• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III |OT| This one really is Warcraft 4

Geist-

Member
Makes me ask: Whut da fook haz Relic been doing, since the DoW2 release, in 2009? The Retribution expansion came out 6 years ago, and this has launched in a much worse content state, than even vanilla DoW2.
To be fair, their parent company collapsed and I'm guessing many of the former developers moved on when they stopped getting paid. Who knows how many came back when they were revived by Sega?
 
Mission 9 is making me want to break my keyboard....Below you can see the map. If you click on the map, you can scroll through it like you would expect. However, I've done the honor of making a square box in red around the map showing where the "hit box" is for dragging your screen across the map. At least 10 times during this mission I've tried dragging across my whole army to select them in the heat of battle only to accidentally click in this red box of death, and fling my map 100 miles per hour into the corner of the map. It is a problem with all of the maps, but this one especially for some reason. I think it is because the map here is so small, but they left the parameters for the map size as some kind of default down there for the normal/default map sizes.

1_zps7jznvtaf.png


Also, for those who have done Mission 9 already,
I just lost a building to a meteor shower that I had in the area below in red. I'd already moved all my buildings with a minute to spare, and my warrior portal was in this safe spot so I could move my units across hidden as they told me to do. But I'm guessing this section was too close to the map that was getting blown up in the bottom-right, and the game said fuck it. Wiped my warrior portal.

2_zpstx5wxhbl.png


My hate for Eldar in Campaign has been cemented.
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
Might not be worth 60, but the campaign is definitely worth $39. Having a really good time with it so far. Might also be that I've been moving for 2 weeks without being able to sit down and play games, and this is the first thing I've touched since.

Did you play the first two games? Cause DoW3 doesn't even come close, sadly. I pre-ordered because I loved the first two games so much (just classics of the genre) and DoW2 was the reason I fell in love with WH40K to begin with. DoW3 just feels like a pale comparison. We can't even gear up our elites. Really?
 

Chumley

Banned
Did you play the first two games? Cause DoW3 doesn't even come close, sadly. I pre-ordered because I loved the first two games so much (just classics of the genre) and DoW2 was the reason I fell in love with WH40K to begin with. DoW3 just feels like a pale comparison. We can't even gear up our elites. Really?

I have to agree.

The campaign is boring me out of my mind. Rudimentary gameplay and nothing interesting going on in the plot or dialogue, just barebones as hell.
 
Did you play the first two games? Cause DoW3 doesn't even come close, sadly. I pre-ordered because I loved the first two games so much (just classics of the genre) and DoW2 was the reason I fell in love with WH40K to begin with. DoW3 just feels like a pale comparison. We can't even gear up our elites. Really?
I haven't played Dawn of War 1, but I've been told it is great so I might go back to it after this one. I love the hell out of Dawn of War 2 and have replayed it a few times. Before Dawn of War 2, I knew nothing about Warhammer. And yeah...this one doesn't even come close to Dawn of War 2. But honestly, one of the biggest reasons it doesn't touch 2 for me is because of the lack of (good) characters. I miss Avitus, Cyrus, Thaddeus. Tarkus, kind of. And I really miss Thule...when he comes back as a Dreadnought. That guy was the definition of badass and fun to play as. And their banter back-and-forth was tremendously fun. That's what I miss the most in Dawn of War III.

That isn't to say I'm not enjoying myself when I play Space Marines or Orks. However, even when I'm having fun with them it still doesn't match Dawn of War 2. But the fanboy in me is just kind of happy to be back in this world. Although this is the equivalent of going to an awesome party that everyone hyped up on Facebook only to get there and realize they only have piss alcohol to drink, the techno music is too loud, and all the cool people already ditched and went to a party next door.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Everyone came to this planet for the same ancient thing, another <spoiler> secretly <spoiler> in the <spoiler>.

Yeah I'm pretty sure, that this is almost the exact plot of Dawn of War: Winter Assault. Shockingly similar.
 
