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Drop bears. Death kangaroos. Surly emus. Australian gamers have a unique sense of humor, something they share (obviously) with the sensibilities of Warhammer Online. EA Mythic has taken their threatening marsupials very seriously, and announced in an interview with Gamespot that they'll be offering local servers to Aussie players when the game launches later this year. In fact, they're working right now to add an AU server to the Beta.

The ever-informative Josh Drescher told the game news site that their support of the gamers down under is entirely about personality and recognition. In Drescher's eyes the Australian Warhammer fans have been incredibly supportive, whether in the form of Beta signups, forum postings, or angry stuffed animals mailed via parcel post. The associate producer credits their relationship with EA here - this is another element to the game they may not have been able to offer if they hadn't partnered with the software giant.

At the end of the day, Drescher says it's about recognizing an under-supported marketplace: "It's clear to us that it's a completely viable new market that hasn't got the attention it deserves ... I don't know the exact location, but we'll be hosting the server somewhere in East Asia, so it will be in the correct time zone. At the moment we are targeting it squarely at Australia and New Zealand." The full transcript of Gamespot's interview is also available, where Drescher offers up some familiar (but always entertaining) insights into the world of Warhammer.

It's always interesting to hear the reasons people don't play MMOs. The time commitment is a common and very valid concern - as is the boredom of the grind, the sameness of the games, and the meaninglessness of the avatar's story. Patrick Klepeck of MTV Games offers up a new reason, noting that the freedom of exploration often lauded by MMO fans is (to him) a significant drawback. Warhammer Online's content director Destin Bales responded to Klepeck's apathy with two words: public quests. At the MTV Multiplayer site they have a great description of the PQ Bales used to show him what the genre has to offer. A hydra attack on a Dark Elf sea vessel tops off the event, a setpiece battle we also touched on in our WAR update from a few weeks back.

Another recent rundown on EA Mythic's in-development title is available from Gamespy; they offer players unfamiliar with MMOs their own intro to the genre, with a description of the newbie Dark Elf and Dwarven areas. Despite some reservations that the game's new player area doesn't highlight many of Warhammer's standout features, writer Miguel Lopez was impressed with the 'sense of place' the starter zones impart. Says Lopez: "[WAR] quest areas don't seem to be places that wandering monsters simply arbitrarily inhabit; at least in the two areas we checked out, there was a definite rhyme and reason for mob X to be patrolling site Y. The effort to build the environments like this go a long way toward negating one of the most common criticisms levied against MMOs: that they feel like static wax museums inhabited by staid 3D models."

In a recent interview Warhammer Online senior designer Josh Drescher remarked that World of Warcraft has actually made it considerably easier for other MMOs to succeed in the market, contrary to popular belief. While nobody has come close to dethroning the Blizzard juggernaut and its 10 million subscribers, WoW has done a lot to expand the the potential user-base, and for that Mythic is grateful. Drescher notes in the interview the rate of success in a post-WoW world is considerably higher than it was before, making for a more friendly marketplace to release a game.

It's this kind of mind for market dynamics and future-planning that's really coming to define the modern MMO game designer. For them, retail release is only the beginning of a long process that can extend as far as ten years into the future. So when it appeared during the interview that Drescher suggested that the Warhammer Online team had content planned out five years in advance, some people were understandably confused about the scope of Mythic's development efforts. Was the game delayed to implement content intended for half a decade from now?

Shawn Fanning's Rupture social network has been purchased by the folks at Electronic Arts, changing the course of the network's planned use as a hub for World of Warcraft players. EA spent some $30 million in the deal, though there are still some details to be nailed down. TechCrunch broke the story yesterday afternoon, and refers to this as Fanning's "big payday", finally rewarding him financially after a series of successful but ultimately not lucrative business ventures.

The article offers the observation that this is purely a technology purchase, as the service never made it into its planned second phase. The Beta service, at it exists now, simply doesn't have that many users. It's an easy guess as to what the software giant hopes to gain from this acquisition. EA Mythic's Warhammer Online and BioWare's as-yet-unannounced MMO title could be easily fitted into this framework, providing a method for players of these new games to connect on the web. We'll be sure to keep you posted as more details on this still in-transit deal comes to fruition.

The latest edition of the Warhammer Online Grab Bag addresses a bevy of guild-related questions. The Living Guild video rolled out with the April newsletter addresses some of the issues answered by the article, but the text goes into far more detail than the video did. Bag #25 reiterates that only 6 people will be required to start a guild, but notes that the sky is the limit - there's no cap on maximum guild members.

