Dark Millennium Online
What seems like a lifetime ago, back in August when I attended Games Day Baltimore 2010 I not only got a chance to talk with Mythic about WAR but also got to talk with some folks from Vigil Games who are developing the Warhammer 40,000 MMO, Dark Millennium Online.
Since DMO isn’t on the near horizon — planned for 2013 or so — the guy I talked with wasn’t sharing the secret soup recipe or any firm details. I’ve seen a few interviews online where they simply aren’t talking. Fair enough. It’s what I would expect of a developer working on a product not slated to release for several years. What we do have is a pretty neat trailer that shows game footage. Game footage. This goes with my complaint about WoW, Star Wars TOR, and WAR with their super-slick trailers as opposed to how their games actually look in game. My talk with Vigil went something like this. See the tap dance? And here’s a neat interview with Joe Madureira (the creative director at Vigil … you might know him as the former kick-ass X-Men artist).
For those who don’t know what Warhammer 40k is … it’s a futuristic vision of mankind’s struggles in the 41st millennium (started back in 1987). Mankind is trying to reclaim its empire across the galaxy as they face the threats of their former brethren turned evil, Chaos, and various threatening xenos, Dark Eldar, Eldar, Necrons, Space Orks, Tau, and Tyranids. No one gets along in this universe so there is basically non-stop war everywhere. Thus the game’s long standing catch phrase: “In the 41st millennium … there is only war.”
At this point all we have to go on is this confirmation: the first race announced for the game will be the Imperium of Man. Classes mentioned were Imperial Guard, Tech Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and Black Templar Space Marines. (You know that every freaking schmoe out there will be gorked out rolling Space Marines.) To satiate you SM geeks, here’s an interview discussing them (sort of but not really … actually discusses a bunch of other stuff). Okay, this is a better interview that will give far more details on the Black Templar Space Marine. Hey, I’m just trying to wet your appetite with all this info!
I’ve been reading that DMO is going to be more action oriented than other MMOs. And if you watched the interviews linked above, the main producer speaks to this. I like what they’re saying. I hope the playstyle equates to some nice PvP action. He said it will be somewhere between an MMO and a twitch-based FPS. I assume that will require some skill in the aiming department but will be tied to your toon’s stats (ballistics, initiative) moreso than your own eagle eye. I don’t envision there being many one-shot kills between the eyes a la Call of Duty.
The developer has said they want to move away from the action bars and other UI elements that have become an MMO mainstay. For a more action-based game it will be interesting to see how far they stray from that reliable look. Players are comfy to that when they play … familiarity.
If the world doesn’t come to an end in 2012 we have this to look forward to. I’ll be writing further posts on this MMO soon as it will be the next timesink I intend to spiral down.
Krosuss says burn ... 
February 15, 2011 at 10:56 AM
As much as I’d like a Planetside game set in the WH40k universe, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I can’t help but feel that the game will be closer to the RPG genre than the FPS one. And I really don’t fancy playing a SWToR-type game in a 40k universe.
I’m pinning my hopes on PS2.
February 18, 2011 at 9:37 AM
There is still so much about this game that is unknown. You may be onto something with your thoughts on it going RPG.
February 18, 2011 at 2:15 PM
Who wants to play an Imperial Gaurdsman? Seriously, it would be like playing a town citizen in WAR 🙂
This is definately on my watch list. I seriously hope they take combat away from the traditional MMO and make it more akin to DCUO or Planetside.
February 23, 2011 at 1:36 PM
You mean you wouldn’t want to ascend to be a Kommissar?
September 4, 2011 at 2:55 PM
Imperial Gaurds are the hammer of the imperium numbering in their billions . space marines number in thousands. there would be no empire of man with out the guardsman.
example
american football player covered padding = space marine
rugby player no padding just raw power and grit = guardsman
space marines glory boys
IMPERIAL GUARDSMAN all the way
for the EMPIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 22, 2011 at 10:46 AM
If the Empire would just play nice and accept the Tau, the greater good could really be served.
Just sayin’.
Along those lines – I don’t think the Tau will be playable sadly. Too many geeked out fanbois want a SM and only that, and story-wise, it would be hard to get the Tau into with their area of space being BFE in comparison. As much as I want to play this – I’m doubtful I will as I don’t see either of my armies being playable (Tau & Nids).
February 23, 2011 at 1:59 PM
The Imperium is about as racist as it gets … so no Tau!
I’ll be writing more about this game even though so little is known about it. I concur that the Tyranids probably don’t make a good playable race due to the whole Hive Mind thing … same for Necrons. The Tau, however, could be very doable but probably not until a future expansion (assuming its successful enough to get any).
May 3, 2011 at 11:36 AM
I don’t know how I missed this post. But ended up seeing it on someone’s blog roll listing, and it took me here. I only realize now that dates say February, but I am commenting all the same.
Months back I wrote on SM rarity .. http://mrmeh.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/war40k-dark-millennium-space-marine-rarity/
Vigil/THQ mentioned that the progression in WAR40K wasn’t going to be so simple that everything was going to be even. Meaning, Sm are in the game, but its not going to be that easy just to suit up as one.
First guess at the system would imply they use something close to their DOW system, which uses a format that the tabletop uses. A point system.
Sure you can have a SM in Terminator armor, but you’ll be 120 points all by yourself. The Imperial Guardsmen over there, can use the 120 points to have like 6 pet Guardsmen and then upgrade his weapons to high hell. Whats better, one dude with awesome armor and 1 gaurranteed kill, or 7 guys with Meltas fiing on him?
So, while everyone loves playing SM, as GW has always known, there are things that make them fairly vulnerable. Lack of numbers is generally the first 1.
As Shadow stated, I’m also a Tau fan. mainly because without upgrades you get alot more firepower for cheaper cost. Decent defenses too.
The Tau and the Empire have alligned quite a few times in the face of tremendous impending doom. Both are scared to death of the Green Waves or Hive Fleets. But lately, the Tau Empire has been growing very large and is now breaching Imperial Worlds. So Crusades and conquest ensue as a result. So, its not that they don’t allign, its that they generally don’t have too many reasons to.
Tau are very rarely playable in most 40K games. Despite an awesome launch in the late 90s, the armies have been almost untouched other than by Forge World. When the make a game, Tau, Dark Eldar, Necrons, and Sisters are very much overlooked. Look at DoW2, they are on their 2nd expansion and not even a hint of entrance for those armies.
May 4, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Yeah, this was my last post before going on MMO sabatical.
From what I’ve read and what’s shown in one of the interviews I linked, the Space Marine class will not be demigod from the get-go. The person interviewed mentioned a transition/progression of the SM and even though they didn’t say it directly, they did mention Scouts. So we can assume that rolling a SM starts you off as a Scout. And from there the player will be able to level up on their way to godville.
I like your suggest though and have also heard things about the use of Retinues which would make sense with how 40k on the tabletop runs.
At some point I will regain my motivation and hope to write more about this game. Since it’s so far off and there is little actual info out there to go on … I’m biding my time a little.
Hope all is well and was good to hear from you!
May 26, 2011 at 3:35 AM
I watched the trailer and I liked this game because it’s a new generation MMO game. It’s a MMO, RPG & FPS which is very good. But it would be better if the xenos races take place in the game. because most people like them more than the Imperium of Man.
October 13, 2011 at 1:52 PM
NEW INFOOOOOO:
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/14964/warhammer-40k-dark-millenium-info-revealed
😀