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Message no. 1
From: William Monroe Ashe <wma6617@****.TAMU.EDU>
Subject: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 08:44:26 -0500
Shadowrun 3rd Edition ... wow !!!

One thing I'd like to know is whether or not to buy RBB2? Now
contrary to some, I don't have cash coming out of my ears to buy lots of
Shadowrun. I need to plan my purchases with a little more foresight. So
a note from the FASA people on what books will still be valid, and which
ones will be superseded, would help my purchase-planning a lot. Although
I want RBB2 no matter what ;-)

Given that; I would really like to see the magic section
revamped, including a lot of the stuff from the Grimmy, and Awakenings.
I would also like to see a more detailed list of rules defining what can
and cannot be done in astral (yes that includes the whole grounding and
FAB thingys [thingies sp?]).

I also must cast my vote for putting all of the contacts back
into the main book. Perhaps they could be compressed so that they take
up a little less space.

As I was thinking about this, if FASA puts all of the stuff we on
the list want, SR 3rd Ed. will be about the size of an encylopedia.



Regards

Bill
Message no. 2
From: Paolo Marcucci <paolo@*********.IT>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 17:46:09 +0200
At 08:44 03/07/97 -0500, Bill wrote:
> As I was thinking about this, if FASA puts all of the stuff we on
>the list want, SR 3rd Ed. will be about the size of an encylopedia.

Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the
book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,
put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available. A
searchable database, with reference to rules and equipment could be killer,
I'd like to put this CD into my laptop and go playing with this alone. I
know the eternal copyright question (The Eternal Debate is another thing :)
will arise, but there should be a way to overcome this, like sending the CD
only to proved owners of the rule book or something like that. Updates to
this database could be made available on the FASA's web site when new books
come out.

I really like the decker comments of all the sr books, and these should not
be placed into the CD, only rules and tables. If FASA can manage to achieve
this, I promise not to play another RPG forever :::))))) <- Horror Smiley (tm)

____________________________________________________________
Paolo Marcucci paolo@*********.it
InterWare Service Provider Trieste, Italy
http://www.interware.it/ Tel. +39-40-411400
Message no. 3
From: Skye Comstock <bilbo@****.NWLINK.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 09:34:38 -0800
>Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the
>book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,
>put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available. A
>searchable database, with reference to rules and equipment could be killer,
>I'd like to put this CD into my laptop and go playing with this alone. I
>know the eternal copyright question (The Eternal Debate is another thing :)
>will arise, but there should be a way to overcome this, like sending the CD
>only to proved owners of the rule book or something like that. Updates to
>this database could be made available on the FASA's web site when new books
>come out.

Argh! No! ;) Then I would be forced to keep up with SOTA and buy a
bloody cd-rom drive and it bloody well better work on every platform
available or I shall kill FASA. Then there are the w4r3z d00dz that
would rip it like the AD&D thing that came out... ;) I'm also
wondering how many people would actually use it, after all, not
everyone has a decent enough computer to use it, or even a computer
at all in many cases. Then there is the fact that I would never
play Shadowrun in the dinky room my computer is in, and I
certainly can't afford a laptop... SOTA sucks, I failed all my rolls,
apparently...

>I really like the decker comments of all the sr books, and these should not
>be placed into the CD, only rules and tables. If FASA can manage to achieve
>this, I promise not to play another RPG forever :::))))) <- Horror Smiley (tm)

Well, if you're going to have that, there must be a good reading of
the entire book by a FASA personality with some killer music like
they had on the Neuromancer set... Wee... Have Gibson read SR3! ;)

-Skye
"...that is so much bullshit." -- Case, read by William Gibson.
Message no. 4
From: Caric <caric@********.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 09:36:40 -0700
| As I was thinking about this, if FASA puts all of the stuff we on
| the list want, SR 3rd Ed. will be about the size of an encylopedia.

Don't you mean a set of encyclopedias?

I can't wait to get the "Caric" volume. ;)

-Caric

"These pretzels are MAKING ME THIRSTY!!!!!"
Message no. 5
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 18:44:20 +0100
|
|At 08:44 03/07/97 -0500, Bill wrote:
|> As I was thinking about this, if FASA puts all of the stuff we on
|>the list want, SR 3rd Ed. will be about the size of an encylopedia.
|
|Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the
|book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,
|put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available.

