My brother gave me my Christmas gift early and behold, a $40 Steam voucher. Why? Because of a little game called Mordheim. While it is still in early access and has much more to offer in the future, I've been pumped to play it and finally I did.
My first game threw me into a match against an Empire CPU and it was as fun and exciting as I had thought it to be. I can see how much fun a match against human player could be and yes, I did win that match, though it was mostly down to the Rat Ogre and being favoured of the Horned Rat.
Yes-Yes, give in Man-thing. Give in and accept the Great Horned Rat as your one true God. Let his blessed children take-rule the surface as is their Divine right. All shall feel the Horned One's squeak of fury.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff
....eeerrr....ok?
Thursday, 25 December 2014
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Miniature Thought On Fun
So I've been pushing myself to get those damn Clanrats done and found myself not enjoying it. So why? I immediately turned to all the crap about GW and for all that's been said, I realised what I was really wanting to say. However, I'll get to that another time. That said, I'm just not enjoying it they way I use too. Perhaps if I do something light I might regain that enjoyment.
As such, I've decided that for the moment I'll instead focus my miniatures time to converting/painting a few single miniatures I've got about. Perhaps when I finally get a chance to relax I might feel more like tackling that unit.
As such, I've decided that for the moment I'll instead focus my miniatures time to converting/painting a few single miniatures I've got about. Perhaps when I finally get a chance to relax I might feel more like tackling that unit.
Monday, 15 December 2014
Sydney Siege
What can I say? What does one say? My thoughts and prayers go to the hostages and their families and hope they can all get out safely.
Update:
What a tragic end. Two lives lost (three if you count that lunatic who took them all hostage) and while all the others have been freed, the pain of this event will be with them for a long time. What surprised me more was just how the people of this proud country chose to unite as one instead of giving into fear and hate. Truly we saw the best and worst of humanity this day.
Update:
What a tragic end. Two lives lost (three if you count that lunatic who took them all hostage) and while all the others have been freed, the pain of this event will be with them for a long time. What surprised me more was just how the people of this proud country chose to unite as one instead of giving into fear and hate. Truly we saw the best and worst of humanity this day.
Games-Workshop's Own End Times?
I stumbled upon a series of video's on Youtube where fan's generally talk about the current financial situation of Games-Workshop, their gripes with the company and do they think the company will be around in the next few years. I've tried to do some more research into this and gathered a few opinions, so no here are my own.
My thoughts:
Games-Workshop has basically told us that they are miniature production focused, only making the best miniatures and that anything else is secondary. It makes sense given how freely they've become with selling their gaming licences, though I don't think their view is entirely good. So let's start by focusing on their focused on, the miniatures.
Are the miniatures good? Well, yes. For the most part, many of the miniatures are nice to look at and now that they are removing Finecast, the miniatures produced are now lacking the production damage. Not all are good, a few can easily be found in the Fantasy Chaos Warriors section (Forsaken, Slaughterbrute, etc) and they can't/won't produce really any female models beyond Elves/Eldar and Sisters of Battle. It becomes more of a problem when you take price into account, which brings us to the next question: Are they worth the price they're charged for? Yes and No. OK, best to give some examples here. So for single miniatures (like those of the HQ/Lords/Heroes) that are on foot, I feel a price around $26-$28AU is an acceptable price. These miniatures are going to be a standout and tend to have more detail then a rank-and-file, so I can accept that (mounted models should cost between $5 - $15AU more depending on the mount). Core and Troop packs should be priced on a suitable size unit within the $40-$50AU (though given that you need lots of these guys now days means I'd prefer they be cheaper or that they put more in the unit box). Special/Elite/Fast choice options are harder to price, but I would prefer they only cost slightly more then the Core/Troop options. Rares I guess should cost slightly more then special, but unless it's a massive monster they shouldn't go beyond the $70AU mark. As it stands, I feel that some models are over priced for what you get. I will throw in the rulebooks/armybooks/codexes in too. A price rise of $40AU plus was not asked for, nor did we ask for hardback covers (and those who did ask for hardback never asked for a $40AU plus increase). Again, I don't like the current pricing.
