There. I said it...
For all the time I sit there wanting to go in a sulk, or turn the game off. I come back or find something else in WAR to do. I think too many people focus on just the RvR Zerg and get sick of it, thus burning out on it.
I'd rather be in a small guild warband, roaming the streets of Praag, using Snikkit the gobbo as bait to lure groups to us before smushing them. Jumping around, finding sneaky paths (nothing cheaty) to have a bit of fun. Polishing my RvR skills (you can polish a turd.. but it's still a turd) in single combat or hunting small groups. Jumping into some premade scenarios with guild mates and running instances no matter how buggy or boring they are. Getting tokens for gear (it's a step closer). Checking out new lairs or live event stuff.
Yes, the game still needs quite a bit of work done on server stability, class balance and squishing dem bugs but I'm enjoying it still. I feel I have a choice in what to do (though I'd like a bit more...) and as the servers mature and communities strengthen the game will bond the players together more (or that's cause someone put a Sticky Squig on me thinking stone). More rivalries will come together, the nemesis system will make players stick in your mind more.
There is still a huge amount of untapped potential in WAR and I hope EA gives it the long term support it needs to really grab a chunk of the market. No, I don't think WAR will ever top 1m subs, the chance has now gone, but I do think that we can reach 500k and stick to that, but we have to stick with the game.
Sure, it's shitty having to put up with server crashes and lag, it's incredibly frustrating to play sometimes with the constant crowd control locking you out, but yet, most of us, stand up, dust ourselves off and get stuck back in.
WAR will only improve over time, it will get better and more playable if given the chance. No game is a shiny beacon of perfection, WoW's Lake Wintergrasp PvP zone is a laggy turd ball if you ever play it at peak time, it IS worse than forts with less people in it so we're moving the right direction. But I think at this stage the crucial thing is for people to not burn out and hate the game. There's no harm in taking the odd day or two off, sneak on for a few hours each week if you like. WAR has that instant fix about it. It allows you to grab a few quick scenarios and log off without waiting for a 1 hour Warsong Gulch to finish because sides are turtling.
I look forward to seeing what's coming after the Tomb Kings and what changes will be made. We still have missing cities to go, plus who knows what else... Maybe a trip to Lustria or Athel Lorn. Whatever happens, I still see WAR raging on for years to come...
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Sunday, 3 May 2009
World of... Fight? / Warhammer: Age of... Fight?
Over on the Asian continent a major event happened with Blizzard stopping partnership with The9, its Chinese operators of Warcraft and moving it to someone else. By the looks of it, The9 aren't going down without a fight and could be trying to launch their own version of WoW with this recently launched website apparently promoting "World of Fight", which has a very familiar looking font *cough* Warcraft *cough*...
http://www.wofchina.com/
Now this is where it gets really interesting. Take a step back, re look at the picture in the background. Does it look familiar to anyone? Might do for say.. Chosen, Marauders, Zealots and Magi... Still unsure?
Co-incidence? Well WAR already has it's Chinese operators in GigaMedia, so we know it's nothing to do with a change of operators, but the second interesting part of this story comes now. Electronic Arts (Owner of Mythic Entertainment) actually own substantial shares in The9 apparently (couldn't find the exact details but you can see on the website they also operate Fifa Online (an EA license) ).
So what does this all mean? Possibly a bait and switch coming as the place holder website leads onto Warhammer Online China.. Possibly just art theft.. Maybe The9 will be ripping the WoW code, mixing it with Warhammer and making one hell of a mess?
Could be interesting to see what happens...
http://www.wofchina.com/
Now this is where it gets really interesting. Take a step back, re look at the picture in the background. Does it look familiar to anyone? Might do for say.. Chosen, Marauders, Zealots and Magi... Still unsure?
Co-incidence? Well WAR already has it's Chinese operators in GigaMedia, so we know it's nothing to do with a change of operators, but the second interesting part of this story comes now. Electronic Arts (Owner of Mythic Entertainment) actually own substantial shares in The9 apparently (couldn't find the exact details but you can see on the website they also operate Fifa Online (an EA license) ).
So what does this all mean? Possibly a bait and switch coming as the place holder website leads onto Warhammer Online China.. Possibly just art theft.. Maybe The9 will be ripping the WoW code, mixing it with Warhammer and making one hell of a mess?
Could be interesting to see what happens...
Monday, 23 March 2009
WAR Europes story contest
Over on the WAR Europe forums there's a contest to win a Skaven cloak for some fan fiction. You're given a paragraph from various pairings and you finish the story off. This is the opening paragraph for the Greenskin story...
"The strangely attired gang of Orcs bulled through the wood toward the lonely Dwarf tavern. Gragnak ‘Eadsplitter, greenest, meanest and biggest of the warband sniffed the air, listened to the rumbling chatter of the boyz to his back and snorted in disgust. He wasn’t just stronger, he was smarter too and much as he wanted a good dust up with the stunties this was a chance to prove his cunning to da Warboss.
“Oi!” He roared twisting to plant his Choppa into the forehead of the bemused Orc behind him. “Keep yer gobs shut, dem Stunties will know we be coming.”
Reaching up the unlucky Greenskin wrapped dirty stained fingers around the weapon embedded in his thick skull and with a quizzical raise of its beady eyes fell forward. Gragnak retrieved the cleaver with a brutal yank before he’d even hit the ground.
“Listen up! Dem stunties won’t know we be Orcy until we’re well inside. I ‘eard off Gagna, an ‘e ‘eard it off Bugrag dat we done dis trick wid Stunty beards right? Well dat worked so fink wot we’ll do wid dese.” The mammoth Greenskin strode out of the tree line and toward the Tavern door.
Stumbling forward in his unfamiliar garb Gragnak slammed the door open, adjusted his wig and stepped inside.
