Back To Work

Still winding down from Supanova and the fact I have power once more. Doesn't help that the property owner/flatmate wants to argue about business decisions. I was trying to make a point about what I thought could happen to Warhammer Elves and the effect it could have on fans and he crapped on saying that people need to get over it and buy the companies shit. I used his favourite game series (Forza) as an example, to the point that he agreed he would buy a blank disc for $100 from Turn 10 if they said it was the official Forza 6 game, despite them not even putting a game on the disc and it was blank and useless. That's what I have to put up with people.

Speaking of Warhammer Elves, finally got to getting the new End Times novel, Curse of Khaine, and with any luck I'll finish it and give my thoughts on it within the next week or so. Also been working on bases for the Clanrats, but have fell short on the Painboy. I've been trying to find any tips or articles on painting the tubes (since Games-Workshop no longer do Master Classes anymore), but have found nothing of use. May take a little longer then expected. With study slowly wrapping up, things might improve.

Finally, Movember is drawing to a close and my final day is upon it. This year was flat as far as fundraising went, didn't do as well as previous years, but here's hoping next year will be better. Perhaps I may do something with it.

Supanova Blast

Went to Supanova Brisbane 2014, had a great time hanging with my brother. Was way too crowded for my liking and as a result couldn't get many photos in. Still, got to see some interesting things. Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures, kept getting pushed when taking them (very crowded indeed), nor have I had time to edit them.

Something about this Dalek really appealed to me, not sure why.

Because why not?

This guy was walking around it this suit and he was massive. How he did it I'm still not sure.

There was a section there for Games-Workshop, but apart from selling model box sets, it was also showing off various things like the weapons made for Cos Players. We talked a bit and I'm leaning ever closer to the idea of making an Inquisitor costume, perhaps for next year.

Due to the crowds and the usual problems that occur at Supanova, along with the fact I only had a few hours there before leaving cause I had work today, I didn't get all the autographs I had wanted to so. That said, I did meet Andy Price and Katie Cook from the pony comics and got some works from them. Katie did the sweet little water colour Princess Luna while Andy drew my characters. He was particularly enjoyed the 'Bogan Storm Spear' idea and felt the need to do that version. Really need to get over my shyness, had so many questions to ask, but could barely get the words out to ask for an autograph work piece (let alone them hearing my, I'm very quiet when my shyness goes into overdrive). I need a good confidence kick, preferably via a blow to the head (that is how it works, right?).

Bogan Storm Spear seems to be on a popularity rise, perhaps I should do more with him story wise (though my guess is the first thing that will occur is the Prime Storm Spear having a word with his alternate Bogan self about his drinking habits).

Bloody Brisbane Weather

So, on Thursday we got hit by a massive storm, it even took me by surprise by just how powerful it was. One lightning strike hit the tree across the road, causing it to fall onto the power lines. Both covered the road and forced the street to close. The surge blew damaged the wire connected to our units and blew the whole fuse system in place. Whole thing had to be replaced.  Finally, we have just got power back within the last hour (today being Saturday night). Luckily nothing seems to have been damaged by the surge. The wind and rain were so heavy however and despite keeping the windows closed, water poured into the bedroom through the windows. Hopefully the worst we'll see from that is a slight mould problem (that can be easily fixed).

On the positive side, I got to meet many of the neighbours and our unit block has been quick to help each other out.

Mordheim - Video Game

Mordheim - City of the Damned

So only recently did I discover that there was a video game adaptation of the classic Games-Workshop table top game Mordheim. The game is in early access and as far as I can tell it's funded through early access for it's continuation. It's also a bit costly, but then so are most early access games (I'll wait for a good special first). I'm aware it lacks a lot of content, but one should expect that from an Early Access Alpha game. They will add more stuff as it goes along, but they do look like they are genuinely focused on making it a good game.

The fact Skaven are in it got me instantly interested. See, I have never played Mordheim, but it has always interested me. The idea of designing and building small warbands and battling them is just as interesting as the big army battles. Indeed, I had planned to make a small warband just for the fun of it, but it's been sidelined until I get my last Clanrat unit out of the way (although the groups Rat-Ogre is almost finished). Sure it may not be the glorious Clan Skryre, but I've always considered Clan Eshin to be my next favourite clan (followed by Clan Skurvy, then Clan Crooktail and then Clan Skrittlespike). I will return to finish that Warband, hopefully starting before the end of the year.

