warhammer-online posts

One Shots: Joining the hunt

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 21st 2009 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Warhammer Online, One Shots

Those in the past - or in strange fantasy lands - used this time of year to finish harvesting and laying in stores for the winter to come. For those of us who game in fantasy worlds, it's a great time to look back and reflect on the things that we may have achieved earlier this year instead! One such example is this incredibly picturesque image that comes to us from Yavvy, who captured this during a live event in Warhammer Online earlier this year. (Admittedly, a land more about conquering than harvesting, but still.) Yavvy writes in: Catching a ride with the great eagles in Hunter's Vale, the dungeon for the Wild Hunt live event.

Have you captured a great image from an in-world event? If so, we'd love to see what you've been up to. Just email it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. We'll post it out here and give you the nod.

Gallery: One Shots

Tags: EA, mythic, Mythic-Entertainment, one-shots, screenshot, screenshots, war, warhammer-online, yavvy

The balance of force in Star Wars: the Old Republic

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 15th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Sci-fi, Classes, Game mechanics, New titles, PvP, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic

It might be a slight exaggeration to say that everyone in the world is looking forward to Star Wars: the Old Republic... but only slight. With the latest class reveal, the Imperial Agent is poised to give an excellent sneak-and-snipe playstyle to the Sith side of the game. All well and good... but as Kill Ten Rats notes, how is this game going to get any PvP balance? To the best of everyone's knowledge there's no equivalent ability in the Smuggler's arsenal, the Republic's counterpoint to the Agent, and it's not much of a matchup when one side is invisible and the other side isn't.

Overly Positive recently made a few observations regarding the class balance, noting that BioWare seems to be taking an approach a la Warhammer Online -- each class has a loose equivalent on the other side, but they don't result in being direct copies of one another. However, the downside to this approach is that you can easily wind up with one side's class being overpowered in relation to the other. Direct equivalencies leech some of the flavor, but they ensure that the game remains perfectly balanced for both factions. It's a question worth considering and keeping an eye on as the game moves through development -- after all, if a Jedi and a Sith Warrior can't face off in fair combat, it'll be a sad day for many players.

Tags: balance, bioware, class-balance, classes, game-mechanics, imperial-agent, jedi, kill-ten-rats, ktr, lucasarts, new-titles, opinion, pvp, sith-warrior, star-wars-the-old-republic, swtor, war, warhammer-online

Massively interviews WAR's producer on the future of the game

by Tracey John Nov 11th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, Patches, Warhammer Online

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.

Tags: Electronic-Arts, featured, jeff-skalski, Mythic-Entertainment, war-patch-1.3.2, warhammer-online

Producer letter addresses the future of Warhammer Online

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 11th 2009 at 9:00AM

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, News items, Opinion

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.

Tags: ea, electronic-arts, layoffs, mmo-industry, mythic, mythic-entertainment, news-items, opinion, tabula-rasa, tr, war, war-patch-1.3.2, warhammer-online

The Daily Grind: Is Warhammer Online doomed?

by Shawn Schuster Nov 10th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

With yesterday's news of layoffs at Mythic, the MMO blogosphere is on fire with speculation and opinions. According to many, everything is to blame for these staff cuts, from World of Warcraft to software piracy. In the worst job market in almost 30 years, we can't help but think the recession plays a large part. Despite the reasons for these layoffs and "restructuring" by EA, there's always that underlying fear that Warhammer Online may be the next victim.

But we want to know what you think, faithful readers. Do you think WAR is doomed, or is this "restructuring" (along with the recent news of an unlimited free trial) part of a plan to ultimately save the game?

Tags: layoffs, mythic, opinion, the-daily-grind, war, warhammer-online

Rumor: 80 more layoffs hit Mythic

by Kyle Horner Nov 9th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, News items

Gamasutra is reporting that another 80 layoffs have hit Mythic Entertainment as well as several other Electronic Arts studios, although Mythic was the only MMO group to feel the sting of sudden unemployment. That would equate to 40% of the team, which would make for a brutal staff blow. Our best wishes go out to everyone finding themselves without a job and we sincerely hope they all find steady work as soon as possible.

What does this mean for Warhammer Online, exactly? In light of the new Endless Trial it seems like EA is doing everything it can to squeeze profit from the project, which began with a bang last year, but unfortunately fizzled out soon after Wrath of the Lich King hit. And now with Mythic assisting BioWare on Star Wars: The Old Republic, along with maintaining Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online, you would be forgiven for seeing dark clouds collecting in the skies above.

Nevertheless, there should be people still working on new content for Warhammer Online, at least in theory. So hopefully we'll hear something soon, such as a boxed expansion, which would raise spirits quite significantly at this point.

