It’s less than 48 hours from the launch of the Head Start for Warhammer Online. By Sunday night, baring a ground hold, WAR will be in commercial operation. It’s been a three year project and one with more ups and downs than Kings Island in Cincinnati. The team has worked amazingly hard on this game and it shows. We are all a bit strung out either through sheer hours worked and/or because of dealing with all the complications of a three territory simultaneous launch. Next time, I think I’ll dial it down and bit and go for something maybe a little bit simpler, like trying to solve the invariant subspace problem or figure out even who’s been taking one sock from everybody’s dryer for the last few decades.
MMO launches are always an interesting time. Lots of things go as expected, some go better than expected and then there are those things that not only come in from left field they come in from every left field in every ballpark in the USA. Whether it’s programming, content, marketing, pr, hr, etc. the first rule of an MMO launch is not only expect the unexpected but to expect the unexpected and its whole damned family to show up hungry and with their bratty kids. In the last 36 hours that has manifested in things such as Gamestop putting up a whole bunch of Collector’s Editions, that had been floating around their system apparently, for sale and not having keys for them. When asked for comment, Mr. Alfred Bedoya was heard to say “Keys, we ain’t got no keys. We don’t need no keys. I don’t have to give you any stinkin’ keys.” Fortunately, no real treasure was involved, Sierra Madre or not, so we quickly sent them (again) enough extra keys so that everyone was taken care of by them. We also sent the latest build of the game to GOA and for some reason the build, which was working great here, decided it was unhappy so far from home and was going to pout, stomp its virtual feet and refuse to do its job. They shoot servers. Don’t they? I could go on and on and on but after my last few walls of text, I think I’ll cut it short tonight. All that matters in the end is that everything was taken care of and we are still on schedule. Now where did I put those protein pills?
Voorshwa
Sep 13, 2008 @ 02:40:32
Let me be one of the first to say congratulations and thank you. I wish you the best launch in MMO history, and a little time to relax when it’s all said and done. Kudos.
V
Syp
Sep 13, 2008 @ 02:52:07
You know we got your back. It’s going to be a great launch, and we just can’t wait!
RobotJebus
Sep 13, 2008 @ 03:00:37
Glad to see that it will be taking off shortly. Hopefully things go relatively smooth and that in a few weeks you and the rest of the team can return to sleeping like normal people.
thade
Sep 13, 2008 @ 03:29:38
Since you guys have been working so hard, I’m gonna cut you a break on one of your next tasks.
It’s me. I take the socks.
My feet get so cold, you see.
TK
Sep 13, 2008 @ 03:51:19
Looking forward to the launch, I’ll be part of the collectors edition head start program. I’m getting all my important work done for the week so I’m mostly free for the event.
I can’t express how excited I am for the game. I really hope the launch goes smooth, not only in North America but everywhere else as well.
On a side note, your smiley face in the border to the right. (The really small one) Drove me nuts, I thought it was my monitor going bad until I finally figured out what it was.
Anyways, good luck with launch!
PS. Major ❤ for the Blog
Angry Raider
Sep 13, 2008 @ 04:01:45
Oh man, I had another shot at getting the Collector’s Edition and missed it? This seriously bums me out. :*(
Emperor Guan Di
Sep 13, 2008 @ 05:49:18
Best of luck with the launch and I hope the therapy bills from the stress disorders don’t eat away Mythic through workman’s comp. 😉
Will you be at the signing event on the 18th with the dev crew? Would love to have my WAR box and possibly even my trusty old DAoC box signed by someone that has been pushing in this industy as respectably as you have.
Steve H
Sep 13, 2008 @ 07:20:02
Stinkin Keys I need those stinkin keys ……from Direct 2 Drive. Lets just hope they send them out in time.
Devnull
Sep 13, 2008 @ 08:34:03
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you.
Kelmain
Sep 13, 2008 @ 09:12:32
The only real question, and the most important thing is:
Where did the most crazy looking awesome fantastic great hait style for dwarfs go? You removed it!
And then, will dwarfs get more customization options? We have no scars, no eye patches, no tattoos. We are nothing compared to humans wich have very unique features between Warrior Priest / Bright Wizard and Witch Hunter. Or Khaine Disciples with those golden spooky eyes and so on.
