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The only thing WD has that I want are the rules updates for new models and tweaks to codices. But those articles should be available online anyways since anyone who places that army will need them.

And I don't understand why they made Space Hulk a limited release. The game is good enough to sell for a looooong time.

WD really did die when Paul Sawyer left back at 300. I really enjoyed the magazine back in those days, still read a few of the older ones just to see the absolutely random yet incredibly interesting articles.

Some guys playing in their basement with chippy take-aways, vehicle and monster design rules. Stories, in-magazine campaigns and modelling/army building articles. Late 90's and early naughties really were a golden era for white dwarf. It really did focus on the community 'what YOU can do' side of things.

 Howard A Treesong wrote:
The other thing is that people want more 'hobby content'. But this is often at odds with the direction GW has taken in recent years which is why I'm sceptical about magazine overhauls. They want you to buy their RoB table and all their plastic scenery kits. Any terrain article will simply be about making one of those kits, or kitbashing several of those kits together.

Terrain making used to be frequently encouraged by describing it as being a cheap and fun side of the hobby. Well they're hardly going to tell you that now and make a point of showing you each month how to make scenery on the cheap when they're specifically trying to sell you kits for the table.

This. I've got on my shelf, along with old Army Books from the 90s (Dwarfs ftw!), a book called "How To Make Wargames Terrain" produced by Games Workshop.


Inside is a load of guides on how to make terrain for 40K and Fantasy including hills, woods, hedges, jungles, craters, rivers, marshes, houses, ruins and pretty much everything else you need out of cardboard, foam and bits and pieces from around the house.

Do a quick search on GWs site and whaddaya know? It doesn't exist there any more.

Semper wrote:
WD really did die when Paul Sawyer left back at 300. I really enjoyed the magazine back in those days, still read a few of the older ones just to see the absolutely random yet incredibly interesting articles.

Some guys playing in their basement with chippy take-aways, vehicle and monster design rules. Stories, in-magazine campaigns and modelling/army building articles. Late 90's and early naughties really were a golden era for white dwarf. It really did focus on the community 'what YOU can do' side of things.

Perspective is an amazing thing. I thought WD was dodgy at 160, meh at 200 and kindling by 275.

Have always brought it, just generally hated it lol. Be honest for me when GW stopped supporting RPGs's.

We remember fat bloke, but does anyone remember when they sacked the London team and moved it to Nottingham.

What about Red Giant magazine ?

@ A Town Called Malus

It is that book and a few others (railroad and military) that I help promote people to create their own terrain. Excellent Book to have.

As far as WD is concerned. I doubt anything special is going to happen. They are just too damned cheap to put time and effort on PR.

IF they did not put any effort in presenting themselves as "The Biggest Miniature Game Company in the world!" at Gen Con, why do you think there will be effort in putting money on their own ad rag??? Because they are freaking cheap in all ways possible.

http://theback40k.blogspot.com/2012/08/gencon-appreciating-scale.html#more

Scroll down to see the Awesomeness of Games Workshop compared to Privateer Press. Worship oh thee white knights on their supreme presence upon the masses at one of the major Game/Trade shows in the US. Pathetic. Sarcasm is of course included in these sentences.

Good article bty since it went over what was going on at the Convention than a complete rant on the corporation.

I applaud this if true... however... unless they solve their subscription issue (magazine arriving for subscribers like 3 weeks after hitting store shelves), I am not, and never will be interested in getting a subscription again.

They get it to me at or around general release, I would take a subscription again in a heartbeat, even as it is now.

Magnamaniac wrote:

Semper wrote:
WD really did die when Paul Sawyer left back at 300. I really enjoyed the magazine back in those days, still read a few of the older ones just to see the absolutely random yet incredibly interesting articles.

Some guys playing in their basement with chippy take-aways, vehicle and monster design rules. Stories, in-magazine campaigns and modelling/army building articles. Late 90's and early naughties really were a golden era for white dwarf. It really did focus on the community 'what YOU can do' side of things.