Nope. Nada. Nien! Nyet!!

That would SERIOUSLY affect it's marketability. Think about it.
Not ALL players and GMs are computer active. Not all have computers, and of
those that do, not all have CD ROM drives.

(I have a computer, but no CD ROM. And the chances of getting a CD ROM are
slim, because it'll only be capable of viewing text/graphics, not run the
programs..... It's not a PC or Apple y'know...)



--
______________________________________________________________________________
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell | |
|Principal subjects in:- | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
|Comp Sci & Electronics | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 6
From: Max Rible <slothman@*********.ORG>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 10:33:59 -0800
At 17:46 7/3/97 +0200, Paolo Marcucci wrote:
>At 08:44 03/07/97 -0500, Bill wrote:
>> As I was thinking about this, if FASA puts all of the stuff we on
>>the list want, SR 3rd Ed. will be about the size of an encylopedia.

>Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the
>book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,
>put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available.

I certainly would like to be able to search over the Shadowrun source
material, rather than having to remember where things are in which books.
(It'd be great to get all the sourcebooks for the different locations
together, or the ones useful for character creation and outfitting
[SR2, VR2, Shadowtech, Shadowbeat, FoF, Cybertechnology, Grimoire,
Awakenings] or all the area sourcebooks, or all the adventures.
For that matter, if a CD-ROM omnibus for Earthdawn were available, I
probably would've picked that up when I got curious about the ED references
in SR-- usually I hunt around to find it used.)

It would probably be a bad idea to publish something *solely* on CD-ROM
(unless it's an otherwise out-of-print adventure or sourcebook), but
if it doesn't cost a lot to produce (i.e., you have all the layout stuff
already on a computer and maybe all you need to do is scan in the artwork,
do some futzing with Adobe Acrobat, and print it out to PDF files),
it could be a nice supplemental for the folks who have computers with
CD-ROMs.

--
%% Max Rible %% slothman@*****.com %% http://www.amurgsval.org/~slothman/ %%
%% "So, an Arisian, a Vorlon, and a knnn go into a tavern..." %%
Message no. 7
From: Paolo Marcucci <paolo@*********.IT>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 21:30:36 +0200
At 18:44 03/07/97 +0100, you wrote:
>|Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the
>|book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,
>|put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available.
>
>Nope. Nada. Nien! Nyet!!
>
>That would SERIOUSLY affect it's marketability. Think about it.
>Not ALL players and GMs are computer active. Not all have computers, and of
>those that do, not all have CD ROM drives.

Read it again. Supplemental. Not required. Think of it as a bonus. Well,
thinking of this, why wait until sr3? :)

>(I have a computer, but no CD ROM. And the chances of getting a CD ROM are
>slim, because it'll only be capable of viewing text/graphics, not run the
>programs..... It's not a PC or Apple y'know...)

html?

ThatPaolo
____________________________________________________________
Paolo Marcucci paolo@*********.it
InterWare Service Provider Trieste, Italy
http://www.interware.it/ Tel. +39-40-411400
Message no. 8
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 20:42:03 +0100
|>(I have a computer, but no CD ROM. And the chances of getting a CD ROM are
|>slim, because it'll only be capable of viewing text/graphics, not run the
|>programs..... It's not a PC or Apple y'know...)
|
|html?

Not fully yet, but they're working on it.
(They're also working on TCP/IP, but it's not available yet......)

The point is though, that no-one has built a CD port yet because there's no
call for it.....

Maybe when CD writers fall in price.....
--
______________________________________________________________________________
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell | |
|Principal subjects in:- | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
|Comp Sci & Electronics | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 9
From: Adam J <fro@***.AB.CA>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 13:07:07 -0600
At 10:33 7/3/97 -0800, you wrote:
>>Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the
>>book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,
>>put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available.

>It would probably be a bad idea to publish something *solely* on CD-ROM
>(unless it's an otherwise out-of-print adventure or sourcebook), ...

Agreed here. I think we have to remember something; Everyone on this list
has a computer or very good access to one! How many SR players do, though?
I realize computers are getting more and more common, but I still doubt
the majority of players/GM's have a computer.

