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The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Climax's Warhammer Online
Let's begin with a little personal history. Back in 2008, I decided to get into the blogging scene by jumping on board the latest MMO hotness -- in this case, Warhammer Online. As I was growing increasingly tired of World of Warcraft, WAR seemed to offer a refreshing alternative: a darker world full of brutal PvP and awesome new ideas. So I joined the elite ranks of bloggers (hey, stop laughing so hard) and spent the better part of two years jawing about Mythic's latest fantasy project. And while Warhammer Online was, in my opinion, a solid product, it certainly failed to live up to the extremely high expectations held by both the development team and the players. No matter how it turned out, I really enjoyed talking about WAR, especially in the days leading up to its launch. One of the first articles I ever wrote for my blog WAAAGH! dealt with the first attempt to bring Warhammer Online into the MMO genre (as a fun aside, it was one of the first times I got my name on Massively!). It's a "what if?" tale that's tantalizing to consider -- an entirely different studio, Climax Online, creating a much darker version of Warhammer than we've ever seen online. The tale of the game's rise and fall (and subsequent rise and fall again) captivated me, and I wanted to expand my old article as part of our recent series into exploring MMOs canceled before their launch. So what if Climax had brought Warhammer Online to bear? Would it have eclipsed Mythic's vision or been its own animal? Hit the jump and let's dive into the pages of ancient history!
One Shots: Just hanging around
When it comes to markets in fantasy games, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? Probably places to buy things like food, weapons, armor, or modes of transportation. When it's the marketplace in a capital city like Altdorf in Warhammer Online, one might reasonably even think you could a decent concentration of other players hanging out. However, the forces of Order apparently think it's a great place to make an example of people who have crossed them in some fashion -- as you can see from this interesting Warhammer Online screenshot sent in to us by Yavvy. We wonder what they did to merit this punishment. Moreover, why are they all dressed in the same relatively nice clothes? Did the servants try to make off with the Emperor's silverware? We love to see colorful and interesting sights like this. If you spot something that really captures the unique feel of the MMO you're playing, why not snap a picture and email it to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com. Be sure to include your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit. %Gallery-85937%
One Shots: Let me stand next to your fire
When it comes to the Bright Wizards in Warhammer Online, they must travel to the storied city of Altdorf if they intend to learn the crafting of fire. As you can imagine, this is a crazy place to go to school, as one never knows when the entire school might erupt into flames due to a student letting their spell get the better of them. Thankfully, we don't have to brave the danger since our occasional One Shots contributor, Yavvy, decided to send this great image of Warhammer Online's towering Bright Wizard's College along to us. All the fun, none of the singed eyebrows! When you're running around in your MMO of choice, why not grab a screenshot and send it along to us? We love to see what you're all up to -- and it's easy to do. Just email your image to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll share it with the world and give you the credit. %Gallery-9798%
First legitimate city capture in Warhammer Online
This world-first was over six months in the making: One of the realms finally managed to overtake their enemy's capital city in Warhammer Online without any known form of exploitation. Destruction of Karak Eight Peaks (EU) defeated Karl Franz over a 14-hour marathon run this weekend and successfully captured Altdorf.In dramatic fashion, the Third Realm alliance finished the necessary public quests gating the king instance with only two minutes remaining. After a number of wipes, they had Franz caged and ready for rotten fruit and vegetable target practice. They were rewarded greatly for their efforts.Taking out the king in WAR is no easy feat as it requires hours upon hours and luck upon luck to gain the necessary gear to do so. Hearty congratulations are definitely in order (no pun intended). Mythic recently announced plans for a new token system that should help players get into the necessary warded gear faster than before. However, it's hard to say how long it will be before we hear news of another city capture. Was this sacking a one-off or have the floodgates opened?You can watch a video of the king fight after the cut.
The Digital Continuum: Beyond Warhammer Online patch 1.2
Warhammer Online players are in the midst of the Bitter Rivals live event, plus another big new patch. I'm going to guess that it probably took a lot of development muscle to get the Black Guard, Knight of the Blazing Sun, Slayer and Choppa in a fun, playable shape. Not to mention the improvements to open RvR, Scenarios, PvE and general quality of life fixes.I have no doubt that the east coast developer has the next several patches planned out to some degree. Nonetheless, Mythic, Warhammer Online and its community are at a development crossroads -- and so today I'm going to explore a few possibilities.
One Shots: What are you looking at?
