Tesla Monkor
Fledgling Freddie
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- Jan 1, 2004
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EA Mythic Media Event Report
January 30, 2007 - Based on Games Workshop's popular and influential property Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is a persistent state world we've been tracking closely and with growing interest since it was announced in May of 2005. Among the initial facts revealed at that time was the roster of playable armies, a total of six divided evenly into two groups representing Order and Chaos. The former encompasses the sturdy Dwarves, the aristocratic Elves and the human Empire. Each of these is paired against an ancient enemy, the barbaric Greenskins, the menacing Dark Elves and the mutants of Chaos respectively. The team has rolled out more information about some of these than others, so when a message arrived containing an invitation to attend an EA Mythic media event where the game would be shown, our first thought was that new facts might be forthcoming.
We weren't disappointed. First on the schedule, however, was an introduction to Kingdom Reborn, a free graphical upgrade for the venerable Ultima Online, which will celebrate 10 years of live service later this year. Slated to arrive on users' hard drives sometime this spring, it addresses what may be their most frequent request by implementing a new engine that updates but doesn't break away from the game's basic look and feel. The improved visuals won't be mistaken for next-generation, but when considered in the context of what the players see on their screens now, they may take on a rather different and more favorable light.
According to Producer Aaron Cohen and Lead Designer Nick Corea, the magnitude of this undertaking is very substantial. It seems that every single art asset in the game is being replaced. Taking into account the seven expansions that have been released, the five continents in the world et al, this represents a huge number of items. A couple of other noteworthy changes were mentioned. One is an improved interface designed to be more user friendly with, for example, more convenient hotbars and less need for clicking. The other, referred to as "bright paths", is intended to help make the skill system less daunting by offering guidance.
largest dungeon, and they will also be able to experience new monsters, skills, magic, pets, housing items, quests, pets, etc. Further information will undoubtedly become available over the moths to come.
Next up was a presentation on Dark Age of Camelot. It began with a look at the state of the game, with the main focus being the latest expansion, Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Featuring the addition of the titular creatures as a playable race in all three realms, the product launched in North America and will go live in Europe in February. Also highlighted were a few other things players can look forward to in 2007. Among them were the content in the Catacombs add-on being opened up without charge, a greater focus on optimizing player performance and reducing annoyances within the Realm vs. Realm end game, an overhaul of crafting, and improvements to the user interface. Another area receiving increased attention will be for-pay account services. Some specifics noted were splitting accounts, which is already available, changing the gender of high-level characters, transfers across servers, and additional bank and vault slots.
Concept Art:
http://vaultmedia.ign.com/rpgvault/image/daoc-dr0701-01_1170131700.jpg
http://vaultmedia.ign.com/rpgvault/image/daoc-dr0701-02_1170131706.jpg
http://vaultmedia.ign.com/rpgvault/image/daoc-dr0701-03_1170131704.jpg
Perhaps most interesting was a new feature called Camelot Campaigns. These are described as in-game story arcs that will last six months, with new content being added every two weeks. The first one is titled A Dragon's Revenge. Further details were somewhat sketchy, but it looks like each of the three realms will have a different dragon. A couple were shown in a live demo; both Hibernia's Wolf Dragon and Albion's Stone Dragon were appropriately large and formidable.
Aside from that, we were told the story arcs will remain available after the six months. Most of the content will be geared to groups with certain parts, such as those involving bosses, being set up as raids. In a nod to the time delay between implementation on the North American and European servers, players on the latter can expect to see some differences in the story, albeit not radical ones. A related question came to mind that I didn't have the opportunity to ask. It concerns EA Mythic's intentions with respect to further expansion packs. It would be easy and quite possibly correct to assume the next one is in the pipeline to launch in the last quarter of this year. However, that would be unsupported conjecture.
Warhammer Online is, of course, the studio's primary focus at this time. It's in full production mode, with a team of approximately 150 people working on it. The Greenskin and Dwarf areas were first to be deployed, so they are the farthest along, with systems work and internal testing in process. The Empire and Chaos regions are the ones currently undergoing heavy construction, and they have progressed to the point where the guests attending the event were afforded the opportunity to play them for the first time.
