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Dawn of War Gold; Demo Out

Posted by michael on from the zug-zug dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It seems that Relic's Dawn of War has gone gold, and is due out on September 20th. Published by THQ, Dawn of War is a Real-time Strategy game based in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It's gotten a few previews so far - but why trust them when you can grab the demo? Unfortunately, a quick jog through Google didn't turn up any torrents."

47 comments

  1. Awesome game by cool_bladelansmash.c · · Score: 1, Redundant

    This is a truly awesome game. Relic have done it again, just like the homeworld series we've got some awesome new gameplay. Oh yeah, firstpost.

    --
    http://www.lansmash.com
    1. Re:Awesome game by phoenixTMW · · Score: 5, Informative

      I agree - at first glance, this game is pretty well done. I don't know much about the Warhammer universe, but the ways resource gathering and troop building are implemented make a LOT more sense than other RTS games. Instead of having harvesters gather "ore" and "building" infantry, capturing and keeping strategic points gives the player an influx of "prestige", if you will, and troops are dropped down from orbit (for Space Marines, at least). One quibble I have is that the troops don't really exit from the building structures; they just sort of appear. But I also like the fact that individual Marine squads can be upgraded and reinforced.

    2. Re:Awesome game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why the hell is this marked Troll? Does some retard mod somewhere not like Homeworld, and misinterpret this as a backhanded swipe? Or is it just because the poor bastard added "firstpost"? If so, that's pretty petty.

    3. Re:Awesome game by Taulin · · Score: 1

      It's a great day we live in when we can complain about not seeing people actually rush out of a door in real time 3D!

    4. Re:Awesome game by phoenixTMW · · Score: 1

      Well, they did the other build and deployment sequences so well I sort of expected the troop exit to be done in a similar fashion. Like I said, I thought the game was pretty cool. I'm just pointing out something that seemed jarring to me.

  2. 3dgamers.com by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 4, Informative

    3dgamers has a torrent running, I used it.. yesterday after reading about this on penny-arcade. It's a pretty quick torrent, and I should probably start seeding again for the /. crowd.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    1. Re:3dgamers.com by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 4, Informative

      Here's a link to the torrent.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
    2. Re:3dgamers.com by herulach · · Score: 5, Informative

      Also filerush has one. clicky maxing out my connection at the moment.

    3. Re:3dgamers.com by asamoth · · Score: 2, Informative

      The relicnews one was faster than 3dgamers yesterday(thurs), probably in part due to it being a news site mostly for dow. http://relicuniverse.com/

  3. When will you learn? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go to Filerush. Jeez, how do you people not know about this place yet.

  4. Re:Oh No ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FYI, your link doesn't work. Nice picture once I found it, though.

  5. Re: dawn of war demo by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Is this 'gamespot' website a virus or something? Instead of an HTML link, it has a popup window, with javascript to detect if the popup didn't open and critisize you for not allowing a popup, then it loads a javascript page which does nothing (immediately closes, looks like a bug).

    Try it in internet explorer, it loads a generic javascript library, then calls a function to load a popup window which installs a security threat, err, activeX control, which rapes your machine (don't know about that yet, will have to check later if it tampered with anything), which loads another 2 popup windows which take your email address again, then displays a pretend download window which should theoretically download the file, but seems to be stuck on 0% regardless of your connection speed.

    Me, I use an <a href=""> when I want to link to a file. It amazes me the lengths some people will go to to make their website not work.

  6. Re: dawn of war demo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's a post at GamingGroove with a list of mirrors...nobody like that BS Kontiki crap. http://www.gaminggroove.com/newsitem.php?id=367'

  7. And what about that OTHER Dawn of War game? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure that there was another game with that name. The slogan was "From the dawn of man comes the dawn of war"... What was from that game?

