Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning : Warhammer news

WarhammerAlliance Interviews Mythic Producers For 1.3.2!

DoranM — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:09:29 GMT

The WarhammerAlliance team has posted a recent interview that was conducted with Adam Gershowitz and Jeff Skalski, Producers at EA Mythic.

Here's a snippet from the 1.3.2 Warhammer Interview:

Just before the 1.3.2 patch, we dropped in on Mythic Entertainment Producers Adam Gershowitz and Jeff Skalski to answer some questions about the latest update to WAR, what's changed, what can players expect, and other queries. Thanks to Adam and Jeff for taking the time out to talk with us!

Given the context of the overall strategy you've been taking with your patch cycles, how would you describe 1.3.2 in general?

Adam: Game update 1.3.2 is a really solid example of how we’re working to address our top three player concerns in each patch.

Career balance saw some significant adjustments in the form of a hard look at crowd control abilities. Many abilities were significantly adjusted or even outright removed in order to ensure that crowd control remains a viable but not overwhelming tool on the battlefield.

For RvR, we’ve worked to make the campaign more accessible and less frustrating by eliminating the Fortresses as a requirement to reach the capital cities. In addition, we’ve improved the accessibility of some of the best RvR gear in the game, and improved many of the rewards for both attackers and defenders in difficult Keep sieges.

On the performance front, we’ve seen some significant gains in both client and server performance with the introduction of a better texture manager and multiple improvements to how our server communicates with the client.

Up and beyond this, we continue to work on bugs and issues as well as improve the overall quality of Warhammer as a whole. For example, in 1.3.2 we returned to our new user experience in order to streamline it, re-invigorate low-level RvR, and allow friends to play together via our Apprentice system. We’ve also made numerous improvements to our Daemon Moon Rising event from last year (The Witching Night), and we’re really looking forward to seeing the player reaction to that as well.

To read the rest of this article visit the 1.3.2 Warhammer Interview on WarhammerAlliance.com.

Warhammer Developer Walkthrough of Tomb of the Vulture Lord End Encounters!

DoranM — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:23:55 GMT

The WarhammerAlliance.com has posted two new videos showing Senior Designer Gabe Amatangelo demonstrating how to properly play a Shaman while giving a walkthrough of the end encounters in the Tomb of the Vulture Lord.

If you don't want to see how to beat these encounters, you may not want to watch the footage. That's your only Spoiler Warning.

Here's a look at the Shaman powering through Tomb of the Vulture Lord:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Let us know what you think of the footage.

Warhammer Alliance Interviews Gabe Amatangelo at PAX 2009!

DoranM — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:17:45 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted a recent interview from PAX 2009 with the Warhammer team!

Here's a look at the PAX 2009 Warhammer Interview:

During PAX Nattfodd and Anglakhel were able to interview Senior Designer Gabe Amatangelo about his role at Mythic, the recent changes to RvR and the Land of the Dead. The interview was done on the convention floor with no pre-written questions or answers. Due to the conversational nature of this interview, some things are a bit awkward grammatically. Please let us know if any detail is unclear.

Interview Gabe Amatangelo

Anglakhel: We're speaking with Gabe now. Gabe, do you want to give us your full name with proper pronunciation and title?

Gabe: Gabe Amatangelo, and it's Senior Designer.

Anglakhel: As a senior designer, what's your job description, job role right now and in the last few months?

Gabe: Right now it's sort of in-line with the initiative of the studio, which is taking a look at... As you know there have been management shifts at the studio and we're able to re-examine a lot of the current systems and just figure out where to go in the future with them. So right now a lot of my time is occupied with that. Just going system by system and sort of proposing and shooning and whatnot.

Nattfodd: What's your favorite class?

Gabe: What do I play right? Right now I'm playing a Marauder, before that I was playing a Zealot, before that I was playing a Swordmaster.

Anglakhel: You were one of the heavy, face time devs for the land of the dead project. Were you sort of the lead man for the designers for that project?

To read the rest of the interview visit the PAX 2009 Warhammer Interview on Warhammer Alliance!

