Saturday 4 February 2012

Privateer Presses other big announcement!

  
  

Well obviously Games workshops announcement regarding their reboot, of the Lord of the Rings franchise has got people spooked. So it should as well, because to bring a game like that back from the dead requires some serious necromancy! In all seriousness though Privateer Press dropped to well edited and shot video's on us yesterday. The first was obviously about the Colossals, the second is actually a far more interesting development for me, and something I thought we'd have seen an awful lot more of by now:



I'm sure many of you will know that I'm a huge fan of the Devil Team's Infinity army builder, or you should be. Simply put it's bloody awesome. The only downside to it, is that it isn't designed for Android or iOS devices. However, right from the off we know that Privateer Presses War Room app for HoMachine is built from the ground up to specifically work on those devices. Sweet! So lets take a closer look at the specifications and features shall we:

  • Firstly the main app itself will be free. You will have to purchase the individual decks for each faction to run in War Room. These will cost $6.99US. No different to the cost of the current card decks you can buy. But boy does this option give you way more functionality.
  • It's an army builder. Yeah I know it's the most obvious sodding function there is in the app, but honestly I thought I better point it out. Besides, it's as army builders that these apps serve their most useful function, allowing us gamers to build rapid lists we know are legal and then tinker with. Who doesn't like tinkering?
  • The full card display is a damn clever thing. Not just because I'll have sight of all the various cards in JPEG, GIF or whatever damn format they're using either. Although that is useful, especially for quick reference. Nope it's all those hyperlinks I'm interested in. The ability to click on a rule or ability on the card and then be shown the relevant rules, damn if that's not a clever tool!
  • The other nifty thing about the full card display I love is the ability to do in-game status tracking. Allowing us to mark off both damage AND status effects is brilliant. It'll make all our lives easier when playing games.
  • The in-game list sharing also seems pretty sweet too, especially if we can see our opponents damage being marked off real time. I don't mind admitting that some of the people I've played at HoMachine I don't totally trust to mark off damage correctly.
  • The turn clock thingy is an interesting inclusion I guess. But I'm not too sure it's something I'll be using myself. The whole timed turn thing is an interesting concept, and one that I think has merit say at a tournament, but between mates? No, I'll keep things relaxed!!!

So it looks pretty damn good to me. I've been wandering why more game systems don't produce such apps, especially as the technological devices to make use of them are so widely available now. It just seem like another wise revenue stream to tap if you're a business. Many gamers, myself included, have asked for these sorts of apps to be made available. It just seems a bit silly that some of the functions we perform in game haven't been brought into the 21st century, hell some of them have yet to be brought into the 20th century. Use of technology is something that could our hobby could exploit far better than it already has. So hopefully this app will prove popular so others follow suit with their own apps. Peace out!

31 comments:

  1. I also though there would be more (official) apps like this by now. Hopefully this will push other producers into action. While I don't play warmachine I'm glad to see PP taking a step in the right direction.

    As for Infinity Army, Devilteam do have an Android (don't know about iOS) version in development. :)

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    1. Yeah I knew they were working on an Android app. I still haven't heard if they're working on an iOS version though. Be a shame if they didn't. There are so many different ways I can see Android and iPhones being used to help play games of Infinity. I too am a bit surprised we haven't seen more official gaming apps. It seems to me like I can get an app for everything nowadays, whether I want it or not. Why not more wargaming apps?

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    2. Well, what I see as an obstacle to iOS development is that there is a large license fee for the environment. You can get an IDE for Android for free. Secound thing is Android apps are written in Java, one of the most popular programming languages.

      In general, I very much like the idea, I hope it spreads. DevilTeam Infinity Army is the best...

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    3. Agreed, what the Devil Team has created for the Infinity community is immense. And they've done it all for free. Honestly, they're all heroes in my eyes.

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  2. To me, this is the really important update of the day from Privateer Press.

    The colossals are cool and all, but this, this is a really important development for wargaming in general.

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    1. I wholeheartedly agree. These sorts of apps are exactly where I think the industry needs to look too for gaming aids. Anything to make our lives easier and gaming boards less cluttered. Yeah and the colossals look cool.

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  3. I think, drawing on what you've said before on your blog, the best thing about this approach is that it will be updated as new units come out.

    Whether you are a fan or the GW model or PP/Wyrd or whatever, keeping all the rules and options in one place for your factions of choice is hard or stale, your choice.

    This app approach allows the best of both worlds. Lets hope it catches on - it will make bringing new gamers into whichever system you are fan so much easier.

    I'm starting to look into Malifaux and trying to understand my options and how things interact is spread across 3 different books - imagine if all that were in an app! (I've settled on Kirai, I hope this isn't a bad choice!)