> ...
>if it doesn't cost a lot to produce (i.e., you have all the layout stuff
>already on a computer and maybe all you need to do is scan in the artwork,
>do some futzing with Adobe Acrobat, and print it out to PDF files),
>it could be a nice supplemental for the folks who have computers with
>CD-ROMs.

One day I advocate Acrobat format, the next, I shall slam it. Don't
release the rulebooks in a format such as Acrobat, PDF, DOC, TXT, Anything
like that!
Write a custom reader, with a custom filetype. BLOAT the size of the
reader. And the filesize, for that matter. Otherwise, its just too damned
easy to pirate.

...Goes off into a rant about people asking for copyrighted SR stuff on
IRC...argh!!!

-Adam

--
http://shadowrun.home.ml.org \ TSS Productions \ The Shadowrun Supplemental
ShadowRN Assistant Fearless Leader \ WildAngle@******** \ fro@***.ab.ca
-
"Can I have a cup of angst to go with my un-happy meal?" -- Hi & Lois
Message no. 10
From: Max Rible <slothman@*********.ORG>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 14:13:54 -0800
At 13:07 7/3/97 -0600, Adam J wrote:
>>if it doesn't cost a lot to produce (i.e., you have all the layout stuff
>>already on a computer and maybe all you need to do is scan in the artwork,
>>do some futzing with Adobe Acrobat, and print it out to PDF files),
>>it could be a nice supplemental for the folks who have computers with
>>CD-ROMs.

>One day I advocate Acrobat format, the next, I shall slam it. Don't
>release the rulebooks in a format such as Acrobat, PDF, DOC, TXT, Anything
>like that!
>Write a custom reader, with a custom filetype. BLOAT the size of the
>reader. And the filesize, for that matter. Otherwise, its just too damned
>easy to pirate.

1. FASA is a gaming company, not a software company. Writing a custom reader
is *waaay* far away from their line of work, and would require an
amount of
investment that would make a CD-ROM project completely unprofitable.

2. Bloating the reader and filesize will just mean you need to ship it on
more CD-ROMs and that it will take longer to ship around the Net once
someone cracks it. Meanwhile, it's inconvenient for the real customers
who
have to swap CD-ROMs.

Laser printing costs a fair amount of money; so does Xeroxing. If you use
the PDF documents to create paper output, it'll probably run you about as
much money as it costs to buy the sourcebook by the time you have a stable
binding attached to the paper. CD-ROM publishing will probably have very
little effect on book sales. Preventing CD-ROM piracy is more problematic,
as most of the really good schemes for prevention entail investing in
infrastructure back at FASA (which would make the project less profitable),
but how many people are going to want to take up 200MB of their hard drive
with the documents?

--
%% Max Rible %% slothman@*****.com %% http://www.amurgsval.org/~slothman/ %%
%% "So, an Arisian, a Vorlon, and a knnn go into a tavern..." %%
Message no. 11
From: Jaymz <justin@******.NET>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 23:53:31 -0500
>>That would SERIOUSLY affect it's marketability. Think about it.
>>Not ALL players and GMs are computer active. Not all have computers, and of
>>those that do, not all have CD ROM drives.
>
>Read it again. Supplemental. Not required. Think of it as a bonus. Well,
>thinking of this, why wait until sr3? :)
>
How did TSR's product fare?

>>(I have a computer, but no CD ROM. And the chances of getting a CD ROM are
>>slim, because it'll only be capable of viewing text/graphics, not run the
>>programs..... It's not a PC or Apple y'know...)
>
>html?
HTML is too easily distributable, it would have to be something that cannot
be transferred to another medium.
If it were HTML it could EASILY be put on the web somewhere, and people
could download it to local hard drives, burn it to CD, etc.

Jaymz
/-justin@****.mcp.com----------------------jbell@****.mcp.com--\
|Justin Bell NIC:JB3084| Time and rules are changing. |
|Simon & Schuster | Attention span is quickening. |
|Programmer | Welcome to the Information Age. |
\------------ http://www.mcp.com/people/justin/ ---------------/
Message no. 12
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 1997 13:08:10 +0100
Spike said on 18:44/ 3 Jul 97...

