Bringing WAR to the web
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Guilds, PvP, Endgame, Warhammer Online, News items, Maps, Races

Any massively multiplayer online game built around the twin pillars of PvP and territorial control can't go wrong by providing realtime status updates of the struggle via the web. Warhammer Online has endeavored to do just that with the Realm War site, as addressed in a dev diary by the title's Web Development Lead, Scott Stricklin. The dev blog touches on what Mythic has accomplished thus far with bringing WAR to the web, and what they hope to accomplish in the future -- namely, podcasts, community news, and character and guild profiles. While they have no shortage of ideas about how to expand WAR outside of the client, their first objective has been to bring Realm vs. Realm data to the web. That goal has now been realized, and Stricklin walks the reader through the features of the newly revamped Realm War site.
Players now have access to updated information about the overall campaign and the status of each capital city, Stricklin writes. This information is also presented visually, with each capital city's look changing based on its status, ranging from peaceful to besieged. This can all be kept in a pop up box in your browser to provide continual updates for when the tide of battle turns. Further information is provided through selectors which represent a server's racial pairings, giving a snapshot of what's happening with each tier's zone control. An added bonus to this are influence maps for each zone, similar to the in-game maps, which show the status of the various RvR objectives and allow a player to mouse over keeps, seeing when it was last captured and by which guild. Have a look at Scott Stricklin's dev diary for more on the Realm War site, or better yet, just head over there and try it out for yourself.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Angry said on 5:27PM 11-21-2008
I just went to the website, and no one else was there, so it immediately felt like WAR on the web.
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Nadril said on 6:36PM 11-21-2008
lol, ba-zing!
Mr Angry said on 7:02PM 11-21-2008
@ the third contributor in this thread.
I feel surprised you really have been compelled to copy my user name and post a comment. I'm sure Massively can let us know what other alias you use, or even your Email address. So if you'd like to remove that last comment, I'm sure it can save you a little embarrassment.
What's gratifying is to be recognized as a contributor, and while I'm delighted that I've spawned a imitator, I would rather my contributions be attributed directly to me, so there is no diluting my genius.
The Mr Angry user name I have used I felt summed up a lot of the contributions to Massively where people were unable to take criticism a computer game they felt an emotional link to. As a result they would get agitated, result to insults and in some extreme case, get so emotional, not be able to back up any argument with substantial fact, sense or reason. The culmination of this was the individual expressing their anger not only at the poster, but also at themselves for caring so much. It makes perfect sense now.
If you feel that way, I do urge you to post in one of the threads I've contributed to in a constructive manner outlining why you disagree with me. It could be considered rather childish to pass yourself off as me.
Once again, I wish you no ill will, it's my hope you can accurately identify yourself, so I can determine if your point of view has merit, right now, I'm struggling to see that.
Thanks
John said on 6:37PM 11-21-2008
This is like so many things in WAR... it sounds so good and could be so much fun...but with no one doing it..and no one there...it just fails. The game is great...this idea is great...but everytime I'm logged on...no one is doing anything and most the game just sits empty.
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LItany of Iron Rock said on 7:35PM 11-21-2008
Well, I've been having a great time with this game. yes, on occasion the population is a little low on the Iron Rock where our guild resides, but I don't expect as brand new game to be going great guns 24 hours a day.
If I'm bored, I do something else. I am getting about 3 great nights a week out of this game. It's one of my favorites.
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Simons said on 10:26PM 11-21-2008
Thanks for highlighting this, Massively! The Realm War page has been one of the most underappreciated cool little features of WAR. I know of few other MMOs (though surprisingly many MUDs) with this level of real-time reporting of game stats to the web.
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