wargame_insomniac wrote:
Sorry if that sounds a bit grouchy but just wanted to sound a note of caution before you expect too much of a new Mongoose game.
Cheers
James
A bit grouchy? I think you used kid gloves. I am very vocal about this company's poor approach to miniature game development, support, and then the quick, eventual dropping/ditching of their games. I also take every opportunity I can find to voice my opinion on the subject. In my opinion, regarding how they treat their customers, these guys are just 1 level higher than GW, and thats not saying much.
I took the bait: hook, line, and sinker when it came to GROPOS. I was about $700-$800 into it when they kicked it to the curb about a year after the initial release. They hadn't even released all the minis from the first wave and they canned the product. What's funny is that their company keeps revisiting this business model. Starship Trooper, Battlefield Evolution, Turning Point and I'm sure quite a few that I've missed.
When there was an article on TMP about the Star Trek minis announcement, I got into it with the current owner of Mongoose on TMP regarding their antics. He first tried to say he had nothing to do with AOG and that their company has no relationship to AoG. It was great how others joined in, dispelling that tripe. As one guy put it, "You don't think we know who you guys are?" Many TMPers supported me in that discussion. What astounded me is that the guy couldn't understand why I was so angry. I felt a bit silly explaining that with this hobby being so expensive, someone doesn't want to sink a bunch of money into a game that gets ditched a year after it gets released. If you're investing into a game, you want and expect that there is longevity to the game, and ultimately your investment in the product. That's were the value is in their product. But he didn't want to understand that. Probably because they do such a poor job at meeting that expectation. I see based on what's been posted on this thread that everyone else recognizes all that I'm discussing.
As far as this new 6mm release: the rumor years back was that they realized they made a mistake with 10mm GROPOS and were going to re-release the same game with the same minis in 6mm scale, without any reference to B5. I would bet a kidney that that is exactly what they're doing with this proposed 6mm release. The initial issue was that the minis were originally released with the B5 tag, so Mongoose/AoG couldn't reuse the minis in a generic game. I would bet that they found a way around that issue.
I remember one of their posts on the Mongoose site when they reorganized the company just after they said they were re-incarnating GROPOS in 10mm under a different name (which never happened) (Wargame Insomniac refers to this above). The post talked about how they're a great gaming company that does a good job at miniatures. More tripe....couldn't be further from reality. What would have given them that impression? Whoever authored that is a real spin doctor.
I loved the GROPOS minis. I think they were well designed, innovative, futuristic vehicles. In the past, if they had resized and re-released those minis in a generic 6mm game, I would have ate it up, being so desperate for something in 6mm. However, now, I would never buy them. There are too many good to great 6mm company's that are putting out nice minis and treating their customers with a whole lot more respect than these idiots. I would rather die than invest another penny into their company.
I can say that the odds of them releasing anything is slim to none anyway.
