Wednesday, January 16, 2013

What good is skyfire if you ain't around to use it?


Warning: rant ahead.


I read this thread and agreed with some replies and disagreed with others. How has 6th Edition 40k been? Great. I love the rules, I love forging a narrative... I love the focus on non-competitive play.

I don't love:

  • Old codexes not being updated
  • Entire armies being left in the cold
  • Lack of updates
  • Lack of new models for old codexes
  • Continuous un-sustainable price increases
GW, you're going the wrong way. You need to take a long hard look at the things that Privateer Press is doing and realize that you're the dinosaur. You're the guy ranting and raving about the 47% while Privateer is out there getting all the new hobbyists. Your method of doing business is OLD.

At the end of the day we're talking about mantoys but I've put a lot of time and money into my Tyranid collection. Currently I have no options for allies or skyfire (minus a flying hive tyrant which costs a ton of points and is marginal at best at taking down 130 point vendettas which can then kill him next turn). The flyers that you are intent on releasing for mucho$$$ absolutely decimate my army and there is nothing I can do about it.

What is so much better about PP? They release campaign books. In each book each faction from Warmachine or Hordes receives a few models and a warcaster or warlock. These fundamentally change the game in that they can fix problems or imbalances with a new release.

Two codexes that need help
Your method of releasing a codex and then leaving it untouched for years and years (unless you have a $600 iPad, then you can buy the full priced codex on there and maybe get an update... but only an iPad) is out of date. It loses you revenue. 

When I see the new models for a PP army I've had on the shelf for a while I want that new release and then I start playing them again. Perhaps it'll fix that problem I had! It'll definitely change the way the army works... look at colossals / gargantuans.

Not to mention when they come out with a unit in plastic they're cheaper and more convenient. The new landspeeder for Dark Angels is $65! The flyer is $75! You're pricing people out of your hobby during a recession.

Why do the new codexes for Chaos Space Marines and Dark Angels include flakk missiles but my lowly vanilla marines don't get that? Errata it in. Provide options for Tyranids to take another force org and bring their own flakk missiles. The static slow-as-molasses updating that you're doing isn't working. If you did campaign books with a few models or rules updates for each army you wouldn't see me leaving my $$$ collection of Tyranids sitting on a shelf and playing mostly Warmachine and Hordes.

You're losing gamers... 'nuff said.

edit: just to prove the point:

http://privateerpress.com/watch-the-2013-keynote-live-on-february-1st

We will be streaming the Privateer Press 2013 keynote presentation—featuring our biggest announcements of the year—right here on privateerpress.com!
Not YouTube videos made by the intern showing words and noises from Dawn of War games... 

10 comments:

  1. My Squats are still waiting for their codex.

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  2. Damn man tell us how you really feel. You can still take an Aegis Defense Line and get a very solid anti air weapon with that. Black Templars and Space Wolves still have no anti air options either outside of fortifications. I was talking with Dustin about flyers today. With the arrival of flak missiles and the growing usage of fortifications, who wants to commit 170+ points on something that can be shot down the minute it hits the table. Also Flak missiles aren't exactly cheap at 10 points plus the cost of the weapon, are you always going to buy them simply because you can? If I play against Chuck I will as default take Flak Missiles, but against anyone else I might only take 1 or 2 missile launchers that have them, and even those aren't a guarantee that you will be able to down those flyers. As for your other points, I completely agree. Knowing how much time and effort you and the rest of our group have put into your armies I can honestly say 40k gamers are a loyal bunch. I don't even want to take a guess at how much I have dumped into 40k over the past few years. You shouldn't be charging an extra 30 bucks for a couple of wings. The new Dark Angel flyers are basically Storm Talons with wings and they are charging 30 bucks extra for them. I think they need to get some new blood in that company and realize that they are pushing people away. This might sound simple, but I can not honestly believe they named something the Deathwing Knights, it lacks originality and is really kind of pathetic. Whats next, the Blood Angel Knights, or the Space Wolf Knights? It sounds like something Ward would do.

