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WILLYTEE'S EXPANDING UNIVERSE
WWIIOL's own cartoon genius gets new gig at 'Armchair General'

Bill "Willytee" Teitzel is a well-known personality to everyone within the WWII Online community. He has been drawing comic strips and producing animated videos about the game and the personalities surrounding it since 2001.

In addition to his website which archives his many cartoons and videos, he has produced print media projects including, WHACKED OUT WITH WILLYTEE (LulU Press) and even created an official poster for the European release of WWIIOL: Battleground Europe. His comic strips are often included in the official newsletter.

Now he's expanding his audience for cartoon fun and bringing original content to Armchair General- a publication which focuses on the history of warfare and wargaming.

Q. Hi Willy! Tell us how you got started drawing comics and making movies about WWIIOL.

A. Well, I was still rather new to the game and was hanging around the 3RD Canadian Division folks around Namur-Andenne area. During the earlier versions of the game there was no MSPs yet, so everything was trucked or hauled. I was trying desperate to catch a Bedford to the front lines, with no luck. They all just passed my ATG by on the road as I was trying to hitch-hike to town. So.. one way I 'vent' is to draw a comic about the situation. I drew a picture of a soldier setting out spike strips along the road saying something like "How to catch a Bedford to the front lines". Well.. folks loved it when I posted it on the forums because most players could relate to the situation and found it humorous.

Later, SmackD and I combined my comics with his knowledge of Macromedia Flash. With his patient help, I slowly learned Flash myself.. and the rest is history! With the help of some very talented and uber folks within the community, we put out some funny stuff. Some movies take hours and hours to complete when you consider the soundtrack, voice-overs, drawing, and animation But when all the pieces come together it's all worth it because it brings a whole new dimension to my work. It takes hundreds of man hours to throw a ten minute flick together, but I think it's worth it.

Q. How many comics have you drawn since the beginning?

A. Gosh. I don't really know. I have a whole CD of them, plus the original paper versions filed away in my studio. I would guess thousands. Maybe several thousands counting some of the animated items I have filed. I look back at some of the earlier ones I drew and realized how bad I sucked! lol. This has really been a learning experience for me!

Q. Do you ever get stumped for ideas? How do you come up with new ideas?

A. Yes, sometimes I do get stumped. Most of the time I just need to find available time to log into the game world, start hanging around some folks... and pretty soon... BAM! Something happens and I'm back in the swing. If I REALLY get stumped.. I go pester Quizno until she finally says or does something silly and go from there! :) She runs and hides every time she sees me anymore! lol.

Many times I will get PM's from fellow players talking about their experiences, and often times I find something in the forums and I'll come up with something good. I'm a terrible forum lurker. I wish I could get to all requests, but sometimes I just don't get to them. If someone does submit something and doesn't get a reply.. don't hesitate to 'remind' me.. I really don't mind.

Q. Does it bother you that players, and the occasional Rat, follow you around and hound you to be the next star in one of your comics or videos?

A. Not at all. I would like to have everyone in a cartoon or movie if I could. I think all subscribers should get an appearance, but I am just one man and our community is so many :(

It's a great feeling to walk out into a AB and some fellow player whom I don't recognize says "OMG! It's WillyTee! I didn't think you really existed! Love your comics man! They make my day!"

I get PM's often saying something like "I was having a horrible day, and I watched your movie and it made me feel better because I LMFAO...".. THAT'S what it's all about for me.

Q. What about this new gig at Armchair General?

A. Several months ago I was on a submission kick when I sent out submissions to dozens of publishers and magazines. One of them was ArmChair General. ACG has always been a supported of WWIIOL and thought it would be a nice fit. They appeared interested in a strip that related to historical warfare. So I did some brainstorming on the subject and sent some items their way. To start it is going to be a weekly strip on the web page.

Q. Does this mean you are leaving WWIIOL behind or can we expect more comic gold from you?

A. Definitely not! I'll still be around. As the winter and holidays pass, people will start seeing me in game more often.


Q. When will we start seeing your work show up on the Armchair General website and will your stuff be in their magazine?

A. I have not heard for sure, but it will most likely show up on the website in a few weeks. I have not heard much about the magazine yet, but I'm sure that if the good folks in our community show their support for me at ACG, it shouldn't be long!

