Hmm.. so another post with nothing associated with new Miniature progress or items. I need to fix that. I'll take some shots of my Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and post him up. He still needs some finishing touches, but I love people's opinions, so maybe I can make some other changes too.
I played in a local 40k tournament this past weekend. 1850 points and we had about 18 people show up. Was a nice turnout I think and I got to see some folks I haven't seen in a while :) I ended up losing my first game to a Tau Piranha flying circus, but won my second two versus Tyranids and then Tau. And I took home the Best Painted Category :) Overall I was pleased with how the list played and am getting a better handle on some ways to move my toys on the tabletop. Gee, practice helps, go figure.
I had a rather interesting comment on my last post about soft-scores in tournaments, and thought I'd address that here in context of the local stage, the national one, and then a tournament like Ard Boyz (which I think is it's own beast). I'll address a "Comp" score after everything else.
Local Example:
While there was a Best Painted and a Sportsmanship award both at the local tournament I played in, which I'm MOST happy about in both regards, they didn't play into the overall scoring for First, Second and Third Place. They did and do encourage people to actually paint their stuff, as well as be a decent person to play so I can't and won't really knock 'em, though I do wish that they would have had a part in the overall scoring. Maybe it'll help you be a good opponent rather than ONLY worry about scoring the most kill points you can or that you're measuring down to the 16th of an inch to the objective to contest it.
I'm not saying don't play to win if that's what you want to do, but be good about it. Maybe missing out on first place because you weren't a nice guy will make you think and act a little different next time. a couple points maybe... or even if you just want to use the sportsmanship score as a tie-breaker. Something to make players more conscience of the person across the table is all. It doesn't have to be huge... it's a local tourney after all.
National Tournament: (Using Adepticon as my example)
Adepticon, in my opinion, NEEDS soft-scoring, AND HAS IT. I'm extremely happy to say that the sportsmanship and painting scores factor overall into your score. They have a great system of measuring sportsmanship, and I highly suggest that anyone who hasn't seen it, email the Adepticon Staff and ask for it. Their Judges go around to every army and have a specific way of scoring painting and appearance, as well as the Sportsmanship scoring is on a 1-12 point check-off system per round that asks things from "Did your opponent show up on time to the game?" to "Would you play this person again voluntarily?". Kudos guys, awesome way to measure these things.
Ard Boyz:
This answer's short and sweet. Ard Boyz was made by GW for those folks who just want to play and win. A Painted Army is not required to play in this, so painting scores are a moot point. And as I've never played in an Ard Boyz tournament, I don't know if Sportsmanship is scored or not, so I won't speculate. And while I'm of the opinion that it SHOULD BE (sportsmanship) a scoring factor, I wouldn't go into it expecting one. Heck, look at the name of the tournament folks :P :)
Now this is said about Ard Boyz, with me having played last years Champion at Adepticon and loving every minute of the game cause Darkwynn was just a great guy to play. (HINT... play nice.)
Whew. That was a bit of a play-by-play wasn't it? On to Composition scores:
Unfortunately.... while I wish there was some perfect formula to measure an army's composition, I haven't seen one yet. Not for 40K or Fantasy. The best 40K comp scoring question I've seen is "Does their number of troop slots filled number more than their Elite choices? Their Heavy Choices?" But even that's a bit arbitrary. Playing Steel Legion Guard? It's Fluffy for their entire army to be encased in armor and have a lot of tanks. How are you going to score that? I wish I knew :(
I'll close this by tentatively rescinding my wish for a comp score in tournament scoring, but reinforcing my wish for the painting and appearance, as well as the Sportsmanship award have a place in some way shape or form in all tournaments.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Gaming, Tournaments and Scoring, Oh My!
All this talk abotu Tournament Scoring, Balanced Lists versus Min-Maxed Lists, and whatnot has been an interesting topic... Since this is a Blog, I've got some thoughts to share, let me know what you think :)
I like to separate my gaming. I LOVE a good, narrative campaign, with rules for tracking your soldiers from beginning to end, with more emphasis on story and fluff than who beat who. At the same time, I enjoy the tournament atmosphere. This gives me the opportunity to take a break from both scenes as I need to.
