Kotaku: Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning

Warhammer Online Is Online

Mike Fahey — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:20:00 MDT

The "Day of Reckoning" has finally arrived, and while most of the players interested have been plugging away at the early start for two or four days depending on which flavor of the game they pre-ordered, folks who just saw the game in the store and though to themselves, "Huh, I don't have enough major, soul-eating diversions in my life" are now able to pick up the game and join the war between the forces of nice and not-so-nice.

I've been poking around a bit so far, but in honor of the official launch I've gone ahead and rolled new guys on a role-playing server, perhaps better knows as the "I'm reporting your name" server to the unitiated. Enjoying myself a bit, though there is something about the characters that just strikes me as a bit lifeless. That, and in order to be a Bright Wizard you have to look like a complete tool. Despite that, things seem to be running smoothly so far. Of course now that I say that the servers will explode. Enjoy it while you can.

Mythic Entertainment Launches Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
The Day of Reckoning Has Arrived as Game Servers Go Live!

FAIRFAX, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—LET THE WORLDWIDE WAAAGH! BEGIN! Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) studio, today launched the highly anticipated MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR), in North America, Europe and the Oceanic territories. With the game’s servers now officially live, all players are invited to enter WAR’s grim fantasy world, swear allegiance to the armies of Order or Destruction, and experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm™ combat.

“The Day of Reckoning is finally at hand and I am pleased to invite players to take their first steps into the Warhammer Fantasy universe,” said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “The stage is set and the combatants are ready - it’s time to go to WAR!”

WAR offers a number of subscription options for eager recruits:

Monthly Subscription: $14.99 USD
3-Month Subscription: $41.97 ($13.99 per month) USD
6-Month Subscription: $77.94 ($12.99 per month) USD
Players entering the Age of Reckoning can look forward to invading enemy lands, assaulting imposing fortresses, and sacking sprawling capital cities for the glory of your Realm. They will wield devastating magic and deadly weapons, battle monstrous creatures, and join their brothers-in-arms in epic Public Quests™. Players can climb the Bastion Stair, carry their Guild Banner into battle, and unlock the infinite secrets of the Tome of Knowledge as they travel the world. The wait is over - the Age of Reckoning has begun and war is everywhere!

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is now in stores everywhere at an MSRP of $49.99. Available for PC, WAR is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. Prepaid Game Time™ cards are also available at most game retailers. For more information, visit http://www.warhammeronline.com/.

About Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™

Experience the glory of Realm vs. Realm! Declare your allegiance and join thousands of mighty heroes on the battlefields of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the new MMORPG from Mythic Entertainment, the creators of Dark Age of Camelot™. Enter a grim world of perpetual conflict to fight for the Realms of Order (Dwarfs, High Elves, and Empire) or Destruction (Greenskins, Dark Elves, and Chaos). Invade enemy lands, besiege imposing fortresses, and sack sprawling capital cities for the glory of your Realm. Wield devastating magic and deadly weapons, battle monstrous creatures, and join your brothers-in-arms in epic Public Quests™. Climb the Bastion Stair, carry your Guild Banner into battle, and unlock the infinite secrets of the Tome of Knowledge as you travel the world. So sharpen your blade and unleash your inner mutation. The Age of Reckoning has begun and WAR IS EVERYWHERE!

EA Declares Thursday The "Day Of Reckoning"

Mike Fahey — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:20:00 MDT

Mythic is going big with the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning launch across North America and Europe this week, readying to flood retail channels with larger shipping numbers than any other newly launched MMO in the history of newly launched MMOs. They've even given the launch day a name - Thursday, September 18th is now the "Day of Reckoning".

"Over the course of our beta, over a million gamers throughout the world sent a clear signal to us - they want WAR, and we are more than happy to oblige them,” said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “In three days the real battle begins – we have declared September 18th the ‘Day of Reckoning,’ and WAR will soon be upon us!”

