SUMMARY

Codex Edition is a total overhaul of Dawn of War II: Retribution that delivers a more immersive, fluff-accurate, and realistic experience, while also introducing a massive amount of new units, gameplay elements, customization options, and overall content that includes new factions and base building. While it may not be the most balanced mod out there, and is not intended for competitive gameplay, it does provide a unique and spectacular 40k experience that resonates with the original version of Codex Edition created by Gabriel Gorgutz. Creating equilibrium between lore accuracy and playability is this mod's primary focus, as is the tradition of Codex Edition.

This specific version of Codex Edition is based on the Unofficial Codex Continuation mod, created by SquadBroken/Proteus, who was both a good friend of mine and the person who inspired me to become an animator and cinematic artist through his enthusiasm and ideas. Unfortunately, Proteus is no longer with us. I will not go into detail, but the important part is that he was a passionate 40k fan who would have loved to see people enjoy our content; this is why I decided to pick up from where he left off. Of course, this version of Codex Edition is already significantly different from its predecessors, but I aim for the foundation and soul of the original to remain present. Nevertheless, a significant portion of the setup and foundation for this mod is accredited not only to Proteus, but also to Gabriel Gorgutz and other creators who made the content they used.

Below is a rundown of the features Codex Edition brings to Dawn of War II: Retribution.


GAMEPLAY

Codex Edition completely overhauls the gameplay of Dawn of War II: Retribution. Key elements include, but are not limited to:

  • Increased range of sight and range of engagement, creating a more realistic combat environment. Units no longer need to reach what was effectively point-blank range that the original game was set to in order to see or engage the enemy.
  • Base building that provides a roster of defensive, utility, and production structures that vary from faction to faction. However, unlike the first Dawn of War installments, research is not something that is included with base building; the structures in Codex Edition serve the purpose of adding another layer of complexity and depth to the gameplay, while complimenting the combat-oriented loop of Dawn of War II: Retribution.
  • Increased population capacity, mass introduction of new units, and lore-oriented faction dynamics all make for a much more intense and spectacular gameplay experience in contrast to the original vision of Dawn of War II. The focus on lore accuracy naturally results in units that are difficult to balance; Codex Edition is in no way a competitive mod, it is a mod that you play with friends for fun, be it PVE or PVP.
  • Increased camera zoom distance, de-bloated and reworked user interface, and reduction of various invasive and unnecessary effects make it easier to indulge in the visuals of the battlefield.
  • An asymmetric approach to each faction's playstyle that represents their lore means that strategies and tactics for both offense and defense will drastically vary based on who you're fighting and who you're playing as.
  • Super-heavy units, such as Imperial Knights and Gorkanauts, introduce the true endgame wargear that the vanilla Dawn of War II experience was missing, making the difference between victory and loss even more volatile.


FACTIONS

The existing factions of Dawn of War II: Retribution have received a total rework in the form of a lore-accurate representation in Codex Edition. New units, abilities, upgrades, wargear, and customization options have been added, with existing content being drastically modified. On top of that, new factions have also been introduced; Necrons, Tau, Grey Knights, and Adeptus Mechanicus, all with their own unique features.

If you are familiar with 40k lore, you can expect Codex Edition to represent factions the way that they are described in the novels and media. For example, Space Marines are the fast and brutal killing machines we love them for, Eldar are even faster glass cannons that are annoying to deal with, Tyranids are going to dramatically outnumber your forces with gaunts, so on and so forth.

With each faction being asymmetrical, experimenting with the most appropriate playstyle for each one separately is key. Nevertheless, the squad variety in the Codex edition mod still allows for flexible shifts in focus and strategy regardless of faction, and the standard RTS mentalities of complimenting infantry with vehicles are still applicable, if not more so in Codex Edition compared to vanilla Dawn of War II.


ATMOSPHERE

With upscaled terrain and world object textures, unique skins for various sub-factions, and lore details both in audiovisual and gameplay elements, Codex Edition strives for true 40k immersion that can be achieved as closely as possible with an RTS. We wish to reach a point where the game looks modern, while just as importantly playing and feeling like the grimdark 40k we know.


The team and I hope you enjoy the mod, and we look forward to your feedback.

Join the Discord server if you wish to play with others and communicate with the team as the mod is developed!

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - ESTIMATED FOR THE MINIMUM OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE DURING MOST INTENSE BATTLES

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700x/Intel Core i7-8700K
  • GPU: AMD/Nvidia GPU with 4GB of video memory
  • RAM: 4GB of available memory for the game

NOTE: Codex Edition is exclusively compatible with the Steam copy of Dawn of War II: Retribution; the GOG copy, older copies, and pirated copies of the game are not supported.

