Dryaktylus wrote:

 Melissia wrote:
I admit, I haven't really read much of the ten pages of this thread, but it was my impression the guy didn't do much of anything, so I don't think we're really expecting big changes as a result of this?

Reading several comments in the thread I get the feeling that he left because of the wind of change.

Spoiler:

I follow River Leen
Down to the Sigmarine
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Merret is passing by
Blown off by the wind of change

Games Workshop is changing
Did you ever think
That they would use such things, like Facebook
The future's in the air
My wallet feels it everywhere
Emptying in the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the players of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Awful memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow River Leen
Down to the Sigmarine
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the players of tomorrow play Kill Teams (play Kill Teams
With you and me


I suppose you have to be German (or Russian) to know the song...

I don't know if it's true, but if he really hates Genestealer Cults and was the one who made my first army more or less unplayable for... some time... - I'm glad he's gone.

this is even better than the extremely drunken version of Wind of Change I "sang" at a karaoke bar in Berlin to a crowd of unimpressed Germans.

 Dryaktylus wrote:

 Melissia wrote:
I admit, I haven't really read much of the ten pages of this thread, but it was my impression the guy didn't do much of anything, so I don't think we're really expecting big changes as a result of this?

Reading several comments in the thread I get the feeling that he left because of the wind of change.

Spoiler:

I follow River Leen
Down to the Sigmarine
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Merret is passing by
Blown off by the wind of change

Games Workshop is changing
Did you ever think
That they would use such things, like Facebook
The future's in the air
My wallet feels it everywhere
Emptying in the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the players of tomorrow dream away (dream away)
In the wind of change

Walking down the street
Awful memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow River Leen
Down to the Sigmarine
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the players of tomorrow play Kill Teams (play Kill Teams)
With you and me


I suppose you have to be German (or Russian) to know the song...

No, you just have to be old.

@dryaktylus nice (red) scorpions cover.

It rocked me like a hurricane (bolter).

 EnTyme wrote:

Mario wrote:

 insaniak wrote:
…particularly if you just slide that coffee cup there over a liiiittle bit to the left so it hides Sly Marbo from view, thanks...

Or just Malekith the Dark Elf, or was it this one? There really should be a link in the "Other versions" or "In other media" wikipedida section that link to the Warhammer Fantasy version.

You are aware that Malekith was a character from Nordic legend?

Apologies from going out of topic, but to my knowledge it's not the case, Malekith was an original character created by Marvel.

Of course, I suppose that seeing Malekith in stories alongside Thor, Loki or Surtur, and being himself a dark elf from Svartalfheim that someone at GW probably believed him to also come from nordic myths as the rest did and so was fair game, not realized that the character and its name were originals from Marvel.

Here's a thought regarding Merett and his departure. Given that he was head of IP, could he be responsible for the much maligned decision to only publish rules for models they make (for example, no plastic Terminator Chaplain kit means no Terminator Chaplain for Deathwatch)? While I'm sure it definitely would have been a suggestion from the legal department due to the Chapterhouse Studios case, I suspect it still might have been his decision to make. Just curious if we might see that change now that he's gone.

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
Here's a thought regarding Merett and his departure. Given that he was head of IP, could he be responsible for the much maligned decision to only publish rules for models they make (for example, no plastic Terminator Chaplain kit means no Terminator Chaplain for Deathwatch)? While I'm sure it definitely would have been a suggestion from the legal department due to the Chapterhouse Studios case, I suspect it still might have been his decision to make. Just curious if we might see that change now that he's gone.

I hope so.

Why would they change it?

Well because it's unpopular with the fans and is stymieing the creativity of their artists (at least the former now seems to have become a factor in decision making again)

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
Here's a thought regarding Merett and his departure. Given that he was head of IP, could he be responsible for the much maligned decision to only publish rules for models they make (for example, no plastic Terminator Chaplain kit means no Terminator Chaplain for Deathwatch)? While I'm sure it definitely would have been a suggestion from the legal department due to the Chapterhouse Studios case, I suspect it still might have been his decision to make. Just curious if we might see that change now that he's gone.

In his defense, Merett was the man who made decisions about how to enforce IP, but he did not do it in a vacuum. He did it under the advice of solicitors and it's doubtful he could have created a company-wide policy like that without the endorsement of the CEO and the board.

That said, it takes a certain temperament to balance the needs of protecting IP and the interests of gamers. Nothing he said or did suggested he had any respect for the later. I have always suspected the reaction to the Chapterhouse lawsuit was overdone and could have been handled better by someone with an appreciation for the differences in US / UK copyright law (i.e. an actual lawyer.)

The decision has had an impact on the game we see today. During the run up to seventh edition, there were a number of experimental rulesets floating about, including ones for Chaos Space Marines. The two that I saw were very different armies and included Cult Terminators, Dark Apostles with bike / jet pack options, and a couple other things that were left out of the final Codex. I've always thought the reason we never saw them in the game was the lack of models.

 Pacific wrote:
Well because it's unpopular with the fans and is stymieing the creativity of their artists (at least the former now seems to have become a factor in decision making again)

Since when have GW ever cared about what the fans think? Just pay up and shaddap

 Fenrir Kitsune wrote:

 Pacific wrote:
Well because it's unpopular with the fans and is stymieing the creativity of their artists (at least the former now seems to have become a factor in decision making again)

Since when have GW ever cared about what the fans think? Just pay up and shaddap

They might have started to realize "hey maybe we should at least throw them few bones? We are losing customers so if we don't do SOMETHING we are going to end up losing money".

