Perhaps he will go to work at Bioware? Between Mythic’s billing server exploding, the shut down of their merchandise store, and last November’s announcement of server mergers and massive layoffs (40%), you would think that the news couldn’t get any worse. Well, it did. Josh Drescher, producer of Warhammer Online, posted on his twitter account that he has been laid off, and cannot give any more details. His twitter post reads:
FYI: I can’t get into details (and, in fact, don’t HAVE many more details), but it was a layoff. I wasn’t fired and I still love Mythic.
Many of you may remember Drescher from the video podcasts for Warhammer Online created before and after release. But Josh does have a word for all of you who take this as a sign Warhammer Online is dying:
Quick note, then I’m going offline for a while: WAR isn’t dying. The game is better now than ever before and more goodness is on the way.
Even though it’s not my baby anymore, I’m proud of what it’s become and want the team’s hard work to be rewarded moving forward.
It’s good to see no (public) hard feelings between Drescher and Mythic. More on Warhammer Online as it gets laid off.
One important point I need to get out of the way first:
-Games Workshop is the creator of the Warhammer world used in the Warhammer tabletop games, pen-and-paper games, and video games.
-EA/Mythic are the creators of Warhammer Online, the MMO.
-Curse/Warhammer Alliance is not a fansite. Mere fansites do not make 3 million in revenue in a year, have a board of directors, or have investors.
In a perfect world, Mythic would be going under scrutiny for their own actions, and the lawsuits brought forth by Games Workshop would not have much of an impact on them, if any at all. Sadly, we do not live in a perfect world, and the end result is Mythic is being barraged for a lawsuit brought by Games Workshop against Warhammer Alliance. Games Workshop is currently suing Curse over Warhammer Alliance’s alleged infringement of GW’s trademark on “Warhammer Alliance.” Alongside trademark infringement, Games Workshop is also suing for cybersquatting, dilution, and unfair competition.
I didn’t make this an “In Plain English” article, because this doesn’t, and shouldn’t, include Warhammer Online. More importantly, this lawsuit does not involve Warhammer Online or Mythic Entertainment. Currently there are far too many reactionary posts by people blaming Mythic for this lawsuit, calling it an act of desperation among other things.
“Failing game seeks money anyway it can get it. Anyone can sue anyone for anything nowadays. It’s really sad.”
Projectkmo @ Massively
“I actually subscribe occasionally to Warhammer Online just to show my support. This will end that…”
Duulin @ Massively
So just to get this straightened out once and for all: Mythic has NOTHING to do with the lawsuit.
One important point I need to get out of the way first:
-Games Workshop is the creator of the Warhammer world used in the Warhammer tabletop games, pen-and-paper games, and video games.
-EA/Mythic are the creators of Warhammer Online, the MMO.
-Curse/Warhammer Alliance is not a fansite. Mere fansites do not make 3 million in revenue in a year, have a board of directors, or have investors.
In a perfect world, Mythic would be going under scrutiny for their own actions, and the lawsuits brought forth by Games Workshop would not have much of an impact on them, if any at all. Sadly, we do not live in a perfect world, and the end result is Mythic is being barraged for a lawsuit brought by Games Workshop against Warhammer Alliance. Games Workshop is currently suing Curse over Warhammer Alliance’s alleged infringement of GW’s trademark on “Warhammer Alliance.” Alongside trademark infringement, Games Workshop is also suing for cybersquatting, dilution, and unfair competition.
I didn’t make this an “In Plain English” article, because this doesn’t, and shouldn’t, include Warhammer Online. More importantly, this lawsuit does not involve Warhammer Online or Mythic Entertainment. Currently there are far too many reactionary posts by people blaming Mythic for this lawsuit, calling it an act of desperation among other things.
“Failing game seeks money anyway it can get it. Anyone can sue anyone for anything nowadays. It’s really sad.”
Projectkmo @ Massively
“I actually subscribe occasionally to Warhammer Online just to show my support. This will end that…”
Duulin @ Massively
So just to get this straightened out once and for all: Mythic has NOTHING to do with the lawsuit.
MMOs, as is the case with most forms of entertainment, regularly don’t see anywhere near as much success outside of their main product and, in many cases, online stores are kept to a minimum, if they are kept at all.
Players who attempted to purchase anything from the Mythic Store today were met with the above notice. The official reason is “business.”
It was a business decision, if you have anything specific you were looking for send Andy a PM on the boards and he will look into helping you out.
