Halo Wars - Gen. Discussion & Info

Is this game anything like Civ Revolution?

I started to get into RTS games recently (Starcraft FTW!) and I was wondering what the control scheme for this was like.
 
Miller. I never played Civ Rev, so I can't compare for you, but I can tell you, they executed the control scheme down PERFECTLY!
Give the demo a try if you can.
 
man, i wish the flaming warthog was not considered a skull because i want to use it online :3

also, i think the campaign was a bit on the short side (especially the last levels)
 
http://www.bonfire-studios.com/blog/

Can't stress enough to bookmark that, they have great tips on this game. They mentioned, and I just saw this today, that the friendly AI will move around and look on the battlefield. You can see this on the mini map kind of like an eye of Sauron thing.
Haha in my latest skirmish match my friendly AI built the elephant and was using it for a defensive line while all of a sudden a spartan hi-jacked the thing lol. Tables turned but luckily he drove it near my turrets so I was able to take it out, phew.

I now have my auto dif setting up to 79 and I've played roughly 16 hours in game. ^^
 
Just played the demo of this today even though I have had the demo from when it came out. I plan on picking it up some time in the next week. Not sure if I want the normal edition or the CE. What all comes in the CE?
 
Man I am having a hard time getting skulls. :/

I got my 50th elite kill on mission 4 with 2 minutes left on the clock... then I couldn't find it >_
 
[quote name='Bretters']Man I am having a hard time getting skulls. :/

I got my 50th elite kill on mission 4 with 2 minutes left on the clock... then I couldn't find it >_
 
Just got this game today. I'm stuck on number 4. I had it down to 5 seconds left and only one of the ships. I had every one at that one ship and still lost it. Any tips?
 
Garrison those platforms around the map, they're great defensive structures. Build a barracks right the bat so you can start training marines for escort or garrisoning those towers. Then expand to the NE to the second base area and start building a defensible army. I failed this mission once but it's good to know where the attacks will come next time around.

Surprisingly this mission was the first time I got a skull and I did it by accident. I had explored a bit and was like what's this floating thing here next to the tree, lol.
 
Sorry to double post but wow, I just spent more than an hour fighting off two AI with auto dif at 79. Was getting pounded and then realized my AI partner wasn't doing crap! I told him to take the forerunners' base on the right of him, was on labyrinth map on deathmatch settings, and finally after that we started to win battles. I had a heck of a time and so pumped that I won from almost being annihilated. My auto dif is now 80, lol only went up 1 point, might have met my limit.
 
Well I got past level 4. Had it on normal but changed it to easy for the first run through. Can you get skulls on easy also? I might go back and try to get the skulls for the levels. Does every level have them and is their only one or more then one on each level?
 
[quote name='sendme']Well I got past level 4. Had it on normal but changed it to easy for the first run through. Can you get skulls on easy also? I might go back and try to get the skulls for the levels. Does every level have them and is their only one or more then one on each level?[/QUOTE]

Each level has one skull one black box, a par time, co-op to do for each level.
 
[quote name='sendme']Well I got past level 4. Had it on normal but changed it to easy for the first run through. Can you get skulls on easy also? I might go back and try to get the skulls for the levels. Does every level have them and is their only one or more then one on each level?[/quote]

1 Skull per level; Obtainable on any difficulty but only appear once you've satisfied the objective that pops up on screen
1 Special achievement per level; Obtainable on any difficulty but may be easier on some difficulties as opposed to others
1 Data Box/Black Box per level; Obtainable on any difficulty


Gold medals and being under par time is also easier in co-op. There's a glitch (Although probably not really a real glitch) with gold medals to where it adds both players points together, but both players each gain the same amount as they would if they're playing solo.
 
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[quote name='LinkinPrime']When playing vs with an AI partner, how do you tell your partner to give you resources or to attack a certain base?[/quote]

If you have the Helpful tips on she tells you, flare (push in the left stick) on your AI partner's supply pad and they will give you money. Flare the base, has to be scouted or they'll just scout to there, and they will attack. Double click the left stick and they'll send their army. Its all here:http://www.bonfire-studios.com/blog/index.php?/archives/7-Halo-Wars-Game-FAQ.html with more helpful tips if you click on the developers blog link on the top left.

Sometimes your AI partner will do suicide missions and you have to tell him, no, sit, good boy lol.:cool:
 
I finished the campaign today. I kind of blew through it and missed some skulls etc, but overall I really enjoyed the game. Definitely the first (and only) RTS I've enjoyed on a console.
 
Agreed, maybe the new studio will pick up the sequel but I doubt it. It would have been a lot cooler but then again maybe we'd still be waiting for the game so...
 
