Mythic announces official forums for WAR (with a twist)
by Brooke Pilley 
Jan 31st 2009 at 11:00AM
Filed under: Fantasy, Forums, Warhammer Online
Having official forums for an MMORPG might not seem like big news to the average gamer, but it sure is when you're talking about Mythic Entertainment finally announcing official forums for Warhammer Online. You see, Mythic GM, Mark Jacobs has been very outspoken about his disdain for OFs. At one point he had this to say when questioned if WAR would ever have OFs. He hated the idea of them that much...There must have been some pretty good reasons to reverse such a staunch view on OFs and Mark was kind enough to elaborate in an open letter to the community. It simply comes down to being able to better support the players of WAR. Apparently, Mythic is also willing to invest in paid full and part-time moderators and a powerful forum platform to ensure these internal support boards don't become a cesspool of hate and discrimination.
Here's Mythic's official twist. The forums will be very light-weight graphically. They will not run ads of any sort. There will be a strict code of conduct, but it won't hamper constructive negative feedback. Anyone familiar with the Warhammer Online beta boards should feel quite at home. Only active subscribers will be able to post. You can "level up" on these forums by contributing to intelligent discussion. This will give you access to special boards where Mark and the other devs will post frequently. More details on Mythic's official forums will be coming shortly, but you can expect to see them in action during February's public test of the 1.2 patch. I wonder what this will mean for the unofficial forums.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Shadowlords said on 11:42AM 1-31-2009
Seriously. Is this all a big joke? Do people really still play this game? Playing WH scenarios is about as fun as grinding Diablo over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again ....
When they get past a massive single player game, call me.
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Hardy said on 1:23PM 1-31-2009
Best example of what hopefully won't be on the official WaR forums.
MightyIdle said on 1:23PM 1-31-2009
Yup, people are. Scenario participation is down, though. A whole lot of folks are now into the open RvR.
You forgot to post your number. That makes it a big hard to call you. 8)
Slayer201 said on 11:52AM 1-31-2009
Folks,
This is just typical Jacobs' behaviour. Remember they weren't working on an expansion for a while but now they are (the two articles sit on the same page)
# No Warhammer Online expansion pack for a while
http://news.bigdownload.com/2008/12/08/no-warhammer-online-expansion-pack-for-a-while?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_massively
# Warhammer Online expansion pack
http://www.massively.com/2009/01/29/mythic-announces-the-first-live-expansion-to-warhammer-online/
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Dreath said on 12:12PM 1-31-2009
Mark Jacobs was refering to an expansion pack (I.e Mines of Moria, Burning Crusade) that won't happen for quite some time. The "Live expansion" is free content being added to make the core game better.
Houston said on 11:54AM 1-31-2009
Forums builld community and, in turn, help retain players... Mark is a smart guy, I'm surprised it took so long for him to figure this out.
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Scarecrowe said on 11:18AM 2-01-2009
Indeed they do. If WAR had started with an official forum, I would probably still be playing it. I left to find a game that cared about their community. I'm guessing Mythic is becoming a little concerned about their retention numbers right now. I enjoyed the game but it just seemed somewhat lacking.
Blue Kae said on 12:49PM 2-03-2009
Totally agree. Having multiple unofficial forums lead to too much confusion, it makes much more sense to have a single place for official information.
Holgar said on 1:03PM 1-31-2009
I'm not sure if I like this idea or not..... if done correctly it COULD work really well..... if not it would be a totalcrap up.
However to the above Warhammer haters if you haven't played in a few months trust me, it HAS really improved.
The PVP is actually better than Warcraft now with the obvious exception of seige mechanics.
The PVE is still weak but it IS a lot better than the crap at luanch.
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MightyIdle said on 1:25PM 1-31-2009
Forums will be a good idea if they're heavily moderated to keep things positive. I've never minded criticism and negative opinions as long as they were discussed in a constructive manner. Having that kind of feedback is the only way you can make things better. It's the trolls and flamers who intend to spoil it for everyone.
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Fess said on 9:03PM 2-01-2009
"Forums will be a good idea if they're heavily moderated to keep things positive."
Translation; "Forums will be a good idea if they are heavily moderated to prevent people from expressing their honest opinion".
As long as the handful of remaining WAR players (masochists) still think everything is rainbows and gumdrops, all is well.
