Top 5 - 2011 Retrospective

Its that time of year again... here's my pick for the Top 5 wargaming products for 2011 (as well as long-winded retrospective).

ZOMG! - Space Marine Vidjagame

Linky!

You actually curb-stomp an Ork; God, I hope that was in the design brief.

Despite all the recent GW shenanigans, this game looks pretty awesome.

A Winner is You!: GW Fineco$t

Sometimes, pictures are worth a thousand words.  So, to save myself all that typing, please see exhibit A:

Finecast plastic material + sunlight = lulz to the max

I'm really, really, REALLY reconsidering playing GW games. Factoring in concerns about a game going too long and my models literally melting due to a high room temperature (time to donate an extra AC to the LGS) with all the other new costs tossed on to the playerbase by GW, this just sucks.

I really wish I could say "Well, its janky the customer got stuck with the R&D cost of Finecast, but they do hold detail better than metal and the new material's easier to work with", but I can't.  This is a problematic material, covered in flash, a higher percentage of miscasts than metal (from samples I've seen), at a 20% cost reduction using a price-stable material (source: GW investor relations page) to GW, all with a 5-25% price increase.

On a game you just increased the size of 33%.

Oh, and no more previews of upcoming material.  Ever.

Continuing coverage Monday of non-GW/PP game systems (Love PP, but there's ample Warmahordes starter info out there).  Normally I end this with a cheeky reference my blog's name, but um... Kirby/Wells might, in fact, want to consider quitting their day jobs.  For realz.

GW: Globalization and Wargaming (hey, that could an acroynym...)

First off: I'm back, sort-of.  Work's been insanely crunched and I've been dealing with some health issues (tore something in my arm playing bass at a show; nothing says "Rock'n'roll" like your arm going numb in the middle of a song).

That said: There's been some interesting developments in the wargaming world since my last post, the juicest of which have come from Games Workshop.  Here's a quick summary:

- Games Workshop asks online retailers in the EU to stop shipping to non-EU customers.

- Games Workshop announces their transition from metal to resin (and a subsequent price increase).

- Games Workshop announces annual price increase.

- Games Workshop allegedly is only going to announcements of new models one weel in advance (not clear if this is one-week in advance of pre-orders or product release).

(all rumors from Dakkadakka.com)

It'd be really easy to go a rant about how terrible GW is etc etc etc.  As someone who's only marginally invested in their games, its hard to get emotional to the point of irrationality.   For me, looking at these new prices and the price trends, the "fun-to-dollar" ratio is such that I'm going to stop buying new models.  That said, this isn't an article about that.

The first bit of information is what really interests me, because I think its quickly going to become a "teachable moment" to other waragaming companies with regard to globalization/non-local markets.

Like a lot of companie, GW is still learning how to do business in a "globalized" world.  They've certainly taken advantage of many of globalization's perks: easy access to low wage labor (they print products in China), low tariffs, and access to a wide number of markets.   Suffice to say: the above have all been "pluses" to GW.

Woo Hoo!

However, much like many other companies, GW is getting stung by globalization as well.  GW-the-manufacturer has to contend with other companies copying their designs and recasting using lower cost (i.e. - lower Asian) labor sans R&D overhead.  Largely, this hasn't been a big issue.  GW-the-retailer has to contend competition via the internet, where consumers have access to markets where prices are lower than they are locally (due to taxes, quicker access to exchange-rate differences, lack of store front overhead, or a combination of the above).  This, clearly, is hurting GWs retail operations in some locales (Australia/New Zealand notably).

D'oh

Which brings us to Monday's announcement.  Unsurprisingly, the reaction from many AU GW consumers has been negative (they're being asked to absorb a ~60% increase in price due to GWs price structure).  To me, this was a poor PR decision for a myriad of reasons:

- Consumers don't generally like price increases on the magnitude of >50%.  Add to this the state of the global economy and GWs good being luxury items; not a great place to be.