So as to "why" answer would be "they want money".

Now whether that bone is removal of that policy is another thing. Might be some other sort of bone. Or no bone and assume new fans will automatically start pouring in.

But I doubt they are stupid enough to think they don't need to do anything. It's pretty obvious to anybody with half a sense that forever losing customers is not sustainable so assuming they aren't intentionally running company to ground for quick bucks without worry about future of company they are going to try something to reverse the trend. Already have tried and until something works will likely keep trying.

 techsoldaten wrote:

In his defense, Merett was the man who made decisions about how to enforce IP, but he did not do it in a vacuum. He did it under the advice of solicitors and it's doubtful he could have created a company-wide policy like that without the endorsement of the CEO and the board.

He must have ignored legal advice pretty hard for the CHS thing to continue. There's no way they weren't told it was a stupid idea.

Or maybe count on the fans to buy 2 boxes to kitbash one thing rather then go to a 3rd party. Just because they don’t make a mini doesn’t mean they loose sales.

The no model=no rules thing really irritates me.

 Fenrir Kitsune wrote:

 Pacific wrote:
Well because it's unpopular with the fans and is stymieing the creativity of their artists (at least the former now seems to have become a factor in decision making again)

Since when have GW ever cared about what the fans think? Just pay up and shaddap

I'd humbly suggest we're seeing signs that that's no longer the case, which, even if it's for the purely logical reason that things that appeal to your customer base sell better, is still very welcome.

I think a changing of the guard has seen the fundamentals of a very serious change in attitude and presentation from the company, and I'm making the personal choice to be positive about it and encourage it.

Herzlos wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:

In his defense, Merett was the man who made decisions about how to enforce IP, but he did not do it in a vacuum. He did it under the advice of solicitors and it's doubtful he could have created a company-wide policy like that without the endorsement of the CEO and the board.

He must have ignored legal advice pretty hard for the CHS thing to continue. There's no way they weren't told it was a stupid idea.

Clearly, you don't deal with lawyers all that often. The line between 'acting in your interests' and 'push you towards greater acts of self-destruction' are often dictated by the amount of money you have to spend. Most decisions about litigation are determined by a risk analysis that starts with how much you can afford to do.

They thought they were just going to bankrupt CHS and set precedent.

 Fenrir Kitsune wrote:

 Pacific wrote:
Well because it's unpopular with the fans and is stymieing the creativity of their artists (at least the former now seems to have become a factor in decision making again)

Since when have GW ever cared about what the fans think? Just pay up and shaddap

I bow to GW's wisdom, i shaddap and take my money elsewhere

 techsoldaten wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:

In his defense, Merett was the man who made decisions about how to enforce IP, but he did not do it in a vacuum. He did it under the advice of solicitors and it's doubtful he could have created a company-wide policy like that without the endorsement of the CEO and the board.

He must have ignored legal advice pretty hard for the CHS thing to continue. There's no way they weren't told it was a stupid idea.

Clearly, you don't deal with lawyers all that often. The line between 'acting in your interests' and 'push you towards greater acts of self-destruction' are often dictated by the amount of money you have to spend. Most decisions about litigation are determined by a risk analysis that starts with how much you can afford to do.

They thought they were just going to bankrupt CHS and set precedent.

Oh they definitely were; that seemed to be their MO. What I don't believe, is that once CHS got major pro-bono help, GW's legal advice wasn't to try and buy them out or just drop the whole thing. They must have known they could never win.

Herzlos wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:

Herzlos wrote:

 techsoldaten wrote:

In his defense, Merett was the man who made decisions about how to enforce IP, but he did not do it in a vacuum. He did it under the advice of solicitors and it's doubtful he could have created a company-wide policy like that without the endorsement of the CEO and the board.

He must have ignored legal advice pretty hard for the CHS thing to continue. There's no way they weren't told it was a stupid idea.

Clearly, you don't deal with lawyers all that often. The line between 'acting in your interests' and 'push you towards greater acts of self-destruction' are often dictated by the amount of money you have to spend. Most decisions about litigation are determined by a risk analysis that starts with how much you can afford to do.

They thought they were just going to bankrupt CHS and set precedent.

Oh they definitely were; that seemed to be their MO. What I don't believe, is that once CHS got major pro-bono help, GW's legal advice wasn't to try and buy them out or just drop the whole thing. They must have known they could never win.

This I agree with. I am sure someone, at some point, realized the cost to litigate would likely exceed the cost to purchase CHS itself.

I am equally certain some attorney suggested there's a legal principle at work here, it's better to sort it out now before the next CHS comes along, and it may be more expensive in the short term but will give the company a clear position from which to operate.

How exactly that decision came down, and who was in favor of one track over the other, is something we will never know for sure. I get the sense Merett did not argue in favor of the former, and only saw value in the later. He doesn't strike me as the one who would have an enlightened view of the company's relationship with the community of gamers and put forth some alternative that deescalates the situation while respecting the legal principles in place.

I don't want to rehash the whole CHS lawsuit in it's entirety, but there were so many times I read a filing that was so petty I knew it could not prevail. Someone was making those arguments to attorneys so they could raise them before the judge. If Merett wasn't the one making them, he certainly wasn't the one stopping them.

I can certainly see the value of them being seen to press on and crush resistance despite the cost, in order to scare off any other opposition or make them comply with the C&D's, but I don't think they ever thought it'd go that far. Kirby even commented in one of the reports about an excessive amount of litigation costs and they seem to have stopped trying to bully every small miniatures company.