[Warhammer 40k Online] speculation for the Speculation God!

Wishpig

Virgil Games the masterminds(?) behind Darksides are currently slaving over 40k's first mmo. As they put it...

Warhammer 40,000 is one of the most eagerly anticipated MMOs on the horizon. As long time fans of Warhammer 40,000, we're pulling out all the stops to deliver a game that will plunge players deep into this incredibly rich universe.

We’ll be announcing more about the game in the months to come, so stay tuned.

True, we know very very little about the game at this point, but the game is planned to be fully revealed at this years E3. To be exact, sometime between June 15th to June 17th. Right around the corner.

We do know some key aspects of the game though...

• Planned release in 2012
• Will be released in North America, Europe, and Asia
• Interesting take on their payment plan. America and Europe will be traditionally handled with a monthly fee, but Asia's payment will be based on micro-transactions. Quite clever Virgil.
• All major Warhammer 40k races will be represented, from 'nids to those damn wussy elves with guns!
• Will be an RPG and and not a FPS. I suspect many will be unhappy about this.
• Despite not being FPS based, cover will play a very important role. I imagine like the smuggler in Old Republic.
• Flanking and suppression will also be major components. Sounds like some inspiration from DoW2.
• non-violent activities will be present.
• The role of vehicles is unknown, but it sounds lke Virgil is well aware of their importance!
• As far as customization goes We are going to have the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever" - Joel Madureira
• Will take place well after Horus Heresy, in a time frame similar to current 40k lore.

Visually all we have is some sexy concept art... so enjoy!

A lovley piece of scenery ruined/improved by those damned orks hunk of junk.


An Ultramarine... safe to assume Space Marines will be a playible race. I would bet my soul on it.


A nifty imperial titan.


Yet another Ork warship! based on the concept art, it really does seem like vehicles are getting love!



Thanks to Warhammer 40k MMO source for collecting all the great info.

http://www.40ksource.net/

Brainleech

A fps ?
Sigh O well I had such high hope for it

The Dude With Herpes

# Will be an RPG and an FPS. I suspect many will be unhappy about this.
# Despite not being FPS based, cover will play a very important role. I imagine like the smugglar in Old Republic.

wat?

I'm cool with it being a FPS, though I'd be curious to see where it was stated to be as such.

I'm getting tired of the click and attack formula for MMO's. Borderlands, while not an MMO, showed that it is entirely possible to make a fun, engaging, FPS with RPG underpinnings that makes progression feel meaningful while retaining the FPS atmosphere.

It can be done.

Wishpig

Brainleech wrote: »

A fps ?
Sigh O well I had such high hope for it

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

# Will be an RPG and an FPS. I suspect many will be unhappy about this.
# Despite not being FPS based, cover will play a very important role. I imagine like the smugglar in Old Republic.

wat?

I'm cool with it being a FPS, though I'd be curious to see where it was stated to be as such.

I'm getting tired of the click and attack formula for MMO's. Borderlands, while not an MMO, showed that it is entirely possible to make a fun, engaging, FPS with RPG underpinnings that makes progression feel meaningful while retaining the FPS atmosphere.

It can be done.

Sorry my bad... it's an RPG and NOT an FPS... fixed the OP. To determined to write this before class, and rushed.

I'm very curious as to how this will be handled. I'm fine with RPG, as long as it's fast, furious, and hectic. Personally I hope the gun play is faster then Old Republic's which seems to ponderous.

The Dude With Herpes

Oh.

Well I'm a bit disappointed then.

Though if they come out with an announcement that it is a squad based mmo, and you control and customize a squad of units.

All my dicks and all that.

Wishpig

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

Oh.

Well I'm a bit disappointed then.

Though if they come out with an announcement that it is a squad based mmo, and you control and customize a squad of units.

All my dicks and all that.

