40K's Bad Rep

Normally I don't ape material for this site from the Blogosphere.  The game is big, we all have our take on it, and generally if it's a big enough story I'll have my own opinion about it and will rant and rave on my own.  But every now and then something comes up in a fellow blogger's site that I feel deserves the attention.

Such is the case with the 122nd Cadian's recent run-in with irresponsible journalism and 40K.  He makes some valid points in regards to what the reporter has to say.  I really encourage you to head over and read it.  I myself tread this same path a couple years ago in regards to a blog post that PBS posted about the evils of 40K.  A lot of what I said was in direct response to that post, that no longer exists by the way.  However, I still feel very strongly about a lot of what I said.  And I hate the fact this game we love so much has to deal with uninformed opinions or commentary biased by agendas.  I'm fully aware that we play a niche game that doesn't appeal to everyone, but it isn't a bad game.  And if you're looking for a positive view of the game and the people who play it enjoy the Hammers of War video.

More Gravy for the Gravy God

The Holiday season is about to commence in full with the annual American tradition of sacrificing vestal turkeys on the altar of gluttony and tryptophan naps.  As we prepare for a season of the over the top consumerism, good will, and a momentary break for the war that consumes the grim darkness of the far future, I wanted to say thank you.  Thank you to all of the people who wander to this site and suffer through inconsistent updates and crappy writing.  Thank you for overlooking my bad grammar and spelling, and sharing in the love of this game.  May your bellies be full of food, your stockings full of awesome minis, and may the light of the God Emperor (or the deity of your choice, even the corrupted ones) shine on you this holiday season.

40K Neotube - Fan Made Lord Inquisitor Trailer

So a fan crafted a CGI animated fan film for Warhammer 40,000 called The Lord Inquisitor.

I'll just say this.  After Ultramarines The Movie, I was skeptical that a movie would ever be made that had the epic grand gothic flavor of 40K.  Ultramarines was OK.  It wasn't as great as I'd hoped, but it didn't suck.  It did well enough in all facets to be enjoyable, but didn't stand out enough to lend itself to the greatness I'm sure most 40K fans hoped for.  This guy has animated a movie that looks better than Ultramarines, the scope is much larger, it features vehicles so less walking (badly animated walking at that), this LOOKS like the movie was hoping for when Ultramarines  was announced.  Other than being nowhere near Ultramarines in voice acting (Codex had a great cast put together) this movie looks like pure win to me.

You can learn more about this fan film at its site.

First thoughts on Space Marine

So I know I'm late to the party, but I still plan on doing a full review at some point.  Still after a weekend of playing Exterminatus and single player I can sum up the game thusly:  WOW

Yeah I can't say enough good things about the game.  It's a blast to play, it looks stunning, it incorporates elements of the 40K universe, and Space Marine codex nicely.  On top of that, so far I love the story.  And multiplayer has been a blast.

I'm sure I'll have some beefs about the game after the shiny newness wears off and I've played through the single player and some more multiplayer.  But for now I'm digging the game...a lot...

40K Neotube: Mini War Gaming's Open (Video) Letter to Games Workshop

I know I am way behind the curve on this video.  Honestly I really hadn't perused much in the way of online 40K videos since I had tabled 40K Neotube as a regular feature.  I pull it out every now and then when a new trailer from Relic comes out, or if something is making the rounds that I happen to see.  But in this case, I didn't see it until this week.  So before I play the video, I want to discuss my thoughts on Games Workshop and the players who play 40K.

The Proxy Conundrum

I realized something as I chronicled my first draw.  It was also the first game I proxied a unit I didn't own.

Proxies are just a part of the game for our group.  We all live very full lives with lots of family activities and other hobbies that pull us in multiple directions.  Combine that with new players, and completely painted pieces are still a bit of a luxury.  We try to reduce the number of proxies, or "counts as" units with each game.  But the reality is, while our armies are looking better they are far from complete.

For me, I've always proxied units that I own.  The proxy wasn't so much an attempt to try something new as it was just a means of getting something on the board.  Normally my proxies represented an item I had that was possibly unopened in the box, not table ready, was at a state of "in progress" that had them in pieces, or were still on the sprue.

