N1SB

This is specifically the one I'm thinking of; if you want to live demo the Painting Magic of GW Shades and Contrasts, a Gaunt is the obvious choice. It's like a Street Magician pulling out a deck of cards to do a magic trick instead of, say, his underwear. Then that'd be it, Tyranids got the spotlight through 10th, so let someone else shine. Like we're all thinking of the Termagaunt, exactly.

Would deleting images help please, or is there difference actual pictures (vs. albums) so small it doesn't matter? I've got an album with pics for when we couldn't just paste images straight into posts, so I had to link them. If need be, I can identify and delete them.

Remind me please, were you there for the Eye of Terror event, is that what you were thinking of? Regardless, you're right. GW doesn't break down their sales data a lot, but they do it by channel, like their Retail is Warhammer Stores. The single biggest spike is when they do an official campaign, like that or the AoS Season of War and 40k's Konor Campaign, like you can see the difference.

This change is a great sign, imho. It shows people within GW know what they're doing. It's good you mentioned this: Right, it's not just about knowing what customers want. It's also what GW wants, and that they know how to achieve it, like... The Goldilocks Zone GW talks in their Metawatch, how they adjust points values in Balance Updates, that they want a Goldilocks Zone. It's where every faction should be about 50%, the idea being that every faction and in fact every unit is at this sweet spot where you CAN use it effectively, there's no clear must-haves or losers. For Hobby reasons, that's good, there's more variety in the armies we face, if we just like the look of a miniature, there's a use for it, etc. For business reasons, in their financial reports, GW disproportionately worries about forecasting (miniatures) stock. Like there are other things going on in the world, but GW's really like "we worked really hard in forecasting stock availability, but we gotta do even a better job, screw it, let's use AI or something." There is a line item for Inventory, cost of storing unsold minis. There is NOT one for that GW could have sold, like an opportunity cost. Like GW measures the cost of storing an unsold Dark Eldar box, but not a theoretical amount of Lion El Jonson minis if they hadn't sold out at launch. (This is not just a GW issue, it's like the rules of accounting were designed for a time when you only sold 1 flavour of Coca Cola, you got it or not.) GW has way too broad a range of minis (those of you that know retail, SKUs, stock keeping units). When 1 faction/miniature is too popular, that 1 sells out, and all the minis are just hanging out, not making money, not paying rent for storage space. GW wants to spread that demand around, like hedging a bet. Problem with JUST Marines and Stormcast Exactly! Spot on! And by the problem with JUST Marines and Stormcast, I mean when you only give new players those 2 options. Marines and Stormcast have been the Learn to Paint minis. You want new customers to Learn to Paint, so that in the future they'll buy minis to paint. If they only learn to paint Marines or Stormcast, then they'll only buy Marines and Stormcast. That's the opposite of the Goldilocks Zone. Well, Marines (and maybe Stormcast) ARE the most popular factions. Right, so you don't need to promote them that hard anymore. It becomes this weird chicken egg situation where you gave away Marines because they're popular for new players, then wonder why new players won't pick up any army but Marines. By offering 8 different miniatures, 8 varying factions, that's available long-term instead of 1st-come-1st-serve in any given month, GW is actually getting closer to that Goldilocks Zone. Why 8 and not every single one? Seems like this is a negotiation between GW's marketing and retail and production teams. It's like a player going for an ObSec list but he's got slow Movement Troops. He finally bought some Transports. It's a minor thing, but it shows there IS some strategic vision, some alignment within GW, coordination, competence. And of course, I've been wanting to experiment with painting Sisters, I'm really glad to finally get a mini I can experiment on. You know what I'm surprised by, that GW didn't try to monetise this, like selling a "Forces of the Imperium" boxset with a Marine, a Guardsman, a Sororitas, a Techrpiest, y'know?

Nonono, he's not even leaving the Hobby...he's just not going to play or post about 40k much. He'll be playing Necromunda, he said. That's all the Respectfully Disagree button was about, because you ARE right, as we all know, the Hobby is about: Build Paint Play Read Subscribe to Warhammer+ and soon Amazon Prime Complain Complain COMPLAIN I know people, and I believe you may too, that somehow skip the 1st few steps and just go straight to COMPLAIN.

