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Games Day '09: All about Warhammer Online's live events with Mark Davis
Mark Davis knows Warhammer Online's live events well. He should, because he's the man behind them! During Games Day '09, we had the chance to catch up with the live events lead and discuss some shop talk with him -- including a look at the newest live event, "Rise of the Tomb Kings," and a little about what goes on behind the scenes.How long does it take for a live event to be produced? What are some of Mark's favorite moments? What can we expect in the live events to come? And, most importantly, what are we going to find in the Rise of the Tomb Kings? All of these questions, and more, are answered within!
Games Day '09: Our impressions of Warhammer's Land of the Dead
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Massively_s_impressions_of_Warhammer_s_Land_of_the_Dead'; So we've been over the cold, unfeeling facts about Land of the Dead. It's big, it's a throwback zone to action RPGs, it has RvR and PvE, and it's filled with mummies. But you don't want the facts, right? You want to know how it plays and you want to know if it's worth your time to pick up Warhammer or resubscribe to the game.During my time at Games Day, I got the chance to participate in a bunch of the PQs in the new zone and try out a few areas of the Tomb of the Vulture Lord, the capstone dungeon of the whole experience. I got to be shanked by swinging blades, pierced by surprise dart traps, and I even got to wear the Sovereign armor set, the pinnacle armor of the game. (Yes, it looks completely badass.)
Games Day '09: Our impressions of Warhammer's Land of the Dead pt. 2
Get caught in one of the clouds and you'll find yourself teleported to the bottom of one of the nearby tombs, stuck in a sarcophagus, and taking damage from the curse. Your friends can't get into the tombs due to barriers that are placed over the doors, turning this into a race to get out of the tomb before you die. These moments were filled with frantic cheers and laughter as we all danced around trying to avoid the dust clouds, accompanied by laughs of anguish as people would get caught and stuck inside of the tomb. Overall, the PQs are really enjoyable and a nice step away from "kill, rinse, repeat." Even if they involve killing monsters, there's usually some sort of trick to the PQ that makes it into a very active experience, rather than a strict button mashing period. Plus if that last boss battle sounded crazy, think of how it could go when the zone flips sides and the enemy begins running in. Now you have a boss, enemy players, and dust clouds. Fights in the tombs while curse is in effect, anyone? Luring enemies to stand in the way of dust clouds? Eventually though, we were taken away from the PQs and had the chance to step into the Tomb of the Vulure Lord itself -- testing our mettle against the various traps. The first one that stood in our way was a hallway filled with swinging pendulum blades. These blades were stacked very close together, with little room between them to stand without getting yourself sliced in half. One hit kills you, so don't try running through aimlessly because it's not going to end well. This trap is all about timing, placement, and pattern recognition -- a classic console adventure trap. What I liked the most about these traps was that they don't require the whole party to make it. Three people is all you need out of your group of six, and dying in the dungeon will just respawn you at the entrance (as long as you maintain control, of course.) "It's very different, and it's alot of fun." Eventually making it past that trap gave us access to the Terracotta Army hall -- a room filled with terracotta statues of soldiers and chariots. The whole room could be categorized under "things that never end well" because, as you would expect, walking next to some statues causes them to come to life. This whole encounter is a hybrid PQ/boss battle, as killing enough soldiers will awaken the final boss of the room, an angry skeleton who switches between different stances while you do battle with him. Overall, I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this. I was expecting an area and a dungeon filled with standard MMO trappings of trash mob pulls, boring grindfests, and RvR mixed in with all of that. What I got was a very carefully crafted zone that caters to all types of MMO players and merges PvP content with PvE content in a really inventive fashion. Even the Tomb of the Vulture Lord doesn't feel like a traditional MMO dungeon. It's an adventure through a tomb rather than a series of trash pulls with scary bosses. It tells a story and immerses you rather than just throwing themed encounters at you. Sure, this mystique will wear off over time, but I don't see this dungeon becoming something like other MMO dungeons. It's very different, and it's alot of fun. Land of the Dead is totally something you need to experience. The sands of the Tomb Kings are coming as the final release in the Call to Arms live expansion, the Land of the Dead approaches! Massively has your back with coverage from Mythic Entertainment at Games Day '09, so get your WAAGGGHHH ready for RvR mayhem as Massively re-arms for WAR!
