We have only recently begun to see some new players creep into our local scene here in Houston--less than 20, but enough to be noticeable. It hurt us not having a Hyperspace Trial in the nation's 4th (soon to be 3rd) largest city however this past season. People seem to be excited by the new options such as Aces High, although we tried Wing mechanics last week with some veteran players and there were some holes in detailing it from a rules standpoint. I can't fathom new players being able to easily understand it out of the gate.

There is a lot of nip & tuck happening with some veteran players in our scene scaling down factions, a huge amount of FB forum sales happening with collections (supply outweighing demand from a lot sales standpoint) and retailer shelf space is utter chaos. It's a mess of still premium costed 1.0 products, or over ordered 2.0 ones. Add into this the mess that FFG has made with cancelling products and not notifying retailers or advertising such decisions transparently, the delays of waves, the clusterfook that is the official app, and the terrible product release decisions... (The most DOA on arrival ship in X-Wing history with the 2.0 Jumpmaster, a bloated VCX-100 with no new cards of note, or a cost inefficient Decimator instead of a blued paint scheme Lambda, or articulated wing Starviper, or a new HWK-290 sculpt?) it's not looking good.

I'm with the game long term; Trying to get people into the new game variants, promoting FLGS tournaments and buying products from them directly, CAC/ HST event admission, and seeking overall elbow gamespace room to expand our scene vs. MTG. But it's going to be a long uphill battle. I'll fight it, because I love this game. The game is as balanced as it has ever been---the issue is purely in product mix, and retailer relations. PEOPLE DO NOT DISCOVER THIS GAME THROUGH AMAZON----They discover it at their FLGS!!!

WHAT WE NEED FROM FFG

1) Get the app right--now; The time for amateur hour interfaces and lack of functionality vs. 3rd party has passed. No more misses.

2) Be transparent about product issues/decisions far earlier than a week before supposed release date. Nothing will murder vendor trust more than such shenanigans as the Raider / Saw's/ Reaper debacles.

3) Release the Gauntlet Fighter, TIE Brute, the Razor Crest, Resistance "Ace Squadron" (5 ships but release 1 per wave), and FO TIE Echelon to get veteran players in those factions spending $$$ now

4) Inject excitement into the the prior 5 factions even further with their own Squadron Packs; This will appeal to veteran and new players alike; Some ideas could be

• Rebel; Two Rebel Z-95 & HWK-290 (Rebel Paintjob)
• Imperials; 4 Inferno Squadron Paintjob TIEs
• Scum; Two Y-Wings & HWK-290 (Scum paintjob)
• FO; Two FO Interceptors (traditional FO paint scheme on Vonregs) and FO Bomber
• Resistance; Two T-85s & Cool Ship from Rise of Skywalker yet to be seen

5) Release a Prequel era mat, or Scarif

6) Ensure ample coverage for OP events in major metropolitan areas, enlist player bases with incentives to become TOs

That's a start. If they don't get something brewing to get veteran players spending money to stay engaged, things are going to dry up and by this time next year, it'll be a bloodbath.

41 minutes ago, Cloaker said:

We have only recently begun to see some new players creep into our local scene here in Houston--less than 20, but enough to be noticeable. It hurt us not having a Hyperspace Trial in the nation's 4th (soon to be 3rd) largest city however this past season. People seem to be excited by the new options such as Aces High, although we tried Wing mechanics last week with some veteran players and there were some holes in detailing it from a rules standpoint. I can't fathom new players being able to easily understand it out of the gate.

There is a lot of nip & tuck happening with some veteran players in our scene scaling down factions, a huge amount of FB forum sales happening with collections (supply outweighing demand from a lot sales standpoint) and retailer shelf space is utter chaos. It's a mess of still premium costed 1.0 products, or over ordered 2.0 ones. Add into this the mess that FFG has made with cancelling products and not notifying retailers or advertising such decisions transparently, the delays of waves, the clusterfook that is the official app, and the terrible product release decisions... (The most DOA on arrival ship in X-Wing history with the 2.0 Jumpmaster, a bloated VCX-100 with no new cards of note, or a cost inefficient Decimator instead of a blued paint scheme Lambda, or articulated wing Starviper, or a new HWK-290 sculpt?) it's not looking good.

I'm with the game long term; Trying to get people into the new game variants, promoting FLGS tournaments and buying products from them directly, CAC/ HST event admission, and seeking overall elbow gamespace room to expand our scene vs. MTG. But it's going to be a long uphill battle. I'll fight it, because I love this game. The game is as balanced as it has ever been---the issue is purely in product mix, and retailer relations. PEOPLE DO NOT DISCOVER THIS GAME THROUGH AMAZON----They discover it at their FLGS!!!

