Attrition

Did anyone find the "secret link" to more gremlin spoilers mentioned in the introduction?  A hint perhaps?

Like Pierowmaniac, I'm looking forward to listening to this once you put it on iTunes.

At 28mm scale, at a model count similar to 40k, and set in a science fiction universe (albeit hard scifi), I can't see how it would avoid competition with 40k.  I have a tremendous amount of trust in Wyrd to pull off whatever they put their energy toward, but I'd prefer to see them develop products for less saturated sectors of the tabletop wargame market.  I really want to be excited for Ruined Planet, but it just doesn't sound particularly interesting or original.

When Mack first mentioned that he was working on another major project on one of the Malifaux podcasts, I hoped that Wyrd might be working on a fantasy game, which with the decline of WHFB is becoming an underrepresented setting.  I imagined a round-based, non block infantry, large skirmish scale game played with alternating activations in a very Wyrd fantasy setting.  I suppose that might sound like it would compete with Hordes/Warmachine, but that setting is so far from Tolkienesque fantasy that I think there's plenty for room for a grittier, less technological fantasy skirmish game.  Maybe I just prefer fantasy to science fiction. 

Projects this ambitious require a tremendous amount of financial investment, and given its scale, Ruined Planet sounds like it may entail milling even more expensive plastic molds than Malifaux.  My sense is that Wyrd is doing well as a company, but I can't help but feel concerned that this new venture may pull resources away from Malifaux.

My concerns and minor disappointment aside, of course I wish Wyrd the very best and, given their consistently impressive track record, I genuinely hope to be pleasantly surprised by this new project.

iTunes?

The editing and pacing of your reports make them easy to follow the important actions.  It really helps to see crews played in different ways outside of our local metas too.  Please keep posting these!

 

Honestly, I suspect that at least some of the issues are because they didn't have a reference point for base size, so things like legs were set too far apart, rather than issues of scale. 

I'm not sure what paint recipe you'll need, but I'd bet that a layer of gloss varnish over whatever you come up with will give it the shine you're after.

Check out Critterkiller 32's tracker here: http://wyrd-games.net/community/topic/98567-pdfs-monday/page-2

Yeah, I'm always up for a new podcast, but I don't listen while on my computer. iTunes would probably reach the broadest audience.

This is stunningly beautiful work. Thanks for sharing it; I'm inspired to do more wet blending the next time I sit down to paint.

Another very minor correction: On the main page one of the faction links is to the "Resurrectionis"

Is there an easy way to get these sorts of minor issues to whoever curates the website? The M2E beta typo threads seem to work well, so perhaps a stickied thread for website typos and minor issues could make this person's job easier.

I'll echo the other comments and say that this was definitely one of your best podcasts yet. Bring Andrew and Joel back for another Q&A again soon!

While Malifaux and WWX belong to roughly the same genre, the aesthetics really don't seem compatible. Nothing in WWX runs on steam, but it has a chunky, homogeneous, overwrought steampunk look while Malifaux seems much sleeker, creepier, humorous, and eclectic. The WWX releases just seem to be obvious choices based on the highly derivative world they've outlined. Both IPs are indebted to other literature, movies, history, etc. but new Malifaux crew design often surprises me in a way that WWX doesn't.

The fact that WWX is so aesthetically unappealing to me while Malifaux continues to hold my interest is indicative of some design dissonance between the two worlds. Were Wyrd to design earthside crews, I'd expect something far stranger and more interesting.

I agree with Jonas and Johnny that more non-stereotypical representations of Native Americans in Malifaux would be most welcome.

Wish I could be there for the upcoming tournament. CA has a great Malifaux community but you guys got me into this game. Hope the event goes well!

I'll second HalcyonSeraph in commending you for a much better episode 78. Andrew is a fantastic guest and the discussion you guys have is much more constructive and engaging than that of the last episode.

Bill and Spencer,

While I do not agree with many of the complaints about M2E, I'm glad to see that you're still part of this community, as you've obviously invested a lot of time and energy into the game in the past.

I think the reasons I find myself disagreeing with you have as much to do with the amount of time we each have to devote to this game as with the rules themselves. As you can see by my post count, I barely have time to skim these forums every few days and certainly do not have time to post frequently. Having already taken the time to listen to your (long) podcast, however, I figured I may as well spend a little more time responding.

I won't go point by point through your podcast, but one example of how the time you have to spend on the game colors our perception of the M2E rules is the upgrade system. You say that when the idea was first proposed, you wanted the upgrades to add more optional abilities while retaining the abilities on the 1.5 cards. While I understand that to you this means a richer game, to me the prospect of needing to learn and memorize yet more abilities is headache-inducing. It's not that I wouldn't want to play such a complicated game if I hypothetically had hours each day to spend perusing cards and upgrades, it's that I don't have that kind of time. The more choices that can be made on the table, the more Malifaux can reward in-game decision-making as opposed to time spent haunting the forums, reading Pull My Finger entries, or memorizing model abilities. For some, doing your Malifaux "homework" (as another post put it) might be as enjoyable as playing the game itself, but for me there are just too many other things in life to attend to. In no way do I mean to cast aspersions on those who still have so much time for their hobby along with work and family commitments. If anything, I'm a bit jealous of those who get to play so often and grateful to those who go a step further and liven my commute by podcasting about their hobby experiences. All I'm really trying to say is that I can see why someone with more time to spend on Malifaux might prefer first edition, while I and others with more busy schedules might appreciate the focus of second edition.

This is not to say that I don't share some of your concerns about M2E, though my reasons are often different. To take the same example, the upgrade system worries me because there will often be clearly optimized "choices", which will quickly become stale and ultimately emphasizes the listbuilding phase of the game (a major reason many of us have fled other game systems).

A final note on the format of the podcast: Because you agreed on almost everything, the conversation was a bit of an echo chamber. I'd also be happy hear less bile directed toward the designers, forumites, and straw men in future episodes, but it's your podcast. These are just the opinions of listener and I have no sense of entitlement or expectation that you follow these suggestions. The thing that drew me to the Gamer's Lounge in the first place was the detailed tactical analyses of models and their relative strengths. Here's hoping that you eventually warm to M2E enough to go back to that sort of content. If not, I wish you the best in finding another game that better suits your interests and hope you stay in the tabletop mini hobby in some capacity.

I'm pre-registering for this event. Thanks for organizing this; I look forward to meeting some new Malifolks.