Warhammer 1.3.1 PTS - Bringing Back the FIGHT!

DoranM — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:18:36 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted a notice about the beginning of the 1.3.1 PTS! The Dev Team will be on hand as Order makes their first attack on The Inevitable City, which happens today! Destruction will get their chance to strike back tommorow, 8.8.09, at the heart of Altdorf! Warhammmer Online and Mythic staffers are confident this new city invasion experience should really put the fight back into city RvR!

Here's a look at the 1.3.1 PTS update for Warhammer:

From the Community News category we have: 1.3.1 PTS Has Begun! Invasion is Nigh!

Testing time is once again upon us!

The Public Test Server (Warpstone) is now open, and with it comes two developer lead events. Be amongst the first to experience the revamped City Invasion PQ's and the redesigned Keeps in what is an exciting list of Realm vs. Realm changes!

Join the Mythic Dev Team tomorrow night, 8/7/2009, as the armies of Order storm the gates of The Inevitable City. Join us as we test the new City Invasion experience that is promising to put the fight back into City RvR.

The following night, Saturday 8/8/2009, will see the armies of Destruction striking back at the home of the forces of Order as they bring the WAR to Altdorf.

So be sure to check out how to access the Public Test Server and join in on the excitement. Also, don't forget to participate in the 1.3.1 Focus Discussion on the official forums starting tomorrow!

Don't have a Rank 40 Character? Not to worry as we will be providing character templates for this City testing only. Simply create a new character and select the template in the top right corner or the character creation screen prior to hitting "Create". Please note, these templates will be made available prior to tomorrow evenings testing. So come and support your realm and see all of the exciting new City Invasion changes!

Be sure to check out the 1.3.1 PTS Patch Notes here.

Interview with Martin Smith at Warhammer Online!

DoranM — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:26:12 GMT

At Games Day Chicago, Warhammer Alliance had a chance to catch up Martin Smith from Mythic! Martin is a developer for the dungeons and Encounters team and has been a driving force in developing some of the key features behind several popular dungeons and of course the new content from Land of the Dead.

Here's a look a the first few questions from the interview with Mythic's Martin Smith:

We thought it would be a good idea to catch Martin on his thoughts about the game from his perspective and some of the challenges associated with his work at Mythic. Thanks Martin for the informative interview!

Q. First, tell the community out there a little bit about yourself and your role at Mythic.

A. Hi everyone! My name is Martin Smith, and I am a developer for the Dungeons and Encounters team—the team that designs and develops most of the end-game PvE content in the game. I’ve worked on Land of the Dead, Lost Vale, Sigmar’s Crypts, Bloodwrought Enclave, and the King Fights.

Q. I hear you were a player before you were part of the development team. How does that perspective help when designing boss encounters?

A. I was a long-time Dark Age of Camelot player before I applied at Mythic. I was a VNboards forum warrior, and at the time I was highly critical of Mythic and posted much to that effect. On a dare, I came down to the Mythic studio to take some pictures and ended up getting a tour and some swag. So, I decided to apply and got a job in Customer Service, working my way up to where I am now. It was really interesting being on the other side of the fence, especially being in Customer Service shortly after the launch of Trials of Atlantis. People can say a lot of nasty stuff over the internet, but I’ve grown a thick skin and learned how to handle criticism. In all honesty, if my stuff is broken, or not fun or whatever, that’s my responsibility and I need to be able to take the criticism and fix it or make it better. I can’t crawl up into a ball and cry about how a player is complaining about something I did.

To read more from this interview and hear community feedback visit the Warhammer Alliance Martin Smith Interview!

Warhammer Announces 10-Day Beta Trial of Mac Client!

DoranM — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:23:16 GMT

Warhammer Online has announced they are giving players a 10-day Beta Trial of the new Mac version of Warhammer! The Mac version of WAR is scheduled for official release in the fall of 2009, when players on both platforms will be able to battle and quest together on the same servers.

