Chapter Master (game)

D U K E R O C K S

Chapter Master: A Chapter Management Simulation is a game, formerly one of countless troll-games made up by /tg/ on lonely nights full of wishful thinking. It might have been the greatest shit that /tg/ has ever done- if it weren't for the fact that coding a game is too hard and time-consuming for 99.9℅ of all fa/tg/uys. But then a temporary tripfag named Duke proved the impossible possible, and made the game a reality, before vanishing back into the Warp as an anon.

Chapter Master's premise is that you are the Master of some random Space Marine chapter. It's your job to take care of your chapter and the sector it's in, and lead them to victory! Or, y'know, get raped by the Inquisition/Orks/Tau/Eldar/Tyranids/Chaos, which happens far too often.

Key Links for the Alpha

The Alpha. (for windows) Note that this will always be updated to the latest version.
A list of names that /tg/ contributed to several factions
IRC Channel (in the "channels" slot, look for "#chaptermaster")
The FAQ's. Read them.
Manual: To the right.
For those lazy fucks who don't want to read here's some gameplays from random dudes: [1] [2] [3] [4] and a video of the latest edition (it will be changed with each major update) is here [5]
Patch Notes. Finally. (Fresh as fuck.)
Duke's Patreon
Suggestion File
Armanentarium
Bay12 Forums thread

WARNING:Not reading the manual and FAQ's will likely have the thread laughing at your idiocy. READ THEM AND SPARE YOURSELF THE HUMILIATION.

The Story So Far

And lo, OP did create a thread in which he complained about the Inquisitorial AI in Chapter Master. And /tg/ did jump on the idea, posting many a greentext about this game. Great tales were told, and OP was said not to be a total fag.

However, the newfag did soon appear, and fun was ruined forever. "LINKZ PLOX" and other such inquiries were had, but only few had the heart to tell the newfag that no such game existed. But soon, a light was found! By the second thread, interest had reached fever pitch, and /tg/ did set out to do what it did best...

Get Shit Done.

As of October 8th, 2011, anons gathered in various threads to share ideas and possible situations this game should have. A brave few with coding knowledge and creative skill have taken the mantle of creating this future masterpiece.

Many Anons have shed their anonymity and joined the Chapter Master IRC Channel to Get Shit Done. In the timespan of only a few hours, they doth procured many a feature.

A drawfag named Bladebaka has gifted us with a start to the Game Over screen. While not perfect, it does show the ever-popular "Yourchapterhascrumbled.jpg" meme from many a greentext.

Pauldron Guy had also shown great foresight and started crafting sprites for future versions, as the initial release would likely have been ASCII, and did some writefagging.

InquisitorFrollo became the devils' advocate for many an idea spawned in this glorious endeavor, and were it done, would have been rewarded upon its completion.

Come December, vbcoder and Carl_theBearded had created many a feature, and NoiselessMarine came to the IRC with a great sense of wonder and drive. He crafted a combat system, and vbcoder was inspired to work harder still on Chapter Master, creating a weapon generator and nigh finalizing the rest of the game. Carl became admin of the forum, and much dickfuckery was cleaned up. And it was good.

As of 2013, shit slowed to a crawl and nothing of value was lost. But then 2014 came with words and rumours and images, and on August 9, 2014, the humble tripfag known as Duke finally released the thing thought undoable: The Chapter Master Alpha.

Proof that /tg/ can actually get shit done.

The (Actual) Story So Far, a Tale of Truthfulness and Fact

Broadly speaking, the above was bollocks for a time.

It was writ that one day, Chapter Master might actually be in such a state that it may be called... "a game". Prior efforts enabled anons to craft their own chapter and chart a whole sector for them to play around in, but little else aside from that.

ASCII? Pah! The hopers of old transcended such nonsense: they were in the age of 100% fully 3D graphics comprising of not one, but TWO full dimensions of dimensionfulness. Let's just say that your corneas would have hexagons burned into them permanently after a couple of hours and leave it at that. Your ears would have been delighted by over SEVEN discrete, different, and unique sound effects ranging from beeps, to slightly different beeps. (Note that this is all sarcasm. Especially in wake of the current alpha, which has far more than this.)

