Hands of Justice
The Lounge => General Gaming => Topic started by: Mangala on June 06, 2010, 01:29:11 AM
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Just found some "leaked info" on this, no clue on how true it is but it looks to make sense on predictions / speculation. (For found, read on SHC so stole and posted here :) )
Quote:
Playable factions:
- Imperium
- Eldar
- Orks
- Chaos
Features:
- Focus both on Meele and Long range Combat
- covering system
- 29 Zones (21 claimable, 8 invadeable)
- Open-World
- PvP around resource gathering and taking strategic points
- center zone features a conquerable stronghold
- No playable Tanks or other Warmachines at release but implemented possibility for expansion
- Tyranids as full fighting PvE-Faction
Lore (being discussed concerning certain faction-plots at the moment but here are the things we determined with Games Workshop so far):
- Game takes place in the southern border-sectors of Segmentum Tempestus
- Factions fight over a destroyed imperial forge world called Tarelis and its hive-city Cerberus X (newly added to the lore!)
- The story of the game will NOT take place in a parallel universe! Just like the Planet Kronus (made by our colleagues at relic) Tarelis will be part of the lore!
- Tyranids will be main-antagonists
- Unfortunately Vigil-games was not allowed to use Relics Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter as Ork Warlord as he will make a final appearance in the second DoW2 expansion
Costs:
- 49.99$
Monthly fee:
- being discussed but most likely around 13$
Rating:
- targeted Teen/PEGI 16
Fully revealed at E3 2010."
(Less than 2 weeks away).
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Remember WAR?
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Remember WAR?
Yeah but thats cos Mythic sucked. However I take your meaning and wont build this up too much in my mind.
Plus I wannbe a Commisar - shoot the deserters :D
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Hmm vigil are relatively unknown with only 1 title to their name, Darksiders - which was ok.
I wont believe the hype as WAR was a letdown on so many levels.
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Despite WAR's shortcomings, I'll be looking forward to this one, as I'm a massive 40K fan.
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Despite WAR's shortcomings, I'll be looking forward to this one, as I'm a massive 40K fan.
We know :D
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Despite WAR's shortcomings, I'll be looking forward to this one, as I'm a massive 40K fan.
next youll be telling us that the pope is Catholic :P
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I'll be disappointed if I cant play as a Chaos Dreadnaught. :'(
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHu4Na0lsd0&feature=player_embedded
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(http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/818/cap3k.png)
(http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6599/cap6n.png)
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Mmmmmm...
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Mmmmmm...
WORLD EATERS MUTHAFUCKA
Sexeh images:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/06/15/warhammer-40k-online-the-first-images
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http://www.darkmillenniumonline.com/
Websites up.
My biggest concern is that its not going to be Orks v Imperium v Eldar v Chaos all v Tyrandis (NPC's), but Eldar/Imp v Chaos/Ork (the latter isnt really right at all from a lore pov), and that was the biggest failing of WAR, RVR but 1v1. The best RvR always needs 3 sides - like DAoC and Planetside - which both worked well because of 3 sides, it was difficult for folks to get the upper hand.
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My biggest concern is that its not going to be Orks v Imperium v Eldar v Chaos all v Tyrandis (NPC's), but Eldar/Imp v Chaos/Ork (the latter isnt really right at all from a lore pov), and that was the biggest failing of WAR, RVR but 1v1. The best RvR always needs 3 sides - like DAoC and Planetside - which both worked well because of 3 sides, it was difficult for folks to get the upper hand.
Fear that it 1v1 might happen or fear of the consequences? Anyway, it will be 1v1 it seems:
Side with the forces of Order, or the vile hosts of Destruction, in a war that will unlock ancient secrets, reveal dark purposes, and determine the fate of the Sargos Sector. For in this dark millennium, there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter.
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Consequences mainly - as you end up with 1 side being dominant too much. With 3 realms fighting, its much harder for any single realm to be supreme. Unless they allow people to roll chars on all realms on the same server (PS did this - but in the early days it didnt matter/DAoC didnt and still doesnt) then it can all go wrong when the victory hounds start changing to the realm that looks like it will be the daddy that week.
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http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=96376&p=irol-eventDetails&EventId=3155322
THQ investor meeting from E3 2010.
Transcript of 40K bit (35 minute mark):
Now we come to the MMO, warhammer 40k dark millenium online, this show is the first time we're showing any capture of this thing, theres no CG in this trailer, its all gameplay we just went into the game and captured a load of stuff.
Being an mmo player myself im incredibly confident that we are going to be incredibly successful with this game, id venture to say that its going to change the face of THQ.
<trailer>
-Q&A-
Whats the budget for Dark Millenium what are the risks?
Its been in pre production for 3.5 years by people in Austin who have built MMOs before and learnt from those mistakes, we're using the montreal studio and some chinks to do something. We started with a small team and are slowly adding more resources as needed, the small team managed to get the gameplay fundamentals sorted.
43 million dollars.
Game is being set up so that it can go subscription/MT/F2P, I guess probably subscription with MT. The game is being set up so that it has many more vehicals in it, you and your buddy can get in a tank and roll out together. its got 4 races with more races coming.
Its being built by people who just adore mmos.
5-7 year life span adding new content all the time, we think this is a true next gen mmo, truely global, can work with a small number of subscribers.
....<management bullshit omitted>
We want to shake up blizzard a little bit, which is why we put so much into the trailer, theres a lot of stuff they would have to do to get some of the stuff that we got in there. (also i love blizzard). We're in the game.
