Warhammer 40,000

[Zarathustra]

Has anyone else here been keeping tabs on the progress of this game? I first read about it at Penny Arcade and had only a passing knowledge of Warhammer (that knowledge being, "damn, those minatures look cool..."). But from what I gather, they've actually managed to take the tabletop game and convert it rather faithfully into an RTS, even preserving the fun of customizing one's army of minatures by including a paint shop where the player is able to create his own look for the space marines. Primary color, secondary color, trim, eye color, weapon color, banner, and a logo for your soldiers' shoulders make for quite a few possibilities. In addition to the standard pallete of colors offered, there is also the freedom of adjusting RGB settings to taste.


My army

A few months back I drooled over the trailer, and recently I stumbled across a singleplayer demo of the game containing a skirmish mode and a one-mission campaign setting. The game plays similar to other RTS titles I've enjoyed in the past, with a few twists. They have their own spin on resources; capturing critical areas and generating energy rather than mining any minerals. Each squad has morale that can be afffected by the battle, with factors ranging from the damage their taking to the types of weapons the enemeis are using (guess it kind of breaks their spirits when the enemy busts out the flamethrowers). The unit generation entails creating squads of units rather than a single at a time. These squads act as a single unit and can be further customized after creation by adding various heavy weapons, requesting reinforcements to the squad, or assigning a commander.

And then there's the eye candy... in Starcraft you'd watch a marine's HP slowly whittle away and then he'd die. In DoW, you lose troops in the squad as the squad HP goes down. And often the death of a squad member is accompanied by a custom "fatality" of sorts from the attacking enemy. Whether it's a Dreadnought impaling the poor sap and flinging him across the battlefield, or a commanding officer busting out a combo with his sword before finishing them with his gun, there's LOTS to watch. They've also done quite a bit in terms of battlefield physics, like what was seen in the big battles of the LotR movies. Explosions can and will send tens of infantry flying through the air, landing and struggling to their feet to fight again. The whole thing is rather well done, and there's quite a bit of personality to the various units in the game.


The red guys at the top of this hill never stood a chance.

Has anyone else tried the demo out? I've not heard a single word about a StarCraft 2, and this is sating my thirst quite well. I'm seriously considering picking this one up when it goes retail. I'm also wondering, for those with more experience in the Warhammer universe, how true they've stayed to things.

Linkage:
Official Site
Demo & Trailer Downloads


(Edited to decrease image size. Sorry about the scrolling earlier.)

[CelticHound]

I haven't yet, but I will check it out.

One thing about Games Workshop, I've always liked the way they put atmosphere into their games. If you get a chance, read through the original W40K book, and you'll see what I mean. I really liked Warhammer FRP - but then we had a great group - when you have a Physician's Apprentiice who manages to have something go Nightmarishly Wrong *every* time he tries to apply first aid, the game can't help but be fun. That's why I was a touch bummed that Warhammer Online got cancelled.

They made the "Blood Ravens" especially for this game, eh? Can we claim it as a tip to Blizzard?

-- CH
Do check out the W40K book - the snippets of fiction and quotations scattered through the book do evoke the atmosphere.

[Wiccan]

i always been a fan of this line of game{used to play the board game }, and do fully intend to get the full game, playing the demo right now, its fun but i have to wait for my paycheck to come, then its eldar all the way i miss the bugs they should have added the tyranids but again the warhammer games never included the {bugs} tyranids in the games always computer controlled in any game they put out they always put the canned ham{space marines}

[pakman]

I have playeed the tabletop version of the game with my friends, and what fun it is. It was only a small battle consisting of "ghetto terrain," which we made using dvd cases, wallets, and anything that can "make" terrain on a dorm room floor. I won that battle. I doubt, however, that I will get this game because they keep changing and revising 40k; it seems like there is a new version every year.

[Guest]

I've not heard a single word about a StarCraft 2, and this is sating my thirst quite well.

Don't be expecting a Starcraft 2. This game is micro oriented; no base building involved, just lots of micro (not necessarily a bad thing). That said, it has more in common with Ground Control 2 than it does with SC or WC.

[Zarathustra]

Don't be expecting a Starcraft 2. This game is micro oriented; no base building involved, just lots of micro (not necessarily a bad thing). That said, it has more in common with Ground Control 2 than it does with SC or WC.
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I didn't mean to paint it as a SC2, rather just wanted to say that I was glad to see another high-tech RTS with a rich, detailed universe. I do agree that the focus is more on the micro (once you can get it through your head that each "squad" is really a single unit), but I've found that base building does come into play. Strategically placed gun turrets or mine fields can play quite a part in the battle, as can a poorly positioned building. It really stinks to have someone take out your Orbital Relay when there are 5 pods ready for launch...

[Occhidiangela]

Might not want to waste your breath on the clueless. He comes from under a bridge.

Occhi

[Crusader]

I got the game yesterday. I find it a fun game, although the ai remains a bit easy to play against (all it is good at is rushing you, afterwards it can't mount an efficient offense/defense. I also find it doesn't make much use of the terrain (which is critical for success, a group of space marines in heavy cover can be a real pain to anything trying to mount an offense)). I find the idea of squads, morale and cover refreshing. Melee combat is a bit poorly worked out, as I often find my melee heroes (superunit) to be watching the back ranks while not able to dish out it's (spectacular) damage for a few seconds (which, again, can be critical). there's a LOT of graphical fun (violence) to see. I pity some of those grunts... ;)

[Zarathustra]

Ah, thanks for the heads-up on that one.

