Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

THQ has promised to "fully unveil" the new Warhammer 40K MMO at this summer's E3 2010.

Boss Brian Farrell told investors this IP could run for several years, and therefore represents the "highest ranking revenue opportunity" the publisher has.

Farrell added that in Warhammer 40K, THQ has a "very competitive MMO".

So far we know little about the game. Darksiders' Vigil Games will develop under the creative lead of Joe Madureira - presumably alongside the Darksiders sequel due out before April next year.

Madureira's said combat will take place on a larger scale than Mythic's Warhammer Online and that there will be "tons" of customisation and the "coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever".

E3 takes place on 15th-17th June 2010. We'll be there.

Original article

Really don't see how this will work, even backtracking to Rogue Trader ideals. A single person can make a difference, but most 40K fun stuff is about battles between lots of troops, which can hardly happen in an MMO.

However I shall remain open minded.

Maybe its squad based... each player controls a 5 man squad? That'd be cool.

it couls be an RTSMMO as opposed to an RPGMMO, although i find that unlikely.

Not going to happen (and if it does then I claim first knowledge).

But how cool would it be that you choose your race when you sign up (after paying trough the nose and then again at the end of every month) and all players of the same race become one army and then simply have a single planet with massive battles where players group together into groups of any size they want and go and beat the @:~?+ out of other players (online obviously, not in reall life that would be mean).

Marine Player Wombat345: "Who are those 5 players always hiding in a dark corner?"
Eldar Player SlurpyMan: "Those are the only Squat players, they made a skin themselves."

BishopGore wrote:Really don't see how this will work, even backtracking to Rogue Trader ideals. A single person can make a difference, but most 40K fun stuff is about battles between lots of troops, which can hardly happen in an MMO.

I'm getting flashbacks to 40 man raids in WoW. FFXI had even larger raid groups. Yeah, the leveling process will most likely contain solo content, but I can definitely see large groups of people working together. I mean, a battleground in WoW is just a digitized version of 40k where everyone has the without number special rule.

HoverBoy wrote:it couls be an RTSMMO as opposed to an RPGMMO, although i find that unlikely.

This is being worked on by alot of the same people who were involved in Dawn of War 2 atleast on the distributor side. If you look at how squads were done in that, you have all these weapon and gear options. You effectively would have your squad as a single character, with the Sgt acting as the focal point.

I'd imagine that, if this is to work, it'd be based more around the Inquisitor/DarkHeresy/RogueTrader RPG area of the 40k background, rather than just big organised military battles...

Star Trek Online basically has a squad based system for ground missions. Even if you aren't in a party of other real people you will have your bridge officers with you. You have to equip them individually and each does something special. For example, Science Officers can heal, Engineering can put up turrets and shields, and Tactical have offensive abilities. Maybe something like that?

ArbitorIan wrote:I'd imagine that, if this is to work, it'd be based more around the Inquisitor/DarkHeresy/RogueTrader RPG area of the 40k background, rather than just big organised military battles...

I kinda hope not, because the whole Inquisitor idea has been done a lot. Rooting out heresy is all well and good, but what if I wanted to be an Ork and just add to the chaos of the world around me? That wouldn't really work in the setting, which means restricting the races available.

Honestly i see this being more of a W.A.R type were PVP is the dominate thing. You form into alliances or clans or guilds what not and go to battlegrounds and fight. The only thing is Player vs. Player games are fun but don't bring in the long term mega buck and die out very fast. End game content is what gets the most out of any game and warhammer online failed heavily in this dept.

ArbitorIan wrote:I'd imagine that, if this is to work, it'd be based more around the Inquisitor/DarkHeresy/RogueTrader RPG area of the 40k background, rather than just big organised military battles...

I think between Inquisitor and Dark Heresy they'd have enough source material for a big RPG, but thats just it, its already been done to some degree.

The other big problem is that 40k's poster boys of all that is 40k: Space Marines, don't work too well come out over powered in the relativistic scale of an RPG. Hypothetically it takes a level 10 guardsmen to equal a level 2 Space Marine. They make it impossible to balance at the scale of an RPG. With Inquisitor if any one brought a Space Marine the other player's likelyhood of losing were many times more significant. In Dark Heresy and Rogue trader they largely left them out because they'd be too powerful.

I think the advantage of a squad based MMORTS-RPG system is you could more easily balance the players where your stats and abilities would otherwise be misbalanced. It would take something as drastic as a level 1 guardsmen taking a lascannon while the level 1 space marine takes bolt pistol to balance the two in a pure RPG system. So no one would play anything but the genetically engineered cyber-enhanced armor clad super soldiers. In the RTS format, you can justify Marine scouts and different squad sizes. So at level 1 a marine player controls a 5 man scout squad and a guard player takes a basic 10 man squad. Beyond that is becomes a matter of zoning and controling the number of players are in a given area, like 8 per "vs" instance and 4 in "team" instances.

Unless they decide to go the route of Guild Wars and Global Agenda, and have it not be open world and PvE content is all instanced in which you queue up for a group before heading out. I think that would be gakky cause half of the fun of an MMO is the open world. As for PvP I hope it is huge scale just like 40k should be or maybe something like planetside.

But the big question is, how is the combat gonna work? Will it be like a third person shooter like Global Agenda or like WoW where as long as you have a guy selected and your facing him you attack?

just my $.02

I will buy a lifetime subscription to this game.