Q. Last question... what have you got in the works for your next video?

A. It involves SHEEP and WINE. Maybe a Rat.. but they don't mix well with SHEEP and WINE.. so we'll see :)

Rat Chat AAR

We had a really successful TS chat last Friday with over 150 players tuning in and firing questions at Gophur and Doc.

Bable moderated the event and by all accounts the players felt it was a great event.

We're definitely looking at hosting another soon.

 

November 17th, 2006- Gophur's taking a few days away from the office. He's seeking the trinity of Thanksgiving tradition... Wild Turkey, Jim Beam and Johnny Walker.

Ground Performance Audit
During our 1.25 production run-up, we examined the vehicle set and found some anomalies, that in certain terrain conditions, were clearly not up to the standards we're happy with. A ground performance audit was done that focused on fixing these anomalies- largely to do with hill climbing and cross country performance.

So, in beta testing now are the results of this extra little bonus for v1.25 release. Four tanks that couldn't outclimb their own flatulence can now climb hills (PzKw.IVg, StuG.IIIg, S-35 and H-39) and all the tanks have improved in various ways that were not ideal with respect to how they should have performed. Trucks and armored cars and half tracks improved as well.

Doc's 1.25 Production Notes <

SQUAD PROFILE:
The Royals
CO: Kozure
XO: Caber

In August 2005 The Royals were formed when two of the original Allied squads came together to be one. The VRHC (Virtual Black Watch of Canada) and 3RTR (3rd Royal Tank Regiment). These two squads were formed before the release of WWII Online and have always had a natural relationship with one another since the beginning- no wonder this was a natural evolution as they decided to become one unit.

The VRHC was based upon the historical Canadian infantry unit, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, which saw action in the Boer War, World War I, the infamous Dieppe raid of 1942, and many other battles of World War II as well. The 3RTR was loosely based upon the historical British armored unit, The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, which saw action in World War I and many battles of World War II.

They Royals are a squad made up of 75 people. They are a part of the 4th Brigade 2nd Infantry Division which is attached to the BEF. They classify themselves as a mechanized infantry squad and primarily play infantry and ATGs but have some dedicated tankers as well who provide support. Their squad nights are Tuesdays and Thursday from 9pm-12am ET, so feel free to join them .

MAIL BAG with DOC

Will we be getting time detonated grenades?
-Daleyt

We’re working on bouncing grenades (new STO for v1.25) to replace the present grenade system we have, which are contact or explode on impact grenades. A bouncing grenade is time detonated, ie: employs a timed fuse.

Is there any change to get possibility to mute game audio?
-Peto62

If you are actually talking about an ingame volume control, which does not affect your computers volume level outside the game itself … that’s a much more difficult question. One we can’t answer right now. We are discussing the possibilities of such a feature, as it does have obvious benefits that would be useful for a lot of players.


SdKfz.7 and Morris drivers have the same issue as the para-pilots. A lot of hard work with no pay, so to speak. How about, for these units only, points are added depending on time of mission, like in the navy?
-Jester6

This is definitely on the list of things to be addressed. There are a whole slew of mission types and roles that people play in game that do not involve direct killing of other players and these roles do need to be scored.

Why cant we make sappers that are used to repair bridges repair tanks?
-Aussie05

We can. We just haven’t done the work to make that possible yet. There is more to such a change than just making them able to “do it” and in field repair (of which this suggestion is but a piece of the puzzle) is one of the future features we are discussing and preparing ourselves for, when the time comes to add all the things that will be required by such a feature. It’s definitely in the plan, along with a better variety of in field re-supply.


Is there anyway to make the text chat roll from the top down instead of the bottom up? This would be great so the text bar can be moved to the user discretion either showing the whole text or the latest 2 lines.
-Atac

I don’t know if that would be easy to do or not. I’m not sure the benefits are all that great either. We’ll speak to Ramp about it. Who knows, it might be a simple thing but somehow my instincts are whispering in my ear that it won’t be.

GET OFF YOUR LAZY CAN, SEND A QUESTION TO THE MAILBAG
We answer some of the questions sent to us each week by players. Send yours now.
SEND MAIL! <


 

 

 

 

 

 
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