jeff-hickman
Latest
Mythic may take radical approaches with Warhammer Online
As Warhammer Online fans wait for a post-BioWAAAGH! pep talk from Mythic's new General Manager, Rob Denton, they'll have to make due with part three of an Executive Producer's letter from Jeff Hickman.The letter primarily discusses the ways Mythic plans to resolve the top 5 issues identified last week by various focus groups. Warhammer Alliance has an excellent summary in bullet form for those unwilling to wade through the whole article (though we suggest you do for full context).Jeff makes a few really interesting comments in his letter that jumped out at us. He states that Mythic is still committed to Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online and will be sharing their plans for both titles in the near future. We know about the new UO expansion but haven't heard much about DAOC lately. Where oh where are you, Origins?It appears Mythic is "looking at some fairly radical approaches" to address server population issues in WAR. Maybe we'll finally see that realm queue system they had working pre-release...Finally, it sounds like fortresses may be on their way out if Mythic can't find some way to fix them. Andy Belford had this to say: "How do we make it a fun encounter while not diminishing the epic feel of it? At what point do we say, enough is enough, and cut off the offending appendage?" Radical indeed.
More reactions to BioWAAAGH!
We've been keeping our eyes on various blogs and forums discussing yesterday's big news that Mythic and BioWare are being restructured under EA's new MMO/RPG gaming division and that Mark Jacobs is no longer working for EA. Here's a summary of what we've found so far.Many people are under the false impression that Mythic and BioWare have merged. One of Mythic's developers made this clarification: "We're still Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts Studio, as we have been. I've posted this elsewhere, but we're not 'merging.' We are still a completely separate entity within EA, just as Bioware is, simply now grouped under the same MMO/RPG grouping and reporting to one person, collectively."
Jeff Hickman open letter highlights Mythic's top 5 priorities for WAR
Those of you stalwart enough to bore through Jeff Hickman's most recent Executive Producer's letter, which incidentally reads like a list of 1.3 patch notes conjured by the PR department, may have picked up on the mention that Mythic is assembling focus groups to determine the current concerns and issues with Warhammer Online.I can actually confirm this for you since I'm a card-carrying focus group member. The below list of top priorities is entirely accurate based on what I've been hearing as part of this group and in conversation with many current and ex-WAR fanatics. Addressing concerns related to Crowd Control and Area of Effect abilities. Continuing to improve client and server stability and performance. Strengthening and improving the Tier 4 experience. Improving server population distribution – both in terms of overall population and realm balance. Improving itemization and the overall distribution of "carrots" (rewards) throughout the game. It's easy point out that many members of the WAR community have been vocal about these "Top 5" issues since release. We can only hope that the time and resources freed up by the launch of Land of the Dead will finally erase them from the game. Erasing them from memory may prove slightly more difficult.
Jeff Hickman, FAQ, and Grab Bag are all about Land of the Dead
The Land of the Dead must be coming soon because Mythic has gone into marketing overdrive these past few days. Jeff Hickman just addressed the WAR community in an open Executive Producer's letter and we've seen the new RvR mega-zone featured in both an official FAQ and community Grab Bag.It's a bit strange seeing Jeff Hickman in print since he's usually on the front-lines doing live interviews. Also, WAR fans have gotten used to seeing Mythic GM, Mark Jacobs, deliver these kinds of letters in the past. Actually, Mark has been remarkably silent since March when he delivered his 6-month State of the Game and 1.21 patch highlight announcements.At any rate, you can find out pretty much everything there is to know about The Land of the Dead in these three recent articles. Want to know the ward requirements for the PQs, lairs, and dungeons? Curious about lockout timers? Wondering what the heck a "Vessel" is? Head on over and check these resources out!
Come on in, the WAR is lovely
Warhammer Online has plenty on their plate for the coming months. The whole Call to Arms expansion is bringing live events, two new classes, a brand new dungeon themed from the Tomb Kings, and plenty of changes and additions to RvR combat.So what does creative director Paul Barnett and executive producer Jeff Hickman do on their spare time? Well they go to the New York Comic Con and film silly videos about Warhammer with MTV Multiplayer! While the video is amusing, the two also get into some of the nuts and bolts of WAR, including a few reasons why any player should give their game a try and what they're doing to make the whole experience better. Also, they have giant foam warhammers. You just can't turn down giant foam warhammers.
