Developer: Namco
Publisher: Black Hole Entertainment
Working Title: Warhammer

The following summary is made based off the information gleaned from the PCG article and is in entirely my words (IE. Some of the following is my opinion and not hard fact) Afterwards I will make extrapolations from the statements made in the summary (At this point it will be purely my own speculation, albeit logically reasoned out to the best of my ability).

Summary: In a more literal translation from tabletop-to-PC then its WH40k predecessor, Warhammer provides players with the ability to create their own insignias, armor configurations, color schemes, formations, and weapon loadouts in the game. Additionally, models will be given randomized heads and other details to make your chosen army feel completely unique and distinctly your own. Battles will be set on sprawling maps with hundreds of detailed units populating the battlefield. As in Rome: Total War and Dawn of War, all units will have detailed combat animations to individualize the way combat occurs.

In a fresh break from most RTS games, the way damage is done in Warhammer bears a much closer resemblance to the tabletop version than Dawn of War does to the tabletop WH40k. Here, the damage is based on where and how hard the weapon hits. Weapons might glance off or break through a unit's armor, even decapitate a unit with one mighty swing, as determined by behind the scenes dice rolls. Adding gritty realism to the game, a very impressive physics engine has been included that will ensure when a unit's severed head hits the ground it will bounce and roll around in a realistic fashion (The preview compared it to the Havok physics engine and even hinted at it being superior...). As for the actual battle engine its graphics appear very impressive, even at this stage. For comparison's sake think Rome: Total War or Battle for Middle Earth with far superior outdoor visuals (Many of the screenshots were of battles taking place at twilight or in the evening with highly detailed skies and what seems to be dynamic lighting).

The game will include two campaigns, the first starting from the viewpoint of the Empire as they defend themselves from the hordes of Chaos invading from the north and the second letting you control the united armies of Chaos. The campaigns will be dynamic in that there will be no linear scripted mission line. Instead, it will occur on a map where the player will be allowed to move around at will; taking and holding territory while defending themself from their enemies' attacks. As you gain more territory you will be awarded resource points which I presume is the primary method of aquiring new recruits. Seiges will also make it into the game- Keeps and Castles are scattered around the map and, once seized, grant the defenders a large advantage in battle by forcing the enemy to go through these fortifications if they wish to secure the outlying territory. Little is said of garrisons but the developers seem to have taken the stance of minimizing any base management. Thus, once a territory is conquered it will not require your attention until it is once again under attack. The limits of "base management" as far as I can tell will be a main city from which you will recruit your units. The developers dont want to get into the minutiae of placing buildings and the such but rather want to maintain the feeling that you are a general being backed by an empire's infrastructure. In reference to the Resource Points mentioned earlier, each unit will have a point value taken from the actual WH game and will be presumably used to train the unit.

Now up to this point I bet you're all wondering what factions made it into the game. So wait no longer! The winners are....

1. The Empire
2. Chaos (Not sure if this includes beastmen or some of the other subsects)
3. High Elves
4. Skaven

These are the fully playable races which will be available for the main campaign and multiplayer. Worry not if you didnt see your favored race here because cameos abound in the campaign which will tentatively include: Dwarves, Goblins, Orcs, and Vampire Counts whose units will be able to be controlled for certain parts of the campaign. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this is that the industry has finally gotten rid of their Orc fetish in making them central characters. The characteristics of each of these races are what you'd expect if you've seen them on the tabletop before; the Empire with their guns and armor, Chaos with their vicious close combat troops, etc...

Important tabletop conventions have been left intact as morale and leadership are being incorporated into the combat system with units being able to route and flee in panic. In my opinion, these things are some of the most desirable aspects in playing a true game based off the Warhammer TTG.

With classic fashion, hero/lord characters have been incorporated into play and will be able to raise the morale of nearby troops in addition to being fearsome combat specialists. These characters will be able to gain powerful loot in the single player game and have the ability to challenge the other army's leader to a one-on-one confrontation as the battle rages about them.

In case I didn't mention before, magic will be included though little detail has been given as to how it will function.



Theories and speculation: The mention of all the army customization, especially when the article mentions "once you're satisfied with your creation" leads me to believe a fairly detailed army builder/editor will be included that will let us construct armies in advance for multiplayer and other such things.

No screenshots of the single player campaign map seem to have been included in the article so I'm still somewhat curious as to how the whole thing will function. Even though it states that we wont be forced to go through one scripted mission after the next it goes on to say the cameo appearances of the extra races occurs in "missions" which leads me to speculate on what their definition of a "mission" is if there aren't objectives per se. It would seem that it isnt the free style type of thing that Rome TW is, where you are essentially given the setup and left on your own to make your own story. I would guess its something similar to Emperor: Battle for Dune if your familiar with that. If you're not, go look it up.

Graphics are looking pretty advanced, a few shots seemed somewhat pixelated when it was zoomed up really close but I'll attribute this to a graphics engine that hasn't been fully refined yet.

The scale of battles seems to be closer to Rome: Total War rather than LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth as I've counted approximately 3 formations of High Elven Spearmen on the field totalling about 300-330 men with a massive horde of skaven/goblins easily this strong rushing at them. Once you account for all the other units present I'd say you might expect 1000+ high elves to be in such an army with maybe twice or three times this number in skaven/goblins. This is mostly speculation, of course.

Alright guys, thats it. I'll try to answer any questions you have if they were in the article. Otherwise, lets get discussing!