I have to say that I have not been too happy with the constant changes to the Fallout game. Many of the things that drew me to it have been getting progressively changed. As someone who has purchased every physical product this trend is disturbing. First they stopped releasing terrain as physical products and made it all STL only. Then they removed the scenic bases but promised to release base packs, which has yet to happen. Then they decided to no longer print out physical copies of the expansions books. Now it seems they are not going to provide physical copies of the cards either. Those last two may be why I finally move on from this game. I understand costs change and they had to start charging for the expansion/cards rather than providing them free in the unit boxes but to not have physical versions available at all is just unacceptable in my opinion.
I feel similar on a lot of this. I see physical rule books and cards as a must when playing games like this. I know they have apps and digital downloads, but they’re not the same.
As someone who had access to a 3d printer until recently, and have a friend who still makes use of one, I have tons of scatter items to decorate bases with (We both tend to print extras of stuff from the free download sites and just share with each other. After all, one of us can print a plate of Nuka Cola bottles then just share half and probably have more than either one of us will ever realistically use anyway.) and I feel that the scenic bases start feeling repetitive when you have more than one of a model so a couple of extra bits to make a base stand out or even doing my own base is sometimes preferable. So the lack of scenic bases doesn’t really bother me.
I view the terrain in a similar vein as the bases. The vast majority of the terrain being stl and having limited access to a 3d printer is frustrating. Some iconic stuff, with physical product, is something I’ve always felt was lacking for this game. I love the cardstock Red Rocket they did with the initial release, but more robust terrain would be nice. Red Rocket, Drumlin Diner, Schlocum Joes, Super Duper Mart, more vehicles, . . . . I could go on but I think that’s enough to create context. Every one of those and more would make great box sets that would be welcome on any table, . . . throw in a couple of miniatures that fit the theme and I think they’d have something pretty special
So I guess what I’m saying is that I second your opinion that a lack of physical books and cards is a bit frustrating.
Kind of figured this was the way things were going but, since I haven’t bought anything for this game in years, I don’t feel too bad about it.
It seems like, in an effort to attract new players, Modiphus is alienating their legacy players. Well it worked for Games Workshop, so maybe they can do the same.