Well I will admit that folks are excited, over a million gamers in beta just means that over a million gamers wanted to try it out before deciding to purchase it, which really makes calling Thursday the "Day of Reckoning" all the more appropriate. Will WAR be a WoW killer, or will it simply crash against the Lich King's armor and bounce right off? Oh it's on.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Deploys to Retail Stores

Mythic Entertainment Lets Loose the Armies of WAR as the “Day of Reckoning” Approaches

FAIRFAX, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) studio, today announced that the highly-anticipated MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR), will ship tomorrow to retail stores across North America, Europe, and Oceania in preparation for launch on September 18th. WAR set a company record for the most retail pre-orders placed by consumers for a PC title in EA’s 26 year history. Overall, the company has sold 1.5 million units of WAR to retailers.

Based on the popular tabletop game from Games Workshop, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is an epic fantasy MMORPG featuring innovative Realm vs. Realm™ game play that pits the armies of Order and Destruction against one another on the battlefield to determine the fate of nations. Hundreds of thousands of players have already joined the battle in the open beta, and soon the time will be at hand for players the world over to pledge their allegiance to the armies of WAR.

“This is truly a historic day for both EA and Mythic as we prepare to send more copies of WAR to retailers than any other newly launched MMORPG in North America and Europe. Over the course of our beta, over a million gamers throughout the world sent a clear signal to us - they want WAR, and we are more than happy to oblige them,” said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. “In three days the real battle begins – we have declared September 18th the ‘Day of Reckoning,’ and WAR will soon be upon us!”

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and is available for PC at an MSRP of $49.99. WAR will be the first MMORPG to open its servers simultaneously in North America, Europe, and Oceania when it goes live on September 18th, 2008. For more information, visit http://www.warhammeronline.com/

New Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Cinematic Trailer

Adam Barenblat — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:00:00 MDT

Earlier today we showed you the Opening cinematic for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King now you get to see the cinematic trailer for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. As we said this morning whether you are a fan of these two games or not, it's pretty hard to under appreciate how incredible their cinematic sequences are. Expect the game for PC in mid-September.

Warhammer Online System Requirements Revealed

Mike Fahey — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:20:00 MDT

So how much will World of Warcraft players have to upgrade their systems to make good on their threats of leaving the game as soon as Warhammer Online comes out? Seeing as WoW has been designed to run on an Intel Generictron processor with crap megs of ram, quite a bit, though the requirements are actually rather modest. The minimum required to run the game is a 2.5GHz P4 processor, 1GB of RAM, a 128 MB video card with Pixel Shader 2.0 support, and 15GB of hard disk space (16 in Vista). Hit the jump for the full requirements, along with supported video cards.

Looking over the list, I am in fine shape to play once the game finally hits store shelves. The only problem I would have encountered is my GeForce FX 7800 not being supported under Vista, but since it decide to helpfully explode, making way for a new Radeon x1950, all is well. Its sacrifice will be remembered.

PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

For Windows XP

· 2.5 GHz P4 (single core) processor or equivalent
· 1 Gigabyte RAM
· A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
· At least 15 GB of hard drive space

For Windows VISTA

· 2.5 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
· 2 Gigabyte RAM
· A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
· At least 15 GB of hard drive space

Supported Video Cards

ATI Radeon(TM) series

· 9500, 9600, 9800
· X300, X600, X700, X800, X850
· X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950
· 2400, 2600, 2900,
· 3650, 3850, 3870
· 4850, 4870

NVIDIA GeForce series

· FX 5900, FX 5950
· 6600, 6800,
· 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
· 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
· 9400, 9500, 9600, 9800
· GTX 260, GTX 280

Intel(R) Extreme Graphics

· GMA X4500

Laptop versions of these chipsets may work, but may run comparatively slowly. Standalone cards that are installed in vanilla PCI slots (not PCIe or PCIx or AGP), such as some GeForce FX variants, will perform poorly. Integrated chipsets such as the ATI Xpress and the NVIDIA TurboCache variants will have low settings selected, but should run satisfactorily.

Please note that attempting to play the game using video hardware that isn’t listed above may result in reduced performance, graphical issues or cause the game to not run at all.

The NVIDIA GeForce FX series is unsupported under Vista.

