Thoughts on the recent Warhammer previews

With all the info that we got on all the big name previews that Games Workshop showed off, I thought I'd just give my own personal thoughts on it. These are my own thoughts and will most likely differ from the thoughts of others, but it's an interesting insight into what I like out of the Warhammer hobby. If you haven't seen any of what was shown off, check out the Warhammer Community site for articles showing off these announcements.

Warhammer 40K 10th Edition:

Straight off the bat, I feel sorry for anyone who bought the 9th edition rulebook or any Codex. The idea that you paid for something that has now been rendered useless in 10th has got to hurt. At least they plan to give out free rules for each faction to use to start 10th (until they can bring out new Codex's to sell), which is at least something. I mean, if you followed rumours over the last year or so the announcement of 10th edition won't be much of a surprise, but it still has some things that are worth looking into.

Bringing back The Lion for the Dark Angles will hopefully have more of a shake up Lore wise, which might actually add more to the story of Cypher and the Fallen, which has sort of gone slightly stale given the appearance in the Chaos Space Marines Codex. Given that we have had now three Chaos Primarchs, it only makes sense to start adding to the Imperials a few more of their own Primarchs. I imagine ones like Leman Russ and Fulgrim will most likely be next, with Perturabo most likely not showing up until they find a way to bring back Rogal Dorn and Corax will probably show up once Lorgar makes his return. As for the others, they would be linked directly to storylines associated with their Chapters (such as the return of Vulkan for the Salamanders once all his relics have been recovered story).

Rules wise I am curious about. It's clear that a number of rules have been altered to make the game more easier to play and for games to move quicker thanks to a lot of them now being universal. I have also seen some that have been inspired by rules used in Age of Sigmar, though I am wondering what else they have taken from it. For instance, If we look at some of the more recent Codex's, the stratagem for giving a second model a Warlord trait is missing in some of them. This falls in line with how Age of Sigmar's Warlord traits work, with only the Warlord getting it and no more being able to be used (though I imagine that Special Characters will still get access to their own). I wonder if things like Damage will follow the same route, as currently in 40K if you do two attacks with damage 2, if both fail save then only a max of 2 models can die if they have one wound, where in Age of Sigmar if two attacks with damage 2 have both fail saves then four models with one wound can die as the damage in AoS roll over. Will 40K take this also as a change? If so, what other changes will alter the game? Guess we wait and see.

Also, unlike most, I felt the animated trailer felt a little too silly (well, some of the Tyranid designs were for sure).

Kill-Team:

Votann needed a Kill-Team to bring them more align with other factions Kill-Teams, but what surprised me was the Beastmen one. Given that Chaos already had two box Kill-Teams, there wasn't really a need for a non-daemon one, or any more Chaos ones as it was. Don't get me wrong, I do love the fact that we got some 40K Beastmen as an actual squad, but I feel that people were hoping for a Kill-Team based on a faction that hadn't had a box release. Have to wait and see how people react to them.

Horus Heresy:

I'll be honest, this game isn't for me so I won't waste anyone's time by giving a half-arse try and it. I recommend finding people who are invested in the game to give their opinion on it (and there are a few of them, so you'll have no trouble finding them).

Age of Sigmar:

Don't know why, but I'm unsure how to react to this one. On one hand, I assume that Nagash would have his minions united under him in some big twist for his return. On the other hand, having the various Death factions turn on each other (if that what the release is eluding too) is something I highly approve of. I feel like unlike the other three factions who have various Gods and Heroes that lead to internal conflicts on a large scale, Death had always seen as all serve under Nagash and to refuse is to be obliterated. Outside of Mannfred, no one really stands out as a to oppose such rule. With the bone boys wanting more bones and now it seems they are targeting the Soulblight's minions for them, such conflict could really work to separate such unity.

 Or I'm wrong, so there's that.

That said, they have a new Vampire who loves Bats, so am going to have to add that to my force (which I have only just completed, so hopefully I'll have photos of them up soon).

The Seraphon look amazing. While I am going to choose the Skinks over the Saurus, that doesn't change how the newer designs have really added to the cold-blooded killers feel. An excellent example is the new Kroxigors. They have a much stronger feel to them compared to their previous designs and look much more dangerous as a result. Might need to add a unit to my list, but this is one faction to certainly worth waiting for.

Finally, there was a show off of the new Cities of Sigmar human troops and.....yeah, didn't feel too excited by their new designs. Much like the changes to the Soulblight's Skeleton Warriors (which I hated), these don't give me the kind of design evolution that they should have. They seem to lack a sort of devotion to Sigmar that the older models had. What I mean is, they should feel like they have more trinkets and heraldry with devotion to Sigmar, given that this is the era where they are intent on reclaiming the realms for Sigmar, so they should really show that faith in their duty to it. Will wait and see what else gets shown off in the future before truly deciding where I stand on these new designs.

