Just one movie today. It's a fifteen and a half minute video of Josh Drescher talking WAR at Comic-Con. I couldn't find a way to embed it, so just CLICK HERE to see it. Enjoy!
-Matt Graham
WAR Will NOT Release On September 23rd - 7.28.2008
I had to. But, I also had to do something a little different.
I don't care what the Singapore one-celled life form from the fiery pits of Mars' volcano's EA website says. WAR's release date is NOT September 23. My first, and probably strongest, reason is that September 23rd is the first Tuesday in the fall season - the season of this year in which WAR is supposed to release. It's simply a placeholder date.
My second reason is that, well, the NDA hasn't dropped yet. Apparently, we'll be getting the NDA drop before open beta begins. That being said, I expect open beta to go for at least a month, unlike the few weeks that most people think. After open beta, there will be the headstart, which I assume will be 5-7 days before release. So, here is my predicted timeline outlining why WAR will NOT release on September 23rd.
NDA Drop - August 4th
Open Beta Start - August 8th
Open Beta End - September 12th
Head Start Begining - September 15th
Head Start "End" - September 22nd
Official Release - September 23rd
Oh... Wait... Eh... Hmm... Maybe it will release on September 23rd after all... Damn...
Being completely honest, I actually did go into the post trying to prove why WAR wouldn't release on September 23rd, but a little over halfway through my timeline I had a change of heart.
P.S. - Busiest day of my life. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but whatever. "Monday Movies" tomorrow. Maybe. >.>
-Matt Graham
zzzZZZzzz - 7.27.2008
As you can see, I haven't been posting regularly. I'm pretty much hibernating while I wait for open beta or an NDA drop. I am not in closed beta, but I wish I was. If I were in the closed beta I'd be able to create awesome write-ups for you guys and release them the day the NDA drops - but I can't. *wink wink at Mythic*
I'll be posting more than I did the past few weeks, but it'll still be slow until the next big phase of testing hits. Expect Monday Movies tomorrow, "My Little Greenskin" #3, and some other posts during this week!
-Matt Graham
Monday Movies - 7.21.2008
"Monday Movies" is a new feature I'm going to bring you here on Bloghammer. Every Monday, I'll show you guys some great WAR videos that I saw throughout the week. I'm going to be showing you quite a few today, so get the popcorn ready! Enjoy...
-Matt Graham
-Matt Graham
Keen's E3 Adventure - 7.18.2008
Keen, from over at Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog, wrote up an awesome account of everything he saw, WAR related, at E3. The article talks about some cool new things that I haven't heard about in WAR before, and there is only one single piece of information that I'm a little disappointed by - that's pretty good. You should read the whole article, but I'm going to point out a few things that I liked to hear."Over 400 armor sets in the game."
"Over 114 different dye colors based on Games Workshops paints for the miniatures."
"The King encounter (he looks cool by the way) will be more than simply a “tank and spank” encounter. While fighting the Chaos king you’ll see voids opening around you and the floor breaking apart with chaos swirling all around and the pillars in the room falling. Adam sounded really excited."
"NEW ADDITION TO THE GAME: RvR Fortresses. These “uber keeps” (quote from Adam) of 'RvR Goodness' (quote from Mark Jacobs) act as an additional barrier between players and capital cities. They have also replaced the Capital cities in the battlefronts that had theirs taken away. These will offer very interesting RvR encounters. [...] A realm must capture 2/3 Fortresses to make the enemy Capital vulnerable."
"The combat looked fluid, polished, and extremely fun."
"Adam’s Zealot was only level 2 yet he was able to hold his ground against level 7 players because of how scenario’s work - they boost player’s abilities so that everyone feels on equal footing. It was working quite well."
That's a good sized list right there, and I'm only pointing out the things that REALLY caught my eye. Now, there is one thing that I'm a little disappointed about.
"There are no instanced raid dungeons. [...] Most dungeons are public where anyone can enter and fight but the bosses are instanced."
I'm gunna have to see that play out. I'm sure I'll be able to handle it, but it may be difficult at first because I'm coming over from WoW.
There you have it. Some awesome information! Thanks for the great article, Keen!
-Matt Graham
My Little Greenskin #2: Greenskin at E3 - 7.16.2008
Click the comic to view it in it's full size!
We are very happy with this one! Hope you enjoy! =D
-Matt Graham
-Matt Graham
My Class Playlist - 7.15.2008
Syp, from over at the Waaagh! Blog, posted a cool article earlier today. It's the first in a three-part series in which he's listing the classes he's most wanting to play, in order. So, being the rogue that I am, I stole his idea. >.> I won't do mine in three parts however, I'll just be doing it in one. So, the following is a top 5 list of what classes I'm wanting to play the most in WAR. Beginning with number 5 and ending at number 1 - the class I most want to play.
