Re: [Epic] Games day part Two !!

From: Dave Gentzler <videodave_at_...>
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 21:58:38 -0400

OK, response time. And in Evil Homer mode:

>the last post of mine was sent BEFORE I recieved and read my mail and I
>would like to respond to some of the comments from the other attendees
>of Games Day.....first of all the outriders were NOT at fault for the
>orcs being missing on table #26 and the detachment sheets not being
>ready on the other two tables it is the responsiblitiy of the staff at
>GW to have those things ready and looks like somebody dropped the
>ball...the outriders were the ones who salvaged what they could and made
>those other two tables playable


This is already indicative of the sub-par level of the convention. I went
with a group of eight guys. We all played lots of stuff. When we got
together at dinner Friday evening (Hooters, bay-bee!) and compared notes, we
had a plethora of horror stories of hideously unbalanced scenarios (in WFB,
40K & E40K) that were even being altered from session to session in an
attempt to balance them. Or complete LACK of scenario in the case of a
miniature-and-outrider-free table which two friends had registered for. Put
all the positive spin on it that you want to, the fact is that scenarios
were not playtested enough. But hey, with that hectic "once per year"
schedule, I can see how a thing like that could slip through the cracks.


>...the staff member running the tyranid
>table was not an outrider but a staff member from canada....

And your point is...?



>the ONLY
>table set up for experienced gamers WAS the bring and battle the others
>were LEARNING tables so people could learn how to play and then maybe by
>the game.....

And this is stupid. At past Games Days, there were tables specifically
created as Demo tables to introduce completely inexperienced players to
specific games. Those tables used ONLY the exact stuff that came in the
boxed set and were perfect at what they did. This year, they were gone. The
result.: players who had NO CONCEPT OF GAME MECHANICS bogging things down to
a crawl for the rest of us. For god's sake, there were thick little shits
there that didn't even know how to use a range ruler.


>I don't Know who you talked to but everyone I talked to
>seemed to be EXCITED about the new phantom and revenant...the new ones
>have ALOT more character then those slick sided old ones.....

If, by "character," you mean "large, bulky, squarish, lacking any sense of
grace with ridiculous little wings that poorly mimic the old model's" then
yes, they are full of "character." And everybody I talked to (including the
guy running the bring and battle, who was cool and ran a good game) agreed
that the new titans sucked. People will be able to judge for themselves
soon, so we'll just play wait and see.

>and if you
>didn't want to run the flyers on the table you played on you should of
>ASKED ME to use another unit and I would of gladly given you one..

You seem to be one of those guys who likes to selectively alter what I write
in order to suit his own point. Did I say I DIDN'T want to run the flyers?
No, I did not. I said that it was an ILLEGAL detachment. It would have been
nice to have, say, a second opportunity to fly a mission with them (my dice
rolls on the intercept didn't help my mood any), but, hey, we'd rather let
NEW potential buyers rule the roost and slow things down. Screw us old folks
who already paid our dough and took the time to learn the game and develop
tactics. But those tactics don't mean squat (haha) when you have a bunch of
detachments that already break the game rules. I noticed you didn't mention
the retarded harlie-wave serpent detachment. Why? Because when we pointed
out how stupidly constructed it was, your only repsonse was a shrug and a "I
had to put this together quick." It only takes a few minutes to check the
army book and create a legal and effective detachment.

the
>sulfa river games is the first real beer and pretzel game GW has
>produced and it has two blisters in it each retail at $8.99 so the total
>so far is $17.98 and the rules are two full pages front and back and
>everyone who played loved it or else how can you explain that at the end
>of games day all the games of sulfa river where sold out ???....

