Gloves off...

Let's make something very clear: I'm posting this as a Warmachine player, not in my capacity as a member of the Press Gang. I want this to be perfectly clear, because some of what I'm going to write in my own blog -- if posted in the forums -- would likely raise my warning level and possibly cause me to lose posting privileges.

Having said that.

[rant]

I love the idea of Warmachine Mk II. I didn't think I would. I like my WM/H the way they are, why change a good thing? When Privateer Press announced how they were making the change, it all made sense. They're not doing it faction by faction, they're doing it all at once. No lag, no gaps where one army is stupidly overpowered, or your army is woefully underpowered. Across the board, changes to point cost. I like this.

Apparently, not all forum denizens enjoy change. The gloom and doom is clouding the horizon. Everyone is worried about losing something. Hell, I am too. But you know what? It's about give and take. If you want to get more use out of that Stormclad, then something else is going to give. It's about balance, not which faction can have the most uber-broken combo ever.

Privateer Press is giving us a gift. They're making our game better. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the world where no matter how hard you work, no matter how hard you try, it's not good enough. They'll always find something wrong, they'll tell you how they can do it better.

Fine, whiny, bitching gamer population. You fix the game. You make it better. You prove to me that you know better than the good folks at Privateer Press that you, living in your grandma's basement, wearing your Spider-man Underoos, can fix their game. Do it, nerd. Prove to me you can.

What's that? You can't do it? What's the matter? You can play TheoryMachine all day and bitch about how horrible the game is, but you can't balance and play test? You don't have a year to work on this project because it'll cut into your video game time or your tentacle-rape anime? That's a damn shame. I guess we'll have to let the experts do it. Why don't you get the fuck out of the basement and get a job? 

I'm tired of gamers who think they know better. I'm tired of gamers who complain about how every model sucks except Unit X, and you're stupid if you don't take 10 of them. Do these people ever fucking play? I can't imagine they'd have time put models on the board, let alone paint them with all the bitching going on. I mean really, if everything sucks and you've only got a few models to choose from, how the fuck can you build an army? I'm not even going to get into how uncomfortable it must be to try and game with all that sand in your mangina. 

Seriously.

Then there are the people who are all, "OMG my books are teh worthlezz nao." Really? Really? Are you fucking sure about that? Because Mk II means the books will turn to dust the second the new rules come out in 2010. Because with a book, you can't go back and read something again and again. Because buying books is the most cost prohibitive part of the game. JTFC. Books are references. They're a snapshot of a specific moment in time. They're a permanent record. Mk II will not change this. The ink in Remix is not going to vaporize and Apotheosis is not going to spontaneously combust. (Though the thought is amusing.)

And then there's the argument about needing to get new cards. Well, I guess this could be optional -- if you didn't want to play the game. I've got 6 factions now. I'm not looking forward to it. But you know what, no one is going to hold a gun to my head and say "YOU MUST BUY ALL THE FACTION DECKS NAO." I bought the first decks, then multiples of the Mk II decks. You space these things out, folks. It's simple. You've already got the models. Buying decks is easy.

Am I nervous about Mk II? Sure. But I'm willing to give it a chance. I want to see what they have in store for my armies. I want to play with the new rules and give feedback as needed. Give and take, folks. Give and take.

More importantly, I want there to still be a game called Warmachine and new models to play with and new books to read. I want my game to survive. It's my hobby, it's a small source of income and most importantly, it's brought me together with people I never would have met otherwise. I mean really, would I go out of my way to meet Devilsquid just out of the blue? (I kid. He's a great guy and a close friend). Why else would I fly to Providence, RI to game? Seriously, the friends I've made through WM/H are outstanding, and I'm trying to figure out how to get to conventions so I can spend more time with them. That's the impact this game has had on me.

Maybe that's because I can see the big picture. I can see that change, while sometimes scary, is a good thing. Maybe it's because I'm willing to give things a chance before immediately assuming they'll be ruined forever. Ruined forever means no more Warmachine.

Fuck the naysayers. They can wallow in their bitterness and despair. I can't wait until we prove them wrong.

And to paraphrase: Shut the fuck up and wait until you see what they can do before you decide they're going down in flames.

[/rant]

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to put on my Press Ganger hat and promote the game I love.