Da Newz – June 12

Story of the Week: Population Imbalance Apocalypse!

• So this all started with a poll over at WHA – “Which class will you play on release?” Many people answered. Snafzg of The Greenskin poured the results into a headache-inducing spreadsheet, and came up with the conclusion that, as it stands now, more players are looking to play the Destruction side than Order, causing an unsettling imbalance in a PvP-centric game. Site upon site, blog upon blog took this news, ripped their shirts in twain, poured ashes on their heads, and declared a population imbalance apocalypse on WAR. I like it when people get up in a tizzy over something that hasn’t actually happened yet. It amuses the Syp.

Beta Ticker:

• 728,846 beta applicants
• +8,466 from last week

Quote of the Week:

• “Quite simply, Public Quests are raids without the bullcrap.” ~ Michael Zenke

New WAR Sites and Blogs:

• Say “hello” (hello!) to Waaagh Insider!
• And a “howdy do” to War Noob!
• And a “whassup?” to The Order of Destruction!
• And a “hoo boy!” to Champions of Stuff!
• And a “‘sup homie!” to Werit Blog!

Interviews:

• Waaagh Insider interviewed Snafzg from The Greenskin (deja vu!), as well as Wrenn from Warhammer Conflict (double deja vu!), Arbitrary and Spinks of Book of Grudges (triple vu?), and Keen of Mr. Keen’s Magic Emporium.
• “Massively goes to WAR: Is there any PvE in the end game?” with Jeff Skalski and Juli Cummins
• Mark Jacobs talks subscription models over at Gamasutra.
• TTH got to peck away at Mark Jacob’s head over the White Lion’s white lions — what are these pets like, exactly?
• TTH wraps up its crafting interview with Mark Jacobs with… drum roll please… part THREE!

Misc. News:

• EA has aquired Rapture (again)… how might this impact WAR? Snafzg has a speculation! He’s my hero! Warhammer Gaming Scene extrapolates on this info as well.
• “Massively Goes To WAR: RvR scenarios explained” helps keep these battleground experiences straight.
• “Massively Goes To WAR: Sieging Keeps and Assaulting Fortresses” – is this series almost over? Is it?
• “Massively Goes To WAR: What Worries Us About Warhammer” – There’s just one guy writing these articles, so… why the “us”?
• Warhammer will be heading to Dreamhack in Europe… be there or be an octagon! You can also read about this on the WAR Europe site.
• WAR has flying mounts! Well, at least one! Check it out!
• Josh Drescher preps everyone for Games Day Baltimore, but Mark Jacobs has bowed out of the event.
• WaaagHead has relauched with a slightly modified look! They have cake!
• PC Gamer UK did a spread on WAR and didn’t like the opening levels one bit: page one, page two.
• Book of Grudges got a response to this PC Gamer article from the writer himself — you can read it here.
• Fontline #2 — a German WAR rag — has been graciously translated into English for us Yankee blokes.
• WHA forums has a handful of pictures of the metal miniature included in the Collector’s Edition — Grumlok and Gazbag!
• Is World of Warcraft planning on hijacking the badges/deed log/Tome of Knowledge achievements system in Lich King? WoW Insider points to a possible “yes”.
• The Oceanic server will be located in eastern Australia.
• Warhammer Herald informs us that the Amazon.com pre-order CE codes will not expire this month, so don’t worry.
• War Noob reports that Amazon.com is predicting a September 30 launch date. Other retailer sites have Sept 16 and Sept 23 as theirs.
• Michael Zenke, author of the “Massively Goes to WAR” articles, reports that his visit to Mythic was very hand-guided and he can’t vouch for the game’s stability. (Source: Slashdot, read second comment.)
• Want a job? Mythic is hiring customer support for WAR.
• Josh Drescher explains how you — yes YOU — can get hired by EA Mythic.
• TTH’s WAR FAQ has been updated.

