Malevolence release (Questions, not answers!)

[b1soul]

Ah, I see, thanks

 

EDIT: Yes, you did indeed mention that

 

Just to add here, spoke to FW staff at last week at Warhammerfest in Germany.

One of them has received a copy of HH Malevolence for review very recently and after that sort of final proofing is done, it goes to the printers, which he estimated would take 4 months.

 

So in movie terms, this book is in post-production. EVen though they have maintained throughout that they wanted to get this book out in 2018, he estimated it would probably come out very early next year.

 

I keep hoping for December myself, but possibly January or the HH Weekender. I am surprised to hear that about the Space Wolves, they were clearly mentioned as being in just a few months ago. Shame if that is the case.

[Indefragable]

For those who attended the last weekender where a book was released (Inferno?), what was the overall weekend itinerary like?

 

Sorry for all these nitty gritty questions, but as previously mentioned this is my one shot at a thing like this so I want to be sure to plan appropriately.

[m_r_parker]

Hey Indefragable

Here are the daily schedules for the 2017 HH Weekender, the last one with a main book release.

However most of the Weekenders have a similar set of seminars:

• Newly released FW Black Book seminar, discussing the background of events of the book. This is usually one of the Saturday morning seminars.
• Preview of the next FW Black Book seminar. This is usually one of the last seminars of the weekend.
• New model seminar, which is usually towards the end of Saturday and has recently been spread to two consecutive seminars as it's so popular.
• Black Library preview of upcoming novels.
• Artwork of the Heresy, usually showing off covers of upcoming novels.

But bear in mind that last year had Necromunda content and specific seminars, and I'm guessing this year will have Titanicus seminars.

[Nova_Dew]

Would any of you fine folks be able to record the seminars? if allowed, they really should start streaming them, just with no chat or no interaction with chat for GW staff other than mods, or recording them and posting them to youtubes a day or so after the event, they know it will be recorded and on youtubes at least this way they get to control the quality and make sure nothings taken out of context ect.

[m_r_parker]

So far at every Weekender they have categorically disallowed the recording of seminars - the odd photo is encouraged, especially during the preview seminars, and they don't necessarily mind audio recordings, but video is a big no-no. 

 

And in all fairness, should the seminars be streamed (whether in an official or unofficial capacity) then there really is no point in spending £75 on a ticket. Most of the big news is already put onto social media / forums immediately during the event (with GW Community also doing this too), so besides being able to talk to designers and buy pre-release goodies there's not much else to warrant such a ticket price.

[Charlo]

They put up a (slightly condensed) version of the Malevolence announcement seminar back in 2017, the year Inferno came out. But haven't since.

[Indefragable]

Well done, @m_r_parker!

[Taliesin]

On the Heresy forum there is a report from the Vigilus weekender which confirms that Malevolence is currenly at the printers and they are hoping for an "early 2019 release".

 

Also, Titandeath in January, really interested in that as well.

[b1soul]

@ Taliesin

 

Can you pls provide a link (regarding Malevolence) ?

[Master Sheol]

On the Heresy forum there is a report from the Vigilus weekender which confirms that Malevolence is currenly at the printers and they are hoping for an "early 2019 release".

 

Also, Titandeath in January, really interested in that as well.

That hoping for a early 2019 release, knowing FW means that the book will be out Q4 :D

Just in time to step back the other books again 1 year or 2 :D

 

Jokings aside i guess Malevolence will be out end Q1 or early Q2 and Delayed Angels book not before 2021. I don't believe that FW Will be able to release the books faster than this

[Yodhrin]

So far at every Weekender they have categorically disallowed the recording of seminars - the odd photo is encouraged, especially during the preview seminars, and they don't necessarily mind audio recordings, but video is a big no-no. 

 

And in all fairness, should the seminars be streamed (whether in an official or unofficial capacity) then there really is no point in spending £75 on a ticket. Most of the big news is already put onto social media / forums immediately during the event (with GW Community also doing this too), so besides being able to talk to designers and buy pre-release goodies there's not much else to warrant such a ticket price.

 

Has there ever been much to warrant the price of attending these? Maybe if you were in the UK back when GW just ran Gamesday, so everyone could just hop in a coach chartered by the local store and be back the same night, but as soon as they started stretching stuff over multiple days, running loads of mini-events, and choosing venues that often basically make it car-only, pretty much only the most hardcore folks were attending anyway, and they'll go regardless.

 

Not to mention that these days you'll struggle to find any kind of fan convention or nerd seminar that isn't livestreamed, or at the very least recorded for later upload, and attendance to such events has surged radically in recent years.

 

TBH it seems more like there's just still a few remaining elements of the crusty old-guard Luddite tendency operating at GWHQ who don't fully trust social media/online stuff and impose dafty wee limits on it, like making Twitch VODs - ie marketing, supposedly - subscriber only.

