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Just got it and I'm liking it so far (just finished the first tutorial).

I'm larylich on Windows Live Gaming, so eventually I'll be looking to find people to shoot at.

Post your handles here if you want to get together at some point.

It's frikking $100 AU over here. Sickening. I got it anyway and it has blown me away.

How do you use co-op campaign?

Hello Dakka,

I am a long time 40K fan and was very impressed by the recent DOW2 release movie and concepts. I was also a big fan of Company of Heroes, which I played a fair amount. So I was looking forward to DOW2 very much. A friend of mine and I bought 2 copies today and went home to play multiplayer on his network. Which is where it all began...

We did not know DOW2 is a Steam client game (my friend in the Army does not always have internet connection for steam)...

We had to install steam...
We had to create/recover 2 steam acounts...
Then the game associated our copies of DOW2 with the Steam accounts permanently...
We then had to patch the game, steam servers dropped one of our connections 9 times...
Finally we got the patches and the game started, except not really...
To play multiplayer we had to create Windows Live acounts...
We started creating windows live accounts...
Triggering the browser in Vista to do this with the game up crashed the game on my friends laptop...
It seems at this point to play multiplayer one needs Steam, Windows Live and an active internet connection as no other menu options existed in the game.

in summary at this point for multiplayer one needs:

At least 1 email and net access
A DOW2 registration number
A Steam account UID and PWD
A Windows live Account and PWD

My friend and I are older gamers, we have little tolerance for the online experience and all that entails. At this point we realize we do not have an option to play a LAN game but must instead play through the internet windows live system. This makes the multiplayer game worthless as we have our own network, but do not always have internet access. We quit the game at that point after over an hour of set up because with $4000 of hardware, the passwords/creation/recovery of 6 accounts, an hour of setup time, 2 brand new legitimate copies, a network we maintain, current hardware we own, and 4 patches we could not play a game together.

To Dakka:

If you are playing online already and enjoying the game, Great!

If this sounds irritating to you, or you want to play on your own network in private games, apparently you can't, skip this title. Getting it to work is a complete nightmare.

Good luck to all.

How is the voice acting in DoW2? DoW Platinum has pretty corny voice acting so far.

Hopefully they've rethought the way they want 40K to sound. The first game actually sounds like slightly drunk guys making fun of 40K at times.

And the chaos guys are terrible. Imagine Pinky from (Pinky and the Brain) whining "Right away dark lord!" Uggh. Otherwise it's kind of fun though. I think I like Starcraft better.

What's the point of requiring Games for Windows Live AND Steam ? I thought these were supposed to be two different competing online matching and friend tracking services? It's like requiring Coke AND Pepsi or Taco Bueno AND TAco Bell....or something.

palaeomerus wrote:....What's the point of requiring Games for Windows Live AND Steam ? I thought these were supposed to be two different competing online matching and friend tracking services? It's like requiring Coke AND Pepsi or Taco Bueno AND TAco Bell....or something.

Yes it came as a surprise. But I must admit I did not read the full fine print, it actually lists Steam AND Windows Live as requirements for the game. I really don;t like client stuff running in the background it always causes performance hits...

I guess they are determined to track the player base for analysis and marketing, and potentially security since they dont have DRM.

Irritating.

Steam is required because it's a THQ game for patch distribution. Windows live is required because the game is supposed to be ported to the Xbox. I suspect the Xbox port with why the squad sizes are so small and there is no base building. LOLOLOL at RTS on a console.

I already had Steam, because of Left 4 Dead, so that wasn't an issue. I actually just used Steam to buy it, which was very convenient, as it meant I could get the game without having to put pants on (but that's another matter).

I had to create a Windows Live account, though, and I much prefer Steam, and would have preferred it had they gone that route for all their online stuff.

What I really dislike is not having a manual though. I don't know if there are any longtime Steam users who know how to get around this for games they've bought via the Steam distribution method, but I don't like not having something I can look at for answers.

So far I've only played a couple of AI skirmishes. I like that the orks seem more viable than in DoW(1). I like the graphics so far. I think the gameplay will make more sense as I play more. I kind of like not having to micromanage grots. I'd prefer a few more maps...

A .pdf version of the manual can be downloaded from THQ's site: http://www.thq-games.com/uk/game/manuals/4231/1

There's also a hotkey guide available for download on the same page.

Steam is bad enough, there's no way I'm running Live.

feth you, THQ.

I hated steam when it first came on the scene with Half-Life 2, but it has improved tenfold. I can understand and fully acknowledge its drawbacks. The fact it forces you to run 2 clients is pretty rediculous. Pick one and go with it. But as an avid universe and fluff fan, this game was a must have. I was drooling when i saw the first teaser and screenshots. I still get a bit turgid when i send my Assault Squad barrelling down on a group of gaunts...but I digress.

THQInsider wrote:A .pdf version of the manual can be downloaded from THQ's site: http://www.thq-games.com/uk/game/manuals/4231/1

There's also a hotkey guide available for download on the same page.

nice. I am looking forward to trying the game and seeing the various options/ etc. I would guess it is at least a quality, playable game even if it is not the next game of the year title.

I've finished playing through DOW2 and want to address the Steam/Live issue with my opinion.

I'm all for it.

I think there have been 2-3 patches for the game since it's release. That means, I received patches for the game that were delivered TO ME, without ME having to go hunt them down. It means that someone else was proactive in fixing the game that I purchased instead of dumping that responsibility on me. It also means if my computer explodes into fire, I can get the updated game put on my new computer and all I have lost is are my saves. I don't have to worry about broken/scratched disks, etc.

The windows LIVE issue was very bothersome when it came to redeeming the codes. You had to access Window's Marketplace a different way than just going to the website, and that really didn't feel necessary; overly complicated. That part needs to be made much easier. I haven't done a lot of multiplayer yet, but I have a feeling it will make it easier on me when I do. Also considering that Windows Live will be used for all my Windows games in the future, it will provide a consistent platform for me to find my friends. The only thing that will make me mad is if Windows Lives slows down my system's performance during the games. So far it has not.

I agree with Moopy...at the onset there was an overtly complicated mess of third party progs to install. Granted, they take care of patching as needed and offer up a single app to launch the games form, I wish they would have just picked one method over 2. I find the steam multiplayer system to work fantastically (L4D). The Live needs work, but in time it should work well...hopefully.

Well, I had a go, and have to say, the single player campaign is far, far too easy.

The Voice acting is utterly Spot on however, as is the character development.

The ending is ace also.

My gamertag is metalsaurusrex usually looking for someone to play multiplayer with.

The latest patch, 1.21, has now been released. Your game will be automatically updated when you log onto steam.

The update addresses a few balance and bugs issues and adds a new 3v3 map.

Patch notes: http://community.dawnofwar2.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18173