I was surprised that there has been no dedicated dawn of war discussion thread here.

For those of you not familiar with it, Dawn Of War is a RTS set in the warhammer 40,000 universe. The original was a campaign-based game, with a couple of expansions. Recently, Dawn Of War Soulstorm was released - the third expansion (the beauty of the last two expansions is that they are stand-alone - you don't need the original to play).

Anyway - Dawn Of War II (http://dawnofwar2.com/) has recently been announced.

Here are a couple of screenshots (click to download hi-res versions)

http://dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/enlarged_view/Assault_Battle.jpg (http://dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/high_resolution/Assault_Battle.jpg)
http://dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/enlarged_view/Assault_jump.jpg (http://dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/high_resolution/Assault_jump.jpg)
http://dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/enlarged_view/Orbital.jpg (http://dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/high_resolution/Orbital.jpg)

The game won't be released until Spring 2009, so its a while to wait yet!

Sequel to Multi-Million Unit Selling Real Time Strategy Series Features Vicious Frontline Combat, Extensive Co-Op Campaign and Cinematic Visuals


AGOURA HILLS, Calif. April 3, 2008 -- THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced that Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II, the highly anticipated sequel from one of the industry's premiere Real-Time Strategy (RTS) developers, Relic Entertainment, is scheduled to bring the 41st Millennium's savage warfare to life like never before in spring 2009. Powered by an enhanced version of Relic's proprietary Essence Engine 2.0™, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II will take players to the brutal frontlines of war where they'll experience intense action and visceral combat through a non-linear single player experience and a fully co-operative multiplayer campaign. Set in Games Workshop's (LSE: GAW) highly popular Warhammer 40,000 science fiction universe, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is being developed exclusively for Windows PC.


In addition, THQ is pleased to announce that gamers purchasing copies of the recently released Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® - Soulstorm™ will be able to participate in an invitation-only multiplayer beta program for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II set to take place at a future date.


"The original Dawn of War and its subsequent standalone expansions have established the series as one of the industry's leading RTS franchises," said Brad Carraway, vice president, global brand management, THQ. "Dawn of War II will re-define RTS gaming to gamers worldwide, delivering brutal frontline action and tactics, and allowing players to get straight to the action with unprecedented fast-paced RTS gameplay and a full co-op campaign, all in stunning cinematic detail."


"We started with everything fans loved about the original Dawn of War and then added more than they ever could have hoped for in the sequel into Dawn of War II," said Tarrnie Williams, general manager, Relic Entertainment. "Leveraging our critically acclaimed Essence Engine 2.0, gamers will develop and lead an elite strike force through Games Workshop's war-torn universe, engage in devastating combat among the ruins of fully destructible battlefields, and be immersed in an ever-changing single-player and co-op multiplayer campaign."


About Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is set in the grim, war-ravaged world of Games Workshop's (LSE: GAW) Warhammer 40,000 universe - a dark, futuristic, science-fiction setting where armies of technologically advanced warriors, fighting machines and hordes of implacable aliens wage constant war. Developed by critically acclaimed RTS developer Relic Entertainment, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II ushers in a new chapter in the acclaimed RTS series, as ancient races - including the dauntless Space Marines and savage Orks - clash across ruined worlds on a mission to claim the galaxy and preserve their own existence. Powered by the re-vamped Essence Engine 2.0, the next evolution of Relic's proprietary game engine made famous in the award winning Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II will deliver fast-paced RTS action with ferocious melee and ranged combat in fully destructible environments. Immersing players in an in-depth non-linear single-player campaign and a fully-co-operative multiplayer mode, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is set to deliver the most visually-stunning Warhammer 40,000 setting ever created. For more information on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, please visit www.dawnofwar2.com.

I've never played Dawn of War, but maybe I'll give this one a shot.

I got a copy of Dawn of War free with Company of Heroes, and always meant to play it, but kept getting distracted by CoH. I'll try to give it a shot in advance of the sequel.

I was hoping that Relic were going to work on a new Homeworld sequel, but ah well :)

I just started playing Dawn of War a month ago and I like it. I'll be looking forward to it but my computer probably can't play the game.

It's a good RTS in my opinion the variety of units and tactics is good. Reinforcing excisting units intead of building new ones is a brilliant idea. The morale is also well working game mechanic, and the UI is streamlined quite well. But the best thing is that it's fun to play.

I decided to try it out, so I bought the suer deluxe edition for 30 bucks. Theres nothing wrong with it, just that company of heroes was a big progression over it, so it just came of as a step backwards to me.

