I've played 40k for a long while now. My freinds Bill and Mark sucked me into it back in 98-ish and we had alot of fun with it over the years. But sadly, all the changes have slowly been making it less fun for me. The last time I really had fun with it was with my Orks in 2004.
Granted, since 2005 I havent played much due to life getting in the way. But since then GW has made thier changes. My hiatus saw two new editions, and a variety of game changes, that really just look like the juggling of the meta-game in order to sell a certain type of model(like transports for 5th ed, or anything with an assualt cannon in 4th edition).
The last piece of GW stuff I bought was a BFM box in 2005, and a bottle of Devlan mud last summer. And I will admit they are putting out some great models, which we have to pay through the nose(and other orifices for).
Lets look at some of the things GW has done over the years-
2001- Online Price fixing- GW limits independent resellers to a 20% discount. Prior to this the norm was a 30% discount, and 40% could be found.
2002-2004 Price hikes. There was internet uproar-everyone was gonna quit. no one did. Reasoning from GW 'We need the funds to build our plastics plant in the US so we can keep costs down'
2005/2006 4th ed comes out. Only a minor price hike on a few kits.
2007 a few more kits get a price hike.
2008/2009 5th ed rolls out, Mech armies become king- first rhinos and drop pods are hard to come buy, then Chimeras as the IG codex comes out. Throw in a price hike for good measure- one that covers most of their ranges.
2010 Guess what....despite massive restructuring in GW-US, a move made for 'cost cutting and efficiency' we get yet another price hike. But with a clever bit of PR- they release Spearhead right afterwards- so the sheep get to think 'Oooh wow!! All tank games!!!' and they run out to buy 5 or 6 more tanks to use. Oh- and you have to buy the Spearhead book when it comes out too.
I should add into all that- the heart breaking decline of White Dwarf. The once noble dwarf used to be a useful read, hobby tips, chapter approved articles, short stories, painting tutorials, Army Spotlights. Then they pimped it out to some whorbits, er, I mean hobbits. After that it circled to bowl a few times before being flushed down the toilet into the realm of total crap.
I still like the the 40k fluff, and modeling. I have like 20 armies worth of crap to prove it. But Im going to whittle that all down to 4 or so. Pet project armies that may end up with no gaming value.
For gaming value- Im setting sail with Privateer Press. Thier prices may not be much better than GW's, but thier core product and rules are more functional and smooth. It evokes the sort of fun feeling that 2nd edition 40k did- but without the confusing complexity. Theres guns, robots, magic, and a variety of other goodstuff that make for plenty of eye candy and fun stuff to paint. And in all- the people into it seem to be more of a mind to have fun- the PP forums in general are much less tense than the 40k forums. A better vibe I suppose. And the artwork theyre putting forth in thier new books is impressive- along with thier sculpts improving over the years this makes me happy to see such progress.
Anyhow- for those that follow my bloggity goodness, you can expect to see Warmachine stuff taking precedence over 40k for the forseeable future. Something might change that, but Im really sick of GW so it seems unlikely I'll ever embrace thier game to the same extent I used to.
Welcome to my little niche of the blogosphere. This is where I can ramble about being a girl gamer and the amusement that comes with it ^_^
If you haven't looked at it, you might check out Malifaux by Wyrd Games. They started as a mini company so the sculpts are beautiful. And they won't break the bank for an army.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame, but I understand the sentiment. I have done the same thing to an extent, but I chose Flames of War, cause I cannot stand Warmachine. I really did try to like it, but it's just not my thing.
ReplyDeleteI am still painting and modeling 40k a lot, but I am done buying armies at their outrageous prices. The dribs and drabs of the GW stuff I do buy are from online discounters or preferably ebay.
-Jim
It's strange how these things come in cycles, my friends and went all out on Warmachine a few years back. I was lured back to 40k, (ok it was an easy lure because I love the world) and now a handful of people I know are turning their eyes on Warmachine. Time to re-up in the Cryxian army!
