Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

by Garrett Fuller, Industry Relations Specialist

In general, since their massive unveiling at the Leipzig Games Convention last summer, EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online team has kept a fairly low profile. Relatively few interviews have been fielded and the developers have generally been in a “black out” mode. The monthly newsletter still hits inboxes regularly, but little additional info has hit the 'Net. Thankfully, the Ten Ton Hammer team recently had the opportunity to catch up with the Warhammer: Age of Reckoning crew at a EA Mythic event held in the great city of New York. WAR team members Josh Drescher (associate producer) and Lance Robertson (producer) answered the bulk of questions regarding WAR’s beta success, newly implemented open world RvR system, and some great information about loot. Both Drescher and Robertson left nothing out and talked straight about the ideas and concepts that are fueling the mechanics of the game.

Rather than stay with only instanced PvP scenarios, EA Mythic also integrated open RvR into the game as well.

The fist question proposed to the two men was the reasoning behind bringing back the keep sieges and open world zones that initially became popular in EA Mythic’s Dark Age of Camelot. Josh was quick to say that initially the WAR team thought the MMOG market demanded instanced scenarios for PvP encounters. After the fan reaction to RvR in the Beta they realized that players were hoping to get back to that open world experience.

With EA’s blessing, WAR was able to make the changes based on overwhelming player feedback. In a matter of weeks the team has been able to set up keeps and siege encounters for players to fight over. Some may view this as a throw back to the gameplay found in Dark Age of Camelot, but let’s face it, if you played DAoC; you know that the RvR system in the game worked very well. Players could go out alone, in a group, or in a huge raid and still have a fun experience. Instances will still be a part of WAR, but the team is working hard on making the open zone RvR areas great places to duke it out with your enemies.

Along that line of questioning, Drescher was able to tell us about the way the siege weapons will work. According to Drescher, they must be player run and will have some targeting options. When taking over a canon or bolt thrower you will have the screen change to a first person viewpoint and players will be able to target the keep itself or players on the wall. The look of the keeps will change depending on who controls them.

For example, we got to see some great renderings of a Chaos keep that was taken over by the Empire. Tzeentch would have been pleased to see the bodies hanging from the stakes in front of the door. When asked about why the change was made to go back to the keep and open world system Josh explained that it simply worked very well. Josh said that players enjoyed it, and so EA said, put round wheels back on the cart, take the square ones off, and get the cart rolling again.

One of the great stories that Josh and Lance shared was about how certain classes in WAR came to exist. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the Games Workshop figures, there are no Zealots or Disciples of Khaine on the battlefields in the table top game. However, in working closely with Games Workshop the team was able to create these classes and allow them to work well within the MMO game space. It was reassuring to hear that a meeting was held a while back with Alan Merrett (GW’s Intellectual Property Manager), and the two teams talked about how to make these classes work within the lore of the game. Fans of Warhammer should know that these classes were not just made up on the fly; real thought went into their creation from both EA Mythic and Games Workshop.

EA Mythic has strived to stay as close to the lore of Warhammer as possible..

Next we got a chance to see some of the capital cities for both the Empire and Chaos. The Empire has Altdorf, the classic medieval setting with towers and thin streets filled with armed guards. On the Chaos side of the coin, they have the Inevitable City, which offers a glimpse into the madness of Chaos. Seeing the Tzeentch demons, both Horrors and Flamers, running around the city was a thrill as well as the all-seeing Eyes of Tzeentch looking around from atop every tower. The artwork and graphics really are being taken to the next level with Warhammer Online, and fans will not be disappointed with the hard work the artists are putting in.

In Altdorf we were lucky enough to meet the famous fearless duo, Gotrek and Felix. The characters had arrived in the game, and if anyone was wondering if players would get the chance to do battle with them, try to capture the city and find out.

During our conversation, we did talk a bit about city sieges as the ultimate end game battle between factions. Josh described the experience as teams playing through a whole season hoping to get to the glory of the Super Bowl. When asked about the loot you may get from a city siege, Josh explained that it is not just about the Lombardi Trophy, it is about the end game itself. He did explain though that some of the best loot in the game will come from city sieges.

Don’t worry though, both Josh and Lance explained that while loot is an important factor in the game, the real focus is the experience. This was the first we had heard though that players who can take down a capital city’s king will be eligible for some serious hardware for their characters. I can almost see the guilds charging the waiting kings now.  

Continuing with city sieges, the team explained that the experience will offer a mix of open RvR, PvE and other elements of MMO game play. According to the pair, there is a lot that goes into the capture of a city. The more you hold onto and are able to protect your city, the more things will happen. You might see a parade in the streets, or meet some of your favorite Warhammer characters while walking around. However, when the attack comes, players on both sides of the battle will have their work cut out for them. It is great to see a company really thinking about their end game experience long before the game is ready to launch. Warhammer is making a point to keep the end game as important as the journey to get there.

Classes in WAR may be dropped if it doesn't fit or work in the overall scheme of the game..

Finally, Josh and Lance were both happy to discuss some of the comments made by Mark Jacobs about the game shipping without certain classes included. Both EA and Mythic agreed that a working game is the most important thing for fans. If something does not fit it would have to be taken out to make the game as smooth as possible for players. This philosophy also includes classes. EA does not want to ship titles that are unfinished, and WAR will be no exception. Honestly, as a player, as much as I am looking forward to Warhammer coming out, I certainly do not want to play a game that is broken or unfinished. As MMOG players, we have all seen too many games launched that were not ready. It is great to see EA stick to their guns in making a strong game rather than a quick launch.

Thanks again to EA and the WAR team for answering some tough questions and giving a great demonstration. Watching players engage in combat on the battlegrounds in beta while doing the interview was a great preview of what is to come with Warhammer Online. With open world RvR, public quests, the Tome of Knowledge, and a fantastic storyline to back it up WAR continues to be a game that has the potential to offer players a solid experience come launch day.  

---