----------
> From: Brett Hollindale <agro_at_...>
> To: space-marine_at_...
> Subject: Re: [Epic] Re: [EPIC] Which do YOU like better?
> Date: July 28, 1997 11:45 PM
>
> 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
>
Sauron1 writes;Agro! I agree completely. I wrote many of the early
scenarios for Gygax at TSR andD&D is still the best of that lot.As for
Epic2nd,My collection runs to tree copies of the original Titanicus and
inumerable copies of the rest.I recently lent out over 300 stand of
Eldar,SM.Orcs and Squats to younger players in my club to restart the Epic
games.I am still working on translating the new stuff to Epic2nd and am
starting a campaign at my own club this fall.The Orc AA looks good,and I
restrict popups to the original 30cm heigt in Codex with the shadow effect
for cover from above.My club is running a con here and their website is(
http://home.interlynx.net/~rsearr ) I will be running Wars Of The Horus
Heresy with 20 odd Titans a side if your interestted in a big game of
Epic2nd.Drop me a personal,if you cannot find enough of any GW epic
product.There are more ways than Xeroxinng to get out of production old GW.
sauron1
Received on Tue Jul 29 1997 - 16:40:04 UTC