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Loot drops? Eternal Crusade says no.
If you haven't figured it out yet, Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade will not be like most MMOs or online co-op games, especially in the looting department. In an interview with 2P.com, Behaviour Interactive announced that the game will have not dropped loot but rewards from NPC bossses. "You'll be given rewards from your high command," Behaviour said. "Attack the enemy positions, defend your bases or free them from the Tyranids... this is what you are asked to do and this is what you will be rewarded for. Once you get enough reward tokens you can exchange them from some special ammunitions or equipment. There is no direct drop system in the game." The interview shed light on many of the game's features, such as its single resource (requisition points), the possibility of purchasing elite units, and the challenge of balancing melee and ranged classes. [Thanks to Halldorr for the tip!]
PAX Prime 2014: Hands-on with Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade
After getting the pitch from Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade at PAX Prime, I was given the opportunity to sit down and experience a PvP bout first-hand. I'll share a little pet peeve of mine before we get into the meat of the hands-on, which is that I really don't like it when developers stand over your shoulders at demos barking instructions to you. I wasn't given much of an opportunity to do what I wanted to; instead, I was constantly responding to the dev's commands! In any case, for a pre-pre-alpha build, I'm somewhat impressed that Eternal Crusade was able to cobble together a very playable deathmatch with several classes and two vehicle types (Rhino and Predator). My first class was something of a lumbering tank, well-armed but a clunky jumper. I opted instead to get a jetpack as an assault trooper, willingly trading firepower for the awesome ability to do huge leaps and be able to clutch on to the side of a building and jump once more.
PAX Prime 2014: Warhammer 40k trains players to think like soldiers
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade is most emphatically not about two things: PvE and lone rangers. While there will be a smidgeon of PvE content in the released game, the focus of the developers is about coordinated group PvP. In fact, coordination is an essential part to Eternal Crusade's experience, as the devs cited the chaos of PlanetSide 2 as something that they wish to avoid. Instead, using technologies such as Eternal Crusade's single server, low latency, and the built in Razercom voice chat, tools are in place to allow players to find friends and squadmates and talk with them. Going off on one's own is a recipe for a quick death, while sticking with a squad to accomplish objectives and summon in reinforcements will be the path to progress. Different terrain and structures will also require different military thinking, shifting from guerilla warfare to scorched earth madness. At PAX Prime, the devs were showing a very early alpha build to allow eight players to engage in small-scale PvP. The team stressed that the skirmish was definitely about skill instead of stats, although careful planning and strategy were just as important as quick reflexes. The ultimate goal is to help your faction take over as much territory as possible, transforming captured cities into faction-themed landscapes in the progress.
Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade lays out future history in new trailer
The in-game footage may be blurry and obscured by a HUD overlay, but Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade's new trailer does do a good job of teasing the game that is to come. Most of this new trailer is concerned with laying out the factions and underlying conflict between them, finishing by asking the player to choose her or his faction. No dirty neutrals here, champ! Check it out after the break and see if this gets your blood pumping (and then gushing from an Ork-caused head wound).
Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade discusses Razer Comms integration
Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade is positioning itself to be a blend of MMO elements with third-person shooter elements, and like its source material that means everyone's trying to shoot everyone else. So you're going to need a way to communicate with other players, and if typing out "please help me shoot these guys" is going to take too much time, you'll need a voice chat solution. The development team behind the game has taken this fact to heart, and rather than forcing players to rely on a third-party solution, it's working on integrating the Razer Comms system into the game directly. This also includes filters to help you fully immerse yourself in the setting, tying the game's normal sound and voice chat together. If that sounds like something you'd like to see in action, take a look at the full announcement for more explanation of the integration and what it offers the players.
Here's what CIG accomplished on Star Citizen in June
It's the beginning of a new month, which means it's time for Cloud Imperium Games to recap last month's Star Citizen progress. The big news was the release of Arena Commander and its four patches, but there are plenty of other interesting nuggets packed into the the latest update wall-of-text. Foundry 42 studio director Erin Roberts says that capital ships are coming together, and his team has also begun work on multi-crew vehicles. CIG Austin studio director Eric Peterson says that his bunch has been "busy working on the persistent universe and backend server component," while Behaviour producer Mathieu Beaulieu says that his studio is hard at work on hangar revamps as well as Star Citizen's mobiGlas development. Read all about those initiatives and more at the Roberts Space Industries website linked below. [Thanks James!]
Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade's founder program goes live
The founder and pre-order program for the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade MMO is now officially live. Founder tiers available start with the $40 Warrior Pack (which includes the game, early module access, 40,000 game points, and special perks) and run the price scale up to the $450 (and currently on sale) Xenos pack, which includes the game and early access along with 610,000 game points and even more special perks. Not into forking over your cash just yet? At E3 a few weeks ago, Behavior Online told Massively that at launch (expected in 2016), Eternal Crusade will boast a hybrid model, with a $40 buy-to-play option and a free-to-play option that restricts players to the Ork Boyz faction. The cash shop will sell "pay-to-be-cool" cosmetics and skins, the devs said. The studio also issued a new teaser trailer to coincide with the program launch. We've included it below.
Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade base classes announced
In a post on the official Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade forums last night, Behavior Interactive Lead Designer Brent Ellison announced the basic class list for the coming game. The classes are: Space Marines: Tactical, Devastator, Assault, Apothecary Orks: Shoota, 'Eavy/Loota (final name TBD), Stormboy, Painboy Chaos: Tactical, Havoc, Raptor, Aspiring Sorcerer Eldar: Dire Avenger, Fire Dragon, Dark Reaper, Swooping Hawk, Howling Banshee, Striking Scorpion, Warlock Why do the Eldar have more classes than the others? Ellison explains that while the other factions are flexible, the Eldar are highly specialized: "[The Eldar have] as much customization as the other factions, [but] it's spread across a larger number of classes, and there are fewer combat roles per class. Our goal is to do justice to each faction, so rather than try to cram the same system into the Eldar, we opted to widen their class selection in order to give them the roles they needed to be competitive on the battlefield." Elite and hero classes haven't yet been introduced.
E3 2014: Warhammer 40K devs on development and founders packs
As part of an established IP, Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade has had a fanbase from the get-go. And those folks have been watching and proving the development of the MMO fairly closely. How closely will the game resemble the IP? Will it hold to the lore and fit into the known universe, or will it splinter off and do its own thing? I sat down with Warhammer 40K Creative Director David Ghozland, Senior Producer Stephanie Marchand, and Behavior Online studio head Miguel Caron at E3 2014 to talk about how development is progressing, discuss how the MMO fits in to the IP, and find out more about founders packs.
WAR40K dev diary details customization and player-driven story
In this week's Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade production update, Game Designer Michael Chan describes a bit about what's going on behind the scenes with customization and player-driven story. "Taking over parts of the Arkhona landmass, each campaign lasts approximately a week and we will augment the usual territory control gameplay with additional goals and mechanics," Chan writes. "Through your accomplishments, campaigns are also where you, your squad and strike force can distinguish yourselves from others – receive peer recognition and look more formidable on the battlefield. Participating in campaigns is the best way to engage in the narrative; and by working together in story campaigns, you'll be able to create history on Arkhona. Imagine being able to point to major battles that took place a long time ago and being able to take credit for it. These will drive the narrative of our game." You can check out the entire dev diary at the game's official site.
WAR40K: Eternal Crusade creates entire planet from scratch
While nobody can claim that the Warhammer 40,000 universe is lacking in locations, the team over at Behaviour Interactive thought it was important enough to create a new planet specifically for Eternal Crusade's setting. Art Director Ghislain Barbe talks about the planet Arkhona in his latest dev diary, saying that it lies smack dab "in the dead center of a void of systems." Arkhona used to be home to the Xenos, but now is ground zero for a five-way tug-of-war when it's not trying to tear itself apart with natural disasters. Or as Barbe puts it, "Death has come to Arkhona and it is ready for a second service." The look of the planet is replete with abandoned structures, shattered chasms, and diverse environments. Barbe also mentioned that one of the priorities of the art team is to support tons of customization. "Lots of research was done to see how far we could push what we offer without harming game performance," he said.
WAR40K's Miguel Caron on lore, immersion, and cloud computing
Miguel Caron is a passionate man. The former Funcom Canada CEO has moved on from The Secret World to lead the team developing Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade, and he's not shy about showing the world what's happening behind the scenes. In fact, he recently showed off an impromptu video of a fan playing the pre-alpha build at Chicago's Comic & Entertainment Expo. Total transparency was the theme of our two-hour-long Skype chat this week as the Behavior Interactive studio head talked to me about everything from pleasing 40K lore fanatics to avoiding the "public quest curse" that plagued the original Warhammer Online MMO.
Eternal Crusade delivers sneak peek of new website and founder's program heroes
Behavior Associate Producer Mathieu Fecteau penned a new producer's letter today in which he showed off both a mock-up of the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade website and some concept art of the founder's program heroes. The website will be launched in the early summer, Fectaeu said. "I'm really proud of the direction the design is taking. Ghislain Barbe (Art Director) helped by Nicolas Brunoni (Lead UI/HUD) and I are working closely with Turbulent to get something immersive, dynamic and appealing for our dear crusaders!" As for the founder's program heroes, the sketches provided in the producer's letter merely give an idea of what they will look like when comleted. Fecteau said that all factions will have heroes, special units that are sent out for certain situations, but are "mostly aesthetic."