They did release a gameplay trailer and from the looks of it so far, it does seem like the kind of game in which you can make a warband and have battles with friends. It looks enjoyable and still have that slight challenge and that cursed element of luck. Yes, I have had a whole squad of Black Templar Space Marines beaten in melee by a unit of Tau Fire Warriors so I do know just how unluckly one can get in these types of games.

As it stands now, I am very much looking forward to this game.


Yes-Yes, no doubt you'll be playing the holy children of the Great Horned Rat. Many prizes to claim for the might of Skavendom.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Supanova Is Coming

So, I failed to go to the one on the Gold Coast this year and thanks to study and finances, missed out on Comic-con. I have decided to go to the Brisbane Supanova. I'm looking foward to it. Plan on testing my camera skills with my new camera doing inside shoots (most likely without flash due to not wanting to blind nearby people).

It's also going to have Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime, Eeyore) and I might try to get an autograph since I'm a voice actor fan and I haven't got a voice actor autograph yet. Plus, he's freaken Optimus Prime. Gus from Rooster Teeth will be there (should really start getting their autographs too). Also, Andy Price and Katie Cook of the My Little Pony comic will also be there. I've been surprise at just how well done that comic series has been, certainly some of those stories have been better them most comics I've read and I'm a sucker for pony art.

Only problem I have is I have to work till midnight on friday, then get up early to go there before leaving before 2pm so I can get home to get ready to start work at five that afternoon. Going to be a hell of a day and I can assure you that I'll only get through it with my best friend caffine.

Bad Industries, Smart People

Video games are just one of my many hobbies and playing good games always makes me feel happy. Unfortunately, there has been very little of that over the last few years. Oh yes, there have been some great games released, but for every good one there seems to be ten or more bad ones that follow. It almost appears that the industry doesn't care about the gamer and only about how much money it makes.

But for me there is a light in all this darkness. If there is one thing this industry produced well, it was critics. Individuals upon the Internet who not only critique the games, but the industry and the community too. These people are not your usual flamers and haters, but people who make intelligent arguments and discussions. Nothing is off limits and listening to them can open your eyes to view points you hadn't considered before. Heck, looking back at some of those videos I watch, those points seem to just be common sense.

If I have to give examples, then I suggest you look up the works of Totalbiscut and Jim Sterling (a.k.a The Jimquisition). Whether you agree with their opinions or not is your choice, but it's the discussions and they way they talk about issues that you can make note of. I won't lie, I can't help but listen to these view points and compare them to my own. Certainly, I feel I understand the industry a little better and am a lot more cautious when it comes to the purchasing of games, which has paid off)

Love them or hate them, these are well thought out and explained view points and such calm and intelligent discussions are a delight compared to all the hate that gets tossed about.

Warhammer End Times Concern

So the pre-orders for the third End Times book Warhammer: Khaine are now up. Sort of guessed the Elf one was next from recent rumours, but upon reading the various brief descriptions on each a thought occurred: What are they planning for future Armybooks with the End Times?

Let me explain. With both the Nagash book and this Elves book there appears to be a common theme, uniting armies. Hell, the main phrase used to advertise this later one suggests the civil war that has raged between those Elf factions will be ending. If that is the case, then what happens next. The Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts armies have been turned into a single undead force in the service of Nagash, which suggests any future Armybook will just be called 'Undead' or 'Nagash'. The same appears now for the Elvin races, suggesting that any future release will just be Armybook: Elves. Even the Chaos one had one such suggestion, but unity amongst them is still a popular idea to some. Both High Elves and Dark Elves have had a long and glorious history and to simply cast it aside for unity and expecting people to accept that would be insane.

If this is the future of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, then it maybe considered a terrible idea. I know I bag Games-Workshop constantly for it's idiotic business decisions and they do indeed deserve it. Their failure to make the money they want is due to them not understanding their customers and trying to force us to accept and buy things we never asked for. But I've always been a fan of the product, I've always been a fan of both Warhammer worlds. But if they go down this path then I can only wonder why? Is it laziness? Are they cutting the product to save themselves time and money? Fans feed off the Lore, they feed off the rival factions, the game and the imagery. Take that away and you anger those loyal fans, and once you take from them what they loved, they move on. Hell, it's the reason I left World of Warcraft a long time ago, having them screwed the Horde over, Thrall suddenly becoming weak and useless and ignoring the whole Doomhammer prophecy. Games-Workshop still lives in a world where there a rival companies and while their games are not as big, they are slowly growing and some of it is due to dissatisfied GW customers.

I know this is all just pure speculation on my half, but Games-Workshop hasn't filled me with a great deal of confidence over the last few years. I can only hope I'm wrong in regards to all this and I would love for GW to prove me wrong, but from here it doesn't look so good.


