First time poster, short time listener. On the off chance you read this, could you please explain the GW style usage of the word ’span’ as the past tense of ’spin’. Numerous times I have cringed as someone ’span across the room in a whirlwind of death’ or something similar. Please let the editors know the correct modern term is ’spun’, I don’t think ’span’ has been used for centuries. Even books I read as a kid many decades back told me Rapunzel had hair of spun gold, not span gold. cheers!

Unlike most of the players that left comments I am very new to the 40k scene and even newer to the chaos space marine codex (4 months).

I do not know of Iron warriors and Alpha legion (though I know who they are I dont know there previous special rules).

What I dislike is the fact that a champion of slaanesh gifted with rare power transforming him into a deamon prince would lead an army of with 3 units of rotting nurgle marines and then in a land raider full of khorne terminators.

Cause even though new in the scene that is what you see 2 dp lash/units of nurgle troops/khorne tzench termies.

It is my understanding that the dark gods hate each other more than anything else.

It is my belief that when you create a codex it is your responsability to prevent such bugs. You need to put the boundries, Its my personal opinion that boundries and limitations make the game more enjoyable.

The tournament scene should not be disregarded but seen as a pulse for if you have done a good job or not. Though this goes more to fantasy than 40k, when in the gw fantasy finals (last year) 7 out of 10 armies are fantasy deamons and deamon players have played 6-7 games the weekend vs other deamons, you DO have a problem)

There is nothing bad with having a friendly game and obeying the rules to the letter (I dont mean RAW).

Also I have been told that gw dislikes publishing errata because everything should be covered in the book. All GW have computers making the errata accesable to everyone. Errata is a good thing.
It is cheap to produce and cost almost nothing to put on your already running web site (GW). Have you seen the lenght of Warhammer-world errata? They are doing a good job. Its one thing makking a mistake or missing it in playtesting it is another to ignore it.

Also does GW have stores participate in playtesting and if no why not? I never understood the secresy of GW.

Mr Gav Thorpe all these questions /complaints are not directed towards you but as GW staff of your level could maybe make an impact.
I still like GW and I think the 40k basic rules are realy good. I also understand that the codex should be easy enough for someone new to pick up the book and make a list, this was just my litle rant.
Thank you for reading my comment.
Dimitris

How do you deal with contradictory feedback, especially when both critics have a valid point?

Do you find that there is a danger in improving one thing at the cost of another, make one person happy and you upset someone else? In effect that your work becomes different, but not necessarily better to everyone.

On an unrelated note, how do you concentrate on writing when the very computer you are typing on contains so many wonderful distractions?

(Sorry for the barrage of questions. I’m redrafting my thesis at the moment, and while its not going to be a widely circulated fiction novel it’s still 90k words and I want it to read well. The perspective of a professional writer is not something you get every day!)

Mat

I’ve been working on the LATD codex for a long time now, and every time I get feedback I make an attempt to incorporate it. It has made the document much better as I don’t always see loopholes or unclear wording that an outside person can spot instantly. I can’t please everybody though so it is a fine line to walk

The latest version of Codex Chaos Space Marines is something I do like, I am pleased that the rules flow together easily which allows for more time-efficient games and creates fewer complications for newer hobbyists. Whilst I do admit that I miss the individualistic rules and wargear the nine Legions could access, I do not feel discontented that these unique rules were not duplicated and that the limelight was moved away from the big nine. The background and stories of the Renegade Warbands have inspired me, in particular the story about Sergeant Constantinus and Adrastus the Chosen, which I have read many times over and still do!

Something which Jervis touched on in one of his Standard Bearer articles in 2007 (before the release of the Codex) is what basically sums up my opinion of these changes, Chaos is a big topic to cover and has as rich a background as the Imperium, you could design numerous rules for the different Chaos factions out there (which is what the previous Codex and Eye of Terror tried to do) but as Games Workshop is a business (a standpoint I understand as a business student) there are simply not enough people out there who collect any of the nine legions or the Chaos sub-factions to warrant a new Codex and new line of models (which would be a pretty big investment even for a company as large as Games Workshop).

I know on some of the other Forums there is talk of a ‘Legions’ book but I honestly think this is a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to a frenzied debate, in essence I believe people are just being ‘thrown a bone.’ If I see concrete evidence (photographs of models, rules) then maybe I will be swayed, regardless I would probably never buy this ‘Legion’ book simply because I’m quite happy with the one we have.

I was particularly interested in the ‘confirmation bias’ bit, because I kept wondering why I could make really good arguments against things in my head, now I know it’s probably because I wasn’t aware of the strongest arguments for those things.

I must also thank you for ‘Annihilation Squad’, one of the first BL books I read (it may have been preceded by ‘Witch Hunter’ by C.L. Werner, but I read them one after the other, so it could be the other way around). Kage’s bleak, uncaring world view acted as apathy-tinted glasses, that showed a gritty, selfish side of Imperial Guardsmen that I doubt I could have fathomed otherwise. I look forward to reading ‘13th Legion’, and ‘Kill Team’.

Disappointed to hear that you’ve left Games Workshop, but then, all good things must come to an end, eh?

Oh, and that guy who asked you about how you deal with criticism, was the chap who made the fourth comment on your article, ‘Who is Gav Thorpe and why should I care?’.

I also find myself jumping into my own confirmation bias, and this article definitely made me identify that.

Thanks for the guide, Mr. Thorpe

I’d triple underline the bit about not trying to change fans’ minds – unless someone makes an accusation that is genuinely defamatory, there’s little point in getting into an extended argument with a reader.

At best the writer will run rings around an incoherent critic, and just look like they’re shooting fish in a barrel. At worst you come across as prissy and unstable to any third parties who may have liked your work in the first place, but will now have a lower opinion of the author!

1. They are genuinely stupid, or their taste/ expectation is massively different to yours.

2. The work fails to explain itself adequately.

If one or two people don’t get it, it could be the first. If lots of people don’t get it, you can be pretty sure it’s the second! In that case of thelatter it’s usually too late to fix things for that work, so it’s something to be learnt for the next.

Which leads me to something I forgot in the main artice – moving on. Everybody makes mistakes, smart writers don’t repeat them. Don’t get bent out of shape dwelling on things that can’t be changed. Just be better next time.