What is your overall opinion of Fantasy Flight?
Why do you feel that way?
>>45456942
the lord of the rings game is quite fun
best physical quality of games. Mechanically complicated above par. I like it still
>>45456942
They make you buy custom dice. Fuck em.
>>45456942
On the whole? Positive really. Their title can be hit and miss at times but the components for their games are always solid at least. They have a bad habit of making kind of retarded rulebooks too.
On the whole, I like more of their stuff than I dislike it though. Their RPG line is a point of some contention here though. Although the biggest gripe is probably the dedicated dice they use for said RPG line most of the time.
Star Wars RPG is fairly well recieved, for example, but End of the World is generally disliked, and next to nobody even mentions the Warhammer Fantasy RPG they made. To be honest, they have a solidly established universe with Terrinoth and they should probably consider making their own RPG based off that alone instead of throwing heavily into Warhammer stuff as GW might snatch away that license one day.
The LCG model is the better way of getting people to play games where everyone has access to the same pool of cards for deck construction and it removes the pay to win element from the table. It is kind of sad that the game that got that started (Call of Cthulhu) is by far the most ignored of their titles though.
>>45456970
Do they?
Explain. Because Star Wars and even the Warhammer RPG had a conversion table if you wanted to use standard gaming dice. The custom dice just made it easier and using a pool for everyone is a simple fix instead of everybody bringing their own.
>>45456942
The only FFG game I own I think is Cosmic Encounter, which would be pretty solid regardless of who was publishing it.
>>45457025
I have heard Cosmic Encounter is pretty fun. What do you like about it?
>>45456942
I like Android Netrunner, I like the quality of their art and boards, but their mechanics are often overcomplicated (to support multiple long-term releases, natch). LCGs are better than CCGs, but with so many releases the difference starts to blur into nothing. I'm not a fan of collecting endless cardboard paper.
I'd like to see more scifi RPGs from them, specifically an ANR cyberpunk game.
Their website is pretty.
I really, really hope they leave the custom dice out of L5R.
>>45457510
This. Though I can see their fetish for that shit ruining the game. To play a character you'll need a set of Elemental dice (Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Void) and a set of Clan dice for his clan. Also you will need multiple sets of said dice.
>>45456942
no strong opinion
They get the job done, but typically there's going to be some other game that does it better.
>>45457623
More likely they make it like Force and Destiny, with the higher of Traits or Skills providing a pool of d8s and the lower upgrading a number of that pool to d12s, and some talents based on your Rings.
Then the Void functions like the Force or some shit.
Roll and Keep nowhere to be found, of course.
>>45456942
I really like them. I like the Warhammer 40k line of RPGs, and have had a great time with X Wing and Age of Rebellion. I haven't personally had a bad experience with them yet.
>>45456942
>What is your overall opinion of Fantasy Flight?
I'VE GIVEN THEM SO MUCH MONEY.
SO MUCH MONEY.
OH GOD WHY DID THEY HAVE TO MAKE X-WING SO GOOD?
>>45457718
If they move from roll and keep they are idiots
Though even then I'll probably stick with 4th unless they blow me away .
Haven't had a chance to play much of any of their games, but their card sleeves have a nice shuffle feel
>>45456942
They make better 40k fluff these days than any department of GW save Forgeworld.Pls FW, do more 40k.Pls FFG do more 40k.
>>45456942
They really do try to do something nice and overall do it really good.
I wouldn't mind if they got the rights to 40K if GW bankrupts.
>>45457510
>>45457623
How many game lines need custom dice?
I know WHF and SW do, but that's it.
Their Star Wars RPG is pretty awesome.
>>45458546
Both editions of Descent, though it comes with a set it is nice to have multiples just keep the dice passing time down. Our group has taken to the Dicent app when play it just to keep things moving quick.
>>45456942
I think they need a new editor or team of editors. They produce incredible products with really high production values, but their rule books are always a complete disaster. This applies for both the RPGs and the board games.
A good editor combined with a good technical writer would really improve their games whole-sale.
>>45456942
Apathy.
Because I'm dead inside, mister marketer.
>>45456942
I enjoy most of their games pretty well, especially Netrunner.
Their SW RPG is really well made.
I'm concerned about the future of L5R, purely because that's an old, long-standing fanbase and I wonder how well they can introduce their standby concepts without really fucking up things that people already enjoyed about that setting and its mechanics.
>>45456942
I like them a lot.
X-wing and its ilk are tactically rich but still simple and straightforward. The minis look great and the mechanics are fun. Pricing is excellent-- you can have a fun, competitive squadron for under $100. People who blow lots of money on X-wing are doing so because they love the game and want lots of options.