Here's the official announcement from Warhammer about supporting Mac players:

FAIRFAX, Virginia – July 30, 2009 – Mythic Entertainment™, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today announced that the critically acclaimed MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning® (WAR), is being developed for the Mac® computer platform and is currently being offered in beta version. The Mac version of WAR is scheduled for official release in the fall of 2009, when players on both platforms will be able to battle and quest together on the same servers.

The beta of the Mac version of Warhammer Online will allow current players to download a client to their Mac computers and play with their live game accounts. Players who do not have an existing live account, but are interested in playing WAR on the Mac, will be able to participate in the beta version of WAR on Mac by downloading a 10-day beta trial account. As part of the WAR Mac beta event, players who participate will receive an exclusive title and trophy reward for their characters within the game.

“The MMORPG audience continues to expand, and that means gamers eager to experience WAR aren’t all playing on a PC,” said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. “We want as many players as possible to experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm combat, and bringing WAR to the Mac makes this an exciting reality.”

WAR for the Mac is made possible using the Cider^TMPortability Engine from TransGaming (TSX-V: TNG) that acts as a "wrapper" around the game software, enabling it to run seamlessly on Intel-based Macs. TransGaming’s Cider technology allows Mythic Entertainment to rapidly enable and deploy WAR for the Mac, providing a new high quality gaming experience to the ever-growing Mac gaming community.

“The availability of WAR on Mac is an outstanding example of the caliber of games being deployed for the Mac gaming community,” commented Vikas Gupta, CEO & President of TransGaming. “Mythic Entertainment has created an incredible game and TransGaming is thrilled they have chosen our advanced Cider technology to launch WAR for the Mac.”

To download the beta version of WAR for Mac or the 10-day beta trial, please visit: www.warhammeronline.com/Mac.

Warhammer Alliance Reflects on Mark Jacobs' Time at Mythic

DoranM — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:42:21 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted a recent reflection on everything Mark Jacobs. He is officially no longer working on Warhammer or for Mythic and the author of this article reflects on some of the things he did for Warhammer, time he spent with the community, and a brief history of his accomplishments across other games.

Here's a look at the first portion of the article:

If you've ever watched a magic act at work, there are always a few elements that you can count on. You can always count on the fact that the magic itself is a spectacle, very public and very visible. You can always bet on a mixture of precision, finesse, and risk, too - the execution is something that requires a certain agility, but one that must be done correctly, lest the act's secrets be exposed unwillingly, or worse yet, that people may come to harm. Lastly, you can always see that the magician is themselves a personality, whether they are willing to perform crazy endurance feats like a David Blaine, or create spectacles seemingly impossible, like a David Copperfield.

Mark Jacobs was, for many years, Mythic's magician. Building Mythic with Rob Denton from practically nothing, Mark may have seemed at times to be the man who could make planes disappear, levitate off the ground, and escape the flying blade of a saw. Dark Age of Camelot saw success that was unprecedented for Mark's family of a company, and even though the development of Imperator ultimately did not go anywhere, Mark's role in securing Games Workshop, navigating the EA seas, and eventually helming the release of WAR proved that as an executive, he had aces up his sleeve. Mark's accomplishments were perhaps dwarfed only by his personality, a bombastic, emotional , driven, presence that would probably rival the magicians of today.

This time, however, the magician didn't escape.

To read more visit the Mark Jacobs Disappearing Act article at WarhammerAlliance.com!

Warhammer Podcast Update From WarhammerAlliance.com

DoranM — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:09:17 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has released their latest podcast with special guest Gaarawarr from the Gaarawarr Gabs blog! This week on the podcast the Alliance crew takes a good look at recent community polls, the recent Mythic/Bioware news, and the Jeff Skalski and Gabe Amatangelo interview.

Here's the official Warhammer Podcast update from WarhammerAlliance.com:

Those holidays have a pesky way of interfering with podcast recording and releases! Sorry guys!

Your hosts for this podcast are: Frank, Martin, Kristen, and Gaarawarr from blog Gaarawarr Gabs.

