WoD: Vampire MMO - more info revealed

Ive been dying to find out more info about the latest World of Darkness: Vampire iteration coming from CCP (dudes behind EVE) for a long time, and finally they've revealed some more info:

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/319393/20120326/world-darkness-mmo-revealed-footage-details-rpg.htm

Actual footage starts 1:27 into the video for those who want to see the action.

Quoted from source link:

Game developer CCP, which created the 'EVE Online', has just revealed a bit of information about the upcoming Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) 'World of Darkness' (WoD) at this year’s Fanfest in Iceland. WoD’s senior producer Chris McDonough took the stage to reveal a few early details about the game and talked about the mechanics, the game play world, and what makes it both similar and different when compared to 'EVE Online'.
'World of Darkness' is mostly based on the White Wolf tabletop RPG and focuses primarily on one major element of the supernatural world – vampires. However, it has also been said that mages, werewolves and other elements of the universe will eventually be added. But in the beginning, players will need to create a blood-sucker and join different clans fighting for control over cities and territories.
Although CCP is experimenting with the age-old MMO subject of people fighting over different stuff, the developers plan to make it more realistic for the gamers by making the battle a real one, very similar to what it was in the 'EVE Online'. In WoD, factions will literally be able to take over different parts of the world, gain control over mortals and, more importantly, their blood, which is the game's main resource.
It is being said that there are even plans to allow the community to elect others into actual and important roles, and you can also name an actual player "Prince of the City," which is much more than just a title. Different cities that have been named after real-world locations can have their own elected leaders. As the game will employ EVE Online's single-server system, being elected as the leader of a city is pretty important, and the Prince of a City has the power to permanently kill players.
The game also has a pretty awesome fashion sense where an entire slide of the presentation was dedicated to showing off concept art of vampires in Gothic-inspired outfits. The game is said to be insanely bloody, mature, and filled with extremely violent hand-to-hand battles. But the characters will be well-dressed.
The game is yet to receive a release date, but the developers will continue to release bits of information on the further development of the game.

Looks fricking awesome to be honest, anyone else excited for this?

EDIT: Apologies, just realised this should go in the World of Darkness game section.

Might be interesting. I hope they implement Malkavians in an interesting way.

@Fasckira said:

Ive been dying to find out more info about the latest World of Darkness: Vampire iteration

Hahahahaha...ugh.

@Willin: Bugger. Took me a moment to realise that awful pun... my morning brain can be a dick sometimes.

I was just watching game play for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines when I saw this topic.

@Gargantuan: I'm guessing that the game is built on the "new World of Darkness", in which Malkavians don't exist.

There are Malkovians, though... which are similar, but not exactly the same. But, yeah, they are insane Vampires.

To clarify: White Wolf rebooted the World of Darkness franchise ... oh... 4-5 years ago, or so? The franchises that used to be Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension... etc. they are now called: Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken and Mage: The Awakening.

While the world is thematically the same (horror, basically), the mythology has changed, and it's not as Apocalyptically focused as the old World of Darkness mythology was. The new World is much more about personal horror. Antedeluvians, Cain and such are gone, as far as I know, though.

(I'm not much of an expert on the subject, this is just some of the stuff I've picked up looking around some wikis and reading some of the source books).

@Mnemoidian: I seem to recall reading somewhere that CCP's game is based on the old World of Darkness but couldn't say for 100% certain.

On a personal level, I'd prefer to see oWoD Vampire as the upcoming apocalypse makes for a much more exciting background and I guess ultimately its the version I have more history with. The new World of Darkness however is very... emo. Vampires are more like extras from Twilight, for the most part acting quite depressed by the whole affair! The nWoD however does a lot for a smoother blend between the groups (Vamp, wolves etc) so I guess from a rules point of view it'd make more sense to go with nWoD.

Interesting, I thoroughly enjoyed Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines but Troika made it.   Somehow i doubt the same level of writing quality will come from CCP but it's an interesting world that i'd like to visit again.

Seems interesting - I'll keep an eye on this. I'm liking some of the things I read about it but no so much some other things...

