Precinct Omega: Recent Episodes
Robey Jenkins
It's time for another deep dive on another member of the world's wargaming scene: Asmodee. And this time, the money get really big.
X-Wing and Star Wars Armada are toast, but why? Who are Asmodee? Where did their money come from and what's going on there that has led to these headline properties being dropped?
Yes, Steamforged Games has bought Warmachine from Privateer Press. I take a look at the context, the background and history of Steamforged Games and what it might all mean for Warmachine and miniatures wargaming in general.
Warning: if you're here for Star Wars content, it's very minimal. This episode, we look at new releases from
Games Workshop
Corvus Belli
Kromlech
Heresy Miniatures, and
Anvil Industry
It's a sci-fi focus, in which I talk about the issues of equipping ultramodern, near future and sci-fi characters with melee weapons, like swords and axes and, yes, lightsabers. The issues are practical, mechanical and ethical. I reflect upon how this feeds back to my own design work and on the forthcoming Kickstarter campaign.
As a tabletop game designer, what are the factors at play in different settings that you need to be aware of? How do you develop a bespoke setting for a tabletop game?
I take a typically rambling look at the subject and, naturally, tie it all back to my favourite subject: myself. Apologies to podcast listeners, because I sometimes forget that you only get the audio, while the video is on YouTube.
If you want to get launch notification on the forthcoming Kickstarter, check it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/precinctomega/zero-dark-the-miniatures-line/
If you want to sign up for the newsletter, for behind-the-scenes insight and concept art, you can get it here: https://www.precinctomega.co.uk/newsletter-sign-up
Or if you feel moved to support the show, go here: https://www.patreon.com/precinctomega
Oh, and that blog I mentioned is here: https://marctgames.wordpress.com/
In this episode, I look at news from:
Para Bellum Wargames
Oathsworn Miniatures
Wargames Atlantic
Krakon Games
TTCombat
Dream Pod 9 and
Black Scorpion
I springboard off that to talk about the issue of mission creep in business and in miniatures wargaming in particular, and the three ways in which a small enterprise (or even a larger one) can find itself drifting into mission creep.
I also talk about how this affected Precinct Omega and led directly to my hiatus last year, and how I've responded to it with a new strategy.
If you're interested in the Precinct Omega miniatures Kickstarter, launching on 1st August, you can sign up for the newsletter here.
Or sign up to get launch notification when the campaign goes live, here.
Somewhat inspired by reference, last week, to the new Horus Heresy release teased by Games Workshop, I stumbled across a couple of other manifestations of retro-style tabletop wargaming in the form of Warzone Eternal, from Res Nova Games, and VOID Squad Tactics, from Seb Games:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
https://www.seb-games.com/
Meanwhile, I've been trying to learn about Kickstarter and how other small producers use the platform innovatively or imaginatively and that led me to the campaigns for Mega Tokyo 6mm Terrain and Hunting Packs of Dogs Miniatures:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Finally, as will be routine for the next couple of months, I talk about my own plans for Kickstarter. If you'd like to know more, you can subscribe to the newsletter here:
https://www.precinctomega.co.uk/newsl...
And you have sign up for launch notification here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
No pun intended.
I had some technical disagreements with my recording software and after five attempts to record this week's episode I ended up going live on YouTube instead. This might end up being "a thing" in future, because it was relatively painless. If I do it again, I'll give you all some warning, Many thanks to those of you who noticed I was there all the same.
As a small entrepreneur with a markedly rollercoaster ride entering the market, I thought I'd take a look at some examples from others attempting more-or-less the same thing or who have attempted it in the past, to discuss what they have done, why I think they did it, and what defines whether or not they are successful.
I looked at Dream Pod 9, Grey For Now Games, and Para Bellum Wargames.
I've been away. But now I'm back.
In this short episode, I talk about what led to me having to step away from both podcasting and Precinct Omega in general, what I learned from the experience and, a little bit, about what's coming up from Precinct Omega now that I'm back.
I've mentioned Warsurge a little on social media, and I thought it was, perhaps, time to bring it more to the fore. So I was pleased when Nick and Rich, two out of its three creators, agreed to come on the podcast and talk about the game.
