Times have been somewhat erratic for Warhammer Online, but most everyone can agree that the switch to an endless free trial was a positive move for the game. It's almost transparent how the change came almost immediately following the changes made in patch 1.3.2 to streamline the starting experience, but it's a wise move all around and makes the game more accessible than ever before on both levels. Producer Josh Drescher recently sat down with the Zam network to talk a little more about the rationale behind the change, as well as the limitations on the experience.

As Drescher points out, one of the major limits toward any sort of time-limited trial is that many players feel pressured for form an opinion in a very constrained timeframe. For more casual players, it can be almost impossible. The new move makes it both easier for players to take their time, and easier for players to try it, hibernate, and then try some of the new features as they come out. For more of the specifics, as well as a rather oblique non-answer to the question of Warhammer Online's future in light of recent layoffs, take a look at the full interview.

Warhammer Online has gone through big changes recently, both in-game and out. Mythic recently released the title's 1.3.2 patch, which had some controversial changes, and this week we learned that staffers at the studio were let go as part of Electronic Arts' new business strategy.

In the midst of all this, Warhammer Online producer Jeff Skalski answered questions via e-mail to Massively.com about where the game is headed.

"Right now, our focus is on improving the RvR campaign, career balance, and game performance," Skalski said. "These are critical to our long term success. We also continue to fix bugs and work on overall game polish. These are the things we sit down and discuss every patch planning meeting we have."

Though we got a letter to the community from producer Jeff Hickman earlier, Skalski also addressed questions about appeasing both existing and new players, whether or not to merge servers again and the overall future of Warhammer Online in these troubled times.

It's funny how times change. Not so long ago the most disconcerting thing that players of Warhammer Online players had to deal with were the numerous changes introduced in patch 1.3.2. Now, however, the recent layoffs that have hit EA and Mythic are far more worrisome. Executive producer Jeff Hickman has taken the time to try and assuage the community fears with a recent letter to the community regarding the future of Mythic's franchises and the game's ensuing viability. Hickman doesn't address the layoffs directly, instead using the letter simply to try and reinforce the image that the game is going to continue and keep being improved upon.

The letter becomes a bit more unsettling when Hickman calls the response to the aforementioned patch 1.3.2 "great." It's quite likely nothing negative is going to happen to Warhammer Online, as it has been making an earnest effort to turn around a disappointing first year, but time hasn't yet healed the wound of "triple A and here to stay." Different companies and different games, but it's fresh in our collective memory, and only time will tell what the ultimate impact of recent events will be upon WAR.

It's a kind of disconcerting time to be a Warhammer Online fan, let's face it. Patch 1.3.2 had a lot of people muttering quietly (or loudly on the comment threads of posts related to it) that the game is floundering for direction and trying to latch on to something to keep it afloat. This is one way to view things, but hardly the only way. Bio Break has an interesting take on it -- they're not floundering for direction, they're working hard to regain their footing. The game that was meant to go toe-to-toe with World of Warcraft didn't quite make it there, but Mythic hasn't been letting the game sink and falter.

The post is specifically addressing the contorversy that came around regarding the shift to unlimited free trials within tier one, the game's introductory content. It sounds a bit fishy, but as pointed out, the shift to "unlimited free trial" has done wonders for Dungeons and Dragons Online, boosting its revenue by a fair amount. While Warhammer Online hasn't yet gone down the same road, it's clear that they're continuing to push forward with the game and find new ways to expand the gameplay experience. If you are one of the many fans whose complaints about recent developments have been less than optimistic, you might want to think about this, as the game hasn't given up the ghost just yet.

It can be safely said that every Warhammer Online player was absolutely in love with the changes made in patch 1.3.2, for a given value of "every Warhammer Online player" or a very interesting definition of "absolutely in love." Okay, the patch might not have actually been as well-received as all that. There was some controversy, more so than the usual patch day wailing and gnashing of teeth. Love it or hate it, it's hard to claim that the community team is unaware of the fact that they made some large changes and debated choices, which is no doubt part of the reason that Jeff Skalski gave a short interview to MMORPG.com regarding the changes.