Mission 9 is making me want to break my keyboard....Below you can see the map. If you click on the map, you can scroll through it like you would expect. However, I've done the honor of making a square box in red around the map showing where the "hit box" is for dragging your screen across the map. At least 10 times during this mission I've tried dragging across my whole army to select them in the heat of battle only to accidentally click in this red box of death, and fling my map 100 miles per hour into the corner of the map. It is a problem with all of the maps, but this one especially for some reason. I think it is because the map here is so small, but they left the parameters for the map size as some kind of default down there for the normal/default map sizes.
.

i definitely had issues w/ clicking on the map somehow when trying to control units. I just rushed through the campaign on casual, dont know how I'd do some of the later missions on normal at all.
 
Dumb question, but is there any way to rejoin a match if the game crashes in the middle of one? ...Because the game just crashed in the middle of one...
 

Laiza

Member
I'm up to mission 12 on the campaign doing a hard difficulty run, and I have to admit, I'm actually enjoying myself far more than I expected given the lukewarm reviews. It's nothing spectacular, mind you, and I definitely feel the loss with the lack of wargear customization and the like, but the actual gameplay is involved enough that I'm not really getting bored. Even the downtime when I'm waiting for my elites to heal and squads to reinforce is useful for providing me with time to plan my next moves.

The balance, however, definitely feels kind of off right now. I'm having an easier time with the orks than the other two factions. Killa Kans in particular are just outrageously strong for their cost. HUGE burst damage capable of instagibbing whole squads, and their attacks are true damage, to boot. I haven't seen any unit as effective in the other factions.

I should mention that I actually appreciate the campaign jumping between factions so much. As nice as it was to get really deep in with the characterization and lore of the space marines during DoW 2, I really just prefer switching things up like this. I still think they should be giving us more customization and progression, but, again, I'm having enough fun with the moment-to-moment gameplay that I can't really hold it against them.

All that said... the multiplayer content is absolutely anemic. Only two 2v2 maps and three 3v3 maps (I'm ignoring 1v1 atm) is a bloody terrible joke. I don't think I've ever seen an RTS release with such sparse content. If their intent was to ape MOBAs with a few (or only one) map(s) that put the focus on the encounters, I can kind of understand that... but this is an RTS. And, well, with Heroes of the Storm having as many maps as it does, even that excuse is kind of lame when you look at the competition.

They've also tried too damn hard to force troop vs troop encounters. Excising defensive structures entirely (listening posts aside, and those guns are weak enough to be ignored) is a terrible move, especially since it means there's no bulwark to fall back to to try to hold out against a stronger enemy when you fall behind. Taking out unit leveling helps to prevent snowballing, but build times and unit costs are simply too high to recover from heavy losses. Once again we're looking at a game where you pretty much know when you have to surrender because there's no coming back.

That plus no Last Stand mode (or some superior equivalent) means I'm glad I bought the game at a fairly steep discount. There's no way I'd consider it worth a full $60. It's not surprising at all that the reception by the players is "mixed" at best. They cut out too much from the previous games to focus so much on the gameplay, and the gameplay is not engaging enough to make up for all the things they dropped from the previous games. The DLC is gonna have its work cut out for it if they want the game to have a healthy player base.
 

Lagamorph

Member
So....wait for all of the content/patches to come along and pick up when cheaper is the general consensus?

Shame as I loved Dawn of War 1 and 2, particularly for their lore/plot.
 

Bl@de

Member
So....wait for all of the content/patches to come along and pick up when cheaper is the general consensus?

You can say this about every game :D Except if you're a competitive player and all your friends are moving to a new title.

I just picked up the DoW2 Master Collection for 10&#8364;. Enough co-op content and the game still looks great on highest settings in 1440p.
 

Tacitus_

Member
You 100% do not want to spend $60 on this, if you mainly want to play a good campaign.

DoW3 is a major departure, from previous entries, as it pertains to the the campaign. It's downright sad, compared to DoW2. No more wargear, no loot, no level progression, no skill trees, no selecting branching missions. The only reason to play it, is because it unlocks stuff for the multiplayer.

Makes me ask: Whut da fook haz Relic been doing, since the DoW2 release, in 2009? The Retribution expansion came out 6 years ago, and this has launched in a much worse content state, than even vanilla DoW2.

