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Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Comments by Oli Welsh

23 July, 2008

Hammered into shape.

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DFawkes
23/07/08 @ 14:05
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That sounds awesome. As much as I like WoW and LOTRO, I'd be just as happy playing them solo for the most part. The idea of a quest that organically forms a boss battle is something new. I'm not sure if it has my fav Tomb Kings in, but that's mainly because I had no interest until now. Colour me intrigued.
mikeck
23/07/08 @ 14:15
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As if I needed anymore information to get excited about this game ;)

I have my open beta codes sat at home...just open the damn thing already :D
Kremlik
23/07/08 @ 14:17
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Wow the first article to realise WAR isn't trying to be WoW, it's trying to be a MMO
Crovax20
23/07/08 @ 14:20
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Quite a turnaround from the last preview.

I'm in closed beta testing

I agree with this preview

NDA's ;P
Gurrah
23/07/08 @ 14:22
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I like the look of that moustachioed, hat wearing, flintlock pistol wielding and leatherjacket sporting fella! But still , it does not look like gritty old Warhammer, it looks way to cartoonish.
Yoghurt_Pot
23/07/08 @ 14:22
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really looking forwared to this game (and have been for a couple of years now).
The one thing that drew me to Dark Age was the reactive combat styles (parry, evade, block) that elevate melee combat from pushing a sequence of buttons over a set period of time.

EDIT: i hope they can replicate the feeling of being in combat and being able to sway it with some well timed reactive styles
Edited 1 times, most recently on 23/07/08 @ 14:23
anomagnus
23/07/08 @ 14:25
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fuck you, war haters, the potential has always been there, and it disgusted me how many people wrote the game of based on half finished beta code

great news
Adam_T
23/07/08 @ 14:28
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How about the chat interface? AOC Special?
Snidesworth
23/07/08 @ 14:38
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"The benefits, he says, are not just in quality of content but in focusing the community on a single, core goal, and he's not at all convinced that reinstating the other racial capitals in the same form - as cities you can lay siege to, and sack - would be the right thing to do."

As much as this article restored my faith in the game, that line right there is a load of crap. A huge part of the pull for me was the three distinct battlefronts, each culminating in a different city. What significance will the dwarf/greenskin and high elf/dark elf zones serve in global PvP now?
Oli [staff]
23/07/08 @ 14:38
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I'm in closed beta testing

I agree with this preview

NDA's ;P

I'd like to point out that this preview was entirely written on the basis of a short hands-on at E3. It was in no way influenced by more extended play on the guild beta. At all.

;)
anomagnus
23/07/08 @ 14:45
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snideworth,

i both agree and disagree

I feel having three fronts open will confuse/dilute proceedings. I could envisage order losing one city, and then pulling everything out and moving to another. Victory in that case becomes meaningless, and you have an endless game of hop scotch from one capital city to another.

I think Hickman has mentioned rotating turns on the capital cities, where only each pairing is available to capture at each time.

What i would hope for, would be :-

Month one (or as close to it, i know it can take a while) Empire vs chaos. Once a victor is announced, it goes round robin to the next pairing

Orks and Dwarves

Then Elves v Dark Elves

Then you'd have variety, and you would focus all the pvp action on to one field end game

Now, i fully agree with you, if the cities are never implemented for the other pairings, but he has stated multiple times that wont be happening.
mikeck
23/07/08 @ 14:45
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My housemate's just joined a random guild last week that were on the list for the guild testing, they accepted him and they all got invited yesterday. I had a quick look at the screen as he was playing, and my first impression from a fleeting glance was that the dark, gothic look from the original concepts has sadly been toned down a lot.

However, it did look very good, nice and crisp - but I was hoping for darker overtones, and a more gothic feel more in keeping with the Warhammer brand. Although this has not put me off one bit, I'm still very excited about unleasing my forthcoming Chaos Marauder on the servers! After playing a tank on wow, I want to focus on dealing more damage, specifically on single targets, and the Marauder offers exactly that!
Snidesworth
23/07/08 @ 14:48
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anomagnus: The idea of cycling active battlefronts could work. All I know is that a single battlefront will probably lead to a constant advantage for one faction as population imbalance rears it's ugly head.
koji_m
23/07/08 @ 15:07
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completely lost interest after playing the beta
mikeck
23/07/08 @ 15:12
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"completely lost interest after playing the beta"

Care to elaborate why?
Dizzy
23/07/08 @ 15:23
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>Care to elaborate why?

