necromunda

[eilif]

Just to note that GW will apparently be selling the SWA rules digitally at the very least.
They may decide to do a printed run given the apparent popularity, but they've not announced as much (yet).

That seems to be backed up by this post from GW from April 4th:
https://www.warhammer-community.com/2017/04/05/shadow-war-armageddon-rules-support/
From the post:

Don’t worry though – we we have some good news for you. We will be making the rules for this game more widely available, very soon...
...We’ll bring you news on exactly how and when you’ll be able to get ahold of the rules outside of the box, and the new factions, just as soon as we can.

I haven't bought new GW product in at least 5 years.  Shadow War rules will probably be the first.

[Major_Gilbear]

I haven't bought new GW product in at least 5 years.  Shadow War rules will probably be the first.

I hope that it meets your expectations (anticipations?) then! 

Personally, I was interested, but being unable to buy it now (whilst review copies went out to random people who had no idea about/interest in SWA) has left me thinking I won't bother.

Besides, I actually wanted a new Necromunda; so in the meantime, as the old one's still free and I have everything for it already, I think I'll stick to that.

[Samsonov]

To be fair to GW, then seemed to believe games like this would not sell at all (i.e. people in the know claiming specialist games were generally treated with contempt by higher up staff).

So from there they moved to lets test the water.

Selling out globally within about 10 minutes or something suggests they now are in a much better situation than before when it comes to knowing what sells. Of course, they could have found this out through market research...

[eilif]

I hope that it meets your expectations (anticipations?) then! 

Personally, I was interested, but being unable to buy it now (whilst review copies went out to random people who had no idea about/interest in SWA) has left me thinking I won't bother.

Besides, I actually wanted a new Necromunda; so in the meantime, as the old one's still free and I have everything for it already, I think I'll stick to that.

I hope so too, though if it's necromunda for 40k units I can't see how I'd be disappointed.   

As well as my 2 much neglected 40k armies I've also been slowly acquiring various inquistorial-type figures when they show up used and cheap just because I like them and they fit my vision of what 40k was.  Shadow war would be a great excuse to paint them up and do some narrative warband adventuring.

Like you, Necro what I think really want.  However, but NCE works so well that I have a hard time imagining GW doing better and as I also have just about everything I could want (would be nice to have a Goliath gang though...) perhaps Shadow War might actually add more to my gaming life.

[Dentatus]

I'd love an updated, supported Necromunda. If that's SWA, I'm all for it and here's hoping they work up lists for gangs asap. There was even rumor of a Necromunda PC game by the same folks who did Mordheim. If so, I'm definitely in.

On that note tho, GW must realize it is really in the 'disposable income - hobby/entertainment' business. Sure, it started out as toy soldiers and board games, but now that translates into books, graphic novels, and video games. I would think anything that does well in one area surely carries that weight into another, especially when it comes to fan favorites like Blood Bowl, Space Hulk, Epic, Mordheim, Necromunda, and Battlefleet Gothic.

Someone at GW HQ has to have the business acumen to connect the dots, particularly when it's reinforced by massive interest and spikes in sales.

Or is that my 'still-plays-with-toy soldiers naivete' talking?

[Andrew May]

Now to ponder over what would be cooler: Necromunda with a load of fancy new FW resin gangs, all individual sculpts or a plastic set for each gang.....that would be special! You could do a multi part hanger frame per faction, a leader "covermount" sprue per faction and a weapon frame to go with them. 

[eilif]

Was thinking a bit about Shadow War and I think this is a really wise choice for them. Both the game and releasing it before Necromunda.

-Will sell to those folks who will buy any game that GW makes.
-Will sell to those folks who will buy anything that smells like Necromunda while they wait for Necromunda.
-It's a safe bet and a fairly reliable gauge of what kind of market is out there for skirmish games in the 40k universe.

If folks like me, who abandoned GW years seriously planning on (perhaps even excited about) buying a GW product they've certaintly jumped some hurdles.

[Dentatus]

Plastic Gangers all the way. Easy to modify, loads of options.

Or... (drumroll) an Inquisitor Box Game with a multi-option sprue for the Inquisitor (pick your Ordo), and a handful of plastic agents facing off against an Arch Heretic and his Cultists. 

[beefcake]

As long as they stick with the original gangs (plus maybe a few more) so we can use our old Necromunda models I'd be happy. Plastic Hive scenery would be awesome. While the old scenery that came with the box of Necromunda and Outlanders was great the scenery never looked like it actually had a purpose such as a factory or slime pipes etc. I'd like to see a whole range of Necromunda terrain, Underhive dwellings and towns, Fighting pits, factories. Stuff that fits in with the territories you could gain in the campaigns. Although that would be super costly (people would still buy it, like Pokemon, "gotta catch 'em all")

[Wachaza]

As long as they stick with the original gangs (plus maybe a few more) so we can use our old Necromunda models I'd be happy. Plastic Hive scenery would be awesome. While the old scenery that came with the box of Necromunda and Outlanders was great the scenery never looked like it actually had a purpose such as a factory or slime pipes etc. I'd like to see a whole range of Necromunda terrain, Underhive dwellings and towns, Fighting pits, factories. Stuff that fits in with the territories you could gain in the campaigns. Although that would be super costly (people would still buy it, like Pokemon, "gotta catch 'em all")

They're doing the terrain. It all slots together and is compatible with the recent releases like the promethium pipes and void shield. There are two individual sets in the Shadow Wars box and another three announced to come. See Lady Atia's blog.

https://war-of-sigmar.herokuapp.com/bloggings/1854

[Major_Gilbear]

@ Andrew May & Dentatus:

Given the slightly off-the-wall release that was Genestealer Cults, I half-wonder if they were perhaps a proof-of-concept for making plastic Necromunda gang boxes.