5. Greenskin Black Orc - The concept of tanking in WAR seems interesting. I'm looking forward to giving it a try whenever beta opens up to CE pre-order customers. To put it simply, the Black Orc just looks amazingly badass. Your enemy will be terrified to fight you up close because it's your specialty, but also because your intimidating look will scare them away before they can get anywhere near you.
4. Empire Witch Hunter - I think the big question here is, who wouldn't wanna play the Van Helsing, errr Witch Hunter class? It looks like lots of fun! At first glance, it seems like the Witch Hunter should be a ranged DPS class vs. a melee DPS class and it also seems strangely similar, at some times, to WoW's Paladin class. This is one class that I will definitely have to play to fully understand.
3. Goblin Shaman/Dark Elf Disciple of Khaine - "LFM Keep Siege!" How about me? *recieves group invite instantly* That's why I love support classes, not to mention the fact that they can be really fun to play. Support classes and tanking classes are also the first on the required classes list when starting a group. That's a good list to be on.
2. Dwarf Engineer - How amazing are the Dwarf Engineers? Very amazing! There is just something about them that lures you in. The Engineer's main form of damage output is ranged - something that I'm really wanting to play in WAR. The guns and special tools that they use just seem so neat! If I wasn't leaning so far towards playing Destruction, the Dwarf Engineer would probably be on the top of my list - but I dunno, #1 is hard to beat!
1. Goblin Squig Herder - Why? Well, I hate casters. My main intention is to play Destruction and the only non-caster ranged class is the Squig Herder. However, that's not the only reason. There's the humor factor too. I always thought that the idea of playing the "small guy" in an MMO while kicking ass is incredibly fun; my main character in WoW is a Gnome Rogue. That's not the only hilarious thing about Squig Herders. Who wouldn't wanna command packs of little red blobs with teeth?! I just love playing a character that isn't taken seriously and then suddenly pwns your ass!
P.S. - I wrote up My Little Greenskin #2 this morning and sent it to Spencer a few hours ago. Expect it anytime from very late tonight/very early tomorrow through Friday.
-Matt Graham
Bloghammer Featured on ChaosCast - 7.14.2008
ChaosCast, the first WAR podcast that I found when looking for them a little over a month back, featured Bloghammer in their "Welcome to the Community!" segment. Snafzg, from The Greenskin blog, pointed out the YouTube video my friend put together, as well as "My Little Greenskin" and Paul Barnett's thong action!
I'd like to thank Syp, Keen, and Snafzg for featuring the blog on the podcast! Thanks, guys!
-Matt Graham
The Realm War - 7.13.2008
Remember that third button on the main Warhammer website that was always blocked out? There was the Home button, the Herald button, and a button that could not be read. I always thought that it would end up being the official WAR forums, but it turns out that it's the page for the Realm War. Now, I've never played DAoC, but I hear that game had something that sounds very similar. Think WoW Armory. At least, that's what I expect.
I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't official forums, but at the same time I'm really happy with the surprise that I got.
-Matt Graham
Oh, Boy... - 7.12.2008
So, I'm gone for just a few days and EA Mythic, or shall I say Mythic Entertainment, performs an air raid on the MMO community. So, let's go through this last week in review. (I'll probably be posting more opinionated articles about each separate piece of news periodically.)
1. EA Mythic is changing their name back to Mythic Entertainment. They will remain a part of EA, they are simply just changing the name. It must be a zen thing or something.
2. Warhammer Online will be using Punkbuster as their method to fight against cheaters and hackers. No surprise there. Punkbuster is seen in almost every online EA game - at least the ones I play.
3. Guild Beta began yesterday. I'm still waiting for the word about Chrono Chaos's beta acceptance.. :p
4. Four, you heard it, four capital cities are are being removed from the game for launch. Maybe they'll be back in future patches or expansions - they'd better be.
5. Four has become the unlucky number in the WAR universe because it's also been reported that four classes are being removed from the game - 2 tanks, and 2 melee DPS. The Dwarf Hammerer, Knight of the Blazing Sun, Dark Elf Blackguard, and Orc Choppa are no longer going to be playable classes in WAR. I'm personally gunna miss the Choppa.
Wow. At least that's all of the bad news for now. I dunno if I could take anymore blows like this in one sitting. I was expecting announcements as far as a release date or something of the sort, but wow, just wow.
I'm probably not as upset about this as most of the other bloggers out there, but it definitely changes the way I look at the game. I think that Mythic might have jumped a little to quick to these decisions. Quite honestly, I'd rather have the game delayed until something like May 2009 with all the cities, classes, other features, etc. in the game, than have what you could call an unfinished or over-polished product and have it in my hands in a few months.
Oh well. I'm still loving the way this game is looking and I'm still looking forward to open beta.
-Matt Graham
Busy Week - 7.9.2008
This has been, and will continue to be, a busy week for me. Sorry for not posting recently, but I probably won't be back to posting until this weekend.
-Matt Graham
-Matt Graham
My Little Greenskin #1: Greenskin at the Grocer - 7.4.2008
Click the comic to view it in it's full size!
