MINI WARGAMING: Even More Thoughts On the Future of Epic-Armageddon...
PART THREE - INCOMING INTERVIEW
Hi Doug,
------
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. Hi Maksim, you weren't among the participants in the last batch of Incoming interviews, so how did you get into the Epic hobby?
[/QUOTE]
I started gaming in the late 1970s with Chainmail and Starfleet Battles, but didn't have money for miniatures in those days. In the 1980s I bought my first miniatures for Battledroids which later became Battletech. By the end of the 1980s I had a pretty large collection of 6mm miniatures so when Adeptus Titanicus came out in 1989, I was very excited and immediately bought a box of plastic "beetleback" Titans. After that I was hooked...
Adeptus Titanicus was my introduction to the GW 40k universe and I've liked it ever since as a sci-fantasy gaming background. Interestingly enough, I didn't get to play Adeptus Titanicus very often (Just a few times even though I collected the miniatures and magazines... ) and didn't really start enjoying the game until Epic Space Marine 2nd Edition, which I played many many times.
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. What did you think of the various versions of Epic as they came out?
[/QUOTE]
------
Adeptus Titanicus / Space Marine 1rst Edition:
I loved the first edition of the game, which solely featured Titan vs. Titan combat. The game was rules-heavy, but it was fun and the original components were great. I loved the 1rst edition foam buildings. SM-1 added a tremendous amount of complexity to the game and really bogged the game down although the introduction of vehicles and infantry to the game was fabulous. I remember playing just one or two turns in a multiple-hour gaming session.
------
Space Marine 2nd Edition / Titan Legions:
SM-2 continues to be my favorite Epic game even though the rules creep for the game grew more and more severe as the game developed. I've played more games of SM-2 than any other edition of Epic combined although my E-A game total is starting to match my SM-2 games played total. Titan Legions was a great expansion and I really enjoyed playing it.
However, the reason I have such fond memories of SM-2 (Even acknowledging the severe rules creep... ) is because I have so many fond memories of playing it with good friends. I was in the military at the time and a large number of us would get together for SM-2 games almost every weekend. I'll never forget the bowling balls that SM-2 Gargantz shot off or the wacky criticals that would blow the reactor skyhigh on a Warlord Titan... Good times!
------
Epic-40k 3rd Edition:
E-40k had such a short shelf life that I don't have too many good memories of it. I barely played it before the game went out of print and lost company support. I started playing the game again after I finished a second university degree around 2001 and enjoyed playing it alot over those few years before Epic-Armageddon entered the development stage. After that, I readily discarded E-40k to start playtesting E-A.
The simplifying of so many units that had a lot of character in SM-2 was very annoying. However, the Eldar really came into their own with E-40k and they were my favorite army to play in this edition of Epic.
------
Adeptus Titanicus II (Independent Game):
I played this game a few times and it didn't do much for me. It was well-thought out, but I was more interested in other games.
------
Netepic Project (Independent Game):
Netepic took over developing the game when GW abandoned the game. They developed the
game as a fan-driven project and it is essentially a development of the SM-2 engine with a lot of details added including non-GE canon armies such as the Slaan. Netepic suffers from the same problems that SM-2 had: rules creep. Acknowledging the rules creep, Netepic is a great game and a major acomplishment for the fans that GW discarded. I'm concentrating my efforts on E-A, but if E-A goes belly up, I'll play Netepic again.
------
Bommas Over Da Sulpha River (Independent Game):
Technically this wasn't an Epic game although it came with Epic miniatures. I loved this simple little game and had a ton of fun playing it!
------
Epic Armageddon 4th Edition:
E-A is easily the best Epic game that has come along yet. The melding of the character that SM-2 had with the simplicity and ease-of-play that E-40k had has really made for an excellent game.
I miss the early Ork lists for the game, a major disappointment for me, since I wanted to see the Orks develop into something new, but I've become content with the final product that came out. "Swordwind" is great and I'm very pleased with the direction that E-A is taking as a game. Collector's models, vehicle templates, a good solid background and so many other details of the game are vastly improved over previous editions of the game. I've also been building up a lot of good new memories playing E-A and I imagine that my new experiences might even eclipse my really great old ones with SM-2.
E-A is a great game and I'm very happy to have helped steer it towards success while meeting a lot of new friends and renewing friendships with a lot of old ones.
------
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. Do you consider yourself a player, a collector or both?
[/QUOTE]
I consider myself both a collector and player of Epic.
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. What effects do you think new miniatures will have on the fan base? Do you think it would be enough to have a slight trickle of new miniatures to keep the interest alive?
[/QUOTE]
I think that coming out with new miniatures is vital to renewing the Epic fan base. A slight trickle of new miniatures is enough to show the fans that Fanatic is serious about supporting Epic-Armageddon and the fans in general.
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. You mentioned that Netepic does well and has a following, what do you think is the primary difference between Netepic and Fanatic? Obviously the shakeup of Fanatic doesn't help but do you think that's the only difference between Fanatic and Netepic?
[/QUOTE]
The primary difference between the two is: PROFIT. Netepic is a fan-driven not-for-profit enterprise and Fanatic is a fan-driven business. Netepic has no bottom line and is a project run by fans for the fans. It has a very flexible, loose organizational set-up while Fanatic has multiple layers of administration and superfluous decision-makers.
Essentially, Netepic has no limits or constraints while Fanatic has many limits and constraints.
Of course, a business like Fanatic turns out sellable finished products while Netepic has limited itself to freely downloadable electronic-format rules documents. Parts of the Netepic team have talked about turning out a physical product and even miniatures, but this has yet to come to fruition. Meanwhile, Fanatic has come out with both new books and miniatures as well as online support for Epic-Armageddon.
