40K MMO Dead

[Charax]

well, Kinda. It's just not an MMO anymore

I'm actually really happy about that

Nice how THQInsider didn't bother to tell us...

[Urgat]

Off topic, but I find ironic how all those little developers seek to be bought by bigger editors to get more money to develop things more to their liking (bigger budget), but it always, always ends up that way. Mark my word: the next in line is Bioware.

[Charax]

well, Bioware already got bought up by EA, and they're slapping the Bioware name on other studios (the team that are making Command & Conquer: Generals 2 is a Bioware studio)

at least relic didn't get their name plastered over rubbish before dying

[The bearded one]

I actually like this news. I prefer a single player (with multiplayer) to MMO in this case. With an MMO I always have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I'm missing out on something by not being online, or not being in the right place or whatever. Singe player I ca do whatever the heck I want!

Plus a single player, I hope, will feel more cinematic in terms of story and environment, instead of having to accomodate dozens of other people. Space Marine felt like I was playing a movie, with sweetass intro before the title was even up.

[75hastings69]

^ What he said.

[Londinium]

well, Bioware already got bought up by EA, and they're slapping the Bioware name on other studios (the team that are making Command & Conquer: Generals 2 is a Bioware studio)

at least relic didn't get their name plastered over rubbish before dying

Relic aren't dying, they lost a lot fewer staff members than Vigil did and actually have a track record of succes which should ensure that THQ will keep them going at least until THQ's problems results in the company being bought out.

[Wyrmwood]

Aside from the job losses, which other developers have been quick to respond to, I'm pleased with this news. Now all that remains to be seen is the true quality of the game; how they handle it.

[New Cult King]

I actually like this news. I prefer a single player (with multiplayer) to MMO in this case. With an MMO I always have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I'm missing out on something by not being online, or not being in the right place or whatever. Singe player I ca do whatever the heck I want!

Plus a single player, I hope, will feel more cinematic in terms of story and environment, instead of having to accomodate dozens of other people. Space Marine felt like I was playing a movie, with sweetass intro before the title was even up.

All of this. Space Marine was (actually IS, I haven't finished it yet) awesome fun, and something with bigger scope would be amazing.

[redbaron998]

I'm going to agree that it is probably best that it will not be an MMO. Fact is most MMOs are not greatly successful and its usually not worth the development time. Here is the good news though:

1. The game is still going to exist in some form

2. The article mentions Relic working on Dawn of War, so DOW3 is still coming.

[Lord General Armstrong]

I still really want to play as a guardsmen, make me start as a trooper than have me work my way up to a lieutenant with my 4 companion guardsmen retinue, each one allowing me to customize their equipment and role. Maybe one time mission characters like Commissars, Priests or Inquisitors etc.

I liked Space Marine but I hate playing as games workshops glory boys.

[Grimmeth]

This sounds like it could become a much better game than the MMO ever was.

The DLC only game released prior to Space Marine (the name of which I can't remember for the life of me) was good fun for multiplayer bouts. Some kind of action RPG with multiplayer elements set in the 40k universe could really work.
Basically Mass Effect in 40k would suit me just fine.

[DonkeyMan]

I think this is a wise decision. The MMO market is quite saturated that even a franchise like 40K would have trouble to compete.
Besides, I doubt they would have even managed to get a proper MMO out of this one.

I hope it will stil be an RPG though. Maybe something in the direction of Kingdoms of Amalur would be great.
It would also be great if we could play something else then just Marines.

For me this is really good news, but I hope the people that lost their jobs will find a new home soon.

[Lord General Armstrong]

Basically Mass Effect in 40k would suit me just fine.

Agreed.

You could play as an Inquisitor
- Male or Female
- With 3 backgrounds Ordo Xeno/Hereticus/Malleus
- 3 Classes Pskyer / Ranged / Melee
- Team Members consisting of smart **** inquisitorial storm trooper (Female LI) / zealous space marine (Female LI) / Adeptus Sortia Hospitaller (Male LI) / Tech Priest Enginseer / Possible Elder Warlock (Only if you are an open minded inquisitor and decide not to blow her head off) or Female Sanctioned Psyker (Substitute if you kill the Eldar) (Male LI)

Then put them in a standard generic 40k plot where they fly around the eastern fringe investigating possible incursions, exploring space hulks, battling demons, kill team missions, etc.

[C. Langana]

You could play as an Inquisitor

Truth be told, I always pretended I was an (extremely nice) Inquisitor in Mass Effect, didn't always work, but kinda fun though, there was never anything on that conversation wheel that gave me the choice of BURN EVERYTHING or BURN EVERYTHING TWICE.

I also am pleased this is going SP, I'd rather have seen a Space Marine sequel than an MMO anyway.

[The bearded one]

All of this. Space Marine was (actually IS, I haven't finished it yet) awesome fun, and something with bigger scope would be amazing.

I finished the game in the afternoon, after installing it a couple hours before dinner the day before. A buddy coming over for a tabletop battle was what stopped me from finishing it the first day. If there is to be a Space Marine sequel some day, I hope they make the single player soooooo much longer. I loved space marine all the way through, but.. make it longer!

