Battle For Europe - Call of Duty

Registration for Campaign 22 has just opened.

Head over to the Signup page, where you will be able to select a Random regiment for free OR pay to pick one for $5

Note: If the /bfe_signup.php page does not load for you, then try using Internet Explorer to register for a side. As it seems, with Firefox, the page sometimes does not load... not sure why.


With registration for Campaign 22 now open, we will see the mighty Allied army take on the deadly Axis army, in the Battle for Europe.

Good luck to both sides this campaign!


Why do we the option for pay to pick?
MyInternetServices.com have to pay for all 8 of our game servers. They rent the European Dedicated Box off another company, so we need to donate $250 a month to ensure that we don't have the European Dedicated Box shut down.
Giving players the option to pay to pick a side will help with donations for this box.

Can I Sponsor someone?
Sponsoring another player is currently disabled, if you want to sponsor someone, you will either need to login as them OR send them the money so they can subsribe themselves. Hopefully when I get back from Canada - I will have time to enable sponsorship, although for this first campaign of World at War, I think it will be better to leave sponshorship out and include it next campaign.

The beta will last 2 weeks
The official campaign will not start until early Janaury. Everyone will stay on their respective sides once the official campaign begins, however we may do some transfers to try and even the sides up - but no transfers will be done until that time.

Ok, a few annoucements here


Campaign 22 registration will open this Friday... 12th December 2008, but who will lead the Allied and Axis armies into battle?

The new Command in Chief (CinC) will be commanding the 10th Mountain Division in the hopes to free Europe from the Axis reign.

The new Generalfeldmarschall (GFM) will command the 17th Fallschrimjager Eagles Division in the hope to conquer Europe.


Beta Campaign!?
Registration will open on Friday, however because the new campaign will clash with Santa's day, the BFE Administration has decided to have a "beta" prequel to the real Campaign.

How it will work...
You will register next week, and the first 2-3 weeks will count as a mini-beta campaign. Once this is over, I will annouce about the real campaign starting, everyone will stay in the army they were assigned to.

The main reasons we chose to have this beta campaign are:

• So that we can iron out all the bugs in the mod (and improve it)
• Ensure that both sides Officers are trained for the real thing
• So that the grunts can get to know each other and will be ready for the real thing
• Allows the Officers to have a full NCO setup for the first live battle
• Also allows us Administrators to ensure we all are on the same page and make sure everything is up to date

DarK was the one who came up the idea and it fits perfectly for the campaign!


The War is about to begin!

Axis Troops gathered around to listen to listen to the new GFM annouce the War.


The Allied CinC has begun advancing troops towards the frontlines. They are ready for this War.


Get ready troops, registration will open next Friday!


One question remains, who are the new leaders?

The Allied Army will be commanded by a CinC with no fear. A man who will stop at nothing to ensure victory.

Allied CinC Pieman

The Axis Army will be commanded by a GFM who has the experience of twelve leaders put together. He has seen many Wars, and certainly knows how to win them.

Axis GFM Blacksquare

Congratulations and Good Luck to both of them!

WNN Issue #3
December 2008 Edition
"Campaign 21 Ends! Campaign 22 Begins!"

After a campaign full of highs and lows, both sides have gone back to their warm houses. As silence falls upon the guns that have been bloodying the
fields and cities of Europe for the past two months, the new campaign is already in the beginning stages. We will look back at the past campaign and other recent events.

Starting with one of the new TA's, Revvy!
_____________________________________

[WNN] Hello Revvy! Congratulations on becoming a TA!
[Revvy] Thanks!

[WNN] First off, is there anything you're going to miss about being in the lower ranks of BFE?
[Revvy] Well, alot really. Being a lower rank means you can have loads of fun without having any hassle in trying to sort out problems, so i guess there is that. But i always like a new challenge

[WNN] Good to hear. How are you finding the sacred admin powers so far?
[Revvy] Ha, they are sacred? Since when!?.
Anyway nah, some things are different but i've done the same sort of thing in a simular place before, so i know what i'm doing pretty much.