What’s the unique thing for dwarf classes? Ear rings? They are fairly un-noticeable with all that hair and, a dwarf without scars is just an abomibation 😡
Krag
Sep 13, 2008 @ 09:32:54
Congratulations and bets of luck to you and the whole team!
~K
Sifo
Sep 13, 2008 @ 10:39:58
Has anyone ever mentioned to you that they though a Dwarf Slayer would be a cool class to have? Just something for you to think about there when you have some free time.
Pendragon
Sep 13, 2008 @ 10:54:06
Just remember behind every happy player there is probably a homicidal black orc waiting to thrust something nasty right into your back when you aren’t looking…
Good luck with the launch though, I would probably beef up security for a few weeks just in case one of those left of field balls decides to hit you in the back of the head and then stamp on your manhood.
Seriously though I can’t wait to play WAR and I’m sure the hard work of you and your team will pay off.
Wolfgang
Sep 13, 2008 @ 11:01:26
Good luck to you and all of us to the Head Start.
I am crossing my fingers that the french guys hopefully learned their lessons….
ysharros
Sep 13, 2008 @ 11:22:07
Sooon you will be able to remember (and maybe even experience) what sleep feels like!
Cerralin
Sep 13, 2008 @ 11:57:27
MJB you are a very funny man. I have loved reading your blogs.
MY OH and I want to wish you good luck with the launch, (fingers crossed it works in EU too ;p) Looking forward to many good years playing WAR.
Nick
Sep 13, 2008 @ 13:05:55
Was there a mythic Kings Island outing Mark?
Belsameth
Sep 13, 2008 @ 13:08:25
Good luck in your launch! I hope your launch will become the benchmark for launches to come. (Both US and EU, tho a little bit more the latter 😉 )
JeffB
Sep 13, 2008 @ 13:25:56
Welcome to the end of the beginning!
Congrats Mark and everyone involved, game looks freaking amazing!
Cedia
Sep 13, 2008 @ 13:39:18
Stay well, Mark. It is a great game and all of your hard work is most appreciated.
herennow
Sep 13, 2008 @ 14:35:02
Hi Mark, My thanks to your team for all the pods, posts and interviews. Kept my finger hovering over the CE cancel key during the GOA snafu long enough to get into the game and experience the Mythic magic. Great game. I look forward being a part of it as you continue to add content.
Rosie
Sep 13, 2008 @ 14:49:11
Woo-hoo, King’s Island! I always have to brace myself on The Beast after the second hill…should I brace myself for WAR?
Looking forward to the launch, I know everyone appreciates Mythic’s hard work for the past 3 years!
Matt
Sep 13, 2008 @ 14:53:31
http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=12577&sid=b7624c722453b30a1e356c7dc06ac3d5
Good Job Mark. Your honesty and hard work is refreshing to see, especially in the MMO industry. Best of luck for launch.
Myrdo
Sep 13, 2008 @ 15:18:09
I’ve been waiting for this game since, well, everyone knew DAoC was going to have a Mythic produced successor.. the Warhammer IP just was icing on the cake.
It’s been an awesome ride through the forums, marketting dangling information in front of us, Closed beta, class cuts (aww), then CE invites and then Open beta.. now it’s almost like Christmas Eve.
Congratulations Mythic; you’ve put together one hell of a piece of work.
After the intial post-release patches, hotfixes, meetings over launch issues, distribution issues, EU partners and much forum posting over the next month or so… then you can get a week of sleep before thinking ‘expansion…’ =)
dmosbon
Sep 13, 2008 @ 15:43:39
My fingers are crossed for the heads-up – enjoy!
Abriael
Sep 13, 2008 @ 15:52:28
I definately have to commend you guys on the sheer amount of fixes and additions you managed to put in during the latest couple week. I have to admit that I’m amazed.
Good luck for launch. may it be the best one since DAOC (which has probably been the most solid in the MMO history :D)
(and remember, us Bretonnians are waiting for some love at last, down the road :P)
Arnafein
Sep 13, 2008 @ 17:27:50
Hi, Mark
I wish you & the Mythic team good luck with the launch. I also wish GOA good luck to prevent anything similar to the OB disaster from taking place.
Waaagh!