I know that CCP is all about player control, but I'm not sure about giving the ability to kill any player permanently to a single player in each city. Hopefully people won't abuse that.

But if they actually pull this of and creates and interesting game world that can be impacted by the players and people get into it, then I'm certainly going to try it out. Though I'll wait and see if they just put out another character action MMO or if they can actually break free from this aged gameplay style MMOs have kind of locked themselves into over the years.

@Fasckira: From what I've seen, they did a lot of good things in the new World of Darkness - I believe it makes for a much better game, partially because it disables some of the powergamey stuff that was inherent in the old system (werewolf-vampire-mages or something?), but also evening out the power levels and making humans more interesting to play...

But... as a setting, I agree, I always thought the 13 clans were really interesting, and the omnipresent threat of the Antedeluvians waking up and consuming/leading their clans - together with the omnipresent rumors of Cain floating around was really interesting.

Not sure if I'd call nWoD emo, because of the negative connotations that gives people, but... yeah, it's much more individual focused.

Now that you mention it, you might be right on it being based on the Classic World of Darkness (cWoD, which it's apparently referenced as these days?), which I could see as somewhat understandable (as videogames have only been based on cWod previously), but would be an odd choice to promote an old product seeing how the new World of Darkness setting is apparently 8 years old at this point (looked it up, first books released 2004).

Let's all hope that this vampire game doesn't suck, right? right?

Anyway, based on some rumours it sounds like they're taking a bit more hardcore route with it (like permadeath of some kind I think?), so color me interested.

@Mnemoidian said:

Now that you mention it, you might be right on it being based on the Classic World of Darkness (cWoD, which it's apparently referenced as these days?), which I could see as somewhat understandable (as videogames have only been based on cWod previously), but would be an odd choice to promote an old product seeing how the new World of Darkness setting is apparently 8 years old at this point (looked it up, first books released 2004).

They re-released the old version in a 20th anniversary edition last year, theres still a lot of love for the old version. I think White Wolf kind of see the new version as a new game as opposed to a remake of the original. If you want a good chuckle you should head over to rpg.net, start a thread saying, "I love nWoD" and count how long it takes before the first bout of nerd rage hits you :p

@Village_Guy said:

I know that CCP is all about player control, but I'm not sure about giving the ability to kill any player permanently to a single player in each city. Hopefully people won't abuse that.

Aye, that is a concern but when you think about it, logically you're not going to see random griefers make it to the position. I also think (and must stress I dont have strong evidence to back this up) that the whole "Prince can kill players" thing is just about blood hunts. In the lore, a Prince can call a Blood Hunt down on a player to deliver final death, and every vampire in the city should help in tracking him down.

If thats true, then if a Prince tries to use the Blood Hunt willy nilly, it doesnt actually mean that the players will obey him and the chances are he wouldn't remain Prince for too long!

@Gargantuan: As a loyal Ventrue, I will immediately join the political faction set on incarcerating or destroying any and all Afflicted in the city.

@Mnemoidian: It's actually based on Old WoD, which is stupid. Malkavians exist in new WoD, they're a bloodline (sort of a subclass) of the greater Ventrue clan. New World of Darkness is more a general thematic setting than a metaplot. It's designed for the DM to come up with the story instead of following the one in the book.

@Fasckira: I wonder if they'll allow unsanctioned murder in the city, and leave it up to the Prince to decide whether or not to hunt the criminal down. I wonder if the Prince fails to do so, if a vigilante coterie forms without the Prince's decree, and I wonder if that sends everything into chaos. I wonder if you'll see the necessity for ironfist tyrants just to keep the city under check. Also, I don't get the emo part. Maybe if you're playing a Nosferatu, but that's kind of their hat. I've played Ventrue as hard 80s styled corporate raiders, and Gangrel as Southwestern duster-wearing guns-for-hire. Daeva can probably get emo, but they're the excess-driven emotional clan, so that fits.

@Mnemoidian: They said that they are using cWoD and not nWoD. I'm pretty sure they won't use the exact rules so powergaming won't necessarily be as much of a problem and you will only be able to play as Vampires at release. White Wolf merged with CCP in 2006 so CCP won't have to worry with licensing like most games based on PnP RPGs do.

