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.

Ascension, Star Trek, and Sea of Blood all in one show? We cram it all in.

Up first is an interview with Ross Watson of Fantasy Flight Games. He gives us the scoop on Ascension, the latest expansion to the Warhammer 40k RPG Dark Heresy.

Later, Total Fan Girl interviews the lead writter for Cryptic Studio's upcoming MMO Star Trek Online.

Finally the guys set sail in a detailed review of Descent: Sea of Blood. How does this new expansion add to the Descent game system.



All that and our usual 'not too horrible' humor, with features such as:

- The Hollywood Minute
- Rapid Fire
- What's in the News
- Achievements in Gaming
- & More

Link to the episode: http://www.thed6generation.com/index.php?post_id=574787

Please let us know what you think!

Good episode

Ascension interview? Totally killer.

Downloading now.

Half way through the episode. I always like Ross' interviews.

So did everybody get their housing taken care of today for Gen Con? That was a steaming pile of fun, wasn't it?

I did get my first choice of hotel at least. SpringHill Suites @ the new Marriott center kitty-corner to the con.

Now I just need my TacCom '10 button and I'll be set!

I'm actually upset that I had to stay home from work today. Normally I download the show and listen on my ipod while clacking away at my keyboard in my work cave.

Please, Russ, tell us what the 12 new character careers are!!! I beg of you!

Hey, HBMC, they were in my show notes, and I think at one time or another Ross goes over them, but they weren't nicely listed as I intended. So, cut and pasted directly from my notes, here are the 12 new careers (most of them are just extensions of the careers in the original DH book):

Crusader, Death Cult Assassin, Desperado, Heirophant, Interrogator, Judge, Magos, Primaris Psyker, Sage, Storm Trooper, Vindicare Assassin, Inquisitor.

Hope that helps to whet your appetites.

Only two months left to wait!

~Craig

Awesome awesome awesome awesome!!!

Master-Terraformer wrote:Hey, HBMC, they were in my show notes, and I think at one time or another Ross goes over them, but they weren't nicely listed as I intended. So, cut and pasted directly from my notes, here are the 12 new careers (most of them are just extensions of the careers in the original DH book):

Crusader, Death Cult Assassin, Desperado, Heirophant, Interrogator, Judge, Magos, Primaris Psyker, Sage, Storm Trooper, Vindicare Assassin, Inquisitor.

Hope that helps to whet your appetites.

Only two months left to wait!

~Craig

Vindicare Assassin?

Wow!

Master-Terraformer wrote:
Crusader, Death Cult Assassin, Desperado, Heirophant, Interrogator, Judge, Magos, Primaris Psyker, Sage, Storm Trooper, Vindicare Assassin, Inquisitor.

Feth me, this looks interesting. We have waited for this for so long. OK, so who gets what.

General career options for everybody: Interrogator ( trusted high level Acolyte ) and Inquisitor
Arbites: Judge
Assassin: Death Cult Assassin, Vindicare ( seriously!? )
Guardsman: Storm Trooper
Priest: Crusader ( maybe this is for Sororitas too ), Hierophant
Psyker: Primaris Psyker
Scum: Desperado
Tech-Priest: Magos

Looking good .

Just finished my listen. Nice show as ever guys, even though I don't play Descent or the 40k RPGs, and never likely will, it is still interesting to hear the discussions. Much like Craig likes watching over the shoulders of games he's not playing in, I like listening on stuff about games I'm never going to experience, just out of interest.

I was however, particularly inspired by a couple of comments in the "Acheivements" section:

Firstly Russ' observation about "Rules Transparency", which was echoed somewhat in amongst Craig's comments in "DYEN?" at the end. That is there is a fine line where a set of rules risks passing from being "interesting" to being "over complex" and thereby ruining the feel and fun of the game. I heartily echo that concept. For me I like to get the rules down for a game and then start playing by instinct. The more I have to stop and consult a book/cards/goats intestines, the more I am dragged out of "the moment" and the fun is ruined for me. For me thoough it isn't just about complexity, it is also about intuitiveness and abstractness. In my mind I want to do this and this and that with my pieces because it seems an obvious thing to be able to do, but the more the rules say "well you can't do this you have to do that first and only if you roll a 4+ on a d7...yadda yadda yadda" and the less those rules seem to bear to the genre of the game then the less I am likely to enjoy and return to a game.

I am pleased by Russ' comment that WM MkII improves this aspect of the game, as to date I have had little desire to relearn the rules of the game and fork out for new books and cards and gak, and so my Khador army has lain mouldering in a corner. WM has definitely been "dead" (by the Gallant definition) in my group. The death of MkI killed our desire to play, even though there was no logical reason for that to happen. Maybe this will give us the spur to get into MkII? Maybe? Depends if I can find the £30 to fork out on new stuff I suppose.

