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The Warhammer that almost was
Warhammer Online was recently delayed once again, as EA Mythic works tirelessly to bring us to war. Once upon a time, though, Mythic wasn't at the helm. The concept of a Warhammer MMO was under the auspices of a completely different development house, one named Climax Online. Syp over at the WAAAGH blog runs down the brief history of that other Warhammer Online, the one that really only lived in the imagination of the Climax developers and fans who attended E3 2003. The differences between the two games are very pronounced, especially given that both titles stem from the same IP. Climax's WAR was to be a small, gritty world with very low population servers; hallmarks of the time in which the game was developed. Reading over the announced features now (12 towns, 15 dungeons, 5 races, skill-based leveling) it's easy to be more enthused about what Mythic has in development. Just the same, looking to the past can reveal some connections; Syp points out that Climax's Warhammer was to offer "an in-game journal that would record every quest undertaken, every mob killed, atlases and so forth - a precursor to our beloved Tome of Knowledge, perhaps?" Looking back on the MMO commentary available at the time, the original game's cancellation was cause for sadness. At least, these four years later, we can look back and see that the IP's journey to become a virtual world will have a happy ending after all. To fully appreciate what might have been, read below the cut for a Warhammer Online trailer from 2003. Mind the vampires ...
Anti-Aliased: What are we doing?
Click. 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 5, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 5, 1, 1, 3, 4, 1. /cheerSitting next to my friend in his room littered with Diet Mountain Dew cans, reports past due, and his girlfriend passed out on the bed, I slowly came to a very scary realization. Some of our best loved MMOs can be boiled down to not just pressing different buttons, but pressing the same button repeatedly. What really drove this home was me and a bunch of his friends were in the other room adjacent to his room, yet he was neglecting to join our roleplaying session and hang out. He'd rather sit in his small, cluttered room and farm a raid he's done at least 20 times, somehow finding enjoyment from pressing the button "1" repeatedly.So... what are we doing? Are we drinking the proverbial Windex because someone said it was a good idea?
DAoC's grab bag - thy questions are answered
The movers and shakers behind Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot enjoy answering questions posed by their customers, and usually address a handful during each Friday's Grab Bag session. One question a number of individuals has posed is how one goes about getting a second account. According to the Bearded Wonder, "Download the 14-day trial version. Sign up for an account via that method, using the trial disc cd-key and then you have the game up to the Catacombs client." He went on to say that, "If you want to enable additional expansions for the second account, you can do so, and we encourage it!" Questions ranged far and wide, and discussed equippage rights, seige engines, enchantments, crafting, and more. For example, does Greater Onslaught Mythirian have to be equipped by the siege driver, or can it be equipped by a secondary rider and still provide the move increase of 6? The answer: it must be equipped by the driver, specifically. Speaking of specifics, some people have noted that Pendragon and Normal frequently download the same files, and they rapidly grew weary of the ongoing duplication. the Bearded Wonder again strode to the rescue with the suggestion of using separate game installations for Live and Test. In addition to the questions -- all of which are available on last Friday's Grab Bag page -- there were a number of announcements, as well. On 25/26 April, the players of Gaheris (PvE) will host the first of three weekend events. DAoC version 1.94 is being worked on, and they hope to have it up on Pendragon soonish. On 10 May, a number of the DAoC team will be in Bethesda, Maryland, for a Camelot Road Trip, and they're requesting an RSVP if you're planning on attending. And, finally, they're giving qualified players the opportunity to apply for a PvE Ruleset, Thane, Wizard, or Bonedancer Team Lead position.
