Feast of Glory: Project to Reinvigorate the Stronghold!

Tyrants, Bruisers, Hunters and fellow Ogres!

Good evening fellow Guard

I hope you've all had a good weekend, filled with feasting and brawling!

For a while now, I have been "concerned" by the relative dormancy of the Stronghold over the last year or so. Substantiating my use of the word "dormancy", by no means do I mean that the Hold has been inactive and totally silent. However, it sees the same few sub-boards being posted on, by the same main users, talking about the same few topics, often rehashing old conversations. Do not get me wrong, this is all well and good, and I feel that those boards, users and topics are an integral part of the forum. But, I also remember the days when almost every sub-board was posted on daily, and each was a hive of activity, with dozens of lives topics, and hundreds of fresh posts per day.

My aim with this post, and future efforts, is to bring back those levels of activity, ressurecting many of the things that drew users to the site every day, but also the introduction of fresh and exciting ideas. Before I went full steam ahead and put into play loads of half-baked notions I cooked up, I wanted to run the project as a whole by you guys, to gauge your input and maybe see if we can put together a solid idea of what the site really wants/needs...

So far, my list of ideas - and these really are just ideas at the present - stands at the below items;
- Annual Painting Contest (a la Golden Hat et al) with actual real world prizes
- Revitalise the WFO sub-forum, with competitions (Arena of Death etc) including an annual league table, novelty battles and maybe the promotion of other gaming systems
- Bring back The Bellower Webzine
- Regularly run competitions in various fields, including WFO, Fiction, Army List creation, Painting, Conversion etc

So guys, what do you think?

JJ

As you can you see from the above, for a long time now I have been keen to build the Stronghold back up to what it used to be - I want it to not only be the greatest Ogre forum on the 'net, I want it to be known as one of the best Warhammer forums.

It's a commonly recognised fact that the community we harbour here are by far the greatest bunch on the web, not only in knowledge but friendliness and community spirit. I want us to capitalise on that, and draw our experience, desires and knowledge together to build this forum to great heights. I'm not aiming for unrealistic goals, I just want us all to have a place to celebrate our hobby, and to rejoice in the joys of having a community to share it with

This won't be an instant fix, and it won't be a one-man effort, but judging by the recent feedback in a thread created by Jimmy (which can be found below!) you lot are more than keen to assist in various ways and to various degrees. Between you, me and the rest of the moderator team, I know we can make this place great (again!).

So, the purpose of this thread is to act as an open forum. I want to hear your thoughts about what is great about this place, what is not so great, what you want to see, what we can do to make it better for you all and anything else that is on your mind right now.

To kick start this process, I spent a portion of my evening last night jotting down some ideas - and they are just that, ideas! - and I want your feedback. If you don't like them, tell me. If you think they're great, tell me. If you like parts of them, but have suggestions about how they'd be better with tweaks, tell me.

