ea-mythic
Latest
Mythic looking for new blood to work on old games
With Warhammer Online poised to overwhelm the MMO space under thick sea of "WAAAAGH!," the last thing we really expected Mythic to be doing was building up their team working on Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online. DAoC celebrated its sixth anniversary this past year, and UO (which fell under Mythic's stewardship with the EA shakeup last fall) crested the decade mark late last year, so by gaming standards they should have been committed to a home a long time ago, only to be brought out on holidays and propped up in a chair to remind everybody else of happier times. Our own Michael Zenke predicted that 2008 would see the virtual demise of DAoC, and truthfully, I would have counted myself amongst the nay-sayers as well... that is, until yesterday.The guys and gals out of Fairfax sent out a message via The Camelot Herald that the Mythic team was looking to expand their legacy operations by taking on three new software engineers to work exclusively on the development of DAoC and UO. Granted, it's looking like this new meat would make up a considerable portion of their oldies-only teams, but certainly a promising sign for those who still count themselves amongst the faithful. Surely they wouldn't be hiring people to work on the game in anticipation of killing it off, would they? (We know, they're part of EA now, anything is possible.) But hey, if you're a software engineer in the Northern Virginia area looking for work, why not apply?[Via Allakhazam]
FunCom decides Age of Conan needs more time, aka delay
Many massively game developers make mistakes during the development of a title; both minor and major. Sometimes they can be financial, while other times they can be launching with technical bugs -- like Anarchy Online back in the day -- and then sometimes it's launching too early. That's why even though it may seem like the most terrible thing in the world to people already tired of waiting, Age of Conan getting pushed back eight weeks to May 20th is probably for the greater good of the game and its future community.It's not like there's too much competition in terms of new massively games this half of the year. Some people have been speculating that we may end up seeing a fall release for Warhammer Online as opposed to one sometime in the spring. From what we can tell, FunCom is betting on the same prediction and taking more time to make sure players feel like they've purchased a well polished game at launch.[Thanks, QforQ]
Associate producer with EA Mythic Josh Drescher talks Warhammer Online
The tantalizing drip-feed of information on Warhammer Online continues. One of EA Mythic's associate producers, Josh Drescher, recently gave his time for an interview and answered some good questions for the fans. There are a couple of things that he had to decline commenting on due to marketing plans, but for the most part, he provided very interesting answers to the questions posed.Among other things he mentioned, he confirmed that there will be NPCs involved with RvR, to prevent situations where there is a completely unguarded territory up for capturing when there are no players about to help defend. He comments on WAR's answer to a "charge" type ability for melee classes (designed to assist these classes in closing the distance on a target) and says that instead of a charge akin to World of Warcraft's for example, which basically teleports you right up to the target with zero player control, theirs will be like a secondary sprint that makes you move a bit faster than your prey while you retain complete control over movement.Another pertinent portion of the interview is Drescher's commentary on equipment and balancing. He is asked whether players will be required to raid end-game bosses over and over to obtain the best gear and keep up in RvR. His reply is two-fold; firstly, the very best gear will be obtained from city siege and capture (with other good gear being rewarded upon completing specific tasks and quests), and secondly, gear will not be the most important factor in RvR success. The link below will take you through to the full interview and the rest of Drescher's answers.[Via MMOsite]
How much is too much? WAR to push the envelope?
When you sit down and look at the costs involved in being an MMO fanatic, the dollars per hour of entertainment ratio is actually pretty good. After an initial down-payment comparable to any other game out, you pay a paltry $15 a month to keep the servers running, keep the developers churning away at new content, and toss a couple bucks at the corporate investors to keep them behind the MMO phenomenon. A whole month's entertainment comes out to be cheaper than a night at the movies, unless you're using a senior citizen's discount. But as good a value as we get, are we poised on the brink of another across-the-board price hike? Keen and Graev make an extremely pertinent observation in TTH's Warhammer Online FAQ. Namely, they're quoting EA Mythic's Mark Jacobs as saying that WAR's subscription fees could quite possibly exceed the $14.99 a month mark.It just has to be EA that's talking about doing this, doesn't it? As much as I try to resist falling into the trap of bashing EA for being a thoughtless corporate machine, they're just always getting themselves into trouble like this. I'm not quite ready to renounce the capitalist system and move to a commune in the jungles of Costa Rica just yet, but they really are making me think about it. What about WAR would justify the increase in costs over the competition? Is it because part of the core demographic actually plays the tabletop game, where you can drop over $70 on a single unpainted pewter miniature? Unlikely. Is it because of the higher cost of oil means that it's harder to fuel the server farms it's going to take to keep a game like WAR going? Not exactly, but closer. Or is it just because they can? Circle takes the square.
