It's a book similar to Year of the Comet: It has a ton of different plot threads revolving around a big event and the ramificiations of that. As always, PDF previews will be posted when the book is ready to go to press, but as it's a plot/event book, obviously, giving too much away too far in advance of release isn't cool for players who want to be surprised.

"Plot/event book" notwithstanding, any chance of any matrix rules clarifications?

Aside from the upcoming FAQ (yes, it exists, I know cause I've seen it ) further Matrix rules clarifications and context will have to wait for Unwired. Emergence is a campaign/plot book and like System Failure it probably features less than a page of actual rules content.

Emergence will cover the events and turmoil that unfold during 2070, primarily (though not exclusively) following how society and the public handle awareness of the technomantic phenomenon and its mysterious roots, particularly given the overblown media exposure and negative spin it recieves following events in early 2070.

My predictions:

Lots of Tin Foil hats, and lots of fire.

You heard it here first!

I'm glad Emergence is approximately on schedule. Gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the line!

They are doing great with the schedule, excepting SoLA. Hope is justified.

So buy the flame-retardant armor before the FAQ is out. We shall hope that one precedes emergence.

Ah, buck up Syn. You did a great job under the circumstances.

Can't fault you for things beyond your control, Syn. Looking forward to reading Emergence.

I hate to be the killjoy, but let me get this straight: How soon after 4ed came out are there going to be "clarifications" of the matrix rules?

Plus ca change...

On the other hand, this sounds like it might be a more colourful 4ed book than I've yet seen. It's no secret that I'm disappointed with the lack of flavour and fun in 4ed. Maybe this'll help.

I am most curious what the circumstances are. Taken what Synner said literally, and he always seems to know what he is saying, some of the hot discussions here seem to have done damage.

Not sure what you understand by circumstances, but these "clarifications" will be just that. All the Matrix errata is pretty minor—so, do not expect serious rules revisions. As for the FAQ, it will address many of the questions that FanPro has recieved over the past year (Matrix and otherwise), and as was announced elsewhere many of the issues raised in Bull's unofficial Matrix FAQ will be incorporated.

Unwired will add new mechanics, additional options and advanced rules that are intended to complement and plug into the main rule set in SR4 (not change it). However, some of these will undoubtedly add depth and variety to existing rules.

Yours truly refers to the speaker, yes.

It means the speaker in all cases. It comes from letters, and the nuances of why are beyond my ability to explain at this time of the morning.

~J

What I meant to say was that the circumstances behind Emergence's delay were my responsability and strictly personal, unfortunately they occured after the writers had completed primary writing and I was editing the material.

@Synner: Hopefully things resolved well. I´m sorry for the misunderstanding. I would have been interested if someone had been sufficiently offended by something here on dumpshock to stop working, but your personal issues are yours alone. Very sorry.

@Kagetenshi, Eidolon: Yes, I now remember. I rarely use formal english, so I had forgotten about that. Thank you.

No problem, Synner. All I need is a release date.

And while we are at it, any progress at holostreets? My girlfriend main character hauls from Latin America, and getting that baby printed and properly bound would make a great X-mas gift.

Yeah, set myself up for that one, I did.

Synner: Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining about timing. I was complaining that new editions usually seem to introduce as many problems as the systems they are designed to replace. This thread kind of supports that suspicion. Probably just beating a dead horse at this point.