Timeline

From Battleground Europe Wiki

A collection of milestones in the game.

Contents 1 Oct 1997 2 Nov 1999 3 June 2001 4 July 2001 5 Sept 2001 6 Jan 2001 7 June 2002 8 Feb 2003 9 May 2003 10 Sep 2003 11 Jan 2004 12 Mar 2004 13 Jun 2004 14 Oct 2004 15 Dec 2004 16 Aug 2005 17 June 2005 18 Oct 2005 19 Dec 2005 20 Feb 2006 21 May 2006 22 Jun 2006 23 Aug 2006 24 Dec 2006 25 March 2007 26 April 2007 27 May 2007 28 Aug 2007 29 Oct 2007 30 Jan 2008 31 Feb 2008 32 March 2008

Oct 1997

• Playnet website launched.

Nov 1999

• World War II Online website launched.

June 2001

• “World War II Online- Blitzkrieg” launches. Players fought with and against thousands of others in combat infantry action or in command of one of dozens of accurately modeled WWII vehicles and aircraft. However due to several factors, the release becomes known as one of the biggest launch disasters in gaming history. Despite this initial setback, CRS strove on and their perseverance resulted in the thriving and evolving game we see today.
• More than 25,000 registered users experienced the largest ever MMOG environment for the first time.

July 2001

• “World War II Online- Blitzkrieg” surpasses 50,000 registered users.
• More than 5,000 concurrent users marked the most ever for first-person shooter online game.

Sept 2001

• The first naval combat vessels go live, delivering first MMOG combined-arms virtual battlefield featuring land, sea and air units.

Jan 2001

• Winner of IGN’s “Readers Choice: Persistent World Game of the Year” beating out “Dark Age of Camelot”.
• Winner of GameSpy’s “Gamers Choice: Sim of the Year” beating out Microsoft “Flight Simulator”.

June 2002

• “World War II Online™- Readers’ Choice Edition” is released.
• “World War II Online™- Macintosh Edition” is released.

Feb 2003

• “Channel Dash”, a two-day special event series is completed delivering first ever MMOG naval battle with 1.040 sorties completed and 590 player casualties.

May 2003

• The first bomber aircraft are added, signaling the ability to plan and carry out strategic bombing against enemy factories. These attacks and their results were tied to research, development, and production of in-game combat units, affecting overall gameplay.
• The release of twenty-first weapon class / type brings the total of player-controlled weapons & vehicles above 80.

Sep 2003

• “World War II Online” surpasses 150,000 registered users.
• A local language support function is added featuring French, German, Spanish and Italian.
• First recorded complete Allied vs Axis campaign ends in Allied victory.

2,708,424 combat sorties completed with 1,410,973 player casualties.

Jan 2004

• “Combat Stats & Records” feature is added providing detailed historical player and combat statistics. 4,152,910 entries recorded in first 24 hours.
• Additions to game terrain now includes 36,546 strategic objects such as buildings, bunkers and bridges placed among 4,090 facilities in 445 cities and towns.
• This was the largest MMOG environment measuring 354,889 scale square miles.

Mar 2004

• Game environment update includes new special effects system and the addition of more than 4,000,000 3 dimensional trees and bushes to game world.
• The longest Axis vs Allied campaign ends in Axis victory after 54 days. This resulted in 5,928,585 combat sorties completed with 2,900,308 player casualties.

Jun 2004

• Longest Axis vs Allied campaign ends in Axis victory after 87 days. 5,928,585 combat sorties completed with 2,683,128 player casualties.

Oct 2004

• 1.17 released.

Dec 2004

• 1.18 released. Airborne Infantry added. These specialized paratroop units board, ride and parachute from new transport aircraft assaulting enemy positions or supporting troops under attack. 3,800 paratrooper sorties recorded in first 8 hours of availability.

Aug 2005

• First Realism Event: Battle of Ham played.

June 2005

• 1.19 released.

Oct 2005

• 1.20 released. Brigade structure integrated adding player-run Divisions and Brigades bringing a new level of tactical and strategic realism to the virtual battlefield.

Dec 2005

• 1.21 released: Will there be snipers? Read the FAQ!
  • Fulfilling long time request by players, snipers are added to infantry class bringing the total of player-controlled weapons & vehicles above 100. Other changes include brigade improvements, return and supply changes, added tanks and new towns.
• “Battleground Europe” retail release makes game available in Europe for the first time.

Feb 2006

• 1.22 released. Major changes include new town buildings, new death view, and other fixes and improvements.

May 2006

• 1.23 released. Major changes include the introduction of UMS, added towns and side balance improvements.

Jun 2006

• “World War II Online: Battleground Europe” surpasses 350,000 registered users.
• Historical totals equal 125 million combat sorties with player casualties exceeding 61 million.

Aug 2006

• 1.24 released. Major changes include hulks and weather.

Dec 2006

• 1.25 released. Major changes include persistent corpse, bouncing grenades, ATR and LMG now deployable on various new areas and new AT guns for each nations.

March 2007

• Rat Chat held with over 100 attendees. Discussed development and production work on 1.26 and fielded questions from players.

April 2007

• 1.26 released. Major changes include improved performance and a number of fixes.

May 2007

• The 2007 WWIIOL PLAYER CONVENTION. Events include Texas Hold'em, paint ball, guest speaker, food and drink.

Aug 2007

• 1.27 Released. Major changes include TOEs, mortars, new FX features, ammo stockpile and supply for infantry men.

Oct 2007

• California wildfires cause internet interruptions that disrupt WWIIOL for some players.

Jan 2008

• 1.28 Released. Major changes include Unity 1.5 performance increases, vehicle markings, new airborne units, and an air warning system

Feb 2008

• 1.29 plans are revealed. World War II Online will be available released in China with recruit friendly features.
• Rat Chat held with over 150 attendees. Discussion revolved around the China Project and Unity II.

March 2008

• Rat Chat with about 100 people attending. The topic of discussion was the direction CRS wants to take with the command structure inside the game.
• GigaTV, with the help of Hofnarr, have a live hour long look at the game. GigaTV is an online German gaming website. A video can be downloaded here: http://befansite.com/CRS/gigaTV.avi. Note that only German is used.
• A dispute between Cogent and Telia disrupts access to the game for certain players.