- GW feels very comfortable adjusting prices every 6 months to offset their own costs.  They've been very resistent to readjusting exchange rates, particularly when it doesn't favor them (e.g. - in this instance).  That's a morally bankrupt position to take and consumers are going to have a strong negative reaction to their brand.

- Compounding the above is intellectually bankrupt position that GW should be allowed to reap all the benefits of globalization but its consumers shouldn't.

I don't the above is going to cause the downfall of GW (it most certainly won't).  However, I do think its going to be a boon to GW's competitors in the Australian market and cause GW to reevaluate their price structure in the region (I can imagine the resulting sales drop coupled with their data on consumption pre-"embargo" will let them know where to place prices).

I also think its going to signal more frequent price "reallignments" in non-US/non-EU countries by a number of manufacturers.  Its clear consumers are savvy enough to naviagate large exchange-rate discrepencies; why give them a reason to take the extra effort to?

It'll be interesting to see where this issue is at (and where the AU community is at) in 6 months to a 1 year.

LOLWUT? - "Zealous" 40K Commentary on BoK

This week we're skipping A Winner is You and graduating to its more intelligent cousin, LOLWUT?

Blood of Kittens posted this article today in reference to the DERF-fest over in this Bell of Lost Souls post. In brief, someone on BoLS thinks 40K players are trying to hoodwink their opponents by providing army lists sans detailed army rules.  As a counterpoint, Sandwyrm asserts if you're playing in a tournament, you should probably know armywide rules (e.g. - Shadow in the Warp for Tyranids, Descent of Angels for BA, etc) or ask your opponent if you have questions.

Then the BoLS comment section happens.  Basically this:

Ask Haight about Cygnar's Mk I to Mk II transition sometime.  This is what you get.

Here's where Blood of Kittens comes in.  His article touches on a wide breadth of subjects and is well written (I wonder if the Bad Religion picture is in reference to how much he used the thesaurus on this one), but... LOLWUT?

Here's his opener:

What though the BoLS article revealed was something I and others have tried to put our finger on. It wasn’t the WAAC player the author thinks exists to confuse new players. Instead it is a certain querulous segment of the 40k Internet population that has hoisted up the banner of all things “competitive” in a vociferous cry to change the tone about how we talk and play 40k. This change in tone is moving the cynosure of what we know about Warhammer 40k the hobby into Warhammer 40k the sport, based I might add on false gods. You can find innumerable debates about this issue in any dime store blog and forum across cyberspace. The Internet community tries to use it as a wedge, between those who consider just playing the game is enough and those that derive the most fun from having good sporting time. Enjoyment either way (in of itself) is valid, (with me more on the competitive side) but the move towards making 40k look more like a sport is fraught with problems that go beyond simple game mechanics.

The prose is a little dense, so here's what I'm getting out:

1. Internetz arguments frequently occur between "Win at all Costs" competitive types and "Fun with no Thought" fluff types.  Hyperbole occurs because, hey, its internetz.

2. Blogs like to talk about this (notably, both Blood of Kittens and myself.  Lulz.).

3. "WAAC" players are arguing 40K should be more sport-like.  I wasn't getting this from Sandwyrm (he was arguing that players who go to 40K tournaments should know some common rules before entering the tournament), but I've heard the sentiment before.

4. Blood of Kittens thinks Sportshammer is a seriose. problem.  Article ensues.

Or rather, we travel 2 paragraphs and get a second thesis.  Quoting again:

Like the American political version, our punditocracy thinks it is speaking about the true (without proven statistician analysis) motivations and concerns of the general playing public, but since the average player rarely comments our punditocracy is based on some 40k invisible hand maintained on ego fuel and the screams from the echo chamber.

So basically, bloggers are getting it wrong (much like political pundits), but people still listen.  Strange you changed topic mid-rant, but OK.. I agree.

But what, there's more lulz!

RIP Lulz, RIP...

