Other WHFB/40k videogames incoming

[scoicarius]

I wish Battlefleet Gothic had actual space battles not sea-ship battles in space (that is, I wish it played in 3D space, not in a 2D plane). The ships look beautiful though:

[ScipioGermanicus]

My experiences with "real" 3D space games tells me that I prefer the 2D, simply because it handles better control wise. The Thing I would try, if a game-designer, would be a system with different, but static highs. You could be High, middle, and "low" and would enjoy various advantages or disadvantages, depending on the situation.

Anyway: from all the 40k games announced and 2nd to all Warhammer/40K games, Battlefleet Gothic looks the most promising.

[scoicarius]

My experiences with "real" 3D space games tells me that I prefer the 2D, simply because it handles better control wise.

I guess you'd have to have played something of the kind to know what I have in mind.



Nexus: Jupiter Incident is one of my favorite games of all time. The focus is not so much on precise positioning (like in naval games) but on managing the ships' subsystems (weapons, shields, jammers, interceptors, etc.) and range. But that's a very different experience, closer to a simulator. I'd love to see such a game in the Warhammer 40K universe.

Anyway: from all the 40k games announced and 2nd to all Warhammer/40K games, Battlefleet Gothic looks the most promising.

Of all Warhammer games announced, for me Warhammer Total War is first, and Mordheim: City of the Damned second.

[Magas of Cyrene]

It's funny how Games Workshop is incredibly protective of their IP and yet they hand out licenses like candy to every showelware peddler that wants it. Simply doesn't make sense. It might bring some money in the short term, but in the long run it might end up with diluting the brand and oversaturating the market.

[scoicarius]

It's funny how Games Workshop is incredibly protective of their IP and yet they hand out licenses like candy to every showelware peddler that wants it. Simply doesn't make sense. It might bring some money in the short term, but in the long run it might end up with diluting the brand and oversaturating the market.

Excellent point.

[Lord Baal]

There's a gameplay video of Battlefleet now.

It seems fairly good. I don't know but for me it seems to colourful. Perhaps because most pictures I have seen of BFG are on black and white.

[ScipioGermanicus]

It's funny how Games Workshop is incredibly protective of their IP and yet they hand out licenses like candy to every showelware peddler that wants it. Simply doesn't make sense. It might bring some money in the short term, but in the long run it might end up with diluting the brand and oversaturating the market.

Well they did change in terms of licence to game companies. Let's not forget that GW had mixed results with Licence to only the "big guys" in the Industry. Yes the DoW series was a success and a pretty good representation, but when was the last DoW? Right, after THQ problems the series is awaited but not even announced.
Also the results were not always as good as DoW.
With the new attitude, you got far more products, some my be a insult to the branch, but many others look very promising. Especially since we see now middle size studios having a chance to use the licence for things big studios/publisher would never use them. The fact that the subsystems of Warhammer/40K get any attention would probably not happen if they simply gave the licence to EA/Activision ect. Those probably would have said: "Those obscure subsystems never made money in the first place" (which is kinda right).

I view the new policies overall positive, since besides some crap, we get to see titles which we never have seen if GW only gave the licences to one big guy.

[Lord Baal]

Or... maybe, I don't know, GW could stablish their own development studio. But I don't know if they actually have the money to do so. Then they could do their own games. Don't know if that would be a good thing however, they could be even worst than EA about the quick cash skims.

[ScipioGermanicus]

Why would GW do that? Besides not having the kind of money laying around, which experience has GW with actually making/marketing videogames themselves? This cost involve and the likeliness of failure, makes that a bad option.

[scoicarius]

Well they did change in terms of licence to game companies. Let's not forget that GW had mixed results with Licence to only the "big guys" in the Industry. Yes the DoW series was a success and a pretty good representation, but when was the last DoW? Right, after THQ problems the series is awaited but not even announced.
Also the results were not always as good as DoW.
With the new attitude, you got far more products, some my be a insult to the branch, but many others look very promising. Especially since we see now middle size studios having a chance to use the licence for things big studios/publisher would never use them. The fact that the subsystems of Warhammer/40K get any attention would probably not happen if they simply gave the licence to EA/Activision ect. Those probably would have said: "Those obscure subsystems never made money in the first place" (which is kinda right).

I view the new policies overall positive, since besides some crap, we get to see titles which we never have seen if GW only gave the licences to one big guy.

Excellent counterpoint. More titles does mean more crap, but also a greater chance for seeing more good games, and a greater potential for innovation (which big companies seem to be rather averse to).

[Baron of Hyrule]

Why would GW do that? Besides not having the kind of money lying around, which experience has GW with actually making/marketing videogames themselves? This cost involve and the likeliness of failure, makes that a bad option.

Agreed. That's similar to what happened with Privateer Press. They hired a company to create a Warmachine videogame to promote their franchise. That company had never made a videogame before and it was a epic fail.

GW's in the right that it hands out it's IP to companies who know what they are doing, be it videogames or rpg supplements (thank you Fantasy flight games and Green ronin).

[Lord Baal]

They could always hire people with experience in videogames. All those big companies where at some point inexperienced too. Anyway it was just a thought and even I consider it to be bad, because let's face it, assuming they do manage to make a good video game, it most likely would make E. A. blush over microtransactions and other scams, or be so overpriced that only the five richer monarchs of Europe could afford it, or whatever.