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E3 2010: Interview with Warhammer 40K's Mark Downie
by Justin Olivetti Jun 17th 2010 at 7:30PM
Filed under: Sci-fi, Interviews, New titles, Warhammer 40k
Let's face it: At E3, every studio, game and gadget struggles to be the talk of the show, but there's just so much going on that most exhibits and demos get lost in the noise. Therefore, when buzz erupts to eclipse the noise, it behooves the gamer to sit up and take notice. Warhammer 40k: Dark Millennium Online is buzzing strong right now, like thousands of armored, heretic-hunting space bees, especially after revealing the trailer earlier this week. With the previously secretive MMO out in the open, fans are hungry for any and all details about this entry in the beloved 40k franchise.
Fortunately, Massively made fast friends with Vigil's Mark Downie, who was more than happy to spill the space beans about the look of the game, faithfulness to the IP and Warhammer 40k's release window. Buckle up, engage thrusters and hit the jump for the full conversation.
Massively: Do you have a playable demo?
Mark Downie: Not yet, just the teaser video for now. We'll be at GenCon in August, and we'll be launching a community site. I don't have any info on when we can deliver a playable demo. But right now we wanted to let the community know that the game is alive, it's doing well, and we're excited to be working on it.
All that we've seen in the trailer is actual gameplay footage?
Mark: Absolutely.
Is there anything else you can say about the game in terms of features?
Mark: The MMO is using the same engine we used for Darksiders, so people can expect the same quality of visuals. We're working very closely with Games Workshop on this project, so we're not going to be doing a lot of freelancing and going off on our own. Everything we do is with their cooperation and approval. Pretty much anything that gets added into the 40k universe in our MMO will get added to the canon, part of the war, and will receive the blessing of Games Workshop.
Will there be books or anything revolving around the MMO?
Mark: It's too soon to tell. We'll see where things go -- we can't put the cart before the horse.
It's definitely important to show gameplay and get people excited.
Mark: That was our main goal, and I hope that works.
So what about a time frame for release?
Mark: I should qualify this by saying our primary goal is getting the game right. THQ fully supports us in this regard, and isn't breathing down our necks saying, "You must ship by a certain date!" They are nurturing this project and we are true to this project so that when we deliver it, it will be everything we want it to be and the community wants it to be.
With that in mind, we're shooting for right now to have the game shipped by the end of Quarter 1 of 2013.
I imagine you're making everything as precise as possible to the actual roleplaying game.
Mark: We're absolutely doing our best. Our character and vehicle modelers, everything they work on they get the miniature to use as their model. In fact, it's a great IP to be working on since Games Workshop has done so much ground work aleady. I mean, I'm a World Designer, so what I do is focus on filling in some of the blanks that haven't been a focus of 40k up to this point. We've got so much detail and specifications to go off of. I think fans of the IP will find that the models generally look very authentic.
I know it's two different worlds and two different companies involved, but is there any connection at all with Warhammer Online?
Mark: None whatsoever. Warhammer Online is EA Mythic, it's two different IPs. A lot of our guys are long-time 40k fans, tabletop players, fans galore, so they've got a very heavy investment in Warhammer 40k.
Now the footage we're seeing here, it's pre-alpha?
Mark: We're not really naming a stage.
So this could change?
Mark: This is all as close as it can feel, game development always brings change, but it's very representative of our intentions. We've been in production on this game for several years already, and a lot of that time was spent experimenting with the look and feel and artistic styles. Again, the models, we know the what style that is, we just have to do adjustments. The environments took a little more work to figure out what's going to match the look of these models and make for a cohesive game world. We've been down that road, and I think we've settled on the look. So I'd expect the game to look very much like this when it ships.
Thank you!
Link:
http://www.massively.com/2010/06/17/e3-2010-interview-with-warhammer-40ks-mark-downie/
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Eve better interview from BOLS:
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2010/06/e3-thq-dark-millennium-interview.html
E3: THQ Dark Millennium Interview
Posted by Bigred at Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Now lets continue with part two of our E3 coverage, a Dark Millennium interview with THQ shared with us by our friends at Game Kudos. Lets get to it:
The first thing to understand about the E3 Expo is that it is nothing if not utter chaos, and not the good kind we like to depict on the tabletop with our miniatures in 40K battles.
When I walk up to the THQ press desk on Wednesday to confirm a 3:30 p.m. appointment, not only do they have no record of an appointment for my website, Game Kudos, but getting someone to confirm that takes inside of twenty minutes as the PR reps behind the desk dart back and forth between THQ employees and members of the press.
I finally get the attention of a senior PR rep and she grabs onto a guy with a shaved head and a cup of coffee in his hand and says “This is Dennis, he’s supposed to be doing an interview with us.” The guy looks at me and I extend my hand. “I’d like to interview someone about the Warhammer 40,000 MMO.”
It turns out I’d just met Tim Holman, Director of Online Production for THQ. He takes me by the shoulder and says “Come here, I’ll find someone for you to talk to.” While I wait, I get to watch someone suiting up in the Ultramarine costume that ran on the photo gallery yesterday.
Tim comes back and says “Here, head up the stairs.” Suddenly I’m standing over the entire South Hall of the E3 floor show. I’d have stopped to take a picture but it would have been exceptionally rude and unprofessional considering Tim had not only made the time for this impromptu interview but also brought Tim Campbell, Executive Producer of Vigil Games, and Georgina Verdon, THQ’s Director of Global Brand Management.
As Tim makes the introductions and we all exchange our credentials, I’m struck by how huge this is. The only Dark Millennium material in the entire THQ pavilion is a trailer playing on a screen and a really cool sculpture next to it. The press kit DVD Tim gave me later had some screenshots which I’ve embedded in the article here for you, but that was it. Discussing Dark Millennium was clearly not on THQ’s agenda for the E3 expo – but these three people spontaneously made the time to do so. It doesn’t take long for me to figure out why. They love 40K.
The game is a couple of years out, so the press embargo is extremely tight. I am not going to walk away with information about classes, combat mechanics, vehicles, or the number of worlds in the game. This is made very clear to me from the outset. “We have a lot to talk about with this game,” Tim Campbell says. “We want to make sure we can let the conversation unfold. We have to be very guided and smart about it.”
