Post-script on BttF and Verne

"The hell was the point in that?" is what you're probably not asking because if you weren't into just reconsidering fiction in different ways then you wouldn't have made it through six paragraphs of wondrous, sparkly adventure with your inner child. But you should. I studied in a whole department full of people wasting time classifying and reclassifying fiction. I mean, classifying it is fine if you can do something with that. That's the point. Understanding the boundaries of a genre can help you write good fiction within it. And maybe even to write great fiction that pushes outside the existing limits.

Back to the Future is the first of those two. It is extremely good fiction that was created within the existing limits and frameworks that were already established. In terms of science fiction it did little that was new, simply tackling a subject that hadn't been explored deeply in popular media. It did so in film, a medium that at the time was getting much more attention from large audiences than print. The story also follows familiar patterns wherein the protagonist adapts to a new setting and overcomes conflict with the traits he acquired uniquely from his own culture, ultimately proving wrong those who criticized him in the beginning.

And despite not reinventing the wheel, Back to the Future was an instant success and remains a favorite just under thirty years later. So why is it that if you take a course in writing at a university they will chastise you for writing "genre fiction," as if that were the lowest of lows to which you could stoop? If someone can write greatly, then more power to them. But if someone else can only write well, then the same power to them too. I wish universities would quit trying to discourage people from making careers out of writing entertainment. Brilliant as a work may be, I'm more likely to spend time and money on the one that entertains me while it reminds me what the human experience is like. Even if it holds less technical merit.

On Adventuring in Science Fiction: Back to the Future and Jules Verne

I was watching Back to the Future 3 the other day and it got me wanting to read some classic science fiction. More specifically it got me wanting to read some Jules Verne. It's not just that his name comes up a few times in the film, but it's what I think Zemeckis and Gale felt when dreaming up the science in their story. I think they felt the same sense of adventure at exploring the unknown as you feel when you open one of Verne's novels.

If you've ever read Verne, you'll know what I meant when I said "dreaming." His stories embody a romantic fascination with possibility, with discovery, with exploring the unknown. They're a different kind of science fiction than the kind where the characters discover the unknown and then destroy it under relentless firepower and vorpal death. Or the kind where the opposite happens. It's not like they're without conflict, but I'd say thinking 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is about exterminating sea monsters would be missing the point.

Back to the Future has so much in common with the science fiction Jules Verne was writing. Verne's stories look to the unknown with wonderment; they look to the depths of the ocean, the center of the earth, and then all the way around it with an earnest fascination and sense of adventure. I feel like this is an approach to science fiction that not all writers can accomplish in their work because they just don't feel it in their hearts. It may be that you have to love not just science, or science fiction, but also adventure and discovery. It seems very child-like to me, like building a fort or camping out in your own backyard while feeling that you're in the middle of the forest.

I'm not nostalgic for classic science fiction. It's not like "back in the day" people wrote more fantastic, adventurous sci-fi. Look at H.G. Wells and his excellent, classic work. War of the Worlds contains scenes that bear war genre conventions and The Time Machine dips into the conventions of horror and post-apocalyptic fiction. Much of his work is not about adventure or feeling the thrill of exploration. It proposes scientific discovery and examines the limits of human morality. It's a very different kind of science fiction.

Obviously Zemeckis and Gale weren't trying to predict the course of scientific progress, as cool as it would be if the first time machine really were a DeLorean. And they weren't guiding scientists the way Arthur C. Clarke was. However the work they did bears great resemblance to Verne's, with them exploring time in a way that makes the reader feel ten years old again; Doc's words, not mine.

Verne, Wells, Clarke, Zemeckis, Gale and many, many others have written science fiction and they have all got their own perspective on what can be done with their genre. Part of the appeal to science fiction is the variety that comes along with it. And how well other genres blend into it. I don't know what Zemeckis and Gale saw in time travel that compelled them to write about it, but I think the ease with which I can watch and rewatch their films is testament to them feeling something very deeply. I found myself wondering after the film what that might have been. And how Verne must have felt when writing about what could be at the center of the earth at a time when no one had any idea. Well now there isn't a fun mysterious center to write about and people are writing about other planets. Other times. Other dimensions. When we have solved those mysteries (assuming they even can be solved), what will people be dreaming about? What adventure will there be for people to sense, what unknown for us to explore, and what will we be writing about it?

NewDar tomorrow! Let's start testing with Rangers and Fast Attack...

