New Dawn of War Expansion!

[ÜberJumper]

There's a new expansion in the works for Relic's Dawn of War. The new Expansion will feature two new races (bringing the game to a total of 7). The race revealed in the Press release is the Tau.

THQ Inc. and internal development studio Relic Entertainment today announced a second expansion pack to their award-winning real-time strategy hit Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War. The add-on will include all-new explosive Dawn of War single-player action, new multiplayer content and two new playable races including the technologically devastating Tau, bringing the total number of playable races in Dawn of War to an unprecedented seven.Press Release here (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=96376&p=irol-newsArticle_print&ID=809933&highlight=).

If you've played Winter Assault, then you probably already know what the second race is likely to be (possible spoiler for those that haven't played it).

[Steve_Erhardt]

*Drool*... the Tau... and (I'm figuring) the Necrons... I know most people still want to see the Tyranids, but damn... that'll still be a nice pair of additions to the game. I can't wait!

[agentgray]

I literally just spewed my MDX. This was totally unexpected!

[Draft]

Good. Relic has a real franchise on their hands, and they need to milk that shit.

[ÜberJumper]

I can't wait to see Dawn of War 2 (speculation). The Company of Heroes engine, with it's FULLY destructible environment is going to be amazing. With that technology in house and used in 40K titles, the 40K universe could be spectacular.

[Rifter]

So, I beat DoW, but never played Winter Assault. What is the other new race? I am VERY happy to see Tau! :-) Now... we need a Battlefleet Gothic game, by Relic, with the same races. :-)

[Draft]

The sixth side introduced in Winter Assault was the Necrons. They are kind of like techno zombies/borg.

What remains to be seen is if Relic can do a better job than Games Workshop balancing the sides.

[Citizen Philip]

My desire to upgrade was further spurned by how crappy Winter Assault ran on my system! Now my x1900 xt can do me proud, and I will play all three games at max rez! :P

[Cool AN]

I am a huge DOW fan, so I am really excited.

[Draft]

I can't wait to see Dawn of War 2 (speculation). The Company of Heroes engine, with it's FULLY destructible environment is going to be amazing. With that technology in house and used in 40K titles, the 40K universe could be spectacular.Yeah, and it would really work in the 40k universe, since basically every battle takes place in a future gothic metropolis.

[Commissar Rob]

This is great! I can't wait for this one. I didn't see anything in the press release, but any hints as to when this is coming?

[Frogleg Special]

1 word: Yes!

[The Iron Weasel]

OH MY GOD.....TAU!

*dies from excitment*

[KNOTE]

I really wanted to love DoW, since I play 40k every week. I have two complaints...

#1 Combat is attrition based. It should be faster and based more on specialties. H2H units should have a more apparent advantage VS shooty units. It's not fun to watch such a visceral and cinematic game come down to watching the life meters from Homeworld decrease.

#2 Turrets... 40k is not about defense, with the exception of special missions. It's about fierce battles and outwitting your opponent. Getting the correct matchups and focusing fire. I wish the game played more that way. Right now it's Giant Mob + Rush = Win.

It looks great, it feels pretty good, but its tactics are so shallow that once you get past the bling, it's disappointing. This is what kept me from buying Winter Assault. God I want to love this game so badly... Relic, please tweak these few things just for me. Or maybe someone can just explain in a rational matter why I'm wrong.

[Nite_Moogle]

Kick ass. I didn't expect to see this but it's officially on my to-buy list.

[agentgray]

This is great! I can't wait for this one. I didn't see anything in the press release, but any hints as to when this is coming?
Towards the bottom it said Fall 2006.

[Zurik]

So we don't get the Tyranids in yet another expansion? Dammit!

[ÜberJumper]

Zurik:

Relic people have stated that the current engine won't do the 'Nids any justice. The Company of Heroes Engine, adapted for a Dawn of War 2, would though.

[Testcase]

Jizztastic!

[Cool AN]

So we don't get the Tyranids in yet another expansion? Dammit!

Tyranids are to much like Orc's, close combat mass units.

[Rifter]

The sixth side introduced in Winter Assault was ...

Thanks Draft, very much appreciated. It looks like the expansion is brining out the 2 armies I actually own for WH40K. :-)

[Dr Quincy]

The symbol of the Tau is very reminiscent of the logo of the U.E.S.C. Marathon and the Toyota logo. Curious...

[Vandenh]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

[Dakar]

Zurik:

Relic people have stated that the current engine won't do the 'Nids any justice. The Company of Heroes Engine, adapted for a Dawn of War 2, would though.