I love this game, especially when your opponent bitches after getting straight up raped. Except for the bitching/whining, this game is perfect, except for AI.
 
I was doing well on online multiplayer last nite until I played a 3 man team that did a covenant rush which I couldn't stop with my teams warthog rush. The prophet of regrets power is just insane! How do you stop it?
What's the early game strat with UNSC to beat covenant rush?
 
[quote name='Spybreak8']If you have the Helpful tips on she tells you, flare (push in the left stick) on your AI partner's supply pad and they will give you money. Flare the base, has to be scouted or they'll just scout to there, and they will attack. Double click the left stick and they'll send their army. Its all here:http://www.bonfire-studios.com/blog/index.php?/archives/7-Halo-Wars-Game-FAQ.html with more helpful tips if you click on the developers blog link on the top left.

Sometimes your AI partner will do suicide missions and you have to tell him, no, sit, good boy lol.:cool:[/quote]

Cool...thanks for the info.
 
[quote name='ivanctorres']I was doing well on online multiplayer last nite until I played a 3 man team that did a covenant rush which I couldn't stop with my teams warthog rush. The prophet of regrets power is just insane! How do you stop it?
What's the early game strat with UNSC to beat covenant rush?[/quote]

Yea they were talking about this on the xbox forums under the Inside Xbox killed Halo Wars lol. Really a neat idea, someone mentioned that the distrupter should cost less up front but be like a reactor and cost more for every time you use it. It seems if you use the distrupter, the good players at least, will just flank your base and you're screwed. The only thing I can think of is distrupter, focus fire on prophet with marines, flamethrowers and possibly upgraded warthogs with gunner upgrade. Don't forget to use your special, ram the phrophet, since he's an infantry unit before his upgrades, and throw all the grendades you have lol.
 
I picked up the full game last night. I didn't have a chance to pop it in yet though. My wife had the tv tied up. I'm looking forward to some multiplayer though, once I get the controls down some more.
 
Whats the most you guys ever came back against? 3v1, 2v1 or 1v1? I just wanted to know is it common to come back when your teammates both quit. I stayed in and beat their fucking heads in.
 
Congrats man, I came back and took on two AI, (on auto dif think around 67, now I'm up to 85!), after they ganged up on my teammate but I think one of the reasons for my winning was a feature of the map since there was an easy choke point to defend.

Omg, I finally got the first mission's skull. I decided to do it again with normal and I had exactly 100 since I just waited outside the base letting dropships drop in more grunts. I had one Covenant infantry (widdled down the last group with Forge's gauss cannon fire^^) left and I grabbed the skull lol.
 
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Finally all of the mission achievements are done. All the campaign ones I have left are beat the campaign on Heroic/Legendary and get under par time on heroic difficulty. Neither should be too bad since skulls can be enabled and they make it quite a bit easier.

Then I'll probably do a few offline skirmishes on all the maps and with all the leaders for those achievements with one netting me 20k points. Which I don't think should be too hard...?
 
Ah you talking about the Titan achievement, yea you just have to last a long time and a 3vs 3 is probably the best way to go about it although there are people on Xbox forums saying they just watched the youtube videos that people have up.
 
According to gamespot this game already sold 1 million copies XD. I haven't played the game so it must actually be really good...well...either that or all the Halo fanboys bought the game cause it contains Halo in the title and its actually only mediocre in comparison to other games out there right now.
 
Glad it did very well...it deserves it. Surprised that not many CAGs got it though...the discussion here seems to be from the same few people.
 
[quote name='Spades22']According to gamespot this game already sold 1 million copies XD. I haven't played the game so it must actually be really good...well...either that or all the Halo fanboys bought the game cause it contains Halo in the title and its actually only mediocre in comparison to other games out there right now.[/quote]

I'd say it sold that many based on the Halo name alone. How it sells from here on out I feel it will be based on how well the game has been recieved and how word gets out as well as peoples tastes (As RTS are *usually* avoided more than a FPS).

Overall the game is a little above average RTS. However when you compare it to the trash (my opinion of course) RTS games we've seen on the 360, it easily makes this game look really good. For me it's not fun enough to enjoy the multiplayer aspect of the game, but the campaign was definitely interesting even though it was short. I wish the story encompassed a longer timeline much like Starcraft and Warcraft do as it reveals a lot more storywise to the much broader story at hand.

Anyone interested should at least give it a rent as you can easily finish the campaign pretty quickly. Beyond that it depends if you enjoy RTS multiplayer, how much of an achievement whore you are, and if you have friends who will play with you. At least the game allows you to play bots as enemies, which is a plus as a lot of people really do enjoy going up against a computer opponent in this genre.
 