Every so often we open up our mailbox to find a strange, glitched shot from an MMO someone captured and sent in. This One Shot from Warhammer Online certainly fits the bill, with more than just missing armor. I'll let Dablos explain: After years in CoX and several other games in the non-fantasy genre, I decided to give Warhammer Online a try after a friend's recommendation. Well, I am loving it, and have really become engrossed in PvP (or RvR in WAR) for the very first time in my personally long MMO history. It's a blast! The picture is a weird one: my main, Dablos the Witch Hunter, was in Altdorf (Order's capital city) exploring a bit. I came across a NPC city guard who was, shall we say, not up to the uniform standards of her fellow soldiers. There she was, marching up and down the square, with her armor - and the top of her head - missing! A weird bug to be sure, but I thought it was funny. Personally, what makes it funny to me is his head-down look like he's just been busted and her hefting a giant sword like she's about to club Dablos senseless with the flat of the blade for looking at her.If you've caught someone strutting around in bugged gear, or just seen some strange glitches when you were out playing, we'd love to see your moment of 'what?' Grab a quick screenshot and email it to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name and what game its from. We'll post it here and let everyone else gawk at the weirdness while giving you credit. %Gallery-9798%
Warhammer Online's cities more than just a backdrop
Game journalist Alec Meer, well-known for his writing at Rock, Paper, Shotgun, recently contributed a Eurogamer piece on the "social and architectural heart" of Warhammer Online -- its cities. Meer looks beyond the RvR game mechanics, the classes, "man-slapping" and the other trappings that make Warhammer Online what it is, and focuses instead on the setting itself, as seen in The Inevitable City and Altdorf. When Meer looks at The Inevitable City, he points out how it's not just your normal MMO hive of activity and commerce, or a place to line up quests. "These are the reasons to visit it, but they're not its real purpose. What it really does is define what the Destruction races are, and what they're trying to turn the Warhammer world into... You only get an inkling of that in the main world," Meer writes.Contrast this with Altdorf. Meer writes, "Cobbled streets, chunky stone buildings - very European. This is what Order are fighting for. Well, except it's really dirty. Altdorf is not a picture postcard - it's grim and crumbling, full of squalor and fear - as much because of the ongoing war as because of the despotism and aggression of the Empire's rulers," Meer states. Do you agree with Meer that the cities of Warhammer Online are more than just a backdrop for your activities? Do you think the look of WAR's capital cities accurately reflect the conflict between Destruction and Order to reshape the world, each according to their own opposing paradigm? 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 fall of Altdorf, take two
Remember that one time, when Warhammer Online's Altdorf burned to the ground over on the EU server Karak Eight Peaks? And then, like, Mythic said wait no, that was a bug and we don't acknowledge it as real? Yeah, those were good times. Good times.Well now it's actually official, and Mythic's Mark Jacobs has publicly acknowledged it himself as the first time that anyone has gotten this far legitimately (if the data checks out), even if others claim that this isn't technically right. Of course the blogosphere is ablaze with opinions on both sides of the fence, with some claiming that it only happened because it was done during off-peak hours, or that this only means bad news for WAR's endgame potential. We'd be curious to hear what the Massively readers think about this, so let us know in the comments below!
WAR's first city siege: The king is dead. Long live the king.
It was only the other day when we reported that the first Warhammer Online city siege endgame had begun. Initial reports indicated that a relatively small group of players, in average gear, managed to capture Altdorf on the EU server Karak Eight Peaks, partially due to bugs in the game. However, rumors of the death of Emperor Karl Franz have been exaggerated. More details have come to light since then; Electronic Arts contacted MMO blogger Tobold, and set the record straight. As it turns out, Destruction didn't fully capture Altdorf. Rather, they put it in a contested state, and the would-be conquerors on the Destruction side were ousted by Order before they could complete enough public quests to reach the final battle against Emperor Karl Franz. 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!
Warhammer Online hot fixes for September 30th
Yesterday Mythic patched a bunch of hot fixes into Warhammer Online when they implemented the cross pairing queues for Scenarios. Most of the hot fixes address questing bugs that were scattered about the game but there's a class fix for the Archmage and a Scenario bug fix as well. There's also a capital city fix which is far too funny not to share, "The Mastiff's End Brawler in Altdorf will no longer start bar fights and kill the other patrons at the Mastiff's End Tavern." While it's nice that there won't be a man pummeling everyone to death at the bar in Altdorf, we're a bit bummed out to have missed this particular bug in action. If anyone grabbed a video of that, you can email it to us through our handy tip line and we'll throw it up there for all to see. The rest of the bug fixes lie in wait like a crazed bar brawler ready to strike, after the break.
