DLC is Here
In one of my regular videogame-to-tabletop comparisons, I commented on the inevitability of the "DLC" approach. Well, it seems someone IS taking that approach - the TAC series of WW2 air rules available on Wargame Vault is selling the rules for each plane at $2ea. (And selling a lot of them, too!) It is billed as "only buy the ones you want" which is a bit disingenuous as most pdf rules are ~$10 for the whole game, with ALL the units/aircraft/troop lists etc. Heck, I paid that for a copy of "Scramble" which has 100+ aircraft listed. That'd be $200+ under the "TAC" DLC model. For a bunch of PDFs.
Note: I've got a lot more interesting points to say on this topic but the rest of my comments are only available as a DLC.
Age of Sigmar
You'd have to be living under a rock to avoid the Age of Sigmar hype. Apparently the dying Warhammer Fantasy is being rebooted, with Games Workshop turning it into more of a skirmish game - borrowing ideas from successful rivals like Privateer Press. No more codexes and $150 rulebooks - just a 4-page basic rulebook, supplemented by "unit profiles" with all the unit information and special rules available in the unit boxes. Each player deploys one hero/unit at a time until one side says stop. He gets to choose who moves first. The other player can keep deploying units - there are no "points" or unit size limits - if a player is outnumbered 3:1 he can win by "Sudden Death" - i.e. assasinating a major enemy hero/wizard/monster (Warmachine style) or keeping a designated model alive for 6 turns. I think this is a really clever idea - no points cap, but allowing victory conditions to limit model count. However I suspect the community of GW players (who tend to win by min-maxing armies) are going to scent blood in the water. For what I can tell, the rules don't deviate much from the usual GW formula, though generals make units within 12" immune to morale effects. As morale is apparently quite decisive, I suspect this will emphasize the importance of generals, and lead to a "Warmachine" feel. I'm not going to jump on board the GW train, but I may just buy my first White Dwarf since... 2002?
Warhammer: Total War
And neatly tying these two topics together - the videogame dev behind the Total War series is making a Warhammer Fantasy version. It's a match made in heaven. Creative Assembly are increasingly coming under criticism for their DLC-centric approach. For example, they sold $100-120 worth of DLC each for their last 3 games. Some DLC was even released on the same day the game was. I mean, that's pretty cynical. Other DLC merely unlocked units already in the game. The latest $3 DLC added more blood spatter and death animations, and sick soldiers now vomit. No, I'm not making this up. I'm wondering if in Warhammer: Total War you'll only get a "core unit" for one faction and need to buy and download all the units at actual GW store prices....
In one of my regular videogame-to-tabletop comparisons, I commented on the inevitability of the "DLC" approach. Well, it seems someone IS taking that approach - the TAC series of WW2 air rules available on Wargame Vault is selling the rules for each plane at $2ea. (And selling a lot of them, too!) It is billed as "only buy the ones you want" which is a bit disingenuous as most pdf rules are ~$10 for the whole game, with ALL the units/aircraft/troop lists etc. Heck, I paid that for a copy of "Scramble" which has 100+ aircraft listed. That'd be $200+ under the "TAC" DLC model. For a bunch of PDFs.
Note: I've got a lot more interesting points to say on this topic but the rest of my comments are only available as a DLC.
Age of Sigmar
You'd have to be living under a rock to avoid the Age of Sigmar hype. Apparently the dying Warhammer Fantasy is being rebooted, with Games Workshop turning it into more of a skirmish game - borrowing ideas from successful rivals like Privateer Press. No more codexes and $150 rulebooks - just a 4-page basic rulebook, supplemented by "unit profiles" with all the unit information and special rules available in the unit boxes. Each player deploys one hero/unit at a time until one side says stop. He gets to choose who moves first. The other player can keep deploying units - there are no "points" or unit size limits - if a player is outnumbered 3:1 he can win by "Sudden Death" - i.e. assasinating a major enemy hero/wizard/monster (Warmachine style) or keeping a designated model alive for 6 turns. I think this is a really clever idea - no points cap, but allowing victory conditions to limit model count. However I suspect the community of GW players (who tend to win by min-maxing armies) are going to scent blood in the water. For what I can tell, the rules don't deviate much from the usual GW formula, though generals make units within 12" immune to morale effects. As morale is apparently quite decisive, I suspect this will emphasize the importance of generals, and lead to a "Warmachine" feel. I'm not going to jump on board the GW train, but I may just buy my first White Dwarf since... 2002?
Warhammer: Total War
And neatly tying these two topics together - the videogame dev behind the Total War series is making a Warhammer Fantasy version. It's a match made in heaven. Creative Assembly are increasingly coming under criticism for their DLC-centric approach. For example, they sold $100-120 worth of DLC each for their last 3 games. Some DLC was even released on the same day the game was. I mean, that's pretty cynical. Other DLC merely unlocked units already in the game. The latest $3 DLC added more blood spatter and death animations, and sick soldiers now vomit. No, I'm not making this up. I'm wondering if in Warhammer: Total War you'll only get a "core unit" for one faction and need to buy and download all the units at actual GW store prices....