Dawn of War 2

I think we're following a very similar approach actually, except I am more wedded to my Assault Squad (in part because I got some very decent free gear for him from my pre-order bonus package).

You know, I gotta say I really like this campaign. Maybe I will tire of it if it goes on too long but so far it has eben an absolute blast, and manty times better than DOW's original campaign (a standard RTS job but too short for only one race) and much better than the Dark Crusade/Soulstorm metamaps (because every mission feels consequential and has attached briefings. debriefings, voice chatter between your characters etc.) So far, anyway.

Impressed.

Just a shame about that grenade thing.

Oh, the Imperial Guard in action are amusing...

Originally posted by Ushgarak
I think we're following a very similar approach actually, except I am more wedded to my Assault Squad (in part because I got some very decent free gear for him from my pre-order bonus package).

You know, I gotta say I really like this campaign. Maybe I will tire of it if it goes on too long but so far it has eben an absolute blast, and manty times better than DOW's original campaign (a standard RTS job but too short for only one race) and much better than the Dark Crusade/Soulstorm metamaps (because every mission feels consequential and has attached briefings. debriefings, voice chatter between your characters etc.) So far, anyway.

Impressed.

Just a shame about that grenade thing.

Oh, the Imperial Guard in action are amusing...

i haven't gotten that far yet.

i downloaded the bonus stuff (wargear/army colours) after i'd started campaign. i wonder if i should go back and get em...

what gear did you get that was so nice?

and yeah, i'm enjoying campaign. it feels more like an actual storyline than its predecessors...

It was a set of gear for Thaddeus- a funky bolt pistol (that increases his melee skill, natch), a unique chainsword, and special armour.

Oh, and if you read the flavour text, there is a surprising amount of continuity from Dark Crusade (Captain Thule's presence being the most obvious, of course).

There's a collective fangasm on the message boards about Gabriel Angelos finally being back, too.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
It was a set of gear for Thaddeus- a funky bolt pistol (that increases his melee skill, natch), a unique chainsword, and special armour.

dang. i got the force commander gear, which is pretty much just weapons and armour, and a nice bit of wargear.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Oh, and if you read the flavour text, there is a surprising amount of continuity from Dark Crusade (Captain Thule's presence being the most obvious, of course).

There's a collective fangasm on the message boards about Gabriel Angelos finally being back, too.

yeah, i lol'd. it was nice of them, though, to build that continuity. the game in general, though seems to be a lot closer to the 4OK universe than the previous games were...

It's very 'fluffy'.

Only the DEldar fighting worries me. Racking up four figure kills on Orks and Tyrannids is grea,t but killing that many Eldar with only a dozen people is... a calamity for the Craftowrld. I just don't think they'd throw away Guardians like that, they cannot afford the losses. They'd pull out.

And also because the slightly silly way their Rangers and Warp Spiders suicide into your men means they don't quite seem the cunning and shifty foes they are meant to be.

But with Orks and Tyrannids it seems just right.

Necrons would make decent bad guys as well.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
It's very 'fluffy'.

Only the DEldar fighting worries me. Racking up four figure kills on Orks and Tyrannids is grea,t but killing that many Eldar with only a dozen people is... a calamity for the Craftowrld. I just don't think they'd throw away Guardians like that, they cannot afford the losses. They'd pull out.

And also because the slightly silly way their Rangers and Warp Spiders suicide into your men means they don't quite seem the cunning and shifty foes they are meant to be.

But with Orks and Tyrannids it seems just right.

Necrons would make decent bad guys as well.

i really hope DOW2 goes the way of the first game, and get to see those 6 other races... it is 6, right? IG, Tau, Chaos, Dark Eldar, Sisters and 'crons...

i really want to see the IG though. i havent seen them in the game yet, but i'd love a campaign built around them. IG vs Tyranids would be one of the bloodiest engagements in the game...

yeah, i agree about the eldar. i like the other races well enough but eldar at times do leave themselves open...

I think having Deldar and SoBs is stretching it- they are not major factions (in fact, the SoBs are not literally a faction at all, being part of the Witch Hunters bracket).

If it is only going to be one race per expansion, those two are a luxury. IG, Chaos, Tau, Necrons- that's the way to go.

FOR CHAOS!

I look forward to them, although they wont be as deep as I hoped

Originally posted by Ushgarak
I think having Deldar and SoBs is stretching it- they are not major factions (in fact, the SoBs are not literally a faction at all, being part of the Witch Hunters bracket).

If it is only going to be one race per expansion, those two are a luxury. IG, Chaos, Tau, Necrons- that's the way to go.

oh, i couldn't agree more. i rarely play as SOB or dark eldar anyways, i'm just a bit of a completist though lol...

i know its generally the case with expansions, but i am dying to see what new units the space marines might get. i want a chaplain and land raider and some really big sprawling maps. i'd settle for a librarian and a hellfire dreadnought though lol...

Every time someone asks about the Librarian, the Relic reps say "No comment." So they definitely have something planned there.

I'm not sure what role the Land Raider would plat for them in-game though.

I think the game should have a bigger unit cap and more of the units we know, the Land raider would be incredible.

That's really wish fulfillment at the expense of game control.It's a squad level game, and ewvery unit is meantr to have its purpose. The Marines have a transport and they have a tank. A tank-transport is not necessary nor is it a creative extension of what the Marine force is meant to be.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Every time someone asks about the Librarian, the Relic reps say "No comment." So they definitely have something planned there.

I'm not sure what role the Land Raider would plat for them in-game though.

thats why i said big sprawling maps. give it an arena in which it can blow shit up.

That really doesn't change things much. Big maps also do not suit the game at all- they don't work with the Retreat mechanic and unit speed.

Theres no extense of game control if they make it work, theyll just have to try hard. There was no requirement of it in the original DOW, it was just a super unit. It could be similiar in this one. Eldar are the only one who have their Avatar of Khaine. The Orks and Marines do not get their super things from the last game.

I just think it would be more enjoyable with a tactical overview, although there shoudl be more unique units per side for what commander you choose. It spices up things a little, when playing as the Tyranids, I find myself play the same way every time if I choose the same commander. Some Gaunts for capping points, then get some warriors with their supression weapon....get Carnifex etc

Originally posted by Ushgarak

There's a collective fangasm on the message boards about Gabriel Angelos finally being back, too.

He's back?

Oh man.

No, I am afraid you are wrong there. It's nothing to do with how hard they try, they actively don't want it- it is against the game's design philosophy. You would change the nature of the game that way.

It was always meant to be a smaller focus, more intense control on detailed groups. Increasing the pop cap ruins that; putting in bigger tanks just because they are thought to be cool also ruins that.

It was never meantn to be that game and it never will be.

The Land Raider may make it in some day in some shape or form but I really am hard pressed to think of the niche it is meant to fill. I mean, try and answer it yourself- what actually, gamewise, is the point of having a Land Raider in the Marine unit list?

Compare the Librarian- the Marines don't actually have a unit buffer akin to the Farseer yet. The Librarian could fill that, with his own spin on it. That's a gap that can be expanded into.

More uniqueness poor commander would be nice, yes. Bit of a luxury thing though.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
That really doesn't change things much. Big maps also do not suit the game at all- they don't work with the Retreat mechanic and unit speed.

i want to blow crap up. i'm sure there's a way they could accomodate that.

Use an Orbital Bombardment. It's not as if the game isn't violent enough!

It would be much more possible to have it in a campaign mission,. They can put any unit at all in those. But for the balanced skirmish game, there's no place for it that I can see.