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Mark Jacobs expunges the mystery of WAR's crafting
We've been receiving a lot of information about all things Warhammer Online for some time now, but the one topic that hasn't been touched on is crafting. The veil of silence has been lifted as you can now go and read Gamespy's recent interview with Mark Jacobs. It's all about the very different and astoundingly intriguing crafting system being developed for the game wot's got gobbos 'n stuff. It's typical for MMOs stick close to the tried-and-true crafting system we've all come to know and oft-lament. Yet that's not something EA Mythic is up for this time around. No, this time they want to challenge the status quo. Lets not mince words, though. By choosing to create a more in-depth crafting system for Warhammer Online, they've given up a certain amount of profession variety upfront. If the discussed system works as intended it could be very well worth the risk of reduced crafting diversity -- and there's always content updates too. Hopefully EA Mythic can pull it off so we can see other MMOs experimenting with their crafting systems as well. Wouldn't that be nice?
Dark Age of Camelot developer chat
The Dark Age of Camelot developers would like a word with you. Want to ask about the proposed OF (Old Frontier) server? Concerned about falling subscription numbers? Want to know what Mythic is doing for people who really liked the old PvE content? Hate open regional chat? This is your chance to give the developers your input, and to find out what they have to say about things.Since they want to accommodate everyone, they will be having two chats. The first is set for June 4th, 2008, between 6:30 and 7:30 PM, US Easterm Time. The second follows on June 5th, between 6:30 and 7:30 US Pacific Time. Producer Chris Rabideau and Community Coordinator Joanne Laroche will be on hand for both chats. Community Director Robert Mull and perhaps some other devs will also be attending on the first night. You'll need an IRC client of some sort to take part. The IRC server is irc.gamesurge.net, and the channel is #ignvault. If you're at all interested in the current and future plans for Mythic's venerable Realm-vs-Realm (RvR) game, you owe it to yourself to attend.
White Lion confirmed as final High Elf career
At long last, Mythic has finally confirmed the last of the High Elf careers for Warhammer Online. After months of speculation and lots of hints, they've finally confirmed that the White Lion class will round out WAR's robust list of player careers. The White Lion will be fulfilling the melee DPS niche on the side of order and will focus on the dynamics between the hardy White Lion and his war lion pet.Unlike his Destruction counterpart the Squig Herder whose Squigs are relatively expendable balls of sentient fungus, the White Lion's bond with his pet starts at level one, and there will be a good degree of customization available so that each player's pet will be relatively unique. War lions will grow and change as their master grows in power, and will even be capable of fighting in a feral capacity if you fell his master in battle first.We're excited to see the last of WAR's careers fall into place. Here's hoping we're only a few steps away from the open beta!
Jeff Hickman interview filled with Warhammer Online goodness
Our sister site Big Download put up an interview today with EA Mythic's senior producer Jeff Hickman and it's all about Warhammer Online. Mostly there's a lot of RvR (Realm vs Realm, Mythic's special brand of world PvP) talk but that's somewhat difficult to avoid when discussing a game that's so very intertwined with the feature. Overall though it's a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the upcoming realm-pride focused production.A lot of the RvR discussion takes place towards the end of the interview and actually contains some new pieces of information that we find most tantalizing. Included among said information are Jeff's thoughts on the topic of VoIP and socialization elements in RvR. So if you salivate for any new nuggets of information about Warhammer Online or its various features you should definitely check it out.
DAoC: Get your weekly grab bag
EA Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot refuses to die off, and why should it when players still tout it as one of the best PvP MMOGs alongside Eve Online. We often hear the anticipation from many PvP fanatics that Warhammer: Age of Reckoning will be DAoC's spiritual successor, but for the hardcores still playing one of the great community features is the weekly Q&A and other announcements found in the Grab Bag. Be sure to catch up on the latest one with questions ranging from player housing to under-the-hood calculations, and the confirmed dates and cities for the upcoming Road Trip. If you are feeling adventurous and have the urge to play something new or old for the weekend the 14 day trial is a tempting download. Now is a good time to give it another chance or first try since there is another day left on the double xp weekend, which also means more players to hack at. If you are feeling really adventurous but still need a little more convincing before making the jump check out why Massilvey's Brenda Holloway believes Dark Age of Camelot's realm PvP beats out World of Warcraft's battlegrounds. [via, Warcry]
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.
Warhammer Online preview talks endgame
We can never get enough Warhammer Online coverage, even if a particular preview is talking covering a lot of older information we're still interested. It just so happens that this Next-Gen.biz article is talking about old information in a pretty fresh way, which is always a bonus.It's always interesting to see someone else's take on a game you've been slowly forming an opinion about. The main focus of the article is on PvP and PvE, with a hint of the "war is everywhere" concept that EA Mythic have been working on. Essentially, both styles of gameplay feed directly into the endgame concept of faction warfare and all-out bloody battle. We do often find ourselves wondering how living guilds and the recent social network purchase by EA may play into the Warhammer Online endgame. Hm, yes, we certainly wonder.
Mythic's efforts aided by WoW, planning ahead
In a recent interview Warhammer Online senior designer Josh Drescher remarked that World of Warcraft has actually made it considerably easier for other MMOs to succeed in the market, contrary to popular belief. While nobody has come close to dethroning the Blizzard juggernaut and its 10 million subscribers, WoW has done a lot to expand the the potential user-base, and for that Mythic is grateful. Drescher notes in the interview the rate of success in a post-WoW world is considerably higher than it was before, making for a more friendly marketplace to release a game.It's this kind of mind for market dynamics and future-planning that's really coming to define the modern MMO game designer. For them, retail release is only the beginning of a long process that can extend as far as ten years into the future. So when it appeared during the interview that Drescher suggested that the Warhammer Online team had content planned out five years in advance, some people were understandably confused about the scope of Mythic's development efforts. Was the game delayed to implement content intended for half a decade from now?
Mythic on the WAR guild beta phase 2 contest: We're on it
Several players over on the ever-busy Warhammer Alliance forums recently raised concerns about Mythic's commitment to fulfilling the terms of the contest they held for guilds trying to get into the second round of the Warhammer Online guild beta. The contest required guilds to construct WAR-centric guild websites full of guild fan fiction, and winners were going to earn themselves slots in the beta. Problem is, the contest ended back in September of last year!James Nichols, a WAR community coordinator, stepped in to reassure players that winners have been selected and will be notified "soon." While James explained the delay as a necessary function of the development process, we have a sneaking suspicion that everybody simply forgot about the contest after former community coordinator Richard Dufek left around that time last year. In any case, we're happy to hear the goof was cleared up, and hopefully players will be getting notifications soon.
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
Footloose in WAR
When you and your family move from big-city Chicago to a small town out west, you're in for a real case of culture shock. You try hard to fit in, but you can't quite believe you're living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. There is a glimmer of hope, however: a troubled but lovely blonde with an exceedingly strict father, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. You and your classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner. Only YOU have the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople! Sound familiar? If you're a child of the 80's you might recognize this as the plot for the rebellious teen drama Footloose, but recently Warhammer Online announced that it will not include a /dance emote in their game. Is this the decision of EA Mythic, Games Workshop or an overly restrictive minister who oddly resembles John Lithgow? More importantly, how drastically will this affect the economy if players can't /dance for gold in town?
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%
