They have ‘officially’ launched the game for all to see what it is they are doing and to get an idea of how it looks.

I’m not going to write too much about what you can see for yourself, but I will give you links to the various previews and video from the event:

- Video footage(be sure to watch the HD version!)
- IGN 360 first look
- EG preview

All good stuff!  The main things to note are that is is now being developed by Relic, the folks who gave us Dawn of War and is no longer in the hands of THQ Australia.  This can only be a good thing as Relic have a fantastic history with DoW/II and the 40k setting.  The game will contain RPG ‘elements’ such as a possible leveling system as well as gear or skill upgrades.  Multi-player of some kind is being looked into, be it co-op or vs or both, and may give you the chance to lead a squad of mates against the Ork horde.  It is console only. 

Yes, that last point is not something I’m that keen on but I think I understand why.  You could play God of War on PC, but it just wouldn’t be the same.  You can get hold of your mates for some Halo action or even Gears of War on PC, but why would you?  The consoles offer a much better platform to launch on for a number of good reasons, mainly being that this kind of game suits them nicely.  I’m sure the ugly head of piracy and quality control came into it too… not to mention the effort of having to port it across.

I hope we get more news about this over the coming months and see a release for this year.  Its going to be a great game I feel and can’t wait.  In fact I’ll go dust the 360 off and see if its still running now… cya!

My first thoughts after watching the movie was Gears of War.  This was swiftly followed by ‘nice’.  The game looks pretty good even with the poor quaility of the vid and assuming this is quite an early version of the game gives me a great deal of hope that when released this will be a really great shooter.

Something to note is that this is under the wing of THQ, who are also the publishers of the 40k Online game.  This release will set a bench mark for quality.  I know they are being developed by different studios but Games Workshop will expect a certain degreee of polish to anything being released these days and if Space Marine is as good as I/we hope then you would expect that 40k Online would also be as good, if not better.

Forgetting Games Workshop for a moment and just looking to the fans I would expect that 40k Online will look as good as Space Marine could.  If SM ends up looking like Gears’ then I’d be well chuffed, and rather look forward to the idea of that level of awesome in an mmo world.

Any thoughts?

The best and quickest way I can describe Blood Bowl is to ask you to picture a mix of American football, chess and a battlefield of body parts.  It is a bloody turn-based affair where the ball is often forgotten in the rush to beat the shit out of the opposing team.  11 a side plus subs, with 8 turns a half for 2 players and (normally) just one spiked ball to focus on.

The board game was very very good and one I enjoyed immensely over the years.  Blood Bowl the game looks and so far plays just as well and I can honestly say the guys and girls behind this effort have done a great job of catching the emotions and expressions the game evokes.  If you have never played the original I’d strongly advise you to find out if your local hoby shop or group has a copy around as it’s great fun.

The game has just finished a closed beta stage and will hopefully have a demo out before release, currently schedualed for late June on PC, PSP, DS and 360 in Spetember. Once it goes live I’ll most likely do a full review as there is much much more crammed into the game than what I have described to you above.  On and offline legaue play, real-time mode, character development and multiple races all with their own unique way of playing will make for an awesome ride.

Check out the official site and the forums for news, screen shots and some great into movies.  To find out more about the origins of the game wikipedia has a good break down of its history and progression through the years.

PC Gamer: Besides the obvious distinction of being science fiction as opposed to fantasy, how will you distinguish yourselves from the Warhammer fantasy MMO from EA Mythic?

David Adams:The fact that Warhammer 40,000 is science fiction and not fantasy goes a long way to distinguish the game from other Fantasy MMOs, such as Warhammer. Besides the obvious visual differences, the setting also affects many aspects of the gameplay.

First off, unlike a fantasy MMO, guns play a major role in the dynamic of combat. The gameplay will be much more intense, focusing a lot on fire-fights, tactics, cover and general brutality (which is befitting a game set in the grim future).

Secondly, the sheer scale of Warhammer 40,000 lends itself to experiences players have never seen in an MMO. The term “Battleground” takes on an entirely different meaning. Our battlegrounds will be more epic in scale, more intense, and more true to a game with the tagline, “In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war.” This doesn’t preclude the more intimate battlegrounds that other MMOs have, only that we will also be including more grand affairs, that give a player the sense that they are immersed in an actual Warhammer 40,000 battle.

PCG: The 40k universe is already very complex and rich; how are you making it approachable to players new to the world?

