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BBC Celebrates 40K's Birthday

I know I'm late to the party on this.   However I just found it, and since I liked it I wanted to post about it.

BBC featured a video and article about 40K on their site that depicted 40K in a fairly honest and non-exploitative manner.  I was very impressed, and I highly encourage you to check them out.

Battle Report 3/6-3/14

Having fallen off the 40K wagon for a bit, I really needed something to get me going again.  Thankfully featured opponent and good friend Steve changed schedules and is home at lunch.  So we decided to get a good 1500 point game in to prep us for an upcoming game day with our gaming group.

The battle was well contested, and while the dice did not help Steve in most of the game, they abandoned me at the end enough to turn the tables on me.

Hit the jump to see how it all played out.

My Unannounced, Unintended, Unfortunate Sabbatical is Over

So yeah , I've spent some time away from the blog.  It was unintended.  However events overtook me, real life over took me, and both pushed me into a wall that resulted in very little 40K, and absolutely no writing.

But it's over, I played a game of 40K recently and am working on a battle report, and as spring draws ever closer I find myself shaking off the duldrums of winter and the rubble of the wall.  I have models to paint, armies to fight, and a Tau opponent who deserves to lose to me at some point...someday.  Anyway, for those of you who occasionally visited the site, updates will start happening again...on some schedule (I'm not sure what, but there will be some sort of schedule).

New Space Marine DLC Announced

THQ announced today a new DLC coming to Space Marine.  This new DLC will feature a new game mode called Dreadnought which

adds a new multiplayer mode called Dreadnought Assault where both teams battle to capture a central location on the map and the winners spawn a player controlled Dreadnought. The Dreadnought is armed with an Assault Cannon / Auto Cannon, a Meltagun and a Power Fist / Power Claw and must capture points across the map to score points for their team. Once the Dreadnought is destroyed a new spawn point will appear.

The Dreadnought DLC also includes three new multiplayer maps Desolation, Dome Mechanicus and Chem Refinery, as well as new achievements / trophies and has a suggested cost of 800 Microsoft Points / US$9.99.

Click through the link to read all about the DLC that is slated for release January 25, 2012.

40K FAQ Updates

So a bunch of FAQs got updated by GW this month.  And by a bunch I mean everything but Cities of Death, Planetstrike, Black Templar and Tau got some sort of update.  You can see all the FAQs here.

It is an Honor to Have This Warboss in My Army

Look at my website banner.  See that really awesome Warboss?  The one that's the best looking miniature in my army?  The one painted by my buddy Steve?  Yeah well now, go buy the Cool Mini Or Not 2010 Annual that was just released.  Because that Warboss, the one painted by my buddy Steve, is on page 101.  So buy it, and look at Steve's stuff at CMON, and then vote for his stuff.

Another Rut Ploughed Through

If there's one constant theme through my blog it's that I'm an idiot and don't know the game I love all that well.  But if there's another less overt theme it's been an interesting (well interesting to me anyway) chronicle of the ups and downs of my interest in 40K.  I'm never not interested in 40K, but like anybody it waxes and wanes.  At times I'm fired up and it's all I want to think and/or talk about.  At times I just can't muster the energy to do anything with it.

This is natural.  And since this is my blog, and a personal journal of my journey into, and greater understanding of 40K, it's also been a journal of the peaks and valleys of my interest in 40K.

Currently I am on the upswing out of another valley.  You probably noticed the lack of regular updates to the site.  That's a direct result of my valleys.  Happens all the time.  I've been swamped at work, and with the holidays, and while I loves me Space Marine, I've spent more time lately playing DC Universe Online (hey new free MMORPG games are always good).  Plus I took a break from podcasts and was listening to sports talk radio (because hey, my beloved Detroit Lions don't completely suck this year).

A couple weeks ago I dusted off the old podcast app, and started listening to my favorite 40K podcasts again.  And today I'm going to start another lunchtime series of gaming with my buddy Steve.  We should be done with it by next week so I can have a good write up after that.  And as the holidays descend on us, I hope I can find the time in the madness to update the blog.

But lord knows I'm glad to be moving up and out of the valley because it's a lot more fun.

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...

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine

I finally got Space Marine the other day.  Unfortunately it's been taunting me, as I have been unable to install and play it.  But tonight I will.  Tonight there will be war.  So if I don't post much, well between that and NaNoWriMo (yes, I'm tyring my hand at writing a novel in a month) my posts may be sparse for the next few weeks.

In the meantime, enjoy this preview of the Space Marine soundtrack that I've been trying to avoid so I could concentrate on work today.

New Space Marine DLC Announced

THQ has announced a new DLC for Space Marine to be available in December.  This new pack

...will include a new Exterminatus mode called Chaos Unleashed. In this update to the popular co-op mode players will take on the role of Chaos Space Marine as they take the fight to both the Ork horde and Imperial Guard forces. With brand new boss rounds, new co-op arenas and new enemy units like the Imperial Sanctioned Psyker this mode is a must-have for players looking for a new challenge.

As well as the Chaos Unleashed Mode, the Space Marine add-on pack also includes three new multiplayer maps Habs Ablaze, Station Tertius and Aquila Canyon which can be played in all multiplayer game modes. The pack will also include ten new achievements and trophies.