It wasn't until I was being regaled with battle reports of other people that I realized they were using their proxies to not only represent units they had, but units they wanted to have or hadn't gotten yet.  Without realizing it I did the same thing, and only after the fact it dawned on me that I had shifted in my behavior.

Now, for the record I own quite a few Ork pieces and am working diligently to get them painted.  So proxying is still primarily a means to get something on the table to represent that which I haven't finished yet.  But as my army grows in completeness, and my acquisitions become less "Oh my god I need more Boyz" to "What don't I have yet that I could really use" I am transitioning my proxy behavior.  I still have units that I run as "counts as" or are shells of their future selves, but now I'm running things I haven't bought yet to either try out, or because I just spent a bunch of money on some other Orks, and some things I want I just can't afford yet.  Right now I'm playing a game during my lunch hours this week where I have 5 Ork Boyz that count as Lootas that I am buying from a friend but haven't been able to meet up to make the transaction, an unpainted Warboss as a Wierdboy because I wanted to try that unit out, and a foam block as a Looted Wagon because after using it in my draw I've decided I like it and plan on converting something (probably Tau) when I save up some more money.

So how does everybody else handle proxies?  Do you set time limits for how long a proxy can be used?  Do you keep it to things you own?  Do you use it to test a unit out before buying it?    Are there restrictions to what units will be allowed to proxy for others?  What I mean by that last question is not so much a grot for Thraka, but I'm thinking do you make HQ proxy for a named or alternate HQ, or troop for troop, and then a similar sized object for vehicles? I'm just really curious how other people and/or gaming groups handle the Proxy Conundrum.

Self Reflection and the Burning Flame of 40K

I'm not going to lie, I've been in a rut when it comes to 40K lately.  Yes, there is my normal summer malaise where constant family activities and outdoor shenanigans get in the way of my 40K time.  Yes, I've just started working again which has cut into my free time.  But I'm still dealing with this sort of funk in 40K.

I think it started the last gaming party.  I played 2 games and lost them.  One (against Steve) was close, and had the dice rolls gone my way on ending the game I would have won.  The other (against James) was a complete beat down.  I was obliterated, and what few models remained were completely violated in the butt by James' Tau.  I don't play very often, actually quite rarely, and so my handle on strategy, tactics, and list building alwasy seem to loosen between games.  But the fact I have not won a game really started to weigh on me.  I lost both games in what could be (depending on how you look at it) the worst way possible:  So close I could see victory, and so devastatingly bad I should have given up before the first round started.  For me the loss against James was the worst.  I cobbled together a list based on what wasn't being used in my game with Steve, and pretty much put together a list that fed right into James' strengths but had nothing to overcome my weaknesses.  Combine that with an assault that destroyed my entire Nob squad before they could do anything, and yeah I was bitter.

Can you blame me fore bing a little bitter?

So fast forward to last week when I started using my commute to play catch up on my 40K podcasts, and I listened to Episode 30 of The Independent Characters.  Episode 30 featured some great talking points about how to move from being a newb to being a veteran.  Within the overall discussion (which I highly recommend) they had a discussion about what 40K means to you.  The gist of the discussion was you have to understand what you are looking for in the game.  Are you looking for wins?  Are you looking for fun?  Is this a hobby, or a game?  And the light came on.  In the wasteland that is my game record I was losing sight of what 40K means to me.  I mean hell yeah I want to win, and hell yeah I want to kick those squishy fishy Tau in the teeth.  But more importantly, I want to get together with my friends, salivate over each other's paint jobs, listen to the compliments about the few pieces I've painted well, nerd out, and have fun.  Winning is part of that (there is a game to play after all), but 40K is so much more than just a game.  And the hobby encompasses more than just the gaming aspect.

I enjoy painting.  I enjoy the fluff.  I enjoy the discussion and debate about the rules.  And I enjoy writing about it all.  I have my dormant times, I think we all do.  It's just human nature to not be on fire all the time.  We're fickle, and we have other interests and influences that pull us away.  But like any good hobby, it's always there, and we always come back to it.