WAR "home movie" shows some new assets
Mythic treats us a little badly sometimes, delaying Warhammer Online months before it's release and touting extraordinary beta application numbers while the vast majority of us are still barred from playing. And even so, we're still enthralled by every new tidbit of information that comes our way, like this latest "home movie" showcasing a decent chunk of new footage from the closed beta.Something still seems kind of funky to this blogger about the way the game looks. Maybe the textures aren't complete or the lighting just hasn't been implemented yet, but it all has some strange unrealistic quality to it that we can't quite pin down. Maybe they just need to turn the gamma down on their demo machines, who knows? We do know the huge PQ NPCs look cool though.[Via Gamebunny]
Why PvE shouldn't be a dirty word in WAR
For almost as long as we've known about Warhammer Online, we've known that Mythic has intended for the game to be a PvP player's paradise. It's a game that from the beginning has emphasized the merits of its RvR gameplay. Tired of mindlessly killing bears for bear pelts in World of Warcraft? Come to WAR, where instead you're rewarded for besting your human-controlled foes in battle. It's not a grind, it's a test of skill! Over at the Greenskin, they're cautioning us not to drink the RvR kool-aid. While player versus player combat can certainly be a center-piece of the WAR experience, it has the capacity to be every bit the boring grind that PvE gameplay is. Substantively, is there really any difference between collecting 1000 player skulls and 1000 NPC skulls? The DAoC expansions suffered from an over-emphasis on PvE for progression, so their hope is that WAR benefits from that experience and Mythic implements both in moderation. After all, as we've explored before, aren't PvE and PvP really complementary? Doesn't PvP depend inherently on the faction ties we develop collaboratively tackling public quests? It's a good point, and one we hope Mythic keeps in mind in their recently-extended polishing period.
What Warhammer Online will always be remembered for
There are a lot of subjects to talk about when it comes to EA Mythic's upcoming MMO Warhammer Online. However, one particular subject still hasn't seemed to really come into the limelight -- the features in WAR that will likely forever alter what people expect from MMOs. This week's Digital Continuum will focus on just that. Most features are evolutions of old ones in some ways, although some evolve in such huge leaps that they become entirely new features altogether. There are definitely a few huge concepts WAR has adopted that I think are going to become as prolific as those little yellow exclamation points above NPC heads.I know that's quite the claim, but hopefully this feature will convince at least a few nay-sayers otherwise. Click the image above to see my reasoning on what landscape changing features WAR has in store. How WAR will leave its mark >>>>>%Gallery-19851%
Mythic expects WAR beta apps to reach one million
Forumites at the Vault Network boards started a thread speculating as to whether or not EA Mythic's Warhammer Online will reach one million beta apps when all's said and done. Mythic CEO and WAR lead designer Mark Jacobs promptly responded (as he's been known to do), assuring everyone that he and the WAR team have every expectation of achieving that goal."I'd be surprised if we didn't hit 1M once we start taking beta apps for our Asian partners," he said. "Even without Asia, based on our current sign-up rate, we should blow through 750K and we have a decent shot at 1M." He also noted that his original goalpost was 500,000 in North America and Europe, a goal which EA Mythic has "far surpassed."Maybe Funcom should take this as a throwing down of the gauntlet. Age of Conan's 500,000 beta sign-up number is impressive, but it looks like Funcom will have to do better than that to beat Warhammer![Via Keen and Graev]
Chaos, Panic, Disorder: WAR CE pre-order rundown
As tumultuous as the delay has been for the Warhammer Online fan community, an even bigger headache has loomed in the minds of many. One of the biggest details to come from the announcement of the Collector's Edition and its myriad of goodies was that those who put in a pre-order for the CE would get early access to the Open Beta and a head start on the rest of the Warhammer fanatics when it finally comes time for release sometime this fall.That's all well and good, but who could have anticipated the sheer number of discrepancies and problems that have arisen from these simple perks? Different retailers are handling the distribution of codes differently, there are gaping holes in the system that allow for exploitation, players are reporting on bunk codes, orcs and dwarves living together, mass hysteria! Having navigated this minefield ourselves in the quest for that delicious artbook, we thought we'd give you a bit of a rundown on the situation.
