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Warhammer: Dark Omen

Warhammer: Dark Omen<tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;">Warhammer: Dark Omen:WHDO-Cover</td></tr>
Developer(s) Mindscape

<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)</th><td>Electronic Arts</td></tr>

Release date(s) May 6, 1998
Genre(s) Real-time tactics
Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer
Platform(s) Windows, PlayStation

<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media</th><td>CD-ROM</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">System requirements</th><td>Pentium 166 MHz, 32 MB RAM, 265 MB disk space</td></tr><tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Input</th><td>Mouse, Keyboard</td></tr>

Warhammer: Dark Omen, the sequel to Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat (1995), is a real-time tactical wargame and is considered one of the first real-time tactical (RTT) games.
Warhammer: Dark Omen:Four screenshots showing typical game battle situations.
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Four screenshots showing typical game battle situations.
Rendered entirely in a freely rotatable- and zoomable steep isometric 3D overhead perspective, the game features for its time remarkable 3D graphics of terrain, terrain features and buildings, and advanced support of the first-generation Voodoo 3dfx 3D accelerator card effects. The 3D terrain and features are combined with 2D sprites ("billboarding") to render the hundreds of individual units simultaneously on-screen on the limited hardware of 1998; a technique still employed in games many years later, a good example being the essentially similar game Shogun: Total War (2000). Warhammer: Dark Omen is based on the Warhammer Fantasy Battle miniature tabletop wargame rules and situated in the Old World in the Warhammer Fantasy world (particularly in The Empire's southern regions) and makes good use of the vast background, creating a deeply engrossing storyline that develops over the course of the game through illustrations and voice acted conversations. The enemy AI is poor, relying on scripts rather than adaptive logic, something which is attempted to be compensated by the player's forces being heavily outnumbered throughout the game.

First released for the PC platform, it was later released in a simplified version for the Sony Playstation. An expansion was scheduled and advertised but never released.


Contents

Gameplay

Warhammer: Dark Omen:The player's cavalry charging Orc archers while his infantry holds the road and crossbowmen soften up the Orc archers in preparation for charge.
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The player's cavalry charging Orc archers while his infantry holds the road and crossbowmen soften up the Orc archers in preparation for charge.
The gameplay is one of unit-oriented operational battlefield tactics with infantry, cavalry, and archer squads and artillery pieces as well as supporting hero and wizard units as the fundamental unit to command; that is, beyond rare and special hero characters, no individuals can ever be given orders. The Warhammer Fantasy world is comparatively eclectic and the game freely mixes cannons, arquebuses and steam-powered tanks with bows, cavalry and magic. Except for heroes, which are always by themselves, units consist of as few as four or five individual members for stationary artillery pieces to up to 50 members for larger ordinary units, but are usually of ten to 20 individual members in size. Units suffer from psychological effects and can be routed, and individuals in units may be lost (but can be replaced between missions unless the entire unit is lost). Units advance in experience as the game progresses, and between battles (although not within a 'mission', unlike contemporary RTS games such as Command & Conquer) the player's forces can be brought up to strength, replacing losses, and upgraded by adding armour and equipment using money gained by killing enemies and accomplishing objectives within the mission. New units, including allied Elven and Dwarf units, can also be added at certain points in the campaign, often as rewards for successful completion of critical missions.

While the army can consist of many units only ten may be employed simultaneousy in one battle - selected before the battle commences - making the scope of the battles more of skirmishes than of epic army confrontations, a scale of theatres cemented by the relatively confined maps. Though thus of smaller scope than, for instance, games in the Total War series, in consequence it does afford the commander (player) better overview and more meticulous control over unit formation, orientation and positioning.

Warhammer: Dark Omen:Player's infantry and bowmen, holding higher ground, defending against attacking undead forces.
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Player's infantry and bowmen, holding higher ground, defending against attacking undead forces.
Choosing the optimal initial dispoisition, arrangement and position objectives for the army as well as suitable unit formation and depth when engaging the opponents is of paramount importance to the unfurling and outcome of the battle. Archers and artillery should not be in direct mêlée with opposing troops and cavalry is best employed to outflank and shock engaged or harrying fleeing opponents. Care must be taken to avoid friendly fire from artillery. Terrain and elevation must be taken into consideration for attack and defense. Predicting enemy entry and ambush points and movement routes is highly important for a player's tactics. Most real-world medieval or Napoleonic tactics can be employed, including ambushing and outflanking (see list of military tactics). Movement likewise reflects historical reality in that units must rotate or "wheel" from the centre or edges when changing facing.

Dark Omen also has a multiplayer component, where both players 'purchase' an army with a predefined amount of money before facing each other in battle, and can choose to play as the Imperial, Orcish or Undead forces.

