Colonel_Jessep Colonel_Jessep

An attempt to explain why the new Demigods take so long to develop

An attempt to explain why the new Demigods take so long to develop

 

I see the threads about: 'Where are the new demigods?' every week and there are a lot of people who are angry or frustrated because it takes so long. There are a lot of accusations, questions and misunderstandings on the topic. So I decided to gather all the available information and explain to you guys why we are still waiting. I'll illustrate my post with some pictures because... because it's more fun!

Let me assure you, I'd prefer nothing more than to play them right now and get a new patch every week. However, good things take time and here is why:

 

Who is responsible for what?

First of all, a common misconception of many players waiting for new content is that Stardock could speed up the process and Frogboy can miraculously deliver the Demon Assassin and Oculus by his sheer force of will. (I wish!) However Stardock is the publisher (although you could say Publisher ++...) and GPG develops Demigod.

Stardock can help with certain things like ingame overlays, new web designs, maintanance of the servers, basically everything that doesn't require any changes to the game engine and core game. GPG is responsible for new content and bug fixing and Stardock's responsibility is to test the updates and new content for bugs, gather information on new bugs and report them to GPG, customer support, maintanance and delivering the game and patches to you via Impulse.

 

 

 

Why is it taking GPG sooooo long?

GPG is working on the new demigods, bugfixes, SupCom2, Dungeon Siege III and maybe even thinking up a new project right now.

I'm sure they would like nothing more than to get the patch out as soon as possible but it takes a lot of work from many different content engineers, artists, programmers and testers to finish a new demigod. For more information on the topic I recommend reading Sorian's blog: http://soriandev.blogspot.com/

Sorian describes the work that goes into making a new demigod in a 3-part series:

part 1part 2part 3;

So why don't they just speed up the whole process you will ask. Fortunately they have already contracts for at least two new games and they have to meet their schedules (called milestones). I say fortunately because while it means we have to wait longer for the new demigod it also means GPG is busy and earning money. This means they stay in business and we will get our demigods eventually.

 

Why not hire more people then will probably be your next question. Well they did. They hired Sorian and he pretty much splits his work hours between Demigod and SupCom II. However, GPG is not Blizzard II and there is a limit to the number of developers they can afford in the current economic situation.

And you can't just add new people to a developer team and expect to speed up the process as many failed game companies have learned that the hard way. Two times the number of people doesn't equal two times the output!

A developer who is familiar with a game can create the same amount of content in hours that would take a team days. A bunch of developers have left GPG a while back, including the original fathers of Demigod Scathis and o and have formed a new company Uber Entertainment.

GPG is doing what they can and yes, we all wish it wouldn't take that much time but they have to make due with less developers on more projects and they have to fulfill their contracts at the same time.

So please be patient, check out Sorian's blog and play a bunch of games. I strongly recommend 'Crazy Cataract'. It's a 4v4 or 5v5 on Cataract (obviously) with high towers, strong creeps and fast respawn rate. It's insane fun, give it a try, why don't you?

 

278,011 views 68 replies
Reply #26 Top

The number of people working on it simply shows a very small commitment on GPG's part. For all the talk of too many cooks spoiling the broth, there's conscpicuously few cooks around.

 

I just don't get the point of this post. Does it take a lot of work to make a new DG? Probably.

 

Is it my problem or anyone else's in this thread's problem that it takes so much work? No. My only concern as a customer is the rate and quality of updates.

I don't see why anyone who read Sorian's blog would feel compelled to come here and try to defuse frustration over the timeline these updates are following. I'm sure Sorian's a very brilliant person and is doing a great job, but it has nothing to do with him. It's been 7 months already. It's clear that GPG views this game as complete and will not be allocating a large amount of resources to it, that's really not good news for us as players.

 

I hate the idea of someone from GPG who's been slaving over the next DG patch to read this and think that I don't appreciate their work, because I do. It just has nothing to do with that. When I worked at a restuarant I appreciated the tremendous labor the cooks would do to get everything done when we were short-staffed, but that doesn't mean our patrons were obligated to be happy with the end result, no matter how good the food was when it got there.

Reply #27 Top

Quoting obscenitor, reply 26
The number of people working on it simply shows a very small commitment on GPG's part. For all the talk of too many cooks spoiling the broth, there's conscpicuously few cooks around.

  • You don't know the number of people working on Demigod
  • Even if you would know, you can't infer small commitment from that, simply because of the limited resources that are available, without sacrificing other projects.

All this should be common sense really ;)

Reply #28 Top

Quoting Spooky__, reply 27

Even if you would know, you can't infer small commitment from that, simply because of the limited resources that are available, without sacrificing other projects.

All this should be common sense really

That doesn't seem like commen sense to me.  I think if GPG showed half the commitment to DG post-release that Stardock did we would already have the new Demigods and fixes, and probably a much bigger community to go with it.

Stardock have shown that work on this game can go at a fast pace - all the major updates to the game have come from their end of the spectrum. 

GPG should spend less time working on new projects and more time on existing ones that IMO are still incomplete.  Obviously they came to the conclusion pretty early on that DG was a sinking ship, which has only turned out to be true because of their own lack of commitment to it - a self fulfilling prophecy.

Reply #29 Top

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 28
That doesn't seem like commen sense to me.  I think if GPG showed half the commitment to DG post-release that Stardock did we would already have the new Demigods and fixes, and probably a much bigger community to go with it.
The fact of the matter is that GPG simply can't put "all" their resources there, becaue it would influence other projects negatively and thus jeopardise the survival of GPG.

 

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 28
Stardock have shown that work on this game can go at a fast pace - all the major updates to the game have come from their end of the spectrum.
Which major updates? Stardock can't change anything in the game itself. They can only change the ImpulseReactorOverlay and the ImpulseReactor itself.

 

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 28
GPG should spend less time working on new projects and more time on existing ones that IMO are still incomplete.  Obviously they came to the conclusion pretty early on that DG was a sinking ship, which has only turned out to be true because of their own lack of commitment to it - a self fulfilling prophecy.
No they should not. Demigod is complete and fun to play. As already pointed out, they simply can't put all their resources into Demigod just like that.

Reply #30 Top

"Which major updates? Stardock can't change anything in the game itself. They can only change the ImpulseReactorOverlay and the ImpulseReactor itself."

All major fixes to network problems in the first month after release were from Stardock, also the overlay, etc.  This is despite the obvious difficulties they have in changing the game.  What changes have GPG introduced AT ALL?  Changing some stats?  Introducing the desync? If it was down to GPG we would still be unable to start any games due to connection problems. 

"The fact of the matter is that GPG simply can't put "all" their resources there, becaue it would influence other projects negatively and thus jeopardise the survival of GPG."

So we can all agree GPG is providing very little support to DG?  If this is their strategy for staying afloat I think its mistaken - there is NO WAY I will touch Supreme Commander 2 when its released based on the level of post-release support I have experienced with DG.  Is SC2 going to be another bugfest that is abandoned when they start work on DG2?

Reply #31 Top

The problem is that GPG has a limited number of developers who can work on the project. Frogboy has reassigned developer teams from other projects and had them implement overlays. He can do this because he is the CEO of Stardock and he owns the company. If he decides to delay one of his other projects like Elemental it's his choice and his choice alone. Stardock owns, develops but most importantly publishes their products, GPG does not.

GPG has to fulfill contracts and meet scheduled milestones. They can only reassign developers to Demigod if they are on track with all their other projects. The bumpy release of Demigod certainly caused some delays and unexpected extra work.

Just imagine for a few moments you have Chris Taylor's job and you have to make sure that your company will be still existing a year or two from now and your employees still have a job. You just can't delay projects like SupCom2 or Dungeon Siege III because they are your future. Sure they could completely focus on Demigod and go out off business right afterwards. GPG is not Blizzard with almost unlimited resources and fresh cash every month. Right now they are between games and have to watch their spending. Do you have any idea what it costs to employ a bunch of additional developers?

My point is: GPG is doing what they can without endangering their immeadiate future. I can't blame Chris Taylor because he wants to keep his company afloat and ensure his employees and friends have a job, can you? But they haven't abandoned Demigod, on the contrary, the new patch is ready for testing and that's something to look forward to!

 

Reply #32 Top

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 30
All major fixes to network problems in the first month after release were from Stardock
Erm, the connectivity problems came from Stardock. They fixed their part of the game, not the game itself ;).



Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 30
If it was down to GPG we would still be unable to start any games due to connection problems.
No, as already said, the network facilitation always came from Stardock.



Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 30
So we can all agree GPG is providing very little support to DG?  If this is their strategy for staying afloat I think its mistaken - there is NO WAY I will touch Supreme Commander 2 when its released based on the level of post-release support I have experienced with DG.  Is SC2 going to be another bugfest that is abandoned when they start work on DG2?
But that's the point, Demigod was not abandoned. Neither was Forged Alliance for example.

Reply #33 Top

(double post because of quoting problems...)

