Disqus - Friends of neilbrimelow

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:29:09 -0000

"The DoW2 Cutscenes are epic and a movie of that quality would be wonderful indeed."

I'm sorry is everyone else looking at a different cutscene than I am? We are talking about the one where the dreadnaught bursts out of solid rock, right? Not the original opening for the first Dawn of war, right?

The original DOW trailer by Blur Studios was much more cinematic:

http://www.gametrailers.com...

Dark Crusade ,the next expansion pack,featured a new opening cinematic, albeit using in game graphics and it pretty much sucked.

http://www.gametrailers.com...

The latest expansion pack soulstorm also featured a new opening cinematic, which actually was not that bad, aside from the voice acting.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

and finally we have the trailer for dawn of war 2.

http://www.gametrailers.com...

I am not knocking the DOW2 trailer, but the two cinematics for Warhammer absolutely BLOW the DOW2 trailer away. Granted, they are done by SFX houses, and the DOW2 trailer was most likely done in house.

However, if we are talking about a 40k movie, even CGI, we are talking about $500,000 for per each 5-10 min. That's about what it cost Digic Pictures to make THE best Warhammer (albeit, not 40k) cinematic.

Below is the direct link the the very HQ version. Most of you most likely have only seen the lower res version.

http://www.digicpictures.co...

and lastly, we have Blur Studios (who did the original DOW opening.) Blur has just released the new cinematic trailer that pretty much tops everything so far. I am surprised nobody is talking about how badass it is, but then again, it just came out three days ago.

http://mythicmktg.fileburst...

The biggest problem with a 40k movie is who is GW going to get to write it? If they use mostly any of their novel writers they should be fine. However, if they give a videogame company carte blanche to write it, then it will turn out horrible.

Don't get too excited about a 40k movie yet. There are two ways of doing it. The right way, which entails spending a lot of money ($10-30 million) on real talent and a real story, or the wrong way, which is to make a $3-4 millon direct to dvd movie.

Lastly, dvd sales have plummeted in the past year. It would be tough for GW to make money on such an endeavor. However, if they were smart, they would consider a 40k movie a marketing effort and write it off as a marketing cost.

As far as a movie about the Ultramarines....Borrrrring! There is no mystery to the Ultramarines, no allure. They are the "play it by the book" Space Marines. I love to see a movie about the Salamanders, or the Space Wolves, or the Dark Angels though.

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:51:13 -0000

The problem of a direct to dvd movie is that two weeks before it even hits the shelves is that it will most likely be leaked onto the torrent sites. Dvd sales are plummeting very fast as it is. Futurama has done well with a direct to video release schedule, but then again it was on the air for several years.

40k is a very big universe, and deserves a big movie, not a small direct to video movie.

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:32:51 -0000

Johnny boy, I work in film as well and I don't know why you said that my numbers were way off, but then practically quoted the same numbers in your post.

My numbers were based off of real world budgets, for movies and shows already produced.

Lucas produced that POS Clone Wars movie for around $10 million. Granted he owns ILM, but he has been notorious in recent years for pinching pennies. Just look at Lucasarts, they fired/laid off all of their key personnel once all of the core work on the new "Force Unleashed" game was completed.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008...

Here is an interview with Lucas discussing the budget:

" We didn't want to do photorealistic — photorealistic is what live action movies are. Animation is art. This is an art discussion – either you like photorealistic art, or you like something that tries to find the truth behind the realism. To me animation is about design and style. Our goal wasn't photorealism — we wanted to use computers as paintbrushes.

Lucas also had a lot to say about how the studio put the animation together on a limited budget:

Art is also a technological medium. It has a lot to do with engineering. It's a medium dictated by resources. That was daunting, since we wanted to push the limits beyond anything you've seen on TV. We wanted to take feature animation to television. Normally feature animation costs 20-30 times what TV animation does. So that was a challenge. We had to build a studio from scratch and develop new techniques from scratch. We also didn't make it the normal way you make an animated feature. We treated it like live action feature – editing, rather than storyboarding. It makes a different kind of animated film, since we relied on cutting and editing vs. storyboards. If we can do something that will stand on its own as a feature film, then we've succeeded.