-Mythic, on the Mythic Store Closing
No doubt a disappointment, as the Mythic store held quite merchandise for Ultima Online, Warhammer Online, and Dark Age of Camelot. The closing of the Mythic Store has raised the usual bout of questions, and of course the regular course of trolls coming out of the woodwork to proclaim the death of Warhammer Online.
Warhammer Online has been having its ups and downs over the past few months, and the recently unveiled ability to have characters on both factions on the same server has stewed fears of even more server merges, a fear that would be in Mythic’s best interest to address, on a wide scale (whether it be true or not). As I’ve said before on MMO Fallout: If you (the company) do not fill the holes, someone else will fill them for you, and you will not like what they fill it with.
So this may be just another victim of Mythic’s cost cutting venture. Should any other news arise, you will hear it here.
It’s fun to joke about issues such as your billing system imploding and taking a couple hundred dollars per person with it, but at the end of the day we really need to get down to brass tacks and remind ourselves of those who are being affected by this incident, to whom this is anything but funny. People who may miss payments on houses, credit cards, insurance, and more during the refund process. People who may be living paycheck to paycheck who needed that hundred dollars to buy groceries. People who were hit by major overdraft fees, who now have to explain the situation to their bank and, hopefully, get the fees reversed. Yes, it was the fault of the billing company, and no this was not Mythic’s doing, but Mythic will pay the price for it. When the inevitable lawsuits begin over players whose banks refused to refund overdraft fees, it will be Mythic they will target.
One thing I have always talked about with MMOs is that unlike other genres of video games, MMOs truly transcend the boundary between video games and “real life.” They are not only an investment of time and money, but our personalities. We put great care into creating and then molding our creation to meet our vision, and enter a world where many of us can feel safe from everyday life. When an event like this occurs, we lose our attachment, and our bond with our characters and the world is shaken to its knees.
Right now, Mythic should be operating under the impression that all trust is gone. When they step into the proverbial room, it is not their “friends” they are talking to, but an unruly gang of bikers swinging bats and wielding pistols, who are going to need a lot more than a Jack and a couple free games of pool before their nerves are calmed.
A lawsuit, at this point, is almost inevitable. A mass exodus? Absolutely in the cards, from both Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online players. The players who were affected are likely not going to stick around, and those who were not affected will likely not want to chance it happening again. Mythic’s response to this is going to be crucial to their current and future operations. A simple sorry and a free month is not going to put people at ease. Mythic is going to be obligated to pay back any overdraft fees that banks refuse to refund.
While we’re on the topic of off-color jokes, as an avid Mortal Online fan I had to laugh at this comment:
“If it had been Star Vault making the account error, they would have simply replied with “Your carebear bank account just can’t handle our hardcore billing system. Go back to WoW, noob!”
-Hypothetical, satirical view on what Star Vault might have said.
More on the Mythic self-nuking billing system as it appears.
It’s fun to joke about issues such as your billing system imploding and taking a couple hundred dollars per person with it, but at the end of the day we really need to get down to brass tacks and remind ourselves of those who are being affected by this incident, to whom this is anything but funny. People who may miss payments on houses, credit cards, insurance, and more during the refund process. People who may be living paycheck to paycheck who needed that hundred dollars to buy groceries. People who were hit by major overdraft fees, who now have to explain the situation to their bank and, hopefully, get the fees reversed. Yes, it was the fault of the billing company, and no this was not Mythic’s doing, but Mythic will pay the price for it. When the inevitable lawsuits begin over players whose banks refused to refund overdraft fees, it will be Mythic they will target.
One thing I have always talked about with MMOs is that unlike other genres of video games, MMOs truly transcend the boundary between video games and “real life.” They are not only an investment of time and money, but our personalities. We put great care into creating and then molding our creation to meet our vision, and enter a world where many of us can feel safe from everyday life. When an event like this occurs, we lose our attachment, and our bond with our characters and the world is shaken to its knees.
Right now, Mythic should be operating under the impression that all trust is gone. When they step into the proverbial room, it is not their “friends” they are talking to, but an unruly gang of bikers swinging bats and wielding pistols, who are going to need a lot more than a Jack and a couple free games of pool before their nerves are calmed.
A lawsuit, at this point, is almost inevitable. A mass exodus? Absolutely in the cards, from both Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online players. The players who were affected are likely not going to stick around, and those who were not affected will likely not want to chance it happening again. Mythic’s response to this is going to be crucial to their current and future operations. A simple sorry and a free month is not going to put people at ease. Mythic is going to be obligated to pay back any overdraft fees that banks refuse to refund.
