Les premières orientations du jeu selon Mark Jacobs.

Par Belfil 7/6/2005 à 17:21 79

Suite à l'annonce de Mythic, Mark Jacobs (President/CEO) livre au forum anglophone non-officiel warhammeronlineforum les premières orientations du projet.

Ainsi, nous apprenons dores et déjà bon nombre de choses au travers de ses six déclarations.
Déclarations que vous retrouverez en intégralité dans la présente nouvelle.
Vous trouverez également une traduction des principaux points abordés.


Le cadavre putrescent de Warhammer Online se relève une fois de plus, et c'est sous de tout nouveaux traits que nous allons le retrouver puisque c'est désormais Mythic Entertainment qui tire les ficelles !

Le revenant se présente, pour le moment, sous la forme d'un dossier épais d'une centaine de pages que M.Jacobs est en train de parcourir.
C'est au fil de sa lecture que le responsable du projet nous livre quelques informations.

C'est sur warhammeronlineforum.com (forum non officiel anglophone) qu'il a choisi de s'adresser à la communauté au travers de six déclarations (à ce jour) que voici :

Le 23/05/2005 :
Folks,

First, I want to thank everyone for their kind words regarding the announcement of our first Warhammer game. Everyone at Mythic is quite excited about the possibilities that this partnership with the fine folks at Games Workshop with bring about to both companies. Secondly, as to the game that we have begun work on, it will be a game that is focused on the RvR aspects of Warhammer. We will reveal more details over the coming months but for now, I think the best way to describe the game I have envisioned is the simple phrase "This time it's WAAAGH!"
Third, I apologize in advance for what will be infrequent appearances here and other Warhammer-related sites. It's not that I don't love to chat (as the guys at GW can tell you, getting me to shut up is more of a problem), but I have a game design to work on after all.

To answer some brief questions that have popped up here and on other forums:

1) This is not a continuation of the Warhammer Online project. Mythic is working closely with GW to create a new vision for a Warhammer online game.

2) The development time-line for the game is a tad over 2 years but given our experience and existing code-base (Dark Age of Camelot, Imperator and others), we believe we can meet that schedule.

3) We want to pull in as much material from the Warhammer material as we can to make this a great game. I don't care where it comes from, if it's Warhammer (Fantasy Battles, RPG, Warmaster) and it also can be part of a great game, I want to try to fit it in this game. This game will not be DAoC2 with the name of Warhammer attached.

4) RvR does not equal PvP. DAoC is not a PvP game and neither will be this game. We want people to be able to roleplay and we also want them to be able to play the game without worrying about getting ganked from the moment they enter the game by someone more powerful than them.

5) The building and maintaining of community is quite important to Mythic whether it is in the game or out of it. The reason we don't host our own forums is that we either do it well (which means full-time admins, added costs) or we would rather not do it at all. We will consider setting up our own forums for this game but most likely, they will be private to keep the noise level down. Now, if we make them private, we will of course invite all the people who have been participating in forums like these to join us. We will also have ultra-private forums for beta-testers as we do for DAoC and Imperator.

6) As to the question of religion in Warhammer, we expect it will play a role. Religion doesn't in Imperator because Imperator is meant to be a pure sci-fi game. We'd be foolish to do the same here.

7) As a friend of mine at GW says in describing what we want to do with this game, Warhammer will not be happy-clappy land, we'll leave dancing orcs, prancing elves to other guys. :)

8) I have a long-standing relationship with a number of the people at GW, and I hold them, and the IP, in the highest regard. Nothing that we are doing is in any way a sign of disrespect for what has gone before. It's a new day, a new vision but the old world.

Best,

Mark Jacobs
President/CEO
Mythic Entertainment

P.S. It's going to be a lot of fun...

Ce qui donne point par point :
  • Il ne s'agit pas de la continuation du projet Warhammer Online conduit par Climax, Mythic travaille en collaboration avec Game Workshop pour créer un jeu entièrement nouveau.

  • La durée du développement est fixée aux alentours de deux ans, leur expérience dans le domaine et le code déjà existant (DAOC, Imperator) leur laissent penser que ce délai n'est pas utopique.

  • Le jeu n'aura rien d'un DAOC 2 pourvu de la licence Warhammer, l'équipe veut inclure au maximum les éléments de backgroud existant (jdr, battle, warmaster).

  • RvR et PvP sont deux choses bien distinctes, Mythic veut que les joueurs soient libres de pratiquer le Roleplay sans avoir à craindre une attaque inopportune.

  • Mythic ne compte pas héberger de forums officiels.

  • La religion (RP) jouera un rôle important dans le jeu.

  • Le vieux monde selon Mythic ne sera pas une version joyeusement édulcorée. L'ambiance sombre et oppressante sera autant que possible respectée.

