Digital codex?

[Fibonacci]

http://natfka.blogspot.com/2013/09/sisters-of-battle-digital-codex.html

 

I'm not sure if this is just someone's wishful thinking or not.  If true it is probably a digital version of the white dwarf codex but at least it would give a legitimate way for new players to get a codex.

[Aqui]

I'm also expecting a digital release of the current list. A physical codex with new rules would most likely be part of a full wave release, complete with new plastic Sisters, and 90% of the potential customers dying from shock.

Sixth Edition has had plenty of things for me to go "WHOOOO HOOOOO!" about, but Plastic Sisters? I would willingly cut most of my Marine Armies, for the chance to play using my DIY Order!

[Warsmith Aznable]

I can see them doing a digital edition with the WD codex simply updated for 6th edition. Probably take the chance to somehow nerf a rule or two that we really like, then charge us $50 for the privilege.

 

I've finally got enough of the metal Sisters that I find myself becoming indifferent to the idea of new plastic kits, but I know that if/when that finally happens I'll lose my mind and buy all of them anyway. In the meantime, news of GW paying attention to Sisters of Battle makes me worry that they'll pay attention to the fact that an Immolator kit costs the same as a Rhino kit and "fix" that to be more inline with the rest of their pricing schemes.

[Dread]

Yup I own so much metal's now, plastics would become special units. If they do a digi release, it will suck. I am one who doesn't have a way to download it other than my pc. Not paying $50 for that.

[WarriorFish]

Someone contact the Hydra division, there's squadrons of flying pigs that need shooting down - surely the work of the dark gods...

 

If true this is good news for those without the WDs, but I'm glad I have them even more now as I don't like digital releases.

[Eddie Orlock]

Someone contact the Hydra division, there's squadrons of flying pigs that need shooting down - surely the work of the dark gods...

It's no good, they'll just choose not to swoop and move as Jump Infantry, our snap shots will never hit them!

[WarriorFish]

Grab the flamers then, let's have us a roasting... Actually that gives me an idea, if we get some suitable models/units in our new codex I'm going to see if I can model some cherubic pigs as a celebration Biggles goggles optional.

I don't know how seriously we can take these rumours - same as all the others this early - but it's got to be a good thing that something is being bounded around. Let's keep an eye on it and report back if we discover anything more

[Verythrax Draconis]

In the name of the Alpha Legion, I say we have nothing to do with it.

Or not

PS: on a serious note, I wouldn't be so thrilled. An updated WD codex release would simply mean that a true new codex and minis will only appear for the 7th edition, in the best scenario. What would simply mean that the SoBs get shafted again.

[WarriorFish]

That's a pessimistic view of it. It could also be GW finally realising there's no way of legally obtaining the codex so are taking steps to rectify this. Might feel a bit of a stretch to apply common sense to GW's machinations but stranger things have happened :P

 

You've got to have optimism faith round these parts; it's part of the army in theme as well as a requirement to keep playing them of late...

[thade]

I want to believe. (Seriously, I say it all the time because it's true.)

 

If this is true and comes to pass, that would set a very cool precedent. A digital-only codex costs significantly less to create and source than print (cutting out printing, shipping, stocking fees, etc.) and if it does well enough we might see other digital-only codecies. (GIVE ME A ROGUE TRADER CODEX.)

[Eddie Orlock]

I would be extrodinarily disappointed if Sisters were the dawn of Digital Only material. I like, nay, near require, my games in hard copy.

[WarriorFish]

Too bloody right, digital should be alongside the hard copy for those that like their books to run out of batteries. Remember GW: choice is always a good thing. Now repeat it to yourself before you go to bed every day and ideally have it painted across the walls in the codex authoring room.

[Nicodemus Doloroso]

Sounds to me like they're just finally going to release the White Dwarf in a PDF format so that people like me, who missed-out on the WD, can legally obtain rules for the Sisters.

 

I have had several email exchanged and phone conversations with the GW customer service people. One I have saved from June of last year said:

 

"Thank you for writing into us.  About the White Dwarf's 379 & 380 that have the Sister of Battle Codex, those issues did sell out and we have none available.  We have asked that the rules for the Sisters of Battle be put on the Games Workshop website but I don't know when they will be put on the website and for that I apologize."

 

So maybe they are just finally doing that. I frankly can't understand why they haven't. As I pointed out to the customer service person, the lack of access to rules has stopped me from buying SoB units for use as allies with my existing armies. Because I'm not going to buy models that I can't use due to not having rules for them. So they're actually hurting sales by refusing to release that list. It makes no sense to me. 

