f13.net forums - GOA wishes you all a Happy New Year!

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"A long and eventful year is coming to an end today. Twelve months ago we had just returned from a break in the Beta, the High Elves and the Dark Elves were introduced and many RvR features were about to be implemented. It was a very busy time. The Community Managers were working hard in internal and external forums, at exhibitions and press conferences. Quality Assurance were dealing with thousands of bug reports and Localisation still had to translate millions of words. Thanks to our beta testers though we also had a lot of fun - by the way, you can still identify them in the game by the title “The World Shaper”. The amazing amount of feedback and suggestions we received every day helped us to successfully launch the game.

After a start of the open beta in Europe which was far from perfect - the servers worked perfectly but the registration on the web site did not - we had a smooth transition via the head start to the launch of the game. Actually, it was one of the best and most successful MMO launches ever.

Since then, over the last 15 weeks, we have had three big events in WAR, thirteen important patches and countless smaller changes and fixes. The unmistakable highlight, though, was the introduction of the tanks for the Empire and the Dark Elves, the Knight of the Blazing Sun and the Black Guard. They were introduced with the Heavy Metal Event at the beginning of December. WAR is raging in the Old World while guilds and alliances, sometimes of whole Realms, are formed as the frenzy of "Let's kill everything within our grasp" is gradually replaced and refined by tactics and strategy - except for the Orcs who jus' wonna bash everythin'!

In 2009 we are going to keep advancing with great strides. The Keg End Event is drawing to an end in the new year, but the next patch is coming soon and so is the next event. Also, the introduction of the melee DPS careers for the Dwarfs and the Greenskins is looming on the horizon.

Community Management will open new official forums in 2009, thus enhancing the already excellent interaction with players in different fan forums. Furthermore, we will be keeping you posted with monthly newsletters, weekly reports or Questions and Answers from the developers as well as news about game updates and what is going on on the servers. And, needless to say, we are looking forward to meeting you in person at upcoming exhibitions and games days. You will find more about these as they are announced in our News and Calendar!

Ahead of us lies a new year which will certainly be even more interesting, more fun and richer than the last. We can't wait to get going again!"

Kai ”Sterntaler“ Schober
Head of Community Management

"Venturing into the New Year and looking back, I see an exciting landscape of events. To have seen WAR developing from the perspective of a tester and gamer as well as a GOA Community Manager has been a privilege I’ve savoured greatly. One highlight in this process was the last few weeks of the closed beta. Not only did we have a solid and fun beta community, but the game was going through quite staggering changes too; it was as if everything just fell into place. During this time, the developers at Mythic really solidified my respect and has since only strengthened it.

There have been great challenges, too. The Open Beta launch put a lot of stress on the Community Management team and we did some pretty wild hours (just like everyone else at GOA and Mythic during this time). It wasn’t all gloom, however; the long hours not only triggered extraordinary endorphin levels, but also pulled us together as a team that much more. My own passion for WAR only grew in the light of these hardships and I witnessed similar transformations in the hearts of my colleagues.

A year review is not complete without those who make WAR what it is: the players! In Community Management, we’re fortunate to be able to spend so much of our time with the player communities out there. However, nothing beats the real thing and for that, there’s no place better to go than Dreamhack in Jonkoping, Sweden. We went there to represent WAR before midsummer as well as in late November and I had a blast both times. To witness the joy and excitement of my fellow countrymen as they try out WAR for the first time is a well of inspiration and further serves as an invaluable reality check. I’ve saved some pictures from the latest Dreamhack which I guarantee you’ll enjoy!

It’s been a great year but it’s only the harbinger of what is to come. WAR has begun and we’re all co-creators! Thank you, dear patrons, and a Happy New Year!

WAAAAGH!!!"

Magnus Aalto
Community Manager

"My year on the WAR Community Management team was short as I only started in November. It still managed to leave a lot of positive impressions on me. As a long time Warhammer fan I greatly enjoyed seeing the world I have grown to love through the tabletop game and books come alive on my computer screen. First via screenshots and trailers, then as a player in the beta and now also as a member of GOA’s wonderful team!

Although the negative events surrounding the Open beta overshadowed the period for a lot of people the release of the game went very smooth for me and I have greatly enjoyed playing the game ever since. After the server populations started to stabilise we put a lot of thought into the character transfer options. We realize that it felt like we took a long time to decide on this but we wanted to make sure we got it right, and looking at how the servers are currently thriving we believe we have. As usual though this will be an ongoing process that we will continue to monitor and adjust to ensure that you guys can have as much fun playing WAR as possible!

For 2009 I look forward to continuing to build our relationship with the ever growing WAR community. We have some interesting projects in the pipeline and will keep communicating with you via fan sites, forums and blogs, in addition to GOA’s own forum that will be launched in the new year. I also look forward to further improvements to the stability of the game in tier 4 oRvR, and I’m sure I am not alone in that! I have no doubt that Mythic will continue the trend it started at the end of 2008 where improving the performance of the game was the top priority.

So, welcome to the New Year! Have fun killing Elves, High or Dark, your choice!"

Nic van 't Schip
Community Manager

On behalf of my colleagues and myself Happy New Year all!