After multiple delays and push backs EA has announced the release date for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. September 23rd. Link Here. I am excited. You should be too.

In celebration of the current release of Warhammer Armies - Dark Elves, my final army book for GW, I'm going to hold a Q+A here on Mechanical Hamster. If you have a question or comment regarding the new book, please post it as a comment or get in touch via the Ask Dennis email. Please look through the comments first to see if someone has already asked your question(s).

Things to bear in mind:

No rules questions. I know this will disappoint many folks but I won't be answering specific rules queries. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the Games Dev team (Alessio in particular) are responsible for FAQs and I am not going to second-guess what the official answers may be and won't create confusion by giving answers that may be different from GW's interpretation. Secondly, if I did answer rules questions then I suspect there'd be no time or space for me to address other aspects of the project! This doesn't mean I won't talk about the rules decisions made during the process, I just won't give answers to questions like 'What happens if a character with item x attacks a monster with special rule y'. If you have any specific errata (that is genuine editorial or typography mistakes) drop me a line on the Dennis hotline and I'll compile a list to forward to GW.

Editorial changes. Although the book was all but complete before my departure, there was one further round of editorial changes in which I did not participate. If your question relates to one of these changes I'm afraid I won't necessarily be in a position to give any further information and won't be able to answer your question. This just means that I can't guarantee to answer all of the questions posed.

The whole project. The re-release of the Dark Elves is far more than just an army list and some rules. Please ask about other aspects of the project and the army book - background, art, and so on. With that in mind, I obviously won't be revealing anything I believe to be commercially sensitive to GW, not will I cover decisions made outside of the Design Studio - pricing, number of models in a blister and all that.

Please feel free to link to this post on any forums whose members you think will be interested.

P.S. I'm busy for the next week, so the 'closing date' for any questions will be Sunday 3rd August. I'll be posting answers later that week, and then I'll have another writing-related post ready by the end of the week.

Anyway, in my excitement and nervousness about actually going to Games Day I decided to sit down and create for everyone a little I-Spy sheet to supplement other Games Day activities. Feel free to amend it for US events (you could even use it for Comic-con over the next couple of days). And I'm happy to take suggestions of things I may have missed!

Games Day I-Spy (Google Doc)

ps. the chocolate entry exists to make sure I personally get some points :-)

"Sombre est l’Aile de la Mort… "

Attention, ce n’est pas forcément en ligne avec une vision puriste de Warhammer ; par exemple ma chronologie personnelle va de 0 (naissance de Sigmar) à 1512 (La Campagne Impériale) ; j’ai aussi inventé des noms de chefs de tribus teutogens…

Bon, mais ca ne me semble pas insurmontable pour un MJ de Warhammer...

Here is the good part! GW did say they will only add them to a DoW sequel.....

Queue the drool here->

Yes, Dawn of War II has been given a sneak peak Trailer at E3.

JOY!

Thanks Terra for the heads up

J’ai regroupé toutes les Nouvelles, Rumeurs et Prophéties tirées des 4 volumes de La Campagne Impériale. Attention, il y a quelques modifications (assez mineures) pour que ça s’adapte à ma version de la campagne. Mais ça peut servir quand même !

Comme je joue la Campagne Impériale en d20 (Ô Sacrilège !), j’ai du me bricoler des règles perso pour résoudre les matches, règles que vous trouverez ici :

1. des règles stratégiques, qui permettent de régler une partie en 5 mn et une dizaine de jets de dé ; je n’y suis pas pour grand-chose, j’ai juste adapté en d20 des règles déjà conçues par Mario Heimburger pour East & West…

2. des règles tactiques, pour se faire un vrai match de rotzball (compter 30mn), en utilisant les caracs des joueurs en d20.

Depuis j’ai découvert un jeu de rugby excellent, Kahmaté, qui peut aussi reconstituer une partie de Rotzball (il suffit de refaire des personnages spécifiques à vos PJ au lieu des joueurs proposés dans Kahmaté…

Mark Jacobs comments on current plans for server types. Open RvR servers will be present as well as Core.

Classy Gamer explores the decision to remove some of the tanking classes from the game and pleas for their return.

Ten Ton Hammer talks to Erik Mogensen, Licensing and Acquisitions Manager for Games Workshop about the future of tabletop gaming in an MMO world, and Warhammer in particular.