- Annual Ogre Painting Competition; Pretty much following the same principles of our contemporaries over at CDO and Carpe Noctem. An annual painting competition, with only Ogre-related entries allowed, one month to complete your entry, then a week of public voting. Winner wins a prize.
- Annual Painting Competition; Same as above really, but without the Ogre-related restriction, which caters for the demographic of our members who don't actually collect Ogres (gasp!)...
- Annual Conversion Competition; Pretty much the same guidelines as above, but focused on the conversion of a model. Some of our members are great with a paintbrush, but some excel in creating one-off models. There should be a competition aimed at them too!
- Bring back the Stronghold Member Awards; These were a great idea, and Corai used to do a stand up job of running them every year. I can't speak for everyone, but of the guys I did used to speak to about them (StoneDog, Malekith, BigD et al), they were a nice touch, and being nominated for something was really quite humbling. I just think they promote a sense of togetherness amongst the members. No real guidelines need to be put together, we can just dig out those old ones.
- Paint 'n' Trade; As many participants as want to take part, all choose an unpainted model, have one month to paint it, and then send to a randomly drawn participant. Nice way for the forum to bond, and generates a bit of a buzz. People always like this sort of interaction and banter.
- Gnoblog of the Month; Pretty self-explanatory really. A new thread is set up each month, and people vote in the last week of the month, giving a brief explanation why. The winner is given a pet gnoblar. Taking this one step further, tallying the years winners, the person with the most wins gets a prize?
- Quarterly Competitions; Very much like the fantastic "Hunter Competition" run by G_H and Conogre. The theme will change each quarter, as would the criteria, but would hope to drum up interest in the more vocational side of the hobby and rewards would of course be a drive, but I was most impressed by how just having a bit of friendly competition acted as a motivator!
- Overhaul of the main areas of the forum, compiling archives and FAQ's into easy-to-read threads, and doing some general "spring cleaning"
- Updates on key areas; mainly looking at the Legendary Gnoblogs, Rules and Cookbook areas. They are great concepts, with decent content, but have fallen dormant in recent years, and I would like to refresh them and keep them reasonably frequently updated.
- Warhammer Fantasy Online; I know this isn't everyone's "cup of tea" (don't ask, it's a British thing!), but it used to generate a huge buzz around the forum. Rivalries, alliances and banter were a common thing around here, and I can readily admit that for a while they were the only thing keeping me coming back. These could be great again, and I would love to see them pick up again!
- Arena of Death; Lexy used to do a great job of running this, and like above, it would just be a case of digging out the old rules. Those people who aren't really cool with playing full blown games of WHFB over the internet, might be more inclined to play skirmish-sized battles instead. It was great fun, and just created a bit of a buzz around the forum.
- WFO Stronghold Cup; WFO using usual tournament format, with entrants drawn from a hat. Finalists get a pet gnoblar, overall winner gets an honorific title, and a prize? Generates a buzz, pretty much like any competition/tournament does, as well as appealing to the gamers in our membership. Might be a good draw for new members too!
- Revive the "Legacy Army" Project; Without sounding self-important, this was a great idea and it was a little sad to see it die. I understand the reasons behind it losing steam, so to speak, but I would gladly have someone else take on the mantle to drive this one forward. Failing that, I will. Thoughts?
- Boost the "Off Topic" sub-forum; Once upon a time, this sub was a thriving, bustling hub of chit-chat about everything from other war-gaming systems, to films, books and video games. Nothing was off bounds (within reason!), and it was not only a great way to discuss the other things we love, but to build rapport and comradery with your fellow Ogres. This kinda died as the older users left, and new bloods came on but perhaps didn't feel like that was something they could do. Well, not any more!
- The Bellower; I wanna see this come back. Whether it is in it's old iteration, or a new, improved and quarterly version. I just think it was a great way to broadcast what the Stronghold was about to those who may not actively or passively be viewers of the forum. Not just that, but it also gave a feeling of "togetherness" through our productivity and a sense of "Look, this is what we've done. We made this!"
- Increase use of Social Media; I totally agree with this, and it is something I will look into. Definitely the Facebook page and Twitter accounts could do with some love. But, maybe even the YouTube channel.
- Improve the image galleries; This seems to be a common wish amongst you all. I'm not sure about the feasability of this one on a coding side of things, but it is certainly something I would be happy to look into. I know the new server allows us a lot of wiggle room on new, shiny techno doodads. It's just a case of knowing how to do it.
- Merchandise;This one is a maybe. We've tried to go down the merch route before, and whilst it was an amazing concept on paper, the demand simply wasn't there. If there was definitely solid demand for it and a lot of interest - enough to justify the upfront production costs - I would definitely pursue it. Imagine it! Stronghold themed mugs and tees!
- Sponsorship;We have pre-existing sponsorship deals penned with a couple of indie stockists, but it has been brought to my attention that perhaps it would be appreciated if they were globally located. This is something I would need to discuss with Hragged, as it is him who would have the final say on this, but I think it is a more than fair request, and I will look into it.
- Stronghold Gathering;This is something that has been done before, at Gamesday circa 2008. It was great, and really nice to be able to put a name to the face. But, it was a little unorganised, and the venue wasn't accommodating for what we had in mind really. So, how would people feel about a day at Warhammer world? I could book some tables, we could have a bunch of battles, maybe even a mega battle, grab some food and beer in Bugman's and make a day out of it?

Eternally a servant of the Maw,

JJ

I'm in!

Just to get started; who owns the site? How many people are in the admin group?

I'll be back over the weekend to give some input and see what make sense in my eyes to get the site updated.

Also as a start, would it make sense for the people who are deeper involved to present themselves so the rest of us know a bit of whom we are interacting with? : )

Onwards : )

Great to hear!

The site is owned by Hragged, and he has sole ownership. It was created as a labour of love, and has been entirely at his expense and exertion

In terms of admin/mod group, there are 7 of us, of whom half are active or semi-active.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts

JJ

theres a few changes i wouldlike to see as i think they would improve the forum
1 enable pics to be voted on in terms of general coolness and painting. marks out of ten for each pic in a gallery. possibly a gnoblarif u score a ten. Its a bit like the dakka dakka forum. this could encorace more people to use the forum to get feedback.
2 more active updated on facebook, keeps people intrested
3 shop, merchandise. possible links with a good rate to retailers
4 im sure we could get sponsored models from many of the companys to give away as prizes or raffles. they would benifit from the free advertising

good luck with the project i think a change is due

Sweet! Let's do this!

I'd love to do archiving/organizing, but I know I don't have access to that; PLUS, I'm not really sure how to do that on websites... But, I'm very nit-picky with the organization of my computer and books and models and so on and so forth...

For Arena of Death, I'm assuming we'd use Universal Battle or Battle Chronicler?? I'd really love to be a part of this too, but hopefully the primer/rules will be well set up in a sticky

As for WFO, is that F2P? I'd try it out, but I don't really have much free budget at this time 

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But yeah, glad you're a mod, JJ! This is very excellent!!

+++++++

EDIT:

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has been shut down! Is that different from WFO? They officially closed as of 12/31/2013... SAD day... Good thing I didn't buy it when I thinking about it

I don't have any really big ideas, but a slew of little ones...