The RPGs are very well written. Good writing, nicely bound books, ok layout (the PDFs are too big IMO). Very strong world-building. I don't like the mechanics, though.
The custom dice don't bother me at all. The price is reasonable and they DO have to make money somehow. They're not GW.
Overall, an excellent company. Not quite SJGames tier in terms of value and engagement with customers and fans, but it's up there.
>>45456942
Glorious Imperial vessels/10.
My only complaint is the other two factions for forced diversity thanks to their tumblR2 overlords.
>>45458315
I agree. I've gotten really sick of GW's codex fluff, which is just pure grimdark masturbation fuel. I swear I hear distant fapping every time I read how "OMG savage" the army in the codex is or whatever, and it just lacks any fun.
FFG (and Forgeworld) both seem to treat 40k's lore with more... I don't know, dignity? The universe isn't exactly the epitome of sophistication of course, but FFG and Forgeworld both have a a way of writing that doesn't make it sound like they're a bunch of edgy 14-year-olds. They know when to make the fluff grimdark, when to make it a little noblebright, and how to give some factions some extra character and culture.
The more in-depth structure of the Inquisition and its checks and balances in Dark Heresy is a good example. The 40k Inquisition codex, for instance, makes all Inquisitors out to be butt-ass crazy morons who cause more trouble than good and Exterminatus worlds every Tuesday, whereas Dark Heresy makes them a bit more reasonable and understandable in why they are the way they are; there are certainly still crazies, but not all Inquisitors are excessive extremists, and Exterminatuses are not something that are taken lightly. Any Inquisitor that does oftentimes has to endure a pseudo-court procedure by his/her peers to ensure it was the right call.Really, the way GW treats Inquisitors in general irritates me, but Black Library in particular; in almost any novel, they're either direct antagonists or worthless buffoons that mess everything up.
>>45459166
>Apathy.
>Because I'm dead inside, mister marketer.
No, no, you're doing it wrong. If you see a sly marketing thread, turn it subtly to your purpose, so that you get what you want in the long run. It's like lying on phone surveys.
Respect waned since Asmodee bought them. The last thing boardgames need is monolithic corporations running the show, deciding what gets published and what gets shafted.
>>45456942
>Board Games
They have a good vision but screw up the execution. See Arkham/Eldritch Horror, Game of Thrones board game. There are too many moving parts and it's a pain in the ass to deal with. It's like having fun in spite of the game's system. That said, all of the physical components are 10/10 grade (both art and material) and have lasted *years* with heavy use.
>Netrunner
Netrunner was a cool concept and as above 10/10 in terms of art, material, and background. FFG has been *great* at supporting the game: The top deck this year is being made into sealed product IIRC and the LCG distribution model is god tier. At its core, it's a cool system (spend clicks for money/cards/actions instead of mana a la MtG). However I think it falls flat from a design perspective. It feels like a 10-sided rock-paper-scissors game where you fold to specific cards. In addition, the corp's deck-slots are *extremely* limited which makes each archetype feel more or less the same. Which is a shame because I really want to like the game. In addition, the starter set is rather lackluster because it included quite a few 1-of and 2-ofs without a complement. I can understand why FFG did it this way (it's not to make people buy more sets) but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
On the whole, I'd say they have great ideas but they tend to under perform.
>>45459628
I don't think he can get FFG to produce suicide booths. Apathic people don't get a lot of dice in Negotiate.
1. Makes some ok to great games (40k rpgs).
2. Has a huge neglect issues and horrible quality when it comes to translations in general.
3. Has a tendency to drop games that are undone or not pulling good profits because of point number 2.
I really like to play Armada and X-Wing.
That being said, they are jews to GW level. Everything they sell is stupidly overpriced, there is no way for local vendors to get english product unless they go through english distributors, which jacks up the price, the absolutle gouge people with LCG core boxes, and they manage to find the absolute worst and most convoluted way to explain anything. Also, their rulebooks have absolute shit editing and fuck whoever had the idea to split RPG Rule Books up in several versions of the same fucking game. Rogue Trader, Deathwatch and shit should have been fucking supplements at a lower price, not full priced books.
They are pretty much a lesser GW in everything they do.
>>45460179
>there is no way for local vendors to get english product unless they go through english distributors, which jacks up the price
Then you should be thrilled that Asmodee bought them because improving their non-USA distribution was a huge part of the agreement.
>the absolutle gouge people with LCG core boxes
laughingwargamers.png
You don't have a clue what price gouging is.
