MMO-Symposium » WWIIOL: Battleground Europe

Battleground Europe – More on Axis equipment

Yetian — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:08:47 +0000

I’ve now played a few Campaign’s since swapping to Axis with some of my squad and our new squad the SODS plan to stay there for at least the next campaign.

One of my new favourite unit types is the 232 armoured vehicle. It’s a very wobbly but very fast armoured car with an AP/HE firing main gun and a machine gun to back it up.

The picture here is what was left of a Bedford truck I blew apart as it tried to head to an FB I was defending.

The 232 doesn’t stand up to anti tank gun fire or heavy rounds of any kind. It can be destroyed by an anti tank rifle, a well place rifle shot from close range and as with any armour, satchel charges.

So you might think, why would I want to drive round in an armoured car that can be taken down so easily?

Well the 232 is fast, fun to drive, with guns that can chew up EI, anti tank guns, trucks and other small armoured cars like the Panhard with ease. Hell I even got a kill on a Stuart tank by ramming AP rounds into the side of it’s turret.

If your playing Axis for the first time, give them a go. Sure they are no replacement for a well armoured and heavy gunned tank, but they have their place on the battlefield as fast attack cars. The other day myself and a few of the SODS flew through an underpass in the centre of a town as the attack was at a bit of a stalemate. We drove right through the enemy guns and infantry, swung around and decimated everything in the way. Granted there were no heavy tanks in the way at that time and a couple of the SODS died in the melee, but we managed to stop the enemy spawning and allow our infantry to capture the CP. We then drove into the Army Base and helped suppress the infantry inside.

I’ll be posting about other equipment types soon, but for now, get in your wobbly beast and head off onto the battlefield.

Your year in MMO’s 2009?

Yetian — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:25:40 +0000

Firstly a Merry Xmas to all MMO-Symposium readers!

As I currently don’t have the net at home due to Virgin’s slack install dates. I’d like to know what you’ve all been up to this year in MMO terms?

What games have you played? Which ones kept you playing and which ones did you try and drop after a beta/first month?

Also which MMO’s are you looking forward to the most for 2010?

I Myself as you might know if you’ve been reading the posts here (if not then go read some ), have been pretty much playing just Everquest 2 and Battleground Europe. Everquest 2 is a game I’ve played none stop since beta and is my main PvE game of choice. Battleground Europe is my PvP game which I only started playing this year. I am still enjoying BE while waiting for the huge new graphical update that’s on it’s way.

I tried a few beta’s such as Fallen Earth and Champions Online, neither of which held my attention enough to subscribe to. I’ve also played Dungeon’s and Dragon’s Online (the free version), which is not a bad game but it does have a bit of a solo feel to it. The reason for that is unless your grouped you only see others in city/town areas.

I plan to try Star Trek online open beta in the new year and I’ll probably have a look at The Old Republic at some stage, though the amount wanting into beta is sure to be massive (Bioware are you listening? ).

So that’s me and my year in MMO’s, I now await your summary of your own MMO journey through 2009.

Trying the other side

Yetian — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:38:14 +0000

A few of my Battleground squad decided to try out the Axis side instead of allied for the current campaign. As I’ve never played the other side I thought I’d give it a go, so I’ve joined them for the current game campaign.

First impressions were of massive confusion, I tried shooting German’s which obviously didn’t work as I am one. I kept panicking when I heard the noise of a 232 armoured car or a panzer tank, as I’ve only just learned to recognise them. It also was a while before I could spot allied soldiers quickly as I wasn’t used to looking for the same uniform’s or flashes of colour in the corner of my eye.

I’ve tried out all the equipment I can with my current rank, which started at 1 so I couldn’t use much at first. I’m rank 4 in the Army, 3 in the Navy and still 1 in the Air Force at the moment. There is a rank bug of sorts though as the game says I’m rank 5 when hovering over equipment, though I can’t select rank 5 gear. If I change persona from say Army to Navy and back to Army then I can select rank 5 equipment for my first spawn. As this is obviously some sort of bug, I don’t do it any more, sure I’ll select what I can the first time but I don’t swap persona’s now to use different gear.

