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drunkenskunk · 5 months

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Morning all.

So, I've been thinking about the original Dawn of War.

Specifically: I've been thinking about how it was my introduction to the setting of Warhammer 40k. It feels like it was a damn near perfect introduction, and it accomplished this... with the use of the loading screen maps.

Let me explain.

When I first played the game back in 2004, I knew nothing about 40k. I didn't know about Grim Darkness, or that the Imperium is a fascist theocratic nightmare, none of that. All I had for context was the maps on the loading screens and the pre-mission briefings.

The game starts off very simple, and very easy to understand. Here's the mission location, here's the space marines, here's the orks, etc. It's simple, it's straightforward, and it draws you in with a very understandable conflict that you can immediately get behind.

Now, I will say: that opening is both a strength and a weakness. Because, the one problem I do have with the original Dawn of War is that they really kinda gloss over just how fucking terrible the Imperium is, as a means of easing new players into the setting. Like, on the one hand? I kinda get it, you don't want to scare people off immediately by forcing people to play as someone they find reprehensible. But I also absolutely understand how someone might think the Imperium are the "good" guys if all they ever played was Dawn of War. And that's a problem.

Feels very black and white, and unambiguous, y'know? I mean, hell, a lot of the early missions are explicitly about the space marines running interference, so the orks can't slaughter civilians who are trying to escape the planet. But I'm getting slightly off topic.

See, what you may be noticing from these pre-mission briefing maps: as the game goes on, things get progressively worse. You're succeeding in your mission objectives, sure... but the overall picture of what's going on in the planet is becoming more and more bleak. It's almost like what you do in missions doesn't really matter.

Quick side note: when I first played this game, and I saw all the numbers of orks steadily increasing? My thought at the time was "Oh, this planet must have a lot more orks than we previously thought," because, at the time, I knew nothing about 40k. I didn't know about the orkoid reproductive cycle, and how they're a bunch of fungus boys who shed hundreds and hundreds of spores in the air to produce new organisms in the orkoid ecosystem: orks, grots, squigs, etc. And I also didn't know at the time that, when they die violently, they release something like 10 times as many spores as they do in the rest of their life.

I remember coming back to the game, once I had that context, and it retroactively made these briefing maps even more horrifying, because it dawned on me: "Oh. OH. Oh no! All these orks are our fault! It's not just that things are getting worse! Everything we've been doing has been making it worse!"

Either way, around mission 6 or 7 or so: that's when things start getting a bit more complicated. The orks are the most visible threat, sure. But then the eldar show up out of nowhere, with some mysterious agenda. The evidence that the forces of chaos are here become more obvious and harder to ignore.

You start to see the trails of refugees trying to flee the planet that appear, and then just as swiftly vanish. And, yeah, you could try and tell yourself that they escaped the planet safely, but... I think we all know the truth.

Every victory, things get worse. Things are rapidly deteriorating, and you even have to deal with traitor guardsmen, corrupted by the forces of chaos. Things are getting very grim indeed.

Then we get to Mission 10. Second to last mission. The map zooms in. We don't even need to see the rest of the planet. All we care about it is stopping whatever chaos has planned. Because if they succeed, the orks overrunning everything is the LEAST of our concern.

And then...

We don't even get a map for Mission 11, the final mission in the game. This is how truly fucked everything has become. The planet is lost, the people who used to live here are either long since evacuated or very, very dead. The planet is about to be consumed by a warp storm...

And then, at the very last moment, you get the "mission complete!" notification.

You "win."

But... what do you win?

The victory is an incredibly hollow, pyrrhic one. Sindri and the rest of the chaos forces lay dead at your feet, sure, but your actions played right into their hands. The demon escaped from its prison in the Maledictum, because Macha refused to tell you directly what would happen, and as a result you smashed it open like an idiot, inadvertently completing the ritual. The civilians on the planet are dead. The imperial guard are dead. Most of the eldar are dead. Most of your men are dead. Isador, your best friend in the chapter, is dead by your own hand after he fell to chaos. The very planet itself is dead, consumed by a warp storm, and you barely escape with what few survivors remain, knowing that you ultimately failed.

There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

Welcome to Warhammer 40k.

