Dawn of War 3 EGX Analysis
Posted: Mon 26 Sep, 2016 6:35 pm
Hey guys, I hope you are all well. I've posted this here: already and you can refer to that to see any questions I've already answered. https://community.dawnofwar.com/discussion/8575/dawn-of-war-3-at-egx-analysis#latest
So I managed to play DOW 3 at EGX this weekend and found some interesting stuff that i would like to share with you all after playing for 3 hours.
So just some first things, i played the same build (i think?) which was at PAX so nothing completely new that you haven't already seen showed up but i feel I can definitely give more in detail information from the play thoughts then what we already received and speaking to testers there.
I also want people to bare in mind how different actually playing something is rather than spectating and how that changes your perspective on a lot of stuff!
Okay with that out the way lets start! I'm so excited! and feel free to ask more questions if i missed anything and I will be as critical and unbiased as i can.
Units
Some can shoot and move!
Some units such as Assault marines, Dire avengers( i think) and Banshees can fire whilst moving, originally when i heard they couldn't i was very worried, so I'm glad to see that this is not the case.
These units are still very reliable at killing units who are falling back for fleeing even at range so it's very similar to how DOW 1 worked ^^ this please Khorne greatly.
Special Attacks are still in!
1. Okay so you may be wondering, "but blessed, i thought specials and sync kills were removed?" well jimmy, you are half right!, Sync kills are gone, but special attacks are only on elites. Now here's what i love, relic have made it at least for Gabe, that every special attack happens on the 3rd hit animation, this animation can be cancelled, and then saved for the next engagement, meaning when Gabe next attacks it WILL be a special attack ( The Leap hammer slam, which really isn't that bad and you'll get used to it quickly"
2. Terminators have special attacks where all 3 members will do the hit on their 3rd strike. Line units do not have special attacks.
3. Sync kills have been translated to ranged death animations, units explode or have limbs blown off and are different depending on what weapon the model interacts with, there is a lot of detail placed here!
4. there is now no RNG
Vehicles Refined
3. Tanks now reverse how they did in dow 2 and rear Armour is still a think, the collision is vastly improved meaning tanks wont get stuck on cover although infantry can still surround them.
4. Flying units, ( my personal fav thing) are fast and responsive, they work excellent and feel like actual skimmers this time around.
5. Tanks can be damaged by small arms fire but more like dow 2 than 1, though banshees can rip through it like tissue paper if not protected
Infantry
1. infantry functions very similarly to league of legends in the responsiveness, this means no worrying about a unit not following a command. I can see why they got rid of dynamic squad movement as sometimes in dow 2 members would get separated and go on their on mission or be left behind meaning when you retreated the squad would regroup/wait then retreat when everyone was in range. this was not ideal.
2. Grenades are clearer to see, but not easy to dodge, it just means that players have more of a visual cue to know its coming which is great, as in the next point you will appreciate all the help you can get.
3. Units drop like flies. Imagine an army of DOW 2 scouts fighting, that's the speed of which units fall, meaning that keeping on top of engagements is really important, although they die quickly, they are still important and expensive, its not about throwing units at each other however, its about positioning and planning, much like dow 1.
4. The animations are... interesting, but you will really not be focusing on that in the fire fights and battles, it actually helps in a way because you can clearly see things on the screen. We designers call these visual ques where we ask that certain aspects be exaggerated so that players notice things easier, there's a lot going on in dow 3 so it helps.
5. Dire avengers are glass cannons as always but they totally out range tacs
6. Banshees are still broke and unless your asm jump them they will most likely get #rekt
7. Scouts (Default) have automatic cloak, while the snipers do not. Snipers are op btw
8. Tac marines can be upgraded to have flamers and plasma rifles, ( One member of the squad gets the flamer, the others keep their bolters) and Relic have the original green template from the table top to show the area of effect.
Combat in melee
3. totally refined, the sound design is great and you can hear the sfx of chains cutting flesh ect its great!
4. Melee charge!. Do you remember when everyone commented how odd it looked when a terminator sped up, same with a dread? Units now have a heavy increased speed when the go into melee meaning you can get into our pull out of melee very easily, for example, i was fighting banshees and i went into melee with my scouts then instantly pulled them out giving them a speed boost whilst kiting them and having tacs gun them down.
5. units when killed are sent flying and have this awesome ragdoll effect, they now fall of cliffs correctly!
