MINI-WARGAMING: Thoughts On the Future of Epic-Armageddon...
PART ONE - INCOMING INTERVIEW
Hi Doug,
Here goes...
------
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** How are you doing considering you do quite a bit on the E-A forum? ***
[/QUOTE]
I'm fine. Earlier this year, 2005, I was very much overstressed with my playtest list, the E-A Tyranids, not planned for many years and a number of negative fans pressuring me to put out material before I was ready to do so, but now I've got the E-A 'Nid playtest program back on schedule and am happy with the direction the list is taking.
Mostly I'm very happy with the way Epic-Armageddon has been shaping up even with the shake-up of Jervis and the support staff. It's easily the best official incarnation of Epic to hit the shelves and the support, while a bit tenuous, has been very good with models, rules and online support being plentifully availible. I miss the retail store support, but I can understand the corporate decision to not push E-A on store owners. As much as I love Epic, I have to admit that Epic has become a niche game and its fan base has shrunk considerably over the years with all the failures associated with earlier editions of the game.
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** How has GW and Fanatic moved forward or backward in your opinion? ***
[/QUOTE]
It's tough to say... relegating the official Epic Magazine to an exclusively online publication takes away some of the clout that an actual physical publication holds, but, on the other hand, Netepic has had a successful online magazine, "Incoming," for many years. It's hard to argue with the success of the Netepic project and perhaps going online is the way to go.
I like the format of the "living rulebook" being online and changeable, but I think that the finished product should be availible as a physical rulebook rather than an exclusively electronic one. I am an avid gamer and I am seeing many companies do well with the sale of electronic rulebooks, but the majority of gamers still seem to prefer a physical book than can be held in my opinion.
Mostly, I look at the current evelution of Epic-Armageddon and Epic in general as a positive step so I'd have to say Fanatic has moved forward in my opinion.
I remember just a year or two ago when Epic had little to no official support and older Epic fans like myself were increasingly withdrawn from the Epic hobby. That's no longer the case. Just last year, 2004, I ran an Epic-Armageddon game at a California gaming convention and expected to have a hard time making four players... instead I was very pleasantly surprised to have close to twelve players arrive and had many more inquiries.
Epic's future may be in question but there is no question in my mind about there being a viable fan base for Fanatic / Specialist Games to draw upon if they want to promote the game and see it be successful.
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** How do you look at the restructuring of Fanatic / Specialist Games? ***
[/QUOTE]
As long as Jervis heads Fanatic / Specialist Games then I will have faith in it. Having met him in person as well as having exchanged a large numbers of E-mails with him over some time, I have to say that he is a stand-up kind of guy and I trust him to do everything he can to keep us older Epic fans in the fold.
I hear a lot of negativism at the Epicomms forum and many Yahoo Epic E-groups, but I think that the game will succeed if the fans rally to it and be supportive of it. Jervis certainly hasn't given up on the game and I see no reason for the fans to give up on it either.
I felt badly about not being around for much of the time when Epic-40k was released (I was in the military at the time) and I'm determined to see Epic-Armageddon be a success and not suffer a similar fate as Epic-40k. To that end, I've organized a Yahoo E-group for players in my area:
[URL=http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CA-EA-Gamers/]http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CA-EA-Gamers/[/URL]
I also volunteered early on to head on of the playtest lists for the newer Epic-Armageddon armies. I thought I'd be heading up the Necron list, but I was chosen for the Tyranid list instead. At first the job of being a list "champion" was poorly defined, but, with a little time, the job has become second-nature to me and I enjoy the process now. Once the Tyranid list finalizes (I think it is close at this point), I hope to become a bigger part of the E-A Necron playtest team.
In a few words, I have a lot of faith and hope in Jervis and the Fanatic / Specialist Games and I've seen that optimism met many times, especially from Jervis. I can't sing his praises enough.
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** Has the restructuring of Fanatic / Specialist Games affected you? Or just motivated you more? ***
[/QUOTE]
Mostly, I'm very motivated to see Epic-Armageddon be a success and, mind you, this is from a fan who is very attached to Epic as a game, but not very fond of Games Workshop as a company.
------
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
Hi Doug,
Here goes...