 

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 30
What changes have GPG introduced AT ALL? Changing some stats? Introducing the desync?
This is the complete list of changes made by GPG:
Demigod v1.19 (1.19.130 on Impulse)
--------------------------------

Added replay support
Replays can be :
Chosen from Front end
Deleted from Front end
Created at end of multiplayer or singleplayer skirmish game
Slider added to adjust game speed during replays
Skills, inventory, HUD, and citadel upgrades visible while in replay
Added version matching for replays, will only display valid replays
Added observer as a replay choice to remove shroud

Balance changes for Artifacts:
[Enhanced Health Potion] 1000->800g
[Enhanced Mana Potion] 1000->600g
[Revitalization Elixir] 1000->900g
[Supreme Health Potion] 1500->1200g
[Supreme Mana Potion] 1500->900g
[Supreme Revitalization Elixir] 1500->1350g
[Wand of Speed] 1250g->1750g
[Warlord's Punisher] 1.5->1s cast time
[Twig of Life] 33%->50% heal, 100->150 minion life
[Gauntlets of Despair] 100->200 mana drain

Additional updates:
Multiplayer Skirmish button removed to focus on Custom and Pantheon (single player Skirmish still present)
Decreased turn speed on minions
Tweaked flight variables for angels to increase hit frequency, also dropped damage to compensate.
Significant pathing improvements for minions and angels especially, but reinforcements in general.
Adjusted long distance repulsion
Minions ignore 50% of the repulsion from buildings and land units.
Blueprint loading enabled only when corresponding mod has been enabled.
Fixed unable to join dialog/tooltip.
Fix for active cooldowns adjusting when a cooldown buff/debuff fades.
Fixes for potential threading crashes.
Fixed the Valor Flag buff/debuff bug.
Fixed the underlying system supporting Ring of Might, Hex Scroll, Horn of Battle. Those items reactivated.
Login screen now sets password field to blank after logging in.
Prepend timestamp on error logging
Fix for active cooldowns adjusting when a cooldown fades.
Mod-triggered desynch handling


Demigod v1.10 (1.10.122 on Impulse)
--------------------------------

Restricted unit movement around and through Citadels on all maps to prevent pathing errors and exploits for Generals and Minions. 'Erebus' bug.
Sedna�s Healing Wind buff adjusted for High Priest from 30% to 19% bonus.
Temporarily disabled Hex Scroll, Ring of Divine Might, and the Horn of Battle until associated army buffs can be properly reconfigured to deal with timeout conflicts.
- Fixed bug where games where the host quit did not report stats accurately
- Fixed bug where the player�s skill level could be reset to 0
- Tweaked the algorithm for choosing the best proxy server


Demigod v1.10 (1.10.114 on Impulse)
--------------------------------

[July 1 - Fixed Random Demigod selections on Multiplayer games.]
[July 1 - Fix for purchasing skills whilst dead.]
[July 1 - Favor items saved between games again.]


- Activated Concede mechanism
- Speed debuffs now have a default minimum move speed based on base move speed * 0.66
- Chat window art fixes, improvement to background for visibility.
- When selling an idol we destroy all units created by that idol.
- Fixed a bug where minions that have engaged a specified target would lose their target if target moved out of range.
- AI
- Flag capture checks
- Added task ticks
- Tightened purchasing priorities
- Removal of spammy achievement warnings
- Fix bug where hitting F10 in the main menu would show a broken dialog box.
- Fixes to healing crystal textures.
- Fixed a mismatch when replacing player in matchmaking.
- Lobby autoLaunch code now checks to see that remote players were connected to each other before launching game.
- Edited display error for Regulus Achievement.
- Increased price of Heart of life, doubled cooldown, made it an artifact, and increased the overall effect.
- Increased the power of Hex Scroll
- Reward for game completion upped from 10 to 40, to reward players for finishing the game, win or lose.
- Reduced experience and gold reward from killing priests and angels, to offset the benefit the opposing team sees from a citadel upgrade in those types.
- Improved Angel anti-Demigod focus.



Demigod v1.01 (1.01.105 on Impulse)
--------------------------------

- Fix chasing issue when using an ability targeting a moving target.
- Fix inability to alt-F4 to leave the game from front end menus.



Demigod v1.01
--------------------------------
- 1.01 update
- Added underlying code to attempt to rehost when players quit
- New automated handling of in game disconnects.
- Optimized upstream bandwidth to reduce load. This should help most on 128-Kbs conections.
- Connection refresh updates on player creation
- Changed disconnect back to 30 seconds.
- Single player games are now single player. Previously they were passing in the flag to be lan games. 
- Disconnect dialog is no longer modal. It now allows player to access the menus and chat while it is showing.
- Modified exe version checking code so that both players need to use the /allowmismatch cmd line param in order to have mismatched exes play together.
- Removed the Exit to Windows option in MP games. You have to quit the game first.
- Switched order of data calls after hosting.
- Teleportation effect failure handling.
- AI Players display AI instead of ping 0
- AI
1. Adjustments to caution and hazard detection and avoidance.
2. Adjusted health level flee percentage.
3. Demigods do not use minions when fleeing, may summon minions in combat.
4. Improved teleportation
5. Increased Demigod planning frequency
6. Improved item usage when endangered.
7. Tower tag improved.

And last but NOT least:..

- Moving targets in Ability task now properly handled (the famous 'Sedna bug'). A special thank you to bman654 for going beyond the call of duty and isolating the portions of script that were being problematic. Cleanup of this area of script.


Demigod - May 14th update
--------------------------------

Lord Erebus: Bite's Mana Cost increased, Damage decreased, Armor Reduction decreased
Fix for looping audio track after leaving character select screens
Fix for audio volumes not being reset on restart
Adding /skipintro command line to bypass intro movies


Demigod - May 11th update
--------------------------------

Favor Items fixes, but still some assorted issues that should be addressed in the next update.
Major optimizations to audio on low fidelity settings
Fixed bug that occured if you used an ability after issuing an attack command. This is the "won't chase the demigod I clicked" bug.
Achievements properly vaulting on Impulse
Sending deltas for partially completed achievements.
Each player now saves their own achievements and favor items
Fixed partial Achievement saves bug.
Fixed a bug that occured if you accomplished an achievment in game.
Fixed a bug in disconnect dialog that would try to update it even if we had determined we did not want to show it.
Changed resample rate to 24k in Low settings
Delayed FMOD initialization until audio LOD is set via options
Disabled hitbox interference from announcer messages.
Life's Child no longer removes Inner Grace (Sedna fix)


Demigod BETA 1.00[b].061
------------------------

- Reworked the saving and restoring of achievements to differentiate
between online and offline.
- Added tournament ID to each achievement when posting achievements.
- Reduced the width of of the header in the disconnect dialog to accommidate text.
- Resolved issue where players who report network issues with other people were causing
the disconnect dialog to remain up after problem was solved
- Fixed a crash that occurred during skirmish games.
- Fixed citadel upgrade bug/exploit where users could click quickly to buy more than
they could afford.
- Resolved issue where one person disconnecting or lagging would cause the networking
to disconnect and spawn multiple games. This applies to all matchmaking setups
(LAN, Skirmish, Pantheon, Custom)
- Introduces a cumulative tolerance timer of 30 seconds for each player, allowing
slower connections better opportunities to stay connected.
- Added dialog for players that lets them know who is having a connection problem, and
displays their cumulative timer. This dialog is not interactive, merely informative.


################################################################################

Reply #34 Top

"Just imagine for a few moments you have Chris Taylor's job and you have to make sure that your company will be still existing a year or two from now and your employees still have a job. You just can't delay projects like SupCom2 or Dungeon Siege III because they are your future. Sure they could completely focus on Demigod and go out off business right afterwards. GPG is not Blizzard with almost unlimited resources and fresh cash every month. Right now they are between games and have to watch their spending. Do you have any idea what it costs to employ a bunch of additional developers?"

 

If I had that job I would be prepared to take a few more risks and not always follow the short-sighted approach of shooting the aligator closest to the boat, so to speak.  In the gaming industry loyalty and support are highly rewarded.

"This is the complete list of changes made by GPG:"

And that list goes a long way to proving my point.  With the exception of replays (which should have undoubtedly been in the first place) what is the major addition?  Fixing the Favour Items? Cheers for that.

Reply #35 Top
To prove my point, let's check out the number of changes to DOW 2 in the same space of time:



[-]

Updates to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

New Content

  • Added The Last Stand, a new arcade survival mode where teams of three fight waves of increasingly deadly enemies
  • Added new unique wargear, abilities and effects to the three heroes in The Last Stand
  • Added The Last Stand leaderboards
  • Hero progress is stored online and is associated with a player’s gamertag
  • Added (2p) Quest's Heresy map
  • Added (4p) Hydris Chasm map

[-]

'There is Only War,' The massive update for Dawn of War II will first be available as an open Beta to all owners of Dawn of War II. Players can now participate in the Beta through their Steam client. Details below.

  • Launch Steam and go to File > Settings
  • On the 'Account' tab of the Settings window, under the 'Beta participation' section, click the button that says "Change..."
  • Select the Dawn of War 2 Beta from the drop down list on the pop-up window.
  • Click OK and you'll be prompted to restart Steam.
  • When Steam starts back up, your copy of Dawn of War II will automatically update to include the beta content.
  • Launch the game to enter the beta.

Included in this update:

  • Significant balance update to the multiplayer game
  • Battle over eight new multiplayer maps.
  • Edit, create, and add new maps to multiplayer games with the map editor World Builder.
  • Watch custom multiplayer games as a spectator with the new Observer and Referee options.
  • Plus, improvements in performance, user interface, audio, and artificial intelligence

There is Only War Release Notes 1.5.0

World Builder • Added the World Builder how-to guide to the root directory • Fixed a bug where adding a horizon-mesh would cause World Builder to crash

Observer Feature • Pressing ESC now gets rid of the observer/replay attention arrow. If a unit is selected and an arrow is present, pressing ESC deselects the units. Pressing it again removes the arrow • Selecting the HQ displays the player’s current tech tier

 

Balance Changes

Tyranid Balance Changes • The Ravener Alpha’s Hardened Carapace grants 100 health • Both Carnifexes cannot be repaired • Sporemine durability vs. small arms increased from 60 to 150 hp • Screamer Killer Venom Cannon damage increased to 75 from 55 and removes the Spore Cysts ability • Tier 2 Carnifex damage increased from 200 to 250 • Zoanthrope damage increased from 70 to 80, energy cost reduction on Focus Blast from 80 to 65 • Termagant damage increase on Toxin Sacs upgrade from 1.2 to 1.35 • Tyranid Warriors’ hitpoints increased from 320 to 360, Barbed Strangler damage decreased to 45 from 60 • Hive Tyrant’s Venom Cannon damage decreased from 75 to 55

Ork Balance Changes • Slugga Nob damage reduced to 85, Nob Squad Choppa damage increased to 100 • The Kommando knife no longer refunds energy and resets cooldown after killing a target • Warboss’ big stomp radius UI was changed to 10 m • Warboss’ Kustom Shoota can now fire on the move • Warboss’ Angry Bits health regeneration lowered from 1.5 to 1, cooldown from 15 seconds to 30 • Tankbusta population cost lowered 4 to 3 • Slugga Nob Leader damage lowered (due to accidental buff) • Warboss Stomp damage lowered 40 to 30 • Kommando Nob Leader’s hammer damage increased 100 to 175 • Slugga damage increased to 25