Huge Lands of the Dead update via WAR/Eurogamer dev chat
Eurogamer just hosted a live dev chat with Mythic Entertainment's Warhammer Online staff. Present in this conversation were Executive Producer Jeff Hickman, Senior Creative Director Paul Barnett, Senior Designer (careers) Rob Hinkle, and Live Producer Destin Bales.Mythic staff elaborated on many parts of their game and business from launching in new countries, to the new Slayer and Choppa careers, and balance. Perhaps the biggest reveal was a plethora of new information about Lands of the Dead. They spilled the beans on a number of interesting details, including a live event leading up to LotD that will essentially be a huge Order vs. Destruction battle for who can gain early and exclusive access to the dungeon (for a limited time). This "RvR-gated ultimate sandbox" zone is expected to change hands nightly and will have content for smaller group sizes up to that of a warband (24 players). Paul Barnett elaborated on some similar mechanics to Darkness Falls from DAOC by saying LotD will have, "tokens, other loot methods, a wide level range, and the thrill of your enemy always breathing down your back."Do yourself a favour and check out the entire dev chat log because there are so many more details than this!
Choppa. Slayer. So what's the big deal?
With today's announcement that the Slayer and Choppa careers will be added to Warhammer Online, you may be asking yourself, "So what's the big deal?" Most of the people asking this probably aren't WAR followers, which is understandable. There are, however, people who play WAR that don't really think these two careers should be a priority for Mythic right now given all the other issues. I'm writing this article to prove the non-believers wrong and shed a little light on why the Choppa and Slayer are so cool for the Warhammer novice.First, let's look at the main similarities between these two careers. The Choppa and Slayer were both tested back in WAR beta. Actually, the Slayer was called the Hammerer back then, which was basically a cheap knock-off because Mythic and Games Workshop couldn't work out lore issues. The basic concept of the Hammerer was quite Slayer-esque in that it was a surly dual-wielding melee DPS dwarf. Mythic decided that the Hammerer and Choppa weren't quite on par with the other careers so they were cut (along with the Blackguard and Knight of the Blazing Sun) from release. Note: the BG and KotBS were added shortly afterward. Continue reading below the cut where we'll continue to look into their similarities and specific characteristics.
Mythic announces the first live expansion to Warhammer Online!
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Warhammer_Online_first_expansion_has_new_classes_huge_zone'; Massively.com recently had the chance to speak with Warhammer Online Executive Producer Jeff Hickman. Mr. Hickman laid out for us the much anticipated 'bombshell' news for their PvP-focused MMO: an entire expansion being released over the next few months as live events. Warhammer Executive Producer Jeff Hickman: We've been launched for four or five months now, and all we've done for this time is looking at the game, listening to our players, playing the game ourselves. We've been drilling down into all of the little pieces that weren't quite right for us. We've been looking at client/server stability, what we can do with the RvR system, introducing the two new classes ... we've drilled down on any and all concerns that players might have to perfect the game as it stands right now. With that starting to be under control, we looked ahead and said to ourselves, "we have about four or five months to do some really interesting, cool new events." We're calling it a live expansion. We're trying to hit really hard for players that haven't tried Warhammer, or perhaps players that tried it and then went off to play Lich King or something like that. We want them to come back, see all the improvements we've made, and all the new content coming up. We're calling it "a Call to Arms." Read on below the cut for full details on the expansion, head over to the official site for their take, or click through to one of our related posts for further information: The Choppa and Slayer enter the game in "Bitter Rivals" The Land of the Dead recalls Darkness Falls in an all-new mega-zone Valentine's Day gets bloody as "The Night of Murder" %Gallery-21882%
Comic-Con 09: Warhammer Online pulling out all the stops
Get ready for WAR, comic geeks (it's a rule that geeks can call other geeks geeks)! Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman of Mythic Entertainment will be leading a team of Warhammer Online developers and community managers to New York Comic Con '09 next weekend (Feb. 6-8), and by the looks of their ambitious schedule, it seems they really want to impress new and old fans alike. For a full list of NYCC events for the hardcore gamer, check out the official NYCC-09 gaming page.Their booth (#1449) will be set up all weekend and should he a hive of activity where attendees can chat with the WAR team, mingle with other players, nab some sweet swag, and check out the latest WAR gear. Saturday, Feb. 7 will be their busiest day, starting with Jeff and Paul hosting a presentation chock-full of goodies about Call to Arms, Bitter Rivals, and the two new careers (Room #1A08 @ 11:15AM). This will be followed by poster signings at 2:30PM, a MMO Round Table discussion at 5:30PM (Room #1A24), and a Dev Meet & Greet at 9:00PM (Dave & Busters Time Square). Not to be outdone, Sunday, Feb. 8 will feature an RvR competition starting at 12:00PM where teams of nine will battle in a best two out of three elimination match. Premade characters will be provided and the winners will earn "awesome" in-game items and renown as the first official WAR RvR Tournament champions.Further details below the cut...