 
With my mystical Runes of Fateandstufforwhatever, I have somehow divined the information I need to play with the new rules tomorrow! So much for pseudo Biel-tan. I'm going to be playing around with Rangers/Pathfinders, Illic, Warp Spiders, our psykers and shuriken death.

I'm relieved that at 1,000 points I don't feel like it is crazy hard to fit in units. While the heavy hitters still cost quite a bit, we have shed costs in many other places. Warp Spiders, for example. They have dropped by 3 points per model. But in addition to that, they have Hit and Run standard. Now that the Exarch can get a twin-linked Deathspinner, but not a pair (cheap and more effective than another body in the 4th ed book), you have to invest somewhat heavily for him to effective enough to want. To get an Exarch with the new Spinneret Rifle, Fast Shot and Power Blades, you're looking at 55 points for the whole package. I'd rather save the points because without him the unit is insanely fast, can escape combat still and shoots harder than ever. Oh and I get to say I called it on the rending monofilament! Hehe. I thought that looked pretty likely. Flamers would have been neat, but again I think 12" range and Assault 2 is the more powerful of the two, all things considered.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent. The point is that a unit that used to cost me 262 points is now 190. Rangers that I used to take are now 35 points cheaper. Those two changes alone buy me almost two more units of Rangers! I expect to feel the points crunch a little more when I write lists meant to be hard. Right now I'm indulging in playing around with stuff. Obviously the Heavy Support section is more crowded than ever and features lots of expensive options. Elites are pricey as well and it won't be any easier to fit in lots of mech elements. But it seems to me that some of my better lists from the last book are still plenty viable and have gotten a good deal better due to the BS boost among other things.

For now, I'm looking at trying out something like:

Illic
5 Pathfinders
5 Pathfinders
5 Pathfinders
10 Warp Spiders - Exarch w/ Spinneret Rifle
9 Shining Spears - Exarch w/ Star Lance, Hit & Run, Disarming Strike

Total 1,000


I don't really need the Spider Exarch here, but I had 25 points left over and didn't have much else to do with it. This isn't meant to be competitive at all, but I do think it could hold it's own. Anything with short range is insanely fast. Anything that's not fast has good range. All the Pathfinders have stealth and shrouded. Oh and they always shoot precision shots thanks to Illic! So any flamer that isn't DSing onto my face is going to die before he gets a chance to light up the burner on his weapon. And I don't have enough anti-tank, but Warp Spiders are now S7 against anything <I3 and anything without an initiative value. And Shining Spears finally get their lance rule during assaults too, so maybe I'll be better off than it seems on paper. That's what test lists are for! Figuring that out! I expect some of what I learn here will help me in homing in on tough, similar lists. I have some ideas on which ways that'll take me, but I'm trying to fight coming to conclusions that aren't based on experience.

Hope you all get some gaming in with the new book soon! If you write some lists this weekend, post them! I'd love to see what you're cooking up.

Happy Birthday Preordering

Well preorders should be starting tomorrow. I turned 30 today (woo!) and I know I've got my birthday shopping list mentally prepped based on the rumors. I'm not as pumped as the Iyanden players probably are about most of the figures, but I feel like there is something special for just about everyone.

Right now I'm just hoping I can preorder the stuff I want before I get to the pub tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Once it's finally up, let me know how you feel about the actual release. What are you planning to get? What are you definitely not going for? Why?

Eldar Rumor Analysis: Supplemental Material to be the DLC of Wargaming?

First I want to be clear that I am still incredibly excited about rules expansions for factions within armies. Eldar is a great one for this because of the variety inherent in the craftworlds. In the background and on the table they're all very different. You can write a list and call it Alaitoc, but it would be a lot more fun if there were rules written and balanced to emphasize that flavor and play style.And the same goes for many armies.

The first supplemental faction book is the Iyanden craftworld. It seems to release exactly when the codex does. This begs a number of questions--or perhaps I should say furious inquiries, considering how much we spend on the books these days. Why isn't this material already in the codex? How much more do we have to pay to play Iyanden? Do they plan on releasing all the craftworlds in this way? If so, why are they not all being released together later on, when Eldar have already been out for some time?