Introduction (5 minutes)

Intros via poll question: "If you could visit any one place in the world, where would it be?", featuring the Library of Congress.

New host introduction

Community Hot Topic (25 minutes)

Featuring the new Mythic/Bioware group and Executive Producer's Letter, Part 3

Community Poll Pingback (5 minutes)

Featuring the Community Poll on Mythic's WAR Priorities

Dev Post Blender (5 minutes)

Featuring: Interview with Jeff Skalski and Gabe Amatangelo on Land of the Dead, Post-Release

Total length: 43:33 minutes

Podcast Home
GCast Subscription XML Link
Direct MP3 download
iTunes URL

Warhammer Weekend Update From WarhammerAlliance.com!

DoranM — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:03:52 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted the latest news updates for everything in the WAAGH!!! Not much from Mythic this week as they're on vacation for the fourth, but there's been some chatter around the net about LotD impressions and Tufmudda winning the special mount on his server!

Here's the latest Warhammer News from WarahmmerAlliance.com:

Warhammer Alliance News

Tome Tuesdays: Quoting Shcolar Timothy Ehrlichmann, Aeternis talks about some Land of the Dead bugs. No, not those kinds of bugs! We are talking about Giant Scarabs, Khepra beetles and Tomb Swarms.

Forum Fanatics. vbGuild is a vBulletin plugin for guilds to help organize their forumites. Unmoderated Info gives you the lowdown.

News From The Herald

All's quiet on the home front, with Mythic taking a vacation this week. Play on, my friends! May you be relaxed and refreshed when you return.

Around the 'Net

One Shard. Gotrek and Felix book review, plus some LotD impressions.

Tufmudda. Congrats to Tufmudda, who won one of the special mounts on his server, as well as his coverage of LotD.

CoTCast. Circle of Trust as a guild disbanded, but their podcast has one final tale to tell.

Warhammer Video Spotlight: Tomb of the Vulture Lord

DoranM — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:29:21 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has recently posted a new video spotlight on the Tomb of the Vulture Lord! This is part of the most recent Land of the Dead expansion which brought new PvE content to the world of WAAAGH!!!

Here's a look at the Spotlight On: Tomb of the Vulture Lord:

Werit(WCPI) has posted some fantastic footage of the Tomb of the Vulture Lord, a new RVR/PVE dungeon in the Land of the Dead which features two major boss fights within the a chilling environment full of heiroglyphed walls and skittering bugs.

In addition to minions slain and treasures found, the tomb features phased boss encounters, traps, and an element of suprise - the other faction can enter to wipe your party, so beware!

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Warhammer Online Daily WAAAGH!!! News Update!

DoranM — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:24:04 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted a daily news re-cap for all the important topics related to WAAAGH!!! The most recent hot fix cleaned up a few bugs in Land of the Dead and Gamasutra posted a new interview with Ray Muzyka about the Mythic/BioWare collaberation.

Here are the stories from the Warhammer News Re-cap:

Warhammer Alliance News
The latest happenings from your favorite WAR fansite!

WAR Community Promotion Initiative - Mythic/Bioware Reaction
WCPI #21 focuses in on the reaction to the Mythic/Bioware new grouping, as well as some other reaction throughout the 'Net.

News From The Herald
News from the Herald compiles Herald posts from the day.

Hot Fixes - 6/27/09
Land of the Dead had a few bugs to stomp, as well as some minor RvR and item-related things which were dealt with in this hotfix set.

Around the 'Net
WAR News and Interviews from the intertubes.

Gamasutra Interviews Bioware Co-Founder Ray Muzyka on the Mythic/Bioware Group
The new head of EA's MMO group talks about what the results of the new Mythic-Bioware collaboration will bring to WAR and to SW:TOR.

Warhammer Online Daily WAAAGH!!! News Updates!

DoranM — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:43:43 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted the latest news from Warhammer Online, including topics like Mark Jacobs leaves Mythic, Tomb of the Vulture Lord Goes Live, and a "Merger" Clarification about the recent BioWare/Mythic moves. Look to WarhammerAlliance.com for the latest news and information for Warhammer and be sure to vote in the latest Warhammer Poll!