~Arnafein~
JeffG
Sep 13, 2008 @ 17:28:24
You know there’s really only one response that can be given here, right?
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=)
mkuczara
Sep 13, 2008 @ 18:39:29
Thanks for article Mark.
Can we except any new patch on release day or 4.1.1 is last thing so far in pipes ?
Gadareth
Sep 13, 2008 @ 19:02:42
Well fingers crossed if GOA manage a perfect launch then all will be forgiven they have offered a olive branch and I believe most of the EU will accept it as long as they manage to pull off this the fist of the real launches.
On another note you and your team should be proud you have pulled off a very enjoyable product even if some of the quests are bugged …
Just my 2 cents
Gadareth
Justin
Sep 13, 2008 @ 19:14:48
Congrats on the launch Mark, you guys should all be proud, you have made a great game and people are going to love it and play it for years to come.
I hope you will be attending the signing event at the Fair Oaks Mall on the 18th!
Sheve
Sep 13, 2008 @ 20:09:47
I’d say good luck, but having played the open beta, I don’t think you need it. It’s an awesome solid game, and I think it’s going to do great.
One question though: any plans to eventually patch in a /sit emote and a walk toggle? My Dwarf pines for the ability to walk up to a bar instead of loping at it, sit on a stool instead of stand on it (we’re not THAT short), and imbibe huge quantities of fine beer.
desin
Sep 13, 2008 @ 20:19:49
Keeping my Fingers crossed for you guys. See you in the Headstart
Valdur
Sep 13, 2008 @ 21:23:58
Mark do you know where Mauritius is? As soon as everything go back to normal,you and Mythic team can have some vacation here under the tropical sun,with white shores and blue Sea.
Good luck for the launch..I`ll keep my fingers crossed for GOA.
/For the Empire
Robert
Sep 13, 2008 @ 23:00:03
Thanks Mark. Its been two+ years since I got interested in Warhammer Online and its beaten my expectations and been a wild ride. My only regret is I didn’t get in the closed beta sooner.
I can’t wait to see your content patches start propping up during release.
Good luck with your release. I’ll be there.
TormDK
Sep 14, 2008 @ 00:15:02
Well, it appears even the GOA part seems to be hanging up. Magus was posting relevant information for the european community and while their account server seems to have a little “hiccup” at this time the head start keys appear to validate correctly.
So, we’re a bunch of europeans crossing our fingers for tomorrow afternoon and the formal release of your (and your teams, not to forget those) hard work.
Thumbs up.
Oi Boyz, it’s time for da WAAAAAAGH! Bring me me ol choppa!
Mark Jacobs
Sep 14, 2008 @ 02:00:39
Thanks for the good wishes. It’s going to be an interesting week.
Oh, and yes, I’ll be at Fair Oaks on Thursday.
As to Mauritius, no, I didn’t know anything about it till now. I’ve been saying for months that once WAR ships and settles down nicely that I need to find a beach to spend a couple of weeks at. It looks really interesting, thanks for the tip. LOL, I just checked the flying time from Washington, nevermind. 😦 Maybe the next time I’m in Europe. It’s a shame, it looks like a great place to visit. If I’m going to have to spend that much time in the air and on the ground, Australia would probably be my destination.
Syri
Sep 14, 2008 @ 02:16:56
I’ll drink a shot for ya tonight, good luck tomorrow to you and the rest of your team.
If all else fails… you can always blame the sock borrower?
Tiresias
Sep 14, 2008 @ 05:27:40
Best of luck to you guys with the launch. I have a CE key and was in beta for quite some time, and there was a time when I wished I had waited a month to get in the game. The last few months, hell even the last few weeks have seen you guys turn around major issues and implement many player-driven suggestions. I am now giddy with anticipation and am not entirely sure if I will be able to sleep tonight.
The last time I felt like this was the night before Christmas when I was 7 years old and pretty much certain that my parents had gotten me a Nintendo. Does that make me old? Even beta testing WoW didn’t fill me with this much excitement.
Thank you wonderful team and marketing department for that, Paul especially. It’s easy to love a game when it’s obvious that the people producing it love it themselves. That sort of fire and drive is rare nowadays and often feels forced or fake when it exists — just pure marketing schlock. I don’t get that vibe at all from Mythic, and that makes all the difference in the world.