They only sell miniatures because of their games, so things like the Lore and rules are important. For me I feel Lore is important, given that the more interesting and diverse, the more people will want to paint and convert models to work with it. Rules are good, but for me the only thing I want them to really fix is to make up their mind when it comes to what can be in a unit (see Rat-Ogre unit who many Packmasters? problem in my army list post below). I do agree that people do want to make it a competitive game, but it was also suggested that a simple list of limitations for competitions could be added and that's that problem is resolved. Again, rules don't need to change much and one can add new miniatures in through rules that are on par with similar models in the slot and Lore that has them in through discovery or through magical/scientific advancement.
Their product isn't very inviting for new customers too and again, this is mostly due to pricing. One such video pointed out that most games are 2,000pts +, there aren't (or poorly done) rules for smaller games and that there isn't any starter sets for armies themselves and I have to agree. A set containing a Hero and two Core/HQ and two Troop options (minimum option to play a game) would be great. As it stands the main rules cost between $100-$140AU and the armybook/codex costs $83AU so just getting the rules just to play your chosen army is very expensive, so a starter set of say $60-$65AU makes it more affordable entry, better if they through in one of those two rule books in a simpler (no lore, pics) form. If you want people to keep purchasing your products, you need to get them into the products first.
I also agree that they need to bring back the specialist games. You already have the rules, just make a few changes that fans have fixed/added to make the game more balanced and start selling. If the models are made similar to your main games, then you will sell more. I also thought this is, bring back the old White Dwarf. This new weekly version (along with the disastrous Warhammer Visions) just doesn't have the good stuff we use to collect them for.
For me, there's nothing wrong with a company making a profit, but understanding the customers wants is also very important. I feel Games-Workshop can pull through, but I feel there may be a serious over hall may need to occur in order to achieve this. Don't get me wrong, I've said multiple times that I love the product, I love the Lore and would love for it to continue, but in these current times of financial struggles, something must give and we may not like what could happen.
I'm sure there's more, but I'll update it later when I have more time to reflect on this.
My thoughts:
Games-Workshop has basically told us that they are miniature production focused, only making the best miniatures and that anything else is secondary. It makes sense given how freely they've become with selling their gaming licences, though I don't think their view is entirely good. So let's start by focusing on their focused on, the miniatures.
Are the miniatures good? Well, yes. For the most part, many of the miniatures are nice to look at and now that they are removing Finecast, the miniatures produced are now lacking the production damage. Not all are good, a few can easily be found in the Fantasy Chaos Warriors section (Forsaken, Slaughterbrute, etc) and they can't/won't produce really any female models beyond Elves/Eldar and Sisters of Battle. It becomes more of a problem when you take price into account, which brings us to the next question: Are they worth the price they're charged for? Yes and No. OK, best to give some examples here. So for single miniatures (like those of the HQ/Lords/Heroes) that are on foot, I feel a price around $26-$28AU is an acceptable price. These miniatures are going to be a standout and tend to have more detail then a rank-and-file, so I can accept that (mounted models should cost between $5 - $15AU more depending on the mount). Core and Troop packs should be priced on a suitable size unit within the $40-$50AU (though given that you need lots of these guys now days means I'd prefer they be cheaper or that they put more in the unit box). Special/Elite/Fast choice options are harder to price, but I would prefer they only cost slightly more then the Core/Troop options. Rares I guess should cost slightly more then special, but unless it's a massive monster they shouldn't go beyond the $70AU mark. As it stands, I feel that some models are over priced for what you get. I will throw in the rulebooks/armybooks/codexes in too. A price rise of $40AU plus was not asked for, nor did we ask for hardback covers (and those who did ask for hardback never asked for a $40AU plus increase). Again, I don't like the current pricing.
