Dawn Of War Mods
While Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 3 [official site] has not been to everyone’s tastes (our review was fond of its multiplayer but not the singleplayer, for the record), players do now have extra options to tinker with and improve it. Developers Relic Entertainment today launched a big update which includes new mod tools to let folks create new modes and bits, fiddling with it in ways beyond the level editor that was already out. And for those who already like what Dawn of War 3 is, hey, the update included a shedload of balance tweaks.Relic say that the new mod tools, which include the Attribute Editor and Tuning Pack, “will enable resourceful modders to re-imagine multiplayer balance, create new abilities or change existing ones, and build more detailed game modes to support them.”
The Dawn of War 3 Steam Workshop will support these new types of creations, which is a handy way to download and install things.
Dawn of War 3 will launch with just three factions: Space Marines, Eldar and Orks. Relic have sensibly picked the most-played races of previous games to begin with, but left the weirder and wilder.
If you fancy a crack at a mod yourself, hit Relic’s modding wiki for more information.
Dawn Of War Mod Db
As for the balance changes, hit the patch notes for full details.
The update initially launched yesterday but Relic rolled it back following an unexpected error. They relaunched it, fixed up, this evening.
If you missed the news last week: Relic are now working on Age of Empires IV, a long-overdue all-new entry in the vintage historical strategy series.
Custom Tailored
One of my favorite parts of computer games is what happens when you become bored with a game. Let's face it – even your favorite game can become boring after you've played it for hours on end. With a PC game, however, that isn't nessicarily the end of the game's life. If the game is popular, you can often download mods that change it significantly, breathing new life into your old favorite.
Dawn of War 2 is a very popular game indeed, so it's no surprise there are some great mods out there for it. I messed around with a number of them and picked out the best so you know what to download.
Ultimate Apocalypse
Part of Dawn of War 2's appeal is the sheer spectacle of it all. Big, tough guys with big weapons are shooting big mechs and big aliens. When people or aliens die, they die in big bursts of glory with big chunks of blood and guts flying everywhere. It's like a monster truck doing a backflip; absurd, completely unnessecary, and totally awesome.
Ultimate Apocolypse simply turns it up to 11. You'll find new units in this mod, spanning even more technology tiers. You'll also find new structures, that can deliver incredible destruction. Why settle for blowing up just one screens worth of terrain when you can blow up four, right? Finally, the army sizes are dramatically increased, so you'll be fielding way more units than in the normal game.
If you are looking for some sort of challenge or balance, this isn't going to be great mod for you. This is simply an 11-year old's fantasy lived large. But there's nothing wrong with that; the Total Annihilation franchise had some great games based on that and little more.
Space Hulk Mod
Space Hulk is a board game in the Warhammer 40k universe that centers on the adventures of a group of Space Marines who have to investigate a 'Space Hulk' – a giant ball of junk floating through Imperium space. These hulks often contain information or technology of great age and value, but as you might expect, they also often contain nasty aliens that must be eliminated. Those aliens are actually played by another player, who tries to stop the Space Marines.
The Space Hulk mod essentially replicates the board game within the Dawn of War 2 engine. There are a number of Terminators in the Space Marine squad, and a second player can play the role of the aliens (called Genestealers). It's competitive game, but not in the way of Dawn of War 2's normal multiplayer. Finding a match by yourself can be hard, but if you have a friend with Dawn of War 2, playing with them results in a very unique experience.
Finding More
These two mods should provide you with hours of additional fun from Dawn of War 2. But what if you want more?
Lots of projects, in various stages, are available on the Relic News forums. You can also find a map editor there, so you can make your own new maps for the game. Finishing Dawn of War 2 is not the end – it's only the beginning!