Iain C, Community Manager for WAR in Europe ponders whether MMOs are more like massively single player games these days and looks at the importance of soloing as well as group play.

Keen's interview with Mark Jacobs can be read in full over at the Vault.

So the Mythos Beta has been shut down. Not really a surprise, but it was a fun little game and we hope it returns someday.

At The Vault, RagingMarauder has a thread for people to make their predictions for launch. I see lots of predictions of people taking a day off sick! And Linuxx has some good advice on that:

never waste a sick day on a launch..it never is worth it...maybe in a day or so after launch then get sick.

Coffee-lovers check out Oliver Shwaner-Albrights New York Times coffee blog. In an interview on the Mr and Mrs Smith blog, he discusses where to get the best coffee in London.

Massively's latest articles on Warhammer Online are all grouped together here. They include articles about UI customisation, open groupings and RvR.

Josh Drescher mentions the upcoming appearance at Comic-con, while Paul Barnett goes a step further and lists a few events he has on his schedule, including Comic-con, Develop Brighton and PAX. We're, meanwhile, still preparing for our trip to Games Day UK!

At Warhammer Conflict, they have a Focus Discussion: Solution to Gold Farmers

Another week, another set of guild highlights on both official pages, and features profiled guilds and some info about guild advancement. Here's a link to the EU one.

Sorry the pictures are a bit sloppily done, and there arent many, the camera died after the second shot and I was hurrying trying to get as many as I could. Also submit any names you may have for this unit, psuedo Warhammer Universe please.

Realm vs. Realm

Upon entering WAR, players must determine their allegiance and join an army. Those inclined towards the side of good may fight for the Realm of Order as an obstinate Dwarf, noble High Elf, or loyal human soldier of the Empire. Those inclined towards darker deeds may side with the sinister Realm of Destruction as a savage Greenskin (Orc or Goblin), corrupt Dark Elf, or marauding human worshipper of Chaos. RvR combat takes place on three fronts where ancient foes wage an unending war - Dwarfs vs. Greenskins, High Elf vs. Dark Elf, and Empire vs. Chaos. Players begin the game fighting their ancestral enemy, but are free to journey to other fronts to help their allies in their ongoing struggles.

The ultimate goal in RvR combat is the sacking of the enemy's capital city. To do this, an army must invade and take control of the opposition's homeland. Deciding battles take place in the persistent game world on objective-based battlefields and around fortified keeps that must be taken or defended, as well as in instanced Scenarios that contribute to zone control.

For the first time, players can engage in Public Quests™; these community driven PvE quests help to advance the game's story and allow all allied players within a certain location to participate in an ongoing, multi-stage battle. This is an example of how every aspect of the game, including PvE content, is geared towards the greater war in some important way. Players are not required to participate in PvP combat, and may aid in the RvR war effort and enjoy the game in its entirety via PvE content.

Drawing from a quarter century of highly detailed source material, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning brings Games Workshop's fantasy world to life in a way that will allow players to create characters destined for great deeds and glory on the field of battle.

Join one of six armies and fight for the Realms of Order (Dwarf, High Elf and Empire) or Destruction (Greenskin, Dark Elf, or Chaos).

Never fight alone thanks to a next generation Realm vs. Realm (RvR) game system. With an army of allied players at your back, you will defend your homeland, invade enemy realms, and ultimately join the siege of your opposing Realm's capital city. Different types of RvR combat include:

• Open World RvR: Participate in melee skirmishes, objective-based battles and keep sieges.
• Scenarios: Join instanced battles with up to 24 players per side for multi-player combat action, including Capture the Flag, Murder Ball, and more.
• Capital City Siege: Take part in an ongoing campaign to invade an enemy's land and sack their capital city.
• Journey to the frontlines and undertake a wide variety of PvE quest types related to an army's ongoing war efforts, including the new Public Quests: multi-staged, communal quests to be completed by allied players fighting together against overwhelming odds.
• Embark on an epic quest to complete the Tome of Knowledge and unlock Warhammer lore, detailed monster information, new abilities and rewards, and major story plotlines.
• A robust combat system allows players to customize their character's combat abilities with Career Masteries, Tactics, and Morale Skills.
• Explore massive Living Cities that become more or less prosperous based on a Realm's overall performance in the ongoing war. Navigate a maze of twisting streets, visit the local tavern, explore a dark undercity, and meet colorful personalities in a city full of adventure.