One of the big questions I’ve seen everyone ask online is whether or not we’re going to have to play as a member of the Imperium in one form or another. Are we all going to have to be Imperial Guardsmen, Space Marines, or Inquisitors? I press gently on this point and Georgina Verdon is willing to break the embargo just a little. No, we are not going to have to play as a human from the beginning. When I ask her which brand of Xenos would be available to us, for instance the Orks or Eldar, she grins and says “We won’t be making all the races playable at first. We have to leave something for expansions.” The fact that the press kit has pictures of what looks like an Ork camp might be a hint in this direction.
Part of the reason why they aren’t willing to share many details with me is because there are so many details to be worked out during the production of this game. Having identified myself as a 40K player, Tim Holman says “You know that if we laid all the 40K lore on top of one another the stack of books would hit the ceiling.” Considering the height of the ceiling of the Expo’s South Hall, it’s an appropriate image.
“When you’re making a game like this the IP owner has usually exited the building, but Games Workshop is an important party in our development. We’re friends with them,” Tim says. “It’s a great working relationship. It’s not all business when we call them, but more like ‘Hey! What’s going on!?’”
“Games Workshop calls the shots per changes,” Verdon says. “If they tell us to change something, it doesn’t matter if we’ve already dropped the code. It gets changed or comes out. It’s a testament to the way GW values and protects their IP.” In other words, extreme attention to detail is being paid. That paid off big in games like Dawn of War and Dawn of War II, and if that’s the target being set for an MMO we’re likely to get a product that truly steeps us in 40K lore.
I raise this point about how well DoW and Dow II conveyed the universe of 40K to the point where, on a personal note, playing the first game was directly responsible for my getting involved in the tabletop version. Georgina Verdon’s face lights up as I tell her the story.
“I had never even heard of 40K before I played Dawn of War: Winter Assault,” she says. “I wasn’t even an RTS player, but I fell in love with the gameplay. The game drew me in and exposed me to a new universe.”
“But do you play 40K, now?” I ask her. “I play Space Wolves,” she answers without missing a beat.
When I follow up with a question as to how much more challenging it is to adhere to the same level of canonical detail that DoW and DoW II presented in a game the scale of an MMO, Georgina doesn’t seem concerned in the least. “That’s just it,” Verdon says. “With the technology we have available to us now, we can finally do justice to the world of Warhammer 40,000.” The trailer for the game is all in-game assets, and Verdon is quick to point out how good the game already looks this early into production.
I spend a good deal of time listening to Tim Holman geek out on 40K while Tim Campbell watches with guarded amusement. Considering Campbell is leading the actual development team from Vigil Games, I couldn’t blame him for perhaps being a little concerned about what might be said about Dark Millennium at this meeting, considering it was really his baby we were discussing; or perhaps he hadn’t had the chance before to really soak in the level of 40K devotion that exists among its fans.
“When I was over at Relic [the developers of the Dawn of War and Space Marine],” Tim Holman tells me excitedly, “one of the engineers was actually molding his own parts for 40K models. They had a room that someone walked into one day and said ‘This is the 40K room,’ and they’d play the tabletop game in there. Now, we must have at least a hundred guys on the Dark Millennium team who paint armies. I paint armies. The Executive Vice President of THQ paints armies!”
At this point things are beginning to feel downright chummy, so I decide to test the limits of the embargo once more. I ask whether they can tell me anything about the PvP aspect of the game, whether battles will be limited to instanced zones, or whether confrontations will have a larger effect on the game world.
“Details about PvP will be answered later,” Georgina Verdon says, “but we have playable code for battleground scenarios already.”
“People in California are fighting people in Austin,” Tim Holman says. “We have over 40 hours of gameplay footage that we had to boil down to about 30 seconds for the trailer.”
“A battleground is in there, it’s working, and it’s f@&#ing awesome,” Verdon laughs.
When I ask about a rough anticipated release date, Tim Campbell’s answer is immediate. “We’ll ship when it’s done,” he says. “You can’t invest the kind of money we’ve invested into this game and then rush the ship date.”
“The long partnership with THQ has really raised the bar on the quality Games Workshop expects,” Tim Holman says. “That’s a tall order, because Dawn of War set the bar very high for any Warhammer 40,000 game to come after it.” It isn’t just about what Games Workshop expects, however. The respect for the 40K universe among the staff at THQ serves as a metric by which projects are judged even before they get put under the critical lens of the IP holder.
“We’ve stopped production on 40K games we’ve prototyped because they weren’t good enough for us,” Holman says. “Those weren’t GW decisions. Those were internal.”
The clear love of the universe that I felt during the interview reminded me of sitting at a table with some of my wargaming friends and discussing 40K. Vigil and THQ are looking at the details, concerning themselves with the little things and making sure they get them right not only for Games Workshop, but also for themselves as fans of the tabletop game.
If they don’t want to give details right now, I don’t think it’s entirely on account of a press embargo levied by the PR department. I think they want to give themselves the necessary leeway to make fine-tuned adjustments before releasing announcements. As a journalist, it’s frustrating. As a 40K fan, it’s downright encouraging.
I thank everyone for their time, and Tim leads me back down the stairs and through the press area. As we part company, Tim tells me the one thing he really wants the fans to know: “The game’s already fun.” If that’s a sign of things to come, then we’ll all be pleased
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As long as its not Warhammer with bolters and power armour ill be happy. I love all things Warhammer be it 40k or otherwise. I just don't want it balls'd up like the first attempt. >:(
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Lets hope they don't make it into a "RvE" game and focus on making large battles fun.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe9By9eiM7U&feature=player_embedded
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Tech priests as playable methinks
much awesomesauce
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Tech priests as playable methinks
much awesomesauce
Would be mint.
