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The recent Graham McNeil book Lords of Mars isn't as good as the previous one in the trilogy (originally a duology, now expanded), but it's still pretty good. There isn't nearly as much character development as the previous book, but the amount of Weird poo poo the protagonists have to deal with nearly makes up for it. The book suffers from a lack of a clear antagonist, and the environmental hazards don't seem nearly as hazardous as they did the previous book. Also the pacing is a bit slow. Otherwise a good book, all in all, and if you like the Mechanicum I'd pick it and the previous one in the series up.
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Aug 17, 2013 22:58
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Speaking of duologies, I just read the Crusade for Armageddon duo. Don't; it was obviously cut short for quality. And the BL *never* does that. What you should read is "Relentless". That's a solid Imperial Navy novel. Not so much for space pew pew, but for character development and a good look at the sheer hell that is life for the unskilled conscript crew.
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Aug 18, 2013 00:43
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Yeah, Relentless was good. Definitely read it.
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Aug 18, 2013 15:27
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Has anyone read any of the Macharian Crusade by William King? Just curious what others have thought of it if you have read any of them. Also the Ciphas Cain Novel sound a lot like the plot of Catch 22, is that accurate at all? BadLlama fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Aug 19, 2013 |
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Aug 19, 2013 19:36
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New Space Hulk game looks good. But is probably frustrating as gently caress and don't know if I should even bother with. I never touched the original. Or allocated the time to listen to the Audiobook on Youtube.
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Aug 20, 2013 10:18
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Lead Psychiatry posted:New Space Hulk game looks good. But is probably frustrating as gently caress and don't know if I should even bother with. I never touched the original. Or allocated the time to listen to the Audiobook on Youtube. Don't its terrible.
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Aug 20, 2013 13:59
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VanSandman posted:Don't its terrible. Care to expand a bit? I wanted to grab it, but I can't buy any more games till I get through some of my Summer Sale haul. TheStampede fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 14:14
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Nephilm posted:Here's how Tau diplomacy works: Chaos is basically the best faction.
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Aug 20, 2013 14:22
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Protons posted:Chaos is basically the best faction. Yeah, in the books the arguments for Chaos are, every once in a while, not stupid, and make reference to things like Blakean creative, Satanic, energy of opposition to authority and the status quo, or Nietzschean creative destruction. But then that always translates into Lovecraftian horror, because... grim darkness.
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Aug 20, 2013 14:28
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TheStampede posted:Care to expand a bit? I wanted to grab it, but I can't buy any more games till I get through some of my Summer Sale haul. Look up some reviews. The one on Rock Paper Shotgun does a good job dissecting the awfulness.
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Aug 20, 2013 15:20
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TheStampede posted:Care to expand a bit? I wanted to grab it, but I can't buy any more games till I get through some of my Summer Sale haul. According to RPS, - Bugged missions (you fail even if you win) - Slow, unskippable, repeated animations - Hotseat multiplayer shows your opponent how many genestealers are under each blip - Graphics can make doors hard to spot - Crappy translation from boardgame to PC - Others
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Aug 20, 2013 15:33
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Also seeing a number of complaints about it being really poorly optimized for a game that's mostly just a bunch of squares surrounded by blackness. That's really, really sad.
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Aug 20, 2013 15:38
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Barely dodged that bullet. I had my mouse pointer ready to buy it on Steam more than once already. Something just kept telling me not to do it. The Emperor protects.
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Aug 20, 2013 15:45
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Shroud posted:According to RPS, For what it's worth, I really enjoy the game. I think it did as good a job of porting the board game as can be expected; it is almost a straight copy. The RPS review/opinion-piece/whatever is what it is and I don't entirely agree with it though it has some good points. - They fixed the bugged missions within a day or two (the article was written beforehand). I had the same problem. It shouldn't have shipped like that, but it happened. - Yeah, terminators are slow as hell when they move. That's just what they are. You can order multiple guys around at once, but you have to wait if any of their actions involve shooting. - Hotseat multiplayer shows your opponent the genestealer numbers if they're looking at the screen during your turn. I'm honestly not sure what anyone expected there. It's not without its issues, but it's worth checking out if you like the board game. If you're indecisive, just wait for a sale. v  v
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Aug 20, 2013 15:46
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Does anyone have any of the hardback copies of the HH books? I think it'd be neat to have at least the first three, but I don't know if $30 is worth it for one book, unless it is full of pretty pictures and glossy pages.
