Constyx

8 hours ago, Kevin the Wizard said:

I'm gonna pop down with my White Scars.

If I bring some of my homemade terrain would someone wanna fight at my 40k themed gas station?

I'd have 500 or 1000 points

 

If not I'll just show up and hope for a game.

I have 500 points of Grey Knights. Would be more than happy to exorcise the horrors found in that gas station 

I'll be in for Kill Team and 40k. 

I'll be there tomorrow with some Kill Teams and about 750 points of Grey Knights for 40k. 

I like the idea of a Crusade and am interested in joining. Work can sometimes be hectic, and I can get called out of town quickly which are the only downsides for me participating. I'm interested in a fluffier campaign. More focus on telling good/cool stories. Maybe incorporate some type of character/unit growth to see the growth of the army overtime? Not saying it has to be roleplaying necessarily, but more background info that provides context for why the different factions are fighting each other.   

I like the idea of using the Tempest of War pack for setting up missions. I would also prefer points limit to stick a little lower, around 1500 max. It would make it easier for me to add more units as time goes on and keep up with the crusade. But I also play Custodes and Grey Knights, so that may not be as much of an issue if I can carve out some time for painting. 

I'll be there. I have around 750 points of Grey Knights for 40k. Also have a couple Kill Teams as well.  

It may be there. Unfortunately my bathroom just experienced some minor flooding. May be able to still make it in but I’m not sure 

Edit: Yeah I won’t be able to come today 😕. Will be there next Sunday for sure. 

I’ll be there for smaller games of 40k or Kill Team 21. Also open to playing something else or trying a new game. 

I’ll be there. Will have a small Grey Knights (~750 points), and the stuff to play some Kill Team. 

14 hours ago, Candyjiblets said:

I'm down to play 40k with ya! What size game were you wanting to play?

Right now I have about 500 points of Grey Knights. So looking to play a Combat Patrol (I think that’s the name?) size game 

I'll be there. Looking to play some 40k. Have read the rules and created a small army, but just need some practice at actually playing the game. If no one is down to do that then I'll have some kill teams with me. 

I'll be there for Kill Team or 40k tonight.

16 hours ago, ImperialTrooper said:

I would def be down for some KT! 

Sounds good! I'm personally lacking in terrain, so I was going to sue what was available in the Terrain Room. But feel free to bring your own if you want too

I'll be there with stuff for Kill Team. I'll have a Custodes and Grey Knight team. If no one feels like playing, then I'll just hang out and chat. 

Something came up for work on Tuesday, but I'll be there. I'm down to play anything or just hang out. 

On 11/29/2021 at 9:50 AM, Torg said:

GW is a marketing ran machine - money is in constantly rolling out new and better stuff - and constantly angling for that monthly disposable income. It hasn't been about a great game system in a long long time. 

I listened to a couple interviews of old GW game designers whom have moved on over a decade now ... the battle with game systems vs marketing has always been a thing - and eventually as GW has grown has been more and more dominated by marketing and the bottom line - over game balance.

GW knows what it is doing... they have been doing it a long time. Things are right where they want them.

I think the battle between design and marketing is a source of tension in every game company. While GW isn't perfect by any means, I don't think they've disregarded the gaming experience to such an extent that they only care about the money. But profitability will always come first at the end of the day to a company. I feel modern AAA video game studios/publishers are more in that vein of abandoning any concept of game design (or new ones at least) for the sake of cash.    

On 11/28/2021 at 9:20 PM, Ish said:

I believe many of the mechanical problems with WH40k stem from an internal schism in the design team. Some of them seem to be trying to design a complex-but-tightly-controlled system optimized for MtG style tournament circuit play, some of them seem to be trying to design a narrative-focused-but-complete system for organized play, and a few still seem to be clinging to the old school  “let the players fill in the blanks” design ethos from the Eighties.

Basically, one team wants a CCG, one team wants a Eurogame board game, and a small minority of old guard wants mode railroading with rules.

These are not compatible design philosophies. 

The game does seem like it is trying to appeal to all types of players at the cost of losing focus in its actual design. While I haven't played many games of 40k, from reading the rules it seems like there's a genuine effort by the designers to cater to competitive and narrative gameplay experiences. I think something like Kill Team is better suited to tournament style play while the Crusade system is better for large wargames. But my experience in wargames is limited to only GW IP, so I may be wrong hahaha 

On 11/28/2021 at 5:25 PM, Sgt. Rock said:

