February Chat Log, Enabling the impatient ones is my job. Options

[BishopMcQ]

Chat log as promised.

[ Spoiler ]

AdamJury> Hey folks, thanks for coming out. I'll be sliding things into moderated mode in a short moment. For those of you who have been here before, you know the drill. For those who haven't -- simply type your questions right where you normally would, and they'll get pushed into the moderation queue.
[Stephen_McQuillan] If you want to direct them at a specific person, I recommend typing @Name
[Stephen_McQuillan] It's not a guarantee, but the mods will at least know who you wanted...
Rotbart_van_Dainig> That's odd. This post-it has two numbers written on it... by me. I just don't remember what they mean...
AdamJury> Present today are Peter Taylor, Shadowrun Line Developer, Jennifer Harding, Assistant Shadowrun Line Developer, John Dunn, our PDF/eBook developer, and a couple of authors -- Stephen McQuuillan, Bobby Derie. And me! My new couch arrived yesterday, and that's pretty awesome. Okay, sliding into moderation now.
Zen_Shooter> Are we now in moderated mode?
AdamJury> Okay, Peter and Jen have a few announcements, and then we'll take Q&A.
PeterTaylor> First off, welcome everyone to the February Shadowrun Fan Chat. I'd like to apologize for skipping last month's chat but we've been really, really busy with a lot of surprises cooking for Shadowrun's 20th Anniversary.
PeterTaylor> Next, up you've probably read our post to the Shadowrun4.com site and are wondering what we've got up our sleeves. Well...
PeterTaylor> Well, Shadowrun has enjoyed enormous fan support over the years and many of our current freelancers have come up from the fanbase. So, we've decided to try something different this year and give our fans the chance of contributing a little something to the official Shadowrun universe...
PeterTaylor> To celebrate 20 years of Shadowrun, Catalyst Game Labs is inviting fans to submit a proposal for a fully developed, standalone adventure which will be published as an e-book. Furthermore, we're especifically looking for proposals that play off the stories, plots, and adventures released in Shadowrun's early years.
PeterTaylor> The author of the selected proposal will work closely with the Shadowrun developers to write a 10,000 word stand-alone adventure, which will be published as an ebook and an official Shadowrun product .
PeterTaylor> Each proposal must contain the following:
PeterTaylor> A concise outline/plot summary (200 word limit); a pitch/proposal (250 word limit); a full character write-up; akin to those seen in On-The-Run or Ghost Cartels (200 word limit); an introductory fiction vignette (500 word limit); and one sample adventure scene (1000 - 2000 word limit).
PeterTaylor> Submissions should be emailed to info@shadowrun.com and should be clearly label in the subject line as "20th Anniversary Adventure Submissions."
PeterTaylor> The deadline/cut-off date for proposals is 15 March 2009.
AdamJury> That's info@shadowrun4.com, of course ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
PeterTaylor> Questions?
Zen_Shooter: Will these guidelines be posted at SR4.com for easy reference later?
PeterTaylor> We will be posting them to the official website shortly after this chat along with other announcements we'll be making today.

AJCarrington: Sounds like a great opportunity. Is the adventure meant to be stand alone, or will it be interlinked with the current story arc(s)?
Jennifer> It is meant to be a stand-alone adventure, in the format of On-The-Run.

TeOdio: Are old novel plots/characters fair game for the tie ins or are they considered to be "property" of the original authors?
PeterTaylor> We're specifically interested in adventures that play off the characters, stories and events in Shadowrun's early years. While the novels have interesting characters, we'd definitely prefer material that plays off our published adventures and sourcebooks.

Scott_Schletz: How many will be published?
JohnDunn> We're only planning on publishing a single anniversary PDF scenario, though authors who submit a solid proposal may be considered for other assignments.

Rotbart_van_Dainig: Will there be a big free-for-all deathmatch of big npc where fans can bet and vote on the survivors?
PeterTaylor> No we'll leave that up to someone else. We just thought the fans would like the chance to add their own 0.2 nuyen to the Sixth World on the 20th Anniversary.

