Warhammer Quest and Star Command Updates

I never did get around to a follow-up post on Warhammer Quest. It's late now and I'm flying out to Hawaii tomorrow, but let me hit the points worth hitting. I had a brilliant first playthrough with the four basic characters. Even having used all but one downloadable characters (6 in all), I think the basic ones might be the best balanced. I found the Trollslayer flavorless and the Warrior Priest too unreliable to be of use. The Archmage was useful though, and in my recent playthrough I've been having fun with the Shadow archer-whatever and the fire mage. I haven't played with the new area, but from the description it looks like new tiles and enemies for the end-game, something WQ desperately needs. If you're looking into the downloads, I say skip the Trollslayer and Priest, but the rest of it has been good in my experience.

While I'm at it, Star Command has some new content. I haven't gotten to the new missions, but they did update the UI in some very useful ways. I honestly forget if I've mentioned this game on 2d6D or not, but it rocks inside and out. It is fun, funny and old skool hard--a rare combo these days indeed. Err, well it was hard for me until I leveled my doods and built up my ship. I'm actually thinking of restarting on a harder difficulty now. Still, it is a very demanding game in terms of tactics and dexterity. I strongly recommend it.

That's all I've got right now. I'll be back to posting when I'm back from vacation. Peace out 'til then!

Space Hulk Pre-orders on Steam

Seems I was actually ahead of the curve on something. Seems a lot of people are finding out about the Space Hulk game only now that it is up for pre-order on Steam. There's no question as to whether or not I will buy it. The only question is whether I buy it for iOS or for Steam. I intend (finally) to get an iPad when the next one releases and I'd rather have this for that and my iPhone. Especially if it supports iCloud saves the way Warhammer Quest does. Being able to pick up where I left off on either device would be a really attractive feature. I also would like to be able to play during my break at work.

I am still enthralled by Warhammer Quest on iOS. I have by now beaten the basic content and bought all the extras. I had to start a new campaign because the Skaven content begins at level 2 and I didn't want to just blow through it with a maxed-out party. I hope Space Hulk follows up with more excellent UI design and fun gameplay. I feel like this is a very good time to be a gamer/hobbyist.

Full Control will release Space Hulk on August 16th, 2013.

Rumors: Future Eldar Supplements - Biel-Tan and Saim-Hann (2013.07.25)

Here is some more cool rumor news from Natfka. Sounds like in addition to Tau Mercenaries, the Black Legion and White Scars, there are whispers of Biel-Tan and Saim-Hann supplements in the works. I saw elsewhere that the Biel-Tan supplement would be the first to feature a model wave as well. That would be really exciting to me because I saw the lack of aspect warrior updates as a missed opportunity in the initial launch (you know, not taking into account the Iyanden supplement launch strategy). There are a few of them that really need new versions  (hey there Hawks and Spiders).

via Stickmonkey on Faeit 212 

I'd heard Biel-Tan was being worked on after Iyaden, and Saim-Hann was later. But from what I've heard lately it seems the supplements are pure labors of love, and not necessarily slotting into releases like we've traditionally thought. That they are following a "when it's done" release scheme, and not strict deadlines. Multiple digital supplements in a month would also not be unheard of.  

There is a lot going on. I've heard scattered rumors of 2014 seeing many new models introduce to codexes with rules in box, but I haven't confirmed this.

More Classics Ported to iOS: Chainsaw Warrior

Wow that's really convenient. Yesterday I got curious about upcoming GW games was thinking to post what I found of this on DakkaDakka yesterday. Turns out I don't have to say much because Natfka has already covered it very well over at Faeit 212.

Very briefly, it's a single player game where you race against the clock to save NYC from an extra-dimensional horde of zombies and mutants. I love that they're trying specifically to maintain the bodaciously radical 80s feel. And the fact that they're embracing the camp that comes with a title like Chainsaw Warrior. That's refreshing in an age of games where many seem to be taking themselves all too serioiusly.

Chainsaw Warrior is developed by Auroch Digital and is scheduled to release later this year.

Rumors: Inquisition Skirmish Game in August?

I read somewhere on Natfka's blog that Inquisition is going to be the surprise release that was scheduled for August of this year. And here I was thinking I might have to wait a year or more!

From TastyTaste on Blood of Kittens 

http://natfka.blogspot.com/2013/07/inquisition-gws-entry-into-skirmish.html

GW is about to enter the skirmish scene with the release of Warhammer 40k: Inquisition Inquisition is designed for 2-4 players and each side will use custom cards and dice. Army sizes consist of about 5-10 models per side. A whole new set of models drawn from Blanche artwork will accompany. The game should be flexible as you can make and design your own Inquisitorial retinue. As for rules complexity that is anyone's guess, but the general marketing goal for Inquisition is a gateway game into the greater Warhammer 40k universe. 

Beyond that GW, seems to be taking cues from Kickstarter projects like Sedition Wars and home-brewed rules like Inq28 for Inquisitor. This also might not end up as a limited edition run, but that all depends on sales, and if any support is continued will be done through digital expansions and updates. 

The 'Ol Switcharoo: Follow-up on Apoc Set Pricing

Yesterday I posted about GW removing the kits from their online store that could save customers money when buying Apoc sets individually rather than with the one-click option. Well, in follow-up to that I have the following two stories. The first one is directly related and the second one is tangentially related.