------
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** How are you doing considering you do quite a bit on the E-A forum? ***
[/QUOTE]
I'm fine. Earlier this year, 2005, I was very much overstressed with my playtest list, the E-A Tyranids, not planned for many years and a number of negative fans pressuring me to put out material before I was ready to do so, but now I've got the E-A 'Nid playtest program back on schedule and am happy with the direction the list is taking.
Mostly I'm very happy with the way Epic-Armageddon has been shaping up even with the shake-up of Jervis and the support staff. It's easily the best official incarnation of Epic to hit the shelves and the support, while a bit tenuous, has been very good with models, rules and online support being plentifully availible. I miss the retail store support, but I can understand the corporate decision to not push E-A on store owners. As much as I love Epic, I have to admit that Epic has become a niche game and its fan base has shrunk considerably over the years with all the failures associated with earlier editions of the game.
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** How has GW and Fanatic moved forward or backward in your opinion? ***
[/QUOTE]
It's tough to say... relegating the official Epic Magazine to an exclusively online publication takes away some of the clout that an actual physical publication holds, but, on the other hand, Netepic has had a successful online magazine, "Incoming," for many years. It's hard to argue with the success of the Netepic project and perhaps going online is the way to go.
I like the format of the "living rulebook" being online and changeable, but I think that the finished product should be availible as a physical rulebook rather than an exclusively electronic one. I am an avid gamer and I am seeing many companies do well with the sale of electronic rulebooks, but the majority of gamers still seem to prefer a physical book than can be held in my opinion.
Mostly, I look at the current evelution of Epic-Armageddon and Epic in general as a positive step so I'd have to say Fanatic has moved forward in my opinion.
I remember just a year or two ago when Epic had little to no official support and older Epic fans like myself were increasingly withdrawn from the Epic hobby. That's no longer the case. Just last year, 2004, I ran an Epic-Armageddon game at a California gaming convention and expected to have a hard time making four players... instead I was very pleasantly surprised to have close to twelve players arrive and had many more inquiries.
Epic's future may be in question but there is no question in my mind about there being a viable fan base for Fanatic / Specialist Games to draw upon if they want to promote the game and see it be successful.
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** How do you look at the restructuring of Fanatic / Specialist Games? ***
[/QUOTE]
As long as Jervis heads Fanatic / Specialist Games then I will have faith in it. Having met him in person as well as having exchanged a large numbers of E-mails with him over some time, I have to say that he is a stand-up kind of guy and I trust him to do everything he can to keep us older Epic fans in the fold.
I hear a lot of negativism at the Epicomms forum and many Yahoo Epic E-groups, but I think that the game will succeed if the fans rally to it and be supportive of it. Jervis certainly hasn't given up on the game and I see no reason for the fans to give up on it either.
I felt badly about not being around for much of the time when Epic-40k was released (I was in the military at the time) and I'm determined to see Epic-Armageddon be a success and not suffer a similar fate as Epic-40k. To that end, I've organized a Yahoo E-group for players in my area:
[URL=http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CA-EA-Gamers/]http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/CA-EA-Gamers/[/URL]
I also volunteered early on to head on of the playtest lists for the newer Epic-Armageddon armies. I thought I'd be heading up the Necron list, but I was chosen for the Tyranid list instead. At first the job of being a list "champion" was poorly defined, but, with a little time, the job has become second-nature to me and I enjoy the process now. Once the Tyranid list finalizes (I think it is close at this point), I hope to become a bigger part of the E-A Necron playtest team.
In a few words, I have a lot of faith and hope in Jervis and the Fanatic / Specialist Games and I've seen that optimism met many times, especially from Jervis. I can't sing his praises enough.
[QUOTE=darkone26,09 2005 June,17:20]
*** Has the restructuring of Fanatic / Specialist Games affected you? Or just motivated you more? ***
[/QUOTE]
Mostly, I'm very motivated to see Epic-Armageddon be a success and, mind you, this is from a fan who is very attached to Epic as a game, but not very fond of Games Workshop as a company.
------
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
Labels: Epic-Armageddon, Miniatures
posted by MaksimSmelchak @ 5:23 PM
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