However, all was not perfect: The attentions of /tg/ were, as they always have been, fickle. For the most part, people departed at almost the same instant that they claimed "oh yeah, sure I can help do <helpful task>". The old forum had 234 registered users - few of them who actually contributed, and far fewer who had any notable commitment to the whole thing. At the moment, for example, it can be relied upon that there will be 2 or 3 people to be around at some point, ready to contribute.

Every now and then, the good old storythread raised the awareness of the game, and some Anons vowed to Get Shit Done. However, sadly, most will find out that they have no idea to code worth a damn and can't be bothered to learn how to do so.

After multiple broken promises from people claiming to work on it with no actual results for years, /tg/ became resigned to the fact that it may never be created, and the people foolish enough to say that they will succeed when literally everyone else has failed are met with suspicion and doubt at best.

However, recently, an anon started a thread inquiring about it, and lo! he was met with screenshots and after much questioning,it appears that Chapter Master may be soon entering open alpha.

It was the 21st century, August 9 2014, 12:00AM. For years the denizens of /tg/ had languished on the Golden Throne of 4chan.

But no more.

Chapter Master is among us.

The time is nigh, and the Alpha has been released. Although promising, it has much to learn. But I believe, Chapter Master can save /tg/

But to do that, all anons must do one thing:

ALWAYS BET ON DUKE

Tragedies of Practicality

There came a time when Duke was going to drop the project, but Duke's attempts to find a replacement coder didn't go that well. It turns out that the reason he needed to hand it off in the first place was that he ran out of money and needed to actually support himself and not starve. Therefore, a new solution has been proposed:

https://www.patreon.com/vidya

The more money Duke gets, the more time he can dedicate to the project.

Changing names to dodge the Inquisition GW Lawyers

In August 2015 it was announced that the game would be renamed to Interstellar Army Simulator 2015 to preemptively fend off legal trouble (read: a GW blackshirt who had grown fond of the game accidentally mentioned its existence where his boss could hear him and nearly got fired when he tried to explain why GW shouldn't send a C&D order to shut the game down). Other copyrighted terms and graphics will be removed as well, but the game will be made with "unofficial" mods in mind that could easily restore the original graphics and terms as needed.

Factions and Enemies in Chapter Master

So far, there are eight factions that you can interact with via Diplomacy, and two that you cannot.

Factions that you can interact with through Diplomacy

Imperium: The guys with whom you'll be associated most of the time. The Governors will give some good stuff if you'll be helpful to the systems in the sector (stuff like extra Requisition, Licenses for Crusades and Fleet Repair, extra recruiting worlds) and maintain a high reputation with him. Just don't give him Chaos artefacts (especially Daemonic ones), else Heresy explodes everywhere, Chaos Marines will pay a very unfriendly visit to you and a world will turn Daemonic.

Mechanicus: They are the guys who'll give you all the cool stuff like Land Raiders, Termie Armours and things like Skiitari, Tech-Priests and minor relics if you have a high enough reputation with them and offer up something nice in return, like STC Fragments. However, they are rather ungenerous even when presented with STC Fragments (One STC Fragment will usually get you a single suit of Termie armour and 3 techpriests). Protect Forge Worlds at all costs if you want new stuff from them and new ships for your fleet. Nothing happens if you give them Chaos Artefacts (unless you'll summon Chaos Marines this way).

Ecclesiarchy: Sisters of Battle in other words. If you get high reputation with them, then they'll not only send you their own troops when you buy from them, but in certain situations they'll even build a monastery on your homeworld. The sisters will trade you some really useful wargear like Heavy Flamers. Never give them Chaos or Daemonic (especially the latter one) Artefacts, else your reputation will plummet down.

Inquisition: They hate you. Even with really high reputation, they'll give you missions that will make you RAGE incoherently. Luckily it's not all of the time they do so. Most of the time they'll ask you if you could look after a relic they'll send you. Other times they'll call to blow up Necron Tomb Worlds that are still dormant or kill a Radical (always take the Relic they offer, and then blow up their ships). If you'll have bad reputation with them, then they'll simply excommunicate you and make your life difficult. Some of the things they give you aren't worth taking, unless those are Crusaders and EXTERMINATUS (the Incinerator is also somewhat good if not only for its bonus against Daemons). They'll be massively disappointed if you trade with Eldar or other Xenos. They're also the only faction that is happy if you give them Chaos Artefacts (especially Daemonic ones).