He added, rather bluntly:

This series is a test run for the live action series I'm working on. I'm trying to take Star Wars, which was a $50-million-an-hour adventure, and do it for $2 million an hour. It's hard to do that and have them look the same.

Star Wars features are probably more than $50 million per hour, though the reported budget on Revenge of the Sith is $115 million. What Lucas does seem to be saying is that each half-hour episode of Clone Wars is budgeted at about $1 million. Producer Catherine Winder confirmed that Lucas Animation already has a 22-episode season complete, so Lucas has sunk $22 million into this series so far. But it's likely much more, when you consider startup costs of creating an entire new division. And with 100 episodes planned, this series may end up costing more than a Star Wars movie."

GW should not make a "video game quality" movie, especially with the UltraBorines. They would do more harm to their IP with a lesser quality movie out there, than none at all.

Warhammer is one of the last great untapped IP's out there. It should not be sold short.

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:11:07 -0000

Here is the basic info behind the aforementioned "BLOODQUEST" 40k movie.

Exile Films Approaches DreamWorks over BloodQuest Movie
(by digitalmediafx.com) A group of animators and executives at visual effects studio Exile Films have approached DreamWorks for possible funding and distribution of an all-CGI movie it is working on called BloodQuest, which brings the Warhammer 40,000 universe to life.

Exile Films describes BloodQuest as follows:

"In a universe without hope, there are still heroes... Captain Leonatos and his Blood Angels must return to save Sekundar from certain destruction after an absence of ten thousand years. Both more and less than human, these bio-engineered near-immortal warriors must strive to contain the bloodlust that is the legacy of the flawed genetic seed from which they were created. Aloof and proud, they will yet learn to respect the desperate struggles of the local warriors with whom they must ally to defeat the hideous foes set against them."

The first draft of the screenplay has already been completed by Gordon Rennie, who also wrote a novel based on the same name.

Exile Films is aiming for a PG-13 rating with BloodQuest and says that the absolute earliest a film may be released is late 2002.

Results of talks between DreamWorks and Exile Films have not been released.

AND here is what happened to it:

In 2000, Exile Films pitched BloodQuest, an animated film based on the Games Workshop Warhammer 40,000 universe to Dreamworks. Here is what Simon Coombs, the co-founder for Exile films had to say about the demise of the film: "The less-than-stellar performance of the Final Fantasy film dealt us a body blow, and the events of September 11, 2001 were the straw that broke the camel's back - Hollywood wasn't looking for "dark" and we never regained the impetus that had initially looked so promising."

Well, seven years later, dark is "IN,"
http://chud.com/articles/ar...

Plus the technology has advanced significantly now. ATI's top video card has performance on par with what took a whole room of a computers just three years ago.

A 40k movie is possible, but once again, not with the Ultramarines as the main focus.

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:30:23 -0000

In case anyone here has not seen the BloodQuest trailer, here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:38:24 -0000

Yes, Final Fantasy VII did very well. It sold two and a half million UMDs/DVDs combined, in 2006. The primary reason why it did so well was because it was an extension of the storyline in the game at the time AND because the Final Fantasy fanbase is some of the most rabid there is on earth. Also, it was the movie the fans (more or less) wanted instead of that incredibly expensive D.O.A. movie "The Spirits Within."

The problem with the home video market, is that optical media is on it's way out, and there is a huge glut in the market of (crap) product. The number of home video releases each week is mind boggling.

It would make more sense for GW to create short movies, like 15 min. long and write those movies off as marketing costs, than to produce a 1:30 long movie. Heck, I would pay $5 bucks for each episode, to watch a well produced 30 min. long t.v. show.

Re: RUMORS: LA Gamesday

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:28:54 -0000

Trust me, I am as rabid as they come, but the difference between FF fans and GW fans is that FF fans stay for the long haul and are much more numerous than GW fans.

I have so many friends who used to be ultra into 40k and Warhammer and a lot of the other GW games. But over the past 15 years I have seen that number dwindle significantly.

GW has not been very friendly to their fan base and their retail parnters and it cost them a LOT of business. Two guys that I knew that ran a hobby shop in the 90's pretty much got so fed up with GW that they shuttered the store.

Fortunately, thanks to some competition, GW has been forced to address their failings in the customer service department and they have made significant strides in improving their whole company. I.E. no longer waiting three years for an FAQ to clear up glaring errors/omissions in the codexes.