1) I love the idea of contests. Best army List. Best battle report. Best rant. Worst advice ever... etc.
2) New army section. When I know a new army is being released, first thing I do is see if anyone has posted anything about it. What the new army is like. How it affects ogres, etc. Maybe a new section dedicated to new armies. Oh, and I LOVE reading about rumors. Especially when they turn out to be wrong...
3) I love all the battle reports. I would also love if there was a tourney report section. I would love to read about who won the tourney, with what kind of army composition.
4) I think the army tactic section is very hard to read and use. Having those single threads containing all the conversations becomes cumbersome. Can we have sub-sections so we can have separate conversations on how to handle Chaos Nights Vs. How to handle the Demon Prince?

Guys, just a quick update for more will follow tomorrow.

I heard back from Hragged and he is deeply apologetic about not being active so much recently. Real life gets in the way for all of us, and sometimes your forum time has to come secondary to your life outside of our digital kingdom. He appreciates the activity and contribution of such a fantastic community, and his passion for the Stronghold is mirrored by you guys

He has upgraded the server for the site, meaning more stability, and greater potential for size and content (which I will come onto). He is also working feverishly on a new site for us, which should be up in time for our tenth anniversary, in the summer. This site, as well as being shiny, awesome and revamped will allow us moderators a greater sense of power, so that should our venerable Overtyrant go AWOL for any amount of time, the Stronghold can continue to soldier on on his stead

JJ

Guys, just a quick update for more will follow tomorrow.

I heard back from Hragged and he is deeply apologetic about not being active so much recently. Real life gets in the way for all of us, and sometimes your forum time has to come secondary to your life outside of our digital kingdom. He appreciates the activity and contribution of such a fantastic community, and his passion for the Stronghold is mirrored by you guys

He has upgraded the server for the site, meaning more stability, and greater potential for size and content (which I will come onto). He is also working feverishly on a new site for us, which should be up in time for our tenth anniversary, in the summer. This site, as well as being shiny, awesome and revamped will allow us moderators a greater sense of power, so that should our venerable Overtyrant go AWOL for any amount of time, the Stronghold can continue to soldier on on his stead

JJ

Well it's good news we have heard from him and that for the most part he is alright! Reading through the above ideas look good  I will try and help anyway I can.  I too appreciate how real life can take up time.

Regards Zolas

Good to hear that about our esteemed Overtyrant! Real life does have its commitments and requirements, so it's understandable

And the new ideas above look really good. When you start getting to grips with the changes, I'll gladly help as much as I can Even small inputs can be of use for the Greater Good (pun intended, I have a Tau army as well )...

- Loran

Tis true...the fabled Overtyrant of the Stronghold has returned from his long quest to visit the Sky Titans' cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces of Araby, the solemn temples of the Empire and of course the Great Maw itself and he has returned with a message; that we Ogres are such stuff as dreams are made on...

and anything can happen in a dream so let's make this forum as dreamy as it can be

(any Shakespeare fans...?)

Trust a Thespian to make it wordy This true, he bears good news about the future of the Hold, and its proof that we should press on with plans to give this place a new buzz

JJ

im sure all this will take up funds of some sorts to do, how about we all do an auction, either ebay or on hear sell off a couple of models we wont miss

A couple of the things that I really enjoy about the forum (being a newby to the Stronghold) are the achievements and pet Gnoblars!  I am having fun working my way through the achievements.

I am also really jealous of the folks that have the animated Gnoblars in their signature block.  How the heck do they do that?  Is there a way for us to automatically have our pets displayed that way?

One more suggestion, where we log our wins and losses against different races.  We need to update that thread.  There have been a ton of new books out and I can't tell what wins-losses etc are against the new books or are legacy.

I am kicking around the forum fairly often, so if there is any help I can provide please give me a shout!

I think the layout of the forum is in my opinion very easy to navigate around, probably the easiest I've come across.  The only improve I can think of for it is perhaps having unread topics in bold so you can open a section and immediately see what has a new post in it.

You didn't specifically mention it so I may as well, the pictures section definitely needs an update.  I think if it's possible an open upload area would be great along with the voting system mentioned before (like CMON).
And then you could have a top 5 pictures of the month and all time area for those that rate highly.
It would be cool if in the forum pages there is a random selection of 2 or 3 pics down one side that directly link you to that album in the photos section, it changes every time you refresh the page.

And lastly (this ones a bit of a stretch) but a sponsor company such as Wayland is only really useful to people in the UK, how about trying to get a sponsor from each major continent that's a gaming centre i.e USA, UK and Aus.

Dedled

I'd honestly enjoy observing a lot of the contests you mentioned as a bystander. The one I'd actually participate in if you held it now is the Paint 'n' Trade, which sounds fun and good way to build up the community.

Coming here as a newbie the forum seems great already, for what it's worth!

I love it when a plan comes together.    Will be great to bring the Stronghold back to it's former glory.

Here's a thought of mine-

  Most sites have competitions for painting or modelling or whatever. From what I seen from several places is it's usually a shoot-out between 2-3 recognised good painters, modellers or whateverers who hang out on the site and the noobs either get ignored, relegated or disheartened while the big kids revel in ever more empty internet praise.