Space Marine Balance Changes • Scouts can now repair while using a sniper rifle • Set the Apothecary’s Rapid Fire ability to no longer knockback retreating units • Force Commander with Terminator Armor now has a Cleansing Flame ability on his heavy flamer (costs 50 energy) • Purification Rights damage decreased from 30 to 15 • Relay Beacon health regeneration rate decreased .4 to .15 • Force Commander’s hitpoints increased from 720 to 820 • Tactical Marine bolter damage decreased to 25 • Tactical marine melee damage reduced from 22 to 19 • Purification rites no longer affects retreating units

Eldar Balance Changes • Spiritual rites radius UI was changed to 15m • The Fire Prism’s explosive shot no longer affects retreating units • Warpspider squad member hitpoints slightly reduced from 200 to 160, Exarchs from 240 to 200 • Fire Prism’s Focus Beam cooldown reduced from 4.5 to 3 seconds • Debuff removed from Immolator • Warp Spider Exarch’s Improved Targets are moved to tier 1 • Banshee’s damage increased to 35 from 33

General Balance Changes • Zeal/Biomass/Psychic Might/Waaagh! amount from killing/losing units increased by 20% • Piercing damage modifier vs. Heavy armor decreased to 67% • Turret damage at long range increased from .15 to .3 • Turrets inflict increased supression, have a minimum range of 2 m, armor type changed to be more vulnerable from small arms fire .01 to .2 • Suppression weapons received the following changes: • Setup and teardown times reduced by 1 second respectively • 0.2 to 0.3 at long range • 1 to 1.25 at medium range • 2 to 2.75 at short range • Suppression damage increased from 300 to 400

 

Bug Fixes

Tyranid Bug Fixes • Fixed a bug where Bioplasma would not fire if targeted units ran out of the line of sight • Fixed the broken image on the Ravener Alpha’s ‘exit tunnel’ ‘cancel construction’ ability

Ork Bug Fixes • Shoota Boyz Aiming? Wotz Dat? tool tip no longer mentions immobility • Nob squad tool tip mentions Meaner an’ Greener instead of Nob Kit • Kommando squad tool tip no longer mentions Kommando Kit

Space Marine Bug Fixes • The Dreadnought’s auto cannon ability previews its energy cost properly

Eldar Bug Fixes • The Farseer’s Ghosthelm tool tip no longer mentions damage to self, mentions suppression • The Farseer’s Mindwar tool tip mentions suppression • Warpspider Exarch powerblades tool tip mentions they are effective against infantry

UI Bugs • Added a missing tooltip for observers in the multiplayer games list • Fixed a bug causing player loading bars to be cut off in 1280x1024 resolutions

Performance Bugs • Fixed a bug that disallowed users with high-end machines to set their graphics settings to “Ultra” • Fixed a fatal scar error involving Anti Armor in the campaign

Gameplay Bugs • Fixed an exploit where repeatedly setting up and tearing down the Ranger’s sniper rifle would increase the unit’s firing rate • Fixed a bug involving melee units targeting retreating units • Stabilized randomness of units using special attacks • Fixed an exploit where players could make units at the HQ retreat “towards” a relay beacon in the field • Fixed a bug where clicking on a hero’s portrait would render targetable abilities unusable

Map Fixes • Fixed an exploit in (6p) Ruins of Argus where players could build structures and move units in an impassible area

Post-game bugs • Fixed a bug where incorrect trueskill values were shown after viewing a player’s statistics screen in the post-game • Fixed a crash that occurred when viewing another player’s statistics during a game-starting countdown

Networking Improvements • Fixed a networking bug that caused users to lag and disconnect due to a proxy communication problem

 

There is Only War Release Notes 1.4.2

Balance Updates



 

Ork Balance Updates

 

Warboss • Bang Bang Hammer damage bonus changed from 7% to 5% • ‘Ard Boyz only affects melee damage

Tankbustas • Tankbusta HP increased from 150 to 200 per unit • Tankbusta Rokkit range increased from 40 m to 44 m

Sluggas • Choppa damage decreased from 27 to 24 • Slugga Nob moved to tier 2, detection removed, decorator updated, tooltip updated

Shootas • Shoota Nob moved down to tier 1, detection added, decorator updated, tooltip updated

Deff Dread • Deff Dread Buzzsaw damage increased from 150 to 180

Ork Globals • Ork passive Waaagh! generation rate reduced from 0.5 to 0.25

Lootas • Lootas no longer have a Waaagh! cost on Hide Da Gunz

Stormboyz • The Bomma Boyz upgrade now requires Tier 2

 

Eldar Balance Updates

 

Farseer • Spirit Stones' energy regeneration is now squad based • Farseer's Spiritual Rites now only heals infantry

Warlock • Distort Field from 70% to 50% damage reduction, only affects ranged damage • Channeling ability cost increase from 30 to 50 • Health buff from Channeling changed from +3 regeneration to 10 HP per second • Warp Throw no longer affects retreating units • Warp Throw Cooldown increased from 40 to 60

Rangers • Ranger Kinetic shot now does AOE • Ranger HP increased from 100 to 150 per unit • Energy cost on Kinetic shot increased from 45 to 70 • Ranger Long Rifle cooldown reduced from 5.5 seconds to 3.5 seconds (The 3 second reload and 1 second fire time remain unchanged)

Banshees • Decreased the damage of the Banshee power sword from 37 to 33 • Increased the special attack (AOE knockback) damage from 15 to 20

Wraithlord • Wraithlord brightlance damage decreased from 90 to 60

Warp Spider Exarch • Reduced the damage of Power Blades from 110 to 75

 

Space Marine Balance Updates

 

Scouts • Scouts now have melee resistance (40%) • Reduced Scout melee damage from 7 to 4 • Reduced the damage of the Scout's Shotgun from 40 to 30

Tech Marine • Moved Techmarine plasma gun to tier 2

Tactical Marines • Tactical marine bolter damage increased from 23 to 27

Razorback • Razorback upgrade no longer grants a speed bonus

Devastator Heavy Bolter • Removed the Vengeance Rounds damage bonus against generators

 

Tyranid Balance Updates

 

Zoanthrope • Zoanthrope Focused Blast now slows by 60%

Spore Mines • Reduced Spore Mine damage against vehicles from 300% to 125% • Spore Mines changed from Tiny to Small size • Spore Mines no longer affected by Catalyst • Spore Mine damage reduced from 1 to .5 vs building_light

Lictor Alpha • Jump ability cooldown increased from 6 to 30 seconds • Decreased the healing percentage of Feeder Tendrils from 3% to 2% (does not apply to vehicles or buildings) • Fixed Lictor Hero Knockback

Lictors • Lictor Flesh Hooks can target units in buildings

Carnifex • All Carnifexes can now heal at the HQ

Raveners • Ravener HP decreased from 400 to 300 per unit • Ravener Devourer changed to Bolter damage type, damage reduced from 110 to 85

Venom Brood • Venom Cannon range increased to from 38 to 44

Rippers • Rippers can no longer capture points

 

Miscellaneous Balance Updates

• Reduced the Autocannon damage against heavy armor from 200% to 100%
• Reduced the Explosive damage against heavy armor from 150% to 100%
• Reduced the Piercing_pvp damage against heavy armor from 0.75 to 0.6
• Reduced the Grenade_pvp damage against heavy armor from 1.5 to 1.25
• The damage caused by the Plasma Cannon weapon is now categorized under the Plasma Cannon damage type

 

Bug Fixes



 

Ork Bug Fixes

 

Warboss • Warboss' boss pole graphic now applies to Sluggas and Hormagaunts • Warboss' kustom shoota now fires normally

Stikkbombas • Stikkbombs can no longer be exploited by interrupting the throw

Kommando Nob • Hide da Boyz de-camouflages units upon retreat • Fixed a bug with the Kommando's Extra Equipment regeneration

 

Eldar Bug Fixes

 

Warp Spider Exarch • The Entangle ability can now be retreated from and does not affect retreating units • Heavy Gauge Filament is now fixed • Warp Spider Exarch can now group teleport into the fog of war

Guardians • Guardian grenade tooltip no longer mentions suppression

Farseer • Fortune hotkey changed to O

Avatar • The Avatar now appears as a triangle on the minimap

 

Space Marine Bug Fixes

Apothecary • Apothecary's Rapid Fire ability no longer works on retreating units

Tech Marine • Fixed Orbital Relay healing stacking with Techmarine's Artificer Armor • Fixed tooltip on Brothers in Arms ability

 

Tyranid Bug Fixes

Raveners • The unburrow ability no longer disables enemy weapons

Ravener Alpha • Poison Cloud now works when switching wargear

Warrior Brood • Barbed Strangler upgrade no longer mentions health synapse

Carnifex • Fixed a bug where casting bioplasma outside of the unit's line of sight or range would cause it to go out of control

Hive Tyrant • Fixed a bug where casting bioplasma outside of the unit's line of sight or range would cause it to go out of control

Lictor • Feeder Tendrils no longer heal when hitting buildings/vehicles

 

Map Bug Fixes

 

(6P) Angel Gate • Fixed a bug where squads got stuck upon exiting a building • Fixed a bug where two guard towers were indestructible near the Angel Gate • Fixed a bug where shots passed through the two guard towers near the Angel Gate

 

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

 

• Adjusted turret location on (2P) Leviathan Hive
• Fixed a bug where turret in position two on Ruins of Argus was built on top of the HQ
• Collision added to various railings and fences

 

THERE IS ONLY WAR RELEASE NOTES 1.4.1


New Content



World Builder • World Builder, the map editor is now available to allow users to edit, create, and add new maps to multiplayer games • Open the world builder by navigating to C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\dawn of war 2\ world_builder.exe. • Save maps to C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\dawn of war 2\Assets\Maps\PvP • It is recommended to have an 8800 GT class video card, or be able to run DOW II with ‘high’ graphical settings

Maps • Added 8 new multiplayer maps to the game • (2p) Calderis Refinery • (2p) Outer Reaches • (2p) Leviathan Hive • (4p) Calderis Refinery • (4p) Golgotha Depths • (6p) Calderis Refinery • (6p) Angel Gate • (2p) Legis High Stratum is now available for all Dawn of War II owners

Additional UI Content • Added an RSS news ticker to the title screen that will show critical game updates, news, and information • The Main Menu News tab is now controlled by RSS. You can subscribe to the RSS feed at: dow2news.relic.com/relic/dow2/news/english.xhtml • Added a new PvP loading screen tip about Sweeping Advance • The PvP loading screen now shows loading progress bars for each player in the game

Game Options • You can now freely change the Number of Tickets needed to win a match (250, 500, or 1000) • You can adjust the Starting Resources of a match to be standard or high • Added the option to end a match by conceding defeat in Ranked and Custom Games in the F10 Menu. Team games require a unanimous vote to Concede.