Here's a look at the latest Warhammer Online News:

Warhammer Alliance News

Mark Jacobs Leaves Mythic. In a Herald post today, Mythic announced that GM Mark Jacobs left the company on June 23. Stepping in as GM will be Rob Denton, formerly Chief Operating Officer of Mythic. This caused quite a stir on the forums. Read on to see what the community thinks, and add your two cents!

News From The Herald

Tomb of the Vulture Lord Goes Live! All North American and Oceanic servers were taken offline at 9:00 AM EDT. 55 minutes later, all servers were back online, with access to the Land of the Dead up for grabs and the Tome of the Vulture Lord live.

Realm Resource Handicap Live. Today marks the first example of the Realm Resource Handicap system. Realms previously locked out from LotD will gather resources at an accelerated rate.

Daily Devs

"Merger" Clarification. Andy Belford clarifies:

"Mythic is not "merging" with Bioware.

Mythic and Bioware remain independent EA studios within a larger MMO/RPG group.

Thanks!"

Tweet, Tweet!

Josh Drescher's response. "One word response: BioWAAAGH!!!"

The Latest WAAAGH!!! News and Updates From WarhammerAlliance.com

DoranM — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:18:21 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted a recent update detailing recent hot fixes, a Land of the Dead update, Friday's Faithful Advice, and some in depth discussion about RvR from PhoenixRed! Warhammer is undergoing several changes this month with the release of massive new content with the Land of the Dead expansion, all kinds of hot fixes, and the viral marketing campaign where bones were sent to several top sites. Follow WarhammerAlliance.com for the latest information on these and future developments for Warhammer.

Here's a look at the most recent WAAAGH!!! news update:

Warhammer Alliance News
We report, you bash hide.

Follow the White Rabbit
In this episode of the WAH, PhoenixRed bites into that juicy vegetable product: the carrot of content. With his friend Binky the Rabbit, he goes on a quest to dig up the roots of this tasty root.

Friday's Faithful Advice No.2 !
Here we are again with Warhammer's two Oliphants of Opinion: Saleeya and Rev. Barrows! This week, they deal with a gender confused goblin and lunchbreak trips to the afterlife. Will the victim live past the endless yo-yo of death and ressurections? Will the goblin find true identity? The Answers Await!

News From The Herald

Hot Fixes
These fixes are hot off the presses! Included are some career changes and bug fixes. These updates go hot today, 6/22/09.

Game Update: Land of the Dead - Tue. 6/23/09
The Land of the Dead will be opening to the winning realms on Tuesday! Make sure you bring your sunscreen and a bag lunch, because it'll be a long haul across the desert.

Warhammer Daily News Update From WarhammerAlliance.com

DoranM — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:11:36 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has once again taken the time to update us with their daily WAAAGH!!! update! Hot topics include a recent joint WAR Community Poll with the WAR Vault, discussion and coverage of Hotfixes from the 16th and 17th, and a Hotplate Response from Andy Belford who defends the PTS. “To say that this round of PTS testing was ineffective is doing a grave injustice to the players who were actively participating in this round of testing.”

Here's the official Warhammer news update:

Warhammer Alliance News
The latest happenings from your favorite WAR fansite!

WAR Community Poll: Once again another joint poll with WAR Vault. Tell us why you login to the PTS! Share your thoughts about the testing system!

News From The Herald
News from the Herald compiles Herald posts from the day.

Immediate Server Downtime: The gremlins of server stability are at it again. Mythic apologized for the short notice, but needed to make some tweaks to servers due to the new 1.3 patch. North American and Oceanic servers were taken down at 2:35 PM EDT and brought back online at 3:23 PM EDT.