Well supposedly formations will be a part of combat. Although many MMO's have said as such and many either didn't implant formations or did so poorly

I agree a squad based mmo would be awesome, but almost impossible. Think about how many units would be on screen in a large PvP battle. You would at least triple the amount with squads. Although a "pet" based imperial guard class would be cool. Where you lead fellow guardsmen. Only way I see IG being implanted...

The Dude With Herpes

Yeah IG couldn't go toe to toe with....anything; if everyone was individual units.

It has to be some sort of squad system if it is going to make any sense at all in the 40k universe.

I don't think that numbers have to necessarily be an issue though. I mean there are many ways to circumvent the issue with instancing, what you're actually shown client-side etc. Also we're still looking at several years to release; I think that the people who are going to be interested in a 40k mmo are probably the people who will have systems that can handle a decent engine.

Neurotika

Hmm...I just wanted this to be Planetside 40k. That would have been the best.

Now, let's see what they really come up with.

Sterica

Non-violent activities better be limited to cleaning blood off your armor and crafting trophies out of corpses.

The Dude With Herpes

Rorus Raz wrote: »

Non-violent activities better be limited to cleaning blood off your armor and crafting trophies out of corpses.

Alternately painting and customizing your machines and weapons of murder and destruction.

You gotta look pretty going into battle.

<---Can't wait for the inevitable Hello Kitty Chaos armies!

(Yes, I've seen the photos of actual hello kitty chaos armies)

Zzulu

I say this about every MMO and I always get disappointed in the end, but:

If the combat is good, and fun, I will probably love this game

In this case it better be visceral and bloody too

Dunxco

So, who wants to take bets then? We've got a good, what, two years before this shows up? I'm willing to bet that Space Marines, and possibly the Imperial Guard will be playable. Everything else will be NPC races who must all die horribly in bolter fire.

Yay, more Space Marine jerking off. /sarcasm.

Fiaryn

The MMORPG format is so poorly suited to Warhammer 40k it boggles the mind.

Sterica

I'm guessing they'll have the basic Marines, Chaos Marines, Orks and Eldar available at launch.

Dunxco

Rorus Raz wrote: »

I'm guessing they'll have the basic Marines, Chaos Marines, Orks and Eldar available at launch.

If they did, I'd be fucking overjoyed. Especially if Chaos were in the mix as playable. Orks would be a close second. Eldar can go screw themselves.

I'm just naturally cynical because, with most GW games, Space Marines get pushed, and pushed hard.

ObiFett

Will play if Tau are playable.

Love 40k though, so will watch this closer and see if anything can change my mind.

Zzulu

Chaos, SM, Eldar and Orks are necessary

Because I need to get to play my ork madboy

Arghy

Dear god i mean as long as they stick to lore i dont see how they can fuck this up even if its a WoW based game. I do hope they have pvp though cause i want to attack chaos with my powerfist wielding black templar.

Jephery

A squad based RPG system could work. Like a MMO-DoW 2, or Granada Espada (a Korean grind machine that had a decent 3-charater system). With different classes having different squad sizes.

Dunxco

Well, if Vigil are doing it, after playing Darksiders, I hope the artwork is somewhat similar. I ate that stuff up, gorgeous game and just about everyone looked great.

Wishpig

Fiaryn wrote: »

The MMORPG format is so poorly suited to Warhammer 40k it boggles the mind.

It's just as suited for RPG combat as Star Wars is, and Kotor's considered one of the best RPGs because it works.

Like star wars there is a strong mix of melee, magic (in a sense), and gun play. Without a doubt, it can be done. Whether done well, thats the question!

Arghy wrote: »

Dear god i mean as long as they stick to lore i dont see how they can fuck this up even if its a WoW based game. I do hope they have pvp though cause i want to attack chaos with my powerfist wielding black templar.

HA! Making a shitty game is easy, make a good game is the tricky part. Just look at pretty much every warhammer game (fantasy and 40k) ever made besides the DoW series. These guys have one game behind their belt and literally no experience with mmo's or even multiplayer for that matter.