Campaign • Various new pieces of wargear have been added to the Campaign. Can you find them all?

 

Observer Feature

New Fog of War Options • Choose between both teams’ viewpoints • New option lets observers see enemy movements beneath the Fog of War

Telecast Features • Attention Arrows let telecasters highlight a squad, object, or piece of terrain with an easy click • Large mouse cursors for Low-resolution webcasts

Improved Replays • All new Observer UI features are also available in replays • More options for removing UI elements let you make awesome screenshots of Dawn of War II action

Observer Hotkeys • Hotkey “G” toggles the Fog of War • Hotkey “A” tags a unit with an arrow • Hotkey “W” toggles the size of the cursor • Press hotkey “F” to cycle through the Fog of War settings • Hotkey “H” toggles the Observer Panel Visibility • Hotkey “T” toggles the replay speed

Referee Feature

• A referee is similar to an observer, except with additional functionality available only to the referee. Referees can send text chat messages to all players and they can pause the game.
• The action of all players is halted when a referee pauses the game
• Observer/Referee slots must be opened by the host
• Observer/Referee mode is only supported in custom, unranked games
• Referees are selected by the host. Any number of observers can be granted referee privileges
• Referees have the same hotkey functionality as observers, but can also pause the game by pressing the “PAUSE” key

 

Balance Updates

• The rate at which the HQ’s healing aura heals units has been reduced by half for all races
• The amount of Waaagh/Zeal/Psychic Might/Biomass granted from killing a unit and a unit being killed has been reduced for all units
• Retreating breaks stun

 

Eldar Balance Updates

Global Eldar Balance changes • Reduced the regeneration of the Seer Council from 1.5 HP to 0.5 HP • Decreased the Webway population cost from 5 to 3 • Decreased the sight radius for the Webway from 20 to 5 • Changed the name of ‘Conceal’ ability to Distort Field • Reduced the cost of Swift Movement from 120 Psychic Might down to 50 • Reduced the cost of the Crackshot ability from 150 Psychic Might down to 50 • Reduced the cost of the Distort Field ability from 175 Psychic Might to 75 • Increased the cost of Eldritch Storm from 650 Psychic Might to 750 • Reduced the cost of Seer Council from 600 to 450 • Decreased the Psychic Might cost of Spider’s Brood from 400 to 200

Banshees • The Banshee Exarch’s health has been buffed from 160 HP to 200 • Removed power cost on Banshee Squads • The power sword’s damage has been increased from 34 to 37 • The Aspect of Banshee effect now increases HP by 20% • To use Fleet of Foot Banshee squads require the Aspect of Banshee upgrade

Farseer
• Doom Effect has been decreased from 75% to 40%
• Reduced the energy cost of Doom from 50 to 40
• The cost of Singing Spear has been decreased from 170 requisition 55 power to 130 requisition 40 power
• The cost of the gravity blade has been reduced from 200 requisition, 50 power to 150 requisition, 30 power
• The damage-reducing effect of Fortune has been decreased from 50% to 30%
• The energy cost to use Fortune has increased from 30 to 45
• The effect of Rune Armor has increased from 50 health to 100 health
• The energy gained from the Rune Armor wargear has been changed to +125
• Spirit Stones now cost 80 energy to cast and is no longer a limit break ability
• Spirit Stones now regenerate 60 units for the targeted unit instead of its previous 150
• Spirit Stones now heal 200 HP
• The suppression resistance gained from the Spirit Stones’ ability has been reduced from 100 courage to 50 courage
• Farseer’s Mind War supressing effect has increased from 20 courage to 100 courage

Guardians • Guardian squad HP has been increased from 90 to 100 • Fleet of Foot now requires the Battle Equipment upgrade to be equipped • The cooldown time of Plasma Grenades’ has increased from 35 seconds to 60 seconds • Plasma Grenades no longer suppress enemy units • Guardian squad’s requisition cost has been increased from 270 to 300 • Shuriken Catapult’s damage has been increased from 12 to 15

Brightlance • Reduced the weapon cooldown from 4 seconds to 2 seconds • Decreased the unit’s damage from 180 to 90 • Increased the HP of Brightlance crew members from 160 to 220 • Removed the Beam Scorch ability from Brightlance Platforms

D-Cannon • Removed knockback from the D-cannon weapon • Increased the HP of D-Cannon crew members from 160 to 180

Rangers • To use Fleet of Foot, the squad must have the Pathfinder upgrade • Decreased the Health of rangers • Pathfinder is now a Tier 1 upgrade • Added Kinetic Pulse: a Ranger ability that fires a high-impact, low-damage blast of kinetic energy that can knock a single unit down • Removed the Rangers’ Suppressive Volley ability • Changed the cost to spawn a squad of Rangers from 360 requisition 25 power to 300 requisition 30 power • Added setup/teardown time to the Long Rifle of 1.5 seconds • Reduced the cooldown time on the Long Rifle from 7 seconds to 3.5 seconds • Increased Ranger Long Rifle damage from 160 to 180

Falcon • The Scatter Laser’s damage has been decreased from 34 to 28 • Pulse Laser weapon is now categorized under the Venom Cannon weapon family • The Pulse Laser’s damage has been decreased from 60 to 45

Shuriken Cannon • Reduced the mid-range damage of the Shuriken Cannon from 1.6 to 1 • Increased the long-range damage from 0.15 to 0.2 • Changed the cost of the unit from 270 requisition to 210 requisition and 30 power

Warlock • The cost of the Witchblade of Kurnous has been increased from 125 requisition, 30 power to 125 requisition, 35 power • The cost of equipping Warp Throw has increased from 100 requisition, 20 power to 100 requisition, 40 power • Cloak of Shadows has had its requisition cost decrease from 150 to 100 • The health-regeneration effect of Channeling has been increased from 2.5 to 3

Warp Spiders • Increased the HP of Warp Spider’s from 160 to 200

Warp Spider Exarch • Increased Warp Spider’s Dual Deathspinner damage from 35 to 46 • Increased the Exarch’s HP from 160 to 240

Warp Spider Exarch (Hero) • Decreased the cost of the Power Blades upgrade from 170 requisition and 70 power to 130 requisition and 45 power • Decreased the cost of the Improved Warp Generator upgrade from 125 requisition, 40 power to 110 requisition, 30 power • Group Teleport now requires the Improved Warp Generator upgrade • Decreased the power cost of the Shimmer Orb from 35 to 25 • Units shielded by a Shimmer Orb are knocked back if hit by grenades or plasma devastator shots • The cost of Anti-Grav Grenades has been decreased from 200 requisition, 50 power to 120 requisition, 40 power • Decreased the cost of Improved Targeters from 100 requisition, 35 power to 100 requisition, 30 power • Added a teleport effect to warn players of Warp Spider group teleportation target

Wraithlord • Decreased the damage of the Shuriken Cannon from 210 to 70 • Decreased the Shuriken Cannon’s cooldown time from 1.5 seconds to 1 second • Changed the ‘weapon family’ of the Shuriken Cannon from heavy bolter to bolter • Decreased the cooldown fire rate of the Wraithlord’s Brightlance from 4 to 2 seconds • Decreased the damage of the Wraithlord’s Brightlance from 100 to 90

Fire Prism • Explosive Shot has been reduced in damage from 120 to 70

Ork Balance Updates

Global Ork Balance Changes • Buffed the damage of More Dakka, it now increases ranged damage by 25% • More Dakka no longer reduces cooldown • Reduced the wait time of the Roks impact from 2.1 seconds to 1.1 • Reduced the Waaagh cost of Kult of Speed from 275 to 125 • Reduced the Waaagh cost of Hide Da Boyz from 150 to 75 • Reduced the Waaagh cost of Use Yah Choppas from 150 to 75 • Reduced the Waaagh cost of ‘Ard Boyz from 150 to 75

Deff Dread • Decreased the cost from 300 requisition and 70 power to 250 requisition, 45 power • Decreased its HP from 550 to 450 • Decreased Buzz Klaw damage from 170 to 120 • Increased the Burnaz ‘n Bits cost from 50 requisition, 20 power to 200 requisition, 20 power • Increased the effect of Burnaz ‘n Bits from 125 HP to 300 HP • Reduced the Waaagh cost of the Rampage ability from 75 to 35

Kommando Nob (Hero) • Increased the range of Twinlinked Shoota from 25 m to 32 m • Changed the cost of the Rokkit Launcha from 105 requisition, 65 power to 150 requisition, 50 power • Decreased the cost of Improved Camouflage from 100 requisition, 45 power to 100 requisition, 35 power • Boom Time makes the Kommando drop a stun grenade upon retreated • The Kommando no longer drops a grenade when he is killed • Changed the number of Stikkbombs thrown from 1 to 5 • The damage gradient of Booby Traps now gives less damage on its outer radius and more damage on its inner radius • Changed the damage of Booby Traps to 75/125/175 depending on the unit’s proximity • Decreased the cost of Booby Traps from 135 requisition, 20 power, to 120 requisition, 20 power • Increased the duration of Hide da Boyz from 20 to 40 seconds • Removed initial energy cost from the infiltrate ability • Kommando’s Extra Equipment increases the hero’s HP regeneration rate to three times his normal rate • Kaboom damage was changed from 400 + 100 to 300 + 100

Kommandos • Decreased the cost of Kommandos from 400 requisition , 75 power to 400 requisition, 40 power • Increased the damage of the Shoota from 25 to 29 • Nob leaders are equipped with a hammer when the squad is upgraded • Love Da Dakka no longer requires infiltration • Reduced the Waaagh cost of Love Da Dakka from 10 to 5