  • M.Jacobs précise enfin qu'il tient la propriété intellectuelle de Game Workshop en grande estime et que rien qui puisse la dénaturer ne sera fait.


Toujours le 23/05/2005 :

Folks,

A few more quick notes:

1) We are not intending to do a "purist" version of a WH-based game. Why? Well, first, there is no such thing. Warhammer is an incredibly rich environment which not only supports various games but the individual games have changed over the decades. Additionally, even if we were going to focus on one particular game (let's say the FRPG) and even on one edition of the rules, there would still be disagreements over things like rule interpretations. I prefer to look at what we are doing in terms of our game(s) being a "true" interpretation of WH. Now, this is not to say that this is the AMAZING, LAST, FINAL and PENULTIMATE TRUE version of WH but rather simple our attempt to create a great game that feels like it belongs to the WH world. Of course, we will disagree over what is true WH or not but that's why we will have lots of help in order to ensure we deliver on what we promise.

2) Both Mythic and GW are in agreement that we can create an RvR game that is based on the WH IP. So, for a little while longer, have some faith that we have way to allow for various sides to beat each other over the heads with really nasty weapons (and magic, don't forget the magic) in a way that fits in with the WH IP. Remember, this world has been around for a long time and if you search the IP carefully, you will see lots and lots of opportunities for all sorts of mayhem. We will talk about how this will work in detail once we get to the next stage of the project.

3) In terms of Mythic running out of money when we are working on this game; no worries there otherwise GW would have gone running off in the opposite direction when we worked this deal out.

4) In terms of the art look, we will not be attempting to recreate WoW nor WO as neither look fits what we want to do here. One of the great things about WH is that it is an incredibly rich world (from an artistic sense) and we can draw on different looks in order to make our vision come to life. The only thing I can assure you is that some of you will disagree with whatever look we pick, that is the nature of this business. No worries though, as long as you keep the rotten fruit and vegetables coming our way along with the criticism, at least we can keep feeding our team late into the night. :)

5) To answer Linhart's questions (can't have you burning to death, at least not for two years), yes, this will be an advancement-based system. Even if it is RvR-based, we don't want it to be Warhammer: DOOM, this will be an RPG. As to dynamic player-influenced content, yeap, that's part of the plan.

One last little bit before I go is that as we develop this game there will be times where we will disagree with each other. You may think that I or my company are a bunch of barely-skilled chimps who haven't the vaguest idea of what we are doing. While I hope that isn't the case, all I ask is that we are polite and respectful to each other. If that simple request is met, we will continue to be able to engage in discussions and information-sharing here. One of our rules is that the team will never attack any poster personally nor rudely (and if they do, it will never happen again) and I hope that the posters here follow the same rule. If so, we'll get on just fine. Again, I am simply asking that players express themselves in a civilized, polite and professional manner and not that they simply parrot the Mythic/GW line.

It's going to be great, glorious fun and I'm looking forward to the next two years with great anticipation.

Mark

  • Mythic et Game Workshop conviennent que le monde de Warhammer peut donner lieu à un jeu RvR. Les opportunités, pour les diverses factions, de se rentrer joyeusement dans le lard ne manqueront pas. Pour ce faire, seront mises à leur disposition tout un tas d'armes cauchemardesques en plus de la magie. (ndlr: Esperons que la complexité et le caractère aléatoire de la magie sera respecté !) Mythic nous en apprendra plus sur le système RvR dés que le jeu en sera à sa prochaine phase de développement.

  • Mythic nous assure ici qu'ils disposent des ressources financières nécessaires à l'aboutissement du projet. Sans quoi, Game Workshop n'aurait jamais signé un tel contrat.

  • Les représentations artistiques ne manquent pas pour illustrer l'univers de Warhammer, parmi celles-si on trouve un grand nombre de styles différents. Mythic puisera dans cet incroyable richesse pour créer sa propre conception visuelle du vieux monde. Ils précisent que les critiques sont les bienvenues et les jets de fruits et légumes pourris sont encouragés, de cette manière ils pourront alimenter leur équipe jusqu'à tard dans la nuit.

  • La progression des personnages se fera avant tout via un système de niveaux. Le monde sera, dans la mesure du possible, influencé par les actes des joueurs.

Enfin, M. Jacobs encourage la communauté à leur faire part de leurs remarques tant que celles-ci restent courtoises et constructives.

Le 24/05/2005 :

Folks, Regarding GW's input in the whole design process I think it is safe to say that they will quite involved with it and not just protecting their IP. It's safe to say this because the process has already started. :) We'd be foolish not to try to use all the resources we have at had to do this project and that means talking to some of the GW guys and get their thoughts, ideas, etc. on what they would like to see in this game. While Mythic is indeed driving the design, we are doing that in close consultation with the GW guys. The initial vision for the game may have started with me but by the time it is done, GW, other Mythic personnel and maybe even people who post here and in other places may see some things they suggest in the game. FYI, I'm currently combing through hundreds of pages of documentation from guys at GW and elsewhere to see what ideas can become a part of this game.

