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The Perfect Ten: Clever ideas
I'm a sucker for a good, clever idea. You know the type: the ideas that make you slap yourself on the forehead and shout, "Why didn't I think of that first?" Or for the less humble of us out there, "Why, I did think of that first! But I got lost on the way to the patent office and I'm pretty sure that someone stole my dream journal to pilfer my genius notions!" While critics point their fingers at the MMO industry and proclaim it a barren wasteland of innovation, there are quite a few awesome -- if small -- ideas that bubble up in MMO and move the genre forward. Maybe they're teeny-tiny baby steps; maybe they're giant hopscotch leaps over the six-spot with the rock in the middle. But these ideas can and have had the power to change how these games are made and played. So this week I'm saluting 10 clever ideas, both large and diminutive, as a reward for a job well done!
Warhammer Online: Three years later
To this day, I don't know what quite came over me when I decided to throw my chips into the blogging scene to cover Warhammer Online, eight months before the game launched. Like many of you, I had been a long-time reader of MMO blogs, but I was intimidated at trying my hand at joining in, perhaps elevating these writers to the status of legendary wordsmiths who penned unequaled prose in our lifetimes. Or I just didn't want to be one of a thousand World of Warcraft bloggers who dominated the scene. Just a thought. In any case, it was a terrific decision to do so on my part. I found that I had a passion not only for MMOs but for talking about them, and I loved connecting with other writers and readers and players, which happens with blogging. I've been asked from time to time if I regret picking Warhammer Online as the game that I latched onto for a couple of years, and I always say no -- no regrets. The game was fun, but the coverage was an unparalleled rollercoaster of anticipation, hype, fun, speculation, promise, disappointment, and above all, ideas. Wonderful, flawed, captivating ideas. I haven't touched WAR since 2010, so perhaps I'm not the best source for the latest and greatest in the game. But what I do have to offer is a humble blogger's perspective on what went right, what went wrong, and why I'm ultimately happy that WAR came into being and is chugging along on today, its third anniversary.
The Daily Grind: What's your greatest MMO achievement?
Abraham Lincoln, possibly thinking about World of Warcraft, once said, "That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well." Nido Qubein, who was later pwned by Lincoln in PvP, retorted, "Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people." Achievements: We live to fulfill them. While many MMOs have tacked on an achievement system to motivate us to accomplish bizarre, tough, or unlikely goals, many gamers come up with their own goals all the time. What is your greatest MMO achievement? What are you most proud of accomplishing in your long (or perhaps short) career as an online gamer? Was it a goal that few if any others ever attained? Did you finally cross a finish line you never thought you'd reach? It's OK to boast in the comments today -- actually, we downright demand that you do. Pat yourself on the back and share with us your greatest personal MMO achievement. If it made you happy and satisfied, we want to hear about it! Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's The Daily Grind!
Waging WAR: Finding the sandbox
In this installment of Waging WAR, Greg takes a look at Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning from a few different angles and goes in search of the proverbial "sandbox" in a game that contains neither sand nor boxes. Somewhere along the line during my childhood, I developed a habit for playing games with nearly every game I've ever played. I can even remember a time in my early teens when I sat down with a few friends and collaborated on making our own version of battlechess. Pages of chicken-scratched rules and several dice results-tables later, and we were off and running for a solid week of the most entertaining chess matches I've ever played. Or there was that time with The Sims when I started creating experimental families and then leaving my computer on overnight and not interacting with them, just to see how successful they could be without my help. I could bore you for hours on end with examples of how I twisted the rules and made my own games from the games I've played. I suppose I can blame my penchant for metagaming on my early introduction to pen-and-paper roleplaying (i.e., D&D 1st Ed., to be specific). All I had was a sheet of paper, a handful of dice, a description of the world around me, and my imagination. By its very nature, PnP gaming is sandbox gaming. The reason I'm bringing this up now is that, until WAR, I had pretty much been able to "find the sandbox" in any MMO I was able to get my hands on. Whether it was building hardcore Dungeons & Dragons Online characters, roleplaying in City of Heroes, or achievement-chasing in World of Warcraft, I've never really been troubled with finding something to do when the grind started to wear me down. But now, with WAR, I'm finding most of my old tricks for MMO metagaming just aren't working. To read about what I've tried, and why it didn't work in WAR, follow along after the break.
All the World's a Stage: How to bring Warhammer's "Tome of Knowledge" to WoW
All the World's a Stage, and all the orcs and humans merely players. They have their stories and their characters; and one player in his time plays many roles. Some time ago, I had my first look at Warhammer Online, and wondered if that game treated roleplaying any differently from World of Warcraft. I wrote at some length about the significance of a written warning whenever someone signs up for a roleplaying realm for the first time, but I also noticed that Warhammer actually had another very special feature that could be beneficial for WoW roleplayers, namely the "Tome of Knowledge." Playing around with this a little bit made me think about how Blizzard could make something similar, which would go a long way toward enriching the experience of the game, not only for roleplayers, but for all players. Warhammer's Tome of Knowledge is not without it's flaws, of course -- I can surely imagine a better one for WoW to adopt, but at the moment WoW has nothing at all like it, which is unfortunate. But what is the Tome of Knowledge? Basically, it's is an in-game database full of all kinds of information you might be interested in. This includes gamey things like achievements, titles, and quests, but also contains a lot of info about the story and lore of the game, such as some history for each major region, descriptions of noteworthy persons, and a bestiary of all the enemies in the game. When you visit an important location, encounter an important questgiver, or defeat a new enemy in battle, information about that entity will appear in your Tome of Knowledge. A little popup will even let you click through to it right away.