DA:One of the reasons Warhammer 40,000 has been successful is that it has a built in cool factor. Someone new to Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe doesn’t need to understand the sheer depth of the Imperium, or the age-spanning history of the Eldar to appreciate the setting. All they need to see in the universe are a couple of Space Marines defending a corridor against a rush of Genestealers, or an Eldar Farseer facing off against a Daemon Champion of Khorne – and you are hooked – whether you are new to Warhammer 40,000 or not.

PCG: When is this game set in the 40k universe (i.e. is it set before or after the Horus Heresy?)

DA: The game is set in the 41st millennium, well after the Horus Heresy and more contemporary to the tabletop game.

PCG: The gameplay for the tabletop game focuses on squad combat and tactics. How are you translating these elements to an MMO?

DA:To preface, let me say that this game will be an RPG. That needs to be said, because when someone thinks of a Warhammer 40,000 MMO there is definitely some question as to the style of play: will it be an FPS, an RTS, or some other genre altogether? Relic has the RTS angle covered with the awesome Dawn of War series – we are making an RPG.

However, that doesn’t mean that aspects of the tabletop don’t influence the style of play we present to the player. As I mentioned earlier, just the inclusion of ranged weapons as a dominant form of combat changes the basic underlying mechanics of a typical MMO. This leads to similar tactics that you might employ in the tabletop, such as cover, suppression fire, flanking, etc… If you think about it, “Group” is a just another way of saying “Squad”.

PCG: How many different races are playable?

DA:We aren’t ready to release a full list just yet. Rest assured, all of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented. We want each and every race to have weight in the game world, and feel distinct. We won’t include a race if we can’t do them justice.

PCG: What kind of classes will be offered? The table-top game boasts the line: “in the future, there is only war.” But will there be non-violent, “social” classes as well?

Joe Madureira:We have a ton of classes planned, but honestly, the final classes will only be cemented once we’ve tested them a bit, weeded out any overlap or redundancies, balance issues, etc. As just about everyone knows, class balance and fun group dynamics are some of the trickiest, and most important aspects of the MMO genre. While characters will be able to take part in non-violent actions in the game (social activities are vital to the success of an MMO), there won’t be any characters that advance completely outside of combat. It just doesn’t fit in with the vision of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

PCG: What are the player customization options? Can a player design their own Space Marine Chapter or Ork Clan?

JM: We havea very robust system for creating distinctive looking characters – and of course, it wouldn’t be Warhammer 40,000 without tons of stuff hanging off your character, including weapons, scrolls, chains, books, medals, and what have you! I hate to say this without showing images to back it up, but I feel like we are going to have the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever. Of course that isn’t all that hard to achieve being that everything in Warhammer 40,000 is over-the-top badass! Once we begin releasing images, feel free to call me on that remark.

PCG: What kinds of NPCs will the player encounter? Will we see the Fat Bloke?

DA:We want to build a Warhammer40,000 world that extends beyond the battlefield. This will involve cities (of all scales, types and sizes), exotic alien temples, Chaos shrines, deserted battlefields, mysterious ruins, ancient structures, drifting hulks in space, etc… Warhammer 40,000 is a universe filled with mystery – where the unknown lurks around every corner, ready to kill you.

Warhammer 40,000 is also a universe filled with history – you get a sense that the stars have been tread countless times, by forces beyond imagining. This is what makes it such a great place for adventure and excitement – but it also makes it a cruel and remorseless place where a single man is less than a speck in an ocean of stars. However, those that manage to make their mark in such a time and place are all the more remarkable for it – and that’s where our players come in.

As for NPCs, all these fantastic locations will be brought to life with a wide range of NPCs: Imperial citizens, Chaos sycophants, xenos (40k for alien), Daemons from the warp, Eldar craftsman, oge raders, ancient killing machines, etc… I could go on forever.The point is, the game will be filled with NPCs both ready to help you and kill you.

PCG: Will players be able to control vehicles?

DA:This isn’t something we are willing to talk about at this point, but let’s just say that we are well aware of the importance of vehicles in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

PCG: How much involvement has the Games Workshop staff had in the making of the game?

DA:Games Workshop is the master of Warhammer 40,000, they have spent decades building up, what I believe to be one of the best science fiction IPs of all time. The job of translating that IP into an MMO setting is largely left up to our team, but Games Workshop does a wonderful job of providing us all the appropriate feedback and information to ensure that what we make remains true to the universe they have created. As an avid fan of the setting, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

PCG: What kind of missions can the player look forward to playing solo or with parties?

