WAR to be released...

[Simond]

The game launches in, what, five weeks and the  -breaking beta leaks are mostly positive (with lots of "It could go live right now and it'd be less broken than most other mmogs" type stuff) and it sounds like the NDA is going to be taken down in maybe a week, maybe two.

What on Earth could simultaneously be so important that they're stalling for time before the NDA drops but also can be completed in ~a week?

[Montague]

The game launches in, what, five weeks and the  -breaking beta leaks are mostly positive (with lots of "It could go live right now and it'd be less broken than most other mmogs" type stuff) and it sounds like the NDA is going to be taken down in maybe a week, maybe two.

What on Earth could simultaneously be so important that they're stalling for time before the NDA drops but also can be completed in ~a week?

Probably some end of closed beta event that if they screw up royally they don't want all over the interwebs. Not like it won't be anyway...

[Lakov_Sanite]

when an NDA like this is lifted cam you talk about things in the game BEFORE the NDA was lifted? and if so how is waiting a week going to matter?

[Triforcer]

The game launches in, what, five weeks and the  -breaking beta leaks are mostly positive (with lots of "It could go live right now and it'd be less broken than most other mmogs" type stuff) and it sounds like the NDA is going to be taken down in maybe a week, maybe two.

What on Earth could simultaneously be so important that they're stalling for time before the NDA drops but also can be completed in ~a week?

Yeah, this is confusing.  Whatever super sekret system they are implementing is going to be detailed on a certain site within an hour of it going live anyway.  I understand having an NDA when everything is still half-born and ugly (and where one site, not universally known, will spread much less bad buzz than no NDA) but to do it for the sake of one system is odd. 

[cevik]

when an NDA like this is lifted cam you talk about things in the game BEFORE the NDA was lifted? and if so how is waiting a week going to matter?

Next week they are going to apply the super sekrit ubar beta patch that removes the debug code, makes everything stable and faster, and adds all the fun into the game that has been tested internally for the last 4 years?  Then it won't matter if people have complaints about something from BEFORE the patch, because it will all be fixed by the magic patch?

That's my guess.  Also, Simond and I are getting NDA leaks from very different places apparently.

[Triforcer]

That's my guess.  Also, Simond and I are getting NDA leaks from very different places apparently.

I must be getting them from the same place as Simond.  The difference between comments now and 8 months ago are like night and day. 

[cevik]

Well then, lets hope they lift the NDA so they can get all the good press that awaits them!

[Miasma]

That's my guess.  Also, Simond and I are getting NDA leaks from very different places apparently.

I must be getting them from the same place as Simond.  The difference between comments now and 8 months ago are like night and day. 

That could mean anything.  You would think most people who hated the game eight months ago would have stopped playing by now.  Maybe there are only hardcore sycophantic fanbois left to provide NDA leaks now...

[HaemishM]

So basically, don't take anything Paul Barnett says on the interwebs seriously, because it's all hyperbole.

Got it.

I had thought it only took one raving dev video to figure that one out. He's got the GW "It's all so WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!!!" attitude about everything he does. Someone needs to tell him to dial it down.

[Montague]

So basically, don't take anything Paul Barnett says on the interwebs seriously, because it's all hyperbole.

Got it.

I had thought it only took one raving dev video to figure that one out. He's got the GW "It's all so WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!!!" attitude about everything he does. Someone needs to tell him to dial it down.

PR videos are one thing, you're supposed to make a splash. When you give interviews and prove you know jack and shit about successful project management and then try to backpedal, all that "exuberance" just makes you look like a clueless twat.

[HaemishM]

Two words. Games Workshop.

[Montague]

Two words. Games Workshop.

Hmm, I take it this is not news. I never really did the GW thing. Tried playing 40K once with some dude in his basement who had a 20ft long table covered with minis, rulers, protractors and terrain. I got creeped out and left.

[eldaec]

The game launches in, what, five weeks

People keep saying that, has there been an actual announcement?

[MahrinSkel]

Hmm, I take it this is not news. I never really did the GW thing. Tried playing 40K once with some dude in his basement who had a 20ft long table covered with minis, rulers, protractors and terrain. I got creeped out and left.