Games Day '09: An overview of the Land of the Dead
You've heard us talk about it, you've heard us discuss it, and it's now time for us to tell you exactly what it's all about. Land of the Dead is not your father's MMO dungeon -- it's a dungeon that is something more than just a dungeon. It's an entire zone filled with activities and sub-dungeons, all culminating in an epic instanced dungeon that features a face off with the first leader of the Tomb Kings himself, King Amenemhetum. (Try saying that five times fast. Heck, try saying that one time fast. Not even Gabe Amatangelo, one of the chief designers, can say that name properly. He got close to it though during his Games Day presentation.)So how do you get down to test wits with the Tomb Kings? What public quests and objectives are scattered throughout the zone? What changes and improvements are coming with this addition to the game? Read on warriors, and find out!
Pirates to get more RvR love from Flying Lab Software
Pirates are always the underdogs in MMOs, aren't they? That seems to be the case in Pirates of the Burning Sea, where the Pirate nation has been at a disadvantage with the game's Conquest system. While their ports can't be controlled (permanently) by another nation, they're likewise unable to keep the ports they conquer. The latest devlog from Flying Lab's Lum is titled Pirates and Conquest and addresses this disparity between the Pirate nation and all other nations in the game. One solution they plan to implement is increasing the four points that Pirates gain by capturing a port to five. Lum explains, "Currently, Pirates get four points every time they Raid a port, while Nationals get 10. This means that for a Pirate to keep pace with Nationals, they have to win three port battles in order to get the same amount of points. Since every nation can only attack three ports at a time, this means that Pirates would always have to have their maximum amount of attacking ports at all times, and then they have to win all of those battles." Ouch. However, by increasing their capture points to five, Pirates will only have to win two battles and won't need to maintain constant port attacks to stay on par with other nations.
Mythic's Carrie Gouskos on Warhammer's ToK and hints of patch 1.3
The 1.2 patch for Warhammer Online is barely a week old, but Chaos Moon managed to speak with Mythic's Carrie Gouskos about many a things -- including some hints for the 1.3 patch. There was also some general discussion of future updates to the Tome of Knowledge and much love from Carrie concerning the Book of Grudges mod. We're pretty excited to hear stat tracking for Scenarios and oRvR battles are on their way.Of course the big news concerns clues of what to expect in the next big patch. Following some of Carrie's comments, it sounds as though the Tome of Knowledge could be getting a new feature or two in the 1.3. update. Additionally, some further UI information and visual improvements are on the was as well -- although Carrie mentions the visual boost will be minor.What sorts of UI improvements could be on the way? The added layer of information to the open party and world map systems in 1.2 have been very well received, but going from Carrie's comments it seems as though something much more exciting is on the way. Given the size of the first two live events, something tells us Mythic will be showing off whatever it is they're working on next in a big way. Mythic has announced the first expansion to Warhammer Online! Check out the announcement itself, the two brand-new classes coming to the game, and the enormous new dungeon/zone slated for a few months away! Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Warhammer Online opens public test server
Massively multiplayer online games are continually changing, from the time a game launches to the day the servers shut down. Sure, patch notes spell out most of those changes, but it's always good when an MMO developer opens up a test server for the players. It allows you to check out new game mechanics firsthand, risk-free, and see what works for you and what doesn't. More importantly, it lets the developer know what they need to improve. This is what Mythic Entertainment is doing for Warhammer Online players as of today (Tuesday, February 17th), letting them preview the changes coming to Realm vs. Realm combat as well as Career balance changes on the public test server. Mythic will be conducting a large scale Tier 4 Open Field Realm vs. Realm test on Wednesday, February 18th at 8pm EST. The dev announcement states: "Bring your friends to the PTS and be amongst the first to experience the new Zone Domination system in a focused player test. Be sure to log on early to join the premade guilds (points of contact for invites will be announced in game) for the night." Detailed info on how to access the public test server is found in the Warhammer Herald announcement as are the patch notes for the public test of Game Update 1.2. Mythic has announced the first expansion to Warhammer Online! Check out the announcement itself, the two brand-new classes coming to the game, and the enormous new dungeon/zone slated for a few months away! Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Warhammer Herald recommends Book of Grudges mod
If you're hoping to add a little extra something to Warhammer Online's Realm vs. Realm gameplay, look no further than the "Dammaz Kron: The Great Book of Grudges" mod. Valkea, the creator of Dammaz Kron, describes the mod as a "PvP Black-Book" designed to look like a new section of the Tome of Knowledge. All transgressions against you are recorded in The Great Book of Grudges, as are your own acts of retaliation. Best served cold, and all that.It's also gotten the nod from Mythic Entertainment. In their words, "The Book of Grudges transforms your fighting experience by adding a meta game and another objective to RvR. Just in case you need another reason to perpetuate the extermination of your enemy Dammaz Kron has your answer." Dammaz Kron can be downloaded from Curse and all the info about the mod is listed there as well. Mythic has announced the first expansion to Warhammer Online! Check out the announcement itself, the two brand-new classes coming to the game, and the enormous new dungeon/zone slated for a few months away! Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
The Daily Grind: PvP or PvE?