    1. Re:And what about that OTHER Dawn of War game? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

      ALCHEMIST (C) ARC MEDIA/WARP POWER

      From the dawn of man comes the dawn of war..
      Enter the world of Alchemist.
      As the end of the beginning of mankind draws near, five powerful beings amass vast forces to bid for control of the fate of humanity. As one of these rulers, you will battle your opponents in an attempt to claim the greatness that has been promised. Your destiny awaits in Alchemist.
      * 50 Action-packed missions
      * Battle over a wide variety of terrain and face more than 50 awesome characters
      * Wield powerful socery, might and technology in a bid for domination.
      * Reap and manage resources to build armies that are unique to each faction
      This shouldn't be confused with "The Alchemist" released a while back. Different release.

      --
      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
  8. Re: dawn of war demo by gnu-generation-one · · Score: 1

    "Here's a post at GamingGroove with a list of mirrors...nobody like that BS Kontiki crap."

    Thanks. The torrents that people here are linking to seem fairly reliable, and it's certainly a relief to roll-back the machine to before that godawful gamespot application was installed...

    I wonder what it was actually downloading to my PC...

  9. No go at cedega by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Unfortunately, the demo does not even install under Cedega (The program formerly known as winex) - the installer hangs with 100% at the end :-(

    1. Re:No go at cedega by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      Did you try it with Big EXE checked? I havnt tried installing it yet...but my friends said its working for them.

    2. Re:No go at cedega by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good idea, will try this in a moment..

      (But I think that should not be the problem, the installer runs - it just never finishes and the app does not appear in Point2Play afterwards...

      Tels

    3. Re:No go at cedega by FictionPimp · · Score: 1

      Yea, I have had no success this weekend trying to get it to install.

  10. Great Game with Balance Issues by carcosa30 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I played the beta extensively from 1.3 to 1.4.

    My opinion agrees with the general consensus that 1.3 was far better balanced than 1.4. The reinforcement times have been decreased since 1.3, causing a severe rushing problem-- in effect, you have factories pumping out units right inside the enemy base.

    So, if the enemy tries to build tech, build listening posts for gathering resources, according to some people even building a power plant (!) he's going to be far behind when you get into his base with, say, three marine squads.

    In effect, the reinforcement system amplifies the Law of Diminishing Firepower which states that in a firefight, a momentary advantage to one side increases on a geometric rather than linear progression. If you get behind by a squad, you are not only losing the firepower of that squad but you are losing the reinforcing ability of that squad, meaning that your enemy is not only whittling down your numbers faster, but he himself is increasing in numbers faster than you are.

    Perhaps they will balance the problems by the time the gold comes out. I doubt it because there are many, many. I do think the problems are of a nature that will cause the game to get pale at mid- to high levels of play rather than making it not fun from the start; from what I saw of the game it's extremely cool anyway.

    Especially if you loved the tabletop wargame. Those were the days...

    --
    Intolerance for ambiguity is the mark of the authoritarian personality.
    1. Re:Great Game with Balance Issues by Marc_Hawke · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't it be as simple as requiring your squad to go into 'vunerable' mode while requesting reinforcements.

      If whenever you clicked the 'more guys please' button, the people in your squad all sat down and lowered their defense, then it would require a bit more planning than just spamming the 'reinforce' button.

      Same with the 'in-squad' upgrades. If you click 'heavy bolt driver' button, then one of your guys just sits down and starts making it. You lose that guy in offence, and he (just he) is weak on defense and has to be protected by the others.

      It would mean MOST reinforceing and weapon upgrades would happen outside of the battle. You'd take a weak squad, and pull them back off the lines. Upgrade then, reinforce them, and then cycle them back into the battle.

      It would still be better than being forced to run with half squads after a battle, or run new guys up from your base, but it wouldn't allow you to teleport new guys directly into a fight.

      I thought that was a touch too convenient while I was playing the demo.

      --
      --Welcome to the Realm of the Hawke--
    2. Re:Great Game with Balance Issues by Rakthar · · Score: 5, Informative

      The devs yanked the 1.3 reinforce system because it ruined balance. A dev posted this on the relic forums:

      "The reason we removed the reinforce time modifier in 1.4 is that it threw unit balance completely out of wack. We'd spent months balancing all the units against one another using an established reinforce time, and changing that time basically threw all that work out the window (the Orks in particular suffered with this change). We would have had to re-balance the units practically from scratch, and that was far too great a risk so close to shipping."

