As I'm sure you're aware Gamesday UK 2009 was held yesterday. I followed the event via Twitter, Facebook and Warseer throughout the day so I thought I'd bring you a condensed news and rumours blog entry now.
Tyranids
As I mentioned in my post yesterday, the Tyranid codex was confirmed for a January 2010 release. It was reconfirmed on the Games Workshop website today here. We are almost certain to see the Trygon which was seen in the Apocalypse book, and this will take up one of the three new plastic kits. There will also be three new metal kits.
White Dwarf...in space
On the link above you can also view the new White Dwarf magazine subscriber model which is a 40k version of Grombrindal.
Space Wolves
There were no Space Wolf codexes at Gamesday, much to the consternation of many. There were lots of the new models, though.
Daemons
There were pre-production resin versions of the long-awaited plastic Daemon Prince model and Daemonettes riding Seekers. Still no release date revealed for either.
Necrons and Dark Eldar
Forge World confirmed that they want to do a Necron book but because GW have not locked down the Necron background yet they can't. This means that a Necron codex is a long way off - probably after 2010. They also have to wait until the Dark Eldar are out of the way which has led some to speculate that the pointy-eared gits will arrive in the next twelve months.
Imperial Guard
Trainee sculpter Giorgio Bassani's Tallarns were spotted but will probably never be produced. Most of the juicy stuff came from Forge World, though.
Forge World
The new Lord of Change resin model was finally unveiled, replete with huge wings. FW are currently working on Elysian models for IA8 and we saw a six wheeled all terrain vehicle with roll cage. Rumour has it that a modified Valkyrie will be able to carry it into battle. Speaking of the Valkyrie, FW has also sculpted a row of resin Elysian passengers to sit inside.
The Space Marines got some love in the form of a prototype skimmer assault vehicle which can reportedly transport between ten and fifteen marines.
A fully painted version of the Chaos Reaver was present too.
Black Library
Copies of Blood Pact were on sale, but apparently in limited numbers. Richard Williamshas confimred he is working on a Pretorian Imperial Guard novel for black library, another Caphias Cain book is on the way and Gav Thorpe is working on an Angels of Darkness prequel.
Showing posts with label Games Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Games Day. Show all posts
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
REVIEW: Games Day UK 2007
I got up at the ungodly hour of 4.00am on Sunday morning, slung some coffee down my neck and stumbled into a taxi. I picked up Gary on the way to the shop and the coach arrived at 4.45 to take us down to Birmingham and Games Day.
We landed at the NEC at 9.20 and joined the humongous queue. This didn't look good in terms of us getting our hands on the Apocalypse backpacks. We had been told on the way down that there would only be 500 on sale and there were approximately 1 million people ahead of us.
The queue moved surprisingly quickly and we were in the hall by 10.00am. Gary and I had planned our attack carefully so we hit the Games Workshop sales tables first. Loads of people were trying to pay by credit card and a queue of staff had already formed behind a card reader. We waved our cash about frantically and this trick seemed to work as we got served by the grateful staffer super-quick. As a result we both got our paws on the Apocalypse backpack. They only cost £45 rather than the £60 we were expecting as the templates were missing. When I asked why the staffer simply said 'China.' I also got a box of Space Marine veterans (mkii) to add to my Blood Angels.
First mission accomplished.
The Forge World stand was nearby so stage two involved hitting that for the limited edition Renegade Ogryn, other Renegade bits and the Aeronautica books (yeah, I caved). The 'queue' was horrendous. It was so bad that bunches of mates were just sending one in with all the money. Which was OK until Forge World ran out of certain stuff then the guy had to telephone his mate who was standing 20 feet behind him to see what he wanted to do. Very frustrating. I was actually worried for a few small kids who were in the melee trying to get served.
After five minutes we decided to bug out and try the Black Library store instead. This was much more civilised. They had stewards directing people, creating corridors for people trying to get back out after buying stuff and generally making the whole experience more tolerable. I picked up Descent of Angels, covering the exploits of the Dark Angels in the Horus Heresy, The Lightning Tower/The Dark King, two limited edition (1500 copies) Horus Heresy short stories by Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill, Armour of Contempt, the latest paperback Gaunt's Ghosts book, and the Munitorum manual, a 40k Imperial Guard sourcebook by Graham McNeill. A nice little haul.