While we’re on the topic of off-color jokes, as an avid Mortal Online fan I had to laugh at this comment:
“If it had been Star Vault making the account error, they would have simply replied with “Your carebear bank account just can’t handle our hardcore billing system. Go back to WoW, noob!”
-Hypothetical, satirical view on what Star Vault might have said.
More on the Mythic self-nuking billing system as it appears.
Computers are great, and are becoming more integrated into our lives with every passing day. Nowadays you can use a cell phone to do more than just talk to your friend in Thailand with your unlimited long distance and roaming plan. Now a phone can be used to play video games, update your Facebook pages, check your Pizza Hut order, send a picture, record a movie, and even cash a check! Luckily for us, the brilliant minds who invented computers did so in a way that computers act fairly bluntly, subtlety not being one of their strong traits. Don’t believe me? Just look at the Terminator movies and tell me they would be mistakable for human beings!
So when the Mythic database attempts to fund its upcoming attempt to take over the world and enslave humanity, it could have chosen a much less obvious route than charging members of Warhammer Online and Dark Age of Camelot (but not Asheron’s Call apparently. That’s cold.) up to five hundred dollars in monthly-fee increments.
Mythic is in the process of reimbursing players for the erroneous charges, and no doubt melting the server database in molten steel. You can read the full Herald announcement here, which includes contact details if the charges do not stop, or your bank does not reimburse any overdraft fees.
Warhammer Online is one of the games I have berated for…signs of desperation in bringing in new players, we’ll call it. One of the first of the mainstream titles to switch to an unlimited beta, players can enjoy all that Warhammer has to offer, that is up until level 10, completely free forever. With the client now at a paltry $15, there is no reason to not give Warhammer Online a try and see what all the fuss (or lack thereof) is about.
One thought you may be having is, “Fifteen dollars? That’s the price of a month’s subscription, and you get a month with the client. Why not just upgrade from the trial?” which would make you both a great marketeer, and a psychic. Since the client is now only $15, it is possible to upgrade your account from a trial to a subscription plan, without going through the process of purchasing a client. Just drop the fifteen bucks down, and you are all set. Even though the game itself is fifteen bucks, this still technically counts as a free client.
So if you’re already trying out Warhammer Online and wish to throw your money at Mythic, the opportunity just became that much easier.
In the last edition of Checking Up On Mythic, I talked about the developer’s latest spat with players, this time over how to deal with the over-encumbered and bloated scenario system. Mythic’s original idea, which consisted of removing 75% of the scenario maps, did not digest well with the community. In fact, from a PR point of view, Mythic’s platter of an announcement was infected with E.Coli. So being the official Developer That Could, Mythic went to the boards and asked the community, what would you do?
Well we have our answer, and Mythic has an idea of where they want to go with the upcoming scenario streamline: Foremost, Mythic hopes to decrease the amount of time waiting in scenario queues, based off of several factors that the company has been watching. Part of the update sees “always active” scenarios, maps that are (just that) always active, no matter what the progression of the campaign on either side. The game’s weekly event, Weekly Warfronts, will now not only contribute to the campaign, but all Warfronts will be open, rather than picking and choosing just one.
So Mythic does indeed listen. The reaction from the community has been mixed, but overall positive, and it’s good to see Mythic taking the medicinal approach rather than amputating the scenario system from the neck down.
More on Mythic and Warhammer Online as it appears. Dark Age of Camelot’s host change should be going live in just two days.
In the last edition of Checking Up On Mythic, I talked about the developer’s latest spat with players, this time over how to deal with the over-encumbered and bloated scenario system. Mythic’s original idea, which consisted of removing 75% of the scenario maps, did not digest well with the community. In fact, from a PR point of view, Mythic’s platter of an announcement was infected with E.Coli. So being the official Developer That Could, Mythic went to the boards and asked the community, what would you do?
Well we have our answer, and Mythic has an idea of where they want to go with the upcoming scenario streamline: Foremost, Mythic hopes to decrease the amount of time waiting in scenario queues, based off of several factors that the company has been watching. Part of the update sees “always active” scenarios, maps that are (just that) always active, no matter what the progression of the campaign on either side. The game’s weekly event, Weekly Warfronts, will now not only contribute to the campaign, but all Warfronts will be open, rather than picking and choosing just one.
So Mythic does indeed listen. The reaction from the community has been mixed, but overall positive, and it’s good to see Mythic taking the medicinal approach rather than amputating the scenario system from the neck down.
More on Mythic and Warhammer Online as it appears. Dark Age of Camelot’s host change should be going live in just two days.
MMO Fallout 