The only thing I'm concerned about is the continuing support of the Lizardmen, but even if the worst happens I am certain the dedicated community will still offer support. As for whether AoS is a precursor or the fully-fledged game, both sets of rumours suggest you should be able to play both skirmish style and larger ranked and file games. This doesn't bother me, if true. The only time I'll start worrying about the core game is when people start leaking the rules in hand and I can see for myself. That being said, 'Age of Sigmar' does strongly suggest something based in the first days of the Empire. The only other thing I can think that it would relate to is Sigmar bringing in a new age after the End Times.
With all the talk of survivors of the End Times in the advertising, I'd bet my favourite skink that it is Sigmar doing his Sigmary thing after the End Times.
Didn't rumours suggest GW were going to adopt a new tactic of selling limited releases that were on the shelves for 6 months or so, and then dropped but would still remain playable? I can see the End Times miniatures being the heralds of such a ploy.
I would agree, except for the attached narrative in the promo poster about "when a world dies" and so on. My speculation would be that it's actually the first days of a New Age of a world created by and lorded over by post-End-Times divine Sigmar... Or maybe Sigmar time-travelled back... Or who knows man :/ I'm actually kinda excited by the prospect of a new WFB product. But I'm also nauseated by the total uncertainty. I want to wash my hands of the whole business until the new thing drops, but I can't look away. EDIT: Oh, hey, @Bainbow already said this. Doh!
Precisely right borkbork! I've always steered clear of such extensions/campaigns/supplements for that very same reason. Even if they aren't made directly obsolete by GW, the communities' interest in such things fades extremely quickly.
What I also don't understand (from a business timing perspective) is warhammer total war (the pc game), which if i am not mistaken should be released by the end of this year. From the pictures released about it, it can be seen that the setting will be the "classic"warhammer world. However, that is exactly the world they killed off with end times. So, there will be miss match between the computer and real life game, so any interest in the warhammer world and the miniatures game generated by the computer game will be lost, if you understand what i mean.
Maybe they don't have full control of the timing? How long ago did they license it? Has WTW been delayed, or had some setbacks? The one time I saw Medieval Total War running —the way all the little troopers moved— would remind me more of a game where each horse was on an independently moving round base. The formations did not hold tidy rectangles like they were locked into move trays. AoS might look closer to the WTW screen action. As long as they don't do a lot of map displays it might be fine.
Would fit the rumours with 3 playmodes fine though - Age of Steel (classic) - End times (50% characters) - Age of Sigmar (Skirmish)
that was refered to Warhammer as we play it. The total war game would just take place in the "Age of Steel".
Well to be honest I remember small skirmishers of my endless campaign in ROME I were in I had like 30-50 men guarding a city.... that was Hoplite Elites and they could pretty much win you the game, though
The AI can be mildlt retarded. I've made ridiculous victories with a very small amount of units when defending a city. Anyway the Total War games actually do feature both grand battles and historical battles which mean that scenarios as those seen in the BRB and ET books could be present in the game. Not the exact same scenarios, but something like that.
Back to the Age of Sigmar: What the butts you guys: http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Warhammer-Lizardmen-EN "This product will be removed from sale on June 26th. The Age of Sigmar is coming!" It's not just our army book either. It's all of them. Even the End Times books. (Though the notice for the hardcover Thanquol one is in German for some reason...). Same notice is on the Island of Blood page. Apologies if this has already been posted, but I guess the rumor that army books are going away is confirmed. I guess maybe they also heard the grumblings about how weird it is to sell things that will be obsolete soon.
Well, If they go back to something like what we had in 3rd ed. it migth not be that bad. I dont know why and I can be totally wrong about it, but i have the feeling GW has been eying the Oldhammer movement a little bit.
If this really concludes into combined army books I do see real potential here. That would mean that the armies, units and stats are all written simultaneously and the balance between armies could actually exist. Also updates would be received also simultaneously so hopefully the old powercreep VC and Daemons from 7th edition would not happen again. BR Agrem
@borkbork :: Could you have a look at this other thread, especially the three maps and tell me if the first two (inside the spoiler tag) are third edition maps? I only go back as far as the last four weeks of fifth edition.
@pendrake Yeah, i saw that thread. But do you realize how long ago 3rd edition was, and how bad my memory is. And to be honest i started at the very very end of 3rd, so 4th edition is actually the first edition i really played. I played a few learning games in third and only had photocopies of the orc army pages. But i can have a look at my 4th edition books wether the map allready changed then.