Lootas • Decreased the damage of the Beamy Deffgun from 3.5 to 2 • Decreased the cooldown of the Deffgun from 1.6 seconds down to 1 second • Lootas now have an infiltration ability called Hide Da Gunz • The Hide Da Gunz ability requires setup time, but zero energy to use

Mekboy • The Mekboy is now melee resistant like the other heroes • Decreased the damage of the Shoota from 47 to 42 • Decreased the damage of the Beamy Deffgun • Increased the effect of the Battery pack from 25% HP to 400 HP • Decreased the energy consumption of the Battery Pack from 100 to 40 • Increased the cost of the Battery Pack from 85 requisition, 20 power, to 100 requisition, 20 power • Decreased the cost of upgrading to the Beamy Deff Gun from 100 requisition, 60 power to 150 requisition, 40 energy • Decreased the energy consumption cost of Electric Armor from 40 to 10 • Decreased the cost of Electric Armor from 170 requisition, 30 power to 120 requisition, 30 power • Mines now have a setup time, deal minor damage, and suppress units • The Kult of Speed ability no longer stacks

Nob Squad • Decreased the cost of a Nob Squad from 600 requisition, 100 power to 500 requisition, 100 power

Shoota • The Aiming Wotz Dat? ability suppresses targets faster than before • Reduced the Waaagh cost of Aiming, Wotz Dat? From 6 to 3 • Increased the damage of Shootas from 10 to 12 • Increased the cost of the Big Shoota from 40 requisition, 20 power to 75 requisition, 20 power • Increased the damage of the Big Shoota from 36 to 37 • Decreased the Big Shoota’s range from 49 m to 43 m

Sluggas • The requisition cost of Sluggas have been increased from 270 to 300 • Increased the damage of Choppas from 17 to 27 • Increased the cost of Burnas from 30 requisition, 10 power to 50 requisition, 15 power • Increased Burna melee damage from 45 to 50 • Decreased the Burna cooldown from 3 to 0.3 seconds • The Slugga Nob Leader is now a stealth detecting unit • Upgrading to a Slugga Nob Leader no longer requires Tier 2 • Reduced the Waaagh cost of the Recklessness ability from 35 to 18

Stikkbommas • Decreased melee damage from 26 to 17 • Stikkbombas now throw 2 bombs per member instead of 1 • Altered the cost of Stikkbommas from 330 requisition, 10 power to 280 requisition, 30 power • Increased the upgrade cost of the Bomma kit from 30 requisition, 10 power to 30 requisition, 15 power • Increased the squad size from 3 to 4 • Decreased the population cost from 4 to 3 • Reduced the damage of Stikkbombs from 175 to 58 • Increased the range of Stikkbombs from 30 m to 50 m • Reduced the Waaagh cost of throwing a Stikkbomb from 4 to 2 • Decreased the health of Stikkbommas from 200 to 150

Stormboyz • Choppa damage has been increased from 19 to 27 • Increased the cost of Improved Rokkit Packs from 25 requisition and 10 power to 50 requisition and 20 power • Choppas are now categorized as power weapons • Increased the cost of Stormboyz from 400 requisition, 20 power to 400 requisition, 40 power • Reduced the Waaagh cost of the Bommaboyz ability from 45 to 20 • Increased the health of Stormboyz from 160 to 180

Tankbustas • Changed the damage type of Rokkit Barrage from rocket to artillery • Increased the scatter reduction of Rokkit Barrage from 40 to 48 (scatters less) • Reduced the Waaagh cost of Tankbusta Barrage from 25 to 12 • Tankbusta build time has been reduced to 24 seconds

Warboss • Increased the Bang Bang Hammer’s damage from 130 to 150 • Bang Bang Hammer hits now increases the speed of surrounding friendly units by 0.15 m/s • Kustom Shoota now has a knockback ability called ‘Shoot ‘em Good • Removed the passive knockback effect on the Kustom Shoota • The limit break cost of ‘Cybork’ has been decreased from 800 HP to 400 HP • Decreased the HP cost of Angry Bits from 800 to 200, you need only take 200 points of HP damage before Angry Bits can be cast • Angry Bits now adds 1.5 m/s of speed to the Warboss when activated • The Trophy rack damage reduction effect has been reduced from 50% to 25%

Wartrukk • Increased damage • Increased the HP of the Wartrukk from 350 to 400 • Decreased the upgrade benefit of the Wartrukk’s Reinforced Plating from 300 HP to 200 HP

Nobs • The Nob Frenzy ability now makes the squad invulnerable for its duration • Hammer damage decreased from 110 to 100 • Choppa damage has been increased from 75 to 100

Looted Tank • Reduced the cost of the Don’t Press Dat ability from 70 to 35

Space Marine Balance Updates

Global Space Marine Balance Changes • Decreased the Zeal cost of Angels of Death from 500 to 250 • Decreased the duration of Angels of Death from 15 to 8 seconds • Decreased the cost of Assault Terminators from 900 requisition/ 700 Zeal to 500 requisition/ 500 Zeal • Decreased the cost of Terminators from 900 requisition/ 700 Zeal to 700 requisition/ 500 Zeal • Decreased the cost of Drop Pods from 500 requisition, 400 Zeal to 100 requisition, 200 Zeal • Calling a Drop Pod no longer deploys a Tactical Marine Squad • Drop Pods no longer reinforce Terminator Squads • Removed the speed debuff on ‘For the Emperor’ • Decreased the cost of the Venerable Dreadnaught from 750 requisition, 750 Zeal to 700 requisition, 400 Zeal • Increased the health of the Venerable Dreadnaught from 1200 to 1600 • Reduced the Zeal requirement of Blessing of the Omnissiah from 250 to 120 • Reduced the Zeal cost of For the Emperor from 125 to 50 • Reduced the Zeal cost of Laraman’s Blessing from 225 to 125

Apothecary • Increased the health of the Apothecary from 500 to 550 • Altered the cost of the Power Axe from 80 requisition, 25 power to 100 requisition, 20 power • Increased the cost of the Master Crafted Bolter from 85 requisition, 25 power to 125 requisition, 25 power • Armor of Apothecarion now reduces the movement speed of the Apothecary to 15% speed; previously it rendered the unit immobile • Decreased the healing effect of the Armor of Apothecarion from 5% to 2% • Decreased the healing effect of the Armor of Apothecarion from 5 seconds to 3.5 seconds • Decreased the cost of the Armor of Apothecarion from 200 requisition, 80 power to 200 requisition, 60 power • Decreased the damage of Purification Rites from 50 to 30 • Decreased the cost of Improved Medical Equipment from 120 requisition, 30 power to 100 requisition, 20 power • Decreased the effect of Combat Stimulants from 75% to 40% • Decreased the energy cost of Combat Stimulants from 50 to 40 • Increased the cooldown time from 30 seconds to 40 seconds of Combat Stimulants • The Purification Rites ability knocks back and damages enemy units that are close to the heal target

Assault Space Marine • Changed the squad cost from 550 requisition, 25 power to 500 requisition, 50 power • Changed the Armor type of the ASM from Infantry to Heavy Infantry • Increased the HP of individual squad members from 325 to 400 • Increased chainsword damage from 34 to 35 • Changed the cost of Melta Bomb upgrade from 30 requisition, 15 power to 50 requisition, 30 power • Melta bombs no longer immobilize, but instead reduce a vehicle’s speed to 40% • Melta bomb effect duration has been changed from 20 seconds to 15 seconds

Devastator Squad • Changed the cost of Devastators from 345 requisition, 0 power to 250 requisition, 30 power • Reduced the mid range damage of the Heavy Bolter from 1.6 to 1 • Increased the long range damage of the Heavy Bolter from .15 to .2 • Added the Vengeance Rounds ability: High damage barrage by the SM Heavy Bolter that does no suppression damage; it also does light damage to vehicles • Added Advanced Targeting: an upgrade that allows the use of Vengeance Rounds • Changed Focus Fire to Vengeance Rounds, adding +5 damage per hit • Increased the energy cost of the Advanced Targeting Upgrade 20 to 50

Devastator Plasma Cannon • Slowed the projectile speed of the Plasma Cannon from 40 m/s to 35 m/s

Force Commander • Decreased the cost of the Stormshield from 150 requisition, 30 power to 125 requisition, 25 power • Decreased the damage of the Thunder Hammer from 175 to 125 • Increased the energy cost of the Power Fist Flesh over Steel from 50 to 80 • Decreased the cost of Artificer Armor from 125 requisition, 25 power to 100 requisition, 20 power • Added Teleport Ability to the FC’s Terminator armor • Decreased the cost of Terminator Armor from 300 requisition, 150 power to 200 requisition, 100 power

Razorback • Increased the cost of the Razorback from 240 requisition, 40 power to 300 requisition, 60 power • Decreased the health of the Razorback from 450 HP to 400 HP • Reduced the effect of Extra Armor ; it used to add 300 HP, now it adds 200 HP

Predator • Added Extra Armor, an upgrade granting the tank extra health

Scouts • Increased the damage of the Scout Bolter from 11 to 13 • Added Explosive Shot ability to Scout Shotguns, a conical blast that grants knockback • Added the Advanced Infiltration Training ability, an upgrade that unlocks the infiltration ability for a scout squad • Removed the AOE on the Scout Shotgun • Increased the damage of the Scout Shotgun from 11.5 to 40 • Scout Sniper Rifles now have a setup and teardown time of 1.5 seconds • Scout Sergeant upgrade no longer requires Tier 2 • Shotgun upgrade no longer grants infiltration • Sniper upgrade no longer grants infiltration • Increased the speed of the Scout from 6 to 6.5

Tactical Marine • Reduced the Flamer cooldown from 0.3 to 0 • Flamer burst info values have been reduced from 3 to 5 seconds to 1 second • Reduced the reload frequency of Flamers from 6 to 8 bursts to 10 bursts • Changed the squad’s armor type from infantry to heavy infantry • Increased the squad’s capping speed from 1 to 1.5

