Ponythread LV:55 Ponythread learns Agility!

[Tiki Snakes]

Not having read this Dr Whooves story you two are discussing, I just thought I'd chime in to say;

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Yes, time-travel is almost never the answer in Doctor Who, to any question other than "How did they get to the location and time of the setting for this story?"

[Soras Teva Gee]

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what at least a few collectors will end up doing. I mean, 19 is a lot, but at a few dollars each, it's less money than buying two new video-games, or less money than a workable army in almost any miniatures game.

My understanding of the situation, however, is that a lot of the special covers weren't initiated by Hasbro/IDW, but rather were requested by various distributors, each of whom said "I want a special cover too! *tantrum*"

These special variants are almost always extra money, they are a trick developed to bilk more money out of a stagnant but zombie like consumer base. Derpy and the Doctor will set you back $20 plus $5 shipping in the US if you happily don't live in the Detroit area (or where ever that place is) to go pick it up.

Now the Mane Six set will be standard... but that's $3.99 x 6 and I've already exceeded my old personal comic buying allowance. I can get no other comics that week. (if I still bought comics)

It may not be a 40k army but it buying them all is not going to be cheap.

(For almost surely irrelevant cover art!)

Though maybe ponies will be so ginormous they will actually beat out President Obama's Spider-man comic. Nothing political there, that is just the factual highest selling comic (by copies sold) of the last 5 years by a fair margin challenged only by The Walking Dead this year. Ponies are about a 1/4 of the way there with 90k pre-orders. Not all that likely I think, but I would be tickled to be wrong. (Though comic ordering is a very murky business let's be clear)

[OracleofWuffing]

Shameless comic book memorabilia? Please. Sonic the Hedgehog had a special- not just a front page preorder bonus, an entire extended issue- where he met Spawn. A truckload of special art may seem like a lot, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[Eakin]

Shameless comic book memorabilia? Please. Sonic the Hedgehog had a special- not just a front page preorder bonus, an entire extended issue- where he met Spawn. A truckload of special art may seem like a lot, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Because if there's one franchise everyone wants to be compared to, it's Sonic the Hedgehog.

That's like saying "you think our claim that our ship is unsinkable is a little hyperbolic? Well you should hear what the engineers who designed the Titantic said!"

[Soras Teva Gee]

Shameless comic book memorabilia? Please. Sonic the Hedgehog had a special- not just a front page preorder bonus, an entire extended issue- where he met Spawn. A truckload of special art may seem like a lot, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Sonic also has a looooong established comic line so I'm not suprised. Archie has a crossover with the Punisher so you can't shock me.

Pony however is on its first issue and its just a holofoil cover and bundled "exclusive" trading card away from being a total 90s cash-grab throw back. (also needs several pouches on all the ponies)

[OracleofWuffing]

Because if there's one franchise everyone wants to be compared to, it's Sonic the Hedgehog.

I think you're misinterpreting my intentions, here. I'm just saying if they're going to give us a truckload of unique covers, that's not an insult at all. Besides, I'm not comparing it to the Sonic franchise- which is horrid with a couple of gems in there*- but the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics- which is probably the most respectable comic series Archie runs. There's also a lot of room to compare that series to the Pony TV series, too... And the fanbases are quite similar, come to think of it.

Pony however is on its first issue and its just a holofoil cover and bundled "exclusive" trading card away from being a total 90s cash-grab throw back. (also needs several pouches on all the ponies)

I was under the impression that Friendship is Magic on the whole was a total 90s cash-grab throw back. The fact that it turned out to be one of the good ones was just a coincidence.

*Hee hee, gems. Hee hee, Sonic.

[Thanqol]

So I wrote a guest post for a ponyfic review blog, in which I discuss what I think is most important in writing and literature. Take a look!

[kpenguin]

I am entirely happy that they're trying to exploit the brony fanbase for money. It means, at the very least, they're thinking about us and they recognize some members of the fandom have deep pockets and buy everything and anything that panders.

