On Call With Warhammer Online

The devs from EA Mythic wax enthusiastic about their new project via conference call.
5/2/2008 3:05 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 5

The State of the Game

The team just finished testing the game's "mid-level elven content" and they're currently testing the high-level campaign game -- the highest realm-vs.-realm areas -- specifically the areas where the Empire battles the forces of Chaos and where Chaos attempts to put the Empire capital of Altdorf under siege.

During the call, much was made about sieges. It turns out that it isn't just about running full steam ahead at a large city gate, bashing it down, running in, and fighting the forces inside the walls. It plays out like a full-blown, well, siege -- complete with siege equipment (War Machines). There's also a bit of skill involved as Barnett compared it to, of all things, playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour. When using a catapult, for example, you have to worry about the wind effects and you need to time your "shot" so to speak. It's like its own little mini-game.

There are various War Machines available, each with a distinct function and purpose. The battering ram, obviously, destroys gates; cauldrons of boiling oil are used to drop said oil on people at the gates -- presumably the buggers using the battering rams. There are indirect fire machines like the catapult and mortars which are used to target large groups of enemies and more precise, direct fire War Machines like the Elven Bolt Thrower and the Chaos Hellcannon, which aims directly at enemy War Machines. It all sounds like a fairly straightforward process, but one with a lot of moving parts.

One Orc Making a Difference

Sieges are a key part of the game, but one feature that was repeatedly stressed was that every playable component is part of the game's big picture. Everything contributes to the war effort, from the player who lives and dies playing realm-vs.-realm battles to the loner who only wants to play the game solo and not be bothered by other players -- it all ties together.

Player-vs.-environment aides in the effort by allowing zone control of a region -- some specific content will only be available if a group has control of a certain zone so the RvR players will rely on the PvE players to do their thing (and vice versa). If they don't, everyone will miss out on playing certain areas and the benefits therein, so it's going to be important that the side you are on is "winning" the war if you want to get to this otherwise "hidden" content.

Barnett is an avid solo PvE player and had much to say on the subject. "My boy, who is 10 and dead clever, is a finger ninja, which means, whenever he plays his computer games he annihilates his dad, relentlessly ... and laughs and won't ever let me live it down. As a result, I have a complete aversion to player vs. player. I don't want to do it because my 10-year-old boy will kill me a lot. So I like going off and being heroic on my own. What I like about our game is that I can play like that. I am left alone, I have a complete game experience, and I am one of the malcontents who just want to do PvE. But I can level all the way through the game, I can kill giants, I can take on dragons, I can help with the war effort, and when a city does fall, I can go in and do all sorts of crazy quests. Solo is the only way I play because I hate everybody! And I have a great time!"