mythic-entertainment posts

In this installment of Waging WAR, Greg takes a look at Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning from a few different angles and goes in search of the proverbial "sandbox" in a game that contains neither sand nor boxes.

Somewhere along the line during my childhood, I developed a habit for playing games with nearly every game I've ever played. I can even remember a time in my early teens when I sat down with a few friends and collaborated on making our own version of battlechess. Pages of chicken-scratched rules and several dice results-tables later, and we were off and running for a solid week of the most entertaining chess matches I've ever played. Or there was that time with The Sims when I started creating experimental families and then leaving my computer on overnight and not interacting with them, just to see how successful they could be without my help. I could bore you for hours on end with examples of how I twisted the rules and made my own games from the games I've played.

I suppose I can blame my penchant for metagaming on my early introduction to pen-and-paper roleplaying (i.e., D&D 1st Ed., to be specific). All I had was a sheet of paper, a handful of dice, a description of the world around me, and my imagination. By its very nature, PnP gaming is sandbox gaming. The reason I'm bringing this up now is that, until WAR, I had pretty much been able to "find the sandbox" in any MMO I was able to get my hands on. Whether it was building hardcore Dungeons & Dragons Online characters, roleplaying in City of Heroes, or achievement-chasing in World of Warcraft, I've never really been troubled with finding something to do when the grind started to wear me down. But now, with WAR, I'm finding most of my old tricks for MMO metagaming just aren't working.

To read about what I've tried, and why it didn't work in WAR, follow along after the break.

The beginning of a new month is upon us, and that means we're due for another producer's letter for Warhammer Online. This letter is coming on the heels of the major announcement of the RvR pack, so it was inevitable that the letter would have a veritable buffet of information for players, and it doesn't disappoint. As the letter explains, the addition of the RvR packs is the capstone on the design work that's been done over the past several months, focusing on the battles of RvR and trimming away the extraneous elements.

Naturally, there's more information on the role of the Skaven, who will be playable by either realm rather than simply being an NPC faction. There's also more talk about the increase in the RR cap, with the goal being a closer approximation of Dark Age of Camelot's similar system. Carrie Gouskos also re-emphasizes that the game isn't going free-to-play at the moment and the team has no plans to change that. Warhammer Online fans should be very happy about the newest letter -- it promises many good things for the game in the near future.

This week Waging WAR rides the double rainbow of gameplay customization via downloadable content and takes a cursory glance at the RvR packs being teased by the folks behind the development of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Let's follow along and see what Greg can unleash this time.

It is difficult to talk about the future of WAR right now. Not because it doesn't have a future, but because the availability of information regarding it is not exactly easy to find. Actually, information on the future of WAR is all but non-existent, surrounded by controversy on all sides, and steeped in rumor, speculation, assumption and misinformation. The best I can put together is that we, as players, can look forward to some sort of set of three different "RvR Packs" allowing us to "customize" our gameplay experience moving forward. The packs have been called "Power," "Progression," and "Personality." What exactly each contains is a mystery, although the few talking points I was able to find regarding these RvR packs are speculatively disappointing at best. Although Carrie, Andy, and anyone else involved with the Mythic development team have said time and time again that they are not discussing moving toward the free-to-play business model, what they're proposing with these customization packs looks suspiciously like the item shop established by Turbine, implemented in Dungeons & Dragons Online and soon in Lord of the Rings Online as well. V.I.P. membership, anyone?

Although concrete information is scarce and difficult to find, let's take a look at the most commonly referenced points of interest after the break.

Life is full of serendipitous moments. For example, the other day I found the Holy Grail at a garage sale while looking through a box of half-broken Transformers. Who would have thought? If only the Knights Templar took a few Saturdays off from their epic quest to do a bit of bargain shopping.

Consider also that this month we've been reminiscing about Dark Age of Camelot in this column -- looking at the history, the devs, and the players -- and then, out of nowhere (well, technically Virginia) one of the key figures of this title returned from a year-long sabbatical. Mark Jacobs, who was let go from EA last June, recently popped back up on his personal blog to talk about everything under the sun.