------
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
Hi Doug,
------
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. Hi Maksim, you weren't among the participants in the last batch of Incoming interviews, so how did you get into the Epic hobby?
[/QUOTE]
I started gaming in the late 1970s with Chainmail and Starfleet Battles, but didn't have money for miniatures in those days. In the 1980s I bought my first miniatures for Battledroids which later became Battletech. By the end of the 1980s I had a pretty large collection of 6mm miniatures so when Adeptus Titanicus came out in 1989, I was very excited and immediately bought a box of plastic "beetleback" Titans. After that I was hooked...
Adeptus Titanicus was my introduction to the GW 40k universe and I've liked it ever since as a sci-fantasy gaming background. Interestingly enough, I didn't get to play Adeptus Titanicus very often (Just a few times even though I collected the miniatures and magazines... ) and didn't really start enjoying the game until Epic Space Marine 2nd Edition, which I played many many times.
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. What did you think of the various versions of Epic as they came out?
[/QUOTE]
------
Adeptus Titanicus / Space Marine 1rst Edition:
I loved the first edition of the game, which solely featured Titan vs. Titan combat. The game was rules-heavy, but it was fun and the original components were great. I loved the 1rst edition foam buildings. SM-1 added a tremendous amount of complexity to the game and really bogged the game down although the introduction of vehicles and infantry to the game was fabulous. I remember playing just one or two turns in a multiple-hour gaming session.
------
Space Marine 2nd Edition / Titan Legions:
SM-2 continues to be my favorite Epic game even though the rules creep for the game grew more and more severe as the game developed. I've played more games of SM-2 than any other edition of Epic combined although my E-A game total is starting to match my SM-2 games played total. Titan Legions was a great expansion and I really enjoyed playing it.
However, the reason I have such fond memories of SM-2 (Even acknowledging the severe rules creep... ) is because I have so many fond memories of playing it with good friends. I was in the military at the time and a large number of us would get together for SM-2 games almost every weekend. I'll never forget the bowling balls that SM-2 Gargantz shot off or the wacky criticals that would blow the reactor skyhigh on a Warlord Titan... Good times!
------
Epic-40k 3rd Edition:
E-40k had such a short shelf life that I don't have too many good memories of it. I barely played it before the game went out of print and lost company support. I started playing the game again after I finished a second university degree around 2001 and enjoyed playing it alot over those few years before Epic-Armageddon entered the development stage. After that, I readily discarded E-40k to start playtesting E-A.
The simplifying of so many units that had a lot of character in SM-2 was very annoying. However, the Eldar really came into their own with E-40k and they were my favorite army to play in this edition of Epic.
------
Adeptus Titanicus II (Independent Game):
I played this game a few times and it didn't do much for me. It was well-thought out, but I was more interested in other games.
------
Netepic Project (Independent Game):
Netepic took over developing the game when GW abandoned the game. They developed the
game as a fan-driven project and it is essentially a development of the SM-2 engine with a lot of details added including non-GE canon armies such as the Slaan. Netepic suffers from the same problems that SM-2 had: rules creep. Acknowledging the rules creep, Netepic is a great game and a major acomplishment for the fans that GW discarded. I'm concentrating my efforts on E-A, but if E-A goes belly up, I'll play Netepic again.
------
Bommas Over Da Sulpha River (Independent Game):
Technically this wasn't an Epic game although it came with Epic miniatures. I loved this simple little game and had a ton of fun playing it!
------
Epic Armageddon 4th Edition:
E-A is easily the best Epic game that has come along yet. The melding of the character that SM-2 had with the simplicity and ease-of-play that E-40k had has really made for an excellent game.
I miss the early Ork lists for the game, a major disappointment for me, since I wanted to see the Orks develop into something new, but I've become content with the final product that came out. "Swordwind" is great and I'm very pleased with the direction that E-A is taking as a game. Collector's models, vehicle templates, a good solid background and so many other details of the game are vastly improved over previous editions of the game. I've also been building up a lot of good new memories playing E-A and I imagine that my new experiences might even eclipse my really great old ones with SM-2.
E-A is a great game and I'm very happy to have helped steer it towards success while meeting a lot of new friends and renewing friendships with a lot of old ones.
------
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. Do you consider yourself a player, a collector or both?
[/QUOTE]
I consider myself both a collector and player of Epic.
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. What effects do you think new miniatures will have on the fan base? Do you think it would be enough to have a slight trickle of new miniatures to keep the interest alive?
[/QUOTE]
I think that coming out with new miniatures is vital to renewing the Epic fan base. A slight trickle of new miniatures is enough to show the fans that Fanatic is serious about supporting Epic-Armageddon and the fans in general.
[QUOTE=darkone26,12 2005 June,12:00]
Q. You mentioned that Netepic does well and has a following, what do you think is the primary difference between Netepic and Fanatic? Obviously the shakeup of Fanatic doesn't help but do you think that's the only difference between Fanatic and Netepic?
[/QUOTE]
The primary difference between the two is: PROFIT. Netepic is a fan-driven not-for-profit enterprise and Fanatic is a fan-driven business. Netepic has no bottom line and is a project run by fans for the fans. It has a very flexible, loose organizational set-up while Fanatic has multiple layers of administration and superfluous decision-makers.
Essentially, Netepic has no limits or constraints while Fanatic has many limits and constraints.
Of course, a business like Fanatic turns out sellable finished products while Netepic has limited itself to freely downloadable electronic-format rules documents. Parts of the Netepic team have talked about turning out a physical product and even miniatures, but this has yet to come to fruition. Meanwhile, Fanatic has come out with both new books and miniatures as well as online support for Epic-Armageddon.
------
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
Labels: Epic-Armageddon, Mini Wargaming
posted by MaksimSmelchak @ 9:49 AM
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