Comparing the rules between 40k and War machine is like comparing My Little Pony to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They are both war based mini games but one is about small skirmishes while the other is large based armies.
That is true, but also has nothing to do with it. Warmachine has made a dedicated to make things clear, precise, yet easy to understand. The same principles could easily be applied to larger scale game. Each unit in warmachine usually has a larger array of options available to it than a 40k unit, particularly the characters and warjacks. Warmachine is probably actually a slightly more complex game.
Warmachine has set itself up with a very technical system where there can be no ambiguity, much like Magic the Gathering or D&D 3.5. Additionally, because that technical system can be hard to wrap your head around at first, they'll often have plain-language descriptions such as "yes, this means that".
GW could easily choose to do all those thing, they just ffing don't, because they're a "model company, not gaming rules company". WTF.
Consider, GW has like 3 different terms for "removed as a casualty", leading to much confusion, because people will argue "killed" or whatever is different. ANd of course, "removed from the table" IS different, so it's even worse because we have the illusion of precise indentifiers, but they don't actually use them very consistently. PP by conparison has terms like "boxed" which doesn't just refer to dying, but a specific
stage in dying. (healing, resurrection, taking souls, using the corspese all happens at different stages)
Or, here's a favorite, consider the turbo-penetrator round of the Vindicare. All it says is that it rolls "4d6 for Penetration". I think most people, particularly newbies, think you should roll 4d6, then. yielding and average roll of 14. Meaning you'd glance a Landraider 50% of the time. But that's not it at all. You see, you have to realize it's a sniper, so it starts with a str of 3, so the pen roll is 4d6+3. Except, even that's not true, snipers are RENDING, and rending adds a d3 for each "6" you roll. On which die? ALL OF THEM. So the real pen roll is 4d6+3 with exploding 6's, meaning you're really unlikely even to fail to pen the highest AV in the game.
I'm pretty sure that's intended. (mostly cuz they haven't clarified in 2 years) But you have to know 3 different rules, really kinda math it out to realize, and do a bit of rules lawyering besides.
Privateer press rules can sometimes reference 3 other rules like that, too, but A) It's completely unambiguous that's how it works, and B ) in case you didn't realize, they'd have a little box telling you "hey, all this means that it's 4d6+3, with an extra d3 for 6's".
GW could easily do that, but they never do. And that's crap, utter crap.
