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Aha i jeszcze doprecyzowanie news'a przez Mark'a i pare nowosci (rodzaje serwerow etc)
Folks,
Okay, the news is out about WAR being delayed till to the second quarter 2008 (of the calendar year (April, May and June), not fiscal year for those accounting types in the audience) and it’s time to don the flame-retardant suit for me. Here’s some more straight talk, no hype, spin or rinse and dry cycles. In regards to the delay, there are 4 phrases that you should know (oh, and if some of you want to, right now, expand my vocabulary by using some of your own choice words/phrases, please resist the temptation):
1) Content complete – When we have the entire content into the game this includes quests, NPCs, etc.
2) Feature complete – When all the game’s systems have been added to the game.
3) Balancing – Something that is impossible to do 100% correctly in an MMOPRG, no matter how hard we try to make sure that the systems are balanced so that races/classes/abilities all fit nicely together.
4) Polish – The time that is spent after (1) & (2) are done that is geared to improving existing content, chucking out some stuff that isn’t working and overall, adding nice touches to the game here, there and everywhere.
Over the last couple of months the team has been delivering its content in the hopes of being content complete on schedule. Once that was done, we intended to have many months of polishing that content (like all the great games do) before release. The same holds true for the systems that go into the game as well (RvR, crafting, etc.) and we would then spend time balancing and also polishing them. While the team has been delivering lots of content and features, we were eating into the time that we had allocated for polishing the game once we were content and feature complete. So, as the SotG says, we had two paths opening up in front of us. We could cut out some of the features from the final milestones and have less time to polish the game or bite the bullet and extend out the schedule. We made the choice, supported by EA, to allow us the time we wanted to both polish the game and put in the features that this game needs to be great. We now have all the polish and balance time we need to get this game ready for its debut.
Additionally, during the course of beta, our testers raised a number of issues regarding the game, among them RvR, repetitive PQs and classes that didn’t feel special enough as you play them through Tier 4. We listened to their feedback and because of it we are making lots of adjustments to those things as well. This too has been factored into the new schedule. That is the proper purpose of Beta, getting lots of feedback and then, if you are smart and have the resources, going back and getting it right. That process has begun at Mythic and with the extra time, we will be able to deal with them. With the additional of open field RvR, multiple server types including Open RvR (kill any enemy you meet other than true newbs), Core Ruleset (once you’re in enemy territory you’re flagged automatically and you can’t unflag yourself but PvP is still consensual in PvE protected areas, you can *never* unflag in RvR areas) and RP we believe this will be a great system at launch. And, according to the beta testers, they agree. Their feedback has been overwhelmingly supportive of this system though a small percentage would still like to see DAoC 2 (which we have said no to right from the beginning). In actually, the Core Ruleset is closer to DAoC than you think but still has enough difference to make it quite interesting and the Open RvR Ruleset is very different. One suggestion that I’ve seen here and elsewhere is for an Open RvR RP Ruleset which we are considering. During the ongoing beta test we will continue the polling and if there is enough support for that, we will consider it. There also has been some support for a FFA server as an additional server type, not as a primary, but we have no plans to do that at the present time.
Now, I know that on a number of levels that this news doesn’t seem to be very good. I haven’t tried to spin things but simply, as always, tell it like it is. Over the last year a number of people have raised certain fears for WAR after Mythic was acquired by EA. Among those classics are:
1) That EA will meddle in the design to make the game more like WoW.
2) That EA will not allow Mythic the time to complete WAR and make us shove it out the door on schedule regardless of the game’s quality.
3) That the game is not going to come out at all.
4) That Mythic is out of touch with what the player’s want and we are not listening.
I hope that this delay serves to quell those fears for now and for ever. They are backing our play to create a great game and if it takes a little longer, then it takes a little longer; that is the price of playing with the big boys. We are listening to our beta testers as well as our internal teams and doing what is right for WAR over the long-term not what is right just for now. As I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, we set out to make WAR a great MMORPG and that is what we intend to do. While the delay may seem like forever, it is only another quarter and not another year.
And as our CEO (especially of a public company) said in our earnings call, EA continues to invest in Mythic and in Warhammer and they expect it to be a bigger hit due to the extra time. Gotta love it when a CEO says that about your studio and your game! Not too bad eh?
Our beta will reopen on schedule in December and we will open the Guild Beta about a month later once we’re sure that everything is back up and running properly and ready to go for the guilds.
Over the years the MMO industry has seen too many games crash and burn at launch as well as some games, while marginally successful, that just didn’t live up to the hype. We are spending the additional time on WAR to make sure that it doesn’t fall into any of those categories. We could have waited till the last minute, as some other games have done, and then announced a delay. This might have been better to do from a marketing perspective but not from our perspective. I would rather disappoint some of you now, not later and especially not when we release the game.
If the delay causes some of you to lose faith, that’s okay, take a break and come back when we are further along with the game, you’ll be welcomed back with open arms by a friendly DE holding a Heartseeker when you return.
Mark
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afk for quite a while
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