Bots? AI man, bots are in fps. AI is in racing and RTS games. I believe they sold that many not only because the Halo name but because of the mythic map packs. With the huge number of Halo 3 matches, this doesn't seem unreasonable. Skirmish has been around for a while in RTS games so its not like its something new.
 
Bots and AI are one in the same really. Just different terms with essentially the same meaning. :p

And yeah the mythic map pack had a lot to do with it too. The ebay sales of $50 codes were proof enough of that. I've seen a large amount of people in the Mythic Hopper on Halo 3, so I'd guess there are at least 50,000 who bought the limited edition for the map pack code. Then who knows how many who aren't interested or tired of the Mythic Hopper and stick to forge/custom games and wait until they introduce the maps into other hoppers so there's more variety.
 
Well I just finished the Campaign today. I have to say, I enjoyed the game. It felt very much like StarCraft-Lite, but I dont mean that as a derogatory term. It had much the same feel: UNSC/Terran, Flood/Zerg, Covie/Protoss, but it wasnt as micromanagement intensive.

Also, Ensemble *nailed* the console control scheme. After playing the first couple of levels, I never felt like I was fighting the controls. I felt that I was always able to do what I wanted, when I wanted. Though it took a little forethought, I was even able to split up armies like you'd normally do and hotkey on a keyboard.

I also liked the variety of missions. Sure, most of it is standard fare: Search and Destroy, Protect and Defend, Survive and Repair, but the "clean the hull" mission was somthing that felt new as wel as the "puzzle" in the last mission.

Furthermore, I havent played any other Halo game, but I enjoyed the story. It wont garner any comparisons to the Divine Comedy, but the story was good enough. What made the story compelling was the presentation. The cutscenes are absolutely gorgeous. Reminded me a lot of that Final Fantasy movie a few years ago.

My only gripe is that the game is a bit too easy on normal. That, and it definitely felt like the game had a "Win Button" for each level. That is to say, there seems to be one strategy for each level that will make winning so easy as to be trivial, but will punish you for trying something different (I'm looking at you Super Scrab level *glowers*).

All in all, I'm glad to have played it as it satisfied my RTS itch. I'm additionally glad I played it on a rental as the campaign is far too short. After just coming off of playing GTAIV:TLAD, I felt they were about the same length: but TLAD was $20 whereas HW is full price. I cant justify that right now. The game is just begging for the StarCraft treatment with you playing out the story from the other faction's POV. Even though Ensemble is no more, I've heard tell that some of the people that worked there are 'on retainer' with MS so maybe their is a chance for DLC.
 
[quote name='hostyl1']Well I just finished the Campaign today. I have to say, I enjoyed the game. It felt very much like StarCraft-Lite, but I dont mean that as a derogatory term. It had much the same feel: UNSC/Terran, Flood/Zerg, Covie/Protoss, but it wasnt as micromanagement intensive.

Also, Ensemble *nailed* the console control scheme. After playing the first couple of levels, I never felt like I was fighting the controls. I felt that I was always able to do what I wanted, when I wanted. Though it took a little forethought, I was even able to split up armies like you'd normally do and hotkey on a keyboard.

I also liked the variety of missions. Sure, most of it is standard fare: Search and Destroy, Protect and Defend, Survive and Repair, but the "clean the hull" mission was somthing that felt new as wel as the "puzzle" in the last mission.

Furthermore, I havent played any other Halo game, but I enjoyed the story. It wont garner any comparisons to the Divine Comedy, but the story was good enough. What made the story compelling was the presentation. The cutscenes are absolutely gorgeous. Reminded me a lot of that Final Fantasy movie a few years ago.

My only gripe is that the game is a bit too easy on normal. That, and it definitely felt like the game had a "Win Button" for each level. That is to say, there seems to be one strategy for each level that will make winning so easy as to be trivial, but will punish you for trying something different (I'm looking at you Super Scrab level *glowers*).

All in all, I'm glad to have played it as it satisfied my RTS itch. I'm additionally glad I played it on a rental as the campaign is far too short. After just coming off of playing GTAIV:TLAD, I felt they were about the same length: but TLAD was $20 whereas HW is full price. I cant justify that right now. The game is just begging for the StarCraft treatment with you playing out the story from the other faction's POV. Even though Ensemble is no more, I've heard tell that some of the people that worked there are 'on retainer' with MS so maybe their is a chance for DLC.[/quote]

Play on legendary and say its easy, then play online to complete the full experience.;)
 
[quote name='Draekon']Bots and AI are one in the same really. Just different terms with essentially the same meaning. :p[/QUOTE]

Not really, just check these out and you'll see what I mean. AI is an entity and bot is more like one individual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_game_bot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence

In Halo Wars you play versus an AI opponent, they build multiple bases, use support powers and coordinate attacks like what we might do. In Unreal or Gears 2 you play versus bots which follow way points or prioritize picking up weapons to shoot you. Simply, they're soldiers (bots) and not generals (AI).