In terms of making this game like WoW, not likely. I have the utmost respect for Blizzard and a long-time friendship with a number of people there. Their game is their game, just as this will be our game. I have no more desire to make this game like WoW than I do like EQ, WO or any other game out there. This game needs to stand on its own, apart from what has gone before.

Finally, as to skill-based vs. advancement-based, the game will be advancement-based. Now, do we want the game to feel grindy? Nope, not at all but nor do we want to make it so somebody comes in off the street and can, due to superior reflexes, hardware setup, etc. be able to kill players who have been playing the game for a while. For those gamers, Doom, Unreal, etc. are a better choice than this game will be. At its core, this game will have more in common with an RPG rather than an FPS.

Mark

Ici, M. Jacobs nous assure que la participation de Game Workshop au projet ne se bornera pas à la protection de leur propriété intellectuelle. Ce serait pure folie que d'ignorer les avis et les idées des spécialistes de Game Workshop. Les idées des fans ne seront pas non plus ignorées, ainsi il n'est pas impossible que les suggestions faites par certains membres de la communauté soient retenues dans la version finale du jeu.

Mythic a pris la décision d'adopter une progression par niveaux pour éviter que de nouveaux arrivant soient capables (de pars leur réflexes ou leur configuration matérielle supérieure) d'abattre des joueurs expérimentés. Ce genre de jeu existe dèjà, il s'agit des FPS.


Le 25/05/2005 :

Folks,

A couple of quick points here. First, before anyone gets too concerned about what is or is not going to be in this game, allow me to at first get the first draft done of the game design document. Now, feel free to offer ideas, suggestions, etc. (maybe we should create another topic?) but before anyone gets upset, at least let the ink dry on the first 100 pages or so.

Second, I happen to like the career system as well and one of my initial challenges is figuring out how to incorporate it into the game. On one hand, it has some very cool, very GW-type stuff but on the other hand, it must be pared down to fit this kind of game. The other challenge is to incorporate it in a manner so it isn't "grindy" but still rewards people who have had more success in the game. If we want to draw an analogy from Mythic's own games, I want this aspect to feel more like Imperator than DAoC. By this I mean, lots of fun missions and very little (if any) missions (or simply grinding) of "go kill 1000 orcs, 200 chimps and 50 halflings (well, maybe halflings :) ), for all that, get one bubble of experience. Our focus is on the endgame for WH; which is the RvR conflict and the rewards and challenges at the high-end not creating thousands of quests, 100s of NPCs to keep players entertained for days, months, years, etc. One thing for sure, there will not be any "kill 100 wolves to get one special wolf pelt" kind of quest in this game. And the first one at Mythic to create such a quest will end up as Skaven-chow.

Mark

Le célebre système de carrières du JDR intéresse au plus haut point l'équipe de développement. D'un autre côté, le système doit convenir à ce type de jeu, c'est pourquoi rien n'est encore décidé sur ce point précis.

Les quêtes du type "tuez 1000 orques etc ..." seront évitées au maximum. Tout sera fait pour offrir un gameplay divertissant et surtout pour éviter le côté répétitif.

Le contenu "haut level" sera en grande partie à attribuer au conflit RvR.


Le 26/05/2005 :

Folks,

Just so we have our definitions straight:

1)Grindy - Actions (quests, NPC hunting) which must be repeated ad nauseum in order to progress through levels. These actions, which on an individual level might be fun, when put back to back are anything but fun. By my defintion, RvR is not grinding (since it *can* be different all the time) but RvR can certainly be dull. The trick is to make RvR as fun as possible and not grindy.

2) Skill-based game - A game which relies on the individual ability of the player alone and not on statistics, abilities, etc. on the player's avatar to determine success. Doom, Unreal, etc. would be examples of skill-based games. These games are also referred to as "twitch" games.

3) Level-based game - A game which relies on the statistics, abilities, etc. of a player's avatar to determine his success. Advancement can be tied to avatar skills directly (Skill System = Lookee, I have a 55% chance now to hit with my axe) or by level (Level System = I'm level 10, I hit 55% with all my weapons). Almost all CRPGs (there may be exemptions though none come to mind) are level-based games as is the Warhammer Fantasy.

As of now, I see this game being a level-based game that utilizes a robust skill system as part of an over-arching career system. I also want Mythic to create a game that you can play as an individual or as part of a group. Obviously, the WHFB system is geared to armies and the WHF ruleset is geared to small groups. What I can tell you now is that the RvR scheme that we are looking at would involve things that you can do a) solo; b) with a small group; c) with a large group and in big-hunking battles. The game will also include lots of things you can do without having to go into battle against other people.