Thank you for the opportunity to be part of the development cycle of your wonderful game. I’ll see you tomorrow in Nordland, swinging my warhammer in the name of Sigmar!
Crimson Starfire
Sep 14, 2008 @ 08:13:47
All the best with the launch.
Bael
Sep 14, 2008 @ 10:28:53
Best of luck for the launch, see you in SE head start!
yunk
Sep 14, 2008 @ 12:55:58
“the invariant subspace problem or figure out even who’s been taking one sock from everybody’s dryer for the last few decades.”
I believe the two problems are related.
See everyone in game on monday
CaliforniaGamer
Sep 14, 2008 @ 13:48:09
Best of luck with the launch Mark.
Russell Gusto
Sep 14, 2008 @ 14:29:12
Congrats Mark! Also please keep upgrading so us single core users can play “Choppy Free” 🙂
Mornazh
Sep 14, 2008 @ 17:25:49
Gud Luk!
WAAAGH!!!
Brian
Sep 15, 2008 @ 04:44:17
Running fine 😀
Gadareth
Sep 15, 2008 @ 08:19:09
Well congrats are in order to you Mark Jacobs and your faith in the GOA team it seems the earlier fears of the EU player market (myself included) were proven false by a very smooth HS release. Congratulations having a blast !
Gadareth
Gunnaur
Sep 15, 2008 @ 13:26:18
Why are we having to wait until Sept. 30th for Amazon.com to ship our orders? Is there anyway that accounts from Amazon can be flagged and allowed to play until they ship our orders?
Brian R
Sep 15, 2008 @ 13:40:20
Speaking of Gamestop, I’ve been checking in the local gamestop Stores for a few older PS2 games and I noticed something pretty upsetting. In all 5 of the local Gamestop stores (within an hours drive) I’ve not seen a shred of WAR advertising,
Three of the stores had between 4-12 game boxes on the shelves. None of them had the release date listed up on thier release schedule boards, no poster, banner, signs nothing. I’m really hoping Mythic discontinues dealings with Gamestop, as in the last few months my dealings with them have been so bad I’m about ready to boycott the chain.
seriouslycasual
Sep 15, 2008 @ 14:27:50
So far so good Mark!
After all the dust settles I would love to read some behind the scenes accounts of how the launch went for you guys.
Zack Yang
Sep 15, 2008 @ 23:00:30
—===Randomized-Terrain Scenarios===—
After playing T1 and T2 scenarios more times than I could ever want, I got to thinking: “all this work for 2 or 3 equidistant points and a couple mountains?”
Truthfully, most of us came to WAR for its namesake: bloody, unabashed bashing of skulls and knocking of shields.
What we want are scenarios with cannons firing, catapults launching, siege towers looming, and players dying. But we don’t really want *exactly* the same scenario every time, do we? In fact, in some ways, we’d rather every scenario be a little different. Sure, they might be a little imbalanced, but imagine the water-cooler stories of a guild that crested a precipitously high mountain only to find themselves face to face with an ambush, or the fun of having to think on your feet every single time that loading page finishes.
Best of all, if one side loses, they can always say, “oh well, the terrain wasn’t on our side that round.”
Possible objectives:
Holding the point/current ‘point system’, capture-the-relic, King of the Hill.
perjj
Sep 16, 2008 @ 00:02:02
MBJ you are a great and funny dude, Love your blogs so far. cant wait till war hits the shelves and i get my good old CE.
i wish your team a great opening and a good game lifetime,
Cherub
Sep 16, 2008 @ 00:21:29
W.A.R. is everywhere – even at other developer’s diaries!
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/39909.html
*haha*
As stated in the comments at Gametrailers, pleeease Mark make your next Video with a T-Shirt sporting a blurred Witcher logo 😀
Robert
Sep 16, 2008 @ 01:31:59
“So far so good Mark!
After all the dust settles I would love to read some behind the scenes accounts of how the launch went for you guys.”
I’m seconding this. I’d love to hear your tale of it.
Mathizsias
Sep 16, 2008 @ 01:42:15
You’re a brilliant man MJ, I envy your honesty and professionalism at the same time. You really, really know how to communicate with the playerbase.