@Fasckira: That's what they have said, a Prince can call a Blood Hunt to permanently kill a player. So if someone starts calling them all the time he probably won't keep the position for long.

@Fasckira: See! I said I wasn't an expert on the subject! :)

Good information and glad to hear cWoD is still kicking around.

Never really done any pen and paper roleplaying, so not really my crowd - though I do enjoy the fiction :)

I'm a bit concerned that it's CCP developing the game - as I'm a bit wary of their games, EVE does have a pretty steep potential price. On the other hand, I can't imagine another developer (independent of White Wolf and CCP having merged) that would do more justice to the source material. Even EVE has a certain level of inherent horror in some of the risks you can take.

Basically, what I'm saying is that I think it's really cool that the game is being developed, but I'm not sure it's going to be for me. But that's fine! :)

@Brodehouse: Well, they're not actually called "Malkavian", it's Malkovian - minor difference, but still!

@gike987: Yeah, I know about the merger, I just haven't been keeping up with my WoD-news, wasn't aware that cWoD was still something that White Wolf was supporting (which is why I assumed they wouldn't base a game on something they hadn't used in 8 yaears, would be pretty silly, really).

@Mnemoidian: Hrm, in my Ventrue splatbook they still use Malkavian, referring to the Affliction itself as malkavia. Splatbook came out after the sourcebooks though, maybe they had a change of heart?

Either way, it's not like the story has changed. They're bonkers and no one likes them because of it.

@Brodehouse: I recognize the story from the sourcebook - they're definitely referenced as Malkovians there, as they are childer of a crazy guy named Malkov... which I'd say is a significant departure from being childer of some Antedeluvian nightmare who may or may not be the insanity that plagues all of your bloodkin through history :)

But sure, effectively, Malkavian or Malkovian, they're insane either way :)

@Brodehouse said:

Also, I don't get the emo part. Maybe if you're playing a Nosferatu, but that's kind of their hat. I've played Ventrue as hard 80s styled corporate raiders, and Gangrel as Southwestern duster-wearing guns-for-hire. Daeva can probably get emo, but they're the excess-driven emotional clan, so that fits.

I found a good post that sums up my thoughts on the owod/nwod differences;

Once again, the difference between nWoD and oWoD:
nWoD looks at vampirism and sees the horrible tragedy inherent in the empty existence provided by it. nWoD looks at the tragic slide downwards into depravity, fueled by situations provided by the storyteller.
oWoD looks at vampirism and says, "So I'm immortal and have superpowers? All I have to do to live is give hot goth chicks blinding ecstasy while removing some blood from them? Oh, I have to stay out of the sun, too. That's inconvenient, but I'll just wait until I have fortitude 6 or so, then we'll see what Mr. Sun can do to me!" oWoD is about going forth and kicking ass by night. oWoD is all about Killfuck Soulshitter, the man in the black trenchcoat of a thousand katanas and ten thousand pairs of black shades.
oWoD is about saying to the world, "Hell yeah, it's time to take it to the limit. To the limit." And while it's completely stupid some of the time, it's fun and makes me feel good to play in it.

nWoD just feels too self obsessed for my tastes, being more about vampires being all "woe is me!" but as you've highlighted a lot boils down to how you play it and how your storyteller fleshes out the game. Its likely that Ive just had bad experiences with nWoD but Im aware that a lot of people see it in a similar light. To me however while Vampire should focus on the personal struggles with being an actual undead, blood drinking monster, that should be running as an underlying theme while your actual actions are all about surviving in the political canite society, battling others through both combat and diplomacy.

Also, as a loyal Toreador you'll probably find me just trying my best to local cool, lurk around in the Ventrue shadow and generally keep tottering on the brink of violating the masquerade.

@Fasckira: Hadn't heard about it before. Am now excited.