Techmarine • Increased the damage of the Bolter; it used to be 42, now it is 60 • Increased the damage of the Plasma gun from 76 to 90 • Decreased the cooldown of the Plasma gun from 2.5 to 1.5 • Consecrated Bolters now require Tier 2 • Decreased the energy activation cost of the Brothers in Arms ability from 25 to 10 • Decreased the energy drainage of the consecrated bolter ability from 4/s to 3/s • The Brothers in Arms ability no longer grants a cooldown bonus • The Master Crafted Bolter no longer requires Tier 2 • Decreased the cost of the Master Crafted Bolter from 100 requisition, 40 power to 100 requisition, 30 power • The Artificer Armor mines’ damage has been increased from 50 to 75 • Decreased the energy cost of Artificer Armor mines to 45; previously it was 65 • The damage of Bionics Powerful Sweep has been increased from 45 to 65 • Decreased the effect of Signum Armor from 75% bonus damage to 50% bonus damage • Increased the cost of Signum Armor from 135 requisition, 25 power to 135 requisition, 30 power • Increased the Refractor Field’s ratio of damage taken to energy drained from 0.25 to 0.125 • The Orbital Relay Beacon now has a retreat toggle, allowing you to toggle whether or not you want to retreat to that point or the HQ

Tyranid Balance Updates

General Tyranid Balance updates • Changed sight range on Capillary Towers from 20 m to 5 m

Tyranid Global Balance Changes • Reduced the Biomass cost of Brood Nests from 225 to 100 Brood Nests no longer autoreinforce units • Increased the health of Brood Nests from 200 HP to 300 HP • Increased the cost of Mycetic Spore from 300 requisition / 400 Biomass to 400 requisition / 175 Biomass • Decreased the cost of Warrior Vanguard from 500 requisition, 300 Biomass to 400 requisition, 150 Biomass • Without Number now spawns Hormagaunts, Termagants, and Warriors

Carnifex • Carnifex has been moved to Tier 2 • Thornback upgrade grants the Carnifex the Pheromone Cysts ability • Pheromone Cysts allow the Carnifex to spawn Ripper Swarms • Decreased Bioplasma damage down from 100 to 70

Screamer-Killer • Added the Screamer-Killer, a ranged Carnifex unit to Tier 3 • Screamer Killers are equipped with a Barbed Strangler • Screamer Killers can be upgraded to equip Venom Cannons • Increased the damage of the Screamer-Killer’s Barbed Strangler from 85 to 150 • Decreased the 8 m AOE Bioplasma damage size down to 5 m

Hive Tyrant • Improved Synapse effect has been decreased from 50% to 25% • Reduced the damage of the Tyrant’s Charge; previously it was 20, now it is 15 • Decreased the -70% effect of Psychic scream down to -25% • Decreased the 160 requisition, 50 power cost of the Venom Cannon down to 140 requisition cost, 40 power • Decreased the cost of Bonded Exoskeleton from 185 requisition and 45 power down to 140 requisition and 40 power • Increased the Warp Field cost of 125 requisition and 20 power to 125 requisition and 25 power • Decreased Bioplasma damage of 100 down to 80 • Decreased the AOE of Bioplasma; previously it was 8 m, now it is 5 m

Hormagaunts • Increased the requisition cost of Hormagaunt cost to 300; previously it was 240 • Decreased the speed of Hormagaunts from 7.5 to 6.5 • Increased Scything Talon damage from 11.5 to 17 • Hormagaunt HP has increased from 65 to 81 • Added the Adrenal Glands ability, which increases Hormagaunt speed, and allows them to leap on opponents

Lictors • Lictors are now in Tier 3 • The Lictor’s HP has been increased from 600 to 1000 • Increase the damage of the Lictor from 51 to 75 • Increased the cost of the Lictor from 300 requisition and 30 power to 500 requisition and 50 power • Flesh Hooks no longer knock back retreating units • Removed initial energy cost from the infiltrate ability • The Lictor's Vanguard ability now makes infiltration free

Lictor Alpha • Feeder Tendrils now heal upon successful hit • Feeder Tendrils no longer heal when killing an enemy unit • Decreased the 7% healing effect of Feeder Tendrils down to 3% • Decreased the 20 second suppression effect caused by Scything Talons down to 10 seconds • The 100 requisition and 25 power cost for Scything Talons has been increased to 100 requisition and 40 power • Decreased the 130 requisition and 30 power cost of Toxin Sacs down to 100 requisition and 20 power • Decreased the 45 energy cost of Toxic Cysts down to 30 energy • Corrosive claws’ cost has been decreased from 150 requisition and 60 power down to 120 requisition and 40 power • Changed the name of the Loner upgrade to ‘The Lone Hunter’ • Removed initial energy cost from the infiltrate ability • Pheromone Trail no longer reinforces units automatically

Ravener Alpha • Crippling Talons’ damage has been decreased from 110 down to 80 • The Crippling Talons’ slow effect no longer affects retreating units • Acid Splatter’s damage has been decreased from 110 down to 60 • Decreased the Corrosive Devourer’s cost of 135 requisition and 60 power down to 150 requisition and 50 power • Decreased the 150 requisition cost of Hardened Carapace down to 100 • Strengthened Sinew now grants the Fleet of Claw ability • Strengthened Sinew no longer grants the passive speed increase • Decreased the damage of Toxic Miasma from 15 down to 7.5 • The initial energy cost of Toxic Miasma of 7 has been increased to 10 • The Corrosive Devourer’s damage of 160 has been reduced to 100

Ravener Brood • Moved raveners to Tier 1 • Reduced the power cost of raveners from 75 power down to 45 power • Added the Ravener burrow strike ability, which allows Raveners to tunnel underground and knockback units at the target location • Added the Enhanced Muscle Coil ability, which restores the original Ravener burrow ability. • Decreased the damage of Scything Talons from 65 down to 35 • Changed Scything Talons to a power weapon • Decreased each Ravener’s 450 HP down to 400 (the Squad HP is now 1200)

Ripper Swarm • Removed the Ripper Swarm from the HQ

Termagants • A Termagant squad now costs 300 requisition • Decreased the 7.5 m/s speed of the Termagants down to 6 m/s • Increased Termagant’s 60 HP up to 81 • Added Toxin Sacs upgrade that grants Termagants the Crippling Poison ability, which slows targets to a crawl for a short period of time • Decreased the Devourer damage of 8.5 down to 7.5 • Decreased the Devourer’s cooldown of 2 seconds down to 1 second • Removed the Devourer’s knockback

Spore Mines • Added Bio-Plasma Detonation, a new spore mine ability that allows them to explode for massive damage after a short build-up

Warrior Brood • Increased the power cost of the unit from 15 power to 30 • Changed the cost of Warriors from 400 requisition and 15 power to 300 requisition and 30 power • Removed Venom Cannon upgrade • Decreased the squad’s damage from 25 to 22 • Decreased the range of the Warrior’s Barbed Strangler from 44 m to 30 m • Changed the Scything Talon to a power weapon • Decreased the damage of Scything Talons from 22 to 18 • Changed the cost of the Adrenal Gland upgrade from 100 requisition and 30 power to 200 requisition and 20 power • Increased the damage of Adrenal Glands from 33 to 45 • Increased the Barbed Strangler’s damage per second from 45 up to 60

Venom Brood • Added a Warrior Brood that comes outfitted with a Venom Cannon. Available in Tier 2 • Venom Cannons are now exclusively anti vehicle weapons

Zoanthrope • Warp blast damage of 120 has been reduced to 70 • Decreased the cooldown of the Focused Warp Blast from 4.7 to 0 • Increased the energy cost of Focused Warp Blast to 80 • Decreased the vehicular damage of the warp blast from 1 to 0.1 • Focused Warp Blast damage has been decreased from 200 to 100

Bug Fixes

Ork bug fixes • Fixed big stomp so that it properly animates and wears off at the right time • Fixed an issue where the Beamy Deffgun could rotate on the spot without setup or cooldown time initiating • Fixed a bug that prevented Kommando squads from upgrading to have a Kommando Nob Leader if a previous Leader died in combat

Eldar bug fixes • Fixed a bug where Haywire grenades were not responding upon usage • Fixed a bug where Haywire grenades were sometimes missing their target • Fixed a bug when switching between modes on the Fire Prism • Fixed Mind War so that it now simulates a weapon hit

Tyranid bug fixes • Fixed a bug where the Carnifex was not properly affected by synapse • Tunnels can no longer be repaired • Fixed a bug where spore mines were unaffected by phase shift and anti-grav grenades in-game • Fixed charge range action to work with squads • Fix melee movement hitch for hormagaunts • Fixed an issue where the user could see opponents through the fog of war during the first frame of the match • Fixed a bug where purchasing the Lictor Loner (Lone Hunter) wargear would drain 75 energy • Fixed a Lictor jump bug • Fixed a bug that caused the Lictor to freeze when commanded to jump • Sped up the pre-fire stage of the flesh hook attack, reducing the windup and ‘busy time’ for the unit • Fixed a bug causing the Lictor to lock up if it fired its Flesh Hooks at the same time its target became unconscious • The Lictor’s Flesh Hooks can no longer be used on generators • Fixed the Lictor Alpha's Terrify ability failing to work in multiplayer games

Space Marine bug fixes • Fixed a bug where Melta bombs were not responding upon usage • Fixed a bug where unloading a squad while throwing a smoke grenade caused the razorback to become unresponsive • Fixed a bug where the apothecary heal ability counted as 2 revives • Added minimap blip for relay beacons