 Here's my suggestion. Have a 'new-comers' painting competition. Nothing flash like "Dragon of the month" or anything, just a rank and file model of their choosing.

  Then, pair each entry with an experienced, skilled painter. This 'skilled' painter then acts as a mentor to the newbie. They can chat on here, they can email if they like or they can have their own thread. Hell, if they're in the same city they can even meet at a FLGS. Whatever works for them.

  Then, repeat the competition 2 months later. First prize, and eminent kudos, to most improved and their 'coach'.

  I think it would offer something rare on other forums, develop the community and give some new guys a chance to really get some constructive feedback.

  What do you reckon? It'll probably need some admin finicking to arrange numbers and such but on the whole, it's up to the teams to produce an entry.

Here's a thought of mine-

  Most sites have competitions for painting or modelling or whatever. From what I seen from several places is it's usually a shoot-out between 2-3 recognised good painters, modellers or whateverers who hang out on the site and the noobs either get ignored, relegated or disheartened while the big kids revel in ever more empty internet praise.

 Here's my suggestion. Have a 'new-comers' painting competition. Nothing flash like "Dragon of the month" or anything, just a rank and file model of their choosing.

  Then, pair each entry with an experienced, skilled painter. This 'skilled' painter then acts as a mentor to the newbie. They can chat on here, they can email if they like or they can have their own thread. Hell, if they're in the same city they can even meet at a FLGS. Whatever works for them.

  Then, repeat the competition 2 months later. First prize, and eminent kudos, to most improved and their 'coach'.

  I think it would offer something rare on other forums, develop the community and give some new guys a chance to really get some constructive feedback.

  What do you reckon? It'll probably need some admin finicking to arrange numbers and such but on the whole, it's up to the teams to produce an entry.

+1. That's a really cool idea!

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If we do start the Bellower back up, it'd be fun to have a "Recipe of the Issue" section... Since we're Ogres, we should know how to cook/eat well! Cooking happens to be a budding hobby of mine (and, I'm somewhat considering a career change into that in a few years... we'll see )

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Someone should compile all the ideas listed! Or something, I guess, I dunno

In order to gather new members we could tweak the name of the forum to something slightly more generic, im an ogre player at heart and thats what drew me hear with a google search. but generic players/collectors may not search out this particular forum. know this is a wild suggestion so please dont bite my head off for it

Okay, the feedback and interest so far is great guys. Thanks for the ideas, comments and suggestions, keep them coming!

Just a general update of sorts. I have updated the original post to incorporate some of the new ideas from you guys, so feel free to check them out, and again let me know your thoughts!

I very much like the idea a few posts up about one of the many competitions we could run would be sort of like a "mentored" competition, partnering those of us who are hobby "young bloods" with those of us who are recognised "hobby heroes". Would this be the general consensus amongst you?

Also, what are your guys thoughts on the Paint 'n' Trade event? I was thinking of running this one sooner rather than later...

Also, to clear up the bit about Warhammer Fantasy Online. Basically, it was a system created a few years back (in the relative infancy of Warhammer forums), where it allowed you to play games of Warhammer online, with members of the forum. Whilst a little more laboured and lengthy than your conventional game of Warhammer, it allowed people to try out new ideas/lists, and also allowed people who don't have an active local gaming scene a chance to play. It's been somewhat superceded by Universal Battle et al, but the format I would certainly be open to restyling to modern technology, it was more the concept I was interested in reviving

Arena of Death was very much based on the principle of miniature gaming online, but on a smaller scaled than the above WFO. Instead, each player built one character from any army book, tooled up to a specific points limit set by the organiser, and then the competition was a Warhammer battle (effectively!) just using that character. It was a quicker format than the "full fat" WFO, but was a great way to build a buzz around the forum

Lastly, how would you guys like to handle the "Know Your Enemy" section? There are a lot of people suggesting the current ones are a little outdated - which I wholeheartedly agree with! - and they are perhaps in need of updating. I was thinking of archiving each thread, and posting up a fresh thread for each opposing army, and allowing you guys to discuss them in each thread, and compile the general consensus in the top post of each one. Thoughts?

JJ

Lastly, how would you guys like to handle the "Know Your Enemy" section? There are a lot of people suggesting the current ones are a little outdated - which I wholeheartedly agree with! - and they are perhaps in need of updating. I was thinking of archiving each thread, and posting up a fresh thread for each opposing army, and allowing you guys to discuss them in each thread, and compile the general consensus in the top post of each one. Thoughts?

JJ

I think, perhaps, we should archive any posts that are officially related to any of the older editions of the armies. From there-in, someone can "compile" some of the base thoughts that have been represented so far by posters; or, maybe just have people re-post in a new forum and basically regenerate any information that has been so far developed for each opposing army.