Now, while I don't specifically attempt to tailor lists towards the goal of being at the top tables, I appreciate those folks at the top tables for their ability to play a tactical game. Tactics including what units to take as well as how to use them. However, I see a NEED for "soft" scoring to play a large part in tournaments. Your Painting, Composition (bring this score back please, organizers) and Sportsmanship SHOULD PLAY A PART IN OVERALL SCORING. This will help encourage people to actually care about those things. And to be honest, while I may appreciate a player or a list at the top tables, I RESPECT a player at a top table who's a good guy, and even if he's tabled me made sure we still BOTH had fun while we played.
My main point is that you can have a good game with the guy or gal across from you, in any environment, with any list played by either person, so long as you each keep in mind the fact that you're playing a game, and the goal for everyone is to have fun in any way. If for you that's taking home Best General in a Tournament, than great! But do so with the dual goal of trying to earn Best Sportsman at the same time.
I like to separate my gaming. I LOVE a good, narrative campaign, with rules for tracking your soldiers from beginning to end, with more emphasis on story and fluff than who beat who. At the same time, I enjoy the tournament atmosphere. This gives me the opportunity to take a break from both scenes as I need to.
Now, while I don't specifically attempt to tailor lists towards the goal of being at the top tables, I appreciate those folks at the top tables for their ability to play a tactical game. Tactics including what units to take as well as how to use them. However, I see a NEED for "soft" scoring to play a large part in tournaments. Your Painting, Composition (bring this score back please, organizers) and Sportsmanship SHOULD PLAY A PART IN OVERALL SCORING. This will help encourage people to actually care about those things. And to be honest, while I may appreciate a player or a list at the top tables, I RESPECT a player at a top table who's a good guy, and even if he's tabled me made sure we still BOTH had fun while we played.
My main point is that you can have a good game with the guy or gal across from you, in any environment, with any list played by either person, so long as you each keep in mind the fact that you're playing a game, and the goal for everyone is to have fun in any way. If for you that's taking home Best General in a Tournament, than great! But do so with the dual goal of trying to earn Best Sportsman at the same time.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
So I was Reading BoLS this morning...
I do that when I get into work. I grab something to drink, eat my processed chocolate-covered donuts and pop open BoLS for my morning gaming news fix. Here's how it went:
Hey, Darkwynn's got a post up...
Huh, he's retiring the Leafblower List he created, why?
Well I can see where he's coming from there... oh hey cool! He mentioned our game! Sweet! He linked my Blog!
Wait. He linked my Blog. The Blog I just finished editing photos for and haven't gotten them posted yet... OH CRAP!
So below this post, you'll find a smattering of Photos, highlighting the army and a Link to my Photobucket albums where you can peruse to your heart's content. As the week goes by, I'll highlight a unit and go through some of the conversion and painting techniques used to. And if anyone wants to chime in with questions, I'll happily put that as the priority of the next how-to or QnA post :) As it is, there's 13 images below. Yes, I'm still dialing in my lighting.
Getting back to Darkwynn's post though, (after finishing reading it) while I can understand where he's coming from, especially from the standpoint of someone who's the opposite of the hardcore tournament player, I'd hate to discourage anyone from not doing what they want with their hundreds of dollars they invest in this hobby. These are your toy soldiers, pay for them and do as you will.
Did I have fun getting crushed and tabled by turn 4 by Darkwynn? Heck yeah I did. Why? Cause He's a nice guy who did everything he could to make sure I was having fun while getting crushed. We talked, laughed, shared stories, all while I was putting my toy soldiers away and he wasn't :) Not everyone is like that though, and I applaud him for being who is and was across the table from me.
Can his list be taken down? Sure it could. How? I don't know, but I'd love to get the practice in to find out, talk tactics and see where the dice fall against it again. This is a tactical game folks, with the random element thrown in, please remember that!
Before I ramble on though, remember this is nothing else. Have fun, and make sure your opponent is having fun. Even if you are the Crusher or the Crushee. Otherwise your opponent is liable to take his toys and go home. Or at least to the next table over and play someone else.