Back in a pre-internet era, I did some table-top gaming, mostly BattleTech but sometimes Avalon Hill for a change of pace.  Then everyone followed GW's lead on deliberately disqualifying parts of their catalog and issuing new units every year, and it got to be way too expensive of a hobby.  There was always a few guys that were trying to buy their way into the center of things, but after just staying in the game started requiring thousands of dollars a year it got insane.

--Dave

[HaemishM]

Two words. Games Workshop.

Hmm, I take it this is not news. I never really did the GW thing. Tried playing 40K once with some dude in his basement who had a 20ft long table covered with minis, rulers, protractors and terrain. I got creeped out and left.

Read one issue of White Dwarf, the Games Workshop magazine. It's full of that type of Rah-Rah Games Workshop stuff is the bestest ever and Orkz is hard and shit. It's a rather irritating quality most of them have. Take a dose of Japanese corporate cheerleader mentality, sprinkle it with the euphemisms of dorky 80's era English gamer geek grognards burned out from too much weed and Jolt cola, and enjoy.

[Soln]

GW for me growing up seemed a stupid waste of money.  Crazy expensive.  1 AD&D module wouldn't cover the cost of 1 table top miniature set.  I also remember their WAR RPG books being twice or more as expensive as TSR, even discounting exports.

[UnSub]

The game launches in, what, five weeks

People keep saying that, has there been an actual announcement?

Kinda. The retailers are announcing the release dates, but Mythic haven't been as clear. Imo.

[schild]

I dunno, according to the recent Gamestop newsletters:

We Reckon it's About Time to Reserve Warhammer Online

It's time for a reckoning, a settling of scores, an exacting of vengeance, a reserving of a game. On September 16, the loud, screaming swordfight will begin with the release of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. War has broken out everywhere, and it's up to you to be the Clearasil™ for those nasty breakouts.

Reserve Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, and you'll get open Beta access, a live-game head start on the battlefields of WAR, and bonus in-game items for equipping your characters, like Rittenbach’s Portable Camp and the Sentinel’s Amber Band, who recorded Afternoon Delight in the 70's. Ships September 16 for PC. Pre-order online now or reserve at your local GameStop.

Doesn't get much more clear than that.

[Triforcer]

The Clearasil reference is odd...why remind your customers they are mostly ugly, secluded virgins? 

[UnSub]

The Clearasil reference is odd...why remind your customers they are mostly ugly, secluded virgins? 

It helps break the denial about WAR being the only action they'll get in the near future.

[sam, an eggplant]

I really wish they'd drop the NDA already.

As a prophylactic measure, one thing that I will say is that many of us tend to remember the WoW beta through rose-tinted glasses. In beta just before WoW's retail release many huge changes were put into place. The entire item durability system was added, the death penalty changed from XP debt to durability, raid instances added, paladin and hunter talents added, and the entire paladin class reworked from the ground up, two weeks before retail. Keep that in mind when the WAR NDA is dropped.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I really wish they'd drop the NDA already.

As a prophylactic measure, one thing that I will say is that many of us tend to remember the WoW beta through rose-tinted glasses. In beta just before WoW's retail release many huge changes were put into place. The entire item durability system was added, the death penalty changed from XP debt to durability, raid instances added, paladin and hunter talents added, and the entire paladin class reworked from the ground up, two weeks before retail. Keep that in mind when the WAR NDA is dropped.

magic patch time 

[Koyasha]

Surprisingly enough I agree, with WoW the change was amazing.  I don't know (and wouldn't bet) that WAR can pull off anything like that, but a few weeks before release, in beta, some classes were still lacking talents, the map for Darnassus hadn't been implemented, vendors had placeholder names, and I was going on about how the game was in no way anywhere near ready for release.  There's probably a post of mine somewhere on these forums commenting on it, because I remember making a fuss when someone claimed WoW was well done, and I saw a half-broken game not ready to be released.