Background story

The game's introduction movie shows the resurrection of an evil undead King in lands far to the South of the Empire. Meanwhile to the North, the player (as mercenary commander Morgan Bernhardt, the main character from Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat) is defending a small trading post from attack by goblins. The army is soon recalled to Altdorf where you are told that Orcs are invading the Empire from the South.

After fighting a number of battles against the orcs, it becomes clear that something is making them flee into the Empire. The player returns to Altdorf to make his report, and is assigned to a series of expeditions to fight the imminent undead threat. These campaigns consist of several battles each, and there are a number of occasions where the player is required to choose between alternative paths, with consequences in the battles ahead. Along the way you meet many friends and enemies, including several from the previous game in the series.

Eventually, after defeating undead incursions in Kislev, Bretonnia and within the Empire itself, the location of the Undead king is discovered and the final battle is pitched. Throughout the game, the player character Bernhardt changes from a mercenary who only cares about money to a hero willing to lay down his life to save others.

The dialogue script was written by dark fantasy and science fiction novelist, Stephen Marley and works well within the constraints of the storyline.

Running WH:DO on modern hardware

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to get WH:DO to run under OS versions newer than Windows 98. However, the game runs perfectly well under a Win98 virtual machine running on Windows XP. 3D accelerated graphics, though, will be difficult to achieve unless running a true Win98 OS with an authentic 3dfx Voodoo Graphics card.

It has been reported that WH:DO can be run on post-Win9x operating systems: [1]

First you need to set the program to run in windows 98 compatibility mode. Then you need to make sure you don't use hardware cursor, and you need to force a software renderer. If you try to use a modern 3d card it is flickery.

There have also been reports that reducing the Microsoft Windows hardware acceleration from full may allow the game to run.

Production credits 

MINDSCAPEProduction Team: Jeff Gamon, Nick Goldsworthy, Andy Kerridge, Jonathan TaylorAssistant Producers: Julian Glover, Graham HarbourDesign Team: Steve Brown, Richard Castle, Karl Fitzhugh, Jeff Gamon, Steve LeneyAdditional Design: Matt Dean, Trevor Gamon, Simon TresadernDevelopment Team - Art: Simon Britnell, Richard Castle, Steve Leney, Mark Machin, Nick TresadernAnimated Sequences: Adrian Crofts, John McCormackAdditional Art: Tina Bradley, Jason LordDevelopment Team - Programming: Anthony Bowyer-Lowe, Paul Brooke, Andy Buchanan, Michael A. Carr, Karl Fitzhugh, Jeff Gamon, Andy Kerridge, William Leach, Colin Moore, Jonathan TaylorVideo Player: Martin GriffithsSound Design: Anthony Bowyer-Lowe, Mark KnightAdditional Sound Design: Adele Kellet, Bill LustyMusic: Mark KnightSpeech Recording: Audio InteractiveVoice Actors (English Language): Marc Finn, Tessa Gallagher, Gavin Naylor, Jonathan Owen, Larry RewVoice Actors (French Language): Tony Beck, Patricia Benadiba, Stephane Cornicard, Pierre Maubouche, Sam SpiegelVoice Actors (German Language): Steffan Boje, Lutz Liebelt, Martin Muller, Peter Schaufler, Gertrude ThomaLocalization: Carol Aggett, Patrick Baroni, Noise! Localisation, SDL Ltd.Dialogue Script: Stephen MarleyManual: Richard Hewison, James Lenoel, Ian McClellandTesters: Oliver Byrne, Antony Carr, Rob Charlish, Matt Dean, Lawrence Doyle, Trevor Gamon, Mia Garside, Paul Gellatly, Matthew Howells, Darren King, Jake May, Martin Newing, Darren Potter, Ashley Powell, Matt Price, Simon Tresadern, Darren Tuckey, Ian White, Adrian Wood-JonesQuality Assurance Team: European QA, Jason Berisford, Peter Hill, Danny PasseyMarketing Team: UK- Clive Downie, USA- Lisa KindredPublic Relations: Simi Belo, Simon Callaghan, Karine Dognin, Oscar Del Moral, Niclas Nordlander, MArc Trennheuser, David WilsonGames Workshop: Jon Gillard, Andy JonesELECTRONIC ARTS SAN MATEOCompatibility Technicians: Jesse Abney, David KoernerManual Localization: Bill Scheppler, David LeeQA: Rico Sablan, Lambert Doria, Jamil DawsariPackage Layout: Maia GraffDocumentation Design: Tom Peters ~ Joe Lamb, All Game Guide

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Real-time tactical computer games | 1998 computer and video games | Windows games | Warhammer Fantasy

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