      He also mentions his intention to try to see the "reinforcements come much more slowly in battle" system reimplemented at some point (in a different post)

      "The most frustrating thing about this whole issue for us is that I think we're 'all' in agreement. Reinforcement mods were a great addition in 1.3, and I want them back right now. That very fact should show how serious we consider this balance issue to be that we would stall putting in a change that we all agree will make the game better in the long run.

      I say stall because no, we aren't going to let this one rest. We can't re-visit this issue for release (which should give you an idea of how close we are), but unless lightning strikes me down we will re-visit it."

      So there you have it, why the reinforcement system in 1.3 was removed.

  11. RTS vs RTT vs TBT by Dachannien · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'd rather see WH40k developed into a turn-based tactical game, much as the tabletop game was. But barring that, real-time tactical would be better (a la Myth 1, 2, and 3), and would solve the issues with squad reinforcement being unbalancing (since you wouldn't reinforce your squads in combat). Strategic issues could be taken up in a meta-game of sorts, in between combats, and the results of those combats would affect the outcome of the strategic game.

    Too late now, I guess :p

    1. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by hibiki_r · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Then you would probably like an old game called Warhammer 40K, chaos gate. it's an X-Com like tactical combat game using warhammer units. A pity that you could only play the space marines fighting the chaos army.

    2. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by TheLoneDanger · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "I'd rather see WH40k developed into a turn-based tactical game, much as the tabletop game was."

      And why exactly would Games Workshop (the company behind Warhammer 40k) want that? They make their money selling the tabletop game. Why sell a videogame version that would dilute the market for the original, and more sustainably profitable game?

      It is much smarter to make games that COMPLEMENT the core product of the W40k tabletop game. If you want to play something like the W40k tabletop, then play the tabletop. But they can allow videogames that let you experience the universe in different ways (and possibly increase interest in the tabletop game) without cannibalizing their own market. I mean, I wish they would make another (good, as in not Fire Warrior) FPS that could make you feel how terrifying confronting a Carnifex or Hive Tyrant or Bloodthirster is supposed to be.

      --

      "But I trust in the people's capacity for reflection, rage and rebellion." -Oscar Olivera
    3. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by Jack9 · · Score: 1

      There are ectually a few of these already made to varying degrees. They each failed miserably within their own decade. Might want to google for them or even visit gamefaqs.com

      --

      Often wrong but never in doubt.
      I am Jack9.
      Everyone knows me.
    4. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by patternjuggler · · Score: 1

      How bad was Fire Warrior? I keep seeing it in EB for $10 and am always considering buying it.

      Why sell a videogame version that would dilute the market for the original, and more sustainably profitable game?

      It seems to me that the core competency of GDW is the content- the 40K universe, characters, vehicles, weapons, aliens, etc- and their sustainable profitability comes from regular additions to that universe. Gameplay on the tabletop seems secondary (though still important), and perhaps model fabrication comes in to play- the point is any and all forms of electronic games should be able to exist and not detract from the original.

      The fact one is electronic and the other is tabletop is where the complementarity comes from- when you can't find a tournament or buddies or whatever to play a full game of tabletop with, you can play with the same rules and style against the AI or someone online. I think there's undeniable appeal of pushing models around a detailed landscape, painting them, acquiring a large collection, and so on, the videogame version can never take that away.

      Dilution of the IP itself (not the ruleset or playing experience as in your example) can also arise from releasing too many spin offs of a low quality- though games have a limited potential for damage because they have such short shelf lives.

    5. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by TheLoneDanger · · Score: 1

      It seems to me that the core competency of GDW is the content- the 40K universe, characters, vehicles, weapons, aliens, etc- and their sustainable profitability comes from regular additions to that universe. Gameplay on the tabletop seems secondary (though still important), and perhaps model fabrication comes in to play- the point is any and all forms of electronic games should be able to exist and not detract from the original.