Creds to Arbitrary and Spinks. "My Little Greenskin" is now a reality.
Yesterday, my friend Spencer and I laughed when we saw what was said over at the Book of Grudges about the video we posted.
"[...] Finally, go stop by Bloghammer Online and check out the cute little Youtube slideshow made to try and get into beta. It’s adorable. I think perhaps I now want a ‘My Little Greenskin’."
Then, I said to Spence, "Dude, what if we really did that? It'd be fun!" He agreed completely and from there we decided to make it a reality. I wrote the story and he drew the pictures (working with MS Paint). What's pictured above is just the first of many we hope to bring you in this weekly comic! It's recommended that you click the picture to view it in it's full size.
We hope you enjoy our comedic taste. :D
-Matt Graham
I WUN PLEH WAR! - 7.2.2008
There are many things that I want to do in my life, one of which is playing WAR - NOW! Exactly one week ago, after pre-ordering the collector's edition for WAR three days earlier, I received my key for the open beta, the live head start, etc. This has been a very difficult week - WAR-wise. See, before I pre-ordered the CE, there was no guarantee that I would ever been in the beta for WAR. However, now that I actually have a key for the open beta in my possession, it's tough knowing that I WILL be in the WAR beta, I just don't know when. It's like knowing that you are going to die someday, you just don't know when or how it's going to happen. Okay, maybe that metaphor was slightly graphic, but I feel it fits the current situati
on.I'm so obsessed with the idea of playing WAR. I'm going crazy! I'm constantly visiting fansites and watching videos, trying to get my fix immediately by reading every little piece of news as it trickles out. I'm prepared to do anything, some things that I can't say on this blog that include me, Paul Barnett, a wooden spoon, and a leather jacket, to get into the closed beta. I'll just end it there before my fanboyism of Paul Barnett crosses the line - if it hasn't already.
The below video is something that my friend put together in about 5 seconds. It's his "shot at beta". The original plan was for it to be a video of a "sick" boy wanting in the WAR closed beta for his last wish. Ya, my friend has a sick mind - I guess I can't really talk though. It's basically a slideshow of some pictures he made in paint. I guess that his aim was for it to be so crappy/odd that it might catch someones attention. Just watch it.
-Matt Graham
WAR's War With Warcraft - 7.1.2008
A subject was brought up on War Noob about how Warhammer Online is going to have a very narrow window of release in order to be successful. Here is a small snippet from the post.
"If you have paid any attention to the gaming world, you will know that StarCraft 2 is set for release in Q4 this year. Wrath of the Lich King is set for release in Q4 this year, but I have read bits and pieces here and there that WotLK may not be released until early in '09. Blizz just announced that they will be releasing Diablo 3. Although there is no release date yet for D3, speculation is that it may be released around Q4, 2009.
And now, there is speculation about Blizzard's next gen MMO. Certainly, no release date has been set for Blizz's next MMO but let's assume that it will be released as early as 2011.
[...]So with the upcoming release of SC2 in a few months, with the release of WotLK at the end of the year, or at the beginning of next year, and with the release of D3 perhaps at the end of next year (and of course this does not mention non-Blizzard games that will be released) it seems to me that EA Mythic has a narrow window in order to release WAR. Either they get it done this fall, or wait until the WotLK bomb drops and then stay out of its wake until Q2 or Q3 next year."
The following is basically my "response" to that post.
In my opinion, Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 won't take ANY players away from WAR. They aren't MMO's, they are just regular games (RTS/RPG). The only reason that they are in this conversation is because they are from the same company that works on WoW - Blizzard. I might sound stupid if I said that Bioshock 2 will take people away from WAR, but it's really the same thing when you look at it.
An MMO player is very different from a "regular gamer". They know what they are getting into, meaning the subscription fee, when they buy an MMO. Sure, they buy other games like everyone else, but because of the subscription, they will come back at the end of the day and call the MMO "home". I just couldn't see a regular game taking people away from an MMO. The only way to "beat" an MMO, is with another MMO.
As for Wrath of the Lich King, the next World of Warcraft expansion, I highly doubt that it'll be pushed back into 2009. J. Allen Brack, from Blizzard, has already said that they are extremely disappointed that WotLK isn't as ready as they wanted it to be this far into 2008, so I'm sure that they are pushing to get it out there and ready for release.
My guess was always that WotLK will be out the first week of November and that WAR will be out the second week. If it weren't for WotLK, I'm sure that EA Mythic would have already stated a release date for WAR, however, they are probably waiting to see Blizzard's move and release two or three weeks earlier. You could think of it as a chess match between giganto-gaming companies.
WotLK, in my opinion, is really the only worry for WAR. The problem is that it's a big worry. But, like I said before, at the end of the day, I believe that WAR will be a very healthy and lively MMO - I definitely do not doubt that.
P.S. - Please don't take this as me flaming the War Noob blog. I'm definitely not. I love that blog and I respect his opinions. This post was just inspired by his post. It's is not a flame in any way.
-Matt Graham
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