Secondly regarding the "death" of FA in your group. Didn't surprise me, and I totally understand Craig's point and support it, even if the face of the insistance to the contrary by the ever-persuasive Giant Head! My comments on WM MkI above show how the same thing happens in our small group of 3 fogie gamers. Some games we play for a while, some come back and back. Others, for sometimes no readily apparent reason just moulder through and undefineable lack of pazzazz, sparkle (no too.. Twilighty), erm... "certain something". Whatever. And for me FA has also joined that group after one solitary game. Don't know why really, can't quite put my finger on it. But having really anticipated the game and eagerly devoured it when it was released, and having (and still) thoroughly enjoyed US, and loving other space games like BFG and Full Thrust, our first game, for me was a real let down and I find myself siding with Raef in my opinion of the game. Maybe too abstract, maybe too many fiddly (ugh how fiddly) tokens littering the table, maybe too generic fluff, maybe the fact I wasn't blown away by the designs of the space ships.... I dunno. But after one game I'm filled with the desire not to bother having a second. It is dead to me! In the most internet-drama-queenesque way, of course.

Which sparks in me a point of thought regarding the function of 40k and once people abandon it whether it will be replaced by some universally accepted game ever again. The 40k game became so monolithic and all-encompassing and dominant that for a while there was no other game (apart from a few GW-related side-shows like WFB, Gorkamorka and such) in the universe. Everyone played it, and only it, and Big Brother was your friend. But those times are long gone and the gaming world is much more fragmented now. Now there ARE alternatives to 40k, and lots of them. Once the 40k shackles are broken from your gaming group is it ever likely taht some all-pervading universally accepted game will come to take their place? I suspect not. Its not just that your group (or my group are magpies) its simply the fact that playing the same game week after week, for most of us is more boring than trying something else, now we can. Personally I find campaigns boring and always did, but when there was only one game to play it was a way of sustaining interest. Now its just easier to flip onto something else. I'm truly sorry for the Gallants of this world who enjoy campaigns. Sadly though, I feel unless you are still involved in a mono-gaming culture somewhere, the days of campaigns are numbered for many groups.

And that brings me to Malifaux. Interesting to hear your take on the game and how and why you haven't played it yet. It's going to be my first game tonight. I suspect like you it has taken so long because having first skim-read the rules/fluff and gone "wow, this is amazing", the second time I went through them to read them in detail I spent a lot of time going "WTF?" and being totally confused. I loved painting the figures, but I really struggled with the rules. Will 1 game kill off the "hotness" for me? Will there be too much complexity and lack of rules transparency? We'll see. I look forward to hearing when and if you find time to get into Malifaux.

And finally. Another development. I know you are, like me, fluff-gamers and not matrix-gamers. So what does the announcement of the creation of RankingsHQ say to you? I know there are a lot of competitive folks out there who don't find fun in any activity unless they are doing it faster, longer, deeper, higher or whatever than someone else. Never understood those folks, but I know they exist. But seriously, competing to be the "best Warhammer gamer"? Seriously? Isn't that just like setting up a competition for the winner to run down the street in a giant chicken suit shouting "Hey guys, look at me, I'm the biggest dork in the universe!" Really? Guys, c'mon. Seriously? You sad sacks!

No hate, just massive, massive amusement at people who take such pride in beating someone in a game involving dice and little plastic toys!

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Osbad: Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful commentary.

About this...

Osbad wrote:
And finally. Another development. I know you are, like me, fluff-gamers and not matrix-gamers. So what does the announcement of the creation of RankingsHQ say to you? I know there are a lot of competitive folks out there who don't find fun in any activity unless they are doing it faster, longer, deeper, higher or whatever than someone else. Never understood those folks, but I know they exist. But seriously, competing to be the "best Warhammer gamer"? Seriously? Isn't that just like setting up a competition for the winner to run down the street in a giant chicken suit shouting "Hey guys, look at me, I'm the biggest dork in the universe!" Really? Guys, c'mon. Seriously? You sad sacks!

No hate, just massive, massive amusement at people who take such pride in beating someone in a game involving dice and little plastic toys!

Well, I can't pick on the RankingsHQ concept at all, because long time Dakka fans will know that I authored and maintained "Dakka Stats" for many years which did for a few dedicated GW game groups what this new system is trying to do for the world.

I TOTALLY see and understand the appeal of competitive gaming, at it was something I indulged in heavily in my younger days.

So to RankingsHQ I say: HEY! Where the heck is WARMACHINE/Hordes?

Having just finished The Hollywood Minute, I feel obligated to propose that Raef's gamer-cred be downgraded for admitting he likes the movie "Bring it On."

Well, I played my first game of Malifaux last night, and I am relieved to say I enjoyed it. Here are a couple of pics I snapped with my phone of the game:




Positives: Atmospheric: the card drawing mechanic really gave it a wild west/horror feel that mere dice-rolling wouldn't have done I think. Also, the actual card-drawing mechanic was in actuality a lot more simple and intuitive in reality than it sounded when it was being explained in the rulebook!

