Thoughts on Swordwind |
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Justiniel
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind  Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 11:21 am |
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I too was a little disappointed in Swordwind, not bad but could have been a whole lot better.
The models I think are great (but then I'm a sucker for a little bit of lead  ) Speaking of which, I was talking to one of the guys working at GW HQ and he claims that Jess has said that the intention is to rework the Phantom and Warlock Titans in the style of the Revenants, will be interesting to see if that comes to pass.
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MaksimSmelchak
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 2:13 pm |
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Hi Guys,
I still wnat a copy, but I tend to agree that the productions values are lower than with the E-A main book, which was really impressive.
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
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primarch
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 2:46 pm |
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Hi!
I agree, the main book is excellent. Swordwind seems more like a "pamphlet" when compared to it. Then again it was to be expected with the the sagging support. We are lucky to have even gotten the book printed....
Primarch
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Legion 4
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 3:22 pm |
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Well with Epic being "the redheaded step child", we're lucky to get anything ... 
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nealhunt
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:18 pm |
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| Purestrain |
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Actually, I think it's all of the specialist games stuff that is the "red headed stepchild." I think that Epic is one of the better SG performers.
Not that the recent reversal of GW studio structure bodes well, by any stretch of the imagination...
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Jimbo
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 8:38 pm |
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| Quote (MaksimSmelchak @ 19 2005 April,14:13) | | I still wnat a copy, but I tend to agree that the productions values are lower than with the E-A main book, which was really impressive. |
You obviously got a different EA main rulebook than I did....
I personally thought the production values were very similar.
Over reliance on sabretooth artwork and not enough miniature pics.
Fluff artwork is nice, but I have a personal preference for pictures of real miniatures, models and scenery.
Actually Swordwind has a quite a few gaming bits (painting and modelling) but if you have seen Fanatic magazine then you will have already seen them._________________ Jimbo
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Gandalf the Grey
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 10:02 pm |
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Well, sometime a lot of artwork works. Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine's rulebooks barely have any miniature pics, and is loaded with somewhat simple art by today's standards. I think in that case it works well cause the fluff is very interesting. I just think re-cycling previous artwork is the problem. It just doesn't add anything new I guess.
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Warmaster Nice
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2005 10:21 pm |
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I'd have to agree here. While miniature pics are great I'd have to say that some of the ones in the current publications are a bit boring considering the possibilities just minor tweaking in Photoshop can do (look at some of the Forge World CGIs). Also I'm personally not a very big fan of the Sabertooth artwork but of course that's a matter of taste.
Still I think that the books as publications per se are pretty high standard. Compared to the 2nd ed. Epic rule books it's like looking at an old rusty Volkswagen versus a BMW!
However since the books don't really add much new fluff but simply recycle fluff from the 40k codices I really don't read it with the same interest I did when I first got Space Marine.
What made Adeptus Titanicus (and Rogue Trader, Realm of Chaos etc.) so interesting is that they add something new to a universe full of possibilities. Today I often get the feeling that the 40k universe is overly structured without any room for a bit of creative thought. Try introducing a new type ship on the BFG boards and people willl start complaining that it is unrealistic because no such thing has been described in the fluff. Sheesh!  ?Or maybe I just haven't got the imagination I once had...I don''t know...
Cheers! 
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Jimbo
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:08 am |
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| Quote (Warmaster Nice @ 19 2005 April,22:21) | | Try introducing a new type ship on the BFG boards and people willl start complaining that it is unrealistic because no such thing has been described in the fluff. Sheesh! ?Or maybe I just haven't got the imagination I once had...I don''t know... |
Tau Titans
While miniature pics are great I'd have to say that some of the ones in the current publications are a bit boring considering the possibilities just minor tweaking in Photoshop can do (look at some of the Forge World CGIs) |
That sort of stuff I guess has spoilt us a bit, I think the FW hardcover Imperial Armour has some of the best pictures ever produced.
The photos in the main 40K rulebook (the new one) are also really nice.
I don't think the production qualities of the new rulebook and Swordwind are *worse* than the previous rulebooks, no they are much much better. I don't think I have been comparing the new with the old anyhow. However I still do feel that there was an over reliance on the Sabretooth artwork and that more miniatures, scenery and model pics would have been better.
I like some of the artwork, the Grot one wheeled bike is a classic picture.
Some of the early photos from Epic were inspirational, the first pictures that accompanied Space Marine, the blue and red Marines across the grey rocky terrain stick in my mind what Epic is about... whereas a converted deodourant stick container is the first image from WH40K which sticks in my mind.
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primarch
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:40 am |
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Hi!
Perhaps some of the flair of the old books and pictures is that it conveys the gothic feel of the 40k universe better. I compare it somewhat to a similar issue in D&D with more modern art versus Erol Otis work from the original books. Perhaps the more modern stuff is more technically better done, but it lacks that certain something that makes the setting alive.
Thats how I feel with the current pictures and books made by GW. They are, without a doubt, from a purely technical point of view better than the flimsy books and black and white pictures from AT1 or SM second edition. But I look at the older book pictures far more than I do the newer ones. They just seem to capture the background better. Certain pictures from the old epic books have an almost classical feel to them. They just ooze "epic". I dont get that from more modern fare, even though they are more colorful.
Its one of those odd intangibles, easily thought and hard to verbalize.
Primarch
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stormseer
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 12:41 pm |
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Yes... the Sabertooth pictures concentrate on well-known 40k units, that sort of thing.
What is great about the AT artwork is that we get to see interesting extras; the tech priests around the titan head is particually cool, as are things like the cutaway diagram of a Mk6 suit of armour in SM1, the burning of heretic banners all captured the feel of the Horus Heresy period.
'Character' is how I'd describe it; the Sabertooth art is not 'Epic' enough; stuff like John Blanche's black and white pieces from Sm2 was much better; the Reaver fighting a Khorne titan, the massive Imperial army moving across a plain all captured the spirit of the game better than a picture of five Orks in my opinon. 
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wargame_insomniac
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 1:10 pm |
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| Purestrain |
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Location: West Yorkshire, UK
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I liked the Swordwind book. Disapointed that it will be the last ever Epic book but still went out & bought it.
I am just amazed that we have still not yet seen 1 proper sized Battle report since release of EpicA. I still enjoy flicking through the old Space Marine Battles Book.
Cheers
James
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Warmaster Nice
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 2:38 pm |
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Legion 4
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Post subject: Thoughts on Swordwind Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2005 2:51 pm |
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Using the SM1 (w/mods) system, we would play around 2500-3500 + points. We fight modern, combined arms, maneuver warfare. Not Napoleonics, ACW, or even WW1. Dispersion, movement and fire - not linear, shoulder to shoulder as I've seen too many times in W/D and game reviews on line. Having too many units, no room to maneuver, mass formations = big targets ... 
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