[DOW] Dawn of War III officially released!

[Brother Casman]

Okay, the full game is finally out, so I thought we could have a thread here for discussion and what-not. I'm curious to see what has happened with the Blood Ravens since DoW II, and whether I'll incorporate it into my version of the army. :)

 

Enjoy the game folks!

[Brother Casman]

Also, I should add that I was very glad to see Sega picking up Relic after the whole THQ thing. Relic, y'all got me into this hobby, so it's good that you're still around! :D

[Terminal Maxocity]

Can't wait to play it tonight! Already told the wife she's watching Unsolved Mysteries on amazon by herself for the next few days!

[N1SB]

Hi Brothers, would appreciate if you have any non-spoiler reviews.

 

I loved Dawn of War II, but mostly because of the bold, unconventional things they did, like the cool single-player mode where you can upgrade and customise units.  As well as the Last Stand.  They really didn't talk about things like that in the ramp up, like a lot of the gameplay was kept secret, they just showed fancy trailers with Knight Titans.  Would love to hear your take, thx.

[Reldn]

Out of curiosity, how is the Single Player campaign? I've been hearing mixed things thus far. Some say it's good, but linear, others say that it seems more like a tutorial designed to get you ready for MP.

[Panzer]

Hm only a 50% rating on steam. After playing the beta last weekend I can't say I'm surprised about it tho. Gonna get it when it's on steam sale eventually i think.

[Chapter Master Valrak]

I'm having fun with it but I can see it will get boring very fast, I use the same tactics each time in MP and just easily smash my enemy. Needs mod support, needs last stand mode.

[Panzer]

A Last Stand mode with this new graphic would be very awesome even tho the lack of cover&surpressing mechanic would hurt a lot. Anyway, if there is ever a Last Stand mode i seriously hope for more than just one Hero for each faction lol

[MagicMan]

Im enjoying it, its probably most similar to Starcraft II out of all the strategy games ive tried.

I'd have preferred it to be more like Call of Duty, like DoW2 was. 


Its still fun, though. It does play pretty fast, i dont have enough time to be clicking all the unit abilities before the fights are over. Maybe im just getting old.

[Emicus]

Not a bad effort all things considered, but the game will be a lot better in a few weeks/months after they've gotten some updates out.

​Few more multiplayer maps that have different victory conditions for example, as well as more factions >:3

​Edit: unfortunately the campaign makes me sad. Ain't got nuffin on Dark Crusade/Soulstorm and with the railroading there's no replayability.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Emicus

[Stofficus]

It's fun, overall enjoyable, but there are a few questionable decisions mechanically with the game. 

 

The Good

 

- Highly scalable. The game runs and plays well early game with few units, and late game with giant hordes of units annihilating one another. Feels like a natural process to get from one to the other. 

 

- Balance is solid. 

 

- Unique faction mechanics well designed/superior to DoW2 & 1. Marines have an interesting rapid-reaction/ aggressive defense playstyle with drop pods, standards providing buffs and slow moving, but powerful ranged units. Orks are about building critical mass of units, triggering a WAAAAAGH! and storming the proverbial barricades, and looting destroyed enemy vehicles/units to buff the units which survive said WAAAGH!, while Eldar units as all hit hard, but tend to suffer in prolonged engagements, and have the most option for sneaky maneuvers with teleporting buildings, lots of skimmers and so on. 

 

- A+ Spectacle. while the aesthetic design is much less "grimdark" than DoW1 & 2, the effects, fidelity and persistant bodies/wreckage do make battles quite the visual treat. 

 

- Elite mechanic. Elites are a) more diverse and interesting, and b) less overpowering than the heroes of DoW2. DoW2 pissed me off something fierce with how centric your commander was to the gameplay - and they were not well balanced in the slightest. Elites have a clear power curve based on their cost, and have, for the most part, straightforwards counters not reliant on using elites of your own. There are a few which will no doubt need tweaking now that the game is out, but the mechanic is solid. 

 

- Army customization. The army doctrine system, further modified by Elite presence abilities allows you to dramatically alter how your army functions and which units will make up the core of your force. While the roster of units is limited, the customization options means players can have very different approaches to the same faction. 

 

The Bad

 

- Cover system. The simplest mechanic of any Relic RTS yet produced with shield bubbles which prevent all damage unit they are destroyed (which is permanent, once they're gone, they're gone for the rest of the game) and means early-game skirmishes are 100% about numbers and micro-ing unit abilities. DoW2's directional cover, borrowed from Company of Heroes was superb, and even DoW1s light/heavy/negative cover mechanic allowed far greater tactical depth. The lack of cover also really does encourage blobbing up, as simply put, there's no reason not until late-game superweapons are being used. 