No idea why you complain about such poor lame-stupid elf-things. No matter what happens, the might of Skavendom will rise and seize-take surface world as is right given by Great Horned One.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff


Oh dear, it would appear this strange rat-dressed man is showing up everywhere now.

~Zargooran

The Box

Dear, dear Games-Workshop. I too have something similar to this. It's called a tool box and it didn't cost me $578.

Bah, I know the box itself is $90, but my tool box cost just under $20 (I also think $90 is a little over the top). The big pack does come with tools and paints, but most of us could easily come up with something similar for a fraction of the price. For instance, the box could be a modified tool box or even a home-made wooden one. Most of the tools and brushes could easily be bought on-line or at crafting stores for less (I get my brushes from an art store and they cost between half to a third of a GW brush). I guess the paints would be the only thing that would be costly, but if you've been doing this hobby prior to this box's release, then you'll already have a bunch.

Another important thing to note: Who the hell has $572, let alone that much to spend freely this close to Christmas? I know your profit margin is on a downward spiral, but his just seems ridiculous.

Movember

My MoSpace Donation Page

While Movember is well underway, I don't start asking for donations until after the Mo starts to show. This way I can show people that I'm serious about this. I love doing these fundrasing events, it's so simple and can do so much good. Plus it's fun to do (except when it's really hot and causes it to sweat and itch like crazy - bloody Australian weather).

Blog Updates

So for some reason I had a sudden urge to update the blog, and by that I mean from a constructive update. For instance, the Project: Storm Spear section has been replaced by Characters, a temporary section where my published character profile will be linked to (I do plan some more work with them in the future). The Storm Spear page is there, but it now means things will be categorized more easily.

With my current study course, I've learned a few new skills and hope that I can update this blog to better suit my needs until I can start work on a propper web page for my work. Over the next few months I'll be making small alterations here and there to make this a much better blog. I'm also hoping that a few new things I have planned will work, but as they say, you got to take risks or you'll never know. They also say you can learn much from your failers, in which case I'm probably the smartest person ever. Think that one over.

End Times Thoughts

So, on reflection of the first two linked novels of the End Times, I've been thinking about what the future of the Warhammer world will be. We know all hell has broken loose everywhere and thus far, The Empire has suffered the most. A majority of it's major cities are gone, including Altdorf. Given the ending of the last book, the Emperor's fate seems a little up in the air and at least half of their special characters are gone. Brettonia seems like it's slowly crawling it's way back up and both Chaos and Undead have suffered some minor set backs. The Elves, Dwarfs, Skaven and Greenskins themselves haven't had much mentioned recently, though it's assumed that they too are probably dealing with Chaos and Undead, along with each other.

Speaking of which, are the Dwarfs aware of what has transpired within the Empire. Given their oath of friendship since the time of Sigmar, do they care about what's happened or even that they may have failed an oath or two in their lack of aid? I don't know, but am curious. Also, what has become of Grimgor Ironhide? In the Storm of Chaos campaign, he lead the Greenskins in a massive Waarrgghh!! across the old world and did battle with the forces of Chaos. It just seems odd that the Greenskins are still fighting amongst each other instead of being united, even more so with so many powerful foes for them to fight. Also, Lizardmen, bet your Slann didn't see this all coming. If they did, then they suck at trying to prevent it, unless they didn't want too in which case they are as insane as Tzeentch.

Word has it that this End Times event is to restructure the Warhammer world in order for the next edition of the game. My only problem with that is that with so many changes amongst the Warhammer armies, wouldn't they need to release new armybooks for each faction in quick succession for them to be up to date lore wise. Heck, rule wise some of those characters are now gone, so how would that work? Will have to wait until the next two installments to see how this will all work. Will be very interesting indeed.

Eternal Crusade Kickstarter Thoughts

Article Here.

So, in short, did Games Workshop make the right choice? Yes they did. Was the reason for that choice right? No it wasn't. The idea that a failed Kickstarter could damage their reputation has very little to no actual ground and why? Because the only damage that gets done to their reputation is cause by themselves.

Fans point out all the time that as the over the last ten or more years, multiple decisions from the company have cost them. These range from the constant price rises, the recent hard-cover Armybooks/Codexes, Finecast, rules, some poor quality miniatures to rather bland & massive models and most recently, their licensing. The license issue is the most recent as it seems to make up for the lack of profit (which some agree is due to their expensive miniatures and thus making it difficult to get new customers) has resulted in a bunch of poor quality games.

