E3 2014: More Details on the Warhammer 40000 MMO

Warhammer 40000: Eternal Crusades was announced last year at E3 and this year, when we got to meet with a group from Behavior at E3 to talk about Eternal Crusade: Miguel Caron, Head of Studio Online, Brent Ellison, Lead Game Designer, and David Ghozland, Creative Director, they said all the most current E3 buzzwords–“transparency” “community collaboration” “oh my God, I have to walk where now?” (well, maybe not that last one, that may have just been our own internal monologue taking over for a moment)–and they certainly seem committed, with their motto “Be True, Be Fair, Be Transparent” and going so far as to show a gameplay demo (behind closed doors) that was in Gray Box mode.

Based on the hugely popular tabletop game, developed by Behavior Interactive and published by Square Enix, Eternal Crusade has set its sights on being the PvP warfare experience for the next-gen consoles.

Fans of the table-top game and the books, mythos and worlds that it has spawned should find themselves right at home in Behavior’s game, which features four of the more iconic factions: the Savage Oaks, Foul Chaos Space Marines, Mysterious Eldar and Proud Space Marines, all fighting for territory, resources and–eventually–total victory in what Behavior calls “massive PvP warfare.”

The team has some big dreams for Eternal Crusade, including cross-play across all platforms (says Caron: “Sony is the most supportive, Microsoft is almost there”); player elections/promotions within factions that will allow those elected to command armies, give other players (solo or as groups) objectives (read orders), allocate resources and organize the military;  battles which will feature over 1,000 players fighting on an instance free world; “Free to Waagh,” policy, where the Orc race will be free for players (no box purchase price, no monthly fee), while all other races will only be free-to-play after purchase of the game. Behavior hopes this will entice players to play the Orc faction, and ensure the  iconic Warhammer Green Horde.

The political possibilities of these player elections interested us quite a bit, and while there weren’t a lot of specifics, the gist seemed to be that smaller guilds can join larger ones, and players can be split up into different types of squadrons and platoons (a resource-hunting group, a scouting party, a commando unit, etc.). At some point a player (or players?) can become a member of their faction’s Council, where they are responsible for large-scale tactical planning, resource allocation and an actual budget that they can dispense on requisitions from the previously mention Commanders/Guilds.

Players are promoted based upon quality of their performance, not hours played, says Behavior, but that was about all they said, so how all that will work wasn’t exactly clear. It seems to us that it could be very, very cool or very, very messy, but we’re looking forward to seeing more details on this as the game nears Beta (which is a ways off, since it’s not even close to an Alpha test yet).

Combat will feel, the team promised, more like an action game than a typical MMORPG–more third person shoot-and-slash than key spamming. Fans will have the familiar boltguns, chainsaws, psychic powers (depending on their Faction and class), and be able to dodge, parry, jump and use the environment as part of their battle plan. About 85% of the gameplay will be PvP, though players can focus on non-frontline, support objectives if they like; dungeon-style PvE content will allow players to gain relics, which offer powerful upgrades to individuals, guilds and Factions.

Players will be able to load-out multiple builds on one character, though progressions seems very horizontal and extremely lore-heavy.

Behavior will also incorporate Razer Comms into the game, to allow players to speak to each other without having to install a third-party program like Teamspeak. A cool feature? Razer Comms will modulate a player’s voice so that they sound like the class/race/faction they are playing.

The (admittedly early) gameplay we saw felt very much like Planetside 2, but backed by the Warhammer canon. Behavior even has Graham McNeill–famed Warhammer novelist–writing the narrative for the game.

Warhammer 40000: Eternal Crusade has no set release date or Beta period yet, however players can register for the Beta on the website, and on June 25th, they can sign up to be Founders as well.

“$40 gets you 40” said Caron, referring both to the games expected price point (it’s free-to-play after that, and, of course, totally free with the Free to Waaagh option) to their Founders program, where you can purchase the game along with upgrades (based upon which level of Founder you would like to be, from $40 to $120) including identity enhancements, weapon and armor skins, decor for your spaceship, vehicles, consumables and accessories along with earlier access to the game and any expansions or dlc.

The Founders program will be available for purchase starting on June 25th–that’s right, next week–well before any actual game play is available. While we’re excited about the possibilities and the potential Eternal Crusade has, it seems awfully early for a fully-funded, yet untested game ,with no actual gameplay available, to start asking for money.

Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments below. Can’t what? Don’t care? Firmly undecided?

http://youtu.be/CXUEZogALIw