I thought the scrum at Forge World may have subsided so I went back to see and it was just as bad. In fact it didn't seem to let up for the entire day. Shocking. Anyway, I plunged into the melee and did battle for almost an hour to reach the front. I ended up with Chaos Renegade Militia stuff - 10 more torsos plus arms, an assault weapon pack, rogue psykers and brass etched symbols. The Ogryn was sold out but I paid for one to be posted out to me.
All this action took us up to lunchtime so we dodged the burger stalls and ducked into a small restaurant where we paid a fortune for a modest meal but at least it had some nutritional value.
Suitably refreshed we then hit the main hall where the demonstration and participation games were taking place. I took a ton of pictures, many of which adorn this report. The scale of the games was breathtaking and many tables had special, exotic and unique terrain and models. We didn't join the crush at the tables to play a game.
We simply couldn't get anywhere near the tables where you could build a Chaos Marine or Cities of Death terrain due to the sheer number of bodies, which was a shame. Who doesn't want a free model to take home?
Gary was really interested in the new computer games so we scoped them out. Squad Commander was the only one of interest for me as it is playable on the PSP. I like the fact that it is turn based because I am an old fart and really struggle to cope with real time games. Warhammer Online looked impressive but such a huge potential drain on my life that I won't go anywhere near it, and it looks like there will be a further expansion for Dawn of War to include the Dark Eldar.
Now I had 30 minutes or so to scour the new releases cabinets. I took all the photos you can see in my previous posts. The cabinets were very crowded and I had great difficulty getting to the front with the geet big Apocalypse backpack on my back. In fact it was a hassle all day and I apologise to anyone I accidentally clobbered with it on the day!
On our way back to the main hall for the Golden Daemon presentations we stopped off at the Games Development Apocalypse game. It was taking place on the floor and was largely water with numerous islands connected by bridges. The Games gurus were moving the models and getting punters to roll dice and decide targets. I saw Jervis Johnson and Phil Kelly and then spoke to a genial American chap who works for the studio, but I have no idea what he is called. Everyone seemed to be eating fruit pastilles. Very strange.
We collapsed in the main hall and clapped all 39 Golden Daemon winners, despite the fact we hadn't gotten anywhere near the display cabinets. The Spanish painters seemed to do very well, including winning the sword (and gauntlet) and certainly let everyone know how they felt.
Now we crawled back to the coach to start the four hour journey back home. Everyone had a good look at their swag and a few lucky souls got some sleep. I was desperate for the toilet but predictably found it flooded with two hours still to travel. An extremely long two hours followed. By the time we got home the pain at holding it in was radiating as far as my ribs. It's just possible that the most enjoyable moment of the whole day took place in a toilet in the mall near where we were dropped off!
I enjoyed the day despite how tiring it was. It really did bring home just how big Games Workshop is. It's easy to forget this when you are playing games in your spare room. Some aspects of the day could have been better organised, especially the Forge World stand. I hope they take heed of the Black Library staff and things improve by next year.
I had initially worried about not having enough to do to fill my time but I needn't have worried. I actually didn't have enough time. Maybe this is because of the broad range of interests I have in the 'hobby' so I was jumping from stand to stand. I may just be Games Workshop's perfect customer.
Overall I'd give Games Day 2007 a 6 out of 10.
Scores
We landed at the NEC at 9.20 and joined the humongous queue. This didn't look good in terms of us getting our hands on the Apocalypse backpacks. We had been told on the way down that there would only be 500 on sale and there were approximately 1 million people ahead of us.
The queue moved surprisingly quickly and we were in the hall by 10.00am. Gary and I had planned our attack carefully so we hit the Games Workshop sales tables first. Loads of people were trying to pay by credit card and a queue of staff had already formed behind a card reader. We waved our cash about frantically and this trick seemed to work as we got served by the grateful staffer super-quick. As a result we both got our paws on the Apocalypse backpack. They only cost £45 rather than the £60 we were expecting as the templates were missing. When I asked why the staffer simply said 'China.' I also got a box of Space Marine veterans (mkii) to add to my Blood Angels.
First mission accomplished.