Carrie Gouskos shares a couple WAR teasers
MMO blogger Werit recently caught up with Mythic Entertainment's Carrie Gouskos and asked her a few questions. For those of you who don't know Carrie, she's an associate producer for Warhammer Online who has worked on such things as the Tome of Knowledge, user-interface, Realm War website, and Mac client.. The interview mostly covers things she's been working on, so be sure to check it out.While discussing the Realm War site, Carrie offered this teaser: "Actually one of the unannounced Special Projects that we've been investigating since the beginning of the year is an example of an extension of the Realm WAR. I can't spoil it now, but I would keep an eye open in the next month or so for more info." We can't help but wonder if this has anything to do with EA's May 2008 acquisition of MMO social network, Rupture. Carrie also briefly mentions something about a "cards" page in the Tome. Will WAR be getting a trading card game? Does this signal an imminent RMT or free-2-play model? That's just speculation at this point but we'll keep our ear to the ground for you.
Warhammer Online coming to the Mac
More good news for MMO players on the Mac: Warhammer Online has joined the ranks of EVE and of course World of Warcraft by announcing the release of a Mac-compatible client. Most of you already interested were probably playing with Boot Camp, but that hasn't stopped Mythic from working on a Mac client. It's in beta now (and free to current players, with a free trial available for those who haven't stepped inside the MMO yet), and they're aiming for a release in the Fall. And how nice is this: Mac players will get two titles of their own, as well as an exclusive in-game trophy. Unfortunately, the client doesn't run truly natively -- Mythic is owned by EA, so, you guessed it, Transgaming's Cider is behind this port, too. Cider isn't always the best way to run games (native would be the way we'd like to see it), but many of the problems we've seen with the technology are a few years old now, so hopefully it's gotten better (and that's likely what this beta is all about) -- hopefully they can work out all the kinks before the official release in the Fall. Warhammer Online is an excellent MMO, especially notable for its heavy PvP elements and its innovative Public Quests and Tome of Knowledge feature (kind of like achivements, but even more in-depth). It's a little late coming to our platform, but it's good to finally see another big game take on Mac support.
Mythic releases official Tome of Knowledge guide
A new guide up on the WAR Herald takes a look at one of Warhammer Online's most notable features, the Tome of Knowledge (ToK). The Tome watches and records almost everything you do in the game from time spent online to beasts killed to achievements unlocked and so much more. The more you explore and achieve in the game world, the more informative it becomes. It can be a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy of sorts for your WAR journey.The guide gives a brief overview of each chapter of the ToK: Quests War Story Achievements Rewards History and Lore - Noteworthy Persons Bestiary Armory Live Event Each chapter contains a number of subsections that hold vast amounts of information. Not interested in RvR or dungeon raiding? Some players make it their personal mission to fill out as much of their Tome as humanly possible. They are rewarded for doing so with special Tome unlocks, including titles, vanity gear, trophies, and tactics. Did we forget to mention it's also a pretty good read when you want a break from slaying?
Land of the Dead draws nearer in Warhammer
Warhammer Online's Call to Arms live expansion has been rolling along for months now and players are getting mighty excited about the prospects of the Tomb Kings and The Land of the Dead mega-zone. One WAR blogger is so fired-up he has an on-going guide feature dedicated to it.Greg Moran, a fan favorite webcomic artist and owner of the Tome of Knowledge blog, just released part two of Bring Out Yer Dead. In it, he uses a hearty blend of Warhammer IP knowledge, Mythic promotional evidence, and speculation to provide details on what players might find once set loose upon the sands of Nehekhara. Part one gives an excellent primer on Tomb Kings history and lore.The feature is supplemented by a number of fantastic original illustrations and links to external resources. We suggest you watch part one and two of Mythic's very own Land of the Dead production podcast at the very least. Part three will be released in the May newsletter. There's also a new Beyond the Sands live event running in-game from April 20-27, which will reveal many secrets leading up to the full-scale zone launch.
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 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!
Going down the rabbit hole with Warhammer Online's live events
With just a few months of live service under their belts, the team behind Warhammer Online has already distinguished itself with quality and innovative live events. Heavy Metal, the Reikland Factory preview, Keg End, Witching Night ... all new looks at old holidays, highlighted by the game's unique Tome of Knowledge system. Crispy Gamer has a look at the creation of these events with Mark Davis, Mythic associate producer and live events designer. Davis talks a bit about Mythic's philosophy behind creating these events, and notes their high level of popularity with the playerbase.Their popularity isn't hard to figure out. Offered Davis, "[WAR is] all about the bragging rights. Players like to show off how powerful they are or what accomplishments they've unlocked, and this is one way that they can show how cool they are." We at Massively have definitely enjoyed the events they've offered up so far. What about you? Which Warhammer live event has been your favorite? Any holidays you're particularly looking forward to the team tackling?