The swap to axis for a campaign has caused no end of friction within the Hussars due to details I won’t go into here. We left the squad for the campaign so as not to have Hussars playing on the Axis side. The leaving was fine and banter went back and forth on the forum for a bit about kills we were getting on each other. One incident happened however which for me at least showed a couple of the Hussars members up for what they are, solo players within a squad. The rest of the squad I have no problems with but at this moment I’m undecided as to what I will do when I return to allies after the current campaign.

Do I stay Axis for another campaign as a couple of the guys I’m playing with are doing? Do I return to allied as soon as this campaign ends? When I do return, do I return to the Hussars?

One thing is for sure, my stint on the Axis side is a temporary thing as I prefer playing allied. I like the equipment better, I feel more comfortable playing as I am used to recognising the enemy and I feel the communication at a local level is better. I’ve found on numerous occasions while playing Axis that when I say something target related in the target channel I am totally ignored. There does seem to be a bit of a “If we don’t know your name, we won’t bother to respond” setup going on. Each side’s High Command seem to be about the same when it comes to activity and communication though, I have my moans about both sides.

I’ll be sure to post here with further developments regarding when I go back to allies and where I find myself when there.

Out with the old…

Yetian — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:26:47 +0000

In with the old!

As all gamers have to do from time to time, I’ve swapped my ageing PC for a shiny new one. I won’t go into the spec and all that as it’s not MMO related. However the graphics card is a key element in an MMO PC. I decided as the next generation of Nvidia cards were not released I’d go for the ATI 5850.

The card flew through EQ2, even on a full 4 group raid with max graphics turned on. Battleground Europe was another story however. Once I worked around the mouse freeze which was actually Windows 7 related, the most I managed to play was maybe 2 mins before the screen froze. This was repeated each and every time I loaded the game, screen freeze but sound continuing as normal.

A scan of the Battleground forums found a few posts about it but no real response from the game devs, the only response I could find was that they didn’t have one of the cards to test. Now as the new Nvidia cards are not likely to be out until the new year and Battleground Europe has a big graphics update coming, I found that a bit strange.

I mean a lot of people are going to be upgrading and at the moment the 5000 series ATI cards are the best option. ATI were no better as a scan of their forums found nothing and a post by yours truly gained no response.

Now Battleground Europe is one of the 2 MMO’s I play more than once a week so it was important my PC could actually run it. Thankfully the place I bought the PC from allowed me to return the 5850 and get a credit note in return. I am now running my old 8800 GTX until the new Nvidia cards are released, I won’t be going ATI again.

I know some ATI fans are likely to abuse my post, but it’s not the first time I’ve had driver related issues with ATI cards as before my current card I had an old 9600 and that had problems too.

It’s not entirely ATI’s fault as for me Cornered Rat Software should have acquired a 5000 series card for testing, if not before then after they realised there was a problem.

These things happen and I will now await the release of the next generation Nvidia cards. In the meantime I can continue to play WW2OL with my trusty old card, so more posts will follow shortly.

Hussars squad night: FB busting

Yetian — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:30:05 +0000

A quick post this morning about the Hussars squad night last night in BE. I apologise for the lack of pics, I was too busy making a mess of things to take any.

We started the squad night rolling out Tanks from what I gather. At the time I got online we decided to change our aim for the night and strengthen the Allied front line by spending the night blowing Forward Bases (FB’s). If you’ve read some of my previous posts you will know I often spend time doing this myself so I was more than happy to join the FB busting night.

A few of the FB’s we were to target were busy with enemy action as well which I actually enjoy more as you have to sneak in without drawing attention. This kind of FB bust is more fun as I always imagine the curses spewing forth from the mouth of the enemy after their FB vanishes in front of their eyes.