General gameplay bug fixes • Fixed a bug where build effect animation and audio still played after canceling a unit; it was an exploit in some cases where a user could lag someone else’s machine by spamming a build and immediately cancelling it, if someone else was attacking their base • Fixed a bug where ability effects were appearing through the fog of war • Race Headquarters can now be cancelled without spawn effects appearing • Headquarters no longer regenerate their own HP • Fixed an issue where retreating did not disable weapons properly • Fixed an issue where units would become unresponsive and chase targets despite being issued commands to stop • Fixed bug where the post game stats screen did not shutdown the name replay dialog box when another player forced it to close indirectly • Fixed a bug that made units unresponsive if players triggered an ability at the same time an upgrade was completed • Fixed a bug that caused leader-upgraded squads to lose their keybindings if all units, except the leader were killed • Fixed a bug where squads would get stuck in their capture state • Fixed a bug where retreating units slowed down due to other squads having the right of way when retreating • Improved unit movement and added pathing fixes for retreating units • Fixed a bug where a squad would automatically take cover if a retreating unit ran past • Abilities tied to wargear no longer have their recharge timer visually reset when switching between wargear items • Fixed a bug where a hero’s upgrade queue and spent resources were not cancelled upon death • Fixed a bug that prevented units from throwing grenades on staircases and inclines • Limit breaks are now prevented from charging while the limit break ability is active • Fixed a bug where tanks would randomly turn when unloading • Fixed a bug where walker vs. walker sync kills would not grant Waaagh/Zeal/Biomass/Psychic Might • If a unit’s ability fails to fire, its energy is refunded and the ability’s cooldown time is prevented • Fixed a bug where a unit's ability cooldown was not being reset after the unit teleported or resurrected • Ork Waaagh Banners, Ork Turrets, Space Marine Beacons, Webway gates, and Space Marine Turrets are now crushable by vehicles when they are being built • Fixed a bug where you could see unrevealed garrisoned buildings through the Fog of War

Graphical bug fixes • Fixed a bug where units using two handed ranged weapons would always be aiming while walking, and not in combat • The Carnifex now appears as a triangle vehicle indicator on the minimap • Fixed an issue where the scything talons animation was not synching properly with its animation • Upgrade decorator added for Slugga Boy Nob • Fixed a bug where HQ decals would revert to the default display when being re-shrouded in the fog of war • Fixed a bug where a unit’s death animation would play twice if it occurred simultaneously with an upgrade completion • Fixed a bug where Tyranid generators could be selected when the cursor was outside its bounding box

Text Bugs • Fixed an issue where the chat box was not scrolling on game setup screen • Fixed Seer Council tooltip • Fixed a warlock text bug • Fixed a Ravener text tooltip bug • Fixed help text on the Warboss, Kommando Boom Time, Kustom Shoota, and the Shoot'em Good ability • Fixed loota help text • Updated several upgrade tooltips to specify if they grant abilities • Updated loading screen tips to reflect newly-introduced abilities and tactics

Campaign • Secondary objective minimap pings have been updated to be better aligned to map markers • Stalwart Companion will now add +1 Stamina on the barge, as a bonus the stamina will be removed when the Stalwart Companion is removed as well • Fixed a bug where squads close to levelling are displayed as having levelled up when viewing the post match screen after losing a mission • Fixed a bug where the undo button would disappear or lose functionality if the user allocated points for their squads while speech is playing on the inventory screen • Fixed a bug where the client's cursor disappeared when changing planets if the client was rotating a unit model on the battle barge

Matchmaking • Matchmaking has been improved to take NAT type into account during random matches. This should improve matchmaking performance, and reduce “churn” due to failed joins

Co-op • Fixed a bug where the client's game crashed to the desktop if the client selected Exit Game from the Pause menu while playing a mission

Improvements

Stability • Fixed a crash when players sign out during loading a PvP game • Fixed a crash that occurred when the host/client moved one of the two squads back to the Squad Deployment screen • Fixed minor miscellaneous scar issues

Performance • Fixed an issue where attached splats were continually generating new geometry near the headquarters in PvP games

UI Improvements • Your Hero can now be rotated in the hero selection panel • Improved the searching skull animation and visual consistency on the find a game UI screen • On the PvP teams setup screen, players on your team have their names highlighted in blue, and enemies have their names highlighted in red • Added news ticker that shows RSS updates to the title screen • Moved intel events position down so that the MP player list would not interfere when opening the top event cue • Rank and Performance bars have been removed from the Find a Game party panel. Both statistics were misleading and encouraging bad player behavior that was negatively impacting Matchmaking • AI mini-map pings have been disabled

Post-Game • TrueSkill is now displayed in the post-game stats screen for Ranked games

Audio Improvements • Improved surround sound output; previously surround sound was dictated by the user’s camera focus

In-Game UI and Graphical updates • Added new icons for the Screamer Killer, the Venom Brood, the ork infiltrate ability, the Scout shotgun ability, the Space Marine infiltrate upgrade, Tyranid crippling poison, Tyranid Bio Acid Discharge, Tyranid Burrow Strike ability, the Ravener muscle coil ability, the Techmarine's Powerful Sweep ability, the Tyranid Toxin Sacs upgrade , and for the Ork Shoot ‘Em Good ability • Units now fade when destroyed (instead of popping out of existence) • Added new EULA disclaimer on opening title screen for optional Beta participants • Changed the hotkey for rangers and spore mine detonation • The Techmarine's Powerful Sweep ability icon is now a new, unique icon • The Zoanthrope Focused Warp Blast now has distinct hit effects and focused tracer to distinguish it from the standard shot

Army Painter • Unlocked new colors and new badges

AI Improvements • Vehicle operators avoid heavy weapons with setup times • The AI now evaluates the demand for weapon upgrades as the value gained against the enemy army • Improved squad responsiveness when threatened


[-]

Updates to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

  • Adjusted the Orbital Bombardment ability to increase damage. Outer radius increased to 150 from 100
  • Fixed an issue in the campaign where one point was getting auto-allocated at level-up if the player resumed an old campaign
  • Made changes to the Mekboy mines. The mines now do drastically less damage and suppress infantry
  • Adjusted lighting on 6P Tiber Outpost
  • Fixed an issue where Guardian squads would switch to melee stance if upgraded with a Warlock, then with Battle Equipment
  • Regenerated AI tuning data

[-]

Updates to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

New Content

  • Two on Two game mode is now available for ranked play.
  • Two new four-player maps have been added to the game: (4p) Medean Cliff Mines and (4p) Ruins of Argus. These are available for ranked and custom games.
  • We have added a benchmarking performance test; you can find it in the Graphics options tab.
  • There are eight new sync kill animations in the game. Keep your eyes open for some new carnage!

New Options
  • We have added a "Push to Talk" option for in-game voice chat. When enabled in the Game Options screen, tilde (~) will control chat.
  • We have also added a "Advanced Sub-selection" game option. When enabled sub-selection behavior will be the same as Company of Heroes, where a sub-selected squad will be the only one to receive orders.

Stability
  • Fixed several crashes where invalid data was being written to logs.
  • Fixed a common multithreading crash.
  • Fixed some out-of-memory crashes on Vista 32.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur if Avitus was reinforcing when a game ended.

UI Change
  • The previous PvP squad decorators have been replaced with decorators based on the squad role. The new decorators identify units in a way that is consistent across races. A new loading screen tip has been added to explain the new images.

Replay Improvements
  • Added a 4x speed.
  • Capture progress bars are now visible.
  • Commander wargear and squad upgrades are now visible on unit selection panel.
  • Build queues are now displayed.
  • Replay control buttons now have audio.
  • Decorators now show up in replays.

Gameplay Bug Fixes
  • Fixed a bug where a unit with an energy shield could become unkillable if they also had very low health.
  • Fixed a bug where the Carnifex would stop meleeing units after killing a hero in melee.
  • Tankbusta targeting priorities have been improved, now prefer to target vehicles.
  • Fixed a bug where demolition charges could pass through terrain and not detonate.
  • Fixed a bug where the Techmarine could continue to repair after being knocked down.
  • Squads now unload from a vehicle when it is destroyed.
  • Full resource refunds are now granted when a building that hasn't started construction is cancelled.
  • Adjusted refund costs on the Webway gate.
  • Adjusted refund costs on the Techmarine's Space Marine Heavy Bolter turret.
  • Fixed a bug where a melee leaping unit would follow a teleporting or jumping unit a long distance.
  • Fixed Warp Spider Exarch Enhanced Warp Generator and Improved War Generator.
  • Adjusted Scything Talon knockback and suppression.
  • Fixed a pathing problem on (6p) Typhon Arena.
  • Put a build time on Ravener Tunnels. Tunnels are also vulnerable during construction.

Text Bugs
  • Fixed tooltip on Lictor Hero's Adrenal Gland wargear.
  • Fixed tooltip on Catalyst ability.
  • Fixed tooltip on Warlock Champion's robe.
  • Fixed an incorrect tooltip on the "Luv da Dakka" ability.

Custom Games
  • Players are no longer prompted to dispute a match when a player is kicked from a non-ranked game.
  • Players can now select chapter colors for AI players.

Matchmaking
  • Removed the "Submit Player Review" prompt that would appear if a player left the countdown before a match started.
  • Fixed a situation where a party could get broken up when host migration occurred.

Post-game stats
  • We now show a "Player has left" message for all players when you quit out to the post game screen.

Achievements
  • Fixed a bug with the Sweeping Advance achievement. Previously it wouldn't be awarded if the retreating unit was the last entity in the squad.

Audio Improvements
  • Speech events now fade out if a higher priority event triggers.
  • Medium sound quality preset now chooses 44100Hz instead of 22050Hz.

In-Game HUD and UI
  • There are now two map ping buttons, Attack and Defend. (Hotkeys are F8 and F9 respectively.)
  • Added a Retreat All hotkey. (ALT-X)
  • Added a Retreat Hero hotkey. (SHIFT-X)
  • Fixed an issue where the camera would get locked to a position if you band-box selected and landed on a button, then pressed it without moving the mouse.
  • The camera no longer strafes when starting a move facing or band-box selection.
  • Squads that have sergeants now display the count correctly on the reinforcement UI.
  • Unconscious heroes no longer get selected when bandbox selecting multiple units.
  • Targeted abilities are now usable on multi-select portraits and on squad tabs.
  • Implemented a fix for starting squads not receiving hotkeys when another player loaded slowly.
  • Player list bars no longer fade in and out while using voice chat.
  • Fixed an issue where "Rear Armor Hit" kickers were triggering multiple times.
  • Selection circles no longer disappear on a selected unit that is performing a sync kill.
  • Fixed a bug where greyed-out unavailable abilities would show up when a squad was retreating.
  • Fixed an issue where the portrait health of a unit could display zero when the unit was still alive.
  • Clicking a squad tab on a unit in a Webway gate or Ravener tunnel will now correctly select that squad.
  • Fixed a bug where squads with a sergeant would sometimes get two decorators when exiting a webway gate.
  • Reinforcement UI no longer displays when a hero is selected.
  • Fixed an issue where a blank square would appear when a squad was reinforcing.
  • Opposing players no longer see random players' race selection in the Player List panel.
  • Fixed a bug where helptext on purchased hero accessory wargear wasn't visible.
  • Fixed an issue where a black border would sometimes appear on a garrisonable building.
  • Pressing space bar in a chat no longer results in two spaces entered.