Hey -- isn't DAoC under the sun? Why yes, yes it is. So I threw on my hiking boots, strapped a machete to my thigh, hired a Sherpa, and then composed a quick message to see if Mr. Jacobs would be willing to be interviewed by the eccentric media. He agreed, as long as we stuck to the topic at hand and didn't veer into his plans for world domination. Whoops... I've said too much. Hit the jump before I get into hot water. My Sherpa hates hot water.

This week, Waging WAR steps back from all the news and hype of Gamescom and GamesDay and focuses in on the healing archetypes in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. As we all know by now, Greg plays a healer and he's put together a guide for those who kill by mending the wounds of those who kill by bludgeon or blade.

In my time in WAR I've learned a thing or two. No, I'm not writing about my extensive knowledge of how various terrains taste (the sand on the beaches of Nordenwatch and the cobbled brick streets of Praag have become favored delicacies). I'm writing about how to be an effective healer in WAR. While I am by no means invincible or infallible, I do consider myself a decent, relatively resilient and capable PvP tank (let's not kid ourselves here -- who needs plate when you can wear robes, right?). I have some advice to share with those who are interested in endgame PvP/RvR healing, or even those who are already there but seek to add an edge to their game.

To achieve enlightenment, click the Read More button.

Mention "Skaven" to your average Warhammer Online player, and you'll be treated to an almost instant recitation of all the reasons why the race ought to be playable. It appears that players might be due to get that wish -- as well as a few more wishes -- with the announcement of the RvR pack for the game. Although we only have the broadest strokes of an outline for the pack, it promises to expand the game's core focus of PvP with an increase in the renown ranks to 100.

Executive Producer Carrie Gouskos has confirmed the involvement of the Skaven, although she's stated that they'll not be playable directly from level 1. How the integration will take place is unclear, as are most of the fine details, although the pack will clearly be a big change for the game's overall structure. The pack is also meant to move away from the "huge expansion" model that's common in the MMO genre, with the company presumably moving to several smaller expansions on a quicker timetable. It's good news for Warhammer Online players to see what's coming around the bend, especially if players can run about sowing chaos as ravenous rat-men.

The odds weren't in favor of us seeing the newest patch for Warhammer Online so soon... but that works just fine, since the patch itself is Against All Odds. Even if you're not using it to set up a lame joke, however, patch 1.3.6 is going live today after slightly extended server maintenance, bringing with it several updates and improvements to the game. The eponymous Against All Odds mechanic is one of the central changes, giving a side without sufficient numbers in an RvR lake bonus rewards for persistence.

1.3.6 also brings two major changes to items in the game. The first is the addition of an appearance system, allowing players to make their armor look like whatever set they want without losing the benefits of high-end rewards. The second is equally significant, splitting the high-end Sovereign armor into two sets to celebrate alternate playstyles for each class. As always, there are a number of adjustments and bug fixes listed in the full patch notes, but Warhammer Online players should be happy enough knowing that the game's latest patch is live and ready to enjoy.

If there's one overriding impulse that goes into nearly every MMO, it's the urge to look good. You spend so much time staring at your character that you want to look appropriate -- ominous, or dignified, or just plain cool. That's the motive behind Warhammer Online's new appearance system in patch 1.3.6, and it's a significant upgrade to the game's setup. Designer Sean Bosshardt has penned a developer diary explaining how the new appearance system works in practice, which essentially gives your equipment its own set of equipment.

The short version is that when looking at your character's equipment, you can flip over to their appearance slots, and then each eligible item can have another item placed within the appearance slot. However, the new appearance doesn't consume or use the item which granted the new look, and it stays with that piece of armor -- so you can change the look of a pair of shoulders, and that look stays with them until you change it again. It's an interesting system with several nuances, so Warhammer Online players are encouraged to read the full diary to see just how nice they'll be looking when the new patch hits.

