making a online warhammer?

[Entsuropi]

a question for spriggan. is it possible for you to create a online recreation of warhammer tabletop? ie, make a program that people could use to choose an army, generate a opponent (or choose one, whatever) pick a battlefield and scenario and then play it out using the full set of warhammer rules? it is actually possible to do such a thing?

[Mr_Pleasington]

There's a program out there that already can do this...with some work.  I'll need to search around for it (it's somewhere on my compy), but basically it allows you to create a game board and pieces using bitmaps.  A few people I know were going to use it to play VOID, but the amount of effort it took to design pieces that looked like minis caused them to abandon the idea.  I'll look around for it...

[Fellfrosch]

That should be very possible, though hard to do in 3D. I can never understand why GW doesn't just make one themselves, but they seem determined to make funky adaptations instead of direct ports. Maybe the success of MTG Online will change their minds.

[Mr_Pleasington]

Well, couldn't find the program... sorry!

GW is supposed to be working on an online WFB port.  I haven't followed much GW news for much but it seems to get brought up over at Portent fairly regularly.  

I've got to say that I'm surprised they decided to debut it with WFB instead of 40K

[Entsuropi]

warhammer online is a MMORPG. its got some interesting features.
the two different systems - warhammer fantasy and 40k - have different publishers. the rights to make 40k computer games are currently owned by THQ (in the uk at least) and they have a game called fire warrior in production now. there was a thread on it in the tabletop section.
I dont know who is publishing warhammer online, but the development team includes several GW staff members - should ensure that they keep to the background. teh models that they are showing are very impressive.

[Fellfrosch]

As I recall, it's actually Rick Priestly who's overseeing Warhammer Online. There are few game designers I trust more than him.

[Spriggan]

To do a warhammer style game would be quite easy.  2d is simple i used a type of 'level desiner' for the Forum game.  It's rather simple to do.  As for 3d, not as simple as 2d but it can still be done.  something like Never winterNighters toolset would allow you to make your own 3d maps.  Personaly if i was games workshop I would licence out the game sence every other videogame they've tried to make has been pretty sad.  But none of them have ever been a stragety game.  They sould make it play like final fantasy tactics, but with larger maps.  The game would do pretty well.

[Entsuropi]

But none of them have ever been a stragety game.

actually, most of them have. just the wrong types of strategy game.

They sould make it play like final fantasy tactics, but with larger maps.

they did. the game was called "chaos gate", and it did reasonably well as i recall.

Personaly if i was games workshop I would licence out the game sence every other videogame they've tried to make has been pretty sad.

GW never makes the games themselves, they liscence them out. thats the problem. the game develepors always get confused and change everything so that the fans dont like it.

it occurs to me that if i really desired warhammer action, i could try starting a medieval total war conversion. of course, thatd make it real time which isnt what i want - i desire nothing more than teh ability to play a game of warhammer on my pc, complete with all rules and (possibly hidden) dice rolls.