Corporate Guide and three classics released!, Blood in the Boardroom, Corporate Security, and ShadowTech also out Options

[Pax]

Hey folks,

I noticed on DriveThruRPG that Corporate Guide is up as a PDF along with three other new PDF's from older products.

Regards,


Ed

[Hagga]

Neat.

[hermit]

Wow, Jason actually meant *now* when he said it in the chat transcript. The whole LLC mess nonwithstanding, at least Catalyst seems intent to get product out. Well, good for us, I guess. Being insomniac again (bloody heat), I will just read it up some and give some kind of prelim report.

Going to look for whether what everyone said had to happen happens, I go straight for Horizon, hoping to see some dirt on them, finally, and the authors laying off their Sue worship of the damned thing. Here're my impressions:

Okay, so I am reading this chapter in order, but wasn't corp guide where we were supposed to see Horizon's darker side? So far, the 'highlight' was the 'do no evil' motto of it's matrix security. So Horizon is like the Lawful/Good brother of Google! Like Google, only it actually is not evil because it lives in a world where everything bends over backwards for it to shine! This stinks, sorry. Same crap as the LA book. Also, all this geeky early 2000s internet lingo is getting on my nerves.

Blah blah, Horizon is just better than everyone. They even offer (gasp) tailored matrix environments! Because those haven't been around since 2050! Also, they made it through the crash by pure luck, and it's leaders are all some sort of supermage social adept and best in everything! Did I download some sort of netbook written by a 12 year old?

Oh wow, Horizon SE Asia is actually not winning the game yet. Because they are too much of a paragon for good for evil Asians to accept. Urgh.

Oh, Horizon revolutionises the market with download on demand SimSense stuff. It's not like this was in 1989's Germany Sourcebook already. Another nonsensical 'revolution' because the authors fail their research, and because Horizon is supposed to be better than everyone just because. Oh boy. And yeee-haw, they also get Ares' Media stuff. Because hey, Ares is unable to defend itself. Because everyone's PR departments were somehow evaporated in the Crash but Horizon's. Jeez. This is worse than many netbooks I have read.

As for the boo-scary big secret: Oh, look, it's the Zabotnikists from SoE and Loose Alliances, the less dangerous version of Deus. Boo scary. And just when it might get interesting? The chapter ends. So we are left with page upon page of Mary Sue worship. AGAIN. Sigh.

This chapter definitly doesn't deliver.

In slightly related review news, Amalgamated has been put into the 'rising powers' chapter, and the entire chapter talks about how the place is falling apart because it cannot live in opposition to Horizon's oure cheesy Mary Sue awesomeness. What the fuck.

Looking forward to compare Ancient's drafts and the stuff that made it into the book. But that will be after I sleep. It might work now. Good night.

[JM Hardy]

As some eagle-eyed spotters have already noticed, Corporate Guide has been released, along with three classics--Blood in the Boardroom, Corporate Security, and ShadowTech. As the Shadowrun4. com blog post will tell you, you can get Corporate Guide PDFs through the Battleshop or DrivethruRPG.com. The Battleshop also has book pre-orders and combo book/PDF pre-orders.

I'm especially happy about the book pre-orders. I find PDF game materials very useful, but I've got a ton of sympathy for those who love to have a product to hold in their hands. We're taking pre-orders because the book has already been sent to the printers; I don't have a street date yet, but it should not take too long, and you will of course know it shortly after I do.

Enjoy the books!

Jason H.

[JM Hardy]

Man, you guys are fast. Sorry to not have official confirmation up sooner--needed to make sure all the listings were right. Anyway, I've got a post here with full details. Or you can just go to the blog.

Jason H.

[Ancient History]

<shakes_head> I knew you were going to keep the tatenokai, but somehow I hoped reason would ultimately prevail.

[hermit]

Even you need to sleep or do other stuff. I learend of it because DriveThru sent me an email just as I was checking mine up for the night, since I follow all SR products there. Just bought it then.

