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Author Topic: White Dwarf back to monthly.  (Read 12820 times)

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Offline Looshkin

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #20 on: July 2, 2016, 03:08:55 AM »
But yeah Master Class painting abounds as well for specific techniques, as well just normal tabletop paint jobs too which are very handy. 

I've used WD a heck of a lot for painting advice. I'm not a natural painter - I don't instinctively know what colours work well, which I should steer clear from and how to layer up a mini. WD helps with all of that, from the lowest common denominator approach of the general paint splatter articles up to their more in-depth stuff.

Those articles are mainly why I buy WD. All of the other formation rules and mini games are just a bonus to me.

A larger format should allow the more in-depth, larger articles to return. As long as they fill up the larger format with more words, not just more pictures, I'm ok with that.

I don't mind the format going from weekly back to monthly. The weekly format helped those on a budget that could pick up 1 issue that interests them and ignore the rest. For me, I stops my need to go into town every week or 2 weeks to ensure I get my copy.
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Offline Irisado

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #21 on: August 30, 2016, 04:09:59 PM »
There have been some positive remarks about the first new monthly issue.  I haven't read it myself, but I've seen some encouraging comments about the quality of the articles having gone up, and there's a return for a tale of four gamers.

Has anyone here taken a look at it?
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Offline Lord of Winter and War

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #22 on: August 30, 2016, 04:45:24 PM »
It's only 10$ Canadian. I ordered a copy. It's not out yet until Saturday though. So cheap, well worth splurging on. Comes with a $30 model for free.
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Offline Irisado

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #23 on: August 30, 2016, 05:15:16 PM »
Just a reminder to everyone that links which show photographed, scanned, or video content of White Dwarf can't be posted here because of GW's copyright rules, so I've had to remove such information from this thread.
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Offline Slick Samos

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #24 on: August 31, 2016, 03:42:27 PM »
Whoops. Sorry about that.

I think I will order it and let you know my thoughts when I've got it ;)
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Offline Cavalier

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #25 on: September 2, 2016, 08:22:23 AM »
I am very excited that they are going back to the old format. That being I loved WD weekly. I flip through those little babies on a daily basis and even in the abbreviated format it was just loaded with great hobby stuff, missions, formations rules etc. I learned a bunch of really cool painting tips, how to use the technical paints (which are absolutely incredible) etc through the magazine too.

The larger format only helps though, especially with long bat-reps which you just gotta have. I think that was only thing the current iteration of the magazine was lacking. More pictures and showcases is always great too which they were doing before the switched to weekly. I really enjoyed the player interview sections where they talked about how and why they collected their armies. I'm always interested in the "ultimate vision" for a given army, what the end game is in terms of collecting a specific force.

Overall I'm very happy that they are continuing to push the magazine along. We are a million miles away from the abomination that it was during 5th edition where I just detested it. The first re-do started off a bit slow, but quickly got good over the first 6 months. I loved weekly and if they roll it all into one now I couldn't be happier.
« Last Edit: September 2, 2016, 08:24:37 AM by Cavalier »
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Offline Alienscar

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #26 on: September 30, 2016, 10:22:25 AM »
Has anyone here taken a look at it?

I have and here is my opinion

On the face of it I should have enjoyed this magazine and whilst it was okay overall the whole experience of reading it left me feeling a bit flat.

I will give it 2.5 out of 5. Ultimately too many pictures and not enough words.

Including the inside of the front and back pages the magazine has 149 pages. Thirteen of these pages are adverts and a further forty two pages are nothing but pictures of models. Two pages to tell you what is in the magazine and fifteen pages of stuff that you can buy now.
I enjoyed the Sprues and Glue article but I thought it could have been more detailed. The bit about the left arm of the Tau model in particular could have done with a bit more detail.

I know most of you on here like Paint Splatter but, as I have said in the past, I do not like these articles as I feel they could just say paint your models skin Carroburg, Druchii and Bugman's glow. Paint red armour Khorne Red, Nuln Oil & Evil Sunz and that is essentially the content of Paint Splatter done without taking up three pages. In fact look at Parade Ground and the Tempest Blade. Three pictures of the models and one paragraph on how they were painted - brilliant. What I did like was the potted guide on painting techniques: really helpful.