[scoicarius]

Were it for me, I'd create the ultimate Warhammer strategy game, one that involves the community directly and profoundly. That is, besides laying the foundation by making a great game (which Warhammer Total War will hopefully be), I'd also create very robust tools (of the complexity of the Unreal engine) for the community to be able to modify all aspects of it, from adding new units, maps and mechanics to creating entirely new modes of play. It would be a collaborative game-building and world-building tool, with the goal of fleshing out the entirety of the Warhammer world in time, to which anyone can contribute (wikipedia-style). The only rule would be: anything is permitted as long as it makes the world better (to be discussed at length and voted by the community). Basically the entire community would be part of the design and development team, everyone contributing whatever they can, writing design articles or articles for the in-game Warhammer encyclopedia, creating assets, constantly discussing, implementing and testing new features. The game would be modular in design, so that subsequent engine improvements could be done on the fly without the need for sequels. All content would be directly accessible from the game, and there would be an experimental area where new features are constantly being tested (from where they eventually make it into the core game).

This is my dream project, which is most likely bound to forever remain a dream.

[Aquila_Mars]

As idealist as that sounds ^ it would turn hectic very quickly. As in everything, fans and possible customers will have differing opinions. I mean look at this forum for an example we are even bickering over lore bits let alone gameplay elements. You can't just go and say -OI 501 out of 1000 want this over this, so we are putting this on.- What about the 499 people that you'll disappoint? You have to have a vision for what you are making.

Modding solves this problem easily however.

I admire any game that is modable as it indefinitely prolongs the game's lifespan and its quality (see Medieval 2, Skyrim, Oblivion etc) And it also lets people customize their games as they will. I want to make my Chaos champion uber OP? Quick modding its stats and whoosh, Its done. I want my grail knights to butcher entire armies? Whoosh done. Overall, I think a solid base game and modability will result in brilliant games. Because everyone wants to make a dream game out of something they really like.
Skyrim was crap to me. Before I modded it into something that is about 100 times better that is.

Currently I wouldn't be able to play Medieval 2 whatsoever if it wasn't for mods like Stainless Steel and Long Road. Or even things completely as unrelated as Call of Warhammer (RoDG) and Third Age.

Mods, modding. The salve upon any wounds the game might have.

[scoicarius]

As idealist as that sounds ^ it would turn hectic very quickly. As in everything, fans and possible customers will have differing opinions. I mean look at this forum for an example we are even bickering over lore bits let alone gameplay elements. You can't just go and say -OI 501 out of 1000 want this over this, so we are putting this on.- What about the 499 people that you'll disappoint? You have to have a vision for what you are making.

The game would be entirely free, so the concept of customers would not apply. None of the challenges you listed is unsolvable. There'd always be the core game, and people would be able to tweak it to their liking. Anyone who plays the game would be able to choose to play either the core version (extensively tested by the community) or any tweaked version, much like you install only those mods you like. The difference is that all "mods" would be accessible from within the game itself, and you'd have the possibility for your mod to become part of the core game if it meets certain criteria. This is a very long discussion.

Modding solves this problem easily however.

I agree, modding is the next best thing.

[Aquila_Mars]

I'm not listing challanges, mate, it is just that if you are developing a game, you can't make everyone happy. Is where I'm getting at.

The only part I'll attack CA is if the game is extremely hardcoded. Because in all honesty, if they got into these forums for ideas, as much as there are some golden pieces in the furnace, there is alot of dirt as well.

Where I'm getting at is involving the community in its entirety in game development usually doesn't end well.
I'd rather have them read the books, not listen to us biased fans. We all have our favorites, they need to be impartial.

And if you developed a game, you'd have to be neutral as well

I agree with most of what you said, of course. Indeed, it would be a very long discussion so might as well not pollute this thread

[scoicarius]

The only part I'll attack CA is if the game is extremely hardcoded. Because in all honesty, if they got into these forums for ideas, as much as there are solme golden pieces in the furnace, there is alot of dirt as well.

That's the thing, you need to generate a lot of ideas to find good ideas. That's how the creative process works. It would be like a kind of creative workshop. There would be a core experience, but in the experimental section anyone would be able to unleash their creativity (or lack thereof). The essence of it is involvement and creative expression (which is also seems to be the essence of the TT game). To be honest, I'd be more interested in participating in the creative process than actually playing (and I'd do love playing it). Anyone would be able to create anything; the challenge would be to make others want to play with your creations, and to manage to get it incorporated in the core game.

Maybe I should create a different thread for this discussion.

[Alhaioth]

There's a CK2 Warhammer mod called Geheimnisnacht. Rumours are it's quite solid. I have yet to try it myself.

[Aquila_Mars]

There's a CK2 Warhammer mod called Geheimnisnacht. Rumours are it's quite solid. I have yet to try it myself.

Not compatible with Ruler designer/10. For folks like myself who want to make their own character, it is pretty horrid. On the other hand the mod is indeed solid.

[Orkfaeller]

First gameplay from the Eisenhorn game... its a mobile game :T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3THI...pixelherogames