[CD-ROM]
> That would SERIOUSLY affect it's marketability. Think about it.
> Not ALL players and GMs are computer active. Not all have computers, and of
> those that do, not all have CD ROM drives.

And of those that do own a computer with CD-ROM and have it at/near the
game table (like me), not all want to use it for something like this. I
don't like reading things from a computer screen if I can have a hardcopy;
computers are useful for playing RPGs, but mostly for things computers are
good at -- rolling lots of dice, quickly generating NPCs and names, stuff
like that.

> (I have a computer, but no CD ROM. And the chances of getting a CD ROM are
> slim, because it'll only be capable of viewing text/graphics, not run the
> programs..... It's not a PC or Apple y'know...)

OTOH the majority of the market will be using PCs, the majority of them
running Windows, so from that point of view T$R's AD&D disc wasn't such a
bad venture, the books being on the CD as Windows help files AFAIK. Oh,
and since those help files are not executables, you should be able to
write an interpreter for the QL for them :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Without lies, there'd be 100% divorce rate, a lot of discontented
children, and no advertising industry.
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1:
GAT/! d-(dpu) s:- !a>? C+(++)@ U P L E? W(++) N o? K- w+ O V? PS+ PE
Y PGP- t(+) 5++ X++ R+++>$ tv+(++) b++@ DI? D+ G(++) e h! !r(---) y?
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
Message no. 13
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 1997 20:14:51 +0100
|Write a custom reader, with a custom filetype.

Only if they publish the specs. Otherwise, you'd be locking out a lot of
people with the wrong TYPE of computer.....

BLOAT the size of the reader.

AAAARGH! NO! Not bloatware please!
Code should be optimised for speed and size. The smaller the better.
You don't NEED 50 Megs for a word processor. I've got a decent one in less
that 200K.
(In fact, if I run it without the spellchecker, it fits nicely into less
than 100....)

And the filesize, for that matter. Otherwise, its just too damned
|easy to pirate.

There are other ways to prevent piracy, but no matter what the way, someone
will always find a way around it.

Bloatware is not the answer, because someone WILL write a FASA to
RTF/Acrobat/Pagemaker4/whatever comversion routing.
--
______________________________________________________________________________
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| "Are you pondering what I'm pondering Pinky?" |
|Andrew Halliwell | |
|Principal subjects in:- | "I think so brain, but this time, you control |
|Comp Sci & Electronics | the Encounter suit, and I'll do the voice..." |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 14
From: mARCiN sERkIES <yasiu@******.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Mon, 7 Jul 1997 19:53:58 +0200
At 17:46 3.07.97 +0200, you wrote:

>Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the

>book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,

>put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available. A

>searchable database, with reference to rules and equipment could be killer,

>I'd like to put this CD into my laptop and go playing with this alone. I

>know the eternal copyright question (The Eternal Debate is another thing :)

>will arise, but there should be a way to overcome this, like sending the CD

>only to proved owners of the rule book or something like that. Updates to

>this database could be made available on the FASA's web site when new books

>come out.


Mee to think that it`s great idea. FASA can put some wav files for playing when game is
running, or few utilities wrote for SR... Cost of CD is not big so it`ll not make price
much bigger...



<center>]-[ yASiU ]-[ aKa mARCiN sERkIES ]-[ e-MAiL - yasiu@******.com
]-[ </center>
Message no. 15
From: mARCiN sERkIES <yasiu@******.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 15:57:25 +0200
>One day I advocate Acrobat format, the next, I shall slam it. Don't

>release the rulebooks in a format such as Acrobat, PDF, DOC, TXT, Anything

>like that!

>Write a custom reader, with a custom filetype. BLOAT the size of the

>reader. And the filesize, for that matter. Otherwise, its just too damned

>easy to pirate.


It makes no sense. It`ll be easy to pirate even, if you use custom reader and filetype (i
can copy every CD in 30 minutes) and it`ll make using of that CD harder. And what is
important - it`ll cost more...



<center>]-[ yASiU ]-[ aKa mARCiN sERkIES ]-[ e-MAiL - yasiu@******.com
]-[ </center>
Message no. 16
From: mARCiN sERkIES <yasiu@******.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 13:49:06 +0200
At 18:44 3.07.97 +0100, you wrote:

>|Maybe this is the time for a supplemental CD-ROM. Put all the rules in the

>|book, along with basic gear and stuff, like it is today. Then, on the CD,

>|put full tables for all gear/spell/totem/cyberware/etc available.