Eldar: They hate you too, but are also attracted to you (especially if the Farseer in charge of the Craftworld is female). They'll always mind their own business and will never, ever attack you unless you provoke them. Have some nifty things to sell and will tell you if any of your battle brothers are corrupted or not. Sometimes they'll ask you for some requisition. Word of advice: do it! This way you'll have some peace and quiet, but don't interact with them too often. The Inquisition will make a inspection and overall reputation with the Imperium will drop. ~~Marginally, but it will drop~~ Scratch that. Don't even interact with them if you want to be 100% loyal. Massive trust drop. Their fleet is much more powerful than yours, so never engage them in Fleet Battles.

Orks: Kill them. KILL THEM WITH FIRE! There is absolutely no reason to negotiate with Orks. They'll attack Imperial planets and slaughter citizens. Big pain in the power arse if it's the Forge World next to your home system, or your home system. They can also be very difficult to dislodge from systems with multiple planets, as they spread quite easily within Planetary Systems. Don't bother engaging Ork Fleets, unless they're really small; Ork fleets almost entirely consist of nothing but Battleships, though, thankfully, they don't stay around long - when they reach another system, they'll reduce to minimal size as the ships crash onto the planets in that sector. In terms of Ground Forces, they're usually quite easy to deal with - In the typical Orky fashion, they barely ever hit with their ranged weapons, unless they're either firing at point-blank range, or it's stuff like Rokkits and Kannons. Once they get into melee range, though, they can dish out a fair bit of damage, although they're still outmatched by your regular Space Marines. Thankfully, really 'urty stuff like Power Klaws are too slow to hit anything other than vehicles and walkers. Don't bother attacking/raiding when they have above a Heavy presence level; just bombard them from orbit and clean up with your ground forces afterward. Every now and then, a Warboss will show up to take all the orks in the sector on a WAAAGH! All ork fleets in the sector will double in size, travel to the nearest un-infested system and start fucking shit up, instantly gaining Rampant levels on at least one planet in that system. A WAAAGH! coming from outside your sector is EVEN WORSE; MASSIVE Ork Fleets will appear on a random edge of your sector, and will quite often invade multiple systems at once. It usually takes a lot of time and effort to clear out all the systems invaded by an out-of-sector WAAAGH!, which can lead to you having to neglect problems elsewhere in the sector.

Tau: Just like Orks, Tau shouldn't be negotiated with; they will ruin perfectly functioning Imperial worlds with their Greater Good philosophy and don't give you anything useful. Wipe out the PDF on Imperial worlds they claimed and surgically start purging them. Their fleets are slow and inferior in terms of firepower. The ground forces however, are virtually unassailable. Never engage Tau Ground forces unless you want to take massive casualties; it's much easier to just destroy Tau fleets in space, or just bombard them into the dust if they get a foothold on any planets.

Chaos: As if the two above factions weren't already a pain, these guys will instead corrupt worlds and probably turn one into a Daemon World if they get the chance. They start out as small heretical uprisings on a single planet, but then jizz into full-blown Incursions, with Chaos Fleets popping out of nowhere (Usually near the Forge World that's next to your home system or RIGHT ON TOP OF your home system!), and ending with Chaos Marines and Daemons running rampant. No info on what they would offer. To start with, why would anyone even try to talk to them? Unless by talking, one means BOLTER ROUND TO THE FACE. Stamp out Heretical uprisings as early as possible; in the early stages, all you'll have to contend with is Cultists, who are hilariously easy to kill and have next-to-no chance of even wounding a Marine. Watch out for Arch-Heretics though; the plasma pistols/power weapons they are equipped with can kill marines with reasonable ease if they get into range, but they're just as squishy as a regular cultist. After you're done stamping out any Traitor presence, don't forget to purge to bring the Heresy down to 0%, otherwise they'll just keep popping back up. (Always do a Selective Purge unless the Heresy level is particularly high - that way you minimise the negative effect to the Governor's Disposition).