[Deadly]

Bwahahahaha! I am the Pumpkin Launcher Master! (because I have no life, obviously)

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Oh, and I can't help but grin dumbly whenever I see dA has "Free Shipping" now.

[Aotrs Commander]

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what at least a few collectors will end up doing. I mean, 19 is a lot, but at a few dollars each, it's less money than buying two new video-games, or less money than a workable army in almost any miniatures game a particularly expensive miniatures game.

£50 (which is what 19 issues of MLP would cost me; most comics are about $4/ £2.65ish nowadays - not exactly cheap) is MORE than enough for a small-to-mid-sized army/fleet from most wargames manufacturers in anything other than 25/28mm scale (e.g. starships, 2mm/6mm/12mm/15mm) - heck at some scales, £50 would get you TWO small armies - and, genera and figure manufacturer depending, would get you a long way towards one in the larger scales, unless you're using a particularly expensive manufacturer (GW, Warmachine maybe, or GHQ) or require a lot of vehicles. (And, of course, the larger scale the figures are, the less you tend to need for a functioning army.)

If £50 quid isn't enough to get you started, you're buying from the wrong companies, my friend. (£40 quid should be plenty enough for the smaller scales, really.)

(I can suggest for any 25/28mm fantasy/sci-fi players (the former especially), I recommend you check out Mantic, run by one of GW's original founders. £50 there buys you a 110-figures Undead fantasy army, and the quality is as good or better than GW from what I've seen.)

As I've said before, GW and the companies that try to emulate it price-wise and some crazy stand-outs like GHQ aside, wargames is a cheap hobby.

[OracleofWuffing]

Okay, but can such an army survive in a competitive environment?

[Trixie]

I have to say this is getting so shameless I'm starting to be mildly insulted. I bought an extra pricey variant cover for the art once I must admit... but nineteen covers is just ridiculous. And a hexatych, somepony must have told them everypony in the Herd is crazy. I sincerely hope nopony is planning on a gotta buy 'em all spree.

*shrug* What did you expect? They see people paying four $ digit sums for badly sewn plushes (and proud of it) when they could pay professional 5-10% of that... Of course they want to tap it.

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what at least a few collectors will end up doing. I mean, 19 is a lot, but at a few dollars each, it's less money than buying two new video-games, or less money than a workable army in almost any miniatures game.

My understanding of the situation, however, is that a lot of the special covers weren't initiated by Hasbro/IDW, but rather were requested by various distributors, each of whom said "I want a special cover too! *tantrum*"

Um, I pretty sure, given the prices on some, I can make you good Grey Knight army in WH40K for less. And that's saying something given Games Workshop's prices

Anyway, yes, these distributors did demand them, but they only get to do so after paying a lot of extra money, so they must be sure somehow it will pay back. That attitude didn't appeared out of thin air.

I was under the impression that Friendship is Magic on the whole was a total 90s cash-grab throw back. The fact that it turned out to be one of the good ones was just a coincidence.

The problem with cash grabs is, they tend to tank. And when they do, they tend to damage parent series, sometimes sinking it. Plus, yes, it starts to look a blatant cash grab to me - if you look at most of these covers, they're ugly. I don't mean lack of skill, they look like something artist slapped together in 30 minutes from a few reference stills. There is little thought or continuity between them, even these made by the same artist.

Then, there is that blatant fanservice, which I find just badly done. To be honest, at this rate, I'm kind of surprised they didn't scanned some unseen sketch from Lauren's concept book, made black and white cover with it, named it "ultimate collector's item" and sold it for 99$...

Also, I find it extremely ironic one cover imitates Cartoonlion's art, and another seems to reference clopzine. They really went full bore with fanon

[fizmat]

Bwahahahaha! I am the Pumpkin Launcher Master! (because I have no life, obviously)

I didn't find it very satisfying myself. Granted, I did buy all the upgrades before I quit, and got all of the straightforward achievements, but none of the secret ones. The core idea of the game has been done a lot and it's hard to steer it wrong. Plus the flavor conversion to pony is done nicely with Nightmare Night and all. Two major flaws though.