This FB busting session was also a little bit different to the usual runs as we decided to take Para’s and with Igor (on as Hussars) flying our transport we flew many a run out to FB’s.

I really should take notes more as my memory of town names is shocking. I think we started by taking back a Chimay – Couvin FB and also had a go at one of the Cerfontaine Forward Bases.

We managed to take down most of our targets though one proved difficult due to the large amount of enemy forces surrounding the base.

I managed to get off at the wrong spot on one occasion as I should have gone on with the squad, I’d also spawned a para instead of an infantry sapper as time we were going to land nearby. I received a fair amount of grief on Voice chat. In my defence, I had turned voice down as one of the squad always has his mic too loud and I thought it was a bit rude to mute him, though I did later on. I did however have a laugh back at M0rdsith when he got on the wrong plane for one of the flights.

It was another good squad night and it ended with a lot of the squad running multiple bombing runs against the last stubborn FB, myself included though once again I didn’t manage any kills.

What’s your killer feature?

Yetian — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:45:05 +0000

With the new Battleground Europe update on the way and shiny new toys such as rag doll physics and dynamic weather included, it got me thinking (scary thought I know ).

All new MMO’s or updates to existing MMO’s introduce some kind of new feature. I remember when the original Everquest introduced a graphics update and everyone went “Ooooohhh shiny”! I remember when climbable walls were added in EQ2 which is also a nice idea, even though I couldn’t climb any old rock I wanted to.

So the question is if you could pick one feature to be added to either your MMO of choice, or to be included into a new MMO, what would it be?

We have a few readers now at MMO-Symposium, so I’d like to hear your thoughts on MMO’s, this question being the first one. I’m leaving the scope open, it can be any MMO you currently play, or just an idea you have that might not fit into your MMO but you’d like to see in a future game. The features can be as mad or as sensible as you want them to be, they just have to be workable.

I await your thoughts and musings my fellow MMO gamers….

Squad night & Bombing Kills at last

Yetian — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:03:53 +0000

On Sunday night I took part in the Hussars squad night again, I try to make Sunday the one night a week I’m always on BE so I can join in with the squad.

We decided to hit the factories as we’ve done before only this time with 3 trucks to split all our sappers up between factories. We flew from Mendig to Essen with Igor as the pilot once again, avoiding AI on the way and hoping enemy fighters were not there to meet us.

I logged on a bit late and the squad decided to pick me up on the way, so I spawned in at an FB to wait for the plane. As I was watching the plane come in it dipped behind a hill, trusting our pilot I waited. On vent however I soon found out I’d be waiting a bit longer as a giant moving hill had got in the way of Igor’s plane and it had flipped.

The 2nd attempt by our valiant pilot picked me and the other hussars up that had clambered out of the first plane and we set off again.

This time we made it to Essen and landed, a good landing from Igor especially as we were minus one wheel courtesy of an AI gunner. I’d also like to say thanks again to Igor for all the work he did setting this attack up, as well as Svart and I think Tass for running trucks out to Essen.

After we landed a truck arrived that had been waiting as usual, this time followed by a 2nd truck. We split into two, some heading to a northern factory and some to the factory in the SE of the town. The plan was to drop some from one of the trucks (including myself), into the SE while others went on elsewhere. The 3rd truck which should have been inside the first factory wasn’t so we ended up going for two instead.

I won’t go into detail on how we blow the factories as I have gone over that in a previous post. The expected air cover arrived in the end and as before our truck was shot by a few well aimed strafing runs. With no re-supply we had to leave after causing some significant damage to the factories.

This wasn’t the end for the Hussars however as we had already decided to return with bombers and some Hussars that had died earlier were already on their way. I took off in my trusty rust bucket (a Blenheim MKIV) and completed a few bombing runs myself. I think I managed to hit the factory once, the other times I was shot down as my rattling metal box isn’t too hot at evading good pilots, well maybe it’s me, not the plane.

