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Role Playing (Games)

THQ Announces Warhammer 40K MMOG 71

Posted by Zonk from the slashdot-readers-made-happy dept.
In our interview with the Warhammer Online team a while back, there were questions as to why we weren't going to be seeing a Warhammer 40K MMOG. Several people seemed quite keen on the idea. Well, for those people: your time is now. THQ has announced they'll be developing Warhammer 40K into a MMOG and mobile games. Gamasutra reports on comments from Kelly Flock, executive vice president of worldwide publishing for the company, about their plan to work with Austin startup Vigil games on the project. Says Flock, "We realized this is one of those few properties that has a high level of interest from the hardcore gaming community, which could be a great launching point to turning it into a great mainstream mass-market MMO ... We're not out to replace World of Warcraft, we think we have a unique offering in the same category that will get its own share of attention if we deliver properly on the gameplay mechanics we'll build our own audience." Flock demures from offering a timeframe for release of the game, saying they're not even going to try to pinpoint a development schedule yet.
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THQ Announces Warhammer 40K MMOG More

THQ Announces Warhammer 40K MMOG

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  • Hardly much of an announcement... more of a "Well, we're interested in maybe sometime possibly making another video game."

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by zyl0x ( 987342 )
      From TFA:

      "So we worked with Games Workshop, broadened our license, extended it out, and are announcing that we're putting the MMO into development down in Austin, TX."

      His actual use of the word "announcing" seems to conflict with your.. interpretation.
      • Consider that there is no timeframe or development schedule at all. Sounds like vaporware to me. When they have some numbers or dates this will be newsworthy.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Pojut ( 1027544 )
          BZZZT wrong.

          I direct you to Duke Nukem Forever. How many times have they had a release date or release time frame for that monster?

          No date does not equal vaporware, just like having a date does not equal it will hit retail within a reasonable date of the original release date.
          • I must concede to you, you are correct. But I don't think Duke Nukem Forever was the best possible example there. ;)

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Pojut ( 1027544 )
              While not exactly in line with the conversation, Prey I think is an excellent example of when vapourware can be BENEFICIAL to a game.

              Look back to the mid-90's when they were talking about it. Fastforward to last year.

              The only thing that was basically unchanged was that the main char is a native american and it has to do with aliens. With the way the game was released, there is NO WAY they could have achieved it technically back in the mid-90's.

              I am hoping the same fate awaits Duke Forever.

              • With the way the game was released, there is NO WAY they could have achieved it technically back in the mid-90's.

                They could and they did. I saw demonstration videos that used the same portal technology we see today. The game even had simple Havok-esque physics, though of course nothing like today's stuff.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by Pojut ( 1027544 )

                  The game even had simple Havok-esque physics, though of course nothing like today's stuff.


                  The physics were the part that I was referring to...while it may not seem like much, imagine Half Life 2 with a physics engine from even just five years ago...

  • The only problem I predict... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by GodInHell ( 258915 ) * on Thursday March 01, 2007 @12:59PM (#18196454) Homepage
    is that they have a little trouble keeping that kind of ultra-violent, soul crushing story line interesting to players over the long term.

    Everything I like about 40K involves big armies, lotts of drama, and massive casualties. Not the best fodder for a MMO.

    Two cents inserted, I go!!
    -GiH
    • True, but I also wonder if they are going to go more of the RPG route, or more of the FPS route. MMOG's haven't really interested me to this point, WoW bored me fairly quickly when I tried it, but a 40k shooter sounds awesome. Ironic that a universe predicated on so little hope causes so much amongst its fans...
      • Based on Dawn of War, the other 40K computer offering, I would expect the MMO to reflect RTS sensibilities more than FPS. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to create an epic-feeling arena for play, in which each player is inserted into the role of a commander or subcommander, similar to the special characters in Dawn of War. If each player had an AI-controlled squad of soldiers, or controlled one of the many powerful vehicles, an MMO could reflect the sort of large-scale chaos and high casualty rates

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Barny ( 103770 )
          Hint: its not being made by the same devs as DoW was ;)

          At a guess I would say MMOFPS (aka planetside clone) which I for one would be perfectly happy with, just give me an xv8, a pair of missile pods and some targeting upgrades and I will be set ;)

          As for your "powerful vehicles" you do know most heavy weapons 1 shot them right?
          • Most heavy weapons ARE vehicles though, aren't they? Maybe it is a matter of terminology. I've never played the tabletop game, only Dawn of War, so my perspective is undoubtedly skewed by that. Can you really one-shot a Prism or Predator Tank or a Squiggoth?
            • Vehicles with one structure point (pretty much anything you'll find in a standard Codex) can be destroyed in one shot by most weapons, given the right roll of the dice.