One: too many small upgrades. I get that usually it's done this way to give positive reinforcement for every launch. But ~20 increments a few percent a pop is overdoing it and just feel insignificant and clunky. I just end up upgrading several steps at a time because of it.

Two: the physics doesn't feel good enough. I know it's not more informative than "didn't like it". It felt like a rushed fan-made flash game, not a polished fan-made flash game. And I still have no idea exactly what effect the bats have.

Oh, and I can't help but grin dumbly whenever I see dA has "Free Shipping" now.

So I'm not the only one...

[Aotrs Commander]

Okay, but can such an army survive in a competitive environment?

First of all, wargames don't have to be played competition environment and wargamers who play in competitions tend to be a minority. (Personally, I think if you're playing competition, you're Doing It Wrong.)

Secondly, depending on what period and scale: yes. Absolutely. Especially in the generally favoured 15mm historical periods. Especially as competition-level gamers tend not to be to bothered about fantasical miniatures. Now, granted, you might struggle to get a big competition army in medium-to-high quality miniatures (though at 15mm you'd probably get close), but you definitely could if you used the cheapest (and still perfectly acceptable) places like Irregular Miniatures, where £25 will buy you a 100-piece army; two of them would be more than big enough for most competition armies, unless you're using some very odd rules (and that just means you're probably playing the wrong game...)

Further, you could use the old-fashioned cheat-like-crazy, and remember than you can mix-and-match manufacturers, so you buy your bulk from a cheap place like Irregular, and bulk it out with selected bits from places like Chariot or Essex or something. A few highlights and centre points, and you don't notice the rank-and-file so much. Certainly at competition gamers, where the aethetic aspect is generally not a consideration, only the game itself. (A glance at a typical wargamers competition set-up tends to be really dull and uninteresting compared to most ordinary, or even display games.) (Before anyone brings Workshop up, I will remind them that GW is not typical, nor even in the majority, of wargamers in the UK. Though yes, I imagine that their official competitions have some aethetic clauses and probably be held to a higher standard of presentation than most wargames competitions; but on the other claw attack, the unofficials ones (i.e. the ones at normal wargames conventions) I've seen being played with unpainted figures, so there you go.)

[OracleofWuffing]

The problem with cash grabs is, they tend to tank. And when they do, they tend to damage parent series, sometimes sinking it. Plus, yes, it starts to look a blatant cash grab to me - if you look at most of these covers, they're ugly. I don't mean lack of skill, they look like something artist slapped together in 30 minutes from a few reference stills. There is little thought or continuity between them, even these made by the same artist.

I just don't understand why this is such a concern when the same statements can be levied fairly easily against the source material. Plenty of people have a Trixie figurine that's just a Rarity with different colors, and I believe Applejack still doesn't have a hat on any of her figurines. AJ's freckles blinked in and out of existence throughout Season 1, too. Granny Smith is apparently several hundred years old. A baby pegasus can fly, but little chicken Scootaloo can't. Fluttershy isn't a tree.

Yes, the comic is a cash grab. The whole series the comic's spinning off is a cash grab, too. That's why Twilight Sparkle has an air balloon, that's why there's a train in Ponyville, that's why Rainbow Dash got an episode all about her getting a pet, and that's why two ponies got married last season. Do they call him Shining Armour in European regions, by the way? Cash grabs can still be good, and they can certainly be fun and enjoyable. *Looks to his collection of DVDs of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Super Mario Bros. Cartoons, the Sonic the Hedgehog Cartoons, the Garfield cartoons, and Captain N: The Game Master*

Then, there is that blatant fanservice, which I find just badly done.

I guess I don't have anything to say about that, though.

Wargames!

Wait, if competition players don't care about good miniatures, and then the non-competitive people don't have anyone to use good miniatures on... What demographic is buying the expensive miniatures, and why!?