As someone who hasn't gotten Space Marine yet this news is nothing but salt on an open wound.  I plan on getting, and I may be closer to getting it than I thought, but until then this news burns.

You can read the whole announcement at the Space Marine site.

Necrons!

Games Workshop has updated their Advance Orders page with Necron goodies.  I seriously think this is the coolest looking release so far. 

Here are the items I like:

Ghost Ark

Command Barge

 Deathmarks

40K Neotube - Hammers of War

Some film students a SAIT Polytechnic put together a 17 minute documentary about Warhammer 40K.  Specifically it looked at a tournament in Canada, that pitted the forces of the Emperor against the forces of Horus.  It featured footage of the games, and interviews with participants and organizers.

The film is notable for a couple reasons.  First it is completely non-judgmental.  It doesn't put the gamers in a negative light, nor does it react when someone might say something potentially embarrassing.  In fact it shows gamers as well spoken people who play the game as much for the hobby and competitiveness as for the social aspect of the game.

Normally I would embed this movie in this post, but embedding has been disabled so go enjoy the movie.  I found it to be a good piece that really puts gamers and the game we love in a pretty good light.

Battle Report 10/17/00-10/21/11

This.  This is how 40K is supposed to be.  Fun.  Competitive.  Suspenseful.  Intense.  Aggressive.  I've had some good games.  I've had some not so good games.  Never have I had a game that was clearly anyone's to win right up until the end.  This was a game where we each had bad rolls, but the dice were not an issue.  The deciding factors were the strategic and tactical decisions we made, and how we used our forces, not the fickle whims of the dice gods...well except for ONE fickle whim.

My buddy Steve spent the week working the graveyard shift, and was home during the day.  As he lives about 5 minutes from where I work it was another opportunity to get together and game.  These weekly games are quite interesting.  We split the game up into hour long blocks.  Monday is usually setup, with Tuesday - Friday being the actual rolling of dice.  What makes it interesting, is that with the carry over, we spend a lot of time thinking about the game, so we are really prepared for our moves.  Each of us was devising game plans and strategies throughout the week that we would apply with great intent when lunchtime hit.

As is natural for us, Steve played his Blood Ravens, I played my Orks.  We decided to throw a wrinkle into the game by trying out some home-brew Blood Raven rules.  Blood Ravens like their Librarians, but rather than allow them to field a bunch of Librarians, we allowed Steve to upgrade his Tactical Marine Sergeants to be Sgt. Librarians.  They each had access to one Librarian skill, but not the biggies (Gates of Infinity and Vortex of Doom).  Each Sgt. Librarian cost an additional 50 points.  I'm not sure this really played out in this game, but the thinking is that by giving the Sergeants limited Librarian skills it reflects the progression of Space Marines through the ranks of the Librarian heavy Blood Ravens without causing substantial game balance issues.

Another note on our lists.  We went 1500 points, and surprisingly both of us didn't bring any type of Walkers.  Normally Steve has some sort of Dreadnought in his army, and I rarely run without either the Deff Dread and/or Killa Kans.  This was not something that we planned ahead of time, it's just an interesting coincidence.

Hit the jump for the turn by turn recount of the action.

40K Neotube - Order. Unity. Obedience.

Games Workshop has released this teaser of things to come.

More specifically things to come on 10/29/11.

Most specifically Necrons.

40K Neotube - Tau Commander DLC

Awwww yeah, boy!  The developers of Dawn of War II - Retribution have released a Developer Diary announcing a new hero for The Last Stand, the Tau Commander.

Now on the table top I hate the Tau.  Their strengths are the Orks weakness.  Plus they're played by my mortal in-game nemesis, James.  But in The Last Stand?  Not only do I love the idea of seeing a commander for them, but I'm hoping this is the door the Tau need to get into Retribution, proper.

Hit the jump to check out the diary, and see some gameplay footage of the Tau Commander that is literally sopping wet from all the Awesome Sauce it was dipped in.

Is That Wht That Rule Says? - No Retreat!

It's been a while since I've updated the blog.  Mostly because after selling my soul to my wife so I could go to the last big game day we had, I've owed her A LOT.  Combine with that the fact I'm a huge Detroit sports fan and I've had a surplus of sports to watch (as of this writing my beloved Tigers are down 3-1 in the ALCS against Texas, my beloved Lions are 5-0 for the first time since '56, and my beloved Red Wings have started the new season), it's made finding time to write...difficult.

As a side note, several of my gaming buddies are going to be really annoyed that I sullied 40K talk with sports.  However last time I checked this was my blog, so suck it Steve and Jason.

Anyway, back to 40K rules, during our last gaming session No Retreat! became an issue.  See I've never claimed to be good at this game, actually if you ask some people I suck.  And that includes the rules.  Some I've misinterpreted and some I've just plain forgotten about.  No Retreat! is one of those rules.  It was one of those situations where the rule wasn't applied one game because I forgot about it, and later the mistake was found and it was applied from that point on.  Needless to say when you don't expect a rule like that it can hurt....a lot.  Then after that, to add insult to injury, I applied the rule wrong to the rest of my games.

Am I an idiot when it comes to the rules?  Yeah.  But that's why I do these articles so other people can correct me, and for making sure anyone who's coming close to my stupidity in the rules (because I don't expect anyone to match my rules retardation) gets the help they need.

Hit the jump for more.