The other minor problem with the KYE threads is that people get off on tangents within them, which makes it hard to read them and follow the full thread more easily. the KYE threads should be people's personal experience, posted once, with little or no feedback from other posters (unless they wish to debate, which then should be started as a new thread entirely separate of the KYE, and then hyperlinked in the primary post). Of course, strict guidelines to follow, but it would help keep the section from feeling too cluttered.

Ultimately, the Know Your Enemy threads could be more like personal warstories and experiences about how to best deal with each army, and advice from their own experience. Any debating about the particulars of a certain army, or about special rules between different armies, should be saved for the Rules, Questions, and FAQs forum, or maybe even a new subforum for "Our Rules vs. Their Rules" FAQs. Which, would have been a great forum for the great Teclis-Hellheart debate, as an example

Lastly, how would you guys like to handle the "Know Your Enemy" section? There are a lot of people suggesting the current ones are a little outdated - which I wholeheartedly agree with! - and they are perhaps in need of updating. I was thinking of archiving each thread, and posting up a fresh thread for each opposing army, and allowing you guys to discuss them in each thread, and compile the general consensus in the top post of each one. Thoughts?

JJ

I think, perhaps, we should archive any posts that are officially related to any of the older editions of the armies. From there-in, someone can "compile" some of the base thoughts that have been represented so far by posters; or, maybe just have people re-post in a new forum and basically regenerate any information that has been so far developed for each opposing army.

The other minor problem with the KYE threads is that people get off on tangents within them, which makes it hard to read them and follow the full thread more easily. the KYE threads should be people's personal experience, posted once, with little or no feedback from other posters (unless they wish to debate, which then should be started as a new thread entirely separate of the KYE, and then hyperlinked in the primary post). Of course, strict guidelines to follow, but it would help keep the section from feeling too cluttered.

Ultimately, the Know Your Enemy threads could be more like personal warstories and experiences about how to best deal with each army, and advice from their own experience. Any debating about the particulars of a certain army, or about special rules between different armies, should be saved for the Rules, Questions, and FAQs forum, or maybe even a new subforum for "Our Rules vs. Their Rules" FAQs. Which, would have been a great forum for the great Teclis-Hellheart debate, as an example

Would it be something you'd personally be interested in spearheading?

Another update; just added another event to the OP. A Stronghold gathering at Warhammer World, for those inclined and able

JJ

I'd love to help get the bellower back up and running. By help I mean generating and writing content, someone else would have to do the tech side/layout of it.

Re-starting the Know Your Enemy threads is a good idea, a lot of those armies have been updated and the meta has changed in a lot of areas. Maybe creating one thread with links to the old ones inside, then sticky and lock it might be a good idea.

The painting competitions and gnoblog of the month are a great idea. The only problem is that they haven't been too consistent, different people take the helm(or sometimes not at all), the amount of judges change a lot, style of voting, etc. Maybe we could select people who can always run it or a solid set of rules to use each time?

-GL

Hey folks, apologies for my absence (10 years is a long time to be at the helm of anything!), it's good to be back and great to see all these ideas!

I've been doing some work on the technical side of things over the last few days as Josh mentioned, for the moment I'll continue to focus on that while our Stronghold Guard get some projects and events running

I'll refresh the Know Your Enemy threads soon, it's something I used to do regularly but haven't been doing due to my time away from the Stronghold.

Cheers!

I feel like a total dork because I managed to miss this thread. 

Maybe because there isn't often any news so I don't really check it....that could be one thing that could be changed?

If it's basic ideas for improvement then I have a couple (no doubt already mentioned as I am so late to the party!);

First I think that all new members should post an introduction individually rather than it being one long thread. This gives people the opportunity to actually say hi to each person rather than it just being a rolling thread.

The Gallery needs updating badly. I have seen some amazing work from members on the forum..truly breathtaking stuff; but the gallery is full of really old photo's and some descriptions (like slave giant) that are out dated. The last time I looked I don't think there was even a picture of an Ironblaster ( I could be wrong though).

I would be tempted to tidy up the banners at the top of the screen; I am not sure if the Bellower and Podcasts things are really used much so; if you revamp the product (magazine and podcasts) then keep em, otherwise too much info just confuses the less IT literate watchers and they then find it harder to navigate the forum.

I agree with whoever said "archive all the old rule discussion stuff". No point in telling people how to do stuff from old editions of rules.

I would love to see the bellower back again...but I am very aware what a massive job this would be to get this up and running again. If you would like something writing for it (like an article)  however; well if it's in my power to do it, then I will.

It is obvious that I really like competitions/ giveaways/ painting challenges etc. I would certainly explore these more as (IMO) this really keeps peoples interest and enthuses participation from the community. I thing the couple of little things that me and Connor did got members participating, so this can only be a good thing. People love free stuff and will often create great works to get it (just look at the amazing Hunter models people did) truly inspiring work from people so; more of this would be cool by me. Although I understand the financial restrictions of this to the forum.

Ok, that will do for now. If I come up with more stuff then I will let you know. I hope this helps because I would really like to see this forum as the best Warhammer army specific forum on the net.

G_H (or just AL)

Some incredible ideas here coming out guys.  I just want to pick some out that spark my interest.

