E308: Warhammer Online is pretty much done

by Michael Zenke Jul 17th 2008 at 6:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Warhammer Online, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

We had a chance to chat today with Josh Drescher and Adam Gershowitz, two of the leading lights behind EA Mythic's Warhammer Online. Even just two months after our huge Massively goes to WAR series, there were new elements to view and discuss. We'll get you that information as soon as we can, but we wanted to share what might have been the biggest surprise of our chat: essentially everything that will be in the game at launch is now in the game.

Said Mr. Gershowitz, "Basically where we're at right now is the guild Beta. We're in high polish mode, which means that everything in the game is in at this point. Everything we're going to ship with, for the most part, is in, is being played, everybody is taking a look at it, giving us feedback and now we're doing the final polish."

Tune back in soon for information on Warhammer's built-in UI customization, reactions to the recent class and city removal announcements, character customization tidbits, and much more.

Tags: adam-gershowitz, e3-2008, e308, featured, josh-drescher, massively-goes-to-war, mythic-entertainment, war, warhammer-online

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

PeterD said on 7:14PM 7-17-2008

Any news on the Open Beta? Surely it must be soon now . . .

Matt Warner said on 3:32AM 7-18-2008

Guild beta just started so I'd wager another month.

Bildo said on 7:57PM 7-17-2008

Well, holy crap.

I knew they were doing well and hitting their date, but not just down to polish mode.

Binz of Dunemaul said on 11:04PM 7-17-2008

i would just like to add.... WOOOHOOOOO!

"We Hate EA" Fanclub said on 3:49AM 7-19-2008

Funny he should say "which means that everything in the game is in at this point." when it's missing 2/3rds of the major end-game content. The question that comes to mind is: When will the other two cities get polished, completed, and released?

It's not just about the cities being gone, but the "100s of quests" that each has, the auction houses, the socials hubs, the lore (big part of the Warhammer Universe), and much much more that's associated with them.

Also, if "Everything we're going to ship with, for the most part, is in, is being played, everybody is taking a look at it, giving us feedback and now we're doing the final polish." Then, why is it that the latest trailer they should (the RvR thingy from E3) looks so crappy and lacking any graphical finess? I understand that they need to polish it, but it looks to be missing a whole graphics engine there.

recursive said on 6:45AM 7-18-2008

I assume this is just objects and not those promised graphics enhancements? Are we getting those for the beta or only at launch?

Diana said on 9:37AM 7-18-2008

Yeah but in an attempt to get this thing out on the market as quick as possible, they cancelled tons of things they had projected, including many new classes, like the Black Guard for example.
If you look into everything they decided to stop production on, you will most likely prefer that they would have just extended the deadline and got things done.
But, they dragged their feet for this long and after push-back after push-back, this is all they've got to show for it.
I'm very disappointed.

pufonthis said on 10:16AM 7-18-2008

Because Lord knows there couldn't possibly be a full, fun game in there somewhere right? I mean, there's just no way to have fun with only one capital city right? And surely a measly 20 classes couldn't offer you any enjoyment at all I suppose.

danarchy said on 11:14AM 7-18-2008

Im in the beta right now, the game is fun. But good luck doing public quests if your a dark elf! No tanks means some poor bastard has to kite bosses around while everyone tries to hit it lol. It is actually kind of funny when the kiter dies and theres that 2 second pause to see who the next "little red riding hood" is going to be ;)
Destruction is outnumbering order 3 to 1 by the way so if you do get in beta please bear that in mind!

Derek K. said on 12:15PM 7-18-2008

Dan: You got yourself an NDA for that beta? I just ask out of curiousity....

Pufonthis: You said it far better than I was going to. ;) The "loss" of cities is annoying, but I think we'll live. 20 classes is still a couple more than most of us will play, so I think we'll get by until they release the other 4....

danarchy said on 1:03PM 7-18-2008

Do you think im silly enough to post under my login/user name or even my home pc? O.o
There may be a nda, i dont know, I click check mark boxes and "accept" without reading them like any red blooded american!

