WAR's new Zone Domination system in development
by James Egan 
Jan 18th 2009 at 6:00PM
Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Patches, PvP, Warhammer Online, News items
Without a doubt one of the liveliest people we know of in the MMO industry, Paul Barnett, put out a YouTube video this week in celebration of his birthday, and brought Warhammer Online devs Jeff Hickman and Colin Shannon in for some updates on the game. Perhaps the most interesting thing revealed is WAR's new Zone Domination system which is currently in the works. It's intended to supplement Warhammer Online's realm-vs.-realm system by providing more compelling ways to capture zones. Hickman says, "If you can capture everything in a zone and hold it, claiming the Keeps and dominate that zone, then you have a very good chance of capturing the zone." Or, as Barnett summarizes, Zone Domination will give players more reasons for defending and holding objectives.
Colin Shannon also provides an update on the reduction of crashes in WAR, and there's (perhaps) a ray of hope mentioned at the end for having multiple items in the mail system. Check out the video embed below the cut for more on the state of the game, and what new features WAR players should be getting in a forthcoming patch.
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WAR has gone 1.1! Check out our full coverage of the 1.1a patch, along with our interviews exploring upcoming content and the open RvR changes. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR! |
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Anonymous said on 7:39PM 1-18-2009
Love them.
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lethality said on 7:47PM 1-18-2009
So how many more things are they going to throw at the wall to see what sticks? They failed at making the game fun and these are reactionary moves.
Nothing to see here, this game is on the bargain shelves already.
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Osmosis said on 7:58PM 1-18-2009
Lethality, obviously you're not a fan of the game, but the rising subscription numbers and high server populations suggests that you dont actually know what you're talking about. You've been condemning WAR for the last 2 months in every related post, and vaulting WOW as far far superior. Its clear that you're not a fan of WARhammer, but do you really thing that everytime you post ranting about warhammer that you're adding anything to the discussion.
Simply put, WAR has made so much progress since the game shipped that this alone should make people sit up and take notice. Also, this game caters much more to people who want an engaging PvP experience, which is nearly the OPPOSITE of what the WOW population is interested in, so its no surprise that you can't stand WAR. For some of us, however, competing versus other humans is far more interesting than completing the same raid every week.
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MightyIdle said on 8:36PM 1-18-2009
He does it so ofter he just looks silly. You don't even have to read his posts. Oh, there he is. Yawn, keep scrolling.
He's one of those people who feels the need to prove his penis (game) is bigger than your penis (game). Seriously, who cares.
lethality said on 8:38PM 1-18-2009
Rising subscription numbers? Cite your sources.
I think you'll find quite the opposite.
There is NOTHING engaging about the WAR pvp experience that isn't already done in other games better...
You cannot deny they have been doing nothing but reactionary changes to the game to try and bolster the population... scenarios... open rvr... etc. They know they have a fundamentally flawed game and are doing what they can to keep a constant churn to at least replace the people that are leaving every day. They have to stay in the news to do that.
MightyIdle said on 8:44PM 1-18-2009
Reactionary changes, based on feedback and player experience, to improve the game and increase the fun. That's a bad thing?
You talk like they're bailing while rowing a sinking ship. Nobody who is moderately realistic or half way intelligent would draw that conclusion. Certainly nobody who actually plays the game.
You sound like a TV preacher trying to scare the masses away from the evil one. You should apply your passions to whatever game you currently enjoy instead of on being a useless forum troll. That, or real life. Sounds like you need a little vacation from your fantasy worlds.
lethality said on 8:53PM 1-18-2009
Oh, I'm not trolling.
Here's the bottom line. I no longer subscriber to the game... no one I know personally still subscribes. Even beyond that, the gaming community in general, has 0 "upside" to the current sub numbers - they are just going down. Period.
Now, does that matter? To you? Me? Mythic? No telling in any case. If they think their game is a success with 100k subscribers, then it's a success.
But Pepsi doesn't pat themselves on the back because they have 1/80th the market of Coke. Because no matter what they say, they are competing with Coke.