Zzulu wrote: »

Chaos, SM, Eldar and Orks are necessary

Because I need to get to play my ork madboy

Worst case scenario their gonna pull a jedi/sith scenario on us, and let us play either chaos or space marine only. Sadly, I could easily see this happen (although I won't be upset if I could be a plague marine!) BUT if they are going for alien races as well, Orks and Eldar will most certainly be in.

Best case scenario = six races. Not to much as to dilute them, but not to little as to feel limited.

Jephery

If they just made exactly like the Dawn of War II campaign except it was an MMO, that would be awesome.

Dunxco

Wishpig, these guys had no games under their belt and literally no experience making any game and they gave us Darksiders. It wasn't a perfect game, but it was a very, very good game. Have a little faith, man!

GothicLargo

Arghy wrote: »

Dear god i mean as long as they stick to lore i dont see how they can fuck this up even if its a WoW based game. I do hope they have pvp though cause i want to attack chaos with my powerfist wielding black templar.

As long as you don't have to press auto attack to fire your gun every time like STO.

Wishpig

Dunxco wrote: »

Wishpig, these guys had no games under their belt and literally no experience making any game and they gave us Darksiders. It wasn't a perfect game, but it was a very, very good game. Have a little faith, man!

Faith + MMO's = disappointment. I'm sure as soon as details are released I'll get all excited and bright eyed, but I'm gonna try my best to keep it in check with this mmo.

If it wasn't for Darksiders, this thread wouldn't even exist, as I would have NO FAITH infact I would expect the worst and wonder why the hell games-workshop are letting a bunch of nobodies make their game.

Luckily the devs proved they skill with Darksiders, so I'm not too worried at this time. But an MMO is one hell of a beast to tackle. Not only is it a HUGE HUGE undertaking the dwarfs the majority of other games, but technically it is one hell of a brutal ride. Even mmo vets like funcom and relic fell short.

815165

No playable Orks, no purchase, sirs.

Dunxco

As long as they go into this with a few things in mind, they'd be off to a good start:

1) Don't try to be a WoW-killer.
2) Don't try to emulate WoW because what works for WoW doesn't translate well to a lot of other games.

The problem is, as good a game as Darksiders was, it was very clear-cut what parts were inspired by other games like Zelda, God of War, etc. It was throwing together the good bits of games to make a patchwork beast that ended up working, so I can see Vigil falling into this trap. Then again there's a good two years until this comes out, so plenty of time to get excited.

Nobody

Fiaryn wrote: »

The MMORPG format is so poorly suited to Warhammer 40k it boggles the mind.

I dunno, if they do an MMOFPS it'd be great.

The only way I could see an MMORPG really working is if it's based on the Inquisition.

Wishpig

Dunxco wrote: »

As long as they go into this with a few things in mind, they'd be off to a good start:

1) Don't try to be a WoW-killer.
2) Don't try to emulate WoW because what works for WoW doesn't translate well to a lot of other games.

The problem is, as good a game as Darksiders was, it was very clear-cut what parts were inspired by other games like Zelda, God of War, etc. It was throwing together the good bits of games to make a patchwork beast that ended up working, so I can see Vigil falling into this trap. Then again there's a good two years until this comes out, so plenty of time to get excited.

"World of Warcraft is a great game, but as you know in entertainment, there's always the juggernaut and that means there's opportunities out there for the right MMO, said Farrell. " What we love about the Warhammer 40K MMO is that it's different in that it's a sci-fi, futuristic-based world. We're not competing directly in the orcs and elves fantasy environment that World of Warcraft is in. We can differentiate ourselves."
- Brian Farrell

That seems to be what you want to hear

The CEO is on the same page as you!

