News: No news is good news...

Login  |  Register

Author Topic: White Dwarf March 2017  (Read 1808 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Alienscar

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Country: 00
  • I *LOVE* 40k Online!
White Dwarf March 2017
« on: March 21, 2017, 11:10:34 AM »
I will give this issue 1.7 out of 5.

TL:DR: You will like this issue of White Dwarf if you like Aos and looking at photographs of models.

This issue contains:-

Twenty four pages of 40k content, nine pages of which are the items that can be pre-ordered or bought in March.
 
Thirty six pages of AoS, five pages of which are items that can be pre-ordered or bought in March.

Three pages of Blood Bowl, two pages of Forge World, two pages of LoTR, two pages of Total War: Warhammer, four pages of Dawn of War 3, two pages of Black Library releases and two pages of new rules for Gangs of Commorragh.

Personally I found this issue a bit of a chore to read as whilst there is some really good content it is spread very thinly amongst articles that are essentially nothing but pictures of models. 

Including the front cover and backside of the back cover the magazine has 156 pages.
 
The magazine is split into twenty three sections and they are:-
Latest News, Titanicus, Contact,  A Brand-New Dawn (Dawn of War 3), Spike Magazine, What Lies Beneath (Hammerhal Designers’ Notes), A Tale of Four Warlords,Temporal Distort (White Dwarf Issue 296), The Saga of Guilliman (Designers’ Notes), ‘Eavy Metal (Guilliman Diorama), The Ultimate Guide (Stormcast Eternals), Golden Demon (Europe 2016), Illuminations, The General’s Almanac, Gathering The Hosts (another name for Armies on Parade), Battle Report (Freeguild, Aelves & Duardin versus Nurgle), Temporal Distort (2003: Issue 296), New Rules (Harlequins in Gangs of Commorragh), Sprues and Glue (Fallen conversions), Paint Splatter (Guilliman), Materials and Textures (Masterclass), Blood for the Blood God (photo’s of models), Readers’ Models (more photo’s of models), In the Bunker.

One page of meet the team, one editorial page, two contents pages, fourteen  pages of adverts and twenty two pages of stuff that you can buy or pre-order now. That is 26% of the mag.

Including the adverts and counting two half pages of pictures as one this issue has fifty three pages that are nothing but pictures/photographs. That’s 34%.

In my opinion the stand out articles in this issue is the Guilliman Designer’s Notes, Sprues and Glue and the Painting Masterclass on textures.

A Tale of Four Warlord is back and this time it is all about 40k. Space Marines, Astra Militarum, Chaos and Craftworld Eldar are the Armies of choice. Similar to the previous Warlords the participants have each been given a Start Collecting Box! This week is supposed to be about their goals, their inspiration and reasons why they chose the army that they did. Everyone’s inspiration seems to be similar in that they mostly all want to use Warlords as motivation to paint an army that they have always wanted to start but never quite found the time.

After the last Warlords I am not expecting great things of this one and true to form next month’s Warlords will be all about how they painted their chosen armies.

The Designer’s Notes for the Primarch Triumvirate didn’t disappoint and I really enjoyed the read but at four and a half pages of text out of the ten pages used for the article I thought it could have been better.

Sprues and Glue was a brilliant article on how to convert some Fallen and how to use the Citadel Drill. The Fallen part of the article included a list of all the items used in the conversions and which sprues they came off which is the kind of detail that I really appreciate. Some of you might consider an article on how to use a drill a bit basic but I really like to be reminded of basic hobby skills every now and again. It is a real shame that this article was only four pages long.

This month’s Battle Report was another half-way house sort of deal. It had all the trappings of a Battle Report (points, maps with movement arrows) but it didn’t quite read as a battle report. Most of the turns took up two pages but the words take up less than 1/6th of the available space. This is probably one of the most pictures driven Reports to date. This wouldn’t be so bad but the words are of the chatty nature again and offer nothing on the strength/weaknesses of the armies used or why some of the moves were made.

For example

Quote from: author White Dwarf March 2017 Round 5
Furious at his warriors’ lack of motivation, the lord of Nurgle commanded his sorcerers to set an example. Genitor Morvus, Harbringer of Decay, hurled a bolt of dark energy towards the Warpriest and brought him to his knees..

I think the idea behind this Battle Report is to inform you of how free form AoS can/should be and how forging a narrative and having fun is at the heart of the game. Each to their own but I am not a fan of this style of Battle Report.

The fun factor of AoS is also the subject of this month’s General’s Almanac. To be honest it comes across as both a bit forced and a bit preachy.

