Nice pic. Not what I'd like to see in a cover. The 4a mural speaks more to the nature of SR for me, thematically, at least.

Don't get me wrong, I love bug spirits, and magic in general... But the invasion of bug spirits doesn't feel like the core plot and theme of SR, and hasn't ever for me. It makes me think that the guys from RIFTS finally got some real artists for their books.

I like it. I'd like to see it as a color panel in the book somewhere. As the "This is what Shadowrun is ALL about, buy our book!" cover... it doesn't do it for me. (I'll still buy the book, of course.)

Hello nurse!

On topic: Damn, the cover is starting to grow on me...

I like it. Lots going on, as noted, very much Iconic. Seems to be indicating a return to the 'punk' of Cyberpunk (I can only hope!).

Favorite parts: BUG SPIRIT

Also, no mirror shades or trenchcoats anywhere. Not enough Pink Mohawks, but I like the style.

Hm, needs more Rocker.

Or mage with centering wailing away on his synth-guitar.

The '80s are over, Rock and Roll failed to save the world. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

Yes, yes I did. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

Best cover since Elmore. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

But I agree that it could be raining slightly and have less contrast.

Apart from the cover art being a little too bright (you could probably see this fight a mile away) I'm really diggin' this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

See it a mile away?

Probably not .... not with all the neon lights, AROs, and so forth in between the viewer and this one fight. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I had reasons to study the bejeebus outta this cover in recent weeks. I still dig it, after turning it into "work" instead of "play." I think the thing's gonna be gorgeous on a book, and I, for one, am hoping they come out with prints/posters at some point.

I'll repost what I said on Tumblr:

So let me be straight and honest here - I’m not in love with this cover. And not just for the reasons that Jackal posted. Hell, I didn’t notice them until she pointed them out.

This cover is too busy. It has too much stuff going on it, in the name of trying to get as much SHADOWRUN involved in there. I think that what we’re presented with here just goes against the grain of what Shadowrun is - these guys should be getting the fudge outta there, not standing around, looking to go toe to toe with these people. And where’s their cover?

But look what we have: corporate hit squad, Roach spirit, drones, magic, and two obvious mega-corporations in the background. It’s just too much ACTION for me.

(Also I’m a little disappointed that the troll gets stuck in the back, like always, to let the pretty folk be front and center. Where’s the fun in that?).

For my money, the Anniversary cover is my favorite illustration to give you The Sixth World. It gives you a relevant montage of Shadowrun action, without it looking busy like this.

The cover surely has a lot of elements, but why not? This is a book cover, not an encyclopedia illustration or a technical drawing, which should show the essential details without bells and whistles.

As far as favorite covers go, I admit I still like the original 4th Ed one. High-rises with bright advertisement screens and flying cars between them, but below them a filthy back alley full of graffiti, rats, toxic waste dumpsters, and shadowrunners in this their natural habitat. Yeah, the dwarf looks like a caricature of down syndrome, the elf has an oxygen mask connected to his armband, and the human in his hammerpants and metal things on his legs and weird posture looks completely out of place. But the background still captures all that is cyberpunk -- and the troll's proportions match the fluff descriptions, which sadly cannot be taken for granted.

Beg your pardon? O.o

What? The character who gets most spotlight is an orc. Hardly 'pretty folk'.

A troll in the ork's place would block the elf, human, and parts of the dwarf from view. I cannot see where this would have been a better choice, though the Troll could well have been with the team, firing on the bug with a BFG, someplace to the left of the elf, for instance).

Or the troll could have been the Mage. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'm not sure about the alleged "four-fingered hands". I believe that they all have five fingers, just that not all fingers are visible in that perspective.

Although I also find the cover a bit busy.

And how big is that bug spirit supposed to be? That was a serious WTF to me. And I agree with DNDer about the bugs. I like them as a background element, but not as a front-and-center plot. That's already been done.


Well, compared to some other ork pictures in SR he is "pretty folk". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) That's okay with me, since I prefer illustrations that show SR orks as metahumans, not Warhammer rejects or warty mutants.

I don't love it, but it will do.

I agree that it's overly busy, but my biggest problem with it is that it doesn't feel like a real place. You can just so happen to see four megacorp logos from this vantage. Nor do I get any sense of why this fight broke out. No sense of story, just action. Lots of action. Personally, I'm burned out on action covers these days.

But, as I said, it'll do.