I was looking forward to the return of "Four Gamers" but I feel they have slightly ruined this by telling the gamers which units to add to their armies. Maybe my memory is going but I am sure that the last "Four Gamers" that I read was more organic and the gamers could choose whatever they wanted.

Hall Of Fame, Army of The Month, Golden Demon, meh.

The magazine is split into twenty two sections but for me, other than a few of them, none are what I would class as essential reading or good enough to make me want to buy this every month.

I liked the Boxed Games Bonanza, Blanchitsu, Readers' Models, The Ultimate Guide & The Battle Report.

I will buy next months because I like the sound of some of the articles. Based on this issue though White Dwarf is sadly still just one big advert.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2016, 11:21:43 AM by Alienscar »
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Offline Irisado

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #27 on: September 30, 2016, 10:30:52 AM »
Thanks for the breakdown.

The Tale of Four Gamers used to allow free army selection back when I last read it, but that was during the era of Paul Sawyer et al.  It does seem a bit counter intuitive if they are telling them what to buy, as, on the face of it, that seems to undermine the entire concept.

The rest sounds very similar to how the monthly edition used to be.  Was the battle report turn-by-turn player narrative?
« Last Edit: September 30, 2016, 10:33:28 AM by Irisado »
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Offline Alienscar

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #28 on: September 30, 2016, 10:57:42 AM »
For clarity it is only the unit type that is enforced and not the actual model so there is still some free choice involved.

So second month they have to add infantry or cavalry, then a monster and then a Hero. In the final month they can add whatever they can paint.

So I agree with your assessment in that it undermines my memory of what makes a good "Four Gamers". The old style really made me feel like I was learning something about army selection.

Even though I enjoyed the Battle Report I should point out that its style is rather short and like most of the magazine is made up of mostly pictures rather than words.

Not counting army selection and descriptons there is ten pages of Battle Report and each turn is mostly displayed across two adjacent pages. Of these two pages the turn description takes up approximately a quarter of the space available.

Rather than a turn by turn narrative each turn is summed up in a journalistic style. Very much the same style that Killersquid has used in his most recent battle report.

« Last Edit: September 30, 2016, 11:02:20 AM by Alienscar »
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Offline Lorizael

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #29 on: October 1, 2016, 07:29:05 PM »


White Dwarf is sadly still just one big advert.

Well of course it is, that's it's entire purpose of existence. Any magazine published by a manufacturer is going to be one big advert...

Offline Lord of Winter and War

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #30 on: October 1, 2016, 07:49:36 PM »
I'm really impressed by the new White Dwarf. I look forward to the issue.

I specifically liked having more rules for my favourite game 'Silver Power'. I'm looking forward to running a silver tower campaign with just the Khorne hero's :-)
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Offline Irisado

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #31 on: October 2, 2016, 05:14:52 AM »
Well of course it is, that's it's entire purpose of existence. Any magazine published by a manufacturer is going to be one big advert...

The discussion point is, to my mind, not whether White Dwarf ought to contain adverts, because, as you say, all manufacturers will advertise their product, but the quantity and quality of the adverts vis à vis content.  The concern I have had with White Dwarf for some time is that the depth of writing has been reduced, in order to make way for more pages which are just nothing but adverts.

If I look back through some of the old White Dwarf issues I have from the 1990s, the adverts are still present, but there are fewer of them and the content around them is more detailed.  The battle reports are a good example of this, which is why I asked about them.  Why can't White Dwarf adopt the player-by-player turn based battle report account that is used to have?  That not only involves a much more detailed account of the report, with more useful maps, but also showcases the armies, models, paint jobs, and terrain all at the same time.  Surely that would be a double win for GW?
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Offline Wyddr

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #32 on: October 2, 2016, 07:26:55 AM »
My guess? Paying writers and photographers for a single batrep is more expensive that paying a graphic designer to do an ad that they can use in the magazine, online, in a store display, on a cover, and everywhere else.

They're being cheap and thinking nobody noticed. A lot of companies do this.