PeterTaylor> Okay, I think that's it for questions about the open call. Now, Jennifer has another cool announcement for those of you interested in pitching in on Shadowrun.
Jennifer> We're also looking for enthusiastic GMs and players to join our Playtesting pool. Playtesters must sign and abide by a Catalyst NonDisclosure Agreement. Playtesters are compensated per CGL policy. If interested, please email info@shadowrun4.com...
JohnDunn> Catalyst has submitted all of our event descriptions to GenCon and Origins for the summer conventions. As usual, we've submitted a few more events than we have GMs available to run them. With that in mind, we're actively seeking more GMs. If you're interested in attending, CGL can provide convention badges and some assistance with hotel expenses to anyone willing to run 20+ hours of RPG events for any of our games.
JohnDunn> As an aside, GMs who work these events do also tend to get an early look at the tournaments, Shadowrun Missions, and other interesting tidbits.
JohnDunn> If that sounds interesting to you, please drop an e-mail to gmvolunteer@live.com You'll talk to our RPG convention coordinator, Chuck, who will be more than happy to answer any questions and get you on our schedule.
Stephen_McQuillan> Following the great turnout from the call that Aaron and I put out for Missions where we gave you the blurbs and you ran with the ideas, I want to remind everyone that we are always accepting new proposals. As an aside, Missions are paid writing gigs. (Not a lot, but you get bragging rights.)
Stephen_McQuillan> Missions authors also get a lot of exposure to the writing process used by Catalyst. CGL also watches the Missions author pool for writing talent. It's worth mentioning that more than a few of the Missions authors have become freelancers for larger Catalyst projects.
JohnDunn> I've been asked to just offer a few comments on what's happened in the eBook line and what's coming up.
JohnDunn> Digital Grimoire came out as our first PDF exclusive in November, and we've been encouraged by its reception. The eBook expands on material from Street Magic, offering a few new traditions, adept powers, spells, and threats. We've learned a bit from player feedback on it, and we'll be trying to use those lessons in future eBook releases.
JohnDunn> Bad Moon Rising in the East came out as a PDF exclusive on 2/11. It was our 2008 GenCon tournament. It's the first scenario that we've offered in this format, and it's a chance to see the new layout that we'll be using in future PDF-exclusive scenarios. The adventure is set in Hong Kong with a plot that links in to Ghost Cartels. Pre-generated characters -- the same ones used at GenCon -- are provided, though it's straightforward to adapt this to another team.
JohnDunn> In the eBook queue, for scenarios, we've got the Shadowrun Missions NYC material -- which ran into some snags that we're still resolving -- and the two remaining 2008 tournaments. And, of course, we have a few other things that are still too early in development to discuss.
JohnDunn> One of the things we're really excited about, with eBooks is that we're able to do things that aren't restricted by the requirements of print. So, we can do things like dedicate a full page to convenience issues like NPC sheets, and not have to worry that our page count isn't amenable to fitting into a 16 page signature for printing.
BlueMax: Denver had a wonderful source book, and Seattle has many resources. Would it be possible to write some Shadowrun missions for Seattle? I would feel more comfortable running a Mission at a convention if it were in a region with which I felt comfortable.
JohnDunn> We don't have any plans for Shadowrun Missions scenarios set in Seattle, but there are a few Seattle relevant scenarios that are planned as PDF releases.

Zendead: So when or if are Missions going to be out on the website like the old versions?
Stephen_McQuillan> The Missions will be released soon. They are going through the layout process that you saw for Bad Moon Rising which has taken a little while. We will be releasing an eBook on Manhattan to give GMs and players more familiarity with the enclave, and then Missions will be released on a monthly schedule after that.

AJCarrington: Given the mid-March submittal deadline, when would you anticipate the acutal release of the finished eBook?
PeterTaylor> Any release would likely be third or fourth quarter, given that we fully expect a first time writer's project to take some time in development.

Scott_Schletz: Does this e-book format mean with a good enough cadre of writers you could put out books that would normally not be printable due to cost efficiency. Maybe location books to update Denver?
JohnDunn> It's certainly a possibility, though eBooks do still require development time. With that in mind, there's always the issue of scheduling and we have to make sure that the products are consistent with Shadowrun themes and of interest to Shadowrun players and gamemasters.

Credstick: Novels, when where and again when
PeterTaylor> We'll be making an announcement as soon as we have something solid.

Scott_Schletz: When can we expect a list of upcoming releases that includes special 20th Anniversary material?
PeterTaylor> Well, you can expect a partial list right away, but we're keeping some really cool surprises under our collective hats for just a little longer.

Credstick: Ever thought about an EMagazine
Jennifer> It is certainly possible. Now that we're working on e-releases, e-books are certainly not the only e-product we've discussed...

Prime_Mover: So with a pretty ambitious schedule for this year lots of books, novels, toolkit etc.. Is everything still on the table for 09 that's been talked about in the last few months? And more importantly how soon can I get my grubby hands on Running Wild ???
PeterTaylor> Pretty much everything is in development at this point and we fully expect to be able to release all the material that we've announced.

AJCarrington: Could anyone shed some light as to where we stand with getting updated PDFs released for the titles that were originally released under Fanpro vs CGL? I appreciate that this must go through Topps/etc. and that the hold-up has been linked to their control of the customer list for Fanpro/Wizkids tagged sales. Has any further progress been made with Topps?
AdamJury> We don't offer blow-by-blow updates on legal-wrangling stuff. It's an issue that we continue to work on.