[WNN] Has anyone treated you any differently since being a TA? Do you feel any different?
[Revvy] Not really. Quite alot of people came up to me with questions anyway, just seems now people demand an answer within seconds, and in some case, its just not possible. As for feeling different, i wouldn't say so. I'm still the same guy but with a new title.

[WNN] With CoD:World at War around the corner, are you looking forward to it? Will we be seeing a better and brighter BFE?
[Revvy] Well, when i first started to play it i wasn't first impressed. But after playing it for the last couple of weeks its grown on me. BFE will be
better with this game as it brings back the tactical side of things which we lost so much of in COD4 as it was so much faster. I think with a new game and going back to a game base that brought BFE popular, by that i mean the WWII scene, i think BFE has alot to give in the upcoming months.

[WNN] Any surprises from the admin forums you want to let us in on? haha.
[Revvy] Dan and Dark are planning to take over the world, but i didn't tell you that!

[WNN] Thank you for your time, good luck with your new post!
[Revvy] No problem, and Thanks!
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Now we'll catch up with a member of the victorious Opposition Special Forces, Simon!

[WNN] First off hello, and how are you?
[Simon] I'm good, thanks.

[WNN] Opposition have won this camp by a country mile this time round. How have you found this campaign, what were your officers like?
[Simon] The officers were excellent this campaign on both sides. Lf-final, Erby, Punisher and the others have done a bang up job. Pathfinder, Revveh (For most of the camp) and the other Coalition officers have made it really easy to resolve things on CC, so overall its been very well run on both sides.

[WNN] You are a member of the special forces what do you think made LF-Final and Blacksquare choose you?
[Simon] I think it was mostly because I'm on for a good three hours each battle. Special forces are great at balancing out numbers, but obviously only if they are on. My skill level is among the lowest, but I'm a persistent bugger, even when we're low on numbers so I think that helped.

[WNN] How do you feel about the overall state of the tournament, and is there anything you would like to change?
[Simon] I think the tournament has improved a great deal in quite a few areas. I was never part of the tournament during the COD2 days, which I know a lot of people miss. However, the tournament has improved a great deal in terms of fair play and getting rid of cheaters and so on. This obviously happens at the expense of numbers. I do think COD:WaW will improve numbers a great deal soon after release. Its up to all of us regulars to make them want to stay.

[WNN] Lastly, who's your favorite player this camp and why?
[Simon] Definitely Erby. He's like a Terminator, unstoppable, persistent. He's a great leader and a really good guy.

[WNN] Any other comments?
[Simon] Kudos to everyone that played this camp. I'm really looking forward to World at War and think we're only going from strength to strength going forward.

[WNN] Thanks for your time Simon, it was greatly appreciated.
[Simon] No problem
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And of course, here's an interview with a member of the Coalition Special Forces, Patton!

[WNN] Hi there Patton! Thanks for making time to have an interview with us! Not tired after yesterday's battle?
[Patton] Hello, pleasure taking the time to talk to you. Definitely not tired after yesterday at all, except for staying up till 3:30AM, but that is a
different story entirely. : )

[WNN] How much did you play, and how much do you play on a normal Saturday?
[Patton] To be fully honest, this Ranger sat out yesterday. There seemed to be much disarray within the Coalition forces yesterday, I was training myself in the World War II setting with a handful of other BFE participants and admins. We are getting involved with the next game sooner rather than later so we will be prepared to fight against whoever opposes us.

[WNN] What goals, challenges do you want to achieve or complete in this very tournament?
[Patton] Me personally? Well, I already feel pretty fulfilled as to what I wanted to achieve in this campaign. As a tournament standpoint, there is a lot more than I want to hopefully be involved in and working on to make it better and more “New User” friendly. I have a lot of ideas I am currently sharing to the tournament overseers and we will see how it goes from there.

[WNN] Ever thought of an officer position? Maybe High Command?
[Patton] Well out of the 4 camps currently, I have been an officer for 3 of them. It is always a privilege to be an officer and I feel some people take it for granted or just do not know the aspect of it to its fullest. I definitely have High Command on my mind, been on my mind since my first camp, but am not expecting, nor wanting it on this next camp as we transition into BFE:COD5. As you know, sometimes it is best for the smoke to clear before you move in; I will follow that same strategy.

