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Created: November
16th, 1999
Howdy folks, Sixxo here. Email your comments to sixxo@hq.wwiionline.com. I’ll skip the cheesy intro and get right down to it: What do I want to see in the infantry portion of WW2 Online? There’s no real answer to this question. There are lots of small, broken-up fragments, however. Engine
Let’s start at square one. Each first-person simulator/shooter is built from the ground up. Which, in case you didn’t get it yet, is the engine. First-person games now have a long list of givens for the engine, so I will skip that (or most of it). The engine should be modern, supporting tomorrow’s 3D cards (Voodoo 4/5, GeForce 256, Savage 2000, etc) and be capable of producing quality images (at least 1024x768x32). Support for OpenGL and Direct3D is another given (let’s face it folks, Glide is dying – unless the Voodoo 4/5s can blow the developers away, I see no need for Glide). Support for 3D sound APIs – that’s a necessity. Three dimensional sound is becoming a standard now, and it will surely be needed in World War 2 Online. You DO want to hear where that last bullet came from, don’t you? Deformable Terrain Holes / craters in the terrain, such as foxholes, craters from explosions, etc. A way to place this in without bogging down the CPU is necessary. Deformations would be added as events occur, i.e. when a mortar shell explodes in a field, a crater is created by deforming the terrain properly. Let’s get to the meat of this article – gameplay.
I have several ideas for troop movement. The basic commands should be mapped out and functional, and those are:
And the more advanced commands:
Now, that is just a rough list of commands. I will get to combat commands later on. Players should also be able to run and fire, but with much worse accuracy (and the camera shakes when they let off a shot). Putting suppressive fire on a target is very necessary, even if you are not hitting him. Moving across open terrain without firing back is just idiocy. Reload time while running should be increased, depending on Stamina. Stamina Bar The stamina bar is the player’s energy – the more consecutive actions they do, the lower their stamina gets. They need stamina to do anything – move, run, jump, shoot, etc. Certain actions take away more from the bar. When the bar reaches 0, the player becomes extremely tired and almost immobile. They can continue to push themselves, but will pass out if they do more activity. This will keep players from being unrealistically active, or jumping around too much. Getting hit will of course deduce from the total amount of the stamina bar, meaning the more seriously wounded you are, the less actions you can perform. Shovels Ability to dig foxholes using shovels provided to each infantry unit member. Deformable terrain would be required. Digging in was a necessary part of survival during artillery shelling. Communication Only communication officers can use their radio(s) to communicate with other communication officers and commanders; relaying information is important. Troops can yell / talk to each other using voice communication, and depending on how loud it is, it can be heard from a certain distance. If the enemy overhears the yelling / talking, it will sound like mumbling or murmur but be audible nonetheless. Regular troops do not have radios and must rely on regular voice communication (talking or yelling). Weight Weight affects running speed and stamina (see above). The more you are carrying, the slower you run. Walking speed should be kept even so units can keep up with each other when marching / patrolling. Jumping Realistic jumping - none of that 5 foot leaping stuff. Also, jumping in one place should be eliminated. You can only jump while running. Change Viewing Height It is possible to change your height while standing, crouching, or lying prone. This will allow for walls/cover of different sizes, and peeking out of windows, etc. Having walls of only 2 different sizes will seem a bit dull and suspicious. Weather/Terrain Affecting Stamina Weather and terrain affect stamina; running uphill is much harder than running downhill, and speed is also decreased in snowy terrain (as well as stamina consumption, as the soldier must use for force to slog through the snow), as well as other natural terrain changes. Getting Tired (Cough, Wheez, Pant) After exhausting their stamina, or most of it, a soldier will need to rest. If they are very tired, they will cough or pant, revealing their position to the enemy. If they are exhausted or heavily fatigued, they will wheez, especially in cold terrain. Sounds are a very important factor on the battlefield.
