Dumpshock Forums > June Chat transcript

BishopMcQ

Jun 20 2009, 06:05 PM

have at it...

[ Spoiler ]

Edit: Updated.

Ryu

Jun 20 2009, 06:47 PM

Thanks for the transcript, and thanks again for offering to take late questions.

Cardul

Jun 22 2009, 09:56 AM

Wow...this had drifted off the front page already? I have not read the transcript, but it seems odd that in two days, it got only one post..

Larsine

Jun 22 2009, 11:02 AM

Maybe because Missions isn't that interesting to most of us?

Lars

Prime Mover

Jun 22 2009, 12:45 PM

I Think apathy has set in since the withdrawal symptoms have finally subsided. Maybe after a few of 09 releases have materialized it will respark interest in all things missiony.

Cadmus

Jun 22 2009, 01:09 PM

I love me some missions, mostly becouse its a diffrent line of thinking compared to home games, Though I am concerned about the release dates since the con near my home I generaly only go to for shadowrun missions...I do hope there is more then one new mission realesed before sept.

Unnamed Technomancer

Jun 22 2009, 01:22 PM

I'm sure glade i posted my 3 question on the site like they asked us to to bad i didn't get one of them answered.

Prime Mover

Jun 22 2009, 05:48 PM

QUOTE (Cadmus @ Jun 22 2009, 09:09 AM)

I love me some missions, mostly becouse its a diffrent line of thinking compared to home games, Though I am concerned about the release dates since the con near my home I generaly only go to for shadowrun missions...I do hope there is more then one new mission realesed before sept.

There are 3 New York missions and New York sourcebook out so far. http://www.shadowrun4.com/

Cadmus

Jun 22 2009, 06:58 PM

Not what I ment, see I went to dragon con last year and played all the NY missions they had that year, which include the three currently out

granted they didn't have any source matrel out so that was frustrating. See the issue

Dragon con comes in sept with only one new missions game coming out before it. at 70 bucks a ticket, plus amount for room ect. you can understand the issue at hand

DireRadiant

Jun 22 2009, 08:12 PM

I'm pretty sure by the time Dragon Con arrives there will be 3 or 4 new missions available at the con to be run.

I'll have run 6,7 and 8 at Origins by the end of next week.

Wesley Street

Jun 22 2009, 08:23 PM

Unless it was missed or omitted for some reason, SRM03_09 should be available at Origins as well.

Hey, I busted my ass getting the maps for it and SRM03_07 done!

Aaron

Jun 22 2009, 11:47 PM

QUOTE (Unnamed Technomancer @ Jun 22 2009, 08:22 AM)

I'm sure glade i posted my 3 question on the site like they asked us to to bad i didn't get one of them answered.

Yeah, we missed your last question because it was posted Friday night, after our last question sweep.

The answer to you question, which was something like ...

QUOTE

How can a cheracter lower their public awarnes number if they have received extra public awarness not drived from street cred and noteriety

... is that you can't, under normal circumstances. Increases in Public Awareness that are not a result of Street Cred or Notoriety increases are due rather extreme versions of the rumors that usually circulate. Don't lose hope, though; you might find opportunities to increase your anonymity in some of the adventures in the Missions arc.

RobertB

Jun 23 2009, 01:15 PM

QUOTE (DireRadiant @ Jun 22 2009, 03:12 PM)

I'm pretty sure by the time Dragon Con arrives there will be 3 or 4 new missions available at the con to be run.

I'll have run 6,7 and 8 at Origins by the end of next week.

I don't think this is the case Dire.

Since I'm a regular attendee at DragonCon, I'd like to comment regarding this issue also. So, from the chat, please take a look (edited out irrelevant parts):

QUOTE

Casazil> Will demo team member be getting new missions soon to prepare for conventions
JohnDunn> Demo team members get new missions when they schedule them to run. Currently, scenarios 6-11 are exclusives for Origins and GenCon.
[Stephen.McQuillan] August 09 SRM03-05 In and Out; September 09 SRM 03-06 Food Poisoning; October 09 SRM 03-07 Knight at the Opera; November 09 SRM 03-08 Firestorm; December 09 SRM 03-09 Something Completely Different; January'10 SRM 03-10 Spin Control; February'10 SRM 03-11 Pound of Flesh; March'10 SRM 03-12 Elevator Ride to Hell
Casper> Exclusives as in only at the Cons?
Casazil> I have a convention Aug.22 23 can I schudle the new Missions 6 11 for it
Caleb_Fullerene> So am I right in assuming then that for 06-12, demo members will have to wait until the month they are released to run outside of those two cons (this including other cons).
JohnDunn> That's correct Casper
JohnDunn> No, Casazil, they will not yet be available for conventions that CGL is not attending.
JohnDunn> Caleb, one month before release.