Best of luck, keep the leash tight in EU with GOA! Thanks!
Matija
Sep 16, 2008 @ 12:33:30
“I’m seconding this. I’d love to hear your tale of it.”
I’m seconding this seconding. Or am I actually “thirding” it? Oh well.
Anyways, gratz on almost 100.000 blog hits, can’t wait to get my hand on the game.
Cheers from Croatia.
theerivs
Sep 16, 2008 @ 16:04:44
Kudo’s Mark. Your team is doing a fantastic job, and it shows. Everything is going so smooth. 3 years ago when I heard about this game, I was so excited the wait is over. I’m glad to fork my money over to you. I can’t wait to see my goodies in the Collectors Edition box.
Troy S
Sep 16, 2008 @ 16:08:54
I’m very excited to jump into my very first MMORPG. I’ve never been interested in these types of games due to many factors, but for some reason, WAR has provided the push or the excitement for me to jump into this insane world. I think a lot of it is due to the amount of care that you and your team has put into the game and I’m looking forward to walking/running/killing on the ground that you built.
Cheers to a great launch and I’ll see you on the 18th!
Jabbajawl
Sep 16, 2008 @ 16:51:06
Mark,
Congrats. i have the CE and i am happy with it all. All of it. I also wanted to share my first molment when i decided that i was sitting infront of an avatar of awsome. My first time i roll in the game during beta i make a bright wizard. I am runing around throwing fire and getting used to the mechanic and enjoying myself a fair amount. i am on my way to do the Quest Foul Wood i believe and my girlfriend comes up to me and says “hey what are all those people doing over there.” i tell her i am not sure and head over from the road to investigate. As i near i hear a Roaring and i see the trees start shake and fall. From the Forest erupts that Giant. I Start laying into it and just full bore all out kill this thing. On its last bit of life i am still just pouring it on and **Boom** Tome update you have encounterd a Bright Wizard.I turn to my girlfriend. She is dying laughing at me.”I could watch you die all day” she said.
She is now playing with me. and we are still laughing and the dwarfs are doing the dying.
Jabbajawl
(Ulthuan)
Glenn Taylor
Sep 16, 2008 @ 17:27:24
Hey Mark,
I haven’t played your game (yet) but am counting down the hours.
Let me say on a personal note that I’ve always enjoyed reading your interviews. And now, your blog. Your candor is refreshing. And I LOVED the piece about your mom.
Thank you
Baz Anderson
Sep 16, 2008 @ 22:58:22
Well, that’s it then. It’s the almost the end of the begining. A new prince steps into the royal court to introduce himself fully to the assembled throng. Where he goes from here is anyone’s guess, but I think he’s got a bright future ahead of him.
Wait, this is the blog for the makers of King Vitaman cerial, right?
Whoops, my bad.
Syran
Sep 17, 2008 @ 07:38:32
Wow, great launch and I am really impressed. Thanks for taking the time to really make this game run smooth. I think this game will definitely be a biggy for years to come.
tony
Sep 17, 2008 @ 10:26:32
I’d like to hear the reason why you decided to go with remote updating the oceanic servers during oceanic primetime. 7pm here and the servers are down for 4-5 hours 😦 2nd day in a row too
I understand you’re patching for release and all that but so far all I’ve heard is the same excuses that other companies have used in relation to oceanic server downtimes….ie – ” we’re looking into options…..” don’t just look, actually do something for a change. If I sound annoyed, it’s because I am.. I was hoping that having servers based in this region would have a downtime suited to the region. Low ping is great don’t get me wrong, but it means f all if the servers aren’t up to play on anyway.
Grunkaz
Sep 18, 2008 @ 00:54:11
Gratz on hitting the 100,000 mark on your blog 🙂
Aalynia
Sep 18, 2008 @ 03:08:29
Freakily enough, I’ve been listening to that song the past week or so (I want to choreograph a dance to it, I’m so lame!)
I just wanted to let you know that I just finished writing a review on WAR that will go in my college’s newspaper in NYC, a paper that accesses approximately 20,000 students, and various others who pick it up. I hope I can convince more people to by your game!
