but it was a lengthy unlock (hologrind) to become a terminator (i don't think players would ever be able to become a dreadnaught)
there were several battle-honours that were needed before they were awarded a terminator suit (if i can find my codex i'll put more detail into that)

did anyone ever play Chaos Gate? it was turn-based - like a digital version of the table-top - your troops could earn battle honours and after enough of them were obtained they could be upgraded to Terminators

so whether it be mastering a certain number of jobs to become a jedi
or obtaining a certain number of battle honours to become a terminator

they would/should both be rare on the feild and wouldn't be an overnight thing (it would take quite a bit of effort to become a terminator)


depending on how they let you choose factions do you think they would have specific armor for faction-only, or could you pick and choose armor peices
would you see someone with an Ultramarine helm, dark angel shoulders, and a blood angel powerfist? or when you equipped those several armor (and weapon) peices would they all auto-color to whatever space marine faction you chose

I think that it's probably more likely that players won't be a real part of a space marine chapter, but more of an independant character.  Not that I think it would be a bad thing to be a Blood Angel or whatever, but from an MMO standpoint, it would probably be too restrictive to have players forced to choose a chapter (provided they decide to play as a space marine).

Not to mention that they would have to make entire armour sets, advancement systems, planets/cities, etc. for each chapter of space marines, plus the same level of content for every other faction (provided they allow other factions to be played, and frankly they would be killing thier own game if they didn't).

I imagine that it will be more of a "rep" system like in WoW and other MMOs, where you don't actually belong to a specific chapter but you can work for them and curry favour from one you like - maybe eventually earning chapter specific armour sets or heroic weapons or something.

Personally I'm more interested to see how they do the Chaos with their inability to stray far from the Eye of Chaos in the lore.  And the problem or Orkish interplanetary travel.  Not to mention the Eldar homeworlds.  Seems like the Tau will be the only really straight forward race from a lore point of view.

Well, it will certainly be interesting to see how they deal with all these problems and where they go from here.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge 40K fan.  Still have a hardbound copy of the original Rouge Trader book from the mid 80s.  Followed through with Adeptus Titanica, Space Hulk, Space Marine, and all the additions up through Necromunda.  I have whole squads from back in the days when they used to use real lead in the lead Citadel miniatures.

Sadly though, I think this game is doomed.  I'm thinking there is a 75% chance it won't even launch, but even if it does, it will disappoint far more than it will deliver for the 40K purist.  Its doomed, because the entire theme of the 40K universe is that the individual means nothing.  Everything is sacrificed in the name of (pick your Imperium, Wraithship, Hive, Hulk, or Chaos god here).

Perfect ground for turn based strategy, and realtime strategy.

Adequate for a peer-to-peer conventional FPS, if its contained in a Hulk, or smallish action.

Baaaaaddd for any sort of perpetual, massive, 24/7 online game, for these reasons:

1)  The reason 40K can't work like Planetside is that 40K is more massive than any "massive" game could ever realistically approximate.  Planetside is much too small scale, compared with a true 40K universe.  This is a time when entire species are rallying millions of soldiers in total war, and the weapons that are empolyed can kill thousands in mere moments.  This is a time when cities are so large they reach into space, Titans reach the clouds, and entire generations of Adeptus work on battleships for the fleet.  The technology simply doesn't exist to pull it off in the sort of grandness we see in White Dwarf, and described in the lore.  I mean, CCP are database specialists, and even they can't sustain a 5,000 system galaxy with battles numbering in the 100s, in a comparatively low speed, low detail combat engine, without the nodes lagging and crashing.  How is THQ going to make 40K battles look and feel authentic, with the 100 story Titans, the huge layout of troops, with detailed HTH, earth shattering explosions everywhere, with a myriad of uniquely rendered and animated races under special rules?  They can't, unless they decide to scale back what 40K is about....and a lot, too.  So much so, that I doubt anyone who is a 40K fan would be happy to call it an accurate depiction of the 40K they know.

2)  The reason 40K can't work like conventional MMORPGs is that 40K is so impersonal, you can't give achievers, killers, social types, and explorers much to do in the game world.  Ever wonder why there was never a WH40K roleplaying game?  By that token, ever wonder why 40K was done in Epic scale, and not Warhammer?  Because the theme of WH40K isn't about individual acts of bravery.  Its about collective acts of sacrifice.  WH40K isn't about distinguishing yourself.  Its about purging every individual distinction of any note out of your society (be you Ork, Space Marine, Tyrannid, Eldar, etc.), for the sake of base survival.  There can be no houses, trophies, legacy, furniture, dancing, emotes, guilds, advancement, or fame in a 40K universe, and still have it be 40K; because every race, and every member of each race is just another piece of flesh getting shoveled into the breech courtesy of a higher authority that is beyond question, or revolt.  If you survive, then they'll keep on shovelling you into the breech until you don't survive, then you'll be replaced.  Training is programmed into you.  The time of legendary types, like the Primarchs, is pretty much over.  Seeing as how the big hook of games like WoW is that they cater to the individual's desire to do heroic deeds, for heroic treasures, heroic wealth, and heroic fame, what can a 40K world offer a hero but a bunk he shares with 1,000 others just like him, a uniform he shares with 1,000 others like him, with no thoughts other than to shoot a bolter?