Underworlds:

Now this is what I'm talking about. Yes some of the Stormcast look a little generic, but their leader looks great. However, that's not where my focus was on. The Ephilim’s Pandaemonium is what I truly have been waiting for as a fan of Tzeentch. The idea of someone cataloging the various daemons is great and all, but then showing off some of them is what makes this truly stand out for me. Are they a little plain? Well yes, but for a small scale game that is perfectly fine. I just really want more variety of Daemons when it comes to Tzeentch, because it suites him in every way to have such are large variety of Daemons what are altered versions of ones that we already have. He is a God of Change, so the variety of them would be endless. Either way, this one is something I have taken an actual interest in.

Overall, I feel that as far as previews go, this was one of their better ones. Lots of cool stuff (even if you ignore the 10th edition announcement) and certainly giving many players something good to look forward too.

So to sum up the beginning into the new year

So by day 3 of 2023, I was already rushed to hospital because of my heart. Sounds like this year is starting with a bang.

2022 was a whole mess of things and nothing I planned ever worked out the way I had wanted. Even the three main goals for my miniatures project never got done (one was so close, but the last month or two just fell apart for that).

As such, I'm going to keep things at a minimum this year. I have a feeling that the stress of the last few years has begun to take a serious toll on my physical health and until I know more about the causes of this heart issue, I have to take it easy. There for, I will focus more on Skirmish and small games over the large ones. I will also limit more of the spending so as to not add more to the ever growing pile of shame, with only expanding on what I already have. I have a Genestealer Cult Kill-team built, but will limit adding things to characters and maybe a few small add-ons for the small Arks of Omen boarding crew (as one example).

I also want to get the real project I want to do off the ground this year. This means an upgrade to equipment and starting small, working my way to the bigger stuff one I can find someone who can make high quality puppets. I may not have the space to start at the moment, but I can't sit around waiting for something to happen or I'll never get anywhere.

I also need to get back into writing more Animated Reflections this year too. I picked up some classic 80's stuff from a place in the city, but have yet to set up the multi-region dvd player to sit down and watch them. I feel I have really neglected that part of this blog for sometime and I should fix that this year.

I also plan to move away from some of the hate I am seeing a lot lately. Indeed, a lot of this seems to be in the Sonic fandom. While I have tried to defend them in the past (all fandoms have some problems, it's very common), I find myself feeling more disconnected from this fandom in particular. I might talk about this in more depth at some later date, but I will be moving back from it for a while, just to cut out more negativity.

While it is foolish to believe this year will be better, apart of me does hold hope that some things will change in a more positive way. I do plan on making more positive steps to better my health, but the space and time things I still have to work seriously on if I hope to make things better. Also plan to find ways to work with my Autism and ADHD, instead of letting those aspects take too much control away from me. Hard to stay focused when both keep pulling you apart. 

We'll wee what happens.

Until next time...

A Positive Post

 I am still fuming over yesterday and it will take some time before I'll can talk more about THAT movie. Today, however, is one with positivity.

First off, the Australian Federal Election is finally over (and hopefully all those forsaken UAP ads). We finally got rid of the arrogant and sef-absorbed morons, with an increase in Green votes just makes it all the sweeter.

I've also been working on a few Blood Bowl teams. I have found that doing one or two models here and there helps keep me going, even if its slow. Main ones I am working are an Underworld team and a Necromatic Horrors team. The latter is my attempt at a simple Halloween theme on to go with the festive theme Space Wolves. Speaking of which, finally settled on a colour scheme for the Thunderwolves, but will alter their riders with a Snowman look.

Finally, found a video about an app that lets you take photos of objects and turn them into 3D objects in 3D software. This could be a rather useful tool. I prefer to work with props, but given the space I have means that I have rather limited options. Something like this could provide a solutions to a few of the problems I've encountered.

Overall, a much better day then yesterday.

Rescue Rangers Movie Review/Rant

You all knew this was coming, so here it is. I saw the Rescue Rangers movie and wish I hadn't. Good lord was it horrific and cringy to sit through. I know what some will say, that it's just a movie and nothing to get offended about and they might be right. However, today I will give myself permission to get offended over this shit, because I'm passionate about it.

So let's start with the positives: Seeing Ugly Sonic made me want to go back and watch the far more superior Sonic movies, which I don't think that was what they were going for.

Now let's move on to the negatives. The story is terrible. It may have worked if the characters they had based them on were one's off a series and only that series in question, but we are talking about Chip and Dale, who have been around for some time, including after the Rescue Rangers show ended. The movie makes it out that were best of friends and that they only worked together on that show for Disney and nothing else for them before or after. That Rescue Rangers is what made them famous before breaking up as a result of Dale. The rules for this so-called universe seem to clash somewhat if you were to compare this to the other Disney afternoon shows, let alone other Disney franchises that they supposedly recognised. The fact that other non-Disney franchises were thrown into this movie, along with a Rodger Rabbit scene, tries to give that same feel as the world in the movie Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, but can't seem to figure out what parts are considered cannon in this world and what isn't. Even as the story progressed I just couldn't enjoy it. You could easily take out the Rescue Rangers and replace them with say, Bonkers D. Bobcat and it would have worked just as well, if not better.