Are you a ruthless killer or a ruthless killer? Ok, scratch that, bad distinction. A better question is do you prefer to spill the blood of vicious monsters or the blood of players who spill the blood of vicious monsters?Today's grind question is, if you haven't guessed or read the title by now, would you rather PvP or PvE your way to fame and glory? Are you more of the type to spend lots of time in World of Warcraft's Arenas (when they're not broken) and Warhammer's Realm vs. Realm, or are you the type of person who would fetch that book for old Abercrombie and protect the lands from the invading dark elves?We're interested in what you have to say on this very divisive issue. Drop us a line in the comment box that's hiding down below this article and tell us if you enjoy your PvE, PvP, or even a combination of both!
WAR's new Zone Domination system in development
Without a doubt one of the liveliest people we know of in the MMO industry, Paul Barnett, put out a YouTube video this week in celebration of his birthday, and brought Warhammer Online devs Jeff Hickman and Colin Shannon in for some updates on the game. Perhaps the most interesting thing revealed is WAR's new Zone Domination system which is currently in the works. It's intended to supplement Warhammer Online's realm-vs.-realm system by providing more compelling ways to capture zones. Hickman says, "If you can capture everything in a zone and hold it, claiming the Keeps and dominate that zone, then you have a very good chance of capturing the zone." Or, as Barnett summarizes, Zone Domination will give players more reasons for defending and holding objectives.Colin Shannon also provides an update on the reduction of crashes in WAR, and there's (perhaps) a ray of hope mentioned at the end for having multiple items in the mail system. Check out the video embed below the cut for more on the state of the game, and what new features WAR players should be getting in a forthcoming patch.
Having fun just isn't rewarding enough on its own
Regis over at the Wizards and Wenches blog brings up a good point when it comes to both having fun and getting your levels in -- sometimes you just can't have it both ways. Regis wants to spend more time in Warhammer Online's open Realm vs. Realm combat, enjoying the live PvP and the crazy times it produces, but feels that it just doesn't provide enough incentive past the fun aspect.One could easily level faster via questing and PvE opporunities, or scenarios and questing simultaneously, but both can get extremely tedious after a while, especially when you're getting close to the maximum rank. On the other side of the fence you have RvR, which is a more varied activity when compared to questing and scenarios, but just doesn't pay out the experience points and feels more like a guilty pleasure that wastes time.Check out the full story over at Wizards and Wenches to get the full gist of what's going on in Regis's mind when it comes to this sticky situation.
Counterpoint on Warhammer Online's Fortress siege population caps
We reported earlier this week that Warhammer Online has been having some issues with Fortress sieges, and opted to implement a solution -- population thresholds. That solution has led to fewer Fortress-related crashes and overall improved performance, but not everyone is as enthusiastic about the changes Mythic has made to Warhammer Online. A good example of this type of dissent among the WAR ranks can be found at MMOCrunch in a criticism written by Paragus. He takes aim at the Tier 4 campaign changes to Fortresses and states that imposing population thresholds diminishes the very thing WAR bills itself as -- a massive realm-vs.-realm game. He doesn't pull any punches when he states, "The fact that they are trying to spin this by saying 'to allow even more players to participate' by capping population in a given area only makes me feel better about pulling my guild out of this game. I'll be waiting for the flames from Warhammer fans."