 

- Faction Rosters. The core unit rosters of each faction are quite simplistic, lacking numerous "basic" units for each faction, with unit upgrades exclusive to Space Marine tactical squads and the Ork looting mechanic. The idea seems to be encourage asymmetry between factions - which does work well in this title, but for any 40k fan, it feels quite arbitrary to cut things like Storm Boyz, Guardians or the wide range of SM special/heavy weapons. 

 

- Single Player mechanics. With the Dawn of War franchise, Relic has a history of some of the best singleplayer experiences on the market with only Starcraft 2 even in the same ballpark. Dark Crusade offered endless replayability, though was light on plot, while Dawn of War 2 introduced probably the finest SP RTS system ever made with a semi-free form map with primary/secondary/optional objectives across multiple planets, a progression system for your squads, enormous customization, all overlayed with a unique mechanic - DoW2 vanilla had the Tyranid infestation which had to be managed across worlds, and Chaos Rising forced you to manage your own corruption which could dramatically change how the game played. 

 

DoW3, meanwhile, is a linear RTS with a few, admittedly nicely done, still-animation cut scenes like in the Homeworld series or Company of Heroes. It's enjoyable enough, but with a history of innovation, it simply feels uninspired mechanically with a heavy tutorial feeling for the MP mechanics. The production quality is certainly there, and the voice acting is as solid as one expects from Relic, but there's no reason to replay it, nor really even recommend it to anyone but someone looking for some extra 40k content. 

 

- MP Map Design. This is partially due to the removal of any cover mechanic, but the maps consistent of open paths across one of a few tilesets - there are no buildings, "scatter terrain" or anything which really adds to the map aside from the admittedly well-polished and executed tileset. By far, it is the maps which seem the most "gamey" with some having fairly clear "lanes" between bases, and choke points and common battle sites are dictated by the location of shield bubbles, resource points or a team's power generator/turret. The singleplayer maps are much more imaginative, and do all manner of tricks with different levels and planes, with a lot more scatter/flavour terrain, even though it serves no mechanical purpose. 

 

The Ugly

 

- Dearth of content. The singleplayer offers no replayability, there are only a few MP maps, and only one MP mode with three factions. Simply put, there isn't a whole of lot of "game" here aside from the power core MP mode, which while enjoyable for myself means that unless you enjoy this one particular experience, the game has nothing to offer. Traditionally, I have preferred RTS modes which force map control - victory point systems of one description or another, but that is not present. There is no co-operative system in the game at all - either SP campaign like DoW2 or Last Stand, and there is no way to modify/mutate the game's one mode. Of all of Relic's titles, this has the least diversity of content ever released. 

 

- The AI. I was going to include this in the above point, but it deserves its own category - the AI in this game is blindingly incompetent. Still a good deal less incompetent than some of the people I've seen online, but if you're looking for a fun skirmish mode or comp stomp, even the Hard AI can be rolled over by beginner players in relatively short order. As best as I can tell, the AI does not spend many resources, maintains only small armies and sends them in piecemeal to be destroyed. In the campaign it relies on scripting and overwhelming numbers to be a threat, but even then it consistently does utterly idiotic things - such as attack waves simply walking past my Devastators getting shot to ribbons with 3 squads of banshees to attack my stronghold, rather than charge the sole, unsupported squad. Or Dark Reapers setting up while being shot at by another dev sqaud outside of their own range, thus getting shot and unable to retaliate. 

 

My other points are mechanics I'm not overly fond of, but don't ruin my enjoyment of the game for what it is, but the terrible AI in what is a mechanically much simpler title is a serious issue for myself - I expect the AI to be limited in Company of Heroes of DoW2 where there are so many complex mechanics, but traditional RTSs based off of micro-management, consistent aggression, resource control and army composition are something the AI should be able to manage - and can, as proven by similar titles such as Starcraft 2 or the Command and Conquer series. 

[Uprising]

I need to ask a favor from everyone.  I would like screen shots of house varlock guards from the first mission.  I would like to build the guardsmen, so all angles would be great.  Also any pics of the knights/paladin/symbols would be great. Thank you for your time. 

[Wispy]

I need to ask a favor from everyone.  I would like screen shots of house varlock guards from the first mission.  I would like to build the guardsmen, so all angles would be great.  Also any pics of the knights/paladin/symbols would be great. Thank you for your time.

 

If you have the game, you should be able to spawn them into the worldbuilder and look at them from every angle.

[Uprising]

 

I need to ask a favor from everyone.  I would like screen shots of house varlock guards from the first mission.  I would like to build the guardsmen, so all angles would be great.  Also any pics of the knights/paladin/symbols would be great. Thank you for your time.

If you have the game, you should be able to spawn them into the worldbuilder and look at them from every angle.

 

Sadly, I do not own the game currently.  I watch a let play(big fan of DOW 2, but this one too much like DOW2 for my liking).  Could you take some screenshot? 

[appiah4]

Ok my impressions: Buy Grey Goo. This game is pretty terrible as an RTS.