[Edit: This is no longer a rumor as it has been confirmed]

Tags: bioware, breaking, daoc, dark-age-of-camelot, ea, electronic-arts, gamasutra, mythic, mythic-entertainment, star-wars, star-wars-the-old-republic, swtor, ultima-online, war, warhammer-online

Warhammer Online developer diary on combat with hackers

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 7th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Bugs, Exploits, Warhammer Online

Hackers, as everyone knows, were scheduled to be the mirror class to Choppas... wait, no, that's not right. We're not talking about one of the classes of Warhammer Online, we're talking about that scourge of the paying and fair-playing populace of every MMO. The most recent developer diary on the game's official site is with John Cox, development manager, discussing some of the ways and means that allows Mythic to fight against the scourge of hacking and try and keep the game on the level.

Cox discusses a number of techniques, starting with the most obvious: that several people working on fighting the hacks are part of hacking communities, observing silently and sometimes even testing them internally to develop a response. He also discusses why some of the progress on fighting illegal behavior is a bit slower than the community would like, and why it's not always as possible to shut things down straightaway on the server end. With a discussion of some of the holes in detection, which includes an explanation of why the game briefly had Vista users almost universally flagged as hackers, it's an interesting look behind the scenes at Warhammer Online's efforts to fight the good fight. (That is, the one not involving Order versus Destruction.)

Tags: bugs, developer-diary, ea, electronic-arts, exploits, hackers, john-cox, mythic, mythic-entertainment, war, warhammer-online

Warhammer Online's endless trial now available

by Kyle Horner Nov 6th 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, News items

The endless trial has arrived in the land of Warhammer Online, and it's quite the offer. Of course, we've reported on the actual trial before but as of today (post-maintenance) it's officially enacted within the game. So if you've been waiting to go back and check things out but didn't feel like re-subbing or somehow missed out on all the excitement of the game's launch last year, then now is the perfect time to get in and take a look. If you're not sure what the heck this whole "endless trial" thing is all about, here's a handy official FAQ to peruse.

We think it's a good if not bold concept, especially considering players only have to download 1gig of data before the game will dynamically stream the rest as they play. Hopefully it works out for Mythic, who've been putting much blood, sweat and tears in trying to improve perception since its heady launch days.

Tags: bioware, ea, electronic-arts, endless-trial, mythic, mythic-entertainment, trial, war, warhammer, warhammer-online

Warhammer Online interim city siege fixes

by Brooke Pilley Nov 5th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, News items

Mythic has been pulling out all stops lately in an effort to improve Warhammer Online. One of their latest changes was to remove fortresses from the RvR campaign equation because many players found them to be a laggy and boring hurdle to be overcome. Doing so, however, had a predictable result: Cities were sieged much more often. While Mythic was acutely aware this would happen, they didn't have measures in place to handle an "all city siege all the time" situation. Today, Andy Belford announced a suite of interim city fixes.

Check out the official forums for the complete run-down. A few notables include: The durations of stage 1 and 2 city siege have been cut in half, many parts of the city are no longer tied to city rank, city rank recovers much more quickly, and the Reikland Factory and Twisting Tower scenarios are making a comeback to provide those not engaged in city siege with something to do.

Many players and bloggers have pointed out that these fixes only address the symptoms and not the core issues related to WAR's RvR campaign. Andy was quick to mention that these are only initial changes and more will be coming (e.g., the Underdog system). Testing of these changes should begin next week so keep your eyes on the Herald.

Tags: andy-belford, city-siege, mythic-entertainment, reikland-factory, rvr, rvr-campaign, scenarios, twisting-tower, war, warhammer-online

One Shots: Wary in the woods

by Krystalle Voecks Nov 4th 2009 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Screenshots, Warhammer Online, One Shots

When traveling alone in the woods, it's generally a good idea to remain on your guard. This is especially true in Warhammer Online, where the forces of Order and Destruction are locked in a never-ending battle for supremacy. Thankfully, this cautious lady happens to have an enormous feline companion at her side, just ready to chow down on anyone or anything interested in attacking her. Today's great Warhammer Online One Shots was sent in to us by Yavvy, who didn't explain what she seems to be defending against, only noting that this is a: Rank 8 White Lion, having just entered Hunter's Vale.

Do you have screenshots of your favorite game that you haven't sent in to us yet? If so, why are you holding back? You should gather those up and send them to us here at oneshots AT massively.com. We can always use more screenshots to show off.

Gallery: One Shots

Tags: ea, mythic, mythic-entertainment, one-shots, screenshot, screenshots, war, warhammer-online, yavvy

Warhammer Online and the perception turnaround

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 4th 2009 at 12:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Patches, Warhammer Online, Opinion

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.

