Looks over at everybody beating the bush senseless.
Alright I will ask what everybody is getting around to slowly.
If and only if ICON is reborn from Decipher what does that mean for the works from Steve L (Spacedock, SRM's, and Dominion War sourcebooks), Don (Voyager) and the various chapters put up by Sjohn and Steve K. that we all have or are about to recieve? Will there be a new softcover second edition of them published as part of a future line of Trek RPGs? or is it back to square one on these subjects?
Well, I for one would be perfectly happy to shell out for Spacedock and the SRM in book form.
Not only would it be easier to carry, but the illustrations of some of the lesser known ships would come in handy...
Dont get me wrong, I love Spacedock, and cant remember how I managed without it, but I would be willing to pay in addition to the free copy I already have...
Me as well. Especially for later SRMs (Klingon and Romulan in particular, though they're not out yet). Ones that don't already have pics you can find on the net.
While I love having electronic copies of books, I'll always go for a hardcopy of any RPG I play.
A book in PDF form is great when I'm away from my Big Shelf O' Games. Or, if I'm searching for something in a book and flipping pages isn't finding it, it's really easy to find a keyword in a PDF.
For me, it's like dice. I've got friends who will show up at the game on the weekend and proceed to use an electronic dice roller on their laptops. I just scratch my head.
There is something very nice about the tactile experience of rolling a bucket of dice onto the table or turning the pages of a sourcebook. The electronic analogues will never be able to replace that. Not for me anyway.
I'd gladly pay for a copy of any of the material released in electronic form. Though, I may need to get a bigger Big Shelf O' Games.
.Sal
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Salinger/TheDuck
"If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and talks like a duck...it's probably Salinger." -Quack!
Interesting - I found this on the decipher discussion board.
Re: ... Dean Irwin ... 10.02-22:09
>
> Hey Decipher folks, its been a long time since the official announcement back at GenCon, how about allaying some fears and letting your potential customers in on the big secret?
>
> The key points I am looking for:
>
> Will there be a Star Trek RPG published by Decipher?
Yes!
>
> If so, what are the system options that are being looked at?
> (purchasing ICON, building your own, or other)
We are evaluating all options. If we design a new game system, we expect
to have a conversion system.
>
> If you are making your own system, what basis will it stand on?
> (D6 variant, diceless, or something else)
It's too early to tell.
>
> Will there be an attempt to purchase the unpublished material from LUG?
No.
>
> What timeframe are we looking at for the first item to hit the streets?
> (generic, like 4th Quarter 2002 or whatever)
The release date is not set, but I expect it will be late 2001 or early
2002.
>
>
> I, and many others, appreciate any sincere communications from the powers that be.
I certainly understand you desire for details, but we don't plan any
public announcements on gameplay until late next year. We have made a
long-term commitment to this game and I assure you the product we
ship will meet the high standards you have come to expect from Decipher.
Keep in mind that the world-wide portion of our license doesn't begin
for another nine months and additionally, we want the marketplace to be
clean of LUG product. Other than announcing the license itself, it's very
early for us to be making public statements about a game that we don't
expect to be shipping until a year or more from now.
Thanks for your patience! We will continue to release information as we have it and we look forward to continually receiving everybody's feedback!
Well, as for me -- I'm not worried about Decipher's TREK RPG having quality; I'm sure it will be good -- their Trek CCG is always well done (if delayed with production problems But the area where LUG and ICON have them licked, and likely will forever, is DEPTH. How soon would you expect Decipher to put out an ANDORIAN sourcebook? Maybe their own version of "Pirates and Smugglers?" Or maybe a Time-Travel companion?
Anybody getting my drift?
While I do expect their TREK RPG to be of high quality, the depth will be light-years behind LUG's, and will initially be "just another core book for a new RPG line." Sure, they COULD develop depth over time, but I just don't see them getting that far into the Star Trek universe for RPGing purposes. It's like LUG Trek was written by people that A) like Star Trek, B) liked Role-Playing, and C) were fans themselves, and thus knew what fans would want written. Most RPG makers, in my experience, try to turn out the books that will appeal to the largest base of people, not the little niche-books that really make a universe like Star Trek come alive. But time will tell, no?
Here's to hoping.
Okay and I may be getting myself in hot water here and I don't mean it to be. But if Decipher really wants to make it work, they have to hire better interior artists. I mean the stuff inside a lot of the LUG supplements left most of us cringing (I worked in Hobby Distribution at the time). The most common complaint we ever heard from our customers (read stores) was that the artwork was not up to par with the rest of the book. I have to agree. Sometimes I wonder if these artists even watched Star Trek. That said if they do get some top shelf art talent (Prime Directive suffered from the same problem) then it can only enhance whatever quality the books had.
Okay now if any of the artists from the LUG stuff are on this form, I apologize if I have offended you but I had to say it.
Preparing himself for a flame attack...
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Aslan Collas
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Visit Earth Alpha Online;
http://members.xoom.com/Aslan_Collas/
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Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #76: Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies.
AslanC, just coming to the support of a fellow Canadian, I agree with you 100%. The core books were well done visually, hard not to be with colour shots from the shows, but the Romulan Box set needed a little more planning in my opinion. I don't know why the supplements could not be on par with the core books, they did a good job on "The Price of Freedom" and went down hill from there. Anyway, we'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming months.
Prepares for the firestorm. Hey, AslanC any more room in that foxhole?
I don't care for artwork either (trust me, in my diaper days in the 80's, I thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is the best football team because of their cool-looking helmet).
If they have to put great artwork, put it on the wrappings (covers). The rest inside are just fillers, unless you're illustrating relevant points such as showing images of different types of phasers and Klingon weapons, or combat examples.
*I don't wear Armani, I wear clothes*
------------------ Anyhoo, just some random thoughts...
Yes, the LUG books are filled to the brim on in-depth detail, I love that I have found bits of really intersting info in just about all the books that have been released. The Andorian Sourcebook is one of the best RPG books I have ever read and the Romulan sourcebooks come in at a close second. Now, having said that when I opened the Rom. Box set I was very happy at the detail but wondered to myself, very briefly, if the purchase had been a wise one, because the art work, in my opinion, brought the "look" and feel of the book down they made it look almost "comic book" in some places. Good presentation never hurts.
I enjoy reading the books, but they are not all that "pretty" to look at.
Since folks have been saying nice things about Among the Clans, I think it's appropriate to bring up a note of congratulations that isn't rung too often, and that's to Christian Moore.
It was Christian's idea to do an Andorian book. Everybody else thought it an odd decision, and Ken Hite even protested (although obviously not too strongly - that's not the way Ken does things). I was eager to take on the book because it was such an offbeat thing; I tend to specialize in the wierd little books that lurk in the corners of a game line. The ones that only a few people get (but then they're happy with them) It was the same with books like GURPS Russia (the main reason Ken wanted me for ATC), and I'm magnifying the effect a hundredfold by moving heavily to eBooks, where my readers will number in the dozens instead of the thousands
So, in sum: Kudos to Christian Moore for believing in Andorians, and more cheap plugs for my ebooks. So there
But the area where LUG and ICON have them licked, and likely will forever, is DEPTH. How soon would you expect Decipher to put out an ANDORIAN sourcebook? Maybe their own version of "Pirates and Smugglers?" Or maybe a Time-Travel companion? 