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#1

Computer Gaming / Re: 40k Custodes - Who here ha...

Last post by Destraex - Yesterday at 11:32:47 PM

I think there is a place for diversity that fits neatly within the existing lore. For instance, the Salamanders are black. The White Scars are Asian/Mongolian. The Adepta Sororitas are all, of course, women. Many agents within the Officio Assassinorum and Inquisition are women, as are many sanctioned psykers, Rogue Traders and navigators.  This works with the lore without feeling forced or imposed. Once they start changing lore to benefit notions of diversity and inclusion is where you piss people off (no, not just the "neckbeards") and start diluting the lore that is organic and "believable" and that has been developed over many decades at this point. It seems totally unnecessary and forced.

Bad for the entire IP in my view.

I agree. I also do not have a neck beard, but am never a fan of retconning especially when it is to appease large corporations. The trivialising of fans care factors who love the hobby and bother to pay for and learn the lore because they like it really boggles my mind.
Biting the hand that feeds for loving the thing you created and now want to reduce to homogenised bog standard could be any other lore now is just sad.
But once your hobby gets large enough to be noticed and have big money injected that's when your hobby gets sucked through a grater, shredded and reinvented as hollywoods boring standard formula. I suspect Amazon might have had a hand in this as it was rumoured that they were going to produce some kind of 40k film.
I am betting we will see computer game and toy flops just like with star wars after the  would be 40k "redux" is accomplished.

If this sort of thing happened to any of the historical titles we play we would I suspect be even more puzzled and concerned at what the next step was? Most people do have common sense after all and like to be immersed in their gaming. Some of us care about realism. 40ks realism is it's lore.
From what I know of 40k and correct me if I am wrong, is that Custodians are even larger space marines that protect the emperor. It follows then and has been lore up until now that only the very strongest of the entire empirium can survive the transformation process and are male as per space marine lore of 40k. There lore not mine and lore of an essentially totalitarian empire that had little tolerance, highly religious and is dystopian as heck. I am trying to say like they are not supposed to be likeable. They are what they are.
This would not be the same for other 40k factions but it is for this one. These are the factions points of difference in character and part of what makes the faction unique.

Like you said, 40k is already diverse and equal in so many ways, why bait and switch?

It's almost enough to make you believe the post modernism stuff people go on about. These days sometimes it feels like your a kid and your mum telling you to include your sister when playing with your friends even though she has no interest whatsoever in the games you play.
There's no need and you generally have to switch the type of game your interested in.

The difference of course is that females do enjoy 40k and play it. Those females that don't (most of them) don't.

#2

Organizations and Equipment / Re: Tanks!

Last post by GDS_Starfury - Yesterday at 11:09:56 PM

https://twitter.com/i/status/1782384406730244266

#3

Computer Gaming / Re: 40k Custodes - Who here ha...

Last post by al_infierno - Yesterday at 11:00:15 PM

Well I for one am glad that culture warriors like Critical Drinker are on the frontline defending us from the evils of... uh... women and black people in media, or something?

#4

Current Events / Re: Russia's War Against Ukrai...

Last post by GDS_Starfury - Yesterday at 10:24:01 PM

I just remember the issues with our nukes in Germany in the 80's.  I get that it's different countries and eras but I just don't see us basing nukes in Poland.  they're quite happy in England and Montana.

#5

Computer Gaming / Re: 40k Custodes - Who here ha...

Last post by Jarhead0331 - Yesterday at 10:05:26 PM

I get your frustration, this tactic of painting dissenters as "neckbeards" or "manbabies" or whatever is extremely obnoxious. It's a lazy and toxic way to shut down discussion.  Same thing happened with True Detective Night Country and, like you said, Disney, or really any IP where white men are replaced or recasted by women or POC.  It's just a lazy way to shut down criticism for other creative choices with an easy shield that picks up traction on Twitter, because inevitably there *are* a few asshats who whip out a full-on swastika and make everybody else look bad.

But equating this to genocide and oppression just seems like a ridiculous hyperbole. This is a luxury hobby we're talking about, not some basic human need that spells life or death for those who are excluded.  Yeah, the article is stupid and intentionally incendiary, but it's pretty tame IMO as far as "dehumanizing a target people to make them seem easier to wipe out" goes.  It's pretty inoffensive ribbing, even with the "neckbeard" jab considered (which interestingly only shows up in the headline, presumably for clicks).

To me it just seems like an IP owner doing what they want with their IP, some fans getting upset about the changes (which is valid), and asshole "journalists" running with the discussion to stir up controversy for clicks.  I don't see any of this as "evil," just a mixture of petty, toxic, and silly.

I think what W8 is talking about is "the bigger picture". There are all these small cultural battles being waged and viewed independently, many of them seem irrelevant, petty or meaningless. But when added together and viewed as a whole, it can look quite disconcerting to many and feel overwhelming.

It sort of reminds me of this lawsuit I read about today. Some guy sued Cinemark because their 24fl soda cups actually only hold 22fl. So, he found a lawyer to sue the film giant over deceptive marketing practices and for charging a premium for something that they are not actually providing to customers. Viewed from the perspective of one guy who received 2fl less than what was advertised on a cup (particularly when you can get a free refill) it seems ridiculous. But when viewed from the perspective of millions of transactions, you can see the impact such deceptive practices could have.

In any event, I find myself someplace in the middle. It's not a big deal, but I think it was a stupid decision, given my comments above. There are ways to include in 40K without alienating others.

#6

Current Events / Re: Russia's War Against Ukrai...

Last post by Uberhaus - Yesterday at 08:47:49 PM

I guess brevity doesn't work for me and I need to continue with quantity. 
One of the reasons the Poles want nuclear deterrence is that they are greatly threatened by the threat of Russian WMDs on their doorstep.  Flight time for an Iskander to Warsaw is two minutes.  https://observer.com/2016/11/russian-missiles-new-target-all-of-europe/  Apparently, Berlin has an extra minute to duck-and-cover.

I agree that it would be a significant escalation for the Russians, and unlikely to occur; but the Russians deployed nuclear arms to Belorus last year and have had them in Kalinigrad since 2016 (I nearly typed 1916).  https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-moving-nuclear-capable-missiles-into-kaliningrad/

Anyone know what the state of the THAAD for Poland is?

#7

Computer Gaming / Re: 40k Custodes - Who here ha...

Last post by Silent Disapproval Robot - Yesterday at 08:35:15 PM

#8

Computer Gaming / Re: 40k Custodes - Who here ha...

Last post by al_infierno - Yesterday at 08:00:49 PM

I think of that as being "normal."

#9

Current Events / Re: Russia's War Against Ukrai...

Last post by Gusington - Yesterday at 07:31:15 PM

If Poland gets nukes (from the West) it will cause more problems than it will solve. 

#10

Computer Gaming / Re: 40k Custodes - Who here ha...

Last post by Gusington - Yesterday at 07:26:02 PM

It never even crossed my mind that they replaced the male characters with females from season to season in True Detective. I didn't even think about it or care.

I loved the first season, enjoyed the second, did not watch the third...but the little tidbits I got of Night Country before it launched really had me interested and I did not, until this thread, think about male or female protagonists.

I guess I am old fashioned.