              Vehicles do not have 'wounds' as infantry and other units do - the strength of a vehicle is represented by front, side, and rear armour values, which are rolled against by weapon strength, ending up on either glancing or penetrating hit tables. It's significantly harder to destroy a vehicle with a weak weapon, but an unlucky roll on the glanc

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by Barny ( 103770 )
                Whoa, late as hell reply but any who :)

                The parent is indeed correct baring one minor point that he doesn't stress enough.... railguns.

                If you fire a tau railgun, and it hits, it will (most of the time at least, squigoth and wraithlords are an exception to this) kill what it hits, with one shot.

                Another example is necron warriors, their weapons get a special bonus (on average one shot in 6) that gives them a chance at taking out a vehicle in one hit.

                Best example of out of kilter damage is the melta (fusion bla
    • I'd really like to see them implement big armies/battles on a massive scale.

      If they'd setup the game where you have the different races fighting for control over massively regions of space, I think that an RTS-based MMORPG could definitely work. I think Dark Age of Camelot had something similar to this from the first-person view. If they gave you control over an army and had to work together/against other players in massive/group battles, I would definitely sign-up.

  • Uh.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Lordfly ( 590616 ) on Thursday March 01, 2007 @01:00PM (#18196462) Journal
    Maybe I've slipped into an alternate dimension, but wasn't there a Warhammer MMOG game being developed like... 4 years ago?

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Needs Food Badly ( 995632 )
      There is a Warhammer Fantasy MMOG currently under development. That's probably what you are thinking of. On the other hand, this announcement is about a Warhammer 40k based MMO, which is GW's other Warhammer line. One is high fantasy and lends itself more to RPGs, and the other being gritty sci-fi.

      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by HappySqurriel ( 1010623 )
        I don't know much (well anything) about Warhammer but I could see how it might make sense to create two MMO games, that were based off of similar systems, which are seperated by many months of development ...

        If I was Blizzard, and was considering making a World of Starcraft (or world of Diablo) I would try to use as much of the server side code from World of warcraft as possible (obviously, focusing on improving everything over the next 24 months of development) and focus technical development on creating a
        • The Warhammers are different companies and publishers. Warhammer Fantasy is Mythic(DAOC)/EA. Warhammer 40K is Vigil(ex NCSoft)/THQ. Not that NCSoft US has any experience in developing MMO's really - they buy them in from third parties or the Koreans.
        • If I was Blizzard, and was considering making a World of Starcraft (or world of Diablo)

          MMORPG players are essentially the same lot of people. Very few new players are added to that pool and the last addition was Blizzard loyalists for WOW. Addign a SC MMORPG would canabilize their subscirbers base more then add to it. They'd be smarter to release a RTS. Having 2 compellign products int he same space just weakens their individual positions.
      • There was indeed a Warhammer Fantasy MMO being developed about 4 years ago. After about a year of development, it was shutdown. Later the IP was re-licensed to Mythic Entertainment, who has been in development of their own project (completely different from the original) for a couple years now and is set to release around this upcoming Christmas.

        THQ, if they do go through with this, is probably looking at a release date of around 2011. There have been a ton of rumors that it will not even be an MMORPG
      • There is a Warhammer Fantasy MMOG currently under development.

        I thought it was already released and was massively successful. Kiddign aside WOW occupies so much fo the same space (for obvious reasons) that a MMOG based on warhammer seems redundant.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by GWLlosa ( 800011 )
      Warhammer Fantasy is currently being developed. Has knights, swords, orcs, eleves, etc. This article references Warhammer 40k. Has space marines. And guns.
    • Mythic/EA has been developing a Warhammer MMO for the past couple years.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Enoxice ( 993945 )
      Additional reply saying the exact same thing as all of the above replies.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Kardall ( 886095 )
      I'm in your thread, Cloning your posts!

      www.warhammeronline.com

      Warhammer Online will be cool, but 40k would be better. Same diversity if not more, PLUS you get the future thing which most company's have failed with. IMO it's because their stories are crap. At least with 40k there isn't really a story, so you don't have to worry about it. You go in, kill or be killed. It's simple... that's why it will succeed.

