Post by Zeli on Nov 30, 2006 15:50:26 GMT -5
source: Warhammer Vault
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Warhammer Vault Interviews - Sanya Thomas
November 2006 Interview
By Swanny
Warhammer Vault sits down with Sanya Thomas, Director of Community Relations for EA Mythic and snags a few questions about Warhammer Online! These questions came directly from our Warhammer General Board Readers, Enjoy!!!
Warhammer Vault: Does Mythic plan (or would they like) to have special events where the Developers take over special NPCs such as Giants and Dragons with great rewards for the participants?
Sanya: Not at this time. In my opinion… these events are great fun for the handful of people who are able to participate, not as fun for people who cannot attend due to the timing, and a black hole of anti-fun for people who didn’t feel like being stomped by a giant, and wanted to just hunt or quest in the area where the event was taking place. It is possible there will be events on the test server – I just don’t know yet.
Warhammer Vault: Are we expecting generally "canned" group and guild builds, or are we looking at something newer and more dynamic and inspiring but with more automated functions generated by a GM or group leader for whatever tasks are at hand?
Sanya: We have learned a thing or two from the games we’ve made and the games we’ve played. I expect that the system when designed will show the fruits of all that learning.
Warhammer Vault: Has an effort been made to make better and harder-to-obtain loot much better visually compared to loot that is easier to obtain? Is there any special "visual styles" that will accompany the best loot? Basically, will the best players make other people go "WOW" when we see them in game?
Sanya: The look of a character is more related to his strength and ability than his loot farming skills, though obviously not entirely – we want people to be individuals. With that said, a related question is in the November Grab Bag (located within the November Newsletter), and the designer basically said that the details have to stay under his hat for now.
Warhammer Vault: Do you know what sort of emblem system (cloak, shield, tabard, etc.) you're going to implement yet?
Sanya: Nope.
Warhammer Vault: Will multi-spec classes have defined roles where speccing heavy in any one line might be needed by groups(i.e. will all three specs lines have a place in game?) Will hybrids still have roles?
Sanya: We are doing our best to design the game so everyone has fun, always has a contribution to make, and has a situation in which they can excel. Whether or not we have succeeded is up to the beta testers to tell us.
Warhammer Vault: Are spells all casted while standing still, or are there varied types? Instas, maintained spells, spells able to be cast on the run, etc.
Sanya: There is variety.
Warhammer Vault: Will there be a "War Map" or any other map that shows the status of enemy armies, citys, territories, ect... or will the player have to rely on getting information from other players who go about scout for info on the enemys whereabouts? Can this dynamically change in-game?
Sanya: The Tome of Knowledge in the game will be a remarkable resource in terms of the things you mention. How often it updates will depend on server performance with a few thousand bloodthirsty maniacs playing, but obviously “as often as possible” is what we want.
But I don’t think there will ever be a substitute for smart players using their own eyes.
Warhammer Vault: Have you discussed anything about population balance and how to handle it? If so, are you allowed to reveal any information on how the system will work?
Sanya: This is HUGELY important to us, obviously. We have mechanisms in place for city retaking (NPCs, defending players grow gradually more powerful over time, etc). Other things are under discussion, but like everything else, play testing will almost certainly modify our plans. The plans we have now probably won’t last until the point where the NDA is lifted and I can talk freely, and that means my answer isn’t worth putting permanently on the internet.
Warhammer Vault: Most MMO's offer free content updates with varying frequencies. Is Mythic planning on doing a monthly or other sort of regular free content update for Warhammer Online?
Sanya: We will be patching regularly with fixes and additions, yes.
Warhammer Vault: Are the classes going to be largely cookie cutter, or is each class going to have unique abilities (something like DAOC RR5 abilities)? .
Sanya: There is a lot of customization and choice in a career skill tree that we believe will make characters unique.
I also believe that human beings like trends and fads, and I fully expect there to be a certain amount of “Flavor of the Month” catcalling. But that’s me speaking for me, not for EA Mythic.
Warhammer Vault: Are there any plans for any sort of awards for PvP like DAOC? (ie items or abilities)
Sanya: Yes.
Warhammer Vault: Will the PvP experience be similar to DAOC or will the PvP in WAR be something completely new?
Sanya: I will go to hell and suffer horribly if I use the incredibly salespersonish phrase “taking it to the next level,” so I’m just going to think it quietly and whimper.
Warhammer Vault: Will the WAR Herald be setup similar to DAOC with character stats, guides, realm maps, and all that good stuff?
Sanya: Yes.
Warhammer Vault: Will there be many methods of character customization in the game?
Sanya: Define “many.” I think the answer is yes.
Warhammer Vault: Will Mythic allow for the ability of the customization of the User Interface within WAR?
Sanya: Yes.