[WNN] Now, since you're an NA player, may I ask you your vision on the tournament?
[Patton] NA Players is the weakest link in Battle for Europe. When I first joined, there was some strength within the North American players but it
quickly died down. In my opinion, I felt it was the lack of NA Half leadership. Too many times I find the NA Half to be considered a joke by the EU
Players who spent the last 6 hours in EU. To be honest, there is no way your going to get the same strength when you have some player’s team killing, or goofing off at the beginning of NA Maps. I have an idea to bring players in, and I plan on trying out my idea when I become High Command (Whenever that may be). Stay tuned for a few camps to see this idea, if you are truly interested, feel free to get ahold of me on XFIRE and I will get more in-depth with you. I will say this though, when you see Hellhound vs. Nasty Company for example, the numbers are completely one sided. This tournament has “Random Divisions” when you register, but for a tournament standpoint, it isn’t all that random. It is calculating numbers to make sure each of the 4 companies have equal numbers to them. Say there are ~400 people registered to a company this camp. Nasty would have 100, Hellhound would have 100…etc. So the lack of numbers comes because people register and never play. My idea will bring the people who register under my army, into playing BFE so “Numbers” will be one thing I would never need to worry about.

[WNN] Out of interest, would you like to be an EU player if you consider that there is a difference in numbers when comparing the EU and the NA half?
[Patton] Well as I said, I hope to rebuild the NA department of BFE once I have the position to do so. NA Players do not know what they are missing out on, if we have a strong NA player group, then I think the battles in the NA Half can become much more tactical/strategical and more enjoyable for everybody. To me, NA Half seems like just a giant chat room on TeamSpeak at the moment.

[WNN] To finish, looking forward to the idea of having BFE:CoD5?
[Patton] Two steps ahead of you. Starting up the game right now to go kick some Japanese arse.

[WNN] Thanks for your time bud!
[Patton] Pleasure is all mine.
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Thank you to Sh4d0w for that interview.

Now we'll catch up with the second new Tournament Administrator, Navajo!

[WNN] Hello Navajo! Congratulations on becoming a Tournament Administrator!
[Nav] Thanks, Pieman! It’s still pretty new – we all are – so we’re still feeling our way learning the tasks and responsibilities. I think that all the
TAs are pretty committed to doing the best job they can, even in trying times.

[WNN] First off, do you feel the jump from Head Forum Moderator to Admin is a large one? In terms of the forums.
[Nav] Actually, it is in some ways. There are many groups in place that are all needed to keep BFE going. From the triad of IC, TC and DO, to the TAs, to the SAs and the FMs there is plenty of work to go around. I don’t know that it is a bigger jump than from say, SA to TA. In one sense, I’m still an FM, but now oversee the groups that FMs do not, like the armies, veterans, and Special Forces, etc. The other TA duties are in addition to that. One thing that needs to be kept in mind at all times is that a TA, like an SA or FM, should act as an example of proper forum usage and etiquette, rather than be a rule-breaker. I will tell you that it is a large increase in responsibility, and requires more thought because there are so many other things to do besides look at the
forums. We’ll get it done, though!

[WNN] How would you say you're handling your BFE and TGN duties at the moment?
[Nav] I spend a lot of time online each day – part of my duties at work also requires it. Therefore, I usually pop in the forums frequently. On the TGN
side, there are just a lot more forums to look at, and they do things in a different way in many cases. I will say that the TGN staff is a top group, and they usually catch things so fast they beat me to a lot of issues. It’s great to get to participate in learning a different process, though. It’s great that Spawndemon and the rest of the TGN Staff are taking my instructions well…
On the BFE side, as I mentioned before the essentially all-new TA staff is working their way through learning the jobs and sorting responsibilities. This takes some added time but there is a lot of communication amongst the BFE Admins and things are looking bright. Doing both does take more time, but so far it hasn’t been an issue. I have let the Administration of both BFE and TGN know that if it does become an issue, I will divest myself of one of the positions.