BishopGore wrote:I kinda hope not, because the whole Inquisitor idea has been done a lot. Rooting out heresy is all well and good, but what if I wanted to be an Ork and just add to the chaos of the world around me? That wouldn't really work in the setting, which means restricting the races available.

I agree. Rogue Trader/Dark Heresy settings should be left for Bioware style single player RPG (Mass Effect in Imperial Space = nerdgasm). For the MMO, I'd prefer something slightly different than a reskinned WoW. As WAR already shown, you just can't compete with WoW head on, at least not now.

Then again, I'd really dig a GoW/UT style game in WH40K and all the obvious multiplayer modes, so I might be biased.

Fizyx wrote:

BishopGore wrote:Really don't see how this will work, even backtracking to Rogue Trader ideals. A single person can make a difference, but most 40K fun stuff is about battles between lots of troops, which can hardly happen in an MMO.

I'm getting flashbacks to 40 man raids in WoW. FFXI had even larger raid groups. Yeah, the leveling process will most likely contain solo content, but I can definitely see large groups of people working together. I mean, a battleground in WoW is just a digitized version of 40k where everyone has the without number special rule.

40 man wow raids, cute. I remember 72 man EQ raids before it was cut down to 54 for PoP =P.

Why can't it just be like that new game with 200+ PLayers in one battle.... EPIC!!!!

There were several WWII real time games running a few years back that worked very well. I think if they do the same format it should be fine. You logged in and ran around with groups already there, could fly planes, ride in tanks, etc, but you also interacted with NPC's to give you something to fight. Basically it worked like a real war in that groups would get together and try to push front lines back, destroy reinforcements, and take out supply chains.

Ahtman wrote:Star Trek Online basically has a squad based system for ground missions. Even if you aren't in a party of other real people you will have your bridge officers with you. You have to equip them individually and each does something special. For example, Science Officers can heal, Engineering can put up turrets and shields, and Tactical have offensive abilities. Maybe something like that?

The red shirts explode on contact like a Chinese copy of a Korean knock-off of a Ford Pinto?

40kenthusiast wrote:I will buy a lifetime subscription to this game.

Even if it completely sucks like most MMO's that sell lifetime subscriptions? I think the Lord of the Rings is the only one not to, but anyone who bought that at release finished the game in 12hrs and had to wait two months for them to add anything. They are suckers bets and you could do something better with your money.

Yes.

40k MMO is the only MMO on the horizon where I can see my old group of friends on the same server and LAN again.

We grew up playing tabletop 40k, Everquest, etc - this game is going to be right up our alley even if it bombs worse than Star Wars Galaxies.

Fallenbourne wrote:Unless they decide to go the route of Guild Wars and Global Agenda, and have it not be open world and PvE content is all instanced in which you queue up for a group before heading out. I think that would be gakky cause half of the fun of an MMO is the open world. As for PvP I hope it is huge scale just like 40k should be or maybe something like planetside.

But the big question is, how is the combat gonna work? Will it be like a third person shooter like Global Agenda or like WoW where as long as you have a guy selected and your facing him you attack?

just my $.02

Here's hoping it's like Global Agenda- I'm currently playing that and I love the way combat works. However, while PvP in a 40k game is almost a given, I'd like to see some effort made for PvE too. It's kind of amusing actually, I've seen a ton of players with 40k-inspired names in Global Agenda so far (I'm sure I saw an Agency/Alliance called Dakka Dakka actually).

Anyway, hopefully it won't bomb too badly, I'd love a decent MMO in the 40k Universe. Provided the combat is fluid, and the emphasis isn't TOTALLY on PvP, I'll be all over it.

I can see this working in a Guild Wars fasion. You the player start as a squad leader, then hire guys (meltaguy, plasmaguy) to join your squad. Then start battle companies with your friends who sign on and bring their own squad. Suddenly you have two squads of Marines charging out into the feild to blow sh*t up.

If anyone remembers Planetside maybe this could run combat based on that idea?

aka_mythos wrote:Even if it completely sucks like most MMO's that sell lifetime subscriptions?

I bought a lifetime sub for STO, and it doesn't suck.

I heard STO, has little or no PVP, no fully supported factions beyond the federation, poorly implemented away missions, and minimal effort put in to on ship activities. 90% of Star Trek took place with the interactions of the crew on the ship as the focus and thats really missing. Its not Star Trek it is a space battle simulator dressed up as Star Trek. In a Federation that has no economy, it has two. Exploration, the mission statement of the Federation is secondary. I was eagerly following this since its original announcement under the original company working on it. When Cryptic took over they said it would be all these things Perpetual wasn't going to do, but the game looks exactly like what the other company made. At best the game is an incomplete game, MMO's are suppose to be open ended, not incomplete.

Planetside by Sony is a MMO FPS, battles take place in an open world mostly over control of bases.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 40k MMO was alot like Planetside.

BishopGore wrote:Really don't see how this will work, even backtracking to Rogue Trader ideals. A single person can make a difference, but most 40K fun stuff is about battles between lots of troops, which can hardly happen in an MMO.

However I shall remain open minded.

You've obviously not played Lineage2, though going over 5 years now...the castle siges still see as many as 100 to 200+ per clan, Epic Raids can go over 400 counting both opposing sides. That's roughly equivalent to the number of models fielded by a 1500 pt army...though probably not a horde army

40kenthusiast wrote:I will buy a lifetime subscription to this game.

you'll pay an awful lot for something that won't last very long.