ReplyDeleteYa, I know alot of people sort of go in cycles, rotate in and out of games. But GW has just burned too many bridges for me. They act like its some sort of priveledge to buy their stuff, and Im really just sick of that shit. Privateer and several of the other comapnies these days are much more customer/gamer oriented- they want to make great stuff and fun rules. Not medicore rules, good but overpriced models, and an attitude of 'You'll like it because we said so'.
ReplyDeleteSad but understandable- a lot of the decisions that GW makes are pretty poor, although to be honest I think they've also made some improvements in the game over the past couple of years since 5th Ed came out as well.
ReplyDeleteWarmachine is a pretty cool game, I wouldn't feel bad about getting into it; although I haven't had a chance to play Malifaux, I believe the rules are available for free online and the figures are absolutely gorgeous.
Mistress of Minis....you basically wrote the post that I've been thinking of doing.
ReplyDeleteI'm just not getting the excitement any more from 40k, and GW's price and attitude antics have not helped at all. Your second to last paragraph just says it all for me.
I'm also getting interested in smaller games like Nuclear Renaissance, Malifaux and possibly some historicals. It's a real shame because I got into gaming because of GW and I used to really love everything about it.
My favourite thing was leafing through all of the old White Dwarf issues that I have from back in the day. The battle reports were more fun, the stories were great, articles interesting and they talked about new models with enthusiasm that I believed, whereas now I just hear them telling me to buy it.
Such a shame. Maybe it will have a turnaround in a few years if their competitors get stronger market shares. I can still see me playing a 40k game every now and again, but that burning itch to collect and get involved is now totally with Warmachine and other game systems.
PS: What kind of Warmachine stuff are you looking at?
ReplyDeleteI picked up the Harbinger of Menoth just for the model, but I want Cygnar as well for the shooty goodness, and reading the Pirates of the Broken Coast book has got me interested in making a 28mm sailing ship or two so I can do ship to ship battles.
I miss having that enthusiasm for GW.
Forget Warmachine.
ReplyDeleteInfinity is where it's at. Get two of the starter sets off of The Warstore, and slowly let it build up influence.
Cackle maniacally when it does.
heh, I agree totally on your thoughts on White Dwarf! I stopped buying it several years ago when i realized I was subscribing the GW equivalent of the Sears catalog. The latest GW newsletter proclaimed it to be 'THE BEST WD EVER!' Oh really?
ReplyDeletei emailed GW's customer service & told them to have marketing go & read an old WD from around the 2nd. ed. time frame & see just what a WD is supposed to look like.
Surprisingly I got no response...
While my enthusiasm for the game hasn't diminished (barring random periods of burnout), my enthusiasm for the company certainly has. quote: 'They act like its some sort of priveledge to buy their stuff, and Im really just sick of that shit.'
Bravo! I couldn't have said it better myself!
Due to the incessant price hikes I sell old stuff on ebay to finance new purchases and so my collection dwindles, yet has not reached the pale shadow of its former self that my CBT collection has become. Though I'm sure that someday GW will tell me that I'm to poor to play their games.
spearhead is just a white dwarf release its not getting its own book
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean and how you feel.
ReplyDeleteI recently gave Malifaux a try and to be honest, it has really really grown on me so much so that that's all I've played for nearly 2 months now.
I don't even remember the last GW book I've picked up. And I'm questioning whether or not to bother getting the new fantasy update simply b/c I'm so in love with the Malifaux game.
On top of that, the minis are just beautiful and even better, you won't have to rent out certain body parts to be able to pay for the minis. ;)
Customer support is top notch and their online forum/community is the best I've ever come across.
You actually get answers to your gaming questions from company certified gamers!
Non of this endless debate for years waiting for a peep from a company rep or FAQ.
I had over a dozen crazy detailed gaming/playing questions answered as fast as I could type them out.
I cannot give enough glowing praise to both the game itself (the rules are pretty tight), the company Wyrd and the online community.
Definitely worth checking out.