If - and it probably will - it goes on a levelling path, and TP's are in, it would be great to have them increase their body mods as they go along in levels, start off pretty much human and end up like this:
(http://www.gamesofstate.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/techpriest.jpg)
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rock paper shotgun also had an article (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/08/23/inquisition-dark-millenium-online-interview/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+RockPaperShotgun+%28Rock,+Paper,+Shotgun%29)about it
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MMORPG.com:
In the new trailer you talk about the Imperium of Man. Can you tell us how the Space Marines and Imperial Guard will work together?
Tim Campbell:
The Imperium of Man is drawn to the Sargos Sector because of a significant disturbance in the Warp that jeopardizes a rich mining world. We are not ready to disclose any further details yet around the circumstances, but rest assured that we are working on something that is truly epic and will deliver on the expectations of the Warhammer 40,000 fan base.
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MMORPG.com:
You mentioned in another interview that there will only be two overall factions in the game. Can you explain how this will work and what armies will be working together?
Tim Campbell:
We are working very closely with Games Workshop to ensure that the experience that we will deliver in Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online will remain true and faithful to the IP. We know that this particular issue has been a subject of much debate. However, once we have finished revealing all of the races, classes and key storylines for the game and how they all interrelate to one another, we know that the fans are going to love it. How could they not when Games Workshop is closely working with us on making sure that the game stays true to the lore and the IP.
MMORPG.com:
How do you plan to balance the shooter combat and melee combat in Warhammer 40,000? Both styles are very relevant to the table top game.
Tim Campbell:
We agree. You cannot bring the world of Warhammer 40,000 to life without embracing both shooter and melee play styles. Our plan for balancing the two is to make sure that we are accounting for both styles in every aspect of the game design. From pace to controls to enemy AI behaviors to zone design, we have had to be mindful of the fact that the players will have both powerful guns that fire off numerous rounds of ammunition and melee weapons that deliver devastating attacks. It’s a challenge to say the least, but we feel that the balance that we are driving toward here is probably the most important pillar of our game and will really set us apart from other more traditional MMOs.
MMORPG.com:
Tech Priests are clearly mentioned in the trailer, can you tell us a little more about them?
Tim Campbell:
For anyone unfamiliar with the Warhammer 40,000 universe Tech Priests are pretty badass and generally form the brains of the Emperor’s servants. As their name suggests they are skilled technicians and scientists and take human form, but they also have mechanical body elements which makes them really cool looking as well. I wish I could give you more details about their role in the game, but I can’t at this stage. All I can say is that it’s really cool they are a part of this game and you’ll have to stay tuned for more details.
MMORPG.com:
How has work on the game been going? Is the team excited about meeting milestones?
Tim Campbell:
The team is extremely excited at this stage and we are building the game in earnest. With all of the underlying technology development and prototyping out of the way, it is thrilling to see the world of our game come to life on almost a daily basis.
MMORPG.com:
Both trailers have made a big splash among players. Will we see an Orc or Chaos trailer soon?
Tim Campbell:
Our goal is continue revealing more and more details about all of the races in our game as we move forward. We are thrilled that the community has responded so favorably to the trailers released to date. We feel like we’re just getting started and hope to deliver even more exciting material in the months to come.
MMORPG.com:
As fans of Warhammer 40,000 what are your favorite parts of working with the IP?
Tim Campbell:
We are really excited about being able to dive into the depth of the lore. The table top game is fantastic and drives fan interest. However, there is so much narrative and history in the Codexes that is difficult to cover in the table top format. We feel extremely lucky to have the benefit of this rich material to help us flesh out a deep, rich, immersive experience in our game.
MMORPG.com:
How will you handle the many Space Marine Chapters in the game? Will there be some form of customization for players?
Tim Campbell:
All I can say for now is that the chapter that we are focusing on for our base playable Space Marine is the Black Templars. There are many reasons for choosing this particular chapter that will be revealed over time. As for what other Space Marine chapters will make an appearance in DMO, we’ll keep you posted, but it’s safe to presume that there will be some sort of customization option for players, after all this is an MMO we’re talking about! ;)
MMORPG.com:
Can you give three core elements to the game that you feel are essential in meeting expectations of the Warhammer 40,000 fan base?
Tim Campbell:
The team’s number one priority is making sure that they fully bring to life the unique, rich, and violent warhammer 40,000 universe to life. Fans have been waiting for a long time for their chance to truly live in the universe and we want to make sure that we deliver on that experience.
As they say in the “Grim darkness of the far future there is only war”, so obviously combat is a huge part of bringing that experience to life. With our focus on embracing both the shooter and melee combat styles, we really feel that the players will get a chance to experience eternal battle that rages across the warhammer 40,000 universe.
Finally we really want to get across the epic scope of the warhammer 40,000 universe. This is a setting where war is waged across sectors where men and aliens fight and die on battlefields as massive Titans, like you saw in the videos, stride across the battlefield laying waste to everything that stands in their path.
MMORPG.com:
What is your choice for Table Top army and why?
Tim Campbell:
Personally, I have grown very fond of the Grey Knights. I love the mystery and secrecy around their connection to the Inquisition and their ability to use psyker abilities as well as a potent array of the more convention Space Marine arsenal. They rock!
source (http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/542/feature/4518/Tim-Campbell-Interview.html)
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Balck Templars sweet
so deffo Tech Priests and NO LIbrarians ;)
No Pity! No Remorse! No Fear!
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I can be a psyker?
(http://www.incgamers.com/images/screenshots/21321orig.jpg)
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I can be a psyker?
i can see the boards, NO NO NO NO Black Templars dont use such tactics ;)
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Quoting from scrapheap:
Well, properly Left to Right:
Space Marine (damage dealer/tank config, 2H weapon)
IG Officer (Ranged DPS/Pet mode?)