I'll skip the whole Gadget x Zipper part. Seems like the whole reason they put it in was to piss off the Rescue Ranger fanbase in the hopes that their fury would entice more subscribers to Disney+. I'll also skip the Peter Pan thing because knowing the truth behind what happen to Bobby Driscroll made these scenes very uncomfortable. Once again, Disney has some serious issues, because some of this stuff is not OK.

The animation was mixed. Some parts were good, but a lot of the 2D stuff seemed off. Some characters had shading while other characters with the exact style of character designs didn't, which was very off putting. Some of the interaction between animation and 'live-action' also seemed a little out of place, which should have had someone go over it a few times to better incorporate it. Human actors did a decent enough job, which only makes me wish this had been a Bonkers movie instead of a Rescue Rangers one.

Music was...Honestly, I can't recall any of it or if it was any good, but I refuse to watch it again just to write this part.

Overall, I came in with low expectations and some how it was worse then even I thought it could be, so kudos to Disney for surpassing that. Honestly, this movie never felt like Rescue Rangers, nor did it even treat the RR fans with any sort of respect. This should have been a Bonkers movie as that had a lot more in common with this universe then any other of the Disney shows (yes, even the Might Ducks cartoon would work better as a live-action CGI action movie on a human only world instead of this one). I have to wonder who's idea this was, because it was a missed opportunity for one show while screwing over the other. As a Rescue Rangers fan, this felt like an assassination on the characters and franchise, but as a movie it is over bloated with character cameos and very little actual substance beyond that. I knew I would hate this movie, just didn't expect it to piss me off as much as it did.

I must apologise to Space Jam: A New Legacy. That movie was an advert for their HBO subscription service and while that was bad and I had serious issues with it, I never felt truly offended by it. But this movie, I have to ask: How is it that out of all the re-boots, re-imaginings and sequels done by Disney over the last 10 to 20 years, Duck Tales has been the only one that understood it's characters and premise in telling its stories while still treating its audience with respect?

I just don't think Disney has it anymore. Thank goodness with animation movies this year with Sonic 2 and The Bad Guys that there are still good animation movie scene that actually give a shit about what they produce.

The RR Shitshow Continues

So recently there has been more talk on the upcoming Rescue Rangers movie that has done little to improve my opinion of it.

The first is that we are now seeing various scenes from the first trailer, but now with much better animation. From what has been said, it appears that the trailer may have been using unfinished animations and that they were still working on the movie at the time. If that is true, then I feel sorry for the animation team, as there is no doubt that it would have given a negative impression of their skills. It also once again calls into question the competence of those in charge of all this.

Speaking of which, we also now know that the 'ugly Sonic' from the original Sonic Movie design will also be in it and will have at least some dialogue given they have someone to voice him. Here's the thing though, those in charge heard the complaints and changed it for the better, creating a movie that was more successful then they thought it could be. Disney on the other hand, never listens to fans and the community and does whatever they like, even if it's a disaster. They may have put him in as a joke, but it only reminds me of a more successful movie that is becoming a great cinematic universe.

There is an ever growing belief that this movie will be a train wreak, but an entertaining one. Sometimes one needs to see a shit show to help them better appreciate the work of others.

A Life Update

So this week I was diagnosed with Autism. Specifically ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Level 2. I'm don't fully understand the more intricant details of what it all means, but am trying to understand all this new information.

Actually, I have no idea what to make of this. I'm still very confused by it all and it has been a rather rough week (ok, a rough few weeks given what's been going on here in Brisbane), so maybe I'll do an another update once I've talked to a few of my supports.

Seriously, I have literally no idea what to do now.

A Quick Positive Talk

So perhaps yesterday had me a little frustrated and depressed, so instead I wanted to just point out something positive that yesterdays rant had granted me. I briefly mentioned the Sonic 2 movie, but more so, I want to throw a shout out to two such people from it: Ben Schwartz and Lee Majdoub. I've been following them on Twitter and am always smiling when these two are tweeting. It seems both have embraced both their characters and their community and I wish more actors would do so.

Ben is always promoting the Sonic stuff regularly and is always grateful for the communities support. Lee on the other hand, has embraced his character of Agent Stone and is always rooting for the Doctor in all things. Because of this, Agent Stone has really been embraced by the community as one of the Doctor's more popular side kicks and has his own fanbase as a result. Seriously, Lee has really made a name for himself amongst the fandom and I just love it.

This is where we see some of the best aspects of the Sonic fandom, who appreciate what these actors have done for the franchise and how they have supported the fandom in return. The positivity that surrounds all this has made it a place where the fandom can not only escape the negative aspects of being a fandom, but can also spread the positivity beyond it. I have absolute respect for these actors and wish them nothing but the best for them in the future.

I hope that we see more actors embrace this kind of thing in the future. Now if we could just get the corporate powers at the top to start connecting with fans, then we might see more positivity in a lot more media projects.