The Know Your Enemy threads, whilst they're a great asset can also get off topic rather quickly.  I think the valuable information needs to be collaborated every month perhaps and then edited into the first post.  Keep it nice and simple with a format (lots to add to this however) such as this and then add in respective points later on:

Enemy - Tomb Kings
Pros - Large magic phases, Impact hits, Ambushing units, access to Lore of Death
Cons - Slow, crumble, low I,

Units to watch out for - Tomb Guard Deathstars, Casket of Souls, Stalkers, Catapults, Chariots
Units to take - Sniper Maneaters, Mournfang, Leadbelchers, Ironblaster

Something like that?  I've done several tactical articles over on Khemri.net so I don't mind running this one at all?

Sazel mentioned food.  Me loves food.    I think this is a really unique spin on something that I've never seen on other forums, I wouldn't even mind doing an article on what gamers normally eat/drink in their area?  In fact I'll wander off and start the thread now....

@The_Captain - this idea is sensational, that's another unique spin and is a great way of capturing new members I would think.  Great thinking mate! 

Yay, Hragged's back! Welcome 'home'

If he handles the Know Your Enemy threads, that's cool, but if you'd like I can help clean 'em up. You just have to tell me what the basics are, and I'd be glad to help

I like Jimmy's condensed version. Maybe we can do it in the same format as the "Stronghold's Official List of Battles" thread, where there's a few automatic criteria that each person has to fill out.

Like...
1. Pros for Ogres against enemy
2. Pros for enemy against Ogres
3. Key Targets
4. Key Take-a-longs
5. (optional) Personal Experience Story

...I think that'd help keep the threads clean and clear.

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I enjoy contemplating all these projects! This has been probably the most interest I've had since joining the Stronghold! (And I've been posting somewhat regularly for the past couple years ).

I feel like a total dork because I managed to miss this thread. 

This reply made me chuckle! Thanks for that on a glum Wednesday morning

Okay guys, feel free to keep contributing to this thread, and the Mod team and I will attempt to implement as many of the ideas as we possibly can. As you can see, the Paint 'n' Trade is already up, hopefully the Know Your Enemy section is being cleared up as we speak, I will nominate those of you interested to take the helm on writing/compiling new one's, and I am going to look at which of the above ideas I can implement in the shortest time frame, and which may need a little extra time

JJ

Just a thought about the Know Your enemy section, what about we start running an 'enemy of the month' where we pick an army, pull it apart then at the end of the month we've got a solid tactical discussion about that which information can be pulled out of it?  Would also be a good opportunity to link any battle reports against said army to the first post for any newbies looking for examples or seasoned vets getting more ideas?

This sounds like a solid idea Jimmy. It would be interesting to set this as an additional challenge to people on the OS to physically go out and "find" the army of the month (lets say VC for example) then play them. Then feed back a batt rep to the OS that could be used as a basis for gathering knowledge of dealing with each enemy force.

Either way I like the idea. The enemy of the month challenge would help to build a current basis for facing each force and because of constant updates to each army, it would be organic as the Enemy would change on a rotational basis and they would come around again as each book is updated.

The only tiny thing that would put me off this is the impending new rule book shortly to come out. None-the-less this shouldn't be a barrier to doing it.

G_H

I like the monthly enemy idea It should also prevent there being a whole swathe of threads discussing the same sorta thing, and will help keep conversation unified and going in one direction

JJ

some food for thought for you guys, in order to keep our members active could we get some specifics on how to become legendary in the gnoblog section. ive gatherd that its not been updated in some time so it could be a page we have not used for quite some time, possibly have one complited gnoblog, ogre based, added once every three months.

I agree It's something that certainly should be updated more regularly. That said, I don't think it should be added to, for the sake of being added to. If there is a blog (Dedled's Nippon-themed Ogres for example!) that deserves it, then definitely!

JJ

also what about makeing members legendary too, perhaps playing so many games with ogres. meeting another stronghold member, contribution an article have like a tick box system with a set of mini acivements in it.
another idea was to have anyone that has paid to back the stronghold have an achivement or something that apears on ther profile.

^ I like this legendary thing, though I have never heard of it if it already exists. I would heartily recommend that Dedled and his Nippon ogres go legendary because, quite frankly they are just that.

I would also suggest that if someone runs 10 competitions then they could go legendary too! 

G_H

Heres another one we could tidy up, the feedback section for traders in the snoblarmarket. if im about to trade with someone i would need to read all 8 pages to find there feedback score. hows about we have a tally like this

jonny5  +1
just -josh +2
gnoblarhearder +1

as each member writes feedback a mod could add there feedback to the score for quick refrence, in alphabetical order. possibly even delete the feedback the member has given to keep the forum clear.

I agree with this ^ it's a sound idea. It would be nice to see stat's on one page in an easy access format. The trading thing is slightly different from saying "I want to give someone a Gnoblar because of a great model/ bat rep". The sales rep thing is slightly more important from the point of view that people are trading or spending cash.

I'm seconding J5's Idea here.

G_H

i would be happy to volonteer to admain this section.