Perspective is an amazing thing. I thought WD was dodgy at 160, meh at 200 and kindling by 275.

Have always brought it, just generally hated it lol. Be honest for me when GW stopped supporting RPGs's.

Well I started reading it under the 'reign' of Fat Bloke, in about 99.. so most of my highest years of activity playing were during the major years of Sawyer, Chambers and beyond and I was fairly young.. so I grew up a little with their words.. so yeah. Pleasant memories. Can't say pre-fat bloke, only post but I don't often hear of anything pre ergo my assumption that particular editor hald sway over the golden era. I do agree it DID degrade over the years though but I always felt that was less Paul and his contributors and more the GW company.

 DeffDred wrote:

In truth the LotRs eatting up half the issues was the #1 reason I stopped buying WD in the first place.

Its a different game system, it isn't even featured all that much. In its hayday WD used to have regular articles for a half dozen systems, other wargaming magazines cover a huge array of games and even print articles which can be altered to suit most rulesets.

WD hasn't be worth reading since well before the LotR film went into production. I can't even remember the last one I bought but it was in the late 90's/early 00's.

"Moving out of the design studios"? I don't see how this is supposed to be good.

How hard can it be to simply go back to the old days where stuff like useful guides, interesting previews and fluff articles (Index Astartes, Index Malleus, Liber Sororitas, ...) all written by actual GW people and the occasional guest writer outweighed the adverts?

Okay, maybe there will be more content in this revamp, but it's apparently going to be written by different people with less regular contact to those who actually make the game. Red tape as it exists in any organisation with different departments will mean less current information, and any fluff written by outsiders might not line up with the studio vision, rendering it as susceptible to deviant interpretations as your average Black Library novel.

Eh, I guess I'll give it a try and see how it goes. If this rumour is actually true. Not holding my breath.

If they brought back Paul "Fat Bloke" Sawyer as editor and lowered the price to below US$7.00 I would not only subscribe, but I would probably buy GW minis again.

Since this wont be happening, Good luck with the "famous magazine" editor.

I currently like how white dwarf is right now. I just wish it weren't $9 a pop.

 djphranq wrote:
I currently like how white dwarf is right now.

Which bits specifically?

I bought WD for ten years, then stopped about two years ago. They could get me to purchase it again quite easily. Give me new WD only canon, and new WD only Smith/Boyd/Dainton/Kopinski art every month. The golden age of WD for me was the Index Astartes years. I loved getting each issue, pouring over the Space Marine chapter in question.

For me, it was always the settings. The success of the Black Library should tell them that poeple love the setting, and want more of it. Just give it to us!

engine

 Pacific wrote:
Just like the rising of the sun, here comes Kaldor commenting in a WD thread about the printed medium

Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint!

Please, just go out and buy another of some of the well-written magazines out there. 'The Word' (music mag- not sure if you can buy in Aus?), Total Film, Empire, there is a long list of worthwhile reads. They feature articles written about interesting comment, and that have been written by people who have made a career out of writing well. That, I think more than anything else, is what is missing from current editions of WD. As way of comparison, go back to a WD pre-310 or so and see how much the magazine is missing these days.

Well, I don't make a career out of reading magazines, but the few I've had the misfortune of perusing in waiting rooms, or that my wife buys (especially the wedding magazines we bought leading up to our own wedding) were all total crap. Make-work articles, glossy adverts letters pages (who the hell writes in to a magazine any more?). I'm happy to wade through that crap when it's directly related to my hobby, and yes I'd love it if there were better articles in WD, but I don't even know what I'd want.

IMO, any attempt to increase the quality of the content of WD is going to be met with derision by the player base, especially the internet. No matter how hard they try, people will still rant and rave about how crap their articles are, and WD won't see an increase in sales that will justify the expense of the this 'overhaul'. And so they'll scrap it, and go back to how it is.