Jephery

Wishpig wrote: »

"World of Warcraft is a great game, but as you know in entertainment, there's always the juggernaut and that means there's opportunities out there for the right MMO, said Farrell. " What we love about the Warhammer 40K MMO is that it's different in that it's a sci-fi, futuristic-based world. We're not competing directly in the orcs and elves fantasy environment that World of Warcraft is in. We can differentiate ourselves."
- Brian Farrell

That seems to be what you want to hear

The CEO is on the same page as you!

That is one of the most hilariously ironic quotes ever. Orks ftw!

Dunxco

Wishpig wrote: »

Dunxco wrote: »

As long as they go into this with a few things in mind, they'd be off to a good start:

1) Don't try to be a WoW-killer.
2) Don't try to emulate WoW because what works for WoW doesn't translate well to a lot of other games.

The problem is, as good a game as Darksiders was, it was very clear-cut what parts were inspired by other games like Zelda, God of War, etc. It was throwing together the good bits of games to make a patchwork beast that ended up working, so I can see Vigil falling into this trap. Then again there's a good two years until this comes out, so plenty of time to get excited.

"World of Warcraft is a great game, but as you know in entertainment, there's always the juggernaut and that means there's opportunities out there for the right MMO, said Farrell. " What we love about the Warhammer 40K MMO is that it's different in that it's a sci-fi, futuristic-based world. We're not competing directly in the orcs and elves fantasy environment that World of Warcraft is in. We can differentiate ourselves."
- Brian Farrell

That seems to be what you want to hear

The CEO is on the same page as you!

That's creepy. I never saw that statement until just now, that was just my general philosophy for any MMO post-WoW. o_O

Glad to see we're on the same page though!

The Dude With Herpes

Dunxco wrote: »

Wishpig wrote: »

Dunxco wrote: »

As long as they go into this with a few things in mind, they'd be off to a good start:

1) Don't try to be a WoW-killer.
2) Don't try to emulate WoW because what works for WoW doesn't translate well to a lot of other games.

The problem is, as good a game as Darksiders was, it was very clear-cut what parts were inspired by other games like Zelda, God of War, etc. It was throwing together the good bits of games to make a patchwork beast that ended up working, so I can see Vigil falling into this trap. Then again there's a good two years until this comes out, so plenty of time to get excited.

"World of Warcraft is a great game, but as you know in entertainment, there's always the juggernaut and that means there's opportunities out there for the right MMO, said Farrell. " What we love about the Warhammer 40K MMO is that it's different in that it's a sci-fi, futuristic-based world. We're not competing directly in the orcs and elves fantasy environment that World of Warcraft is in. We can differentiate ourselves."
- Brian Farrell

That seems to be what you want to hear

The CEO is on the same page as you!

That's creepy. I never saw that statement until just now, that was just my general philosophy for any MMO post-WoW. o_O

Glad to see we're on the same page though!

What worries me is that he's focused on the setting and saying nothing of the gameplay.

I really hope, though I know it was a different company, that Warhammer Online was lesson enough that they need to go a different direction in the fundamental way the game is played from the traditional EQ/WoW model if they're going to get people.

Not simply having a cooler setting.

Though...it would help. I've said a billion times I'd jump ship from WoW in a heartbeat if they made a Starcraft MMO that could really be the same game but in the SC universe...so I'm not a good judge of this

Wishpig

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

What worries me is that he's focused on the setting and saying nothing of the gameplay.

Thats cause no info on it has really been released, save the really really really vague stuff in the OP. You know how it works, they have to follow rules and what not with what they say and when.

GnomeTank

As far as the comment that Warhammer 40K doesn't present itself well in typical MMO terms: That may be true, but until Dawn of War, Warhammer 40K didn't represent itself well in RTS terms either, which seems completely ludicrous...but it's true. Go look at 40K strategy games prior to Dawn of War...they were almost universally terrible.