>Nope. Nada. Nien! Nyet!!

>That would SERIOUSLY affect it's marketability. Think about it.

>Not ALL players and GMs are computer active. Not all have computers, and of

>those that do, not all have CD ROM drives.

>(I have a computer, but no CD ROM. And the chances of getting a CD ROM are

>slim, because it'll only be capable of viewing text/graphics, not run the

>programs..... It's not a PC or Apple y'know...)


That should not affect anything because production of CD is very cheap. When you`re buying
magazine where i`m working, you get two CD`s for 12.99 Polish Zloty... If we`ll sell
magazine without them it`ll cost about 10.99... One USD is 2.8 Polish Zloty so 2 CD`s cost
1USD



<center>]-[ yASiU ]-[ aKa mARCiN sERkIES ]-[ e-MAiL - yasiu@******.com
]-[ </center>
Message no. 17
From: "Arno R. Lehmann" <arlehma@***.NET>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 02:06:58 +0200
On Thu, 3 Jul 1997 13:07:07 -0600, Adam J wrote:

>Write a custom reader, with a custom filetype. BLOAT the size of the
>reader. And the filesize, for that matter. Otherwise, its just too damned
>easy to pirate.

And for which OS would that be?
I'm sure I would not be able to use it. That's okay, but don't expect
me to buy it, and if some of the material would be accessible only from
that CD-ROM that I could not use I'm sure there are ways to extract the
data ... Then it would have been contraproductive: I would steal the
information which I would have bought had it been published in a way I
can work with.
So better drop all these CD-ROM-suggestiions and make up some good
books. Majke up new editions of old books and adventures, and if you
don't have the potential to do so then just let it be - you also would
perhaps not to be able to make a good electronic publication.

--
Arno
*********************************************************************
Be careful when replying to this mail - check the address !!!
(And send me a note when you notice that
the reply-to-address points to the list!)
*********************************************************************
Message no. 18
From: Matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 1997 00:38:38 -0700
> That should not affect anything because production of CD is very
> cheap. When you`re buying magazine where i`m working, you get two CD`s
> for 12.99 Polish Zloty... If we`ll sell magazine without them it`ll
> cost about 10.99... One USD is 2.8 Polish Zloty so 2 CD`s cost 1USD

*Mechanical reproduction* of a CD is cheap. Actually creating the
material to be placed thereon is an expensive task. TSR had plenty
problems with their limited CD effort; I don't think FASA's likely to
try the same brambled path.

-Matt
Message no. 19
From: Michael Broadwater <mbroadwa@*******.GLENAYRE.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 09:16:07 -0500
At 12:38 AM 7/8/97 -0700, Matb wrote:

>*Mechanical reproduction* of a CD is cheap. Actually creating the
>material to be placed thereon is an expensive task. TSR had plenty
>problems with their limited CD effort; I don't think FASA's likely to
>try the same brambled path.

Well, White Wolf is making a cd of Vampware that's supposed to be out
sometime next year. If that does well, FASA may (or may not) change their
stance on things.


Rasputin-the-trying-to-get-into-an-Sr-book-magekin
http://www.bcl.net/~rasputin
http://www.blackhand.org/

The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be
when you kill them. -- William Clayton
Message no. 20
From: Jaymz <justin@******.NET>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Wed, 9 Jul 1997 09:29:59 -0500
At 12:38 AM 7/8/97 -0700, Matb wrote:
>*Mechanical reproduction* of a CD is cheap. Actually creating the
>material to be placed thereon is an expensive task. TSR had plenty
>problems with their limited CD effort; I don't think FASA's likely to
>try the same brambled path.
>
All that's really needed is a complete set of rules that are searchable.
And all tables and a complete equipment list.

That may sound like a lot, but it shouldn't detract from sales of the BBB,
rather it could be an additional product for about $10, and include
something like the contacts booklet with the GM screen with it, so people
would more likely buy it than copy it.
It does cost about $7 to copy a CD.

Alternatively it could be included with the BBB for 5-10 dollars more.