Before that, the presenters - Senior Producer Jeff Hickman and Creative Director Paul Barnett with the aid of Producer Lance Robertson and Content Director Destin Bales - briefly introduced the Empire and Chaos races as they are being implemented in the game. The former is human, and has four classes, referred to as careers. Three of these are melee-oriented. The Knight of the Blazing Sun is a tank and the Witch Hunter a high damage dealer, while the Warrior Priest mixes in some healing abilities. The Bright Wizard is a caster specializing in Fire magic and able to deliver substantial amounts of injury very quickly.
Chaos are corrupted mutants filled with dark energy. This army offers an equal number of careers, although only three were revealed by name. One of the melee classes is the Chosen, who are tankers. There will also be a damage per second option, which wasn't named. Players who lean toward magic will be able to choose between the nuker-type Magus and the Zealot, which can do some healing.
Although it will be possible to play Age of Reckoning as a player vs. environment game, EA Mythic's historic strength in realm-based PvP will be reflected in the presence of four sub-types. Skirmish is simply incidental combat that occurs in the gameworld. Battlefields are objective-based encounters. Scenarios are goal-based too, but are also instanced, with NPC Dogs of War available to balance the two sides if necessary. There will be 40 or more at launch, for varying numbers of participants, from six to 36 per side. The winners receive points that count toward control of game zones. The fourth level of PvP, Campaign, occurs when one side advances far enough to attack its enemy's capital city.
During another hands-on portion of the event, we had the chance to participate in four scenario battles, twice each in one called Marsh Temple and another entitled Gates of Ekrund, both pitting Dwarves against Greenskins. Everyone seemed to agree that they were exceptionally fun, perhaps most of all for my team, which managed to go undefeated. While it's purely a matter of personal preference, I've always favored smaller, balanced PvP sessions to large-scale ones, so the designers' decision to make this type of battle an important part of the game seems likely to fit the potential audience that is of a like mind.
In the increasingly competitive massively multiplayer sector, titles will have to establish significant points of distinction if they are to succeed. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has a strong foundation, being built on a property that originated some 25 years ago. Even more important, it looks likely to enhance EA Mythic's reputation for excellence in the Realm vs. Realm arena by offering a selection of sub-types. When we add in other noteworthy features and elements like public quests, plus some eye-catching art direction that feels completely true to the franchise, it's clear that this endeavor has the potential to emerge as a winner, possibly a big one. And having been brought up to date on both Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot, I'm certainly going to keep an eye on them as well.
Source: http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/759/759546p1.html
January 30, 2007 - Based on Games Workshop's popular and influential property Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is a persistent state world we've been tracking closely and with growing interest since it was announced in May of 2005. Among the initial facts revealed at that time was the roster of playable armies, a total of six divided evenly into two groups representing Order and Chaos. The former encompasses the sturdy Dwarves, the aristocratic Elves and the human Empire. Each of these is paired against an ancient enemy, the barbaric Greenskins, the menacing Dark Elves and the mutants of Chaos respectively. The team has rolled out more information about some of these than others, so when a message arrived containing an invitation to attend an EA Mythic media event where the game would be shown, our first thought was that new facts might be forthcoming.
We weren't disappointed. First on the schedule, however, was an introduction to Kingdom Reborn, a free graphical upgrade for the venerable Ultima Online, which will celebrate 10 years of live service later this year. Slated to arrive on users' hard drives sometime this spring, it addresses what may be their most frequent request by implementing a new engine that updates but doesn't break away from the game's basic look and feel. The improved visuals won't be mistaken for next-generation, but when considered in the context of what the players see on their screens now, they may take on a rather different and more favorable light.
According to Producer Aaron Cohen and Lead Designer Nick Corea, the magnitude of this undertaking is very substantial. It seems that every single art asset in the game is being replaced. Taking into account the seven expansions that have been released, the five continents in the world et al, this represents a huge number of items. A couple of other noteworthy changes were mentioned. One is an improved interface designed to be more user friendly with, for example, more convenient hotbars and less need for clicking. The other, referred to as "bright paths", is intended to help make the skill system less daunting by offering guidance.
largest dungeon, and they will also be able to experience new monsters, skills, magic, pets, housing items, quests, pets, etc. Further information will undoubtedly become available over the moths to come.
Next up was a presentation on Dark Age of Camelot. It began with a look at the state of the game, with the main focus being the latest expansion, Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Featuring the addition of the titular creatures as a playable race in all three realms, the product launched in North America and will go live in Europe in February. Also highlighted were a few other things players can look forward to in 2007. Among them were the content in the Catacombs add-on being opened up without charge, a greater focus on optimizing player performance and reducing annoyances within the Realm vs. Realm end game, an overhaul of crafting, and improvements to the user interface. Another area receiving increased attention will be for-pay account services. Some specifics noted were splitting accounts, which is already available, changing the gender of high-level characters, transfers across servers, and additional bank and vault slots.
