Mythic wants its babies back, especially in Europe where hosting has been handled by GOA. Earlier this year, the MMO developer took back Dark Age of Camelot, that GOA had been hosting for the game’s European life-span. Now, in a move that I’m sure will surprise anyone playing WAR Europe Edition, Mythic is taking back Warhammer Online…in Europe!
Servers will transition over the next few weeks, and Mythic has promised that all of your information will transfer over to the new servers. More information is coming soon.
Maybe not death. Perhaps where you accidentally clip your nails to far and you catch your skin and it hurts really bad to touch anything for a couple days.
Back in early January, I reported on news that EA/Mythic would be reclaiming the European grounds of Dark Age of Camelot from their current host, GOA. Electronic Arts, who of course now own Mythic, have decided to take over the operation of the European servers. I did originally mention that the transfer was less marred with controversy than the Archlord transfer last year, and I now have plenty of Warhammer and Dark Age of Camelot players who were very kind (in the context of sending feedback) to explain their grief with GOA and the way they have handled Dark Age and Warhammer in Europe.
Electronic Arts is set to take back the European Dark Age servers in a week’s time, on the 17th, but there are several issues to be taken up. Other than these, the merger is great for Europeans, especially if you are Americans.
All current players will be given a free month of game time.
This free game time is partially due to the fact that billing services will be down during the transition period, during which time it will be impossible to subscribe for new/existing customers
Players may find that their form of payment is no longer accepted under the North American billing system.
Your login name/password may have to change.
Your player will keep all stats, friends, and levels.
Although you may have to change your name, granted this is to be expected.
Initially all of your housing information will be preserved, however once the merger to the North American servers takes place, you are bound to the server transfer conditions. Vaults and property will transfer, as will the value of the house deed, but you will need to buy a new house.
Transfers to Ywain, the North American server, will not be available immediately, as Mythic will be upgrading all accounts to match the current North American version of Dark Age.
In-game Customer Support Representatives will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
However customer support for all servers will only be available in English
The Herald will only be published in English
New servers are being prepared in German and French, however players on English (UK), Italian, and Spanish language servers will have to choose between Ywain (NA) and the German/French server.
The new European server will be hosted in Germany.
Those are just a consolidated bullet point list, and I will admit deciphering the FAQ was slightly confusing. You can find the entire FAQ here and make of it what you will, but it appears that the Spanish, Italian, French, and German players will all be talking to each other on the same server, and UK players will have to sit through it or transfer over to the North American server.
More on Dark Age of Camelot as it appears. This transfer goes live one week from today, and Mythic expects up to 48 hours downtime, not including the previously mentioned delays with the North American transfer. I am interested in seeing if Warhammer Online will follow suit.
After eight years of publishing Dark Age of Camelot, European GOA will be handing the title back to its developers, Mythic Entertainment. Mythic will be handling the maintenance of the European servers starting in a couple of weeks. As for information on times, character transfers, and versions, localizations, and other details, Mythic had this to say:
“We are currently working with GOA to take over operation of the game and its European community, and will soon be providing details about pressing player questions such as existing subscriptions, character transfers, game versions, localization, and more.”
-Andy Belford on Dark Age of Camelot Europe
Luckily, unlike last year’s move of Archlord from Codemasters, this move isn’t marred with controversy (Unless you include the usual claims that this, much like any other news, is a sign of the game’s coming demise). I am interested in seeing how Mythic will be handling the transfers, although my guess is that players will have the option to transfer characters over.
As with anything, anything can happen. More on Dark Age of Camelot moving back in with its parents as it develops.
MMO Fallout 