WAR, you and another interview
Sunday got you down without much to do? Well maybe this will eat up a few of those boring minutes for you. It appears that the WarCry Network has a nice little interview with Joshua Drescher, Adam Gershowitz and James Nichols of EA Mythic. This interview happens to be about Warhammer Online (who knew?), so sit down, strap in, caffeine up and listen in because we can never get enough juicy information about WAR.Many of the subjects are nothing too special, such as the revelation that EA Mythic is going to let players re-spec their characters. To be more specific, players will have the opportunity to re-spec their Mastery, meaning any tactics or morale abilities that were selected in the system. This doesn't include core tactics or morale, as well as anything received from the Tome of Knowledge. The reason being that these are granted through automatic unlocks (such as gaining a level or killing 200 haughty High Elves).
The Digital Continuum: Solo(ly) killing social
People! That's right, I'm talking to you people about, well, you people. To be more clear, what I'm talking about is the social interaction people experience (or don't) in massively games and the discussion that's been going on about it. Ethic at Kill Ten Rats has a very good write-up about his thoughts on the matter, as does Tobold in response to Ethic's post. After reading both of them and the comments within, I can't help but throw my hat into the ring of discourse. Part of the problem is player attitude, but we all know John Gabriel's Greater Internet F@$!wad Theory. There isn't much that can be done about that issue, so the best solution is to find the core of the problem within the games themselves.At the core, the issue is about soloing and how it has become the de facto design focus for most developers. One of the few development teams who seem to be focusing on new group experiences and powerful guild tools is EA Mythic. A point Ethic makes in his post is that developers should be focusing on giving people reasons to really want to group together. I fully agree with that sentiment, but don't get me wrong when it comes to solo play. The solo experience is important as well, but it is not the essence of a massively multiplayer game.
Don't hate the class, hate the playas
Yesterday we told you about Sanya Weathers (aka "Tweety"), who is the absolute bombdiggity when it comes to dishing out insightful, acerbic, honest and intelligent commentary on the MMO industry via her blog, Eating Bees. Her rant on why players quit playing games was aimed directly at the companies who make the games. Today, she takes aim at the players of those games. In her new post Q&A (surely created from an amalgamation of actual questions) she gets the players in her sights and mows them down with a Gatling gun. Or staff of magical awesomeness. Or alien death ray. Depending on your particular gaming penchant. And oh what a laugh fest it is!See, I've been gaming since the dawn of time (let's just say I'm above the target age range) , but I've never considered myself a prototypical gamer. I played college football. I was a private investigator for 10 years. I've been a gym rat for over 20 years. I love sports, craft beer, fast cars, and action flicks. Thus, I don't think or act like a typical (or at least what used to be considered "typical" back in the day) gamer. However, I've personally known several folks during that time who wore the abysmal badge of basement dwelling "know it all" geek, and done so with some warped sense of pride. Apparently so has Sanya. Here is but one example of why she is my hero: Q: Why do you hate answering real questions instead of this fluff about crafters and aggro management? A: Are you high? Do you look around the basement and think that because no one else is there with you, only your questions are real? Is this some kind of existential crisis? Because I don't want to be involved if it is. For the entire hilarious Q&A, check out the full linguistic lashing. She is the Lawgiver!
Why do people quit?