The best indicator of how well an "Ultramarines" movie would do, would be to look at the sales figure for the Dawn of War series. As of two years ago the series sold over 1.5 million copies.

Now, not all of those copies were sold to people who have played the tabletop game. My next door neighbor never even heard of 40k, but bought the game because he love RTSes.

My own personal guesstimation would put a well produced, albeit low budget, Ultramarines movie (in the $4 million dollar range) at about 250,000 to 400,000 worldwide sales. That would mean about $3.5 million wholesale going back to GW. Which means it still is a loss for GW on one hand, but would enhance the fan experience and enrich the 40k universe.

As of July 7, 2008, the FF series has sold over 85 million units worldwide. At $50 a unit, that's $4.6 Billion dollars.

Last year GW posted a loss of about $500,000 on revenue around a $110 million, so unless GW takes out a big loan, a 40k movie ain't coming out anytime soon.

Re: SNEAK PEEK: Marines Confirmations

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:04:56 -0000

How much are Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields? Jeez, please post the points cost per Terminator and Thunder Hammer/SS.

Re: SNEAK PEEK: Marines Confirmations

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:41:08 -0000

Wow, that's farking cheap! So pretty much the only thing in the game that could now dislodge 10 Assault Terminators would be what? The Nightbringer? Lol! I think TWO Nightbringers against 10 Thunder Hammer/SS terminators would be a fair fight. :)

Yeah, yeah, I know Terminators can't claim objectives, etc, and I am certainly not complaining, but there are few things in the game that can stand up to the "new" assualt terminators in HTH.

I am actually glad GW made the Thunder Hammer/SS BADASS again.

Re: SNEAK PEEK: Marines Confirmations

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:28:57 -0000

I can understand having SLIGHT variations on wargear between the different chapters, but a Storm Shield having a 3+ save only for Plain Jane Smurfs, but not Dark Angels, Space Wolves, etc, is just silly.

Same thing goes for the Cyclone Missile Launcher. Why would the Ultramarines have a version that fire DOUBLE the rate of the Cyclone available to the other non-codex adhering chapters? Don't you think that the other chapter's techmarines would get jealous and implement their own "double firing" Cyclone? :)

Re: SNEAK PEEK: Marines Confirmations

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:09:33 -0000

exactly! but 10 terminators could beat the shite out of the nightbringer. :)

Re: SNEAK PEEK: Marines Confirmations

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:12:26 -0000

Games Workshop ain't in the financial position to piss off their most valued user base, the Space Marine players.

There is no logical reason why a thunder hammer and storm shield combo should offer different protections for each chapter.

In second edition, the storm shield was needed to protect the wielder of the thunder hammer from the recoil/explosion; essentially from being KNOCKED DOWN from the thunderous blast from the hammer impact.

In later editions, the storm shield's importance was downplayed significantly.

I have no problem with certain codex chapters having slightly tweaked weaponry (specialized weaponry for each chapter), but it's incredibly stupid to come up with ANY reason why the DEATHWING would not have 3+ saves for their storm shields, but Ultramarines would.

What is the point of being able to run a whole army of terminators via Deathwing or Wolf Guard, if they are outmatched by the weaponry of the standard, plain jane terminators?

Re: GDUK NEWS: Part 2

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:32:53 -0000

There is no reason why GW can't churn out codexes for all of the Chaos Chapters. If a bunch of guys can churn out something as awesome as the Macharian Crusade, then there is no reason why GW can't have a couple of guys working on all sorts of errata and sub-codexes. GW's problem is that they are short sighted in that they think that if they don't have the models to sell of characters (such as if they did small mini-codexes), then there is no point in releasing the codex. They ignore that good faith goes a long way in this hobby.

So what if they create awesome characters for a World Eaters Codex, and never release any of those models! It's easy now that GW is into the CAD/CAM world, they can just crank out some bitz/emblems and release them with each codex. Or even something simple, like a shoulder pad.

Re: NEWS: New GW Advance Order Items

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:53:49 -0000

The main problem I have with a Space Marine Codex costing $30, is that there is technically only a smidgen of actual NEW content. Some of the characters are new, but the other characters and everything else in the Space Marine army are just tweeks of the previous iterations.

