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Key Game Features
1. Overview
The aim of this document is provide a brief overview of the main features within Warhammer Online.
2. What Is Warhammer Online?
Warhammer Online is a new massively multiplayer online computer game that allows players to take on the role of outlaws and mercenary adventurers within a grim and gritty realisation of Games Workshop's dark, gothic fantasy world. Spawned on the margins of society, our players can rise to become mighty heroes or infamous villains, living on their wits or by the cut of a blade! Famous or feared throughout the Empire for their daring and bloody deeds! Warhammer Online is set for release in the Spring of 2004.
2.1. Character Customisation And Abilities
The player will be able to choose from male and female variations of Dwarf, Elf, Human, and Halfling; as well as male Ogres providing a total choice of nine character races.
Players can customise their character prior to entering the world; a number of character configurations are possible ranging from head model variations to the modification of character height. There are over 20,000 possible character configurations before clothing and armour are even taken into consideration.
Each character will be highly customisable. Character models will have 37 inventory slots for clothing, armour and equipment giving the player a huge range of options when in game.
Players will be able to create a character profile from a base set of 10 Stats e.g. strength, agility, and initiative etc.
Different races will have different in-game abilities. This includes everything from different stat ranges to things like night vision. For example Ogres are inherently stronger than humans, Elves get night vision and haflings can cook.
Player characters, and non-player characters (NPC's), will be subject to changes in status. This means that players can become drunk, get poisoned or suffer the effects of fear. A total of over forty states will produce an intriguing amount of possible outcomes for players.
Every character has a journal. This is an in-game feature, which, apart from recording the characters background, is also added to automatically as they adventure though the Warhammer world. This will record things such as monsters encountered, quests undertaken as well as an atlas showing areas of the game world explored.
Warhammer is essentially a skill-based system. Player's start out with a core set of basic skills and as they travel the land they can interact with a variety of teachers and career masters to acquire the more advanced skills. With over 70 different skills in the game players will have a vast array of options open to them for example: fletching, lock picking, language, healing, magic, climbing, riding and hunting.
While Warhammer is primarily a skills based system players also gain what we call "fame" by completing specific in-game goals. Characters improve their fame ranking by performing heroic acts that make them famous. Killing wild boars will earn little "glory" for a character, although it will allow them to improve their combat skills. Killing Orcs or even Dragons on the other hand will earn them much more "glory" and thus increase their "fame" level.
2.2. Grouping
Players will be able to easily get together with other players to enable them to overcome harder challenges. For example you might team up with several other people to try and clear out the troll caves in the foothills, a fight you'd never survive on your own.
Players will also be able to join player run organisations called Companies. Companies will be able to own property as well as gaining the facility to customise company member equipment and clothes with unique emblems.
2.3. Creatures
Over 150 different creatures will populate the Warhammer Online world ranging from traditional fantasy (Dragons, Giants and Trolls) to unique Warhammer characters (Chaos Daemons, Squigs, and Beastmen). These will then receive minor modifications (e.g. model tweaks, modifications of scale and colour) to produce further model variety. At launch our aim is to have up to 1000 different creature types designed and placed.
We intend to do something rather special with the AI. Monsters will not stand idly by as you butcher their colleges; they will attempt to run to get reinforcements if they are out numbered. In addition AI controlled monsters will, if left alone long enough, congregate together and create camps which in turn will cause bigger nastier monsters to spawn. If players can wipe out a camp it won't just pop back into existence but another camp may have been settled somewhere else. Also monsters and AI controlled NPC's will have their own attributes. Some will be fearful and some aggressive some will be short sighted others will have great hearing. The player will have to learn what's what and tread very carefully.
Certain characters will be able to gain pets. These are simple creatures with a few basic commands. They will follow the character around and act as protectors, attacking anything that threatens their master. Pets will mainly be things like attack dogs and feline companions but will also include summoned creatures such as Undead and Demons.
2.4. The Game World
The game is set within the Empire, an area of approx. 400 sq km containing three cities, 12 towns, 30 villages, 30 farmsteads, 18 coaching inns, 15 dungeons, and a variety of other special one off features. The game world is a dark and grimy place with even the best-kept buildings looking shabby.
On top of standard player movement abilities (walk, sprint, climb, swim etc) there will be a number of different ways to travel around the world. Players will be able to ride mounts or ride on carriages and carts along predefined routes or even travel along rivers on barges and galleons.