Five MMOs better than World of Warcraft - Part 2
Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot always depended upon its PvP to set it apart from other games. Not just killing random players from opposing factions – and DAoC had three – but actual, full-out siege warfare, battling for possession of inter-realm keeps and artifacts of great power. The nations would form outside a wall called Emain Mecha, within sight of the Hibernian realm, close to teleporters from Midgard and Albion. And there battle would rage for hours, with people of all levels and classes fighting openly or sneaking behind for snipe shots from hiding; often times victorious Albions or Midgards would break through the Hibernian line and assault one of the nearby contested keeps. Other times, the Hibernians would take the fight back through the teleporters to the other realms.DAoC also had the battlegrounds, which they expanded over time to provide challenges for all levels. You could fight against the NPC critters there, but glory came in the taking and holding of the central keep. Unlike the frontier keeps, the center keep was meant to be easier to take, and control could shift many times. It was a battle which never truly ended, but sometimes a realm could hold it for a few days. WoW's battlegrounds? DAoC had them years before – and arguably better. They also introduced a contested dungeon – Darkness Falls, den of much treasure and experience. The mobs (and enemy players) there also dropped signets that could be used to buy even nicer items. The entrance shifted among realms depending on who controlled the most keeps in the Frontier. If you wanted to get this good loot – you helped your realm hold keeps. DAoC had decent PvE content and a number of expansions, but they always came back to their core, their PvP. Why wait for Warhammer Online? You can get in the battle right now. If you play Warcraft for the PvP, you owe it to yourself to see PvP done right. Find out which MMO we think has better Lore than WoW ==>>
Mark Jacobs tanks forum trolls for WAR team
Those of you who have followed our WAR coverage for any significant period of time might wonder why we always seem to have something to say about Mythic maven and designer Mark Jacobs. Truthfully, much of it has to do with the fact that, with the possible exception of Paul Barnett, Jacobs is the most visible person currently working on the project. Warhammer Alliance's dev post tracker might as well be Jacobs' personal version of Twitter, he's always in there amongst the fans, posting about something. The other reason we fancy Jacobs is that he's just a stand-up guy.Case in point: the WAR fan community has been doing some serious grumbling ever since it was announced that the game's release was being pushed back to the Fall. When that grumbling started to turn nasty, and some posters turned their disgust towards the developers themselves, Mark threw down the gauntlet, and called out the trolls as both misguided and misinformed. It was touching the way he puts himself out there for the sake of his team; it's not something you're liable to see suits at a lot of other companies do for their employees. So kudos to you, Mark Jacobs, for taking the troll aggro and shield slamming them back into their place.
EA Mythic gives fans an in-depth look at Warhammer Online
So, Warhammer Online was just delayed for another few months. Fans are preordering the game like crazy, and why not with such a fantastic collectors edition? But what the heck have they been working on up there? Are they just larking around, making us wait? The answer to that is a categoric no, and to prove it EA Mythic has collaborated with Ten Ton Hammer to offer up a string of videos showing fans the current state of the game. This series is informative, extensive, and extremely exciting for anyone looking forward to the PvP-geared fantasy game. So what do they have on offer?How about a walkthrough of the bastion of Order, the city of Altdorf? This tour examines everything from taverns to towers, and everything in between. They have up a tour of the Inevitable City, the Chaos-warped counterpart to Karl Franzs' beautiful metropolis. Fans of 'not-combat' will enjoy a discussion of the character customization system called dyes, as well as even more details on the trophies system. Those same folks might enjoy this little video about ... crafting! Yes, crafting in Warhammer Online is covered by this video demonstration. If you're like me, you're really looking forward to the Tome of Knowledge, one of the game's most unique features. A great walkthrough from Carrie Gouskos gives us the ins and outs of this multi-layered achievement/unlock/lore/map/quest-tracking system. Finally (and perhaps most fantastically) Josh Drescher and Paul Barnett sat down with the TTH folks to talk about the big picture, the thousand-foot view, and why they have no problem taking their time getting the game out.
The Daily Grind: Is the WAR delay good or bad?
Now that the gnashing of teeth has somewhat abated, there's been some talk about whether or not delaying Warhammer Online to the "fall" was a wise idea or not. A lot of people we've heard from think this is going to prove to be a really big problem for EA Mythic, as delaying that long will put them in the range of releasing sometime near Blizzard's upcoming WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Others have said that this may cause people who are jonesing for some good fantasy PvP right now even more reason to check out Age of Conan when they may have originally intended to just hold out for WAR -- which could lose them subscriptions. Then there are the folks who say that the delay is wise, well needed, and forward-thinking for them. They say that it gives them time to make WAR the absolutely most amazing game ever. (We can only assume someone at EA is having a head-explody moment at how long this is taking, though.) But this morning we thought we'd ask you -- do you think the delay is good or bad for WAR?
