Warmachine Opinions? |
|
primarch
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions?  Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2003 4:22 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
 |
 |
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
|
Hi!
I'm extremely picky when it comes to ministure games. While I have picked up and read most of the major ones available over the years, I rare go beyond, yeah, its okay....
I finally got my copy of Warmachine Prime and read through it and I'm....well...shocked.
Shocked becasue I like the damn thing so much, wierd, haven't been this motivated with a game in, well, years...
Warmachine takes place in the Iron Kingdoms, which is one of the many setting available to play D&D in. The twist in this setting is that there are elements of steampunk in it. There are golem-like creatures that run on steam and magic and there are gunpowder like weapons roaming about.
There are characters called "warcasters" that are basically battle mages with the extra twist that the can "communicate" with these "warmchine/golem/robot" units and control their actions. Its a unique blend of fantasy meets mecha, throw in wierd guys in plate armor with swords that generate lightning and blunderbusses with bayonets and you get the mental imagery of whats going on.
I have yet to playtest it, but the rule are amazingly easy and well edited. The game mechanic revolves around focus points with are a limited number of point in witch a warcaster can funnel towards his warmachines and spells. The catch being there are anywhere near enough to do everything you would like in a turn. From what I have read in forums and reviewers its a very aggressive game where offense not defense wins the game. You cannot use the well know tactics of hidding and shooting behind obstacles to win, you must confront and over come.
Anyone else seen or tired this game out?
By the way they make good proxies for titans in epic.... 
Primarch
|
|
| Top |
|
 |
|
MaksimSmelchak
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 12:29 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
 |
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:43 pm
Posts: 7258
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
|
|
Primarch,
War Machine is a great game, but I'm sticking to Epic unless I see more interest in it locally. I'm pretty sure that the sculptors are ex-GW sculptors spurned by the Evil Empire. Mike McVey is painting for them at any rate.
I can't wait to get ahold of some of their lead. They look like the old Reaver titan. Right now, there is a serious backlog in orders so getting ahold of some of the lead may be problematical.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
primarch
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:07 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
|
|
Hi!
In my case I'm looking for something "lighthearted" to play with my son, so warmachine fits the bill.
Its been a smash hit and supplies are low since the company never suspected such broad based enthusiasm for it. They are catching up their in their orders, most carriers seem to have been restocked this week, but supplies may be short lived.
They indeed look like very gothic imperial titans.
Primarch
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
MaksimSmelchak
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:23 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:43 pm
Posts: 7258
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
|
|
Primarch,
It's been a smash hit and supplies are low since the company never suspected such broad based enthusiasm for it. They are catching up their in their orders, most carriers seem to have been restocked this week, but supplies may be short lived. |
With any luck, it's been a smash hit because of a trend to stay away from GW. Maybe lower profit margins will push GW to reform and become a "kinder, gentler company!" 
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
|
| Top |
|
|
|
TuffSkull
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 1:36 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
 |
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 11:49 am
Posts: 2830
Location: South East UK
|
| Quote (MaksimSmelchak @ 13 2003 June,00:29) | Primarch,
War Machine is a great game, but I'm sticking to Epic unless I see more interest in it locally. I'm pretty sure that the sculptors are ex-GW sculptors spurned by the Evil Empire. Mike McVey is painting for them at any rate.
I can't wait to get ahold of some of their lead. They look like the old Reaver titan. Right now, there is a serious backlog in orders so getting ahold of some of the lead may be problematical.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak. |
Mike McVey is actually sculpting the majority of the range as well. I had a brief chat with him at Salute, it seems he's matured a lot in his sculpting since he left GW after the L*mart*s incident.
The models are VERY nice, and have the benefit that they look great without a lot of work (a lot of recent mini lines require a lot of painting to look great, these can have a simple coat & still look on a par). As for the game itself, its a nice change, but I wasnt overly impressed. Min you, that was playing on a 12inch square demo......_________________ Cheers, Paul "TuffSkull" T. http://hobbybrush.com - My New Website, with thousands of painted Mini Pics :) http://hobbybrush.blogspot.com - My Hobby Blog TuffSkull's notepad- My Old Blog on Wargames Wiki.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
primarch
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:47 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
|
Hi!
Many of the units in the rulebook are not yet available and while you could use proxies, some players may still only play with the basic units. Another thing is that the demos use the free trimmed down version of the rules, there are MANY extra in the actual rulebook (much of the chrome) that are not in the demo rules.
I once though Target, the makers of warzone would be the "GW slayer", but they folded, whether Warmachine and Privateer Press are to fill that role, only time will tell.
But it would be great if they did, eh? 
Primarch
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
MaksimSmelchak
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 3:22 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:43 pm
Posts: 7258
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
|
|
Tuffskull,
Mike McVey is actually sculpting the majority of the range as well. I had a brief chat with him at Salute, it seems he's matured a lot in his sculpting since he left GW after the L*mart*s incident. |
What is the L*mart*s incident?
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
|
| Top |
|
|
|
TuffSkull
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2003 3:27 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 11:49 am
Posts: 2830
Location: South East UK
|
|
Mike McVey wanted to move from being GW's golden boy of conversions, painting and dioramas into actually sculpting minis.