Along with a few Hussars I then dropped out of the bombing runs while the rest continued on. Our job was to defend Mendig as the enemy were dropping Para’s into town. We managed to liberate the town at least twice before we noticed a lot of incoming fire from the east hill. I spotted some anti air guns and a 232 on the hillside so tried to get out there on foot to take care of them. I was picked off easily so tried with an ATG, the 232 died to my first shot and then I followed as a result of incoming gun fire from the hill. Maximinus was making a run around the back of the guns with his ATR while I was dying.

I then took to the air again and with a few Hussars flew around the woods and then came in low over the tree’s with the enemy guns in a line in front of me. I didn’t hold out much hope as my bombing is pretty dire at the moment and my only kills to date had been a few infantry. Still I came in closer at low altitude and let loose with every bomb I had, getting hit on the way past and hurtling into the ground past the enemy guns.

The image to the right is my kill report, I was shocked to say the least! I’d managed to take out all 3 enemy guns and the half track supporting them. At this point I decided to call it a night as things could only go downhill from there. Maximinus had made the run and was laid behind them, so I might of stolen his thunder.

The following day I spotted a post on the battleground europe forums about our factory sapping efforts. A lot of complaints about how we are “gaming” the game, despawning every bomber a poster saw after dropping bombs and other general whining.

Now I fully expect flame (insulting) comments to this post and feel free to rant away, but I am entitled to put my point across.

As far as I’m concerned sapping the factories is fine, as there is nothing to stop the Axis forces doing the same to our factories. Granted they would have to send a troop transport ship with a truck over to the English coast and fly some sappers in. This is no harder than us having to drive a truck for hours and then fly our own sappers in.

Sure there should be more AI in Essen, sure it’s not realistic to sap factories as you’d run out of supply usually. This isn’t really the point though is it? Battleground Europe is a WW2 MMO sim, but do we all really expect complete realism from an MMO? If it’s allowed in the game by the Devs then there is nothing wrong with doing what we did to slow down the re supply of enemy forces. If we didn’t do it someone else would and I wouldn’t be complaining if they did the same to us, I’d just try to stop them instead.

I’m not going to glorify the ranters with quotes from their post, as usual the people complaining fail to see both sides of the coin. One poster even whined at bombers de spawning every time he saw one drop their bombs, even trading posts with Hussars only for us to find out he actually meant Koln which is not the town we were at.

The problem with some BE players is they only want to fight in the big battles on the front line and anyone that does anything different is whined at. I like to do that sure, but I also like to blow FB’s (sometimes alone), drive guns out to an airfield to supress enemy air, destroy factories and the rest.

It’s a war MMO, war’s are not all about front line fighting. We had people saying that we were avoiding the fighting, obviously not able to see that slowing down resupply is a part of a conflict that aids your side just as much as having those 15 people fighting in a town.

As for the campaign? Well our forces had pushed deep into axis territory, only for a few strange decisions from our HC to result in us losing ground fast. With this lost ground and morale, the allied players seem to have either stopped logging in or defected to the Axis in droves. I will continue to log in with my squad and fight no matter how bad the map gets, we’ve already had one squad member leave the squad for the Axis side as he couldn’t handle the challenge.

I wish that Cornered Rat Software would put in a restriction allowing you to only play one side during an individual campaign. Controversial? Sure it is, but it would stop the spies and make the map more balance, maybe make people fight to save their side longer.

Navy Rank 3 – Weather details for 1.31

Yetian — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:29:31 +0000

A short post today regarding a new rank in Battleground Europe.

As you may know from previous posts, I’m a fan of Sappers in the game and often found myself in a navy brigade without the rank to use Sappers. The other day I spawned in to defend a town using a fairmile (small attack vessel), to defend from enemy air and armour. A bridge right next to the dock had an attack order on, so each time I spawned I shot the bridge and returned to base. I did this about 10 times as each bridge hit gives 30 rank points and this was enough to gain me rank 3 in the navy.