Yeah, I know the answer is the same for each of these questions. It's the dollars and yen of it. Just as with video game companies who release games with the DLC loaded on the disc, the Eldar codex is essentially coming out split up for maximum profit. As much as I love the idea of more material for ever more specific army variants, I can't help but feel like we're all being kicked in the teeth and asked to hand over the gold fillings that fall out. As a collector I would love to have the Iyanden book despite not playing that faction, but I don't think I can warrant the purchase if the price is on par with the core codex.

We, the fans, are getting some of the things we've been wanting, but what a wicked twist of monkey-paw fate that the material comes to us with such apparent scorn. One of the best feelings you can have as a customer is to walk away from a purchase like you just received a birthday present, even though you paid for it yourself. It feels like the content provider has some measure of respect for you. Just ask Valve. This is part of the success behind Steam bargain sales. You're spending money and feeling like every purchase is the best deal you've ever gotten. And it feels exactly as bad to buy an expensive book and need another expensive supplement that is likely only 20% of the expensive supplements that will come out for your army. I feel for Iyanden players here.

There are ways GW promotes sales that are a little unsavory in my opinion. External codex balance is one of those. Internal updates is another; and on that topic I'll be writing something eventually about Flamers and Screamers when I get a chance. And this DLC equivalent is another. While it's great to get rules support for handing over so much hard-earned money, for me it's spoiled to some degree by the obviousness of it as a cheap play for quick profit.

I think the most likely rebuttal to this post is "Fine, don't buy it." I agree with that. GW's customers are not entitled to good deals. But it works both ways. They're not entitled to our money either. To be honest, I just don't want to feel like I'm being ripped off. They could release a book like the old Craftworld Codex with all five major craftworlds in it. They chose to release only one, not to include it in the codex that is releasing on the same day and for the chosen faction to be the one that prominently features units like the new, expensive Wraithknight. If that's not being obvious I don't know what is. I want to see them making decisions that benefit their long term growth by maintaining their loyal fanbase the way some other successful companies have managed to. To put it briefly: while profit is good, posterity is better.

Eldar Rumor Analysis: Death Spinners and Aggressive Play

I had a few other thoughts on Death Spinners and how that speculative profile would affect how they work. First, let me alter it to make it a little more...sensible. AP5 would make flamers utterly worthless and doesn't fit with the all-or-nothing nature of Eldar monofiliment technology.

Let's try something more like this:

• S6 AP(-) Template, Rending

Now if you're thinking "Hey, that's obscene! Those weapons would utterly decimate any kind of infantry in the game!" then you'd be perfectly right. This unit would be bloody murder to infantry. Changing it to a dash is more a show of good faith. But then again, Spiders are already bloody murder on infantry. Even without rending. If not in one turn, they'll break the target's back so someone else can finish it. So before flying off the handle and relabeling these guys Cheese Spiders as I have heard them called before, keep in mind that they're already doing this job very well even while people think they are  a bad choice.

There are ways that giving them back their templates would actually be a statistical nerf. And others in which it is an outright nerf. First, the absolute. They would no longer be able to harm flying units in any way. Templates can't hit them and all that jazz. Here a full unit of the current make would be much better. 22 shots with Prescience is very good for AA. They would also be much less effective with templates when firing at single model MCs. They would only get a maximum of one hit each. Here too, 22 shots with Prescience would be almost twice as good. Deep-striking--on the turn they drop in they would very likely only be able to shoot with three models due to the rules disallowing flamers to fire through models in the same unit. Finally, with templates they'd have a kill zone of about eight inches. It's very likely they would clear that zone every time they fire at infantry and would thus have a hard cap on how much they can kill against units that space out correctly.

I feel like people would be upset if they got both the flamer template and rending. It actually seems to me that rending has a chance to be true. But because of how templates seem to people, they'd retain assault 2. Competitively, I'd prefer rending with 22 shots at 12" range. That would be absurd in the extreme. That's like having almost six assault cannons with AP (-). I guess I could live with that if I had to =)

I'd like to return now, to Monday's post about how people play because I think this rumor provides too good an example to pass up the opportunity. Generally, I think I came up with a more clear, succinct description of aggressive play. Let me give this a shot:

Aggressive play concedes defensive security to achieve offensive gains that would have been impossible to attain without taking a risk.

I think this makes a lot of sense, universally speaking. In sports, poker, warfare--this rings true in any situation where there something to be gained by putting all your effort into offense at the risk of exposing yourself. It's the Hail Mary on fourth down. It's going all in. It's fighting Florentine instead of sword and board.