“Ahhh,” came a voice behind, “dats why we needed da skirts.”"
And this is how I finished the story... *Clicky*
"The strangely attired gang of Orcs bulled through the wood toward the lonely Dwarf tavern. Gragnak ‘Eadsplitter, greenest, meanest and biggest of the warband sniffed the air, listened to the rumbling chatter of the boyz to his back and snorted in disgust. He wasn’t just stronger, he was smarter too and much as he wanted a good dust up with the stunties this was a chance to prove his cunning to da Warboss.
“Oi!” He roared twisting to plant his Choppa into the forehead of the bemused Orc behind him. “Keep yer gobs shut, dem Stunties will know we be coming.”
Reaching up the unlucky Greenskin wrapped dirty stained fingers around the weapon embedded in his thick skull and with a quizzical raise of its beady eyes fell forward. Gragnak retrieved the cleaver with a brutal yank before he’d even hit the ground.
“Listen up! Dem stunties won’t know we be Orcy until we’re well inside. I ‘eard off Gagna, an ‘e ‘eard it off Bugrag dat we done dis trick wid Stunty beards right? Well dat worked so fink wot we’ll do wid dese.” The mammoth Greenskin strode out of the tree line and toward the Tavern door.
Stumbling forward in his unfamiliar garb Gragnak slammed the door open, adjusted his wig and stepped inside.
“Ahhh,” came a voice behind, “dats why we needed da skirts.”"
And this is how I finished the story... *Clicky*
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Picking flowers on the field of battle
So there I was on Monday morning. Charging through Dragonwake, yelling Waaaaaaaaaaagh! and with the intentions of slaughter and carnage, when I realised how quiet, serene and picturesque it was. So i stopped off my boar, let him snuffle about and decided to pick a small flower... Den i crushed it under me stompas!
Why are so many of the T4 RvR lakes (I don't run any alts right now so can't remember the others) designed in such a way that they look like tranquil landscapes and not war zones? Praag is actually the only one that feels as if there is a war going on with raging fire and burnt out shells of homes with the occasional NPC in battle with another NPC to give a sense of a warfare. You can be running with a warband through an empty, desolate zone and it feels very fake. Certainly not adding to the sense that you've entered into a battle zone.
So what do I feel could be done to make the RvR lakes more of a battleground?
In my opinion, the best place to feel like there's a war going on is actually all the way back in Mount Bloodhorn at the Kron Komar PQ and camps. The ambient sounds of warfare add so much to the zone, hearing cannons blast, Orcs shouting. To see explosions and enemies dying with two sides engaged in constant warfare. It feels like you're on the front line about to charge in. Now I don't expect Mythic to fill the lakes with NPC's and explosions due to lag reasons but surely it might be possible to add a few in, certain spots in the lakes where you can have two sides of NPC's locked in eternal combat (make them invulnerable to players to avoid them being farmed). Even better, and I have no idea if this would be possible, but have a system in place that plays louder and more frequent ambient warfare sounds (explosions, sounds of steel on steel, shouts and death cries etc) the more action there is in a lake, make it feel like you can hear the battle from a mile away. There's no need for it to get louder as you get closer, but make it feel as if you're stepping into a battle zone and not a landscape painting.
Scar the landscape some more with the marks of war. Sorry a keep with a bit bashed out the wall while the rest of the landscape around it looks like a summer field such as we have just now doesn't count. Craters with corpses, more ruined buildings and items around battlefield objectives (I always remember Nordenwatch at the Destruction starting flag with the fishing huts, being able to run around and feel as if you're in a small camp). The BO's still stick out like a sore thumb, something randomly placed. spice them up with war and blood!
Now I'm not saying that the whole zones must be littered with corpses and craters, or explosions and elves but a bit of world re-design would go long way to make it feel like WAR!
Why are so many of the T4 RvR lakes (I don't run any alts right now so can't remember the others) designed in such a way that they look like tranquil landscapes and not war zones? Praag is actually the only one that feels as if there is a war going on with raging fire and burnt out shells of homes with the occasional NPC in battle with another NPC to give a sense of a warfare. You can be running with a warband through an empty, desolate zone and it feels very fake. Certainly not adding to the sense that you've entered into a battle zone.
So what do I feel could be done to make the RvR lakes more of a battleground?
In my opinion, the best place to feel like there's a war going on is actually all the way back in Mount Bloodhorn at the Kron Komar PQ and camps. The ambient sounds of warfare add so much to the zone, hearing cannons blast, Orcs shouting. To see explosions and enemies dying with two sides engaged in constant warfare. It feels like you're on the front line about to charge in. Now I don't expect Mythic to fill the lakes with NPC's and explosions due to lag reasons but surely it might be possible to add a few in, certain spots in the lakes where you can have two sides of NPC's locked in eternal combat (make them invulnerable to players to avoid them being farmed). Even better, and I have no idea if this would be possible, but have a system in place that plays louder and more frequent ambient warfare sounds (explosions, sounds of steel on steel, shouts and death cries etc) the more action there is in a lake, make it feel like you can hear the battle from a mile away. There's no need for it to get louder as you get closer, but make it feel as if you're stepping into a battle zone and not a landscape painting.
Scar the landscape some more with the marks of war. Sorry a keep with a bit bashed out the wall while the rest of the landscape around it looks like a summer field such as we have just now doesn't count. Craters with corpses, more ruined buildings and items around battlefield objectives (I always remember Nordenwatch at the Destruction starting flag with the fishing huts, being able to run around and feel as if you're in a small camp). The BO's still stick out like a sore thumb, something randomly placed. spice them up with war and blood!
Now I'm not saying that the whole zones must be littered with corpses and craters, or explosions and elves but a bit of world re-design would go long way to make it feel like WAR!
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