And I am happy for you to do so The way I see it, there's two ways of doing it. Either scrap the existing thread, start fresh and only include feedback scores moving forward. Or, go through the existing thread and update the front page to reflect the past scores of every single member who has traded via here from start to now

Obviously one is more laborious than the other, but the choice is yours

Let me know what you want to do with the existing thread

JJ

I would say a compromise could be good, say all the transactions from this year. tho i would happily look threw some individuals scores for feedback should they desire.

had a little look at current feedback going to go from page 7, there seems to be plenty of members still active from that time. started a new thread, could one of the admin plese sticky it?. also whats anyones thoughts on removing posts once feedback has been decidded/updated?

In addition to having an "enemy of the month", where everyone can put up a battle report on fighting that army (then rip their list to shreds  and talk tactics) I would also like to see the " Crazy list of the month" challenge.

All it would entail is a "crazy list" being posted up and people agreeing to take it to one game in a month and play it. There was talk at one point about a 10 Mournfang list, but I don't remember reading anyone actually playing it. For me this is one of the problems with these crazy ideas; someone comes up with a mad list, everyone agrees it would be fun to play, a couple of people point out that it would never win anything (urgh! Who cares? That's not really the point) then it's analysed to death with special mention to how you can't have it in a tournament (well, DUH!) then it all gets forgotten.
Why not actually make it a feature? A crazy list is devised and everyone is invited/ challenged to play that list for one game in a month, then report back to everyone. (pictures would of course be compulsory!). It would create some fun reading for Battle reports and some interesting encounters.

Just a thought.

G_H

Perhaps, because it would cost too much to keep chopping and changing lists? Especially some of the more eccentric lists like the 10 Mournfang List. I was very intent on running this list, but when you consider getting enough of them to field it would set you back almost £113 (assuming you don't already have any MFC), it's just really tough to do. I agree though, I wish there was more people trying these lists, and not just TheoryHammer'ing everything It's a tough shout!

JJ

Resurrecting The Bellower: http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=28409.0

Loving the resurrection of the Bellower. This is definitely steps in the right direction.

RE: Legendary gnoblogs and legendary things in general. We just need to clarify what this status means:
1.described in or based on legends.
2.remarkable enough to be famous; very well known.

So - IMO, if a gnoblog is legendary, it has to have:
1. Been around for an established period of time
2. Be of extraordinary merit
3. Be something we truly believe will still be spoken about and highly regarded in a year or two

I think if all these criteria are fit then it is a legendary gnoblog. However, I would be ruthlessly harsh with this, and standards would need to be supreme 

As for legendary members.... I think it might create a sort of elite community that has recently been spoken of (and discouraged due to making the forum less accessible) like a boys club. Ogre Achievements serve the purpose of showing members experience with the army, and their post count shows their dedication to the community here.

All views expressed are my own 

As for legendary members.... I think it might create a sort of elite community that has recently been spoken of (and discouraged due to making the forum less accessible) like a boys club. Ogre Achievements serve the purpose of showing members experience with the army, and their post count shows their dedication to the community here.

I certainly agree with this, can be even off putting for new members to ask questions or put their comments forward.  'Senior' members shouldn't be distinguished by a legendary status or post count, but by quality of posts, quality content to different forums, being friendly and helpful and I think the Ogre achievements like you've mentioned are great so far at doing their job.

Is there any merit to custom titles however bestowed upon esteemed members of the forum perhaps?  Is that within the scope of possibility?

Is there any merit to custom titles however bestowed upon esteemed members of the forum perhaps?  Is that within the scope of possibility?

It's something that has occurred in the past (me, Wildcard, Corai et al, have one). I would certainly like to look into it. Whilst a legendary status of sorts, would certainly create an elitist air and perhaps perturb new users, I feel that perhaps there should be some item of recognition for continued contribution to the community (beyond being made a mod!)

JJ

I sincerely agree JJ.

Im so pleased with how fast and also how well things have progressed thus far, keep up the good work everyone well done to you all!!

Probably worth bumping this up to see how it's all going?  Has everyone got clear defined roles and deadlines?

Just to reignite this bad boy:

How does everyone feel this project is going?
I think feedback would be welcome from all angles here alongside open discussion, from new members this week, all the way through to the mods themselves.

Personally, I've noticed a marked difference in the Stronghold in the last month or two with a few new faces specifically adding a real buzz about here and allowing the community to come back together. The mods are working hard to create some buzz and keep events going and keep things ticking over smoothly.

Do folks have any feedback for us on how we're progressing?
After all, we may be Ogres with an Overtyrant, but surely a democracy of Tyrants is the best way

Can I just try and reiterate BB's point here.

It is really important that we get some feedback on how people think things are going with regards to the work we are doing in trying to ensure the Ogre Stronghold is as good a forum as we would like it to be.

For us to do that any comments, be they good bad or indifferent are welcome. In effect this is your forum, so we need your input on what you would like to see here and how the things we are doing are perceived to be going.

Anything at all is better than nothing. 

Captain Sensible of the Damned 1989
because we love you guys...we're not doing it for the money, because there is no money!

