I am wondering, since the game has basically been dead.... What could be done to liven things up?

would a new community piece get you involved?

What about a campaign where at the end of the campaign the winning side can pick a faction and the designers spoil a piece from that faction from the new set?

What is it about the game that keeps you coming back, and how can we exploit that to keep the game going?

Would the game be better served if instead of so many new sets, maybe there are some scenarios, or something new created in the break?

Anyone have any ideas or input?

For me? I simply don't have the time anymore. Maybe if there were people in my area whom I could play with, then I'd be willing to make the time, but it just isn't worth it for me to spend 1.5+ hours simply to play a game by myself, against myself. Same with customs--I might be more willing to periodically find the time to design some if more than just I used them.

Plus, there's also the cost. I don't have the money to buy all the figures I want/need, which is certainly annoying. But there's not really anything anyone can do about that. :/


EDIT: I still think that creating scenarios, for casual players to play with, is a good idea, but finding people who can make quality scenarios and who have the time to do so is a lot tougher nowadays.

+1 to these!
Easy to do and hugely popular with our group.

Also I have been trying to continue the Bloomilk minis campaign, Separatost versus Rebellion alternate timeline it's ok the vassal section of the threads and can be played either on vassal or in person with opponents with results uploaded and that affect the overall battle.

We had seven people playing a Evasive Action release tournament last night and it was really fun - Hugh Hefner won. Part of the issue is that a lot of people left the bloomilk forums after prolonged pedantic, humourless posts a few months ago.

I am working on it by creating new sets. First piece is almost complete.

It is really, really difficult once you realize that being involved in this community was bad for my mental health.

@Sithborg:
I do not understand your meaning there, Sithie -
"It is really really difficult once you realize that being involved in this community was bad for my mental health".
I would disagree only insomuchas
your skill as a negotiator and tact have been inspirational lo these past years -
you're part of the glue that binds bloomilk together
even if we've not always agreed in past, i think there's been a rapport and it's been a respectful differing of opinion.
If you're 'burned out', it may be because of the sustained levels of awesome you've put into Bloomilk over so much time; so, that's understandable.
Maybe Bloomilk is a factor sometimes, though it cannot be the only variable in such areas?

I hope you're otherwise alright, Sithie.

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@OP
great question!
"What futures are there for Bloomilk etc?"
I see all kinds of futures.

Bloomilk has been diversifying for a long time - there's all kinds of branches,
and even if the number of new online member users to Bloomilk itself online is flatish at the moment (a temporary lul),
I suspect the number of players of SWMinis real-world has increased.
Locally, we have seen increased numbers, approaching nearer to the 09/10 season.
the simplicity of the game, shorter run time etc,
and that 'swashbuckling/chess' style feel attracts a lot of gamers to SWMinis.
Cost, being relatively low to entry at the moment, is also an attractor.
The largest group of new gamers locally have been female gamers from MagicTheGathering and 'craps' (various dicepoker players),
they make for difficult opponents, and are from a broad cross-section of backgrounds.
This has to be one of the upsides to this resurrgence, as it changes the dynamics of the local meet night or the bi-monthly etc,
folks seem to have more fun.
Not only that - this leads into tangential discussions or 'freethinkers lite' occurring - people are talking about side-issues or topics other than gaming. That is pure awesome,
as people are transcending some preconceived notions of others, and seeing beyond things to understand what other people think about stuff;
yeah, gamergate and other issues came up intermittently,
but folks were sharing of their opinions and respectful differences.

though, I digress
in terms of other futures;
we see Legacy format, we see VSETs,
we're seeing a move of the SWMinis playerbase down a path similar to NECA and Heroclix
It seems the SWMinis players are learning a lot from what Heroclix went through
(bout time)
and toward a literal return of the game maybe?
"boosters in boxes" is a way to get "keisters in seats"
we're seeing VASSAL and online ways to play via correspondence expanding -

the podcasts and folks talking about SWMinis (in all kinds of languages) is increasing,
and some cross-mentioning is happening on other places like AllScaleTrek, Lead Adventure.de, DakkaDakka, Morton/Whirpool etc...

We could see things like an online conventions
"Bloomilk, the E-Convention" (via GoogleHangouts etc)
SWMinis are often brought up at 3DHubs meetups or at MakerFair convention etc,
as the rapid prototype folks mostly game also.
This has been interesting to see emerge, because folks share how they make their custom figures
and what effects and effort go into achieving the final mini.

an expansion of SWMinis into Languages other than English
(it's a popular game elsewhere in the world, known to others by different words in different cultures, notably;
Portuguese, Malay, German, French, Italian, Ruski Cyrillic, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese (the irony; they made our minis but didn't play so much then) Japanese etc )
This is already happening, and SWMinis is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
not so much Thailand (a couple of places near the Paragon and Ekkamai, Chang Rai and Krabi)
and of course, the Philippines.
In a related vein, being able to have cost affordable pepakura tokens etc,
and 'build-along projects', those help to make SWMinis even more accessible to more folks.

Personally, the notion of "SW40K" or "SW40K in 40 mins/Kill Team"
has also caught on with a few local gamers - especially a lot of ex-GW players
who've found Knight Models or FFG's IA (though that game is awesome by itself when more time is available).
Short and sweet games with a little more complexity/strategy than a SWMinis game,
and with autonomous opponents can assist

---

So, there's lots of eutopic options.
We also have to keep in mind, some of the context and constraints
(as outlined in a previous 'back of the envelope' of imagining how many of the 7.4 billion people on Earth'd want to be Sci Fi fans enough to want to at some time t play a boardgame based on a work of Sci Fi)
We're also living in the Great Depression Mk 2, which has an effect on disposable incomes worldwide.
There's also only so many millions of combinations of cards which can be made (if looked at from a |l'biblioteca d'babel| perspective)...
but, isn't trying to make customs fun?

Hopefully, like Chess,
SWMinis will be around for a long time.
People can enjoy a fun game which encourages some math skill and some thinking,
alongside 'soft skills' like negotiation and sportspersonship.

The game isn't recognized anymore, and after years went by, I left my miniatures in the closet collecting dust.... it's sad to see but it's the reality of any dead/cease game. Then I saw a brand new game called Star Wars Imperial Assault board game and I'm like.... that terrain would have been awesome if the old game was still alive... it's hard to keep the game going when people just lose interest for a game that's not recognized or fully sanctioned. I come back only because you guys are the community and like you, we remember the game when it was truly fun.

I believe the game is just as much fun as it ever was. We just need to realize that when WotC pulled out, it was inevitable that we'd lose people. I spend more time these days playing X Wing, but that's simply because there are only 2 minis players in my area, and neither really have time for the game. While I love X Wing, SWM is a better game. When or if it ends, I'll play it to the end.

I have a lot of fun playing this game and I think AceAce hit the nail on the head when he said that this is just the post gencon funk. Usually players take a break after gencon and the regionals and then up their activity again once winter passes and its time to test out new squads again to get ready for the tournaments. It certainly didn't help that a few people were coming on here and constantly posting negative topics about the game and the v-sets that wasn't constructive, but instead seemed like a lot of the proverbial axe grinding. I know that it caused me to scale back on how much I check bloomilk, because I honestly don't want to put up with seeing that stuff on my work breaks.