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So more books are coming. More publications that take a lot of time to print and are needed to play your selected army. Why?

I wish GW would take a note out of the digital video game book. Use Steam service as an example.

The whole hard copy thing is stupid and out dated.

Using a digital subscription and list builder would get rid of the nonsense of having to use multiple sources of information to play a damn game. Codex, supplements, faq's, etc etc.

Why not something like

*Buy a year long sub for the rule book.
*Buy an add-on for a codex or supplement of your choice when they come out. You need a BRB sub and a Codex Orks sub to play them.
*Include a digital army builder that takes info from your purchased subs and helps you make a list, that can printed or used digitally. Your list builder would use the BRB and your Orks Codex. Want to make an Eldar list? You need to buy the Eldar codex subscription.
*Any changes to rules, points cost etc gets updated digitally and changes any information with a patch like update. Real time, and EVERYONE is on the same page. ALL information for your purchased information in ONE place. I am not a fan of trying to google a rule or stat in a middle of a game that was FAQ'd a week ago that my opponent was not aware of. Also not a fan of having to flip through 4 different hard copies of books to find a unit rule/info.

If GW would spend more resources on software developers, and less time on print, information and updates could come much faster, and updated regularly. As it is now, they make the rules, unit info, etc. Get it to layout. Send it to print.....etc. etc... Think about the possibility of releasing specific army information at the SAME time...or close to it. Being able to not only release them across the board, but able to update them as needed on the fly. How could this be bad?

Oh, but what about people who like books and artwork and stacks of books? Sure, print the books with painting guides, fluff, and pictures of models for people who like to look at the books, or use them in conjunction with a digital list. But make that a secondary item, and more of a collector thing and not a necessary item.

Think about how much time this would cut between codex releases, supplements and whatnot. Think about how EASY it would be to balance units moving forward, or make changes dynamically instead of having to wait for it to be printed or digging to find a FAQ.

People will continue to use digital list builders. Its not going away. Why not get on-board instead of trying to fight it? People will continue to use seedy ways to getting codex/rules. Why not give them a REASON to buy them legit instead of trying to fight it? Hell, take advantage of it....

I just wish with the "New GW" like movement they are still stuck in the past.

I hate steam. I really love my hard copy. If I pay for something, I want something in my hands.

Fully agree tbh Vaxx.
The counter argument is that digital can be pirated much more than hardcopies though.

However GW are definitely behind the times in their online/software capabilities. Hell it took them 25 years to develope and launch the community website.

 godardc wrote:
I hate steam. I really love my hard copy. If I pay for something, I want something in my hands.

Ok. Then buy your hard copy. At the same time, you can have access to the digital version as well. And not have to deal with looking up FAQ's and erratas (digitally I might add) when they come out.

I have not bought a hard copy PC game in years. Why have a box with a disc in it taking up space in my office? Also, I assume when patches come out for your games you updated them digitally as well....

They've been doing both physical and digital copies of everything for a while now. They even had an app that sounds like what you're trying to describe, however for AoS.

Subscription to a book? feth right off. If I buy a book, even in digital form, I should be able to read it now or in 40 years.

I do like having hard copies. If I were in charge I would go for data-slates as individual cards. You could have a deck for each faction and would only need to print up and sell individual cards annually to keep the deck up to date.

Considering the rather frustrating layout of the Indexes, this is something I am seriously considering doing for my T'au with some card, Photoshop and a laminator.

Vaxx wrote:

 godardc wrote:
I hate steam. I really love my hard copy. If I pay for something, I want something in my hands.

Ok. Then buy your hard copy. At the same time, you can have access to the digital version as well. And not have to deal with looking up FAQ's and erratas (digitally I might add) when they come out.

I have not bought a hard copy PC game in years. Why have a box with a disc in it taking up space in my office? Also, I assume when patches come out for your games you updated them digitally as well....

You don't know, but I made the exact same thread long ago, arguing that GW should give a digital copy with every physical copy.
I got this idea thanks to the "ultraviolet" label.

Funny how, as the time pass, people keep having the same idea

A digital subscription method would be a good option. The new Index books smell bloomin good though.

I like digital and hard copy’s. But i definitely want a hard copy. but they should really check their books better before printing them especially FW.

there is a differance between a video game and a board game I need my computer anyway to play a video game.

 godardc wrote:
I hate steam. I really love my hard copy. If I pay for something, I want something in my hands.

I love Steam. I love my hard copy. The smell of a new book. Occasionally flipping through to admire the images. I'll never leave books behind.

They could do with a tandem hard copy / digital copy for an extra $10 or something though.

yeah steam is great for books not so much, I enjoy curling up in bed with a new book and reading it

Think you're asking for too much here, especially from GW.
They literally just realised a year ago there's a thing called the internet and perhaps it would be a good idea to reach out to the community and social media.

GW is like your old grandfather that has a Facebook account he can barely manage to use and words like 'youtube', 'Snapchat', 'instagram' or 'twitter' confuses him.

does the OP want a 'War Room' app for 40k?

good luck.

Its more like we should be able to create a digital account. Every hard copy book should come with a digital code to add a digital version of the book to your account. Digital versions are updated as points costs/errata are put out/adjusted.