WAR's delay: from the fallout come further details
While we can't say that we didn't see it coming and we know that it's probably for the best, the recent delay of Warhammer Online from Q2 2008 to Fall 2008 has many of us in the Massively offices in low spirits. It's a sentiment that's reflected across the community, from what we've seen. In an effort to put out the fires in the community and remind us that the development team is on our side, WAR bigwig Mark Jacobs has been spending a lot of time in the Warhammer Alliance forums today, answering all sorts of player questions as a gesture of good will. Here are some of the meatier details: Newsletters, video podcasts, and previews will not only continue until the new release date, but will probably increase in frequency to keep up the buzz. To the question of how he felt about releasing so close to Wrath of the Lich King, Jacobs stressed that they would rather take a page from Blizzard than be afraid of them. He would rather release the game when it's ready than worry about being gobbled by the competition. The "head start" that people get by preordering the Collector's Edition will be "more than a day," but no exact amount of time has been decided yet. The recommended system requirements should be similar to or slightly below the requirements for the beta. They're still working on optimizing the game, so they don't even have a ballpark for the minimum specs at this point. He made a point of not even hinting at when the open beta might start And finally, when asked what type of "mud" would allow WAR's release date to slip so far, Jacobs conceded that it was both wet and sloppy. As ornery as players have gotten over the delay, you have to at least respect the fact that the guy is willing to answer all these questions, from his home at 7 in the morning, no less.
WAR's must-have expansion races: Wood Elves?
In case you missed it already, we've already gone through Round One of our choices for possible Warhammer Online expansion races. In our ideal fantasy land (where, incidentally, the game was already so polished it didn't need to be delayed until Fall), the first races to hit the ground would be the plague-ridden Skaven and the noble and enigmatic Lizardmen. There are several reasons why we chose the races we did, not the least of which are their transplantability from the tabletop to an MMO as well as that always omnipresent "cool" factor.But while Skaven and Lizardmen are kings in our mind's eye, that doesn't mean they're the only race that makes sense for an expansion. No, this time around we'll make the case that the secretive Wood Elves deserve their rightful place at the front of the expansion queue. They've got a bevy of distinct classes that really set themselves apart from the pack.Click on the gallery link below to take a trip to the twisted world of Athel Loren.%Gallery-19193%
The Daily Grind: Which PvP do you want more: AoC or WAR?
Both Warhammer Online and Age of Conan have a pretty big focus on the player vs player gameplay -- with their own unique twists. So we thought it would be interesting to see which of the two titles you -- our readers -- would want more strictly in terms of PvP content. Do you want the controlled chaos that is WAR's RvR system, coupled with its instanced scenarios and open world PvP combat? If not, then maybe the player-controlled Border Kingdoms system where victory means your very own city to rule over in AoC is what you're after. Both games will certainly have PvP servers, where death is hiding behind every rock, tree and level 9 bear -- but which is the one for you? %Poll-11858%
Warhammer Online's March newsletter makes us drool
You've probably already seen why we're so excited, though: Warhammer Online's March newsletter features all the mouth-watering fobs and doo-dads you can net in the collector's edition. News of the box's official contents dropped today, along with a bit of frustration. The game may be delayed until late in the year, but in the meantime this massive missive has more than enough to tide us over. Highlights from this month's newsletter include: Almost all the details unveiled on the official collector's edition site, crammed right there into the email. News of a Warhammer Online tie-in to the tabletop game's 25th anniversary! Playing in a Games Workshop store on April 12-13th will give you an insight into the lore behind Age of Reckoning. Behind-the-scenes looks at what the Beta players have been up to in the Elven lands. A developer diary entry on building the Inevitable City. Part 3 of the Scenarios 101 column, covering the Battle for Praag and the Maw of Madness. Career Mastery updates for the Witch Hunter and Marauder classes. Profiles for the three Chaos-side leaders, with really great accompanying art! Check out the Greenskin champions, Grumlock and Gazbag, above! A rundown the Mountains of Caledor zone. A lore prologue for one of the Dark Elf Public Quests, Sildaen of Hoeth. A production video features Jeff "the" Hickman talking about the gameplay we'll see in cities. An in-game romp through some of the fabled lands of both Order and Chaos. And of course, much, much more: Beta journal updates, tons of concept art, and Paul Barnett's video blog. You don't have to wait for us to post about this stuff, though. Go get signed up for the newsletter and you can see it all right there in your inbox.