This Months Ultimate Guide on the Stormcast Eternals is a strange affair. From a personal point of view I find it to be the worst Ultimate Guide to date but I guess if you like AoS then you will love this article. It wasn't the fact that it was AoS that made me dislike it though but the content. I can't quite put my finger on it but there is something of a lack lustre sheen to the whole article. Overall I think that the manner in which Stormhosts are split into Chambers and how there are made from only the greatest of heroes is too reminiscent of the Space Marine background and on a subliminal level this pisses me off. 
 
Temporal Distort covered issue 296 and had info about the release of the Mumak, the Storm of Chaos global campaign, Armoured Companies and the imminent release of a new edition of 40k.

The Painting Masterclass about how to paint different materials and textures is just brilliant and there is so much information in it that it bears reading more than once. The problem is that because the magazine includes so many pictures and painting related articles this brilliant article becomes a bit dull and gets lost amongst the chaff.

Six pages of Reader’s Models, four pages of Parade Ground, eight pages of Painting Masterclass, four pages of Paint Splatter, eight pages of Army Showcase, eight pages of Illuminations, eight pages of Golden Demon and four pages of ‘Eavy Metal. That adds up to 32% of the magazine given over to painting/pictures. That is too many in my humble opinion and I wish that they had dropped the Illuminations and Army Showcase so that we could have had a Guilliman battle report.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2017, 09:55:02 AM by Alienscar »
Quote from: Starrakatt
"Russ, get your work done or you won't see your damn console for the next month!"
Quote from: Cavalier
Honestly Alienscar, we get it... you dont like painting!

Offline Looshkin

  • Aspect Warrior
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1117
  • Country: gb
  • Once held an Utter Fear of Tiny Diamonds
  • Armies: I 'play' Eldar. Or at least horde unpainted models
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2017, 02:38:36 PM »
I normally disagree a bit with your scores Alienscar - I'm a painter at heart, not a gamer. I enjoy games, but unless they're between 2 fully painted armies, I tend to lose interest (Yup, I'm a painting snob). As such, I tend to enjoy the weighting of White Dwarf. I like that it has a bit more in the way of painting guides, hints and tips. I like seeing other people's takes on armies - how they choose their schemes, why they chose specific spot colours. It gets my juices flowing.

This issue, though, was just not that good as far as I'm concerned. The articles aren't particularly engaging; part of that is that I still haven't fallen for AoS. As such, an issue weighted towards them just doesn't appeal.

The Eavy Metal section is good. I preferred previous editions, but this is a solid entry.

I totally agree about Sprues and Glue. It is the standout article in this issue. Good ideas, well presented and informative. GW should use this as the gold standard for what it tries to achieve with its articles in the future.

Gillian. I know that a WD released in the same month as the big blue beast was always going to give him a lot of attention. The designer's notes are good. Again, interesting and informative. Then  you get the nest article over the page, 'The Lord of Ultramar'. Another articles about Big Blue. But this time with honour guard and a statue of an Eagle. Um. Ok. Next week, do we get more pictures of him reading Women's Health on the Toilet? Gardening on his allotment? Adding a feature wall to the Bridge of his favourite Battle Barge? It's just another excuse for more pictures of him.

Here's the killer for the Lord of Ultramar article though; He's not as well painted as one page earlier. I thought the article was supposed to inspire you, not make you go 'meh...'

Finally, you get Big Blue in Paint Splatter. FFS, we've already had 2 articles devoted to him (In addition to the front page adverts and an editorial), do we really need a 3rd? More specifically, do we need a 3rd article where he isn't painted well at all, IMHO. It's not that the brush works is bad, but the paint job looks like it was lifted straight out of the early 90s. It's so very blue. This article actually put me off buying  the big guy.

There are some nice little things in this issue. Spurs and Glue is good. Easy Metal is good. I like the Blood Bowl rules (But please, save them up and make it a 10 page article updating everything, so that I don't have to carry 5 issue to a game). i like that the Battle Report is fought my non standard armies. I like illuminations (I'm odd like that). I love the double page spread of the Eldar Phantom Titan (Though I hate knowing I will never be good enough to paint the worst painted part of the miniature)

I hate the devotion to Guilliman. It's like the bad old days of WD when a new release would be shown from 37 near identical angles. Army Showcase feels more and more like filler. A tale of 4 warlords looks like another terrible opportunity missed.

I haven't read the whole issue, but I have no great desire to read some of the articles, like the Silver Tower follow up.

It's just nowhere near as strong as previous issues for me. 1.5 out of 5.
WD127 - Started a Love Affair my Wallet Just Can't Cope With...

