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Another one bites the dust: Warhammer Online shuts down another server
Another round of server merges are coming to Warhammer Online, and this time it's Drakenwald's metaphorical head on the proverbial chopping block. As of tomorrow, March 20th, Drakenwald will be marked as a Legacy server, which will prevent players from creating new characters there. In the meantime, the players who currently populate the server will be able to move to either Karak Norn or Badlands. After three weeks in Legacy status, Drakenwald will be officially retired and any characters remaining on the server will have to be transferred before they can be played. WAR players should know the routine by now, but if you need a refresher, the details can be found on the game's official site.
WAR producer's letter talks bug fixing, patch schedules
Hey kids, it's time for another Warhammer Online producer's letter (no, it's still not dead, doomsayers). The dev team is currently hard at work on the 1.4.5a patch, and in case you were wondering, that little "a" basically indicates additions to the previous 1.4.5 update. Said additions will take the form of "functionality, messaging, and tweaks to the fortresses and relics," all of which are still being discussed on the official WAR forums. Next up is the 1.4.6 patch, and Mythic has switched gears to focus on bug fixing instead of the previously planned open RvR tweaks. There are also some additional items of interest on the horizon, including a new live event and some changes to crafting. Head to the WAR Herald to read up on all the details. [Thanks to Benjamin for the tip!]
Warhammer Online releases patch 1.4.5 highlights
Despite Mythic Entertainment's recent winnowing of the Warhammer Online servers -- bringing them down from four servers to a measly pair -- the company is still hard at work developing patches for the RvR-based title. Patch 1.4.5 will be hitting the live servers tomorrow, January 31st, and it brings a number of interesting changes and also ushers in the return of fortresses, which should be good news for open RvR fans. With the recent Skaven invasion, a number of relics have been found in myriad underground tunnels dug below the game's fortresses. Players will be charged with guarding their faction's relics while attempting to purloin those of the enemy. The Grovod Cavern scenario is also making a return, allowing two teams of 12 players to duke it out in the crumbling cave. But this time, there's a twist: Players will be taking control of two teams of Skaven; hilarity will ensue. To top it all off, 1.4.5 is bringing fortresses back into play (after they were removed some time ago), which should hopefully encourage players to head back into the open RvR lakes for fun and profit. For the full details, just head on over to the Warhammer Online official site.
Rumor: WAR40K canceled, THQ readying itself for sale [Updated; rumor debunked]
It's been a rough couple of years for Warhammer MMORPG fans, and if the rumors are true, it's about to get a bit bleaker. Kotaku reports on a tweet by games industry insider Kevin Dent that indicates that THQ has "canceled its entire 2014 slate of releases to position the company for sale." This would include Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, which Dent referred to as "the Games Workshop MMO" on his Twitter page. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. [Update: THQ's Australian PR department has issued a statement asserting that the company has not in fact canceled its 2014 lineup and "has not made any decisions" regarding WAR40K.]
And then there were two: Warhammer Online merges servers once more
Warhammer Online's server culls continue today as the Gorfang (North America) and Karak Azgal (Europe) servers are being retired. As we mentioned last month, Gorfang players will now be taking refuge on the Badlands server, while Karak Azgal's denizens will find a new home on Karak Norn. For those of you keeping score at home, this brings Warhammer Online's total operational servers to a whopping two. Players with characters on either server can transfer them to the remaining servers via the Mythic Account Center, though at the rate things are going, there may not be any servers left soon enough.
BioWare's docs: Free-to-play can't invest and create at our level
If BioWare's not in a war against the free-to-play business model, it certainly is skirmishing with the notion that F2P is the only way to go. In speaking with our sister site Joystiq, BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk defended the traditional subscription model by saying that it not only works but allows dev teams to achieve games on a larger scale. Zeschuk mentioned that it was simply a case of the right business model for the right game: "I'm not saying it's better or worse. It just doesn't supplant the other things. 'Cause we can do some things no one else can. The free-to-play people can't invest to the level we can invest, and can't create something of the size and scale of something we can create." Even with its love of the subscription model for Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWare is open to free-to-play where it sees fit. Muzyka dropped a tantalizing hint as to the company's F2P aspirations: "We have some other stuff we haven't announced yet coming from our play-for-free team that I'm really excited about. It's gonna bring back some IP that people have a lot of fond memories around."