The Mini map and UI layout
Everything's been moved around a bit, but you can hot key your bases up easily as normal or you can use the tabs on the side which will quickly bring you to your bases
Space marines can build multiple of any building, apart from a strong hold, ( This may change in multiplayer) meaning at one point i was spawning 3 tac marine squads at one time, very much like dow 1
The minimap is clear once you know what you're units an opponent’s units are and I found that i was able to utilise it easily. I would recommend that relic tone down the white on this particular map however because things should be clear at first glance and not studying for a couple of mins.
3.So I’m hoping this won’t stay this way, but you cannot rotate the camera or zoom into combat like before. this will be an as some of the level design such as highit is hard to determine from the default angle. i hope this is changed.
Resource
Resource is no even more important, you can build turrets/listening posts on your resource points which may have a number of both Power, and Req slots. What makes them more important is that both your power and req are here, having them denied means that its more detrimental to you as you cannot build power at your base.
This in turns forces player interaction and counter acts turtuling. A race like IG will still be able to turtle but they will also be required to commit reosuirces to gaining map control and the locking down key areas
Attention to detail
1. Foot prints in the snow, bolter fire exploding when it hits units
2. Vocal interaction between forces " That one! he has a heavy bolter" and other lines are noticeable and great
3. Gabe has his classic lines " He who stands with me, shall be my brother
4. The lascannon is totally wrong! however, one of the issues i had in dow 1 and 2 was knowing where i was being hit from, particular the lazcannon or autocannon so io can see why they've made this a continuous beam. perhaps they should make it identical to dow 2, but leave a trail of smoke, like halo 2's Sniper rifle.
5. When you do find time to zoom in, there is a lot of detail on the models. no cracks to show battle damage but as mentioned before that they die so quickly it makes sense,
6. Your elite deaths are brutal, when Gabe dies, depending on what he's hit with, he can get blown to pieces, or head shot and a blood splat will show right where he fell, its great but hard to articulate without you playing it yourself.
7. The atmosphere is great and actually, despite the colorful look its very grim, the music is similar to that of the trailer, the death cries, and persistent bodies makes everything depressing, its very 40k!
Dow 3 is essentially dow 1 HD with some key things of dow 2 such as leveling, the focus on map control and abilities. I truly believe that if you adored dow 1 then you will truely be at home in dow 3. Dow 2 fans, i am a dow 2 player, with 3k hours on that game and this has me super excited
Okay im going to stop here and let you guys ask questions theres more to talk about but we will be here forever.
So I managed to play DOW 3 at EGX this weekend and found some interesting stuff that i would like to share with you all after playing for 3 hours.
So just some first things, i played the same build (i think?) which was at PAX so nothing completely new that you haven't already seen showed up but i feel I can definitely give more in detail information from the play thoughts then what we already received and speaking to testers there.
I also want people to bare in mind how different actually playing something is rather than spectating and how that changes your perspective on a lot of stuff!
Okay with that out the way lets start! I'm so excited! and feel free to ask more questions if i missed anything and I will be as critical and unbiased as i can.
Units
Some can shoot and move!
Some units such as Assault marines, Dire avengers( i think) and Banshees can fire whilst moving, originally when i heard they couldn't i was very worried, so I'm glad to see that this is not the case.
These units are still very reliable at killing units who are falling back for fleeing even at range so it's very similar to how DOW 1 worked ^^ this please Khorne greatly.
Special Attacks are still in!
1. Okay so you may be wondering, "but blessed, i thought specials and sync kills were removed?" well jimmy, you are half right!, Sync kills are gone, but special attacks are only on elites. Now here's what i love, relic have made it at least for Gabe, that every special attack happens on the 3rd hit animation, this animation can be cancelled, and then saved for the next engagement, meaning when Gabe next attacks it WILL be a special attack ( The Leap hammer slam, which really isn't that bad and you'll get used to it quickly"
2. Terminators have special attacks where all 3 members will do the hit on their 3rd strike. Line units do not have special attacks.
3. Sync kills have been translated to ranged death animations, units explode or have limbs blown off and are different depending on what weapon the model interacts with, there is a lot of detail placed here!
4. there is now no RNG
Vehicles Refined
3. Tanks now reverse how they did in dow 2 and rear Armour is still a think, the collision is vastly improved meaning tanks wont get stuck on cover although infantry can still surround them.
4. Flying units, ( my personal fav thing) are fast and responsive, they work excellent and feel like actual skimmers this time around.