  • Obligatory (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Trails ( 629752 ) on Thursday March 01, 2007 @01:07PM (#18196538)
    "We're not out to replace World of Warcraft"

    It seems like every MMO announcement includes this. I guess it's boilerplate PR indemnification in case they fail to kill WoW.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

      I think it's more along the lines of "yes, we know it exists - please don't ask us about it, we want to talk about our product and not compare it to WoW."

      Otherwise they're basically guaranteed to be asked how they plan to "beat WoW" which ultimately becomes an effort in comparing the new game to WoW and, in a way, yet another ad for WoW.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by flyingsquid ( 813711 )
      What they really mean when they say, "we're not out to kill WOW" is "we won't get killed by WOW". If I wanted to invest in or partner with a company doing a MMORPG, my first question is going to be, "how will your company survive if you can't take significant market share away from WOW?" The answer is that you'd have to find a different group of gamers, or offer something different enough that people would play both your game and WOW.

      Otherwise... well, Blizzard isn't invincible. If you build a better ga

  • RTS vs RPG (Score:2, Interesting)

    by sanjacguy ( 908392 )
    All they've done is announce it as an MMO - the better question is are they planning an RPG or an RTS? Or even an FPS? What I can tell you definatively is that Black Library is currently planning to publish the Warhammer 40K RPG for table top gamers. It should be noted that after I wept openly at this announcement, I read closer and really want to know what they're planning, RPG, RTS, FPS?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
      Well, THQ is the publisher for Relic who did Dawn of War.
      • True, however the vast majority of MMOs seem to be some sort of RPGs. While Blizzard had done Diablo previously, the first Warcraft rpg was WoW. So I'm leaning towards RPG at this point.
    • This all just speculation, but here's my prediction:

      Warhammer 40k will compete with a Starcraft title for the top spot in the MMORTS market.

      Yeah I may be crazy, but I said it first bitches!

  • Not interested. (Score:3, Funny)

    by hookedup ( 630460 ) on Thursday March 01, 2007 @01:15PM (#18196660)
    Sorry, but a Space Marine dancing on the mailbox is not going to do it for me.

  • 40k? (Score:2, Funny)

    by cybereal ( 621599 )
    40k... Apparently they already know their peak membership numbers!

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Crunchie Frog ( 791929 )

      40k... Apparently they already know their peak membership numbers!
      Thanks folks, Cybereal will be here all week. Try the veal.
      • I'm Jewish, you insensitive clod! (I'm a Christian, so from a purely theoretical standpoint, that's like Jew squared.)

        Wait... None of that applies here, since cows are kosher... You're still an insensitive, baby-(cow)killing clod, though.

  • Inquisitors and Space Marines (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RockoTDF ( 1042780 ) on Thursday March 01, 2007 @01:24PM (#18196812) Homepage
    I hope the game comes off like the sub game inquisitor, where you play more as individualistic characters (Inquisitors, Assassins, Rogue Traders, Eldar Rangers etc) rather than just being a soldier or space marine. I get the feeling that if they put the option to be a space marine out there everyone will do it and it will be over saturated just like the table top game. On the other hand, if they don't they will be missing out on a huge part of the market for that game. Perhaps they should consider doing what the Star Wars MMO did with Jedi. You can't start as one, but instead have to get an offer for training and earn it somehow. But then again being a space marine wouldn't be a great deal of fun in an RPG (shoot, shoot, shoot some more) so perhaps they could stick to the specialist chapters like the Grey Knights and Deathwatch who actually have abilities/powers to keep them interesting.

    • Re:Inquisitors and Space Marines (Score:5, Interesting)

      by servognome ( 738846 ) on Thursday March 01, 2007 @02:44PM (#18198028)

      Perhaps they should consider doing what the Star Wars MMO did with Jedi.
      You mean leave it out in the first place hoping nobody discovers how to actually become one. Then when enough people get bored and complain introduce a system that lets them mindlessly macro grind for months through a bunch of professions they don't care about. When they finally jump through all those hoops they discover that the profession is unfinshed. Finally everything gets scrapped a few years later and just make it a regular profession.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by KDR_11k ( 778916 )
      I'd say they should focus on PvP with each battlefield having deployment limits by point value in each instance. That way even if everyone plays SM they'd still be in fewer numbers in a battle than, say, the orcs. Something like a Dreadnaught would need a special promotion system (but mostly due to the fluff), space marines don't need a real limit.