[MindandPen]

No JackPoint Login? That's how I organize my PDF's - by the date of the posts - in SR4 that's the JackPoint Login.

-M&P

[RunnerPaul]

Does the PDF of ShadowTech include all the errata? As one of the last books from the First Edition era, it comes from a time when listings of changes between printings weren't commonly disseminated online. I recall from seeing my friend's copy of a later printing, that Tactical Computers received a major overhaul. And I imagine that the damage code for cyanide did too, as in my first printing, they had forgotten to set the Variable Staging portion of the code to "2" to ensure forward compatability with Second Edition, which was in the writing pipeline, but not yet announced at the time of ShadowTech's release. (And they were so careful about it everywhere else in the book too. It's why the First Edition to Second Edition conversion guide in the back of the Second Edition core rules listed "No Changes" for ShadowTech.)

[MindandPen]

<shakes_head> I knew you were going to keep the tatenokai, but somehow I hoped reason would ultimately prevail.

Out of curiosity, why'd you want them out (I haven't read that far yet).

-M&P

[JM Hardy]

Does the PDF of ShadowTech include all the errata? As one of the last books from the First Edition era, it comes from a time when listings of changes between printings weren't commonly disseminated online. I recall from seeing my friend's copy of a later printing, that Tactical Computers received a major overhaul. And I imagine that the damage code for cyanide did too, as in my first printing, they had forgotten to set the Variable Staging portion of the code to "2" to ensure forward compatability with Second Edition, which was in the writing pipeline, but not yet announced at the time of ShadowTech's release. (And they were so careful about it everywhere else in the book too. It's why the First Edition to Second Edition conversion guide in the back of the Second Edition core rules listed "No Changes" for ShadowTech.)

That's a good question. I'll check.

Jason H.

[Ancient History]

Out of curiosity, why'd you want them out (I haven't read that far yet).

-M&P

That's gonna require a spoiler.

[ Spoiler ]

I considered them out of place and superfluous in the Game Info section. They're mentioned nowhere else in the book and I thought they were absolutely ridiculous to include there, but that name. Of course, you have to understand: I lobbied strongly to just kill the Game Info section entirely. I didn't like any of it, I thought a lot of it was really bland and fairly useless as gamemaster advice, and completely useless to players. This was also at the same time I was making an argument to include some Eurocorps that had been or were in the process of being cut.

[Dread Moores]

Glad to hear about the book pre-order set up. Understandably, with the current situation, product needs to go out. But I've really started to swing around to the minority mindset that the PDFs shouldn't go for sale until at least a street date for the book is had. But that's a topic for another thread. I won't be checking this out for a while yet, since I'm still undecided on what my future is as a CGL customer. Though that may change if TRO3085 drops soon.

[lehesu]

If TRO 3085 comes out, in physical form, I will be a happy man.

[JM Hardy]

Glad to hear about the book pre-order set up. Understandably, with the current situation, product needs to go out. But I've really started to swing around to the minority mindset that the PDFs shouldn't go for sale until at least a street date for the book is had. But that's a topic for another thread. I won't be checking this out for a while yet, since I'm still undecided on what my future is as a CGL customer. Though that may change if TRO3085 drops soon.

It's a tough question--there's merits to waiting, merits to selling now. If people want to wait, that's fine. I hope to have street date in the near future.

Jason H.

[imperialus]

Hrm...

All I can say is that after reading the Horizon chapter there had better be some real nasty UB style clusterfuck on a AAA scale waiting around the corner with Gary Cline getting ready to distribute some mind control virus through the Matrix or somesuch.

Ah well, at least there are 10 megacorps... I can still have Renraku or the old standby Azzies sitting on the sidelines ready to be royal bastards.

Failing that Buttercup could be a Horror. Evo's "We love everyone" crap is kinda annoying too.

Lets not forget the "dys" in Dystopia

[Casper]

Is this only going to be AAA or is it going to include some AA as previously talked about?