Eternal Crusade says founders program is not a crowdfunding campaign
Behaviour Interactive's Miguel Caron penned a Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade newsletter today for fans skeptical about the founders program announced last week. The purpose of the program, he explains, is to solicit feedback and provide value to the faithful, not to crowdfund the game, which he says is already fully financed but might see an earlier introduction of content thanks to the founders: "The founders programs might, with your help, move a few unannounced features that are currently planned for after launch... before launch." Caron also discusses the studio's commitment to transparency, expresses disdain for any sort of "marketing firewall between devs and fans," and hints that a playable game isn't too far off with this cryptic sentence: "You will soon land on Arkhona." We outlined the proposed founder program perks in a post earlier this month.
Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade's founder program detailed
In a newsletter sent to fans today, the Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade team fleshed out its previously mentioned plans for its founder program. Within the next few months you will be able to buy a Founder's Pack for Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade. Buying a Founder's Pack will give you full access to the full game at launch, and all four races. You'll also get to select unique rewards from the following categories: ► Identity – Enhance your character's core identity with unique Founders-only squad emblems, Heroes, and background-related titles, biographies, and cosmetics ► Weapon Skins – Unique cosmetics for each race ► Armor Skins – Unique cosmetics for each race ► Space Ship Decorations – Unique cosmetics to dress up your Squad or Strike Force Cruiser's interior the way you want ► Miscellaneous – Unique execution animations and pets, both utility and non-combat ► Vehicles – Unique Founders-only vehicles ► Consumables – Extra ammunition, grenades, and other convenience items ► Accessories – Unique equipment pieces The developers promise updates to each category over time and also note that playable modules will become available much earlier to founders than to everyone else. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Here's an early look at Star Citizen's room system
If you missed yesterday's Wingman's Hangar, it's worth watching to get an early glimpse of Star Citizen's room system. The room system is core technology that will be used to build out planetside locations, hangars, ship interiors, and more. Montreal-based Behaviour Interactive is currently building the system out, and the video shows off plenty of behind-the-scenes footage as well as portions of Star Citizen's asteroid hangar.
Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade plans to launch a founder program
The Warhammer 40,000 Eternal Crusade team sent out a newsletter to fans today discussing the progress of the game since January. Behavior Interactive Creative Director David Ghozland explained that the team is busy stress-testing tech and preproducing everything from the story to the design and visuals. "We are already playing with three fully functional classes out of four," he wrote, and the first working outpost is in the game. Notably, he promises both a new website that will include a guild listing and a pre-order "founder" program set to launch during this year's E3. [With thanks to Dengar for the tip.]
Sneak a peek at Warhammer 40K: Eternal Crusade's early prototype
Behaviour Interactive's upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade is currently in extremely early alpha and scheduled for a 2015 launch. However, footage has snuck out revealing the game's "proof of concept" demo. The video, while brief, gives us the first real glimpse at what Behaviour has planned for this next entry in the Warhammer franchise. Check out the prototype after the break.
The Eldar invade Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade's racial roster continues to expand, as Behavior Interactive officially added the Eldar Craftworlds to the races and sub-factions page today. As the name and common sense implies, the Eldar are ancient, old, and qualified for senior citizen discounts in every part of the galaxy. However, as they have access to advanced technology and powerful psychic soldiers, they're not content to putter around Walmart on scooters but are instead right in the thick of the intergalactic conflict. Interestingly enough, the Eldar can also see their own future in which they meet a bitter end, but they fight on with severe denial even so.
Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade offers up an Ork-themed newsletter
Yes, the Orks of Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade are bloodthirsty marauders who care only for the destruction of all they survey, but that doesn't mean they have to express themselves solely in monosyllabic grunts. The latest newsletter for the game is quite Orkish in its penmanship, and you'll find that it is quite comprehensibly the work of a literate Ork. And it contains some much-needed elucidation on matters of design and progress, which would make it a worthwhile read for any forward-looking fan of the game. One of the points touched upon is the game's business model. In essence, it appears that free players will be able to enjoy access to all races but not some of the more advanced character options, whilst players who buy the game get access to everything and those who pay more will have an even wider array of options. The game is apparently close to being ready for public display, something that will make all of the soon-to-be-deprived Orks of Warhammer Online happy for the future.