I’ve been in the CE headstart and I’m so thrilled with the game and my little dwarven Ironbreaker (God, I love her!). I know you’ve been having trouble (oh man that Gamestop thing pissed me off, they “magically” found copies? Please.), but the launch season is almost over and hopefully it will be smooth sailing from there on in. I hope you have a great night, and a great release date, and if you want to see that article, let me know (you can also PM me on Warhammer Alliance, I’m Aalynia there as well).
Have a wonderful week!! 😀
Snoozle
Sep 18, 2008 @ 11:22:13
Having a wonderful time playing the game. Very curious though… is there some reason that I can’t use almost any female Welsh name starting with Gw for a character name (Gwen, Gwawr, etc.)? Is it the IP or am I just hitting some weird filter? I’ve tried all sorts of weird name combinations and nothing goes through.
Robert
Sep 18, 2008 @ 16:43:25
I can’t believe the game is actually released and I am playing it.
undeadwarrior
Sep 18, 2008 @ 18:11:06
mark jacobs and the whole team at mythic are pure playaz. this cloned server thing is so simple yet so damn awesome geniusesness. make no mistake. these guys are not pinching any pennies. if there’s something that can be done to improve our gameplay, they’re already thinking it.
Sinless
Sep 18, 2008 @ 20:40:19
Mr Jacobs,
So far so good I say. I’ve been stirring up interest for this game everywhere I go so gratz on hooking me. Not to bash on AoC’s launch, but already people not following this game religious for the past 2 years have made comments to me about how well the state of the game is. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading your future blogs.
jay
Sep 18, 2008 @ 22:16:24
Mark, we are a guild from Thailand and all preordered the CE (it is shipped from Singapore). We are a bit stunned that there is no grace period right now and we will have to stop playing for a week or two now until we get the game.
We expected maybe 2-3 days that we can’t play because the grace period ends before we get the boxes but as it seems right now this will be much longer. This is superbad news and kinda makes the headstart worthless for us because when we can get back to play the game all others will be probably already in Tier 3.
Valdur
Sep 19, 2008 @ 03:17:39
Mark,grats to Mythic and GOA for the smooth launch yesterday .I still can’t believe that the game is finally live and that my wait is over.
Brian R
Sep 20, 2008 @ 01:26:24
I’m dissapointed mark, very dissapointed in fact.
I’ve been a strong supporter of WAR and mythic for a long while not (not so much EA) and was giddy apon recieving my CE box yesterday only to be dumbstruck when I found i would need to pay for my second month of game time before being granted access to the game since i planned to use prepaid game cards for my subscription.
why do Credit card users not have to pay for the second month of playtime up front like I do? I’ve already shelled out $80 for the CE and wasn’t expecting I would need to drop additinal money for a time card from day one.
Especially when time cards are non refundable and there is no way to credit un-used time should I be unable to continue playing WAR for whatever reason.
This is a huge dissapointment in my eyes and has made me contemplate not playing WAR at all despite my enjoyment of the game during beta/headstart 😦
I know this is your Blog but I feel that customer service atm is already swamped so my voice will go unheard there (as likely it will here as well)
displeased fan
Lorian
Sep 23, 2008 @ 10:14:15
Been meaning to congratulate you on the launch and say thanks for the game but you know what, I’ve been too busy playing and, in PB’s words, “beating the snot”, out of my opponents to come to your blog recently (slaps self for being so negligent).
Anyway … my only criticism of the game so far is that I like playing too many different classes and can’t settle on a “main”. Goddamit! did you have to make so many of them so damned good eh? Shame on you.
Oh and one thing before I go. I notice you may turn your future attentions to the Sock Thief. I would just like to point out that this villain does not confine his activities to the USA but can confirm (as a frequent victim) that he or she also plays havoc with laundry in the UK and France. Remember this when the time comes, it is International villainry you will be dealing with, it is not confined to Stateside.
Right, well, keep up the good work Mark, hugs n kisses n stuff to you and the lads in the lab. Toodle pip.
dash
Oct 01, 2008 @ 05:45:57
Dude- the whole ‘one sock from the dryer’ thing? That was me. Sorry about that. I’ve got this project that needs socks. All right foot socks. Did anyone notice that? I never took a ‘left foot’ sock. Anyway, the project is finished so I won’t take anymore.
Your welcome.