You know, I always knew a Universe setting where there is constant war would be a good setting for Computer Games; Now if there were screen shots of these two things: An Eldar Craftworld (beauty) and a Chaos Deamon World (Twisted), that, that would be worth buying the game for.


I did however like the different game dynamic (less tanking) and I think its improved how I play these games (attack early, cut their resources off and cripple them).

Realtime (RTS) = :nono:

I liked Dawn of War, but spring 2009 ? That's really bad timing.
What time I have left for gaming wil probably be consumed by Starcraft 2.

I was hoping that Relic were going to work on a new Homeworld sequel, but ah well :)
That's pretty much a pipe dream (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=60028), sadly.

I liked Dawn of War, but spring 2009 ? That's really bad timing.
Eh, if anything has decent odds of standing up to that watered-down imitator of the fiction, it's the original deal. ;)

What they really need is a COH II, which this will essentially be but with DOW aesthetics. I honestly liked the fist one for the sheer variety and colorfulness of the units, my only problem was the arbitrary unit caps and again, it was the spiritual predecessor for COH, and it showed, very bad. It did however have the advantage of having hundreds of units and stuff blow up on screen and get shot down and all that fun stuff, lots of carnage, very big brutal battles where none of the games units ever became obsolete.

That's pretty much a pipe dream (http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=60028), sadly.

That's from 2005. I've read some articles that Relic have reacquired the rights to the series, which got my hopes up :)

Looks smashing!
I enjoy Dawn of War, even though it is still no match for the kings of the genre. But it has nice graphics, easy gameplay, and is not set in WW2. The latter being the most important criteria...

DOW is inferior to COH
but given relics record with Homeworld and COH hopefully this one will be a solid game.

DOW is inferior to COH
but given relics record with Homeworld and COH hopefully this one will be a solid game.

Well the whole point was that COH was the progression.

On a related note I managed to get my hands on a freeware version of Space Hulk.
For those familiar with the board game, it is very well done and should make the waiting for DoW II easier.
Sadly, downloads have been disabled due to some legal troubles (http://www.teardown.se/), but I'm sure that with a bit of searching you should be able to find it.

On a related note I managed to get my hands on a freeware version of Space Hulk.
For those familiar with the board game, it is very well done and should make the waiting for DoW II easier.
Sadly, downloads have been disabled due to some legal troubles (http://www.teardown.se/), but I'm sure that with a bit of searching you should be able to find it.
Please don't encourage that sort of thing - we have zero tolerance for piracy here.

Yes, sorry. I honestly didn't see the harm since I got my version in a computer magazine DVD last week.
I had already written the first two lines before looking for the link, and this is when I discovered they had some legal problems.
The best would be to delete those 3 posts, then.

But a modern version of Space Hulk would be very nice.

What I really want to see is a turn-based Warhammer (40,000) game, since WH(40k) is.. you know.. turn-based...

But DOW2 is good too :)

What I really want to see is a turn-based Warhammer (40,000) game, since WH(40k) is.. you know.. turn-based...

But DOW2 is good too :)

Have you played Chaos Gate?

FYI, a public beta (multiplayer only, apparently) for Dawn Of War II can be downloaded via Steam or windows live marketplace.

Thanks for the heads up. I was under the impression it was only available through Steam, and only if you pre-purchased it or bought Soulstorm.

Thanks for the heads up. I was under the impression it was only available through Steam, and only if you pre-purchased it or bought Soulstorm.
Yeah, it was initially advertised that it was only if you had soulstorm, but I have never registered soulstorm on steam, and I was able to download it.

Well I've played this a bit with some friends but I can't say I'm too impressed. I think I've grown out of RTS or something since I grow so tired of the click-fests they've become (and always were I guess). Though I do like Sins of a Solar Empire and even play some COH occasionally. I guess DOW just isn't my cup of tea.

I tried this. Probably a little bit better without the base-building, but the squad customability took a slight hit, and it just doesn't have the raw emotion that Company of Heroes has. Biggest plus is it has Tyranids now.
Seems they took away the flexibility of the model painter though. Not as pretty.

Just tried the beta for a game, the easiest AI is rediculously easy, but I'm not complaining :p

I like the lack of having to spam buildings all over the place.

Got it as well(didn't even buy Soulstorm no clue how I got in) I do prefer the lack of base building, but once my turrets get taken out I need to stick a group on base defense. Do wish I could do more with my squads, and I still wish they had lazcannons for my squads.


