[/edit] <bites_tongue>

on a side note, if your audit of contact information is supposed to include frank trollman, he is indicating you aren't contacting him last i saw.

Frank's one of the people I don't have contact info for. I'll dig it up, and he'll get the info.

Jason H.

He sent a letter to the freelancers and contractors. He said he knew he was missing some folks. He asked that if we knew anyone in particular that he missed we should let him know ASAP. It was clear that the list that got the email (which only JUST came today) was not the full list.

There is no conspiracy here. Again - bad stuff happened and we all know it, but every piece of communication is not an omen of doom. I know everyone is jumpy and suspicious after the actual bad things that happened, but we don't need to make up extra "bad things." In fact one might argue this is one of those "signs they are making good" that people have been waiting for. Again - I'm not defending the bad - I'm just saying, please don't make every bit of news the sign of some nefarious plot.

Can I at least use said Plot for Shadowrun? I mean some of us play more than post...
Though I do scan this trainwreck several times a day.

If this board would only allow images. The tinfoil hat guy at the picnic "It's a conspiracy maaan!"

BlueMax

To close off this tangent (side question: how many posts on DS are needed to be granted PM privileges?) thank you hermit, it was very informative. If by any chance you frequent the CBT boards, we can chat there.

Ten posts

I read through the old threads, and still hadn't remembered anything about contact information being out of date. The financial issues, lack of NDAs or contracts in some cases, didn't remember some lacking information in terms of who is working on the line and how to get them. My apologies for not being completely up to date.

And while it came off harsher than I meant, I was more curious than anything. Dealing with contact information for contractors and outside workforces is something that's a big part of my real life job, so it's one of those things that's harder for me to wrap my brain around (in terms of letting it get outdated). Much like the financial issues were for some of the other posters who are involved with debt collection, this is the one that irks me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That stuff happens a lot. The DMV couldn't be bothered to pass my new info from the licensing department to the registration department and my company's payroll didn't feel the need to tell HR about my change of address. I think it would be worse if the Post Office wasn't so pro-active these days, I know I'd fail to let a few creditors know and then I'd miss a bill.

No, actually, we can't. Sorry, but if you think stealing is bad I don't see how you can think stealing is ok when the state does it. A lot of ugly things in history occur when people thing doing X was ok because the state said so. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) And that's all I'm going to say on that, because yeah, this really isn't the time and place for it.

Back on topic, it's good to hear that Catalyst is doing this audit and getting things in order. I don't know about anyone else, but lately to me the forecast for Catalyst's future has, at least to my perception, been getting brighter every day.

Which is good, because I'm of the opinion that Battletech and Shadowrun wouldn't survive another transfer.

This post has been edited by Furluge: May 7 2010, 08:05 PM

An audit is definitely important, but equally important is who is conducting the audit, which I don't know. Hopefully it is an outside auditor. And most important, to me, is what changes going forward in normal business operation.



I don't know, it's survived two transfers already. And most people seem to think that it hasn't gone down the tubes in those two transfers. So there's no reason to think that a third transfer would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

Who cares what company's name is on the checks? IMR doesn't even own the game, Topps does. In that sense it really wouldn't transfer at all. If you're worried about a drastic change in the creative staff, in the case of Shadowrun that's already happened.

I updated your status to active "Member" so you should have PM capability now. Hermit, please continue your discussion through PMs. Don't mean to jump on you guys, just keeping things on topic, and as mentioned, within ToS. Thanks.

Huh? I don't think the state steals... They print the money after all, its all thiers', its not mine, my picture isn't on it and they let me keep part of it so i can give it to someone else in exchange for goods and services.

What do you think taxes and fines are. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

There is an old joke. Don't steal, the government doesn't like it when anyone moves in on there territory.

And I assume that is what he is talking about.

I've never heard that one. Thank you for sharing. It's hilarious. @=)

Now, to bring things slightly back on topic...

Saeder-Krupp's new motto - Don't steal, the dragon doesn't like it when anyone moves in on his hoard.

Killfist,
If you are going to use my Schtick , give me some credit. I tell ya, I get no respect around here.

Rodney

errr crap
BlueMax

Please that joke is older than your dad.

Sorry I've been away a while, I was stuck overseas by a volcano, came home, got caught up, just in time to watch my city flood. Its been a fun few weeks.

One possibility is that Topps helps cause a change in management of IMR/CGL. The advantage to Shadowrun is that the parts that do work, continue to work, the pipeline continues, and the contracts, such as they are remain in place. The question would be how would the various interested parties view the "new" IMR/CGL?

-M&P

Since the "management" that would need to be changed out are also company co-owners, the scenario you describe is tricky at best.

I believe the differences in our opinions have to do with what we believe the possible results of the current situation will be. I believe many of you who want CGL/IMR to lose the license think there are only two outcomes: IRM/CGL keeps the license, or IRM/CGL loses the license and Topps sells it to someone else. However there's two more possibilities that could happen. No one buys the license, or someone buys the license and uses it for non-RPG products, kind of like what Shadowrun Duels was like.

In my opinion, I think our difference has to do with the fact that I have much less faith in the profitability of Battletech and Shadowrun. If CGL/IMR lost the license and went bankrupt this would mark the third time a company has gone down the tubes holding the licenses. I think that would scare anyone away from picking it up. RPGs and Wargames are already incredibly niche products, and anyone new picking up the license would have to find a way to get the current group of players to buy a whole new large batch of product very soon for the license to be profitable. I just don't see that happening. If CGL/IRM loses the license I think it would be more likely the licenses would be picked up for the sale of non-RPG products and toys and such rather than for a traditional RPG.

As for the comment about the game not going down the tubes during two transfers, your right, it hasn't. Both licenses have made out startling well. But these kinds of transfers turning out well for the game, compared to other times when a game's publishing company has gone under, are incredibly rare. I can only think of 3 games that have managed to pull it off well.

Topps isn't selling the game, they are offering licenses to the IP so that other companies came make a game off of it and send royalties back to Topps. It's a cash cow for them. The upside of this is that we don't have to worry about the IP disappearing when a publisher decides to implode. Topps will just hand it out to someone else who can get the job done and turn a buck. There are downsides to that, but since it seems like Topps has kept a hands off approach to development, we have yet to see the owner impact the lines. If that happens in the future you can blame Loren Coleman and crew for screwing up and giving Topps a reason to worry about their property.

Both games have over 20 years under the belt, and in the case of Shadowrun, shows bigger sales than any other point in it's history. If it goes down now it won't be because of the material or the market, but because of the actions of IMR. But then, it really can't unless Topps decides that it doesn't want to make money off of something, which makes no sense what so ever.

This little "factoid" keeps getting bandied around, and it's ridiculously false. Early editions of Shadowrun sold in the hundreds of thousands. SR4 has been selling well, considering the RPG market of 2005-2010, but that market is *FAR* different from 1989-1999.

Blame Frank for saying that 4th Ed has sold more than all other editions combined. Interestingly, since it seems like SR1 and certainly(?) SR2 were made by far fewer people who didn't have to pay royalties to a licensor, were they therefor much more profitable than the current incarnation?

Thanks for the input!

Well, he repeated it a lot, but Bull originally said it, based on something that he misheard/misunderstood (and wanted to believe, so he just kept repeating it... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )



I can't speak directly to that. Bear in mind that the books were also much lower-priced in the early 90s.

Obviously, Game 1 and Game 2, everything else being identical except Game 1 needs to pay someone an additional royalty and Game 2 does not, Game 2 is more profitable. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)