Warhammer: Dawn of War

[daveNYC]

Laid down the $49.95 at Best Buy and installed it.  The graphics autodetect thingie correctly detected the craptacular nature of my graphics card and set the graphics to be 800x600 and low detail.  Game ends up looking like WC3, I'm not complaining.  They spiffed up most of the interface and what-not from what it was in the open beta.

Played four of the campaign missions, and basically the game is a nice RTS.  So far there is no earth shattering feature that it brings to the genre.  What it does have is a unique feel to the combat, the game feels like Warhammer.  Where Warcraft was Disneyesque in it's violence, this is more Boondock Saints.  There's blood, smoke, explosions, all sorts of stuff going on.  Units get tossed around by explosions, or knocked back by hits from the larger units, it's really quite engaging.

Cutscenes in the campaign are shown using the game engine, a technique I enjoy.  So far the voices are hamming it up, and the story line is a notch or two above "go there, kill that".

Basically, if you like the Warhammer universe (doesn't have to be 40k) and you enjoy RTS games (the campaign really is fun so far) I would endorse this game.  If you've been there, done that don't bother unless you are a huge Space Marine freak. (there's only a Space Marine campaign)

Some other things; so far I haven't seen any bugs, but I've not attempted to play online.

[Gong]

I have been playing the MP portion of the game all day, and thus far it feels pretty good. I have only played as the Space Marines and the Orks since I was already somewhat familiar with those two races from the demo.

The game feels pretty nicely balanced, though it is still very 'young' so it's hard to foresee what the most popular/effective strats will be in a few months. IMO it is too early to compare it (in the sense of tactical/strategic depth) to Warcraft3 or Starcraft, which both constitute the de facto RTS standard. That being said, it certainly seems like a well-polished game, which is more than can be said for most games. A few of my generally cynical/jaded friends participated extensively in the beta, and they were still interested enough in the game to pick it up a few days ago when it hit the stores.

there isn't anything revolutionary about it, but there are some cool new ideas such as managing infantry units as a squad, being able to customize what weapons each squad is carrying on-the-fly, and so forth. so yeah, if you're looking for a fresh RTS, this is a good one. if anyone is looking for some partners to play with, I have a small group of regulars that I usually play with. just let me know.

[Sky]

In single player, can you:

1. Pause and issue orders?
2. Slow down game time?

[HaemishM]

Can you play the game in skirmish mode, where you just pick 2 or 3 opponents and play against the computer?

[Gong]

yes, there is a skirmish mode. don't understand why you would want to play against AI opponents, but you can even do a cooperative game against the computer.

I don't know whether you can pause to issue orders or not. I've noticed that there is the ability to adjust gamespeed in multiplayer, though I have never seen anyone have it at anything other than normal.

[HaemishM]

yes, there is a skirmish mode. don't understand why you would want to play against AI opponents, but you can even do a cooperative game against the computer.

Because AI opponents aren't complete cockgobblers, unlike most of the people on the Internet who play RTSes. I can compete with AI, I have no fucking chance against even a moronic RTS opponent.

[Sky]

yes, there is a skirmish mode. don't understand why you would want to play against AI opponents, but you can even do a cooperative game against the computer.

Because AI opponents aren't complete cockgobblers, unlike most of the people on the Internet who play RTSes. I can compete with AI, I have no fucking chance against even a moronic RTS opponent.

[Lanei]

Pretty sure its not possible to issue orders while paused, as the only way I know of to pause is to bring up the menu.  Still, I've had no problem at all kicking the crap out of the single player campaign computer.  There is a LOT less RTS-micromanagement of units than other games like Age of Empires or Starcraft.

[Trippy]

In single player, can you:

1. Pause and issue orders?
2. Slow down game time?

You can pause (Pause key by default) and issue orders while paused. However you don't get right click feedback like you do when the game is running (e.g. you don't see a marker where you clicked to move).

There doesn't appear to be a way to slow down or speed up game time once you start playing. In Skirmish mode you can pick a game speed before you start but you aren't given that option in Campaign mode.

Edit: Clarified game speed options.

[daveNYC]

One extra bit; I went over to the Dawn of Warforumsand I noticed that there is a forum specificly for modding the game.  I would assume this means that modding is supported in some semi-official way by Relic, although I don't know what Games Workshop has to say about that.  Most of the mods seem to be dedicated to adding in the missing armies from the 40k universe, given the number of mods created for Homeworld, I imagine that at least some of the planned mods will become reality.