So I'm putting forth a challenge to myself.  Even with all the distractions that come with summer, by Labor Day I am going to have my customizable magnetized Nobz squad finished.  By Labor Day I'm going to have my customizable magnetized Deff Dread finished.  And by Labor Day I'm going to have another 20 Assault on Black Reach Ork Boyz finished.

I'm going to get some WIP pictures taken and set up something in the sidebar so you can track my progress.  It's going to be tough.  I have 2 camping trips, some family gatherings, and who knows what else on the agenda between now and then, but I have a lot of work that needs to be done, and I need to keep myself focused on more than just my pathetic win/loss record.

Discussing Terrain

I played a round of 40K back on April 9 with some of the guys in my 40K circle, and as is wont for a group of people who are passionate about their hobby we spent quite a bit of time discussing the game after it was done.  Most of our discussion was in chat rooms as we bandied about different ways we would have handled different situations, or bemoaned how the dice were so blatantly in love with James and Connor, among other observations and critiques of the game.  At one point, and I don't have a log of our conversation to remember what exactly I said, I commented that the terrain we placed played right into the strategies employed by James and Connor.  They both had very shooty armies, and with wide open fire lanes and extensive line of sight, it really helped them out.

This really got me thinking about terrain, and the importance of it.  The rules call for 25% of the board having mixed terrain, I think we had about 20% of the board covered last time we played.  Not only that, but the terrain pieces we used were fairly short and unless you were directly behind a piece did not do much to block LOS or give much cover.

This came up again after one of the guys read this blog article on terrain.  Now, normally I'm not one to post to another blog outside of my sidebar links (after all this site pretty much has barely enough room for my hot air), but this guy made some really interesting points.  My favorite notion is the idea of measuring out 25% of the board and filling it with terrain and then placing it around the board.  Our group normally does terrain as part of setup, with each team/player alternating to add terrain until we have coverage we are happy with - Probably around 15-20% of the board.  My thinking is next time we play each team/player alternates placing terrain in the allocated 25%, and then alternates moving the terrain out to fill out the board.

Think about it, non-shooty/assault heavy armies get cover so they aren't so easily destroyed just trying to maneuver to attack, and shooty armies can maximize shooting lanes making enemy units pay dearly for leaving cover.

How do you guys handle terrain?  I'm curious what other ways people utilize terrain, or how other people handle adding terrain to the boards.

***UPDATED***Dawn of War II: Retribution Roundup - Dark Angel DLC Review, Soundtrack, and Last Standalone

Dark Angel DLC
Monday Relic sent me the code for the Dark Angel DLC.  I hadn't expected it since I won the Retribution Collector's Edition, but had gone ahead and e-mailed about it when I found out a buddy who had purchased the CE had been sent the code.

Beyond the coolness of the surprise in receiving the code, it was an excuse to get back into Retribution that I hadn't done in a couple weeks.

Personally I think they nailed the look really well.  I mean I enjoyed having the Dark Angel color scheme in the game, but this gives them a great visual flavor.  From the winged helmet of the company master, to the robes of the Tactical Marines, to the markings on the vehicles, they really look like the Dark Angels now.  You can see some screen shots of everything after the jump.  What do you guys think?  Does the Dark Angel DLC meet your approval?

Complete Dawn of War II Soundtrack
iTunes currently has the Complete Dawn of War II Soundtrack available for pre-order for $16.  The 35 track collection features songs from Dawn of War II, Chaos Rising, and Retribution and will be released on April 26th.  I have the soundtrack for the original Dawn of War II, so I'm going to beg, borrow, and steal to get the extra music.

Dawn of War II - Retribution - The Last Standalone
April 20th will see the release of Retribution - The Last Standalone.  This $10 package will contain a stand alone version of the upgraded Last Stand from Retribution.  This version will not require or contain any of the single player campaigns or competitive multiplayer from the full Retribution, just the expanded Last Stand with the new items, hero, and map.  The Last Standalone can be upgraded later to the full Retribution at a discounted price.  As of this writing I did not see it available on Steam yet.  You can get Retribution - The Last Standalone from Steam.


