Hey, folks. SinSynn here.
It actually took longer than I figured for the majority of the 'competitive 40k community' to stand up and say, 'Holy CRAP, 6th Edition SUCKS!'
I mean, I thought it sucked in a 'competitive sense,' since the rumors of Random Charge Length were confirmed. The word 'random,' used in relation with any rule applicable in a miniature tabletop game, will make me instantly suspicious of the quality of the system it's being used in.
In the case of 6th Edition 40k, that word is used so liberally that it pervades almost every aspect of the game. From deployment until the final turn (neither of which you can count on going as planned, naturally), the game is packed to the rim with random stuffs that can occur.
Pretty sure the Daemon 'Warp Storm' table is going a lil' too far, though. That thing is off the chain.
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| *Games Workshop's new corporate logo* |
The thing is, the vast majority of competitive types have a lot invested in 40k. That includes money, time and effort. In all honesty, it seems to me that they did their best to try to live with the new edition. The Allies Matrix gave them just enough hope that somehow, someway, skill would still remain the determining factor for winning games.
Somewhere, deep in the bowels of GW's evil headquarters, the dev team were gleefully singing the Troll-o-lol song.
Can someone please explain to me how random elements benefit a game? Make it moar funz? Cuz I fail to see it.
When I say 'random elements,' I'm not referring to things like the Wandering Monsters Chart in Dungeons and Dragons, which is there to ensure that some 'action' happens occasionally. I'm referring to things like the Random Charge Length.
So...lemme see if I've got this straight- my 'regular movement,' which takes place during the movement phase, natch, is six inches (as an example). Then, during my Assault Phase, I may suddenly be incapable of moving that far?
Or rather- I might, or I might not, depending on a roll of the dice?
My lil' dudes are here, yer lil' dudes are there...but somehow, all my lil' dudes can...what? Stumble, trip an' fall?
Really?
-_-
How does that even begin to make sense? And, more importantly, how does that make the game fun?
On the opposite end of the random spectrum we have Mathammer. And no, I don't exactly approve of this one, either. I feel it sucks a lot of fun out of any game it's applied to. Don't get it twisted- I play mini games to have fun and to hang out with my friends and fellow hobbyists. My only reaction to the WAAC mentality is to laugh, actually.
'Dude, I'll totally own you at 40k.'
...Ummm, ok, sure...
Wait...you're bragging? About being good at a miniatures game? So, uh...who are you trying to impress with that lil' factoid, exactly?
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| *You took first at the GT? Ermahgerd! Take me! Take me now!* |
I'm sure Kate Upton would be mightily impressed with the length and girth of my tentacles, but far less so with my collection of toy soldiers.
:P
I have, every once in a blue moon, bumped into an opponent at a tournament that can only be called a stereotypical 'gamer dude.' Y'know- the cats that get mentioned in the odd blog post now and then, and pretty much any time the general media discusses gaming. The kinda dudes that had their lunch money taken from them every day in high school, the kinda dudes that, now they've survived that trial by fire, have found solace and safety and comfort in our shared community.
You know what I do? I let them roll with theirs.
So that means yes- I have deliberately thrown a handful of games. You know why? Cuz I'm there to have fun, and not to rain on anyone's parade, and definitely not to mess up what might be some poor cats bestest day ever. And for me, seeing this person have fun is fun for me.
I know life can be tough for some folks. My own life has been tough on me from time to time, so I will absolutely prioritize 'happy fun good times' over 'winning.'
But when dudes start running at the mouth, and take actual pride in 'stomping noobs' in 40k, I feel obligated to remind them that, well...if that's the highlight of yer life, if that's the thing that you're best at, then...wow, that borders on sad.
Did they forget that they were noobs once too? Do they not realize that Mr. Noob over there might have lovingly painted his army over the course of several months, and has looked forward to this day since he cracked his first pot o' paint open?
...and yer all happy that yer messing it up for him?
Sheesh...where did it all go wrong for you, to be so malevolent?
So, no- I do not approve of the WAAC mentality, either.
The truth of the matter is, in 5th Edition, games could be won or lost before any models were even put on the table. A good list would just ROFL-stomp a bad list, simple as that. Going one step further, someone that was good at 40k, who spent time Mathammering out his list and maybe had a gift for judging distances by eye, would likely pound the noob into bloody paste every single time.
That begs the question- did GW put a bunch of random in 6th edition in an attempt to level the playing field? Did they look upon the competitive community that sprang up around 5th edition and feel nothing but loathing for what they'd given birth to?
Actually, I sort of believe they did.
But really, 6th edition seems to be somewhat of a drastic over-reaction.
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| *What...the...fuuuuuuuuu-* |
It kinda boggles my mind, though, that GW would not seek to sort out this issue through...oh, let's say balancing their system, or tightening up their ruleset, or by doing anything to clean up the absolute mess that 40k is.
They did the absolute opposite of that, in fact. They took the easy route.
They could have done any of a thousand things to 'fix' 40k- any number of competent, well-known 40k tourney-types and competitive advocates would have gladly helped them playtest, re-write and FAQ all the old and new Codexes, which could have then been posted up for free.
Cuz let's be honest, Games Workshop doesn't really seem to be good at lil' things like, oh I dunno, writing rules an' stuffs.
So, hey- why not have the community help you out?
..
...
....
Bwahahahahahahaha!
*wipes tear from multi-lensed, stalked ocular appendage*
Yeah, we all know GW ain't doing anything like that. They do things their own way, which seems to involve trained mice pushing models around a table as playtesters. Oh, wait- what am I saying? GW's mice can't possibly be trained.
No, I think 6th edition was a deliberate middle finger to the competitive community. What I really don't understand is that since GW is a publicly traded company, who has to answer to shareholders who want profits, why they would scorn the competitive community so?
Who's rushing out to buy the latest and greatest thing every time a new book drops?
How does 'spamming' expensive models hurt GW's bottom line?
Really, now- who's lining GW's collective pockets with greenbacks?
Competitive gamers, that's who.
Was there really no happy medium to be achieved? I know it's possible, because Flames of War and Infinity handle game balance, fluff and manufacture lovely models seemingly without difficulty.
Well, Flames of War did, but in a fit of jealous nerdrage over GW's market share, decided to do their best impression of 40k's 'arms race' stylings with their Late War period.
Hey, guess what? I'll never play Late War again, Battlefront. Nice work.
-_-
Cuz I want balance, and somewhat predictable results when my in-game tactics manufacture a situation that should produce them (hey, it could happen). Not some herp-a-derp nonsense like the 'Warp Storm' table.
Blah.
The end result of GW's shenanigans is that there are now large swathes of the 40k community who feel screwed, and every 40k player everywhere is stuck with an edition that requires the spending of an extra 35 bucks for what basically amounts to a FAQ for their flyers.
Really, GW...Really? This is your plan?
Sigh, so I guess somebody's gonna hafta pay for the loss they're taking on that Hobbit game, huh? Pretty sure that thing is just as big a hit as Dread(ful) Fleet was.
Blah.
Until next time, folks- Exit with catchphrase!
- SinSynn
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