Not only are WAAC players like pundits, they're also a type of religion (Ohhh.. so they're right-wing pundits. Gotcha!).  Two more paragraphs down, we suddenly get:

The punditocracy is also using an interesting dynamic I will call the Seal Pup Defense (religion without a hyperactive superiority complex to do “God’s Work” isn’t worth following) has recently emerged. Often we hear of the high-minded goal of making all players as good as the unproven morality dictates. It is kinda like gay people being sent to Jesus camps to become straight. The more likely truth is the punditocracy is at its best a first among equals– remember a seal pup with a club is still just a seal pup. As well the punditocracy re-educating methods are more likely just a ruse, because without the seal pups to cull they might actually be exposed for the feckless folks deep down the fear they are. So on the one hand the punditocracy protects itself from reproach while on the other hand it is able to effectively throw off any critique without worthwhile insight.

Ummm... OK?  So you think internetz 40K Tough Guys aren't really all that tough.  This is new?

We continue on this thread, but stumble back to sanity in the next paragraph:

Following the words of the punditocracy will lead you inexorably to the words competitive 40k player in one shape of form. It is no wonder that the punditocracy had to separate itself from the dreaded word WAAC it could have easily been associated with. So it created the competitive 40k player to shape its emerging religion– all religions must have a name for God’s chosen. That is what makes the words competitive 40k player so special, like a self-generated nickname the punditocracy gave itself an easily recognizable name to define itself. You never hear someone say they are a Fluffy Bunny or Hobbyist with such pride and consideration as the competitive 40k player. Instead the punditocracy divides and conquers on this axiom often drowning out voices that threaten. The punditocracy is for the most part left unchecked, with the refrain from others being, “it is only the Internet and no one listens to it anyway”. It does matter though because every time a new player walks into my local store having thrown hundreds of dollars into what the punditocracy told them was the only way to win my local community has to deal with it. I have to sit there and uneducated them not because I am against competitive players, but because the Internet gave them all the weapons to fight a war, but never trained them how to use them. Not to mention many new players realize too late they were never that player the punditocracy thought they should be.

Yes, internetz pundits are stupid.  I learned that the second I read battle college/PP's boards/an article on BoLS about Warmachine (sorry Gentle_Ben and relasine; you have great advice for new players but aren't offering us vets much).  Yes, its intellectually sexy to talk about being a winner/tactics because it scratches a nice competitive itch.  Yes, most people who do so, particularly in the 40K crowd, talk a big game with zero to back it up (oh hai, Yes the Truth Hurts!).

4Chan: A Truly Inconvenient Truth.

Honestly, who cares though?  Its fun to bust on people who get inflamed to the point of irrationality (both on the I R COMPETITIVE side and the U R NOT HOBBY BUDDY side), but I don't think either opinion is doing disservice to the game.  People are talking about wargaming, people are thinking about wargaming, and if they get bad advice, they start looking elsewhere for more august commentary (or, God forbid, think for themselves).

I was honestly gonna leave this head-scratcher of an article alone, as it has some interesting nuggets of truth mixed in with its potpourri of crazy. Then came this gem of a comment:

nyhilApril 26, 2011 /

I think there is a Graduate study in Sociology in this article somewhere…

Ummm... LOLWUT?

TOP 5 - Top Five things GW could do to make WHFB sell better

Let's face it: WHFB 8th edition ain't perfect.  Nowhere close.  But, its a fun game, its the only game of its scale (28mm, large fantasy army battles) with its market penetration, and its got a great IP.  That said, its been losing market share for some time, playing 2nd fiddle to its cousin with 39,999 more warhammers and now to Warmachine.  How to stop this?  Here's five realistic things GW could do to get Fantasy back on track.

**********

5.) Fix 8th edition's magic phase.  Given GWs recent willingness to release FAQs, fix the big spells (Dwellers Below, Purple Sun) that have inadvertainly become problems.  Make miscasts deadlier. Fix Teclis and the Book of Hoeth.  Fix Slaan (i.e. - tweak the "Now you get my miscast" item).  These are massive game breakers at a competitive level and even someone who wants to have "fun" with lots of magic quickly realizes a single level 4 mage with the right wargear can break the game.

