 Upcoming books Dual Versions? |
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 Apr 13 2005, 09:08 AM
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#1
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Target  Group: Members Posts: 90 Joined: 22-March 04 Member No.: 6,182  |
Since SR4 has been announced, and the system is radically different, will the books due for release before the fourth edition be dual system for rules and stats? Since the fourth edition has been announced I think a lot of people may be put off buying the new books if they are only 3rd edition stated. Yes I know the books won't have much in the way of game system data, but there's bound to be some. Also dual formatting them would be a nice teaser for people.
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Apr 13 2005, 09:10 AM
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#2
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 158 Joined: 4-August 02 Member No.: 3,064 |
An interesting idea.
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Apr 13 2005, 09:16 AM
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#3
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
I don't think that it will happen, although it is an interesting idea. Chaosium has done so with a few books (Arkham and Dunwich): they have the stats for classic CoC and a conversion to CoC d20 on the last pages.
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Apr 13 2005, 09:26 AM
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#4
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Freelance Elf Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 7,324 Joined: 30-September 04 From: Texas Member No.: 6,714 |
It was also tried with L5R for a while (d10 and d20 systems, both in the same sourcebook).
From what we've heard, I don't think it'll be a big issue for these last few books for SR3, will it? They've been talking like they're both just sourcebooks, not adventures or anything. What would we need stats for? |
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Apr 13 2005, 11:29 AM
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#5
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
Either Critical Error or System Failure are supposed to be a campaing-book like Brainscan was. So there surely will be stats in it.
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Apr 13 2005, 11:46 AM
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#6
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364 |
If they did, it wouldn't be the first time that there have been Shadowrun books that spanned editions. The releases immediately before and immediately after the release of 2nd edition supported both 1st and 2nd, at least in their initial printings.
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Apr 13 2005, 12:30 PM
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#7
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
I wasn't around at that time, started playing SR after the 2nd edition had been on the market for one year or two.
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Apr 13 2005, 01:21 PM
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#8
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 165 Joined: 30-September 04 Member No.: 6,715 |
One of the problem being is that SR4 seems to differ more from the edition immediately before it then in any other case (3rd vs 2nd, for example). However, as I've only played 3rd, I wouldn't be able to comment on that to the degree that others can. |
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Apr 13 2005, 01:25 PM
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#9
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364 |
1st to 2nd was a rather big jump, rules-wise. That may have been a contributing factor to the "dual edition" books surrounding that transition.
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Apr 14 2005, 03:47 PM
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#10
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 519 Joined: 27-August 02 From: Queensland Member No.: 3,180 |
I don't think 1st to 2nd was such a big jump, the sourcebook update in 2nd ed. covered most 1st ed. books in only about 3 or 4 pages.
Maybe a small hop. |
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Apr 14 2005, 04:06 PM
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#11
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
You won't need if you only have to adjust the stats of the npcs.
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Apr 14 2005, 04:21 PM
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#12
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Target Group: Members Posts: 85 Joined: 24-September 02 From: Centerville, UT Member No.: 3,307 |
L5R did do dual-rules books for a time, and they're now dropping the d20 version and running with their house rules with the new edition coming out in a month or so.
The dual stat books made neither side happy, really. Either way you had to put up with being able to use only half of the stats and rules of the book you just bought. |
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Apr 14 2005, 05:21 PM
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#13
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Great, I'm a Dragon... Group: Retired Admins Posts: 6,699 Joined: 8-October 03 From: North Germany Member No.: 5,698 |
In a sourcebook aren't that much new rules, hopefully, to worry about. And the stats of the relativly few npc can easily fit in three or four pages. I mean, most adventures and sb only have a handful important npcs whose stats are fully fleshed out.
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Apr 14 2005, 05:27 PM
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#14
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
Personally I think it scary dangerous to release SR3 books so close to SR4 release. You run a serious risk of confusing new players (the aim of SR4) with a "new" book that doesn't match up with his newly purchased BBB.
However it would be a serious time crunch to try include SR4 rules based stuff in a document released before the SR4 rules are. |
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Apr 14 2005, 07:04 PM
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#15
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 296 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Usually under a cat Member No.: 864 |
The aim of SR4 is to confuse new players? Wait... Sorry... :D Well, Shadows of Asia and Shadows of Latin America aren't rulebooks, so it'll be just as easy to use them with SR4 as with SR3. And System Failure will serve as a nice bridge between SR3 and SR4. Now, if they were releasing an updated MitS or Rigger 4 or something, that would be a little weird, but this should be okay. |
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Apr 14 2005, 07:10 PM
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#16
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
MitS 4 is apparently already on Fanpro's future book release list and called Street Magic. Shadows of Asia and Shadows of Latin America I don't see as issues. But System Failure is a marketing mindfield in regards to new players. |
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Apr 14 2005, 08:18 PM
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#17
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,314 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Lisbon, Cidade do Pecado Member No.: 185 |
Let's get this perfectly clear: as far as anyone knows System Failure is a SR3 product all the way. It is a major event book with a unique format which will bring change to the SR universe on global scale and open the way for the jump to 2070 and SR4. If anything it represents the catalyst for what setting changes are made in SR4. Nobody has said it will include any SR4 rules or content so don't jump to conclusions.
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Apr 14 2005, 08:21 PM
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#18
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Dragon Group: Members Posts: 4,718 Joined: 14-September 02 Member No.: 3,263 |
... which will be released a couple of months later at most. So they'll be sharing shelf space side-by-side. A recipe for disaster.....unless there is someway for the new SR4 player that picks it up to know WTF he just got into and how to use it. (EDIT: or it is obvious that he should not buy it as appropriate) |
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Apr 14 2005, 08:22 PM
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#19
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 3,314 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Lisbon, Cidade do Pecado Member No.: 185 |
Besides the fact that it will say "For use with Shadowrun 3rd Edition" on the backcover and in the intro... besides this book is so juicy it'll have sold out by then :P.
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Apr 14 2005, 08:33 PM
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#20
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 468 Joined: 17-March 05 Member No.: 7,185 |
I tend to think dual statted books aren't going to be in the cards as they almost always significantly increase the page count. For the most part the dual statting people speak of is reserved for companies that are trying to support two simultaneous systems. Chaosium seemed to try to do that with d20 and BRP before they realized d20 CoC was utterly hated by CoC fans and GoO and DP9 seem to do that for Tristat and Silcore. For the most part though that's because they want to have some tie ins to the d20 market and they are wanting to maintain dual systems despite the headaches involved.
However being that FanPro isn't wanting to do SR d20 the idea of trying to please people with backwards compatible products seems pretty unlikely. However if sales of SR4 don't pan out it would certainly be a way of selling new products to the SR3 grognard population ;) |
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Apr 15 2005, 12:49 PM
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#21
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,086 Joined: 26-February 02 Member No.: 364 |
I believe that the assumption is, that FanPro does have some idea of what portions of the SR3 rulebase are going to be most incompatable with the SR4 way of doing things, and will take care to avoid throwing things into System Failure that they know will be hard to convert over. |
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Apr 15 2005, 01:31 PM
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#22
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Shooting Target Group: Validating Posts: 1,618 Joined: 29-January 03 From: Montevideo, Uruguay. Member No.: 3,992 |
Of course it will have dual-stats: d20 and d20 Modern! :silly:
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