 

Not a bad effort all things considered, but the game will be a lot better in a few weeks/months after they've gotten some updates out.

It will be dead by then. Multiplayer base already peaked at 25k and fell down to 18k in 3 days over a weekend Steam users peaked at 13m. It bombed because it sucks and will not have the fanbase to support Relic's greedy dripfeed DLC model.

 

Screw this game. Its unfinished unpolished dumb and boring. Achieving this in a DOW game must have taken hard effort.

Edited May 3, 2017 by appiah5

[Charlo]

Ok my impressions: Buy Grey Goo. This game is pretty terrible as an RTS.

 

Not a bad effort all things considered, but the game will be a lot better in a few weeks/months after they've gotten some updates out.

It will be dead by then. Multiplayer base already peaked at 25k and fell down to 18k in 3 days over a weekend Steam users peaked at 13m. It bombed because it sucks and will not have the fanbase to support Relic's greedy dripfeed DLC model.

 

Screw this game. Its unfinished unpolished dumb and boring. Achieving this in a DOW game must have taken hard effort.

 

Player numbers are a shame, but I'd wager most people are tackling the campaign in the first weekend no? It's what I'm certainly doing.

 

I still don't see the issue with cover. I hated the DoW2 cover (and most of the game, really) but that's just like, my opinion man...!

 

I played the first mission last night and was instantly impressed with the visuals, smoothness of animation and spectacle of it all.  ....I did however fail it because I didn't quite realise the Dread was suddenly under my control and Gabe got overwhelmed by a LOT of Boyz  (it was gone 1am though on a work night so sue me).

 

I liked the campaign too, much more than the one in the other games, if I'm honest. Sure it's not a map you conquer but the story on those was pretty bad an uninteresting. You just did random battles with sometimes strange conditions. I'm much more a fan of the cohesive narrative.

 

It's definitely not Dumb.

[Panzer]

Yeah the visuals are great as heck, no doubt about it. The only thing that annoys me is that Gabe is three times the size of a Marine.

That being said, pretty much everything I don't like about DoW3 has to do with the Multiplayer so I'll probably get it once it's on steam sale. If they expand on the campaign with more DLCs or give us an actually good Multiplayer mode I may even get the DLCs for the full price but nobody knows what the future might bring so yeah. ^^

 

EDIT: At this point a DoW2 or even a DoW1 remake with the new engine would've been hundred times better i fear. Let's hope future DLCs fix the game or it'll be just another warhammer pc game with great potential that ended up disappointing for most. :/

Edited May 3, 2017 by sfPanzer

[Charlo]

I will say just the little mission I played felt a lot like Warcraft 3 and I love that bloody game - really nice feel to it all.

[Marshal Loss]

My overall verdict: disappointing. I am not able to recommend this in good faith to my friends in its current state, short of a substantial discount. It's a real pity, because I've been rooting for this from the beginning. Hopefully Relic work to add basic features (boggles the mind why they are not in the game) and adds more content.

 

There are a lot of positives, but in comparison to DoW 1 and DoW II, which I both adored upon launch, this falls flat.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Marshal Loss

[Reyner]

Has there been any mention of future mod support for DoW3? The mods for 1 and 2 were fantastic.

[MagicMan]

I need to ask a favor from everyone.  I would like screen shots of house varlock guards from the first mission.  I would like to build the guardsmen, so all angles would be great.  Also any pics of the knights/paladin/symbols would be great. Thank you for your time. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

http://i.imgur.com/RbWoNyN.png

[Sister Alessia]

I loved the other Dawn of War Games (and still play), but the high price tag and scathing reviews are putting me off somewhat. It does look pretty though :)

[MagicMan]

Alot of the bad reviews are people angry that its not DoW1 or DoW2.

 

 

 

Its still a good game. I got it for 28£ off cdkeys.com though, so maybe im not as miffed as the people who spent £40 feel.

[Panzer]

Alot of the bad reviews are people angry that its not DoW1 or DoW2.

 

 

 

Its still a good game. I got it for 28£ off cdkeys.com though, so maybe im not as miffed as the people who spent £40 feel.

Not mine tho. I admit I prefer DoW2 but I never was a particular huge fanboy. It's a good game but I've played better. DoW3 is definitely not bad but i simply don't like the multiplayer and that I have to play with all three factions in the campaign. Can't say anything about the rest. Pretty sure I'd miss the cover mechanic in the campaign but that's no dealbreaker or me. :P

 

I'll definitely gonna get it for like 50% off or so once it's on sale.

[Charlo]

Done the first three missions (so one as each race) on normal difficulty.

 

I just never seemed to have enough resources or could build up a sizable army... Units just got crushed and then I was stuck waiting around for Req and Power to flow in enough to rebuild my force...

 

Was fun though - I did find though that my units didn't fire on stuff sometimes though, and that was rather annoying - took a few clicks.