>Also, their rulebooks have absolute shit editing
A thousand times better than they used to be.
>and fuck whoever had the idea to split RPG Rule Books up in several versions of the same fucking game.
That was Black Industries, aka, GW.
The Warham RPG's are pretty dam good.
>>45456942
They are becoming more and more the EA of tabletop. Their sourcebooks are quite pricey with a low page/word count compared to similar sourcebooks of smaller producers. You often feel like you are paying more for the art, or they use the art to pad the pages.
Great games, good production quality, good rpgs, lcgs, board games etc etc.
But those inlays, man, make me cry at night. Why can't they just put in nice inlays? Don't they realise I want to store the game after opening it????
>>45456970
Theres a chart for regular dice for star wars, no idea about WFRP.
I feel like overall their production quality is really high and sets the bar for RPGs and boardgames. The problem is they're also adding to the trend of making more collectors items than functional game books, as mentioned up thread with the poor editing and high quality art.
Pretty sick of the splat book treadmill too.
I dunno I just feel like in general the more they touch a product it just starts to shit the bed. 40k rpg, lotr lcg, netrunner. They all started off fantastic and the balance issues cropping up just seem to be dealt with hamfisted after the fact.
Haven't got a chance to play the new star wars or the new warhammer quest. Really though it seems like they have most of the good/fresh IPs so really what choice do you have but to either buy their shit or take a stab in the dark with something new.
>>45459627
They do well because they try to treat it as a reasonable setting and the people in it at least semi-relatable; yes everything is super excessive and edgy to a 80's degree but they make the perspective characters the good guys by making the things they have to fight so dark and dangerous that what they have to do, whilst horrible, is justifible.
Is it nice to keep most people in absolute ignorance and kill anyone who is differant nice? No of course not. But when just one person learning even just the faintest glimmer (like a name or even just being intuited in a certain way) of chaotic lore can lead to a spiral that literally destroys an entire planet then you can at least see why they do what they have to do.
Furthermore, unlike most materials, they try to make it a bit more cardboard cutouts of heroic figures by detailing how everything kind of works rather than just flubbing it off.
Has anyone played Dawnforge? Is it any good? Could I run it using Castles and Crusades?
>>45456942
They are fucking terrible at book layouts for RPGs like holy shit
>>45456942
Not that good at RPGs. Hope Asmodee can add some quality to their board game mechanics. I guess their LCGs are good, but still LCGs and I prefer deck-builders. Wish they'd buy out GW and give me a WH40K Battlefleet Gothic in the style of Starwars Armada. Their miniature war games are quite good.
>>45461693
>WH40K Battlefleet Gothic in the style of Starwars Armada
Oh, and EPIC, I want EPIC too.
>>45459627
I've always been a little annoyed that they did 3 different SOB versions and never quite got them right.
That and the giant techpriest boner they had in basically every single game line.
Those are relatively minor issues though.
>>45456942
>Hey, let's make a post-apocalyptic RPG
>And then resell it four times with absolutely no changes!
I mean, End Of The World books would be THE shit if FFG put more fluff in them. Or, even better, put everything into ONE FUCKING BOOK.
>>45461680
You haven't picked up a Catalyst Games Lab book, then, I take it.
>>45461720
2 versions. The first was Black Industries.
Own Netrunner, Arkham Horror, BSG & expansions, Game of Thrones and a reasonable set of X-Wing Minis. They do a great job, I enjoy all of these games immensely. Very rich variation and I actually like mechanical intricacy. You don't start new boardgamers off on FFG games but once they're ready for a 3-5 hour marathon game session it turns out great. All of my friends love the FFG games the best of the ones we own, it's just a matter of finding the time for a game.
Also the components look wonderful and last forever, but sorting out 8 or 10 decks of cards can get tiresome so we ended building a proper card seperator for BSG.
>>45456970
I've found that every game that uses custom dice is better for it.
Also: they have an app that has all the Star Wars dice, which is all you really need at this point. So for $5 you have ALL the dice you'd ever need. Including the basic d4 through d20.
Overall I think they are fine. What little i have played of their miniture line is well done and their board games are solid if uninspiring.
RPGs on the other hand I am experienced with and do I have grievances.
Great use of fluff, both exisiting and new and solid Maps for star systems.
40k
Enemies bloat up with wounds way to much, I get a Deamon or space marine having lots of wounds but a old man sorcerer who is basically a librarian should not have just under 100 wounds.
