The Changing Face Of War

The initial thoughts for this came about when I was considering how the new LotD would cleverly re-energise the games earlier content (1 through 25), while re-directing people into LotD when they effectively hit tier 4. Which some people tend to consider a bit dull. I would agree that re-energise is probably to strong a word, but I liked it and I’ll be dammed if I don’t get to use it.

Anyways this got me thinking about the reuse of content and how it’s so important for keeping the whole leveling process as fresh as possible, and not just a chore to be overcome as quickly as possible, which is Werits current view. You have to be so very careful that you don’t put in place something that bascially splits your player base, which is what the /level 20 command achieved in DAOC, even though only temporarily.

Now given the very nature of Warhammer, which I quote “War Is Everywhere”. The lightbulb in my head went off and I figured that things should change as to reflect ebb and flow of the war. We are effectively engaged in a constant struggle with each other.

So to me this means the lands and boundaries of the tiers should be reworked as the game moves forward. Keeps should be leveled and rebuilt, potentially over the destroyed stone work of the previous one. Warcamps should disappear completely as they are overrun. Reflecting that in this phase of the games life, order and destruction has overwhelmed the previous fortifications.

Now this is not a dynamic thing, it’s maybe tied into the expansion pack cycle. As each expansion pack arrives, maybe 25% of the work involved goes towards reworking tiers to reflect the changes in the war. Allowing Mythic to cut out content, redo content, learn from their previous experiences. Maybe add new game play models within the reworked content.

One of the biggest problems MMOs and expansions packs experience, is growing the game area beyond a reasonable population density. Take WoW for example, you have vast tracts of land which are merely an exercise in hammering through as quickly as possible, to reach the current in vogue areas, which currently sit in the 70 – 80 range. Effectively all that previous content has been assigned to the data dustbin, you have to run it on your servers but for bugger all people. Lets be honest, Warhammer already has a problem about being to big for the number of people in game.

Like I said, the war is everywhere concept needs to be reflected in the existing content. Lets see Mythic rework Warhammer to reflect the war. With the amount of spell power available, you could argue that rivers could be diverted, mountains raised, valleys created. The game needs to be kept fresh without adding massive amounts of new land area and leaving the past a wasteland. Maybe lets level (As in destroy) a capital city and turn it into rubble, to keep the story fresh.

If Mythic are going to add new races, then maybe it’s a good idea to intergrate them as much as possible into what exists already. Of course we will need new lands, because that’s how the new content/races/character types is separated off and comes under expansion banner. But lets not go TOA (Trials Of Atlantis) mad again.

I personally would prefer the 1st expansion pack to not add to much new land outside of the current realms, maybe go underground so it’s still seems within the current physical space. Interweave the current with the new, so you’re only a stones throw away from something new.

For Werit, life shouldn’t begin at 40, it should be at level 1, when he’s walking out the character selection screen.

I hope I haven’t meandered around to much on this one.