Hit the jump for the screenshots.

Dawn of War II: Retribution - Thoughts on the Ork Campaign

The other day I finished the Ork campaign in Dawn of War II: Retribution.  For those who read my review of Retribution it was based on having played some multiplayer, The Last Stand, and completing the Space Marine campaign.  I had started both the Ork and 'Nid campaigns to see how they worked, but didn't feel my review really needed all the campaigns completed to be written.

But I'm still playing all the campaigns and will write up my thoughts on each campaign as I finish them.

Hit the jump to see what I thought of the Ork campaign.  And please keep in mind, this write up is chock full of spoilers.

Dawn of War II: Retribution Review

You know what's impressive?  Surpassing the hype.  Not just the general media hype, but the hype in my head.  When I'm looking forward to something, I mean really looking forward to something, I have a tendency to build it up in my mind so much that it rarely - if ever - meets those expectations.  So I can sum up Dawn of War II: Retribution one way:  It didn't let me down.  Actually it hasn't just met my expectations, at times this game has blown them (and me collaterally) away.

Retribution is the follow up to Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising the expansion to Dawn of War II, it's set 10 years after the events of Chaos Rising, and while I'm not sure it's as revolutionary a follow up as Chaos Rising was, it is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination.

Here's what Retribution has to offer:

• A new race available to play, the Imperial Guard
• New multiplayer units such as the Land Raider and Battlewagon
• A new map for Last Stand game play that features new waves of units, and a tweaked arena layout
• Multi-race campaign that allows players to play more than just the Space Marines in single player
• A new Imperial Guard hero (Lord Genera) for Last Stand
• Steam Achievements
• Steam for multiplayer replacing Windows Live for Games
• Excellent story telling
• Continued awesomeness in the voice work (a hallmark of the Dawn of War games)

Here's what Retribution doesn't offer:

• The ability to play Last Stand with friends who have not purchased the new game.  Yes, you can go back and play Last Stand with them through Chaos Rising, but then the new hero and map are not available.
• Race specific campaigns that utilize different mission
• Anything resembling a quick load time 
 

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

I've played the Space Marine campaign to completion, I'm halfway through the Ork campaign, and I've started the Tyranid campaign.  The game designers have made some nice tweaks in singleplayer gameplay.  Gone are the limitations on heroes/squads you have on a mission, but gone too are the heroes with squads.  With Retribution you have the heroes, but they are separated out - more as Independent Characters from tabletop 40K.  Cyrus is back, but it's just Cyrus no squad of Scouts with him.  However with Retribution you can bring Honor Guard squads in place of your heroes, or you can capture HQs that allow you to reinforce your 4 heroes and squads with other squads such as Tactical Marines, a Dreadnaught, or even Terminators.  There are limits to how many units you can have but there are also points you can capture that increase your population cap.

Judge me all you want, but there's something about a chick in all leather who is

capable carrying out Exterminatus.  It's just really hot.

Gone too are the limited abilities that you have to resupply.  Frag grenades, healing and other items and abilities that were limited resources in the previous games are now energy based.  This frees up the reinforcement crates to provide resource and energy points for getting other units onto your battlefield.

And I will hug him and squeeze him and call him George.  And I will pet his

bill and stroke his pretty feathers... Hey! Wait a minute George, bunnies don't

have feathers...

Last Stand is a treat.  The new Lord General comes with several weapon choices at first, but he's not the reason I love Last Stand in Retribution.  I love Last Stand gameplay because of the new map "The Anvil of Khorne."  This new map has tweaked the waves to include Chaos Marines and Imperial Guard, and the waves seem more relentless and difficult.  The farthest I've made it is wave 11, and a couple times we've been overrun in wave one or two.  This would never happen in the original Last Stand setup.