All the info *should* be in digital format already, tranlasting it to a
usable form won't cost that much, hell, I do it for a living.

Justin
/-justin@****.mcp.com----------------------jbell@****.mcp.com--\
|Justin Bell NIC:JB3084| Time and rules are changing. |
|Simon & Schuster | Attention span is quickening. |
|Programmer | Welcome to the Information Age. |
\------------ http://www.mcp.com/people/justin/ ---------------/
Message no. 21
From: mARCiN sERkIES <yasiu@******.COM>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 00:16:47 +0200
At 09:29 9.07.97 -0500, you wrote:
>That may sound like a lot, but it shouldn't detract from sales of the BBB,
>rather it could be an additional product for about $10, and include
>something like the contacts booklet with the GM screen with it, so people
>would more likely buy it than copy it.
>It does cost about $7 to copy a CD.

It cost 7$ tu burn CD in normal CD-Writer (like my Yamaha102) but massive
production of CD is very, very cheap. Just look, how big computer magazines
transfer CD`s past border. They are not counting that by pieces but by
height :))

]-[ yASiU ]-[ aKa mARCiN sERkIES ]-[ e-MAiL - yasiu@******.com ]-[
Message no. 22
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 12:58:29 +0100
Michael Broadwater said on 9:16/ 9 Jul 97...

> Well, White Wolf is making a cd of Vampware that's supposed to be out
> sometime next year. If that does well, FASA may (or may not) change their
> stance on things.

This autumn there should be a Vampire CD-ROM with stuff like a character
generator, screen saver with Bradstreet artwork, a "Storyteller assistant"
that generates cities, encounters, maps, etc., plus some audio tracks.
(Or so it says in the bit of text I'm reading ATM).

This sort of thing actually sounds more useful to me than a rulebook on
CD-ROM (well, apart from the screen saver and possibly the music tracks).

--
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Two words: therapy.
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Message no. 23
From: Jaymz <justin@******.NET>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 10:40:50 -0500
At 12:16 AM 7/10/97 +0200, you wrote:
>At 09:29 9.07.97 -0500, you wrote:
>>That may sound like a lot, but it shouldn't detract from sales of the BBB,
>>rather it could be an additional product for about $10, and include
>>something like the contacts booklet with the GM screen with it, so people
>>would more likely buy it than copy it.
>>It does cost about $7 to copy a CD.
>
>It cost 7$ tu burn CD in normal CD-Writer (like my Yamaha102)
exactly, that's what copying a CD is

The big delimiting factor here is going to be how cheaply FASA can actually
create the master, including all software development.
/-justin@****.mcp.com----------------------jbell@****.mcp.com--\
|Justin Bell NIC:JB3084| Time and rules are changing. |
|Simon & Schuster | Attention span is quickening. |
|Programmer | Welcome to the Information Age. |
\------------ http://www.mcp.com/people/justin/ ---------------/
Message no. 24
From: Adam J <fro@***.AB.CA>
Subject: Re: SR 3rd Ed. comments and questions
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 15:12:32 -0600
At 12:58 7/10/97 +0100, you wrote:

>This autumn there should be a Vampire CD-ROM with stuff like a character
>generator, screen saver with Bradstreet artwork, a "Storyteller assistant"
>that generates cities, encounters, maps, etc., plus some audio tracks.
>(Or so it says in the bit of text I'm reading ATM).

Steering this towards SR.. Character Generator, if done well, would be
nice. Screen Saver, well, blah. Some computer generated maps of the
various cities in 205x would be really nice, especially if you could add
notes and captions to them, and maybe design your own. Audio tracks, well,
if they'res space left, sure.. :)

I haven't even played Quake, I just listen to the music on the CD, only
thing its good for.. :)

>This sort of thing actually sounds more useful to me than a rulebook on
>CD-ROM (well, apart from the screen saver and possibly the music tracks).

Agreed.. I really wouldn't use an online rulebook very often. I have a
pile of binders of stuff I've printed out, because I would much rather read
paper than a screen. A master index would be nice, very nice.

I still don't see this happening, not for a long time.. about two years or
so, since making some SRII compatible now would be a big waste, so they
would need to wait until SRIII is at least finished, if not released and
errata'ed

-Aj


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