 1980's long before even many in the games industry had any idea MMOG games existed."

One of the things that sticks out about the first development cycle for MO was the first test of the physics model: "Actually seeing a vehicle moving in the world gave us all a huge boost in confidence. Of course the first attempt is always perfect fodder for stories, HOOF had built a A6M Japanese Zero that went about Mach 1.5!!"

While KILLER wasn't overly surprised at the following the game drew when it was announced ("The idea of an MMOG war sim has been a dream of alot of simulation players"), MO found it exhilarating. "We were all blown away. Strategy First did a great job at marketing the launch...it was amazing to see that many folks signing up."

WWIIOLs launch wasn't exactly smooth, something many early MMOs suffered from at that time. "We couldn't just come out and explain that our ISP screwed the pooch and left us hanging", KILLER says. "It just wouldn't be appropriate so we just took it on the chin. Everything else was down to developing on a budget a fraction of what is typically spent on an MMO and some shortcomings that fell out of that." MO agrees: "I'd love to have had another 6 months of development, as well as been settled with our ISP. Those two thing could have made a huge impact on the launch."

WWIIOL a.k.a BATTLEGROUND EUROPE has outlasted many MMOs and is still going strong. The scope of the project still fires the imaginations of players. MO's pride in his participation is evident: "CRS took on the first (and possibly only real) virtual battlefield. It is still the only source of realistic combined arms combat available and that is what makes it so special. To have been part of the team that realized that vision is something I'll be proud of for the rest of my life". That pride is mirrored by KILLER: "Taking gaming where it has never gone before in terms of sheer scale of a game world and total PvP on a scale of combined arms that we have done. It's very cool to have experienced getting that accomplished."

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Some Links from the Masses:
WWII Online: Battleground Europe Celebrates 7 Years Online
PR Web (press release) - Ferndale,WA,USA

World War II Online 7th Anniversary Celebration Begins
Inside Mac Games - Franklin,TN,USA

Battleground Europe: WWII Online: 7th Year Promotion
By news@mmorpg.com

Battleground Europe: WWII Online: 7th Year Promotion on MMORPG.com
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World War II Online - 7th Anniversary!