This Week in MMO: Oh hey, it's Star Wars edition
It's time for another episode of This Week in MMO, and the focal point of this week's episode is none other than the freshly launched Star Wars: The Old Republic. Gary Gannon, Mike B., and Mike Schaffnit share a conversation about the staggered launch, the early start, the newly announced grace period, and much more. Of course, the world does not revolve only around SWTOR, so the guys also take some time to highlight other goings-on in the MMO world. Warhammer Online will be merging servers once again, which does not forecast a sunny outlook for Mythic's PvP-focused title. Also on the table is talk that the gradually less sane Richard Garriott will be returning to work on the Ultima universe. What could this mean to MMO players? Well, click on past the cut and find out for yourself.
Ring in the new year with Warhammer Online's Keg End
Amidst the news of server merges, Warhammer Online fans could probably use something to celebrate, something to lift the spirits a bit. So it's fortunate that the annual Keg End celebration is just around the corner, giving everyone a chance to get drunk and rowdy even by the already aggressive status of the world's inhabitants. Running from December 14th until January 4th, Keg End is a chance to celebrate in style in the Dwarven tradition. The rewards for the event haven't changed much this year, with the usual assortment of Party Kegs, Keg Taps, and Battlebrew Backpacks. There are giants roaming the field looking for their own ale and a handful of sporting battles, and there are plenty of special drinks to be sampled just for the event. So get yourself ready to log in tomorrow and take a nice roll through fields filled with blood, beer, and battle. Especially beer.
Waaaghon Ho!: Warhammer Online merging servers following free transfers
Saddle up, rough riders: It's time to head to more fertile lands! Starting next week, select Warhammer Online players will be given the option to transfer between servers for free. The decision is Mythic's attempt to merge underpopulated servers, and the company hopes that this move will drive up the action in RvR for previously quiet locations. Players on the Gorfang (North America) and Karak Azgal (Europe) will be able to move house to Badlands and Karak Norn, respectively, starting December 14th. Once this happens, Gorfang and Karak Azgal will be marked as "Legacy" servers, keeping new players from rolling on them, and then after three weeks, the two servers will be shut down completely. Any characters left on those servers will not be playable until they transfer to their new homes. Mythic is also paving the way for guilds to move wholesale to new servers, with more information about this coming next week.
New interview talks Warhammer Online and Wrath of Heroes synergy
Warhammer Online fans can be forgiven if they took to scratching their heads in puzzlement as BioWare-Mythic announced the Wrath of Heroes MOBA at last summer's Gamescom convention. After all, here was a new fantasy title that was brazen enough to borrow the IP and arguably the best gameplay mechanic (scenarios) from an existing MMO that's still alive and kicking. The distinction between the two games is up for discussion in a new Warhammer Online interview at Stratics. "There is no direct link currently between your WAR and WOH characters. That being said, we plan on giving WAR subscribers benefits in WOH," explains producer James Casey. "We are also looking at other ways to connect them and have the benefits go both ways." The interview also touches on the next WAR update (currently slated for the PTS next month), as well as the fact that the devs are considering a level-cap increase on the game's endless trial offering.
This Week in MMO: Really? Bigpoint? Edition
Welcome to another super-exciting edition of This Week in MMO. On this episode, host Gary Gannon and a pair of Mikes have a bit of fun with the announcement that Bigpoint will be taking the helm of an MMO based on the super-trendy A Game of Thrones. Meanwhile, is WildStar a theme-park or a sandbox? Well, we don't know, but the TWIMMO guys have a bit to say on the matter. DC Universe Online gets a wild playerbase boost after its transition to free-to-play, and speculation abounds as to whether the upcoming Warhammer 40: Dark Millenium Online MMO could be free to play. For the full show, just jump on past the cut.