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Aug 20, 2013 16:50
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Safety Factor posted:For what it's worth, I really enjoy the game. I think it did as good a job of porting the board game as can be expected; it is almost a straight copy. That's the thing though, if you want a straight copy of the board game you can play that on roll20 or your online tool of choice without much inconvenience. The rules are out there, and it's not  to use them.Terminators being slow to move is terrible because the animations are janky and gives a horrible overhead to each move; taking your turn shouldn't be slower than in the tabletop, and as it stands the only thing the game simplifies is the dice, which you can trivialize with an electronic dice roller. The problem with SH is that you're paying 30 bucks for awful voice acting, bugged effects and animations, glitched missions, an empty ambience (music only plays in the start menu and mission end), and just a general lack of polish. This isn't a 30 dollar product, maybe 10, and after bug fixes. For some reason they also saw it fit to put you in multiplayer games with people that are offline by default, in some sort of rear end-backwards play by mail where you don't know whether they're online or not, and the only interaction is through a small chat window in which you pick whether you want to read what's going on with the game and rolls or what they're saying.
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Aug 20, 2013 17:48
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Yeah, okay. Forget that. I'll just go back to modded DoW1.
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Aug 20, 2013 17:59
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BadLlama posted:Has anyone read any of the Macharian Crusade by William King? Just curious what others have thought of it if you have read any of them. I like them. William King seems to be best when writing about characters and the macherian crusade is basically from one of his bodyguards pov about how great he is. It can grate a bit with how self gratifying it is, however I still enjoyed it. Cain is also decent, just go into it expecting something quirky (and not grim dark at all) and you should find it fun.
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Aug 20, 2013 18:27
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DirtyRobot posted:Yeah, in the books the arguments for Chaos are, every once in a while, not stupid, and make reference to things like Blakean creative, Satanic, energy of opposition to authority and the status quo, or Nietzschean creative destruction. But then that always translates into Lovecraftian horror, because... grim darkness.
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Aug 20, 2013 18:35
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Arquinsiel posted:Actually it's because they yoinked the idea wholesale from Michael Moorcock who writes chaos and law as diametrically opposed and vital forces. If chaos "wins" then the universe dissolves into unrestrained probability. How exactly does Michael Moorcock pre-date Blake? Or Milton? Or Lovecraft? Or (etc etc etc)? The HH books, or the ideas that make up the 40k universe, are obviously a pop-culture mishmash of ideas that pop up all over, again and again. I mentioned Blake because he is explicitly referenced. DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 21:28
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Well he doesn't, but go compare the map of the world Elric tools around in to Warhammer Fantasy's map, and consider particularly how Melnibone compares to GW's elves. It's a direct lift if ever there was one, with everything about Chaos down to the eight pointed star and beastmen.
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Aug 20, 2013 21:35
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Hey now, they do say that the spikes on Chaos marine armor are to honor the minor chaos powers of Ans'l, Mo'rcck and Phraz-Etar.
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Aug 20, 2013 21:38
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They also used to make minis for him back before they got their in-house stuff on its feet. Total co-incidence I'm sure.
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Aug 20, 2013 21:41
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Okay, but to say everything in Warhammer or WH40k still all comes down to Moorcock is silly. Moorcock was influenced by the others I mentioned, and in the process of writing fluff for 30 years, it seems a few Games Workshop writers have thought, "Hey, instead of just lifting Moorcock, let's go right to the source and grapple with some of his influences." So in recent books you get direct references to Blake, Milton, etc., and even to people like Oscar Wilde, and so on.
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Aug 20, 2013 22:05
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If you want to play the references in a work to references in another work game then you just end up playing Tommy Westphall. Alternatively you could just consider this idea: what makes High Elves different to Melniboneans besides the name?
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Aug 20, 2013 22:20
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No, my point is that the later books explicitly reference the earlier stuff, not just that Moorcock references the earlier stuff and therefore through Moorcock blah blah blah. You're ignoring the context in which I made my point, which didn't have to do with elves or whatever it is you're talking about, but was about the justification for 40k marines turning to Chaos. One of the arguments for this, explicitly made in the HH books, included references to Blake (edit: as in, literally mentioning his name), not to Moorcock. So to say, "Actually it's all a reference to Moorcock" is wrong. I don't know what to make of the Tommy Westphall thing at all. I'm not saying Blake and 40k share the same universe. DirtyRobot fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 22:32
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But your point is that because later books reference other things they somehow invalidate the initial setting heist. The reason poo poo gets grimdark is because it was established prior to later expansion of the motivations of space barbies as a fundamental part of the setting. The later justification is merely an attempt to wallpaper over the cracks in the "only war" tagline with something plausible. The fact that it has worked is a combination of luck and skill.
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Aug 20, 2013 23:44
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I don't see the point you're trying to make, but in terms of shared universe stuff Event Horizon is a great 40k prequel. Vvvv drat straight. VanSandman fucked around with this message at 00:02 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 23:48
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Event Horizon is the best WH40k film. I should get ahold of a copy of that movie, it's been on my list but I never get around to it. VVVV Nephilm fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 23:56
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Deathwatch is actually pretty good at capturing the tone I think.
