Over the coming weeks we are going to be introducing you to the squad leaders and characters that you’ll be commanding in the Dawn of War II campaign. We’re starting things off with a familiar face:
Name: Davian Thule
Rank: Captain
Proficiencies: Heavy Weapons, Leadership
“Never forget that your squad looks to you to lead them. Do not let them down.”
Fans of Dawn of War will likely remember Davian Thule. Thule vaulted to prominence when he slew the Chaos Witch Morgana in the Black Abbey of Vespa and he led the Blood Raven forces that were sent to Planet Kronus during Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. He is a veteran of hard campaigning and still bears the scars of his battle with the Necron Lord of Kronus. Now commander of Space Marine operations in Sub-Sector Aurelia, Davian Thule is charged with protecting the Blood Raven recruiting worlds of Calderis and Typhon.
Thule is a highly respected Blood Raven captain, and is renowned for being fiercely protective of those who serve under him. As a new Blood Ravens Force Commander, you’ll be taking your orders from Captain Thule during your campaign in Dawn of War II.
For those of you who haven’t clicked play yet and are actually still reading, we promised to share footage of the 2008 Gamesday demo with you all and here it is at long last, narrated by Lead Designer Jonny Ebbert:
We gathered the best fan submitted questions for the guys at Plastic Wax, creators of the Dawn of War II cinematic trailer. You asked and Dane Maddams at Plastic Wax took the time to answer! Our thanks to Dane and to all of you who submitted a question for the creators of the Dawn of War II cinematic trailer. You can check out all of his responses in our forum: Plastic Wax Answers Fan Questions
“There are loads of details in every frame of the video so it is easy to over look some of the smaller ones, so is there anything you would like to describe or point out that might otherwise go under appreciated?
Dane: Oh there sure is. If you take a look at the space marine bolters, bolt pistols and heavy bolter you can clearly see the ‘kill marks’ the marines have enscribed onto their weapons. There are orc skull marks near the triggers on all of them meaning confirmed kills from a previous mission.”
An introduction to The Blood Ravens, featured in the Dawn of War II campaign:
The Blood Ravens
Space Marines are organized into Chapters, highly self-reliant warrior orders, with their own traditions, battle doctrines and histories. The Blood Ravens are one such chapter, engaging in the endless battle against the alien enemies of humanity.
Clad in dark red armor with bone highlights, the Blood Ravens strike without hesitation. Their ranks include experts in a wide variety of battle tactics, from close combat (Assault Marines) to the use of massive firepower (Devastator Marines). Under the guidance of veteran sergeants, initiates in the last phase of their training, add infiltration and recon expertise as Space Marine Scouts.
The Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens leads from the confines of his great Battle Barge. He directs the chapter’s battle companies to strike at the enemies of man and to protect the remains of the chapter’s past. Any newly uncovered clue to the chapter’s enigmatic origins is quickly secured and sealed away by the Blood Ravens.
The Blood Ravens have fought numerous wars against the enemies of humanity. During the Tartarus Campaign (Dawn of War), Captain Gabriel Angelos and his 3rd Company defeated a ravening Ork horde and the darker evils of the Chaos Sorcerer Sindri. On Kronus, Captain Davian Thule led the so-called Dark Crusade against the Necrons (Dawn of War: Dark Crusade).
Having now recovered from all of the fun and excitement of the Leipzig Games Convention, VideoGamer.com has posted a wonderful article of their impressions of Dawn of War II:
“While there’s still much we don’t know about the specifics of the campaign, we do know that you’ll constantly have to make decisions about what objectives to tackle on the battlefield. This might be a choice between answering a distress call, perhaps from some civilians, or heading for some War Gear. The thing is, you won’t have long to ponder your dilemma. The objectives will only be available for a predetermined length of time.” - Videogamer.com
A short time ago the WorthPlaying crew posted an extensive preview on Dawn of War II. They go into some detail on a variety of aspects of the game including gearing and customizing your squads, the campaign, and even Tyranid unit AI:
“Toss a grenade over a wall into a group of Tyranids with a synapse creature, and they will immediately recognize it as a weapon, move to avoid it, and search out the attacker who launched it. Use a sneak attack to eliminate the synapse creature before tossing in a grenade, and the reaction is quite different. The individual Tyranids won’t know that the grenade is a threat. Some may ignore it. Others may sniff it. But they won’t run, and when it blows up, it takes out most of the group.” - WorthPlaying
Fighting against the Tyranids is going to be a blast, if you’re thoughtful in how you go about it. The article also comes with a boatload of screenshots, so give it a look.
We’ve been alluding to the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in Seattle, Washington for some time now… and guess what… PAX is kicking off THIS FRIDAY, August 29th!
On our forums, a lot of fans have been asking to see Dawn Of War II in action; level walkthroughs and detailed gameplay. We are very please to deliver! In case you’ve missed the subtle (yet quite prominent) description on the PAX website, we will be showing all of the fans and community in attendance a LIVE demo of Dawn of War II.
