Digital codex

[TempestBlade]

I’m going to send an email to the Warhammer rules group to see if they can include an all digital codex. Seeing how most of the rules are out of date as soon as you open the book and the app actually works great, maybe if enough people ask for a digital code for the codex they will start selling one. I think I would be willing to pay $25-30 for just a code to unlock it on the app. If anyone else wants to send an email we can scream for the option and maybe they will start? We can try. Emperor protects! 

[Emperor Ming]

Its prob never going to happen, gw make huge sales from its physical codex's.

 

The primary reason why codex's are staggered, it gives profit spikes that look good on balance sheets.

 

When a new release happens, not everyone buys the new models, but most will buy their factions codex

 

But that doesn't mean I don't support your idea, go for it, both would be nice

[Ahzek451]

My 2 cents for an idea in relation to yours:
I think GW is under-utilizing its warhammer+ subscription service. If GW is going to maintain balance throughout the lifespan for their games, what if they up the price for warhammer+ to something reasonable but not predatory, but all army rules(and core rules) will be accessible if you subscribe and will receive updates as needed. If you you pay for warhammer+, you essentially get access to all current army/rulebook rules with updates as they come. Just the rules, no codex fluff or art(I'm not saying absolute zero, naturally you can have some background art behind the rules, pictures of models, etc. )

That being said, they could still sell codex books, but the primary purpose of those books is for artwork/lore/paint/army showcase. As in, you buy the book to learn about your faction/units and every new run for an army would feature new lore and art. Let me be clear, every new book MUST have some kind of new lore. They would still have a section for the rules as they do now, just heavier emphasis on getting to know your faction. In addition, a good "how to" for painting a lot of minis in your army. Everything I mentioned that is in the codex would be A+ effort, no shortcuts. Make an effort to have a decent painting section, robust and full lore section, etc. The codex should be your gateway to really get your army and interest going. And once you have dabbled with the rules in the back, then sign up for warhammer+ and get all the current and updated rules for the core book, and all factions to hit the ground running proper gaming-wise. With a well maintained army builder of course. 

I would also add, any updates would have nice time/date stamps and notes like an update log so it become painfully clear what, when and where was updated. 

Speaking for myself and from a perspective of a veteran buying this kind of codex and not from the perspective of a new player. If I knew my book was getting some new lore(robust)/art/painting guide, etc. I would still ending up buying it and would feel a lot less bad about the rules in the back becoming invalidated. 
 

Edited January 8 by Ahzek451

[DemonGSides]

I already pay for WH+ and would definitely be willing to double my subscription cost to have access to everything.

 

Instead I think they should continue to lock the army builder down but allow me to view all the rules. If you buy the codex you get to make lists, but I should be able to quick look up what a Necron Triarch Stalker does just in case and not be met with a blank page. It's so silly.

[The Yncarne]

The codex design software likely supports export to ePub and Apple Books. That’s how they used to create the digital codexes. I’d consider buying one of those if they stripped out the rules and left it to lore, artwork, and paint guides/options. 
 

I agree with @Ahzek451 that the subscription should handle all the rules.

[Aarik]

Add me to the pile of people who would want and pay to have all the rules in the app.  I will never buy a physical codex out of principle (and lack of real need), but I'd pay ~$10/month for WH+ if it had all the rules accessible and updated on there.  If GW wants to stick with rules being tied to physical books, they need to be WAY, WAY better about the rules being balanced and proofread on release.  And since subscription revenue seems so highly valued by companies, you'd think it wouldn't be that much of a sticking point.  And as @Ahzek451 said, physical codexes moving towards lore and art would be welcome too.  It would be awesome to get black book-style books for each army like that, but that level of quality is almost certainly a pipe dream.

[Domhnall]

I'd be happy if you could add to your subscription* on a codex by codex basis. Doubling the sub (more likely quadrupling the price) and giving away everything would be a hard sell to GW, but a pound or two per codex per month?**

I'd go for that, as it's allows me to have what I need, my (theoretical hobby) pal would get what he wants, and GW get a slice from each, rather than one guy in the group has one subscription, and everybody uses his sub for all the codexes (because that's what would happen in some spaces, and we know it) and GW basically gets a fiver. 

 

 

* even though I hate that everything nowadays is subscription based. 

** As long as it's wasn't a tenner per codex as would be GW's want! 

[drakheart]

I think just like the original post we just need the option to be able to buy the a digital only version of the codex for a bit less. I know I would probably pay for that for armies I do not run, but would like to have access to their rules for reference. Many people only have a single faction, so paying a subscription to access all the codexs would not make sense cost wise. 

 

I still think they need to put more work into the app, which is good at the moment, but could be so much better. We need to be able to create army lists for boarding actions and as most of us are not competitive give us access to legends in the list builder.

[DemonGSides]

A Legends toggle would be huge and should help put an end to the incessant "It's legends therefore useless" that gets paraded around. 

[ThaneOfTas]

8 hours ago, drakheart said:

I still think they need to put more work into the app, which is good at the moment, but could be so much better. We need to be able to create army lists for boarding actions and as most of us are not competitive give us access to legends in the list builder.

Hell to take the thread slightly more off topic, They should integrate Crusade into it as well. The Crusade books even come with a code that afaik doesnt actually do anything, but the ability to create a roster and manage the upgrades and crusade points through it would be awesome, toss in some quality of life elements like the ability to name your units and similar customisation options, and the app would become much more worthwhile in my eyes, as it is I'm much more inclined toy use a combination of New Recruit, The Russian Website that shall no be Named, and Google Sheets.

[Special Officer Doofy]

I'm over buying expensive physical books that are sometimes even outdated on release. Until GW offers a digital only* solution, I'm using other options. The forbidden site is even laid out better than the app you have to pay for (the codex to unlock the rules that is). I want to give GW my money and in the previous editions bought the main rulebook and codexes in epub format. But it's silly and somewhat sad how a foreign one man operation is done better than a billion dollar company's attempt at digital rules.

 

* edit: digital only as in not having to buy a physical copy to get the digital version, not no longer offering physical versions. Wanted to clarify that.

Edited January 23 by Special Officer Doofy