      Games Workshop has learned the lesson that it is the models/figures that have the high profit margins that they need in order to be able to support the wide variety of things necessary to maintain/increase the popularity of this hobby. (e.g. Chain of stores, mail order network, paints and tools, magazine etc.)

      Which is why the designers of the games specifically state that they have the MODELS first and foremost in mind when they design the rules and background for the game. They take whatever cool design a modeller may come up with and then create rules/background for it. Occasionally, they may come up with a concept first (as I believe was the case with the Tau, when they needed an almost totally shooty army in the game), but they would only take the concept to fruition if the modellers can make enough cool models. The heavy focus on the models and figures is really what separates Warhammer/40k from most other games, and that is what has sustained Games Workshop all these years. I doubt the license for the games really amounts to much overall (and any profits GW might get from trying to develop/publish videogames themselves or from licensing its universe out in other ways would be a less predictable revenue stream than the sales of its figures).

      Anyway, as to Fire Warrior it is pretty terrible in my opinion. Lasguns are supposed to fire a split-second beam of light, but in the game it fires more like how energy weapons usually fire in videogames (as a 'ball' or small 'bolts' of relatively slow moving energy. Why exactly do bullets hit instantaneously, but energy has to travel along so slowly that it can be dodged?). It takes WAY too many hits to kill simple guardsmen (at least with the early weapons). It sounded like a perfect setup for an FPS using a Fire Warrior as the hero, since Tau are all about shooting and no close combat, and then you could progress thru the ranks and maybe get different suits for different gameplay (e.g. Stealth or Crisis or Broadside Suits would all play totally differently) but the game never takes advantage of all these possiblities. With all the advances made in FPS games, Fire Warrior was mediocre at best when it came out and is hopelessly outdated now, IMHO. It still surprises the hell out of me that the developer, Kuju Entertainment, is still being approached by other developers to continue making games (such as by Nintendo, to make a Gamecube version of Advance Wars).

      --

      "But I trust in the people's capacity for reflection, rage and rebellion." -Oscar Olivera
    6. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by mrgreen4242 · · Score: 1
      You know, I wonder if there would be a market for a GW to make a client program that contained all the rules of standard WH40k, with all of the table top mechanics in place. Give the client away and sell 'digital mini's' as well as maybe a nominal monthly fee to gain access to the servers.

      Even better for their business model would be to sell mini's and then give players thier digital equivalent for free via some code printed in the box/pack. I think that it'd be a popular deal, as finding players in your physical location can be hard, depending where you live. Plus, getting some new players to compete against is always a good thing.

      What would be particularly cool is to sell the 'digital models' uncolored and provide a program for uses to paint them, etc. Also using some sort of standard 3d modeling language for terrain, allowing users to create and submit new terrain pieces for the community to use.

      The same engine could be use for all of the GW games, so the profitability could be high...

    7. Re:RTS vs RTT vs TBT by nelsonal · · Score: 1

      I loved the gameplay, but that thing crashed more than anything else I played.

      --
      Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
  12. Re: dawn of war demo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder what it was actually downloading to my PC...

    Don't ask, it will just make you scared.

  13. Download Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you don't have to deal with the GameSpot crap...
    it's french unfortunately. I think 'anglais' means english though right?

    DoW Demo

    Use at your own risk (of wasting your time- unless you also know french) I suppose, but it is the right size.

  14. Good Game, but might disappoint TT fans by servognome · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have found it to be a beautiful, and fun RTS game. That said, it is an RTS game, so those looking for something similar to the table top experience might be disappointed.
    Some of the concepts like "cover" don't appear to be as fully fleshed out as they could have been. In general though the game plays well, and the units are diverse, interesting, and it takes time to recognize how to use each one well (things like "jump" abilities and grenades can make big difference if you use them right).
    It is definately a game I will be picking up when it comes out.

    --
    D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  15. Re: dawn of war demo by nexex · · Score: 3, Insightful

    i installed that gamespot downloader once a long time ago, i believe it is a virus

    --
    Winter 2010: With Glowing Hearts
  16. Re:Download Link (is English) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As a followup, both the installer and demo are in english, so download away.

