The Great CGL Rumors and Speculation Thread Options

[hobgoblin]

i dont think exploit, stealth, or any of the other hacker programs are sold over the counter at stuffer shack.

also, a SR character, at least a SR4 character, is a professional. As such, a SR4 hacker will be one that have spent some serious time and effort becoming good at getting into secure systems.

and then there is the wish to make a hacker a playable character, without the rest of the group going for something to eat while the GM and player cracks some system that the player things is important while the GM knows is not, but cant really just say so without tipping his hand about whats going on.

why play a hacker, in the gibson sense (more like a 80s phone phreak really, when access to a regional phone switch was protected by a unlisted phone number more then anything else) when the best way to get in is by having the troll apply a rubber hose to some clerk so that he gives up his password?

and that may be the major one, the legacy of the gibson hacker. That may be the single biggest indicator that SR still have not gone post-anything...

[Dread Moores]

With all due respect ... you wouldn't know if I expressed any interest in such a job, because you aren't me, you didn't work at Catalyst, and you aren't one of my close friends that I would have confided in while making such a decision. I did handle development on one title last year -- Seattle 2072 -- and I also contributed, development- and planning-wise, to many other Shadowrun titles [some of which I am sad that I did not get to see through to their publication, but that's the way the cookie crumbled...]

No, you're entirely right. I should have phrased that better. It wasn't meant to imply you had (or had not) expressed any interest in the job, simply that no interest had been expressed by you publicly (ala here, I guess). My apologies. It wasn't trying to put intent or words in anybody's mouth, most especially the White Jesus' mouth.

[The Jake]

Crap. I posted before I saw the admin no-OT talk. Sorry. Very, very sorry. I won't OT any more.




Okay, I'll state my major problem with the tech in Shadowrun.

Hacking is too f*cking easy in character, and breaks the paradigm of ubiquitous data.

There I said it.

I put myself in a situation where I think like someone who wants to secure data from even casual attacks, and my solution is, time and again, to either take it off the matrix completely, or spend copious amounts of money on security software, or hire someone to browse my system, real time, looking for intruders.

For every rational, real-world-inspired security solution, there's an instant, spiffy program you can buy/pirate/download online that end-runs around that. Encryption is utterly useless and no replacement apparently was researched in 10-20 years since encryption was destroyed (which I find hard to believe). Firewalls? Hah! Go down to the stuffer shack and buy a program to bypass most of those buggers. While you're at it, hell, go ahead and hack the stuffer shacks' point of sale system and score some credits or ultra-cheap merchandise. Why not? It's not like anything they do can really, seriously stop you if they're linked to the matrix at all. Every game I've run with a hacker PC they just hack sh*t randomly to screw with people, steal things, and run amuck, because they know that very few people are hackers or are capable of resisting their efforts. It'd be like if the street sammy decided to walk down the street and murder at random, because the player knew the rules as written couldn't provide a law enforcement response he couldn't just defeat out of hand. Having a Hand of GOD operative hunt you down for hacking stuffer shacks, or every single commlink you try to hack being armed with an agent and high level ICE is just silly. I don't mind the concept of a spider, but it seems like the approach of actually hacking back at an intruding hacker is akin to trying to eat an elephant with an olive fork. Log the problem connection/account, block it entirely, shut your firewall down if it's a severe enough security breach, and then repair the damage.

It seems utterly insane. The paradigm of real world balance seems broken, skewed to the side of "attack" instead of "defense". The real world paradigm is that every time an exploit is generated, even the other black hat hackers will attempt to find ways to block that exploit, simply to be the person who did it. I mean, a few years ago DDOS attacks from botnets were *the* way to bring down even large portions of the internet. Now it's relatively straightforward to configure strategic routers to be more or less resistant to anything other than a custom designed DDOS. While exploits will always predate countermeasures by the very nature of the game, countermeasures *must* keep up with and seal off exploits, otherwise the flawed system will be abandoned. This is the first, primary, and most important axiom of internet technology. If a flaw exists, it is a critical/fatal flaw, and the flaw can not be fixed, it will be (usually quickly) superseded by technology that *will* plug that hole. I simply don't see how a data-driven economy could function within SR4's current matrix rules.