In 40k there are many ways that one can choose offense at the cost of defense. This is one reason why I was trying to avoid saying anything like X army is aggressive and Y is passive. Or to say the same thing absolutely about units. Generally I think Vanguard Vets are an aggressive unit, but I think you could use them in a way that reinforces your own units instead of alpha striking the enemy and leaving yourself open to counter offensives. And while IG could be considered a passive-style army, say with an Auto-cannon and Heavy Bolter gun line, you could easily deploy those heavy weapons more aggressively in positions that give advantageous LOS or denies cover saves to the enemy. This may in turn expose you to enemy fire or assaults, but that's the risk you took to go on the offensive.

You can probably see where I'm going with this if you read Monday's post or the follow-up. I play my Warp Spiders very aggressively. And if there is BLOS terrain, may Khaine have mercy on your soul. Or Slaneesh on mine, because getting as close as is necessary to really hammer someone with Spiders means putting yourself out there. 3+ armor be damned, we're still softer than Marines and cost a good deal more. If Death Spinners got a rending flamer template at S6AP(-), they would have to be played basically on top of the enemy to ensure maximum death. That is some aggressive play. How that could play out for the Spiders taking return fire in the next turn will depend heavily on what happens with the Warp Jump Generator, but that's outside the scope of the topic.

I really just wanted to take a chance to get a little more specific about what I meant by aggressive. Playing to dictate the flow of the game and to put pressure on the enemy is exactly what I like most about my Eldar. I think in addition to emphasizing that aspect of the army, a Death Spinner profile like this would give Warp Spiders a unique role. They'd retain some of their versatility, but would largely be death incarnate to hordes; if, that is, you're aggressive enough to get in there and get your hands dirty.

Scrying the Future of the Eldar: Technology

I think the Eldar find themselves in an awkward position in 6th edition. Not for the reasons I usually see though. Eldar discussions seem almost invariably to fall on aspect warriors, expensive weapons and worthless vehicle upgrades. Not that those things don't put them in an awkward position too, but I'm actually thinking thematically awkward. The Eldar were conceived of early on and much of what was attributed to their race has been distributed amongst the other races. They are no longer the sole masters of technology, psychic powers or speed. They are no longer the most elite army either. Recently I've been considering what themes I'd like to see accentuated in the army to keep them unique, but to allow for other races to also share the glory in their own fields of expertise. Technology is a big one to me and the one I'd like to discuss today.

Eldar are meant to be incredibly technologically advanced, but what route do you go when writing about what is considered advanced to humans flying around in space-cathedrals in the year 40,000? The bar is already set pretty high. Let's start with anti-gravity and force fields. Then add in some lasers. Cool, cool. Toss in some teleportation and we're right in the realm of typical "advanced tech" for sci-fi. And yeah then some monomolecular shuriken. And shuriken are...wait a minute, what the hell is that about anyway? Just because they were writing in the 80s they had to give the race that is supposed to be very exotic shuriken for bullets? Nothing about that has ever made sense to me. It doesn't really match the elvish side of Eldar, it doesn't seem advanced at all. It just stands out. And it's much worse when they add an "S" to the end to pluralize it. That looks...gross lol. /randomrant. The point is that there are certain types of technology that automatically seem advanced to us as 21st century readers/gamers. Some of what GW attributed to Eldar needs to be revamped if it is to remain advanced in comparison to what the other armies have.

Let's talk about three that I see as unique and/or definitive to the race. We'll start with anti-gravity. Eldar may have a lot of fast skimmers, but aside from those basic rules, where is the supposed Eldar mastery of anti-gravity? Even the Imperial Guard have figured out how to drop guys from a moving skimmer by manipulating gravity. I don't expect any big changes in our skimmers and to be fair, we did get a huge boost to our Jetbikes with the new turboboost rules. I may just have to come to accept that Eldar share speed with many armies due to flyers and the proliferation of skimmers on the ground. Also, with reduced unit prices across the board, the tables are full of more models than ever. Isolating units through sheer speed is getting harder and harder. While Eldar do still have an edge on most builds of most armies, the board just feels small these days.

Another that I expect to be revamped is the Eldar expertise in force field tech. Our Holofields have been rendered pointless and the Wave Serpent's field is much less impressive now that Ceramite Plating is more common and now that Necrons have their own better Quantum Shielding. I think it could be that Eldar forcefields actually matter once again. What I really want is funky original rules that make vehicles tougher without going the direct route. Shrouding or Invul saves are just too...plain. The old Holofields really made the tanks suitably tough. And through a rule that represented the fluff very well nonetheless.

