Space Hulk video game about to be released

[Phillip Hone]

It's coming out on August 15th.

I wonder why I haven't heard about this until just now. From the screenshots, it looks pretty good. Full Control is the developer. I've never heard of them before or played a game they made - anyone know if they're good? The price on steam is $30.

Unfortunately, there's not much information out about game play details that I could find, beyond that it is turn based and based on the board game.

[Vendetta]

AFAIK it's just the board game on computer. Who knows whether it'll have decent async play options.

Also, $30 on Steam probably means it'll be $5 on iOS....

[Kojiro]

I for one would love to have a copy of Space Hulk I didn't have to pay upwards of $200 for. Sadly the recent announcement of 'no multiplayer- check back later' means I'll look at buying it later.

[Phillip Hone]

I for one would love to have a copy of Space Hulk I didn't have to pay upwards of $200 for. Sadly the recent announcement of 'no multiplayer- check back later' means I'll look at buying it later.

That's exactly what I was thinking. And that is indeed very lame - what are the details of that? Is there even no hotseat multiplayer? : (

[Meest]

Guessing it is an officially licensed game, no way they would let multiplayer in to a game that tries to mimic the board game rules. Dawn of War got away with that because it strays from the literal game it's based off of.

[Grumman]

Guessing it is an officially licensed game, no way they would let multiplayer in to a game that tries to mimic the board game rules. Dawn of War got away with that because it strays from the literal game it's based off of.

What about Blood Bowl?

Besides, refusing to allow multiplayer would make even less sense here, because it's competing with a game that Games Workshop refuses to sell. Even Disney lets their movies out of the vault for more than a week!

[Kojiro]

To be fair they didn't say 'no multiplayer ever' they just said it would be added at some later point. It certainly feels like it should be an 'on release' thing to me. Also 'at some later point' is always annoyingly nebulous and could mean a month, could mean a year.

Fundamentally though I played SH back in the day as a social game with friends. If I can't recreate that it's not worth $30. I'll wait, let it drop in price and pick it up at the Steam Christmas sale.

[Phillip Hone]

Are you all certain that multiplayer is going to be added later? I can't find anything about that, but maybe I'm having bad google luck. So far I have only read that co-op is getting added later - the other mp options sound like they're still on.

I found a steam thread where the developer talks about the game.

About Space Hulk
Q: What is this?
Space Hulk is an action point driven turn-based strategy game based off the Games Workshop board game of same name.

Q: Is this a Warhammer 40k game?
License technically it is not a Warhammer 40k game. Space Hulk is a standalone board game made by Games Workshop that is set in the Warhammer 40k universe.

It features Space Marine terminators against Genestealers inside derelict space ships called Space Hulks.

So for all practical purposes, Space Hulk is part of the Warhammer 40k universe, but a game of its own.

Q: So this is made by Games Workshop?
No. The game is made by us - Full Control. We are an independent game developer out of Copenhagen, Denmark. We made the game and self-published it.

We licensed the Space Hulk board game for a turn based video game from Games Workshop, so this is the official Space Hulk turn-based game.

Q: Is this a remake of the old DOS/Amiga/3DO games?
No. The old computer games were all based off the board game originally as well, but chose different core mechanics like real-time squad shooter with a pause timer functionality.

Q: Is there additional DRM or region locks?
No. We only have Steam's DRM system and no additional DRM or even region lock.

Gameplay

Q: What chapter is in the game?
The first campaign will feature the Blood Angel terminator squad with Sergeant Lorenzo, Sergeant Gideon and Lexicanum Calistarius at the command

Q: Can I color my terminators into other chapter colors?
We believe as fans ourselves that this needs to be done right. And just taking a fully adorned Blood Angel terminator with all his gems, chains and pointy teeth and color him blue doesnt turn him into an Ultramarine.

So when we add a customizer to the game, we will "do it right". So you will be able to make your own Blood Angel terminator, name him and adorn him. But paint him in a different color and look like a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥? No.

Q: What weapons do my terminators have?
The loadouts are
- Power fist with storm bolter
- Chain fist with storm bolter
- Heavy flamer and power fist
- Assault cannon and power fist
- Lightning claws
- Thunder hammer with Storm shield
- Power sword with storm bolter
- Librarian with force axe

Q: Will there be psykers/librarians?
Yes - Calistarius (who later turns into Mephiston Lord of Death) is the librarian in this campaign. He has different powers he can use. Charging his force axe to deliver harder hits to raging psychic storm ravaging areas on the map.

Rules
Q: Is this based off the board game? And if yes, which rule set?
Yes - this game is heavily inspired by the 3rd edition board game. it sticks to the turn-based tactical strategy game in the board game down to using action points, command points and the same core rules.

Q: You say inspired by. What are the differences?
We have made a video game out of the board game, and not made a 1:1 translation. There are certain rules and mechanics that we changed to make it play as a video game.