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.
Warhammer Online's fortress changes begin rolling out
Players had been experiencing some stability issues playing Warhammer Online's endgame Fortresses -- the bits before the capital cities -- until yesterday, when a new system went into place for the Phoenix Throne, Dark Crag, Vortex, and Darklands servers. This system is going to be rolled out over the coming days onto all of the game servers, which is a plan that smacks of cautiousness on Mythic's part. Or in other words, they're being wise and avoiding server imploding en mass.So what's the big fix? Well, it's an implementation of a threshold system. What was happening before, is that Fortresses would get so full of players -- 500 or 600 of them -- that the entire thing would essentially crash for everyone. It was a big crash-a-thon. Now, when the player count approaches certain thresholds the game will start teleporting rank 35 and below players entering the fortress area into the nearest warcamp. Then, rank 37 players at the next threshold, before finally rank 39 at a final threshold. Mythic hasn't stated what the exact numbers are for each of these caps, but hopefully it's a high enough count that too many players shouldn't feel frustrated when they attempt to join in the battle and find themselves staring at a vendor or trainer. This is just the first fix of what Jeff Hickman recently promised as one of many (see video above) that should be coming sometime in the future. And with the rapid-fire rate that past updates have hit the game, we have no reason to believe otherwise. WAR has gone 1.1! Check out our full coverage of the 1.1a patch, along with our interviews exploring upcoming content and the open RvR changes. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Warhammer Online's Jeff Hickman talks balance and cut classes
Our chums over at mmorpg.com have been getting some information from Jeff Hickman on a subject all Warhammer Online players know very well: the cut classes and cities that didn't make it to launch. There's been a lot of discussion of this topic since WAR went live - much of it of the 'it would have been more balanced if only' variety - and in the course of an excellent meaty interview, Jeff has some choice words to say on the subject.Obviously, there's no date for reincorporation of the cut material yet (none of us seriously thought there would be, right?) The cut classes simply 'weren't as good as they needed to be' and will be done when they're done. We're impressed with Jeff's assertion that players shouldn't necessarily like all of the classes. 'Players should love some and hate others.' A step away from bland, one-size-fits-all pandering to the customer? Apparently.Jeff's flatly dismissive of the notion that the cut classes' absence has unbalanced the game. His quote says it all: '...what we're seeing is a lot of people judging the game in Tier 1 (which is again, perfectly fine, you SHOULD judge the game in Tier 1), but I think everyone needs to keep in mind that that's the first ten hours of gameplay for a game that is hundreds of thousands of hours of gameplay out there over the next couple of years.'
Joystiq Interview: Jeff Hickman on managing a successful WAR
When the Joystiq Network last spoke with Warhammer Online executive producer Jeff Hickman, the experience left us rolling on the floor in laughter. During a guest appearance on the Big Download podcast, Hickman and company were noticeably tired from a tour in Leipzig and PAX promoting the massively multiplayer title, and decided to kick back with a few drinks and have fun.While still entertaining, this time it's all business. Today, signifying Warhammer Online's one-week retail anniversary, Hickman returns to discuss the launch, future add-on content and address some of the issues with the game.Listen to the entire interview now or jump in if you like your interviews in ye olde style wall-of-text format. We're all about options here. [MP3] Download this interview in MP3 format Gallery: Warhammer Online
The MMO Report offers part two of their Warhammer Online special
Last weekend, as a preview before the launch of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, G4's MMO Report ran a special video touring the Mythic offices with Paul Barnett as guide. This week, the show follows up with a more serious look at the game from the other frontmen on the team: Josh Drescher, Jeff Hickman, and Mark Jacobs. Join the hearty crew as they run through the features list for the game and wax eloquent about the project they've spent years developing. Frankly, if you've been reading Massively and (even moreso) if you're already playing you probably know everything they have to say. Still, there's nothing like watching a passionate nerd talk about their life's work backed by dramatic fantasy music. Click through below the cut for their passion unfiltered. Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out all of our previous Warhammer Online features, and don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!
