Tagged News: warhammer online

Warhammer Online has been delayed from Q2 of this year until the fall. We had a chance to interview EA Mythic General Manager Mark Jacobs about the delay, the reasons for it and what that means for the future of WAR.

"If we had tried to force the game out in the 2nd Quarter, as we had originally planned to release it," said Jacobs. "We could have but it would have meant pretty much no time for polishing the game. The decision was to continue to iterate and reserve polish time."

The main area that requires further attention, according to Jacobs, is class balance. He explained how the classes of Warhammer Online do not necessarily fall into specific boxes as they do in many MMOs. Most classes are multi-faceted hybrids of several traditional RPG classes and this means they need to rethink some of the conventions of MMO balance. "If you don't release it right from the beginning with classes at least pretty much balanced, where they're all fun, you're not going to be in good shape in an [Realm vs. Realm] game."

Read more after the jump.

JR Sutich offers us his impressions of keep and city siege in EA Mythic's Warhammer Online, which were demonstrated for him during a recent trip to their Fairfax, VA offices.

Today we will also have his preview of high level RvR, two exclusive screenshots (and a pile more) and an interview with Mark Jacobs on the company's decision to delay Warhammer Online until fall. Stay tuned!

In our demo, a ballista was built and when the character took control of the weapon the view changed into a first-person mode with large arrows representing a targeting reticule bordering the edges of the screen. Once a target was selected, the arrows began to slowly move towards the center with the intent that the closer the arrows got to each other, the more accurate the shot would be. Individuals can be targeted by a ballista but whenever you move your aim, the arrows reset to the outer edge and you will have a hard time hitting your target. Still, for the NPC that stood still long enough the ballista did a great deal of damage.

Read more after the leap.

In addition to the 11 new screenshots, preview of siege and keep combat, our interview with Mark Jacobs on the delay, and a look at high-end RvR, we also have two exclusive screenshots to squeeze in. So here they are!

With the release of the March newsletter, EA Mythic has given us a new video to drool over. In this video,we get to see in game footage of landscape, monsters, and fighting throughout the different lands.

Click "Read More" to see the video.

During a trip up to DC, JR Sutich got hands on with the Warhammer Online Collector's Edition. As our resident and offers his impressions of what is in the box, in what is always an important announcement for the hardcore.

The Collector's Edition contents were decided upon by asking the question, "What are the quintessential elements of Warhammer?" One of the answers is of course, miniatures. But there are also great stories and great art.

Using White Box Technology™, EA Mythic showed that the box itself will be about 13"x10"x3" and will tip the scales at around 7 lbs. Much like everything about Warhammer, it could be used to crush a skull. The box art itself looked amazing and even if the box wasn't gigantic will be sure to make the CE stand out on store shelves.

For JR's preview, images of the CE and a fact sheet, click on.

Eurgamer editors attended a press conference in which EA's Mark Jacobs announced a delay in the release of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Already delayed from Q1 to Q2 2008, the ambiguous date is now sometime in the "fall". Jacobs indicated that the delay would allow developers to "invest additional time and effort in implementation and polish to make WAR great".

Mark Jacobs has snuffed one rumor about the reason behind the countdown clock that appeared this past weekend. The 'event' coming at the end of the countdown will not be an open beta:

Folks,

I've pretty much said what will be happening on the 26th and it won't be open beta. I can't imagine why anyone would think that quite frankly. Some real simple clues guys:

1) The countdown clock is on GOA's site only

2) There was a leak/multiple threads about possible contents of our CE from a European site

3) In one of the other threads, multiple posters (including a board mod) talked about the contents of the CE being revealed next week in Paris.

So, anyone really want a shot at the title and guess what they are going to be talking about?

I really wish I could say that the date of open beta was going to be talked about but that isn't the case. There will a bunch of things at the GOA event but the date of open beta will not be one of those things. And I can't tell you exactly what we are going to talk about there either for obvious reasons.

Also, as I've said before, don't preorder the CE until you are exactly sure what's the complete story on it unless you were going to order it no matter what. It's only a few more days and everything will be revealed.

Mark

So...next theory?

The official Warhammer Online European site is featuring a countdown timer that, at this writing is marking the two plus days until....

Until what remains a mystery. Any speculation? Post it on our forums and let us know what you think we're in store for in on Wednesday.

Lead Writer Matt Daniels has penned a developer diary about the story behind Warhammer. The backstory is an important and integral part of the success of any game and Warhammer is no exception.

Here in the halls of EA Mythic, that phrase has become something of a motto. It's also a kind of goal, too; by the time we launch this game and you, the players, get to step into the world we've created, we hope you'll agree that war really is everywhere.

For the Writing Team, that phrase isn't just a destination, but also a point of departure that leads us to many questions. Why is war everywhere? How did it get there? What objectives are the armies of Order and Destruction fighting over? What effect will those battles have on the larger war? Providing the answers is the job of WAR's writers and Content Designers, and the first place we go to get them is the game's backstory.

As you probably already know, a game's backstory helps to establish its setting and give it a sense of history and scope. In most single-player role-playing games, the backstory tells you everything that's happened right up to the point where you start to play the game. Then, you step in and continue that story, taking it in whatever direction you wish. More often than not, you're fighting to resolve a crisis or defeat a villain. By the time you reach the end of the game, you've saved the day.

In a massively multiplayer game like WAR, there isn't going to be just one player, and there isn't really going to be an end, either. The backstory in WAR, then, has a few additional purposes to serve.

Click below for the rest of the diary.

Over at the Warhammer Herald, Missy from EA Mythic has posted some new information about the beta of Empire vs Chaos. We get to know what classes were available, and how they played out.

Bright Wizard Masteries
Path of Incineration
The Path of Incineration primarily focuses on destructive single target spells. About half of these spells have high values of Combustion allowing those who Master the Path of Incineration to focus on weaving high risk spells in with more reliable destructive magics for optimal single target Damage.

Path of Immolation
The Path of Immolation focuses on damage over time and debilitating lingering debuffs. A Master of Immolation is more patient, relying less on high-Combustion spells with explosive effect, and more on slow burns that build up into an unstoppable inferno.

Path of Conflagration
The Path of Conflagration is the most destructive of the Bright Wizard masteries with area effect spells capable of burning entire swaths of land to a crisp. However, Masters of Conflagration must exert the most self control; most of their spells build up high levels of combustion so using them recklessly will mean the Wizard's doom as well.

Click "Read More" to see the rest of the article.