With less than a week left until Gamescom, I find myself more and more excited by the potential of what Mythic could be set to reveal, regardless of the fact that it's given me nothing to chew on. I am hyped by the anti-hype. What follows is the result of that hype. There are no facts, rumours, hints, or tips to back up what amounts to totally unbarred speculation. I have organized the aftermath of my brainstorm in terms of what would excite me, from most to least, followed by why I believe these additions could make sense, and how they might be implemented. Keep in mind that some of what follows could simply be passed off as madness; it might be totally unfeasible, even by the most adept and well-financed of development teams. I'm fully aware of that. The point here was to just "let it go." And I did.

Crazy, or uncanny -- you decide. Follow along after the break.

If you were planning on making a few coin off your jars of squig juice or stacks of dem bones, you might have to hold off for a few days, as Mythic will be temporarily disabling Warhammer Online's in-game auction house beginning Friday afternoon. The functionality is being removed in order to patch in the latest tweaks coming your way with the 1.3.6 update. The patch brings a streamlined auction house UI, as well as a standardized 48-hour auction duration. Additionally, pricing has been simplified to buy-out only.

Previously existing auctions will continue to be available featuring the bidding and buy-out functionality, but new auctions will not be available until after the patch. Check out the official announcement at the Warhammer Herald.

BioWare Mythic has given us a heads-up regarding the latest update to its venerable Dark Age of Camelot MMORPG. The PvP-centric fantasy title has gone live with version 1.105, and the patch brings with it quite a number of changes, including the long-awaited training-window UI enhancements.

The training-window tweaks feature the ability to train multiple specialization levels and Realm abilities simultaneously, as Stuart Zissu details in this producer's letter. The new patch also boasts buff display adjustments, numerous class-balancing changes focusing on the bainshee, and itemization revamps of world dungeons including the Catacombs of Cardova, Varulvhamn, and Treibh Caillte.

Finally, Albion, Midgard, and Hibernian epic armors have had their attributes bumped upwards and also feature additional skills. Check out the patch notes at the the Camelot Herald.

After last week's expedition into the dark Dark Age of Camelot, the Game Archaeologist uncovered the mightiest weapon of them all: the Hammer of Nostalgia. The hammer may be battle-worn, but it has never seen better days. Everywhere it strikes, fond memories of epic keep battles surface, and former players feel compelled to sign up for another tour of duty.

The Game Archaeologist proceeded to take the hammer back to its makers, the sweat-stained smithies at Mythic Entertainment (now BioWare Mythic), to see whether they thought there was any magic left in the game. Two burly men put down their steel tools and stepped forward to testify, and their names were Colin of the Hicks and Jeff "Soulstriker" Hickman. The air became thick with memories as the duo recalled the early days of the hammer's history, when players were initially adding to its strength with each victory and each crushing defeat.

Pull up a stool to hear their tale, and when you are done, send in your own favorite DAoC memories (100 words max, please) to justin@massively.com for next week's column!

"Don't roll a black orc, they'll just piss you off [since] newbies don't know how to back you up," said one of the helpful folks on Warhammer Online's Badlands server when I asked about class choice. While you may disagree with his assessment, he was one member of a very friendly community, and one of many that took the time to answer questions and make a new player feel welcome on multiple occasions.

Unfortunately that's more than I can say for Mythic's customer service department. When it bothered to respond, it wasn't inclined to help with the simplest of support tickets, nor provide any sort of explanation.

Waaagh WAAAGH! past the cut for more.

Some things in life are so regular as to be dependable: the eruption of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, the frenzy of Black Friday shopping, and a Mythic developer Q&A Ventrilo session when a new patch goes up on the test server. Following a similar Q&A session from a week ago, Mythic devs returned to chew the fat with Warhammer Online players about anything and everything under the virtual sun.

Mythic's Carrie Gouskos, Nate Levy and Mike Wyatt fielded a large range of questions, from class balancing to destructive environments. A lot of focus was given to the upcoming 1.4.X patch, the next major step for the game. Mythic was coy about topics like player housing and improved crafting, offering up a "no comment" when the devs were asked about them.

One player wondered if fortress sieges would ever return, to which Mike replied: "Hopefully, at some point. There's a lot of problems with how we would like to implement it, usually with population density and the server not being able to handle the load. So we're looking at ways to bring them back in some fashion, at some point."

The full transcript is available at Gaarawarr Gabs.