Mythic releases trio of WAR launch day videos
As busy as the Mythic folks have been gearing up for launch this week, they still took the time to have some fun and meet some fans. All of their antics have been recorded for your viewing pleasure, with the credits posing as a particularly entertaining -- if not lengthy -- video. Also, our hope is that Josh and everyone exposed to too much radio-frequency energy at least gain some kind of superpowers. There's a lot to watch between the three separate videos, but it's all fairly entertaining for any fan of the Warhammer Online guys. We hope they're starting to recover from launch day at least a little bit, but if these videos are any indication then they've only just begun.
The BigCast @PAX08 Special: Warhammer Online
Massively's sister site Big Download has a very special podcast with Jeff Hickman, Paul Barnett and Josh Drescher from Warhammer Online. Of course, you probably don't need us to tell you that these fellows made for a very interesting podcast, but what you do need to know is that this edition of the BigCast is very NSFW, so it may be wise to wear some headphones. As it happens, there isn't much talk about Warhammer Online. Instead, you'll hear a lot Mr. Barnett asking everyone questions and the ever-informative Josh Drescher pitch a very wonderful radio ad for Bacon Salt -- because everything should taste like bacon.As someone who was a part of this endeavour into the unknowns of German hotels, taxis and of course, Bacon Salt, this blogger can tell you it was a wild ride that you won't be remiss for listening in on.
PAX08: WAR's Jeff Hickman on patches, open beta and content rumors
After our interview with both Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman at PAX08, we talked some more with Jeff about various subjects regarding the upcoming open beta and subsequent launch of Warhammer Online. It was a incredibly casual and open discussion on topics that are usually met with fiery bile depending on what part of the internet you happen to be at any given moment. One particular question we asked revolved around the choice to limit players in the open beta to level 20 out of the 40 total in the game. The move has of course spawned some skeptics of the existence of higher level content. Find out exactly what Jeff had to say about that below the cut.%Gallery-30683%
PAX08: WAR's Paul Barnett and Jeff Hickman interviewed, page three
Massively: This one's for all the Warhammer lore fans. Tomb Kings or Vampire Counts? If you had your pick- Massively: Tabletop, let's say...
Seen@PAX08: Warhammer Online team going all out
We've spent a lot of time stomping around the exhibition hall at PAX this year and there are plenty of sights to see. One constant of the show floor was the never-wavering, always-happy-to-see-you team at the Warhammer Online booth. They also liked to make strange "w" signs with their hands at us. We think it's probably some east-coaster thing or maybe a esoteric European gang sign. It could've also been related to Warhammer Online, but that's probably unlikely.This was the first year that Paul Barnett, Jeff Hickman and Josh Drescher were there to answer questions, chat with fans and generally be cool, approachable guys. While hanging around the booth after our (soon to be available) interview with Jeff and Paul, we lost count of how many times they posed for pictures, signed things, repeatedly discussed issues, or just generally made themselves available for poking and prodding throughout the day.%Gallery-30683%
PAX08: New features coming to Warhammer Online for the open beta
While talking to Mythic's Jeff Hickman at PAX08, he mentioned a rather large update coming for the open beta hitting around September 7th (the date of the Open Beta). Some of the content in the upcoming patch includes player vaults, guild vaults, auction house, tons of fun new emotes, and a lot of general effects cleanup. There's even a new Public Quest and standard quest tracker for the user interface. It sounds like Mythic is making a really big push for the launch of the game. So even if you're in the beta now, expect some pleasant surprises once you hit the Open Beta or Live game in just a couple of weeks.We've got tons more information coming from our time spent with the Warhammer Online guys at PAX08. Keep your eyes peeled for further updates.