Offline Radec

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #33 on: October 2, 2016, 08:19:06 AM »
 I got my dwarf mostly for the miniature included, but 6 euro for a nice magazine isn't that sloppy either (or so I thought). I'm going to give it 5.5 out of 10. It contains a lot of adverts disguised as articles (Today we are reviewing the new blah blah kit. Notice the delicate design of the hanging schmang. Bob Bobbson manage to paint it very quickly etc) along the real adverts. This issue had some nice articles and useful content, but the overall feel that it left in my mouth was of a collection of kit reviews, outlining obvious features. I could comment on it page by page, but there's no need for that, I think. I won't be getting this month's issue if it turns out to be similar to the pilot one.
« Last Edit: October 2, 2016, 08:22:59 AM by Radec »

Offline Cavalier

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #34 on: October 2, 2016, 12:26:30 PM »
I've absolutley loved the newest issue. The army showcase features an enormous Biel-Tan army and a really great interview with the owner. I always appreciate this interviews with long time hobbyists because as I near "Apocalyptic Proportions" with my own army, its like getting really good advice on how to scale-up. Plus the painting info was really interesting. The photos were unreal as well.

Also I loved the specialist games updates. A new gaming store has moved in to my area which serves craft beers but they are for smaller games than full blown 1850 games, but I want to go there and play some Space Hulk, Calth, Death Watch Lost Patrol and the Assassin game with my buddies so having expansions for free is fantastic.

This baby was also loaded with tons of painting advice, which for me is pure gold. So many of the online tutorials are really hard to follow and often use paints outside of the GW range. The GW painting crew really distill things down to the most basic details and its just super repeatable over an entire army which is just invaluable especially being a commission painter. 

As for the adverts on new kits, I really dont mind them at all. They hardly dominate the magazine and I think they give a good scouting report on all the contents. Including all the bits which is nice for me because I'm a big kitbasher.

Overall I think its great. I get most of my tactica and whatnot from the web. What I want in print form is rules expansions, stats on new units and models, painting guides, kitbash info, interviews with players with amazing armies and all the great golden demon stuff. So long as it continues to have new formations, unit previews and all the painting and hobby stuff I'm sold. Especially the hobby stuff because seeing those epic armies always keeps me inspired to keep pushing to make my armies standout

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Offline Looshkin

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #35 on: October 3, 2016, 03:13:04 PM »
I've absolutley loved the newest issue. The army showcase features an enormous Biel-Tan army and a really great interview with the owner. I always appreciate this interviews with long time hobbyists because as I near "Apocalyptic Proportions" with my own army, its like getting really good advice on how to scale-up. Plus the painting info was really interesting. The photos were unreal as well.

This kind of thing is great IMHO. Seeing people's armies which they've spent years on, building, converting and painting, really interests me. As is the fact that they rarely, if ever, paint in a true 'GW' way. There's always something to be learned by someone else's approach to construction of a collection.

This baby was also loaded with tons of painting advice, which for me is pure gold. So many of the online tutorials are really hard to follow and often use paints outside of the GW range. The GW painting crew really distill things down to the most basic details and its just super repeatable over an entire army which is just invaluable especially being a commission painter. 

This. The fact that Issue 2's masterclass was faces is frankly brilliant. Faces and bases make a model, and if I can improve my naked heads just a little thanks to this article, the issue will have been a success for me.

Don't get me wrong, it's still not perfect. I would rather see 'proper' battle reports - staged fights which show off list building and tactics well - but this isn't a deal breaker because the Genestealer Cult Vs Deathwatch was fun and fluffy and an interesting read. Articles are rather picture heavy in general, but when you're first and foremost a miniatures company, you can expect the associated magazine to be heavy on pics of those miniatures.

I am enjoying issue 2 more than 1.

I am also very much enjoying not having to go into town every week to satisfy my collecting OCD!
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Offline Lorizael

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #36 on: October 3, 2016, 04:34:45 PM »
It contains a lot of adverts disguised as articles

All articles/content in WD are adverts. It's 100% advert, that's the whole point of it.