Other newsbits include the fact that there is no mandatory guild upkeep fee, leaders can set up to ten different titles to create infrastructure, and reassurance than the minimum-size guild will still be able to participate in all guild features. Another interesting feature of the system requires the guild leader to log in at least once in a 30-day span. Leaders who don't will find themselves bumped back to member status, and the next-highest officer in the food chain promoted to GL. For more details on these and other guild aspects be sure to read the piece, and to get another look at that Living Guilds video click on through below the cut.

This month we get a look into one of the many cool aspects of Warhammer Online: living guilds. This important Warhammer Online feature is explained by the dreamy Josh Drescher (that's right we said dreamy, just look at those honest eyes) who yet again explains the system in such a way that we cannot help but woo over him -- we mean it, the system.

Anyhow, living guilds are EA Mythic's response to the many different problems with running a guild in MMOs. Everything from the complexity of running a website -- which you don't need with the bevy of features WAR's living guild system offers -- to giving players a powerful reason to join guilds and participate with other guild members in the first place. Did we need yet another reason to be extremely excited for Warhammer Online? No, but it really doesn't hurt to have more of them.

Though it may pain you to read this, Jack Black will not be voicing the role of Warlord Tchar'zanek. Though the melodious voice beloved by Tenacious D fans around the world would make a great dark lord, the leader of the Chaos Faction in Warhammer Online will have to find some other inspiration. Similarly Andy Serkis won't be voicing Gazbag and Grumlock (the Orc leaders), Patrick Stewart won't be voicing Karl Franz (leader of the Empire faction), and Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves, won't be voiced by Hugo Weaving.

All of these well-known actors, and more, were rumored to be playing big roles in EA Mythic's in-development title. Discussion of these actors has been swirling through WAR forums for a few weeks, and was repeated on a popular Warhammer-related podcast. Certainly, with EA backing the game's production, it doesn't seem out of the question that such A-list celebrities could be corralled for contributions. Most of them have already done voice work in games before, making it all the more likely. For confirmation Massively contacted a press representative that works with the company. We recieved this humorous response in return: "We looked into this voiceover talent list, and it is not true. Sorry to disappoint! WAR will definitely have high-quality voiceovers, but no Jack Black."

More's the pity, but best to keep everything clear just the same. Thanks to Eddiemae Jukes for setting the record straight. Just to complete the set, other rumored contributors included Michael Ironside as the Dwarven leader Thorgrim, and Ian McKellan as the Phoenix King (the High Elven leader). It's nice to dream, huh?

Hey everyone, remember Warhammer Online? That one MMO that's supposed to come out later this year? Okay, step away from the Conan beta and listen up, because we have some news on the Warhammer front concerning the Swordmaster.

According to a recent MMORPG.com interview with EA Mythic's Adam Gershowitz, the Swordmaster of Hoeth is the High Elf's entry into the tanking profession. It uses a flurry of swordplay to deflect the blows of its enemies as opposed to simply using heavy armor, like most tanks. As with the other classes in WAR, the Swordmaster has three mastery paths that are variations of differing playstyles:

• Path of Vaul - Includes combos that draw aggro while still increasing your defense. This path caters to situations with multiple foes.
• Path of Khaine - This path is for your area attack combos, introducing more of an offensive twist for the more aggressive tanks.
• Path of Hoeth - This is the tank path that utilizes magical abilities to aid in both defense and offense.

The men and women behind Warhammer Online love their job. It's not hard to see, or hear, and yesterday we had the opportunity to listen in as Warhammer's leading lights chatted about their favorite subject. EA Mythic participated in a conference call aiming to update fans and press alike with the latest news of their much-anticipated title. The team went through a slew of general questions, fleshing out our understanding of the features coming with the game's fall release. Sitting in on the call were Adam Gershowitz (Combat and Careers lead), Josh Drescher (Associate Producer), Paul Barnett (mouth-full-of-pizza), Jeff Hickman (Senior Producer), and Destin Bales (Content Director).

Join us as we walk through the often-humorous commentary from the WAR boys. We'll learn about RvR, keeps and siege, cooperative gameplay, the makeup of the endgame, the viability of PvE, and what you have to do to end up on Paul Barnett's whiteboard. Read on to find out, and to see some exclusive screenshots of the game in action.

If you're the type of player who just needs to experiment with every available race and class in your MMO of choice, then altaholicism may be a serious concern for you. Seeking professional help is optional, but do know that you are not alone. Together we can fight to one day concentrate on a single primary character, and one character alone! Unite brothers and sisters!

Ahem. Anyway, if you are suffering from altitis, you may want to check out Syp's newest post over at his Waaagh blog. He shares with us his 10 commandments for anyone suffering with altitis, and his best tips on how to not only use alts to your advantage, but also embrace your indecisiveness. Afterall, there's nothing wrong with experimenting. Just don't inhale.