  17. Actually... by darkfnord23 · · Score: 3, Funny
    The 41st millennium doesn't start until the year 40,001.

    Matt

    1. Re:Actually... by servognome · · Score: 2

      Bah, everybody knows the people will party on New Year's Eve 39,999. All that matters is the parties, not the facts.

      --
      D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
  18. Cool by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 2, Interesting
    So I used to be a big fan of Warhammer Fantasy (and I had some 40k minis) back in the day. Yeah, Gamesworkshop reamed you a new one every purchase, but it was a fun hobby.

    Now this game comes out and I don't have to buy any more of those fucking things! W00t!

    But in all seriousness, I DL the demo, and played for a couple hours. It was VERY immersive. The key that they discovered was to make the invidivual units have personalities within the squads. Like, if you upgrade the squad leader to a powerglove, he'll use it in combat.

    Its also cool to zoom in and watch the leader do a fatality on the last guy of a squad.

    I liked upgrading your units on the fly, and reinforcements. I wish I could play as Eldar....oh well. Wish they made a Fantasy version of this.

    I'll definitely be buying this one when it comes out. Its like WC3 but with 40k.

    --
    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  19. Re:Real-Time Strategy: the ultimate oxymoron by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's simply not a fact. Don't be bitter because you don't know how to play modern games. Checkers is just more your style I guess.

  20. Necromunda by mrgreen4242 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I used to LOVE playing another one of GWs games, Necromunda... for those who haven't seen it, it is a table top miniatures games where you control a gang in a post apocolyptic future, and you battle other gangs for territory, which in turn let you gain more money, recruits, and weapons/equipment.

    It's rule system is similar to 40k, but it's on a smaller scale - gangs are 8-12 mini's, and each unit 'develops'. That is they start out fairly weak, and gain XP for kills, survivng battles, etc, and in turn, gain HPs, skills, abilities, etc. They can also get impediments and advantages from being wounded in combat, but living through the battle overall. All-in-all it was really fun.

    Anyways, I was thinkign that this could be the KILLER MMORPG, because it would break the mold that EQ set. You wouldn't control just a single player, but a gang of 8-12 thugs. You battle other players via a RTS engine for territory, or could form alliances, etc, with other players. I think that it has defianate potential, since it's not just another EQ clone. The PVP would keep the PVPers happy,a nd the fact that you have 8-12 characters all the time should help keep the non PVPers happy, as it's not like your lvl 94 Palandin with Armor of Wonderment gets PVPed and you have to start all over again.

    I think that there is a fantasy version of Necromunda out there, too, which may work better in the current market where all MMORPGs seem to be fantasy stuff.

    Oh well, long enough post, but just one last thought... since the non battle elements could be handled via (very nice graphical) menu's, and the battles would only encompass up to say 4-6 players, this seems like it is something that wouldn't require massive server bandwidth/storage/power, and could be a really interesting opensource project...

    Anyone interested in discussing that idea should email me at mrgreen4242 (at) infojunkie.net...

    1. Re:Necromunda by mrgreen4242 · · Score: 1
      Well, I was looking into this some more, and I foind a similar project, based on an opensource recreation of the old X-Com game.

      The basics of the MMO and the sf page for UFO2000, the engine. Anywho, it's not as cool of a universe, but it's very similar in concept, and a pretty cool universe none-the-less.

      Anyways, hopefully this will draw some more attention to their project.

  21. When will devlopers learn by node159 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And that is why I didn't download the file and since I have no idea what the game is like I'll never be enticed to go out and buy it.

    Release on shit web sites like that and alienate your customers, sound business model to me.

    --
    GPLv2: I want my rights, I want my phone call! DRM: What use is a phone call, if you are unable to speak?
  22. Should be great, but only if... by Scooter · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...You don't have to colour in all those friggin models yourself and make the map first :))

  23. Intro Video by yuud · · Score: 1

    The demo is worth downloading purely for the CG intro video - which really captures the essence and chaos of a battle, imho. So even if you have no interest in the game - check out the vid!