And hey, if you live in the Western North Carolinas, let me know, I'd be more than happy to give you a demo.
Hehe, Im in Arizona- so N Carolina is a bit out of my gaming range ;)
ReplyDeleteI've looked at the Malifaux minis, and am considering picking some up just to paint. But I'll take a peek at the rules too, Im hearing alot of good things from all directions on it.
I hear you a bit on the GW front. I still have fun with it, but they are not exactly the smoothest-operating company. I mean, I would like clear rules and the like, but the game DOES offer a hell of a lot of variety in terms of stuff you can pick up.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, I definitely see the appeal of Privateer Press. I picked up some Cryx models for the sculpts and to use them as RPG minis, and then caved in and bought a rulebook. It's smooth, plays quick, and the sculpts are bloody characterful. You just don't need as much to put it all together.
Though I have to say price wise, while I love my FLGS, if I can get a $35-$40 item for $25-30 online, and then make an order of a couple discounted items and offset my shipping costs? Sorry, but I'm gonna go online. It just is what it is, and online I think I've dumped a couple hundred bucks into Warmachine and ended up with just about everything I need to play most any of the casters for my faction (...albeit, this doesn't include the $40 big effin' Terminus and the 10 more meat shields, but still.)
The price is what has slowly been killing my love for GW. I understand why they are doing it from a business perspective but it is just feels wrong dumping over 90 AUD on Terminators or 100 AUD on a Land Raider.
ReplyDeleteAnd White Dwarf lost its magical touch a few years ago for me. Ever since Paul (a.k.a the Fat Bloke) stepped down from being editor and they got rid of the Oz articles. I miss the stories...
Messanger
Hey had a question about that stripper Superclean. Did you dilute it with water and how much or was it just straight Superclean? Really need to strip some old platic models.... thanks for any advice.
ReplyDelete@young pup, I use the superclean(concentrated) straight out of the big purple bottle. You can thin it down, but that just makes it take longer.
ReplyDeleteWhat you've posted here is basically the conclusion I arrived at over six years ago. I've since gone down the route of Warmachine, but even that has now evolved into far too many models and too much work.
ReplyDeleteMore recently, Wyrd Miniatures' "Malifaux" game gives me all the cool combos and model interactions that Warmachine did, but on a more affordable scale (and I'm a slow painter too, so fewer models means I even manage to play fully painted!). Best thing is, it is easy to chop and change factions quite easily and cheaply if you want to.
The other game, which I play alongside Malifaux is Corvus Belli's "Infinity". Superbly balanced game that also requires few models. It is astonishingly well balanced, but it does take perseverance to both learn the rules and learn how to deal with certain styles of list-build. Once you get over the learning curve though, the game boils down to some truly fantastic tactical manoeuvrings, and small-scale covert-ops skirmish.
Both Infinity and Malifaux games take 1-2 hours to play a standard game, and even if you have a pool of models to choose from are far more affordable than GW games or even PP games.
Seriously though; check them out, play some proxy games, whatever. Just get a good feel for what good balanced skirmish games can be, and you'll realise that you don't need loads of models or endless army customisation to have really good fun!
Unfortunately I am alone in a sea of plastic and metal minis; no one in my area plays any type of minis games. I have a couple boxes of the gun mages, I love them cause they look like 17th century English/French. But sadly, I am alone in my hobby cave....
ReplyDelete@Jorge load up vassal! Ive watched a couple games played out on it and they seem to go pretty smooth. I live in the boonies too and dont make it out often- so this gives me an outlet :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vassalengine.org/community/index.php
http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?24209-Vassal-WARMACHINE-4.0-Released
I'll probly blog a bit on it after I actually play a couple games :)
I mostly abandoned GW after 3rd edition. These days I prefer Warmachine / Hordes and Infinity. Don't get me wrong I'm a painter and a modeler and occasionally I might do a GW mini here or there, but the biggest turn off for me isn't the price, its simply that the game rules are rotten.
ReplyDelete