Specialist Games return?

[Irisado]

I've cleared a number of spam posts from this topic.  Please let's keep off topic chit chat for the chit chat board.  Thank you .

I do like what I'm hearing about the likely re-releases of specialist games as a whole, and I hope that it will inspire a new generation to get into these games.  My main interest remains with Epic though, thus I'm disappointed that it seems to be the case that the 8mm scale is now confirmed.  That is not going to look right alongside all my second edition models, so I won't be getting it.

[marell le fou]

As you say, it's for a new generation, who has not yet been spamed by all those new 6mm manufacturers and 3D printer from great fanmade stuff.

They are clearly not proposing this new game for us.

[Geep]

I don't think there is a new generation willing to leap into a GW game like this. It's well known that they killed off Epic before, and will again- anyone interested in smaller scale stuff has probably found the many alternatives by now. If the boxed game is solid as a self-standing thing it may have some popularity, but this is not the way to launch a successful game with long-term viability.

[Tiberius]

I hope they don't do a similar number on warmaster. I just bought a whole bunch myself!  I wish games workshop didn't continually try weird things to mess up their costumes. I don't want to buy off brand stuff, but it's either unavailable or completely uncompetitively priced.  Ugh. I want it to work between us games workshop, but you have trust issues.

I haven't bought in to epic yet. But I'd love to someday.  But if they want to resurrect a game, why piss off the ready made base and community that's already there, the ones who are excited about it the most in the first place!  Why not draw in new blood and please the old timers.

[lord_blackfang]

As you say, it's for a new generation, who has not yet been spamed by all those new 6mm manufacturers and 3D printer from great fanmade stuff.

They are clearly not proposing this new game for us.

Wrongo, my man. Apart from Age of Sigmar, everything GW has been doing the past 5-6 years has been designed solely to milk the ever smaller population of hardcore veterans for everything we've got.

Changing the scale is exactly what you do to force established players to buy everything again. Just like they keep inventing new units for 40k to sell them to those of us who already have everything, as opposed to updating old sculpts, which we might or might not purchase if we already own those units. For new players it wouldn't matter if GW releases an updated kit or a new kit, they don't have either and would buy either. GW does what it does to maximize sales to veterans.

For the same reason, they're scraping the bottom of the barrel of their old concepts from the 90s. Adeptus Mechanicus. Genestealer Cults. Deathwatch. Specialist Games. All these releases are banking on our nostalgia. On the deep pockets of veterans in their 30s and 40s who wanted an AdMech army since they were teens.

If Specialist Games were aimed at new players they would be releasing BFG right now as the computer game is massively popular. But no. They're not aimed at fresh customers, so the tie-in doesn't matter. They went straight for the game with by far the largest established community, Blood Bowl. And you can bet that they'll change it enough that you'll want to buy it all anew. Starting with scaling the miniatures up to Age of Sigmar size (despite BB still being set in the Old World) on large round bases so your old metals will look naff facing a new team.

And it'll be the same for Epic. It's going to 8mm to shame you out of using your old 6mm stuff. All it takes is for one player in a group to buy a new 8mm army and then everyone has to update everything if they want the battles to look good.

[Irisado]

I agree with some of what you're saying, but I think that it's more applicable to the larger scale games, such as 40K.

As far as Specialist Games are concerned, I think that GW is hedging its bets by trying to appeal to new and veteran gamers at the same time.  Whether that works is a different matter, but one thing that would surprise me would be veteran gamers reacting to one person purchasing the 8mm version.  My experience of discussing the issue of scale with the Epic community online is that the majority appears indifferent to what GW is going to do.

[Darkson]

I know BB is different to other games (grid based, no LOS, etc) but a change in scale won't make me rush out and buy the new box set. As it is, I'm not convinced I'll be in a rush to get it, as the new, larger pitch won't fit on our regular gaming tables at our club, though I might get it for home use, but I'll continue to use my old 28mm figs.

I think GW are banking on getting a nice ration of veterans to new players.

[David Wasilewski]

I actually wonder if doing Epic in 8mm might be a complete disaster?
Half the veterans won't buy it for obvious reasons?

I MIGHT buy the titans as I don't own many titans in 6mm scale.
I'm a bit dubious about the inf and vehicles though. They will have to scale to my already large collection or I won't be buying them no matter how cool they look. That, combined with the fact they have not communicated any firm commitment to doing a range of races....
I wouldn't trust them not to release AT and then not do anything else if it doesn't sell well anyway?

I don't want to sound bitter, just healthily sceptical.

Dave

[MetalCoreKnight]

That, combined with the fact they have not communicated any firm commitment to doing a range of races....
I wouldn't trust them not to release AT and then not do anything else if it doesn't sell well anyway?

I don't want to sound bitter, just healthily sceptical.

That's pretty much where I sit too right now, logically I can't blame them for taking that type of approach because it is much "safer" from a business perspective. Hopefully as things get closer we can get more info on everything.

[jchaos79]

For me would be perfect if epic would return in 9-10mm, and would be very nice if it would be compatible to dropzone commander....

[connahr]

well having just played around with space marines on BFG: armada, I think we may see some new ships for space marines in the re-boot of BFG

[Tiberius]

New stuff for space marines?  Nah, games workshop would never focus almost exclusively on them. 

On a side note. Where do most people get their rumors and info on this stuff?  I can't really find anything since they first announced the return in December.

[connahr]

the manager at my local GW is rather open about whats in development or coming up, mainly because I'll probably end up buying stuff

[Yodhrin]

The manager at your local GW probably knows less about what's coming up than you do. It's rare the company tells them anything before one of the reliable rumour mongers has already told us, hell it's rare they tell them anything at all more than a couple of weeks in advance.

While the scale change is I'm sure somewhat galling for people with really large collections, I don't know that it will be as dramatic as some fear, the scale for Epic models was already all over the joint. I'm more concerned about the prices - if we are getting FW resin and they keep their pricing relatively consistent, in 8mm scale you're looking at roughly Castellax > Leviathan > plastic Knight in terms of a Warhound > Reaver > nuWarlord progression(they'd be slightly smaller in each case, but those are probably the closest). That's £30-ish quid for a Warhound, £70-ish quid for a Reaver, and something like £120 for a Warlord. Knights, if they get to them, would probably be Thallax-ish, so £30 for three.

Even a small game-ready force at those prices is going to be extortionate, and woe betide the poor buggers who have to buy two forces to try and build some playerbase in their local area. I'd love an AT demi-Legio or even just a modest battlegroup, but modern FW rates price me right out and I'd wager I'm not alone even among the kind of crusty old vets GW likely expect to support this SG rerelease.

[dicnar]

I recently had a little reunion with my old gaming friends. And all of us gladly took an oath. That if Necromunda will ever return, no matter what, we will be playing it. Then we started discussing about the rules. And that get us wondering, there's no chance they're going to leave the rules as they were? Those are as old as a classic 40k edition. i haven't had a chance to play all those new GW board games, but we started wondering, maby the rules would be somehow made like those. Because there are a significantly less models in those games, you know like squad vs squad. kinda like gang vs. gang. As for other games i dont see how they could change it, Gothic rules are pretty neat, maybe need some revamps but the core rules should stay the same. It's Necromunda that worries me.