Gearstick: what about e-release maps of canon locations like the ones for Ghost Cartels? I know that I'd love to be able to have a map of Big Rhino for the next barfight my PCs get into.
JohnDunn> While we don't have anythin like that in our queue at the moment, it is an idea that's been in discussion as a longer term possibility. Note that hiring an artist to create maps isexpensive, and such a PDF might be disproportionately priced.

PeterTaylor> The next few releases, in no particular order, that are in various stages of development include: Dusk: Dawn of the Artifacts 1 (adventure 1 in 4 part series), Vice (underworld sourcebook), Corporate Guide (corp sourcebook), Seattle 2072 (20th Anniversary sourcebook), Running Wild (the critter book), and Runner's Toolkit (pack of goodies). If you've got any questions about these products now's the time to ask... we'll see if we can answer .(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)
Credstick: The website, can we update the content a bit more then just Blog? I mean the books listed and other content there is old except new books
AdamJury> Between previews and our ebooks and blog updates, I'm pretty sure we're posting more stuff to the website than ever before ... we do have some new things that are in the works, but website dev generally takes a backseat to book design.

Zen_Shooter: Will RUNNING WILD include rules for purchasing and training animals and paranimals, and deploying them in the field? Will it include more rules on biodrones?
Jennifer> Oh, yes. There will be lots of fun in there for players and GMs who want to have para-critter pets, biodrones, vicious security critters... or just a cuddly kitten. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Rotbart_van_Dainig: How detailed will Seattle 2072 be? Are we talking original Seattle SB or New Seattle?
PeterTaylor> We're talking original Seattle SB, we thought the Anniversary would be the perfect time to revisit the classic.

Stephen_McQuillan> RE: Running Wild--Biodrones and geneteched critters have never been this much fun. They have also changed the way I look at traditional security. My home table didn't know what the hacker meant when he said "don't trust the bunnies" but they have learned.
TeOdio: A lot of rumors are swirling about Runner's Toolkit, any concrete info?
PeterTaylor> The Toolkit is a big bag of goodies. It'll contain a new and updated GM screen, the On The Run SR4 introductory adventure, some new archetypes/sample characters, game flow and Character Generation aids, as well a few other surprises.

Zen_Shooter: Do playtesters need to live in a certain physical area?
Jennifer> Playtesters can live anywhere, as long as they have access to A) a reliable group of players who meet regularly and B) internet connection so they can email me. If playtesters live near me, they can bribe me with cookies, chocolate, or jewelry if they want to influence the game world more.

Credstick: Are there any iPhone Apps going to be created for the Shadowrun?
AdamJury> Computer programs aren't under our license, which means we need to do extra-wrangling for each such thing we do. But we've talked about it, and have some ideas for Shadowrun and non-Shadowrun iPhone apps.

Scott_Schletz: Can we expect a decent level of artwork, even re-eused from early books, in Running Wild? A picture paints a thousand words.
PeterTaylor> We're hoping to have all new artwork for Running Wild though we might end up using an older illustration or two if they happen to be particularly brilliant.

AdamJury> We are ending the chat ON TIME today, so there is about 5 minutes left to ask questions.
Zendead: Will the Corp book cover some of the assets from the fall of older corps in it as well. And how the corp shuffle is going? And how about the Zurich Orbital with the Council
PeterTaylor> The Corp book will contain all that and more. Corporte Guide is a bit of a departure from previous corp books in that it will include several AAs as well as a bunch of material that's useful for any campaign that touches upon the corporate world.

Zen_Shooter: What quarter will see the release of the corporate book? Having one resource for the AAAs will be brilliant, instead of hunting through ten other books.
PeterTaylor> Corporate Guide is midway through development at the moment but as soon as we have a definite date we'll make an announcement. We're hoping to have it out before the end of the second quarter though.

BlueMax: @Jennifer: Which type of Chocolate? The icky milky stuff or the wonderfully bitter dark stuff? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)
Jennifer> There is no bad chocolate.

Zen_Shooter: What quarter will see the release of RUNNING WILD?
PeterTaylor> It really depends on a number of factors including release of some books that we've been keeping secret (you know *those*). As soon as we have something definite we'll make an announcement.

Scott_Schletz: How much time is planned between the releases of each of the "Dawn of the Artifact" adventures?
PeterTaylor> No more than a few months. We currently plan on having the full arc finished by the end of the year.

Zen_Shooter: Secret books?
PeterTaylor> Yeah, you know, XXXXXX, and XXXXXX, and possibly even XXXXXXXXXX.

AJCarrington: "Character Generation aids": tables/charts/?
PeterTaylor> Yup, some cheat sheets/cribs and some other handouts that will come in very hand. Also something really cool that could cut your chargen time in half.

AdamJury> Alright, that's the chat -- thanks for showing up, everyone!