[WNN] Would you say your perspective of BFE has changed since becoming a TA? Anything dirty once you get the whole picture? Or is it just all rainbows and butterflies? ha-ha.
[Nav] It has changed. I realize that it takes a lot more work by a large group of people to keep a tourney like BFE going in a professional manner. I have to say that there are no deep dark secrets that I’ve seen, but it isn’t all bread and circuses either. I am seeing that a lot of the issues that have been raised from time to time with the tourney really are a result of an all-volunteer staff having to keep a lot of balls in the air at the same time – occasionally one gets dropped. Hopefully the processes of rules review and task improvement will reduce these aberrations and make BFE a tighter, better and more enjoyable tourney for all.

[WNN] With Cod: World at War around the corner, are you looking forward to it? How do you feel it'll change BFE?
[Nav] Well, as it’s obvious to everyone I’m not the one that possesses the highest skill in BFE, but I do at least have the highest ping by far! I find
that WaW plays very differently than Modern Warfare, and there will be a bit of a learning curve for those of us making the transition. It’s not worse, just different. I feel that many issues with the new release are a product of it being so new, and they’ll get sorted out as time passes and patches are brought forth. It has many new features that should bring new dimensions to team gameplay.

[WNN] Any super secret admin secrets you want to let 'slip' to the community?
[Nav] Maybe – if I knew of any. I think the only secret I am close to figuring out is that the admin staff may have a lot more work ahead of it in
preparing for the next campaign than we think we do!

[WNN] Thank you for your time, Always a pleasure Navajo!
_____________________________________

And the final new Admin, Andeh

[WNN] Hey andeh, Gratz of becoming the new TA, first off all how long have u been in BFE and how/who made u start?
[Andeh] Hey, thanks. i have been in bfe for around 8 campaings & have played, what made me join BFE was when i saw a friend of mine on xfire playing and thought id give it a try.

[WNN] Ok that sounds fun...What do u think u will accomplish as an TA?
[Andeh] Hopefully i would be able to show everyone my potential at being a TA and hopefully help improve the tournament and create it into more of a success then its currently at now.

[WNN] Okay thanks for the reply, what is your "special thing" that u want to change in the tournament, mod/weapons, maps whatever?
[Andeh] I personally would like the change the maps we have currently, hopefully look into more maps revolved around the BFE style rather then randomly made maps for everyone.

[WNN] Okay that sounds good, what do u think about BFE, now when most of the stock maps are much bigger when were turning over to cod5,will it help or Not so much Help the community?
[Andeh] I havent managed to play cod5 yet so I havent had a look at them, but I think stocks maps are just purely for pub so in time once custom maps are out, we'd look back at stock maps and think.. omg we used to play them ...

[WNN] Last question now then, What’s your best moment in BFE you member?
[Andeh] Probably in BFE #14 when we played island assault with Dante, who would pretend to be AFK and get some crazy 7 men clutches.
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Thank you to Simme for this interview.

These new Administrators have been promoted from the masses because of recent changes within the Admin Team. For example, the long standing TA, JayJayToppa recently stood down. So:

Now we'll catch up with JayJayToppa, a retired Tournament Administrator, but still a prominent figure within the community!

[WNN] Hey JJ, can I have a minute of your time to interview you?
[JJ] Yes, of course you can.

[WNN] Please give us a brief explanation of your BFE History
[JJ] Erm I started way back in campaign five or rather 2 weeks before the end and have done everything barring Graphics team and SA. I’ve also played in every beta camp from uo/cod2/cod4. My most enjoyable camps was in the vcod era. when I got my TA’ship it was a very proud day.

[WNN] Wow, you have really done a lot for us. What is your most memorable moment in BFE and why?
[JJ] Probably my 1st officers position in camp 8 or 9, Because it was my 1st position of power and we won that camp as allies for the 1st time in ages.

[WNN] What are you plans for the future in BFE?
[JJ] My plans at BFE or short term at the moment until I can regain some of my lust for it.