If you break it down, you are really only paying for less than ten pages of actual rules content and army list costs. GW should put out (more) painting guides for the various SM chapters, and if you want fluff, buy a Dark Library novel. A codex should not cost $30, it's a SUPPLEMENT, not a whole game.

Lastly, has anyone seen the artwork for the new SM codex? Does GW recycle the same artwork they have used for the past 20 years, or does it have new artwork?

Re: Fateweaver; Oracle of Tzeentch, by Gentleben

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:04:16 -0000

Great conversion. I have always like Tzeench armies, but I have always hated The Lord of Change's persona/appearance, that of a giant vulture.

Re: NEWS: New GW Advance Order Items

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:15:38 -0000

Oh, I hated the "thin is in" codexes from the past. My point is that if GW thinks the inclusion of more fluff equals "more value," and that they should charge more, then they are mistaken.

I picked up "The Making of Hellboy 2." at Amazon.com for sixteen bucks, and it is thick as a brick and is full color and details just about everything about the making of the movie and also includes the full script..

I realize that GW is a small company, but to charge more for the inclusion of fluff, when the SM codex is really just a tweak to the SAME FREAKING STATS AND RULES since practically 2nd edition, is absurd.

As for the old artwork, some of it (Especially Mark Gibbons work) is fantastic. However, I have been staring at the same picture of the AVATAR since, what, 1993?! GW needs new artwork in their codex updates, especially if they are going to start charging $30.

Re: NEWS: New GW Advance Order Items

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 19:24:00 -0000

GW posted a loss last year on that revenue. The boost from LOTR is now over, and GW has real competition, most likely the first time ever. If you discount the GW retail outlets (which they are closing a lot of lately), then GW itself is a small company.

Don't get me wrong, I am not discounting GW's revenue, it's pretty good. However, if you look at the actual staff behind the creation of Warhammer and 40k, it's quite small in comparison to other companies.

Re: Thoughts on Marines and Chaos...

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:05:35 -0000

I'm sorry, I have been playing 40k for like 17 years now, and I have never seen this situation come up where my opponent has tried to use -my- teleport homers. Neither have I heard of anyone ever trying it, and I have played with the cheesiest ultra-powergamers.

FAQ aside, logic would dictate that the Ultramarines would use a different coded signal than a Thousand Suns Chaos unit would use for their teleport homers to avoid such a problem on the battlefield.

To say that a teleport homer broadcasts a "universal" signal for anyone to use is absurd.

Re: Thoughts on Marines and Chaos...

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:47:48 -0000

Yea, I would have packed up my mini's and left that tournament if the player tried that shit, and the dumbass judge ruled it RAW.

Re: Thoughts on Marines and Chaos...

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 18:56:03 -0000

"Why be childish and have the "ima take my toys an go home!" attitude. If someone tried this would me I would laugh and then allow it. It might be fun for a change of pace."

No, it's not a "fun change of pace" to twist the RAW to cheese your way into an advantageous position using an "oversight" in the wording of the rules. I'm not going to play against a person who tries to summon off of MY daemon icon or teleport using MY teleport homer.

Oh, and as a RAW lawyer would counter: "A teleport homer cannot be turned on or off, as it's not stated in the rules as such. Same goes for a Chaos icon."

What is scary is that obviously a great number of people seem to either have no problem with these "newfound" loopholes, or have been playing with them as normal in their games for some time. Get some common sense people. Jeez.

Re: TACTICA:Imperial Guard Advantages in Fifth Edition

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:19:22 -0000

Hellhounds are the the IG's best asset IMHO. Since they are S6, this means that they wound mostly everything normal in the game on a 2+, so even against terminators and MEq's, it's a great weapon.

Against non-MEq troops, the Hellhound is positively devastating, since in ignores cover saves as well.

Personally, I like to run at least two in my IG army, and usually run three. It's funny, I have found myself guarding my Hellhounds more than the rest of the army.

Re: RUMORS: WFB/40k Schedules

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:18:40 -0000

My question is are they releasing a new IG codex in may, or is it just going to be the new plastic models?