As for anyone bored with the game or wanting more challenge try a few skirmish matches with auto difficulty. It scales to your level and it can get you a pretty challenging fight, with epic battles sometimes. Like I throw down a bunch of ODSTs and the AI counters with a carpet bomb, oh snap! It totally sucks when your ally AI doesn't do jack and you get your ass handed to you in a 2 vs 2 battle though so its not perfect.
 
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DLC Info revealed:

If your real-time strategy needs have been fulfilled ever since you took care of business in Halo Wars, then know that Microsoft is preparing some DLC for deployment. The DLC pack will be titled "Strategic Options" and will contain 4 new achievements for 100 points and 3 new multiplayer modes.

First up is Keepaway, a CTF variant featuring 3 different flags for capture. Next up is Reinforcement, a mode that provides support in waves, disabling your ability to build armies. Finally, there's Tug of War, which Microsoft has not divulged any info on, though our own pre-school experience with the gametype causes us to assume it will involve a rope, and take place near the jungle gym. We're kidding: the winner is decided based on total volume of assets, including units, buildings, and resources.

The new achievements are:

  • "One and Done" (30 points): Score the winning point in a game of Keepaway against Legendary A.I.'s
  • "Pull Hard, Pull Deep" (20 points): Win and never trail in a Tug of War game
  • "Freak on a Streak" (20 points): Gain at least 15 population from a single wave in a Reinforcement game
  • "Living Loving Bug" (30 points): Obtain a Scarab during a Reinforcement game
Microsoft has not commented on a price for this DLC, but we've put in word to Microsoft for confirmation.
Click to expand...

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/21/halo-wars-strategic-options-dlc-adds-new-multiplayer-achievem/
 
I'm glad its not just a new map pack and finally we have horde mode in RTS games, (they also have it in Company of Heroes:ToV but I think that exp is a bit too exp atm). I hope you can do these new modes in skirmish play, I wouldn't think you couldn't since you have two choices already.
 
Just got the game, hopefully I can try it out this weekend. Seems fun - I've been playing some starcraft and civ revolutions lately, so I'm hoping I'm going to enjoy this.
 
Its very much Starcraft-ish and many people argued they didn't put in the flood because it would have made the comparison all too easy to spot. I disagree with them though since adding in the flood would probably have cost more and most likely delayed the release.

Well it seems like I've hit my limit on the automatic AI setting around 80 since I can't win with huge AI armies all converging at my doorstep lol. I think after playing so many RTS campaigns that I became a wuss on multiplayer, (well skirmish) lol.
 
DLC sounds good, but I would have definatly liked to see them add the Flood in as DLC, or possibly in the future. I would pay 400-800 points for another race to place as/against.

But 100 points sounds really low for this new DLC, I'm thinking it will end up being more than that...but I'll be getting it regardless. I personally have been playing 3v3 online ranked matches nonstop lately and my record is like 38 W's and 12 L's.

if anyone wants to play send me a friend request.
 
Finally picked up this one, so anybody looking for some easy wins, just send me a FR. :D

Played one online skirmish so far and got whooped.
 
[quote name='wubb']Finally picked up this one, so anybody looking for some easy wins, just send me a FR. :D

Played one online skirmish so far and got whooped.[/quote]

Sweet, lets try out some missions on co-op soon.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Sweet, lets try out some missions on co-op soon.[/QUOTE]

I'm down. Not sure if I'll ever manage it, but I'd like to eventually do them all for the achievement.
 
[quote name='wubb']I'm down. Not sure if I'll ever manage it, but I'd like to eventually do them all for the achievement.[/quote]

Yeah same here.
 
Mission 4 is kicking my butt on Legendary. And that's with all buff skulls activated... Can't last long enough to get any units out of a base to shore up my starting units.
 
Yea check out the guides over at http://www.gamepressure.com/

They are pretty useful for a couple of games I have and that is one of the hardest missions in the campaign.

The guide says forget about cargo ship 3 and focus on 1 &2, build plenty of infantry and garrison them scattered around the map. I haven't tried Legendary at all but maybe sometime I'll attempt it. This was actually the first mission I found the skull believe it or not.
 
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