Dawn of war III ...who will get it

[Destraex]

Jar. I will still get it when it is cheap. I don't hate it. But it sure aspires to be a game, rather than an experience, shall we say.

[Jarhead0331]

Jar. I will still get it when it is cheap. I don't hate it. But it sure aspires to be a game, rather than an experience, shall we say.

That's a really good way of describing the MOBA "feel"...

[MikeGER]

i tried my first short skirmish vs A! yesterday (aborted, RL interferences ) 
...and was shocked the cam-angle is not only fixed to the side your are playing (as expected) ...it seems fixed to the map at all !
you cant switch behind your home team, when you start 'in the up-right corner'

so i suddenly found me playing my side from looking 'into the units faces' and seeing my back staggering area and base and not looking over the shoulder of my forces as usual and looking at the enemy approaching lances

i didn't found a key to swap the viewpoint?
today at least i found a setting when generating the skirmish that i play 'from left below to right above'   
because the maps (arena) designs are symmetric you have a choices (in your own setup battles) to play with using your favorite 'normal' viewpoint without strategic malus. 

about the skirmish itself ... i won as Black Templers ;) on easy against the AI Orks ...how i wish there would be a bullet time like in SD44. 
the game was getting kind of hectic in the last escalation phase  the Orcs almost overwhelmed me because i was still concentrating on 'normal' units and tactical placements , i spammed tanks (both sorts) and Cyborgs and won.   

[JudgeDredd]

Soooooooooooo....if I was going to pick up a DoW game...which would it be? DoW or DoW II?

[HoodedHorseJoe]

Depends how much you like base-building as a concept, I guess? Dawn of War 1 is my favourite but admittedly I never really played DoW2. Was a different kind of game.

Not sure how well DoW1 has aged graphically either, but it's got some cracking expansions.

[jomni]

Depends how much you like base-building as a concept, I guess? Dawn of War 1 is my favourite but admittedly I never really played DoW2. Was a different kind of game.

Not sure how well DoW1 has aged graphically either, but it's got some cracking expansions.

DOW 1 plays like Company of Heores. Which is a good thing. There is an expansion that adds a dynamic campaign a-la Total War in addition to the story campaigns.

[JasonPratt]

DoW1 and its immediate sequels (Winter Assault which is a direct expansion, Dark Crusade which is a standalone, Soulstorm which is a standalone), is very much a real-time strategy game and part of the renaissance in RTS which took place around then (along with Battle for Middle-Earth and Kohan: Kings of War, which itself followed the real leader of the new design style Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns). The missions in DoW1 and Winter Assault are more story-based than DC or SS, but those campaigns have their own charm. For competitive RTS play, it's hard to beat DoW1 fully upgraded. Today, the fan mod known as Ultimate Apocalypse may be the best way to play competitive skirmish or mp. There are nine rather different teams (or 10 if you get an extra mod for UA), and good base-building mechanics. In single-player orders can be queued up while paused. As noted, the engine was eventually used for the Company of Heroes series and the mechanics are quite similar.

DoW2, its expansion Chaos Rising, and its sequel Retribution, is much more oriented to being a real-time hero/squad management RPG. The storyline and map/mission design is quite good, and by the final game it ties up the roughly-developing story that started back in DoW1's campaign. The campaign basically ignores base-building, and the skim/mp certainly has less than DoW1. There are also fewer factions (six I think?), but the effects are somewhat better. I enjoy both game systems in their campaigns, but for skirm/mp I stick with DoW1:SS (and, recently, the UA mod).

DoW2:Ret also includes a game mode called "Last Stand" which is a single player or co-op MOBA of sorts: players pick a faction leader (ones from DoW1 have been added in recent years, filling out the roster mostly), and level him or her up with wargear and abilities by engaging them in fights with never-ending waves of mobs (thus the "last stand"). I seem to recall an earlier version of this game mode was included in Dow2: CR, but Ret's version is definitely the one to play (if you're into that sort of thing).


Regarding the dynamic campaigns of Dark Crusade and Soulstorm: each features a map with a bunch of discreet territories connected in various ways to other territories (SS's being more disjointed since the map is spread over several planets and moons). You pick a faction at the start, and basically play as its leader in the story, usually (but not always) down on the field during fights. Only the leader can move a warband around attacking or defending territories, but you can spend income to build up some nominal defenses in areas under threat (or cash them back in at a reduced cost when not needed.) Every faction starts off with a large base territory and a few others nearby. Each turn the leaders move around the map trying to assault other territories (or moving into position to do so next time). Each territory is a game map which can be played separately in skirm or mp, but in the campaign they can have some odd properties to them and the faction base maps typically have a lot of scripting to them. (Partly to keep the AI from ganging up everyone in a rush on your starting forces when invading!) In the Dark Crusade campaign, any base you build in a territory will persist for defense in future missions (unless built within a radius of where the enemy starts); in Soulstorm, quite annoyingly, you have to rebuild any bases during defense (aside from buildings bought on the strategy map which will be plopped around rather randomly in your starting area). Territories will always provide special buffs, or else elite squad members whom you can buy as an honor guard for your leader. Each faction also has its own special strategic ability which anyone conquering their base-territory will gain instead.

[JasonPratt]

Re DoW3, based on reviews and reports I won't be buying it any time soon. It just doesn't sound like a game type I want to play. But to be fair, I said the same about DoW2, and eventually bought the set on sale, and enjoyed it thoroughly.  O:-)

[JudgeDredd]

Thank you.

[Jarhead0331]

Despite my very cautious optimism, I found myself enjoying the first campaign mission. Yes, its not DOW I and its not DOW II, but I think if you are a 40K nut like I am, you will still appreciate this game. I see the potential it has to be much larger in scale and scope than the prior games in the series. I presume this is why elements like cover and extreme customization for squads have been removed or streamlined, ultimately in game you will just be dealing with too many squads.

Anyway, I'm really going to give this a chance and try to appreciate it for what it is, as opposed to what it is not, or what it could have been.

[jomni]

I think based on history.  One should not expect Dawn of War to play the same for all iterations unlike other games.  The core game play actually changes.

[Jarhead0331]

I dunno, guys...I'm really enjoying the campaign play. I really like the Space Marines and Eldar. They are both strong and diverse forces where a combined arms approach really pays off. The elite units are also cool, adding unique flavor to your army. With elites, you can even further customize your force with "doctrines" to suit your play style.  I do wish that the campaigns were dedicated to each race, rather than a rotation since I don't really care for the orks. They are diverse in their own right, but I just never cared for the comic relief they tend to offer in an otherwise dark and serious world.

Anyway, the army painter is cool and I look forward to this being modded eventually along table top lines with expansive army OOBs like what they have in FOK for DoW I. Seriously, if You've never looked at the beauty that is the army list in that mod, I highly recommend.

So, my initial assessment holds strong. If you're a 40k guy like me, you'll be pleased and will most likely not regret the purchase.

[Gusington]

There's an army painter, eh?

[Destraex]

Look closely at my screenshot:

[Tpek]

DoW3 is 40% off on GMG for a limited time:
https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/warhammer-40000-dawn-of-war-iii/?utm_source=neolane&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2017-05-12_BI_136_V20_CivVI_USD