While Eternal Crusade appears to be one of those rare gems in all this, the idea that a failed Kickstarter could damage Games Workshops reputation anymore then they have already damaged it is a poor excuse. Heck, throw in some limited edition miniatures and most fans will support it just for them. I agree that Kickstarters are now everywhere and people are getting sick of them, but why not simple suggest it would fail because of that instead. It just seems more logical that way, given most fans have already pointed all this out.

A Thought Occured...

...I really need to stop doing stuff when I'm tired, I do nothing but make mistakes and probably piss a few people off to top it off. Sometimes night shifts are not always the best, particularly if the days are hot and difficult to sleep in. Still, could be worse I guess.

The Fall Of Altdorf - Not-So Short Review (Spoiler Heavy)

WARNING: This is spoiler heavy because I can't talk about it without spoiling so much. Do not read this if you don't want important key points or the ending spoiled.

So, after their last average book, The Rise of Nagash, it was nice to see that this book was an improvement. While characters in this one still made a few stupid decisions (such as Kurt being to focused on repairing the walls and ignoring the plague or Vlad's arrogance in his fight with Otto which backfires), it was well within their character personalities and made sense. Sadly, due to the events in this book, there was no way I could talk about it without spoiling it.

The story itself is simple enough. After a great battle to try and stop the forces of Chaos goes bad, the forces of the Empire are shattered and lost. Schwarzhelm, Huss and Valten have gone missing, the Emperor Karl Franz appears to have fallen and a wounded Kurt Helborg returns to Altdorf to prepare for the inevitable assault. Balthasar Gelt fled after his failures and under suspicion of dealing with darker powers and so a new Supreme Patriarch was chosen, Martek of the Amber Order. This sort of makes sense model wise as they do have an Amber wizard on an Imperial Griffon, though I would have thought an Amethyst wizard would be more appropriate give the fact that the Lore of Death has become dominate. Oh yes, they do mention about the fact that the Lore of Death has been unchained and that it's power is drowning out the other lores and that the barrier between life and death is breaking down, which is a key point for the ending.

Vlad is the second main character in this book. Yes, if you remember, Nagash brought Vlad back to life (still no answer as to why) and that Vlad is personally trying to help the Empire against the forces to Chaos. Despite being a slave to Nagash, Vlad has his own agenda. He wants the Empire to recognise him as the Elector Count of of his region, which I like given the situation. He knows he's not the same Vlad that had once been all conquering and that Nagash only brought back what was needed. The fact he still has the same drive is a good thing. What I don't get is that it describes him and his famous ring, but in the last book it states the ring was lost long ago, so is this a copy or the original and how did he get it?

Bretonnia is also in it, with apparently Louen Leoncoeur being still alive (I'm very confused by all this Bretonnia confusing End Times lore), though no longer King of Bretonnia. His story is between him and the Lady, who for those who don't know is their Goddess and is basically the Lady of the Lake character. The Lady herself appears to be dying (as are most of the Warhammer Gods) and tells him that the fate of mankind will take place at the battle of Altdorf, but if he goes he will die. And so he struggles with his pride and his fate, constantly being tested until the end.

Finally there are the forces of Chaos with just about every Named Nurgle Character who has a model being in it (or at least mentioned). I admit that the triplets are the most entertaining. They are Otto the warrior, Ethrac the sorcerer and Ghurk the monster. While I despise anything Nurgle, I did enjoy these characters, who seem to really have the luck of their god up until the end.

Which brings me to the final battle. Act three is the final battle itself and ultimately sees the death of a number of Warhammer special characters. If we ignore the Greater Daemon Ku'gath the Plaguefather (since he's a Daemon and so returns to the realm of chaos....or, at least I think he did) then the first casualty would be Festus the Leechlord, which is quickly followed by Louen Leoncoeur. Then we get to the battle of the Imperial Palace. Here Vlad battles Otto, but his arrogance gets the better of him, discovering that the blood of a champion of Nurgle is not blood but polution. This poisons him, leaving him violently ill and is force to flee. We don't know if he will die, if Nagash will save him or if this poisoning will somehow convert him to chaos )or at least twist him). Otto does end up killing Kurt Helborg and eventually Karl Franz. The thing with Karl Franz is that he planned where to be and somehow new he had to be at the special alter of Ghal Maraz. Remember that barrier of life and death. well with it gone and the light of the two-tailed comet overhead shinning on the alter, the spirits of the other dead Emperors took Karl's body and became some sort of golden avatar and engulfed Altdorf in golden light, destroying all evil. The light is still shinning in the palace and no one has yet entered it, so we don't know if Karl Franz is dead or is in a state of resurrection.