If you're a gamer and haven't read Sanya Weathers' blog Eating Bees then you're missing out on one of the best reads in the gaming biz today. Why? Sanya is a professional writer who was the Director of Community for Mythic Entertainment for six years and currently holds the same position for GuildCafe. She knows what drives players. Her blog reflects her industry experience, and isn't filled with the fanatical ravings of Fanboy (or girl) A or Forum Troll B whose closest experience with the gaming industry stops at flipping the switch on their gaming rig (or k0nz013) - yet still somehow (truly) believes they "know it all."I've been a "game journalist" (and I use that term very lightly since most of us in the field aren't "journalists" in any way, shape or form) for over four years, and I'm continually amazed at how Sanya is able to explain (in layman's terms no less) the machinations of this sometimes freakish industry. Her latest diatribe, Obvious Truth: Why People Quit, lists reasons why people quit playing games (or anything for that matter). The article is aimed squarely at game companies (and their PR people), and it's stunning. But not for the content. As she puts it, if these reasons are shocking... kittens will be killed, drowned by the tears of the baby Jesus. It's stunning because of her answers to what should be "obvious truths." Stunning because everyone with half a cro-magnon's brain (and having been involved with the industry myself, there are a lot more "cavemen" walking around then you might expect) should innately know all this. Sadly, in this day and age of Responsibility Avoidance, the truth isn't so obvious anymore.Check out Eating Bees, and be sure to subscribe to the Bee feed.
WAR vs WoW: Keen and Graev compare
This is definitely a topic that will continue to come up throughout the year of 2008, so get used to seeing it. Keen and Graev attempt to get the first (and probably the biggest) part of this issue out of the way quick; it's not about which is the better game. They continue on with their topic comparing the two games' differences and similarities. One such similarity is posted above this text; the graphical appearance of the games. The argument here is that both games have a "cartoony" look to them, but that Warhammer Online's style is a bit more "grungy". We're not entirely sure if that picture above (not taken by Keen and Graev or us, mind you) illustrates much of a similarity, unless Blizzard is the only company allowed to use red in their MMOs now.Aside from that, the article lines out the huge difference in PvP between the two games. The biggest difference of course is the Realm vs Realm combat where conquering your enemy has a real in-world cost; your land as well as your pride. Something that is very related to RvR that we happen to be very excited about is Keeps and Siege Weapons, which were originally in Dark Age of Camelot. A suggestion that Keen and Graev make that we think is a good idea is to check out the official podcasts made by the dev team. They explain many aspects of WAR in fun, informative and often entertaining ways (we're looking at your Mr Barnett).
Warhammer's December newsletter features RvR Keeps and Sieges
Christmas has come early for those of us looking forward to EA Mythic's Warhammer Online. While the last few newsletters have just squeaked out in the final days of the month, December's newsletter has been timed to the much-anticipated reopening of the WAR Beta test. Highlights this month include: A lengthy discussion of the new Keeps and Sieges gameplay. We've previously discussed this content thanks to the Beta updates, but full and gritty details of this RvR component are unveiled by Paul Barnett and Josh Drescher ... in hilarious fashion. The 21st grab bag, covering abilities, speccing out your character, and the differences between different avatars of the same class. A welcome back letter for the Beta troops! Even funnier than the Siege video, and chock full of new additions to the game. With The Hickman! If you watch one thing from the newsletter, this is the one to grab. The announcement of the Disciples of Khaine, the deadly healers (yes, you read that right) of the Dark Elf race. For all the details, make sure to check out Paul's hyperbole-filled video presentation. More on the Sorceress and Sorcerer - another Dark Elf class. These folks were announced in the November newsletter, and get even more detailed here in this December entry. Lairs! This fascinating new gameplay element is (I think) a brand-new announcement in this newletter. They sound like hidden areas, special dungeons that take a little bit of work to find. The WAR devs have obviously taken a liking to the Explorers amongst us. Can't wait to find my first one. A zone overview of Ellyrion, the breeding ground for magnificent elven stallions. A developer diary about the outlook on the WAR newbie experience, and a Beta journal covering just a bit of a young dwarf's life. And (of course) another batch of Paul's video diaries. There's a ton more content exclusive to the Newsletter, so if it's not already in your inbox you have a task today. Go sign up. Right now! Then go back to laughing at Paul and Jeff, and their hilarious squig-related humor.
Warhammer beta update - part VI
The sixth Warhammer Online Beta Update is now online at the Warhammer Herald site, detailing more of the great content the folks at EA Mythic have been tuning while the Beta was closed. We've covered all of the previous Beta updates, and (if you've been reading along with us) you'll note that this is the last Beta update before the closed test of the game starts up again.This update covers more content on the city zones, a few quick words about open field RvR, and a huge amount of information on the game's user interface. Probably the most intriguing of these UI tweaks is the Guild Calendar. A feature seen in World of Warcraft via a third-party addon, this tool sounds like an ideal way to ensure your comrades show up for guild events. Calendar TabOur team is really excited about the addition of this feature. With this tab, your guild can view, set up, and manage guild events. The Calendar can be viewed by month, date, and year, and summaries and details can be added to each event. Additionally, there is a sign-up list which allows guild members to sign up for specific events, and provides an option to allow guild members with the appropriate permissions to Accept and Decline sign ups. They're also going to include a log system, so you can see who opted for a cowardly /gquit during the gaming witching hour.