I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars

Unfortunately, Retribution doesn't play nice with previous versions of Dawn of War II when it comes to Last Stand play.  I was kind of expecting this knowing that Relic had moved away from Windows Live for Games to Steam for multiplayer gaming.  This change might be one of the best things they did for this expansion, but I'm disappointed they couldn't figure something out.  One of my fondest memories of Chaos Rising was the first time I played with a friend who hadn't picked up that expansion and I brought out the Chaos Sorcerer.  He thought it was so cool I think he bought the game the next day.  So this time around I have several friends who have not made the upgrade, and while I wasn't expecting them to be able to play the new hero, and possibly the new map, I was hoping that we could play together. Sadly the only way to do this is through Chaos Rising.  Not  a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, and likely out of Relic's control, but something I was hoping they would be able to work around.

This one is for any Doctor Who fans..."Are you my mommy?"

I'm not sure what the deal is with load times in this game, but they take longer than they should.  Now I know my computer isn't bleeding edge, but it has no problem handling current games.  I have had some rather long load times for missions and to unload the mission and go back to the star map.  Even in Last Stand where I was ready to log off once, but by the time my PC got back to the lobby the countdown for the next game was underway (which grays out the exit button).

Mmmmm...Battlewagon...

Finally the biggest disappointment I had with Retribution was the multi-race campaign.  I played the Blood Raven campaign first, as we all know they are the focus of the Dawn of War games.  After that I jumped into the Ork campaign and was a little put off that I was replaying missions.  I did some research and sure enough the campaign for each race utilizes the same missions.  The enemy units might be different, and the framing story is completely different, but the missions are still the same.  This isn't a bad thing, because there is so much put into this expansion, but it was not clearly spelled out before the release and the discovery was the one thing that really bothered me.  Sort of like the back when Dawn of War II came out in 2009 and I discovered there was no Ork campaign.  I loved the game, but there was a disappointment I had to overcome.  And now that I have overcome it, I've been able to really enjoy the Orks for their brutal comic relief, and am fascinated with how the developers handled the Tyranid hive-mind.  And the missions are good enough, and the stories different enough I will finish all the campaigns.  But having something geared specifically to each race (beyond story, voice work, and sprites) would have shot this game to the stratosphere and made it an instant classic.

Mmmm...Deffrolla...

I have spoiler stuff to mention after the jump, but to sum up I love Retribution.  Relic really did an awesome job changing the campaign to make the it feel new.  Combine that with the Last Stand additions, and the continued compelling story telling, and Retribution is a very worthy addition to a great game franchise.

Dawn of War II: Retribution Beta Is Open

If you own either DoW II or Chaos Rising you can now play the Retribution Demo.  It is just multiplayer, with no campaign or Last Stand (which is to be expected), but holy #$%*(#$!@!!!!!!

I just played one game against the Easy Computer to see how the Imperial Guard fared in DoW II, and I like them a whole heck of a lot more in DoW II than I did in DoW.  I'll have more thoughts later, but I need to go play some more.

The Prodigal Blogger Returns Home

Okay, it's been quite a while since I've done anything with the blog, and while I've had a bit of a malaise when it comes to blogging, I've not been ignoring the hobby.

First off, yes there have been few updates, and yes I've let time and this blog get away from me.  But I'm making a concerted effort to get out of this funk I've been in and that includes updating the blog.

 For the rest of it, hit the jump.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!  May Santa bring you lots of 40K goodies, and may your families only roll their eyes occasionally as you open that mini you've been asking for.

40K Retro - Dawn of War: Winter Assault

With the coming release of Dawn of War II: Retribution; I’ve decided to replay all the Dawn of War Campaigns from the very beginning.  I wanted to see the story of the Blood Ravens as it unfolds in the video games.  This is the story as it appears on my computer screen, and in no relation is affected by any of the novelizations.  After completing the first Dawn of War game, next on the list was the Winter Assault expansion.

Corporae Doublespeak, or How Codex Talks to Fans

A new update hit the web today regarding the utter failure by Codex to release the Ultramarines Movie on time.

Here's the whole post:

We can update today that the unexpected production issue has been resolved. We still expect and are working to be able to commence shipping next week but are awaiting final confirmation from our suppliers and fulfilment houses.
We apologise once again for the delay in ship date and very much hope to have confirmed information about the new dispatch date tomorrow.
Codex Pictures

This little message sums up everything about this debacle that has pissed me off.  First, no real information was given.  We still don't know what the production issue was that caused the biggest blunder in all things 40K I've ever seen.