[Deadly]

I didn't find it very satisfying myself. Granted, I did buy all the upgrades before I quit, and got all of the straightforward achievements, but none of the secret ones. The core idea of the game has been done a lot and it's hard to steer it wrong. Plus the flavor conversion to pony is done nicely with Nightmare Night and all. Two major flaws though.

One: too many small upgrades. I get that usually it's done this way to give positive reinforcement for every launch. But ~20 increments a few percent a pop is overdoing it and just feel insignificant and clunky. I just end up upgrading several steps at a time because of it.

Two: the physics doesn't feel good enough. I know it's not more informative than "didn't like it". It felt like a rushed fan-made flash game, not a polished fan-made flash game. And I still have no idea exactly what effect the bats have.

I enjoyed it, although it sure isn't the most mind blowing of games, I'll admit that.

I agree with you assessment, and to be honest, most of the secret achievements are rather sad too, and don't make you feel like you achieved anything, really. I had a bit of fun trying to figure them out, but it wasn't exactly amazing.

I'll also agree about the physics, there was something very unsatisfying about launching it 100 m into the air and watching it bounce no higher than had it been 10 meters. Added bonus would be to see it explode upon impact if you launched it high enough, regardless of upgrades.

But as a simple time killer, it was alright.

[DigoDragon]

Ugh, really cold out, my daughter was extra cranky this morning getting ready for school, and traffic was pretty pathetic to boot. So, have a couple images from the "Grumpy & Pathetic Trixie" as apparently my morning started off on the wrong hoof...

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The first one is so *ME* this morning.

Just so you know, I find it rather amusing the way your "big image" keeps getting replaced by a very small image.

The irony is not lost on me. What DOES baffle me is that I went on two other computers last night that don't use the same isp that this one does, and the links worked fine! So, I just don't know what went wrong!

Correction: My wife told me it's "The Internet". It's always wrong.

Digo: Use the "share" links, not just the image location, to post images from that site.

Yeah, I'll be on the lookout for those on sites like Zerochan, or try finding a version on a better site that allows hotlinking (like DA). Spike, get my checklist! I'm going to make a list of sites that don't hotlink for future reference.

In non-spoilers news:

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D'aww, that warms my heart... and my coffee... somehow.

Looking good, Pinkamena. Looking real... good...

That face alone could 'cupcake' someone.

Bwahahahaha! I am the Pumpkin Launcher Master! (because I have no life, obviously)

No life? Well, you are called Deadly for a reason, yes?
(Kidding of course)

[Deadly]

No life? Well, you are called Deadly for a reason, yes?
(Kidding of course)

I would argue that many things that are deadly are less so once they're dead. Snakes, for example ... not very deadly when they're dead

[Thanqol]

I would argue that many things that are deadly are less so once they're dead. Snakes, for example ... not very deadly when they're dead

Necromancer. Standing right there.

[Deadly]

Necromancer. Standing right there.

Ah yes, well, I did say "many" not "all" things. Zombies, of course, are quite deadly. But so is a dead snake if you let it rot long enough to turn it into a festering biological weapon, but then you must ask, is it really the snake which is deadly, or is it whatever bacteria are now infesting it? Or you could wield a dead snake like a kind of whip and beat people to death with it, but again, is it really the snake being deadly, or whoever is holding its tail?

And same argument could go for the undead, depending on which kind of undead. Is it really the zombie which is deadly, or is it the necromancer animating it? Depends on whether the zombie collapses in a heap or stands around like a statue once the necromancer stops controlling it. The necromancer isn't very deadly either once you kill them, unless they're undead too ... or become undead. So there's a lot of room for arguing here.

[Aotrs Commander]

I would argue that many things that are deadly are less so once they're dead. Snakes, for example ... not very deadly when they're dead

You've never beaten a man to death with a dead boa constrictor, have you?

Fun fact: if you straighten it out before rigor mortis sets it, you can use a mid-sized snake like a javelin if you chuck it hard enough!

You learn sommat new every day...

