Hmm: Dark Millennium Online Details? No
UPDATE: THQ sent this statement to Massively:
It has come to THQ's attention that some media are reporting that we've announced game details and a release date for our upcoming massively multiplayer online project, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online. At this time THQ has not officially announced a release date and any reported features are pure speculation. THQ will announce confirmed game features and an official release date at a later time.
Strategy Informer have posted a big old list of information about forthcoming Warhammer 40,000 MMO, Dark Millennium Online. I'm not sure where it's derived from, since they do not quote a source (presumably everything they know so far from the limited previews and stuff) but presuming it's genuine and accurate - and we are presuming - it contains a few interesting nuggets, which I've highlighted below. I think we were aware of a chunk of this stuff, but things like class details and so on have not previously been available to my brain.
The game is using the Darksiders engine, and will have "gameplay similar to Space Marine".
If the game really is going to be that action-led then it's a different kettle of squigs from the "World Of Warcraft with Space Marines" that people are speculating about right now, at least for combat, being a little more action and skill-based. That's not to say it won't be totally tied into stats and equipment, because the Darksiders games do that in single player fairly competently.
Relic are helping out.
But not much. I think we can expect them to be helping get the art "right", or at least in line with what they did with their own games.
"The videos released at the last E3 are fairly accurate to the current state of the art style. Less realistic."
I like the sound of this. It means the game won't suffer too much from the realisms, but there's also the possible negative tradeoff of it being too cartoony. Hopefully "less realistic" means more stylized and as dark as a 40k needs to be.
Classes include "space marine... psyker, techpriest, and assassin."
These are humans, but it also mentions that there are Eldar, classes including "Scorpion, Avenger, Warlock, Reaper", which sounds exciting. However it's also speculating on an "order/destruction" split in the game, with Eldar being the side of order with the Imperium, which could result in canon-breaking Eldar-Space Marine parties. Not sure how that would work. I am totally being a chaos space marine, anyway.
"Will include instanced and open-world PvP."
I wonder how it's going to handle that. Presumably it'll have to be free PvP anywhere that destruction and order can cross paths. It'd be super infuriating to not be able to kill an ork "because he wasn't flagged for PvP."
"Third person action, plays like Gears of War/Space Marine mixed together for shooting. Melee is more like Space Marine/Darksiders, with the target lock on." "...A cover system is implemented. Waist high cover and standing cover."
This is interesting, if true. It will make it one of the most action-orientated MMOs so far. Lock-on melee isn't exactly skill-heavy, but it's in the right sort of direction for me.
"Environments range from snowy mountains, to the innards of a crashed space hulk… from cities destroyed, and orkified, to ancient eldar cities, overgrown with nids… from ancient battlefields, littered with the carcases of Titans and tanks, to a hive city, nostalgic with necromunda…. from the halls of Imperial Cruisers, to tge desecrated throne rooms of Chaos."
Mmm.
"Hero classes are possible, unlocked once you get a character high enough level.
o Imperium: Grey Knight
o Chaos: Chaos Sorcerer
o Ork: ‘Ard boy or Weird boy
o Eldar: Farseer"
This and a bunch of other elements suggest that they're really playing to the familiar MMO gallery here. It's going to be grindy, there's no escaping that, but it will be interesting to see how the other elements come together, and whether it will be able to deliver a "world" for us to inhabit, or whether it will just be themeparky. Time will tell.