Well of course it is, that's it's entire purpose of existence. Any magazine published by a manufacturer is going to be one big advert...

The discussion point is, to my mind, not whether White Dwarf ought to contain adverts, because, as you say, all manufacturers will advertise their product, but the quantity and quality of the adverts vis à vis content.  The concern I have had with White Dwarf for some time is that the depth of writing has been reduced, in order to make way for more pages which are just nothing but adverts.

If I look back through some of the old White Dwarf issues I have from the 1990s, the adverts are still present, but there are fewer of them and the content around them is more detailed.  The battle reports are a good example of this, which is why I asked about them.  Why can't White Dwarf adopt the player-by-player turn based battle report account that is used to have?  That not only involves a much more detailed account of the report, with more useful maps, but also showcases the armies, models, paint jobs, and terrain all at the same time.  Surely that would be a double win for GW?

I dunno, I was counting through an early 90s issue of WD a few weeks back and about 60% was full page adverts...

White Dwarf has been running for 40 years, it has gone through numerous changes and alterations over this time, for good or for ill. It sells well and it has always sold well. It has appealed to different hobbyists at different times.
I'm sure that over this time,they've learnt something about writing a magazine in order to sell it and increase the sales of Citadel miniatures.
If GW do something in WD, then it's for a reason. Whether that's trialling something new or because of costs/time or whatever.

Will it appeal to everyone? No. Will it satisfy every hobby need? No. Will the 'quality' be what everyone wants? No.
Nevermind, enjoy what you enjoy and let others enjoy what they like. Read White Dwarf, or don't read White Dwarf. Unless you are a new customer getting into the hobby for the first time, or an actual, regular, paying customer, GW don't really care.

Offline Radec

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #37 on: October 4, 2016, 04:33:43 AM »
It contains a lot of adverts disguised as articles

All articles/content in WD are adverts. It's 100% advert, that's the whole point of it.



Obviously, but there is direct advertising and there is a more indirect one. I'd prefer the advertising be done in the form of lore articles about the kit/system, in depth painting articles, gaming expansions and content etc. The problem is that the WD has the above, but it also has these kit reviews (not a small amount either) along the catalogue listings. The kit reviews aren't something very useful either - they are a couple pictures not too different from those on the site along a text blurb that is also not that different than those on the site. I'd prefer these articles gone unless they actually show the kits in depth - close in pictures of the sprues and the parts, explanations on what each part does and how it is represented in the lore etc.

Offline Cavalier

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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #38 on: October 4, 2016, 07:12:39 AM »
@Looshkin- Glad you are digging it too bud. To me the magazine has been a hobbyists paradise. Didn't notice this for a couple of weeks but the Golden Demon section also has a "Judges Panel" from 'Eavy Metal detailing what really stands out to them. They pointed out details on the models I didn't even realize... like Gold Leaf on the Catphracti Terminators white shoulder pads... or a matt finish on the white sections of a Dark Angels armor, while a satin finish on the black armor. I love stuff like that! As someone whose trying to improve his game in the painting department these are things I never even thought of and want to try. I thought it was brilliant!

@Lorizael- I'm right there with you bud. The vaunted 90's magazines while great are equally advert based. I mean what do you expect? They want to show off their new products. As someone who doesn't live and die on the rumor sites, FB rumors etc, and with the crazy release schedule, it actually interests me as I'm the type of guy who only buys 1 unit at a time and I want to know what the contents of the box are. Also if they are giving us Bat-reps, game expansions, new formations, rules for new units, insane masterclasses, intermediate painting techniques, 'Eavy Metal commentated Golden Demons, player interviews, army spotlights and Tale of Four Gamers, I mean good lord... how much more can they possibly cram in there? If you don't like it at this point I don't think its the fault of the magazine.
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Re: White Dwarf back to monthly.
« Reply #39 on: October 4, 2016, 08:50:30 AM »
I picked up the latest WD for my flight to the states and had a good read of it. I wasn't overly impressed but I think that's mostly because I'm not all that interested in Genestealer cults or AOS! The painting tips are pretty good and despite baulking at the price a bit at first there is a huge amount of content in there. Would like them to continue as they are going with it.
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