It sucks carrying around a library but I love the hard copies. Its just easier to show your opponent rules without handing strangers my phone/tablet. Also I think part of the charm of the hobby is getting away from technology and playing games with people you can interact with. At least its just that way for me. As far as the erratas go I'm okay with printing them out and putting them in the back of my book.

It would be nice wouldn't it?

Still have hard copies, but also software copies that automatically update whenever FAQs get released. Sadly I don't think they do the latter part for 40k, only AoS.

I'm not a fan of Digital books. I prefer hard copy.
If GW went full digital I'd be done with this hobby.

I'm all about having a physical copy. However I'm also about having a physical copy in a format which makes sense for the product. If the return of hard-back codices means more $55-60 books? I'm out.

I buy a lot more models than I do codexes. I play a LOT less than I paint. if your (OP) ridiculous idea came through and you subscribed to codexes and army building Id quit this hobby so fast you'd get the whiplash it just wouldnt be worth it for me to pay what would surely be an astronomical cost from this company for something I use rarely. The beauty of books is their permanence and I can play 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 7th edition at any time I felt the want or desire. Your idea not only cheapens the quality of the product but they would still charge as much or more than they already do for something worth much less

I'm a big fan of digital books. At least novels.

For reference, though? Such a pain. And GW only seems to want to do 2 versions- a stripped down one that has no useful features for flipping to meaningful content, or a stupidly expensive, overly bloated file size with too many crap features that get in the way of usability.

That's kinda my problem with them. I used the Epubs for my first two games of 8th edition. I couldn't find the pages I needed quickly enough. Even using a table of content the pages just have too much information to load quickly enough.

 warhead01 wrote:

If GW went full digital I'd be done with this hobby.

This.

Digital books can go themselves.
I hate reading rules on a tablet or on a phone (let alone the fact that I don't own a tablet nor do I plan on getting one.)

I want a (hardback) codex/book in my hand.

I would prefer a 100% digital line, which they kinda have now. However I am not sure if all the erratas and FAQ changes actually make it in the digital copies, I have not compared.

I also like physical books though, but I've always prefered soft covers over the hard backs that GW are making now. For 8th I was hoping for a small, soft cover BRB in the starter set (you know, like they've done for a long time before 8th) as well as soft cover indexes and codexes. The indexes are soft cover, which is great, but the codexes will be hard cover. That annoys me.

If all changes with erratas and FAQs made it into the digital copies, and they were 100% up to date, that is always the best option for me at least. Who wants to carry around 3 or 4 books, along with a set of printed out FAQ and errata pages, or alternatively actually writing the changes in the books, or using sticky notes to indiciate a change in points or whatever. It's just old fashioned and cumbersome.

It definitely shouldn't be a subscription and definitely shouldn't be only digital. It is just so much quicker to find rules in a hard copy in the middle of a game. They should just sell codexes like they do now but increase the price say ~30% and it comes with a digital download code for a copy they keep updated to be in line with the errata and with the faqs tacked onto the end.

Edit: An official list builder app would be great though.

Vaxx wrote:

If GW would spend more resources on software developers, and less time on print, information and updates could come much faster, and updated regularly. As it is now, they make the rules, unit info, etc. Get it to layout. Send it to print.....etc. etc... Think about the possibility of releasing specific army information at the SAME time...or close to it. Being able to not only release them across the board, but able to update them as needed on the fly. How could this be bad?

Oh, but what about people who like books and artwork and stacks of books? Sure, print the books with painting guides, fluff, and pictures of models for people who like to look at the books, or use them in conjunction with a digital list. But make that a secondary item, and more of a collector thing and not a necessary item.

You know there are people who prefer looking rules from real books? I find out rules I need faster from my books than any android app I have ever tried for reading. Plus books dont' run out of battery all the time like phone does.

 godardc wrote:
I hate steam. I really love my hard copy. If I pay for something, I want something in my hands.

Same here. I don't want something I cannot read if my tablet/phone is not charged. Flipping pages is much easier than scrolling on a device. My book will not be trashed by a random SW update.

If people like e-books then that is fine but I will stick with ink and paper (read by candle-light :p ) thank you very much.

Tabletop gaming is a very physical thing. I think there are a disproportionately large number of GW players who hate modern technology.
GW is experimenting with digital rules and subscriptions on the aos app but I don't see a lot of talk about it.
GW stopped doing enhanced battletomes for AoS because no-one was buying them.
GW has said they will do a 40k app at some point but I don't see it being anything more than a useful additional tool.

Chikout wrote:
Tabletop gaming is a very physical thing. I think there are a disproportionately large number of GW players who hate modern technology.
GW is experimenting with digital rules and subscriptions on the aos app but I don't see a lot of talk about it.
GW stopped doing enhanced battletomes for AoS because no-one was buying them.
GW has said they will do a 40k app at some point but I don't see it being anything more than a useful additional tool.

I do not hate technology, I hate:
* paying to rent stuff
* being at the mercy of an online service
* hoping that my device will keep supporting updated versions

Physical Books suffer from none of the above.. corrections are easily made with pencil and/or a printed errata.