Me and a few others during last week that raised the question to SFG why it’s so quiet again/still. We know that development is ongoing and that people are working hard, but we still can’t help noticing the decline in activity around GB beyond SFG. Many people like Hat and Cults and others are working to maintain community activity, but it’s still noticable.
We do know there are some plans for the future, including the new minor guild Lumberjacks, new Game Plan deck, and next year’s errata in march.
Jamie Perkins, SFG product owner for Guild Ball stepped in from his vacation to put out a quick answer:
Jamie Perkins — Friday 2024/09/27 7:47 PM
I think the coincidentally poor timing of me being away for two weeks on top of there being a surge in Warmachine activity and the P3 Kickstarter is making things look extra quiet around here.
I’m back from Monday and more than happy to entertain an AMA in the near future.
That is a good point. I agree that much of the increased feeling of quietness might be due to the noticable increase of activity on other stuff from SFG.
Spoken plainly, I’ve got nothing against P3 or Warmachine, but I want the same buzz for Guild Ball. I fully understand that we might not be able to get all that, but still, that’s honestly what we’re hoping for.
Getting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) in the near future sounds great!
I hope we get to that point, and that lots of people pop in to ask him things!
Then today, we got another quick word from SFG on the topic.
My hopes remain high, and I look forward to potential increase in buzz and/or other things!
Jamie Perkins — Monday 2024/10/01 3:08 PM
Just wanted to touch on the ‘buzz’ topic. Before I go any further, I’ll state point blank, Guild Ball is as important to us now as the day we announced the return of official support.
The SFG that exists now is VERY different to the SFG that existed when Guild Ball was first created, even to the SFG that existed in 2020. We’re much larger, more methodical, and our communication lines support multiple games simultaneously. In Guild Ball’s history it’s never really needed to compete for airtime with another miniatures game.
What this all means is that Guild Ball is still finding its place among a large number of loud voices. Our efforts are divided, because they must be for us to make sustainable decisions. The game can’t support a dedicated team on its own yet. Guild Ball’s releases are therefore slower than they were in the 2010s. The key is to make the game consistently and sustainably available, on top of creating new releases and content where we can.
Will Guild Ball be as loud as Warmachine? Not all the time, no. As others have said though, game development is happening, a yearly errata has been committed to, new content is on the horizon.
That said, we have been less consistent with comms than I want us to be, a lot of that falls on me. I’m discussing with our marketing team how we can make Guild Ball comms more consistent.
– Jamie Perkins
Spontaneous list of AMA questions, partly from me at The Bench and partly from others:
- Honest estimation – Will the Lumberjacks be released before newyears?
Full understand that you can’t set any specific date or anything such, just an informal estimation. - How long spoiler season before the release can we expect?
You said before that you have a strong tradition of spoiler posts, and I’ve seen some of that now for Warmachine. Love it! I humbly wish for the same for GB. - In the same spirit as the question above; Can we hope to get another roadmap/timeline like we got in april? Again, very nice stuff you made for warmachine, so I wish for the same for GB here too.
- How many people at SFG would you say are working actively with GB except you?
I mean of course everyone have many different things on their plate, but many of you at SFG probably don’t work on GB at all. So roughly how many are involved in GB, and what parts are they working on? I will not be negative it if it’s really only you, I’m just curious. - What would you say could be ways to achieve the slow but steady growth that you’re looking for with GB, from your perspective?
We know the trend for planned GB events and produced GB content have decreased over time. How can we/you/everyone work towards changing that trend?
I fully understand that WM will likely always be a lot louder and bigger, just curious as to the intention for GB over time. - Can we hope for something regarding one or both of the last missing minor guilds (Brewers and Blacksmiths) during next year, or would that likely be further away?
- Have you heard anything more about the new pitch mats that were teased earlier this year?
- Any hints or news on official tokens or other GB stuff?
- Will the Lamplighters appear on the SFG webshop?
I’d pay to have them printed for me, just haven’t got around to it anywhere else yet. And mainly, overall it makes sense to keep it all together, especially for new players. - If not, why?
- I’d love to pay for GB merch, like posters, mug, tshirt or such. Any such possibilities on the horizon?
Thanks for reading!
Any burning questions that we’ve missed?