BioWare Mythic isn't playing favorites with free-to-play and subscriptions
BioWare Mythic says that the market is big enough to support both free-to-play and subscription models -- and everything else in between. Talking with Gamasutra, GM Eugene Evans said that the company has to acknowledge that there are people who don't like F2P and those who do, and it's important to reach out to both groups. With Warhammer Online: Wrath of Heroes in beta testing, BioWare Mythic is testing the waters of free-to-play while preparing for Star Wars: The Old Republic's massive subscription launch. "We often got asked about taking our old games free-to-play, and in the case of Warhammer, we felt there was a different way of doing it," he opined, going on to say that the Mythic branch was learning a lot about polish and quality from the BioWare team. Evans commented on the observation that the widening global market means that no one business model is guaranteed to work in every country: "We're all still figuring out what free-to-play means, what the best way to monetize is, and how to run it as a business and engage players in ways they're prepared to accept."
Dark Millennium Online has conflict of interest with potential Space Marine sequel
If you've been waiting for the upcoming Warhammer 40k MMO Dark Millennium Online, you may have checked out recent single-player title Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. In an interview on the two games with Shacknews last night, THQ's VP of Core Games Danny Bilson described a potential conflict of interest between the upcoming MMO and any potential Space Marine sequel. When asked whether the single-player title deserved a sequel, Bilson described an interesting creative overlap between the game and its upcoming MMO counterpart. Revealing that the MMO would contain more action-based gameplay than the MMO norm, Bilson painted a picture of Dark Millennium Online as an online spiritual successor to Space Marine but with the other 40k factions similarly explored. "It may be that the next iteration of Space Marine is a much bigger universe, where if you love Space Marines you can play that way," he told Shacknews, adding that "there was a creative overlap going on with Dark Millennium Online's development" and "there's not room in the world for that overlap."
The Daily Grind: Do you prefer historical settings?
This week, Massively's Karen Bryan attended a GDC talk by Charles Cecil, the creator of Broken Sword, on the topic of writing games that employ history and historical themes. Cecil wisely noted that historical themes tap in to the audience's shared mythology to generate a compelling game and to serve as the foundation for accessible puzzles relevant to the storyline. And yet strict historical themes in MMOs, even when not diluted with more fantastic elements, can also betray immersion -- would it really make sense for a game about the American Revolution to allow female characters to become military generals? Dark Age of Camelot certainly saw its share of success pairing real-world European legend and modern 20th-century fantasy, while its cousin Imperator, set in a futuristic Roman Empire, was canceled in favor of another Mythic game. World of Tanks thrives off historical realism, whereas the upcoming The Secret World is making an art-form of layering myth over mundane. Still, history-flavored games are very much in the minority, perhaps because they allow studios much less freedom of lore design. What do you think -- do historical (or pseudo-historical) MMOs work for you? Do you prefer pure escapism, or would you rather play in a "home-turf" setting whose real-world backstory is your own? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Warhammer sticking with its subscription model
Those of you holding out for a freemium conversion for Warhammer Online may as well resign yourselves to waiting on the upcoming Wrath of Heroes MOBA. In a new piece at PC Gamer, BioWare-Mythic vice president Eugene Evans says there are still no plans to give away the game aside from the ongoing endless trial that covers the title's newb tier content. "Right now, we're focused on Wrath of Heroes as our free-to-play offering in the Warhammer universe," Evans said at this week's GDC. "We believe in the community of players who are playing Age of Reckoning. Yes, we could have attracted a lot of players to it [via F2P], but it's unclear how long you'll keep them. We wanted to support our game as it currently exists."
Mark Jacobs: 'I've never been against F2P'
In a brief interview today with MMORPG.com, Mark Jacobs, now president and creative director of City State Entertainment, discussed his thoughts on the F2P model and real-money trading. Jacobs is best known to gamers for his previous roles with Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Arts on such games as Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online, and his opinions on the subject of gold-farming are infamous, possibly even extreme. We can't be the only ones who remember the early days of WAR when a crusading, irony-immune Jacobs spammed players' screens with popups whenever gold-spammers were banned. But in this interview, Jacobs aimed to set the record straight: He's against gold-farming specifically and how gold-farming hurts legitimate players, not the free-to-play model. I've never been against F2P. What I was and still remain strongly opposed to is gold farming in games, especially MMOs that weren't designed from the beginning to handle those kind of transactions, and also to the groups that seek to profit from such transactions. What I really dislike isn't so much the gold farming/selling itself, but certain behaviors that occur in games where this happens. He goes on to suggest that the F2P model has surged to prominence due to the weak economy and "a lack of really interesting MMOs," noting that we're due for a shift in the market but that the success of Star Wars: The Old Republic (and its "license to print money" IP) will determine the viability of the subscription model in the future. Jacobs has plenty more to say in the full interview over at MMORPG.com.
