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DAoC Producer's Letter puts on training wheels, er, windows
Like fine wine, Dark Age of Camelot is improving with age, at least according to the recent Producer's Letter for the game. Stuart Zissu crowed about the success of the dev team's first Live Event -- called "Infernal Awakenings" -- which saw developer-controlled demons rampaging across the world. Apparently, it was such a success that the dev team is deep into planning the next Live Event. Belford was also excited to talk about the new training window UI, which is set to arrive in the game very shortly. This updated interface lets players map out their specializations in advance via sliders so that they can create the exact character build they desire. Once a desired build is found, the game will automatically refashion your character's stats and abilities to match. The DAoC team is also working on ways to make the game more accessible to all, including additional character transfers and payment methods. You can read Andy Belford's full Producer's Letter at The Camelot Herald.
Warhammer Online devs bare their souls in a recent public Q&A session
It's a rare treat when MMO developers take the time to sit down with fans and allow them to pose questions in a public setting, so it's great to see Warhammer Online's dev team doing just that. On July 30th, the devs opened the doors to BioWare Mythic's Ventrilo server for players to come in and submit one question to be answered, which resulted in dozens upon dozens of responses. Burglir's Blog recorded the Q&A session, which was subsequently transcribed by Gaarawarr Gabs for all to enjoy. While some of the questions covered the same ground as the recent Producer's Letter (including a new 6v6 scenario and additional Live Events), most of them got into specific inquiries regarding classes, balancing and RvR. Some of the topics included magus/engineer pets, group heals, Linux support (spoiler: not going to happen), crowd control, cross-server scenarios, new races and something called "lolsquig speak." One of the players even admitted to naughty exploiting when he asked about the Kraken Sea zone (of which he got a peek). Nate Levy shot back an interesting response: "The very, very short answer is we build out a lot more of the game than we ever end up using and sometimes there are things like that." You can read the beefy transcript over at Gaarawarr Gabs.
Waging WAR: The taboo of cross-realming
What happens when you take Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (which offers arguably the best PvP in any MMO currently available) and mix it with controversy, corruption, and a heaping helping of taboo? Well, for one, you get this week's topic for Waging WAR: cross-realming. Today's issue takes a look at the what, why, and how of it all. Recently, during a conversation with a guildmate, it was suggested that achieving renown rank 80 was a simple matter, requiring little time or effort. At the time, I was flabbergasted. There I sat, at RR74 (after having spent innumerable months getting there), listening to someone tell me that all my effort was somehow misplaced. It was no coincidence that we were also talking about what my guildmate referred to as "organized dueling." It is my unwavering belief that WAR is not balanced nor designed to be a system of careers and classes based on 1v1 (or similar) odds. Thus, dueling in WAR has always seemed to me to be an effort in futility, and every time the subject comes up in the realm's general chat, I've been outspoken against it. I believe the addition of a duel mechanism would be detrimental to the base concept of RvR, and would inevitably detract from the very essence of group-based, organized combat. Indeed, my vision of dueling in WAR would resemble some sort of fight-club held in one of the old, abandoned Fortresses far away from any keeps, warbands or sieges, as combatants from both realms enter a pit from which only one will emerge as the victor (the other emerging a few moments later, after shaking off the effects of resurrection sickness). "But Greg," you ask, "doesn't that sound more like cross-realming to you?" Indeed it does. Let's talk more after the break.