Ecclesiarchy Priest (judging from the iconography and vox in throat - Healbot)
Tech-Priest (off-tank maybe?)
IG/Rogue Trader? (doesn't look like any uniforms I know - Another ranged DPS)
I may be hilariously wrong, of course.
Kinda makes some sense I suppose - although as the author says he could be wrong!
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http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/12/04/warhammer-40k-dark-millennium-online-a-grim-dark-future/
Remember that bit in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook where that Space Marine went into a Space Marine village and was cornered by a commoner with a yellow exclamation mark above his head? The one who told him to go out to his garden and kill ten snotlings that were terrorising his space-crops? No you don’t, and neither does Mike Maza, creative director on Warhammer 40K MMO Dark Millennium Online.“We just couldn’t wrap our heads around a Space Marine killing ten wolves for their pelts. It’s just not 40K. We don’t want to give those kinds of quests to the players, we think it takes you out of the fiction. The objectives of our quests are far more epic than that.”
Two wheels good, tank tracks and ten guns: better
Warhammer 40K’s grim future of inter-species war is perhaps the only universe you could get away with a ‘kill except the number would be well into the thousands. But traditional online RPG models – all stilted combat and ritualistic toolbar presses – are anathema to a universe based on the sole unifying principle of smashing the faces off everything that ever existed. Dave Adams, founding father of developers Vigil, adds his perspective: “at first we said ‘let’s make a standard MMO. Guy goes in, dude’s standing there, patrol walks by. I tap, select him, and hit one.’ It was lousy.” It didn’t fit with the game played on tabletops across the world, it didn’t fit the team’s imagined experience, and most importantly, it didn’t fit with 40K’s endless, rapid-fire carnage.
Dave explains his vision of the universe, developed from 25 years of familiarity with Games Workshop products: “We’re designing a cinematic, action-oriented MMO, balanced in terms of player-on-player and player-versus-environment battles. There’s a lot of ranged combat, but also a healthy dose of melee. You’re not gonna have a bunch of static spawns, you’re not gonna have a bunch of random patrols.” Vigil are playing in a universe defined by a quarter of a decade of development, tightened but enhanced by reams of backstory. Were they to produce a retextured WoW, they’d be chainsworded to death by armies of angry fans – and rightly so.
Don't feed Dreadnoughts curry.
Fortunately, Vigil are aware of this. Dave has got serious complaints about the whole MMO genre. Whole genre, look away now: “You just pretty much hammer on the number keys. They’re the same mechanic over and over again.” Vigil previously worked on console-oriented action beat-’em-up Darksiders. It was heavy on the reactive combat, full of man-stabbing and bloody moments calculated to make people shout “yeah!” and want to play air guitar. Dave argues the team learned more from that experience than they have from their MMO peers. “There’s a lot more finesse in what you do in a console game. The moment-tomoment, the weight of the animations, the response, the effects. It’s really all about the pace.”
Strong words from a team without a finished MMO of their own. But it’s not like they’re novices paddling in the genre pool: Dave himself left online specialists NCsoft in 2005 to found Vigil. I asked him whether he thought any other online worlds got combat right: “It’s just not been a priority for them. A lot more attention is put into console games: if you sit down and you play an MMO, and you actually compared it to a triple-A console game, a lot of the stuff would never fly.”
He's either really close, or that's the world's dinkiest Titan.
I asked him why he thought that was. “A lot of developers see that as an opportunity to cut that corner because there’s so much to do on an MMO. They think people care about X, Y and Z. They don’t really care about the feeling of the combat.” But Vigil have to make the same world, the same economy, the same community as other online world- builders – how will their MMO break this apparent corner-cutting culture? “That disparity isn’t going to be tolerated for too long: eventually someone’s going to do it and everyone else is going to have to follow suit. We want to be those people, and that pushed us toward a more action- oriented formula.”
Dave began to describe what he meant by this, but not before sticking a final power-armoured boot into MMO contemporaries. “If you see an MMO 20 feet away you know it’s an MMO. There’s a million icons on the screen, the interface is the same. They’re so predictable. Our goal is when some guy’s walking past DMO they won’t instantly know it’s an MMO. That depends on a minimal interface: it’s not a full FPS but it looks more ‘actiony’.”
Actiony is not a word. Define ‘actiony’, Dave! Mike Maza stepped in to help: “We’ve done away with the action bar icon from the screen – we’ve kept it down to essential elements for ranged combat.” That’s not to suggest that it’s all shooting – half of Warhammer 40K is focused on getting within spitting distance of your enemy and then jabbing the pointiest thing your race knows about into their eye. But Mike says that’s simpler to handle than gunplay. “Melee combat is relatively easy, we have tons of examples of how it’s been done in the past.” It’s similarly easy to see how it’ll be approached in DMO – a middle ground between the kinetic feedback of singleplayer fighting and the arcane dance of MMO combat. How the team will deal with frantic battlefield crossfire is less obvious. Internal discussions are still ongoing about shooting specifics, and subject to rapid change.
I dunno if I want to get in, have Health and Safety checked it over?
John Mueller is DMO’s art director, and gave me an insight on the portions of the gun-game they have locked down, describing the design that’s gone into 40K’s signature sidearm: the Space Marine bolter. “We spend a lot of time just making those feel awesome. It’s really one of the universe’s primary weapons, it’s important for us that it handles and sounds the way we and Games Workshop think it should.”
Space Marines are sorted then, but the still-unannounced races and classes not blessed with such a well-defined firearm won’t be getting cast-offs. John’s art team have spent time poring through the tomes of 40K history for gun-spiration, and crikey, is this a universe that likes its guns. “There’s a lot of documentation about the weapons in 40K, but there’s also things like a belt-fed stubber that might not have been drawn before. With these, we’ll extrapolate it visually from other things in the canon.” New guns will be canonical cannons, then.