Warhammer Online On The March

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:00:00 MDT

You know, I think this is the first time I've actually seen Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning in motion? You'd have thought I would have caught site of it at an event or something, but nope. Now that I search back a bit, I did find this cam footage from back in 2006, but it hardly compares to this video, created by the content creation team for the game using closed beta footage. It looks...well, it looks like an MMO, make no mistake. A very stylized one at that, which isn't a bad thing. The whole thing comes off as a bit stiff, but MMO videos hardly ever live up to the real thing in motion. I'm just glad I got through this entire post without saying World of Warcraft. Dammit.

Warhammer Online CE Eases Delay Pains

Mike Fahey — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:40:00 MDT

Sure it's been delayed again, but look at all of the nifty stuff you get! EA Mythic has revealed the contents of the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition, perhaps in an attempt to get you to look beyond the release date, which they've done twice now. If that is their tactic, it seems to be working for me. All I can think of now is getting my paws on the exclusive Games Workshop miniature, hardbound graphic novel, and 224-page hardcover art book packed inside what is sure to be a massive, weighty package. Now how much would you pay? Wait, there's more! The collector's edition also comes with bonus in-game items, quests, rewards, titles, and even special heads for your characters, setting them apart from the plebeians who couldn't scrounge up the extra dough. $79.99 secures you one of these babies, but you'd best preorder now, as quantities are limited to 60,000 in North America.

EA Mythic Unveils Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ Collector's Edition
The Ultimate Warhammer Online Experience Includes Exclusive Miniature, Original Graphic Novel, Bonus Quests and Rewards, Art Book, and More

FAIRFAX, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—EA Mythic, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), today unveiled the first details of the Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR) Collector's Edition. This premium, limited edition of EA Mythic's massively-multiplayer online role-playing game will be packed with bonus in-game content and unique collectibles unavailable elsewhere, including an exclusive Games Workshop miniature. Only 60,000 copies of the Collector's Edition will be available in North America, and those who pre-order the product will receive additional exclusives. The WAR Collector's Edition carries an MSRP of $79.99, and is available for pre-order in North America at Best Buy, GameStop, EB and GameCrazy retail stores, and online at GameStop.com, EBGames.com, BestBuy.com, Amazon.com, GoGamer.com and EAStore.com.

"Collecting has been a part of the Warhammer hobby experience for 25 years, and this special Collector's Edition continues the tradition with exclusive offerings, including an official Games Workshop miniature," said Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager, EA Mythic. "We are bringing the quintessential elements of Warhammer - tabletop miniatures, incredible fantasy art, and delightfully grim fiction - along with exciting in-game bonus content, together in what is sure to be one of the premier Collector's Editions of all time."

The WAR Collector's Edition will include:

EXCLUSIVE GAMES WORKSHOP MINIATURE - GRUMLOK AND GAZBAG

From the Age of Reckoning to your tabletop battle! Based on original characters from the MMORPG and designed by Games Workshop specifically for the Collector's Edition, this official Warhammer metal miniature depicts the Greenskin warboss, GRUMLOK, and his shaman, GAZBAG, in rich detail. (Assembly and painting required.)

ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVEL - WARHAMMER ONLINE: PRELUDE TO WAR

The forces of Order and Destruction collide under the red Chaos moon! Commissioned exclusively for the Collector's Edition, WARHAMMER ONLINE: PRELUDE TO WAR is a full-color, 128-page hardcover graphic novel that sets the stage for the start of the game. Written by acclaimed Games Workshop writer Graham McNeill, the oversized book is richly illustrated by Chad Hardin, Joe Abraham, Rahsan Ekedal, Tony Parker, and Kevin Hopgood. Each of the graphic novel's six chapters tells a unique story about the armies in the game, and together they detail the events leading up to the Age of Reckoning:

ART BOOK - THE ART OF WARHAMMER ONLINE

A stunning collection of art that gave birth to the Age of Reckoning. THE ART OF WARHAMMER ONLINE is a 224-page hardcover collection of original art from the game. Each of the glossy, full-color pages showcases the talented work of our concept artists and offers a glimpse at a world in the making.