Sanya thank you for taking time out of your busy day to answer our readers questions!! We look forward to getting even more info on Warhammer Online!!
November 2006 Interview
By Swanny
Warhammer Vault sits down with Sanya Thomas, Director of Community Relations for EA Mythic and snags a few questions about Warhammer Online! These questions came directly from our Warhammer General Board Readers, Enjoy!!!
Warhammer Vault: Does Mythic plan (or would they like) to have special events where the Developers take over special NPCs such as Giants and Dragons with great rewards for the participants?
Sanya: Not at this time. In my opinion… these events are great fun for the handful of people who are able to participate, not as fun for people who cannot attend due to the timing, and a black hole of anti-fun for people who didn’t feel like being stomped by a giant, and wanted to just hunt or quest in the area where the event was taking place. It is possible there will be events on the test server – I just don’t know yet.
Warhammer Vault: Are we expecting generally "canned" group and guild builds, or are we looking at something newer and more dynamic and inspiring but with more automated functions generated by a GM or group leader for whatever tasks are at hand?
Sanya: We have learned a thing or two from the games we’ve made and the games we’ve played. I expect that the system when designed will show the fruits of all that learning.
Warhammer Vault: Has an effort been made to make better and harder-to-obtain loot much better visually compared to loot that is easier to obtain? Is there any special "visual styles" that will accompany the best loot? Basically, will the best players make other people go "WOW" when we see them in game?
Sanya: The look of a character is more related to his strength and ability than his loot farming skills, though obviously not entirely – we want people to be individuals. With that said, a related question is in the November Grab Bag (located within the November Newsletter), and the designer basically said that the details have to stay under his hat for now.
Warhammer Vault: Do you know what sort of emblem system (cloak, shield, tabard, etc.) you're going to implement yet?
Sanya: Nope.
Warhammer Vault: Will multi-spec classes have defined roles where speccing heavy in any one line might be needed by groups(i.e. will all three specs lines have a place in game?) Will hybrids still have roles?
Sanya: We are doing our best to design the game so everyone has fun, always has a contribution to make, and has a situation in which they can excel. Whether or not we have succeeded is up to the beta testers to tell us.
Warhammer Vault: Are spells all casted while standing still, or are there varied types? Instas, maintained spells, spells able to be cast on the run, etc.
Sanya: There is variety.
Warhammer Vault: Will there be a "War Map" or any other map that shows the status of enemy armies, citys, territories, ect... or will the player have to rely on getting information from other players who go about scout for info on the enemys whereabouts? Can this dynamically change in-game?
Sanya: The Tome of Knowledge in the game will be a remarkable resource in terms of the things you mention. How often it updates will depend on server performance with a few thousand bloodthirsty maniacs playing, but obviously “as often as possible” is what we want.
But I don’t think there will ever be a substitute for smart players using their own eyes.
Warhammer Vault: Have you discussed anything about population balance and how to handle it? If so, are you allowed to reveal any information on how the system will work?
Sanya: This is HUGELY important to us, obviously. We have mechanisms in place for city retaking (NPCs, defending players grow gradually more powerful over time, etc). Other things are under discussion, but like everything else, play testing will almost certainly modify our plans. The plans we have now probably won’t last until the point where the NDA is lifted and I can talk freely, and that means my answer isn’t worth putting permanently on the internet.
Warhammer Vault: Most MMO's offer free content updates with varying frequencies. Is Mythic planning on doing a monthly or other sort of regular free content update for Warhammer Online?
Sanya: We will be patching regularly with fixes and additions, yes.
Warhammer Vault: Are the classes going to be largely cookie cutter, or is each class going to have unique abilities (something like DAOC RR5 abilities)? .
Sanya: There is a lot of customization and choice in a career skill tree that we believe will make characters unique.
I also believe that human beings like trends and fads, and I fully expect there to be a certain amount of “Flavor of the Month” catcalling. But that’s me speaking for me, not for EA Mythic.
Warhammer Vault: Are there any plans for any sort of awards for PvP like DAOC? (ie items or abilities)
Sanya: Yes.
Warhammer Vault: Will the PvP experience be similar to DAOC or will the PvP in WAR be something completely new?
Sanya: I will go to hell and suffer horribly if I use the incredibly salespersonish phrase “taking it to the next level,” so I’m just going to think it quietly and whimper.
Warhammer Vault: Will the WAR Herald be setup similar to DAOC with character stats, guides, realm maps, and all that good stuff?
Sanya: Yes.
Warhammer Vault: Will there be many methods of character customization in the game?
Sanya: Define “many.” I think the answer is yes.
Warhammer Vault: Will Mythic allow for the ability of the customization of the User Interface within WAR?
Sanya: Yes.
Sanya thank you for taking time out of your busy day to answer our readers questions!! We look forward to getting even more info on Warhammer Online!!