Maybe I totally missed it, but the more I dig into the matrix side of shadowrun as the editions go by, the less interested I am. AR was awesome, but it's also the most readily open way to exploit ANY shadowrun team (since the benefits are so great) without a dedicated hacker that has better software and dice pools than the other hacker.

Shadowrun 4th has made me into something that I never thought I'd be: A neo-luddite in a cyberpunk setting.

You sound you come from a tech background if not a security background.

So let me put it to you this way - imagine a world where the IT architects and Flash developers win - and pure accessibility of information becomes of far greater importance than the security of the information.

Honestly, give it another 60+ years of security pros just banging their heads against the wall and I can easily see this dystopian technological nightmare occuring.

- J.

[Cain]

Yes, I do. I believe that it is important that the general public know I'm not working at Catalyst anymore, but the details are for myself/Catalyst and selected people [friends, family] to know.

I am far more interested in my future than my past. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I wish you a bright future, then.

However, inquiring minds want to know. Speaking hypothetically, if the issues that caused you to leave Catalyst (whatever they are) were resolved, would you want to go back? Or do you consider your bridges burnt? Likewise, do you think you'd be welcomed back at Catalyst if the situation changed?

Additionally, if Frank's prediction about the Shadowrun license going to someone else comes to pass, would you want to be a part of the new team? I personally think you'd make a kick-ass line developer. Or are you simply done with Shadowrun for now?

[Adam]

I wish you a bright future, then.

Thank you. It will be.

However, inquiring minds want to know. Speaking hypothetically [...]

No interest in discussing anything hypothetical, especially in public, especially for free. More lance, less free.

[Jaid]

Oh, please. No one complains about the unreality of Buck Rogers or Star Wars, despite the fact that their technology is supposed to be super-advanced. In some ways, their technology is behind ours. The new BSG really didn't have much technology that was ahead of ours, and was actually behind ours in a few ways.

But to get back on topic: Adam, do you mind telling us a bit about why you decided to leave Catalyst? They lost one of the best people in layout in the industry, so I'm surprised they let you go easily.

in general, i have found that it doesn't matter how good of an employee you are... if your boss is a douchebag and has decided that (s)he is right and you are wrong, no matter how stupid the decision they are making is, and no matter how blatantly obvious it is that they have no clue what they're talking about... at some point, if you won't pretend the emperor is dressed in a beautiful robe the likes of which has never before been seen, you quite suddenly become expendable.

and since being treated like a piece of month-old leftover fish that's been sitting in the trashcan is widely considered to be not fun, i certainly couldn't blame anyone for wanting to leave, be it under those exact circumstances, or circumstances similar to it.

or, in other words: just because he is very good at layout, doesn't mean his boss has to acknowledge the reality of the fact that he's really good at layout.

(disclaimer: i have no special knowledge of why Adam left. i could speculate that since two other employees left CGL at almost exactly the same time, with one leaving for "ethical reasons" and the other leaving for "similar reasons" (ie probably also ethical reasons), the third person quite likely could also have left for ethical reasons, but it would be just that: speculation. that said, i'm going to stick with that as my speculative reason for Adam leaving, in which case he's not likely to go back to working with CGL unless some really huge changes happen... like a substantial portion of employees, especially upper-level management, being replaced. even then it probably wouldn't be likely; in all probability, by then Adam would have found someplace else to employ his talents. after all, he *is* really good at what he does.)

[Enin]

Well I say we leave Adam alone about what happened and just hope that something comes to pass that would interest him in working with SR in the future. You've done great work and while you had your reasons to leave, you would be a great asset to any team.

[Stahlseele]

Thank you. It will be.


No interest in discussing anything hypothetical, especially in public, especially for free. More lance, less free.