Enjoy the photos folks :)
Tim
EDIT: Hmm... Having issues getting photos to show up. I'll explore this, but in the meantime, the photobucket link is below :)
http://s957.photobucket.com/home/Tims_Minis/allalbums
Hey, Darkwynn's got a post up...
Huh, he's retiring the Leafblower List he created, why?
Well I can see where he's coming from there... oh hey cool! He mentioned our game! Sweet! He linked my Blog!
Wait. He linked my Blog. The Blog I just finished editing photos for and haven't gotten them posted yet... OH CRAP!
So below this post, you'll find a smattering of Photos, highlighting the army and a Link to my Photobucket albums where you can peruse to your heart's content. As the week goes by, I'll highlight a unit and go through some of the conversion and painting techniques used to. And if anyone wants to chime in with questions, I'll happily put that as the priority of the next how-to or QnA post :) As it is, there's 13 images below. Yes, I'm still dialing in my lighting.
Getting back to Darkwynn's post though, (after finishing reading it) while I can understand where he's coming from, especially from the standpoint of someone who's the opposite of the hardcore tournament player, I'd hate to discourage anyone from not doing what they want with their hundreds of dollars they invest in this hobby. These are your toy soldiers, pay for them and do as you will.
Did I have fun getting crushed and tabled by turn 4 by Darkwynn? Heck yeah I did. Why? Cause He's a nice guy who did everything he could to make sure I was having fun while getting crushed. We talked, laughed, shared stories, all while I was putting my toy soldiers away and he wasn't :) Not everyone is like that though, and I applaud him for being who is and was across the table from me.
Can his list be taken down? Sure it could. How? I don't know, but I'd love to get the practice in to find out, talk tactics and see where the dice fall against it again. This is a tactical game folks, with the random element thrown in, please remember that!
Before I ramble on though, remember this is nothing else. Have fun, and make sure your opponent is having fun. Even if you are the Crusher or the Crushee. Otherwise your opponent is liable to take his toys and go home. Or at least to the next table over and play someone else.
Enjoy the photos folks :)
Tim
EDIT: Hmm... Having issues getting photos to show up. I'll explore this, but in the meantime, the photobucket link is below :)
http://s957.photobucket.com/home/Tims_Minis/allalbums
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Editing Photos while sick.. stinks.
Well the good news is that I've gotten the Centurions photographed completely! The poor news is that it'll take me a bit to finish editing the photos, and I've got work in the morning, as well as a follow-up with the doctor. Keep an eye out for these this week, as well as a tutorial on creating a Gladius-type sword for Marines out of a plastic power sword bit. Since we can't get the metal bitz en-masse from GW like we used to, I came up with this for anyone who's curious.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Time to get on the Ball..
So... after thinking "I'll update this once a week, have fun with it, etc...", now I've got folks wanting more pictures! heh. Well, considering I'm laid-up with Strep this weekend, I guess it's time to buckle down, get some graphics up on the Blog and finish taking those pictures!
Stay-tuned! I'll get em up before the weekend is out!
Stay-tuned! I'll get em up before the weekend is out!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Recovering from Adepticon
So after Adepticon this past weekend, I'm trying to put myself out there on more of these types of sites, become a part of the larger hobby community and whatnot. Hell, I'm not even on Facebook yet. Though apparently that's going to remedy itself soon as well.
Turns out I'm still recovering from Adepticon though, as the 2 months of working, coming home to spend a few hours with the family, and then working on the Centurions until 2am, wash-rinse-repeat, had landed me in a state of "oh-good-god-get-as-much-sleep-as-possible". I don't think I've ever been this tired :P
Was it worth it? In a word, YES. Not just yes, but HELL YES!
