Gameplay
There are two sides: Axis vs. Allied. The Axis consists of the German forces and the Allies are the combined British (UK), French and US forces. The rest of Europe, the rest of the British Commonwealth, Soviet Union, China or Japan have not been introduced into the WW2 simulation yet. Players can choose to play Axis or Allies and may switch sides after waiting a mandatory period of fifteen minutes that begins when they resign from their current side.
Gameplay takes place in a single game world, which is a 1/2 scale map of Western Europe. It is the largest MMOG game world map, at over 350,000 km2 (135,136 sq mi), with most play occurring in a 52,000 km2 (20,077 sq mi) central area in which most capturable cities, airfields and ports have been placed. Two alternate servers are available for training events and beta testing the next version respectively.
The general organization of the forces is historical. SS units are excluded, along with all political elements (for example, the Nazi Party, the Gestapo and swastika).
WWIIOL is team-oriented. Players are various troops, pilots, gunners, tank commanders, naval destroyer captains, mission leaders, high commanders and are organized into brigades. Everyone plays in the brigade of their choice. Smaller military units of heavily-themed squads are independently managed by players and can use their own tactics but follow the brigade and strategic rules set by the high command players and cooperate with other squads and non-squad players. Being a squad member is optional but encouraged. Some squads have vigorous membership rites. Anyone can, however, form their own squad, solicit members and register the squad with the high command for brigade assignment.
Each player holds a title of rank, based on the military ranks of the time. Ranks are gained through a performance-based scoring system. Rank is never lost as a result of an unsuccessful mission or death.
Detailed statistics are tracked by the server, and made available through a web interface, known as 'Combat Statistics and Records', or CSR. Statistics are very detailed, recording a history of every mission the player has attempted over the campaign. Summary statistics are available to compare player performance to those of other players. Statistics include elements such as number of kills, damages, deaths, time spent on each mission, and depot captures. The top 100 players for several categories are updated regularly.
The game takes skill, teamwork, tactics, strategy, planning, patience and perseverance to win battles, make progress and individually rank upward.
Communication between players via text is supported by a variety of communication channels for messages exchanged between players. Default channels are Target (players will communicate with others whose missions target a town and its linked facilities), Mission (all players who chose a mission created by the same person), squad (a voluntary group similar to a clan in other online games), Brigade (not commonly used), Operations (for Tactical/Strategic information and discussions) and Side (for more general and sometimes off-topic chat). There is also a Help channel which can be tuned. Numbered text channels can also be manually connected to. Each side's Air Force and Navy have designated numbered channels, some squads who often play together use specific channels for intersquad communication, and a particular coordinated effort between many the side's High Command, players, various squads and/or various military branches may decide to use a specific numbered channel, as their Target channels may be quite different. Additionally, it is common for players to communicate via TeamSpeak since cooperation with other players can be critical for success (WWIIOL uses a TS3 server).
Read more about this topic: World War II Online