Mark Jacobs on changes to WAR's open RvR
Mythic Entertainment's Mark Jacobs posted a Warhammer Online dev blog today, titled "Open RvR Update" which maps out the future of open realm-vs-realm in the game. Jacobs writes that the coming months will bring some changes and additions to WAR: An RvR Influence system. "This system is designed to reward our oRvR players with lots of new stuff that you can only get through oRvR," he says. Increased visibility of open RvR, made possible through numerous improvements such as improved maps and travel systems, second bind points, a campaign HUD, and tier-wide messaging about the status of battlefield objectives and keeps. Greater incentives for oRvR participation, namely through keep quests, 'Daily Event Quests,' and chained RvR missions. Better rewards for guilds that take and control keeps, and a system of keep upgrades. Allowing characters to gain oRvR "Fame", linked to the Tome of Knowledge and thus rewards, titles, and experience that come with oRvR success. Jacobs cautions though, "Please keep in mind that these changes/systems apply to oRvR only and not to scenarios. This is not all we are working on but these do reflect the majority of oRvR additions that we are currently working on/planning for the next few months." Jacobs hopes that open RvR enhancements will inject more risk and challenge into this aspect of the game, and ultimately more rewards. Check out his dev blog where he outlines the changes to open RvR and let us know, do you think Mythic is headed in the right direction with this system revamp? Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Video footage of WAR's Reikland Factory scenario
The Heavy Metal live event for Warhammer Online has been well-received, albeit with some complaints about scenario frequency. Reikland Factory is a unique 'event-only' scenario in WAR, which some players lament will end with Heavy Metal. If this is indeed the case, at least one blogger out there decided to capture it in video for posterity. Snafzg from The Greenskin blog has put up video footage of his participation in the Reikland Factory scenario. The footage, with Snafzg's commentary throughout, walks the viewer through the scenario and its multiple types of terrain, both indoors and open air. Snafzg is in combat for much of the walkthrough so it's an interesting way to get a quick visual tour of the scenario. You can find The Greenskin's "Reikland Factory Heavy Metal Scenario RvR" video embedded below the cut: Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Bringing WAR to the web
Any massively multiplayer online game built around the twin pillars of PvP and territorial control can't go wrong by providing realtime status updates of the struggle via the web. Warhammer Online has endeavored to do just that with the Realm War site, as addressed in a dev diary by the title's Web Development Lead, Scott Stricklin. The dev blog touches on what Mythic has accomplished thus far with bringing WAR to the web, and what they hope to accomplish in the future -- namely, podcasts, community news, and character and guild profiles. While they have no shortage of ideas about how to expand WAR outside of the client, their first objective has been to bring Realm vs. Realm data to the web. That goal has now been realized, and Stricklin walks the reader through the features of the newly revamped Realm War site.Players now have access to updated information about the overall campaign and the status of each capital city, Stricklin writes. This information is also presented visually, with each capital city's look changing based on its status, ranging from peaceful to besieged. This can all be kept in a pop up box in your browser to provide continual updates for when the tide of battle turns. Further information is provided through selectors which represent a server's racial pairings, giving a snapshot of what's happening with each tier's zone control. An added bonus to this are influence maps for each zone, similar to the in-game maps, which show the status of the various RvR objectives and allow a player to mouse over keeps, seeing when it was last captured and by which guild. Have a look at Scott Stricklin's dev diary for more on the Realm War site, or better yet, just head over there and try it out for yourself. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Hangame and EA to bring Warhammer Online to Korea
There was a time when the western MMO market was flooded with imports of popular Korean titles. While there's still a steady influx of Asian games reworked to fit western playstyles, there's also a growing number of western MMOs being exported to Asia, particularly Korea. The obvious title that succeeds anywhere it goes is World of Warcraft, whose Asian following is legion. But smaller games have also been making inroads. EVE Online has been operating in China for years and Hellgate: London gained a new lease on life in Korea. They're not alone in this. Turbine has its eyes set on expanding into Korea with Lord of the Rings Online, and we know that Age of Conan is marching eastward, too. The latest successful western title to look east is Warhammer Online, which will soon be played in Korea as well. Electronic Arts and Hangame are partnering to bring WAR to South Korea. In a related press statement, Mythic's Mark Jacobs said, "By partnering with Hangame, we hope to provide Korean gamers with a fresh, new fantasy experience and years' worth of Realm vs. Realm adventures on the frontlines of WAR." You can see the full announcement about WAR's attempt to capture Korean gamers over at The Earth Times. Given how PvP-centric Korean MMOs tend to be, do you think Warhammer Online would be a natural fit for gamers in this market? Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
The sport of WAR's RvR
As a game that has promoted its PvP aspects so much, Warhammer Online's Realm vs Realm feature has become a big hit among players. In a recent article over at Eurogamer, they analyze the sport aspect of WAR's RvR system, and what makes it different from the PvP in other MMOs.This article touches on many key points, including collision detection, control point logistics and more. However, this article is not simply another praise-fest. On the subject of what Mythic got right or wrong in RvR: "Right: always ensuring you've got something fast, satisfying and combat-centric to achieve, with none of the waiting around and grinding of... well, I won't bring up That Other Game here. Wrong: guarding capture points for a set number of seconds, or running a flag to specific spots to score points is so inescapably gamey, so artificial." Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Anti-Aliased: WAR, huh, what is it good for?