[Taliesin]

I personally do wish they would at least stream the seminars afterwards.

If they don't want to livestream them then I can understand that as people are paying 75 pounds for the privilege of being part of it there and then, and the seminars are part of that entrance fee you could say.

 

At the same time it's incredibly exclusive, so many people can't attend because there aren't any tickets, so for that alone you should do something in my opinion.

And then there's the thousands who'd like to be present but can't because they simply don't live in the UK or even Western Europe. Streaming them afterwards is a perfect middle ground, people still get to see it but the attendees get to see it first and before the news from the seminar is broadcast through Warhammer Community.

 

The other thing that bugs me is pre-releasing already very expensive HH Black books and then hold back on the general sale of the item for 6-8 weeks, thereby denying themselves direct sales ( a very -un-GW thing to do) and playing into the hands of scalpers. Of course I do recognize that for attendees, that very opportunity is part of the charm.

[Nova_Dew]

I personally do wish they would at least stream the seminars afterwards.

If they don't want to livestream them then I can understand that as people are paying 75 pounds for the privilege of being part of it there and then, and the seminars are part of that entrance fee you could say.

 

At the same time it's incredibly exclusive, so many people can't attend because there aren't any tickets, so for that alone you should do something in my opinion.

And then there's the thousands who'd like to be present but can't because they simply don't live in the UK or even Western Europe. Streaming them afterwards is a perfect middle ground, people still get to see it but the attendees get to see it first and before the news from the seminar is broadcast through Warhammer Community.

 

The other thing that bugs me is pre-releasing already very expensive HH Black books and then hold back on the general sale of the item for 6-8 weeks, thereby denying themselves direct sales ( a very -un-GW thing to do) and playing into the hands of scalpers. Of course I do recognize that for attendees, that very opportunity is part of the charm.

 

The pre-release then wait thing is very common, the batch for the weekender is flown over from the printers in china (not cheap) and the second lot for general release is in a shipping container on a slow boat from china via the US. as for the rest i agree, i could never afford to go, even living in the UK due to accommodation and travel costs, that's even if there was any tickets left to buy.

 

not only do they get to attend the seminar, they get early access to releases by up to 8 weeks (in some cases), access to FW staff, ask questions in the seminars and to said staff, releasing a video on youtubes, say a week later, of the seminars wouldn't devalue the event too much, would it?

[m_r_parker]

 

 

not only do they get to attend the seminar, they get early access to releases by up to 8 weeks (in some cases), access to FW staff, ask questions in the seminars and to said staff, releasing a video on youtubes, say a week later, of the seminars wouldn't devalue the event too much, would it?

 

 

Actually, I would say that it does - greatly. This may be along post, so please bear with me on this one.

 

I know that when I go to a Weekender that I will be spending most of my time in the Seminars. There may be a slot where I have a particular author I want to sign something, or there may be a slot where the seminar doesn't interest me as much and I decide that I want to have a look around the studio area, but in the main I'm there for the seminars. Areas like the studio room are only open during the periods where seminars are ongoing, so trying to get a view on bits and pieces and talk with the FW staff can be a little limiting. If it's particularly busy in the studio area you might not actually get close enough to the staff to engage them in any meaningful conversation, and it can be a bit off to hog a certain person like Simon Eagan when so many other people want to ask their own questions and talk about other areas of the design process.

However, when everyone is in the seminar hall and the speakers are all properly mic'd up and there aren't people interrupting, then the topics of discussion are very interesting. That's why it gets the vast majority of my time. 

 

In some ways GW are already doing it (to a degree) with coverage on the Community page. Last year after the New Models seminars we all got the professionally shot Hi-Res photos up for the world to see, and similar with other artwork based seminars (such as the Black Library artwork that showcases new novel covers, and books). That one is a bit of a no-brainer as nearly everyone in the room has cameras out ready to take pictures, and bloggers like Battle Bunnies are always camped out in the front row and get pictures up within a matter of minutes. I seem to recall a couple of years ago a couple of the seminars were professionally recorded and released on YouTube a few months after the event, but those were more lore-based discussions rather than big reveal seminars. 

 

In many ways a comparison can be drawn with the general FW Open Day in the mid-year, which WHC have been covering for the past two years. It doesn't have any seminars but does have an open studio area, the opportunity to purchase pre-release models, and is based in Warhammer World. I would usually go up for browsing around the studio area to see what was in the cabinets before trying to get in to speak with the studio folks. However the WHC team have an annoying habit of posting Hi-Res photos as the doors open (or even before then, as it was 18 months ago) and I end up finding I can see things more clearly on my phone's web browser than I can jostling for position at cabinets as everyone is trying to get pictures in.  In terms of the event cost the ticket wasn't much, but the associated travel expenses, food and drink, as well as the time involved makes it expensive - and as such I've decided that next year I won't go, and will instead see what WHC bring us.

