Steve's '07 plans & the report to the Stake Holders.

[Than]

Originally Posted by Ragabash Moon

Right, which is something that WotC didn't do. When the Star Wars Minatures game started outselling the RPG, they dropped the RPG like a bad habit.

My understanding is they were basically forced to choose either miniature or RPG books by a licencing restriction on the number of products they could release.

Anyway, I'll add my voice to those slightly disappointed, but accepting. SJG has to stay in buisness, but since I have zero interest in Munchkin and a strong dislike of PDF products I won't be buying as much from them. Here's hoping for big advances in PoD.

A specific question to SJG - what are the odds of us seeing further THS materials (e23 or otherwise) in 2007?

[Anders]

Can I push Thaumatology forward by whining and doing puppy eyes?

No?

It was worth a try... :)

SJ, Sean, Paul and the rest of you - you are doing a great job. I'd have hoped for Thaumatology in 2007, but if I can't have it then I can't. Simply means I will have to dig up the old conversion of Spirit/Ritual magic I did.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by Ragabash Moon

Right, which is something that WotC didn't do. When the Star Wars Minatures game started outselling the RPG, they dropped the RPG like a bad habit.

WotC has scheduled at least one more release of the Star Wars RPG for 2007.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by Than

A specific question to SJG - what are the odds of us seeing further THS materials (e23 or otherwise) in 2007?

Really good. Highly probable. If this were Vegas, they wouldn't take bets against it.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Paul

Really good. Highly probable. If this were Vegas, they wouldn't take bets against it.

I thought that the tradition in Vegas was to take a sucker's money at every opportunity?

Now, asking them to take bets on it...

[smgray1]

And for the second consecutive year, not a word about OGRE/GEV.......

[ArchonShiva]

I don't think it's ever been the case that SJG decided not to publish something they could. Their most reliable authors were asked to produce the first generation of books, which took quite more time than expected, and these books were edited a lot slower than expected as well.

The schedule assumes that things aren't going to get any easier, because it's usually better to plan for likely then hopefully. I'm pretty sure Steve and Sean are hoping for four hardcovers, U-T included, but have had it with promising stuff and then failing to deliver it. So Steve gave us a realistic schedule that he hopes to be able to follow.

So long as the company takes in good money, they can find the ressources to take their time making good books. So go Munchkin, and let's hope we never end up with the GURPS Complete Half-Drow Reformed Anti-Paladin Handbook Game Line. I like the quality books.

That said, these are bad years for RPGs as we know them. Here's hoping SJG can either ride it through and come out GURPSing at the other end, or shuffle with the lead pack when something comes to replace it for good. I mean, there remains a distinct possibility that someone, some day, find a way to use computer games for roleplaying purposes. Or something.

[Ragabash Moon]

Originally Posted by Than

My understanding is they were basically forced to choose either miniature or RPG books by a licencing restriction on the number of products they could release.

That sounds silly to me, then again, who knows with LucasArts lately? However, if that is the case, then they lied about it because at one time they did state that the reason they weren't going to release any more books was because they wanted to do more with the minatures that were selling more, and that there was really no reason to write more books, they had written everything necessary.

I do know that they bought the liscense for ALL Lucas properties, however they chose to only do Star Wars, becasue that's what they wanted. They would have only bought Star Wars, not Indiana Jones, but they couldn't.

[Ragabash Moon]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

WotC has scheduled at least one more release of the Star Wars RPG for 2007.

Then they are maybe back to doing it, but I know for a long time there were NO books coming out at all, and they stated they would do sourcebooks for the new movies ,but that would be it. So, maybe they've changed their minds, I don't know. Hoever, in the long run, it doesn't matter to me, as I play West End if I play Star Wars. :P

My point was that AT THE TIME that I did buy the d20 books, they had said minatures sell better, so we are not going to write new RPG books, and that I am happy SJ isn't doing this.

[Kromm]

Originally Posted by ArchonShiva

I don't think it's ever been the case that SJG decided not to publish something they could.

Quoted for truth. There have been plenty of borderline-defamatory accusations over the years that we do sit on products that we could be publishing, but we've never done that. Most of the time, those saying we do such things are either woefully uninformed about how much work is actually required ("Hey, it's easy to create a PDF! Why don't we have digital versions of all 150 or so GURPS books since 1986?") or have bought into rumors started by "insiders" who weren't, in fact, inside anything but a paper bag (anybody not on this list would qualify, with apologies to freelancers and ex-staff -- but they don't read the latest internal memos).

Originally Posted by ArchonShiva

Their most reliable authors were asked to produce the first generation of books, which took quite more time than expected, and these books were edited a lot slower than expected as well.

In the interest of supporting our overworked freelance writers and editors, I'll point out that the difficulty as often as not has to do with making enough free staff time to read and approve drafts, handle layout, and/or acquire art, and frequently involves the time needed to print and ship a 240-page hardback. Where writers and editors are involved, the problem is often one of "SJ Games learned the hard way that going from 128-page softbacks to 240-page hardbacks multiplies prep time by something closer to 3.5 than to 1.875" . . . which would be the fault of planners like me, not of the freelance creators.