Negatives: The rules on the cards are HUGE. Referencing Russ's point in the podcast about "transparency", these are the most complicated rules on a set of cards I have seen. Way more information than on WM MkI for instance. This is a bit of a problem, and it is only mitigated in that there are only 5 or 6 cards to control at once. But this whole keeping track of not only the numbers on the cards but also their suite as well, makes for a lot of complication that risks destroying the atmosphere of the game. I really wouldn't want to play it with more than half a dozen models - my brain would fry.

Top Tip: Photocopy the "rules" pages out of the rulebook. While having chapters of the fluff alternate with sections of the rules makes for a good read, it really slows down trying to find things mid game. This lunchtime I'm going to do that, and bind in with them the FAQ and Errata that have just recently been released. Should make for better reference material during play. ANYTHING to speed it up!

Having said that we managed a game of two intro-boxes first time played in 2 1/4 hours, so it wasn't too heavy. Particularly as both of us are still recovering from man-flu and aren't the spryest in the brain department come evening!

My review score: 4+. I think it is an esoteric taste, and the detailed rules on the model cards will put a lot of gamers off. Although the "cards instead of dice" mechanic is actually quite fun once you get the hang of it.

And then there has been a development in the FA arena. My mate is determined to try it again and give it another go. So that's our game for next week. I'm not expecting great things, but we'll see! You never know, I may go all random and find out I'll like it. There may be life after death after all!

Jack of all games wrote:So did everybody get their housing taken care of today for Gen Con? That was a steaming pile of fun, wasn't it?

It wasn't that much trouble for me actually.

The Wyrd site Forums have a lot of good cheat sheets for Malifaux available.

I wouldn't think of playing without them.

Vladigar wrote:Having just finished The Hollywood Minute, I feel obligated to propose that Raef's gamer-cred be downgraded for admitting he likes the movie "Bring it On."

As I listened to the Hollywood Minute I realized that I felt no need to rebut Raef's position on Avatar being a quality film. As he listed the other films he enjoys I thought to myself ... 'nuff said.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Osbad:

Thanks for the Malifaux photos. Nice terrain!!! I'm going to play some more Malifaux this coming week in prep for our big TempleCon event, I look forward to getting to know the game better. But I agree that this game is REALLY fun with very low model count. But larger games could get crazy.

skrulnik wrote:The Wyrd site Forums have a lot of good cheat sheets for Malifaux available.

I wouldn't think of playing without them.

Any linkies? I've had a good lurk around the forums, but cant find anything like that!

One thing I've been meaning to comment on is the new bumpers; I noticed those a few episodes back. They are a great change (not that the old ones were bad) but they do spice things up.

Pity about Charlie not visiting Ross Watson though.

http://www.wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10525

http://tabletopgeeks.com/malifaux-downloads/

skrulnik wrote:http://www.wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10525

http://tabletopgeeks.com/malifaux-downloads/

Excellent!! Thanks very much! Those are really helpful!

Thankfully Wyrd aren't so retentive about IP issues as certain other games companies I could mention ...

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but I wonder if D6G will stop advertising Lone Wolf Development after their recent actions.

Probably not and they shouldn't really get involved anyway, it's between PP and LWD.

It's not just PP, other forums have received similar C&Ds over the past week and I bet more will follow, unless LWD rethinks their policy in the face of general internet outrage.

I know they are a sponsor, so anything i say will be tainted from that viewpoint but...

I do honestly understand why this must be done. In fact companies fight this problem all the time.

Lone Wolf development has made the term "Army Builder" a household word in our industry. Just as Rollerblade, Band-Aid, and Q-Tip did with their products.

However companies must guard against the word becoming a common phrase, or they loose their trademark.

Therefore Lone Wolf must encourage the use of a term like "army creation tool" just as other companies encouraged "in-line skates", adhesive strips, and cotton swabs.

That's all that is happening here.

Well said Russ. And I absolutely agree.
Maybe the communication couldve been handled in a different way, however, the essence of the matter is, that LWD did everything by the book and had every right to do, what they did.

I agree that LWD (& GW before them in *many* instances, although not all by any means - although that's a different story) had the right to do what they did. However having the right to do something doesn't always make doing it the wisest choice.

I sometimes wonder if the lawyers and the fear that they generate drowns out the voices of the PR men in these cases.

Sure there's a *potential* downside of not "vigorously defending your IP", but there sure is a *real* downside if you come off as an ass in being perceived to defend your IP *too vigorously*.

In these cases there's no clear right decision, just shades of wrong ones I think. And the CEO of a company seeing potential threats to their IP needs to be fully mindful of the dilemma they are really in or risk devaluing their IP whatever they do!