Relic posts

While technically the game is still in open beta, the persistent online WWII RTS game Company of Heroes Online is already prepping up some new content for the game. Developer Relic Entertainment has detailed what will be in the next big update called Operation Menace.

The update will have some balance changes for both the American and the Wehrmacht armies. The American faction will have an "Exhaustion" period of 10 second for their units if those units use its Fire-Up or Sprint abilities. There's also been a bug that has been fixed that made some vehicles invulnerable to attacks if they got down to 5 percent health.

It sounds like Company of Heroes Online is getting close to its official launch. The online persistent RTS title from developer Relic and publisher THQ has already started accepting real cash for in-game items. Now comes word that the game will have cash cards sold in retail stores.

Specifically the cash cards will start being sold on November 1 exclusively at Best Buy stores for those players who can't or won't use debit or credit cards to purchase in-game items. There will be two types of cards available; one for $10 and the other for $25. Currently the game is in open beta but there's no official word on when Company of Heroes Online will officially launch.

Those Tyranids are nasty folk. They swarm onto a planet with all their claws and bio-engineered acid guns, dissolving everything so that the fleet can consume it and add it to the swarm. We're not too keen on becoming a mass of spikes and glistening, heaving, chitinous flesh, but in case it ever comes to that, this trailer certainly has us covered. Hot on the heels of the announcement that the Tyranids will be playable in the single-player campaign of Dawn of War 2: Retribution, this trailer doesn't really show anything new to veteran players of Dawn of War 2. But it sure does look nice, especially since it's all in-game footage!

Download HD Dawn of War 2: Retribution 'Tyranid Campaign' Trailer
Check out all Dawn of War 2: Retribution downloads

Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II Retribution was announced a little while ago but we are still learning things about the upcoming RTS stand alone expansion pack from developer Relic and publisher THQ. Today it was revealed that the game will feature the Tyranids in the game's single player campaign.

As PC Gamer's web site reveals, the spiky-looking alien race will actually be depicted as a hero unit, the Swarmlord, in the game's single player campaign. However that one hero will be able to generate other smaller Tyranids like Hormagaunts and Termagants. In fact with this set up you could control as many as 140 units with the Swarmlord which is a significant departure from Dawn of War II's typical small squad-based unit set-up. Even more single player content has yet to be revealed for the game which is due out in March 2011.

Technically, Company of Heroes Online is still in its open beta phase but the online persistent WWII RTS game from developer Relic and publisher THQ is moving into a new phase. This week players can now access the game's online store where they can purchase in-game items like hero or army units with real world cash. You can also purchase experience bonuses in order to level up your commander faster. The prices are $10 for 1,000 in-game cash, $15 for 1,500 cash or $20 for 2,000 cash. You can still purchase in-game items via Supply levels which is generated simply by playing online matches.

In related news, Company of Heroes Online won't be doing any more character purges from now on. That means you can keep your character, in-game cash and experience from now through the game's official launch later this year.

The open beta test for Company of Heroes Online has been going on for about a week now but the free-to-play RTS MMO from developer Relic has released a new update this week that adds some new features. One is the ability for players that are at level 15 and above to start their own guillds. The update also allows players to connect their game's account to their Facebook account and there's been some balance changes and gameplay changes.

In related news, Relic is auctioning off a limited edition Halo Reach Xbox 360 console on eBay that's signed by the Halo: Reach dev team at Bungie. Proceeds from the auction will go to the Brian Wood Memorial Fund to help the family of the Company of Heroes Online lead designer that tragically lost his life in a car accident earlier this month.

Download the Company of Heroes Online Install Client at Big Download

When developer Relic released Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II back in 2009 it used Microsoft's Games For Windows Live clients for updates, achievements and other features, The first expansion pack Chaos Rising, released earlier this year, also used Games For Windows Live. Today, Relic announced that the next game in the sci-fi RTS series, Dawn of War II Retribution, will switch over and use Valve's Steamworks system.

Relic stated that the switch to Steamworks will allow them to do things for Retribution like "guest passes, free multiplayer weekends, pre-loading and the ability to provide fast turn-around on future patches and updates." Unfortunately Steamworks support won't be added to the original game or Chaos Rising nor will the content in Retribution be added to those to games when Retribution is released in the first quarter of 2011. The good news is that owners of the original game and Chaos Rising will be able to participate in a multiplayer beta of Retribution via Steam sometime in 2011.

This is the latest game franchise to dump Games For Windows Live for Steam. Bethesda Softworks announced earlier this year that Fallout: New Vegas would use Steamworks after using Games For Windows Live for Fallout 3 and Square Enix used Steamworks for Kane and Lynch 2 after using Games For Windows Live for the original game.

Download HD Dawn of War II: Retribution Announcement Trailer (165 MB)

Earlier this week we reported on the tragic car collision in Washington State last Friday that took the life of of Brian Wood. He was the 33 year old lead developer at Relic Entertainment of the upcoming free-to-play RTS game Company of Heroes Online. His wife Erin, who was six month pregnant with their first child, was also in the car but survived and in news reports said that Brian turned the wheel just before the collision so that his side of the car took took the full brunt of the hit.

Now comes word that a memorial fund has been established to assist Erin and her family. You can contribute to the fund via its official web site. Developer Relic has also issued an official statement on Brian Wood's passing on its official web site. It states, "Everyone here has a tremendous amount of respect for Brian and he will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Brian's family during this difficult time."

Just one day after Company of Heroes Online went into open beta, the lead designer of the Relic-developed free-to-play RTS title died in a car crash in the Seattle area on Friday that also killed two other people, according to online media stories. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer web site reports that 33-year old Brian R. Wood was driving a Toyota Subaru when reportedly a Chevy Blazer crossed the center line and collided with his car near Oak Harbor, Washington.

Wood reportedly died at the scene. His wife Erin, who is six months pregnant, survived and was hospitalized, according to the report. Two other people in the Blazer were thrown from the car and were also killed. Police may charge the driver and the other surviving Blazer passenger with vehicular homicide, according to the report.

Wood worked as a designer for previous games in Relic's Company of Heroes RTS series before moving on to be the lead designer for Company of Heroes Online. As of the time of this post, Relic has yet to make an official statement about Wood's death. We certainly express out deepest sympathies and condolences to his wife, family and co-workers at Relic.

[Via Relic News. Image via Machinima.com]

As promised, the open beta test for Company of Heroes Online has now launched, giving anyone a chance to try out the free-to-play WWII-themed online RTS game from developer Relic and publisher THQ before it officially launches later this fall. You can register for an account at the game's official web site and download the game's install client right here at Big Download. People who register for the open beta by September will get some in-game extras such as a free hero unit and army item, 500 extra XP and 3,000 free supply points.

The game's producer Greg Wilson has posted up a message on the Company of Heroes Online message boards that goes into more detail on what Relic has done to develop and change the game since it was first launched in China two years ago. In related news, the original Company of Heroes RTS games are now the subject of Steam's weekend sales deal. All three titles (Company of Heroes, Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valor) have had their prices cut 75 percent from now until Monday.

Download the Company Of Heroes Online install client at Big Download