Warsurge is a new miniatures wargame from Australia. They call it "universal", I call it "miniatures agnostic". But regardless, they've got a unique and interesting approach to design and market access that's worth hearing about. And it might even be a pretty good game. You can find out more here:
https://www.warsurge.com/
I didn't realize this was my 50th news episode until I was finishing up the formatting. If it had occurred to me, I would've done something more interesting... and probably more coherent. Here are some links:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thatevilone/roma-ad-astra https://www.northstarfigures.com/ https://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/ https://www.sciborminiatures.com/ https://www.reapermini.com/ https://www.warcradle.com/ https://puppetswar.eu/ https://bitsofwar.com/ https://vanguardminiatures.co.uk/
I talked, two weeks ago, about how 3D printing would affect Games Workshop - TL;DR, they'll need to make changes to their business model eventually, but not in a way that will stop them being profitable.
This week, then, I'm turning to the rest of the industry and trying to explain why small manufacturers, designers, artists and consumers need to be aware of the coming change and how it will impact them far more substantively than it will the Big Names.
Paolo Parente announced last week that Dust Studio, the company behind Dust 1947 and related games is winding up.
In this episode I take a look at the history of Dust as a gaming IP, its influence and shifting fortunes and why I think it's ultimately failed.
Other related games:
AT-43
Konflikt 47
Clockwork Goblin
I recently read/watched/listened to a few social media commentator types (a lot like me) who all seemed to be of one mind that 3D printing wasn't a problem for GW.
I very much disagree. Sort of.
In the first of a two-parter, I take a look at how 3D printing may affect GW's business model and why, look at why people think it "isn't a problem" and why they're wrong, and what GW could and should do to adapt their business model to 3D printing.
In the second part, I'll look at the wider world of miniatures wargaming, where the impact is, I suspect, going to felt much more keenly.
Deadzone 3rd edition appears, as if from nowhere! What's going on and is this genius or a horrible misstep by Mantic?
Meanwhile, other microenterprises are releasing cool stuff!
Killwager from Enemy Spotted Studios is on Kickstarter, whilst Eisenfront has released its first 2-player starter boxed set.
What does all of this mean for Precinct Omega? Well, it looks like I'm putting out a new game, myself, which you'll find available here. Patrons should look for their discount codes, coming soon! But it also reflects back on the fact that I'm going to have to take a slightly different approach for a while and that will mean putting my tie back on and hitting the office for some short-term HR contracts.
The podcast isn't going anywhere, though, so watch this space for more!
All miniatures wargames seem to go through multiple editions, one way or another, but why?
Why are new editions of miniatures games so different to new editions of other games and/or books? Why do we get so many, so often? Is it bad for the community or bad for the hobby? How often is too often for a new edition?
I try to answer these and other questions in this week's episode of the podcast.
In this business, companies enter the market and companies leave it with a depressing regularity. But what motivates them to start and what leads to their departures?
With the news that Impudent Mortal is back, IDW Games is gone and Freebooter's Fate is, astonishingly, still here, I dig into this question in a little more detail and ask what it means for Precinct Omega.
So, earlier this week I accidentally deleted, just... hundreds of files.
OK, so technically I had intended to delete the vast majority of them, but a mis-click ended up with me basically deleting my entire archive of podcasts and videos.
For most purposes, no biggie. They're all uploaded to the Interwebz if I need them and, to be honest, I mostly don't. However, I kept them around because it makes it easier to copy and paste elements from earlier shows into later ones, like intros and suchlike. Yeah, well... those were some of the things I managed to delete.
But part of the challenge of running a business is taking setbacks and turning them to one's advantage. So I spent a large chunk of a day this week creating brand new intros for podcasts and videos, so you get a brand new intro and outro from Bernard, with awesome brand new music and - to top it off - an whole hour-long interview with Five Parsecs from Home author, Ivan Sorensen.
(And, for the record, it's EE-van, technically; but since he moved to the US he answers to EYE-van as well.)
In this episode, I revisit the apparent demise of Guild Ball. No, really, it's dead. But only... kind of dead? Stuff happened. I talk about it.
Also, Secret Weapon Miniatures is dead. Probably. Again, kind of. I talk about that.
And Asmodee. Definitely not dead, but responsible for other things maybe kind of dying. But not really. Let's talk about that!
This week, I turn to the sticky topic of command and control. I explain why I've resisted tackling the topic until now, take apart the relationship between IRL C3I and miniatures wargaming, and dissect the different ways games can and do handle the various challenges of abstracting the relationship of leaders and subordinates into stats and mechanics.