These include:
- flamer uses a template and does not target a section only (since those do not exist in a video game)
- as long as a unit has action points left, you can return to it and do actions on it
- we automated move+fire against visible enemies for Storm bolters. Terminators will shoot while moving if they have an enemy in line of sight. Targetting doors is a manual process using the "Set move and fire target" button. Manual process is also required for limited ammo weapons like the assault cannon.
- you can move multiple units at the same time
- space marine timer is optional
- reworked and automated the command point usage in the enemy turn. Jammed weapons will automatically unjam if there are command points left. Interrupting enemy turn is not possible
- Librarians charge their force axe automatically if they would otherwise lose a close combat fight
- guard mode and parry rolls are automated

Multiplayer
Q: Can I play local hotseat against a friend?
Yes - you can use the game as a virtual board and share the same PC to play against each other.

Q: Is there internet based multiplayer?
Yes. There is a central server that enables you to play against random enemies or people on your friends list.

Q: I read about coop somewhere?
We are adding coop on brand new designed levels. This will be a free update later.

Q: What does it mean that there is cross platform multiplayer?
It means that you can play against Space Hulk friends sitting on other devices like iPads or have games between Mac and Windows PC.

Q: Is multiplayer async or sync?
The game at its core is asynchronous. But when both players are online at the same time, the server switches to synchronous mode, and you can see the enemy movements in real time.

Q: Am I limited to 1 game at a time?
Since the game is async, you can have multiple games going on at the same time with other friends. At any time can you swap between games and make your turn.

DLC
Q: You are already talking DLC. Does that mean I get half a game and need to buy the rest?
No. The first core game is a full game featuring all the missions from the 3rd edition board game. With all the terminators, weapons and rules from that.

We want to add more content to the game as we move forward for as long as players support this game.

Q: What are the DLC plans?
We do not give any promises for specific content or dates.

But we are thinking DLC in 3 categories:
- Full campaigns that add new missions to be played.
- New chapters with smaller chapter specific campaigns
- Vanity items like Genestealer skins, weapon skins and similar

All these are totally optional.

Q: How do the skin packs work?
Genestealer and weapon skin packs are applied locally. So if you have the Kraken skin, it will be used on all Genestealers no matter what game mode. This makes sure you get the most out of your purchse and to your preference - not what the opponent has purchased.

User created content
Q: Will there be user created content?
Yes. We are working on polishing up our internal level builder tools to allow everyone to make levels, to share them as well as download.

Q: When will the editor be released?
We cannot promise any release date other than we think think that this is an essential feature to give to you. We want this out as soon as possible to allow everyone to create and share content. But it also has to be done "right". And that takes time to do. So no promise on release date other than "it will come".

Q: What will the editor cost?
It will be a free download for owners of the PC Space Hulk version.

[Kojiro]

Are you all certain that multiplayer is going to be added later? I can't find anything about that, but maybe I'm having bad google luck. So far I have only read that co-op is getting added later - the other mp options sound like they're still on.

I must have misheard the co op for multiplayer. That makes it far more appealing but I'll still wait to see how it plays. It's not like I don't already have a backlog of games to play through.

[Steel]

So now that its been out for a few days, did anyone get this?

[Phillip Hone]

The reviews on metacritic are really negative. This is something I'm torn about. There isn't that strong a relationship between a game's quality and it's metacritic score, but Space Hulk got a 56, and as arbitrary as review scores might be, I can't think of many games with a score in the 50s that are actually good.

On the other hand, the numbers seem excessively harsh given the tone of the review articles themselves.

The Euro Gamer German review, for instance, says that it's a worthy implementation of the board game as a video game, and a good option for people who want to play the board game but without the physical pieces.

Game Front says in the summary, "At its heart, Space Hulk is still a classic board game highly recommended by a legion of fans and well worth playing, but this adaptation is littered with thorny little issues, from superficial graphical glitches and incorrect text on the main menu to occasional UI quirks–like incorrectly calculating the optimal movement paths for marines, forcing you to do it square-by-square, and even a few exploits involving being able to re-roll or undo actions that really shouldn’t be allowed."

Strategy Informer and the other reviewers make similar comments: the game is actually good, but is "rough around the edges" and suffers from "thorny little issues." If you ask me, giving a 50 score for those reasons is unduly harsh coming from these reviewers. Skyrim, for instance, averaged around a 90 despite being riddled glitches.

Maybe it does actually suck, but I'm waiting to hear about it from a source I trust. Sadly, it looks like there isn't a demo.

[Kojiro]

The user reviews seem very polarised. It seems that anyone with experience in the board game loves it, having gotten exactly what they expected while anyone new to it loathed it. I think that both sides are biased- one by nostalgia and the other by expectations of character levelling and power ups.

It's telling that a) there's no demo and b) the trailer stops at the point you'd see game play. I find both very frustrating. I can wait for the next Steam sale.

[Grumman]

The user reviews seem very polarised. It seems that anyone with experience in the board game loves it, having gotten exactly what they expected while anyone new to it loathed it. I think that both sides are biased- one by nostalgia and the other by expectations of character levelling and power ups.

I wouldn't put it down to nostalgia, just a difference of expectations. Anyone who has experience with the board game who doesn't love it just won't buy the game, because they already know they don't want it.

And it's still bloody stupid that Games Workshop released the board game as a limited edition product. They've got an awesome sprue of snap-fit Terminators, now would be a great time to leverage that by arranging a "collector's edition" that comes with statuettes of your squad.