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Greetings all,

Not quite sure in which group to post this, but here goes:

A few years ago I developed (over several years) a quite extensive generic campaign system and software to support it, 'Art of Warfare'.
On request I have recently updated it to match the latest changes of WH40K.

Features:

- it is free!
- map-based WH40K campaigns:
basically, the software handles all the bookkeeping of the campaign stuff , and the players can then build and move armies, etc.
- Battles can be fought as tabletop battles, and the results are then included in the campaign game
(or alternatively the computer can be set to resolve the battles, and the campaign can thus be played as a 'pure' computer game).
- pbem support
- reasonably complex campaign system (cities, fortifications, resources, terrain, different detachment types, different battle orders, special abilities/rules for the various armylists, etc. etc.)
- lots of options to match individual preferrences
- the software can read rosters created by using Army Builder (v3.1, but older versions also usable)
- map editor included
- full campaign rules and other help files


Download and further info here:
http://www.geocities.com/npilgaard/computercampaign.html

Hope you will enjoy it!

Thanks
Nikolaj

PS: Please post any bugs and comments at the WH40K Campaign discussion forum:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/WH40KCampaign/

PPS: I apologize if you receive this message via different e-groups, but I try to give as many WH40K players as possible a chance to get to play some campaigns

Attention Dakkaites!

Do take your time to read my post to its full length. I am a lurker and an unfamiliar name, I know, but seeing Nikolaj post information about his campaign, I felt I just had to share my view about his campaign.

Me and my fellow gaming mates, since more than a decade back has played Nikolajs campaign several times now, and in short - it is simply the best campaign system there is. Personally I consider Nikolajs campaign system to be the single best supplement to WH40K after the rulebook.

For my gaming group, Nikolajs campaign system was a huge boost to our playing, after years of less and less playing WH40K. With this vitamine injection all of a sudden we found ourself enthusiasticly making terrain in abundance to have different terrain for each setting, djungle, mountains, swamp, etc. Painting new minis became top priority to try to surprise our opponents with new units and tactis they didn't expect.

The key to it all, and what made people at our gaming club either love it or instantly dismiss it is the fact that the campaign doesn't set up a nice set of balanced battles, where each battle has a minute effect on the upcoming one. Instead this campaign gives each player vastly more freedom, and simply starts with a set amount of total points for each player at the start of the campaign, for the player to buy his total amount of armies, defenses, city upgrades and so on.

This can of course lead to battles where one player has roughly twice the points than the other - but hey, hte player with the less points on the table has his points invested elsewhere, right. So there's still no ultimate unfairness to it all. Even more brilliantly, Nikolaj has put together the most ingenious balancer of all, to keep people from completely cheesing out every single army they crank out from their cities. On each army being built, there is a complexity number. In short, the more non-troop choices on the force chart, and the more points spent on non-troop choices - the more strategic turns it takes befor the army shows up on the map. So you are always faced with the dilemma - do I want my army to be rock hard uber cheesed, or do I want it to deploy ASAP.

Furthermore, each and every army have their own special set of rules that affect how they are played on the strategic map, and Nikolaj has captured the feel of the different WH40K races masterfully. For example, the Tyranids don't generate income like other races from the land they occupy - instead they devour the land, and get a one-off higher income from every hex devoured. However, afterwards these hexes are worthless to everyone, which forces the Tyranid player to play agressively, and also which makes it completely worthless for other players to make a temporary tactical withdrawal from the Tyranid player - if you loose the land it is worthless to reconquer. This is just one of the flavorful rules, and each race has loads of them, all very fitting for their race, and all adding to that special atmosphere that just oozes WH40K.

The campaign really got us hooked on WH40K again, more specifically playing within the campaign setting. Most of us haven't played WH40K apart from within this campaign since we took it up a couple of years back. For us, the campaign created the perfect atmosphere of gaming - a good competitive atmosphere with a nice continuity connecting each battle to each other. Between games, we use to sit brooding over the map, contemplating the next move, wondering what our nefarious co-players might do. Anyone loosing badly, or just loosing, in the last round is of course verbally abused and so forth.

Perhaps I should issue a word of warning to the gamers here, and at the same time a word of joy for any GW representative that might read this. This campaign made us buy vastly more minis from GW. In the campaign it is possible to reinforce a battle with units from a strategically placed adjacent army - which of course requires you to have these minis (fully painted as we had as house rule.) This, and other misc. rules in the campaign really fuelled our thirst to buy more stuff, to desperately try to spring new surprises on our enemies. It got to the point when people were buying and painting minis in secret, just to be able to deploy a unit the other player wasn't aware of, and therefore hadn't taken measures to defeat.

To conclude it all - I strongly urge all of you who are even the slightest interested in campaigns, to download this great program, and hopefully you will have a blast! Play it with a bunch of friends - you will scheme and plot, and I dare to hazard that you will have a truly remarkable gaming experience.

Cheers!



Oh, and in case you see this Nikolaj, first of all - Hi there!

Nice to see you drop by DakkaDakka. I am a long time lurker here on Dakka, perhaps some of the older members remember my name from a qouple of Dakka-versions back. Anyway, I am back in Sweden again - but just as usual, for how long isn't certain. But since I am back my friend has been nagging me about - playing the campaign of course. :-) If I find myself to stay in Sweden I'll start up another campaign, come to think of it, I haven't even looked at your latest update. Well, keep up the splendid work.

Cheers!
/Chris

Posted By Tyfe on 04/29/2006 3:26 PM
Oh, and in case you see this Nikolaj, first of all - Hi there!

Nice to see you drop by DakkaDakka. I am a long time lurker here on Dakka, perhaps some of the older members remember my name from a qouple of Dakka-versions back. Anyway, I am back in Sweden again - but just as usual, for how long isn't certain. But since I am back my friend has been nagging me about - playing the campaign of course. :-) If I find myself to stay in Sweden I'll start up another campaign, come to think of it, I haven't even looked at your latest update. Well, keep up the splendid work.

Cheers!
/Chris

Hello Tyfe!

Good to hear from you again!!

And thanks a lot for the (plenty of) kind words (btw would you mind if I forward those words (I will of course remove your name - or let it stay in if you prefer) to some other groups where I have posted about the campaign system? It is, afterall, quite a good recommendation ).

Regarding the current update of the campaign system: things have been quiet for some years, but a few months ago I was asked to update the software/system to match Army Builder v3 and 4th ed. 40k.

So the current update is pretty much about that - bringing things up to date, so players once again can enjoy the campaign-playing . Mostly no new content as such, more technical fixes regarding new unit types etc. So things are pretty much as you remember them

Glad to hear all is well - (btw your reworking of the rules-doc is still much appreciated )

Regards - and all the best

Nikolaj

 

 

 

By all means, feel free to post my short(ish) review from a gamers perspective wherever you deem it apropriate. You may leave my name as it is, it doens't bother me at all. And if someone reading my review is wondering about something in particular, they can feel free to contact me, and I will answer what I my experiences as a gamer has been, using your campaign.

I'll be sure to take a look at your campaign at its current update within a few weeks. Oh, and I'll make sure I'll send you an email as well. But that will have to wait a few weeks, because tomorrow I am going out hiking for about a fortnight. Keep up the good work!

Cheers!
/Chris - the ever restless soul ;-)