JM:We’ll have a large number of solo, party, and PvP missions. We are not going to try to force grouping, as some games have tried to do – that’s just annoying. MMORPGs are about giving the player options, and that means letting them play the game how they want to. Though, while it will be possible to solo for the life of your character, you’re definitely going to want some buddies watching your back in some of the missions, especially the PvP ones. Yes – there will be PvP and bloodshed. After all, this is Warhammer 40,000 – and there is only War!!!

Sounds good and although it is rather limited and non specific this does whet the appatite does it not.

This brings to mind a thought: If you had the chance to ask any of the Vigil developers a single question (preferably about 40kmmo…) what would it be?  Mine would most likely be something along the lines of what kind of player economy and crafting would there be? 

Do you have a better question, if so feel free to comment below.  You never know your question might one day be asked and answered!

Laters!

I’d like to take this opportunity to point you towards my ‘things to do‘ page.  It does exactly what it says on the tin and is really just a post-it note type area for me to keep any ideas in one spot.  This is also your chance to request or suggest anything you feel would add to the value of the site.

Over the next few days I’ll be playing around with a new banner/site graphic and see what I can come up with.  I’ve also dug up the few articles about the game that I’ll re-post here for all to see.  Should anything major happen I’ll be sure to post it the moment I hear of it.

Farewell for now and enjoy your lazy Sunday afternoon.

Habe.

The information relevant to us 40kmmo fans was this slide showing forthcoming releases:

That last entry – Warhammer 40K mmo – is the one, and at last we have some idea of the kind of time-frame development will take.  Of course lets not forget that it is listed as ‘FY 2012E’ meaning that it is estimated to be released at some point during the 2012 Financial Year.  Bearing in mind anything could happen between now and then, and that just about every MMO launch has slipped by several months lets not get all worked up at this early stage.

But its still nice to see something pop up, and as they say ‘any news is good news’.

Work started to get really stressful to the point that even when I wasn’t at work I was often still doing work or thinking about work.  I really couldn’t give over any of my limited time to move forward on this project and had to leave it by the road-side.

Things came to a head around August and so I booked a well deserved 3 week break for September to relax – knowing full well the madness that the Christmas season was about to bring.  Something inspired me to apply for another job while on break and basically I didn’t return to my previous employer as I had been successful.  Fast-forward 6 months and you get the here and now with me being settled in a new country, with a new full-time job that is rewarding and so far not in the slightest stressful.  As an added bonus I feel completely secure in my job (at a time when few can say such it is a huge relief) and I have ample amounts of time free to myself.

Yes that is the short version…

So I decided to fire her up and try to get this blog back on track.  I’ve made some headway and have spent a large amount of time recently deciding on how to go about getting going.  Reading up on different ways of managing a full site and thinking about what exactly I want to achieve.  My all-important goal statement  – “To design, produce and maintain the most comprehensive 40k Online community site available up to and beyond the games release”  – is at the front of my mind and I know that it will take a great deal of effort to get there… or even close.

So stay tuned, bookmark me and see what happens.  It may even be worth it.

Habe.

My WoW guild will be joining me so I’ll have company from the outset and it will be a blast!  I might do a mini review of my closed/open beta experiences at some point but I’m sure a great many of the handful of people here would of seen that kind of article many many time over already.

In 40k news has anyone seen the THQ trailer for a new fps titled ‘Space Marine’ ?  I’ll dig up the link when I get back from work but basically imagine Gears of War in the 40k universe…  I know sounds cool and doesn’t look to shabby either.

Someone let me know, please!

The casual reader may surmise from the above tone that I’m less than impressed and not very excited over this monumental story.  Well you couldn’t be further from the truth people.  Diablo III is going to be the dogs b******s and no mistake.

I spent countless hours with the first game and loved its simple combat, great gameplay and the stunning visuals.  I never really got into Diablo II for some reason but I can still appreciate its mark on today’s gaming.  From what I understand it was one of the biggest games of its day played by many, many people both off and online and created a style of play that others have copied over and over.

Diablo III will be a landmark title for PC that people will flock to and enjoy regardless of the meaningless current day console wars.  Blizzard need to update a winning formula and carry it kicking and screaming into today’s crowded market which will be incredibly difficult, but lets be honest here, its Blizzard we are talking about. 

They don’t know how to fail.

PC gaming is far from dead as many would say.  It moves from strength to strength at an almost measured pace and will continue to be the destination of games that shape our future expectations of what is great and defining in a time where the gaming industry becomes more mainstream and better yet, more accepted by the general populace.