Seamus said on 11:44AM 7-19-2008

wow lot of people still angry over the content cut. And I'd wager most of you that are bashing it have already bought the collectors edition, so why don't you wait until you play the game before you make up your mind.

And for everyone saying they should have delayed, if you didn't know WOW's expansion comes out in november... Getting WAR out in a polished state BEFORE then is more important than 4 UNFINISHED classes and 4 UNFINISHED cities being in the game at launch.

Wjowski said on 1:40PM 7-24-2008

Maybe Mythic/EA should worry less about beating WoW's release date (Because that worked soooo well for EQ2 and Vanguard) and worry more about putting out a finished, polished product? ...Just a thought.

Waiting... said on 5:09PM 7-19-2008

The bottom line should be this: if you're still interested in the game get it, try it out, and make your own decision on the matter.

This is exactly what I plan to do. Nobody is going to convince me of anything else at this point. I'm a big boy and I get to decide where my disposable income gets to go (with the notable exception of my wife, who of course gets a very large say in the matter). :)

All the cuts have done is perhaps bring my expectations back into a reasonable place - this is nothing but a good thing. Right now I'm not expecting anything that's going to absolutely blow me away like I was before. I'm expecting something fun - and that's ultimately all I want out of a game. WoW had that fun factor for a few years, but it's gotten old to me so I want to look elsewhere.

This game still has a lot of things in it that look to break some of my biggest pet peeves with WoW (the loot system is a big one, along with pure gear scaling and hopefully non- rock/scissor/paper PvP balancing).

I do have it easy, in that I wasn't dead set on only one or two careers that have been taken out. I can understand where that is a sore point for some people, but there looks to be so much more to the game I can't imagine it not still being fun until they have been replaced (or implemented) and those other capitols added in.

Just remember - if you're not in the beta, then you're basing your decision on... well... pretty much hype - be it positive or negative. I'd suggest people keep an open mind at this early stage, and at the very least wait for the NDA drop to see what people actually playing the game think rather than making up your mind quite yet. I think we'll all be surprised in the end... just don't know which way that surprise is going to go yet. ;)

Eorlion said on 10:19AM 7-24-2008

I have played beta. Since actions speak louder than words, here's what have done since then ...
- bought the collector's edition.
- signed up for open beta.
- started contacting old friends to start a guild.
- checked their web site nearly every day since then for more news.
- planned to take off work during the head start period.
That should tell you how much I enjoyed it.
I am delighted they took out marginal classes. That way I won't start with a Thane again like I did in early DAOC. :P

Clockswork said on 6:25PM 7-28-2008

Where can I sign up for the open beta?

Larry-Steve said on 5:46AM 7-30-2008

I'm a beta tester. I was really liking what they were doing with everything. Really innovative stuff. Their beta testing strategy was directed for really well planned testing feedback.

Little did I know what I thought was "directed" was actually THE GAME.

I was all WAR BEFORE the hack and slash, but now I'm disappointed to put my feelings into text in civil terms.

Yes, 20 classes are more than enough, but they took what some of us were looking forward to away. Unlike many other MMO's, the GENDER question is glaringly obvious and has really irked me from its inception. There are a good many of the classes that ONLY males can be, while others are female ONLY. I hated that when DAoC did that with Banshees and Valkyries. Why would any devloper limit their options by denying simple options?

Same with the cities. I could have given a damn about a human and dark human capital. EVERY MMO on the planet has one.

I wanted to see the unique spin of a dwarf fortress completely overtaken by Greenskins. I wanted to see the proud dwarves with their engineering and stonework fighting back the tides of greenskins from high walls. I wanted to see, just why, the Dark Elves wanted the High Elves capital for themselves, WHY THE WHOLE STORY BEHIND WAR WAS SET IN MOTION!

From a Lore standpoint, the least interesting aspect of the game is what they chose to keep: Humans. The good and bad ones. Can you say retail expansion for the two other pairings capitals? I pray not...