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!