Two full pages. Wow. And saying that it's a bargain based on the retail of
the individual blisters shows just how chumped you've been by GW. You think
$8.99 for an Epic blister is GOOD?
The game is designed for little kiddles whith little attention spans. The
box art is horrid. My local retailer, a friend of mine, saw it, played it,
and his order is going to be.... zero. That's right, none. He knows a good
game when he sees one. Like me, he didn't see one.
As for it being sold out (which I doubt). There's no accounting for taste.
People play 40K, don't they? Like the titans, we'll see what happens when
Bombaz is released at retail. Also, bringing a limited quantity to the show
is a good way to "sell out." The new Citadel red and yellow paints "sold
out" early Saturday morning. All 18 bottles of each. Not too shabby for a
show of over 1500 attendees. And how thick is GW? Run down to Glen Burnie
and get more for an obviously hungry market? Nope. Just leave the rack empty
for the rest of the busier of the two days.


and
>after your bring and battle didn't you get a free blister just for
>playing ???


Yes I did. A blister of Razorbacks. It is very cool, and I never said a
single bad thing about my bring and battle, did I? Had I not had a scheduled
game in the session following it (the game you ran), I would have played
again, since there were a few players there (not a lot, maybe 4 or 5. I
loaned my Warlock to a friend for that session, while I played with my
illegal Eldar detachments).

so $8.99 from your admission of $10 means you paid $1.01 to
>get in to a con


No. I wouldn't have bought the blister for $8.99.

 to play with other peoples miniatures, didn't have to
>bring anything but your figs, saw a BUNCH of new stuff coming out from
>GW and you were disappointed ???

Yeah, I was. Here's the deal:
I've been attending Games Day since the first one in the US, when it was in
that little place in Towson where that strange portrait of the fez-wearing
guy loomed over us all. We used to really look forward to it, to see that
year's tables, buy stuff you couldn't get just yet, and game with ruthless
new opponents who would show us new strategies, wicked units, etc.

Things have changed. Even since last year.

This year, other than the GorkaMorka tables the new tables were few and far
between. Virtually all of the tables were re-used, some of them going back
to the Towson days. This year's retail area was a bad joke. Nothing you
couldn't get at a well-stocked store (except "bombaz" and the Commissar). No
deals. No discounts. Not even the Journal back issues like last year. At the
previous Games Day, there were 4 registers, and lines at each very seldom
dropped below double-digit customers. This year, there were two registers.
One for the "bits" area and one for the normal retail area. I never saw a
line deeper than five people ready to make purchases. I am not the only one
to notice this and point it out.
Another sore point was the bring and battle tables (not the Epic one,
though). There were only three each for WFB and 40K. The waiting lists were
ALWAYS in double digits. I got to play ONE WFB table, fighting one h-t-h.
That was it. The session was then stopped for the Golden Demons. Afterward,
they started with all new players. Myself and several friends were
extremely irked that this wasn't thoguth out better. Hmmm... the most
popular two games, three tables each. How stupid is that?

I'd seen this all before, and it had been done better. By the SAME PEOPLE.

GW shows an amazing contempt for the US market, which is why they're failing
miserably in conquering it. We were prick-teased with Dogs of War and Seige.
These were finished, retail versions of the products. How hard would it have
been to bring over enough to SELL at the show. You know, as a way of
thanking those who made the trip. I'm not saying give them away, I'm saying
they could've SOLD them to us. Look at the Games Day UK photos. They go
completely over the top for it. The US Games Day is a pale, sad immitation.
It should be just the opposite. OURS is the market they so desperately want
to conquer. You'd think they'd treat our show a little better. Even our
Golden Demon trophies (and Grand Tournie trophies) suck compared to the
UK's.

Wait 'til the guy who won the Demon Slayer sword at the Golden Demons finds
out that it's not the real deal. GW ran so far behind in its preparations
for the show that Fed Ex LOST THE REAL SWORD and it was too close to
showtime to track it down. The sword he was given was bought from a shop in
Baltimore right before the show.


 sorry but I thought everyone had a
>GREAT time and things went EXTREMELY well...if you disagree fine and if
>you want to ask me anything or email go right ahead....
>
>your friendly neighborhood outrider
>Jon W. Russell

Thank you for judging the show for "everyone." In the future, could you
attend movies for me so you can tell me whether I enjoyed them?

I've been to dozens, maybe a hundered cons over the years. This year's Games
Day was ill-prepared, sloppy and a huge disappointment.

Goddam this took a long time to type.
Received on Tue Jun 16 1998 - 01:58:38 UTC