Leaning around corners and only exposing their head and their weapon – necessary. Accuracy is decreased if they do not focus on their target or are moving too rapidly. Firing Around Corners/Leaning – Only Exposing The Weapon For weapons that can be held with one hand, players should be able to expose only their hand and the weapon to fire around a corner. Accuracy should be decreased greatly, as they are firing blindly, but it is also useful for cover fire. Hand Signals Basic hand signals should be modeled, such as Stop, Advance, Move To Area, etc. Recoil Accurately modeled recoil on weapons. When firing an automatic rifle, the screen should shake and the aim should wander depending on how long it is being fired. Barrel Changes The barrel of weapons should have to be changed when it has fired off a certain amount of rounds. The player has to keep track of the status of his weapon and keep a backup of barrels handy in combat. Barrel changing can be set on Automatic or Manual. In Manual mode, the player can continue to fire after the weapon has needed its’ barrel change (and without giving it one), but it will decrease the quality of the weapon, causing it to eventually become jammed or unusable, or overheat, causing the player to drop the weapon. In Automatic mode, as soon as the set number of rounds has been fired, the player automatically changes barrels without being prompted or having to initiate it themselves. They can still change the barrel manually before the set number of rounds fired has been reached, if they choose to. Barrel changing should be just like reloading. An animation on the external player model of the trooper changing his barrel would be useful – one would be needed for reloading as well. Barrel changing prevents the player from firing his weapon for the duration of the change. They can continue to move but it will prolong the duration of the barrel change. Weapon Stoppages / Jamming If a weapon is abused (fired for too long without rest, no barrel change, etc) for a certain amount of time, it will jam or clog up. For machine guns, the ammo chamber might get hot, in turn making reloads impossible until it gets cooled off. If a machine gun is fired for a long period of time without a barrel change, the barrel will begin to smoke / bend out of shape, decreasing accuracy immensely. If there is some sort of weapon stoppage, the player will need to fix the problem manually. The worse the stoppage/jam, the longer it takes to fix. There is a chance that a weapon will become unusable. Looting / Spoils of War After an enemy has been killed, his weapon and/or ammo should be available to be picked up. There should be a 20% chance or so of his weapon and ammo to be functional after he has been killed, and even less if he has been killed by artillery or explosion. If it is not functional, it cannot be picked up. Otherwise anybody can pick it up and use it. Rate of Fire
Wounds in Battle Battle wounds should be based upon location. It can be complicated (hit in an area of a major vital organ and you begin to bleed profusely) or not complicated (hit in the leg, you limp; hit in the stomach, you bleed). If not complicated, wound areas should be as such:
Knocked Off Your Feet If an explosion / mortar goes off near the player, the player should take damage from the shrapnel and / or be knocked off their feet and hit the ground. Multiple-Piece Weapons (Mortars, HMGs, LMGs, etc) Multi-piece weapons will have to be assembled, then disassembled in order to be moved. Each player carries one piece, then when they are standing within a certain radius of each other, each one presses the Assemble Weapon key. When they have all pressed it, the weapon is then assembled and appears in front of them. To move it, the person using the weapon has to stop and back away; then each person takes a single piece of the weapon in order to move it. Relocate and reassemble. Loading Ammo Into Stationary Weapons / MGs Loading ammo into machine guns would require for the person with the ammo to approach the gun, stand next to it, and hit the Load Ammo key, thereby attaching the ammo chain onto the weapon. Tracers Different ammo types for the guns that supported then – tracer rounds and non-tracer rounds. Machine guns especially. These would have to be manually selected before leaving base on a mission. Bayonets The soldier must take one with him if they wish to use it. It is then attached to their gun and used with the Secondary Fire command. Only certain guns may have bayonets attached. Firing From The Hip The ability to fire the weapon from the hip rather than aiming down the sights. This allows for a wide field of view but a decrease of aim. Again, another tool of suppresive fire, but nonetheless useful. A key used to change from aiming down the sights to firing from the hip is also needed (see below - List of Combat Actions) Positions Affecting Aim Each position the soldier assumes affects his aim - crouch, lie down, or stand. When lying down, the aim is best. When crouching, a little worse. And when standing, also a bit worse. List of Combat Actions Reload