If you didn't like the changes, of course, it's unlikely that you'll like the general tone of the interview. Skalski outlines the reasons behind each change and why he feels they were the right choices for the game as a whole, even if they weren't all received warmly by the existing player base. He is, however, clearly very aware of the criticism and complaints that have been leveled for each change, and does his best to address them in turn with a calm attitude and a touch of humor. Take a look at the full interview for a bit more about the process and the rationale, even if you're still a little miffed about where your Shadow Warrior starts off these days.

Love it or hate it, opinions have been divided, but the changes made to Warhammer Online in the 1.3.2 patch -- most notably the changes to the starting experience -- have certainly gotten people talking. But it's one thing to discuss it in the abstract and another to see how things play out. The opportunity is now in the hands of the game's players, as the patch has gone live and all of its changes are there for everyone to try.

Rather than locking things down and leaving them there, however, producer Jeff Skalski has released an open letter to the community explaining why some of the changes were made and what changes are coming in the game's next patch, 1.3.3. Cosmetic changes include the options to walk and sit (instead of constantly running and standing) and additions to the game's graphical engine. More far-reaching is the implementation of the Underdog System: a series of running handicaps designed to help bring the side that's consistently losing into better parity with their opponents. Skalski explains in brief how such a system will work and how it will avoid unbalancing matches in the other direction, as well as discussing some of the larger issues Warhammer Online plans to address. If you haven't been playing or you took a break, see what has changed and what's coming, since now is the time to give the game a look.

One of the features that's been mentioned repeatedly in conjunction with Warhammer Online's upcoming patch 1.3.2 is the New User Journey, an attempt to streamline and consolidate the path of new players. The most recent developer diary outlines in detail the reasons for the revamp as well as the new path of the game's experience, which the article mentions is designed to help the entire playerbase in the long run.

Highlighting the need for accessibility, the entry discusses the change to all players starting in the same location, explaining how it can help ensure other players in the area for the game's public quests. It also allows for the early questing experience to be more thoroughly revamped and improved, with all of the players starting out funneled through a single area. The original starting areas will still be available for players who want to explore them, but will no longer be mandatory.

The diary also points out some of the other new features added, including detailed tutorial windows to help introduce concepts in-play as well as an improvement to pop-up tooltips. Combined with global chat channels to help bolster the community, the focus is clearly on getting players unified and up to speed in the most efficient way possible, helping to diminish the barrier to entry. Take a look at the full article for more in-depth features including a closer look at the tutorial window.

Warhammer Online may have traveled a rocky road this past year but with each new patch, the game gets better and better. The latest patch installment to hit the public test server is 1.3.2, which features a New User Journey, Apprenticeship System, career balance changes, and further improvements to performance, stability, and RvR.

The two biggest items being tested right now are the New User Journey and Apprenticeship System. The former introduces new players to the game much more effectively and efficiently, funneling them into the same starting area (Chaos vs. Empire), auto-adding them to a starter guild, and much more. The latter allows highly ranked players to drop their level (stats and abilities capped formulaically) and lowly ranked players to raise their level in order to play together.

As for RvR, fortresses are being removed from the zone capture system, which should result in more frequent city sieges. Whether this is a good or bad thing is yet to be determined because depending on your timing you may not be able to join your friends due to the current instance mechanic. Keep warfare will now benefit from a new difficulty mechanic as well, which grants more rewards when more combatants are present.

Check out the full 1.3.2 patch notes for all the gory details!

The newest Warhammer Online producer's letter starts off by detailing all the major changes coming with patch 1.3.1, including revamped city siege, open RvR enhancements, and social improvements. Basically, it's a lot of stuff we've heard about already. However, things get really interesting when Jeff Skalski starts talking about what is on the horizon for patch 1.3.2. There are some gems.

It sounds like Mythic is planning on uncoupling the fortresses from zone capture. This is a major RvR campaign design shift but the details are pretty vague at this stage. They will also be reworking the earlier tiers of the game in an effort to retain newbies and make alting more pleasurable. This could work quite nicely with the sidekick/buddy system they are working on as well. Finally, they're continuing to tweak crowd control and hint at a potential new Live Event tied to the "Daemon Moon." Maybe it will involve the Khorne Daemon Prince in the image above.