Game Over for Decipher?

Before Decipher's forum goes down, anyone that post on Decipher's forums might want to indicate that if they don't know about trekRPGnet that they should check us out in case Decipher shuts down its forums. Stick a link to us in your signature if you can.

Think about previous statements made by Don that they were making money on the Star Trek RPG books seems to indicate that Decipher is highly leveraged thus needing to make more money per book. With 3 warehouses :confused: seems to indicate product was backing up in the warhouse. Granted Decipher was started up Fan, Inc. to manage a number of official fan clubs (Star Trek & LOTR) and to launch some unoffical fan clubs, it still seems like alot of space.

It wasn't just the Trek RPGs that were the problem, the L.O.T.R. RPGs, and the card games weren't/aren't moving that well either.

Then that lead to the fiscal problem, like tournament winners not getting their cash prizes.

Also, Dec. got rid of two of their warehouses (they only have one now), as well as staff (writing and art). Net result here: products missing/cancelled/never-seeing-light-of-day. And if said products were ordered, the retailer is promised to have it made up in 'other products'...which is just what you WANT to hear; the old 'bait and switch'.

I think this was a damd shame: They (Dec.) had a great opprotunity thrust into their hands by Par. and Dec. fumbled it, almost at the kickoff. I keep thinking about 'what could have been':
A) Miniatures and rules for them: Another round of be un-Engaged:( , and NO SHIPS, NO (BETTER) 'LITTLE MEN'...this sucks...
B) More source material: 'Blood and Honor' (Klingons), 'Through the Mirror Darkly'(the Dark Mirror universe), and 'the Peacekeeper Handbook' (Security and Diplomats)...I was gonna buy these...but now; never the light of day will hit...
C) Online support: I'm not talking the Dec. website (though that WOULD'VE been nice), I'm talking: Imaging a sourcebook for the oncoming online game...being able to translate what 'on-screen' to 'pen-and-paper'...this could have been cool:(

Modem, Decipher was kind of handicap to begin with as they got the Trek RPG license so soon after Last Unicorn Games. Many I am sure (as some have had mentioned on this site) Trek roleplayers stuck with the Icon system and did some stay with FASA. At one point, Decipher was trying to buy FASA. So we might have had a revival of that system instead of CODA.

Prehaps we should let Paramount know that this is a problem that they should try to recitify by getting the CODA system if Decipher ends up being disolved. That way the CODA system would be easliy attached to the Trek RPG License, so at worst the next licensee might dual stat the sourcebooks.

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Originally Posted by spshu

Modem, Decipher was kind of handicap to begin with as they got the Trek RPG license so soon after Last Unicorn Games. Many I am sure (as some have had mentioned on this site) Trek roleplayers stuck with the Icon system and did some stay with FASA. At one point, Decipher was trying to buy FASA. So we might have had a revival of that system instead of CODA.

Prehaps we should let Paramount know that this is a problem that they should try to recitify by getting the CODA system if Decipher ends up being disolved. That way the CODA system would be easliy attached to the Trek RPG License, so at worst the next licensee might dual stat the sourcebooks.

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Unless the publisher can acquire Decipher or Decipher willingly relinquish the CODA IP, I doubt the next publisher is going to want to do that. In fact, had that been done for LUG's license, we would not see CODA because that system owe much of its existence from the birth of ICON.

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Originally Posted by Don Mappin

Yea, but HD is softcover and 2-color B&W (well, sans 32 pages), meaning they slammed this thing out as cheaply as they could. All the products were laid out with full-color and the beautiful layout seen in the pre-implosion releases. Something of mercy/pity printing. :(

I continue to contend there won't be any Trek releases (by Decipher).

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Ah, I'd be fine with a printing like this. There's plenty of good-looking B&W rpg books out there, which they might as well be able to produce, and if they're just going to pull Trek images for the art, its no big loss. Hardcovers are theoretically more durable, but... i've not really found that born out in practice.

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Originally posted by C. Huth
Ah, I'd be fine with a printing like this. There's plenty of good-looking B&W rpg books out there, which they might as well be able to produce, and if they're just going to pull Trek images for the art, its no big loss. Hardcovers are theoretically more durable, but... i've not really found that born out in practice.

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As would I, C.H., and as would - I suspect - the vast majority of the population here. We'd grumble, shake our heads and grit our teeth about how the damned things aren't as attractive/as durable as the full-gloss printing hardbounds, but we'd buy them. That's the level of starvation we've been reduced to in this hunger strike imposed by outside forces.

However, Don's point - at least as I'm interpreting it - is that the books are not going to even receive this poor excuse for a public release. I don't know how many magnitudes better the LotR stuff sold than Trek, if at all, but it became apparent very early on (the Narrator's Screen debacle) that Decipher always had Trek on a severe back-burner as compared to Rings. If this throwaway attitude - "Print it on tissues and paper towels; who's to know the difference? Those ankle-biters will have something in their hands to shut them up and let us get back to trying to figure out a new card game" - is the best we can expect for their most profitable RPG property, then Trek doesn't even rate an obituary notice.

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Originally Posted by Don Mappin

Yea, but HD is softcover and 2-color B&W (well, sans 32 pages), meaning they slammed this thing out as cheaply as they could. All the products were laid out with full-color and the beautiful layout seen in the pre-implosion releases. Something of mercy/pity printing. :(

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Or a copout. I was told they were going to be softcover, but hadn't heard about the lack of color...

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I continue to contend there won't be any Trek releases (by Decipher).

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I agree completely. Kind of a shame, as I was looking forward to seeing Worlds in print. (Though never really expected it to happen after Christian & Owen left...)

I would like to meet Warren Holland in person some day. ;)

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Originally Posted by DiceMan

I would like to meet Warren Holland in person some day. ;)

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Save vs. Desire to throttle!