Warhammer Online player-mounts displayed in concept art gallery
A recent newsletter for Warhammer Online gave us a glimpse at the concept art for some of the player mounts that the game will have, and TenTonHammer has posted these up in a handy gallery. Featured are mounts for the Greenskin, Dwarf, High Elf, Chaos, and Empire armies. For some races, we see a Light, Heavy and Medium version of the mounts, and the Greenskins have two different kinds of mount shown, boars and wolves.The newsletter that these images came from gave us a few scraps of information on some mount mechanics. There will be temporary mounts for rent, aimed at lower level characters, and riding into water will throw you off your mount. Similarly, you can be shot off your mount if you ride into battle (though no word yet on whether mounted combat will at all be possible). Missing from any of the concept art shown was a mount for the Dark Elves. The newsletter promises more details soon on mounts in general, and perhaps we will learn about their mode of transportation at that time.
The Digital Continuum: Activision Blizzard vs Electronic Arts, battle of the MMO titans
To most of us, the recent Activision/Vivendi merger that created Activision Blizzard is the gaming industry equivalent of a beef burrito filled with chocolate pudding. They're both pretty good on their own, but why in the hell would anyone think to put them together? I imagine these burritos are fed to all employees in an effort to fuel their creativity; or kill them as an example. The truth (which is way more boring) is that companies do things like this to better fund the development of titles as a larger entity. The cost of making Blizzard's next game is probably so immense that you need a nonsensical chocolate filled beef burrito just to finance the thing. ActiBlizzVision (That mash-up is growing on me) isn't the first major company to come to this realization either. Both Mythic (now EA Mythic) and Bioware -- creators of Mass Effect, Jade Empire and KOTOR -- have climbed aboard the Electronic Arts train in the hopes to better reach their destination, retail city. Warhammer Online is quite well into development and will be the first new fighter to the ring with a release sometime next year. EA Mythic will be torturing themselves (in a good way?) the next six months to get their game in fighting shape for that eventual big brawl with World of Warcraft. It's just unavoidable, you can't enter the MMO market with the intellectual property that WoW is essentially inspired from and not get tied up by the wrist with a knife in your hand.
Warhammer beta update - part V
Is it just me, or are we learning more about the Warhammer Online Beta now when it's closed than when it was open? The fifth Beta update (the latest in a long series of informative posts) offers up some concept art from the Inevitable City, a few tidbits on the new Realm vs. Realm changes, and a lengthy set of questions pulled directly from the forums. Will the keeps be attackable without siege? Yes, players will be able to break open the keep doors, battle the guards, fight their way to the keep lord, and try to capture the keep. Will Keeps change in appearance based upon which race controls them? In future patches (pre-launch), the appearance of the keep will change to reflect that the enemy realm has captured it. At this time, we are not planning to entirely replace the keep with a new structure with different geometry. So, an Empire keep captured by Destruction will still look like an Empire keep, but it will change to look like it's been under siege and show some signs of its new owners.
Weekend WAR-flix: Career System and RvR Combat + Inevitable City
If you missed out on the latest Warhammer Online Newsletter, and you don't feel like reading all the goodness ripe for the taking; I have two videos found in the newsletter for the price of one post. That's how I roll -- all unselfish like in a little ball of Warhammer love. In this first video EA Mythic's Associate Producer, Josh Drescher talks about the Career System and RvR Combat. Highlights include: Career Mastery: Talent trees to distinguish careers RvR Combat: Evolve the best things from Dark Age of Camelot's RvR into a a kick ass RvR system never before seen for WAR
Warhammer beta will resume any day now
An EA Mythic representative responded to complaints that the North American Beta Center for Warhammer Online is down, saying, "the Beta Center is currently down for maintenance getting it ready to go for when we kick Beta back into gear next month."He also said they'll be bringing in many new testers, and that as soon as that's done and "everything is in tip-top shape," the Warhammer Online beta will resume! So, if you're already in the beta, just sit tight; you'll be back in the RvR action any day now. If you've submitted a beta application but haven't been invited in so far, cross your fingers and keep an eye on that e-mail inbox! You might get some hands-on time with the game this coming month![Via Ten Ton Hammer]
November Warhammer newsletter features Mounts!
