Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I just wanted to know, really. What would you, hypothetically, play if all rulebooks could be downloaded freely from GWs website, and there were apocalyps class vehicles for all systems (like 2nd edition rules for thunderhawks. just wondering really. If there is anything you wonder that the answer would affect your decision, ask and I will answer as soon as possible.

Go on, start discussing

yeah,
I think 5th, why play with old rules?
each edition has had changes made for the better... to speed things up etc...
I've played since 2nd... sure I liked save modifiers, but the AP system is faster you get a save or you dont.

oh and sooner or later your avatars gun will jam... i'm just watching and waiting... it'll happen...

Panic...

5th edition, I have only played 4th and 5th and liked 5th the most

Inquisitor!

...oh, thats not an option.

5th edition. My 'zerkers can run now.

I'm pretty sure they could Run in 1st and 2nd editions, too. It just worked differently.

I'm not really sure. I reckon I'd flit between second, 3rd and 5th. 4th was pretty crap in my veiw and 2nd was really silly.
I remember 3rd being fun, but that may have been my local metagame.

4th, I wan't each cc weapon to give an extra attack, I pay 2pts a model for it and it does nothing! And also some 2+ to hits in close combat!

Well, personaly I think the old rulessets (1 and 2) were better because I am in the "they are stupifiing the game"-camp. My father my only regular opponent play our own ruleset, based on 2nd edition mainly, but with new turn sequence, rogue trader psykics, rewriten vehicle rules( about inbetween the simplicity of 5th and the complexity of 2nd when it comes to damage results) and 4th edition victory conditions and missions, and other smaller changes.

A healthy mix I think. And the project is shaping up nicely.

2nd Ed - back when vehicles were actually fun.

BYE

I like second because of the CC by the model rules, not the gummy casualty removal based, mass steps torrent of mess we have to go through now, but I really hated the armylists from back then... meh

2nd for small games, 5th for large games, 5th + Apoc for REALLY large games.

I say 4th because it's the least gimmicky of all. The rest have loads of unintuitive mechanics and are not unit-based wargames, they are skirmish games where you're supposed to use loads of troops. The thought of playing a 5th edition apocalypse game is horrifying.

4th Edition, so I can have my old Chaos Codex back...*mournful tear*

Really, I don't like some of the changes GW made in 5th edition (Even if I haven't played it all that much), and I remember liking 4th Edition an astronomical amount better than 3rd when it first came out. Plus 4th Edition is the only full rule cycle that I've been around for.

I guess I'll just have to get used to 5th, even if there are people who actually still support 4th Edition Codex.

2nd, back when you could throw a grenade that created a ball of plasma that floated about, or some that gave all your enemies hallucinations, or had terminator armour that was really really hard, or assault cannons that blew up, or had a whole book full of different guns that did completely different things, or had psykers that could have an epic duel with your opponent.

the rules now play a lot smoother, games go a hell of a lot faster and you can use bigger and bigger armies, but i do miss the crazy.

BTW, with many of these, you need to specify.

Rogue Trader, before, or after, the Vehicle Compendium?

2nd Edition:
- with Dark Millennium?

3rd Edition, with, or without:
- BBB lists?
- Trial Assault Rules?
- Trial Vehicle Rules?
- as played, meaning nobody knows what's in effect...

Battlefleet Gothic.

Much as I miss some of the more spectacular Tank explosions from 2nd Edition, 5th is a massive step forward. 3rd went too far in streamlining, sadly taking out much of the character (oddly, I feel the same way about when Space Marine / Titan Legions became Epic 40,000).

4th Edition showed some glimmer of hope, particularly with the rather excellent Cities of Death, and the evolving Codex style was welcome.

5th however has got thing just about nailed. Interesting tactical opportunities knocking around (running, going to ground) and the Victory Conditions are an improvement over plain old VPs.*

*VPs work well in Fantasy, as due to the mechanics, every unit in the game poses some kind of threat to all others, even if it largley depends on sheer, blind luck. Ergo, it gets quite difficult to just drub your opponent into the ground with a beardy list, without any tactics whatsoever. This is probably why people dislike Gunlines, not that they don't require tactics (Sadly, knowing what and when to shoot is a skill) but that they limit the tactics open.

If it was fully supported, I'd go with 5th. If everyone actually had a revised codex, there'd be a lot less to complain about.

Rogue Trader and 2nd edition were okay for their scale, and the fun of new and rediculously unbalanced models coming out every few weeks. But Necromunda something like an expanded 40k universe supplement is what I'd want for small squad engagements.

