Space Hulk Rumors - whuts da big deal?

I am a warhammer 40k plasti-crack addict. In my travels, I have read every space hulk rumor over the last year or so.

The new version is rumored to come out in third quarter of 2009. It is supposed to be incredibly well produced so that price point is going to be high. It will contain a modular plastic boards, all the minis, and more good stuff. Some sites rumor stuff like sliding doors, whatever that means.

So what is the big deal with space hulk and why should I care about any of this other than a chance to get a lot of cheap minis to paint?

I keep seeing these rumors as well, and I'll admit I'm intrigued. Even if it does come to fruition, though, with the recent GW price increases it will cost a pretty penny indeed.

hancock.tom wrote:

So what is the big deal with space hulk and why should I care about any of this other than a chance to get a lot of cheap minis to paint?

GW cheap minis - now there's the candidate for oxymoron of the week.

Oh dear sweet lord... Space Hulk. That's what we played. For three god damned years, that's what my group played. That and nothing else. I could play that thing in my sleep. The horror! The horror!

Seriously though, should you care about Space Hulk? Yes, absolutely. I'm not a big fan of the game, and am so sick of it I would probably puke if I had to play it again in the near future, but it is a classic in every sense of the word. Space Hulk is very simplistic for a tactical game, and after years of playing it, you'll find you use the same strategies over and over while the dice determine the outcome. What it does offer is something rarely found in minis games: an overt and precise focus on creating tension. Everything in the game is basically a device for putting players on the edges of their seats. The one-square wide corridors, the hidden information blip counters, the timer (yes, I know they got rid of it in 3rd ed.), and the overwatch concept, all of it is there to produce nail-biters

The game boils down to this: You're marines in terminator armor, you're slow as hell, seriously underpowered in hand-to-hand combat, and too bulky to allow more than one man to cover an approach most of the time. Usually, you're just trying to get to a room and spend some action points or blow something up at the other end of the board. You run down corridors, shoot what's in sight, try to keep yourself out of reach, and use your overwatch, which is basically rapid Op fire. The Genestealers are super fast, expendable, and outnumber you by ridiculous margins. They charge you, and you hope you get lucky enough to shoot them before your gun jams or they get close enough to make mincemeat out of you.

So you spend most of the game with your dudes in single file, staring down a horde of these things going "Oh man, please let me live, please let me hit this ugly bastard, please let me make it down that hallwaaaOHSHIT! I jammed. Please let me make it through this fight, please let me DAMMIT! Okay, next victim. Pleaseletmelivepleaseletme..."

No matter how much you think you've got a good tactical position, every time you end your turn and the monsters get to move, you start sweating, mostly because you're so often forced to put yourself within claws' reach and just hope for the best. Often you feel like you're playing with wind-up toys, you just put them in shooting mode and watch 'em go, but that lack of control is what makes the game what it is. What it is is something everyone with an interest in minis games should check out. And if you're into 40k, you definitely should try it.

This game is great and I hope the rumors are true. Now it just depends on the ruleset that they come out with. For me the first edition rules were the best because they were about as bare-bones as you can get but still created a tactically deep and satisfying game. The balance between the forces works well, but as mjl mentioned once you play a scenerio a few times you'll start to see the same play patters appear.

The edge of your seat action is what really is the bee's knees for me. As mjl described there is a tension that I just haven't seen in other games. The best way I can describe it is if you were in the movie Aliens...Suspense!

LvT

hancock.tom wrote:

So what is the big deal with space hulk and why should I care about any of this other than a chance to get a lot of cheap minis to paint?

Possibly, you shouldn't care at all.

1st edition Space Hulk was a very high quality two plater tactical sci-fi combat game. Undoubtedly the best in that class still, all these years later.

2nd edition Space Hulk was okay. It kept quite a lot of the tension of the original but reduced tactical choice on offer.

Given the history GW themeselves - as opposed to their splinter companies like Black Industries or Fanatic - with revamping old titles, I wouldn't hold your breath on the latest edition being up to the same quality of game play, even if the components are better. It'll be targeted at 12-year olds, not mature gamers.

I could be wrong. In some ways I hope I am wrong. In some ways, as the owner of a complete 1st edition copy with all expansions I hope I'm not But I really wouldn't get too excited about this until firstly the rumours prove true (they've been around before) and second someone has had a chance to open the box and judge the quality of the game.

MattDP wrote:

Given the history GW themeselves - as opposed to their splinter companies like Black Industries or Fanatic - with revamping old titles, I wouldn't hold your breath on the latest edition being up to the same quality of game play, even if the components are better. It'll be targeted at 12-year olds, not mature gamers.

Ya know - so long as it's not too hard to just use whatever ruleset I want with the components, I'll be happy to apply whatever tweaks I feel are needed.

I think the rumor started when FFG was chosen to work on all the old GW titles except the ones with miniatures in it.

Further strengthening some in their reasoning is the appearance of the terminators in the introduction boxset in Warhammer 40K 4th Edition. So cheaper terminators.

I hope they will make it. But please no plastic board pieces. That will just snap. I'm hoping for the best but not holding my breath.

MattDP wrote:

Given the history GW themeselves - as opposed to their splinter companies like Black Industries or Fanatic - with revamping old titles, I wouldn't hold your breath on the latest edition being up to the same quality of game play, even if the components are better. It'll be targeted at 12-year olds, not mature gamers.

What I can never understand about people who play GW is that they put up with the crap.
If the mini's are too expensive, there's beautiful cheaper alternatives.
If you don't like the new edition rules, you play the old edition.

Somehow GW addict lose their own will and sensibility. And GW keeps harvesting.

Ska_baron wrote:

MattDP wrote:

Given the history GW themeselves - as opposed to their splinter companies like Black Industries or Fanatic - with revamping old titles, I wouldn't hold your breath on the latest edition being up to the same quality of game play, even if the components are better. It'll be targeted at 12-year olds, not mature gamers.

Ya know - so long as it's not too hard to just use whatever ruleset I want with the components, I'll be happy to apply whatever tweaks I feel are needed.

Amen Brutha! My first edition Space Hulk game and expansions are wearing out from the years of excessive play.

We can only hope that Thaad not commenting on this thread is a sign from above that FFG will indeed republish this in all it's glory.