Warhammer Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader Pre-Release Thread [GAME RELEASED, GO TO NEW THREAD]

[mediocrepoet]

I wish that this game would threat romances more than merely fan service. For eg, dating an Eldari being a real romance, nto only ""platonic"" and should come with serious consequences, like

catching space AIDS in the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium and triggering a "you're a loser" game over that deletes all your saves.

 

[Incendax]

You guys are worse than BSN.

Owlcat is IN the thread, so I guess I should behave.

Yes, though if they have a marketing campaign that leads with, "See that squig? You can fuck it!" We'll all know who to thank.

Big Bear Daddy Halsin.

 

[ChildInTime]

Some super big spoilers, wasn't in the beta even, but it's pretty obvious that something like this was bound to show up because everyone and their mother knew about where this all was going, and those achievements were leaked.

Spoiler

Also, lol

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

The Steam keys are being handed out, but the Owlcat website keeps crashing lol. Will keep refreshing till I get it.

Wait, for steam is already out ?

You'll be able to redeem the key for Steam soon, yes. But the game itself will become available on Dec 7th

Gog key redeem on 7th?

 

[Sentinel]

Will there be a price increase when it releases?

Don't want to buy it at release because I know it'll be a buggy mess that you can't even finish but at the same time there's no point in waiting if in 6 months the sale price is 40 europistan cheetos anyway.

 

[Fedora Master]

Will there be a price increase when it releases?

Don't want to buy it at release because I know it'll be a buggy mess that you can't even finish but at the same time there's no point in waiting if in 6 months the sale price is 40 europistan cheetos anyway.

Buy it in a year when it's actually fixed and ready for launch, but also 50% off.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Some super big spoilers, wasn't in the beta even, but it's pretty obvious that something like this was bound to show up because everyone and their mother knew about where this all was going, and those achievements were leaked.

Spoiler

Going by that and the leaked achievements (particularly *that* ending one), I consider it a missed opportunity that we won't be having a...

Spoiler

Necron companion. Perhaps DLC will remedy that, but I doubt it since that would require more interweaving with the main plot than just some regular new companion.

 

[Aarwolf]

The Steam keys are being handed out, but the Owlcat website keeps crashing lol. Will keep refreshing till I get it.

The GOG keys are not available yet, because something is bugged, the site went down, people are confused - peak Owlcat experience and the game is not even out.

 

[Gerrard]

Will there be a price increase when it releases?

Don't want to buy it at release because I know it'll be a buggy mess that you can't even finish but at the same time there's no point in waiting if in 6 months the sale price is 40 europistan cheetos anyway.

Just get the five finger discount.

 

[Owlcat_Eyler]

The Steam keys are being handed out, but the Owlcat website keeps crashing lol. Will keep refreshing till I get it.

Wait, for steam is already out ?

You'll be able to redeem the key for Steam soon, yes. But the game itself will become available on Dec 7th

Gog key redeem on 7th?

GOG and consoles on 7th, yes

 

[ArchAngel]

The Steam keys are being handed out, but the Owlcat website keeps crashing lol. Will keep refreshing till I get it.

Wait, for steam is already out ?

You'll be able to redeem the key for Steam soon, yes. But the game itself will become available on Dec 7th

Gog key redeem on 7th?

GOG and consoles on 7th, yes

Is there a way to buy Xbox version through your site? And how does one redeem it if it is possible?

 

[Owlcat_Eyler]

The Steam keys are being handed out, but the Owlcat website keeps crashing lol. Will keep refreshing till I get it.

Wait, for steam is already out ?

You'll be able to redeem the key for Steam soon, yes. But the game itself will become available on Dec 7th

Gog key redeem on 7th?

GOG and consoles on 7th, yes

Is there a way to buy Xbox version through your site? And how does one redeem it if it is possible?

You can choose any key for pre-order. Steam, GOG, EGS, PS5, Xbox S or Xbox X. GOG and console keys will be distributed on the website on 7th

 

[Nortar]

You can choose any key for pre-order. Steam, GoG or EGS, PS5, Xbox S or Xbox X. Console keys will be distributed on the website on 7th

What about the ghetto of your forsaken motherland, are you so ashamed to mention it?
Should I prepare my jolly roger and get the special patriotic discount?

 

[Jaedar]

Some super big spoilers, wasn't in the beta even, but it's pretty obvious that something like this was bound to show up because everyone and their mother knew about where this all was going, and those achievements were leaked.