BONUS IN-GAME ITEM - THE LIBRAMS OF INSIGHT

Wisdom is its own reward. Readers of the Librams of Insight are granted special insight into their own actions and earn experience at a higher rate for a limited time. (XP-gain modifier for 60 minutes, 3 uses, 90 minute reuse timer.)

BONUS IN-GAME CONTENT - QUESTS, REWARDS, AND TITLES

New adventures and just rewards await players on the battlefields of WAR! Purchasers of the Collector's Edition will begin their adventures in the Age of Reckoning with twelve (12) bonus quests awaiting them in their Tome of Knowledge. Each quest offers an exciting in-game reward, as well as a unique character title, to those that complete the challenges before them.

BONUS IN-GAME CONTENT - CHARACTER HEADS

Stand out in a crowd with a look unlike anyone else's! The WAR Collector's Edition includes twelve (12) bonus heads for additional character customization options. Each race gets a truly distinctive look (with male and female versions) that is sure to turn heads on the battlefields and be the envy of everyone in the army.

As an added bonus, players who pre-order the Collector's Edition will receive two exclusive in-game items, guaranteed access to the Open Beta, and special early access to the live game.

For more information about the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition, the bonus in-game content, and the North American pre-order offer, visit www.warhammeronline.com/collectorsedition/. For information about the European Collector's Edition and pre-order program, visit www.war-europe.com/collectorsedition/.

Based on Games Workshop's epic and longstanding tabletop fantasy war game, Warhammer Online features revolutionary Realm vs. Realm™ (RvR) gameplay that immerses players in a world of perpetual conflict. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is scheduled for launch on the PC in the Fall of 2008.

Warhammer Online Falls To Autumn

Mike Fahey — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:40:00 MDT

Push it back, push it back, waaaaaay back! It helps if you imagine Warhammer orcs in cheerleader outfits, though that might just be me. Speaking during a press conference today in Paris, producer Jeff Hickman revealed that Warhammer Online: Age Of Reckoning isn't quite ready for the 2nd quarter release they were aiming for when they delayed the game the last time. The new target date for the ambitious MMO is sometime this fall. Considering the pace they've been keeping up so far, I wouldn't be surprised if the game wound up being a Christmas release. Just remember, it isn't a delay - it's an extended development cycle.

Warhammer Online delayed again [Eurogamer]

Warhammer Online Concept Art Aplenty

Mike Fahey — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:40:50 MST

The team handling press for EA Mythic's upcoming Warhammer: Age of Reckoning MMORPG don't believe in information trickling. Every month we get a fresh blast of concept art, screens, and information in one huge chunk. Rather than split them up or simply toss them all together into one large gallery, I went ahead and split them up into easily digestible nuggets. This month we get information and screens on two character classes: The Sorcerer / Sorceress and the Disciple of Kaine, as well as renders of the elven zone of Ellyrion, some renders from the next cinematic trailer, and concept art featuring the taverns and RVR keeps in the game. First up is the Sorcerers, Dark Elven magic users who utilize the powers of their will to harness incredible dark magics, though building up too much power can cause the magic to turn on the player, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Next comes the Disciples of Kaine, an evil class that combines the close-up, dagger style of the classic rogue with the dark rites of Kaine, stealing their foes essence and offering it to their god in exchange for power. Sort of a mage thief, from the information provided. Sounds absolutely splendid.

Then we have the High Elven land of Ellyrion.

The vast, rolling plains and mild climate of Ellyrion make this inner kingdom the perfect breeding ground for the finest Elven steeds in all of Ulthuan. Great herds of these amazingly swift and graceful creatures roam the grasslands throughout the year, and are prized among the noble lords of the Phoenix King's court for their magnificent quality and majestic beauty.

And a look at the various taverns serving as home bases across the lands in the game...

Realm versus realm keeps factor heavily into the gigantic, ongoing RVR combat that the game hopes will draw in PVP players in droves.

And finally a quick trio of renders from the next cinematic trailer, coming soon to video game website near you, doubtlessly joined by another several dozen bits of concept art.

