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Warnings
- GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RTS game in the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series.
The game received a number of patches, as well as the Game of the Year edition with additional maps, which would be the default digital release of the game. On September 21, 2005, the Winter Assault expansion pack was released with two new campaigns, the Imperial Guard playable faction, new winter theater and new multiplayer maps.
The subsequent standalone expansion packs, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, do not require the base game to play. However, in order to play as the original playable factions in multiplayer, the base game needs to be installed on the same machine (if using retail versions) or owned on the same Steam account. The same is valid for playing the Imperial Guard in those expansions - the Winter Assault needs to be additionally owned.
On May 22, 2014, Dawn of War and its expansions were migrated from GameSpy to Steamworks-based multiplayer servers, but lost LAN functionality in the process.[2] The GOG.com release from May 25, 2023 uses GOG Galaxy for multiplayer, but is not cross-compatible with Steam users.
Modifications and saved games can be used across the fully patched retail, Steam and GOG.com versions.
General information
- Lexicanum - A huge wiki for the Warhammer 40,000 series
- Dawn of War Wiki
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- Owners of retail copies can request a free Steam key from SEGA's UK support service.[4]
- SecuROM 5 DRM can be removed by installing the official 1.51 patch.[5][citation needed]
- Free demo versions are available from GameFront: base game, Winter Assault.
Version differences
- The Game of the Year Edition is a re-release of the base game with patch 1.40 pre-applied, and with several exclusive skirmish/multiplayer maps. It is the only version of the base game available digitally.
- The retail-only Gold Edition includes the base game's Game of the Year Edition and the Winter Assault expansion.
- The retail-only Platinum Edition includes the base game's Game of the Year Edition, the Winter Assault expansion, and Dark Crusade.
Monetization
Type |
Notes |
Expansion pack
| The expansion pack includes a new faction (Imperial Guard), new maps and two new campaigns. |
One-time game purchase
| The game requires an upfront purchase to access. |
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Winter Assault |
|
|
Essential improvements
Patches
- Patch 1.51 is the latest official patch for the retail version of the game, and requires patches 1.41 and 1.50 to be installed first.
- The Winter Assault disc automatically applies patch 1.41 upon installation. To install this expansion, do so before applying any subsequent patch.
- The Steam and GOG.com versions are on their own separate release equivalent to 1.51 in terms of balance and gameplay - the only difference being Steamworks/Galaxy multiplayer used instead of GameSpy and LAN options.
Skip intro videos
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Video
Input
In-game control settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
|
Subtitles |
|
|
Closed captions |
|
Cutscenes only. |
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
Network
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
LAN play |
| 8 |
Versus Removed from the Steam version.[6] |
Online play |
| 8 |
Versus The official GameSpy service has been shut down; Steam version has been updated with Steamworks support, while GOG.com uses Galaxy multiplayer. Steam and GOG Galaxy users can see each other, but not join each other's games. |
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
UDP |
6112 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
VR support
3D modes |
State |
Notes |
vorpX |
| G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction. |
Issues fixed
Crash on startup
Go to <path-to-game>\Engine and create the Data folder if not found.[citation needed]
|
Frame rate drop on mouse movement
Disable hardware cursor[8]
|
- Go to the
<path-to-game>\Drivers
- Open
spdx9_config.txt .
- Locate line
allowhwcursor 1 and set to allowhwcursor 0 .
|
More than one player can't join host's multiplayer lobby
Have the second player leave in order for the third player to be able to join[citation needed]
|
- Have the second player connect to the host's lobby.
- Have the third player try to connect.
- When that fails, have the second player leave. The third player should now be able to join.
- Once the third player has joined, the second may now also join.
|
- Untested on more than three players.
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9.0b |
|
Shader Model support |
2.0b |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Cutscenes |
DivX |
|
Multiplayer |
GameSpy, Steamworks, GOG Galaxy |
GameSpy in non-Steam versions only. |
Mods
- Dawn of War has a "Game Manager", enabling switching between mods very easy.
- In general, mods work for both the patched retail (1.51) and Steam versions of the game.
- It is possible to run multiple modifications at once. For instructions, see here.
Dawn of War Professional
- ModDB page
- Gameplay and balance mod which significantly changes the game
- Requires Winter Assault, or either standalone expansion.
- Restores upgrades that were removed in expansions and includes additional content created by the community. All units are designed to play a role until late game.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
98 |
2000, ME, XP |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium III 1.4 GHz AMD Athlon XP 1.4 GHz |
Intel Pentium IV 2.2 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
256 MB |
512 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
4.5 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Hardware T&L compatible 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0b compatible
| Nvidia GeForce 3 ATI Radeon 8500 64 MB of VRAM |
Sound (audio device) |
DirectX 9.0b 16-bit compatible | |
Other |
|
REQUIRED FOR MULTIPLAYER: Internet: Cable modem, DSL modem, or 56.6 kbps modem for online multiplayer play; Network: TCP/IP compliant network |
Notes
References