Wait, if competition players don't care about good miniatures, and then the non-competitive people don't have anyone to use good miniatures on... What demographic is buying the expensive miniatures, and why!?

I'm sorry, the middle part of that sentence has completely lost me. I might be able to answer the latter question more completely if you clarify that part.

(Though I suspect the answer still boils down to "people who geninuely don't know any better (i.e. that there are other wargames other than 40K out there)", "people who really, really like 40K/GHQ etc etc etc" or, in the case of something like Flames of War (which is a WW2 game and has it's own line of "official" miniatures which are a fair bit more expensive than most), "people with more money than sense.")

[Kd7sov]

Wait, if competition players don't care about good miniatures, and then the non-competitive people don't have anyone to use good miniatures on... What demographic is buying the expensive miniatures, and why!?

For the record, I know very nearly nothing about wargaming that I haven't picked up in this thread, but I think what's happening is that you and the Commodore mean different things by "competitive". Specifically, it looks like you think of it as "facing off against one another; competing", whereas I get the impression that he means something more along the lines of "facing off against one another with something at stake". Or perhaps his distinction is between those who buy miniatures primarily for the sake of battling with them and those who buy miniatures primarily for the sake of having them or of having an aesthetically pleasing set.

(Or I could be misinterpreting one or both; this kind of reading between the lines is not one of my most practiced skills. But it looks like a case of conflicting definitions to me.)

[Aotrs Commander]

For the record, I know very nearly nothing about wargaming that I haven't picked up in this thread, but I think what's happening is that you and the Commodore mean different things by "competitive". Specifically, it looks like you think of it as "facing off against one another; competing", whereas I get the impression that he means something more along the lines of "facing off against one another with something at stake". Or perhaps his distinction is between those who buy miniatures primarily for the sake of battling with them and those who buy miniatures primarily for the sake of having them or of having an aesthetically pleasing set.

(Or I could be misinterpreting one or both; this kind of reading between the lines is not one of my most practiced skills. But it looks like a case of conflicting definitions to me.)

Ah. Yes. I see. Yes, "competition players", when in regard to wargames, are a particular type of player who, play in organised competitions (typically at conventions). (Note that generally, wargames competions don't have especially grand prizes or anything, it's mostly just bragging rights and occasionally trophies.) As opposed to just playing games in and of an evening. Competion games tend to be about winning (and hense why they are among the least interesting games to look at/play, because they'e usually all about min-maxing whatever rules they're using, which usually include rules on how much terrain you can have (especially with ancients) and aethetics don't matter). Where as regular games tend to be more about, y'know, just playing; win or lose, it's whether it's a good game that matters.

I.e. "playing" and "playing competatively" do not generally mean the same thing in a wargames context.

[DigoDragon]

A little teaser to a Skyrim Pony mod I am still working on:

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My main goal to have a set of followers based loosely on the Mane 6, adding some voice sets to each one and giving them individual abilities. Right now I only have Pinkie with a partial voice set.
If it works out I was thinking of expanding later by adding Spike as a general merchant at the farm.

Fun fact: if you straighten it out before rigor mortis sets it, you can use a mid-sized snake like a javelin if you chuck it hard enough!

You learn sommat new every day...

...I apparently did.

[t209]

New Timeline updates

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- Three Tribes of Pony (1000 BC)
- Founding of Equestria
- Discord's Reign
- Luna and Celestia Era (1 AE)
- Banishment of King Sombra
- Luna (Nightmare Moon) Banishment
- Frontier Age (Founding of Ponyville) (1940 AE)
- Return of Luna and End of Nightmare Moon (2000 AE)
- Discord's Return and Banishment
- Queen Chrysalis's attack on Royal Wedding
- Return of Crystal Empire
Note: PY is my plan to standardize the timeline year, like starwars.
Edit:It is now AE (Anno Equestria) and BC (before Celestia)

P.S- I wonder if leaders and nobility of Three Pony Tribes decided to unify Equestria by interracial marriage in massive wedding, like Alexander the Great and his Generals.

