Re: [Epic] Re: [EPIC] Which do YOU like better?

From: Brett Hollindale <agro_at_...>
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 05:45:46 +0200 (MET DST)

At 12:38 PM 28/7/97 -0700, you wrote:
>
> I only ever played one game of SM/TL, so I don't have much to compare it to.
>It seems to me that E40K is much simpler and quicker moving, but perhaps
>too simple, if you know what I mean.
>
>
> So, you grizzled vets, what do you think?...
>
>Nickles
>
>

Almost without exception, the first edition of any game is the best.

Try to imagine that you are a game designer. You design this game and get
some game company to publish it. If it sells well, you're in the big
league, if it fails you're back to square one or possibly worse... (Since
they may well be a bit wary of your next "sure thing"...)

So, you put your very best effort into your first edition.

Maybe, there are some refinements that you include in your second edition...
(Maybe you're just doing it to sell some more books...)

Then the game company says, "We've reached market saturation. We need a
third edition..." What do you do?

You've already used your best ideas in addition one. You've included all of
your refinements in edition two.

You do what the boss wants, and you go back to your second best idea and try
to cobble something together...


I can't think of a game where this wasn't the pattern. D&D, Battletech,
Traveller, Dragon Quest, Shadowrun, Space Marine...


Anyway, specific to Space Marine, the 1st Edition rules were really quite
exceptional. The rules were OK (complete, consistant, playable), but the
"fluff" just grabbed you and wouldn't let you go! And the "brother against
brother" thing was probably designed specifically to appeal to the American
market. It really was a work of genius...

The 2nd Edition (and Titan Legions) added depth to the game (vital in my
opinion, because I can only play so much identical units vs identical units
without getting bored...)

But then came the beginning of the end - the suppliments released after 2nd
Ed/TL...

Like Saturday morning cartoons, they appeared to be designed specifically to
sell toys (new figures)...

The Tyranid suppliment is a good example of this syndrome. Does anyone
think that it is other than a pretty transparent attempt to sell a
completely unbalanced army to a bunch of cheesemongers? (No offense
intended to Tyranid players... :-)

And what about the Ordinatus Vehicles? ( 'nuff said, surely...)


Which brings us to E40K - the next generation!


As you will have surmised, I prefer SM/TL to E40K.


Never backward about coming forward, even after any number of flames...
Agro
Received on Thu Jan 01 1970 - 00:00:00 UTC