Warhammer Online: Three years later
To this day, I don't know what quite came over me when I decided to throw my chips into the blogging scene to cover Warhammer Online, eight months before the game launched. Like many of you, I had been a long-time reader of MMO blogs, but I was intimidated at trying my hand at joining in, perhaps elevating these writers to the status of legendary wordsmiths who penned unequaled prose in our lifetimes. Or I just didn't want to be one of a thousand World of Warcraft bloggers who dominated the scene. Just a thought. In any case, it was a terrific decision to do so on my part. I found that I had a passion not only for MMOs but for talking about them, and I loved connecting with other writers and readers and players, which happens with blogging. I've been asked from time to time if I regret picking Warhammer Online as the game that I latched onto for a couple of years, and I always say no -- no regrets. The game was fun, but the coverage was an unparalleled rollercoaster of anticipation, hype, fun, speculation, promise, disappointment, and above all, ideas. Wonderful, flawed, captivating ideas. I haven't touched WAR since 2010, so perhaps I'm not the best source for the latest and greatest in the game. But what I do have to offer is a humble blogger's perspective on what went right, what went wrong, and why I'm ultimately happy that WAR came into being and is chugging along on today, its third anniversary.
Warhammer Online Patch 1.4.4 goes live this afternoon
Warhammer Online's latest patch is here, and it's just in time for the fantasy title's third anniversary week. Well, technically the 1.4.4 patch isn't here yet, as the servers are still down and scheduled to rez at approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT today. The new patch introduces the Wild Hunt live event, which allows players the chance to "test their skills tracking and slaying fierce animals, collecting sacred pelts, and sighting the elusive White Stag." There's also an opportunity to earn event influence and participate in the Curse of Kurnous public quest. Mythic has also tweaked the RvR keep defense mechanics, introduced new vanity pet packs, and shifted the scenario lineup. Finally, you can vote for the next batch of scenarios via the Dev Discussions forum on the official WAR website.
Warhammer Online's patch 1.4.4 on the public test server
Warhammer Online's patch version 1.4.4 has just hit the public test server, allowing players to partake of some new and exciting features. The Wild Hunt is once again upon the forces of Order and Chaos, and it calls for players to track, hunt, and slay elusive creatures. A variety of RvR changes have been made as well, such as new Keep Defense mechanics. This new mechanic requires keep defenders to destroy the attacking war party's battering ram, at which point the siege will "briefly shift to a 'Successful Defense' state." The defending troops will then receive a buff, intended to allow them to push back their attackers. Once the defenders push the attackers out of their keep area, however, the buff will quickly fade, putting the battle back on a level playing field. For all of this and more, players can check out the full patch notes and get a firsthand look on the public test servers.
Labor Day weekend brings bonus XP weekends to all
Labor Day weekend is upon us, and EverQuest II, Champions Online, Warhammer Online, and Vanguard are all getting in on the festivities. In addition to celebrating Labor Day, Champions will be celebrating its two year anniversary by giving players gift boxes, party favors, and new costume pieces. Meanwhile, Warhammer Online is keeping it simple with a 50% XP and RP bonus for all players. Vanguard players get bonus experience as well, whether it's of the crafting, adventuring, or diplomacy variety. EverQuest II is also providing bonus experience -- double experience, to be exact -- for AA, tradeskill, and adventuring experience. If you're a regular of any one of these games, or if you just want to pop in to see what the fuss is about, it sounds like this weekend is the right time to do it. See something we missed on our list of Labor Day weekend events? Tell us in the comments! [Update: Commenter Furdinand reminded us that Star Wars: The Old Republic's beta test weekends began today, and commenter Dartanis points out that RIFT's half-birthday celebration continues throughout the weekend, providing players with a wealth of bonuses.]