Game Options
  • Fixed a bug where sound for buttons in the Game Options screen would disappear after adjusting brightness.

AI Player improvements
  • Expert and Hard players now provide higher early game pressure through a variety of tier one units.
  • AI players now purchase a variety of wargear for their hero, and take better care not to hurt their economy.
  • AI players now purchase an appropriate amount of generators.
  • AI players will engage the enemy and attack more aggressively than before.
  • AI players are ber at preserving units, and retreat at appropriate times both in melee and ranged combat.
  • AI players are now much better at using unit abilities.
  • AI players will upgrade existing units with a variety of upgrades more intelligently.
  • AI players prioritize capture points in a more intelligent fashion.
  • AI players tech to tier 2 in an appropriate timeframe and purchase later game units based on combat needs.
  • AI players tech to tier 3 and purchases late game units including Carnifexs, predator tanks, fire prisms, etc, based on combat needs.
  • AI players now can flank suppression weapons out of combat.
  • AI players now purchase dead heroes at more appropriate costs.
  • AI players no longer buy and cancel generators when enemies are around.

Campaign
  • Mission briefing speech now only plays the first time a mission is opened.
  • Fixed an issue where the starmap button didn't highlight the first time a player had to travel between planets.
  • The character level up screen now accounts for rewards granted by the mission.
  • Fixed a fatal SCAR error on Angel Gate.
  • Fixed a fatal SCAR error on the first Lictor encounter.

Co-op
  • Added a countdown timer to campaign mission start.
  • Fixed an issue where the other player in a coop games hotkeys were always set to 5.

Localization
  • Added support for Hungarian language.
Reply #37 Top

wow thats a long list :omg:

Reply #38 Top

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 36
I rest my case.
You're comparing Elefants with Apples here. The resources from Relic Entertainment and THQ together, for a game that is inherently more popular than Supreme Commander or Demigod, are vastly different from the ressources available to GPG and Stardock.

Reply #40 Top

Quoting Spooky__, reply 27
You don't know the number of people working on Demigod
Even if you would know, you can't infer small commitment from that, simply because of the limited resources that are available, without sacrificing other projects.

All this should be common sense really
Common sense? How about reading comprehension?

The first thing I had to do was create the blueprint for each new demigod.

Next, I had to code all the abilities.

but we don't have a testing team so it is hard to test

Reread the posts. It's quite clear that he is literally the only one working on coding these DGs. Once he finishes coding them singlehandedly they then go to one girl who does all the balancing. The art department was only recently allocated to making the models/animations, as you can tell from:

I also had to use Regulus' model in-game as a stand in for Demon Assassin since no model existed for him at this point. For Occulus, there was a very basic model. It basically looked like a golden Buddha statue.

Face it. The game is done in GPG's eyes and the updates are considered charity. It's obvious that updates are going to be very, very, very slow from here on out and it's unlikely we'll ever get new maps or new DGs beyond the upcoming two.

Reply #41 Top

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 39
I knew you'd say that.
Is that good or bad?

 

Quoting obscenitor, reply 40
Common sense? How about reading comprehension?

The first thing I had to do was create the blueprint for each new demigod.

Next, I had to code all the abilities.


Reread the posts. It's quite clear that he is literally the only one working on coding these DGs. Once he finishes coding them singlehandedly they then go to one girl who does all the balancing. The art department was only recently allocated to making the odels/animations, as you can tell from:
Erm... you just listed several possible people working on the Demigods yourself ;). Art Department, Balancing, Blueprint Coding for example. And it is to be expected that in a small company like GPG every stage isn't occupied by a high number of people.

Reply #42 Top

Erm... you just listed several possible people working on the Demigods yourself ;) . Art Department, Balancing, Blueprint Coding for example. And it is to be expected that in a small company like GPG every stage isn't occupied by a high number of people.
I listed one person coding all the abilities. How many times do I have to say that? ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES, ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES, ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES, ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES.

The fact is Sorian was hired what, 1-2 months ago? No one had even started on these abilties before him, apparently. Again, there's just no evidence that would lead someone to infer that GPG has a major commitment to this game. In fact given all their other projects it's quite easy to deduce that they do not.

Reply #43 Top

Quoting obscenitor, reply 42
I listed one person coding all the abilities. How many times do I have to say that? ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES, ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES, ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES, ONE PERSON CODING ALL THE ABILITIES.
Huh? So? We were talking about developing Demigods in general. What's so strange about one person coding the abilities? Why do you get so worked up about that?

Reply #44 Top

I think based on this thread we can all agree that GPG no longer has a big commitment to Demigod.

Reply #45 Top

Huh? So? We were talking about developing Demigods in general. What's so strange about one person coding the abilities? Why do you get so worked up about that?
Because he was hired less than two months ago, after GPG had said they intended to present the DGs at Comicon. The whole thing was a bait and switch, there's been very, very little effort on GPG's part to get these DGs out in a reasonable amount of time.

Again, I'm not trying to say that Sorian's not doing a great job or that GPG will never produce more DGs after this, but if you're trying to get people's hopes up for more maps or DGs than these two within the next half a year or longer, you're just being dishonest. Is that what you're trying to do? If not, what's your point here then?

Reply #46 Top

Quoting GnomeChomp, reply 44
I think based on this thread we can all agree that GPG no longer has a big commitment to Demigod.
Where exactly is the part that makes everyone clearly agree to that?

Quoting obscenitor, reply 45
Because he was hired less than two months ago, after GPG had said they intended to present the DGs at Comicon. The whole thing was a bait and switch, there's been very, very little effort on GPG's part to get these DGs out in a reasonable amount of time.
Again, I'm not trying to say that Sorian's not doing a great job or that GPG will never produce more DGs after this, but if you're trying to get people's hopes up for more maps or DGs than these two within the next half a year or longer, you're just being dishonest. Is that what you're trying to do? If not, what's your point here then?
Why does it matter when -Sorian- or any other developer at GPG was hired? It doesn't matter who got hired when, what matters is how many resources are available to GPG and how to divide them up. With a new employee like Sorian they got someone that was already very familiar with the Moho engine and thus capable of working on Supreme Commander 2 and Demigod right from the start. Which in turn meant he was able to be assigned for implementing the new Demigods on the lua side, while other developers could continue on Supreme Commander 2 or other possible projects that GPG is doing.

Back when the contract with Stardock was made or when the new Demigods were announced the future might have looked brighter for GPG than it actually turned out. And thus delays happens.

Reply #47 Top

Why does it matter when -Sorian- or any other developer at GPG was hired?
Answer me this, spooky: Is Sorian a liar? Was he lying when he said he's the one who coded all the abilities?

Second, was he lying when he said they have only guy workign on the desync issues, and that that guy also splits his time between projects?

 

That's what it comes down to, isn't it? I read his posts and believed him when he said these things. You read them and drew the opposite conclusion, so you must think he's a liar.

Reply #48 Top

Assuming he's telling the truth, we can deduce that the abilities of these DGs were not programmed until his hiring, the models were not created until recently, and the desync issue has received relatively little attention in spite of its major game implications.

When you read Sorian's posts there's only two logical conclusions you can draw:

  1. Sorian and his coworkers are very smart and working very hard
  2. GPG is too busy with other projects to devote very many resources to Demigod

 

As a customer the second one is the only one that should really concern me. The internal workings of the company ultimately have very little impact on my play experience and thus my opinion.

 

I have no idea why you are so hell bent on trying to convince people that we're going to see more maps, demigods, or whatever after this, because it's quite obvious we will not within the next six months to year.

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Reply #49 Top

Sorian certainly told the truth, you wouldn't even insinuate something else if you had known him longer. I don't see why you would expect more than one person working on the abilities to be honest. If you have one developer on the task you know who to talk to, he knows all the details of the project at hand, to make it short, it's the best way to avoid bugs, misunderstandings and potential problems. I assume a lot of you have never worked in a similar work environment. You try to keep the teams small and to steamline the development process.

 

If I had that job I would be prepared to take a few more risks and not always follow the short-sighted approach of shooting the aligator closest to the boat, so to speak. In the gaming industry loyalty and support are highly rewarded.

And Gnome Chomp how old are you have you actually worked on comparable projects? I work in IT and some of my collegues code custom solutions for our needs. A few year back I co-authored 4 books. I'm certainly no expert concerning game developing but I have a fair share of experience with publishers (good and bad) and how you plan and execute a project for them. And one thing is for sure, I would not risk my company and the future of my employees just to get that patch/DLC out a few weeks earlier.

And the last sentence of the quote makes me actually doubt you have the slightest idea what you are talking about. There are plenty of small developers who had to close up shop because they weren't careful enough, one of them in the city I live in. I'm glad GPG has made it so far and has at least two new games in line. We certainly wouldn't get the new demigods if they would go out of business now, would we?

Reply #50 Top

Quoting obscenitor, reply 47
Answer me this, spooky: Is Sorian a liar? Was he lying when he said he's the one who coded all the abilities?
Second, was he lying when he said they have only guy workign on the desync issues, and that that guy also splits his time between projects?

 

That's what it comes down to, isn't it? I read his posts and believed him when he said these things. You read them and drew the opposite conclusion, so you must think he's a liar.
No, you were saying that there is no committement from GPG. I am pointing out that there is, but GPG simply has limited resources, especially now. Which is reflected in -Sorian- working on Supreme Commander 2 and Demigod and he being the only one who is coding the abilities (which is to be expected anyway) and only one network guy working on the desync issue, who is naturally working on more than one project (since he is "the networking guy" of the Moho engine)