Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, do we have a treat for you today! Our very own GodAries (GA) recently had the opportunity to ask questions to Relic Developer Jeff Lydell (Relic) about the new stand-alone expansion currently in the works, Chaos Rising. Read on to find insights into the single-player campaign, unit additions, the new Chaos Space Marines, and some rather cryptic answers regarding multiplayer.
GA - First things first, please introduce yourself.
Relic - My name is Jeff Lydell, and I’m the Producer of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2: Chaos Rising. A few of you know me as EgonSpengler on the community site and GameReplays’ forums, or by my GFWL gamertag TerribleDamage.
GA - Some early criticisms people have had from the early screenshots are that Chaos may turn out to be a "spiky SM". Would you like to address that criticism now and perhaps highlight some key differences between the two?
Relic - The races are very distinct from each other. Chaos has the Bloodletter demons and Juggernaut units, as well as a couple others you haven’t yet seen, some making their first Dawn of War appearance. Chaos will feel very distinct from the Space Marines, and a lot of care has been taken to make sure their units have a unique look both in the models and animations.
GA - Its been mentioned that the Chaos Rising campaign is a continuation of the current campaign with an increased level cap. Does this mean that players will require a saved game at the end of the current campaign or will players have the option to start completely over in the Chaos Rising campaign? (I suppose there must be some sort of functionality for this since the expansion is stand-alone but can you guys elaborate on how it will work?)
Relic - If you have finished Dawn of War II you can import your characters from the original, and they will have all the skills and abilities you unlocked. Most of your wargear was lost when your Battle Barge was destroyed, so you will have to go find it again.
If you are starting Chaos Rising without a save game from the original, we provide you with a starting profile at a high enough level to play Chaos Rising, and enough gear to get you started.
GA - Will there be new units for the player to control in Chaos Rising? And if I choose to become corrupted, will my units change to Chaos Space Marines or will they just be regular marines with different wargears?
Relic - New to the campaign is Jonah, the Librarian. He joins the Blood Ravens early in the campaign and brings a whole new set of gameplay options. He’s a powerful psychic, and gets access to a lot of powerful spells. He can also augment and customize his abilities with different pieces of wargear.
I’d have to spoil too much story to answer the corruption question, but I will say that corruption will be very important in both your character customization, and to the events that unfold in the campaign.
GA - While we're at it, were any new abilities added in the campaign or just new gear?
Relic - The skill trees for each character have been extended, and new abilities and new traits are available for every character.
GA - Will the Chaos Rising campaign support co-op like the original campaign did? Any information on how the game will handle a situation where say one of my friends owns Chaos Rising, and I don't, and he sends me a game invite to play co-op with him? Will we still be able to play or will both players be required to own the expansion? Will there be any system that says "No, you cannot send a Chaos Rising campaign invite to this person because they do not own Chaos Rising"?
Relic - We support co-op, and both players will need to own Chaos Rising. It’s fair to assume we will tell you that in game. Of course my preferred solution will be for everyone to buy both Chaos Rising and Dawn of War II! That way you take the guesswork out of it.
GA - Assuming that the new units for the other races are not commanders, will the new units replace existing ones, similar to that of Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor?
Relic - One thing to point out is the new units will be available to everyone, including Dawn of War II owners. With one exception, they will add to the army, not replace existing units. I won’t say what unit is replacing what, because I want to fan the flames of speculation.
GA - Will Chaos Rising have an Open or even a Closed beta?
Relic - We don’t have any betas planned right now.
GA - Last question, if you where any unit in Warhammer 40k, who would you be?
Relic - Today I’m the Space Marine Force Commander. “Knowledge is power, guard it well.”
GA-Ok I lied, one more question, we are assuming that the Chaos commanders will consist of a Chaos Lord and a Sorcerer, any insight of what the third choice may be?
Relic- Chaos has commanders? I’ll have to ask the multiplayer team about that.
Since I copped out on that question I’ll mention a few more things coming to the game. By popular demand, we are adding vehicle wrecks, so tanks and other vehicles will now leave a carcass when they get killed. We’ve also added a melee/ranged stance button. These will be shipping to Dawn of War 2 when Chaos Rising ships.
Thanks for taking the time to send these questions, and I’ll see you all online!