Also, why the heck hasn't the Space Wolf codex been at least confirmed at this point. As a Dark Eldar player, I can emphasize with the Space Wolf player's pain, and can understand why GW would want to push DE to 2010, but the Space Wolves have always been one of the most popular (codex-variant) armies.

Necrons do need a new codex though, and they especially need someway to transport their troops, or teleport onto the battlefield, especially with the effectiveness of the SM drop pods.

Re: RUMORS: WFB/40k Schedules

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:20:52 -0000

I am fully aware of the many ways to use the Necron's teleport abilities with the monoliths and other ways. However, I was referring to something along the lines of a teleport grid that could be used with or without a monolith.

I was thinking of a "drop pod" esque large crystal, that would serve as a method of local teleportation once deep striked in. I.E. the necron player would deep strike the drop pod sized crystal and then be able to teleport his necrons anywhere within 12 inches of that crystal, and/or be able to link those crystals together for local teleport.

Of course any such addition would go along with a total revamp of the necron codex.

Re: RUMORS: WFB/40k Schedules

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:18:06 -0000

IMHO, Necrons are going to be the toughest army to beat in 40k. In an 1850 point game, you can run 80 warriors, a Lord with Res. orb and Destroyer body, and a monolith. Sure, it's possible to get the Necrons below the necessary minimum for phase out, but it's damn hard.

Re: 40K NEWS: FAQ Codex SM to Dark Angels!

NEIL "BFG" BRIMELOW — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:40:00 -0000

I have been playing 40k for close to 18 years. I have spent untold amounts of money, and have purchased every army in the game, some of them several times over.

I have put up with GW for most of those years, and I actually thought that they were coming around, and seemed to actually care about their CUSTOMERS, and then they literally tell me to go "F" myself with that Dark Angels FAQ.

How hard would it be for GW to update the few Space Marine codexes to account for the changes with "Ultramarines" codex?

Give me a weekend and I'd have everything typed up, balanced, and ready to go.

I've said it before, and I've said it again:

There is no reason, at all, for Storm Shields to operate differently for different Space Marine Chapters, at least not in the same manner as the current problem: I.E. Dark Angels only get 4+inv. save in CC, where the Smurfs get a 3+inv. for shooting and CC.

If, for example, the Dark Angels Storm Shield offered a 2+inv. save in cc ONLY, then I would have no problem, as the Dark Angels had set a precedent for favoring close combat, etc.

However, the Storm Shield previously was the same for ALL chapters. GW changed the very definition of what a Storm Shield did and significantly increased it's effectiveness.

There are some other minor tweaks to the "Ultramarines" codex, but one of the other big changes was in the transport capacity of the Land Raider.
Sure, two extra models, is really not a big deal, but it's the principle. After decades of fluff firmly establishing the STC were virtually the same for ALL codex chapters, it's insane to now say that the Dark Angels are using the older, crappy Land Raiders, and that the STC was updated to fit two more models, and the Dark Angels have to wait YEARS for the "uprgaded" Land Raiders to "arrive." (I.E. with the release of the new codex)

Once again, how hard would it be to integrate the new "Ultramarine" rules in with the other, seemingly forgotten Legacy chapters (I.E. Space Wolves)?

Answer: It could be done in a fortnight, and there is NO EXCUSE. NONE.

As for some of the posters below stating that 40k is not designed for tournament play, I'm sorry, have I been playing a different game for the past 18 years?? I have played against the absolutely most ruthless S.O.B.'s for the past 18 years in tournaments across the county and although in the past, the rules were a real pain in the ass, (and I come from second edition), there is no possible way anyone can tell me that GW has not crafted 40k over the past 18 years to become a tournament game. If GW wanted to "ignore" the tournament circuit, they would have simply released a slightly more streamlined version of second edition, and not that POS third edition that threw the baby out with the bath water.

I will state this with most certainty. GENERAL MOTORS AND FORD are almost bankrupt. Iceland, the COUNTRY, is almost bankrupt. TRILLIONS of dollars of wealth have been annihilated worldwide in the past few weeks. GAMES WORKSHOP, this is NOT the time to play your bullshit games with your customers.

Take down all of the space marine chapters FAQs, and hire some drone to put in some overtime this weekend and re-release the FAQ's and make your customers HAPPY, as they might not have much money to spend on $50 bits of plastic for much longer.