Concept Art:
http://vaultmedia.ign.com/rpgvault/image/daoc-dr0701-01_1170131700.jpg
http://vaultmedia.ign.com/rpgvault/image/daoc-dr0701-02_1170131706.jpg
http://vaultmedia.ign.com/rpgvault/image/daoc-dr0701-03_1170131704.jpg
Perhaps most interesting was a new feature called Camelot Campaigns. These are described as in-game story arcs that will last six months, with new content being added every two weeks. The first one is titled A Dragon's Revenge. Further details were somewhat sketchy, but it looks like each of the three realms will have a different dragon. A couple were shown in a live demo; both Hibernia's Wolf Dragon and Albion's Stone Dragon were appropriately large and formidable.
Aside from that, we were told the story arcs will remain available after the six months. Most of the content will be geared to groups with certain parts, such as those involving bosses, being set up as raids. In a nod to the time delay between implementation on the North American and European servers, players on the latter can expect to see some differences in the story, albeit not radical ones. A related question came to mind that I didn't have the opportunity to ask. It concerns EA Mythic's intentions with respect to further expansion packs. It would be easy and quite possibly correct to assume the next one is in the pipeline to launch in the last quarter of this year. However, that would be unsupported conjecture.
Warhammer Online is, of course, the studio's primary focus at this time. It's in full production mode, with a team of approximately 150 people working on it. The Greenskin and Dwarf areas were first to be deployed, so they are the farthest along, with systems work and internal testing in process. The Empire and Chaos regions are the ones currently undergoing heavy construction, and they have progressed to the point where the guests attending the event were afforded the opportunity to play them for the first time.
Before that, the presenters - Senior Producer Jeff Hickman and Creative Director Paul Barnett with the aid of Producer Lance Robertson and Content Director Destin Bales - briefly introduced the Empire and Chaos races as they are being implemented in the game. The former is human, and has four classes, referred to as careers. Three of these are melee-oriented. The Knight of the Blazing Sun is a tank and the Witch Hunter a high damage dealer, while the Warrior Priest mixes in some healing abilities. The Bright Wizard is a caster specializing in Fire magic and able to deliver substantial amounts of injury very quickly.
Chaos are corrupted mutants filled with dark energy. This army offers an equal number of careers, although only three were revealed by name. One of the melee classes is the Chosen, who are tankers. There will also be a damage per second option, which wasn't named. Players who lean toward magic will be able to choose between the nuker-type Magus and the Zealot, which can do some healing.
Although it will be possible to play Age of Reckoning as a player vs. environment game, EA Mythic's historic strength in realm-based PvP will be reflected in the presence of four sub-types. Skirmish is simply incidental combat that occurs in the gameworld. Battlefields are objective-based encounters. Scenarios are goal-based too, but are also instanced, with NPC Dogs of War available to balance the two sides if necessary. There will be 40 or more at launch, for varying numbers of participants, from six to 36 per side. The winners receive points that count toward control of game zones. The fourth level of PvP, Campaign, occurs when one side advances far enough to attack its enemy's capital city.
During another hands-on portion of the event, we had the chance to participate in four scenario battles, twice each in one called Marsh Temple and another entitled Gates of Ekrund, both pitting Dwarves against Greenskins. Everyone seemed to agree that they were exceptionally fun, perhaps most of all for my team, which managed to go undefeated. While it's purely a matter of personal preference, I've always favored smaller, balanced PvP sessions to large-scale ones, so the designers' decision to make this type of battle an important part of the game seems likely to fit the potential audience that is of a like mind.
In the increasingly competitive massively multiplayer sector, titles will have to establish significant points of distinction if they are to succeed. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has a strong foundation, being built on a property that originated some 25 years ago. Even more important, it looks likely to enhance EA Mythic's reputation for excellence in the Realm vs. Realm arena by offering a selection of sub-types. When we add in other noteworthy features and elements like public quests, plus some eye-catching art direction that feels completely true to the franchise, it's clear that this endeavor has the potential to emerge as a winner, possibly a big one. And having been brought up to date on both Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot, I'm certainly going to keep an eye on them as well.
Source: http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/759/759546p1.html