BioWare Mythic says "Never!" to Real ID
Worried that Blizzard's Real ID system may be coming to an MMO near you? BioWare Mythic has a few words of reassurance on that point: "No. Never. Never. No." This was the response by Warhammer Online's Carrie Gouskos to Eurogamer when asked if BioWare Mythic was mulling over a Real ID-type feature for its games. BioWare Mythic's general manager Eugene Evans supported that sentiment and expanded on it: "We wouldn't do it. I'm surprised they did it, and for a group that is so close to their community, it was amazing that they misread it that poorly. I'm pleased to see them reacting to the community. We should all learn to listen to our communities. Their community made it very clear what the right answer is." This follows the controversial decision -- later retracted by Blizzard -- to force World of Warcraft forum posters to use their real names in an attempt to cut down on trolling and forum spam. Since the controversy, other MMO studios have come out strongly against Real ID, so it's good to see that this includes the folks behind Warhammer Online, Dark Age of Camelot and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Patch 1.3.6 available on Warhammer Online's Warpstone server
It's been a quiet month for Warhammer Online players, unless you've been part of the transition of management over in Europe, but change appears to be on the horizon. Patch 1.3.6 has been in development for a little while now, and the players are getting to take it for a spin this weekend, as it's just been launched onto the Warpstone public test server. As usual, the development team is hosting a Q&A session as well as a stress test during the test phase, and while the official announcement doesn't mention any giveaways, history would seem to imply they'll be there. Of course, all of the testing is well and good, but what does the patch actually contain? Fear not, as the full patch notes are available to read, with the major highlights covering item sets and RvR balance -- the latter addressed via the new "Against All Odds" system that gives a bonus to the underdog in RvR lakes. Items will now be customizable via appearance slots, and the Sovereign armor sets have been split into two potential sets for different playstyles. Take a look at the patch notes, and be sure to head on to Warpstone for a preview of the latest and greatest addition to Warhammer Online.
BioWare Mythic takes over Warhammer Online in Europe
Previously, the operation of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in Europe was handled by GOA, a division of France Telecom. Today, EA has announced that BioWare Mythic, the developer behind WAR, will now take over "publishing, operating and subscription service rights" in the region. During the transition, BioWare Mythic will shut down the European servers for 48 to 72 hours as it works to bring the new servers online. To celebrate the transition, existing and former players will all receive 14 days of free play, while new players will gain the option of installing an Endless Trial mode, which gives players the option to enjoy the trial version of the game for as long as they like. You can check it out for yourself here.
Mythic Entertainment quietly renamed to 'BioWare Mythic'
For the third time in five years, Mythic Entertainment has been renamed -- from Mythic Entertainment to "EA Mythic," back to "Mythic Entertainment," and now: BioWare Mythic. The "new" name was tested out in yesterday's Warhammer Online June Producer's Letter, with producer Carrie Gouskos asking readers, "Like the fancy new name? We're still getting used to it ourselves." Actually, the "BioWare Mythic" name has been used casually for some time within the BioWare division; though the studio's homepage and game sites continue to use the Mythic Entertainment name and logo. An Electronic Arts spokesperson told Joystiq that the name change was never formally announced, but that it was reflective of EA's restructuring of Mythic last June. At that time, the Virginia-based studio was placed under the direction of BioWare overlords Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, and is currently one of four development studios within the division, which includes BioWare Edmonton, BioWare Austin and BioWare Montreal. Uh-oh, do we sense a "BioWare Fairfax" name change coming on?
Against All Odds -- it's the WAR Producer's Letter for June
From Mythic Entertainment to EA Mythic to Mythic Entertainment to (now) BioWare Mythic, Warhammer Online's developer has seen its fair share of name changes. Change is the theme of the June Producer's Letter, as Carrie Gouskos not only announced the new name for the merged developer, but a number of other changes for WAR as well. The takeover of Europe's WAR operations from GOA was a significant topic. Mythic is hosting the EU side on five servers: two English, two German and one French. "We're overjoyed to welcome our European players and are looking forward to more direct interaction with them," Carrie said. She also pointed to the future with the upcoming 1.3.6 patch, which includes a nifty feature called Against All Odds that rewards outnumbered armies with up to 400% more experience, renown and influence in RvR lakes. Other upcoming changes include armor appearance slots, tweaks to open RvR, and a forge to alter the stat bonuses of city armor. You can read the full Producer's Letter here!