But the addition of the Tyranids makes up for any and every little/major problem.

It's an open beta now.

It's an open beta now.

Yeah - they outlined on the relicnews forums that the beta opened for soulstorm people on Jan 21st, and as an open beta on the 28th.

Apparently, you can set up a public game against AI-only if you don't want to dive straight-in to online multiplayer, but it still needs a windows live a/c.

OK - so the release date was last thursday. Anyone got it? Any comments?

I don't see too many complaints about crashes etc in the DOW forums - which is a plus! Haven't purchased it here yet, but probably will in the next few weeks.

I got the game, installed and played the first couple of maps. Here is a very rough review.

Installation
Not a great experience. I have the game on DVD. The DVD had a note that "Internet connection required for activation", but that is quite misleading.

On installing the game, it requires that you install / activate your steam account. As I am installing this on a new PC, that required me to first install and log-in to steam. Once I had done that, the game installed (via the steam client, but reading data from the DVD), then went to steam to download a day-0 patch.

This updating wasn't great. Took a while over my internet connection, then steam just quit. Restarting steam and trying to get DoWII to start gave me a message "This game is currently unavailable". Oh great. 30 minutes of frigging around restarting steam, trying to get the update working again, trying a few reboots... Finally it launches.

Initial game
Through an intro video, start to kick-off a campaign. But here's the next stop: to play the single player campaign apparently requires a Games For Windows Live profile. Oh joy. I don't want a GFWL profile. But I have no option. Click on "create profile", and IE8 launches to allow me to create a profile. Except my default browser is firefox, and it has helpfully reset this to IE. Thanks.

After creating my profile, I finally get to launch the game.

The initial mission is a pseudo-tutorial. You play through moving around and blowing-up orcs, with boxes appearing on the left side of the screen that give you text instructions on how to use features, with a voice-over.

The graphics are reasonably good - look a lot crisper than in DOW or soulstorm. Gameplay does feel different. Its not base-building - its moving units around. Didn't really feel like DoW to me.

You can't save during missions. This is a problem because I have experienced a couple of crashes - which means I have to restart the entire level.

The missions appear to be structured to be different days of an ongoing campaign, and as you progress you get better wargear, experience (which can be used to upgrade points towards melee, ranged combat, stamina and willpower), and it appears that different squad-members can all get different upgrades.


So far, its not all immersive. I'll carry on playing and see if it does get that way, and whether it does become addicitive (just... one.... more.... mission...) - each misison does appear to be fairly short.

The force-fed sign-up to windows live and steam does annoy me. I understand where THQ are coming from with steam - an anti-piracy measure (and most of you will know that I am anti-piracy), as well as forced patching (apparently the debacle of patching for Company Of Heroes drove them to this model). But GFWL sucks. Logging-out of it tells me that I will lose any unsaved progress. Not logging in means I can't play. I disconnected my wireless adapter and a failed log-in did let me continue, but I really, really don't like that model.

There was a beta.

And yes GFWL requires IE, it doesn't of coruse work in antoher browser.

There was a beta.

And yes GFWL requires IE, it doesn't of coruse work in antoher browser.

Yes, I posted about the beta here (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=7742617&postcount=21).

The beta was multiplayer-only (well, you could skirmish against AI), so it didn't surprise me that that required a windows live a/c. But why do I need one for single-player?

The force-fed sign-up to windows live and steam does annoy me.

This type of stuff continues to threaten to kill PC gaming. I love Steam, but why should anyone buying an offline game in a store have to have an internet connection? No good reason other than publisher insecurity. /rant

GWFL is annoying but you did know you could just create an offline account?

GWFL is annoying but you did know you could just create an offline account?

Yes, but its a matter of principle. ;)

I find it annoying that I have to create not only one, but two accounts. Seems like an uneccessary hurdle to me.

I agree, it's just chunks of unnecessary software on my already software bloated computer. Gamewise I am disappointed with DoW II. It seems like a weird mesh of some RPG and RTS instead of a real proper RTS.

Having played the demo, there was any hint of an RPG in it?

"real proper RTS' games suck anyways, I'd rather have a total war like 40k game than one of these dumb starcraft/aoe style rts games.

IE simplified for simpletons.

IE simplified for simpletons.

What do you mean?

What do you mean?

Like no base building, tons of units taken out and the scope of battle being downsized to tiny maps with little units.

