[X] My Assistant

[Fortune]

Just had to be on my birthday... figures.

June 22nd is mine, but with the time zones and all, the chat actually ends up being 4 AM on the 22nd where I am, so it's technically my birthday too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Adam]

I hope I don't sound toooo pretentious, but can we still make this clear on the shadowrun4 site? I jump through hoops to get our players involved in online SR material, and talking with developers is an attraction to them, but even I didn't know about the most recent one until it was over ... and I'm the only one in the groups fanatical enough to filter through the SR forums.

It's on the TODO list.

any chance someone transcribed the chat?

Yes; we'll be posting the transcript to Shadowrun4.com within the next few days, but formatting a chat transcript is something I do after I've already finished a full day of work on, y'know, books we publish. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[PBTHHHHT]

Yes; we'll be posting the transcript to Shadowrun4.com within the next few days, but formatting a chat transcript is something I do after I've already finished a full day of work on, y'know, books we publish. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'm sure some of us would be willing to help you format a chat transcript for ya and then all you need to do is proofread (yet another document). Of course, the problem then is there is no guarantee they'd finish it on time. ah well, the trouble with volunteers, sometimes you get what you pay... oh wait.

[Adam]

Yeah, it's a small enough job that outsourcing it actually isn't that efficient. I might have Jason [the BatleCorps Managing Editor] handle it once he's up to speed with the BC side of things, but until then it may arrive the Saturday of the chat, or it might arrive anywhere a few days afterward. It shouldn't ever be as late as the April one, though.

[Muspellsheimr]

Any chance we could get a text cut-and-paste version posted here while you are working on the 'official' version?

[Adam]

And it's up: http://www.shadowrun4.com/wordpress/?p=230

Next month is June 21st!

[Jaid]

errata 1.8?

[jklst14]

I had never heard this before so I wanted to clarify.

Tycho litte rulequestion: Is it right, that I get a Damage Resistence Test (without Armor), if I get hit by a direct combat spell and fail the Spell Resistence Test?
Bobby Derie Yes, that is correct.

Does this mean that a target of a direct combat spell like manabolt gets to roll a Spell Resistance Test and a Damage Resistance Test?

[Fortune]

Does this mean that a target of a direct combat spell like manabolt gets to roll a Spell Resistance Test and a Damage Resistance Test?

That is absolutely incorrect! I am very, extremely, positively, absolutely sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bobby Derie is mistaken.

[Method]

Adam:

So I missed this during the chat:

Currently our plans for 2008 call for the release of Unwired, Ghost Cartels, Feral Cities, Vice and Corp Guide as well as one or two other surprises which I'm not currently at liberty to discuss.

Thats 5-6 books (roughly) in the the next 7 months, right? That sounds great, but I'm curious: how are you guys able to turn out books that fast? Are these books that have been in the works for a long time, or do you just have a really good system down? Is it just that CGLs supports a much more robust release schedule?

Either way, keep up the good work!! It would be awesome to have the complete core rules by christmas!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Daier Mune]

im surprized that no one asked about flechette rounds and shotgun damage.

[Muspellsheimr]

No need to. It has been discussed multiple times - old Flechette damage codes in Arsenal was a mistake caught by the play testers, but still slipped through the editing process somehow - if someone can find the quote, it would be appreciated (I'm lazy).

Core Book Shotguns, Flechette, and Fragmentation weapons have all been updated in the Fifth printing to reflect the +5AP modifier, which conveniently has not been updated in the Errata yet. Next Errata update is supposedly coming in about a month.

[Adam]

Thats 5-6 books (roughly) in the the next 7 months, right? That sounds great, but I'm curious: how are you guys able to turn out books that fast? Are these books that have been in the works for a long time, or do you just have a really good system down? Is it just that CGLs supports a much more robust release schedule?

There's a few reasons that we're faster than FanPro at releasing stuff [although we're still not quite in the groove we want to be in!]:

* Our Shadowrun line developer, Peter Taylor, works exclusively on SR. At FanPro, Rob worked on both Shadowrun and running the business end of things. We have someone who does the biz end of things, so Peter worries about the game, while David worries about dealing with printers, distributors, and all that.
* Peter isn't burned out on Shadowrun ... Rob was. Rob is much happier working on his new game, Eclipse Phase, and Peter brings new energy to Shadowrun.
* Randall Bills [former Classic BattleTech developer] is working as the Head Developer, and he swoops in and helps out on whatever project needs him at any given time.
* Catalyst has a fulltime graphic designer on staff [in theory ... I'm probably closer to a 75% graphic designer given my other duties, but I don't count my hours up, I'm probably more like a 150% timer most weeks.] while FanPro just used freelancers.
* We've put more effort into helping our freelancers communicate with each other on projects, which, in theory, speeds them up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I think those are the main differences.