Warhammer Elf Mania

Mike Fahey — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:00:02 MST

The Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning team have gone elf crazy this month, releasing a slew of elven assets covering elves both Dark and High, their gear, their banners, and pictures of them dressed up as particular classes, including the Witch Elves and Swordmasters. If you look closely through the gallery below you'll also find pics of the bow-wielding Shadow Warrior, whose very name strikes fear in the hearts of...shadows, I suppose. Spooky. Not that I don't appreciate concept art, but can we get some nice, meaty screenshots next time? The elves can even be clothed, if you wish.

Warhammer Online Delayed

Mike Fahey — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 09:20:16 MDT

In the latest State of the Game article for Warhammer Online, General Manager of EA Mythic Mark Jacobs reveals that the game, once slated for sometime in February of next year, has been delayed until the 2nd quarter of 2008. Wait - not delayed - the development cycle has just been extended. Phew! Had me worried there for a bit.

As many of you may have heard, we have extended WAR's development cycle until the 2nd quarter of 2008. The reason is simple; we will not release Warhammer Online until it is the game we set out to create two years ago.

After the last stage of beta testing the decided to invest more time into polishing their Realm Vs. Realm combat system, as well as adding in additional features for your enjoyment. Vague, sure, but Jacobs did at least address the EA layoffs, stating that while they did affect his team, they did not affect the game's development.

Warhammer Online - State of the Game [Warhammer Herald via SlashDot]

Warhammer Online Novelized

Mike Fahey — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:30:21 MDT

Games Workshop has always been about creating a rich back story for their game worlds. Their publishing arm, BL Publishing, releases a new Warhammer or Warhammer 40K novel every month, so it comes as no surprise that they announce Empire in Chaos, the first novel in a series of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning novels, coming in early 2008. Written by GW author Anthony Reynolds, it will follow the story of one Annaliese Jaeger, whose village is destroyed by mutants, causing her to form a party with an elf, a dwarf, and a grizzled With Hunter to turn back the tides of darkness. If I were writing a novel based on an MMO the dwarf wouldn't be able to pull worth a damn, people would die and come back to life every five pages, and the elf would be AFK the entire book, coming in only at the end to argue over loot.

EA AND BL PUBLISHING ANNOUNCE NOVEL BASED ON HIGHLY ANTICIPATED WARHAMMER ONLINE: AGE OF RECKONING
First Novel in New Series Explores Depth of the Fantasy MMORPG Game World

CHERTSEY, UK - August 31, 2007 - Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and BL Publishing, a division of Games Workshop, announced today that BL Publishing will release an original novel based on the highly anticipated MMORPG, Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™ (WAR). The first book in the new series of novels set in the Age of Reckoning, EMPIRE IN CHAOS will be available in all major bookstores and on the BL Publishing website in early 2008.

In EMPIRE IN CHAOS, by noted Games Workshop author Anthony Reynolds, the lands of the Empire are being ravaged by a terrible plague. When Annaliese Jaeger's village is overrun and destroyed by mutants, she and an injured Elf captive are the only survivors. As the two unlikely companions fight their way towards Black Fire Pass, Annaliese discovers within herself powers of courage and faith that inspire all around her. With a grizzled Witch Hunter and a Dwarf Ironbreaker, the heroes battle alongside the armies of the Empire and the Dwarfs, above and below the earth, against greenskin tribes and the hordes of Chaos. Together, they must find their courage and help turn back the tides of darkness, lest all of the Empire be lost.

Mark Jacobs, VP and General Manager at EA Mythic commented, "We're excited to be working with BL Publishing and Anthony Reynolds to bring our game to life and explore the rich depth of WAR's epic story. BL Publishing has released many great novels set in Games Workshop's Warhammer world and we are proud to have a book based on our game join the ranks of such notable works."

Anthony Reynolds, the author of the novel remarked, "The Warhammer world is a grim place, full of horror, violence and dark humor, and the EA Mythic team have really brought that to life - faithfully creating a living, breathing, bellicose world being torn apart by constant warfare. It's the perfect backdrop for a novel. I'd been following the progress of the game for some time and it was easy to see that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning was going to be something special."

For further information about the novel, EMPIRE IN CHAOS, visit www.blacklibrary.com.