Personally these make me want to buy the game more, not less. I want an RTS, not a pseudo-RPG. It's the stuff about the quality of the missions that's holding me back atm.
 
Personally these make me want to buy the game more, not less. I want an RTS, not a pseudo-RPG. It's the stuff about the quality of the missions that's holding me back atm.

Yeah I also don't miss that RPG/loot stuff at all. I guess I didn't like DoW2 as much as everyone else but that stuff just wouldn't fit in an RTS that goes beyond the small scale, and this game is definitely not small scale.

I also think the way you unlock elites and equip them with doctrines can fill some of that gap and makes more sense as far as giving you customization/specialization but not relying on loot drops.
 

zoukka

Member
Yeah the elite loadouts are super important and tactical in MP. There's a big difference whether you rush out 2 point unit or wait for the 4 point tanks.

Starting to get a basic feel of SM and Orks, I only now realized you need to channel Waagh so it gets more buffs. That's a better mechanic than the waagh in DoW2.
 

KDR_11k

Member
Can see this game failing hard which means the end of dawn of war and no 4th game to correct the mistakes.

Eh, I don't think it will fail THAT hard and most of the publishers who picked up THQ's remains are used to fairly low sales. Plus RTSes are probably cheaper to make than FPSes or other popular AAA genres.

The micromanagment in this game is strong.

I think that goes for the whole series, after all DoW 2 managed to be a lot of fun even with a hard cap to 1-4 units (Last Stand, campaign).
 
Can see this game failing hard which means the end of dawn of war and no 4th game to correct the mistakes.
If the game flops or remains below Sega's expectations (which seems likely considering the low player count for a PC-exclusive AAA title even on release day [~26k max, Nier Automata had slightly more AFAIR and that was a Japanese AA niche title]) there will be one of two things that will be the most likely to happenhappen:

a) Dawn of War goes on hiatus indefinitely or for a very long time
- Biggest reason for that: First Dawn of War entry fully paid for and released by Sega underperformed, that might turn the management off from greenlighting more entries

b) Dawn of War 4 is published and goes back to the gameplay of what fans and critics loved the most before the missstep, so Dawn of War 1 or 2 or a hybrid of those.
- Biggest reasons for that: Financial and critical success of DoW1+2 for THQ, the critical and massive financial success of Total Warhammer (also published by SEGA), management realizing the big sales potential of more 40k titles, especially with the tabletop game finally making a big comeback right now
 

Q8D3vil

Member
Im ok with this being the last dawn of war because its so fucking terrible compared to the first two.
It doesnt even have a surrender button for online ffs.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
If the game flops or remains below Sega's expectations (which seems likely considering the low player count for a PC-exclusive AAA title even on release day [~26k max, Nier Automata had slightly more AFAIR and that was a Japanese AA niche title]) there will be one of two things that will be the most likely to happenhappen:

a) Dawn of War goes on hiatus indefinitely or for a very long time
- Biggest reason for that: First Dawn of War entry fully paid for and released by Sega underperformed, that might turn the management off from greenlighting more entries

b) Dawn of War 4 is published and goes back to the gameplay of what fans and critics loved the most before the missstep, so Dawn of War 1 or 2 or a hybrid of those.
- Biggest reasons for that: Financial and critical success of DoW1+2 for THQ, the critical and massive financial success of Total Warhammer (also published by SEGA), management realizing the big sales potential of more 40k titles, especially with the tabletop game finally making a big comeback right now

Scenario B never happens. It could happen if the game was a critical failure but sells well, but if it doesn't sell well (and it won't) then this is the end of the Dawn of War franchise. No DOW4, no expansion with Necrons. This is it.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
Just completed Hard story - ~13 hours

But for some reason none of the "complete every mission" difficulty achievements unlocked for any of the difficulties. Got all the individual mission ones tho.
As a point of reference, DoW3's peak concurrent users eclipsed Company of Heroes 2 by 5k.

Yeah I'm not sure we can call it doomed yet as it does have a higher peak than CoH2 and by comparison this is what the chart say
S8E5VHy.png
 

IpKaiFung

Member
From what I gathered even if the initial sales aren't great the game is set up as a DLC delivery platform for skins and armies.