One of his first pieces was Lemartes, which, frankly, was/is a very poor figure & was generally not liked by any of the gaming community. Some take this to the extreme and claim the figure is an insult to miniatures and thus Star out his name. I guess the habit stuck after too many years of reading RGMW!
GW then tried to put him back to the heavy metal team but he wanted to sculpt. GW wouldnt let him so he left the company.
He has since been employed by most of the bigger gaming companies, each time apparently with their intentions being set on utilising his painting mastery whilst his intentions have been set on working into the sculpting side. Thus he hasn't stuck around at any of the companies for very long until he got onto the war machine project.
_________________ Cheers, Paul "TuffSkull" T. http://hobbybrush.com - My New Website, with thousands of painted Mini Pics :) http://hobbybrush.blogspot.com - My Hobby Blog TuffSkull's notepad- My Old Blog on Wargames Wiki.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
primarch
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 12:13 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
|
|
Hi!
Interesting story Tuff, I dont think I ever heard it before. Was it common knowledge on the net?
Primarch
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
TuffSkull
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:02 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 11:49 am
Posts: 2830
Location: South East UK
|
| Quote (primarch @ 14 2003 June,00:13) | Hi!
Interesting story Tuff, I dont think I ever heard it before. Was it common knowledge on the net?
Primarch |
To be honest, I'm not sure.
I seem to pick up a lot of stuff like this and couldn't tell you where I got that info in the first instance. I know its now well known through the RGMW newsgroup at least, but whether it was originally I couldnt say!
Somehow I seem to get info from all over the place, usually within the company or confirmed from such & end up knowing a lot of the guys involved (even if only very vaguely) and 70% of the time I couldn't tell you how or why I ever got the information or the chance to know them!
Epic40k.com has a lot to answer for - when I set it up it somehow got very well known within the company very quickly & the first gamesday I went to with my (oh so embarrassing but VERY useful..) epic40k.com T-Shirt on, I had GW guys introducing themselves to me - it was quite surreal, I went with the HOPE of it being the other way round!
I find most of them still dont know my face (I doubt even Jervis would recognise me..), or even the name Paul Townsend, but they all seem to know my "TuffSkull" nickname - its been with me since I was 7 and I dont think I'll ever shake it! 
Up until recently I just made sure that once I'd met someone, I never cut any communication links and thus got a hell of a lot of info on all aspects of the hobby straight from the top. Since health has kept me away from a lot of it these links have been dropped somewhat, but I plan to recreate them as and when I can  _________________ Cheers, Paul "TuffSkull" T. http://hobbybrush.com - My New Website, with thousands of painted Mini Pics :) http://hobbybrush.blogspot.com - My Hobby Blog TuffSkull's notepad- My Old Blog on Wargames Wiki.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
TuffSkull
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:04 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Tue Feb 25, 2003 11:49 am
Posts: 2830
Location: South East UK
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
dafrca
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:21 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
 |
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 6:02 pm
Posts: 10956
Location: Burbank, CA, USA
|
| Quote (primarch @ 12 2003 June,18:07) | | Its been a smash hit and supplies are low since the company never suspected such broad based enthusiasm for it. They are catching up their in their orders, most carriers seem to have been restocked this week, but supplies may be short lived. |
Being a hit in my area may have killed it 
The local store ordered two of each basic box and sold out in the first day. Then they were told they could not get any more. So two people had the game and that was it. (one of them was an employee) 
By the time they had more the interest had died down some and sales have not been strong. Too bad.
dafrca
_________________
"Every Man is a But Spark in the Darkness"
- Cities of Death, page 59
Come fight me, if you dare...... http://dd-janks.mybrute.com
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
primarch
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 10:25 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
|
|
Hi!
No doubt the shortage may hurt them Darfca, especially impulse buys. Of course had they made a large supply and it wasn't a hit, they'd be bankrupt. A hard line to tread between enough and not enough.
Primarch
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
dafrca
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2003 11:41 pm |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2003 6:02 pm
Posts: 10956
Location: Burbank, CA, USA
|
| Quote (primarch @ 14 2003 June,14:25) | | No doubt the shortage may hurt them Darfca, especially impulse buys. Of course had they made a large supply and it wasn't a hit, they'd be bankrupt. A hard line to tread between enough and not enough. |
Oh, I don't want to sound like I am judging them. I too would have tried to walk that line and it is a hard line to walk.
I just was saying how odd it is that sometimes success can be a negative thing in the long run sometimes.
I do wish them luck with their efforts.
dafrca
_________________
"Every Man is a But Spark in the Darkness"
- Cities of Death, page 59
Come fight me, if you dare...... http://dd-janks.mybrute.com
|
|
| Top |
|
|
|
MaksimSmelchak
|
Post subject: Warmachine Opinions? Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2003 1:47 am |
|
| Brood Brother |
|
|
Joined: Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:43 pm
Posts: 7258
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
|
|
I hope that War Machine works out. I hope that they'll be successful enough that they'll decide to sell parts because I think that War Machines would make excellent Reavers and Warlords!
Shabbat Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
|
|
| Top |
|
|