And lastly guns. Weapons are always a fun one. What better represents the power of an army? The problem is that there are a lot of guns that are similar to ours and with much better statlines. In my opinion, Eldar disruption weapons are the only guns we have that are sufficiently interesting and advanced. Our lasers are not much better or are exactly the same as others out there. Thematically, what I want to see in terms of weaponry is broader access to disruption weapons. And some sort of changes to our lasers to make them seem different. The Scatter Laser is the closest to being what I think feels right.


Invariably I feel like this topic veers toward rules. While there are examples to be cited of where Eldar have lost their grip on technology in the fluff (just by comparison, I mean), it is incredibly pronounced in the rules. Maybe they had been looking at how well Eldar worked up until 4th edition and decided to borrow many of those rules for use in other armies? I'm not sure. But I am sure that many rules that were synonymous with Eldar many years ago are now commonplace. I am looking forward to seeing Eldar with signature tech once again. Hopefully something that makes opponents as angry as Holofields used to =D

Long Overdue Rest

With Nagoyahammer behind me I can finally rest a little after three months of grueling conversion and painting preparation. The event itself was more exhausting than I had ever anticipated too. My partner would be the first to tell you I play slower than the Imperium audits taxes, but we were still playing our turns in under 15 minutes in an effort to finish early for a bonus point. That really added to the energy we spent over the course of the day. I generally get up at 7, but slept until 9 for a solid 10 hours last night. Now I'm on my way to Ina with the family to shop and just hang out. Should be a nice restful day.

When I get back home I'm gonna be editing an essay my friend wrote, but I want to make some time to start the HD remake of Ōkami for PS3. That's something I've been waiting years to get to so I could play, understand and enjoy it in the original language. The story contains a lot of cool mythology I'm interested in and supposedly there are some neat kanji jokes integrated into the particle effects and art design. Gotta clear it pretty quickly though to get back to work on this much-too-late commission.

I'm also planning to sort through the pictures I took and the ones our resident journalist got. There were so many beautifully done figures and interesting armies at the event. He also got some interviews on the tournament and some discussions on 40k generally. There will also be some write-ups on the games and how we approached it to pull off our win. I'll be putting all that up over the course of the next few days, so keep an eye out.

Tokyo Road Trip, Quiet Thoughts and Nagoyahammer 2013

I had an extra busy weekend with a quick 2-day trip to the US Embassy in Tokyo. We took the car because the trains would probably be a lot of trouble with the kid. All in all it was a great trip. I don't get out of the countryside much these days and I certainly don't take many road trips.

Lake Suwa in Nagano prefecture.

Cherry blossoms bloom late in Nagano because of the cool weather. 

Long drives are actually very valuable to me for the quiet thinking time they afford. Whether I even have good ideas or not doesn't matter much to me. Ever since college I've just enjoyed quiet drives and stress-free thinking. This trip I came up with a good deal of new material for my 40k fiction including a whole story concept that I get to set aside until I finish the story I've already started. I've already moved on from those notes and tossed some of the ideas back and forth with Scott. What I've got now, I managed to write out as an outline that doesn't make any leaps of logic or simply sound stupid. Those are two major hurdles down.

The next step will be to get to more concrete work. Drafting scenes that I already know I want to write. Testing out perspectives and voices. I'm going to be introducing enough characters that I think I need to start a chart. The iOS Headspace app has a perfect format for that kind of charting. I may give that a try. Haven't used it for this yet. I'm very much looking forward to progressing with all this. It's been fun to play with so far.

I have an event coming up next weekend though. The Nagoya 40k gamers are having their annual Nagoyahammer event. Looks to be a blast. This will be my first time attending. I've been busting my butt to get my army finished for it. Just finished up the painting tonight and I'll be wrapping up some bases tomorrow. I also have to get to this commission that a friend of mine has been patiently waiting for once this is all over. Allowing myself to write after that will be my reward to myself for finally painting his stuff. You know...assuming a huge Eldar release doesn't suddenly demand all my hobby time.

The Nagoyahammer site is in my link list on the right, by the way. In case you're interested in checking it out. They're good people, the guys I've met. Just wish I could get out there more often to game with them.

And to sign off with, here's this...