My favorite covers from Shadowrun tend to be more focused on setting. Seattle 2072, Sprawl Sites, and Corporate Guide, etc. Oh, and I do still love the original 1st Edition cover.

People keep talking about it being busy. Every time I read it I kinda tilt my head and go "Did they want a group of fat orcs and trolls and some bloated elf sitting on a couch watching a trid eating cheetos while a dragon flew by the window?? A Dwarf Delivery guy, and an Indian trying to steal cable from next door?"

Yes, because the opposite of busy is any of those things?

Yeah, the opposite of busy is Lazy. Like sitting on the couch, watching TV and ordering pizza.

Wrong kind of busy. Perhaps English is not your first language?

"Busy" can also mean just that there's too many things happening at once. e.g., "a busy street".

Now I have an idea for a group contact. The Cheetos Guys Apartment.

It's an apartment of roommates who have no special qualifications whatsoever, they just happen to be keyed-in to whatever big is happening in Seattle, because their apartments keep getting fried and they keep moving and consequently the big thing keeps happening outside their windows. Meanwhile, they shrug, blog about it, then go back to watching the Trid.


That said, they really better not be killing the wireless matrix. I will fucking vomit the opposite of friendship and magic if that happens.

It's my first language. My first post was some what sardonic. The second one a little joking when someone got snippy. lol.

There is a bit if seriousness there though. The opposite of a "Busy street" would be a dead or quiet street with nothing happening.

If the cover is too busy, the converse would be nothing happening and it'd be boring. I suspect that those saying it's too busy want a bit less happening. That route rapidly leads to stagnation and boring. They have to walk that tightrope.

For myself I'd rather have a busy cover over a boring one. I'm sure the company would too. When you're going for iconic visual impact. That image that says "PICK ME UP! I'm COOL!! I'M ---SHADOWRUN---" Sedate or boring is exactly the opposite of what you want. You want something eye catching and energetic. Something yes... with a bit of color to catch the eye. With kickass art that's appealing visually, and in this case something that -screams- Shadowrun. Not says it sedately to those listening closely.

This is the Core book. It needs to stand up and shout in no uncertain terms "THIS-IS-SHADOWRUN!" Like king Leonidas kickin' that dude into the well. Something that will hopefully draw in new people. Or draw back players that may have left the game. You don't get that with calm, sedate, muted covers. You want something with some flash, something that is iconic to the game.

In those aspects this cover succeeds. It's not boring or sedate. It's energetic and Iconic. Is it a touch flashy or 'busy'? Yeah, but on purpose. Because that's what you're going for. Not bland beige colors with guys sitting on the couch, munching snacks and smearing their dorito fingers on their stained white tank tops. People urge us "Don't judge a book by the cover" but the truth is many many many many times they are. And if a book has absolutely ugly covers, they often don't get picked up at all. Boring cover on a Shadowrun book would do it no favors. You want something entergetic and fun. Some action to 'sell' the game at a glance. Orcs with swords, elves flinging lightning bolts, dwarf riggers, corpsec guards, giant bug spirits. That's action and eye catching. Which is what sells.

You will note people said the problem was it is "too busy" not that it was "busy".

Same difference. It's a complaint, a negative quality attributed to the cover. "Too busy" "Busy" which ever, said in a negative way means the same thing. A quality, in this case the level of 'busyness' that is qualified as a negative quality. If it was a positive one or a neutral one it wouldn't have been used in that fashion.

If you go. "I don't like the weather today, it's hot" it's the same thing as saying "I don't like the weather today, it's too hot" Both are describing something (The weather) in a negative way. You don't go "I don't like the weather today it's hot.... but I like it hot" because you'd contradict yourself. If you go "I don't like the cover it's overly busy" or "I don't like the cover it's -too busy" or "I don't like the cover it's -busy-" your saying the same thing.

It's not that big a deal. I -get- what they're saying as to why they don't like it. My post about it was meant partially in jest. Partially serious as noted above. You don't want to err on the side of stagnant and boring. It's easy to do too little or not enough. Going the other side "Too busy" is a possibility, but one preferable to the alternative. In a perfect world you'd hit the sweet spot. But not everyone agrees where that spot is. For example, I think they hit it 100%. Some here think they went a bit too far. (( Or maybe even alot too far)). So the aim is for the majority of the people to like it. Which this thread and facebook and all seem to indicate. Most people seem to think it's a great cover. There will always be people that disagree.