[Onisuzume]

Eddie Orlock, on 10 Sept 2013 - 17:39, said:

I would be extrodinarily disappointed if Sisters were the dawn of Digital Only material. I like, nay, near require, my games in hard copy.

Selah.

Besides, what else am I to do with my new bookcase (solid oak)?

I'm fine with BL novels being eBooks though.

Quote

Too bloody right, digital should be alongside the hard copy for those that like their books to run out of batteries.

Dunno about you, but that's a pretty darn hard thing to do with my eReader.

[WarriorFish]

Even harder to do with my dead treeReader ;)

[thade]

I mean, I hate to say it...well, let me start this way.

 

I'm 100% with you: I would, far and away, prefer a hard copy codex for Sisters. I definitely believe their theme and awesomeness merits a hard copy and I - like you guys - prefer hard copies to digital. However....Sisters players are few. :\ I don't have hard stats on it, of course, but that's definitely the feeling I get. I know one real life SoB player, several fluff aficionados, and you guys...and this is one of the quieter boards on the B&C. There may just not be a big enough market push to get a hard cover Sisters book. We got that barely passable pseudo-codex, which was a poorly veiled effort to sell more copies of WD, which really spells that out for me.

 

We might get a real tree-skin book, and I definitely want that...but if getting a digital version means the difference between having a Codex versus having poor scans of that elusive WD book, I'll take the digital codex. It's way easier for a company to front cash for a digital release than a physical product; the video game world (especially PC games) are shifting very strongly that way, away from boxes and physical media. The whole Nook thing (I hate those things) they're all over the subway.

 

So, I want a real book, but we might get a digital one, and I'd begrudgingly accept that. If it sells like hotcakes, that could motivate a physical print of it; maybe that's what they'd need for a proof of concept.

[Aqui]

I mean, I hate to say it...well, let me start this way.

I'm 100% with you: I would, far and away, prefer a hard copy codex for Sisters. I definitely believe their theme and awesomeness merits a hard copy and I - like you guys - prefer hard copies to digital. However....Sisters players are few. :\ I don't have hard stats on it, of course, but that's definitely the feeling I get. I know one real life SoB player, several fluff aficionados, and you guys...and this is one of the quieter boards on the B&C. There may just not be a big enough market push to get a hard cover Sisters book. We got that barely passable pseudo-codex, which was a poorly veiled effort to sell more copies of WD, which really spells that out for me.

We might get a real tree-skin book, and I definitely want that...but if getting a digital version means the difference between having a Codex versus having poor scans of that elusive WD book, I'll take the digital codex. It's way easier for a company to front cash for a digital release than a physical product; the video game world (especially PC games) are shifting very strongly that way, away from boxes and physical media. The whole Nook thing (I hate those things) they're all over the subway.

So, I want a real book, but we might get a digital one, and I'd begrudgingly accept that. If it sells like hotcakes, that could motivate a physical print of it; maybe that's what they'd need for a proof of concept.

All good points thade, but it's a vicious circle for the Sisters. Not many players want to start a Sisters army, because they are possibly the most expensive army to collect, have only a WD Codex to play them (which is severely limited in circulation). Because very few players collect Sisters armies, GW seem to have put Sisters at the bottom of the "renew" pile, ergo less likely to get anything, which means that few players want to start a Sisters army...

And around and around it goes

I think possibly one way around it is for as many people as possible tell GW they WANT, NEED, and WANT and NEED a Sisters reboot NOW! Politely, respectfully, but in such a way that GW KNOW that by committing themselves to a "fringe" army such as the Sisters, not only will they get a decent return back, but dare I say it, a profit.

Plastic Sisters, GW! And a decent, fluffy Codex! I guarantee, give us plastic Sisters and you'll actually run the risk of running out of stock. Everyone at my local GW want to see them return to kick heretical arse. They just need to DO IT!

[Fibonacci]

Compare it to how many Tyranid players you know. 

 

Or step back just a short amount of time -- like maybe 2 years -- and compare the number of Witchhuter players you could find with the number of Necron players you could find.  Let me help you out with that.  At the 2011 NOVA Open, there were 3 Necron armis and 4 Witchhunter armis.  Necrons had some plastic models out but were still a mostly metal army with an ageing codex.  I knew of one active player and one other guy that had a few units in a box in his garage. But then they git a new codex and  plastic models with new sculpts and their population exploded.  This year there were 3 Sisters of Battle arimes and 22 Necron armies at NOVA.