Progressively deminishing psykic powers. Dark heresy 1e had a heap of minor powers that added utility and character to PCs and NPCs alike but come 2e it is basically ripped straight from the tabletop
Dark Hersey 2e beta. Im all in favor of trying new things, there was some great ideas like insanity, corruption and individual psykic phenomenon. Instead of throwing it away and copying Only War they should have stuck to their guns and tried to fix the inherent problems with the new system.
I get that a company like FFG has to go where the money is but how about finishing the core supplements of a system before jumping ship. Only War needs a Scholar Progenium book, Black Crusade really needed the Undivided book to not be shared with the Nurgle book. All the systems need proper and updated Erratas not just a half attempt at the first two books.
Adventures. These are intersting in broad scope but are really problematic in detail, premade characters that are illegal by the core rules with equiptment that doesnt exist. Un planned for simple solutions that reck the remaining campaign.
Ie. 1000 guardsmen abandoned by swamps edge with 1 remaining barge, players can somehow bully themselves onto the boat or make their own raft with the nearby forest. Players instead convince guardsmen to make rafts themselves and so have overwhelming numbers backing them up in later parts of the mission.
Skills, characteristics and talents which are way more useful then others. Im looking a you tech-use.
Etc.
>>45456942
Awesome. Except for their obsession with tiny cards, custom dice, and boxes that you have to organize yourself. Still best game company out there
>>45462397
Degress of success balancing, on some tests with some characters it is easy to get above 8 degress of success but there is no real guidelines on what that means. Also a space marine in power armour has about a 50% chance of failing a strength test that a average human finds challenging, whats with that.
Starwars
I like the idea of success and advantage but they need to be tradeable or better used. A result of 3 failures, a triumph and 4 advantage on a simple out of combat skill check should not require the GM to have to spend 5 min think of the result.
players currently spend all their starting experience just on characteristic advances because its, at minimum, 75xp to increase 1 by 1. While upgrading a die is useful having more dice is better, especially when difficulty increases its dice pool the harder the test and only upgrades in certsin conditions
Reducing setback dice is nice but you rarley have 2, can we instead have talents that make characters better at their jobs
Talent paths are terribly unbalanced, why can one tree go anywhere but another must snake through everything to get what they want. Talents them selves are fairly lackluster, most require multiple of the same talent (of which their may be 1 other in the same tree) and are fairly unimportant for the character.
Force powers are underwhelming, have a small chance to succeed for minor benifit.
The characters renown should not be linked to their debt to other characters, especially when debt causes problems for the character. I get that Han Solo is always in trouble with Jabba or other debt holders but he is not famous for being in debt. Players like to be awsome and shouldnt need to get into debt to have a NPC save them from an unwinnable situation or get gear and equiptment.
I really, really wish they would find a new place to get their books bound. Haven't bought a single hard copy from them since my DH 1st Ed book started falling apart a month after purchase, and apparently it's STILL an issue.
For the games themselves, they tend to be better at board games than RPGs
They're basically the shovelware of the gaming world.
>>45459035
The problem with that edit is that he should be naming some OTHER brand and model of graphing calculator, to preserve the lels to be had from the "this my glock foty" image.
>>45460179
>they are jews to GW level
I can get a completely playable squadron going in X-Wing for less than $100. It won't be a completely optimized murder machine, but it's doable.
It is physically impossible to make a playable 40k army at that price point.
Too many tokens, otherwise good. 8/10
>>45460989
They had to come out with some heavy conversion rules in the subsequent printings, because people didn't like that they not only needed special dice, but a bunch of different kinds of counters.
>>45460936
They only did 3rd edition, the worst edition; they just bought the rights to publish the PDFs of the older editions.
Which brings me to why I hate FF: They got the rights to publish 2e WFRP, then all they did was take the very earliest version, shove their watermark on it, and push it out the door. There was problems with it (mostly unclear writing) that were fixed in later printings, but FF didn't bother to use the later printings. People who want to buy WFRP 2e will unknowingly buy a pre-errata version because FF is too lazy to correct it. /tg/ actually contacted the original designer for clarification, because the conflicting versions didn't make sense; after all, what self-respecting company would publish something with known problems, when they have a fixed version already made for them, and they don't need to do anything but fix it?
Add onto the fact that the Career Compendium they did put out was both incomplete and incorrect in multiple places (it was a cut & paste job of various careers from old splats) and I really don't like FF. It's some bullshit how they treat their properties.
Nice components, possibly overdesigned a bit, but when I open a box of sweet minis and stuff that's a pretty great feeling
Terrible rulebooks, in general
Game quality varies wildly, some great stuff, some I'm just not interested in at all.