The Forge World stand was nearby so stage two involved hitting that for the limited edition Renegade Ogryn, other Renegade bits and the Aeronautica books (yeah, I caved). The 'queue' was horrendous. It was so bad that bunches of mates were just sending one in with all the money. Which was OK until Forge World ran out of certain stuff then the guy had to telephone his mate who was standing 20 feet behind him to see what he wanted to do. Very frustrating. I was actually worried for a few small kids who were in the melee trying to get served.
After five minutes we decided to bug out and try the Black Library store instead. This was much more civilised. They had stewards directing people, creating corridors for people trying to get back out after buying stuff and generally making the whole experience more tolerable. I picked up Descent of Angels, covering the exploits of the Dark Angels in the Horus Heresy, The Lightning Tower/The Dark King, two limited edition (1500 copies) Horus Heresy short stories by Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill, Armour of Contempt, the latest paperback Gaunt's Ghosts book, and the Munitorum manual, a 40k Imperial Guard sourcebook by Graham McNeill. A nice little haul.
I thought the scrum at Forge World may have subsided so I went back to see and it was just as bad. In fact it didn't seem to let up for the entire day. Shocking. Anyway, I plunged into the melee and did battle for almost an hour to reach the front. I ended up with Chaos Renegade Militia stuff - 10 more torsos plus arms, an assault weapon pack, rogue psykers and brass etched symbols. The Ogryn was sold out but I paid for one to be posted out to me.
All this action took us up to lunchtime so we dodged the burger stalls and ducked into a small restaurant where we paid a fortune for a modest meal but at least it had some nutritional value.
Suitably refreshed we then hit the main hall where the demonstration and participation games were taking place. I took a ton of pictures, many of which adorn this report. The scale of the games was breathtaking and many tables had special, exotic and unique terrain and models. We didn't join the crush at the tables to play a game.
We simply couldn't get anywhere near the tables where you could build a Chaos Marine or Cities of Death terrain due to the sheer number of bodies, which was a shame. Who doesn't want a free model to take home?
Gary was really interested in the new computer games so we scoped them out. Squad Commander was the only one of interest for me as it is playable on the PSP. I like the fact that it is turn based because I am an old fart and really struggle to cope with real time games. Warhammer Online looked impressive but such a huge potential drain on my life that I won't go anywhere near it, and it looks like there will be a further expansion for Dawn of War to include the Dark Eldar.
Now I had 30 minutes or so to scour the new releases cabinets. I took all the photos you can see in my previous posts. The cabinets were very crowded and I had great difficulty getting to the front with the geet big Apocalypse backpack on my back. In fact it was a hassle all day and I apologise to anyone I accidentally clobbered with it on the day!
On our way back to the main hall for the Golden Daemon presentations we stopped off at the Games Development Apocalypse game. It was taking place on the floor and was largely water with numerous islands connected by bridges. The Games gurus were moving the models and getting punters to roll dice and decide targets. I saw Jervis Johnson and Phil Kelly and then spoke to a genial American chap who works for the studio, but I have no idea what he is called. Everyone seemed to be eating fruit pastilles. Very strange.
We collapsed in the main hall and clapped all 39 Golden Daemon winners, despite the fact we hadn't gotten anywhere near the display cabinets. The Spanish painters seemed to do very well, including winning the sword (and gauntlet) and certainly let everyone know how they felt.
Now we crawled back to the coach to start the four hour journey back home. Everyone had a good look at their swag and a few lucky souls got some sleep. I was desperate for the toilet but predictably found it flooded with two hours still to travel. An extremely long two hours followed. By the time we got home the pain at holding it in was radiating as far as my ribs. It's just possible that the most enjoyable moment of the whole day took place in a toilet in the mall near where we were dropped off!
I enjoyed the day despite how tiring it was. It really did bring home just how big Games Workshop is. It's easy to forget this when you are playing games in your spare room. Some aspects of the day could have been better organised, especially the Forge World stand. I hope they take heed of the Black Library staff and things improve by next year.
I had initially worried about not having enough to do to fill my time but I needn't have worried. I actually didn't have enough time. Maybe this is because of the broad range of interests I have in the 'hobby' so I was jumping from stand to stand. I may just be Games Workshop's perfect customer.Overall I'd give Games Day 2007 a 6 out of 10.
Scores
All of my reviews end in a score out of ten for the product. The table below explains what that score means.
