The PC version of Warhammer 40,000 Space Wolf is about to hit Steam’s early access program shortly. The successful card driven turn-based strategy game was a big hit on mobile devices and now the developers are bringing it to the PC platform. We sat down with Herocraft, the Russian-based developers of Space Wolf to talk about the upcoming port of the game and ask all those important questions about microtransactions.
For those who don’t know or haven’t played Space wolf on mobile can you explain what the game is?
Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf is a turn-based strategy with the elements of RPG and collectible card game. First of all it is a 3D tactical game, with close and ranged combat, and turn-based mechanics where you use your own deck of cards to drive the on-screen actions of the characters. Cards can be pieces of equipment, movement, special actions, etc.; you can improve your deck by buying new cards, earning them in missions and challenges as well as crafting them in your own Forge. You can also level up your team of Space Wolves to gain new cards and upgrades. There are different classes that determine your playstyle – Grey Hunter, Wolf Scout or Wolf Guard – depending on the equipment you choose. Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf not only features a single player campaign but also a PvP multiplayer mode. Survival mode will become available among the first free updates.
How did the initial project get started?
We signed a license with Games Workshop in 2013, the game was first released in October 2014 on iOS. In July 2015, the Android version came about. Several large updates have come out since the original release, including a PvP mode with one arena (later two more arenas were added), a survival mode, lots of balance adjustments, and an important toolkit for working with the audience.
The space wolves are loved by Warhammer 40k fans, as is the franchise, how fun is it to work on a 40k game?
This is a great experience for all of us! We do love working on the Warhammer 40k game and we feel so privileged to work with it. It of course requires a lot of attention to the lore and its details as the armor of Space Marines is a highly complex defensive system with a thousand-year-old history, multiple variations, and subtle details. We like Space Wolves’ clan culture, sense of humour, love for feasts in particular.
Are you fans of the franchise? Do you play the tabletop?
First of all we all really love the Warhammer 40k universe for its deep history, details, races, factions and characters, we track all news about the universe. As we’re from Russia, and the culture of tabletop games is not spread much here, we’re new to it, but jumping right in!
Where did the idea to combine turn based strategy gameplay with card game mechanics come from?
There are a lot of strategy titles among top titles on mobile platforms, so we believe that the card games were on the rise when we started developing the game. Moreover with the combined gameplay of strategy \ tactics and CCG we hit the sweet spot of mid-to-hardcore gaming target audience. We gathered inspiration mainly from Metal Gear Acid, XCOM, RAD Soldiers, Rage of Bahamut.
Why did you decide to make a PC port of the game?
It was planned from the very first day of the release of the mobile version that one day Space Wolf will become a cross-platform title. The master plan was to unite all the players in one huge cluster by porting the game to PC with minimum changes. This plan had started to fail as soon as we raised the quality bar. Turned out that all we ever wanted is to make an awesome PC game and a simple port will not suffice.
Mobile ports have a rocky history on Steam, what things will you be changing in the game to make it PC user friendly?
We know that the PC audience differs a lot from the mobile ones. Moreover, as I already mentioned, we intend to make a great PC game which will offer both Steam customers and Warhammer 40k fans a relevant experience they are looking for with enhanced graphics and other PC features. So the mobile port is not enough in this case. That’s why we are adapting the game to PC as much as possible. Of course, there will be new PC GUI and controls, enhanced graphics and effects, as long as the new in-game balance made for the full paid PC game. While the game is on Early Access, we will be collecting players’ feedback which will allow us to plan our development route based on an actual understanding of what players would like to see in our game.
Will the game be received a graphical upgrade for PC such as the character models, animations and UI?
Yes, we are making a completely new GUI, adding some new animations and reworking the game models. As for GUI, we’ve done a lot of work with if for adapting it for PC.
Will the micro-transactions from the mobile version be carried over or removed?
There won’t be any micro-transactions in the game. The game will be distributed as a full paid game. A few DLCs are planned for after the launch. in the nearest future.
Will there be additional new content in the PC port or possibly in the future?
Totally possible. The team has already talked through a number of possible exclusive content additions. To be honest, it’s all in the hands of players at this moment, if they will demand more content then we are sure to deliver.
I loved the mobile version of the game, should it become a success on Steam will there be more to come from Space Wolf, possibly a franchise or a new game focusing on a different 40k race?
Everything is possible. There are a lot of things that we’d like to add in this game before we start to think about our next game.
When will the game release on Steam?
Preliminarily we set the date for mid February, the 17th, to be specific, the development goes, so we’re making it in time. In case there are any changes with the date, they won’t be significant, I guess.
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