Tiny cards are a pain in the ass
>>45459623
I like that they don't sue the shit out of the shapeways modellers.
And yeah like >>45459627 says, they have more respect for the source material than the actual IP owners they license from.
>>45461865
I have. CGL's PDFs are absolutely terrible... But FFG's are still worse. Practically unreadable, disorganized, and huge file sizes.
>>45467727
Huge file sizes yes, but if they're "unreadable" then the problem lies more with you. They're perfectly readable.
>>45456991
Call of Cthulhu is actually dead now. It's officially no longer receiving new releases. The last deluxe released in 2015.
>>45460179
Confirmed for edgelord troll.
>>45460179
>gouging with LCG core boxes
No, they just have a different central design goal than you might expect.
The goal of an LCG core box is to provide a starter set that also functions as a standalone game in its own right. Consequently, the core box is designed to easily make a variety of balanced starter decks.
There's only so much they can put in the box before they have to increase the price point, so they use the space to create the best starter experience they can, at the expense of needing multiple cores for a full playset.
That's not gouging, it's a tradeoff. If they were gouging, they'd pull this shit so you had to buy multiples of every deluxe, if not multiples of some of the packs.
I like 'em. I find that I'm enjoying more and more of their games nowadays. Including the screwy-looking RPGs.
>>45456970
>wah custom dice im gonna cry
I didn't like the idea of the custom dice at fucking all, but I have to say it's all grown on me.
The system they use for the RPG is fantastic - I wish they had a setting-neutral set of base rules using it. If they did, I'd use it for everything (which I might do anyways).
The custom dice seemed really unnecessary for Armada, but they've turned out pretty great.
Hit and miss?
I like Xwing and some of their boardgames are very nice.
RPGs are kinda meh and they butchered Warhammer Fantasy RPG.
That being said it's a huge company by boardgame standards and there's a lot of different dudes doing a lot of different things. That's how it feels anyway. So I expect a varying degree of quality in the different ranges.
>>45456942
In general I'd sum them up as "Expensive, but high quality". I've enjoyed everything I've played from them whether it's an RPG or board game. Not a huge fan of the ones that require custom dice (we ended up rolling back to WFRP 2e and SW Saga Edition because of it).
I like their stuff. I own Imperial Assault and pirated EotE and am gonna try and get a game going. I like that everything in IA is very sturdy and the minis are well made. The only thing is the fucking AT-ST needs more space than most maps have to deploy. I can't crush rebel scum with it as often as I would like.
>>45456942
Fairly happy with their 40k and SW-RPG lines, always seemed to be one of the more approachable manufacturers in that you could always just email them about a particularly weird rules query and they'd ALWAYS give you a reply.
As simple as it sounds, all I ever got from other games manufacturers was 'nothing' at all as they didn't give a fuck after you bought it.
That and their beta testing does seem to yield results in better products
paper based DRM
I'm a Legend of the Five Rings fag, seeing as Fantasy Flight bought my favorite game I will have to see in 2017 if they release the game right.
They probably will though. They have been doing very well these past years.
They make pretty solid games that are fun and easy to play. A lot of their stuff is pretty balanced as well for the most part.
However, they all have too many fucking tokens.
>>45463125
>force powers
>underwhelming
>muh debt
Hoo fuckin' boy, you haven't played anything past base EotE, have you?
>>45471254
Wait, what? And here I was wanting to get into it.
>>45462400
Oh, the amount of rubber bands, weird sized sleeves and foil bags requiered to store Twilight Imperium!Still the best fucking game out there ever
>>45456942
Overall, neutral to positive. 40k and Star Wars RPGs are solid mechanically and fun to play.
But they need toset onfire their Anima translators, hire new ones, and reprint/re-release the older books, as well as translate and release Gaia 2. Either that or give up the rights instead of just sitting on it.
>>45472213
Exactly this. The reason they only have 1x of niche (but powerful) cards is because they're limited by slots in the box. They want to give a variety of play styles a chance other than "shove all the X into your deck".
While it's true that purchasing multiple starters sucks, the cards that are 3x are generally cards most decks will want (in Netrunner, that means Hedge Fund, Sure Gamble, Armitage Codebusting, Crypsis...).
>>45461720
I dunno, the splatbook version in the Ecclesiarchy book for DH1e was good, opening up all of the different orders for play, rather than just battle sisters.
>>45456942
Fucking abysmal when it comes to the Star Wars RPG dice since they are perpetually sold out fucking everywhere
Force and Destiny is a cool game tho
Love their board games and some of their LCGs. Excited to see what they will do with L5R.
Would never, EVER, want to work for them.