Anyways, the figures I fell in love with are a part of the Empire army designated to the Warhammer "facility". To be more exact the models are of Empire Wizards. One out of two models are completed and you can see the result below. Mayhap it is not too big of a picture but I believe it shows well enough. I'm happy, and proud (!).

Since starting uni almost a year ago, I pretty much stopped the hobby - not on purpose but I just lost the time which I would usually spend on it.

As such, I've decided to start getting the ball rolling again - easiest way to do this is via painting.

So I have two projects to work on:

1) My Vampire Counts
I've had this army a few years now and with the new army book out (seems a while ago, but I still haven't played a game with the new list), I've decided to re-do the army and paint the whole lot again.
Won't be long until the boredom of painting skeltons sets in, but Im aiming to paint at least 200 points a month - getting me 2000 done within a year.

The advantage of already having the army is that I'm able to play test lots of lists, but hopefully in the next 12 months, I'll have a good looking army.

2) Imperial Guard - Cadians
This has been a very long project. I already have a fair portion of an army painted but I'm taking a while over it - so far it's the army I'm most proud of the way it looks.
I'm not setting myself any targets with this one, but it will be used as a distraction when bored of painting the undead.

Hopefully I'll get some photos of these done so far up soon.

So nothing brand new for me, instead just breathing in some new life into my existing armies.

I used The Army Painter's range of Quick Shade. It acts a universal shade for miniatures and for battlefield armies eliminates the need for highlighting and shading. However this does not stop you from going back and higlighting the shaded miniatures if you so wish. Obviously dipping isn't for every army, but for Tomb Kings it was a godsend, especially with my sloth like painting skills. In addition to acting as a universal shade, Quick Shade also acts as a varnish allowing you to complete a basecoated miniature in one fell swoop! What follows before is a quick step by step on how I finished my Tomb Kings with The Army Painter Quick Shade with a Skeleton, who we shall call Bob, as demonstrator.

1. Bob was cleaned up and assembled (including basing) before being sprayed with The Army Painter Skeleton Bone Spray.

2. Bob's weapon and head band was base coated with Vallejo Army Painter Bronze, while his cloth head garb was painted with Vallejo Turquoise.

3. Bob was given a liberal coating of Light Quick Shade with a brush. For the actual Easter tournament I dipped the infantry but was not a fan of a) the mess and b) the ease at which the miniatures would fly out of the grip of my pliers! Now I apply the shade with a brush which is then cleaned with artist's thinners. As the  Quick Shade pools, excess areas would be removed with kitchen towel or by brush.

4. Now coated, Bob was left to dry. At this point there is a quick fatal stab of terror followed by "AIEEE! What have I done! It looks s**t!" But bear with it! As it dries the Quick Shade dries matt and looks much, much better, as Bob's mate Steve will show!

Quick Shade dries to the touch within 12 hours, but for full protection, 24 hours should be left for drying and hey. presto, painted, shaded and varnished in one go!

But enough of me cheerleading Quick Shade! What am I up to now? Well, there is more planned for the Tomb Kings, I have two Lich Priests awaiting painting, both from Crocodile Games excellent range of miniatures. I have two more big mummy converstions planned, but just have to order the bits! In addition, I have a wish to convert a Chariot of Fire and painted up another Ubshabti... Armies never get finished, they just evolve! For the character models I plan to highlight the miniatures prior to Quick Shade for further depth.

However, all of the above are plans! At this moment in time I'm assembling Wood Elves. Having found my old battalion box and other bits to exchange I'm back with the pointy eared eco terrorists! The main catalyst for this has been the film "Hero". The fight seen between Maggie Cheung and Zhang Zhyi in the golden forest with both combatants dressed in reds/oranges has inspired me to go for an Autumn theme, but moreso. In tribute to the "passion" segment of "Hero" they will be clothed in various shades of red - not other colours. Armour will either be lacqued red or even black, but red will remain the overriding theme. Whether I pull this off will be another thing, but looking at my previous experiences with Elves, at least red will hide the blood after the defeats!