Yes, it’s true. - a LIVE demo of the game in action played right before your eyes, hosted by Dawn Of War II’s very own Producer, Mark Noseworthy, and Lead Designer, Jonny Ebbert. And, of course, following the demo we’ll have an audience Q&A.
Relic Entertainment Presents: Dawn of War II
WHEN: Friday, August 29th, 2008
TIME: 8:00pm to 9:00pm
WHERE: Walrus Theatre
PAX details here. PAX schedules here (PDF). Event descriptions here (PDF).
That’s not all!
We’ve reserved some special front-row seating for the presentation, and some personalized swag for you guys in our community… all we ask for is a little something in return. A simple haiku about our favourite topic on this forum, Dawn Of War II , just might net you one of these reserved seats and some Relic Swag! Not to mention, the AWESOME folks at PAX (thanks Khoo!) have provided us with 10 3-day passes to get you in the door.
The Details are below! We’re really excited to see you there, and we can’t wait to read what you come up with! And remember that if you can’t make it to PAX, watch out for us at other events coming up like Games Workshop’s Games’ Day next month.
DAWN OF WAR II PAX COMMUNITY CONTEST
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You must be a member of the Dawn of War forum (“Forum”) to enter.
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Submissions must be in the form of a Haiku poem (“Poem”).
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The Poem must be submitted to the Forum community manager between 12:01a.m. Pacific Time on August 26, 2008 and 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time on August 28, 2008 in order to be eligible.
You may enter as many times as you like, but each entry must be a different Poem.
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Winners will be selected on or about August 28, 2008, by a committee consisting of Relic and THQ employees.
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Winning Poems will be posted on the Forum.
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Winners will be contacted via e-mail and announced on the Forum.
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Winners must respond by Friday, August 29, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. If THQ does not hear from the winner by Friday, August 29, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. an alternate winner will be selected. Instructions on how to claim the prizes will be posted on the Forum and e-mailed to the winners.
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Winners will receive:
- One of ten Front-row seats at the panel at PAX.
- DOW II t-shirts.
- DOW II posters (signed by the team or key members of the team, depending on time).
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Winners must be in the Seattle area on August 29, 2008 in order to attend PAX. 10 of our winners will recieve a 3-day PAX pass.
By entering the Dawn of War II PAX Community contest you agree that the Poem will become property of THQ Inc. THQ may use the Poem in any manner they see fit, including but not limited to in-game use and use on marketing and advertising materials.
So what is a haiku? www.dictionary.com provides an elegant answer:
1. a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons.
2. a poem written in this form.
but wait there’s more…
This afternoon on IGN’s podcast, Jonny Ebbert, Lead Designer on Dawn of War II will be talking about the game and our presence at PAX this Friday
Check out the latest update on the THQ UK’s Rhino Diary. They have recently posted about their progress and put up new pictures on their flickr page. They are being as true to the Games Workshop models as possible, right down to the bolts! It’s really an amazing undertaking and we can’t wait to check it out at Games Workshop’s Games’ Day.
Mike over at THQ UK has been putting the word out about their four part diary covering the creation of a REAL-WORLD Rhino for Games Workshop’s Games Day 2008. If you haven’t seen the photos already, it’s looking awesome! the first part of the diary went up a couple days ago at THQ UK Features
Everyone loves these awesome screens of the Tyranids and the Plastic Wax CG trailer is phenomenal… but many people still want to know what are the Tyranids going to play like. How will they move, attack… swarm? Many of these answers can be found in this article from Gamespot. Furthermore, they’ve got our longest gameplay video yet! And this one is featuring the Tyranids in action.
More Leipzig information coming to you! This time courtesy of IGN. They confirm the Tyranid reveal and talk to our Senior Designer, Philippe Boulle in this Interview.
In addition, they have a copy of our extended Plastic Wax CG trailer first revealed at E3, and now extended for Leipzig!
To thank the fans for being so great and supportive about the Tyranids, We have posted an exclusive screenshot taken just for you guys to show some of the Tyranid units from in-game. Not found on any other news site. Check them and the awesome lush jungle out!
Nothing makes us more excited and happier to let you in on the secret we’ve been hiding (and working so hard on) for so long. And not only are we letting you in on the secret, we are letting you in first!
The Tyranids are in Dawn Of War II!
For us, the Tyranids was a way to give the fans something they have been asking for ever since Dawn Of War… but it wasn’t until we designed the Essence 2.0 Engine did we think that the Tyranids could be brought to the Dawn Of War universe they way that we felt we could do them justice and in the way that the fans deserve. The Tyranids are a great way for us to bring something new and different to the franchise… a completely different race which operates unlike any other seen in Dawn of War to date.
