The War Z: Shooter Survival Zombie MMO

[signex]

Sign up for Beta here: http://thewarz.com/

Well, that didn’t take long. Someone’s announced a persistent survival shooter-MMO set in a zombie apocalypse. It has permadeath (as an optional “Hardcore Mode”). It has PvP and PvZ folded into the same experience. It has a hunger mechanic. It has a dude in a baseball cap. The War Z is undeniably inspired by Day Z, one of the best things to happen on the PC this year. But before you load your cynicism guns with copycat bullets, I wonder: is that really a bad thing?

More game details and screenshots within.

The War Z describes itself as a “Survival Horror MMO that immerses players in a zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic world in which a viral outbreak has decimated the human population leaving, in its wake, a nightmare of epic proportion.” It’ll be available unbelievably soon: Fall 2012 for $30 (coincidentally, the same price of Arma 2: Combined Operations), and it won’t carry a subscription fee.

The game’s being developed by Hammerpoint Interactive, a new developer. According to Sergey Titov, Executive Producer, they began development last fall. “The major difference is that DayZ is a fantastic mod for a hardcore military simulation game,” Hammerpoint Interactive Senior Game Designer Eric Nordin says in an interview with IGN about the game. “We are creating a standalone game, with the entire world designed around a zombie apocalypse, so that players feel completely immersed in that environment.

Here’s a breakdown of features, taken verbatim from the press release:

Big open worlds to explore between 200 to 400 square kilometers
Two modes of play: Normal and Hardcore
Combination of first-person and third-person perspectives
Meld of PvE (player versus environment) and PvP (player versus player)
Strong Role Playing Elements
Multiple playable characters with customizable features
Unique social elements, including bounties, help requests, trap setting, etc.
Safe settlements where players can purchase, sell and store items as well as post notes for other players
Dozens of unique skills that can be learned and improved
Up to 250 players per game server
New weapons and items become available as players explore the game world
Full developer support with regularly scheduled, free content updates
Dedicated public servers as well as private servers that can be completely self-managed in game client
Single purchase, downloadable client with ability to play full game without subscriptions or requiring in-game transactions


From this, I think it’s fair to speculate that The War Z won’t share Day Z’s emphasis on realism and experimentation. Some of its systems seem more in-line with what we’d expect from conventional RPGs or MMOs: a skill system, customizable characters, item selling, and bounty-setting, which I actually love the idea of (my death to Pokerguy33 in Day Z still goes unavenged). Promising larger player capacity than Day Z (although this is something the mod’s creator, Dean “Rocket” Hall, continues to pursue) is also something of a surprise, especially if The War Z will be able to accommodate all of those players in a single instance.

What’s totally unclear is what kind of shooter The War Z could be. The release makes no mention of real-life ballistics modeling or what form its combat mechanics will take, leaving me to imagine it might strive for accessibility.

Anyway, I know it’s natural to express cynicism about developers pinching ideas—or whole concepts—from one another. And I’m in no way defending the breathtaking absence of originality put forth here, but I’m also not sure if copycatting is some inherent sin that we should condemn. To some extent, this is how genres are formed, and variations on Day Z’s wildly-successful concept were inevitable. We’re not living in an imaginary dimension where only one version of a thing can exist. The World Z will have a lot to live up to—Arma carries a lot of inherent traits that lend itself to survival simulation, and not all of them are easily reproducible.

[WhiteLightning]

thanks!

[Daftshadow]

looks nice! thanks for the link.

[signex]

Funny, the first screenshot makes me think of The Secret World, and the second of DayZ

[Valken]

Just read the interview and this sounds like an awesome game. Already better than Class3 and maybe Class4.

One time only transaction fee and micropayments only to speed up some things, not increased weapondry or maps or addons.

Free addons for the life the game! Just like Killing Floor! Note that KF DLC is only cosmetic and optional!

And private server, coop mode! Finally... Can kick all the douche bags out of the game while we coop play with friends and rejoin the rest of the world later.

Signing up for this!

[kapo]

Original name

Sounds like a soft core version of dayZ with mmo aspects added on. There may be a larger market for this but it's probably not for me.

[INSTG8R]

Originally Posted by kapo

Original name

Sounds like a soft core version of dayZ with mmo aspects added on. There may be a larger market for this but it's probably not for me.

Can't help but get the same feeling. Rocket better be working overtime to beat this one to the punch.

[The Michael]

Don't we already have a Day Z threa... oh wait...

[putty]

I'm game, ill always be for a zombie survival game!

[WhiteLightning]

Screens

[WhiteLightning]

[RoadKillNL]

I think the lighting needs some work. It looks like everything is rendered outside the game.

[signex]

Yes your right, doesnt really fit the zombie appocalypse setting.

[WhiteLightning]

well good thing there is a beta, hopefully i get picked

[putty]

Yeah! Me too, I quite like this setting!

[Mr.Bigtime]

Originally Posted by putty

Yeah! Me too, I quite like this setting!

putty where have u bee nman. i need a new IMAC, powerful, to game..which one pls?

[proliferazor]

What engine are they using?

[INSTG8R]

I dunno the screenshots look pretty bright and cartoony. Not feeling the Apocalypse in it. DayZ has a dark and gritty feel to it that is just right.

[proliferazor]

Question, what is it about a zombie apocalypse that would make the sky dark and color less during the day?

/sarcasm
I speak for everyone when I say that brown and gray scale graphics are LAME and BORING give me color, especially the color RED.

[crushilista]

Originally Posted by proliferazor

Question, what is it about a zombie apocalypse that would make the sky dark and color less during the day?

/sarcasm
I speak for everyone when I say that brown and gray scale graphics are LAME and BORING give me color, especially the color RED.

I want a dark orange sunset vibe going on. I kinda hate grey as hell lol.

[Chouji]

I'm in, signed up, really looking forward to a good zombie killing mmo.

[The Michael]

Originally Posted by proliferazor

What engine are they using?

It's Arktos' Eclipse engine.

[Falconik]

Thanks for those screenshots. Some of those I couldn't find! I'm really looking foward to the game! Btw, I found a forum for it for those who are interested: www.thewarzgame.com/forums

[ouerlooka]

I am very impressed of this zombie mmo.

[putty]

Has anyone heard anything about the closed beta? When will it start?