Chapter Master: A fan made Space Marine Chapter Manager game.
Posted by: Jason Silverain / Category: 3rd Party, Only War (40k), Review, Video games
The uniforms of the Imperial Guard are camouflaged in order to protect their wearers by hiding them from sight.
The principle is that what the enemy cannot see he cannot kill.
This is not the way of the Adeptus Astartes. A Space Marine’s armour is
bright with heraldry that proclaims his devotion to his Chapter and the
beloved Emperor of Mankind. Our principle is that what the enemy can
see, he will soon learn to fear…
- Chaplain Aston, Fire Hawks 10th Company
I've always been fond of fan made and indie games, many people I know speak of their dream games so when I see those who move beyond simple musings and try to give form to their ideas I can't help but smile. However admittedly more recently with the rise of popularity the indie game market like any other has been saturated by those looking to make money out of its supporters rather than create decent games.
Chapter Master is a grassroots project at its finest that was given birth at that notorious murky water (or as some in the media have called it the cesspool) of the internet 4Chan, though more specificity /tg/.
As a result it should be mention this article will contain and link to pages containing strong language and profanity, You have been warned.
Chapter Master was first given life in 2011 as an post which complained about the Inquisitorial AI in a game called Chapter Master which can be read below:
This inspired a thread of posters each describing their experiences with this imaginary game, building more and more popularity with each tale of victory, failure and ridiculous AI. Eventually people who were new to the thread began requesting links to the game to which there was an eventual admittance that it did not exist.
After the initial disappointment various new threads began discussing the possibility of creating Chapter Master and as of October 8th, 2011 several Anon's skilled in artwork and coding came forward creating usernames and a forum creating the basics of the game. Though there was an initial burst of creativity by 2013 progress slowed to a crawl and it was believed the project like many others had died. However on August 9, 2014 a poster by the name of Duke came forward having taken all the resources of the forum and produced a Alpha he had nearly single-handedly coded.
As a one man project and Alpha there are the usual bugs one would expect but it looks and plays reasonably well.
To begin you can select an existing space marine chapter though only Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Salamanders and Ultramarines are available at this time of the Founding chapters and the Lamenters of the Existing chapters, alternatively create a space marine chapter from scratch (which is more fun in my option)
After the surprising in depth creation which allows the choice of geneseed flaws and troop weaponry amongst other things, the game lets you out into the galaxy for you to explore and defend after loading up your marines into your vessels (though if your like me you'll find only the smaller companies can fit into your starting vessels).
Management so far other than movement and deployment covers construction of weapons and the recruiting of new marines to the chapter which limited by your chapter limit and Geneseed stocks. While there seems to be issues recruiting normal marines in this early alpha there is no such problem with the special characters and there has been one enterprising player who made a company of Librarians.
I've not yet quite figured out the combat mechanics yet as these are mostly still been built upon, during planetary invasions a player can only choose to be the defender but I seem to win without casualties or be utterly destroyed but its gratifying to see 400 marines destroy an ork force of 3000 and the text descriptions are rather nice. While space battles are reminiscence of a simplistic version of Gratuitous Space Battles which is just waiting to be developed further.
Between fighting back Xeno incursions and discovering relics occasionally requests will come up from the various factions requesting aid and various random events will occur, I would go into further depth but I wouldn't want to to spoil the surprise for those about to play.
As with any fan game it runs the risk of a cease and desist action especially as Games Workshop is one of the most defensive companies when it comes to these issues, however if they have any sense (sadly evidence shows this may be lacking) they will either let it be or sponsor it giving it the backing it deserves. If they do try to close it down I can only imagine they will fail with the anonymity of its creators and the backing of 4chan behind them and only drive them further underground or cause an explosion of download links.
With this been an Alpha I'll try to keep an eye of its development but it could fade into the warp for another few years again.
Updates about the game can be followed at its page over on 1d4chan.
The latest version can be download here along with the manual.
Update: Tips for Playing Chapter Master.
Update: The First Release of Interstellar Army Simulator is here.
They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines so that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear.
– on the Creation of the Space Marines.