As Andrew says, I'd expect them to do a big sprue frame for each gang. A gang box could be around £30-35, and have a big sprue divided into three frames (10 Gangers, Leader/Heavy upgrade parts, 2 Juves, and lots of weapons). That's not far off the current Genestealer kits, or to a lesser extent the AoS Blood Reaver kits.

Would we see all six Houses? Maybe. Would we see the Outlanders? I doubt it; that would likely go to FW (along with the special characters).

I suppose an alternative would be that GW do one or two more generic gangs, and then release House-specific upgrade sprues as add-ons. I doubt that would work anywhere near as well, but it does lessen both the risk and the number of big sprue sets that would be needed. It also allows the base sprues to be re-boxed and sold as Conscripts or Hive Militia, etc in 40k more easily.


@ Beefcake:

I think the old terrain was actually fine, and perhaps more appropriate that this newer stuff. In most cases, the gangs are not warring in the middle of a settlement or a working foundry/factory (although there is a Wild West showdown scenario). Rather, much of the gang fighting take place in the ruins of abandoned and non-functional areas of the Underhive, as they scavenge for loot, parts, and anything else of value. In that respect, whilst I would expect to see gantries, parts of structures, pipes, etc, I wouldn't expect to see too many things that look like they are fully-functional and recognisably in-use - anything like that would've been appropriated long ago!


@ Eilif:

I think GW have seriously underestimated how many lapsed customers have not been tempted by the increasingly-gigantic size of game that 40k has now become. As long as sales are steady-ish, it's hard to tell who is buying (or even how many unique customers  you have).

What I think the interest in SWA (hopefully) shows them is that if they returned to something better-detailed and more modest in scope (squad-to-platoon level games), they would suddenly have an explosion in customer numbers.

Just looking at the general way that GW games are perceived and enjoyed here on LAF is a pretty good indicator of that I would think.


@ Dentatus:

The thing about Inquisitors is that they and their henchmen can/do look extremely varied, and can therefore be made from just about any kits that GW currently produce. I'm therefore not sure what a dedicated plastic Inquisitor sprue would really provide that plastic gang kits (and even existing kits) wouldn't.

The main thing about the recent female Ordo Hereticus plastic model that GW made is basically that it's female. Male models are simple enough thanks to the myriad kits you can choose from, but female models are still pretty limited.

[beefcake]

Good point, but some structures could have been made to look more ruined I guess. My favourite terrain I think was the one that looked like subway access because I could easily imagine what it was for. I still liked the terrain, and in fact brought it out recently to play a sci fi game with my son.

[Major_Gilbear]

I have all the cardboard terrain for necro but none of the plastic bits to connect them.

I do have a 3d printer though

any help in making my own would be appreciated.

The bulkheads are 3" square (pretty much).

Specifically, the width is 3" including vertical slots to grip buttress pieces, whereas the heights are 3" plus the top slot to hold a floor level.

They don't have a bottom slots because the bulkheads are designed to clip together end-to-end (and the top slot of the lower bulkhead therefore forms the floor of the level above).

The foot of each bulkhead was crenellated so that it could be clipped to the top of another, and the heads therefore all had little gates moulded onto the tops to act as the female part of the union.

Finally, the slots into which the cardboard was inserted had little nubs inside which acted to squeeze the cardboard when it was pushed in, thus gripping it. This is also what caused the most wear on the cardboard parts over time, which led to the card being damaged and the structures getting rickety.

A better picture that shows all this is below:

[mcfonz]

Unless they drastically change the rules, a sprue with 10 gangers would be a no go.

Ideally it would be a sprue of five gangers so they could sell it as a booster.

Juves would be two or three - again, on their own sprue.

Leader and heavies would probably have their own as well.

Starting gangs used to be around 8 models. Leader, Heavy, mixture of gangers and juves.

10 gangers for this would be overkill early on and also not create any follow on sales.

I'm not holding my breath on plastics either. I wouldn't be surprised if forgeworld just finecast the old models. And by the old ones, I mean the more recent resculpts which were hideous.

Plan for the worse, hope for the best.

[Wachaza]

I'm not holding my breath on plastics either. I wouldn't be surprised if forgeworld just finecast the old models. And by the old ones, I mean the more recent resculpts which were hideous.

I thought a lot of the resculpts were great. The Goliaths, Orlocks, Redemptionists and van Saar were really good.

I'd be amazed to see plastics in any kind of variety. If Forgeworld do Necromunda I could see resin conversion parts for the IG plastics. Catachan to Goliath, Cadian to Orlocks, Scions to van Saar. I'd guess they'd mostly do resins. If Bloodbowl is anything to go by they'll do new Forgeworld sculpts and make some of the old metals available as limited finecast runs.