So has it already been decided there will be a Dawn of War 2? Or is it just speculation based on the fact the first has done so well?

[ÜberJumper]

Dakar:

There's been hints at Dawn of War 2 for a while by various Relic folks, but I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that they're at least kicking the idea around. I don't think work on it will start until they've got the Company of Heroes game out the door, at which time they'll have a game engine capable of some pretty revolutionary stuff for an RTS title.

[Parsifal]

bringing the total number of playable races in Dawn of War to an unprecedented seven.

Uh, how could it not be unprecedented?

[Librum]

I really wanted to love DoW, since I play 40k every week. I have two complaints...

#1 Combat is attrition based. It should be faster and based more on specialties. H2H units should have a more apparent advantage VS shooty units. It's not fun to watch such a visceral and cinematic game come down to watching the life meters from Homeworld decrease.

#2 Turrets... 40k is not about defense, with the exception of special missions. It's about fierce battles and outwitting your opponent. Getting the correct matchups and focusing fire. I wish the game played more that way. Right now it's Giant Mob + Rush = Win.



I, too, am a tabletop WH/WH40k fan and I did enjoy DoW quite a bit, but it's just not the same game as the original, no question about it. The biggest is probably the defense, like you mentioned, but also the fact that it's a much less hand to hand intensive game than the tabletop version is. The way I decided to view it was that this was a RTS-style game using 40k elements, rather than a true-to-the-letter representation of the miniatures game.

Given that so many of the elements in the RTS aren't present in the tabletop game - base building, turrets, unit production, research - and that it's real time instead of turn based, there's just only so similar it can be.

The Tau are the newest addition to tabletop, so adding them in makes sense from a marketing standpoint, and they do have an interesting look to them, despite not really fitting with the overall look and feel of the rest of the races. But I really couldn't care less about the Necrons, which always seemed very ill-conceived and poorly developed. Doesn't mean they won't make a fun race in the RTS though.

[Yama]

Tyranids are to much like Orc's, close combat mass units.

Not really. If you factor in how Tyranid morale works, they function quite differently (ie. fearless when near Synapse (ie. Leader) creatures, but uncontrollable and random when the Synapse creatures die). They also have even less ranged firepower.

Additionally, I'm not a fan of Necrons either. They're dry and uninteresting to me, and they don't have a lot of unit choices compared to Tyranids or Tau. Also, they don't talk. Ever. Not even a mutter or whisper. So, if you click on one, is it just gonna make some squeeking metallic noise? At least you could have the Synapse Tyranid creatures talk in a zerg-like telepathic voice when you ordered them.

Actually, now it makes sense why they introduced Imperial Guard as the first added 'race'. Imperial Guard aren't the greatest in hand-to-hand and rely on ranged firepower and vehicles to keep from getting overwhelmed. Tau are even more extreme in this regard, as even a stock imperial guard trooper can kick a Tau's ass in hand-to-hand with bare fists, about 66% of the time. Imperial Guard gave them a way of seeing if Tau might work, rather than diving headfirst into Tau.

[Crabby]

So how many races can these guys actually juggle in balance?

[jwbxx]

Cool. What i like how dow is the defenses are weak. It forces players to not turtle up and try to wait things out. The way the resource structure is set up it forces people into conflict.

I like the style of the game and I hope they keep making more while working on balance.

And hopefully it gets a following so I dont have to wait 10000 years to get a auto match game.

[Lint of Death]

Hey guys, you can already play as the Tau and Tyranids.

The (better) Winter Assault version Tau: http://dawnofwar.filefront.com/file/Tau_Mod_WA_version;54871

The probably not as good non-WA Tau:
http://dawnofwar.filefront.com/file/;44056

Tyranids mod. Doesn't seem to need WA; the only new model is the genestealer, but apparently it's still a full race:
http://dawnofwar.filefront.com/file/Tyranids;49127

[space egg bret]

I really wanted to love DoW, since I play 40k every week. I have two complaints...

#1 Combat is attrition based. It should be faster and based more on specialties. H2H units should have a more apparent advantage VS shooty units. It's not fun to watch such a visceral and cinematic game come down to watching the life meters from Homeworld decrease.

#2 Turrets... 40k is not about defense, with the exception of special missions. It's about fierce battles and outwitting your opponent. Getting the correct matchups and focusing fire. I wish the game played more that way. Right now it's Giant Mob + Rush = Win.

