As we all know, if you are reading this we have been working on Alternate 40k Rules for the more traditional style of play that is balanced and reworked completely behind the scenes. We are nearing 3000 hours invested, and will likely hit that mark this upcoming week!
On 6/25/23 I was able to get my first 10th edition game in. Despite being heavily invested in a system that is balanced, I still want to be able to enjoy the hobby with the official rules if they are fair. The following are my thoughts, and you can draw your own conclusions.
Anytime I break down a game system for analysis, the first step is to reverse engineer the datasheets. How does one start this? First thing, is find datasheets with commonality such as Lascannons or their equivalents. Next, compare points. The boring part is making a best guess on stat line comparisons and special rules, coming up with possible combinations that end up at the point totals. This is why it is critical to get similar entries if possible. I was unable to come up with a hard formula, because any time I would start to get something solid in the Astra Militarum Codex, I would apply it to a Xenos one and end up off by far too many points to even consider adjusting it to see if I could make it work. In a rare event of it actually working, applying it to a third datasheet entry would fail even further and defy all point cost calculated up to that point.
Up on discussion with other players and developers, it appears that in Codex point costs are rather balanced. However, it would also appear that each Codex had its own isolated development department of an individual or a team and a lot of comparisons did not happen. Because 10th Edition is not officially released until August, GW can fudge this for the time being.
While happy to be proven wrong, the first impression I get as a developer is that without a formula the game cannot be fairly balanced in a competitive environment. However, there is more to the wide variety of the game that is 40k then just formulas, and some things are very hard to quantify point cost for. So lets explore further and see what looks good and what looks bad.
Army abilities stand out to a lot of people. Eldar Fate Dice have everyone in a major cause of panic (and for just reason, the competitive application alone is absolutely astounding). Some abilities like the Astra Militarum’s ability to sit still and automatically Wound the target on a 6 To Hit is fantastic and works well regardless of the size of the game. Others, like the Space Marine’s ability to hammer a deathball, are excellent at low point cost games, and not so much at higher point cost games. Yet others like the Tyranid’s Shadow in the Warp do not work with their army abilities and are weak one time abilities that struggle to impact the game.
These army abilities are difficult to point cost, so I where I am able to offer my opinion is that they are not fair to the players given the wild variety that exists. Some players prefer to play 2000 point Tournaments, where others like larger games that take all day on the weekend, or shorter games because life is hectic and time is short. If these abilities scaled equally in variable game sizes, most of this could be overlooked if the army synergy was in place, but in my opinion it is not.
Army identity is important, but more so is the core rules. These tend to be less exciting about, but this is where I have some good things to say about the edition! First off, claiming Objective Marker points at the end of you Command Phase. Solid, 10 out of 10 and it works well with the run and gun feel they want the game to have. Every player getting 1 CP in each Command Phase allows for Turn 0 defense against a heavy hitting army. It still is not the best, but its better than 9th.
Line of Sight is simpler. It is also abysmally dull and not immersive AT ALL, but for Tournament settings it is much simpler and faster, and I understand why it is the way it is at the moment. I do personally prefer a more immersive game that is visual dystopian delight, but I actually approve of the rule from a developer stand point.
There has been a very major shift in bringing Tank Toughness back up to reminiscence of the Armour Facing that we still use. This is more immersive than 8th and 9th, and so far it feels much more like a tank when taking mass amounts of heavy machinegun fire. The downside is the Monsters did not get properly addressed for the most part. While realistically a fleshy organic creature (no matter how well armoured) will always be horribly susceptible to concussion waves and such, it broke a delicate game balance. A lot of these models still cost near their tank counter parts and are susceptible to medium weapons fire like Autocannons in addition to being massively weak to anti tank weapons. Armies like the Tyranid NEED to have that addressed quickly to be fair to the competitive players of those factions. Even I, an Astra Militarum player till the end of time, see this as a problem and feel that the Astra Militarum Codex is unfair in how wildly good it is with the new rules.
Lastly, the argument that the game is not officially released until August so it is ok peeves me greatly. If you are a major company, with tons of resources, staffing, and tournament data, cannot produce a functioning game than you should post pone its release and do it correctly.
Do not misunderstand, Alternate 40k Rules is a work in progress itself. First off, we are non profit. Second, we have one person (me) doing all of the paperwork and media presentation (equipment and software at my own expense). I have two fantastic friends and co-developers (Alex and Jordan) that help me with play tests and bouncing rule ideas off of them. They come up with many excellent ones of their own that we have implemented! After that, we have gamers that chime in their ideas that are also very helpful.
It boils down to this; if you are going to be a profit organization you should only produce finished products, and offer support and updates where accidental oversights happen. It is unprofessional and insulting to the loyal customers and fans that have fattened your wallet over the years.
I hope this did not come off as too much of a rant, but I wanted to share my thoughts as a passionate game developer and to set the grounds of what you should get as a customer to one of the most premium cost games out there. Someday I hope to produce my own standalone card/tabletop/board games with my own LLC that are my own creation from scratch, and I would not expect customers to be satisfied with unfinished product. We will continue to game and play 10th as we develop further rules and hope to see you on the game table!
Alternate 40k Rules 