Going by that and the leaked achievements (particularly *that* ending one), I consider it a missed opportunity that we won't be having a...

Spoiler

Necron companion. Perhaps DLC will remedy that, but I doubt it since that would require more interweaving with the main plot than just some regular new companion.

Fucking hell. Might as well just let the player recruit a daemonatte as a companion in that case.

Whenever I played the TTRPG I was always on the radical side, but the more I hear about this game the more I feel like going full puritan. Why isn't failed inquisitorial acolyte a possible background for the PC?

 

[Owlcat_Eyler]

Some super big spoilers, wasn't in the beta even, but it's pretty obvious that something like this was bound to show up because everyone and their mother knew about where this all was going, and those achievements were leaked.

Going by that and the leaked achievements (particularly *that* ending one), I consider it a missed opportunity that we won't be having a...

Spoiler

Necron companion. Perhaps DLC will remedy that, but I doubt it since that would require more interweaving with the main plot than just some regular new companion.

Fucking hell. Might as well just let the player recruit a daemonatte as a companion in that case.

Whenever I played the TTRPG I was always on the radical side, but the more I hear about this game the more I feel like going full puritan. Why isn't failed inquisitorial acolyte a possible background for the PC?

Ministorum priest origin might fit your puritan style

 

[gongal]

Oh boy, another troon romance game with turn based combat??? We are so heckin' back, Codex sisters!

 

[Jaedar]

Ministorum priest origin might fit your puritan style

I don't like playing a priest! I did it once in the TTRPG, not my style. None of the backgrounds I've seen really interest me unfortunately.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

Ministorum priest origin might fit your puritan style

None of the backgrounds I've seen really interest me unfortunately.

They're quite vanilla and I don't mind it, but I wish they would've included an AdMech one.

 

[Jaedar]

Ministorum priest origin might fit your puritan style

None of the backgrounds I've seen really interest me unfortunately.

They're quite vanilla and I don't mind it, but I wish they would've included an AdMech one.

They're not really vanilla. Crime lord, ig commander, navy officer... Maybe it's explained in game and makes sense, but the idea that someone would just let a crime lord become a rogue trader without contesting it, or a military careerist not folding it into the army strikes me as weird.

 

[Tyranicon]

They're not really vanilla. Crime lord, ig commander, navy officer... Maybe it's explained in game and makes sense, but the idea that someone would just let a crime lord become a rogue trader without contesting it, or a military careerist not folding it into the army strikes me as weird.

Rogue Traders are very high in the Imperial social hierarchy. Many (including the player character here) have more power than planetary governors. They only answer to inquisitors and top ranking Imperial officials.

They can do basically whatever they want, which is the premise of the whole TTRPG. Some have actual pirate empires, so adopting a crime lord as their heir isn't the most outlandish thing out there.

 

[Storyfag]

Rogue Traders are very high in the Imperial social hierarchy. Many (including the player character here) have more power than planetary governors. They only answer to inquisitors and top ranking Imperial officials.

This remains bizzare in the extreme, especially given that the RT commands a single meagre ship, instead of the equivalent of an Imperial Naval Battlegroup.

 

[Shaki]

They're not really vanilla. Crime lord, ig commander, navy officer... Maybe it's explained in game and makes sense, but the idea that someone would just let a crime lord become a rogue trader without contesting it, or a military careerist not folding it into the army strikes me as weird.

Rogue Traders are very high in the Imperial social hierarchy. Many (including the player character here) have more power than planetary governors. They only answer to inquisitors and top ranking Imperial officials.

They can do basically whatever they want, which is the premise of the whole TTRPG. Some have actual pirate empires, so adopting a crime lord as their heir isn't the most outlandish thing out there.

I just wanna say I really fucking hate that Owlcat for some reason always want to make protag of their games a leader of a kingdom/army/whatever. It's really not making any sense and breaks immersion, when you're supposed to be roleplaying someone on top of the social hierarchy, in theory having control over whole armies (or even planets in this one), but 99% of the game is just doing grunt work and adventuring with couple of companions. It's really fucking dumb and pretty much anti-immersive.

 

[Infinitron]

I just wanna say I really fucking hate that Owlcat for some reason always want to make protag of their games a leader of a kingdom/army/whatever. It's really not making any sense and breaks immersion, when you're supposed to be roleplaying someone on top of the social hierarchy, in theory having control over whole armies (or even planets in this one), but 99% of the game is just doing grunt work and adventuring with couple of companions. It's really fucking dumb and pretty much anti-immersive.

