Features

JR Sutich has one final report from his recent trip, we affectionately call "angry man goes to Washington". This time, it is a more general preview of Warhammer Online, largely based on what they showed and his own hands on experiences with the game. Topics include Capital Cities, crafting Realm vs. Realm and more.

Realm vs. realm conflict is an integral parts of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. During my visit, I was able to experience the ultimate goal of RvR and capture an opposing capital city. Defeating journalists from other websites in PvP combat was just a bonus.

The battle for the Order capital of Altdorf started in a military district of the city with players from both sides fighting over six control points. I played as a geared-up, leveled-up Chaos Chosen with a two-hand sword to maximize damage. When the battle started, I noticed an enemy player with a name that had been used the day before during our play session, so I knew someone in the room was playing. My suspicions were confirmed when I hit them for about a third of their health in one shot and the person to my immediate left exclaimed, "Oh my god!" Good times. While the rest of my team captured the control points, I managed to kill my hapless victim four more times.

Read it all after the leap.

Warhammer Online has been delayed from Q2 of this year until the fall. We had a chance to interview EA Mythic General Manager Mark Jacobs about the delay, the reasons for it and what that means for the future of WAR.

"If we had tried to force the game out in the 2nd Quarter, as we had originally planned to release it," said Jacobs. "We could have but it would have meant pretty much no time for polishing the game. The decision was to continue to iterate and reserve polish time."

The main area that requires further attention, according to Jacobs, is class balance. He explained how the classes of Warhammer Online do not necessarily fall into specific boxes as they do in many MMOs. Most classes are multi-faceted hybrids of several traditional RPG classes and this means they need to rethink some of the conventions of MMO balance. "If you don't release it right from the beginning with classes at least pretty much balanced, where they're all fun, you're not going to be in good shape in an [Realm vs. Realm] game."

Read more after the jump.

JR Sutich offers us his impressions of keep and city siege in EA Mythic's Warhammer Online, which were demonstrated for him during a recent trip to their Fairfax, VA offices.

Today we will also have his preview of high level RvR, two exclusive screenshots (and a pile more) and an interview with Mark Jacobs on the company's decision to delay Warhammer Online until fall. Stay tuned!

In our demo, a ballista was built and when the character took control of the weapon the view changed into a first-person mode with large arrows representing a targeting reticule bordering the edges of the screen. Once a target was selected, the arrows began to slowly move towards the center with the intent that the closer the arrows got to each other, the more accurate the shot would be. Individuals can be targeted by a ballista but whenever you move your aim, the arrows reset to the outer edge and you will have a hard time hitting your target. Still, for the NPC that stood still long enough the ballista did a great deal of damage.

Read more after the leap.

During a trip up to DC, JR Sutich got hands on with the Warhammer Online Collector's Edition. As our resident and offers his impressions of what is in the box, in what is always an important announcement for the hardcore.

The Collector's Edition contents were decided upon by asking the question, "What are the quintessential elements of Warhammer?" One of the answers is of course, miniatures. But there are also great stories and great art.

Using White Box Technology™, EA Mythic showed that the box itself will be about 13"x10"x3" and will tip the scales at around 7 lbs. Much like everything about Warhammer, it could be used to crush a skull. The box art itself looked amazing and even if the box wasn't gigantic will be sure to make the CE stand out on store shelves.

For JR's preview, images of the CE and a fact sheet, click on.

Lead Writer Matt Daniels has penned a developer diary about the story behind Warhammer. The backstory is an important and integral part of the success of any game and Warhammer is no exception.

Here in the halls of EA Mythic, that phrase has become something of a motto. It's also a kind of goal, too; by the time we launch this game and you, the players, get to step into the world we've created, we hope you'll agree that war really is everywhere.

For the Writing Team, that phrase isn't just a destination, but also a point of departure that leads us to many questions. Why is war everywhere? How did it get there? What objectives are the armies of Order and Destruction fighting over? What effect will those battles have on the larger war? Providing the answers is the job of WAR's writers and Content Designers, and the first place we go to get them is the game's backstory.