Think about that and get back to me.
NeuroMan42 said on 8:26PM 1-18-2009
WOW is boring as hell. At least WAR is realistic looking, and has a rich history. Which by the way Blizz stole to make Warcraft and Starcraft. If you do not like WAR then fine, but saying that WOW is a superior MMO is just ridiculous.
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Kamokazi said on 11:22AM 1-19-2009
Okay...I'm a current Warhammer player...I have no beef with the game...but..
It is NOT realistic-looking. not by a longshot. It's a little moreso than WoW, but even then not by much. Just look at games like Age of Conan, or even Tabula Rasa or Vanguard. Warhammer is a far cry from looking like those.
ymrar said on 11:49AM 1-19-2009
My girlfriend (who also plays War) made a good definition. Wow and War both have a comic look, but Wow has more of a manga look and War more of western comic look.
MightyIdle said on 8:39PM 1-18-2009
They know they have a good game. They also know it has a few issues. Best of all, they admit to the issues, provide updates regarding the issues, and quickly work to fix the issues.
You don't get that from many MMOs. Usually it's a vague hint or promise followed by a patch 9 months down the road. That is, if they don't hit you with the ol' 'working as intended'.
Point is, all games have these few issues. It's how they react to them and disclose them.
I won't even get into WAR's rapid release of little perks and improvement that are unrelated to any negative issues.
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Brian! said on 10:25PM 1-18-2009
The real stupid thing is, if WoW did not exist right now, then WAR would be considered a resounding success by all the nay-sayers.
It is hard to compare a game with 10 million players that has been around for years to a new MMO on the block. So what if Mythic reacts and adds things to their game. I, for one, feel as though they are organically improving the experience. If Blizzard did as much patching and reacting to player feedback as much as Mythic does, WoW would be an unbelievable game by now.
Mythic has one very strong thing going for them. They are very egotistical and yet they care about their subscribers. It seems to be pushing them to try and try again for greatness. That is a winning mix for the long haul.
WAR is getting better. I don't care if it ends up with only a few busy servers or a hundred busy servers - just as long as Mythic can make enough to keep up what they are doing it is going to just keep becoming more fun.
I am tired of the same old thing with WoW, CoX and the other MMOs out there. Hoping for Jumpgate:Evolution to mix up sandbox space (like EVE) with dogfighting. Dunno if they will pull it off, but I can't wait to be a pilot where I feel I am actually in the cockpit. What is more fun, being a pirate, smuggler, or working for the law? I hope I have full options in that game.
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Takk said on 1:09AM 1-19-2009
I too am waiting eagerly to play Jumpgate Evolution because it looks fun and different and will be somewhat of a sandbox. And I'm going to keep on playing WAR. I've never before had so much fun in an MMO, and so enjoyed the artwork in a game. JGE will have similar quality I think. So I plan to make WAR and JGE my two subscriptions. They'll be a nice contrast in setting and play style, will both allow me to enjoy PvP, and will both satisfy me aesthetically.
And I really enjoy Paul Barnett's videos and the openness with which Mythic deals with its customers and products. And I like it that they've flexible enough and care enough about their products to admit when changes need to be made, and then rapidly implement changes. WAR is my first game by Mythic. But it won't be the last.
Hardy said on 1:27AM 1-19-2009
"It is hard to compare a game with 10 million players that has been around for years to a new MMO on the block."
lol Uh DUH! Idiots can easily compare the two. Like people have on this news post alone.
Jack said on 11:26PM 1-18-2009
Really guys, that is my letter!!
LOL
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Osmosis said on 2:18AM 1-19-2009
My sources for rising subscription numbers come from Google.
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Rollins said on 8:02AM 1-19-2009
Isn't that how zone capture should've worked in the first place?
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LotroMe said on 8:45AM 1-19-2009
Interesting...
Now if only a company could develop a MMO that looks as good as Lotro, has the same type of PVE experience as Lotro, includes the "fun" of PVP from War and makes it so that it ran on older systems like WoW...we could all be happy gamers...
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