Chapter 1. Introduction
Allied High Command provides the premiere tools for communication strategic planning, and analysis in the world of WWIIOL. The result of years of top-secret research at Bletchley Park, War Room Applet combines features of distributed collaboration and geographic information system software. Ideas pioneered in War Room Applet have found their way into the official WWIIOL web-site.
Some Jargon. Throughout this manual, you will see references to map features and plans.
A map feature is a permanent part of the in-game map, this is, it's something that CRS put there. War Room Applet could theoretically track all sorts of different features: flags, firebases, bridges; but in the current version of War Room Applet, a feature is a chokepoint and the term is used interchangeably with chokepoint.
In War Room Applet a plan represents a set of markings and annotations that someone has added to the map. Plans have names and scheduled start and end times, and usually are used to illustrate a planned operation.
Why use War Room Applet?
Communication is the key to success in WWIIOL, and War Room Applet provides a unique communication tool. It provides several distinct advantages over other communication tools available in-game or out-of-game:
You can commmunicate graphically. Diagrams can be created and modified within the tool; diagrams created are immediately available to the entire community.
You can commmunicate authoritatively. Security restrictions in place insure that information posted to War Room Applet comes from qualified officers.
Information in War Room Applet has both geographical and chronological context. Information added is shown at its position on the map. All information added to War Room Applet comes with an expiration date, so you are always looking at timely, relevant information; but at the same time you don't have to worry about the information you need scrolling off the page.
Finally, use War Room Applet because the more people use it, the more useful it becomes. It is a tool the Allies have and the Axis don't, so use it for competitive advantage.
What can you do with War Room Applet?
War Room Applet can be useful for every WWIIOL player, and will be especially for the dedicated Allied soldier. If you have the security clearances of an Allied officer, you will be able to use its full power.
Any WWIIOL player can use War Room Applet:
To check the game map, showing contested towns at a glance. You can see the game status on maps of different scales, so you see the details of the area that interests you, or see an overview of the whole theater. You can look at very large scale maps conveniently without printing or taping them together.
To see the history of the game, showing how the map looked at any time in the past.
To see the structure, commanders, and communication channels in the AHC OrBat.
To create an image file showing a particular view of one of the maps in War Room Applet.
To chat outside of the game.
Chat functionality is currently disabled.
Players registered as Allied by the Allied High Command can additionally use War Room Applet:
To see operation plans drawn on the game map, complete with diagrams and unit markers.
To see the orders listed for your unit in the AHC OrBat.
To see current intelligence information for chokepoints.
To see a set of military-style grid coordinates projected on any of the maps in War Room Applet. Standardized coordinates (in a form familiar to the ex-military among you) can help in-game communication.
AHC officers can access the full power of War Room Applet. They can use it:
To create and schedule plans for operations, complete with diagrams and unit markers.
To update the status map to reflect a projected future state of the war.
To disseminate intelligence information for specific chokepoints.
To add a link to a particular view of an operation plan to the AHC Alert.
In the future, a version of War Room Applet may become available that is separated from any secure Allied data, so that all WWIIOL players will be able to use its more advanced capabilities. |
How can you use the War Room Applet to play better?
You can use War Room Applet any time to keep up with what is going on in the game. It is totally independent of the WWIIOL application and will run on Windows, Macintosh, Linux or any platform that supports J2SE 1.3+. See the Installation chapter to see how to get War Room Applet running on your system.
Ideally, you can keep War Room Applet running while you are playing WWIIOL on another computer or another monitor of your computer. War Room Applet is not very resource intensive so you should not notice the drag on your system. It will run on systems that are too weak to run WWIIOL as well as on platforms that don't support WWIIOL, so it can be perfect for that second computer.
If you have that second computer or monitor displaying War Room Applet, you can always stay on top of what's happening, and update War Room Applet with critical new intelligence. If this is impossible, check War Room Applet before you enter the game, and check or update it again when you leave. (You used to be able to alt-tab back and forth, but I think this kills you now.)