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    1. indeed. I 100% agree. I'm really hoping that this sort of thing does catch on. I'm really hopefully that it does catch on. I'm all for a 'living' rulebook that updates automatically and keeps me informed of any changes etc. I really hope this is where other companies go.

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  4. Well now Army Builder is just completely useless.
    Sigh.

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    1. Army builder is pretty redundant for me any way. There's nothing I use it for now. If this works PP will get a big thumbs up from me.

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  5. Yeah to me this is bigger news than the Collossals announcement. This is a game changer. No pun intended. Ok maybe a little.

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    1. I agree. Although it seems that not many others are all that interested apart from one or two. I can understand why people are more instantly impressed by the big miniatures. but this is the more interesting news.

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    2. People naturally respond better to evolution than revolution.

      The impact of the app, and the flow on effect to digital rules, the decline of physical rulebooks, live erratas, instant list sharing.... this will all take a lot longer to digest than foot tall colossals.

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    3. The Colossals are something concrete. People have seen those and know what to expect, so I guess it's unsurprising that the less tangible announcement of the War Room hasn't excited people as much. I'm not too sure we'll ever see the rtue decline of physical rulebooks. But we might see the rise of living rulebooks. You buy a rulebook and in it you get a code. punch it into an online for and bingo you have access to living rules and apps that keep the physical rulebook live and up-to-date. The war games industry could stand to use a bit more 21st century tech in them.

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  6. More companies don't do this because very few gaming companies have the kind of profit margin necessary to invest in it.

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    1. I'm sure financial decisions do come into it for some firms. Undoubtedly so. But Companies like Games Workshop, Wyrd and others who I know are turning a good profit might have that as less of an excuse. It's also a nice little money spinner potentially. I'm not so sure profit margin is the prime reason we haven't seen more of these sorts of app so far.

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    2. Apps don't cost as much to develop as you might think. GW could certainly afford this, they just wont unless there is a massive paradigm shift in how they view the internet and their IP.

      If a small company wants an APP all they have to do is say to their fans "Build one with us, and we will share the profits from it with you"

      Thats what I would do if I was a game designer in a small indy operation. Let your fans help you, help them!

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    3. Sometimes ot's not the monetary cost that gets in the way of these sorts of projects for smaller firms. Trust me, I speak from experience. It can be other resources or the lack of them to be precise. Sometimes firms have to concentrate on the 9 to 5 to ensure that they stay alive. No time or people for R&D like this. Having said all that the Infinity Army Builder was a community led project by Devil Team.

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. I think my favorite things about this app is that once you buy a faction deck, you get all the cards for the faction plus anything new created in the future. Personally this a good deal. I just wish I had a tablet...

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    1. OK I have no idea why you removed your first post, as you've just reposted the exact same thing... o_0

      However, I 100% agree with you. Both times. :P

      It seems to me that the errata and FAQ live updates are a great idea and really handy. Plus the addition of cards to your faction as and when new things come out. Very cool and interesting idea and if it works fully deserving of a round of applause from gamers.

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    2. lol, sorry, -_-;

      I saw some typos in my first iteration that could not stand.
      Do you think 6.99 is a far price per deck? I ask cause some in the official forums are up in arm that it's more than $.99(my exaggeration) per faction. To me, the price sounds fine. I personally believe that if PP announced it at $4.99 they would have wanted $2.99.

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    3. No I don't think $6.99 is too steep at all. The way I look at it is like this. The actual card decks themselves sell for $6.99 and don't come with any of the added functionality of the War Room app itself. If I thought it was too pricey I'd say. I think it's right on the edge of acceptability, which tells me they know they priced it just right. lol.

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  9. Very interesting news frontline! It's nice to see more companies innovating in these areas; perhaps in time some of the other big names will see it as a necessary path. Can't wait for the infinity army app for Android, and oh for an offline version of easy army! Probably not good news for my employer, however...

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    1. Oh. who is your employer and why wouldn't it be good news? I'm curious now. :P

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    2. An issue of productivity rather than anything exciting, I'm afraid!

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    3. Ah productivity! The enemy of invention and fun. :P

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  10. I think this is bloody marvelous and, if the app works as advertised without sucking, plan on buying ALL the faction decks for warmahordes. This will A) give me all the cards since I play both systems and B) support Privateer's efforts while voting with my wallet for more online/PDF/app-type codexes from another game company that shall not be named. Hopefully they'll see PP wallowing in cash that might have otherwise gone to them and take the hint.

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    1. I agree. It is bloody marvelous. I too plan on buying all the faction decks and any other useful add ons they might deem worthy of release. My fingers are well and truly crossed that this is the start of more such apps, because I really think the industry could do with them.

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