G_H

Im hardly the most active member but I do log in daily to see how things are going on.
The one thing that did keep me active was the paint and trade event and I think that went very well.
Maybe another event like this in the future would be fun or something like a secret santa? ( it is only 4 months away )

I have personally really found the arena of death and competitions very enjoyable!  AoD should become like a regular thing (not too regular though dont want people to get board now!)  Even the better thing along side it is really fun!  These few things have really helped to get things more active on the stronghold for me!

Kind regards Zolas.

Y'know, I think there's been a lot of positive improvements that have been brought to the Stronghold lately, and although we're all trying to pitch in a little more to make it more interesting, honestly... We need a major Fantasy update before any new excitement can get stirring again.

The last couple Fantasy updates have been alright, and good changes, for Dwarves and Wood Elves. But, really, for us Ogres, there wasn't much for us to consider or discuss about them. (At least, IMO, but you never know).

When they release 9th Edition, or maybe even some more Ogre stuff (which'll probably not happen, since we're well balanced more-or-less right now, even for one of the older books at this point), then we'll have something more to inspire conversations or bring more questions or army lists or what-not to the forums.

In the meantime, though, I have enjoyed the Paint-n-trade event, as well as this Arena of Death (which I'm about to die in most likely lol...). Good stuff!

Y'know, I think there's been a lot of positive improvements that have been brought to the Stronghold lately, and although we're all trying to pitch in a little more to make it more interesting, honestly... We need a major Fantasy update before any new excitement can get stirring again.

Although ours is a different game and we are not affiliated with Citadel Miniatures, I think this may help to stir your excitement... 

I for one am most certainly excited for those minis!! Keep us updated as the KS moves on!!

Thanks,

Ogres are leading by a thread (last I saw something like 1%), with over 500+ people voting there, so that means more than 100+ fans of our fat guys 

Here are a couple of WiP pics from the first out of 4 Ogre Units we have prepared for this Mercenary faction, the "Troopers" (without counting warmachines, Characters etc!)





Also, -as we've been asked on our FB page on this-, EVERY unit will have Command upgrades as stretch goals. In our game, we use a musician, a leader/champion and a banner bearer, so that would be necessary for us anyway.

We'll try posting here the exact date of launch, everything is on track and even if theoretically we could launch now (project has been submitted and approved by KS), we will be doing so after wrapping up everything as best as possible.
We will be communicating the exact number of stretch goals the Talliareum Ogre Army has been planned for. Nothing more, nothing less, we mean to avoid at every cost overloading our program. 

Wow, incredible work.  This deserves its own topic however though to make sure the rest of the Stronghold know about it.

Wow, incredible work.  This deserves its own topic however though to make sure the rest of the Stronghold know about it.

Hmmm... I think that is a good idea! By then the final date of launch will have been decided too, we should be posting that too, so people will know for certain. We are trying to make it end of January, but the call isn't mine to make 

For those who know what a hurricane a KS can turn to, it can become difficult monitoring all forums, blogs etc in which we post news of this, so we would greatly appreciate -considering you like what we've prepared obviously- if someone helps by posting stuff unlocked on the said thread... 

I'll see to it if possible doing so next week or something, 2nd wave of minis-teasers is coming up as scheduled. 

If you are turning out mini's that excite the members then we can help you promote them. All you need to do is ask 

G_H

An entire army of them actually, with pre-painted models, 100% completed detailed artwork before launch, innovative look and character! Hopefully people will like them and someone will give us a hand keeping the thread updated -which we'd really appreciate-  , this is our vision on fantasy Ogres, a mercenary army that unites with the Humans 
Although we still have something in store for them in the future, but we mean to do things well, so that's going to happen later on... 

We'll be showing some more teasers as promised shortly, at the end of this week final date of launch will be decided whether we make it end of January or not... It's going to be close...   

As long as we see some more nipple rings!!!

I apologise if this has been raised as an idea/missed it on the forum. But it would be great to find out where people are located. I have trouble getting regular games locally, but if I know that there are players around, I could organise games. Just a thought. Love the forum in general, some stickies (or pinned articles) could do with updating.

Jon

I apologise if this has been raised as an idea/missed it on the forum. But it would be great to find out where people are located. I have trouble getting regular games locally, but if I know that there are players around, I could organise games. Just a thought. Love the forum in general, some stickies (or pinned articles) could do with updating.

Jon

Hello Jon!

There is actually a thread in the Firepit section where members can post their locations.  Though it does boil down to if people actually post in the thread.  Links below:

http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=18461.0

Kind regards Zolas

Will start a new thread then... 

I have an idea that i want to share with you, inspired by a similar thing on an MTG site i am also a member of

A sticky topic in the Armies of the Kingdom - Army list doctors

So you would have 2 experienced forum members whose job is to help people fine tune their army list. I would have 1 for competitive and 1 for casual. I can go into further detail if people are interested in this idea

I think the army lists is a bit of a tricky one because there is so much personality that goes into them from a players perspective, for tournament lists I certainly think it would work but garage hammer is a little different.  Great suggestion however.