4.) Set realistic price goals.  The world economy isn't doing so hot right now.  Releasing a game with a $75 core rule book (or cheaper rulebook that comes in a $100 boxset), $37.25 army rulebooks, and $29 core troops that customers ought to want to purchase in blocks of 30+ isn't a smart idea.  Its losing you money, both anecdotally and statistically. 

If you want players to play at 3000+ points, give them a bone.  How about $200 army deals for all armies that include troops, a hero choice, a plastic elite option, and a big rare (Steamtank, Dragon, etc etc)?  Sell at a reasonably discount (e.g. - 25% off what you'd pay if you bought each box) and market it as an army entry point (which the Battalions are doing a poor job pretend to be).

Why Don't You Love Me, GW?

3.) Put some play support into the Specialist Games that compliment your IP.  Bloodbowl's got a reasonably popular video game that uses the same IP as Warhammer Fantasty.  Why aren't you releasing "Hobby Articles" highlighting how to play?  Don't put money into new sculpts; but pay a design for 2+ hours of work to make BB's Living Rulebook look modern.   Pimp some of this to the fan community.  On that note...

2.) Stop Sueing the Fan Community.  Go after recasters.  Go after companies that are stepping on your IP (Chapterhouse, etc).  Don't sue forums for using the name "Blood Bowl" in their title.  You want to protect your IP?  Then license them a fan kit with a list of what they can and can't do.

1.) Learn how to Market using the Web.  A dev blog that exercises almost no brand discipline is not having a web presence.  Letting us know whats in the pipe two months before you release it, followed by actual previews the day of pre-order isn't working.

Get a forum and control it appropriately (see Privateer Press' forum of an example of how to do this).  Interact with fans via the Web.  Control your brand message actively, rather than passively releasing it and letting warseer/dakka dakka run with it.


*********

SPAYZE MUHREENs will keep GW's doors open for a long time.  That said, Privateer and Mantic are really doing a number on their North American sales.  Moreover, GWs revamped all but 1 Space Marine line in the past 5 years...they're running out of easy wins.

What's it going to take to get GW to right their ship?  This, mayhaps?

I am Title Nineicus, Lord of The End Times!!!



A Winner Is You! - Games Workshop Culture

Welcome to A Winner Is You, a weekly segment on aspects of wargaming culture that are "temporally challenged", as the kids would say.

First up: the culture that Games Workshop has fostered in the wargaming community.  Its no secret that the vast majority of people coming to "the hobby" (side note: that term's ridiculous and deserves its own AWIY segment) have come from Games Workshop.  They have a strong presence in the states with their own shops in malls, their IP is in several popular video games, and their games are extremely easy to play.

Little Billy just got his first taste of SPAYZE MUHREENS and is "totally freaking out, man".

This first experience has a lot of nasty side effects down the road, namely in terms of setting social norms for wargaming.  Namely:

- "I play my army based upon its background..." - I get it, I get it... back in the days of yore Warhammer was essentially an RPG product that morphed into the board-game/RPG hybrid that we know today.  Like a lot of RPGs, Warhammer (and its cousin with 39,999 more hammers) gave players a large amount of freedom in how they played their armies.  Granted, the possibility to have "broken" armies existed, but like... that's not roleplaying, man.

Fast forward to today: Warhammer (and 4.0 X 10 ^5 Moarhammerz) aren't RPGs anymore.  Yet the notion that "Well, you really shouldn't play something broken..." still exists.  The problem is, "something broken" is all in the eye of the beholder.  Which brings us to...

- "... and if you don't, you're a POWAH GAMER!!!" - Agreeing to a set of house rules is all well and good, until you try to take your rules of your house. 

For a myriad of reasons, there comes a point where you play people outside of our immediate play group - be it a tournament, a convention, or just to mix things up.  When the stranger your playing pulls out some combination that's contrary to your house rules, all hell can break loose.  And by "loose", I mean dribble out in passive-aggressive torrents.