- 10/10 Perfect, absolutely nothing better
- 9/10 Excellent, highly recommended
- 8/10 Very good, recommended
- 7/10 Good
- 6/10 Above average, some problems
- 5/10 Average, some good points some bad points
- 4/10 Below average, some redeeming features
- 3/10 Poor, major flaws
- 2/10 Very poor, avoid if possible
- 1/10 Absolutely appalling
Monday, September 24, 2007
NEWS AND RUMOURS: Games Day Forge World
There were a few Forge World models I hadn't seen before. The biggest was the WIP 40k scale titan.
On an altogether smaller scale, but far more relevant for me, is the Apostate preacher. This guy is the most overtly Nurglesque model for the Renegade Militia but is pretty sweet all the same. The rumours are that Mark Bedford is sculpting the CRM in his free time while his main project is the Brass Scorpion of Khorne. All I can say to Forge World is give this guy some more time off!
On an altogether smaller scale, but far more relevant for me, is the Apostate preacher. This guy is the most overtly Nurglesque model for the Renegade Militia but is pretty sweet all the same. The rumours are that Mark Bedford is sculpting the CRM in his free time while his main project is the Brass Scorpion of Khorne. All I can say to Forge World is give this guy some more time off!
NEWS AND RUMOUR: Games Day Eldar and Chaos
Just a small post to show you the prototype Eldar Jetbike and the new Khorne Juggernaught.
There were also other daemons which I didn't get to photograph; a 3-up of the new Khorne Bloodletter and command models for WHFB Slaanesh Daemonettes. These models pretty much confirm that GW are working on a Daemonic Legion codex.
There were also other daemons which I didn't get to photograph; a 3-up of the new Khorne Bloodletter and command models for WHFB Slaanesh Daemonettes. These models pretty much confirm that GW are working on a Daemonic Legion codex.
NEWS AND RUMOURS: Games Day Orks
The new 40k Ork codex is rumoured to be due in January 2008 so I wasn't too surprised to see some models at Games Day.
First up is the new Trukk.
The only painted Ork was the new biker boy.
There were new burna boyz.
There were also other heavy weapons.
The most exciting big weapon is the Shokk Attack gun.
There were also a couple of other models, perhaps a weirdboy and a standard bearer.
First up is the new Trukk.
The only painted Ork was the new biker boy.
There were new burna boyz.
There were also other heavy weapons.
The most exciting big weapon is the Shokk Attack gun.
There were also a couple of other models, perhaps a weirdboy and a standard bearer.
NEWS AND RUMOURS: Games Day aftermath
I got back from Games Day UK late yesterday so I have tons of stuff to report. I had planned to post just before I left but my internet connection was lousy (I have just switched ISP's) so I had to just pack up and go, much to my girlfriend's consternation as she couldn't get onto Facebook while I was away.
I spent about £200 during the day and here is my swag (in no particular order).
I also have photos of lots of new kit that GW previewed at the event. I'll post them here later this morning once I have edited them.
Finally I plan to review the event itself. I've got lots of photos of the gaming tables, and I thought it might be fun to show people who haven't been to Gamesday before just what the crazy day is like.
Hang on, it's going to be a rough ride.
I spent about £200 during the day and here is my swag (in no particular order).
- Descent of Angels - covering the exploits of the Dark Angels in the Horus Heresy
- The Lightning Tower/The Dark King - two limited edition (1500 copies) Horus Heresy short stories by Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill
- Armour of Contempt - the latest paperback Gaunt's Ghosts book
- Aeronautica Imperialis rulebook - air warfare in the 41st millennium
- Tactica Aeronautica - sourcebook for AI
- Apocalypse - the expansion book, dice and limited edition bag
- Munitorum manual - 40k Imperial Guard sourcebook by Graham McNeill
- Space Marine veterans mkii - to add to my Blood Angels
- Chaos Renegade Militia - 10 more torsos plus arms, an assault weapon pack, rogue psykers and brass etched symbols
I also have photos of lots of new kit that GW previewed at the event. I'll post them here later this morning once I have edited them.
Finally I plan to review the event itself. I've got lots of photos of the gaming tables, and I thought it might be fun to show people who haven't been to Gamesday before just what the crazy day is like.
Hang on, it's going to be a rough ride.
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