Warhammer Online immortalizing top players in stone
We play massively multiplayer online games for many reasons. For some it's the social aspects of MMO gaming that edge out your standard console multiplayer experience, while others like to explore, collect, or otherwise rack up achievements. Achiever-types have had things to like about Warhammer Online through its Tome of Knowledge which stands as a personal record of what you've done in the game, but Mythic Entertainment is implementing a way to immortalize your deeds in stone. Well, as literally as possible within a game. December's patch 1.1 will add a third dimension to the game's leaderboard system, where the top ten players will see statues of their avatars in WAR's cities, adorned with their names. Warhammer Online's Content Design Lead, James Casey, has written a developer blog about the concept as well as the blood, sweat, and tears committed to the project behind-the-scenes. Despite the fact you'd envision statues in a game as being -- by definition -- unchanging, WAR's statues will be a dynamic aspect of the game experience. Just because you've got that esteemed status right now doesn't mean someone else isn't going to topple you from that pedestal later on. Have a look at Casey's "Player Statues" dev diary for more about how the best of the best will be able to see their achievements set in stone. 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!
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!
A one-month review of WAR's Tome of Knowledge
Some of us at Massively are fans of "Waaagh!", a Warhammer Online blog written by Syp. He recently put together a review of Warhammer Online's Tome of Knowledge, one month in. The Tome of Knowledge is one of the more interesting features we've seen in an MMO to date, and may well open new avenues for other MMO developers to explore as the industry matures. That said, it's certainly not perfect. Syp breaks down how the Tome of Knowledge alternately exceeds and fails to live up to his expectations. This comprehensive look is broken down by category: Unlock Rate, RvR Unlocks, Secrets vs. Goals, Stories and Quotes, Fluff and Rewards, Titles, Bragging Rights, Nudity and Chickens, Limitations and Absences, Tome Tactics, User Interface, and Out of Game Experience. That's a fairly thorough assessment of the Tome, we'd say. Syp does have one caveat though: "This list isn't a series of 'Why I hate the Tome', but hopefully you've read it as 'I am quite fond of the Tome and want to see it get a lot better' analysis and suggestions." Be sure to have a look at Syp's "The Tome of Knowledge: A One-Month Review" for a comprehensive analysis of one of WAR's most unique features, and see if you agree with him. 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.
Massively goes to WAR: The Tome of Knowledge
We've talked with designer Carrie Gouskos about her work on Warhammer Online's Tome of Knowledge and now you get to see what all of the fuss is about. This all-in-one in-game information tracker is so incredibly useful, every MMO on the market will implement a version of it in the next year or two. Yes, it's that good. Think of it as a lore wiki, quest tracker and creature database tailored to your individual character and available at any time while in the game. Check out the gallery to see what we are talking about. Click to Begin >> %Gallery-21881%
Warhammer Online CE head start launches, revs up the buzz
The first day of the Warhammer Online head start is over and several servers are already full of players picking sides and clashing foreheads. Another thing that's already started is the reaction around the wider web. The buzz is strong with this one. Here's a round-up of news bits relating to Mythic's newest MMO that you may find a bit surprising: Something Awful's Goon Squad takes to Warhammer Online like Chaos flies to a smoldering pile of Orc poo. Is this a good or a bad sign? For the extreme completionists out there that need to know how to unlock everything in the Tome of Knowledge, you may want to check out the newest Allakhazam site. It should be interesting to see how/if Mythic evolves the ToK to compete with websites like these. If you bought the Collector's Edition and gotten your head start code, then you were part of the group who got in today. Wondering where that special racial head for your character is at and how you can get it? Mythic would like to tell you. The ever-vigilant Mythic community reps have posted a bit more information on the how and where of getting your CE quests, which come with special titles and other rewards. GOA sort of makes up for earlier slip-ups by getting EU players into their CE head start nice and smoothly. Let's hope this is the start of a pattern for the EU WAR service. Mark Jacobs writes letter of thanks and excitement to everyone involved in the official beginnings of WAR.
Ask a WAR Beta Tester: Greenskins and Chaos and Dark Elves, oh my
The road to Wahammer Online's release has been a lengthy walk for everyone. We've all been through ups and downs, but now that it's almost here we're more than happy to answer whatever questions are floating about your minds. So, in our second installment of Ask a WAR Beta Tester, we offer up some insight into the cut careers, leveling time and other questions of intrigue. All for the sake of satiating your burning desire to know more. Of course, we know that no matter how many answers are given there will be more questions asked. So if you've got something banging around in your brain that we haven't addressed, feel free to post a comment containing your question.