[samuelbeckett]

That is absolutely incorrect! I am very, extremely, positively, absolutely sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bobby Derie is mistaken.

I think Bobby Derie was 1 for 4 in the end, as the book clearly contradicts most of his answers.

Firstly for interrupts, he directly quotes Full Defense and then claims you can't interrupt into your next Combat Turn - when Full Defense is the only interrupt action that the rules explicitly say you can take into your next Combat Turn.

Then as Fortune pointed out above, he claims you get a separate damage resistance test after the Spell Resistance test when targeted by Direct Combat spells, which again is extensively debunked by the BBB.

Then he makes some off hand statement that Dikote still exists in SR4, but for some reason no one is using it any more, despite it being prevalent in 2060.

The only thing he did get right is that a 1IP person needs to declare Edge use at the start of the combat to get an extra IP.

Unless these points make it into the errata (and thereby change the RAW) they are just flat out wrong...

[Muspellsheimr]

Which brings up the question on why he was allowed to answer questions regarding game mechanics he clearly does not understand.

[Fortune]

Because he has a very solid grasp on some of the other aspects of the game. I'm thinking Bobby just had a Bad Day™.

[FrankTrollman]

Then as Fortune pointed out above, he claims you get a separate damage resistance test after the Spell Resistance test when targeted by Direct Combat spells, which again is extensively debunked by the BBB.

Unless these points make it into the errata (and thereby change the RAW) they are just flat out wrong...

I'm pretty sure he thought the question was for indirect combat spells, because the questioner talked about "hitting" which is something that only indirect combat spells do.

-Frank

[fistandantilus4....]

My thought on Dikote, after reading Arsenal, was simply that the SOTA had caught up with it. In previous editions, there were rules for eventual degredation of gear (armor, weapons, ICvs Programs) as the SOTA caught up with your gear in the constant arms race. Rather than putting out more and more gear in the books, the assumption was that there were always new toys being put out, and that runners paid to get the latest and greatest. If you didn't shell out a few hundred nuyen every couple of months, your gears ratings would fall to reflect falling behind the SOTA.

Dikote was put out in Shadowtech first IIRC, putting it back in the '50s of Shadowrun. It makes sense by now that it would be incorporated and compensated for with modern armor and weaponry respectively. Essentially, Dikote simply isn't SOTA anymore, it's every day. Now, that reasoning doesn't address an assumed difference between an armored jacket circa 2050 vs a metahuman fist, and a armored jacket circa 2070 vs a metahuman fist, as a regular meat fist isn't getting "upgraded", but then, the SOTA upgrade rules never covered that anyway. Just my thoughts on it. Use or dispose as you like.

[FrankTrollman]

I point out that an SR4 armored jacket is a lot more effective against a normal meat fist than an SR1 armored jacket was.

In SR1, an armored jacket bought you 3 automatic successes, which reduced a standard 3M2 (Stun) fist to a Light Stun and took it down to no damage if you could score one more success against a TN of 3 than your opponent scored on their attack roll with a TN of 4.

In SR4, an armored jacket provides 6 damage resistance dice and a standard human fist does 2S. The jacket on average scores 2 hits, reducing the damage to zero if you score as many hits on your Body test as your attacker scored on their attack roll.

---

That has more to do with changes in basic mechanics, but I would point out that if you wanted to make a SotA argument for armor and weaponry, that armor actualy is more effective against basic meat fists than it used to be.

-Frank

[Synner]

Which brings up the question on why he was allowed to answer questions regarding game mechanics he clearly does not understand.

Bobby was "allowed" to answer because I asked a few of the core freelancers to help out that day since we were short-handed, and I am very confident in his abilities and knowledge of the system. I happened to be dealing with 20 other questions and passed this question (amongst others) on to him. This time he made a mistake and I didn't catch it (either in the chat or before posting the pdf). Contrary to popular belief nobody on this side is perfect and no one bats 100/100, answering Qs in this kind of chat is not a science and mistakes will happen.

[Ancient History]

<-Bobby

I goofed. It happens, and I'm very sorry it happened in the chat. Trying to answer questions as quickly as possible does that to you.

[Drogos]

Damn Peter. Could you have been anymore teasing?? You are an evil, evil man and I thank you for it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[fistandantilus4....]

June 22nd is mine, ...

I just knew Fortune was Cancer! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I think the chats are a great idea, and a great way for people into the game to get direct questions asked. I'd hate to see this gaff drag it down. Next time just keep more books nearby. 'Course with AH's collection, that might be more of a problem, trying to wade through them. We'll just have to get him hooked up with skill wires and headware memory.

[Zak]

I think it is just a plot to convince us that he isn't an AI.

[Ryu]

I think we let him dig up the BookClub Street Magic as a punishment and get on with it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)