It wasn't until Games Workshop started to realize that their forte was lore and fluff, not video game design, that companies were able to put out decent 40K games. Lets hope GW remembers that with this game and lets the developer actually make a good game. It took Relic quite a bit of hand holding and ego stroking to get GW let them loose with Dawn of War.

The Dude With Herpes

Wishpig wrote: »

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

What worries me is that he's focused on the setting and saying nothing of the gameplay.

Thats cause no info on it has really been released, save the really really really vague stuff in the OP. You know how it works, they have to follow rules and what not with what they say and when.

Right, I know.

I just would have liked a little "Look, we aren't trying to compete with WoW. It has a monopoly on both setting and gameplay and we feel that there is a vast market space for a different setting and a different type of MMO".

But yeah yeah, broken promises and all that.

I suppose knowing nothing is better than being told something only to have it fail miserably to meet those expectations.

Sterica

This better have an M rating.

If I can't roll a Khorne Berserker and cleave through a squad of Guardsmen like Moses parting the Red Sea...

Fiaryn

You must kill 60 Ratling Gunners before I will trust you, Tech Marine.

Perhaps then I might gift you with the Chainsword of Less Suckening +5

Yesss it's just what I always oh wait

(What I'm getting at here is that MMORPGs are many things. Fast paced and visceral, they are not. And these are two adjectives that should characterize a 40k game)

Wishpig

Fiaryn wrote: »

You must kill 60 Ratling Gunners before I will trust you, Tech Marine.

Perhaps then I might gift you with the Chainsword of Less Suckening +5

Yesss it's just what I always oh wait

(What I'm getting at here is that MMORPGs are many things. Fast paced and visceral, they are not. And these are two adjectives that should characterize a 40k game)

Fast paced. Warhammer... the table top game... the whole reason Warhammer fantasy and 40k exist... the backbone of the whole franchise...

And the table top is anything but fast paced and visceral, and yet it's an f*in blast!

Just_Bri_Thanks

I remember playing back in the day, old v2 psychic phase... Spend all damned day alternating between fucking off and getting a phase in. Wrap up turn 4 on a 6k point game at the end of the evening... Good times, good times.

Reminds me of the time my orc opponent forgot to get a vaccine squig once, and I absolutely ruined his whole army with a virus grenade. Then all the nobs (who had mega armor and were thus immune), which were all he had left, took me apart. Defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Dude With Herpes

Wishpig wrote: »

Fiaryn wrote: »

You must kill 60 Ratling Gunners before I will trust you, Tech Marine.

Perhaps then I might gift you with the Chainsword of Less Suckening +5

Yesss it's just what I always oh wait

(What I'm getting at here is that MMORPGs are many things. Fast paced and visceral, they are not. And these are two adjectives that should characterize a 40k game)

Fast paced. Warhammer... the table top game... the whole reason Warhammer fantasy and 40k exist... the backbone of the whole franchise...

And the table top is anything but fast paced and visceral, and yet it's an f*in blast!

I'm with ya.

But I think quite a few folks are more accustomed to Dawn of War these days than the tabletop game.

Fiaryn

The Dude With Herpes wrote: »

Wishpig wrote: »

Fiaryn wrote: »

You must kill 60 Ratling Gunners before I will trust you, Tech Marine.

Perhaps then I might gift you with the Chainsword of Less Suckening +5

Yesss it's just what I always oh wait

(What I'm getting at here is that MMORPGs are many things. Fast paced and visceral, they are not. And these are two adjectives that should characterize a 40k game)

Fast paced. Warhammer... the table top game... the whole reason Warhammer fantasy and 40k exist... the backbone of the whole franchise...

And the table top is anything but fast paced and visceral, and yet it's an f*in blast!

I'm with ya.

But I think quite a few folks are more accustomed to Dawn of War these days than the tabletop game.

That and the tabletop game is slow paced by virtue of necessity. It is a miniatures game, you are performing manual calculations and rules maintenance. In a game, all that is handled for you so there is really no excuse not to live up to the fluff.