Tags: bio-break, ea, electronic-arts, free-trial, mmo-industry, mythic, mythic-entertainment, opinion, patches, war, war-patch-1.3.2, warhammer-online

GameX 2009: The expo in photos

by Seraphina Brennan Nov 3rd 2009 at 7:00PM

Filed under: Galleries, Massively meta, Massively Event Coverage

Did we have a good time at this year's GameX in Philadelphia? Well, if you can't tell by all of our coverage, we certainly did. But there was certainly more to the expo than just interviewing people and checking out Warhammer Online and Global Agenda running on the show floor! There were, gasp, other games there!

We got many neat photos of the various things on the show floor, from robots to steampunk to Egyptian statues, and we collected them all in one gallery for you guys to ogle. If you were interested in Bayonetta or Dante's Inferno, then also look no further, as we got some pictures of those booths in action as well.

So enjoy the photos as tomorrow we wrap up our coverage of GameX 2009. Hope you enjoyed reading/watching it as much as we enjoyed writing/recording it!

Gallery: GameX 2009: Photos from on the floor

Tags: bayonetta, dantes-inferno, expo, gamex-2009, global-agenda, images, photos, warhammer-online

The Daily Grind: What kills your confidence in a game before you play it?

by Eliot Lefebvre Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Bugs, Business models, Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

There are elements of games that are turn-offs for all of us. Some of us love PvP, for example, and a world with virtually none of it isn't very appealing. But sometimes we don't event start playing the game before our feelings about it go straight into the dumpster. It's hard to argue that Tabula Rasa's frequent shifts during development inspired players to expect any longevity out of it, and whether or not it's the case Warhammer Online's frequent server merges and population shuffling have given the impression of a game that's struggling a bit.

Sometimes you hear of a developer or project head assigned that makes you cringe, sometimes it's a choice of IP or business models, or sometimes it's just the number of issues you have patching the game to try out the free client. We ask you, readers, what makes you start losing faith before you've even loaded up a game for the first time? It might not be a dealbreaker, and you might even look back at it and laugh, but there are certain things that make you more nervous about committing to a game. What does it for you?

Tags: bugs, business-models, flagshipped, opinion, patches, pvp, tabula-rasa, tdg, the-daily-grind, tr, war, warhammer-online

GameX 2009: 1.3.2 decision making, streaming client, and unlimited trials for Warhammer Online

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 30th 2009 at 5:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Business models, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Warhammer Online, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

We saw the Warhammer Online booth at GameX, and we wagggggghed ourselves right into a video interview with James Casey and Matt Shaw from Mythic Entertainment that pulled no punches. We wanted to know what was going on behind the scenes with their decision making in patch 1.3.2, shooting James and Matt the hard questions.

Why were fortresses pulled from the endgame? Why choose 1.3.2 for performance fixes and not fix these things earlier? While we interrogated, Matt and James were also happy to tell us about the new stuff for WAR, including the new-user experience added in 1.3.2, the awesome unlimited trial that starts today, and the new streaming client option that trial users will receive.

So for the answers to some burning WAR questions, jump with us after the break and check out our video interview!

Tags: 1.3.2, ea-mythic, fortresses, gamex, gamex-2009, james-casey, matt-shaw, mythic, mythic-entertainment, performance-fixes, streaming-client, unlimited-trial, war, warhammer, warhammer-online

Mythic removes time limit on WAR free trial

by Brooke Pilley Oct 30th 2009 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Warhammer Online, News items

Warhammer Online's October newsletter just arrived in our mailboxes and its full of frothy WAAAGH!. Predominantly featured are the 1.3.2 updates, which most of us already know about including the removal of fortresses, a new keep difficulty system, client performance improvements, and of course, the New User Journey. Check out the video podcast with producers Jeff Skalski and Josh Drescher for a full run down.

A couple interesting bits stuck out for us. First, as Werit points out, Mythic has removed the 10-day time limitation on their free trial. Players can now experience all of what tier one has to offer without worrying about a looming deadline. This should work out quite nicely with the New User Journey. We also noticed the release of a new Warhammer-themed living card game by Fantasy Flight Games called Warhammer Invasion. This should be of interest to those who just can't get enough order or destruction in their day.

Finally, you should come back in one hour for our exclusive GameX interview with Matt Shaw and James Casey as they discuss the free trial and explain their decisions behind the 1.3.2 changes.

Tags: jeff-skalski, josh-drescher, lcg, living-card-game, mythic-entertainment, new-user-journey, newsletter, war, war-newsletter, warhammer-invasion, warhammer-online, werit