Well, Warhammer Online, in the very least, let me get away with putting that song in the title.We're in the thick of it now -- WAR has launched and been installed on the machines of many. Some proclaim it to be the new timewaster, others find it to be a rip-off of World of Warcraft, and still others believe that it is, in fact, the digital messiah.Well I don't know about digital messiahs, I just work the game design angles. And when it comes to game design, WAR is filled with new ideas. I like new ideas as much as the next person, but new ideas aren't very good when they don't work. Does WAR go the distance? I'll be glad to tell you, and you know I'm not going to pull punches.
Anti-Aliased: WAR, huh, what is it good for? pt. 2
With that said, let's get to the big gorilla -- the Realm vs. Realm combat. On the surface, it looks good. Letting people walk into clearly defined battlefields to fight over with incentives in the form of quests from the specific RvR warcamps and not to mention exp for killing other players as well as renown points, it looks like it's a winner. And, to be extremely honest, the system does win when you get a bunch of players in one place. "Player vs. player combat comes extremely naturally to WAR to the point where sometimes I forget I'm in PvP because I'm having so much fun." Player vs. player combat comes extremely naturally to WAR to the point where sometimes I forget I'm in PvP because I'm having so much fun. Yes, that line just came from the guy who'd rather do reputation grinds than visit Alterac Valley in World of Warcraft. I despise PvP, I despise battlegrounds, and grinding reputation is fun compared to getting killed every three seconds and then teabagged.WAR makes sure that each person can actualy survive in PvP, have a chance to get away, and they make it into a worthwhile endeavor. Even if you lose a scenario, you can still turn in the specific PvP quest and get experience because you completed the scenario. PvP is tactical, interesting, and just overflowing with rewards. That's a good system.The bad news comes in the form of World RvR battlegrounds. Once again, they're barren wastelands. No I mean that, they are barren wastelands. Haven't you seen the screenshots? (Insert rimshot here.) But, there's not enough people to really support the battlegrounds system. What we really have here is a "go in, take what you want before someone notices, and leave" system. Sure, there are quests that have owners of the landmarks "check up" on their property -- "Should that problem stop you from playing Warhammer Online? Absolutely not." quests that will bring the enemy back to their control points -- but even those aren't being taken advantage of by the players.So, what is WAR good for? WAR is good for a bloody fun time. The game's systems are all well done and are fun to play. The problem is that WAR is missing the fundamental oil in the machine, people to WAR with. The endgame is secure, as everyone is going to end up there, turning the endgame into a giant, vicious struggle (as it should be) but the first and second tiers are going to struggle no matter what. Even in overpopulated servers just a short while from the launch, we're already seeing signs of attrition in the design. Mythic simply thought they'd have more people constantly flowing in or making new characters.Should that problem stop you from playing Warhammer Online? Absolutely not. The state of the game is still strong, and it's still more fun than you can get in any other game. In fact, if you jump in, you're going to only going to help in curing the problems it has. So go ahead, WAR away. The game is good for it. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who finally is having fun with RvR. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's over running Epic Loot For All! with his insane roommates. If you want to message him, you can do so in Second Life (SL: Seraphina Reymont), or send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com.
Mythic makes one last case for switching from WoW to Warhammer
We've been posting a bit about Warhammer Online lately (since the launch of the game was this week), but this will probably be the last we'll post about it in a while -- we're a site about WoW, not WAR, and if you want more indepth news and views on the new game, Massively's got you covered there.That said, we'll give Mythic's lead designer Marc Jacobs one more chance to tempt you away from Azeroth, if you so want to be tempted. MTV Multiplayer asked him one last time why WoW players might want to switch over to Warhammer, and he put the case pretty succinctly: Mythic put a focus on "Realm vs. Realm" combat in the game (like faction vs. faction), and that's what you'll find there. WoW, he says, like all MMOs, has an expiration date, so if you're looking for a difference experience, he recommends you give his game a try.There. Now, odds are that you've probably already made up your mind at this point -- either you're already trampsing around the Age of Reckoning, you're looking to give it a try after Wrath dies down, or you're a die-hard WoW player. Either way, you can't blame Mythic for trying to pull people away (and Blizzard for trying to keep them). Time to let the chips fall where they may.