#Warhammer 40k #40k #warhammer 40000 #Dawn of War #originally posted on twitter

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beethereal-knight · 7 months

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SSSSINDRIIIIII ...and Bale.

#my art #warhammer 40k #chaos space marines #warhammer #dawn of war #sindri myr #Bale

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haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted · 3 months

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Dawn of War: Soulstorm by Stefan Kopinski

#Warhammer #40k #Dawn of War #Dawn of War: Soulstorm #Imperium #Imperium of Man #Sister of Battle #Adepta Sororitas #Nuns with Guns #Bolter Bitches #Drukhari #Dark Eldar #Xenos #Sci-Fi #Stefan Kopinski #Games Workshop

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wh40kgallery · 2 months

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by Stefan Kopinski

#necrons #necron noble #monolith #xenos #classic #stefan kopinski #40k #dawn of war

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darkvolt · 1 month

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Took longer than I anticipated, but I finally got him finished. Captain Gabriel Angelos, of the Blood Ravens and the Dawn of War Videogames.

Started with a Tartarus Terminator, with thewelds on the left leg, extended the torso a slight bit, and bulked out the shoulders. with the sargent bits to have the greenstuff grab on the ornaments. found a fitting head in my bits, and cut in the scar. the hands are from the grey Knight Terminators. And I think the Thunderhammer head is from the Deathcompany Blood Angels? I dont quite remember. but in the end it was clad in a 0,5mm cheed of plastic card to bulk out the shape before adding the greenstuff. In the end, Painting was just one day out of the month's sculpting, and letting the epoxy set to not squish the details.

Glad it's done. simply because I cant find anything else to do on this one.

#warhammer 40k #40k #kitbash #green stuff #Gabriel Angelos #blood ravens #dawn of war

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stearleart · 5 months

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Commissar 16/11/23

Depiction of a Commissar from Warhammer 40k armed with a savage chain sword.

My personal favourite Commissar quote "Drive me closer; I want to hit them with my sword!"

#warhammer 40000 #warhammer 40k #warhammer #40k #sci fi #science fiction #fanart #krita #digital art #grim dark #dawn of war #games workshop #art #artwork #imperium of man #astra militarum #imperial guard #chain sword #Commissar

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corvusalbus93 · 1 year

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We all like to make fun of our favourite magpies, but then there this in DoW2 Retribution...

...Cyrus not only became friends with a Space Wolf of all people, back when he was with the Deathwatch, said friend sent him a high quality (possibly master crafted) sniper rifle. As a Rune Priest, Volund likely engraved those runes himself.

So.

Volund: best friend ever.

Cyrus: the one Blood Raven, who actually received gear from another chapter as a gift.

#warhammer 40k #40k #dawn of war #retribution #cyrus #space wolves #blood ravens #dawn of war 2 #warhammer

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maomaojade · 8 months

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Been a while since I've posted anything. Been painting still since, painting some custom stuff like that Saint Celestine, and painting some regular warhammer boys, including showing some Dawn of War love with a Blood Raven. Quite proud of the 3 bois especially.

#minatures #painting #warhammer 40000 #fanart #dawn of war #ultramarines #blood angels #blood ravens #custom painting #more twisted wonderland custom minis coming soon

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navicure · 5 months

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Man I love Dark Crusade, I think Dawn of War really doesn't get as much appreciation as it should.

#warhammer 40k #warhammer 40000 #transgender #lgbtq #dawn of war

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lodgeofthecat · 1 year

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Together we can Steal Tartarus back from the Heretics! Its time for some more Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War. https://www.twitch.tv/schoolofthecat

#warhammer 40k #dawn of war #blood ravens #ultramarines #rts #vtuber

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genericartist27 · 3 months

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Something I made this morning (I’m referencing Dawn of War Soulstorm and Carron’s rant about METAL BAWKES.)

#ninjago memes #fanart #memes #ninjago shitpost #ninjago #pythor ninjago #pythor p chumsworth #shitpost #dawn of war #metal box #arcturus ninjago #general arcturus

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hunters-hobby-log · 5 months

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For day 2, I painted a space marine!

He aint the prettiest magpie, but hell look fine with the rest of his squad. Straight contrast over a white overbrush seemed to do pretty well. It'll probably be my scheme moving forward. Also his helmet and shoulders are more yellow in person. Camera just hates bone color.