The November edition of the Warhammer Online newsletter has been mailed out to all the eager WAAUGH fans out there, and it's a doozy. Building on the most recent Beta Updates, the dev team lets loose with a huge pile of goodies. Highlights include: Mounts! Aside from the handsome porcine steed above (a Greenskin favorite), they have images up for an Ale-powered Dwarven carriage, felsteeds for Chaos riders, and beautiful beasts for the Elves and Empire. A lengthy screed on the mysterious Tome of Knowledge. Their article runs down what you're like to see in the book, and what kinds of tales it will record for your own character. A Paul Barnett special presentation on the Dark Elf Sorceress ... and Sorcerer! Yes, boy and girl evil mages. As Paul puts it, "They're both emo, and they both live forever!" A first look at work on a new Warhammer cinematic trailer (you know, since you're probably tired of the first one). An in-depth look at the High Elf Archmage class. An overview of the Shadowlands zone, an elven area. A look at another Public Quest! My favorite idea from the game, as of yet. They run down the IronClad confrontation with King Byrrnoth Grundadrakk. One of the always-enjoyable animated game design presentations, this one detailing major changes to the Careers and RvR systems. The video of the month walks us deep into the Inevitable City, the capital of the followers of Chaos. A bunch of other delights, like Paul's Video Diaries, a Grab Bag update, and another Beta Journal Entry. There's a ton more stuff exclusive to the Newsletter. This is my not-so-subtle way of saying you really should be signed up to get it. Go check it out!
Warhammer Online: an interview of massive miniatures
Tentonhammer have recently posted an interview with Erik Mogensen, Licensing Manager of Games Workshop, about the upcoming Warhammer Online. The interview focuses on the problems of turning a tabletop miniature game into a top-flight MMO, and whether EA Mythic have had difficulty adapting to the licensing requirements that Games Workshop need.Licenses and MMOs are curious bedfellows, and it's a separate kind of balance that -- although Erik is very upbeat about the work that's been done by Mythic, it's usually much less flexible than the PvE and PvP side of things. On the one hand, it's instant market saturation -- you don't have to explain what a Klingon or a Lightsaber is to anyone. On the other hand, condensing a universe into a single game will never be easy.
Warhammer devs explain balancing RvR
Over at the Ten Ton Hammer site they have up a discussion with members of the Warhammer Online development team, talking all about the fine process of balancing classes for Realm vs. Realm combat. RvR team members Yvonne Bridges and Brian Wheeler hooked up with Careers Lead Adam Gershowitz to answer the TTH staffer's questions. The line of inquiry primarily centers around the way classes in opposing factions interact with each other.According to the WAR team members, it's not so much that they're tuned to fight their specific opposing faction (Greenskins have no special advantage over Dwarves, for example). Instead, classes are designed to be good at defending against specific types of damage. Players can decide to specialize (via abilities) in fighting a group of enemy players, but that's a choice left to them.They also briefly touch on RvR questing and the role of gear in that part of the game: Both skill and gear will obviously play a role in a player's success in RvR. That is the nature of this type of game. Some players will naturally excel in combat and we don't want to penalize them for this. However, we don't want them to dominate all the time either, thus gear comes into play. Spend time in the game and you will be rewarded with gear, and you should be able to put that gear to use.
Enormous beta update for Warhammer Online shares loads of new details
The European site for Warhammer Online has let loose a giant beta update, with tons of juicy information to sate voracious fans. Various teams working on the game each add their own section to the update, and we hear from the Cities Team, the Items Team, the Animation Team, the UI Team, the Combat and Career Team, and finally the RvR (realm-versus-realm) Team.Probably the biggest news is the introduction of the Mastery system, which will allow you to specialize the capabilities of your character (an example is given of the Sword Master career being able to specialize as more of a tank, or being better at dishing out damage), the addition of Keeps for RvR play, and some overhauling of the user interface. There really is too much discussed in the update to bring it all up here, but we have made a dot-point abbreviated version of the notes after the break.