Hotfixes from the 16th and 17th: Earlier today, Mythic fixed the “Hammer and Chain” Live event quest. Players will now earn event credit when they complete this quest. Players that have already completed this quest and did not earn event credit should speak to the Event Herald. Players no longer select objects (doors and the like) when they hit “taget nearest enemy" key binding. On the Combat and Careers front, a few items were noted. It seems DoKs and Warrior Priests had regeneration rates reduced on AoE heals. The Archmage High Magic mechanic was fixed. Git To Da Choppa now will only affect one enemy per pulse.

Daily Devs
Daily Devs compiles all the important Dev Tracker posts from the day.

Lost Vale Sigil: It seems bosses aren’t dropping the correct (if any) sigils and wards. The team is aware of the issue and is working on a fix.

Hotplate Response: Andy Belford replies to the hotplate and defends the PTS. “To say that this round of PTS testing was ineffective is doing a grave injustice to the players who were actively participating in this round of testing.” Further, Andy lays out future plans:

“We are going to continue to offer strong in game incentives for PTS participation moving forward. We believe that if you are willing to invest your time into helping us make this game better, you should have something to show for it. You've already seen some rewards with the Shroud and keep looking out as we're going to be rewarding the Imperial Griffon and Enslaved Manticore mounts for PTS testing soon.”

Thank you, Andy!

Warhammer Alliance PTS Discussion About 1.3 and Land of the Dead!

DoranM — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:31:17 GMT

WarhammerAlliance.com has posted an update about the PTS server and some of the happenings there for Patch 1.3. Mythic has often scheduled testing events for the PTS to try to generate the best feedback possible. "The Sands Run Red" is merely the latest PTS event in course of WAR's release. There is, however, a slight problem pointed out by the author of the article.

Here's a snippet from the post, be sure and visit the Warhammer PTS Discussion for the full article:

Lately, the Public Test Server, or PTS, has been getting a lot of publicity. Testing has been open for Patch 1.3, featuring the Land of the Dead, for several weeks and just closed earlier today in anticipation of tomorrow's release of the patch to the live servers.

We have been told many times by Mythic that the PTS is one of the best ways to share feedback with Mythic and the development team. Lately, Mythic has been hard at work trying to encourage use of the PTS and is even offering incentives, such as special ingame items, to players that spend time on the PTS and supply constructive feedback. Still, it can often feel like time spent on the PTS has no positive impact on what we see on the live servers. Testers find themselves wondering if their time spent on the PTS is meaningful, relevant and helpful.

We can look back over the course of WAR's release and even into Beta to see how Mythic has responded to the feedback of their testers, but we have several excellent examples from the testing of Patch 1.3 on the PTS. Just days ago, Mythic announced that due to player feedback from the PTS, they would be adjusting the Realm Resource Quest that will determine who controls the Land of the Dead. According to the announcement, they will be dropping the required resources to gain control of LotD from 10,000 to 5,000. Apparently, this feedback followed several PTS Events advertised on the Herald, including “The Sands Run Red” on the 9th and 10th, which was intended to test out the Land of the Dead content and gather specific data on the Resource Expedition Quest.

Mythic has often scheduled testing events for the PTS to try to generate the best feedback possible. "The Sands Run Red" is merely the latest PTS event in course of WAR's release. However, Mythic included the following note in the Herald post about the PTS event that I find extremely interesting:

Quote:

Please note that this is a hands-off event. Mythic staff will be observing the natural progression of the mechanics as both sides battle it out for supremacy. So remember to build up resources by capturing Tier 4 zones, looting your enemies, and returning the resources to your Expedition Quartermaster near your Flight Master in the capital city.

Immediately, we see that Mythic seems to be attempting to gather data about how the Resource Expedition Quest will run on live servers. They want to be "hands-off" so that they can "observ the natural progression of the mechanics." After the test was complete and they started evaluating feedback, it became apparent that the Resource Expedition Quest was too slow and needed to be more responsive to player actions. So, Mythic used the PTS feedback to alter the system and cut the needed resources in half. At first glance, this all looks very encouraging. We see Mythic engaging with their players and testers and taking the initiative to make system changes to improve the game.

Except for one glaring problem....Read More at WarhammerAlliance.com!