How to get to Altdorf, Ekrund, the Blighted Isle, or Nordland at level 1
You've jumped into Warhammer Online, and you're ready to go. You've picked your class and you're happy with your class mechanics ... but perhaps you don't want to play in your race's assigned tiers. Or maybe you just want to head to the mighty human city of Altdorf. We hear it's lovely this time of year. Heading to the Order capital city or one of the other starting zones is as easy as hiking to the first RvR War Camp in your starting zone ... but where is that? If you've never played before, how do you know?Well, we've got what you need. Click through below the cut for full details and maps on how to get to the first war camps in Nordland, the Blighted Isle, and the zone of Ekrund. Make sure you tell the Dwarven flight masters that Massively sent you!%Gallery-31341%
The Digital Continuum: Diet WAR
Diet Warhammer Online: same great taste, less content. Is it bad that the recently re-branded Mythic Entertainment just cut out a large portion of our Warhammer Online pie and put it in the deep freeze? Well it's certainly not good when a developer cuts content they've been talking about publicly for so long, especially when launch is only three or four months away. I've already written about why this MMO ode to classic tabletop trappings shouldn't be shoved onto shelves half-baked and I still feel like I'd rather see a delay than see so much content cut. While there have been plenty of delays already, that doesn't mean more would have been intolerable. I'm going to try and take an honest look at what the removal of four capital cities and four classes means for Warhammer Online. I will admit that when the news first hit, a vile and seemingly ancient sort of anger began to boil up inside my lungs. It was the onset of some form of draconian rage at the removal of so much content that I'd been personally invested in as a future player. I never really got into Chaos and planned on playing Dark Elves, but now a large part of that content is gone. At first I felt anger and confusion towards Mythic. It wasn't until after that initial knee-jerk anger passed that I was able to give some real thought to their choice and was able to consider the varied consequences.
Massively goes to WAR: Exploring Warhammer's capital cities
Last Friday afternoon we had the chance to sit down with Warhammer Online Development Manager Mike Stone. Mike is one of the minds behind the massive cities that sit brooding at either end of the racial pairings. Under his guidance, Altdorf (the Empire capital) and the Inevitable City rose before us in all their majesty. While we didn't spend any time in the captured versions of these capstone RvR targets, our time exploring these living, breathing areas was very illuminating. EA Mythic's attempt to involve the player in the lifecycle of their capital city is really interesting, and expresses itself in numerous ways. Read on for descriptions of these elements and far, far more as Massively investigates the neighborhoods and streets of Warhammer Online's mightiest metropolises.
Massively goes to WAR: Exploring Warhammer's capital cities pt. 2
Bonus Trivia: Calendar events will see new and interesting elements added to the city all the time. The designers have a tool just for this, which will allow them to add short-term content to capital cities and areas throughout the Warhammer world. With that last image seared into our mind's eye, we move on to the Chaos-haunted streets of the Inevitable city. Instead of white marble and smartly paved roads, the home of Tchar'zanek is all black stone, spikes, and horror. The sky is a roiling terror of black clouds and energy , and everything seems to be a grim mockery of the nobility seen in the human city. The analog to the Altdorf's market square, for example, is called the soul forge. It is the main tavern and bank area, just as the square plays that role in Imperial lands. The nearby tavern known as the Feasthall offers a glimpse into Inevitable City life; down below the rude stone of the hall a pair of pit fighters kill to keep their lives. We're promised that failure at the wrong quest can end up with your character as the evening's dinner entertainment. The square itself is dominated by the Apex, a ziggurrat attended by grim acolytes. A never-ending parade of doomed creatures scales the structure's steps, only to throw themselves into the ever-burning flame shooting from the top. Across the dark stone is the soul bank, the main banking location in the city's center. Unlike the simple tellers behind bars in the city Karl Franz built, the soul bank is an enormous structure filled with howling souls and staffed by macabre creatures floating in pillars of light. From a design point of view, that pillar of light serves a purpose. Just as the city designers placed taverns and banks in all areas, here they made sure that bank couldn't be obscured by griefing players. Bonus Trivia: Surrounding the soul forge are carts full of prisoners. Invading Empire players can free these men to aid with the conquest of the city.
New WAR beta update focused on defense of Altdorf
Ever since Warhammer Online slipped from its precarious perch in the mud, it's been something of a struggle for Mythic to keep our attention in lieu of more current, relevant-feeling fare. After all, there's only so much speculating you can do before you realize it's still months away from being in your hands. Still, as nuts for the Warhammer lore, we take notice any time a beta update hits our inbox, because it means another chance as at sweet, sweet immersion.This News From the Front focuses on the battle on the skirts of Altdorf -- those scenarios that would manifest themselves if the forces of the Empire began to cede to the tide of Chaos and their Dark Elf allies. The beta had both PvE and PvP phases, and prominent among the features being tested were the Keeps and Sieges dynamic, which Mythic wanted to test for fluidity and fun. And of course, what update would be complete without a handful of written lore thrown into the lot as well. If you're still interested in WAR and haven't sold your soul to Krom, it's definitely worth checking out.