Also, please, please I ask you all down on bended knee not to read too much into things you might think I am saying, hinting at, etc. in my posts. That leads to confusion, confusion leads to stress, stress leads anger and anger, well, that leads to counseling, lawsuits and hurt itty-bitty feelings and you know, we can't have any of that here! :)

Mark

Pour clarifier les choses, quelques définitions sur les termes employés sont de rigueur :

  • Gameplay lassant : Entendre par là que les répétitions de quêtes et pnj à pourchasser en boucle seront limités au maximum. Si ces challenges peuvent être amusant sur un niveau ils deviennent rapidement lassant. Le RvR est moins sujet à ce phénomène de lassitude dans la mesure ou il peut être différent à chaque fois. A eux de le rendre le plus divertissant possible.

  • Jeu basé sur les compétences : Comprendre un jeu ou l'efficacité d'un personnage se joue sur la déxterité du joueur aux commandes et non sur les statistiques du personnage. (Doom, Unreal etc ...)

  • Jeu basé sur les niveaux : Un jeu ou l'efficacité d'un personnage se base sur les statistiques de l'avatar.
Pour le moment le jeu est basé sur un système de niveaux. Ceci dit, il s'appuie également sur un solide système de compétences (ingame) qu seront accordées par les fameuses carrières.

Le jeu sera également développé dans une optique tant solo que de groupe. Tout comme "Battle" gère de vastes armées et WHFRPG: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying Game est consacré aux petits groupes d'aventuriers. Il en sera de même pour le contenu RvR qui sera adapté au solo mais aussi aux groupes restreints et enfin aux grandes armées. (mass RvR)

Enfin, le jeu regorgera d'activités ne nécessitant pas l'affrontement entre joueurs.


Le 28/05/2005 :

Folks,

1) Finishing the first draft of the character section of the document and, as of now, there is a career system in this game. I think we can make it work so we are going to give it a shot. When I cut down on the list some more, I'll let you guys know what we are thinking of.

2) All US/European servers will be run by Mythic. We announced the opening of a European office for Mythic a couple of weeks ago and we have every intention of hosting/running those servers.

3) The focus of this game will be on RvR and we want players to gain the vast majority of their skills, experience, fame, etc. through RvRing. Now, keep in mind that RvR doesn't always mean PvP.

4) We plan on following the same approach as we did with DAoC in regards to free content and retail content. Nobody has given out more subscription based content than Mythic has with DAoC (and we are not done yet) and we hope to do the same here. As the ad goes, membership has its own rewards. :)

5) Skills, there will be lots and lots of skills and a lot more complex combat system than WFRP.

6) In terms of this game being "Warhammer like" all I need to say right now is that, for example, in the character section, all the stats we are using are directly from the WFRP as are most of the racial bonuses, benefits, etc. This game will look and feel like a WH game right from the beginning, period. To do otherwise would run counter to my reason for getting the license to do this game (and other games), because the IP has value in terms of its depth of content and loyal fanbase. No Matter what we do, I'm sure we will set off some fireworks, but in the end, I know that GW (and most of its fanbase) will agree that this game is indeed worthy of being considered a Warhammer game.

Mark

Ayant terminé le chapitre "personnages" M. Jacobs nous livre de nouvelles infos :

 
  • Dans le projet actuel il existe bien un système de carrière. Son implémentation semble possible et ils tenteront de l'inclure au jeu.

  • Mythic compte héberger et gérer eux-même les serveurs dédiés à WoL. (US et européens) L'ouverture programmée de leurs bureaux européens leur permettra d'assurer ce service même pour le vieux continent.

  • Le principal aspect du jeu sera le RvR, les joueurs se verront attribuer la majorité de leurs compétences de leur expérience et de leur gloire via le système de RvR à venir. Gardons à l'esprit que RvR ne rime par forcement toujours avec PvP !

  • Comme DAOC le jeu originel sera complété par des add-ons. (payants ou non ce sera selon)

  • Il y'aura de très nombreuses compétences à maîtriser et le système de combat se veut largement plus complexe que celui que nous connaissons du JDR.

  • En ce qui concerne le respect de "l'ambiance Warhammer" particulièrement chère aux amateurs du jeu de rôle, M.Jacobs nous informe que les caractéristiques et les traits raciaux des personnages sont, pour le moment, directement issus du JDR. Il nous assure également que ce serait pour lui un non-sens d'acquérir la licence pour dénaturer la "culture Warhammer" par la suite.


Voila, c'était ma toute première news pour la section Warhammer Online, j'espère que vous la trouverez compréhensible ou même simplement lisible.
Je vous encourage vivement à me faire part de vos remarques afin d'améliorer mon style.

Belfil.
Source : http://www.warhammeronlineforum.com

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