Will WAR pull something like that off?  Do they need to?  I dunno.  If the game is in a state that they need to though, I wouldn't be counting on it to happen again with them.

[eldaec]

I really wish they'd drop the NDA already.

As a prophylactic measure, one thing that I will say is that many of us tend to remember the WoW beta through rose-tinted glasses. In beta just before WoW's retail release many huge changes were put into place. The entire item durability system was added, the death penalty changed from XP debt to durability, raid instances added, paladin and hunter talents added, and the entire paladin class reworked from the ground up, two weeks before retail. Keep that in mind when the WAR NDA is dropped.

It wasn't just beta, if you go back and read the WoW launch threads, you wouldn't think they were talking about the same launch that people refer to now.

[Simond]

The game launches in, what, five weeks

People keep saying that, has there been an actual announcement?

Kinda. The retailers are announcing the release dates, but Mythic haven't been as clear. Imo.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/54054

Ready or not, Electronic Arts today announced that Mythic Entertainment's newest MMORPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning will launch September 18.

The publisher also announced that a monthly subscription will cost $14.99 USD, with slight discounts available when signing up for 3- ($41.97 / $13.99 per month) or 6 month ($77.94 / $12.99 per month) periods.
"The countdown has officially begun. Mark your calendars! September 18th is the Day of Reckoning," said Mythic founder Mark Jacobs. He added, "For the last three years, the entire team at Mythic has poured their hearts into making Warhammer Online the next great MMORPG. We are so excited to open up this world and share it with the fans that will live in it, quest in it, go to war in it and make it come alive."

[schild]

The Clearasil reference is odd...why remind your customers they are mostly ugly, secluded virgins? 

Gamestop is trying desperately hard to be hip. You should just take a look at some of the game descriptions on the site. I've not canceled my newsletter only to see what kind of bullshit their horrible web monkeys write each week.

[Riggswolfe]

You know, all this preorder stuff is pissing me off. Now, all that you get with the collector's edition that other people don't is the mini, the artbook, and a few faces for character creation.

[lac]

Will they launch in Europe on the 18th too?

[eldaec]

GOAs website says yes.

[murdoc]

Open Beta download date announced.

OPEN BETA ACCESS
Experience the glory of battle and the thrill of WAR before the game goes live.

The Open Beta will be level capped and content restricted. You will be allowed to choose any of the game's 20 unique careers and advance through rank 20. You will also be free to explore and battle across Tiers 1 and 2 of each army's homeland. Please note that any characters created during the Open Beta will NOT carry over into the live game as they will be wiped from the servers.

To register for Open Beta:
After August 15, 2008 visit the Mythic Entertainment Account Management website.
Create a new Warhammer Online game account.
When prompted, enter your Open Beta code.
Your Open Beta code can be found on the card in your pre-order box or in your pre-order confirmation email. Open Beta files will be available for download on August 15th. Stay tuned for more details.

http://www.warhammeronline.com/preorder/

[slog]

Open Beta download date announced.

OPEN BETA ACCESS
Experience the glory of battle and the thrill of WAR before the game goes live.

The Open Beta will be level capped and content restricted. You will be allowed to choose any of the game's 20 unique careers and advance through rank 20.

Oh WOW.  How high is Rank 20?  Is this another deal like AoC where they are trying to hide the fact that the end game content doesn't exist?

[Rasix]

No one can really answer that yet.  No one should.

And uhhh.. open beta for preorders?  The fence sitters I know have no intention of preordering.

[slog]

No one can really answer that yet.  No one should.

And uhhh.. open beta for preorders?  The fence sitters I know have no intention of preordering.

Let's see.

NDA still on? Check!
Level caps in Beta? Check!
Grumbling from Beta Testers? Check!

call me a skeptic or paranoid, but it seems like they have something to hide here.

[Mrbloodworth]

No one can really answer that yet.  No one should.

And uhhh.. open beta for preorders?  The fence sitters I know have no intention of preordering.

This is a trend i do not see changing.

[HaemishM]

If you have to preorder to get into the open beta, IT'S NOT A FUCKING OPEN BETA NOW IS IT?