Heh, Adam the ice cold pro merc . . pity you're gone, it would be a perfect fit after all ^^

[Dwight]

More lance, less free.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rotfl.gif) Sig worthy, I needed one....and in an ironic twist since I'm no longer in Calgary (is your meatbody still in Edmonton?) I guess you'll have to wait for payment till I can make it to GenCon on a year you are there.

[Penta]

Adan, do people who somehow get you an actual lance get anything besides funny looks now?(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (I just woke up...)

You did, after all, say "More lance":)

[LurkerOutThere]

Well i for one am glad to see this thread finally petering out, it's better then more gloom and doom and folks trying to grind the story for blog material.

Shadowrun will endure, CGL may or may not but in absence of hard evidence to the contrary I think they will. Plus for the good of the line I hope they maintain as jumping publishers once again would almost assuredly trigger a jump to 5th and honestly I just feel like 4th is coming into it's own with SR4A.

[Ancient History]

Okay, so today I was banned from the Shadowrun freelancer forums. The reason being I was telling other freelancers I thought Jason was being dishonest in his statements, and one of them (who shall remain nameless) snitched on me. Truth be told, I haven't been happy with the situation at CGL for quite some time and this comes as a bit of a relief as much as anything. Several weeks ago I sent an e-mail and certified letter to Loren Coleman stating I would withdraw copyrights unless I was paid in full for the books I was owed (a check was cut and mailed to me about a week later). That also means I was paid when several other freelancers were not, so when the extant of CGL's financial troubles started making the freelancer rumor mill, I was less in a position to hold back drafts or remove copyrights than several others - because I'd already been paid for most everything.

So, now that I've been removed for fear of undermining Jason and the company, I'm calling it quits with CGL. I'm done freelancing with them, and I'm going to send them an e-mail tonight terminating my contracts. I will no longer be a Shadowrun freelancer (sniff) but I hope to be again one day under a different company and a different line developer.

[Ophis]

Holy crap. They AH has "retired" from freelancing SR. That really pisses me off. I was up to now hoping CGL would muddle through and get it sorted but now I want them to sell upn the SR license and give someone else a go.

How much would Dumpshock need to buy it, I hear that a whole lot of people with experience writing/making SR books are out of work, and we could try and get Synner back as developer...

Actually I am almost serious about this.

AH - To address you personally, that's a damn shame, I love your writing (particularly the infected which agreed with my houserules), and have spent hours comparing my theories with yours. You saying something about the background is almost canon to my mind (and I suspect to others here). That said I have full respect for what you've done, clearly a hard choice for you.

Edited - to talk to AH not over him.

[tete]

Ancient History,

Being an old timer here on dumpshock (pre the 02 crash) I want to say that it was a happy day when I heard that you were going to be working on 4e. I had been pretty negative when Fanpro released it and was happy when they lost it to Catalyst. Now that you will no longer working for Catalyst I feel sad. Its like all the people I respected as authors are like rats leaving the ship, which I suppose is not surprising with the news about Cthulhutech on top of the other Catalyst problems. I just wanted to say thanks for the work you did do and I hope that whatever happens to Shadowrun you can find a freelance gig you enjoy.

[LurkerOutThere]

I'm sad to hear you've had such trouble AH. Thanks for your efforts.

[Shinobi Killfist]

Fact checking and other proofreading takes time and effort even if it's done by volunteers [which it has been, recently] -- not only because they simply need time to go over things properly, but then someone with thorough knowledge needs to go through all of the suggestions and vet them.

Volunteer fact checking and proofing can make for better books, but it's not magic pixie dust, and it's not "free."

Making a good product takes time and effort. If as much effort went into shadowrun as went into battletech that fact checking would be assumed. From the battletech books I have picked up the production value of the battletech books bitch slap the shadorun books so hard I'd say SR needs dentures but you kind of need a jaw to place them in.


I don't see the numbers so maybe its justified, but it looks like SR was the red headed stepchild of catalyst.

