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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 14:14:23 +0100
Lady Jestyr said on 16:52/21 Jan 97...

> But yes! Please! I want one!!!!!!
>
> Make that two. :)

A rules CD ROM not something I would care to see come out for SR... I
don't like reading books on my computer, I much prefer hardcopy books.
Just about the only thing a software version would be good for IMO, is if
it has a really good hyperlinked index (I understand T$R left that out of
the AD&D disc).

(Oh, and I don't have a working CD ROM player on this machine...)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
I wonder why anyone would want to name their kid after an airport...?
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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Message no. 2
From: Droopy <droopy@*******.NB.NET>
Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 17:22:32 +0000
> From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
> Organization: Plastic Warriors
> Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM

> A rules CD ROM not something I would care to see come out for SR... I
> don't like reading books on my computer, I much prefer hardcopy books.
> Just about the only thing a software version would be good for IMO, is if
> it has a really good hyperlinked index (I understand T$R left that out of
> the AD&D disc).

That's the whole purpose to it IMHO.


--Droopy
droopy@**.net
Message no. 3
From: Doc <datheis@**********.NET>
Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM
Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1997 18:06:42 -0600
> A rules CD ROM not something I would care to see come out for SR... I
> don't like reading books on my computer, I much prefer hardcopy books.
> Just about the only thing a software version would be good for IMO, is if
> it has a really good hyperlinked index (I understand T$R left that out of
> the AD&D disc).
>
Actually, Gurth, the AD&D Core Rules CDROM was really pretty solid, as far
as a first-attempt piece of software like that would go. It was
hyper-texted well, but the best parts of it were the character generation
system and being able to copy and paste wanted items out of the software
and onto, say, a Word Document that you can use any other ways. In my
Greyhawk campaign (Yes, I'm a cross-over still), the character sheet for my
priest character is nearly forty pages long! It includes all of the
description, history, and character sheet info, but it also has a complete
spell book, copied and edited straight out of the CD-ROM. It looks very
cool, and I would be totally lost without it.

If sr could have a Rules CD-ROM, I would most definitely own it, if it was
created in the same mold as the AD&D one. Man, that would be awesome to
create your character, using the new generation methods, right on the
screen in front of you, and then create any decks and lists of contacts as
well. One valuable section would be an automatic contact creator - an NPC
creator of sorts.

Anyway, as much as I dislike T$R's strategy right now, I have to say they
hit paydirt with the CD-ROM.

Doc

"If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride...
of course, the gun-fire from putting all those
horses down would be down-right deafening!"
- Anonymous KY cynic
Message no. 4
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 11:06:42 +0100
Doc said on 18:06/22 Jan 97...

> Actually, Gurth, the AD&D Core Rules CDROM was really pretty solid, as far
> as a first-attempt piece of software like that would go. It was
> hyper-texted well,

I should note here that I've never seen the CD myself, only read a review
where they thought it wasn't all that great.

> the character sheet for my priest character is nearly forty pages long!

Isn't that a bit much...?

> If sr could have a Rules CD-ROM, I would most definitely own it, if it was
> created in the same mold as the AD&D one. Man, that would be awesome to
> create your character, using the new generation methods, right on the
> screen in front of you, and then create any decks and lists of contacts as
> well. One valuable section would be an automatic contact creator - an NPC
> creator of sorts.

There already are a number of SR character generators out there, now all
we need is one that also has the points system. For me, downloadable
freeware goes before CD-ROMs that I have to pay for :)

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
eMpty TV
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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Message no. 5
From: Michael Broadwater <mbroadwa@*******.GLENAYRE.COM>
Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 08:27:29 -0600
At 11:06 AM 1/23/97 +0100, Gurth wrote:
>There already are a number of SR character generators out there, now all
>we need is one that also has the points system. For me, downloadable
>freeware goes before CD-ROMs that I have to pay for :)

As much as I like Paolo's SrCG, it, and all the Sr shareware have several
problems.

1). Some of them are buggier than Chicago. This varies, but errors with
little chance of support are irritating.

2). They're not readily available unless you're fortunate enough to a)
know the exist, b) be on the internet. More and more people are on the
'net these days, but not all of them have the access that they need.

3). There is little to zero support for the software.

4). It's not always packaged well (one recent download I did for a piece
of shareware requried that I download it's dll's, a 800k empty zip file.
Now, I can't run it withouth "it's" extensions)

I'll continue to use these utilitys, because they _do_ exist and many of
them work well (I've always liked you're matrix generator, Gurth) but the
fact that they are in existance is not an argument that FASA or FIT
shouldn't make one of it's own. I'd buy it. I think many Sr fans who
owned computers would.

Mike Broadwater
"You'll go to heck if you don't believe in Gosh."
Message no. 6
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: SRII rules CD ROM
Date: Fri, 24 Jan 1997 12:43:27 +0100
Michael Broadwater said on 8:27/23 Jan 97...

> 3). There is little to zero support for the software.

IMO that's true in some ways, and not in others... It tends to depend on
who wrote the software and whether they want to keep working on it or not.
I'm happy to help out if anyone has problems with a program I wrote, but I
also know of a guy who wrote a BattleTech record sheet printer who said he
didn't bring out better versions anymore because he'd received so little
support for it.

> 4). It's not always packaged well (one recent download I did for a piece
> of shareware requried that I download it's dll's, a 800k empty zip file.
> Now, I can't run it withouth "it's" extensions)

That sucks...

> I'll continue to use these utilitys, because they _do_ exist and many of
> them work well (I've always liked you're matrix generator, Gurth)

You're only saying that because you're talking to me now :)

> but the fact that they are in existance is not an argument that FASA or
> FIT shouldn't make one of it's own.

I'm not saying that, if FASA wants to make an SR character generator then
I would probably look into it as well. However, if it turned out to be of
about the same standard/with the same possibilities as shareware programs,
I might just stick to the shareware...

> I'd buy it. I think many Sr fans who owned computers would.

Of course, one argument I can see against game companies bringing out
software is that it's so easy to copy -- I just read in the paper this
morning that BSA estimates that 63% of all software in this country in
1995 consisted of illegal copies, and Greece it was 86%!
CD-ROMS with electronic versions of rulebooks on them are another matter,
because if the graphics would be included (which TSR didn't, AFAIK) it
would get too large to copy and people would either buy the disc or decide
they can do without it.

--
Gurth@******.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
eMpty TV
-> NERPS Project Leader & Unofficial Shadowrun Guru <-
-> The Plastic Warriors Page: http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/plastic.html <-

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