Seriously, the time I had this past weekend was beyond awesome. I got to meet some amazing folks to say the least... of BoLS fame, Darkwynn beat the crud out of me with his Leafblower List in Round One of the Championship and I had an great time being tabled by him, genuine fun guy to play and get to know. Goatboy was more than friendly and a blast to talk to and get to know, BigRed was one of the nicest guys there and lord knows I'm forgetting people that I could friggin draw if I wanted to, but I'm horrible at names. Specifically I'll throw out the guy with the awesome Fez, and the Aussie that happens to be friends with Dave Taylor who was great to spend time with and talk to :)
Heck, I got to geek out and be a fanboy to the BoLS guys who I read daily, Dave Taylor who is a huge hobby inspiration for me, Chris Borer who I wish I could paint like, and Joe Orteza who was beyond friendly, encouraging and seriously made me want to cry in my milk with how simple he made 'sculpting' Green Stuff look. See Joe? I put that in quotes cause I remember, all you're doing is pushing the GS around, not really 'sculpting' :) I listen, I swear! No matter what my wife says!
You know what made the weekend though? The people. Yeah, maybe a corny answer, but the truest one I can give. Everyone, and yeah I mean everyone, that stopped by to talk with me was beyond nice. I got introduced to all kinds of folks, (who by the way, if I haven't mentioned you yet, chime in and kick me... like I said, I'm horrible at name, but I remember faces for years!!!), and I couldn't stop thanking everyone for the compliments on my Centurions. If I just wanted to sit in my basement and model figs, I wouldn't put together armies that make me throw dice and have a blast with everyone.
Long-winded post for sure, but hey, it's late and I can't sleep. I'll post up pics of the Centurions as soon as I finish photographing all of em, but if you want, here's a link to my photobucket that has all the pre-painted shots :)
http://s957.photobucket.com/home/Tims_Minis/allalbums
Until later!
Tim
Turns out I'm still recovering from Adepticon though, as the 2 months of working, coming home to spend a few hours with the family, and then working on the Centurions until 2am, wash-rinse-repeat, had landed me in a state of "oh-good-god-get-as-much-sleep-as-possible". I don't think I've ever been this tired :P
Was it worth it? In a word, YES. Not just yes, but HELL YES!
Seriously, the time I had this past weekend was beyond awesome. I got to meet some amazing folks to say the least... of BoLS fame, Darkwynn beat the crud out of me with his Leafblower List in Round One of the Championship and I had an great time being tabled by him, genuine fun guy to play and get to know. Goatboy was more than friendly and a blast to talk to and get to know, BigRed was one of the nicest guys there and lord knows I'm forgetting people that I could friggin draw if I wanted to, but I'm horrible at names. Specifically I'll throw out the guy with the awesome Fez, and the Aussie that happens to be friends with Dave Taylor who was great to spend time with and talk to :)
Heck, I got to geek out and be a fanboy to the BoLS guys who I read daily, Dave Taylor who is a huge hobby inspiration for me, Chris Borer who I wish I could paint like, and Joe Orteza who was beyond friendly, encouraging and seriously made me want to cry in my milk with how simple he made 'sculpting' Green Stuff look. See Joe? I put that in quotes cause I remember, all you're doing is pushing the GS around, not really 'sculpting' :) I listen, I swear! No matter what my wife says!
You know what made the weekend though? The people. Yeah, maybe a corny answer, but the truest one I can give. Everyone, and yeah I mean everyone, that stopped by to talk with me was beyond nice. I got introduced to all kinds of folks, (who by the way, if I haven't mentioned you yet, chime in and kick me... like I said, I'm horrible at name, but I remember faces for years!!!), and I couldn't stop thanking everyone for the compliments on my Centurions. If I just wanted to sit in my basement and model figs, I wouldn't put together armies that make me throw dice and have a blast with everyone.
Long-winded post for sure, but hey, it's late and I can't sleep. I'll post up pics of the Centurions as soon as I finish photographing all of em, but if you want, here's a link to my photobucket that has all the pre-painted shots :)
http://s957.photobucket.com/home/Tims_Minis/allalbums
Until later!
Tim
Blog-in-Progress, excuse the mess!
As the title says folks, here's the start of what I hope to be at least a once-a-week blog on my hobby/addiction of Games Workshop and Miniature gaming and hobbies.
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