They only sell miniatures because of their games, so things like the Lore and rules are important. For me I feel Lore is important, given that the more interesting and diverse, the more people will want to paint and convert models to work with it. Rules are good, but for me the only thing I want them to really fix is to make up their mind when it comes to what can be in a unit (see Rat-Ogre unit who many Packmasters? problem in my army list post below). I do agree that people do want to make it a competitive game, but it was also suggested that a simple list of limitations for competitions could be added and that's that problem is resolved. Again, rules don't need to change much and one can add new miniatures in through rules that are on par with similar models in the slot and Lore that has them in through discovery or through magical/scientific advancement.
Their product isn't very inviting for new customers too and again, this is mostly due to pricing. One such video pointed out that most games are 2,000pts +, there aren't (or poorly done) rules for smaller games and that there isn't any starter sets for armies themselves and I have to agree. A set containing a Hero and two Core/HQ and two Troop options (minimum option to play a game) would be great. As it stands the main rules cost between $100-$140AU and the armybook/codex costs $83AU so just getting the rules just to play your chosen army is very expensive, so a starter set of say $60-$65AU makes it more affordable entry, better if they through in one of those two rule books in a simpler (no lore, pics) form. If you want people to keep purchasing your products, you need to get them into the products first.
I also agree that they need to bring back the specialist games. You already have the rules, just make a few changes that fans have fixed/added to make the game more balanced and start selling. If the models are made similar to your main games, then you will sell more. I also thought this is, bring back the old White Dwarf. This new weekly version (along with the disastrous Warhammer Visions) just doesn't have the good stuff we use to collect them for.
For me, there's nothing wrong with a company making a profit, but understanding the customers wants is also very important. I feel Games-Workshop can pull through, but I feel there may be a serious over hall may need to occur in order to achieve this. Don't get me wrong, I've said multiple times that I love the product, I love the Lore and would love for it to continue, but in these current times of financial struggles, something must give and we may not like what could happen.
I'm sure there's more, but I'll update it later when I have more time to reflect on this.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Dental Update
So yeah, the left side of my face is still in pain and I'm now on antibiotics, though that's mostly cause they can't tell if it's infection or trama (not taking the risk of opening it up to see). Really getting on my nerves (if the one in my jaw hasn't already been upset).
Plus side is that it's finally given me some time in between painkillers to work on the Clanrats. Gotta say, these guys are really ticking me off. I could never recall Clanrats ever causing me this much trouble, though I admit painting 32 plus a mortar was never going to be a walk in the park. Hoping to get them completed this week. They've been base coated and glued to bases (which are almost done themselves) which means they just need a touch up wash, a layer and highlight to be done.
So close.
Plus side is that it's finally given me some time in between painkillers to work on the Clanrats. Gotta say, these guys are really ticking me off. I could never recall Clanrats ever causing me this much trouble, though I admit painting 32 plus a mortar was never going to be a walk in the park. Hoping to get them completed this week. They've been base coated and glued to bases (which are almost done themselves) which means they just need a touch up wash, a layer and highlight to be done.
So close.
