TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

by Garrett Fuller

With the announcement that EA Mythic will be delaying the launch of Warhammer Online until the second quarter of 2008, we are all left with a lot of questions. Fortunately, the man himself - Mark Jacobs - has all the answers. We were able to get a brief interview with Mark Thursday evening on the state of Warhammer Online and why the game was delayed.

Mark was quick to start out by saying that W.A.R. had gone through beta and received a ton of feedback from testers. In regards to feedback, he had this to say:

Jacobs said the feedback they got from beta was generally solid.

 “Most of it was quite good. Some of it was, you know, not good. Still, the team had delivered the content it needed too. Unfortunately they had delivered it in the time line we had allocated for polish. We looked at everything else we needed to do before February, and we felt, okay there are two paths here. Path number one, we cut out some features, we cut out some content, and we deliver. Or we go to EA and say we need more time. EA said here is your extra time, go and make a great game.”

So the game was pushed back to the second quarter of 2008. The time difference is not really that much and the reasoning makes perfect sense. No one can argue with adding more time for quality and polish to a game.

Mark went on to talk about the beta testing that is expected to re-open in December.
He did say that the “launch delay has zero effect” on the beta. EA Mythic plans to go through the normal steps of beta testing where they will continue to open and close beta as needed to get the best feedback possible for the game. Mark is hoping that testers will go in and really “beat on the new stuff.”

During beta, WAR testers should really focus on giving feedback.

With this open and closing process of beta, Mark stressed feedback as the most important thing. Once they get the feedback on key areas, they will open guild beta.

“When we re-open for guild beta, we really have done our job and plan to give the players a great experience,” Mark said.

We asked Mark a quick question about the upcoming Elf classes for Warhammer Online and he mentioned that this month’s newsletter highlights the Shadow Warrior for the High Elves and goes much more in depth about the Sword Master. Mark said, “I have been playing the elves and they are…pretty cool.”

When talking about the game, Mark did emphasize that WAR is near content completion, which means that all major quests and monsters are in the game. However he pointed out that “it does not mean it’s finished.” There is a first cut and second cut just like re-editing a movie. Once you have the game where you want it you go into the polishing phases.

EA and Mythic have a commitment to quality.

So those are the comments regarding beta and launch for Warhammer Online from Mark Jacobs. The one thing that he stressed more than anything else in the interview was the commitment to quality that EA and Mythic have for their games. We all know Warhammer is a very strong IP and has a large following. They do not want to let the players down by delivering a sub standard product.

While we had Mark on the phone we had to ask the question about EA acquiring Bioware and Pandemic Studios. We were curious if EA Mythic would be working along side Bioware Austin on their upcoming mystery MMO (*rumor*…KOTOR…*rumor*). Mark did say that they were very pleased to see Bioware join the EA family and he has been friends with them for a long time. Mark had this to say in regards to working with Bioware:  

“They wanted to continue control of the MMO, it is their game. EA Mythic has no say. Our friendships go back a long way and if they want to talk about ideas…definitely!”

There you have it folks, Mark Jacobs certainly has stepped up to the plate to answer the difficult questions that go along with developing an MMOG. While many fans may be sad that Warhammer will be delayed another few months, they should certainly take comfort that someone like Mark Jacobs is behind the scenes. It was 8 pm by the time we finished our call with Mark. You have to appreciate that he is up working late to lay down the facts about Warhammer Online and build a quality MMOG we can all enjoy.
See you all online in 2Q 2008! Thanks again, Mark!

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