@Fasckira: Yeah, I've never got that at all playing nWoD. The penalties for acting like Killfuck Soulshitter (which is to say, Humanity penalties for torture and serial murder) are primarily there to try and keep players from fucking up some poor DM's tightly woven intrigue by acting like asocial psychopaths. Also, it's much better for the DM because players will not enjoy a story where they are not the protagonists. If the game is centered around Vampire Cthulhu waking up and there's nothing that can be done, it's hard for the players to feel like anything they do has meaning. If the game is centered around "you're new and no one likes you, what do you do?" you can build a story where they are shaping their own future. You can still be Johnny Mirrorshades if you want (and who doesn't?)

I haven't played a woe-is-me character (though I've written a few while DMing) but I can totally see their place in the crazy setting. When playing I've always made it clear that I wanted intrigue and machinations, with just a pinch of the occasional turf war or murder mystery to spice things up. I also tell players that's what I write. A cast list nearing a hundred with allegiances and secret deals abound.

It's actually pretty canny for the EVE guys to be building this, because there's really no way it could play like SWTOR or Guild Wars. It would have to be largely social.

A bit more info on the game revealed today after that trailer release, an interview done by PC Gamer with the CCP dude Reynir Hardarson;

World of Darkness is an upcoming MMO RPG set in Mark Rein Hagen’s vampire-centric universe. He later went on to create White Wolf, the studio responsible for 1991′s critically acclaimed Vampire: The Masquerade.
The truly exciting thing? CCP, creators of revolutionary sci-fi sandbox EVE Online, are in charge.
World of Darkness is taking tired MMO convention and slicing its throat. Then it’s smearing the result all over a single server universe where the fight for political influence is just as important as the literal battle for blood. Get enough power and you can kill off someone’s character, permanently.
I got a chance to speak to creative director Reynir Hardarson about the revolutionary mechanics. His words had us both shaking with excitement. Oh, and forget any notion of teenage fantasy. As Reynir pointed out to a relieved crowd at last week’s fanfest: CCP are “not making Twilight.”
PC Gamer: The permadeath you mentioned. Could I really cause someone to lose all their progression?
Reynir Hardarson: Yes. You have to be a total… it’s really hard to… you’d have to work really hard at it.
PC Gamer: So I’d have to become, say, the equivalent of an EVE Online head of corp to do that kind of thing?
Reynir Hardarson: To do that action you’d have to be prince of a city. And you’d need political support to do it.
In World of Darkness lore, Princes are vampires who have claimed leadership over cities. To gain that kind of power you’ll need to get voted in by other players, who’ll have their own hidden agendas. World of Darkness will take the unforgiving permanence of EVE Online, and place it in a more accessible, faux-real world setting.
Reynir Hardarson: Politics are taken to a new level in this game, especially as we have positions with actual powers. This is the way the old Vampire the Masquerade game has been run – we have princes and you have harpies and you have positions in the evil hierarchy. In this game we give power to the players. There’s no NPC who is the artificial prince of the city – players set the rules and they have the positions and that’s really – that’s where the politics come in.
It also means that if your playstyle doesn’t have to be PvP or PvE… maybe your playstyle is just social. There’s a lot of power in that, because social power has actual power in this game. Hanging out at bars could be a very powerful play.
PC Gamer: What could I gain from hanging out in bars?
Reynir Hardarson: It’s part of the prestige among vampires. Taking in political power. People will know who is very important – it literally translates into power in the game.
World of Darkness has potential to break the most hardy of MMO/vampire sceptics; CCP are not an ordinary company, and World of Darkness won’t be your standard MMO. We’ll have more tantalising info soon.

I wonder how many cities we're going to see in total and just how big they will be? The trailer showed quite a detailed scene but not a lot of it. I mean are we likely to see 10 princes in the entire game with hundreds of vampires squeezed into one city, or are they going to take the time to model loads of cities to space everyone out?

Its interesting when they cover the perma-death in the article that Reynir seems to be sayings its going to be a major issue. Sounds like even to call a blood hunt there probably needs to be a lot of ground work in the run up.

Not interested, unless they hire Phil LaMarr and work out some kind of licensing deal with Kojima Productions so I can play as Vamp and have a cock knife.