WWII Online update – ranking system and naval components added

For Immediate Release

DETAILS OF MAJOR UPDATE FOR WWII ONLINE
RELEASED, 30 DAY FREE TRIAL SET TO START

Dallas, TX – Playnet Headquarters – September
17th, 2001 – Cornered Rat Software’s development team are releasing details of
the next major update to its MMOG, WWII Online which includes additional RPG
elements and the first naval vehicles available in the "Blitzkrieg" theater. The
30 day free trial period will follow this release (v1.2.5.)

Version 1.2.5 provides players the beginnings
of a career advancement path for their characters. All players will begin with
the rank of Private with the ability to be promoted through 13 levels of rank up
to General. Chris Sherland, WWII Online Producer, outlines this new feature and
others as building blocks for future updates.

"Ranks are RPG ‘levels’ that will be the
basis for players getting their hands on more game functionality. Right now
(v1.2.5) it relates to posting custom missions. As players gain rank they will
have more points available to post missions. The rank system in 1.2.5 starts
players on a character development path which will increase over time in depth,
complexity and additional features."

1.2.5 offers new vehicles and weapons to
players including the German Panzer II tank, anti-aircraft installations and
patrol boats for river combat and English Channel crossings. The Panzer II is a
lightly-armored but powerfully armed Axis tank featuring a rapid-fire cannon, 30
caliber machine gun and a top speed of 40 kph. This tank will be a formidable
addition for the Axis players. The British Riverine Patrol boat, the "Fairmile
Model B" is now available as a multicrew-capable naval vessel with anti-tank,
anti-aircraft and anti-personnel weapons and will be used primarily to patrol
western European rivers. The boats will also be capable of transporting troops
to different locations. Axis players will use "captured" British boats and fly
the Axis flag until the introduction of additional naval vessels in future
versions.

"The addition of these patrol boats opens up
all-new areas of gameplay and is just a taste of the combat to be featured in
the evolution of the naval segment of WWII Online as part of a subscription to ‘Blitzkreig’.

Also featured in 1.2.5 are additional terrain
elements including dozens of new towns and villages such as Dover and Calais,
river docks and AI controlled anti-aircraft installations surrounding defended
positions. Another updated feature in this release is the increased number of
enterable buildings in large towns and cities.

Finally, the release of 1.2.5 provides the
CRS development team the ability to finalize the persistent world host providing
game play to thousands of players in a single world. This update is not part of
the 1.2.5 client upgrade but rather is a host-side update, which has been under
testing for several weeks, and will become the primary gameplay environment. In
addition to the persistent world host, an overflow world used for training,
special events and for those times when the persistent world host is at player
capacity will be offered.

Following the successful release of 1.2.5
Playnet.com will begin the 30 day free trial, which has been suspended since the
launch of the game in June. Expectations are that the 30 day free trial will
begin the week of September 9th with paid subscriptions going into effect the
week of October 7th.

"We wish to thank the thousands of players
who have supported our small team since June and we welcome new and current
players to experience the added features of this major update to the World War
II Online virtual experience."