 

And these are expensive events, because there's such a lot in the background that needs to be organised. The level of staff that they bring to the weekend is immense, and the renting of what was the entire Nottingham Belfry conferencing areas cannot be cheap. Covering the expenses of non local staff to stay over (such as A-D-B when he is in attendance, for example), as well as ensuring the staff are equipped and sustained throughout the event. Hence why a two day event is £75 compared to single day event at WHW for £15.

 

Yes the ability to buy pre-release models and books is a great opportunity, but it doesn't justify a £75 weekend pass. The majority happens on the Friday night and is over in about two hours, the rest of the weekend there's people buying regularly available items or finally being allowed to pick up duplicates for friends. There will always be some that have the "must have it now" mentality that fuel the scalpers on eBay, but the gaps between models going to general release is getting lower every year, so as long as you are patient it isn't so bad. Equally having the opportunity to go into a studio area and talk to designers one-on-one doesn't justify that level of ticket price, purely because there are other events in the year at WHW where you can do that for 20% of the entry cost. 

It's the seminars that justify that ticket price, the time and effort involved in it and the experience of seeing it. Making it all available on online streaming a week later completely devalues the ticket and associated costs. Why would I want to spend all that money to buy things that I can wait a couple of weeks for and watch things that I could do in the comfort of my own home in the following week, whilst getting the headline news from WHC and other blogs from my phone while I enjoy my weekend doing other things? I'm not spending ticket + travel + accommodation + food so that I can see seminars a week early and attempt to get a question answered, it's pointless.

[Indefragable]

Next question:

 

Regarding gaming over that weekend, is it restricted to HH/30k? Or can somebody whip out some 8th Ed if that’s what they got?

[Charlo]

Next question:

 

Regarding gaming over that weekend, is it restricted to HH/30k? Or can somebody whip out some 8th Ed if that’s what they got?

 

My guess would be it's allowed, however you may get a lot of schtick from the crowd taking up table space on the one weekend of MAXIMUM heresy in the year.

[b1soul]

Looks like Malevolence incoming...

 

BA and WS finally...

[Gorgoff]

Looks like Malevolence incoming...

 

BA and WS finally...

Yes?

[Unknown Legionnaire]

Where ?

[m_r_parker]

Looks like Malevolence incoming...

 

BA and WS finally...

Source?

[Charlo]

I swear to god if it's the fact that Lex posted that image from June in the Crusade & Heresy group getting everyone riled up again I'm gunna be sad 

[b1soul]

I want to believe...

 

https://spikeybits.com/2018/12/new-sanguinius-primarch-set-to-arrive-in-malevolence.html

 

https://spikeybits.com/2019/01/2019-new-release-roadmap-rumors-updated.html

 

http://natfka.blogspot.com/2019/01/horus-heresy-book-8-malevolence-its-here.html?m=1

 

https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/01/07/7th-jan-new-year-new-legionfw-homepage-post-3/

[Slips]

Ehhh your sources are dodgy.

 

Most of this is all old info we've already seen/heard about from previous events AND its already been confirmed that Fires is dead in the water since the person writing it up has since left the company and was working on it on their own personal time.

 

Beyond that, the image in the Naftka post dates back to, iirc, June of last year.

[b1soul]

Well...I can't imagine Sang and the BA being the focus of the HH weekender, but release of rules in Malevolence?

[m_r_parker]

Yeah, a lot of those links are very click-baity.

 

At this point we're two and a half week out from the Weekender, and no doubt Friday they'll be pre-sales and they'll be a deluge of write-ups and pictures of the various things that are available. I'm waiting for the seminar schedule to be released as that will tell us some details around what will be available to buy:

• If we get a Black Book to buy at the event, one of the earliest seminars (Saturday morning) will be a discussion on the book. If it's not available then expect something towards the back-end of Sunday in the "Next book in the series' type seminar.
• Last year we got a demo-pod for painting Valdor when the model hadn't even been released or teased - so we might see something similar about painting a Primarch or a character we haven't seen yet.

 

If I were a betting man (and seeing as I lost £10 last year on whether Valdor would have a mohawk, I'm not sure if I should anymore) I would expect to see the book at a minimum. The book contents are fairly concrete from what we've been told recently so I imagine the slides from previous Open Days and Weekenders are still valid. Having personally talked to FW staff at previous events they are very aware about book releases not having model support on day 1, so whilst I don't think we'll see the entirety of the BA and WS line I'd like to hope we'd see one unit and one character for each. Personally, I'm 50/50 on whether we'll have a Primarch for sale on the day and the other teased at the end of the Weekend (Magnus style), otherwise we'll see a near finalised of a Primarch in the cabinets and during the New Model Seminar. These are just my personal opinions, and have no basis than having attended all the other Weekenders and a feeling in my gut.