[Forum Explorer]

£50 (which is what 19 issues of MLP would cost me; most comics are about $4/ £2.65ish nowadays - not exactly cheap) is MORE than enough for a small-to-mid-sized army/fleet from most wargames manufacturers in anything other than 25/28mm scale (e.g. starships, 2mm/6mm/12mm/15mm) - heck at some scales, £50 would get you TWO small armies - and, genera and figure manufacturer depending, would get you a long way towards one in the larger scales, unless you're using a particularly expensive manufacturer (GW, Warmachine maybe, or GHQ) or require a lot of vehicles. (And, of course, the larger scale the figures are, the less you tend to need for a functioning army.)

If £50 quid isn't enough to get you started, you're buying from the wrong companies, my friend. (£40 quid should be plenty enough for the smaller scales, really.)

(I can suggest for any 25/28mm fantasy/sci-fi players (the former especially), I recommend you check out Mantic, run by one of GW's original founders. £50 there buys you a 110-figures Undead fantasy army, and the quality is as good or better than GW from what I've seen.)

As I've said before, GW and the companies that try to emulate it price-wise and some crazy stand-outs like GHQ aside, wargames is a cheap hobby.

Alright we need to import your wargames over here in NA. I'm sick of being stuck with GW and having no other options at all. (Except for ordering everything via mail which is just annoying.


Also I got an idea for a pony version of Fire Emblem.

[Kairaven]

New Timeline updates

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- Three Tribes of Pony
- Founding of Equestria
- Discord's Reign
- Luna and Celestia Era (1 PY)
- Banishment of King Sombra
- Luna (Nightmare Moon) Banishment
- Frontier Age (Founding of Ponyville) (1940 PY)
- Return of Luna and End of Nightmare Moon (2000 PY)
- Discord's Return and Banishment
- Queen Chrysalis's attack on Royal Wedding
- Return of Crystal Empire
Note: PY is my plan to standardize the timeline year, like starwars.

P.S- I wonder if leaders and nobility of Three Pony Tribes decided to unify Equestria by interracial marriage in massive wedding, like Alexander the Great and his Generals.

I prefer Anno Equestria (A.E.) and Before Celestia (B.C)

Also I like to think Manehatten, Canterlot, and Cloudsdale were established at the same time. Out of which Manhatten underwent the most changes over the years, and Canterlot the least.

The big questions rather, is where was the original lands of the Three Tribes? Was it what we now know as the frozen north? Where the Crystal Empire once and currently stood? Or perhaps over seas? From beyond the mysterious western ocean, or from yonder east ocean now The Griffin Kingdom?

[t209]

I prefer Anno Equestria (A.E.) and Before Celestia (B.C)

Also I like to think Manehatten, Canterlot, and Cloudsdale were established at the same time. Out of which Manhatten underwent the most changes over the years, and Canterlot the least.

The big questions rather, is where was the original lands of the Three Tribes? Was it what we now know as the frozen north? Where the Crystal Empire once and currently stood? Or perhaps over seas? From beyond the mysterious western ocean, or from yonder east ocean now The Griffin Kingdom?

I think Cloudsdale was moved since it is made out of clouds. About the mass interracial wedding idea, I got the idea from Alexander the Great Susa wedding. Well, the offspring would be same as either mom pony or dad pony but it will take a lot of time to get accepted by the three society.

[Aotrs Commander]

Alright we need to import your wargames over here in NA. I'm sick of being stuck with GW and having no other options at all. (Except for ordering everything via mail which is just annoying.

Aside from traipsing along to wargame conventions when they have their stands, pretty much all wargames companies are internet/mail based... So you pretty much get it all by post anyway, even over here.

[Forum Explorer]

Aside from traipsing along to wargame conventions when they have their stands, pretty much all wargames companies are internet/mail based... So you pretty much get it all by post anyway, even over here.

Hmm, could you give me some of your favorite websites then? (Preferably for whatever company you used to get your AortS army/fleet.)