Second we are still without an actual ship date.  Look next week is great, but I want something concrete that I can look to, and if Codex is gunshy about making themselves accountable, then they shouldn't have let the first ship date be a failure.

Finally, this was written by a lawyer.  Or at least approved by one.  I don't want vague promises of potential delivery, or phrases like "unexpected production issue".  I want plain English.  I want to know what happened, I want to know what was done to fix it, and I want to know what's been done to make sure it never happens again, and I want to know when I'm getting my stuff I paid for.  And believe me, for Codex's sake, if they are allowed to make another 40K movie (because if I was Games Workshop, I'd be having serious discussions about that) they had better realize that 40K nerds are nerds.  We're smart.  We see through crap like this.  And we won't be watching the buildup around the making of a new movie.  We'll be watching that release date, with torches and pitchforks ready if they screw it up again.

Another "Ultramarines Movie Trips and Falls Out the Gate" Update

Let me say it's nothing personal to Codex Pictures when I say this whole situation with the delayed CE release is ridiculous and should never have gotten this far.


I'm not sure what happened where, but what I do know is that I should not have gotten an e-mail the day the movie was supposed to be released saying it hadn't shipped yet.  Codex today announced that they STILL cannot give a definitive release date.  Why?  What's the problem?  What happened?  When did it happen?  Why did they not tell us until the day the package was supposed to ship?


I've sent 2 e-mail inquiries to Codex regarding this and have received no answer, but based on their latest news update they don't seem to want to tell us what happened.  So until I know where the problem is I will be blaming Codex, and with each day without a release date or anything definitive I can't help but think that this release is a failure.

I hope Games Workshop is watching this closely, because right now their baby isn't being treated with the proper care it deserves, and this release that isn't a release is an embarrassment for everyone involved.

40K Neophyte Review - Death Angel

I have talked often about how challenging it can be to game on a budget.  I have a limited well of money to dip from, and a wide array of interests I could easily spend that money on.  Oh sure occasionally a new computer game will win out over a new unit for 40K, but I have stayed on task with 40K as best I can.  However one area I have not gotten into yet are the Fantasy Flight Games that take the trappings of 40K (and other franchises) and apply them to role playing, board, and card games.  Partly because of the cost, partly because I don't have anybody else to play with, and partly because while they look cool I wasn't sure if they were worth the investment.

Well let me just say that if the other games are as fun as Death Angel, then damn my tiny wallet.

40K Retro - Dawn of War

When Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising came out earlier this year I voraciously played through the campaign avoiding corruption, with the intent of replaying Dawn of War II to create another character to play in Chaos Rising as corrupt as possible.  Then I decided to play through all the Dawn of War campaigns.  And then I got sidetracked by other games.  Seriously, if I had an unlimited budget I’d have gaming ADHD.  I’m not making light of ADHD, I’m just saying that if I could play any game I wanted to and money was no object, I’d waste away in front of my computer.  For the sake of the games I love it’s a good thing I have that limited budget so I can spend the time playing them that they deserve.  So then I decided that since I was playing through all the campaigns I was going to review each single player campaign looking at how they are in context to when they came out, how they stack up to the other Dawn of War games, and how well they have aged.  All leading up to the release of Retribution in March of next year.

40K Neotube - 11/18/10 Pre-Holiday Special

With Thanksgiving next weekend I will not be posting a 40K Neotube.  I have something lined up for early in the week, but beyond that I'm going to be busy getting ready for our first hosted Thanksgiving.

So to sate the masses...all 5 of you...let me post this new clip from the upcoming Ultramarines Movie that apparently hit the net yesterday.  You can see the clip after the jump, or check it out and some screen caps over at HeyUGuys.uk.

I'm not going to lie, it doesn't really show much, except some apparently unnatural looking walking by the Ultramarines.  I really hope the animation is worthy of what 40K deserves, and most of it looked good, but the walking didn't impress me.