Especially since there's probably another term he barely had to reach for like, say, GRIMDARK? I think I totally agree with you, just not as strongly. If anything, I bet he does, too, like he favours the Forgeworld look, because he praised Necromunda in particular. And while he himself does not receive free gifts from GW, I know what you mean in that they speak that Influencer-nese to grab attention, like "ugly". (Oh man, the best thing I heard was Clive Barker of Hellraiser fame used a term, "Grotesque Glamour." It wasn't even in one of his novels, it was just like a note scribbled in the margins of a design document for how the Cenobites should look. One of the producers or crew pointed out that's a typical turn of phrase for him.) That's why I listen to you guys over YouTubers. They're incenvitised to Hype AND/OR Hate on everything. Both those are exhausting.

Your read is EXACTLY what he talked about. Spot on. I kept my opinions out for a "just the facts" summary, but here. Share something I learned when I worked at an indie video game company. Our colleague who was a superstar as both the lead coder AND lead artist was playing either Tekken with me or I was watching him play Final Fantasy; like that was his jam. He just said, "Y'know...maybe we should be construction workers, then play video games after work." He meant what you said, when your passion becomes your job, it stops becoming your passion and is just your job. Working there had been a career dream for me and I think for him, and it did NOT become a nightmare, but it just became our waking life. The mystique is just gone. It became more fun to work in Big Tech and visit our gaming division sometimes. Guy here is simply burned out on 40k. He burned out even faster because he's also a 40k YouTuber. What I'm getting out of this is, I myself will probably focus on Necromunda and our style of 30k multiplayer 1000 pt armies.

Summary for those on phone, etc., so they can't watch this 45 minute video: Was it because Warhammer changed? Guy started in 2nd (BA vs. Orks box), 11th ed Armageddon should've been PERFECT His 40k peak also the start of its decline, 8th ed (the revamp) He appreciates Primaris, but he likes "40k when it's ugly. Not badly made...ugly." He also "can't keep up." All the news and previews Was it Guy himself (and his 40k friends, even us) that changed? Also "can't keep up" with the "homework/maintenance", errata, FAQs, new points He mentions his twins, co-parenting half the week, girlfriend, social life He and his friends are still tabletop gaming, but it's for Stargrave, 1 Page Rules 40k changed from "something he wants to do" to "something he HAS to do" And it's NOT anti-GW...he plays lots of Necromunda (so it's NOT about simplicity) Then he started sharing personal stories of not just being a 40k Hobbyist, but a 40k YouTuber/influencer. Everything he said makes sense, AND he's telling his subscribers/sponsors why he's winding down on 40k.

On that note, what do you think of the new Inquisitor models that accidentally got put on the AoS side: I legit thought the bottom figure was carrying some fancy wooden stock lasgun at 1st glance, before I saw his portrait. I hear that. It's not even "maximise profits," it's "look, we got a good thing going here, Space Marines are a cushy gig, do NOT rock the boat." And that's exactly how 40k Inquisitors are showing up in AoS games. Wild, man, I absolutely think you're right, Brother Laertes.

I mean, YOU're totally groovy, daddy-o, not like some square. Kids still talk this, right? RIGHT?

Man, even I didn't play Confrontation. I had the White Dwarf, I remember the cover rules, but was too young to play. You guys are old.

You're right, and that just gives us space to do conversions. Helmet swapped with skulls, etc., drill holes in the armour with a dremel. Remember how back when Master of Mankind came out we were speculating if the mass casualties of Salamanders, Iron Hands and Raven Guard were the original Legion of the Dead. I was just looking at the Beakie helmet and was just reminded of that. Ironically, it's because rather despite me agreeing with what you all are saying, that I actually see something I could DO with these. As is, I'm with you guys that these really are kinda boring...but they're almost perfect lite-touch conversion material. That's so weird. Speaking of lite-touch conversion materials, I saw those Inquisitor models, too, same thinking.