So they are hoping that its going to be a long burner.
 
Scenario B never happens. It could happen if the game was a critical failure but sells well, but if it doesn't sell well (and it won't) then this is the end of the Dawn of War franchise. No DOW4, no expansion with Necrons. This is it.
There's plenty examples for that, especially when focusing on sales. Some I can pull out of my memory right away would be Nier Automata, Dragon Age Inquisition (while not a flop, DA2 recieved harsh reception and sold well below DA:O), Shenmue 2 and 3 and well, pretty much every Yoko Taro game before N:A (Drakengard 2 and 3). In the RTS market you do have series such as Stronghold (where every game after Stronghold 2 was pretty much panned and sold quite badly, but they kept on coming). And then there is also surprise sequels such as the new Aquanox game (AQ2 was great but didn't sell well and was a decade old before Deep Descent got even announced).
Ah yes, and the most well known modern example being Devil May Cry 5 (it being developed is the gaming world's most well known secret at this point), despite DmC having happened .

If the publisher thinks that the IP is still strong (which is absolutely the case with 40k) they are not unlikely to give it another shot.
 

Memory

Member
Scenario B never happens. It could happen if the game was a critical failure but sells well, but if it doesn't sell well (and it won't) then this is the end of the Dawn of War franchise. No DOW4, no expansion with Necrons. This is it.

The IP is super valuable so someone will certainly pick it up and give it another shot if Gamesworkshop/Sega won't greenlight DOW4. Hopefully Creative Assembly.
 

zeox

Member
Im ok with this being the last dawn of war because its so fucking terrible compared to the first two.
It doesnt even have a surrender button for online ffs.

does it still tell you if you try to quit a match that you will not gain any xp if you don't surrender, even if there still is no surrender option? thought that was hilarious in the beta
 
Pretty sad the the unit voice acting is just meh for Space Marines. Eldar and Ork are pretty good though.

DoW1's Space Marines had balls to the walls unit cries and the voice actors did a pretty good job hamming it up everywhere. I mean listen to this shit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2WEFlQva30.

DoW2 dialed it back a bit but we still got classic lines (alien beans, my face is my shield, show me what passes for fury, etc.).

In DoW3 they sound bored.
 
Is the campaign as good as in Dawn of war 2? I don't care about multiplayer.
Godd, no. It is good and I am having a good time, but I miss the awesome cast of part 2.

Pretty sad the the unit voice acting is just meh for Space Marines. Eldar and Ork are pretty good though.

DoW1's Space Marines had balls to the walls unit cries and the voice actors did a pretty good job hamming it up everywhere. I mean listen to this shit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2WEFlQva30.

DoW2 dialed it back a bit but we still got classic lines (alien beans, my face is my shield, show me what passes for fury, etc.).

In DoW3 they sound bored.
My absolute favorite moment is when Thule returns to the field as a Dreadnought in DoW2, smashes someones face and says "I am Davian Thule and I shall be your death." All of his Dreadnought lines were great.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Is the campaign as good as in Dawn of war 2? I don't care about multiplayer.

Not even in the same universe. The DoW3 SP is a glorified tutorial.

SP focused players should wait for a couple SP expansions, to see if they improve anything.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Doubt this will sell well enough to get us the single player campaign DLC we all want.

Sigh.

I have to disagree.

Peaking at almost 26K players, don't they usually say you can multiply that by 10, to ballpark how many copies sold?

It's sitting at #2 on the global top sellers list as well.

If it's really sold a quarter million copies, the game is a huge success so far, as it's obvious the budget wasn't very large.

I don't think there's any way we don't see an expansion. The campaign points at one with huge flashing lights.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
I have to disagree.

Peaking at almost 26K players, don't they usually say you can multiply that by 10, to ballpark how many copies sold?

It's sitting at #2 on the global top sellers list as well.

If it's really sold a quarter million copies, the game is a huge success so far, as it's obvious the budget wasn't very large.

I don't think there's any way we don't see an expansion. The campaign points at one with huge flashing lights.

135,945 ± 10,879 owners
86,759 ± 8,691 players total - 63.82%
 
Top Bottom