[Bull]

Hrm...

All I can say is that after reading the Horizon chapter there had better be some real nasty UB style clusterfuck on a AAA scale waiting around the corner with Gary Cline getting ready to distribute some mind control virus through the Matrix or somesuch.

Ah well, at least there are 10 megacorps... I can still have Renraku or the old standby Azzies sitting on the sidelines ready to be royal bastards.

Failing that Buttercup could be a Horror. Evo's "We love everyone" crap is kinda annoying too.

Lets not forget the "dys" in Dystopia

Heh. Hey now, why can't Evo or Horizon actually be a "Lawful Good" megacorp?

Heh, ok, I could't even type that with a straight face.

Just remember, Ares was the "Good Guy" corp for a long time. Then we found out they were experimenting on captured bug spirits, to use them for their own ends. You don't get to be a megacorp without playing a t leasta little dirty and having a few skeletons in your closet. Horizon is all about spin control, the media, and public perception. What you see is what they want you to see. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

But I will say this... I've been the old man on the porch yelling at the kids and telling them about how "back in my day, we had to Shadowrun uphill... Both ways!" in freelancer discussions, trying to remind people that new and shiny isn't necessarily better, and that SHadowrun has got to stay true to it's roots. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bull

[Abstruse]

Heh...dude, were you around for Universal Brotherhood? Anytime any big entity in Shadowrun seems too good to be true, I wait for the Cthulhuian nightmare fodder to start pouring out of the woodwork.

[RunnerPaul]

No JackPoint Login?

I think it's easy enough to surmise that's the influence of having a new person in the layout duties seat. Who's listed in the credits page for that job?

[toturi]

Heh. Hey now, why can't Evo or Horizon actually be a "Lawful Good" megacorp?

Heh, ok, I could't even type that with a straight face.

Just remember, Ares was the "Good Guy" corp for a long time. Then we found out they were experimenting on captured bug spirits, to use them for their own ends. You don't get to be a megacorp without playing a t leasta little dirty and having a few skeletons in your closet. Horizon is all about spin control, the media, and public perception. What you see is what they want you to see. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

But I will say this... I've been the old man on the porch yelling at the kids and telling them about how "back in my day, we had to Shadowrun uphill... Both ways!" in freelancer discussions, trying to remind people that new and shiny isn't necessarily better, and that SHadowrun has got to stay true to it's roots. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bull

Actually... I thought it was cool that Ares was experimenting on the bugs, using animals as hosts. Instead of simply viewing the bugs as a foe, they finally got around to using them as shock troops/etc.

And what makes Shadowrun interesting for me is that the paradigms keep changing. There's no such thing as a "good" megacorp? Well... let's see if the new book turns that assumption on its head.

[IKerensky]

Heh...dude, were you around for Universal Brotherhood? Anytime any big entity in Shadowrun seems too good to be true, I wait for the Cthulhuian nightmare fodder to start pouring out of the woodwork.

Hum HORizon... remember me of something, that start with HOR too...

And everyone love them and they are very nice and are deeply into simsense and crowdcontrol ? Definitive potential for maximum mayhem (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[CeeJay]

Is anyone around here planning to make the preorder for the print version?

Just curious...

-CJ

[Grexul]

I might order the combo, if my Runner's Companion ever arrives.

Grexul

[Abstruse]

And what makes Shadowrun interesting for me is that the paradigms keep changing. There's no such thing as a "good" megacorp? Well... let's see if the new book turns that assumption on its head.

Sorry, I'm with the other guys on this one. The more bright and shiny and perfect and benevolent something seems in the SR universe, the more I keep expecting Cthulhuian nightmare fodder to pop out. Having a "good guy" AAA or even AA is useless to me as a GM because it's just not an interesting story...that's not getting into non-metagaming where even the most benevolent of real-life corporations (Google and Whole Foods for instance) both have a lot of questionable activities going on.

Just please, for the love of all things holy, NO ALIENS!