These deaths may annoy Empire players as now most of their special characters are dead, while chaos just seems to have lost one. I won't count the Glottkin as it's a new release, though why bring out an expensive large model if it's already dead is beyond me. It did say that the Gutrot Spume and Epidemius the Tallyman were both leading armies in the battle, but of their fates there is no mention, so I can only assume they survived and retreated after the golden light incident.

The book does end saying that the End Times had come, but they had not brought the utter destruction the gods of the North desired.One wonders if the Empire can ever recover, but it does give some hope that good can still overcome evil. Overall, this book was much better then the last one and was much more enjoyable to read. The battle of Altdorf itself really shows just how bad things have fallen and I hope they can keep up the momentom with the next book, though what that one is about I still don't know.



Wait one minute, me have question. How did ugly-fat Festus get under Altdorf? For those of you ignorant-stupid man-things that don't know, in book Grey Seer the grand-great Grey Seer Thanquol goes to mighty city of Under-Altdorf. Has many Skaven and great-many Spies in man-thing city. That bloated puss lover could not have gotten in unnoticed and without conflict. Me suspect trechery from them, purhaps by trecherous Clan Pestilense. Yes-Yes, that's it. Festus no beat Skaven for control, Clan Pestilence must have turned to bad Nurgle god and let him in, those flea-fools. Great Horned Rat will be vengeful. Wait, why no Skaven in book? Foolish man-things will pay for this indignity.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Next Book

As soon as I'm finished reading The Fall of Altdorf I get my opinions up, but thus far there certainly less stupid characters in this compared to the last one.

The Return of Nagash - Short Review (Spoilers)

WARNING: Spoilers, story and ending.

If there is one thing to be said from all this is that I hate the recent Games Workshop policy when it comes to the books now. Seems that not only have they stopped bookshops from selling them, but the big release ones seem to have limited physical releases, meaning in order to read them after the first wave you need to pay for the digital versions. A real pain in the arse when all I have is an iPod touch, screens to small and it get's really annoying to hold in a comfortable position when reading. Anyway...

The story is this, it's about the events that lead to the return of Nagash. If like me you were expecting for story beyond that then too bad, this book leads up to Nagash coming back and that's about it. The story itself is not bad, though it does rush through parts that (upon reflection), made the ending feel a little disappointing. It also didn't help with character stupidity. At one point in the book, some of the vampires realise that bringing Nagash back is a bad idea. One of them even has the opportunity to stop in by killing one of the sacrifices, but will only do it if they beg, which they refuse to do and so she leaves. Seriously? You make such a big deal of how bad it would be if Nagash returns and say how you'll do anything to stop it, and yet you don't just because a few prisoners who hate vampires refuse to beg. It's this shear genious of these characters which make you wonder just how they were are threat to the Warhammer world to begin with. There's also the stupidity of the Elves and Humans, but I could go on for hours about that too (thank goodness for the Dwarfs).

I know that it seems that I'm picking on the book, but while I did enjoy it, it was the stupidity of the characters (and the Chaos Gods too) along with the rather 'we have a short ending, quick throw in an obvious plot twist that fails' that annoyed me. Oh, and the end bit they throw in, yeah spoilers, it's Vlad returning. Nagash brought back Vlad.....why? Seriously, according to the story, it was Vlad who tought Mannfred at how bad Nagash, so why would Nagash have any reason to bring him back. Hell, as far as all the stories I've read, the two have never met and have no love of each other, so why waste time and effort in doing so.

Ok, so perhaps the book wasn't as good as I first thought. Certainly through typing this article I keep coming up with various flaws the book has. I still enjoyed the read, but if you just want a recap on events around the world that where happening at the time, you could just download the sample which does contain all that in it's Prologue. Atleast the digital download version is only $20 compared to the hardcopy which is $45.

Also, those pathetic flea-fools of Clan Mordkin failed to stop dead-things from taking sacred Fellblade. Dead-thing experts my tail. Suich weakness is an unacceptable and that showed all to well when stupid-dumb Warlord Feskit was beaten so quick-fast by cursed Mannfred. The Horned Rat will be most displeased.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Typical

So I finally get some images uploaded to my DeviantArt account and completely forget to update the blog in response. Just seems to be the way things are going around here.

Also, the next two projects I'm trying to finish will be a unit of Clanrats and an Ork Painboy (in honour of the upcoming game Eternal Crusade, which I am really looking forward to playing).