Reading this information, here's my line of reasoning,

1) Catalyst is not attending DragonCon
2) Commandos will have access to new missions one month before they are generally available
3) SRM 03-06 is released in September (the same month as DragonCon)
4) Commandos will, therefore, have access to SRM 03-07 in September
5) Commandos running missions at DragonCon will have access to TWO new missions (06 and 07) since last year

Now, let me say, for the last two years at DragonCon, the wonderful Commandos have run upwards of 20 Shadowrun events, and the Missions are the first to sell out. They were so successful two years ago, that last year they got their own conference room to run only Shadowrun games. Six to eight tables running Shadowrun all four days. (I don't know how they do it.)

I feel it would be a cryin' shame if there were only two new Missions available for DragonCon this year. You've got a very solid player base going to that convention for the express purpose of playing SR and Missions in particular. Can there be some sort of compromise? Perhaps one member of the Catalyst team can attend the con to "supervise" or something. There's got to be a way. We've been sitting for almost a year now with only five Missions available. Let's get them rolling!

Robert (aka Spanner)

TranKirsaKali

Jun 23 2009, 09:30 PM

I agree with RobertB. He and I and at least 5 others gather every year at Dragon Con to play missions. We have been playing together there for 3 years and have seen great growth in the Shadowrun arena there. I mean people were buying open tickets in hopes of getting into a game or 5. It would be really sad to see that killed by only 2 missions being available to the people there.

Aaron

Jun 23 2009, 09:46 PM

QUOTE (TranKirsaKali @ Jun 23 2009, 04:30 PM)

It would be really sad to see that killed by only 2 missions being available to the people there.

Wait -- has everyone who will be going to DragonCon this year already played SRM03-00 through SRM03-05?

For what it's worth, DragonCon is on my List of Shows to Attend After I Get Tenure. I'm not any kind of CGL presence, of course, but I'll be happy to help run some games.

Jaid

Jun 23 2009, 09:48 PM

you know, this may sound crazy, but you *can* play shadowrun while not running a missions game. i hear some guy out on the east coast managed to pull it off, maybe you should track him down and see how he managed it...

(no, really... you don't have to do a missions game. why don't you try *really* taking advantage of the fact that you're playing a pen-and-paper game and aren't limited by what the company produces. if nothing else, there are plenty of already-written runs you could do, just try looking around. knasser has one or two, i'm pretty sure ancient history has something as well. or, you could even have a game which *gasp* someone designed but hasn't already written...)

Backgammon

Jun 23 2009, 10:08 PM

For many players, and this is the design of the system, SRM is more than just runs for you to do. It is a consistent environment where you can bring a character and play with a bunch of people you may or may not know. But you'll know the GM isn't some crazy weirdo with ideas that don't match yours, and you'll know the game will be fair towards all players.

A lot of players are also limited in the groups available to them - no GMs or not enough players. Playing SRMs may be the only way for them to be able to play.

Finally, SRMs are really well written, peer reviewed by half dozen other experienced GMs, contain pretty maps and pictures and a cool overarching plot that receives guidance from CGL.

So there.

Jaid

Jun 24 2009, 12:55 AM

i'm not trying to say that missions are a bad thing. i'm saying it's not the only way to play shadowrun. if more games are needed to fill up time at the con, then more games are available. and in fact, a theoretically infinite number of games are possible, because you can just keep on making more as needed.

as i said, there are several pre-written shadowruns right on these boards. playtesting them should be easy enough, and many of them have already been playtested. they have likewise received feedback. now, they may or may not have as much put into them as missions, but they do exist, and it's still something you can do. there's nothing inherently wrong about one-shot shadowruns either, after all.

BishopMcQ

Jun 24 2009, 12:58 AM

I know that Kai (GM who has organized SR@D*C for a few years) is working with Tara Bills (CGL Convention Support) to schedule events and support for D*C. The standard guideline of Demo Team members receiving the Missions one month before the Mission is released to the public has been in place since the old SR3 campaign. For the last three years, there have been exclusive releases at Origins and GenCon, previewing Missions several months before they become available. I apologize if this policy comes as a surprise to some people.

This last year, there was a delay in releasing Missions as they were all re-aligned to be compatible with the Anniversary errata. (By my understanding, the Developers delayed release until after the errata and reprinting so as to avoid making the Missions inaccurate.) Aaron and I have done everything in our power to continue the steady release of Missions and have a year of Missions planned out as was discussed in the chat.

Our goal is to build the fanbase for Shadowrun and the Missions campaign. We welcome constructive feedback to that end and will continue to work with CGL and the line developers to improve Missions. Though I am not as active on the boards as i used to be, I do still check in on threads and can be reached through PM if you have any questions or feedback.