Taking tinfoil hats to extremes.
Your mouse-handling skills will play more of a role than they would in a standard MMO, but the team agree that it’s not going to be a twitch-centric shooter. Dave clarifies: “It’s still an RPG. There’s still stats. Your ability as a character is related to your level and the kind of loot you have.” Loot! See, other MMOs: DMO might flip its middle finger at you when you turn around, but it’s still one of the guys.
In terms of design, how this pickuppable junk will change your character is defined by GW’s dictation. John explains how the relationship between the companies affects aesthetics: “You have these character archetypes that Games Workshop have set. But at the high levels we want see how far we can go with the awesomeness of the gear.” Calibrate your awesomeositors to register unprecedented awesomeosity.
The intrinsic need for loot and gear means no jettisoning of the usual systems of shopping and crafting – though how they’re going to be portrayed hasn’t been explained yet. I asked John Mueller what Space Marine towns would look like, and his response was simple: “Space Marines don’t have towns. It’s not like our cities are specifically a ‘Space Marine town’, it’s more just like a settlement in the Imperium, instead of a branded area.” Artistically, how do they ensure that a generic settlement stays interesting and true to the fiction? “Everything is really old! That’s what Games Workshop always say, whenever they put something in 40K, just make it look really old.”
Painting a target on yourself is asking for trouble.
As 40K’s overlords, GW are protective of their invention: it wouldn’t do for a tech priest of the Adeptus Mechanicus, servants of the Emperor and born from the ancient forge world of Mars to be wearing a funny hat. Space Marines wear power armour; necessity states you could end up looking like your friend if you play the same class. John explains how to get around this problem and still foster a sense of identity. “Character customisation is about progression, where you go and what you do in the world changes how you look. Space Marine armour is so heavily adorned, you can imagine how the progression might go: a marine who’s been on campaigns will make all kinds of adjustments to his armour reflecting his experience.” I’m mentally accessorising my marine already: a nice Tyranid tooth necklace would bring out the red in my power armour.
You’re not going to be working from scratch, either. The Imperium is the only confirmed race so far, but every starting option has players coming into the game as a hero – there’s no Space Marine toilet cleaning duty to earn your stripes. A good thing when you’re up against genetically superior backsides. Mike quickly outlined a typical opening to a newly minted character: “There’s scenarios that introduce you to your character class. We’ll throw you into your very first instance, to get a feel for a very player directed experience. Then you’ll go to your trainers and merchants, then drop down onto the over-world from orbit.” The team kept schtum on how travelling between worlds would work in-game, but planet-hopping is necessary to advance – the Sargos sector in which the game is set is a big chunk of space.
Vigil have only mentioned the Imperium of Man as playable so far.
It’s not just your character you’ll be customising: mechanised war machines are central to DMO, as they are to the 40K fiction. The game’s first trailer teases viewers, ending on footage of a five-storey walker romping across a blasted landscape. That two- legged monster was a Titan, one of 40K’s largest and most killy war- bastards – and Dave confirms that a player was controlling it. “You’ll use vehicles in PvE, you’ll use them in the general over-world, and you’ll use them in PvP.” These vehicles can be run with a crew, separate players taking on the roles of gunner, driver, and man who stands on top and yells “DRIVE FASTER!”
Or, you can go it alone. “In a tank, you control the primary turret, but you don’t have the full command of all the weapons on the tank. If someone jumps in the primary turret then you might just be driving.” 40K’s grab-bag of lethal vehicular toys makes this prospect a tasty one: the game’s first trailers clearly point at a number of the universe’s iconic battle-tanks, such as the Predator. Handling is pitched somewhere between simplistic and simulation, but Vigil are keen to keep the physical connection: glide toward another player on a turbo-charged bike and you’ll thunk into them: “you can’t drive through another tank like it isn’t there. That just looks weird.” Mike singled out the PvP battlegrounds as a particular hotbed of vehicle use, but wouldn’t be drawn into explaining quite how they’ll work when used against your fellow human.
Vigil promises content for groups of all sizes.
Developing a game in Warhammer 40,000K’s universe brings specific challenges. Traditional MMOs are built around downtime, longer periods of peace, shopping and chatting between raids. You stop to chat in 40K’s fiction and you get sliced apart by shurikens, turned into a gibbering inside-out mass of muscle by Chaos gods, or biffed in the gob by a powerfist. As the sourcebooks regularly remind us, there is “ONLY WAR!” in the 41st millennium. Dave has a philosophical way of handling this issue: “I imagine the 40K universe as a giant machine who’s output is war – but it’s still a machine. There’s still cogs and pistons, there’s still all the internal machinations and workings of a machine that makes the war.” Neat concept, but let’s frame it in the hour-to-hour of playing the game. “There’s a lot going on off the battlefield. Sure, war in the battlegrounds and PvP conflicts are a big part of the game. But another big part of the game is just exploring what’s going on off the battlefield, following the fluff and stories.”
War in DMO is stratified, taken further than just the pew-pew in direct conflict – it’s about the thrill of the chase, the long-game in questlines. Even just for the Imperium, one of many not-yet confirmed races, there’s different types of war: “the war on the battlefield, the psychological war the Imperium engages in to maintain this giant organisation and prevent rebellion, the war against Chaos.” Life in Dark Millennium Online is intended to be constant struggle, full of constant threat that – Vigil hopes – will provide enough of an incentive to live in a constant universe where war reigns.
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Sounds like it could be fun... but well it all depends on if its pve or pvp centric.
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http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/13/hmm-dark-millennium-online-details/#more-77821
list of info on RPS that they linked from Strategy informer
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Gah beaten.
Although that RPS link as more info than Id seen elsewere, so nice one Bethor!
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so apparently they are pairing up
Smurfs and space elves vs Evil smurfs and green things ?!?!?!