Official WAR site gets a makeover
Both the official Warhammer Online site and the community site, Warhammer Herald, have been given a fresh look. The upgraded format will supposedly help in getting more news out to the public, and faster than before. This is only the beginning of the site renovations, with some new features in the works that have not been implemented just yet. Also, fans of the Legends & Lore section may notice its absence -- we are told that this is only temporary, and it should return even better than before.Of course, this news pales in comparison to the huge announcement earlier today, and those eagerly awaiting WAR's release may be feeling a little down. Look on the bright side -- there's even more time now to get those new site features in!
Official Warhammer Online collector's edition info released
So, the bad news is that you're going to be waiting a little longer to get into the world of Warhammer Online. Today's earlier announcement of another delay in WAR's production is frustrating, but not altogether surprising. The good news is that, during the delay, you can anticipate wrapping your hands around the fantastic collector's edition EA Mythic has just revealed. If you've been following along the rumor trail on this particular product, you're not going to be too terribly surprised; several of the pack's biggest features have already been discussed on the site.Full official details, though, are always welcome. Here's what you get in the big, big box: A Games Workshop miniature shaped as Grumlok and the shaman Gazbag, the leaders of the Greenskin WAUGH. A hardbound graphic novel entitled "Prelude to War", with a single chapter in the book covering each of the armies of Chaos and Order. It's 128 pages, written by Graham McNeill, and illustrated by Tony Parker, Chad Hardin, Joe Abraham, Kevin Hopgood, and Rahsan Ekedal. The chance to enter the game early and start leveling your character before the plebes! A huge art book, with concept art and 'making of' information. A "Libram of Insight", which will apparently give you a 10% xp bonus for an hour, and has a three-use limit. "Rittenbach's Portable Camp: Rest your weary soul and heal your wounds between battles." More features after the cut.
Warhammer Online delayed to Fall 2008
var digg_url = 'http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/26/warhammer-online-delayed-to-fall-2008/'; Well, it looks like many a prediction have come true with the official news that Warhammer Online has been delayed to a Fall 2008 release window. Mark Jacobs has said the main reason for the delay is to, "Invest additional time and effort in implementation and polish to make WAR great" which is a sound line of reasoning if we've ever heard one.In other words -- WAR needs more time to cook and EA Mythic has recognized that fact. The news is all good to us, especially since we've already said this was the correct road for WAR to travel down in order for it to succeed in the massively multiplayer online game market. There just wasn't enough solid looking stuff coming from the Warhammer Online camp to convince us that launching anytime before fall would be a smart choice. Thankfully, it appears as though fans of the upcoming successor to the RvR throne need not worry -- your game is being taken good care of and at least now there are more chances to get in on that ever-elusive beta.Also, Mark Jacobs has started a thread to address any worries and questions that players might have -- we recommend checking it out.
Interview with WAR's James Nichols
Genda over at The Grouchy Gamer recently interviewed James Nichols, EA/Mythic's community coordinator for Warhammer Online. James talks about leaving Sigil Games for EA/Mythic, how their focused beta testing is coming along, and what it is like to work at EA/Mythic. Electronic Arts, you'll recall, has had trouble in the past with having people work unreasonable hours for long periods of time.Warhammer Online is in a unique position for upcoming MMOs. It's the only one that feels it has a real chance of pulling in World of Warcraft-like numbers, based on the 500,000 beta application numbers. James Nichols feels he has a tiger by its tail, and he won't know how big and mean it is until he lets go. We're all eagerly waiting for the curtain to lift so we can see the world of WAR for ourselves, but until then, we appreciate these glimpses into EA/Mythic's Waaaaaagh!-shrouded corridors.
