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Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






How do?

Wasn’t sure where to post this thread, but I guess General is the best place.

Anyways. Over the past few years, we’ve seen WD go from woeful (weekly, with the baffling and expensive Warhammer Visions monthly), back to its monthly format. It’s been a random road, with some highs and more than a few lows.

But for me? Right now I feel I’m getting my monies worth. Beyond the very nice freebie last month, I’ve been greatly enjoying the Flashpoint series. They remind me of the Fat Bloke era, where WD well thought of. This month, we even saw a return of the fable card insert (providing Warscrolls for a Bloodthirster and Lord of Change from a flashpoint article).

We’re getting an interesting mix of rules, background (my favourite) and sundry other articles from modelling to painting. Sure, not everything is going to be of interest to every reader. If you don’t play AoS, how great an AoS article might be isn’t going to convince you if the 40K articles were scant or a bit crap.

I know some really don’t like the “now I need to carry that copy of WD and my Codex” approach. And fair enough. I’m not amongst that number, as it’s just what I’ve been used to since forever. It’s still a valid complaint regardless of how I feel.

Only thing I think they could do to balance things is go with the old “WD Presents” books of yesteryear. Essentially an irregular annual compiling WD articles into a compendium. So when say, Broken Realms or Paycheck Awakening wrapped, compile the related Flashpoint articles into a single volume at the end of the year. Keeps them in production longer, and means people don’t need to cart around multiple WDs (Gloomspite Gitz for instance would need three WD’s, as there are articles for Squig, Trolls and Spider armies)

There’s still some way to go, but I for one feel it’s definitely moving in the right direction now. But what about you, Dakka?

   
Made in gb
Lord of the Fleet






London

I'll be honest I'm still not much of a fan. Now they're diversifying into so much with Necromunda, Cursed City, few pages of short stories, only a very small bit is actually relevant to me.

I also miss the old-style battle reports with full top-down diagrams and text laid out turn-by-turn. Now it seems to be a bit of a mishmash.

Altogether it just seems too cluttered. If they did a staggered release (one month 40k universe, next month AoS), I'd be into that, but at the moment I'll just have a cursory glance and put it back on the shelves.
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






I do miss the older style battle reports. When they’re explaining what they’re hoping to achieve, we can follow where each unit went etc.

It should be easier than ever, too. Over the table cameras for “started off here, ended up over there” movement following, with the usual “we took these photos after for better composition” display shots.

And hey, throw in some narrative shorts too.

   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

I still feel like something is "missing" from WD but I can't quite put my finger on it. I mean besides the lack of Fat Bloke.



I still feel that battle reports are rather boring. It's just a few pictures with a very short summary of actions and I don't feel as if they neither capture the cinematic side of the fun nor the tactical side of the fun. I'd prefer them to go really heavily one way or ther other and hopefully mix them up so that they can appeal to those who want a blow for blow account in cinematic terms; and also a more in depth tactical approach*


The other aspect I could say is a few articles, like the paiting, can at times feel very much like they are written by people used to writing blog/webpage articles rather than writing books. Short bulletpoints; simple concepts and fragmented tutorial concepts. Rather than more in depth and detailed and expansive writing that you might get form those more used to writing books.


Which is perhaps one big aspect, WD feels like consolidated internet articles like you could get off the Community Pages as opposed to a book or magazine. Granted this isn't unique to WD and is a huge cultural shift that I think we've had over the last decade or more since the internet really took off. My personal feeling is that WD doesn't benefit following the online approach because online will always win as its instant


*they might have to hire someone to do these ones

A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
Made in gb
Storm Trooper with Maglight





I think White Dwarf is certainly in a much better place than it has at times been. The content is pretty spot on. I don’t plan to subscribe any time soon, simply because some issues are relevant to me more than others, so I’d rather just buy the issues that are relevant.

I don’t think White Dwarf will ever be held in the same regard as in its glory days. Simply because there’s so much content that can now be found for free on the internet, there’s a lot of competition and White Dwarf is no longer as essential as it was in the past.

Rose tinted glasses are a factor too of course.
   
Made in gb
Revving Ravenwing Biker



Wrexham, North Wales

It's certainly better than the weekly/Visions era. Lots of content is in there, although that means you can't please everybody at once. The reappearance of the card insert is nice (let's hear it for the Skavenblight Scramblers), but we're still along way from the glory days from converting your tanks into a new tank (rhino + 40mm base + plasticard = Whirlwind!). The battle reports were better in the old days of course, but....
<stands up>
My name's Mark, and I hate Battle Reports.
<deep breath>


Of course the real glory days were the issues with Paranoia scenarios with Daleks in.