5. Tanks can be damaged by small arms fire but more like dow 2 than 1, though banshees can rip through it like tissue paper if not protected
Infantry
1. infantry functions very similarly to league of legends in the responsiveness, this means no worrying about a unit not following a command. I can see why they got rid of dynamic squad movement as sometimes in dow 2 members would get separated and go on their on mission or be left behind meaning when you retreated the squad would regroup/wait then retreat when everyone was in range. this was not ideal.
2. Grenades are clearer to see, but not easy to dodge, it just means that players have more of a visual cue to know its coming which is great, as in the next point you will appreciate all the help you can get.
3. Units drop like flies. Imagine an army of DOW 2 scouts fighting, that's the speed of which units fall, meaning that keeping on top of engagements is really important, although they die quickly, they are still important and expensive, its not about throwing units at each other however, its about positioning and planning, much like dow 1.
4. The animations are... interesting, but you will really not be focusing on that in the fire fights and battles, it actually helps in a way because you can clearly see things on the screen. We designers call these visual ques where we ask that certain aspects be exaggerated so that players notice things easier, there's a lot going on in dow 3 so it helps.
5. Dire avengers are glass cannons as always but they totally out range tacs
6. Banshees are still broke and unless your asm jump them they will most likely get #rekt
7. Scouts (Default) have automatic cloak, while the snipers do not. Snipers are op btw
8. Tac marines can be upgraded to have flamers and plasma rifles, ( One member of the squad gets the flamer, the others keep their bolters) and Relic have the original green template from the table top to show the area of effect.
Combat in melee
3. totally refined, the sound design is great and you can hear the sfx of chains cutting flesh ect its great!
4. Melee charge!. Do you remember when everyone commented how odd it looked when a terminator sped up, same with a dread? Units now have a heavy increased speed when the go into melee meaning you can get into our pull out of melee very easily, for example, i was fighting banshees and i went into melee with my scouts then instantly pulled them out giving them a speed boost whilst kiting them and having tacs gun them down.
5. units when killed are sent flying and have this awesome ragdoll effect, they now fall of cliffs correctly!
The Mini map and UI layout
Everything's been moved around a bit, but you can hot key your bases up easily as normal or you can use the tabs on the side which will quickly bring you to your bases
Space marines can build multiple of any building, apart from a strong hold, ( This may change in multiplayer) meaning at one point i was spawning 3 tac marine squads at one time, very much like dow 1
The minimap is clear once you know what you're units an opponent’s units are and I found that i was able to utilise it easily. I would recommend that relic tone down the white on this particular map however because things should be clear at first glance and not studying for a couple of mins.
3.So I’m hoping this won’t stay this way, but you cannot rotate the camera or zoom into combat like before. this will be an as some of the level design such as highit is hard to determine from the default angle. i hope this is changed.
Resource
Resource is no even more important, you can build turrets/listening posts on your resource points which may have a number of both Power, and Req slots. What makes them more important is that both your power and req are here, having them denied means that its more detrimental to you as you cannot build power at your base.
This in turns forces player interaction and counter acts turtuling. A race like IG will still be able to turtle but they will also be required to commit reosuirces to gaining map control and the locking down key areas
Attention to detail
1. Foot prints in the snow, bolter fire exploding when it hits units
2. Vocal interaction between forces " That one! he has a heavy bolter" and other lines are noticeable and great
3. Gabe has his classic lines " He who stands with me, shall be my brother
4. The lascannon is totally wrong! however, one of the issues i had in dow 1 and 2 was knowing where i was being hit from, particular the lazcannon or autocannon so io can see why they've made this a continuous beam. perhaps they should make it identical to dow 2, but leave a trail of smoke, like halo 2's Sniper rifle.
5. When you do find time to zoom in, there is a lot of detail on the models. no cracks to show battle damage but as mentioned before that they die so quickly it makes sense,
6. Your elite deaths are brutal, when Gabe dies, depending on what he's hit with, he can get blown to pieces, or head shot and a blood splat will show right where he fell, its great but hard to articulate without you playing it yourself.
7. The atmosphere is great and actually, despite the colorful look its very grim, the music is similar to that of the trailer, the death cries, and persistent bodies makes everything depressing, its very 40k!
Dow 3 is essentially dow 1 HD with some key things of dow 2 such as leveling, the focus on map control and abilities. I truly believe that if you adored dow 1 then you will truely be at home in dow 3. Dow 2 fans, i am a dow 2 player, with 3k hours on that game and this has me super excited
Okay im going to stop here and let you guys ask questions theres more to talk about but we will be here forever.