Unit Creation Players can create their own units and name them. For example, you choose the type of unit (in this case, let's use Paratrooper), then the division (let's use 101st Airborne), and finally, company (Easy Company - a pun in there for anybody who's read Ambrose). Each unit type needs a certain amount of players and positions to be filled. For example, for a Paratrooper unit, you'd need a machine gun team, 6 riflemen, and one mortar team. When the players sign on to the unit and it is verified by the Playnet moderators, the unit is created within the game. It can allow communciation is a special unit-only channel, online "buddy list" (so you know when your friends are on and where), and whatever else might be beneficial to the unit. The unit's uniform, of course, will be of the 101st Airborne. Unit created. Joining Missions When a battlefield commander creates a mission, it's broadcast to everybody on the side (they see it on the Available Missions menu, for example). Each mission has to fill up with a certain number of players before it begins (unless otherwise approved by the commander). Nonaffiliated players can join and fill up the unit slots on the units, OR a player-created unit can sign up and fill one of the units the mission requires (for example, if the mission requires 3 paratrooper units, Easy Company of the 101st Airborne can join up and fill one of the 3 unit slots). That way, player-created units can be used efficiently. Unit Stats When the unit completes a mission together, the surviving players get credit as does the entire unit. Units will be ranked (visible to everyone on that side) in order of successful missions, meaning better units can be recognized as so. Also, the battlefield commander could also specify which units get missions, thereby assigning a mission specifically involving Easy Company of the 101st. Crew Mission Count / Point Accumulation If the crew of a machine gun or any other weapon / vehicle is within a certain proximity to the vehicle / weapon, then when that vehicle or weapon gains mission points or kills another enemy, they will get credit for it for being the crew. If they run off, however, they will not get credit because they are not assisting their team. External Voice Communication Programs External voice communication programs should be blocked to simulate units / troops not having long-distance radios. This could be done by either disabling the voice programs on start-up or blocking their ports when WW2OL is engaged, rendering them obsolete. Idle Noises Idle noises to create mood / atmosphere. Birds chirping, etc. If you are sneaking / moving for too long through a forest for example, you might step on a branch and reveal your position. Sound is essential. When you fire, you scare away the birds / animals (no need for the models, just having the sound might suffice). However, if there are bird / animal models, you could be able to locate enemy positions when you see birds flying out of a patch of woods. Binoculars Optical enhancement equipment. Obvious use. Should have to be selected manually to be carried - not a standard item. Filming Making films using a camera that soldiers can take along with them, then show to their commander. The camera item should store the film on the server, so that when the soldier dies or drops the camera, someone else can take it and see what it has on it. Then again, they'd have to get back to base and give it to their commanding officer. Landmines Landmines that are partially visible depending on the terrain they are in. For example, you should be able to spot them if you looked closely, but not by just scanning the area over with your eyes. Icons Icons should be eliminated for ground-ground enemy spotting. The uniforms are enough to tell the enemy apart from your allies. Ground-air enemy spotting should have no icons either, as soldiers were told to run whenever they saw a plane approaching, be it friendly or enemy. Air-ground identification should have icons at a short distance to identify friendly troops ONLY. That way it gives the pilot enough time to bail out on a bombing run that would have otherwise been against friendly troops. Visible Equipment When the primary weapon is not used, show it slung over the should on the external model so others can identify what kind of troop it is or what their primary weapons are. Creating Squads Squads should be created on the Regiment level. The infantry went in these levels: Platoon -> Company -> Battalion -> Regiment -> Division. When creating a squad, the players should choose the Division, thereby using their armpatch / logo, then choosing the Regiment. Within the Regiment, the players can have their men divided into Companies (A through Z, they choose the letters/names), and the Companies can be divided into Platoons (not shown in-game, decided upon by players when the time comes for combat). Breathing Effects A small bit of steam coming out of the soldier's mouth when breathing in the snow/cold rain. A client-side effect, doesn't take up much resources, and can be an optional toggle. Still Photography Soldiers can take cameras with them to the battlefield with a limited amount of film and take pictures. These can be used for memory after battles, recon, etc, and appear in black and white. When a soldier is done taking pictures, he returns to base and "develops" (downloads) the footage. If his camera is captured, the enemy can do the same.
