White Dwarf Going Downhill?

[stayscrunchyinmilk]

I get ya. I used to read from 1989 - 1996 (My fave aunt would get a subscription and renew it and when i went round there'd be one. If I haden't seen her for months there'd be stacks.) That reminds me. I should get her a bottle of spirits for her birthday and take nine years off the card.

Anyway. I was told after quizzing GW senior staff (at a gamesday) that the magazine has so much sales stuff in it because it's one of their "Outreach" items, for people who don't have stores nearby etc etc.

It's turned into a sales item, for promoting new releases as of late (last 5 years at least, getting steadily worse) There have been flashes of greatness though - the WFB raid scenarios were worth the buy, and the free terminator WD (I bought a couple, and traded the nobs for Terminators giving me scope to convert two characters and swap in/out my apothecary and standard in my deathwing)

What i lament is the extra rules - like the space hulk boards, or the painboy modifications (they released a load of metal ork bits to put on boys, and had WD special rules.) Or, things like the Blood Angels Dex etc. They were great.
Nowerdays, if you ripped out every page that wasn't trying to sell you stuff it'd be very, very thin.

I do feel the need to point out something - it's not and hasn't been since the beginning of the 90's a magazine. Magazines take adverts from other companies, it is a catalogue / newsletter.

GW do need to make money - the more money they make, the more they can support (or just keep up) the gaming community, which is massive. That's why the mini's cost more than other companies, they have dedicated stores, events and support gaming groups.

I just wish that they wouldn't ram it down our throat - give me a white dwarf that isn't just selling me things, I've walked into a store and bought your product already! I'm reading it! Make me enthusiastic about the products by giving me gaming flavour, and i'll go buy them because I want to use them in a game!
I read the raiders scenario, and went and got the orc raider, and some boys that i converted up - that's how to sell me things.

I'm also so dissappointed by the new website. All those articles - Nokk Dekdogg, Solar Macharius, Ceature features (I bought cadians, zombies and tomb kings to make the zombies up, and have now ended up with a converted undead IG army i was so pleased with them) skinks converted into little aliens scenarios (again, i went out and bought them) xeno mounts (I bought cold ones and more cadians to convert). etc etc.
They're gone. My computer frequently breaks down as there's a scrolling banner of pictures, and you have to look really hard to even find the FAQ's.

If they want to sell me things, make me enthusiastic. Don't give me adverts.
enthusiasm isn't a glossy picture with NEW! written over it and a dozen pages of painted examples littered with quotes like "win more battles with new power megadon", followed by a battle report of the new models trouncing the older ones.

It's having one page saying that, and maybe a jungle or swamp scenario, with a feature of how to make plants to litter your swamp with, and rules to match.

Maybe a article on how to convert your stegadon into a 40k creature, which starts in the middle of the table and goes i na random direction - to be captured or killed, or attack you.
Ork boys on a howdah with dino-squig rules?

(All with opponents permission of course.)

then i'd think of buying one if it looked fun.

Where's my dirtbike conversion guide (at mere £ 22 each) where's my pirate ork boy guide?

[Lord Borak]

Stay....I think you've downloaded my opinion sneakily while i was asleep and put it up before me.

I have the odd flick through of the new WD's when they're released but i'm not inspired by them anymore. Maybe i'm just getting old or have moved on but theres not alot more for the 'established' (or crusty) hobbiest anymore. It'd be awesome if they put up some decent heavy metal painting guides or some awesome scenery guides or those silly little games like bar room brawl.

I picked up an old white dwarf. The first page was some adds, then it was the editors and writers page, Fat Bloke what he'd been painting, eating and adrian woods whaky orks then it was straight into an article. I know it's getting better as times getting on but you still have to flick through countless new release pictures before getting to the articles you bought the mag for in the first place.

I know the mag has to do all aspects of the hobby and i know it's got to tailor for all levels of hobbiest. Hell i worked for GW and being able to pick up a WD and go through a painting guide for the latest model with a new hobbiest was great!!!! But something to improve MY hobby skills? Something like a Master class on sculpting would be awesome. Or doing free hand designs on cloaks that would be cool!!!


Or for example, here's the new stegadon. Heres how you can make an ork squigoth out of one. or an orc squiggoth or a chaos warrior Beasty......

hm...

[animated_shadow]

read the article about orks in da city. Hobby friendly, me thinks..

[MaleOpener]

I would'd say, WD is going "downhill", though I think it has lost its direction.

My least favorite issues, would have to be those dedicated to only one gaming system. Such as WD being filled with everything dealing with LoTR releases.

I too, miss the painting/hobby sections. Maybe if all concerned players, write in to GW UK, maybe we can see our old favorites return.

Sometimes, you just need to pull people out of the clouds...

[Rikimaru]

Anyway. I was told after quizzing GW senior staff (at a gamesday) that the magazine has so much sales stuff in it because it's one of their "Outreach" items, for people who don't have stores nearby etc etc.

What an absolute load of garbage (not your post the GW explanation). Just how did all those 'people who don't have stores nearby' manage? They managed pretty well before and they would manage now. There is one explanation for the decline of the magazine, its cheaper to produce a catalogue then it is to pay artists, writers, modellers and painters to produce quality material every month.

[BLADERUNNER]

I was just meandering buy when I was wondering are they ever going to give LOTR to the black library?

I'm kinda miffed about huge LOTR sections lately and they seem to be coming more frequent.

Seeing how this post was started all the way back in 2009 i think it was relavent to bring this post up again.
So I'm not trying to offend anybody by necro posting.

[stayscrunchyinmilk]

Yeah, we all realised it was going cack in 2009 - and the price is horrific too. I don't play LOTR, I know what your prices are ( without needing a big oppic saying BUY BUY! ) and i don't want to hack over a five pound note + to have the pleasure of being sold more.
alternate rules? not anymore
How to build stuff like scenery ? It's barely there.
I don't live in Zog so i'm not going to pay that, i really don't need it

[Lord Borak]

Sadly it's very true. I really do miss the old conversion ideas, crazy little scenarios and the bits that got you excited about playing games. I loved the short stories and the random bits of fluff before the battle reports. I didn't care who won the game, I'd buy the army if it interested me, if not then I wouldn't.

I also liked the little editors page. Where you got to see what 'Fat bloke' and Warboss Wood were up to, their conversions and how they did them. It didn't matter in the slightest but it was interesting.

White Dwarf was about inspiring new and exsting gamers to do that bit more with their hobby. As it stands...... If I want to look at a catalogue I'll go to the online store. Not buy White Dwarf.

I flicked through the new WD and after about 2 mins I was done. I used to read WD page to page. Even LOTRs stuff as I actually like that game

EDIT: Crunchy, the reason they don't have "how to build scenery" in there is because if GW doesn't sell it, they wont promote it. Which is why all GW's ditched their old staff made boards in favour of their moulded plastic boards with GW scenery on them. This all came about just after I left GW which is a godsend really as I was 'the scenery guy' when I worked there and would have had a bit of a rage if some area manager told me what I could or couldn't do with the store boards.

[BLADERUNNER]

Fine, I SAY WE WRITE A MASSIVE PETITION AS GW CUSTOMERS
TO INFLUENCE THE SWAY OF THE WHITE DWARF. WHO'S UP
FOR THE CHALLENGE?

[The_Varangian]

I'm in.