So the Vyper kits that were creating the disparity in price that this whole issue is based on were removed from the store. Well, one of my closest friends ordered some of them a few weeks ago, well before this price thing had gotten anyone's attention. Then the other day he got an email which he paid no mind until he saw GW's reponse to this on Natfka's blog. Here's the email he got:

Scott,
Thank you for writing into us! When your order was getting picked in our warehouse unfortunately the stock for the Eldar Vyper was incorrect and there were not enough Eldar Vypers to complete this part of your order. Because the rest of your order was already picked when they went to pick the Vypers and were out they had to ship out the rest of the to your address. Because this item was not shipped out you were refunded to your paypal account that was used to pay for this order. I have just check the stock of the Vypers and we do have them back in stock so if you were still wanting to order this than right now I believe we should be able to get this shipped from our warehouse. Should you have any other questions please give us a call at 1-800-394-4263 and we will work to get you helped out.
Thanks,
Games Workshop
North America Customer Services
Please do not delete previous email threads as this will help us serve you better!

Before he knew about the price issue it seemed like an honest stocking mistake. But now it seems a little too convenient that he got this email just as GW removed the cheaper option from the store. I'm far too cynical to see that as a coincidence. They made a mistake in pricing the new set and their solution to the small amount of potential profit (not actual lost profit, mind you--just more that they could make if they paid enough attention to price models the same across the board) they might have lost is to cancel that part of people's order and then to lie to them about why they've done so. The terms "bait and switch" and "the 'ol switcharoo" come to mind, which brings me to...

Screamers and Flamers updated through White Dwarf and subsequently nerfed, not quite into the ground, but only about a meter above it. Those units might be decent still, but they were made into the two most broken units in the entirety of 40k with that White Dwarf update. What Chaos Daemons player wouldn't/didn't buy at least a box or two of each? And how many competitive players bought huge allotments of both? My friend (the same guy) did that and while I did make fun of him for it, I feel bad for him because those units should never have been made so good they were absolute auto-includes. Cheesy as Screamers were, no one deserves for models to get updated to be very attractive units at a time when there are no prospects of them getting a new codex only to see them nerfed hard a few months later. And not only that, the Sisters of Battle had already been updated through White Dwarf and were showing no signs of getting a proper book. There was already precedent set for one to expect Daemons to be set for a while with the WD rules.

If you haven't noticed, I complain a lot about prices in our hobby. But at least there are ways to justify high prices at least. It costs a lot to run a multi-national corporation. My own company has to sell a lot of touch sensors just to break even. It's not easy when operating costs are high. But the two instances I just discussed reek of scam, in my opinion. And I actually don't even remember the Screamers and Flamers nerf getting talked much about in terms of what it suggested of GW's business practices. Seriously, in both of these cases, shame on you, Games Workshop. Very disappointed.

Dolla Dolla Bill, Ya'll: Solving the Discrepancy in the Apoc Bundle Prices

Just saw this post on Faeit 212 that explains GW's solution to the pricing discrepancy. Basically instead of adjusting prices, their idea was to stop offering the individual kits where you could save a little money.

I think one of the commenters said it best, "Keep it classy, GW."

Talisman: Prologue for iOS - A Single-player Board Game. Yes, really.

Talisman: Prologue is the adaptation of the classic Talisman board game by Games Workshop. Board games are a genre that I think work exceptionally well on touch devices because they do not rely on sensitive controls or twitch-gameplay. They also provide a portable version of something usually impossible to play on the go. For board games, that means for most people that the kids can play something together and keep themselves occupied. They are also still interacting with one another, rather than anti-socially gluing their noses to their own individual portable game systems. For gamers without kids this might mean being able to play with a friend in public like at a cafe without struggling to find a place that will allow you to unpack a big game board onto a tiny little table. Or perhaps gaming together on long train rides. To put it briefly, multi-player modes that utilize a single device are the essential feature in a board game adaptation. So it begs the question, where the hell is that feature in Talisman: Prologue?

Before I even got to load up the game that was my very first question to my friend Jeremy who tipped me off about Talisman's release (thanks bro). His thought was maybe that's what the "Prologue" subtitle is all about--that it's the prologue because the multi-player will be added or released later. He's more forgiving than I am when it comes to what ought to be expected from game developers. I'm a demanding consumer, in part because in my work obvious deficiencies and flaws are met with unrelenting support before a product is ever even shipped as a prototype.

Gamers in general are very demanding, in my opinion. We are very experienced in the products and have no doubt witnessed a broad spectrum of quality. If this game didn't play so well as a single player game I'd probably not put much more effort into writing about it than to say it's a waste of money (like Kill Team was). It's not a waste at all...assuming they do actually implement multi-player. From the looks of their Facebook page, it seems they will and I'm really glad for that because they've done a good job with the game so far. But it's not complete yet.

I don't give out scores. I'm more interested in saying whether I feel a product was worth my money or not. And more importantly, whether or not I think it is worth yours. At 450 yen, I can't say I feel the single-player version of Talisman will be worth it in the long run. It's four times as much as some other games I've put tons of time into. I don't expect to get as much play out of a game that doesn't involve a lot more than pressing a dice roll button and picking up cards. Random events are fun when they influence the outcome between two or more people and you can marvel at terrible and fantastic luck together. But when played alone, the board game experience is a lonely and unfulfilling one. Talisman: Prologue will be worth it when the multi-player is released, but until then save your money.