Then again, there's always my Dark Elves, my High Elves, the Bretonnian/Empire army I have planned... Too many choices...

elfi silvani

VISIONE D INSIEME

TRUPPE

space marine star wars

allora in breve vorreri realizzare un diorama , cercando di far uscire qualcosa di quantomeno decente.....
ho pensato al Signore degli anelli, e avendo unicamente Bilbo baggins pensavo di realizzarlo appena al di fuori della sua casetta,
ho quindi iniziato realizzando la base in polistirolo di 15x15 cm, angolandolo x bene, in seguito dopo brevi disegni e progetti ho iniziato a costriuire il pezzo centrale della casa, realizzato in 3 pezzi, 2 per creare la sostanza e poi la facciata, con porta,....
dopodiché ho applicato sopra un cartoncino e poi le tegoline..
In seguito ho realizzato tutto il resto sempre in balsa-polistirolo

nella parte anteriore della basetta ho applicato un "cartellino"su cui poi scrivere il titolo....

i miei passi sucessivi saranno: aggiunta di dettagli e texture sulla facciata , aggiungere vari tipi di erbetta(una piu scura e grossa sul tetto e poi erbette varie sul cortile..
aggiunta di fiorellini e foglie secche..
passata leggera di colla su balsa,....

2 step

ho portato avanti il mio lavoretto, come potete notare ho applicato sopra la casa un erba incolta un po rozza, e ho aggiunto altri tipi di erbette anke sul vialetto...
ho aggiunto alcuni spilli sul vialetto su cui dipingero dei fiorellini( ho gia fato una prova e son rimasto sorpreso..)
e ho pitturato la facciata la porta e il vialetto in legno, tegole,..... essi son circa completi,

. sto comunque cercando di impegnarmi nella pittura anke nei minimi dettagli, e direi che non é male no?

e poi ho messo anche il titolo d'avanti come vedete...

continua...

Bother authors for autographs. A bunch of them are due to be there including Dan Abnett, Nathan Long, Mike Lee and Gav Thorpe.

Best Trailers of E3:

• Star Ocean - The Last Hope. This one looks really really nice and has got me much more excited than Last Remnant or Infinite Undiscovery.
• Dawn of War II. I'm not really a Strategy fan but this trailer is very nice.
• I Am Alive. Now this trailer took me by surprise and wow! of course this could translate into a nice game or complete crap with a 50/50 chance. But the trailer is sweet.
• Singularity. Looks promising, we'll have to keep an eye on this one.

Now we all know trailers in the end....don't mean anything, a great trailer can precede a great game and a crappy one. Likewise with a bad trailer. So I want to share what I've seen so far that has gotten me really pumped! either entirely new or something announced previously that I though was "OK" but now looks freaking amazing (I'm looking at you Prince of Persia!)

Best Excitement of E3:

• Prince of Persia!! When Ubisoft unveiled the new PoP with the new design my main thought was "why not". It looked nice but didn't appeal to me much more than this. Now this demo looks amazing! the design is sumptuous, the gameplay looks fun and engaging without being frustrating, it's open world...
• Braid. An XBLA title that looks really nice and reminds me of what games ought to strive to be: fun! again it looks challenging without being frustrating. the Graphics are completely charming and the gameplay looks very fun and intuitive. The game should be comprised of 5 stages with 4 levels in each stage.
• Far Cry 2. Looks might sweet! The graphics look amazing and that's on the 360!! Very impressive. One aspect that has me excited also is that they dropped the whole mutant/alien gig and now it's entirely human enemies! Yes!
• The Force Unleashed. It already looks great but it keeps getting better and better. Sweet timeline, sweet Lightsaber grip, awesome physics and now sweet lightsaber/force hold/lightning combo, character leveling and lightsaber customization a la KotOR... I can't wait!
• Lego Batman. Yay! I'm a huge Batman fan so I'm very excited about this game. Seems to bring all the goodness of the Lego games with the roster of the Batman universe, the gritty feel of Gotham, the insane feel of the Joker funhouse and a soundtrack by Danny Elfman!!!

I will add more as I come across them.

Special thanks to GameSpot for their awesome Stage Demo feature which I discovered during last year's E3 (or Entertainment for All Expo, whatever)