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    1. Haha. I think the 'new blood' won't really matter - GW is a public company, PP is a private company. They do things how Matt Wilson wants.

      re: flakk missiles: I'd probably take a dev squad with them and equip my tac squads with them. Hive guard should have them for an extra 10 points. (they're shooting flying beetles ffs).

      Tyranids can take an aegis defense line but they can't shoot emplaced weapons =/

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  3. Pretty much agree with everything. Yet I still find myself having fun playing casual 40k. The league we are in right now is great. Tournaments are becoming a turnoff for me though. I want to support my favorite store when they run events but I find myself making more effort to clear my schedule for Warmachine tournaments (and Fantasy) than 40k. I still like 40k in spite of the company behind it.

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  4. Games are what you make of them. I know I've said this before, but the background and lore is what brings me into a game, and Warmachine and Hordes just falls flat for me. Is it better as a competitive ruleset? Sure. Does PP have a more gamer-friendly approach? Probably. Does their artwork, background/lore, and model sculpts hold up to GW? In my opinion, not by a long shot. But to each their own. In fairness, I've been in this same place before, I have plenty of my own anti-GW rants, but now I just enjoy it on my terms - playing smaller games, creating weird missions, getting into the RPG line - I'm pleased that our slow-grow league has been a success and I've gotten positive feedback about it.

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    1. I'd agree. They still have great background and lore (besides the obvious lack of powerful women at any level - you see the opposite in PP's fluff and models). Black Library is doing great things.

      It is still a great narrative game. I'm just pissed at the company and how they run it. I mean what the hell is still doing on all their boxes? Why don't they consolidate Black Library and Forge World into GW proper and run a website that sells everything at US DOLLARS? Why do they focus on retail stores with one dude in them that are closed for lunch?

      I disagree with the art, background / lore, and sculpts for PP. Obviously they have some bad sculpts but look at some of the NEW stuff coming from GW - yo dogg, I heard you like gothic architecture in your gothic architecture so I put gothic architecture on your land speeder. Oblits are still terrible... I mean they have bad sculpts in every army.

      Check out the lore sometime in the IKRPG book. They have an actual history and languages and religions and all of it that goes back hundreds of years. Their dude takes it super seriously

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  5. For me league play is where its at, tournaments are a no go for me. Best thing so far in league play is I've had the chance now to get in three games with people I've wanted to play but never got the chance to before. What GW seems to forget is that without them doing "official" events anymore people are free to use whatever models they feel like using to represent codex entries in casual play settings. Don't like using GW fantasy Zombies for your plague zombies, then go buy a box of Wargames Factory Modern Zombies, as a plus you get 30 of them for $20 or less. Increased competition for GW's dollars is a good thing, it may be the only thing that can bring them back in line in a slow economy.

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  6. I was astounded to see the new Dark Angels flyer priced at $75. Really, $75 for a small model plane? Mind-boggling.

    However, I agree with Phil on the comprison between the PP universe and the world GW has created. I've been drawn to the lore of 40k since I was a kid and the PP fluff does nothing for me. Maybe I'm too old to tie myself to another fantasy world that holds no nostalgic value for me.

    Plus, I'm not into the competitive nature of PP games. I like to play with toys and not be too concerned with winning and losing. And that's all I get from WarmaHordes. Cool enough models, better pricing structure, and a fun local crowd isn't enough for me to overlook the fact that I don't like having to learn how to build and run a competitive list. And if that's the case, I think it's hard to have fun in the PP world.

    GW's price gouging will only limit my exposure to new armies and models. I'm still in, but to a lesser and lesser extent. But when you're a company driven almost solely by profits, you're bound to lose some of your audience to a fan-centric company like PP. They're doing a lot right, but not the right things to draw me away from GW. And that's the way it is for someone like me who can realistically only dedicate so much time and money on man-toys.

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  7. Well, when GW sells off to a bigger company some day will it get better or worse? No way they can survive with all these price increases and competition. Not to mention the 3D printers that are going to ruin their day in a couple years.

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