Afterwards I continued to spawn as Fairmiles only this time, I moved along the river and used my anti air guns to defend against incoming planes. A few infantry ran past which meant I could switch to a side machine gun, as well as a half-track with an infantry on board which my main gun had fun with.

I can now finally use sappers in the navy as well as army brigades, more tanks and FB’s can now be blown!

On a side note Motormouth over at the Battleground Europe website has posted some pics and video showing the new dynamic weather system which will be introduced to the game as part of the 1.31 update. Head over and take a look, some really nice screen shots in that post. It’s another great feature in the upcoming update and you can expect some screen shots here on MMO-Symposium once the update is live.

Battleground Europe the next level

Sres — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:57:12 +0000

As a long time subscriber to Battleground Europe I have always had high hopes for this game and truly believed that it was only a matter of time until the guys at Cornered Rat Software pulled something off that had everyone salivating, even those skeptics over at secret off topic, although I doubt you’d ever appease some of the more fervent haters of the game.

The next version of Battleground Europe (formally World War II Online) is currently in closed beta and the guys in Texas must have been itching to give the low down on this update as many titbits came tumbling out of their Twitter account and on personal blogs with Toto & Granik working on the graphics and models for the next version since the turn of the year and some juice features being added like Rag Doll effects and a basic weather system.

With the main features being given quite a bit of airing from, I thought I would look at some of the finer details, gleaned from the screenshots that CRS put on their website as teasers.

The first one is of an Axis squad using a wall for cover, something that we don’t have much of in the game currently, cover and concealment are two entirely different things, bushes give concealment where by a bush can hide you it doesn’t protect you if a passing infantry decides to put some bullets into your location. The wall in the picture will give cover and concealment, this will increase hiding places for advancing and defending infantry, it will also give artillery and tanks the ability to protect themselves as I can only guess that the walls are indestructible.

The windmill has always been a bit part player in the game. The ability as an infantryman to get some height either for recon or for those quick shots is always important. Previously to gain access to the windmills upper level you were required to use a clipping technique where by you lie on the floor and shuffle up the side of the building.

Having a height advantage over your enemy is something that you crave as a sniper and a such the windmill will now hopefully give you some cover as well as a good vantage point.

Weather was always the needle in the side of Battleground Europe, every day was sunny and bright and having weather even in the basic format will hopefully bring a whole new dimension to the game for infantry, allowing them improved concealment while traversing fields undetected, for tankers using the darker light setting to conceal themselves in a hedge row, or the pilots to use altitude and cloud cover to escape the enemy.

With a standard ceiling on the cloud you will still see the bombers flying high above the canopy and CRS have taken into account that the factories will have breaks in the cloud to allow altitude bombing, although the guys who actually do the bombing are that good that they could probably work of instruments.

The question is, is this all that CRS have up their collective sleeves? Or can we expect more to slowly but surely come out over the next few weeks?

I hope that there are more changes on the way, we already know from the Twitter feed that the graphic guys have worked tirelessly to get rid of all the 2D models that blighted the landscape, they’ve improved the textures on buildings and on the ground, making the game look better.

From the pictures and videos we can see the shadows on the infantry are now better than the radial circle that we used to have, CRS are also using their Entertainment Software Rating of Mature to full effect with rag doll and blood decals hitting walls and floors alike.

Depending on performance (which has always been the bane of WWIIOL) the game will hopefully start to reach out to a wider audience and hopefully CRS will markit the game to the maximum of their ability.

Battleground Europe v1.31 preview

Yetian — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:28:19 +0000

A preview of the upcoming Battleground Europe update v1.31 has been posted on the official site.

There are some interesting features in the update. I think I’m most looking forward to the introduction of Rag Doll physics for infantry death and explosions. Can’t wait to throw a grenade into a bush and see people fly out of it.

There is to be new variable weather, a lot of upgrade to buildings and other graphical elements. Also game engine performance improvements are to be in the 1.31 update including things such as improved shaders.

I can’t wait to see what all the new and improved elements look like in game and how the rest of the update plays.