The game progresses in real time with 1 game day taking approximately 1.5 hours of real time. As the Warhammer calendar is slightly different to ours, 1 game week takes 12 hours in real time. As the game year progresses the seasons change and the environment will actually change visually. In autumn the leaves disappear from the trees, in winter snow falls and settles and icicles build up on buildings. The Warhammer moons also have an impact on the game environment. Apart from a graphical effect that observant players can spot, they will also have an effect on the Winds of Magic.
2.5. Magic
The Warhammer magic system is entirely unique. All wizards must learn how to channel raw magic from the environment (the Winds of Magic).
Eight different colours make up the Winds of Magic in Warhammer Online. Each spell has a profile based on each of the eight colours therefore the ability to cast a spell varies depending on the location and the Winds of Magic at any particular time.
The Winds of Magic can be influenced by phases of the moon, seasons, ceremonies or by GM events thus providing great flexibility to make magic an exiting and dynamic aspect of the game.
Initially there will be 25 different types of spells, along with 50 variations, plus the ability to summon specific creatures.
There are also various spell families that have to be mastered before a wizard can become fully proficient in his art.
2.6. Economy
Players will be able to buy, sell and create items as well as trading items between each other. There will be various merchants for the players to buy and sell from. Prices will vary depending on geography therefore manufactured items are cheap in cities, but expensive in the villages.
There are banks in all key locations allowing players to store money and items. Money and items placed in a bank are not magically transported anywhere else. If a player deposits an item he can only retrieve that item by returning to the same bank.
2.7. Combat
Combat is an integral part of the game. The combat system firstly provides variety: players can use a huge number of weapons including standard melee weapons (daggers, swords, axes), magical weapons (soul bound chaos swords and weapons with Dwarven runes), black powder weapons (handguns and rifles), and more traditional long range weapons (bows, crossbows). Players can also opt to fight with their bare hands if they wish.
In addition to basic combat moves characters can learn specific combat techniques. These are overlays to the basic combat skills and affect both attack and defence chances. E.g. 'Ugug's brutal assault' is a technique that lasts for 45 seconds and while under it's effect the players character has double the chance to hit his opponent, and is 50% more likely to be hit in return. There are 100 standard, 10 mounted and 30 ballistic combat techniques that will make battle a very tactical and rewarding process.
A player who is 'killed' will be revived and re-spawn at the closest bind point. Some bind points need to be activated by the player, e.g. by hiring lodgings at an Inn, but there will always be other predefined bind points for the player to wake up at such as the banks of a river. The penalties for dying are mitigated by having a higher quality bind point.
PVP combat exists but is limited by a player's career choice. E.g. Witches and Witch-hunter's will be able to fight each other but merely being a Witch Hunter doesn't allow you to attack all other players. While the Warhammer World is a dark and dangerous place players will not have to worry about other players unless you actively choose to take that path.
2.8. Questing
Players will be able to undertake a wide range of tasks and quests. Everything from menial tasks for Guild masters, to epic undertakings that have a real impact on a player's fame across the entire game world. At launch the aim is to have hundreds tried and tested quests available to the players and once the framework is in place it will be very easy to add more quests using the game design tools.
A special quest system will be used so that we can randomly attach quests to various characters in game. The objective here is to have a quest allocation system that constantly changes keeping players entertained with minimal direct design input.
3. Popular Questions & Answers
Are you accepting testers?
We are currently not yet in our beta phase for this project. Our full beta plans will be released in the coming months. Please refer to our official website www.warhammeronline.com for all latest news on our beta testing program.
Will this game be available by download? If so, how large is the download?
Currently there are no plans to offer Warhammer Online as a download. The product will be sold as other PC products through the traditional games retail channels.
Are you pre-beta, beta, or released?
The product is currently in pre-beta.
Developer/Publisher?
Climax are the developers of Warhammer Online with news on the final Publisher yet to be released.
Platform(s)?
PC Only
Official website?
The official website is www.warhammeronline.com
Scheduled release date?
The release date is currently penciled in for Spring 2004
Base pricing?
The final decision on pricing for Warhammer Online is yet to be finalised. Keep an eye on www.warhammeronline.co.uk for all the latest information.
Number of active servers and types available (non-PvP, PvP, role-playing, premium service, etc)?
Information on our final game servers will be released in the coming months leading to beta.
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