Solution - have more than one protag: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2186680/view/3905246507039783842

Co-op in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader

A way to play our games with friends is something that our players have been asking for a very long time, ever since our very first game - Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Back then, we lacked the experience and resources and couldn’t even consider such an undertaking.

But we’ve come a long way since then. And when the development of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader started, the question, “what if our game had multiplayer?” kept popping up again and again. The team debated this at length, with some of the discussions getting quite heated! Eventually, we decided that we wanted to step up to the challenge of delivering a multiplayer experience.

It’s about time we talk about our implementation!

The Lord Captain and Their Crew

The biggest challenge in creating co-op mode was to decide how to fit multiple players into our story. As the story is one of the things players appreciate the most in our games, we saw no point in multiplayer without allowing the players to experience the main campaign. But given the nature of the unfolding narrative, there can only be one Lord Captain on the von Valancius flagship! So how did we get around that?

After discussing our options, we’ve decided not to try artificially stretching the story to fit multiple equally important protagonists. Instead, we’ve taken the route of inherently asymmetrical gameplay, where one player takes up on the role of the Lord Captain, and the other players form their crew, assisting their leader in battle, exploration, and management.

Of course, this asymmetrical approach does put some limitations on the gameplay for other players: for example, only the Lord Captain can select options in dialogue and book events (although other players can vote using ALT button), decide to enter some locations, or make certain important irreversible gameplay decisions such as levelling up the ship. This, however, allows us to deliver the same story experience as in singleplayer, gives the host the option to continue playing the campaign in the absence of some players (or even convert it back to a singleplayer campaign), and, let’s be frank, reduces some potential misclicking and trolling chaos. Sorry, Heretical players!

An Adventure for up to 6 Players

Rogue Trader supports up to 6 players in a single co-op game, matching with the maximum available number of characters in the party.

The host can distribute the characters between players as they see fit at any time. If the host wants, they may give multiple characters to a certain player, have a player become a spectator, or even transfer control of the Lord Captain to someone else. This may prove handy in situations where someone needs to go AFK.

A player in control of the characters can move them, engage in combat, loot, level up, manage their equipment and pass skill checks the same as they would normally do in single player.

The only exception is that in co-op, the game will not automatically pick the most capable member of the group for a given skill check (such as opening a door, learning about an object, blowing up a barricade, etc.) during ground exploration - the icon must manually be clicked by the player with this character. So don’t forget to keep track of who’s good at what!

One Step From Singleplayer to Multiplayer

Other players may hop in and leave the campaign on the fly, effectively allowing the host player to alternate between singleplayer and multiplayer at any moment. Depending on your preferences, you may have your friends with you through the whole journey, or invite them only sporadically to show them an exciting story moment or beat a particularly challenging boss. It is also possible for another player to save the game and become the host for the next session or continue it in singleplayer if they wish.

Keep in mind that it may take some time for a full 6-person party to be assembled. The game starts with only the Rogue Trader in play. The first 3 companions appear within the first hour of gameplay, while the rest of them may take a few more hours to find and include in the party. Other players may either join the campaign a bit later, as soon as there are enough characters to play, or spend some time as spectators, voting for options and witnessing the story until a character becomes available.

Normally, only the main player gets to customise their character, while other players take control of the existing story companions. However, the group may agree to give up some story content related to the companions in favour of more customisation. In this case, before starting a multiplayer session, the main player may launch the game and utilise the mercenary system to create fully custom characters for their friends by talking to High Factotum Janris Danrock on the voidship bridge. This feature becomes available after a few hours into the game as soon as you get access to the bridge.

Currently it’s impossible to do this from the cooperative session itself, but in near future, we plan to add such possibility.

Share the Burden of Responsibility

Perhaps the most important thing in co-op play is interactivity.

While some irreversible decisions and actions are the sole prerogative of the Lord Captain, and the participation of the other players in these is limited to voting, most of the game’s systems and mechanics are available to all players.

As we already mentioned above, character levelling and equipment is managed by their respective controlling players. In addition to that, all players have full access to looting, shared inventory, and cargo, as well as vendors, the trade empire management interface, and ship equipment. These mechanics are a good way for players to do something during downtime on the bridge, where characters other than the Rogue Trader can’t be directly controlled.