Like no base building, tons of units taken out and the scope of battle being downsized to tiny maps with little units.

Tedium and micromanaging dont make a game complex or smart, its just that, tedious.

Like no base building, tons of units taken out and the scope of battle being downsized to tiny maps with little units.

I actually quite liked having the buildings gone, but yes the downsizing of the units wasn't great.
Although in recent RTS games like CoH and DoW they have been limiting buildings so you don't have to spam the map with them which is apparently what many RTS games require you to do. Which is why I never really liekd them or figured them out.

Tedium and micromanaging dont make a game complex or smart, its just that, tedious.

Errm this game is more micro heavy then DoW I. Actually pretty much all RTSes require heavy micro if you really want to 'own'.

And what do you mean by tedium? Having more then 5 units to manage? Supreme Commander would be utter horror for you then.

I actually quite liked having the buildings gone, but yes the downsizing of the units wasn't great.
Although in recent RTS games like CoH and DoW they have been limiting buildings so you don't have to spam the map with them which is apparently what many RTS games require you to do. Which is why I never really liekd them or figured them out.

An RTS without buildings isnt really a strategy game anymore. It becomes a RTT(Real Time Tactical) which is not bad in itself but not really what DoW should have been. They noobified the game, catering to players who cant defend their base worth a damn. Just plop down some turrets and go out capping points. Maps are so small your units can be back at base in less then 30 seconds. Hooray.

Aye I didn't like that much either.

I vastly prefer an RTT, but one that allows me to actually watch the awesoem battle animations instead of moving everywhere in case the enemy breaks through randomly or sneaks around. Hell I don't know why they bother with such pretty graphics in these RTS games, pay attention to them and you lose.

I actually preferred Dawn Of War over Dawn Of War II, but anyway, there is a new expansion for DOW II to be released.

SOme Screenshots:
http://www.dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/chaos_rising/high_resolution/005_Chaos_Rising_Batch_One_52.jpg
http://www.dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/chaos_rising/high_resolution/004_Chaos_Rising_Batch_One_36.jpg
http://www.dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/chaos_rising/high_resolution/003_Chaos_Rising_Batch_One_35.jpg
http://www.dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/chaos_rising/high_resolution/002_Chaos_Rising_Batch_One_29.jpg
http://www.dawnofwar2.com/media/screenshots/chaos_rising/high_resolution/001_Chaos_Rising_Batch_One_07.jpg

These are hi-res, so they're quite large files.

RElease Info:
Rumours and semi-confirmations!

Chaos are from the Black Legion

Units:

Chaos Space Marines (obviously)
Chaos Predator
Chaos Dreadnought
Chaos Khorne Bloodcrusher
Chaos Hounds (possibly a wargear item)
Chaos Terminator Lord (based on the very first teaser to the expansion, where people got a Chaos Terminator Lord miniture)
Chaos Sorcerer
Plague Marines
Chaos Devestators

New units for all current races;

Multiplayer:

All four Chaos gods may be represented in multiplayer.
Snow maps.

Singleplayer:

Players continue on from end of current campaign, with all their items and levels.
Level cap raised to 30, new unlockable abilities introduced.

Corruption aspect: Depending on what you do in a mission, your units/chapter may or may not become increasingly corrupted. (such as destroying an Imperial Alter). Wargear drops and stats will change depending on your corruption level. NPC's in missions may or may not assist you depending on your corruption level.

Eliphas may be making a return.


ANd some concept art:
http://www.thq.com/resources/packshots/packshotsFront/c5b83eb5f42a139b68810f55ab699be4.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/uu110/Kharrak/concept1089.jpg

I heart Black Legion.

Is it just Chaos in the expansion?

They're acceptable but I don't want to wait another four expansions so I could play as the Imperial Guard or Necrons

How much is the expansion?

Good game, liked the first one better, and I probably won't but the second until they release Necron's in an expansion

I liked it. Mostly cause You get attached to the units and gear. I'm not a big fan(I like them but not as much as the following) of games that don't have some sort of experience modifer or what not. Games where you can just toss units in winds up being just a quantity over quality. And having pass/fail missions is a bit annoying there's no real threat/sense of doom if you lose

I do like all the neat weapons just wish it was balanced out. Like the plasma cannons are listed as having a higher DPS but they obviously don't cause it takes several seconds between shots, while my guys with the bolters of lesser power a chewing through everything. To the point they kill 3/4 of the group before the plasma has recharged



So is this new storyline as Chaos or are you still the Ravens?