Dawn of War 2

Some interesting news.

The upcoming 'expansion' for DoW 2, Retribution (whose extra race is still a secret; logic says Imperial Guard but some clues point to an Inquisition style faction) is not going to use Games for Windows Live.

This is actually quite a big deal in several ways. GfWL gets a bad press, though I never had any troubles with it- but regardless, it cannot be disputed that it was clumsy having to log into both Steam AND GfWL to play, and only one had to have issues with the log-in to shut you out the game. The reason it was done was for GfWL's matchmaking services, which Steam did not have at the time- but now Steam can offer it up, apparently, via Steamworks.

But it's not going to be so simple. DoW 2 and Chaos Rising are both inextricably linked with GfWL. That cannot be changed, practically. That being so, Retribution is going to have to be entirely separate from both games. It's not an expansion at all- it's a totally stand alone product, and won't have any crossover with the original or expansion.

That's a bold move. Relic have a long history, from Company of Heroes onwards, of making earlier games compatible with later expansions for those that do not buy them. They were particularly generous when Chaos Rising came out, making those who owned the original fully integrated with the new units and maps, lacking only the new campaign, Last Stand units and ability to play Chaos in skirmish mode- they effectively just made it one big game, just one that some players had access to more things with.

Well, that's out the window now. None of Retribution's content will be coming to those who have the existing games, and there'll be no multiplayer crossover. You buy Retribution or you get none of it, and Retribution players will only be able to play with other Retribution players. The biggest problem here is that you fracture the player base- Relic's earlier integration meant that you just had one big community; now there will be two different ones. Many will resent having to effectively buy the game over again to keep up with new stuff as well, which is what this amounts to. I expect any future expansions will expand Retribution itself, not the original.

I am sure they didn't want to do it, but it's the only way to free themselves from GfWL. Added onto the fact that Retribution has campaigns for multiple races and, reportedly, is putting some element of base building back in for single player, and I am getting the picture that this is virtually a relaunch of Dawn of War 2, which at least fits what I called for in my review of Chaos Rising.

I hope it works out- but it is a shame to lose that continuity.

More here:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/09/15/relic-ditch-games-for-windows-live-for-steam/

I'm happy if that base building tidbit is true. I like me a bit of macro.

There's really no detail on that yet. One line is that it might be more like the forward HQ in Company of Heroes, in that you can turn buildings in-game into production centres.

They did seem clear that as the Orks, at least, you would be building units in single player, because the 'small number of elites' vibe of the Space Marine campaign doesn't work for Orks.

Any real information on which race will join the fray? My bet is on imperials. However at the end of the gamescom presentation the eldar prophet says that the inquisition is coming...

Just hope they hurry up with bringing in the DE.

As I mentioned, logic (heavy demand, many models already in game etc.) says Imperial Guard. However, things like the design of the 'I' in the Retribution logo (it is the Inquisitorial I) says Inquisition.

I'm sceptical, though, as that is a bit of a fringe faction for them to pick, compared to the popular choice of the IG, or even Tau or Necrons. The video confirms the Inquisition are in the storyline, but that doesn't make it the new faction.

There's been some speculation on some sort of IG/Inquisitorial hybrid, but I don't know. Sorry to disappoint, but I reckon the DE are low down their priority list. It would obviously be nice to have everything, but I think they'll move onto DoWIII first.

Anyway, they've said they don't plan to reveal the new race for a while yet. Games Workshop's Games Day is near the end of the month, which is likely when we'll next get any info at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was actually two new races, tbh, even if at this point it seems unlikely.

Pretty much ruled out, I am afraid.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Pretty much ruled out, I am afraid.

Ah. shits.

I'd love me some Necrons, but it's probably going to be the IG.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
There's been some speculation on some sort of IG/Inquisitorial hybrid, but I don't know. Sorry to disappoint, but I reckon the DE are low down their priority list. It would obviously be nice to have everything, but I think they'll move onto DoWIII first.

DE are always last on the priority list... 😕 I want to build a DE army but with their current stand they can't defeat anything. I mean they don't even have assault weapons! Please GW, update them!

DE? Dark Eldar?

Originally posted by -Pr-
DE? Dark Eldar?

Yep, pretty sure.

Indeed.

Seems Games Day just had the unveil of the trailer for the Eldar campaign; nothing big. Trailer should come on the site soon.

I wonder if we're going to see an open-ended Dark Crusade-esque campaign...

Probably. Things like that increase the replay value. They wouldn't drop it.

New vid only visible in low quality right now; I'll link when there is a good one.

Edit: Oh, here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJCf0L3dOY&feature=player_embedded

Thanks for the link Ush.

Well, gotta say I'm disappointed in this game. The single player level design is atrocious, and the story so far is like, non-existant. Granted, I'm only on the 4th level, but, I already know what the storyline is since I watched a playthrough a year or so ago.

I'm not too mad because it was like 10 bucks for this one and it's expansion on Steam, but, this was, allegedly, the competition for Starcraft 2. Frankly. It lost.

Oh, there's also a game breaking bug on the 5th level for me that makes my computer restart whenever I reach a certain part in the level.

So actually, I kind of am mad now.

More oand more gumf is coming out for the standalone release 'Retribtuin' for the spring.

Still no sign of the sixth race, but campaign details for the Orks, Eldar, Tyrannids and today the Marines have been released, each with their own heroes and a unique schtick (for example, the Tyrannids only have one hero, who calls in hordes of forces during campaign play. The Marines no longer have a PC based commander, which I think is a good thing as that was inconvenient to the plot; they are now headed up by the Honour Guard captain Diomedes- which sets some canon endings form Chaos Rising, as he could have died in that- and are joined by some mysterious marine known as the Ancient.

Looks like it is getting the full six campaigns; if indeed, as they have indicated, each is as long as the Chaos Rising campaign, we are onto something good here. The implication is also they are all storyline campaigns, not open-enders.