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Aug 21, 2013 00:22
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So correct me if I'm wrong here but the short story "Unmarked" in Mark of Calth seems to be confirming something that Abnett has been implying since Legion. Namely, that the Emperor is unique in his hubris and ambition, but not in his existence. The story seems to confirm that several immortals have been chilling on Terra since the dawn of man and that most of them basically met the man that would become Emperor during their lifetimes. They also all seem to hate him. It also seems to support a theory I have about Malcador the Sigillite. EDIT: Also be aware that I've not read too much of the 40K era of this setting, so a lot of the Horus Heresy stuff is still fun surprises to me.
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Aug 21, 2013 04:30
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VanSandman posted:I don't see the point you're trying to make, but in terms of shared universe stuff Event Horizon is a great 40k prequel. Good comparison. That ship went into the warp.
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Aug 21, 2013 05:27
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Anonymous Zebra posted:So correct me if I'm wrong here but the short story "Unmarked" in Mark of Calth seems to be confirming something that Abnett has been implying since Legion. Namely, that the Emperor is unique in his hubris and ambition, but not in his existence. The story seems to confirm that several immortals have been chilling on Terra since the dawn of man and that most of them basically met the man that would become Emperor during their lifetimes. They also all seem to hate him. If your Sigilite theory is that he is one of those immortals, I'd have to agree. The Sigilite audio drama implies something similar.
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Aug 21, 2013 06:11
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I just picked up betrayer and mark of calth and look forward to wasting my free time this weekend catching up in the series! I've not really gotten past the Horus heresy series, any recommendations for 40k?
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Aug 21, 2013 08:17
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A little question (don't think these books have been mentioned in the thread) - but I've just stumbled upon Gilead's Blood and Gilead's Curse. Anybody read them and know if they're worth it? Seems they're more or less co-written by Dan Abnett and his wife. And you guys make me want to rewatch Event Horizon now.
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Aug 21, 2013 09:42
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Anonymous Zebra posted:So correct me if I'm wrong here but the short story "Unmarked" in Mark of Calth seems to be confirming something that Abnett has been implying since Legion. Even if not unique, he's by far the most powerful, which has always been the main take on big E - he's an inhumanly potent psyker, so much that he almost qualifies as a Chaos God by himself, and a likely reason why he's anathema to them. DrTrouble posted:I just picked up betrayer and mark of calth and look forward to wasting my free time this weekend catching up in the series! I've not really gotten past the Horus heresy series, any recommendations for 40k? Eisenhorn and Ravenor for non-marine things by Abnett, Night Lords trilogy, Helsreach and The Emperor's Gift for more marines courtesy of ADB. Also give the OP a read.
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Aug 21, 2013 10:53
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VanSandman posted:If your Sigilite theory is that he is one of those immortals, I'd have to agree. The Sigilite audio drama implies something similar. I remember a passage somewhere, I forget which book but it could have been the First Heretic, where someone mentions that Malcador lives only by the will of the Emperor. Then again if the thing about Malcador passing his last essence to the Emperor when he ascends the throne is taken to be true, it would make sense that he's an immortal and that's what he gave the Emperor.
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Aug 21, 2013 11:02
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For the love of God, Black Library - get some editors who are able to check these frigging writers! I'm listening to Blood and the Machine and there is an Imperator Titan that figures into the story. The author, Andy Smillie writes about "The kilometre-long weapons mounted under the Validus’s shoulders" - kilometre long? Does this guy have any concept of size? Operating on a conversion of 1/40 (roughly the scale of 40K), we get a weapon size of 82 feet in 40K tabletop terms. The largest Imperator on the fluff record was Dies Irae, and it was 100 meters tall. With a weapon measuring a full kilometer, he's implying that the Validus is somewhere around 4 kilometers tall (a little taller than Mount Fuji.) Of course, the likely reason he fudged the size of the Imperator is because he has it wade across Armageddon's Boiling Sea to get to an island, like it was fording a stream. I can see a bit of a variation due to creative license by an author, but exaggerating something's size by 40 times?  It really disappoints me that GW/BL doesn't even bother to maintain any consistency in its fiction - how hard is it to write something down that says "A Space Marine is 7 feet tall. That is all. An Imperator Titan varies between 50 and 100 meters. No more, no less." Not too difficult, I imagine, since I just freaking did it! Get on the ball BL editors! EDIT: And on top of the craziness posted above, you get Blood Angel Sanginuary Guard making threats against the Flesh Tearers' Chapter Master. Makes no sense at all how this was not sent back for a rewrite. berzerkmonkey fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 21, 2013 15:06
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This becomes extra amusing (and groan inducing) since they have repeatedly stated that all BL ficition is canon.  But yeah, that sounds like an extra dose of the stupid sauce and I'm also amazed no one actually bothered proof reading that. Or I guess they have one or two editors but they're either busy writing books (in the case of Kyme) or just generally attached to ADB or Abnett and they just can't be arsed to get any more.
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Aug 21, 2013 16:26
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Half serious, but why don't any of us try out for their submission contests. I'm sure we could write some decent short stories at least.
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Aug 21, 2013 16:31
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