 

At that same time 2 years ago I knew of one other Witchhunter player and I had recently bought the start of my WH army from a guy who had them boxed up for a couple years and never played them.  Since then to now we no long have a codex that cn be bought or downloaded from GW, the models are still metal only on everything but the rhino chasis and I am now the only active SoB player in the area.  But I would be willing to lay good money on a bet that if GW put out a strong codex and new plastic models we would see new SoB players coming from all corners.  Until that happens you won't see any new SoB players.  We can't buy what they don't sell.  And it really is as simple as that.

[Aqui]

Indeed mate. And as I said, if a new Codex and plastic Sisters turned up I would halt nearly every other army I'm working on and get as much as my admittedly meagre budget would allow. I've never played Sister before as they weren't around when I last played seriously, but they appeal so much as their play style is (from my own observations admittedly) very different to Marines, Chaos Marines and Eldar (which is what I used to play way back when).

Oooooh! I really, really want a Sisters army, but don't want to go the route players such as greatcrusade08 has (and used Marines instead, although I've played against his army. It's strong and very cool to see in the plastic! ).

I'll just have to make do with writing about Sisters than play them for now

[thade]

Aye, plastic sisters would definitely come before (or at least in tandem) with a physical codex; but a digital codex might come prior to models (again, way less overhead).

 

There have been multiple efforts by the board here, organized my multiple Frater over the years, to write requests/fan mail/demands to GW for Sisters. If nothing else they've proved, sadly, that writing to GW will get you nothing more than a "We love Sisters to! Maybe someday...."

[Aqui]

Aye, plastic sisters would definitely come before (or at least in tandem) with a physical codex; but a digital codex might come prior to models (again, way less overhead).

There have been multiple efforts by the board here, organized my multiple Frater over the years, to write requests/fan mail/demands to GW for Sisters. If nothing else they've proved, sadly, that writing to GW will get you nothing more than a "We love Sisters to! Maybe someday...."

I might just get around to painting my Canoness model this weekend. I bought her at the same time as I bought the Celestine model, and she's been at the basecoat stage ever since.

If I can't scratch the itch to get a whole Sisters army, I can at least get her painted

I'll also try to get an update on my Sisters story as well. It's been months since I've written anything.

[WarriorFish]

Don't forget the Dark Eldar's regeneration - and they were much worse off than Sisters with worse models and worse still background! Many players like myself had no interest or inclination towards DE until their amazing new models came out. When I saw them I scrapped my planned Tyranid army and started collecting the evil space elves with nary a second thought (maybe nids one day?).

When we get a raft of awesome new plastics it'll be the same for Sisters. On the B&C alone the number of people who have said they'd collect a plastic SoB army easily outnumbers those of us who actively post here! Until then anything we get will of course be good, but it will be new models that really bring the Sisterhood back into the limelight where they belong.

So for GW it's a case of "sell the plastics and they will come", which surely they must be aware of which is why last we heard they were trying to get that right

[Eddie Orlock]

On the B&C alone the number of people who have said they'd collect a plastic SoB army easily outnumbers those of us who actively post here! ...

There's a wide gulf betwixt word and deed.

 

Especially were money's concerned.

 

Regardless, I don't doubt that if they mint them, folk will buy them.

[Knight of the Raven]

I won't buy any plastic sisters unless the outrageous prices are cut a least by half, and the codex will find its way in my hands through the vile, immoral, uncapitalistic second hand market once the price is low enough. So I'm not really the kind of hobbyist who'd help the cause.

I've got one theory about GW's silence over sister updates. If they say 'they come out in 2015', people will stop buying other stuff to save up for sisters. Whereas putting on their trollface means people will buy said other stuff in the meantime. (Definition and numbers of 'people' vary.)

[Eddie Orlock]

I won't buy any plastic sisters unless the outrageous prices are cut a least by half, ...

In my previous post I started to ramble on about how reasonable the prices were compared to the contemporary lines and I went to the manufacturers website. To my chagrin, the cost per figure was almost double in many cases, though, in a few the cost per figure was lower. Than I realised that those cases were stuff like Grey Knight Terminators.

 

Still, if we view them as a kit comperable to Tactical Marines, they will drop by about 50% per figure so you're likely to get your druthers. Unless you mean half that, in which case rehabilitating wayward sisters is probably your only legal option.