Factions that you cannot interact with via Diplomacy

Tyranids: If you thought that Orks, Tau and Chaos are a pain, then you'll hate Tyranids with all your might. Especially if you start a game with some systems already having massive Tyranid infestations. After they finish eating the planets they appeared on, they'll create Hive Fleets that will start eating system after system. Their fleets are greatly inferior to your own ships, but they make it up with numerical advantages. If there are systems with Nids in them, then purge these systems as fast as possible. Sometimes if you get events like that your psykers detecting a "Shadow in the Warp", then muster everything you can throw at them when they arrive. In terms of ground combat, Tyranids tend to flip-flop from being really squishy to FUCKING TERRIFYING. If they're below Heavy presence levels on a planet, they're easy to deal with; at this stage, Tyrannid armies consist entirely of Genestealer Cultists and the like, plus a few Genestealers (Who, in small numbers, are easy to deal with even if they get close. In large numbers, though, they will absolutely tear your shit up if they get into melee range). When they hit Heavy, Extreme or Rampant levels, engaging them in ground combat is a REALLY FUCKING BAD idea. At these levels, you run into proper Tyranid Bioforms like Gaunts, Carnifexes, Broodlords and all the rest. They will kill large numbers of marines with ease in both ranged and melee combat. At this stage, it's best to either Bombard them back down to manageable levels, or subject the planet to EXTERMINATUS.

Necrons: A real pain in the power arse if you want to get rid of them from a planet. They regain Rampant levels of warriors in a turn, will start slaughtering the planet their tombs are located on and will be utterly methodical in doing so. If you don't want them to rampage around, just wait when the Inquisition gives you a mission to bomb the living hell out of their Tomb World with a Plasma Bomb (Davian Thule style), send in two to three marines on bikes and make an express delivery.

Factions not implemented

Dark Eldar: No info on them yet.

Tips

Don't donate a chaos artifact to anyone but the Inquisition.

Use tech marines to pick up STC fragments; just unload them from your ships down onto the planet with the STC on it to pick it up. Artifacts can be retrieved in the same way.

Ancient Ruins can be explored in a similar way to retrieving an STC, as mentioned above. They contain all sorts of useful stuff, so explore them whenever you can. BE WARNED! Ancient Ruins are often infested with Chaos Cultists and even Daemons, so always send Terminators if you can! Make sure the landing party has:
1) A good selection of both ranged and melee weapons. Assault Cannons, Heavy Flamers, Meltaguns and power weapons are a good choice, but don't load up the landing party with too many of a particular type of weapon - a few heavy weapons dispersed throughout the squad is the best way to go.
2) At least one Techmarine and one Apothecary in the landing party to retrieve any STC fragments and/or relics, and to make sure that the gene-seed is recovered from any marines who are killed.

Add Bionics to wounded Marines to quickly heal them and get them back in the fight.

Never have your entire chapter in a single fleet as warp storms are full of terrors and pop up at most inopportune times.

THOU SHALL NOT SEND THE ENTIRE CHAPTER:
1) On a Crusade
2) To a Space Hulk
3) Into a dormant Necron Tomb
To do so will result in getting Blood Angels'd.

Sisters of Battle are a cheap and effective addition to your forces. They have the same Armour Class (AC) as marines in Mk 7 power armour, though they do have less health, and you can't (yet) re-equip them to give them anything other than bolters (So no Retributor Squads, Boo!)

The Sisters Hospitaller make good(ish) replacements for Apothecaries. Though they can't recover Geneseed from dead marines, they can still prevent deaths and decrease healing time for wounded marines in the same way that the Apothecaries do.

Techpriests work in much the same way as your Techmarines, repairing vehicles damaged in battle. They can be re-equipped with better armour and weapons (Though the conversion beam projector they come with is usually enough). Add bionics to them to give them more health and increase their combat effectiveness.

External Links

/tg/ Threads

Dedicated Websites

Gallery

An old concept on how it would play.
Moar concept art.
The Emperor hates you. Please die.
Everyone's favorite chapter, pixelated.
This guy hates you. Appease him with Archeotech!
Kill xenos, get bitches.
A typical example of play...once.
Read the thread/FAQ/Manual. You have been warned.
Fixed it!

Chapter Master (game)

Contents

Key Links for the Alpha

The Story So Far