14 DAY TRIAL // In the future there is only war. Not like in the past, when in fantasy Warhammer you could just call in your Empire, Skaven and Chaos friends only to go hit a few bars and then come home to some hot High Elf chicks. I am, of course, kidding, but the mantra of continuous war is something we are going to hear a lot in the coming months as more details about the Warhammer 40,000 MMO start to roll. And then the phrase is going to get a visual representation once we get to the trailer and technical demo stage. And then we'll get to experience the game itself. Not that won't be, in the slightly mysterious words of THQ's president, "for a couple of years."
Details on the game, announced as far back as March 2007, have been very limited up until now. But PC Gamer UK has managed to get some information out of THQ and developer Vigil in a series of recent talks.
The game will be clearly MMORPG and not MMOFPS, like Tabula Rasa. The combat system will play a major role, with such classic shooter mechanics as squad tactics, cover from fire and flanking maneuvers being implemented to make war as Warhammer as possible. While there will be single player missions to do, most of the time you'll find yourself immersed in the higher-than-life conflicts of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, on battlefields that can accommodate a high number of players at the same time. Apparently, the instances will feature more than the 70 players that WAR, the MMO based on the Warhammer fantasy setting, plans to have in its game.
Joe Madureira, who is creative director for the game, declared that: "All of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented. We want each and every race to have weight in the game world... and feel distinct." Whether this means Tyranids or not as playable characters is still under debate. More likely not, but who knows, maybe THQ feels like surprising gamers and Warhammer fans.
As for environments they'll be as detailed as possible, with the inclusion of "cities, alien temples, Chaos shrines, deserted battlefields, mysterious ruins, ancient structures, and - here's the cool one - 'drifting hulks in space'. Space hulks, we call those." I wonder how the players will get on said Space Hulks, given the impressive military apparatus usually deployed to take one down when Chaos or the Orks get their hands on them.
Character customization will be very important to the game, as the universe is filled with objects and artifacts that grant powers and quests to different characters. Apparently, there will be "tons of stuff hanging off your character, weapons, scrolls... we are going to have the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever."
Initial details on the MMO look pretty interesting, but until now it's just talk and no action. We're very eagerly expecting the screenshots phase, when we might get a better idea of where the game is heading.