[Prime Mover]

So on the off chance that Catalyst retains the license what happens to the books in development. With freelancers leaving can they still produce that material (ie Almanac,toolkit,Dota and follow up book). Or does all of that material go into limbo? If catalyst looses the license with whom should we discuss investing? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smokin.gif)

[Brazilian_Shinob...]

Well i for one am glad to see this thread finally petering out, it's better then more gloom and doom and folks trying to grind the story for blog material.

Okay, so today I was banned from the Shadowrun freelancer forums.

Heh, never say 'never' (or 'finally' in this case).

I beg the question: will there be a 6th world almanac yet?

[JM Hardy]

Heh, never say 'never' (or 'finally' in this case).

I beg the question: will there be a 6th world almanac yet?

As long as I'm developer, I'll be working to get the 6WA out.

Jason H.

[Ancient History]

Unless we have some Drownball champions, I wouldn't hold your breath for that.

Thanks to everyone for all the kind words!

[Penta]

How much would Dumpshock need to buy it, I hear that a whole lot of people with experience writing/making SR books are out of work, and we could try and get Synner back as developer...

The license or the IP? The amount is probably in the seven figures at a minimum.

And if you think a new company (I'll say it once: The idea of Shadowrun going "open-source" is probably the most delusional idea I've yet heard on this thread) would necessarily do any better where it counts (the business side), you are, to be quite honest, not seeing the reality.

CGL is a small company (for some reason my mind says the biggest they've gotten in terms of full-time employees has been something like 6, though I'd be damned if I could source it) trying to handle multiple licenses probably worth millions, in a very low-margin business.

Meanwhile, their freelancer pools for BT and SR alone are probably in the dozens, each? (I won't even hazard a guess re other game lines.) Each one of those is a creditor, on top of all of their other creditors. Accounts Payable is a tricky thing for any small business. It's why companies like OfficeTeam and Administaff make millions providing people who do just that.

[LurkerOutThere]

Penta sums up things nicely.

I firmly believe even and especially with some of the writers I like are leaving due to financial issues that the best thing for the brand and therefore for the fans is if CGL gets it's house in order and continues to make books.

[emouse]

Hey, not all of us who live on the BTech forums are that bad.

I think it's a difference in opinion toward Catalyst that the players have, based on how they've seen their game change.

The general opinion of how Catalyst has handled Battletech has been very positive. In part because of real improvements of the game production quality that started toward the end of Fanpro's run and blossomed under Catalyst. Also, the 'faceless corporate villain' for most of that run has been WizKids, who had restrictions put on Catalyst to keep Battletech from conflicting with MechWarrior. Battletech is also a game that's had very little change in mechanics since 2nd edition back in the 80s.

Put all that together, and you have a lot of Battletech players who are pretty happy with Catalyst.

Not that there aren't unhappy people, but it is also an official Catalyst forum. While there might be some particularly negative opinions that get weeded out, it's still a popular forum. On top of that Battletech is a game where the rules changes that have taken place are mostly tech additions. If you don't like something, you can play in an era prior to it existing. That's something else Catalyst has done more to encourage.

[Adam]

Making a good product takes time and effort. If as much effort went into shadowrun as went into battletech that fact checking would be assumed. From the battletech books I have picked up the production value of the battletech books bitch slap the shadorun books so hard I'd say SR needs dentures but you kind of need a jaw to place them in.

BattleTech got a head start in several respects: color books sooner, they had a large fact checking/proofreading pool built up [something we were working to build on a Shadowrun side and making some good momentum with,] and the BattleTech developer job has been stable with one person since Catalyst started, unlike the Shadowrun developer job. And of course, the 20th Anniversary plans, of which only some of the announced titles have yet to materialize.

Unfortunate, very unfortunate. I can only wish it had played out differently.

[McCummhail]

For my part, I can do little but Howl at these proceedings:

"What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up
their brains and imagination?
Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars!"

To AH, Adam, Jessica, and all the others I hope the best for you.