Up until now, you might have had a shaky understanding of all the basics in EA Mythic's upcoming Warhammer Online. If that's the case, then there's a recent article where you can read up on what we like to call the, "WAR Essentials" as it's pretty much covering the basics.

Unfortunately, if you've been following news on WAR then there isn't anything here that you didn't already know. It's nice as a refresher on all of EA Mythic's basic talking points, though. In fact the article itself sort of reads like that: a prolonged "back-of-the-box" set of bullet points. It just seems a little dry for a preview about a videogame like Warhammer Online, where there are some crazy things to talk about like squigs or little (and big) green monsters from space.

It wouldn't have hurt to try and spice things up a little, is all we're saying.

It's hard to be a hero sometimes. You wait in line behind a dozen other adventurers for your chance to hand in your twelve warg ears in return for some silver. You'd been sent to help clear the fields of wargs and even though there were several other heroic warg hunters slicing through the weeds for them, you eventually found yours. The old farmer was pleased, but he had a new job that only you -- and the hundreds of people like you -- could perform. There were more wargs out there! But this time, he would need their feet. As you headed back out into the night to continue warg genocide, you thought -- there has to be more than this. There has to be more to being a hero than hunting dogs and bears, then heading to a new town to look into their ant problem.

What you're missing, is story. The game has been designed to make your story the same as every story. A long history of slaughtering trivial mobs, occasionally grouping with others to kill a greater monster who will be prowling the hills an hour after play ginsu with its spleen. In "It's Story Time, Boys and Girls!", Warhammer blogger Syp explores the different ways MMO developers try to add story to their games, some more successful than others. NPCs in City of Heroes will talk about your deeds and exploits as you pass. GM actors in EverQuest once presaged world-changing events with missions ordinary players could affect. Lord of the Rings Online slowly advances the plot of the war with Mordor with each update. Syp also wonders how quests might change if the decisions you made in the game slowly wrote your own unique story, and generated new quests based on it. Some great suggestions about a problem all too common in today's games.

Earlier this week, folks in London got a chance to preview the Realm-vs-Realm style of PvP combat that will be central to Warhammer Online. EA Mythic was on-hand to demonstrate the game to press at a huge Electronic Arts booth, alongside other PC superstars like Battlefield Heroes, Mass Effect PC, and Battleforge. Gamespot had a chance to get an update on the game's current progress, and states that the folks at Mythic are firmly in the "polish and iteration" phase. Though there was little new information given out at the event, it's interested to hear that the developers plan to offer player regular cinematic interludes as rewards. City Sieges, for example, will conclude with a dramatic cinema event that moves forward the gameworld's story.

Seeing the demo environment must have been a sight as well. A blog entry on game producer Josh Drescher's personal site describes the venue as a large room "with crazy sets (we've got a Marshes-of-Madness set) and a GIANT rotating platform in the middle that the press sit on. The platform moves them around to look at each title in order, which is hilariously awesome to see." We hope Josh recovers from his illness, and that more information on WAR's central PvP elements become available soon.

Several players over on the ever-busy Warhammer Alliance forums recently raised concerns about Mythic's commitment to fulfilling the terms of the contest they held for guilds trying to get into the second round of the Warhammer Online guild beta. The contest required guilds to construct WAR-centric guild websites full of guild fan fiction, and winners were going to earn themselves slots in the beta. Problem is, the contest ended back in September of last year!

James Nichols, a WAR community coordinator, stepped in to reassure players that winners have been selected and will be notified "soon." While James explained the delay as a necessary function of the development process, we have a sneaking suspicion that everybody simply forgot about the contest after former community coordinator Richard Dufek left around that time last year. In any case, we're happy to hear the goof was cleared up, and hopefully players will be getting notifications soon.

Over at New York Comic-Con 2008, Ten Ton Hammer assembled a group of respected MMO developers to answer questions about the future of the industry, and just to talk shop in general. The members of the panel were: Age of Conan Game Designer Jason Stone, Warhammer Online Senior Producer Jeff Hickman, Turbine Vice-President of Product Development Craig Alexander, 38 Studios Vice-President of Creative Development Scott Cuthbertson, and EVE Online Game Designer Matt Woodward -- phew, that's a lot of capitalization.

There are two videos to watch, one in which the questions come from TTH, the other being an audience Q&A. Combined, the videos take the better part of an hour to watch, but you'll find some interesting and differing viewpoints on various topics, such as business models, world-altering events, product placement, sci-fi versus fantasy MMOs, winning market share from World of Warcraft, and community features in and out of game.