And GW already has a business relationship with Bandai NAMCO, who made Tekken and SOUL CALIBUR, right? But you answered your own question: By the Numbers The video game Space Marine 2 was released Sept 9, 2024. I was playing Street Fighter 6, the fighting game, which announced that SAME day: 4 million units of Street Fighter 6 sold! It had come out just a little more than a year earlier in June 2023. How did Space Marine II compare? Space Marine II had sold 2 million copies...in the first 24 hours. In 1 month, it sold 4.5 million units, beating what it took SF6 a year to do. What is it now? Space Marine II has sold 12 million+ copies and counting, SF6 is only around 7 million...even though it's a major eSport. (There's been a whole thing where Street Fighter's eSport unit has spun off to be its own promotion/business unit, I won't get into it here.) Before you say how SF6 has DLCs and microtransactions, when my base game sells double yours, I don't need DLCs and microtransactions. For frame of reference, when I was working in the video game industry, 5 million copies in the modern era is about a console-exclusive "halo" game; Bungie's Halo is, in fact, the archetypal halo game to push the original Xbox. 10 million is a multi-console blockbuster like when Call of Duty started out as Modern Warfare. Recently, 2KXO, the League of Legends fighting game, was in pre-planning 10+ years ago and closed down less than 1 year after release. So yeah, sadly no. ...But if I WERE to Do IT Absolutely correct, in fact that'd have also been the 1st thing I'd've said if you hadn't so perfectly summed it up already. Having been on both sides of such PARTNERSHIPS, and that's what these are (rather than a traditional vendor-customer one), it's not passive. Meaning, I'm not just sitting there waiting for a video game company to call me. I would try to set up a good pitch beforehand, even if my partner doesn't go for it, they'd see I'm someone they should talk to. Worst case, it makes me look busy, like I'm doing something for my salary. So let's say I'm at GW's licensing division, and there IS a division, we see it in the annual report, it looks like a small team. But I'm AT GW, I can walk down Forgeworld's office, have lunch with Black Library's staff. I would bring them tea and talk to them WHAT IF I can use their Horus Heresy designs or novels in a video game. Answer might be, "no." OR it might be like, "Y'know, Dan Abnett was looking for in-roads to write for video games, for fun." THEN I'd go to Bandai Namco. My counterpart there, maybe a business development manager, ALSO has to look busy, doing something for HIS salary, so he'd take my meeting. I would pitch something like, "I just got this idea of a Horus Heresy Soul Calibur game, WITH Forgeworld designs, and a Black Library writer could write for it." He'd say, "That's crazy...but I'll fight for your idea." Then he'd go to his boss, "I have an idea, ME, my own, and I can trick GW to give up FW designs and a BL writer." I've literally had so-called friends take my presentation deck, put their own names on it, and pitch it as their own...in fact, I counted on it, best way to sell an idea is if ppl think it's their own. In fact, I know for a fact someone at GW's criminal intellect matches my own, because of this: This is Mark Bedford of FW. He's the reason why Orks and Tyranids look the way they do now, he standardised their aesthetic back in...3rd ed iirc. Edit - context why I added him: he's talking about Total War:hammer 3, where he provided designs unused by GW to Sega. It's like in addition to the Warhammer license, GW provided special consultancy and design work, adding to the credibility of the game...ALSO part of the license's value. What's more, he actually worked ON video games. It was the early '90s, when the trend was these full motion video...video games that you had to play on CD-ROMs, which were like DVDs, which are these round disks you used to stick in your IBM compatible personal computer machines. He made the practical effects for those games. So if you were to ask him to help with a video game, he'd be inclined to say "yes." How do I know this? He told me, I met him about 20 years back. He's also the nicest guy. He cares less about being praised as a great sculptor than if you showed him one of YOUR conversions of his models, then he starts smiling exactly like this. He was so excited about one of my earliest Ork conversions (it was BAD, but clearly had passion behind it) that he showed it to Andy Chambers. Oh man, it was hilarious. It would not have been funny had it been anyone but him. It was a great day. Official Yet Not Canon I lol'd, then thought about it, then remembered Eldrad Ulthruan, the Eldar Farseer who was alive even way back in 30k. The timing of the game would technically be early on in the Heresy, he's already foreseen Horus's turn, and he's trying to forecast events that technically would best serve his own race. What if Ferrus survived Istvaan? What if it was Rogal Dorn that dueled Horus? What if Lorgar succeeded in usurping Horus in Slaves to Darkness? Imagine if you kindly would the character select screen. You see Eldrad in the back and he's summoning these rune gems that hover before him. Each rune gem represents one of the fighters, with Eldrad muttering to himself like, "Ferrus Manus, THE GORGON, yesss..." Then each character's single player campaign is a What If scenario. And that'd be how you can have this connected to the lore, official yet not canon, these are Eldrad's psychic predictions of what COULD have happened. We know he tried to manipulate similar events with the Cabal and John Grammaticus. He would sort of be the narrator for the game. Maybe the Phoenix Lords could be DLCs. Then after beating maybe one story, then you unlock the TRUE Rembrances mode, where you play the real story out. 1st fight is as Fulgrum, last as the Emperor. Probably won't happen after 2XKO. But maybe a 40k character in a Soul Calibur cameo. Seriously, they had Yoda in 1 game. I learned to never say never again.