Bob tried to play a counts-as army with a new gaming group.  Poor, poor Bob.

Since this is a bit of grey area (there's no actual rules governing this), and since most wargamers have the social grace of a toddler, this is usual resolved as passive-aggressively as possible ("Oh, I guess you could do that..."). 

Granted, given GW's "stellar" game design, this could be a completely legitimate complaint (Exhibit A - Teclis) in one of their games.  As someone who principally plays Warmachine, there's nothing I dread more than playing someone who's decided that they are the anointed arbiter of Privateer Press' canon and MUST let me know that my army is totally historically inaccurate as the mercenaries in my army were nowhere near each other before 641... blahblahblahblah.  Thanks C.H. Firth, can we roll some dice now?  On that note:

Dating, hygiene, smoking outdoors - None of these could keep Cornelius from his vigil, ensuring that no one would ever suggest playing Night Lords using the new Blood Angles codex without feeling his wrath.

- "Soft scores at tournaments are a great idea!".  On a scale from 1 to 5, this is an awful idea.

I'm fine with trying to get people to paint their models via other means (requiring painting as an eligibility requirement, door prizes for having a painted army), but having your peers rank your painting/army background/sportsmanship just doesn't work.  Like communism or a 3-way, sounds great in theory but never works in practice.

What soft scores quickly become is a new social way to win.  Play your friends, rank each other high (but give them slightly worse scores than yourself) and rank anyone who beats you in an actual game low.  Yay, a day of "Let's play a glorified board game" became "Let's politic to douche our way into a paltry prize".  Really, it says something about the average wargamer (also the subject of an upcoming AWIY) when getting their egos off by chipmunking people comes before actually playing the game.  But hey, as long as their carefully skewed view of canon isn't violated and you didn't have the temerity to put an unpainted model on the table, the world has their permission to continue spinning.

"You dare beat me?!?!  Sportsmanship score of -3,000!!!"

Its a shame this sort of behavior continues to go on, especially with an increasingly grey wargaming fan base (because really, who else has the disposable income?).  Looking at the comments section of Bell of Lost Souls (Poor, poor Goatboy) or some of the drivel on Dakka Dakka!, this crap continues to perpetuate itself because its "wargaming culture".  No.  Stop.  Bad fatties.  No donut.

Here's a gem from Dakka, taken from a thread regarding whether it was "OK" (side note: never ask the Internet is something is socially acceptable.  Have you seen what goes on here?) to use his blue SPAYZE MUHREENS as red SPAYZE MUHREENS.  chaos0xomega chimes in with this gem:

... In fact, why care about models at all right? Its not part of the hobby or anything, they are just markers for use with the rules. Maybe I should just start using little wooden mannequin dollies instead of actual models. That way I can play them as Grey Knights/Blood Angels/Space Wolves/Black Templars/Dark Angels/Ultramarines/Eldar/Tau/Necrons/Dark Eldar/Orks/Fantasy Empire/Fantasy Ogres/Fantasy Skaven, etc. etc. etc.

The minis, their paint scheme, and their interaction with the rules are important aspects of the hobby. , you're re-enacting battles that might occur in a fantasy setting that took years of thought (and plagiarism!) to create. Space Wolves and Blood Angels don't oprerate and fight the same way. There is a reason they look different, there is a reason they have different rules. Its more than just a difference in paint scheme, etc. You're doing the fluff a disservice every time you codex hop. I'm a bit more forgiving if its a custom chapter, I mean, really they can be whatever the hell you want, but I have a limit to how far I can suspend disbelief.

Emphasis mine.  Yes, God (sorry... "Emprah") forbid someone want to play with their overpriced plastic models using different rules.  You aren't just playing a game, man.  This is serious, like Tron only not remotely at all.

Bravo, chaos0xomega, you've saved the sanctity of Moarhammerz fictional background.  Maybe you'll get sucked into that world someday and get a girlfriend.  Until then, don't quit your day job.