MightyIdle said on 9:09PM 2-01-2009
Not exactly. It is possible to express your honest opinion in a polite and constructive manner. When you do so, it is helpful to the community and the game developers. When you act like a jerk, it doesn't help anyone.
For your second point, I don't think anyone believes everything is 'rainbows and gumdrops'. I believe the opinion generally expressed is they are having fun and they appreciate the work being put into the game to make it better and better.
derella said on 1:29PM 1-31-2009
I don't understand the following statements he made in his letter on the Herald:
"Quite frankly, I still believe that OFs are not a panacea to cure all the ills of a game. I still also remain convinced that having OFs are not a guarantee of success for an MMO."
Has anyone ever claimed that official forums will fix all of the problems of an MMO, or that it will guarantee a game's success? It's just silliness.
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Jess said on 3:42PM 1-31-2009
More proof that Mark Jacobs is, for all intents and purposes, a liar. If that's too harsh, then at the very least he often goes back on his word.
He was adamant WAR would not have any stealth classes. Enter the Witch Hunter and Witch Elf.
He said all manner of statements that WAR would not have official forums. Enter official forums.
The only subject he's more outspoken on is his (apparent) utter hatred for the gold selling industry. With his turn around record I wouldn't be surprised if suddenly WAR endorsed gold selling or some other such activity. (Maybe they already do behind the scenes, given the pattern of what Jacobs' says vs. actual reality).
Also, I feel sorry for all the WAR fan forums who have just heard their Banshee wail.
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Pewpewarrows said on 5:16PM 1-31-2009
So, you'd rather no one ever changed their mind about anything, ever? Grow up. People form differing opinions about topics over time, especially with experience and from actually listening to other people's views. Partial stealth classes were a great addition to the game. Official Forums will be a great way to build community, especially given Mystic's history they will likely be very heavily moderated. I'm glad Jacobs has learned from his mistakes and moved forward with the game's development.
It's people like you who believe it's better to never change your mind no matter what, because you're so scared of being a "flip-flopper", that ruin healthy discussions.
Jess said on 6:18PM 1-31-2009
Changing your mind is one thing, and I realize that happens...it's called "progression". I'm very glad that devs change their minds (including PvP in LOTRO is a fine, personal example.) My point is that these weren't minor opinions of his, but firm, reolute stances he and his company took for years. "Never" is about as strong as one can get:
"Never.
There, I said it (again).
I would rather hear William Shatner and Roseanne Barr singing a duet while having my fingernails pulled out one by one while sitting in a pool of molten lava than have Mythic's own Official Forums for WAR.
How's that for clarity?
Mark"
That's a little bit more serious than "changing his mind". So my question is when and where is Mr. Jacobs going to sign up for fingernail removal and molten lava dipping?
Any credibility this clown Jacobs had left is effectively gone.
*Places sandbags and razorwire in preparation of the inevitable Abriael and co. fanboy onslaught*
Holgar said on 7:03PM 1-31-2009
I have to say while I just retried WAR and found it vastly improved and actually recomend people retry it if they gave up after luanch, I wholey agree that Mark Jacobs flip flops more than a political leader on hot concrete.
Brian said on 6:38AM 2-01-2009
I think OFs have a valuable role to play with any IP. They give players a chance to have an open an d transparent interaction with the company in an official capacity. Often it shows some players for the ass-hats they are but it also gives them the ability to give official answers to fan questions. There are also 2 advantages to having their own: If it is their forum they can ban who they want (handy) they can also search through it in more advanced ways.
Another thing to consider are the many Blizzard fansites that hang on the devs every word and more recently the Ghostcrawler phenomenon. There has been a lot of good feedback from some of the topics that have been discussed and it feels a lot more interactive and player facing rather than a blog from on high. It has certainly improved the quality of feedback that the players get.
Finally advertising; this might have been a quip at the expense of Blizzard's recent foray (or a cry of "we're different and special!"), but once they see the traffic figures and then look at the advertising revenue then they will cave in. I mean ffs GW could provide advertising for their table top games, add in merchandising for WAR and you'd be good to go.
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Fess said on 9:11PM 2-01-2009
Can there be an active WAR article posted without someone bitching about Blizzard?
JP said on 11:22AM 2-02-2009
"Can there be an active WAR article posted without someone bitching about Blizzard? "
BWHAHAHHA ... says the poster who only comes to the WAR articles to bitch and whine. GTFO you hypocrite.