by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

Games Day 2008 started with quite a bit of excitement in Baltimore last weekend as the EA Mythic team showed up to display it's forthcoming game Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. For those of us hanging on every bit of news hitting the Internet, you've likely watched the videos and read the impressions trickling in. While there were dozens of revelations from the event, these are what we believe to be the ten most important.

The 40 level cap is not the end game: Clearing up some confusion regarding a meager 40 levels of content, the team stated there are a number of renown ranks, Tome of Knowledge quests, and armor sets. This is fairly important because in modern MMO games leveling is quick especially in the early stages. 40 levels is about about half of what you would see in Age of Conan, World of Warcraft, and EverQuest 2 so will what they have in place be enough to satisfy the appetites of the masses?

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Servers will have 10 character slots from a single faction: In an interesting attempt to keep people honest on their server, if we understand this right, you will only be able to choose one faction. Having a number of slots available allows people the opportunity to try out different classes without losing their progress. It's been stated that "crafting mules" won't be necessary so this should likely satisfy most people. Not being able to try both factions on the same server does seem a little odd. However, if there is no trade or communication between factions, it seems reasonable you'd have no reason to begin there versus anywhere else.

Transportation is still being discussed: A good fast-transport system seems to be key in any modern MMO game. When you consider the fast paced action of normal PvP (in this case RvR) you want to get people into the fray as efficiently as possible. That isn't to say people won't need to earn that first trip such as finding the locations, but once there travel should be quick. Whether it's a portal or horses, EA Mythic has been tight lipped about what they plan to implement which means there are still a few details to iron out.

A single subscription option for all EA MMO games: While this was discussed by a number of blogs last week, it raises an interesting situation for EA. No other company other than SOE actually has enough products to support a game buffet allowing players to experience whichever game they want to play. While admittedly both Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot are moving towards their end cycle, it still might keep a few customers attached. The fact they are still considering shows it isn't something that can easily be dismissed.

No Guild Housing: This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to anyone looking at other MMO games across the spectrum. Most if not all decent titles released within 4 years or so has lacked this mechanic, even though EverQuest 2 claims to have it in progress. Now for a game whose life and blood will likely be guilds, it seems strange not to provide them this fluff but it's important to note there will be taverns and the top guilds will have recognition in their home city. Now of course they stated "it's always possible" but we all know that is as likely as Diablo 3 being released.

Aggro will determine loot reward in combat: This is quite a break away from what we normally see in games where loot is rolled on. In a discussion of their mechanics with Public Quests it's very obvious EA Mythic would like to go in a different direction. If we understand this right, loot is granted to whoever generates the most aggro through damage or healing. Now the only concern with this is how to balance all this for every class. Is it possible for healer A to generate as much hate as DPS B? Done correctly this could likely be a great motivator to learn your class, but without proper tweaking this has the potential for many complaints. This is definitely one to watch for the future.

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There will be population caps: Each server will have a population cap to keep Order and Destruction evenly matched. Now on one hand, this will keep the fights fair and provide challenge to both sides while allowing the developers to make changes as necessary. On the other, we all remember the backlash World of Warcraft received when it started locking down servers a few years back. You do not want to keep new players from creating characters no matter how full your servers are. Balance must be established by all means, but not at the expense of the customer.

Guild and Faction Dungeons: This potentially groundbreaking mechanic is currently being discussed by the development team and offers unusual gameplay. What if that dungeon we went to for experience and loot could change hands and become potentially more dangerous? The inherent problem with this is the avoidance of contested dungeon content to begin with, it's just not done much these days. The other issue is somehow meshing the proper balance of PvE and PvP into something a majority of the players can get into. It sounds like a huge challenge but you have to admire them trying to tackle the idea.

No Skaven PC's: This isn't so much of a revelation as it is an example of what not to ask at a Q&A session. The classes are done folks, there are no more additions. We are all very aware of how massive the Warhammer universe is, but there is just only so much they can fit in, and Skaven isn't part of it. You'll still see them regularly as NPC's but that's the extent of it right now.

Lighting isn't done: Frequently provided as the reason a few of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning's screenshots aren't quite as stellar as people expect, the lighting is still in development. This isn't worth panicking about yet, but if this is still a major problem in 3 or 4 months, there might need to be a few optimizations. For now we have hope they are still making adjustments and will soon provide us the system requirements which are unannounced as of this article.

So there you have it, what we believe the ten most important things gleaned from Games Day 2008. If you have questions, comments, or corrections please feel free to stop by our forums and let us know what you think.