 Kaldor wrote:

 Pacific wrote:
Just like the rising of the sun, here comes Kaldor commenting in a WD thread about the printed medium

Well, I wouldn't want to disappoint!

Please, just go out and buy another of some of the well-written magazines out there. 'The Word' (music mag- not sure if you can buy in Aus?), Total Film, Empire, there is a long list of worthwhile reads. They feature articles written about interesting comment, and that have been written by people who have made a career out of writing well. That, I think more than anything else, is what is missing from current editions of WD. As way of comparison, go back to a WD pre-310 or so and see how much the magazine is missing these days.

Well, I don't make a career out of reading magazines, but the few I've had the misfortune of perusing in waiting rooms, or that my wife buys (especially the wedding magazines we bought leading up to our own wedding) were all total crap. Make-work articles, glossy adverts letters pages (who the hell writes in to a magazine any more?). I'm happy to wade through that crap when it's directly related to my hobby, and yes I'd love it if there were better articles in WD, but I don't even know what I'd want.

IMO, any attempt to increase the quality of the content of WD is going to be met with derision by the player base, especially the internet. No matter how hard they try, people will still rant and rave about how crap their articles are, and WD won't see an increase in sales that will justify the expense of the this 'overhaul'. And so they'll scrap it, and go back to how it is.

I disagree. There are multiple things that GW can do, as the sole producer of their products that noone else can do. Especially, interviews with the sculptors / games developers / Blanche. Eavy-Metal master classes are better than any painting guide I've seen on the internet, and the (old) battle reports that featured turn-by-turn maps were better than anything I've seen from online. Having paid, professional writers and photographers with the right directives will produce higher quality than people on the internet will .

Maybe the point of moving them to a different location is so that the upper management can't find them? And stop them. All I can think about is that spiel John Connor gives in Terminator 4 to the resistance.

"If you can hear this, you are the fanbase."

As for the point about no matter what they do being met with derision, that is a fair point in that it will happen. However the cornerstone of Customer Service is not to generate toxic customers. GW has utterly failed on this aspect of CS, especially here in Australia, and they are reaping what they sowed. At this stage there is still going to be a significant amount of people who will actively try to deter others from getting into the hobby for many reasons. Justified or otherwise.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 djphranq wrote:
I currently like how white dwarf is right now.

Which bits specifically?

Different things about it.

(using WD 391 as an example)

The 2 spread shots of the Daemon armies inside the front cover.
The New Releases section.
The Black Library 'ad' in the following pages.
The Chaos Daemons articles with the paint color suggestions and the pictures.
The Chaos Daemons 'ad' showing what is available.
The Modeling Workshop section with its examples and pictures.
The 40k Eye of the Warp Storm Battle Report with its lists, play by play, and pictures.
The 'Apparatus of War' 'ad'.
The Battle Brothers piece showcasing different lists with allies and pictures.
The Librarians of Tzeentch piece that had the rules/stats for the Blue Scribes.
The WHFB The Siege of Saphery Battlereport with its lists, play by play, and pictures.
The Warhammer 'ad' that followed it showing some of the accessories available.
The Warhammer Arena of Death piece with the different pairings and pictures.
The Blanchitsu section showcasing the different Nurgle Chaos Lords.
The Warhammer 'ad' showing some of the single model model plastic blisters.
The 2 page spread featuring some Forge World pieces.
The Working with Citadel Finecast section with examples and product suggestions.
The Tools of the Trade 'ad'.
The Armies on Parade piece with pictures of Matt Spencer's Ork Army.
The bit of 'news' about the Rogue Trader and Deathwatch supplements.
The Throne of Skulls piece that showcased some of the armies.
The Store Finder section.
The 'Next Month' inside cover picture.
The picture on the back cover.
The Daemons of Chaos Supplement that came with the issue.
Pretty much everything.