Hmm. I seem to have gone in 'nostalgia mode'. Sorry.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/04/19 12:20:16


 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut




I was annoyed when LotR content started appearing in WD, diluting the content for WH and 40k what I was really interested in. A quick look through the contents of recent issues shows the problem is now likely to be far worse for all but the most hardcore GW fan as half a dozen games vie for space inside the magazine. The battle reports are still pretty bad, and that was always my favourite part of the old WD.

The rest of the content seems like it's an even split of fairly interesting articles and the sort of content that's now done better in other mediums (like painting tutorials, for example). I agree with Overread that WD doesn't feel like a magazine, probably because writing longer form articles for magazines is becoming a lost art in the face of Twitter and Reddit posts. I think if they really want to make WD something useful to more people they need to delve deeper into the inner workings of the GW studio. That's probably of interest to a lot of people and it's content you can't get anywhere else.
   
Made in us
Rampaging Chaos Russ Driver





Albany, NY

I'm happy to have WD in its current format and will continue to support it basically forever, but it's still up and down. Most of the content feels too templated and too shallow, like they've overly standardized the article formats. The hobby articles in particular feel too cookie-cutter. Most of them could be summarized in a paint list and a few sentences that say 'use these colors in the 'Eavy Metal Way'. I get wanting to be new person friendly, but they are a bit too far in that direction. The Sons of Behemat issue was a spectacular exception, with tons of in depth coverage and the kind of extensive hobby work that I like to see. That issue was a great nod back to the issue when the original plastic Giant debuted, with high level hobby details, conversions, bat-reps, and fluff. The Warmaster Titan coverage felt way too shallow for such a big release compared to the Sons issue.

   
Made in au
Owns Whole Set of Skullz Techpriests






Versteckt in den Schatten deines Geistes.

I love having to wait a month between each part of Flashpoint rules.

Industrial Insanity - My Terrain Blog
"GW really needs to understand 'Less is more' when it comes to AoS." - Wha-Mu-077

 
   
Made in au
[DCM]
.. .-.. .-.. ..- -- .. -. .- - ..






Toowoomba, Australia

I like the current format except the large chunks taken up by flashpoint articles. The fluff/background is fine but there can be 10-15 pages of really detailed rules for a very specific area to fight or combatants.

I do like the specialist games getting their own section.

2024: Games Played:0/Models Bought:7/Sold:0/Painted: 53
2023: Games Played:0/Models Bought:287/Sold:0/Painted: 203
2020-2022: Games Played:42/Models Bought:1271/Sold:631/Painted:442
2016-19: Games Played:369/Models Bought:772/Sold:378/ Painted:268
2012-15: Games Played:412/Models Bought: 1163/Sold:730/Painted:436 
   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

The only recent one I read was that WD that came with those free steam games. It was okay I guess?

I used to love white dwarf when I first started the hobby, picked one up every time without fail. Stuff like Tale of 4 Gamers was great, it was funny. This new stuff seems a bit 'corporate'? It's as if they're trying to hit that old casual style but not quite getting there. It's a bit Steve Buscemi. "How do you do, fellow kids?".

One and a half feet in the hobby


My Painting Log of various minis:
# Olthannon's Oscillating Orchard of Opportunity #

 
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





I've been buying White Dwarf for nearly 30 years, barring a few gaps here and there.
It's much better now than a few years ago, the glossy pages and high quality images really do show off the hobby in it's best light.
I don't read the magazine from cover to cover like I once did though, internet forums, youtube battle reports and painting guides are now my preferred method of ingesting more hobby info, which you could only get from the magazine back in the day.

I've been playing a while, my first model was a lead marine and my first White Dwarf was bound with staples 
   
Made in nl
[MOD]
Decrepit Dakkanaut






Cozy cockpit of an Imperial Knight

Current incarnation bounces between "okay" and "good" for me personally, depending on the issue. The painting and warzone tutorials are always welcome and some of the flashpoint stuff is especially nice fodder for homebrew Crusades, though it sometimes feels a lot like filler and takes up for more page space than it really ought to. The articles by Phil Kelly are also a personal highlight for me. Biggest waste of space in my eyes are the Index Astartes articles, tackle something else already please, less MEQ and more anything but MEQ please. Them also wasting two or three issues worth of space on something that could've been done in a single issue (create your own Chapter and showing off the Tome Keepers) is something I didn't quite like.

I do like the current takes on Tale of Four Warlords, it's not Fat Bloke levels of awesome, but the current ones, where they take employees from the company and not just studio folks, makes for some fun projects of people either tackling something for the first time, or people just building a fun army for gaks and giggles, looking at you, all-Grot army.

But leaps and bounds better than when it was Weekly and paired with Visions, which truly was a waste of paper and money.

I am content with my subscription, though annoyed that right after I subscribed again for the first time in years, they pretty much started delaying delivery from start of the month to halfway / end of the month.



