xIGuNDoCIx 45 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Re-posting this as I know he was a well known figure among the early Combat Mission titles. I remember his scenarios well from those early days of CM. RIP "Wild" Bill Wilder. "It is with a sad heart that I need to report the passing of Bill Wilder. For those of you that know my history, Bill Wilder was one of the first gamers to join me when I founded Matrix Games. Our first project together was the Steel Panthers World At War game. I had just recently chatted with him and it was just like old times. I will greatly miss him. Bill's obituary can be found here and you may leave a message to his family. Leaf Cremation - Here Bill Wilder services will be held on September 6, 2020, at 3:00 pm EST at The Church at Green Acres Baptist Church, Smyrna, GA. The service will also be online at - Here" ~ David Heath 12 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vergeltungswaffe 312 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 He was a good one. Lots of wonderful memories of him and his contributions to CM and other games. God bless, keep, and comfort his family. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TGarner 50 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Really sorry to hear this. He was such a big part of this community back in the good old days. God rest his soul. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Battlefront.com 0 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 I am also sorry to hear of Bill's passing, though grateful to know of it. One of the hardest aspects of a virtual community is not knowing when someone who drops off the radar is having problems or died. At the very least it is good to be able to keep someone in your thoughts. Bill was a very active and enthusiastic supporter of the CM1 family of games. In those days it was stoning offense among the hardcore Steel Panthers crowd, yet Bill constantly demonstrated it was entirely possible to enjoy and support more than one game concurrently. His cool and calm personality was well respected and served as an excellent role model for all game communities. Although we didn't keep in touch after those heady early CM days, I've always maintained a strong and deep appreciation for what he brought to our quirky community of gamers. Steve 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Battlefront.com 0 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 I was inspired to go back and read some of the earliest emails with Bill that I have archived. August 8, 1999. Wow, that was a long time ago! Some of those emails had to do with some difficult things that were happening at the time between various parties and re-reading them I was reminded how positive and gracious he was even when he found himself having to deal with someone else's personal baggage. As I said above, a role model for sure. Steve 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
danfrodo 277 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Very sad. I remember buying his scenario sets (nowadays called DLCs) for games like Wargame Construction Set: TANKS! by Norm Koger. this was ~100 years ago it seems now. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gpig 7 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Awww, damn. A great loss. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bootie 199 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Sad to hear for sure. RIP WB. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
c3k 691 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 He was, and will remain, an icon for all things early CM. He set a great example. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bud Backer 1,174 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 I worked with him in the 90s on Steel Panthers after SSI stopped. He was a force of nature, seemingly unstoppable, but irrepressibly good humoured and enthusiastic. A positive individual and I am sad to hear of his passing. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Splinty 117 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 He was a good guy. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
benpark 575 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 He was a good example to all of us that make things for these kinds of games/simulations- he kept it interesting and fun. A person that understood how to create a like-minded community of tinkerers. I was lucky enough to correspond with him, like others here- ages ago by now. But I recalled him when working on things, even just last week. His help has grown into many like-minded makers of things. That's a gift. Thanks again, WBW. With gratitude, "Recon" (he assigned nicknames, that was mine- I think I was researching something!). 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Artkin 122 Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 Wow that's sad. I remember when I got my first pc and couldnt even run bf1942 well, I found Steel Panthers World at War and fell in love. A lot of the scenarios had Bill's name on them. I always felt weird about the game being free. Felt like I owed them something for the totally humongous game. Guy is a legend 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jtsjc1 30 Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 Rest In Peace Bill thanks for all your contributions to SP which I still play. That was a big part of buying CMBO when BF sent me the email. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Kettler 390 Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 He was a great blessing to the CM community generally and most definitely to me personally. Glad to know of his passing, but we're the poorer for his loss. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnO 87 Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 Rest in Peace, Bill. I for one will miss you. I too renumber him telling me about CM when I was playing SP, which I too still play even today. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DerKommissar 342 Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 I'm very familiar with his work on Steel Panthers, but had no idea that he contributed to CM. His talents will be sorely missed. RIP. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
usgubgub 39 Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 I am sorry to hear of Wild Bill's passing away. I remember him fondly. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grisha 10 Posted September 5 Share Posted September 5 Very sorry to hear of Wild Bill's passing. Those were good times back then and it was one hell of a tight knit community back then. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The_Capt 40 Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 Wow, that name brings it all back. RIP Bill. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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