Actually, now that I think of it, the demise of the MMO nature of Dark Millenium might be a good thing for multiple reasons. MMOs are generally not terribly succesful unless your name is world of warcraft, and other MMOs are either little noteworthy, or overhyped as wowkiller. I highly enjoyed warhammer online, still do, but they messed up big time during release, overly hyping it, releasing it too early before it was polished, with a ridiculously large number of servers and right before an anticipated WoW expansion, and shooting themselves in the foot in a variet of ways (stating: "if a game is not adding servers it's not doing well" -> que them merging servers 2-3 months later..).

As a personal petpeeve often MMOs, because the areas have to be so large, don't have consistently goodlooking and aesthetically pleasing areas, whereas a singeplayer game can focus on a single or a few paths for the player to follow and make them look fraking ace. The level of space marine right after planetfall, those city vista's with the defence gun in the far background just look awesome. However looking at the trailer for dark millenium, I instantly dislike the look of those landscapes that are vast green hills with barricades and sandbags placed randomly here and there, and other areas shown in the trailer. It all just tries too hard to accomodate multiple players and I think the only way many of those landscapes would really become enjoyable to play on, would be when you are with vast numbers, flooding the area with people and making full use of all the valleys and hills. Anything less than dozens to hundreds of people and it feels too similar to something like.. a call of duty multiplayer (though enjoyable, not appropriate for the setting) with 2 to 20 people running and jumping about but not feeling like a war, let alone 40K. The principle was similar with warhammer online; the more people you have in a keep siege, the more sickeningly awesome it would become. 10 dudes besieging a keep wasn't exciting, but make it 40-50 and watch how cool it would be, and how the battles would actually flow like a real battle. I remember once where we were with 40'ish people, and I gathered about 5 witch hunters including me at the postern of the enemy keep, we all picked the lock and stealthed inside, and then all 5 of us went to the front battlements and unstealthed, slaughtering like a team of assassins through the enemies around the enemy oil and warmachines allowing the rest of the group to break through the door. Ah, those were the days.

I've gone a bit offtrack here, but another couple possible bonusses that might result from Dark Millenium not being an MMO are more attention to the aesthetics (less cartooney!) and more room remaining in the schedule. Space marine 2 wasn't likely to appear any time soon because there wasn't much room left on the schedule with the MMO coming up. Now without the needs and requirements of maintaining and tweaking and MMO, they have more room left.

[Daniel36]

With an MMO I always have this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I'm missing out on something by not being online, or not being in the right place or whatever.

Funny, I usually feel like I am missing out on something when I AM online with any MMO. I have long given up on that crap. I bet what the whole offline with multiplayer support deal really means that it is going to be some kind of team versus team game, like Team Fortress, or perhaps more in the lines of League of Legends, or somesuch.

[Grimmeth]

Truth be told, I always pretended I was an (extremely nice) Inquisitor in Mass Effect, didn't always work, but kinda fun though, there was never anything on that conversation wheel that gave me the choice of BURN EVERYTHING or BURN EVERYTHING TWICE.

I also am pleased this is going SP, I'd rather have seen a Space Marine sequel than an MMO anyway.

I can just imagine the conversation wheel options:

[Radical Route] Why yes, I'll take this Daemon Weapon and definitely not use it for personal gain, honest...
[Boring route] Oh, I'm not sure the Emperor would approve of this
[Puritan Route] Purge the heretic with flame!

I'd leave a flaming wreckage behind me, all in the name of The Emperor.

[paspinall]

Agreed.

You could play as an Inquisitor
- Male or Female
- With 3 backgrounds Ordo Xeno/Hereticus/Malleus
- 3 Classes Pskyer / Ranged / Melee
- Team Members consisting of smart **** inquisitorial storm trooper (Female LI) / zealous space marine (Female LI) / Adeptus Sortia Hospitaller (Male LI) / Tech Priest Enginseer / Possible Elder Warlock (Only if you are an open minded inquisitor and decide not to blow her head off) or Female Sanctioned Psyker (Substitute if you kill the Eldar) (Male LI)

Then put them in a standard generic 40k plot where they fly around the eastern fringe investigating possible incursions, exploring space hulks, battling demons, kill team missions, etc.

interestingg to see, as that really would be a totally different direct to what the MMO was going to be, but yeah i would love to play that.

[Urgat]

Relic aren't dying, they lost a lot fewer staff members than Vigil did and actually have a track record of succes which should ensure that THQ will keep them going at least until THQ's problems results in the company being bought out.

For now. Track record didn't save Westwood Studios, for instance.

Regarding Space Marines... I think I must suck at this kind of games I've installed the demo, and I've died a dozen times at what I suppose is the end, when there's a horde of orks coming from the back of some room. Well I couldn't get the feel of the controls. I don't remember, maybe I couldn't remap the keys or something.

[Freak Ona Leash]

Bah, I say scrap this abortion and get on with making Space Marine 2. I LOVE the first one, thought the campaign was awesome if a bit short and the MP was fantastic, when the lag didn't ruin it Wearing Mk4 Maximus plate with the Relic shoulder-armor with the aquilla sculpted on was bad-ass no matter what. And made all the better by slaughtering hapless hordes of Chaos filth with my thunder hammer.