Wow. No.
i'm preeeetty sure that the NetEA Tyranids forum is for developing Tyranid lists for NetEA. not just your one. infact, i seem to recall that your 'variant' list was placed here, back before you became the big cheese. every other forum has variant lists under its subheading in it, the NetEA Eldar section has more than just the Swordwind Errata in it. saying "i'm not trying to be a dictator" and then acting exactly like a dictator (silencing dissent and stiffling what you percieve as 'the competition') doesnt really fit well together, and actions speak louder than words.
i realise that the nid list development in particular has suffered from the "everyone hated 9.2.1 and made a bunch of lists on their own so nothing got done" troubles. but the problem there wasnt that a bunch of lists got made, it was the other part. if everyone hates your list, then you should change your list, or move it away from the 'core' position and adopt a more popular list as the main one. being an AC isnt "your list becomes the core one" in any respect, its a position where you are required to serve the populace's interests, even if it is at the expense of your own.
if people like the list you've put forward, it'll get playtest data. trying to squeeze out the competition and force playtests out of players is bullshit, probably wont work, and yes, it kinda makes you look like an jerk. as much as you may wish it to be, for whatever reason, your list is not the only NetEA tyranid list, and should not be the only NetEA tyranid list. because that isnt how the NetEA community works.
if you're worried that your list will not be immediately recognisable as the 'Core' list (and setting aside the debate about if such a thing exists at all) then you should take steps in your own thread (or post a 'list of Tyranid Lists' thread, with your list at the top with a big "this is the most up to date 'main list' please conduct playtests accordingly) to make this clear. attempting to shut out all competition is at the very least, bogus (and i would hope, very much against the policies of the forum and the ERC in general)
on to my more specific (rather than philosophical) problems as a list developer/playtester
I don't have an (epic) tyranid army, I dont own a whole lot of epic tyranid models. I cant make a tyranid army using your lists without a hell of a lot of proxy (and unlike IG/SM style lists, tyranid proxy is much trickier due to the numerous unit types and highly mixed formations) and i'm not particularly keen on playing a mainline tyranid list at the moment anyway. what i do have, and want to test, is a bunch of tyranid biotitans. I cant test this style of list using your version, it needs a variant list. so i've made one.
I also dont play a lot of games lately. that may be changing in a few weeks when new fellows arrive in town, but at the moment, i tend to get 1 game of epic in every two or four weeks. I currently develop my own list (with little in the way of outside feedback at the moment, though i'm fairly happy with most of its stability) as well as playtest other lists i've got some key interest in. I cant afford to dedicate 3-4 months of my playtesting schedule to testing an army i dont have, and don't particularly want, just so i can 'earn the right' to show and playtest an army that i do (which would add yet another one to my high rotation list)
activation by activation breakdown reports arent simple things to write up, i dont even do them for my own list most of the time.
and no, if i have time to develop a list, its probably means i DONT have time to develop yours for you aswell. if i have time to develop my list, i could have spent that time developing your list, but didnt. i may have time to test your list out, i may not, but if i spend time on my list, by the very nature of time itself, that means i have less time to spend on your list, not more.
as for 'favour between developers' will you be contributing an equal level of data to the variant lists yourself? regardless of how reciprocal the 'favour' is. i have trouble calling it a 'favour' when it is demanded. so lets call it 'extortion' instead.
also can you explain how a variant list, which uses all the same rules and units as the main list is a variant list? or are we infact allowed some variance in rules and/or units? my list, for instance, uses your rules for initiative and synapse and mobility and whatever (though i still think that regeneration needs more beef if its going to compare with void & power fields, i would be willing to conduct tests on that matter) and no spawning (though if it did, i'd be fine with it towing the party line on that one too) however, i have slightly different stats on two units, a few with current stats, and a few new units to fill out the selections. that is what makes it a variant list. Variety
i do not see that my list (or infact, anyone elses variants) should be shuffled off somewhere 'out of sight' so that your list can reign supreme. your list should achieve supremacy by being the better list, not by being the only list available by decree of the big giant head.
i do think that people should give the current ruleset a try before posting their new versions of the list. (by which i mean, we shouldnt have people going "well i want spawning to be different, so here's the same list but with different spawning" until they've actually given yours a shot) but when they do, those lists should be here. if that list turns out to be more popular/balanced/fun than yours, tough. that shows what people want, and your list can adopt and adapt, or you can wither away. it's the process you used vs the 9.2.1, and its the right way to do things.
but people with properly variant lists (such as, for instance, bio titan lists and genestealer cult lists) should be welcomed here with open arms, not shunned. they fill a niche currently left bare with the core list, and improve the game as a whole in the process. when people go looking for an Imperial Guard Tank List, they look in the Imperial Guard section, because that is what the section is for. the same is true for tyranids.
perhaps if you want a dedicated 'Tyranids V10.0.0' forum you should ask CS to make you a subforum within the tyranids forum for it.
_________________ ~Every Tool Is A Weapon, If You Hold It Right~
Last edited by Jaggedtoothgrin on Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
|