You guys are already broaching this, but an actual 1st-hand learning from Season 1 to Season 2 of Fallout: Setting > Story I wanted that to show Setting is great than the Story, but Setting leads to Story is also true. I noticed many people that loved Fallout Season 1 fell out (omg, not intentional pun, I swear) with Season 2. They'd talk about this plot hole or that change to the lore, it was bad writing...but BOTH Seasons had the exact same writers and everything. It's just people felt differently about it the 2nd time. It took me a re-watch to see why. Season 1 built mostly on top of its Setting. Season 2 destroyed most of its Setting. Season 1 took place in California, just like the 1st Fallout game, about a century after. It was very recognisable, as Brother Moriya said. 1 significant locale was destroyed for a major revelation/plot twist in the Season 1 finale iirc. The show definitely made changes, but mostly added to the Setting. People forgave those changes. Season 2, on the other hand, was set in Fallout: New Vegas, 15 years after the game, which was about taking control of it for whichever faction the player supported. It was shown as destroyed, used by monsters as a nesting ground, the major factions decimated or in a civil war or turned into feral ghouls. It wasn't just recognising the Setting, it's also recognising what players did in those games. Season 1 didn't acknowledge what we did in Fallout 1 per se, but the world we left behind. Fallout Season 2 deliberately negated the choices we made in Fallout: New Vegas. But why that choice in Season 2? There was an actual GOOD reason...just bad execution, perhaps. "Don't Pick a Winner" Apparently, the TV showrunners were given a mandate by Bethesda that bought the Fallout license: "Don't Pick a Winner" in Fallout: New Vegas. The idea was that there were many plot choices, many paths, that lead to multiple ending options; players could have helped one faction or its enemy, helped one settlement or just ignored them. Bethesda did NOT want the TV show to pick 1 canonical end over others. When we realised this, we saw why it backfired. "Don't Pick a Winner" became "Make Everyone Losers." Whichever side a player supported, that faction fell apart later. People he had helped/hurt, they became Feral Ghouls, so attack on sight. You can see what good intentions lead to, the showrunners could just say the tagline, "Hey, War Never Changes," it ended up like this. And you can imagine how this translates to Warhammer, like a Season deals with the latest Armageddon War. But it might be okay considering, well, how many Wars for Armageddon there have been. Maybe the grim darkness of the far future has a natural buffer for this. There Is Only War Never Changes. Going forward, Bethesda has indicated the TV show will be considered canon for future games like Fallout 5 in particular. "Theme Park" Around the time of the show, a Fallout: New Vegas senior designer (edit - thanks Brother Khulu!) wrote on Twitter: The idea of the Setting becoming a Theme Park really resonated with the players...because it's so true. You guys were mentioning players who only consider the games by the original designers: Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas, to be canon. As much as I love the later games, they're like games that just have a Fallout skin. A number of Fallout 76 players had an epiphany because they logged in, opened the game map, and as a Quality of Life improvement, Bethesda colour-coded different zones like in a Theme Park. Green was the Forest Area, beige was the Desert Area, Red was the new...Desert Area. Activities were an interactive roller coaster. What you guys were saying that at least Brother Henry Cavill both understands and cares kinda relates to this, you see why I share it here. Even I Made This Mistake In the OP, I showed a Friendly Local Gaming Store in Fallout 76 with Vaulthammer 40,000...my own spin on Fallout. Players didn't like that as much as my main Base Camp, which was mostly just this (yes, there's Popcorn and Soda, too): It's just a movie theatre, a big, empty room. The screen is a Western mural, just a static image. The seats are actually airplane seats (copied over from Fallout 4) arranged in rows. The projector is actually a construction light through a tiny barn window, so you can see that god beam effect. Players would emote they liked the base, get out of their power armour to take a screenshot of their characters watching the film. Why? This FEELS like part of the Fallout universe. Westerns were popular, one of the TV show's characters plays a cowboy actor pre-War. (There's other details. Near the exit, there's a poster for a zombie movie and I added "Coming Soon" on it. The nuclear bombs fell on October 23, a week before Halloween...so of course the next film to be shown at this cinema would have been a horror film. Warhammer taught us to incorporate lore into our models.) Setting > Story.

You uphold the honour of all us Warhammer players. We're not influencers or celebrities, we're creators, due to the nature of The Hobby.