I'm not into competitive play, but even when I have enjoyed 40k in the past, I've never believed it belonged in the same sentence with the word balanced. As long as they continue to use the army book/supplement model, the game will be in a permanent state of imbalance. There are over 4600 options to balance (by this fellow's count) because GW insists on putting out book after book after book with more and more things that only manage to break balance and muddy the water. Here we are, well into 9th, and how many armies are still operating on 8th edition codexes? Yes, they're FAR better about updating armies in a timely fashion than they used to be. But the problem persists, just because they insist on updating the armies one at a time. Every time a new codex or supplement comes out, it completely breaks the meta and requires immediate rebalancing. You have armies in different tiers of competitiveness because some of them just flat suck and others are hopelessly overpowered. Having a second shell company with its own set of units and rules that it puts out for the game (Forge World) only exacerbates matters, especially since FW's models are so expensive that they become out of reach of a lot of players simply due to cost. It's been this way since the dawn of 40k, and will continue to be so for as long as they feel the need to keep selling codexes and supplements. In games that don't update only one faction at a time, there's significantly better balance; a rising tide lifts all boats, so to speak. Corvus Belli does this, Privateer Press does this, Fantasy Flight does this, Catalyst does this. All of these games update rules and units across the board for all factions at the same time. Is there less variation in the game? Sure. But the games are (in most cases... looking at you, Privateer) considerably more balanced. And those games also have a tendency to either make the rules free, included with the models, or simply in one main book. But GW is stuck in their ways, because locking rules behind a dead tree paywall makes them money. As a result, people will continue to either chase the new hotness or get their asses whipped by it, because 40k is a game that simply can't be balanced under the current game design model. 

Now, all that said, 40k can still be a lot of fun, if you're willing to accept from the get-go that you're playing an unbalanced game that will never *be* balanced. If you're okay with that, and you can still have fun with the game, that's fantastic, and I'm jealous. I wanted so badly to enjoy 9th edition, but it has this terrible combination of being hopelessly unbalanced *and* overly complicated. Either one I could deal with, but not both.

You bring up a good point on how having the rules spread through so many books. I remember a couple months ago when I was looking at making a Custodes army, I was told in order to play matched play up to date and at events, I would need to get the Core Rules, Custodes Codex, Psychic Awakening, and Chapter Approved. Not to mention on top of four books, I would need to consult Errata and FAQs. I wouldn't be annoyed by it if it was easier to sort through the Errata and FAQs, or if there was one place online to look everything up. However, I do think it is reasonable that they have army rules in separate Codexes. I don't even mind Chapter Approved as it focuses on just one specific way of playing the game. What gets me are series like Psychic Awakening and the Warzone books currently being released is that they have rules and points values that effect Matched play (or at least form my understanding). But even if I am wrong about that, it does go to show how confusing all of this is for a new player. 

I do think they should release new codexes for all factions at the start of a new edition. I think this would help with gameplay balance as well as updates to point values and rules clarifications. Ultimately, I don't think the game needs to be balanced perfectly, but the current system is just too much to even have a chance at patching up some of the ways the game/factions/units are broken. 

I'll be there. Most likely won't be looking to play any games since I'm trying to work on painting some of my backlog. 

Hey everyone! For the past year I've been watching a 40k channel called Arbitor Ian. I've been enjoying his channel a lot because he makes videos on topics not common to other content creators in the community. His most recent video (as of this post) covered balance in competitive play. It was interesting to see all of the different variables to take into account when attempting to find said gameplay balance. 

As someone who has studied and practice game design, having to balance over 4000 variables sounds like a nightmare. Just based on that sheer number alone, I don't think the game could ever be balanced "perfectly" in any sense. However, it does give me new appreciation for the work that GW puts in to reach some semblance of it. For those of you who are into matched/competitive play, what are your thoughts?  

Video Link: 

3 hours ago, ImperialTrooper said:

Id be down for some KT! Brand new to it but can pick things up quickly if youre down!

Yeah I’m down! First time playing too. Unfortunately I forgot to grab my stuff so it turns out I’ll be there empty handed 😞

I’ll be there tonight. Bought the new Kill Team and have a squad of Custodes ready to go. 

On 8/20/2021 at 1:54 PM, Tao Tsê-Mung said:

No janitors custodians from @Ish?

Sorry I couldn't make it, I came down with a nasty cold (thankfully not covid - tested negative). I'm definitely looking forward to get some catch-up games in. @Treads-n-Wings @Constyx either of you have time Sat/Sun to play some more 500pt games?

Apologies, just saw this. Unfortunately this past Saturday I was busy. I am open to meeting for games outside Tuesday and Thursday in the future 

I’ll be there. Bought some Grey Knights and will try to have them together, but may be doing that there as well. 

33 minutes ago, Lyraeus said:

Brian is my FAVORITE opponent. He does get frustrated but he doesnt give up and he is always learning. He has the energy I can draw off of and it is always fun.

He was a lot of fun to talk to as well! Overall would love to play a game against either of you once I get a couple practice rounds in to learn the rules 

Just now, Lyraeus said:

Hmmmm were you the one painting Custodes last night? If so, did you feel my game against Brian went that way?

Yeah that was me! 
 

I didn’t hear the end of match discussion between you and Brian last night. While watching your match I didn’t get the impression he was frustrated or not having a good time. Both of you seemed to be having fun and I thought it was interesting hearing you discuss the new Thousand Sons codex.