Offline Lord of Winter and War

  • The Cause of Diabetes -Captain- Necrontyr Immortal - KoN Veteran - Master of All Diplomacy | Wi-Fi Nomad |
  • Ancient
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8901
  • Country: ca
  • Armies: Harlequins, Spiderfang, Bonereapers, Space Wolves
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2017, 04:30:04 PM »
I've been buying every issue since they come out. I love the white dwarf magazines. I also enjoy.

I also am surprised you keep buying these magazines, even though you clearly hate them.
Harlequin Army Blog

That's not blatant, this is blatant: I'm super happy that I'm playing Austria, the greatest nation in all of Diplomacy!

Azore of Austria

Offline Looshkin

  • Aspect Warrior
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1117
  • Country: gb
  • Once held an Utter Fear of Tiny Diamonds
  • Armies: I 'play' Eldar. Or at least horde unpainted models
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2017, 05:20:00 PM »
I've been buying every issue since they come out. I love the white dwarf magazines. I also enjoy.

I also am surprised you keep buying these magazines, even though you clearly hate them.

I'm assuming that you're talking about Alienscar here? I've thought that every single previous issue was really solid. Minimum 6/10, with a couple hitting 8 or 9 for me. Room for improvement, but so much better than anything we've had for a number of years.

This issue was just a big disappointment in comparison to the recent past.
WD127 - Started a Love Affair my Wallet Just Can't Cope With...

Offline Lord of Winter and War

  • The Cause of Diabetes -Captain- Necrontyr Immortal - KoN Veteran - Master of All Diplomacy | Wi-Fi Nomad |
  • Ancient
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8901
  • Country: ca
  • Armies: Harlequins, Spiderfang, Bonereapers, Space Wolves
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2017, 05:23:56 PM »
I've been buying every issue since they come out. I love the white dwarf magazines. I also enjoy.

I also am surprised you keep buying these magazines, even though you clearly hate them.

I'm assuming that you're talking about Alienscar here?

Yep.
Harlequin Army Blog

That's not blatant, this is blatant: I'm super happy that I'm playing Austria, the greatest nation in all of Diplomacy!

Azore of Austria

Offline Alienscar

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Country: 00
  • I *LOVE* 40k Online!
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2017, 11:55:40 AM »
I normally disagree a bit with your scores Alienscar

You and me both Looshkin. I struggle to score them consistently to be honest. At the back of my head is the first issue of this monthly run and I try to use that as a baseline and compare each one to that. I think I probably scored the Sept issue too high though. I was originally going to score this issue as 1.6 but changed my mind in the last minute.

Gillian. I know that a WD released in the same month as the big blue beast was always going to give him a lot of attention. The designer's notes are good. Again, interesting and informative. Then  you get the nest article over the page, 'The Lord of Ultramar'. Another articles about Big Blue. But this time with honour guard and a statue of an Eagle.

Personally I am surprised by the lack of attention that was given to Guilliman. Seeing as the release of a Primarch is a big deal I can't believe there wasn't a battle report or more than two pages of Designer's notes given over to him. The Designer's notes for Hammerhal got four pages.

The Eavy Metal section is good. I preferred previous editions, but this is a solid entry.

I am guessing you mean the Painting Masterclass rather than 'Eavy Metal as the 'Eavy Metal section is the Lord of Ultramar diorama. If that is the case I am surprised that you feel it is only a "solid entry" as I was blown away by this article on how to paint textures.

Then you get the nest article over the page, 'The Lord of Ultramar'. Another articles about Big Blue. But this time with honour guard and a statue of an Eagle. Um. Ok. Next week, do we get more pictures of him reading Women's Health on the Toilet? Gardening on his allotment? Adding a feature wall to the Bridge of his favourite Battle Barge? It's just another excuse for more pictures of him.

Finally, you get Big Blue in Paint Splatter. FFS, we've already had 2 articles devoted to him (In addition to the front page adverts and an editorial), do we really need a 3rd?

Army Showcase feels more and more like filler. A tale of 4 warlords looks like another terrible opportunity missed.

In a round about way you have just described the pain I feel each month due to the painting articles and articles that are essentially just photo's. So Reader’s Models, Parade Ground, Painting Masterclass, Army Showcase, Illuminations, Golden Demon and ‘Eavy Metal is my "Big Blue". Once you have seen eight pages of Reader's Models I don't really need to see Parade Ground or Army Showcase. At least not every month.

I also am surprised you keep buying these magazines, even though you clearly hate them.