[WNN] Do you think the switch to World at War will give you some lust?
[JJ] Don’t know hard to tell, I can only take each step a battle at a time.

[WNN] What do you think about the upcoming switch to Call of Duty: World at War?
[JJ] It’s the next step for us to take and it’s a welcome return back to more strategic ways instead of the run and gun of cod4.

[WNN] Thank you for taking the time in answering this interview, I hope to see you around on the battlefield once more and on behalf of BFE, the WNN would like to thank you on everything you have done.
_____________________________________
Thank you to BAR for that interview

So, campaign 21 has ended, both sides battered but eager to fight again. All I can say is, roll on BFE:CoD22 and Call of Duty: World at War!
Stay tuned for next month's issue!

Pieman'
WNN Chief Editor

Campaign 21 has ended, the Opposition Forces won the campaign with a huge victory. Congratulations to Marshal LF-Final and General Blacksquare for leading such a fine group of soldiers to victory.


The BFE Admins are trying to get a new skin, new battle map, update various rules, and help sort out the WaW mod in time for the campaign, however we're not sure if we'll get it all done in time.

I'm gonna be pretty busy for the next 2 weeks, as I've got about 2 courseworks and 3 tests for Uni, and then I'm away for the holidays. Going to Ontario, Canada from the 19th December till the 5th January, Redpin will be incharge once I am gone.

Timeline for Events:

6th December: Close Army Forums

12th December: Registration for Campaign 22 Opens.

13th December: BETA Scrim [WaW]

17th December - 6th Jan: BETA Campaign: A prelude to Camp 22 [WaW]
Beta Campaign will last until 6th Jan '09

19th December: *=DaN=* goes to Ontario, Canada [let's all party!]

24th December: Bayonet Tourny [WaW] [Holiday Event]

31st December: Bayonet/Knife Tourny [WaW] [Holiday Event]

3rd January 2009: BETA Battle [WaW]

5th January: *=DaN=* returns from Canada [hide the empties, blame banach for the brokens]

6th January: Official Annoucement of the start of Campaign 22

7th January: First Official Battle for Campaign 22 [WaW]

Searching for Broadcasters!
TGN, along with MyIS are looking for broadcasters.

Requirements

High-End Gaming PC
Xfire
High upload speed

We will be using Xfire to broadcast BFE and 21cw events, aswell as other MyIS and TGN events.

If you are interested, then Private Message me.

The Broadcaster for BFE will join in on our battles and broadcast from various angles in spectate. Xfire's broadcast features are pretty good and I'm sure they will continue to improve this feature.


Sneak-Peek!
TRITTON Technologies, Inc. and MyInternetServices.com have a pretty big annoucement coming soon!

Head over to the TRITTON website to see the various products they offer


That's all folks, I hope everyone is ready for the upcoming campaign, and if you are going away for the holidays then the BFE Administration would like to wish you guys a very merry, Happy Holidays!

I did the draw on Saturday, but I had to wait until today to get the emails so that I could send out the congratulations to the correct people.

This competition was a big success, and I must thank everyone of you who donated.

The following 3 people have each won a copy of Call of Duty: World at War for PC.

Congratulations to:

[NS]N/1|Po2.Judders

[3MD]MAW|WO.Thor

and (4TA)Z|Cpl.psychomyst

I have just emailed all 3 of them about it, now I just need to wait for their address info so that the copies can be sent out.

I'd like to Thank: Dook, DarK and Navajo for providing the copies of World at War for this competition. If it wasn't for these guys then we wouldn't have any prizes!

Thanks to everyone who donated! We were able to get $272 from this competition, all of which has been used to help keep the European Dedicated box up for the next month!

I hope to see more donators - as we need $250 (£160) each month to help keep the box up.

Another Thank You to: MyInternetServices.com - for providing us with the servers, forums and teamspeak.

A special mention to MyIS|Michael for going through a huge list of paypal payments to look for all the BFECoD payments

If you wish to donate then head over to the Donations page, and click on the Donate to BFE Paypal Image.