WHAT WE NEED FROM FFG

1) Get the app right--now; The time for amateur hour interfaces and lack of functionality vs. 3rd party has passed. No more misses.

2) Be transparent about product issues/decisions far earlier than a week before supposed release date. Nothing will murder vendor trust more than such shenanigans as the Raider / Saw's/ Reaper debacles.

3) Release the Gauntlet Fighter, TIE Brute, the Razor Crest, Resistance "Ace Squadron" (5 ships but release 1 per wave), and FO TIE Echelon to get veteran players in those factions spending $$$ now

4) Inject excitement into the the prior 5 factions even further with their own Squadron Packs; This will appeal to veteran and new players alike; Some ideas could be

• Rebel; Two Rebel Z-95 & HWK-290 (Rebel Paintjob)
• Imperials; 4 Inferno Squadron Paintjob TIEs
• Scum; Two Y-Wings & HWK-290 (Scum paintjob)
• FO; Two FO Interceptors (traditional FO paint scheme on Vonregs) and FO Bomber
• Resistance; Two T-85s & Cool Ship from Rise of Skywalker yet to be seen

5) Release a Prequel era mat, or Scarif

6) Ensure ample coverage for OP events in major metropolitan areas, enlist player bases with incentives to become TOs

That's a start. If they don't get something brewing to get veteran players spending money to stay engaged, things are going to dry up and by this time next year, it'll be a bloodbath.

I agree on this, very interesting suggestions here.

36 minutes ago, Cloaker said:

PEOPLE DO NOT DISCOVER THIS GAME THROUGH AMAZON----They discover it at their FLGS!!!

That's a start. If they don't get something brewing to get veteran players spending money to stay engaged, things are going to dry up and by this time next year, it'll be a bloodbath.

First off, I do love your enthusiasm, but from what I've seen new players don't discover the game at the FLGS, they discover it on YouTube. That said, having people there at the store on regular X-Wing nights to welcome newbies in is really helpful.

While I agree that FFG has made some mistakes, I don't see the "sky is falling, game is going to end in a year or two" prediction coming true.

On 11/26/2019 at 12:22 AM, Vontoothskie said:

ive had to buy 7 expansions just to play what I already owned from 1.0, so i gotta disagree. I got into warhammer because its cheaper, which is why GW sales are booming. kill team, warcry and necromunda all run way less

Are you kidding me?! GW is a soulless company of jerks. And I'm being polite.

GW products are 3x to 4x more expensive than FFG products. Trust me. I've been playing 40K since 2nd Edition (mid-80s). I'm so happy to switch to FFG products. I've saved so much money since then. I laugh at those who complain about FFG costs. Cuz its nothing compared to GW products.

For 40K, you can spend a $100 to $200 on an army. But, because of the uncontrollable power creep in 40K, you won't be winning any games. Most likely, the only time you'll touch your miniatures is setting them up on the board and removing the dead. It takes around $400 - $500 to get a semi decent competitive army. Even then, you may win 10% of your games. As new books and rules changes come, you will feel compelled to purchase additional units... Expensive units.

Don't forget the infamous WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get"). You have to build your units exactly as you plan to run them in the game. That Space Marine miniature doesn't have a Bolt Pistol? Too bad, he can't use it in game. Plus, if you're missing a 4th Plasma Cannon in your Devastator squad, you have to buy another Devastator Squad box. This is very common. You end up buying multiple of of the same box to finish one squad. That's $30 to $50 per box. Is your wallet feeling it, yet?

Thank you, FFG, for not using WYSIWYG rules with your games.

Then there are Commanders/Leaders miniatures. Are you willing to spend $30 to $50 for a specific Captain or Lieutenant? How about a Space Marine Primarch? That's $100 to $150.

Thank you, FFG, for having Count Dooku and Captain Rex be affordable.

Don't forget GW's Forge World. Its the upper-upper-upper elite products for your army needs. Want the best unit for your army? Well, that unit may only be available at Forge World. Get ready to spend $150 to $22,000 (yes, thousands of dollars). Like the Land Raider main tank normally costs $80. But, Forge World, has a special type of Land Raider, which only adds extra weapons or details, and costs $150 - $200.

Thanks FFG for saving my wallet.

GW can get away with this because they have a HUGE share of the market. For the longest time, GW relatively had a monopoly in their industry. They have a large base of loyal customers. There are even generations of players -- granddad, father, son, grandson. GW can name their price.

I have to give GW credit that their models are very well done. Afterall, they've been in the business for decades.

I hope FFG usurps GW in the miniature wargaming industry.

Sorry for the rant. Hope I made sense. Because I have to drive some place, like now, and I had to get this off my chest.

Aim True and May the Force be with You!

@FastWalker You forgot to mention that the codexes aren't released parallel with version changes and for quite a few of the factions the armies are only current for a couple of months before the next version switch...