Fatum Iustum Stultorum



Fiat justitia ruat caelum

 
   
Made in pl
Longtime Dakkanaut




I buy it occasionally, when there's a particularly interesting focus-article for AoS. Those are usually good, the 40k ones are fine too I guess? Everything else is still incredibly shallow, and the battle reports are just unreadable compared to the old map ones imo. So it's a mixed bag, not as good as the late 90s stuff, but not actively worth setting on fire like last decade's take.
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Lone Wolf Sentinel Pilot





Leicester, UK

I have been buying it for the last 8 months and have just stopped, and probably won't get it again until there's something of interest, like new rules for my army. The photos are great but the writing (with the exception of the short stories) is poor - especially the flashpoint series, which comes across as the staff writer winging it on a lot of the panels, which don't hang together well. Having said that I love the idea and was intrigued with the necron one, to begin with.

Jervis Johnson, and Echoes from the Warp have been highlights.

My painting and modeling blog:

PaddyMick's Chopshop: Converted 40K Vehicles

 
   
Made in ca
Yellin' Yoof on a Scooter





Like many others I was a huge collector and avid collector.

Still have stacks and stacks that I still flip through for fun.

Now a days I have zero interest to even browse the current mags.

Like others said it no longer speaks to me or draws me in and instead is a unapologetically naked advertisement by people that I suspect don’t really game. While in the past I did realize it was ‘all ads all the time’, it was at least more subtle and less callous.

Da Groxx

Da Groxx, WarBoss of the Da Aff-Kicka Korps (DAKK) 
   
Made in gb
Decrepit Dakkanaut




UK

According to a twitter update - the White Dwarf Editor job just came up for grabs!



A Blog in Miniature

3D Printing, hobbying and model fun! 
   
Made in de
Ladies Love the Vibro-Cannon Operator






Hamburg

Nice add-on. Painting and modeling sections are fine.
But its not a must-have.

Former moderator 40kOnline

Lanchester's square law - please obey in list building!

Illumini: "And thank you for not finishing your post with a "" I'm sorry, but after 7200 's that has to be the most annoying sign-off ever."

Armies: Eldar, Necrons, Blood Angels, Grey Knights; World Eaters (30k); Bloodbound; Cryx, Circle, Cyriss 
   
Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut






 Overread wrote:
According to a twitter update - the White Dwarf Editor job just came up for grabs!

AGAIN? It's only been two years.
   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka





In recent times its been good, and it comes down to whether an issue delivers enough relevent content to whoever is reading it.

For example, issue 458 is my favourite so far as it contained the Tome Keeper index and AoS Solo rules, as well as some cool Necromunda stuff such as the scrapbot. Other issues...meh, not grabbed me as much I'm afraid.

Adeptus Titanicus has finally seen more coverage of late, and the recent Warmaster article was pretty good. It may be a bit late for myself as I've lost much interest in the game, but its still good to see that WD has stepped up in recent months to acknowledge Titanicus players.

Casual gaming, mostly solo-coop these days.

 
   
Made in ca
Veteran Wolf Guard Squad Leader






I've been certainly enjoying them a lot more in the past year!

Wolfspear's 2k
Harlequins 2k
Chaos Knights 2k
Spiderfangs 2k
Ossiarch Bonereapers 1k 
   
Made in gb
Ridin' on a Snotling Pump Wagon






SamusDrake wrote:
In recent times its been good, and it comes down to whether an issue delivers enough relevent content to whoever is reading it.

For example, issue 458 is my favourite so far as it contained the Tome Keeper index and AoS Solo rules, as well as some cool Necromunda stuff such as the scrapbot. Other issues...meh, not grabbed me as much I'm afraid.

Adeptus Titanicus has finally seen more coverage of late, and the recent Warmaster article was pretty good. It may be a bit late for myself as I've lost much interest in the game, but its still good to see that WD has stepped up in recent months to acknowledge Titanicus players.


It’s definitely a trickier juggle for GW these days, as they have more games out.

Even in the Fat Bloke era, not every issue catered to every game. The main thing was when you did get an article, it was pretty decent at worst. And that’s where I think they’re starting to get back to.

   
Made in gb
Fixture of Dakka





 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:


It’s definitely a trickier juggle for GW these days, as they have more games out.

Even in the Fat Bloke era, not every issue catered to every game. The main thing was when you did get an article, it was pretty decent at worst. And that’s where I think they’re starting to get back to.


Titanicus was basically the one game where it was lucky to be featured every six months, let alone every month. On top of a lousy release schedule it was so easy to believe that GW wanted the game to fail.

LOL, just noticed next month's issue has a Cursed City article...

Casual gaming, mostly solo-coop these days.

 
   
 
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