An Army Book from Games Workshop is 22 Dollars, and using the brand new Dark Elves Army Book for Fantasy as an example, it has 104 pages, some background and lore, some rules, and full color hobby articles about variations on how you can paint up what you get.
I'm a hobbyist, I really enjoy the painting and conversion aspect of miniatures games. I play 40k, Fantasy, have a nice Knight of Dol Amroth Lord of the Rings army, Warmachine, etc. Granted these are pretty serious gaming companies, and maybe they have a higher volume so they can invest more heavily on the printing, but I held off on getting the rules for ACTA until I could buy a used set from another player, who had stopped playing.
Matt, I have the utmost respect for what you have accomplished. I do not want to be in your shoes, I know that you must be bombarded with people of varying intelligence levels all with the solution to all of this games "problems". I don't envy you the task ahead during this playtesting, and I applaud you for opening this all up to us, and I appreciate that the opportunity to play test was new when I started playing. The game attracted me as a new player, and I've invest funds into the models from anywhere I can get them, so you're doing something right.
That said, I can readily compare this proposed 64 page $20 book to what the other companies are offering one shelf over. As someone usually more interested in a Hobby Article than a new Variant or Scenario, I'm already frustrated that this book will not be in color, as with that means the hobby articles will probably be non-existent.
In my free time, I browse the various galleries online, and what I have found is just how limited the galleries are for ACTA. I want to see five of the best painters around take a crack at each ship, show me nice high resolution photographs of different ways I could paint my fleet, give me ideas, give me some measure. As it stands there are just a handful of really strong painters out there painting ACTA minis, and finding their images is work. I just wish that wasn't the case, as expressing myself through the paint jobs on my miniatures is just my favorite part.
Color. Glossy pages. Something new, something worth having, not just paying for a compilation of older gradual updates.
I'll buy one... regardless. I'm not that guy. That said, when it sits next to my full color books from other companies... which one do you think my friends will pick up, and be more interested to try out?