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so apparently they are pairing up
Smurfs and space elves vs Evil smurfs and green things ?!?!?!
Thats a huge let down, id have preferred a huge rumble tbh, space elves v orks v humies v chaos and all the colours and shades in between.
2 factions is always pants.
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best is every man for himself
2nd best is 3 sides, but they never do that.
and yay another wow clone is 2 sides
in mmo land anyways
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Plus, Smurfs and Eldar would never ally anyway. It's just not in the lore. The Eldar may work toward the same goal during the course of a battle, but they would never identify themselves as part of the same faction.
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Plus, Smurfs and Eldar would never ally anyway. It's just not in the lore. The Eldar may work toward the same goal during the course of a battle, but they would never identify themselves as part of the same faction.
exactly the only good xeno is a dead xeno in the eyes of the emperor
and Eldar are sneaky sods working to get things done without anyone seeing their hand
i know its for game balance reasons but mehhhhhhh
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Plus, Smurfs and Eldar would never ally anyway. It's just not in the lore. The Eldar may work toward the same goal during the course of a battle, but they would never identify themselves as part of the same faction.
Its even worse. all SM [edit]shown in the trailers [/edit] weren't smurfs but Black templars. Those cant even ally with xenos
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They should have based this on the Inquisition.
I wrote some fanfic for the Inquisition and Dark Angels 15 odd years ago that would of made an awesome basis for an MMO :D
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They should have based this on the Inquisition.
I wrote some fanfic for the Inquisition and Dark Angels 15 odd years ago that would of made an awesome basis for an MMO :D
An Inquisition based MMO would have rocked, would have needed to be very very dark and what not too.
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Worse is they are limiting the chaos side to 1 choice of faction (Khorne followers I beleive), so no nurgle or tzeentch or even slaneesh (would have loved to be a noise marine).
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Plus, Smurfs and Eldar would never ally anyway. It's just not in the lore. The Eldar may work toward the same goal during the course of a battle, but they would never identify themselves as part of the same faction.
Plus Smurfs don't wear shirts. It's uncivilised. And they think Smurf bombs are real weapons. And Smurfblades break so easily. It's just embarrassing.
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your fan fic didn't include a young farm boy who learns from a wise spiritual leader and conquers the ultimate evil by any chance did it kurtt xD
laters elv
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your fan fic didn't include a young farm boy who learns from a wise spiritual leader and conquers the ultimate evil by any chance did it kurtt xD
laters elv
Have you read it? And how did you know my mum was only 4'11"?
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still would like a necromunda like game, i envision it kind of like they did bloodbowl
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still would like a necromunda like game, i envision it kind of like they did bloodbowl
Necromunda would make an awesome game
perma death for gangers and everything :)
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Turns out they maybe rolling with black templars, not smurfs.
So yeah good luck grouping a bt with xenos.
And yeah gogo segregated guilds we pick one group and stick with it. Purity of the species and free from taint and all that.
Info dump from around the net:
Game Design Notes:
* Relic is lending a very small hand in the overall development of dmo. Winking, a chinese based developer is also on board. They helped with Spacemarine as well.
* Vigil is doing 90% of the work. Most of the shared work load is art, and animation.
* Spacemarine is built on the same engine as darksiders (and darksiders 2 respectively)
* Dmo is using the same engine, with gameplay (at least combat) akin to Spacemarine.
* Contrary to what I was told, the art style is NOT like Spacemarine, rather the whole game is more like darksiders (1 & 2), very stylized. The videos released at the last E3 are fairly accurate to the current state of the art style. Less realistic.
* Revision to what I was told by the rep, is that Spring 2012 is unlikely… maybe for more announcements on the game’s progress. Though a Darsiders 2 release in spring is likely, Vigil is working on both.
Class related notes:
* Races broadly put into forces of “Order” and “Disorder” similar to 40K World-wide campaigns.
* The “spacemarine” is a class, with a chaos counterpart.
* Tactical, heavy, assault as specialties.
* Each class starts as something familiar, and through progression changes.Ie. Scout to Marine
* Other classes include: psyker, techpriest, and assassin
* The assassin starts as a guardsman-esque character.
* Chaos have similar counterparts, cultist themed.
* Instead of an assassin, think demon host.
* Orks are with Chaos (disorder), Eldar are with the Imperium of man (order)
* Ork class rundown: Nob, mekboy, runt herda, mad dok
* Eldar class rundown: Scorpion, Avenger, Warlock, Reaper
* Expect Tau & Dark Eldar later, likely an expansion, though dark eldar npcs will be present on release, as well as Necron, and Tyranids. (Interesting idea, going for the ‘faceless’ races as NPCs, though I suspect you won’t be getting quests from the Swarmlord!)
* 60 character levels.
Gameplay related notes:
* A crashed space hulk will be one of the zones.
* Another zone will take place on an Imperial Cruiser, and Chaos Cruiser.
* Expect several instanced missions much like WoW, as well as open world.
* It will include instanced & open world pvp.
* Players will be able to dual weild things like pistols and melee weapons… yes that means two chain swords.
* The featured chapter is Black Templars. (As evidenced by the banner art)
* The featured chaos god is Khorne, at least for playable
* Word Bearers will also take a major role in the Playable chaos faction
* Nurgle & Fabius Bile will have a big Chaos NPC presence. (I suspect not Nurgle himself, but perhaps Typhus?)
* Possible shooter/RPG mode controls, like StarTrek Online.
* Third person action, plays like Gears of War/Space Marine mixed together for shooting.
Melee is more like Space Marine/Darksiders, with the target lock on.
Blocking melee attacks is a maybe, sheilds may be NPC only.
* NPC creatures vary from: Necromunda like humans, Chaos Cultists, Dark Eldar; from Grotesques to Warriors, Chaos Daemons and beasts, Orks, Grots, Guardsmen, defected Guardsmen, most of the minor Demons, Dreadnoughts, Tyranid Warriors, Genestealers and more.