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traitorguard

Despite being a sub-version, the new Codex Edition 3.1 delivers a hefty dose of new content, changes, and fixes. The most notable addition is the new faction, Traitor Guard, but equally as exciting is the introduction of custom gamemodes, a natural consequence of our continuous dissection of the game's engine. One of the major issues present in the previous version, that being the logging overflow related to the Mechanicus Skorpius vehicles, has finally been resolved, alongside some other crucial problems plaguing the mod. Translations for Russian, German, and French are now present, installed automatically based on your language of choice if using the installer, with English being used for other languages in order to avoid the "No Range" problem with text. This version is also larger than usual, as we have consolidated all Codex Edition and Dawn of War II: Retribution content into the package, excluding the game itself; making Codex Edition fully independent of vanilla gameplay files, while also retaining consistency with the English voice lines for both modded and vanilla units.

Regarding the dissection of the game; unlocking the ability to create new and gamemodes was just one of the fancy expansions to our modding framework. We have also expanded the in-game UI elements, allowing for more selected units to appear in the UI, more global abilities, a more condensed UI that is closer to the first Dawn of War games, and custom UI artwork for each faction. Additionally, the injector has been replaced, and is now using one of the game's existing ".dll" files as a proxy, avoiding async issues that resulted in failed injections in the past. This is a harmless replacement that does not affect vanilla or other mods.

Due to the nature of these expansions, there are caveats. Modifying the engine is a long and tedious process that doesn't have a predictable timeline, and there are some things that just don't have an estimate for completion or finalization right now. For example, we have fixed the crash related to watching 8-player replays, but the player slots in the observer menu will not show the seventh and eighth player, and the FOW dropdown in the observer menu will have blank entries if there are seven or eight players in the game. We also wanted to add more squad tabs, but near the end of the process we found out that we would have to modify things that could easily result in really horrible consequences for how the game manages sorting the squad tabs on unit spawn or death, so we decided not to test fate. There is also a rare crash that may happen when attempting to join a lobby that is hosting a gamemode based on the Free For All framework, specifically Onslaught or any of the non-vanilla Free For All gamemodes. This kind of crash only appears to happen once from what we've seen, though maybe twice if you're unlucky; we have been unable to replicate it consistently after numerous attempts. Even if you do end up experiencing this, simply trying again should resolve the problem, though consider the new gamemodes as experimental for that reason.

With all that said, below is the rundown of the new Traitor Guard faction, as well as the new gamemodes:

TRAITOR GUARD

- Traitor Commander
- Blight Drone
- Bloodletters
- Cultists
- Shock Cultists
- Daemonhost
- Enforcer
- Fellgor Beastmen
- Flesh Hounds
- Traitor Grenadiers
- Traitor Guardsmen
- Traitor Heavy Weapons Team
- Horrors of Tzeentch
- Mutants of Nurgle
- Ogryn Berzerkers
- Ogryn Brutes
- Plague Ogryns
- Fallen Psyker
- Heretek
- Traitor Scions
- Traitor Veterans
- Baneblade
- Bane Wolf
- Chimera
- Devil Dog
- Hellhound
- Leman Russ Variants
- Melee Sentinel
- Ranged Sentinel

GAMEMODES

Each mode has a description for it once you enter a match, but here are some quick summaries:

- Annihilate (High Intensity): Like regular annihilate, but with more popcap and less upkeep.

- Annihilate FFA: Like regular annihilate, but free for all.

- Annihilate TFFA: Like regular annihilate, but team free for all.

- Hold the Line: Defenders hold the entire map and have some pre-spawned units; they have to hold the line against the attackers to start with a boost in resources; the attackers lose if their points are drained by three Victory Points held by the defenders. Each Victory point captured by the attackers destroys it, so the defenders cannot take it back and have to retreat. If the attackers capture all points, they instantly win. This is effectively the Rush gamemode from Battlefield.

- Siege: Similar to Hold the Line, but the defenders start with even more pre-spawned units, though they get no resource income as they start with a predetermined amount that they can't replenish. They also get more points that can actually be recaptured, while the attackers get even more starting resources and a steady income.

- Annihilate (Space Hulk): Like regular annihilate, but in a Space Hulk, where there is no space for vehicles, no abilities/visuals that wouldn't make sense within the confines of a Space Hulk, no base-building, reduced sight range, and a more claustrophobic zoom distance. Infantry-only.

- Annihilate FFA (Space Hulk): Like regular annihilate, but in a Space Hulk (see above) and free for all.

- Annihilate TFFA (Space Hulk): Like regular annihilate, but in a Space Hulk (see above) and team free for all.

- Space Hulk Extraction: In a Space Hulk (see above), you must capture all Cogitators on the map, which will open the gates that reveal the Warehouse. Once the Warehouse is captured, and only if all Cogitators are still owned by you, the Warehouse will summon a Servitor that must be extracted to the designated position pinged on the map upon its spawning.

- Warp Storm: Annihilate, but there is a gradually intensifying Warp Storm that changes the atmosphere, spawns environmental hazards that include lightning, fire, and other various dangers.