Questions and Feedback can also be sent to missions@shadowrun4.com

Cadmus

Jun 24 2009, 04:33 PM

QUOTE (Jaid @ Jun 23 2009, 08:55 PM)

i'm not trying to say that missions are a bad thing. i'm saying it's not the only way to play shadowrun. if more games are needed to fill up time at the con, then more games are available. and in fact, a theoretically infinite number of games are possible, because you can just keep on making more as needed.

as i said, there are several pre-written shadowruns right on these boards. playtesting them should be easy enough, and many of them have already been playtested. they have likewise received feedback. now, they may or may not have as much put into them as missions, but they do exist, and it's still something you can do. there's nothing inherently wrong about one-shot shadowruns either, after all.

You are both correct and wrong

These are games at a con, As well do to the writing and rules they require a diffrent line of thought, they are progressive and what I do in missions one year travels over to the next year, Were doing a one shot at a con with a bunch of randome people might be fun to kill some time its not really something i'm willing to spend 300 plus bucks to do, Missions I am,

And I know Bishop and every one has been working hard and have been doing there best so no bad thoughts torwards them, but would of been nice if these info would of been know sooner so I didn't waist the money,

RobertB

Jun 24 2009, 05:59 PM

QUOTE (Aaron @ Jun 23 2009, 04:46 PM)

Wait -- has everyone who will be going to DragonCon this year already played SRM03-00 through SRM03-05?

I'm personally aware of at least 10 regular attendees who have. Every Missions game was sold out, and most tables ran the game for 8 players instead of the normal 6. All five Missions were available for last year's DragonCon, and anybody who could ran all the Missions available (and MANY non-Missions too Mr. wise-ass Jaid).

QUOTE (BishopMcQ @ Jun 23 2009, 07:58 PM)

I know that Kai (GM who has organized SR@D*C for a few years) is working with Tara Bills (CGL Convention Support) to schedule events and support for D*C. The standard guideline of Demo Team members receiving the Missions one month before the Mission is released to the public has been in place since the old SR3 campaign. For the last three years, there have been exclusive releases at Origins and GenCon, previewing Missions several months before they become available. I apologize if this policy comes as a surprise to some people.

This last year, there was a delay in releasing Missions as they were all re-aligned to be compatible with the Anniversary errata. (By my understanding, the Developers delayed release until after the errata and reprinting so as to avoid making the Missions inaccurate.) Aaron and I have done everything in our power to continue the steady release of Missions and have a year of Missions planned out as was discussed in the chat.

Our goal is to build the fanbase for Shadowrun and the Missions campaign. We welcome constructive feedback to that end and will continue to work with CGL and the line developers to improve Missions. Though I am not as active on the boards as i used to be, I do still check in on threads and can be reached through PM if you have any questions or feedback.

Questions and Feedback can also be sent to missions@shadowrun4.com

Yes, Kai has been an excellent organizer the last couple of years. We take our hats off to her (I wouldn't want that job).

And we're aware of the policies regarding releases. Sounds like a fair system. My original thought was to encourage the Missions organizers or Catalyst demo team members to make some sort of allowance for DragonCon since there is a RABID base of players looking to do a little running and play Missions in particular.

The fact is, you have like 6 or 7 new Missions "in the can" so to speak. Could you just send one Catalyst demo team member down with them in a locked briefcase or something? Or how about deputizing Kai with Catalyst powers for one weekend? Just looking for some solutions "outside the box" is all.

Please understand that this passion all stems from a love of playing Shadowrun, and Missions events in particular.

Robert (aka Spanner)

SwampGator

Jun 26 2009, 02:07 AM

I would like to throw my .02 cred in and urge Catalyst to send/appoint some sort of representative to DragonCon. The turnout for Missions and SR as a whole is tremendous. As Robert mentioned, the fact that SR got an entire room to itself should speak volumes. When GM's agree to run a table of 8 players instead of 6, just so folks don't go away disappointed, it's a testament to SR's draw. There were players last year who had never played SR before, and once they'd gotten a taste of a Mission, you could see it in their eyes. A hunger for more.

Please Catalyst, make Missions available for DragonCon.

TranKirsaKali

Jun 29 2009, 03:35 PM

QUOTE (Aaron @ Jun 23 2009, 04:46 PM)

Wait -- has everyone who will be going to DragonCon this year already played SRM03-00 through SRM03-05?

For what it's worth, DragonCon is on my List of Shows to Attend After I Get Tenure. I'm not any kind of CGL presence, of course, but I'll be happy to help run some games.

I wouldn't say everyone has. There are always new people showing up. However, I know I have and so has the group I play with there. I know that the missions games were sold out last year. I know that just having 00-07 at Dragon Con would make it so that the people that have been playing the missions there will only have 2 new missions to play in. And I know that there is a large enough contingent of people playing at Dragon Con that they have given us our own room to play in. I almost lived in it last year,