“Each Tyranid is a living weapon, perfectly adapted to its designated function, but each creature is no more than a single cell in a galactic entity governed by a monstrous Hive Mind. As the Tyranid hive fleets drift through space they strip all life from the worlds in their path, leaving nothing but scoured rock in their wake…
…In the war zones of Warhammer 40,000, the Tyranids are instinctive masters of swarm-tactics and close combat. Frequently appearing by the thousands across untold numbers of world, they always outnumber their opponents, a fact that often guarantees their victory. Each Tyranid is equipped with diamond-hard rending claws, razor-sharp teeth, and a variety of other bio-weapons suited to both close quarters fighting and ranged attacks. What’s even more fearsome are the monstrous creatures striding through a Tyranid swarm like Carnifexes and Hive Tyrants, true behemoths who tower over even the largest of tanks and mechanised units. In total, the Tyranids are a cold and brutal opponent to face. Even the best warriors in the galaxy can only hope to stall the Tyranids’ advance.” – www.gamesworkshop.com
We have been working feverishly over the last year to bring this to Dawn Of War II successfully and in a way the fans will love. With the Essence 2.0 Engine and the incredible talents at Relic, we think we have been able to do just that.
This week is the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany… and therefore often referred to as just Leipzig. You can expect a bunch of updates and stories to come out of us this week.
In case you don’t know about Leipzig and what it means for us, it is the biggest Games Convention of all. It dwarfs the E3 Games show by comparison. Last year Leipzig attracted 185,000 attendees to a floor space of 115,000 square meters. That the size of more than 6 average Wal-Mart Supercenters put together!
We’ve sent Jonny Ebbert, Lead Designer, and Jonathan Dowdeswell, Executive Producer, all the way over there to make sure out presence is felt. That’s why we’ve been saving some pretty big announcements until this week. But you don’t have to be there to get in on all the action, we’ll be posting HUGE new information right here! And as promised… even some exclusive content including a pre-Leipzig announcements So make sure you keep watching the blog. And keep watching this picture.
For all you guys out at ComicCon or planning on heading over tomorrow, Jonny will be part of a THQ panel happening Saturday afternoon. Not only will he be talking about the game, he’ll be doing so using actual gameplay footage! Here’s the official word:
ComicCon: Saturday July 26th. Room 4 (2:30-3:30)
Dawn of War II & Deadly Creatures - From concept art to video games. Explore the richness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe and the inspiration behind Dawn of War II with Relic Entertainment’s lead designer, Jonny Ebbert. Rainbow Studios’ art director, Brent Ashe and concept artist, Andre Kirk take you through the creepy concepts, art direction, and twisted innovation of Deadly Creatures.
There has been a lot of positive fan reaction to the DOW2 music, which obviously makes us happy that we’re going in a good direction. Now we would like to let you know the name behind the music for DOW2; Doyle W. Donehoo. Doyle was chosen after an exhaustive search through some of the industry’s top composers, plus a meeting at GDC where he managed to sneak our Audio Lead into somewhere they really weren’t supposed to be, then proceeded to say everything we wanted to hear.
When Doyle submitted music for our audition, he didn’t know anything about the title we were working on, except that it was a game set in the 40k universe. However, his sense of what a 40k game should sound like nailed the sound we were after, technically and stylistically. When we laid that audition music behind some previs animation video it seemed like Doyle had composed the whole thing to picture, or he read our minds (psyker?), and that sealed the deal. It didn’t hurt that Doyle was already a 40k tabletop fan, had played through the DOW franchise, and was completing Dark Crusade’s campaign with all races as he signed on to do the DOW sequel.
Previous to focusing full-time on composition, Doyle had spent a couple decades in the digital trenches as a software coder and developer, so he is fully aware of the ins and outs of our production processes and technical needs. While other composers may boast game credits as long as a chainsword, Doyle’s game credits are only beginning, though he’s been in the industry for quite a long time, and something tells me his list of game credits is going to grow… How many composers do you know who can provide technical white papers on the musical technicalities of what they’re up to?
His website is here:
http://www.sierra-trails.com/radarmusic.html
ps. When not composing music for DOW2, Doyle has managed to hike about 99% of the trails snaking their way through the Sierra mountain range, and goes on “practice hikes” weekly carrying a 50lb backpack.
Gamespot’s E3 Live Show will be airing a pre-recorded segment with Jonny Ebbert, Lead Designer for Dawn of War II this afternoon with questions straight from the forums on community.dawnofwar2.com. this was recorded this morning to make up for the technical difficulties from yesterday’s live interview.
It will be a part of the 2:30pm (PST) segment cut in-between the live bits. So be sharp and watch for it here:
http://e3.gamespot.com/live.html
(EDIT: Gamespot wanted us to pass along that the failure with the Fan questions yesterday had to do with the fact that as soon as they opened their site for questions, 60,000 of you hit it and it couldn’t handle the onslaught of questions from you. …Yes Sixty-Thousand hits for Dawn of War II questions.)