There are some things that are just better off not made into subscription based MMOs.  40K is one of them.  I think the desire here is more in line with socking a public with a $50 price tag, and $15 bill each month, than to bring a 40K perpetual galaxy to fruition.  Because to be quite honest, the 40K universe is so boring between battles, that the only thing worth playing are the battles.

So then, why not just play the battles on Dawn of War, and forget about the perpetual, 24/7 game universe?

 

unless instead of controlling a single unit you are in control of a whole squad at a time

it would probably also be based mostly on PvP fights over territory than PvE questing

standing back and looking at the whole picture rather than points on the map
i don't think this would be one of those MMOs where solo content is available


sorry to skim over it Beat ^^; i'll read the rest tomorrow

I'm not so sure I agree with you Beatnik.  Although I agree with you about the uniformity and annonyminity of the WH40K universe, I still think that they can pull this off and remain more or less true to the lore.  There are plenty of heroes in WH40K other than the primarchs, and those are just the ones that are mentioned in the Codexs or in White Dwarf or the novels.  Hypothetically there could be any number of heroes in the universe that could be conceptualized as having been a player.

For instance, just look at the Black Templars space marine chapter.  Every member is the hero of their home planet before they are recruited.  Those heroes aren't just nobodies.  They are HEROES.  Every single Black Orc in the universe had to have been around for a long time and killed tons of enemies to make it to that status, every Chaos Marine is 10,000 years old, all the tyranid hive minds are ancient, not to mention every terminator, every eldar, every dreadnaut (well, they're dead, but still), etc, etc.  My point is, that just like the WH mmo that's coming out (WAR), the players don't play as the Joe Shmoe people in the universe, they have NPCs and mobs to do that.  The players play as the heroes.  The legendary ones.  And WH40K has plenty of those to go around.

As far as CCP and handling a 5000 system galaxy, the problem is really the playerbase all being on one server with EVE, not really the size of the galaxie.  I can only assume that the WH40K mmo would be more of a normal server-player size in the tune of a couple thousand per server instead of the 25k and up that is on EVE at any one time.

And for the scope of the universe, well, I have to agree with you there, but who knows what the art and game directors will come up with.  Perhaps they will figure out some way to make it SEEM vast even if it really isn't as huge as we'd all like.  I'm thinking something like the SWG planetary system.  Who knows.

Besides, the game probably won't be out for at least another few years, and perhaps they will have the capability to pull off some of this more massive scale stuff by then.  Just look at games from 2004 and compare to some of the stuff coming out now (Unreal Tournament 2004 compared to Unreal Tournament 2007 for example).

Anyway, I'm going to keep a positive outlook on this and hope that the devs working on this can come up with a way to pull this off.  Besides, making a game based on an already existing francise is going to piss off a few of the hardline purists, but by no means does that mean that it's going to fail.

i just hope they make it a good game
not just a pretty one

This game has hype written all over it.

Theres many people who want a 40k MMO.  I think its a great idea.  Hopefully its planetside-esq.  I think a MMOFPS would be the perfect thing for this game.

Somehow I get the feel that this game is going to be Necromunda (or Gorkamorka) mmog. The scale of things and the Gang system would be more suitable for mmog. Full WH40K mmog with everything included sounds impossible to do well.   

Planetside sucked balls.   You boarded a transport with a team of idiots who none of which  knew the damned first thing about teamwork. 

"I want to be the sniper!"

"No!  I wanna be the sniper!  Wahhh!"

"Whose the medic?"

"What's a medic?"

"Whose the slicer?"

"The what?

I am a big fan of the WH40K table top game and hope that the MMO conversion turns out well.  Dwarves and elves and orcs with magic and blasters.  Oh my!!

I also wonder about the influence of Kelly Flock.  When Sony bought back SOE they fired the existing CEO and sent Flock to be the hatchet man.  Flock was also chief of 989 Studios.  I may seem paranoid, but I dont have much faith in this guy and his track record of jumping from company to company.  If anyone has any good info to share, please fill me in.

Oh thank you gods of war!

I think I might have found my new MMO project.

I've loved WH40K on and off for 15+ years. Dawn of War series was amazing.

I can't wait to start seeing more info on this. This is the only version they should have done.

I long to see thousands of MMO player space marines battling it out in the grimm future of war!

I think Sigil will do fine, BUT PLEASE DONT GIVE THE GAME TO SOE TO PUBLISH IT.

EQ2 ruined

Vanguard ruined

SWG ruined

Planetside ruined

Seriously please Sigil dont ruin this game by allowing such a loser company taking care of it