No worries. I always carry a few extra acid flasks and alchemist fires justin case.

[WarLocke]

One thing about Games Workshop, I've always liked the way they put atmosphere into their games. If you get a chance, read through the original W40K book, and you'll see what I mean.[right][snapback]56311[/snapback][/right]

I have to agree here. I have the Warhammer 40k rulebook (first edition/original as far as I know) and the backstory and fluff in it is great. I love the feel of the universe.

That said, I had no idea about this game. I may have to shelve Dungeon Siege in order to buy/play this. :o

(Yes, I just recently picked up Dungeon Siege. I miss all the bandwagons)

[jahcs]

I have to agree here.  I have the Warhammer 40k rulebook (first edition/original as far as I know) and the backstory and fluff in it is great.  I love the feel of the universe.

Rogue Trader was the first 40k rulebook and the backround info and rules for creating characters and warbands was quite detailed. (I started with a box of those plastic space orks. Lots of customizing possibilities :) ) I especially like the little quotes and "thought for today" entries placed throughout the book.

Games Workshop just released the 4th edition of Warhammer 40,000, and for the first time, all of the army lists for the previous edition remain valid. (Yay! B) )

I have played the demo of Dawn of War and am planning on picking up the full version this week.

edit: While 4th edition does include some changes to portions of the combat system, basic gameplay remains unchanged from 3rd edition. One of the main objectives of 4th edition was to consolidate all the rules changes and add-ons released over the last few years.

[CelticHound]

That's a touch unfair, Occhi. Given that Z said "I've not heard a single word about a StarCraft 2, and this is sating my thirst quite well." in his original post, pointing out the micro orientation was a reasonable post. In fact, Relic has this as one of their four main points about the game:

Streamlined Resource Model

Focus on the best part of RTS gameplay - commanding your army! No more babysitting peon units and balancing warfare with gathering mundane resources like coal and lumber. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War puts you on the front lines, where your control of strategic battlefield locations determines how easily you can requisition additional troops, weapons, and vehicles. This frees you to focus your energy on what really matters - annihilating the enemy.

So it seems to me they want to contrast DoW to WC/SC.

Yes, I know that us13 has made some "less than optimal" posts, but I'm also seeing people putting him in the gun sites when the posts would be acceptable from someone else. From my point of view, even though I wouldn't put him in the same category, it's no better than when certain people were stalking all of Sirian's posts and ultimately drove him off the Lounge.

-- CH

[Yrrek]

Hmm, I am liking the demo, is the game worth it? How is the online play? Are the many differences from the demo?

[Zarathustra]

I read a bit about it at Penny Arcade and it seems the singleplayer campaign is rather lacking. When comparing it to WC3 or SC, playing the singleplayer from the point of view of only one race seems a bit of a letdown.

I wish the demo had multilayer capabilities on those two included maps. I'd like to see how well the game plays with human opponents.

Well, that... and I've got a few friends that I'm looking forward to cutting down with a Dreadnought. B)

[Dethseeker]

I am in the process of downloading the demo (wow, its huge!) and would also like to know what everyone thinks. I have high hopes for this game, hopefully it will catch on :)

How is the range of units? I love Warhammer 40000 and am curious if it has a wide variety of the units available in the actual game.

[Copadope]

The demo looks nice, but I think it would be more fun if I could actually read the text on buttons, menus, options, unit descriptions, objectives, and... well, pretty much anything that has text. All the letters just appear as rectangles on the screen. Sometimes I can make an educated guess at the word by comparing the size of the rectangles to the size of letters in common words, but most of the time I'm lost. I saw something about blurred text in the video troubleshooting section of the readme, but it was no help.

I did manage to stumble into the tutorial though and figure out the basics (Thank you, disembodied voice!). Looks like a cool game. I hope I can fix it. :)


Edit: Yay! I fixed it! All I had to do was update my vidcard drivers...

[IKKE]

WH40K RULES !!! :P, I got the full game, and I think its kinda fun :P

[jahcs]

Hmm, I am liking the demo, is the game worth it? How is the online play? Are the many differences from the demo?
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I picked up the full version last night and played the first few missions. Anyone who has played starcraft or warcraft will pick up this game real quick and the first 3 missions will be a cakewalk, even on normal difficulty*. If someone hasn't played this style of game then the tutorial and first missions give an excellent familiarization and learning curve for the new units and their upgrades.


*Granted I did play the demo skirmish and campiagn missions about 8-10 times.

[Dethseeker]

Well, I finally got the demo downloaded and I must say I like it! Very fun :D

Before I buy the full version though I was wondering about a couple of things:

Are the maps randomly generated in skirmishes?

Is there a map builder of some sort?

I like to play offline as well as online and would like to see some offline replay valve :)

[kandrathe]

"I move through the warp as it moves through me."

...<Thread Resurrection Completed>

I've been toying with this game off and on for weeks and I'm finding it as enjoyable and challenging as Starcraft. I'm currently attempting to graduate to 3 AI vs me on 4 player maps at standard difficulty and usually getting my butt kicked. I have not tried to play multiplay against anyone online yet, and I'm not sure I will. But, I will have some fun in a lan environment with my friends. The skirmish maps supplied allow up to eight players.

I also regret the lack of additional campaigns for the Eldar, Ork, and Chaos. But, the additional races are fun to try to master in skirmish mode. I expect that they will eventually release them as an expansion.

The skirmish maps are not random (much like SC), but there are tools and a large enough game community to produce new ones.

Link to the Modder's tool box on gamespot.

You can get it for around $30 now from GoGamer.