As you probably already know, a game's backstory helps to establish its setting and give it a sense of history and scope. In most single-player role-playing games, the backstory tells you everything that's happened right up to the point where you start to play the game. Then, you step in and continue that story, taking it in whatever direction you wish. More often than not, you're fighting to resolve a crisis or defeat a villain. By the time you reach the end of the game, you've saved the day.

In a massively multiplayer game like WAR, there isn't going to be just one player, and there isn't really going to be an end, either. The backstory in WAR, then, has a few additional purposes to serve.

Click below for the rest of the diary.

Here is the chat log from our Warhammer Online Dev chat. We want to thank the Devs for taking time out of their busy schedule to answer a few questions.

<~DelmarWynn> Guest120: 1) Tell me more about lairs. Saw them in newsletter, but not too much info. How are they different from an instance dungeon.
<@[WAR]Gabe> Generally speaking lairs will be fundamentally different in that they are not instanced.
<@[WAR]Gabe> They will be persistant world things that you come by.
<@[WAR]Gabe> There will be various ways to gain access to them.
<@[WAR]Gabe> For example discovering a button in one end of city.
<@[WAR]Gabe> That opens a cage with a beast inside on the other.

Click "Read More" to see the entire chat.

In our latest Warhammer Online Q&A, we talk to Joshua Drescher, Adam Gershowitz and James Nichols of EA Mythic about preparation for the latest Beta phase, whether they'll shut down again, careers and - of course - RvR.

WarCry: When you sack an enemy city, what type of bonuses and rewards will you get for doing so, and are these only for those who sacked the city?

EA Mythic: To get to the benefits of capturing an enemy city requires a tremendous effort from your entire Realm. We're still working on the exact rewards you get for capturing an enemy city, but expect to see buffs and items you can only get through siege and events that help to encourage Realm pride in all players.

Read it all after the jump.

Joshua Drescher, Adam Gershowitz and James Nichols of EA Mythic team up to answer the latest set of questions on Warhammer Online: age of Reckoning. Population balance, respecs and other topics get their attention in this twice-a-month series.

WarCry: What tools will be available to help guilds manage their teams?

EA Mythic: We have an extremely robust set of Guild tools that will allow leaders and officers to efficiently manage and coordinate their members. These tools include a Calendar system, news feed, and an in-depth roster feature. These, plus the addition of the living guild system (your guild actually gains levels and benefits), make guilds an integral and rewarding part of the game.

Read more after the click.

In today's Warhammer Online interview, we talk to Associate Producer Josh Drescher and Senior Designer Justin Webb who team up to give us a set of answers. This edition includes questions about the launch delay, longterm appeal, individuality and why they believe they will succeed where other MMOs have failed in recent years.

WarCry: Your big headline recently was the decision to push back launch. This is not the first time WAR has been delayed. Why do you believe this release date is one players can expect you to meet?

EA Mythic: MMORPG fans have come to expect top tier titles to launch smoothly with finished, highly polished content across the board. This second adjustment of the launch date is intended to give us the time we need to make sure we deliver a product that meets those expectations. We're all but finished with feature and system integration right now, but Mark Jacobs (Lead Designer and GM of our studio) wanted to give us months, rather than weeks, to polish, balance and tighten things up prior to launch. As a result, between the December relaunch of the WAR Beta and the second quarter launch of the game, we're going to be able to focus the entire team on making sure everything feels perfect, looks perfect and plays in a way that will blow gamers away.

Click below to read it all.

Warhammer Online Community Coordinator brought together some answers to our latest set of questions to the EA Mythic developer team. This time we learn about public quests, changes to their community team and some more insights out of the recent development letter update.

WarCry: In the last few months, the community management team itself has undergone a number of personnel changes. What will people notice about the way you deal with the community today vs. how it had been historically?

James Nichols: While change can be difficult, we feel it opens new doors and great opportunities, too. The community team is always here for the players, to keep them informed and to listen and respond to their concerns. They act as the eyes and ears of both the community and the dev team, and work tirelessly to keep both parties informed of what the other is thinking and doing. While the faces might be new, our approach to working with the best MMO communities around is not.

Read more after the click.