- Exterminatus: Victory Point, but there is an exterminatus fleet that will destroy the planet within fifteen minutes, causing a loss for both sides unless one of the teams wins through points. Environmental hazards include orbital bombardment, bombs, and atmospheric nuclear explosions.

- Onslaught: Wave-defence style mode where the defenders must survive until the attacker's points are exhausted, at which point the defenders will win, while the attacker wins if they annihilate the defenders. Waves gradually increase in intensity. There are no victory points to capture, only survival, as points are just used as a timer. The attacker is always the player in the first populated slot from top to bottom, while the other players end up as defenders, with up to six players in total.

To wrap it up, we are so very close to ironing out all of the small bugs and inconsistencies present since the Unofficial Continuation and original Codex Edition from around a decade ago. Out of all the original factions, Tyranids and Eldar are now the only ones that remain with a disproportionate amount of issues to them, albeit still to a much lesser extent than in their original iterations. Codex Edition 3.2 will most likely contain a full polish pass on those two factions, alongside eliminating remaining issues with the rest of the original factions. As always, the changelog is available on the download page for Codex Edition 3.1 - don't forget to join the Discord, and we hope you enjoy the mod!

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traitorguard 2

dowlogodonedropshadow

Codex Edition v3.0 Release

Codex Edition v3.0 Release

News 4 comments

Codex Edition 3.0 is here, check out the introduction of a new faction, base building, and more overhauls!

Codex Edition 2.1 Release

Codex Edition 2.1 Release

News 4 comments

Codex Edition 2.1 is now available for download. This new version is largely aimed at polishing and balancing the new factions that were added in 2.0...

Codex Edition 2.0

Codex Edition 2.0

News 9 comments

Introducing - Codex 2.0 - the biggest update of Codex Edition to date, and it is packed with a plethora of new content, some of which had never been seen...

1.2 Update - 8 player support, new units, UI overhaul, AI improvements, optimizations...

1.2 Update - 8 player support, new units, UI overhaul, AI improvements, optimizations...

News 3 comments

Codex Edition 1.2 is here! Reading the title, you probably have a rough idea of what you can expect in this version without reading the changelog, but...

RSS Files
DOW II: Codex Edition v3.1 Installer Package

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.1 Installer Package

Full Version 6 comments

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN BOTH THE PACKAGE "README" FILE AND THE POST-INSTALL "CODEX EDITION - README" FILE! The changelog is available below.

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.1 Manual Package

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.1 Manual Package

Full Version

USE THIS IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THE INSTALLER VERSION. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE PACKAGE "README" FILE! The changelog is available below.

DOW II: Performance and Stability Mod

DOW II: Performance and Stability Mod

Patch 6 comments

The files from this mod can moderately improve stability and performance of the game, reduce the chances of crashing, fix UI scaling on resolutions higher...

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.0 (MANUAL EXTRACTION)

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.0 (MANUAL EXTRACTION)

Full Version 2 comments

USE THIS IF YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES WITH THE INSTALLER VERSION. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE PACKAGE "README" FILE! The Performance & Stability Mod is...

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.0

DOW II: Codex Edition v3.0

Full Version 63 comments

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN BOTH THE PACKAGE "README" FILE AND THE POST-INSTALL "CODEX EDITION - README" FILE TO AVOID PROBLEMS! Your antivirus is likely...

DOW II: Codex Edition v2.1

DOW II: Codex Edition v2.1

Full Version 41 comments

NOTE: This version was updated and re-uploaded a few hours after being released, so the .zip file containing the mod is called "Codex Edition 2.1.2" instead...

Post comment Comments  (0 - 10 of 162)
Guest
Guest - - 698,109 comments

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SmackHead2
SmackHead2 - - 155 comments

Does it work in campaign?

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Rus32
Rus32 - - 66 comments

Can u make less blood?

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Kharos6 Creator
Kharos6 - - 93 comments

If you're talking about the obnoxiously huge blood particles, thats due to a vanilla DLC, just disable it in your steam library

Reply Good karma+2 votes
Rus32
Rus32 - - 66 comments

Dont stop, u make such a great mod! Dev you are awesome, thank you! I hope everything is fine in your life. Love you! <3

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Guest
Guest - - 698,109 comments

I know this might be a stupid question but how do I build the chaos defiler I can't seem to find it no matter what chaos lord I play as

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Guest
Guest - - 698,109 comments

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Darth_Zocker
Darth_Zocker - - 41 comments

Is there any way to disable the unit cap without waiting to 3.1? I dont think thats realistic that the Imperial Guard hast only six unit counts.

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Kharos6 Creator
Kharos6 - - 93 comments

Not without modifying the mod. 3.1 is just around the corner though. Also beware that some limits are there because of the game's own limitations, which we are working on, but once you reaxh a specific number of units it starts to chug real bad

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Guest
Guest - - 698,109 comments

is adding sisters of battle a plan?

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Guest
Guest - - 698,109 comments

Yes, they're the next release along with Talons of hte Emperor after the Traitor Guard release

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