NDA ;)

But TBH a lot of beta testers are having issues with the animations and the performance. Work in progress.
Kremlik
23/07/08 @ 15:23
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mik: he possibily couldn't handle the fact Mythic are focus testing and char wipes happen a lot, so he couldn't be 'insta leet', a lot that have spoken about the beta say it's good and they are having fun (which is about as far as they can go without breaking NDA), so all these 'turned off by beta' players ethier are BSers out of fear it may beat their beloved game, or basically fail to relise what a beta test is, or can't stand it's more towards RPG then FPS from the look of the gameplay so they can't 'insta pown' players
Kazzahdrane
23/07/08 @ 15:30
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@Kremlik: or maybe they just find that after playing the beta the game doesn't agree with them? Don't want to sound naive but not everyone who gives their opinion on something has a hidden agenda. Personally, I couldn't be happier to read previews like this after the worries of them cutting content from WAR etc. Got my beta code sitting here since Play.com delivered it the other week, itching to use it!
anomagnus
23/07/08 @ 15:31
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@ snideworth

i fully agree, with one single battlefront, it'll get stale fast, and more to the point, it invalidates some race choices

why play an elf if you don't have a capital city, you know?

i am hoping for a rotation, i think it will help balance things out, and keep things fresh.

i;m not saying their perfect, but i feel they are listening, and i have faith in them to work out the capital cities.
Flashy
23/07/08 @ 15:33
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The best thing about WAR is the 'public quests'. They're a great idea, and I fully expect other MMOs to emulate them.
anomagnus
23/07/08 @ 15:36
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@Kazzahdrane

i think kremlik's problem, and my own, is that there seems to be a staggeringly huge amount of beta testers out there, popping up on all forums and complaining about war.

To be frank, i don't believe even a tenth of them, i've even seen different posters cut and paste their 'criticisms' from other posts.

The same complaint's were used, even when they were no longer valid. Even then, there was an expectation in their posts, that the game be perfect, despite the fact it was a beta.

edit i'm SUCH a fucking war fanboi
Edited 1 times, most recently on 23/07/08 @ 15:38
Immaterial
23/07/08 @ 15:50
#22
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Wonder if the heavily armed guy in the last story image ever looks in the mirror and wonders why he's got "RAMGIS" written on his forehead.
mikeck
23/07/08 @ 16:00
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@ Dizzy - oh yeah, forgot about the NDA :D I thought it was just random griping for the sake of it, but that's a good point.

@Kremlik - possibly the case, there are still people out there who don't 'get' betas - I remember some of the complaints levelled at the MGO PSN beta, mostly from console owners only who have never experience betas first-hand, but as Kazzahdrane mentions, it could also be that koji_m just didn't get on with it - I'm sure War won't be for everyone.

@ Kazzahdrane "Got my beta code sitting here since Play.com delivered it the other week, itching to use it!" - Me too buddy, me too!
orakio
23/07/08 @ 16:47
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Oli, you sneaky Git ;-)
MuppetThumper
23/07/08 @ 18:16
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to all those saying this lacks the 'dark overtones' of the Warhammer world, well, i'd disagree. Admittedly its been a few years since I did anything with the tabletop hobby, however, I always remember miniatures (both those in White Dwarf and my own) being painted in bright, elaborate almost over the top colours and designs, a feeling extended to the world in general. And I far prefer Warhammer's Orcs to the dark-brown skinned star-trek like humanoids of LOTR.

I'm liking these new screens and if I get the kpmg job i might well reward myself with a new rig to play this. though no doubt i wouldnt get far, 2 years of WoW and I'm still only level 59 with just the one character... lol.
Benno
23/07/08 @ 20:13
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its sounding quite good
Crovax20
23/07/08 @ 21:49
#27
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@ Oli

Well your impressions look good to me. You hit the nail on the problems as well! Combat will make or break it imho
jimr9999us
23/07/08 @ 22:48
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Nice. If WAR enters the fray with a Metacritic of 85+, I promise to never again utter an opinion on any gaming forum. It would be the least I could do, for all of the smack I've spouted about this release.

I would so rather be the fool and have a dynamic, new mmorpg to play. *crosses fingers and gets duct tape out*
Nikalai88
23/07/08 @ 23:37
#29
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I like the idea of a world that feels dynamic as they described, but is there more to public quests than' kill 100 mobs, then kill 10 mobs and then kill 1 really tough mob?' It would be a shame if this innovative idea gets the MMO quest design treatment. Also any mention of difficulty? A higher risk vs. reward game always makes MMO's more fun.
AOFanboi
23/07/08 @ 23:38
#30
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When Mythic launched DAoC they killed off their old games just like that. Will the same fate befall DAoC when WAR is released? And what futrure might WAR then have when Mythic releases their next MMO after that? (Not that there are any guarantees anyway - AC2 was killed after a couple of years, while AO is running way past the initially stated five year span.)
Orange
24/07/08 @ 01:31
#31
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It does look like the extra time has benefited them a lot. Shame Funcom rushed out Conan, would have been far stronger with an extra 6 months to work on the later levels and endgame.
BlackKraken
24/07/08 @ 02:25
#32
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Its going to be a little to weird to see chaos champions fighting musket wielding humans in a balanced battle...
And gobbos being anything but cannon fodder :P
3william56
24/07/08 @ 07:05
#33
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Yay! Elves!
...
Again.
...
And Dwarves!
...
Again.
...
Mages! Orcs. Dragons. Trolls.
...
Oh FFS!