This is probably nostalgia talking, but I miss 2nd. The Codexes had more character and were a lot more consistent. My first game of 40K was my Biel-Tann Eldar against my friend's Tyranids. I had the Assassins mission and I managed to kill his Hive Tyrant on the last turn with a Lascannon (Bright Lances didn't exist in those days). Ah, the good old days when you could squish a giant bug with one shot.

For me, it's a toss-up between 2nd and 5th. Both editions have plenty of things I like... and plenty of things I can't stand.

RT would be a close 3rd. I loved Harlequin captured equipment.

Flashman wrote:This is probably nostalgia talking, but I miss 2nd. The Codexes had more character and were a lot more consistent. My first game of 40K was my Biel-Tann Eldar against my friend's Tyranids. I had the Assassins mission and I managed to kill his Hive Tyrant on the last turn with a Lascannon (Bright Lances didn't exist in those days). Ah, the good old days when you could squish a giant bug with one shot.

I see where you are coming from about the Codecies, but I have to say I don't know whether I agree or not.

Whilst a lot of flexibility was allowed, this was of course open to abuse. The things people complain about now are as nothing compared to the olden days. For instance, an Eversor Assasin could reliably take down Ragnar Blackmane without breaking a sweat, and some of the Wargear Cards were just mental. And although everyone had the same opportunity to beard up, the disparity between casual and power gaming was truly immense. Herohammer existed in both universes to a ludicrous degree. I really think things are a lot better these days. Still nowhere near perfect, but certainly around my tolerance.

JohnHwangDD wrote:BTW, with many of these, you need to specify.

Rogue Trader, before, or after, the Vehicle Compendium?

2nd Edition:
- with Dark Millennium?

3rd Edition, with, or without:
- BBB lists?
- Trial Assault Rules?
- Trial Vehicle Rules?
- as played, meaning nobody knows what's in effect...

For preference I'd go with:

Rogue Trader: Before the vehicle and battle manuals but including the 40k compendium and all the other supplements.
2nd edition: With Dark Millennium. It's half a game without Dark Millennium.
3rd Edition: With Trial Assault rules, not BBB lists or Trial Vehicle rules.

For preference I'd plump for Rogue Trader. Rogue Trader doesn't even need to be as well supported as the other versions. It just needs to be a 'specialist game' Downloadable PDF. Once that was done the fans could get down to compiling the Rulebook and the Compendium rules fixes into a single rulebook and correcting mistakes in the original printing. The army lists and the fluff could be divided up separate PDF's.

3rd was when I started and still my favorite. Although really it would 3.5 with all the experimental rules they threw in.

My favorite thing about that era was picking up WD and getting a new army list every month. Maybe it would be Drop Troops, or armored Company or Feral Orks or maybe another f'ing marine chapter but there would be new stuff ALL THE TIME.

I'd choose 5th as well. It is nice to see that the poll supports this. It appears to be validation that GW is indeed improving its product over time.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:3rd was when I started and still my favorite. Although really it would 3.5 with all the experimental rules they threw in.

My favorite thing about that era was picking up WD and getting a new army list every month. Maybe it would be Drop Troops, or armored Company or Feral Orks or maybe another f'ing marine chapter but there would be new stuff ALL THE TIME.

The trouble with those was the Tournaments. Some would be valid, others wouldn't, seemingly quite random as to what was and wasn't. Although not a fan of Tournaments, I can see that being damaging to the hobby as people would see a new force, like Kroot, collect and convert, and then be turned away from some gaming sessions. This would annoy the hell out of me if I was inclined toward Tournament gaming.

I miss the fun character of the 2nd Ed game. Grim & Gritty just gets boring after a while. I miss 2nd Ed Warts and all

It's a three way tie for me:
Rogue Trader and 2nd ed. for small skirmish play with character.
3rd ed. (no codicies, JUST BBB) for fast, simple game play.

Necromunda. That's what I'd play. (that's my nod towards 2nd edition...)_

HI all.
Well for me 2nd ed was as close as GW got before they gave up on the original idea .
Pity they gave up on a great game and decided shifting product was far more important.

TTFN
Lanrak.

2nd with Dark Millenium - no question. Some of that is nostalgia, sure, but I really hate how the game has shifted over the years (echo of product-moving and stupifying the system). Add in the new units and stuff from 3rd-5th, add flesh out the Mission-type stuff, and you've got yourself something I can sink my teeth in.

As it stands now, I play Dark Heresy and paint models for fun. I would rather set up and run an Apoc game for friends than play what has become of the 40k ruleset.