* Forgeworld things may be present. Thunderhawk, terrain sets, Aquila landers, FW-esque equipment on vehicles.
* Environments range from snowy mountains, to the innards of a crashed space hulk… from cities destroyed, and orkified, to ancient eldar cities, overgrown with nids… from ancient battlefields, littered with the carcases of Titans and tanks, to a hive city, nostalgic with necromunda…. from the halls of Imperial Cruisers, to tge desecrated throne rooms of Chaos.
* Everything is large, beefy, and sticks to 40k very well. People already invested in the background and game will progress at a snails pace, as we will be distracted by everything.
* Left mouse uses the weapon in your character’s left hand, Right mouse uses the weapon in your character’s right hand. Rather cool mechanic.
* All abilities have a cooldown… No spamming your “3? key like most MMOs. This will likely annoy WoW diehards. This pleases me.
* Melee combos – dual wielding gives new moves
* There is sprinting.
* “Guilds” will be present.
* Team/party/squad size is 5
* “Raid” size is 50… subject to change.
* Ranged weapons have infinite ammo, but there is reloading, overheating, venting, and reloading.
* Weapons rarely get to take full advantage of their range when inside… lots of cover and turning corners, it’s very dynamic.
* Hero classes are possible, unlocked once you get a character high enoigh level.
o Imperium: Grey Knight
o Chaos: Chaos Sorcerer
o Ork: ‘Ard boy or Weird boy
o Eldar: Farseer
* Hero classes will begin at higher level…
* Likely 40.
A player progressing as a marine will do so as follows:
Lv. 0: an adept, think a marine wearing just carapace armor.
Lv. 10: more or less a scout.
Lv. 20: equipped like the marine character in th sm codex… forgot his name.
Lv. 30: a standard marine
Lv. 40 honor guard or Sergeant, some decoration
Lv. 50 sternguard, maybe captain.
Lv. 60 artificer armor, iron halos, the whole sha-bang.
Grey knight fits in fairly well at around 40.
Other classes progress similarly.
Misc. Notes
* Tech priest are very, very pure adeptus mechamicus themed…Backpacks with a robot arm.
* A cover system is implemented.Waist high cover and standing cover.
* Cross platform is very possible.
* Shooting mechanics will have aim assist
* Similarly, melee attacks will lock on.
* Abilities work similar to Warhammer Online. A common resource, then each class has a unique resource used with abilities.
* Weapons inxrease in “coolness” as far as progression is concerned.
* A lv. 1 autogun may be it’s familiar form in necromunda and early IG… by lv 60, sone autoguns look cool enough for inquisitors to be using, lathered in fancy trim, aquilas, etc.
* Same goes for other weapons…. think Call of Duty, as you unlock the various weapon upgrades, you guns start looking cooler.
Each class has 3 specialties.
* Marine: Tactical, Devastator, Assault
* Assassin/guardsman: the major assassin type, callidus, vindicare, eversor (however you spell it)
* The Marine is by far the most flushed out.
* most abilities are still very WIP.
* Jump packs- not sure how they’ll work.
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fuck off teaming BT with any xenos is just WRONG on every level. Yeah teh kiddies like the black armour but really? another chapter would be better/more suited.
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Yeah teh kiddies like the black armour but really?
Talking out of experience there now?
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Yeah teh kiddies like the black armour but really?
Talking out of experience there now?
you dont know the half of it matey ;)
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Yeah teh kiddies like the black armour but really?
Talking out of experience there now?
you dont know the half of it matey ;)
Let's keep it that way... :o
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fuck off teaming BT with any xenos is just WRONG on every level. Yeah teh kiddies like the black armour but really? another chapter would be better/more suited.
im more for WE fighting BA
you cant go more balanced than that
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Rumour suggests this may have been dropped, along with EVERYTHING THQ has lined up to publish/pay for the 2014 gaming year.
http://kotaku.com/5876253/thq-wipes-out-games-planned-for-2014-to-ready-itself-for-sale-says-insider (http://kotaku.com/5876253/thq-wipes-out-games-planned-for-2014-to-ready-itself-for-sale-says-insider)
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Didnt want that neutered, limited faction, short sighted dev lead MMO anyway (Not really I wanted to be a commissar!):
http://kotaku.com/5881889/in-the-grim-future-there-might-not-be-a-warhammer-40k-mmo (http://kotaku.com/5881889/in-the-grim-future-there-might-not-be-a-warhammer-40k-mmo)
In the Grim Future There Might not be a Warhammer 40K MMO
A few weeks back, the future of THQ's Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium MMO was very much up in the air. Comments early yesterday had seemed to ease fears over the project, but comments later yesterday brought the fears right back.
It seems beleaguered publisher THQ doesn't have the stomach or coin to fully back the development of the game itself any longer, saying in a conference call:
Because of the large financial commitment and associated risks, we are being realistic about our resources and we are actively seeking a partner for this compelling new MMO. We will keep you updated on our progress.
That doesn't sound very promising at all.
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If they go forward they really shouldnt make another wow.....
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no longer an MMO :'(
from rps Eurogamer has news that THQ’s MMO project, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online, has been refocused as a single-player and multi-player online game. The game had previously been rumoured to be cancelled. THQ boss Brian Ferrell said: “Based on changing market dynamics and the additional investment required to complete the game as an MMO, we believe the right direction for us is to shift the title from an MMO to a premium experience with single and multiplayer gameplay, robust digital content and community features.” Around 120 people across the Relic and Vigil studios have been laid off as a result of the change, which is depressing news. Hopefully we’ll firm up exactly what sort of game we’re left soon. A 40k RPG with online bits? Could be… And that would be okay by me.
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yuck