It looks great, it feels pretty good, but its tactics are so shallow that once you get past the bling, it's disappointing. This is what kept me from buying Winter Assault. God I want to love this game so badly... Relic, please tweak these few things just for me. Or maybe someone can just explain in a rational matter why I'm wrong.

about point #1: in DOW, CC units do have a great advantage vs. shooty units in many situations, and it is true vice versa as well. i would say DOW incorporates CC units extremely well into the gameplay, and they are relavent at all tiers of the tech tree...

about point #2: actually, turrets are used pretty sparingly if at all in most every match i play/spectate. they definately have a purpose sometimes, but i don't see any kind of excessive turret farming or anything like that. dow has a very nice balance of offense and defense. most higher ranked games see players constantly moving in and out of battle with each other, not holing up. (pretty fun to watch honestly)

"It's about fierce battles and outwitting your opponent. Getting the correct matchups and focusing fire. I wish the game played more that way."
^ it does! almost exactly =]

i can't say enough good things about dow... this news of the expansion is crazy cool, too bad its months off still o__o. anyone who doesnt have dow:winter assault needs to get it.. right now!! =P

[Savok]

I really wanted to love DoW, since I play 40k every week. I have two complaints...

#1 Combat is attrition based. It should be faster and based more on specialties. H2H units should have a more apparent advantage VS shooty units. It's not fun to watch such a visceral and cinematic game come down to watching the life meters from Homeworld decrease.

#2 Turrets... 40k is not about defense, with the exception of special missions. It's about fierce battles and outwitting your opponent. Getting the correct matchups and focusing fire. I wish the game played more that way. Right now it's Giant Mob + Rush = Win.

It looks great, it feels pretty good, but its tactics are so shallow that once you get past the bling, it's disappointing. This is what kept me from buying Winter Assault. God I want to love this game so badly... Relic, please tweak these few things just for me. Or maybe someone can just explain in a rational matter why I'm wrong.
It needs to be turn based for that to truely happen. But as a translation to RTS, I don't think we could hope for anything better then DoW.

Note to companies, give us turn based WH/WH40k love!

Anyway, I wonder where the Dark Eldar are in all this, though they appeared about the time I left, they really did have a great style to them. And yes, I always saw Necrons as a horrible race as well

[Achilles]

Not a big fan of the Tau, but I really like how the game plays so I’ll be buying this just like I bought the Winter Assault expansion (huge imp guard fan here). I wonder what units they’re going to add to the other sides. They’ve got Dire Avengers, Swooping Hawks, Scorpions, and Shining Spears left for the Eldar. Of those Shining Spears are probably the most interesting since there aren’t any bike squads in the game yet.

[MrMeatshake]

can't believe they're doing this before the tyrannids. what is 40K without Space Marine vs Eldar vs Ork vs Stealer battles!? ;)

boo for tau and necrons!

Note to companies, give us turn based WH/WH40k love!

it would be so easy for THQ to do a turn-based mod for this game, and even release it as a new full game. i'd buy one for a dollar... i guess that GW doesn't want the potential of losing tabletop sales to the game, so they have to have slightly different remits.

[Savok]

They lost tabletop sales with me when one unit costs as much as a game (two budget ones) and realised it :p

[MrMeatshake]

They lost tabletop sales with me when one unit costs as much as a game (two budget ones) and realised it :p

heh, yeah. they don't want people to be able to play the exact tabletop rules in a computer game, or why would they pay £30 for a single rhino IRL? ;).

[Dakar]

There was a turnbased WH40k game before. It was TERRIBLE.

Turn-based doesn't equal good.

I think Relic has done the best possible adaptation of the game.

[Savok]

Rites of War (yes I've played it) was fucking awful for many, many reasons. Least of all though was the TBS.

Also, by your logic WH40k game doesn't equal good, yet here we have DoW, so it doesn't mean bad either.

[Dakar]

Rites of War (yes I've played it) was fucking awful for many, many reasons. Least of all though was the TBS.

Also, by your logic WH40k game doesn't equal good, yet here we have DoW, so it doesn't mean bad either.

Oops I should have been more clear. I meant a turnbased WH40k game doesn't mean it would automatically be better. I'm a TB junkie, but WH40k adapts better to the PC format as an RTS.

[MrMeatshake]

Oops I should have been more clear. I meant a turnbased WH40k game doesn't mean it would automatically be better. I'm a TB junkie, but WH40k adapts better to the PC format as an RTS.

considering we haven't seen a decent TB version, i'm not sure we're in a position to make that decision.