      Though perhaps it would work better if every player controlled a squad of characters so the imperial guard can get enough people together to fight.
    • If this game turned out to be an MMOFPS, I believe it could pretty interesting if everyone were Space Marines going off on missions.
    • Not to nitpick but, (assuming Games Workshop doesn't mind twisting the lore) its not that hard to imagine a player being able to switch "classes" just by changing armor/weapons. Although the basic setup for a space marine is (basically) a machine gun, grenades and a knife, with that in mind its very easy to imagine different 'armors', 'weapons' and player 'crafted' equipment. Switch machine gun for sniper rifle/flamer/gatling gun/etc. You could pick what types of grenades you want (or forgo them for more am
  • MMORPGs have followed pretty much the same general gameplay ideas since their inception in the late 90's, as liad down by Ultima Online and EQ. These games in turn took their gameplay concepts from existing RPGs of the day. The entire MMO market is made up entirely of games that follow this exact pattern only with different skins. One notable exception is EvE. Players actually have MEANING within that game's world. Any MMORPG that comes out using the same old formula as usual, like Lineage II for example,
  • Why do so many developers lead off with this or a similar statement?

    Are they all admitting they have no chance to be as popular either because of subject matter or skill? I think some would delude themselves into believeing its subject matter but mostly its skill.

    Even Vangard is this way, hell they go out of their way to not only claim they aren't like WOW but worse, to dismiss WOW as a kids game. I guess thats one way of convincing yourself.

    If any game should have a shot its LOTR but we all know its goin

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by aapold ( 753705 )

      Even Vangard is this way, hell they go out of their way to not only claim they aren't like WOW but worse, to dismiss WOW as a kids game. I guess thats one way of convincing yourself.
      Sigil, Vigil, what's the difference?
  • Balance a Space Marine to Guardsman? Unless this is a MMOFPS, then it'd be easier...

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by loopback_127001 ( 695885 )
      Nonsense. Try thinking a little bit outside the box.

      Sample classes could be that a Space Marine is a character who is moderately tank-like in nature. Rather than having a player play a guardsman, you instead play a squad leader, and you have 'pets' of guardsmen who fire on your behalf. There's a basic "x number of guardsmen = 1 space marine. roughly." rule of thumb you could go by, and scale that up as characters level, until you become able to have 'pets' as a Commisar such as tanks, heavy artillery, or

  • O rly? (Score:1)

    by cpux ( 970708 )
    "We're not out to replace World of Warcraft" Now I saw the Warhammer Online booth at the NY ComicCon. That interface they used looked strikingly familiar somehow...
    • Warhammer Online is not the same thing as what is being discussed in this article.

      The interface for Warhammer Online does look pretty similar to that of WoW, but it also looks similar to the interfaces of many other MMOs.
    • You were there too? I was impressed by how very little they were willing to say about their game, and how obnoxious their booth people were.

      The Warhammer Fantasy game looks exactly like WoW; you're right. Just more depressing.
  • I find it funny when the article says "We're not out to replace World of Warcraft" ... what kind of statement is that ? They're almost telling me that they are gonna create a boring game to play.

    If from the beginning they don't shoot for the stars, where are they gonna land with their product ?

    And this is not the first comment i've read like that. Its like saying WoW is unbeatable ? that it cannot be made better ? That they might as well appeal to another type of gamer because they won't beat WoW ?

    How do yo
    • Beating WoW in terms of gameplay is certainly attainable and I think that all MMOs have striven to improve the gameplay beyond WoW's system.

      I think that most of these PRs are saying that "we don't expect to trounce WoW's subscription numbers" when they say they don't expect to beat WoW.

      WoW had a huge consumer base from the Warcraft games, and Blizzard's Rep, and a general dearth of quality MMOs that many people flocked to it initially. Then the numbers swelled as word of mouth spread. Then the numbers bec

    • Re:Not shooting for the stars (Score:4, Funny)

      by Guuge ( 719028 ) on Thursday March 01, 2007 @04:41PM (#18199560)

      I also found that statement funny, but for a different reason.

      Imagine a musician announcing that they're not out to replace Britney Spears. Imagine slashdot announcing that it's not out to replace CNN.

  • Not a MMORPG?

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