Commentaries & Articles:

• “Six ways WAR can fail” at War Noob — it’s positivastic!
• “Public Quests will radically enhance MMORPG gameplay” at Keen and Graev’s Gaming Blog and Smoothie Emporium.
• “Marketing WAR: Word of Mouse” over at Book of Grudges gives us an experienced insight into how WAR is being promoted.
• Tobold wrenches apart the joy of PQs to find the misery contained therein.
• What date will WAR release? War Noob seems to know. I think he’s a time traveler.
• The Greenskin’s done one heck of an analysis on the huge WHA poll about player’s anticipated main classes/races.
• Chain-reacting off that and starting a panic (panic in the streets!) Massively bills this as “realm imbalance fears” and urges you to stay calm and duct tape small children to the ceiling.
• Keen feels vindicated when he hears Snafzg’s statistical analysis. Why do I feel like I’m back at college? He follows that up with deep, late-college-night-like conversations about what drives people to a certain class or role.
• MMOG Nation analyzes what a population imbalance could do to WAR.
• Then Tobold comes along to pick his noggin about the topic.
• And don’t even get Champions of Stuff started…
• …but Book of Grudges will certainly end it!
• Keen and Graev host reader mail about “Casual gamers and their future in games like WAR”. I think it’s only logical to assume that gamers like those will be melted down for their basic nutrients.
• A Wall of Text decides… it’s okay to get excited for WAR now!
• Warhammer Vault dissects the Massively Speaking podcast, for better and for worse.
• Book of Grudges wonders: when to drop the NDA?
• War Noob does “Career Smackdown: Squig Herder vs. White Lion”. Surprisingly, My Little Pony wins!
• Werit Blog responds to my “Now Who’s Cloning Who?” piece with “Attack of the Clones?“, MMOG Nation wonders if there’s a bit of thievery going on, and Tobold has his own take on it as well.
• “Keeping Faith with the Warhammer Lore” over at Book of Grudges.
• “Khaos Chooses An Army (Part One)” looks into the Greenskins. Me? I like the Purpleskins myself. Then he takes a look at dwarfs in (Part Two).
• War Noob decides that he doesn’t want to be in open beta, after all. Good for him.
• Armchair Game Design uses WAR’s recently announced crafting system as a launchpad for crafting analysis as a whole.
• “How Alliances Can Save Guilds” — A book report by WGS.
• How long should a day last in WAR? War Noob has an answer, but I say 18 seconds. Or faster. Like “strobe light” fast.
• “Warhammer Online: The Very Basics” takes us “old school”. I hate that new school, anyway.
• Follow that up with a swig of “WAR Bootcamp: Know Your World” over at Werit’s. Ask for the shampoo discount, he’ll know what that means.
• The Cogworks wants to know why we’re not hearing more from the mysterious land of the NDA, and how that affects blogging.
• War Noob reviews the WAR cinematric trailer, and breaks all thumbs involved.
• “Career Smackdown: Black Orc vs. Swordmaster” over at War Noob pits these cuddly fellas together.
• Common Sense Gamer wonders how he’s going to spend the time between now and WAR.
• Should EA Mythic offer a SOE-ish “Station Pass” for its three MMOs? Snafzg says “NO!” Oh, wait, he says “yes”. That was a typo.
• “So you want to be a Dwarf?” The Cogworks asks. Since I’m already short and stout, I guess it’s a moot point.

Podcasts:

• Massively Speaking #8 discusses all of Massively’s latest WAR article spree.
• Speaking of Massively, ChaosCast got a nice mention on their site — thanks!
• Pwned Radio interviews Jeff Hickman & Josh Dresher — not sure when this was recorded (sounds a bit old), but hey, it’s nifty!

Forums:

• CyberVic details a few “Epic” threads over at WHA forums.
• Another week, another awesome Forum Watch over at The Greenskin!

Comics, Songs & Fun:

• Use this clever Orc translator, and never have to worry about fitting in with the Boyz again.
• WHA is posting a definitive Race/Class poll — which will you pick?
• A great read: An Open Letter to MMO Players from Devs, and An Open Letter to MMO Devs from Players.
• A new WAR-themed flash game is there to challenge your memory: Age of Remembering!
• Another Warhammer Geek parody, “Mighty Dwarven Beard”, is prepped for an assault on your eardrums.
• Check out this lovely Chaos wallpaper at Warhammer Vault.
• A funny post at Order of Destruction imagines the chaos caused by WAR’s release.
• The Order of Destruction penned a fictional diary entry about Swosigar the Engineer.
• Paul Barnett stars in the music video “We’ve Got Big Bows!”