[Trippy]

I would assume this means that modding is supported in some semi-official way by Relic, although I don't know what Games Workshop has to say about that.

The readme says that modding tools will be released for DoW "post-launch". The DoW engine is based on the one Relic created for Impossible Creatures for which they've has released a pretty complete set of modding tools (available on the Relic Developer's Network) so some people are already trying to get a headstart, so to speak, by using what they've learned from modding IC and applying it to DoW.

Here's the legal blurb from the Games Workshop Website regarding game mods based on GW IP:

If you want to make a game, TC or a mod using our IP you must adhere to the following (in addition to the general principles as outlined above):

Any game or mod must be a "total conversion." In other words, you must not use our intellectual property (logos, images, names etc.) in relation to the worlds, names, logos, or images of any other company. For example, you cannot place our Space Marines in a Disney total conversion using the Unreal engine, but you could make a TC solely using Space Marines with the Unreal engine. This is, of course, assuming that you have permission to use the Unreal engine.

Please bear in mind that we may require you to remove the game or mod from any public forum at any time so that we can comply with any licenses that we may have with computer game publishers/developers. Be aware that we may even have to insist that the mod be destroyed. Please take very careful note of this statement, as we would not want you to feel unfairly treated at a later date.

The game or mod must be strictly non-commercial – this includes any web site that the mod or game is hosted on. You also cannot pay a printing company to publilsh copies of it onto CD. It may also mean that you cannot get sponsorship.

It must be made clear on any readme files, splash/intro screens and accompanying material that the game or mod is unofficial and the origins of the intellectual property must be made obvious (e.g., your mod might say “Battletoes ­ a total conversion for XXXX (insert game name) using intellectual property owned by Games Workshop. Used without permission...etc." See the relevant disclaimer on the following page.).

The game or mod must not devalue any Games Workshop product in any way.

Any distribution (zipped or otherwise) of the whole, or any part, of the mod or game must be accompanied with the appropriate disclaimers and must also follow these guidelines.

The functionality, atmosphere, and parameters of any mod or game must be consistent with the relevant IP.

This is actually more liberal than I remember GW being in the past about their IP. I seem to remember them getting pissed at people simply posting pictures of their minatures on Websites in the past (now they just require the proper copyright statement). So based on the above and the fact that Relic has already said they are releasing mod tools I'm assuming GW is cool with the idea.

[Alkiera]

Here's the legal blurb from the Games Workshop Website regarding game mods based on GW IP:

If you want to make a game, TC or a mod using our IP you must adhere to the following (in addition to the general principles as outlined above):

Any game or mod must be a "total conversion." In other words, you must not use our intellectual property (logos, images, names etc.) in relation to the worlds, names, logos, or images of any other company. For example, you cannot place our Space Marines in a Disney total conversion using the Unreal engine, but you could make a TC solely using Space Marines with the Unreal engine. This is, of course, assuming that you have permission to use the Unreal engine.

Please bear in mind that we may require you to remove the game or mod from any public forum at any time so that we can comply with any licenses that we may have with computer game publishers/developers. Be aware that we may even have to insist that the mod be destroyed. Please take very careful note of this statement, as we would not want you to feel unfairly treated at a later date.

The game or mod must be strictly non-commercial – this includes any web site that the mod or game is hosted on. You also cannot pay a printing company to publilsh copies of it onto CD. It may also mean that you cannot get sponsorship.

It must be made clear on any readme files, splash/intro screens and accompanying material that the game or mod is unofficial and the origins of the intellectual property must be made obvious (e.g., your mod might say “Battletoes ­ a total conversion for XXXX (insert game name) using intellectual property owned by Games Workshop. Used without permission...etc." See the relevant disclaimer on the following page.).

The game or mod must not devalue any Games Workshop product in any way.

Any distribution (zipped or otherwise) of the whole, or any part, of the mod or game must be accompanied with the appropriate disclaimers and must also follow these guidelines.

The functionality, atmosphere, and parameters of any mod or game must be consistent with the relevant IP.

This is actually more liberal than I remember GW being in the past about their IP. I seem to remember them getting pissed at people simply posting pictures of their minatures on Websites in the past (now they just require the proper copyright statement). So based on the above and the fact that Relic has already said they are releasing mod tools I'm assuming GW is cool with the idea.

Wow.  That a surprisingly... useful...  agreement.  The part about not mixing their IP with others is a bit odd, but isn't tough to comply with, especially if you're modifying a game already based on their IP, like DoW.

Neat.
--
Alkiera