List of Paratrooper Actions
Dangers of Airborne Infantry The dangers should be appropriately represented – the chute refuses to open (rare occurrence but does happen), the wind blows too hard and the troopers veer off-target, hurting your legs when finally hitting the ground, midair collisions (rare), etc. Weight Proper use of weight to affect the drop speed. Someone carrying a machine gun or parts of it should fall faster than someone carrying nothing but their leg pack and rifle. Marked Drop Zones Pathfinder units marking drop zones with either smoke grenades, bright flares, or radio signals to the lead C-47s. C-47 Onboard Signals Red and Green lights to alert the paratroopers and the stick commander. Red – get ready/approaching Green – go go go! Skill To Land It should take skill on the part of the player to make a successful landing, especially at night. It should not just be jumping out of a plane, waiting to touch down, and then running around. They should have to control the parachute and battle winds, and touch down where they are supposed to be.
Sniper Suits Uniforms fit for snipers - hooded outfits, more camouflage on the helmet, etc. Keep in tune with realism and real suits issued to them for each country. Scopes Scopes with preset ranges of magnification, modifiable by the player with a keystroke. Also, when the sniper is changing magnification, it requires that he tweak the scope - this should be displayed properly, with the external model with his hand on the scope and requiring the player to wait for the procedure to finish. Sniper Rifles Rifles fitted for snipers with attached scopes - obvious. Stealth Balance A balance of stealth, so they are stealthy but not too stealthy. No sniper should be able to take out an entire enemy force - purely unrealistic. Snipers were support troops for larger units. Units Players can become snipers only when they are already attached to a unit / set of players. Lone snipers were unheard of. Firing Positions Different firing positions - sitting, crouched, prone, etc, each one affecting accuracy. For example, prone was the ideal position so sniper rounds fired while prone have the greatest chance of hitting the desired area. Proper Animations Proper animations of external models when the sniper is standing, aiming in at a target, reloading, or making a shot. When someone is aiming at a target through their scope, it should portray this correctly - not just show a soldier standing there holding his gun. List of Sniper Actions
Patching Up Teammates Medics have the ability to patch up wounded teammates to stop their bleeding. If somebody is dying from a wound and the medic patches it up, they can be sent home/evacuated from the battlefield and still keep their mission points accumulated those far. This will make medics more useful. It should also take longer to patch up more serious wounds. Carrying Soldiers Away A medic can hoist a soldier up and carry them away to a safer place on the battlefield by placing their arm around the medic's back and helping them up. This allows the medic to help out those with wounded legs and gives the medic a safer place to operate. Mission Points Medics get mission points for the squad's completed mission objectives and also for each soldier he assists. If he assists a soldier multiple times, he is granted points for each assist. Evacuation The medic must decide if the soldier's wound is enough for him to be evacuated. If the soldier still wants to fight, they can patch them up and let them go back at it. If the soldier's wound is serious and the medic sees it as such, he can order for him to be evacuated. That soldier will be presented with a choice, "Do You Wish To Be Evacuated?" They can say no and stay with their comrades, or they can agree and be taken back to base. Shots of Morphine Each medic can also administer shots of morphine to his fallen comrades. When a soldier is in too much pain to get up or to be carried away (loses stamina and consciousness when attempted to be lifted up), the medic can give him morphine to ease the pain. Morphine is temporary, and one shot will not always do the job for a serious wound. Multiple shots of morphine apply a longer painkiller while putting the soldier at risk for overdose - death. Sulfa Powder Each medic has a limited number of packets of sulfa powder that they can carry. A sulfa powder packet will slow down the bleeding, each shot lessening the blood flow (up until none) but also bringing that soldier closer to overdose from the drug. Slowing down the bleeding will allow the medic more time to patch up the soldier. List of Medic Actions
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Inc., World War II Online, WWII Online, and Cornered Rat Software, are
trademarks of Playnet
Incorporated.
Copyright 2000 Mike DelPrete
"Booya"
