Battlescribe announced that things are looking a little doomed for 10th Edition 40k updates, as the wheels are coming off the app now.
First, the statement comes from the data community (who actually keep the Battlescribe app updated) and are not the owner of the developers of the app.
They do this for free, and the developer has apparently done little work all these years, and now the app looks to be in a bad place for the jump to 10th Eiditon 10th.
However, things have turned around for Battlescribe as the latest datafiles will work with the APP, but for how long is anyone’s guess…
BattleScribe is Back To Build Army Lists in 10th Edition Warhammer 40k: (July 25th, 2023)
The latest on 10th Edition Warhammer 40k updates army build updates come from the BattleScribe Data Facebook.
Currently, it seems like everything other than Legends is in the app (and there are a few small errors in terms of points and such), but you can start making 10th Edition Warhammer r40k lists with the app.
We downloaded the data ourselves, and you can get in there and make lists. If you have the app (we only tried it on the computer so far), you can download the new edition’s data, which seems to work well.
While they say rumors of their demise have been exaggerated, the initial announcement from the data team did have everyone a little worried:
Unfortunately, as many of you are no doubt aware, the developer behind the actual application has basically abandoned all development work except anything that impacts his lazy income stream.
We are finally reaching a point where this lack of care is having major impacts on ability to maintain going forward.
As a result, the data may take longer than you probably expect. Based on what data authors know so far, we will need to rely on a functionality currently broken in battlescribe on a fairly fundamental level, so it may be that there is no 10th update until the Data community figures out how to piece things together in the crumbling architecture.
In the meantime, twitter.com/BattleScribe The official Battlescribe twitter handle is still there… If the app Dev checks it is unknown to us as he hasn’t spoken to us in 3 years.
So, this is honestly a welcome surprise looking at this announcement from early June. It also looks like they will be adding Legends and Horus Heresy stuff soon.
If, for whatever reason, you are having troubles with the app, it appears the data they created will work with the New Recruit army builder app as well.
This is excellent news as the data team talked about making an open-source app (so they can get away from the current BattleScribe developer), and this seems like the data they have made so far for 10th is a step in that direction.
10th Edition Warhammer 40k & Battlescribe
All you have to do is update the data (should be two spots above 9th Edition in the add data section), and you can make rosters for 10th Edition Warhammer 40k!
You can add everything like before, and it seems like they have the army composition reporting correct (to tell you what you’ve done wrong with the list).
Overall this is welcome news, as GW will probably start charging for their app before too long.
Click Here to Get The New BattleScribe Data!
Either way, it looks like BattleScribe is here for 10th Edition!
Battlescribe was Looking Somewhat Doomed for 10th Edition 40k…
The announcement comes from the Battlescribe data team:
Again, to highlight something important, because people still do not know, the Battlescribe data team are a seperate entity to the Battlescribe Developer… they actually put time and effort in.
With my Jabs out of the way, here is a message from the battlescribe data team
So new edition time is nearly upon us, and that means many of you will be wondering when/how fast the data will be available for the new edition.
Unfortunately, as many of you are no doubt aware, the developer behind the actual application has basically abandoned all development work except anything that impacts his lazy income stream.
We are finally reaching a point where this lack of care is having major impacts on ability to maintain going forward.
As a result, the data may take longer than you probably expect. Based on what data authors know so far, we will need to rely on a functionality currently broken in battlescribe on a fairly fundamental level, so it may be that there is no 10th update until the Data community figures out how to piece things together in the crumbling architecture.
In the meantime, twitter.com/BattleScribe The official Battlescribe twitter handle is still there… If the app Dev checks it is unknown to us as he hasn’t spoken to us in 3 years.
If you have supporter passes, do not renew them. Tell your friends to do the same.
Battlescribe supporter $ go to him for the app, data developers get nothing.
Keep in mind this is not the only time we’ve seen the data community push back on the developer. Back in 9th, the app was removed from the iOS store because it had not been updated in so long, and when the revenue stream was threatened, only then did the owner seem willing to jump back in to fix it.
This is honestly sad in a lot of ways. First, this app is the easiest way to build lists. Secondly, the data community does a ton of work to keep this going for the community, and the developer seems not to care much, but also won’t give up any control of the actual app.
However, as always, you can vote with your hobby dollars and not renew your subs, as all this money goes directly to the developer.
It seems like if everyone cancels, the developer will have to get the app updated to 10th Edition to get the revenue stream back. Either way, let’s hope he gets on it sooner than later, as we want to be able to use this for the new edition!
If you want to see some alternatives, you can see a bunch of other list-building apps here!
However, we saw a similar situation less than a year ago…
BattleScribe Abandoned by its Developer
This comes from August of 2022 but shows just how hands-off the developer has been.
Well, the app isn’t and hasn’t been updated in quite some time, but the data has been. This means as phones continue to update, there’s a chance that the Battlescribe app just stops working altogether on your platform (or gets taken off altogether).
According to the mods of r/battlescribe, no one has even heard from the developer in over a year.
There has already been a Reddit thread where they say the app is not working on Mac OS already (this was before it was even taken down, so let’s hope it will work at least for a little while longer). While the data is still being updated, the app itself is falling off.
This really sucks because so many things use BattleScribe, such as Best Coast for tournaments, etc. Currently, the only other real option is using the GW app. While we’ve talked about that app for some time, if BS goes down, it’s basically pen and paper other than the 40k app. However, he did come back in time to save the app back then.
Battlescribe Developer Comes Back in 9th Edition
He said the removal is due to an old credit card and did not have to do with such a long spell in-between updates.
We’ll have to see if the issues start getting fixed or if there will be updates soon. At this point, it seems better than just dying. Plus, if we actually start getting updates, some good might come out of the issues. As we said, the community reaction has been quite mixed on this subject.
Community Reaction
As we said, there was a mixed reaction. Some people are still mad on the latest Reddit thread that the dev ghosted the community and only seemed to come back when something big like this happened.
Obviously, the most annoyed seems to be the data community, as they have been keeping the whole thing going and haven’t been able to get in contact with the developer. Let’s hope things go a little bit better this time around and we don’t have too long to wait.
What do you think about the Battlescribe not getting updated for 10th Edition 40k?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures. Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including the Adepticon Team Tournament and American Team Tournaments, and is on a first-name basis with almost every major company in the space.
He’s all gaming all the time. With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. He advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1908s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