"Dyes are handed out as quest or achievement rewards..."
This one sentence sums up better than I ever could why I can't ever imaging wasting my life grinding through one of these obsessive-o-thons.
anomagnus
24/07/08 @ 08:50
#34
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3williams56

its a fantasy rpg, what are you expecting, cyborg ninjas?

Christ, thats like complaining that star wars has space ships. If you don't like the genre fine, but present something useful in criticism, rather than the tired cliche of 'i've seen dwarfs before'. Of course you've seen dwarfs before, fantasy is, after all a GENRE.

as for your dye comment, congratulations on picking one of least important facets of the game and then presenting it as your major bug bear.

i imagine its like picking up a book, reading one sentence and saying you don't like it
BaggyAnt
24/07/08 @ 09:45
#35
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In reply to AO Fanboi - I don't think there is any worry of DAOC being killed off - if anthing I think support will be improved. From what I understand EA have been looking at producing an EA style Station Pass for the longest time. When Warhammer is released this will be the third MMO under their wing (I think) which includes Ultima Online, so in the longer term I think this strategy will be implemented
Azazel
24/07/08 @ 10:03
#36
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@MuppetThumper: I would tend to agree with you.

The back-story and mythology of the world has always been very dark, but the game itself was usually quite colourful, funny and OTT.
mikeck
24/07/08 @ 10:07
#37
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"to all those saying this lacks the 'dark overtones' of the Warhammer world, well, i'd disagree. Admittedly its been a few years since I did anything with the tabletop hobby, however, I always remember miniatures (both those in White Dwarf and my own) being painted in bright, elaborate almost over the top colours and designs, a feeling extended to the world in general."

Well my armies were always dark, and gothic looking, and I played orcs/gobbos and I had a dwarf army too. Although I did make my dwarf army a 'renegade' one, so I could colour them in lots of dark colours. Yours were probably bright and elaborate because you played as the high gays...sorry, elves ;)

The reason I'm discussing 'dark overtones' of Warhammer is because all the original concept artwork, and some early screens, were very gothic, and if you look at the majority of Warhammer concept art (I'm talking about the whole Warhammer 'world' now, not specifically WAR) it's always been quite dark. A lot of people look at 'fantasy' as being quite over-the-top and bright/elaborate, but Warhammer has always been more 'adult' looking. I was watching my housemate playing in the guild beta again last night, and it does look more in keeping with WOW than anything, and that's a bit of a shame, as wow is too clean for me...needs 'dirtying' up a bit...as does WAR.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 24/07/08 @ 10:09
merseymal
24/07/08 @ 11:28
#38
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Am an ex-DAOCer and currently in WAR's guild beta and had more fun out of this game in one week than 6 months in WoW. Can't wait til it's launched and more ex-guildmates show up :)
Edited 1 times, most recently on 24/07/08 @ 11:28
Vordred
24/07/08 @ 12:06
#39
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that Thing about the Dyes isn't totally right.

i cant really go into any detail as it would be breaking the NDA and all that. its more rarer colours given out as rewards, stardard ones can be bought.
so not like you have to run quests just to dye your armour.

@Yoghurt_Pot

yeah DAOC's melee combat was really cool for that reason. however WAR's is nothing like that at all, its just WoWs
Lemming81
24/07/08 @ 13:07
#40
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I've been 100% looking forward to this game since day one, but I really hope that when the other cities get put in they ARE sackable. More goals are BETTER than a single one, IMO. It's all about choice.

That said, it is implied it will depend on the number of subs they get. The more subs, the more likely it will be closer to the original vision I'm guessing.

Put simply, surely it's better that whether Order or Destruction are winning is not governed by the fall of a single city? It shouldnt be that clear cut. It'd add more 'realism' (for want of a better word), if say, Ironforge has fallen, but Altdorf has not and The Inevitable City has etc...
Edited 1 times, most recently on 24/07/08 @ 13:12
Kestrel_Trebor
24/07/08 @ 16:38
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In response to the posters who commented that the battle fronts without capital cities don't mean anything, I'd like to just point out that you need to control 2 of the 3 fortresses to siege a capital city now. So the battle across all fronts still matters.

There's also content in each battle front that people will want to experience.

And -- just like in DAOC -- people are going to spread out across the fronts, especially if they're looking for small group or solo RvR options.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 24/07/08 @ 16:38
Nill
25/07/08 @ 08:09
#42
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Graphics still look like arsepuke.
mikeck
28/07/08 @ 11:21
#43
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Spent some time in the closed beta this weekend, and I have to say, even at this stage of beta, the game's looking miles better then I first anticipated...and that's not even the finished product, so upon launch I really believe this will look and play extremely well.
Wildsleven
06/08/08 @ 00:19
#44
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im kinda sick of wow, warhammer will be a nice change :D

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