As for space combat, we’ve tested multiple approaches, such as having only the Lord Captain control everything, using the voting system, or even distributing different ship systems and management responsibilities between players. But it all felt clunky and not interactive enough.

That’s why we went with the implementation that gathered the most positive feedback among the team: full shared control of the ship during combat, where every player can use anything, and it’s up to them to decide which systems players will get control of!

During space exploration, most actions are story-related and thus reserved for the Lord Captain. However, other players can still vote on options in exploration dialogues and use vendors once the ship reaches them.

Acceptable Casualties

One of the major aspects in Warhammer 40000: Rogue Trader’s ground combat system is the potential for friendly fire. Allies may miss their intended targets, a shot may accidentally penetrate an enemy to hit a friendly target behind them, or someone may simply decide that the ends justify the means and unleash a chain lightning into the ongoing melee.

In co-op mode, this aspect is increasingly important: every player has their own vision of tactics, so it’s crucial to coordinate your effort to avoid dying at the hands of your teammates! We recommend gathering a trusted team and not being too frugal with your medikits, especially when your comrades' life is on the line.

How to play a cooperative game

To start a cooperative game, simply launch an existing save or start a new game, then go through the normal character creation process. Once you’re in the game, press ESC and select “Cooperative mode”. Invite your friends through the respective store overlay (e.g. Steam) or give them the server ID, visible on the top of the screen. Once everyone is ready, you may use the “Roles'' button to distribute characters. And now your crew is set to conquer the Koronus Expanse!

If you wish to join a game, enter the lobby by clicking the “Cooperative mode” button in the main menu, selecting the same server (EU, US, etc.) in the list above as the host, and then proceed to input the server ID given to you by the host. Alternatively, simply use the Steam (or other store) overlay to accept an invitation sent by your friend.

It is possible to use the server ID to play between different stores (but not between PC and Mac at the moment). In future, we plan to bring the co-op mode to consoles and add crossplay between platforms - we’ll announce this feature separately.

Let Them Know Your Name!

Now that your team is assembled, Lord Captain, it’s time to board your voidship and head onwards to meet your destiny!

May the von Valancius trade protectorate remain strong and prosperous, and the vast riches of the Koronus Expanse fall tumbling into your hands. The Emperor protects!

 

[Jaedar]

They're not really vanilla. Crime lord, ig commander, navy officer... Maybe it's explained in game and makes sense, but the idea that someone would just let a crime lord become a rogue trader without contesting it, or a military careerist not folding it into the army strikes me as weird.

Rogue Traders are very high in the Imperial social hierarchy. Many (including the player character here) have more power than planetary governors. They only answer to inquisitors and top ranking Imperial officials.

They can do basically whatever they want, which is the premise of the whole TTRPG. Some have actual pirate empires, so adopting a crime lord as their heir isn't the most outlandish thing out there.

I know. But as I understand the game you are a random joe schmoe, then you receive a trade writ "out of nowhere" and the game starts for real. Maybe the game has a really good explanation, but I'd expect anyone who just gets a writ out of nowhere to be assassinated within a week while mysteriously bequeathing the writ to some powerful faction.

This remains bizzare in the extreme, especially given that the RT commands a single meagre ship, instead of the equivalent of an Imperial Naval Battlegroup.

Afaik most trader dynasties control entire trade empires, with dozens if not hundreds of ships, planets, stations, etc... Money is power, and a dynasty is often richer than entire planets (not the richest planets in the empire, but not squalid agriworlds either).
Emphasis on the dynasty, they have a clear line of succession which makes a random getting a writ strange to me.

I just wanna say I really fucking hate that Owlcat for some reason always want to make protag of their games a leader of a kingdom/army/whatever. It's really not making any sense and breaks immersion, when you're supposed to be roleplaying someone on top of the social hierarchy, in theory having control over whole armies (or even planets in this one), but 99% of the game is just doing grunt work and adventuring with couple of companions. It's really fucking dumb and pretty much anti-immersive.

In this case it's 100% lore accurate though. Rogue traders lead from the helm of their flagship.

 

[lightbane]

In this case it's 100% lore accurate though. Rogue traders lead from the helm of their flagship.

The pnp game made fun of that, of why such important people are risking their lives so unnecessarily. The answer being more or less "because it's fun". RTs can have multiple ships, theoretically, as their Profit Factor gets higher and higher, but for balance reasons you start with one ship.