I get that my reviews probably seem a bit negative and I am not sure what to do about that to be honest. Any review is going to be subjective and founded on the reviewers personal tastes. I don't hate White Dwarf though I am just a bit disappointed.

As to why I buy them I think it is because I have bought them for so long it has become a habit that I can't break. I remember when I first stopped buying every issue and started to buy them based on content that I thought I would enjoy the OCD/collector part of me made it a real struggle to not keep buying them.

I keep buying them because GW are listening and slowly making changes to the White Dwarf. I hope some day soon to read a White Dwarf that I will rate 4 out of 5.



« Last Edit: March 23, 2017, 12:17:17 PM by Alienscar »
Quote from: Starrakatt
"Russ, get your work done or you won't see your damn console for the next month!"
Quote from: Cavalier
Honestly Alienscar, we get it... you dont like painting!

Offline Lorizael

  • GW Shill: Infinity Circuit: Synergistic Spotter of Numpties
  • Ancient
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6784
  • Country: 00
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2017, 06:22:17 PM »
I hope some day soon to read a White Dwarf that I will rate 4 out of 5.

I think I would hate that issue :D Haha.

Offline Looshkin

  • Aspect Warrior
  • Lazerous Penguin
  • Full Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1117
  • Country: gb
  • Once held an Utter Fear of Tiny Diamonds
  • Armies: I 'play' Eldar. Or at least horde unpainted models
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2017, 06:35:15 AM »
I hope some day soon to read a White Dwarf that I will rate 4 out of 5.

I think I would hate that issue :D Haha.

I genuinely don't think it would be too hard to put together an issue that would appeal to everyone though. Granted, you will always have things such as the new releases and the photos that are guaranteed to appear with them. After that, ensuring that the articles have a decent split of text to pictures - somewhere in the 50/50 range - would be a good start. After that, ensure no repetition.

Beyond those key points, I think you can put together a very good issue if you balance the articles so that some contain painting advice. Some modelling. Some terrain. Some New Rules. A balance of game systems. Tactics. Some art. Some background. A clear, legible BatRep with tactical insight.

It really shouldn't be rocket science.

And this is coming from someone that strongly believes that WD is generally trending in the right direction. I think a lot of the content is very good. I believe the advice that we now get regarding painting as better than it ever has been - it is balanced at both new painters and those that wish to expand their skills to include top level effects.

I think balance is the real thing here. Sort that and you make a lot of people a lot happier.
WD127 - Started a Love Affair my Wallet Just Can't Cope With...

Offline Alienscar

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1465
  • Country: 00
  • I *LOVE* 40k Online!
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2017, 11:13:41 AM »
After that, ensuring that the articles have a decent split of text to pictures - somewhere in the 50/50 range - would be a good start. After that, ensure no repetition.

Beyond those key points, I think you can put together a very good issue if you balance the articles so that some contain painting advice. Some modelling. Some terrain. Some New Rules. A balance of game systems. Tactics. Some art. Some background. A clear, legible BatRep with tactical insight.

I think balance is the real thing here. Sort that and you make a lot of people a lot happier.

Whilst I know you disagree with my scoring and probably some of my criticism of the White Dwarf it is plain that we both want the same thing from White Dwarf. In your reply you have just described a WD that I would happily score 4 out of 5.

I hope some day soon to read a White Dwarf that I will rate 4 out of 5.

I think I would hate that issue :D Haha.

Ha ha now I know you are joking as I get the feeeling that as long as the magazine has White Dwarf by GW printed on it you will always love it  ;D
« Last Edit: March 31, 2017, 08:10:30 AM by Alienscar »
Quote from: Starrakatt
"Russ, get your work done or you won't see your damn console for the next month!"
Quote from: Cavalier
Honestly Alienscar, we get it... you dont like painting!

Offline Katamari Damacy

  • Aspect Warrior
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 880
  • Country: ch
  • Armies: Eldar Empire, Dwarfs
Re: White Dwarf March 2017
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2017, 05:28:49 AM »
I started buying the White Dwarf somewhere around '95 and kept going till they switched to weekly releases. I have a handful of WDs from that time (Dwarfs, Harlies) but didn't bother after that. When they switched back to monthly I had high hopes that we might get some value for the money again. I only bought the first 3 or so issues though.

The WD is still way to expensive for what it offers. I was really looking forward to see interesting things and new rules for the various games that GW produces. But no. Instead of releasing the "Codices" for Sisters of Silence and the Custodes in the WD, you'd have to buy the Talons Box or download two (2) Codices. Would have been a good reason for me to buy the WD again if they were released there.
The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.

 


Powered by EzPortal