Relicnews: the definitive source for all things Relic

If anyone is wondering what was up with the downtime, we moved servers. We’re using same hosting provider but now have new hardware for the same price as before.

If you can see this message, you’re looking at the site running on the new servers.

Forums are back as well.

I have a feeling that a few people got CoH as a gift for Christmas. Relic Online’s brutally slow to log in (4+ minutes last attempt).

I sure hope someone from Relic’s aware of this and sorting it out.

The Multiplayer Balance Beta’s quick to log in though. Now might be a good time for people to check it out.

Update: 24 hours later, and performance is still in the tank. I’ve confirmed that Relic is closed until the 1st :-(

DeafMute posted about Bioshock on the forums. Someone else mentioned that Steam was having an awesome sale on games.

So I figured I’d check out what the have for THQ games… wow was the result!

Company of Heroes for 14.90!

Company of Heroes Gold for 22.49!

Dawn of War Complete for 29.99! That’s four freakin’ games!

THQ Collector Pack This package is huge, Both CoH games, all four Dawn of War games, Titan Quest and it’s expansion, Stalker, Full Spectrum warrior and its expansion, Front Lines Fuel of War, and Juiced 2(???) for 74.99!

Also, and this isn’t on Steam, you can get CoH for free if you grab an annual subscription to File Planet.

If you’re new to THQ games, now’s the time to buy in!

Go HERE NOW!.

Things to note
- You still have a building to drop in/portal in/vomit in units.
- Capturing points is the name of the game
- Commanders get access to upgrades (not the same as XP upgrades)
- Cone nosed marines
- Tech marine commander unit gets access to buildings to enhance strategic points/build static defenses.

Alt link: THQ UK

Gamespot’s latest episode of features some information about the Dawn of War multiplayer component. Some of the highlights are

- You get to choose from a commander from three different units from each race.
- Certain Commanders get access to unique units/upgrades (like CoH Doctrines), ex. Players who choose the Force Commander gets access to terminators.
- Your commander gains experience through each game played. This is visialized through upgraded armor/weapons. These upgrades are only cosmetic and doesn’t not affect any stats
- Jonny loves his F-bombs.

You guys can check out video here thirty-three minutes into the video.

Discussions are going on here

The Eletronic Sports League gave me a heads up on a new ladder they’re starting for Soulstorm. Rather than letting players choose their race, the race selection will be randomized. Here is a quick snip from the page,

Dawn of War: Soulstorm is, in many way, a broken game, going by the amount of bugs that can be found in it. It’s so easy to beat better players just by picking an imba race, so we’re gonna sort that out.

Players that are interested should go the Random Race Ladder page for more information.

Thunder (Relic’s Community Manager) is asking for feedback about problems with automatch maps.

Which Automatch maps do you dislike playing on the most? Could you give us a few reasons why you don’t like playing on each of the maps? (VP placement, building placement, etc)

If you automatch a lot in CoH, and have maps you don’t like, now’s the time to put in your two bits!

Thunder let me know that there is an article about the Blood Ravens up at IGN.

THQ has released a new trailer showcasing the Space Marines at the heart of the single-player campaign for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. The real-time strategy game from Relic looks to be one of the key strategy games for 2009, and the good news is that it’s scheduled for release early in the year rather than at the end. The game builds upon the foundation that Relic established with the superb Company of Heroes games, but rather than World War II you’re battling on alien worlds with elite squads of Space Marines. We recently had a chance to play the opening act of the game, and it differs from most real-time strategy games (at least in the single-player) by eschewing base building and resource gathering and focusing more on tactical battles that can be fought and won in 15 to 20 minutes.

A new trailer, and screens are included.

Rainier from Worthplaying.com dropped me a line to let me know they had a couple of articles up that Relic’s fans might be interested in. The Tales of Valor article especially.

First up is a Dawn of War 2 article. Warning, it contains plot spoilers in the extreme.

For example, some of the larger maps we played on included special buildings: communication arrays, shrines and foundries. Going out of our way to capture one took extra time, but the benefits paid off in later missions. For example, capturing an array gives you additional intelligence information when operating later missions on the same planet. Capturing a shrine gives you the Rosarius item, which renders a given squad invulnerable for a limited amount of time, but it only works when a shrine is in range. Finally, the foundry gives you automated turrets. Like the shrine, they only work when the foundry is in range, but can be a powerful defensive weapon.

Following that, they’ve got an interview put together with Brian Wood, the lead designer on Tales of Valor.

More info below… Read the rest of this entry »

I just dropped by fileplanet to look for demos (I’m on Vacation and bored) and I noticed this.

FilePlanet is giving all new and current subscribers Company of Heroes FREE with qualifying subscription. Here’s how to join the fight:

• Step 1: Choose your subscription package
• Step 2: Grab your game key
• Step 3: Download Company of Heroes!

Anyone out there with a copy of Opposing Fronts without CoH, that’s a pretty sweet deal. I caved a year ago, got a file planet subscription and have been quite happy with it. This is basically icing on the cake and now I’ll have a spare CoH key now to go with my collection :-D