I also touch upon the much-commented-upon "Fog of War" and explain why I think most people's understanding of the term is flawed and why it is so rarely handled correctly in miniatures wargaming.
I can only apologize for how long it took me to get behind this story. I was on holiday when it first broke and I thought it was a non-issue, so I ignored it and recorded a different episode, then I went away on another short holiday and the story continued to snowball. I got home and recorded this episode immediately, but I already had episodes lined up to cover my period away.
So, finally, here's my detailed look at the astonishing news about Corvus Belli moving to partial manufacturing in plastic.
Wait? What? There's something else going on? A boycott? Seriously? Again?
Well, OK, I suppose I can talk about that, too.
9th August was the arbitrary date I set for getting back to social wargaming and, with no sign on the horizon yet of anything radically apocalyptic to change that plan, it is time to make plans about what I'm going to play. Other than Horizon Wars games, obviously.
So, with that in mind, how can I choose from the plethora of excellent games out there which ones I'm going to focus on for the next 12 months? I think there's room for a maximum of three, but which three? Well, after a lot of thinking, I whittled it down to a long list of:
Infinity the Game Aristeia Kill Team (the new one)
Deadzone Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika Bushido Necromunda Spectre: Operations The Silver Bayonet WarCry
and
Star Breach
In this episode I rate each of these based on how much fun I think it will be, how innovative I think it is, how much money I would have to spend to play it, how good the local scene is and how easy it will be to find tournaments to play in around the UK. And, based on that, I make some qualified assessments of what I'm going to try out.
In this episode, we re-visit the subject of tax and VAT in the light of new EU rules and this strange beast, IOSS.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a tax specialist.
But because that's very dull, I also took some time to look at the news emerging about Games Workshop's complete re-write of the Kill Team rules, due for release soon, and Mantic Games's new sci-fi arena combat board game, Overdrive.
A full transcript of this episode is available to subscribers on the Precinct Omega Patreon.
Inspired by my conversation with Gav, I thought I'd do an episode on "emergent properties" - where this idea comes from and what forms they take in miniatures wargames.
My first effort turned out to have corrupted after 12 minutes, with no sound recorded, so I had to re-do it and the second effort honestly wasn't quite as good as the first one, but I think I covered most of the same material.
Please note that I am now posting the scripts of scripted episodes like this one as exclusive bonus content on the Patreon. So if you'd rather read this episode than listen to my voice, you can get access to scripts at patreon.com/precinctomega from as little as £1 per month.
Please consider supporting the Patreon as it makes a huge different to my ability to make it through the month!
In this episode, I look at new releases from:
Wyrd Games
Westfalia Miniatures
Victrix
GCT Studios
Corvus Belli and, reluctantly,
Games Workshop
And discuss how these use (or don't use) the idea of "starter sets" to draw new players or re-engage old players with their game or games.
Gav is the third patron I've been delighted to welcome on to the podcast.
We spend some time on his GW career, with an emphasis on the internal workings of the business from his perspective. Obviously, we also talk about Inquisitor, because I couldn't not do that. And we - eventually - get to the subject of narrative and how mechanics can create the experience of narrative events in a miniatures wargame.
There is a YouTube edition of this podcast but, for technical reasons, my conversation with Gav is entirely audio, so the video section is really only my last 20 minutes, wrapping up my learning from the interview.
This week's news looks at:
Warhammer+
The "new" TSR
Mantic Games's new Overdrive release
6: Siege and Cyber Odyssey
It covers over a lot of different subjects, with no intentional core thread. But I realized afterwards that, what I was really talking about, was how the industry is changing itself in response to a new relationship with the digital future.
...manoeuvre... mobility... whatever you want to call it.
What are the options available to designers and why would you choose one over another?
And I also talk about aspects of manoeuvre that are often under-emphasized or ignored by designers.
GW decided to change the aesthetics of their "Orruk" orc fantasy range
Wired (not "The Wire" as I say in the script - d'oh!) gave us some click-bait about women and wargaming
Even the miniatures wargaming Twittersphere isn't immune to attention-seeking trolling (big surprise)
I take my life in my hands and give some controversial subjects the questionable benefit of my analysis and contemplate what it means for Precinct Omega.
There will be a YouTube edition of this podcast if you like that sort of thing.