Really I just like it because its kind of like window shopping with some extra info without having to be at a store.

Sure I can get stuff like this online for free... arguably better stuff... but I like having a physical magazine (catalog) to flip through... plus there isn't something to click on to add items to a cart like I'll be prone to do when online in general.

TL;DR

I'm a GW fanboy

 djphranq wrote:
I'm a GW fanboy

Of course you are. You like the ads.

H.B.M.C. wrote:

 djphranq wrote:
I'm a GW fanboy

Of course you are. You like the SEXYads.

Fixed that for you.

 djphranq wrote:

H.B.M.C. wrote:

 djphranq wrote:
I'm a GW fanboy

Of course you are. You like the SEXYads.

Fixed that for you.

I have to agree to an extent. Their ads compared to what they were back in the day are sexier. So if ads for miniatures are ones thing, then WD is da bomb.

For those of us that liked the Hobby Supplement side of things from the older WD though, we find it difficult to masturbate to.

You know what it could use? Centerfolds...

...like a fold out picture of a Baneblade... mmmm naked Baneblade...

 djphranq wrote:
You know what it could use? Centerfolds...

...like a fold out picture of a Baneblade... mmmm naked Baneblade...

And now I can't stop giggling at the thought of a Tech-Priest, upon another Tech-Priest finding his secret stash of WD, stammering out;

"I-I-I only read it for the articles! I swear!"

And then it ends in a circuit jerk.

Servitor on servitor action.... awwwww yyyyeeeeaahhhh.

So for all these reasons and more, we clearly need a Black Label White Dwarf.

And its article on A safe guide to Power Fisting.

Ok. I'm going to stop now. I know just how far this will go.

(And sadly the one time I would finally have use of the picture of two servo-skulls humping and I can't find it >.<

Trasvi wrote:

I disagree. There are multiple things that GW can do, as the sole producer of their products that noone else can do. Especially, interviews with the sculptors / games developers / Blanche. Eavy-Metal master classes are better than any painting guide I've seen on the internet, and the (old) battle reports that featured turn-by-turn maps were better than anything I've seen from online. Having paid, professional writers and photographers with the right directives will produce higher quality than people on the internet will .

Yup. A professionally made battle report is a beautiful thing to behold.

I used to really enjoy them until I realised that the new army *always* won. And now I'm a bit older I'd be annoyed at the rubbish lists too, I guess.

I have thought about cancelling my subscription pretty much every month for the last year. However, my 3-year old son likes to look at the pictures and photos, asking endless questions about everything. Even with the dearth of real content for me, WD has been a tool for training the next generation of gamers, at least in my home. Hopefully this new rumor is true and they'll start printing something besides pretty pictures.

I think the last WD I bought was the one that went along with the Ork Stompa release, with the pull-out poster. And even then I was only buying every other month or so. The end of religiously buying WD every month was around 300-310.

JoshInJapan wrote:
I have thought about cancelling my subscription pretty much every month for the last year. However, my 3-year old son likes to look at the pictures and photos, asking endless questions about everything. Even with the dearth of real content for me, WD has been a tool for training the next generation of gamers, at least in my home. Hopefully this new rumor is true and they'll start printing something besides pretty pictures.

Dang it. I have a literal pile of WDs that I am going to be throwing away because no one wants them. I wish I could send them to you for your son. :(

If any Dakkaites find themselves near Parramatta NSW Australia and want them let me know. You will be doing me a favor.

 Atma01 wrote:
I have to agree to an extent. Their ads compared to what they were back in the day are sexier. So if ads for miniatures are ones thing, then WD is da bomb.

I beg to differ. Just look at this:



Look at it!!!

They even highlight the fact that it comes with transfers. My God man: Transfers!



TRANSFERS!!!

*faints*

Hey, at least back then they all came with sticky-back flags to put on models. That's one thing I genuinely miss, especially the backpack flags for Marines and pennants for bikes and Jetbikes.