Tuesday, 9 December 2014
Revised Skaven Skryre List
Finally found my Skaven list, but after going over it I've decided to alter it. I don't have enough Clanrats to reach the original goal (and painting them has become an agonising) and have decided to remove some of them and the Rat Swarms (which I feel are useless) in exchange for a Rat Ogre or two. This is how it stands at the moment:
Lords
+Skith Warpclaw (Ikit Claw)
+Skrag the Gatekeeper (Warlord)
- Enchanted Shield, Sword of Might, Talisman of Presivation
- Mounted on Rat Ogre Bonebreaker
Heroes
+Snikkitch Twitchnose (Warlock Engineer)
- Level 2 Wizard, Warp-Energy Condenser, Warplock Pistol
+Morok Geargrinder (Chieftain)
- Battle Standard Bearer, Shield, Warpstone Armour, Warplock Pistol, Ironcurse Icon
+Grish Fellfur (Chieftain)
- Shield, Dragonhelm, Crown of Command, Rat Hound
+Shin Swiftsteel (Assassin)
- Warlock-Augmented Weapon
Core
+Clanrats (30 + 1)
- Spears, Shields, Full Command
- Attached: Warpfire Thrower
+Clanrats (32 + 1)
- Shields, Full Command
- Attached: Poisoned Wind Mortar
+Skavenslaves (39)
- Shields, Pawleader, Musician
Special
+Poisoned Wind Globadiers (9 + 1)
- Bombardier with Death Globe
- Attached: Poisoned Wind Mortar
+Warplock Jezzails (5)
- Sharpshooter
+Rat Ogers (5 + 3)*
-Master Bred Rat Ogre
Rare
+Snikkotto Twitchnose (Doomwheel)
+Gnithnik Twitchnose (Warp Lightning Cannon)
*The problem is that I don't know if I'm allowed 3 or limited to 2 Packmasters. According to the wording, various forums and the FAQ, it seems that you can get an additional Packmaster for every two Rat Ogres in the unit (which means the my option above would be legal?). Perhaps in the next rule book release will better word it
I should have this force ready by next year. OK, perhaps the Rat Ogres could be a problem, depends on who I want them converted. We shall see where it leads. I am to open to ideas if anyone has any.
Lords
+Skith Warpclaw (Ikit Claw)
+Skrag the Gatekeeper (Warlord)
- Enchanted Shield, Sword of Might, Talisman of Presivation
- Mounted on Rat Ogre Bonebreaker
Heroes
+Snikkitch Twitchnose (Warlock Engineer)
- Level 2 Wizard, Warp-Energy Condenser, Warplock Pistol
+Morok Geargrinder (Chieftain)
- Battle Standard Bearer, Shield, Warpstone Armour, Warplock Pistol, Ironcurse Icon
+Grish Fellfur (Chieftain)
- Shield, Dragonhelm, Crown of Command, Rat Hound
+Shin Swiftsteel (Assassin)
- Warlock-Augmented Weapon
Core
+Clanrats (30 + 1)
- Spears, Shields, Full Command
- Attached: Warpfire Thrower
+Clanrats (32 + 1)
- Shields, Full Command
- Attached: Poisoned Wind Mortar
+Skavenslaves (39)
- Shields, Pawleader, Musician
Special
+Poisoned Wind Globadiers (9 + 1)
- Bombardier with Death Globe
- Attached: Poisoned Wind Mortar
+Warplock Jezzails (5)
- Sharpshooter
+Rat Ogers (5 + 3)*
-Master Bred Rat Ogre
Rare
+Snikkotto Twitchnose (Doomwheel)
+Gnithnik Twitchnose (Warp Lightning Cannon)
*The problem is that I don't know if I'm allowed 3 or limited to 2 Packmasters. According to the wording, various forums and the FAQ, it seems that you can get an additional Packmaster for every two Rat Ogres in the unit (which means the my option above would be legal?). Perhaps in the next rule book release will better word it
I should have this force ready by next year. OK, perhaps the Rat Ogres could be a problem, depends on who I want them converted. We shall see where it leads. I am to open to ideas if anyone has any.
Dental Surgery
Finally done. Great group of people in the city that got it done and very friendly and professional too. Now the numbness is wearing off and the real pain is finally kicking in.
Fun times ahead.
Update: Those painkillers really knock you out. Unfortunately, it resulted in me stuffing up, which may cost me a large sum of money this week. Hopefully by tomorrow my ability to speak clearly will return and I can fix this mess up.
Fun times ahead.
Update: Those painkillers really knock you out. Unfortunately, it resulted in me stuffing up, which may cost me a large sum of money this week. Hopefully by tomorrow my ability to speak clearly will return and I can fix this mess up.
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