FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Catalyst Game Labs and Lone Wolf Development are pleased to announce that they have entered into a new, long-term license for the Shadowrun intellectual property. Lone Wolf will shortly begin development of a Shadowrun data package for its award-winning character management software, Hero Lab. The new data package will initially cover the core Shadowrun Fourth Edition game system, and will later be expanded with content from Shadowrun’s many great supplements.

“We’ve been working with Lone Wolf to make this happen for a long time,” states Randall Bills, Managing Developer of Catalyst Game Labs. “Once we finalized the details, Topps approved the license quickly, signifying their appreciation of the importance of digital tools in further developing the Shadowrun line. Lone Wolf Development has a history of bringing innovative technology to the gaming industry, and we look forward to diving into this great new opportunity for Shadowrun alongside them.”

Released in 2006, the ENnie award-winning Hero Lab includes an easy-to-use, intuitive interface atop a versatile database engine. Data packages for more than a dozen different role-playing games from a wide range of publishers are already available. Users can add their own custom content to existing games or even create data files for entirely new game systems. The combination of powerful, user-friendly software and the diverse RPGs it supports make Hero Lab one of the most successful character management tools ever released.

”We’re very excited to add Shadowrun to the list of games Hero Lab supports”, said Rob Bowes, President of Lone Wolf Development. “Catalyst recognizes that digital tools like Hero Lab are critical to the success of the gaming industry in the 21st century. By lowering the barrier of entry, Hero Lab makes it easier than ever for RPGs to attract new players, and for existing players to maximize their gaming experience.”

Look to www.wolflair.com and www.catalystgamelabs.com for future announcements concerning this exciting development!

Catalyst Game Labs

Catalyst Game Labs is dedicated to producing high quality games and fiction that mesh sophisticated game mechanics with dynamic universes-all presented in a form that allows beginning players and long-time veterans to easily jump into our games and fiction readers to enjoy our stories even if they don’t know the games.

Catalyst Game Labs is an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC, which specializes in electronic publishing of professional fiction. This allows Catalyst to participate in a synergy that melds printed gaming material and fiction with all the benefits of electronic interfaces and online communities, creating a whole-package experience for any type of player or reader. Find Catalyst Game Labs online at www.catalystgamelabs.com

Lone Wolf Development

Lone Wolf Development specializes in creating innovative digital tools for the tabletop gaming industry, allowing players to streamline game preparation, eliminate errors, and spend more time playing the games they love. With an ever-growing suite of tools, including the award-winning Army Builder and Hero Lab products, Lone Wolf’s digital tools are in regular use by tens of thousands of gamers, from miniatures games to card games to role-playing games. Find out more about Lone Wolf Development by visiting our web site at www.wolflair.com.

I'm sorry, I admit my confusion here.

Mr Hardy - Is this confirmation that CGL has retained the licence for Shadowrun for the foreseeable future? Years?

I'm sorry, I admit my confusion here.

Mr Hardy - Is this confirmation that CGL has retained the licence for Shadowrun for the foreseeable future? Years?

Thanks Jason for the prompt response. With the seemed demise of the CGL speculation thread, I'm trying to gather whatever info is out there to determine whether I should be putting all of my newly acquired 4th ed books on eBay in preparation for a 5th ed.

Right now, I have one shelf dedicated to 4th ed and a lot of 3rd ed which hardly got used due to a lack of SR players in Newcastle, Aus.

At the moment, I can't say anything about the license, and this is a separate deal. I'm happy about it, though, and I'm glad Topps approved it so promptly.

Jason H.

IMHO, I would be very surprised if even a new company would do a Fifth Ed. any time soon. SR4A only came out last year, and it would probably annoy almost all customers if a new edition came out in the near future.

Remember that most of the Shadowrun player base probably has no idea that any of the legal stuff is going on.

New editions always annoy people. But just to note that SR4A wasn't a new edition. It was the same edition with the errata incorporated. We tend to refer to SR4A sometimes rather than SR4 as both a shorthand of explaining which page numbers we're using and to confirm that we're aware of / using the errata. Other than the nice artwork and not having to refer to the separate errata sheet, it's the same edition.

I find Daegann's very user-hostile, actually. Additional competition in this area can only help.

Whether the average customer sees it as a New Edition or a New Revision is less important than the fact that 2009 saw a new rulebook, and that makes 2010, 2011, or even 2012 too soon for another.

I disagree. Would most people (i.e. outside heavy Dumpshockers like myself) go and buy a new print of the book just because it was a new print? They might for the reasons of SR4A's lovely artwork and incorporation of the errata but not because it was an upgrade in terms of edition. For that, you just download the errata sheet and print the few pages out. I mean I bought two copies of SR4A just because, but I doubt I'm typical. SR4A wasn't a new edition in any meaningful sense. It was a kind of celebratory collectors edition.

K.

I would buy reprints of the core books if they were given the SR4A treatment.

Does this have any effect on the the similar apps and excel files that are in discussion on the "Community Projects" section of this page? In other words, will this limit their ability to continue doing what they've done?

I've heard SR4A referred to as SR4.5 in some circles.

Yeah, angry people do that a lot. Vampire PC don't really sparkle either, unless you add two SURGE qualities. Neither is Anniversary a new edition just because it incorporates Errata.

Getting off the debate back to the Hero Labs package: Jason, the presser says the package will cover the core game system, and then be expanded.

By Core: Does that mean SR4A, or SR4 original?

Also: Does core include books like Augmentation, Arsenal, etc? Or are those going to be covered by later releases?

From my understanding of the Hero Labs design, that's correct, SR4(A) would be first, and each subsequent source books material is an add on package as it's converted into the app.

So, it's still not as good as the free programs that have already come out (like SR4CharGen) that cover books like Street Magic and Runner's Companion.

I'm confused why anyone needs anything more than a blank excel spreadsheet to create characters these days.

I'm confused why anyone needs anything more than a blank excel spreadsheet to create characters these days.

I'm confused why people even need an Excel spreadsheet to create characters. I seem to do okay with a piece of paper and a pencil. (Or just Notepad when fiddling online.)

You're not forced to do anything, that's the whole point.

If they're not releasing something that's at least "as good" as what's already out there, then why would people pay money for something that's not as good as the free thing they already have? After all, nobody's forcing them to use a particular product.

I used paper for 15 years before switching to a spreadsheet. Much faster, easier to erase, and easier to keep count of numbers.

You already own it -- how is that going to get Catalyst games more money? So, setting you aside, what in this package is so enticing that people will buy it? Why are people going to pay for something that isn't as good as what they can already get for free?

I'm not merely saying that Catalyst games shouldn't have done anything like this, I'm saying that it's not enough (and it's way too late for the little bit they're doing now).

A person making a computer product should program with Windows in mind because of its huge market presence (possibly Apple, based on the target audience, but it's a much smaller possible market). A person making an RPG product should design it with the products that are already available in mind. The general idea when releasing a new product is that you design with what's already out there in mind. You offer something better, something cheaper, something "more" (however you choose to quantify more). If you're not offering more in some way, what's the impetus for the market to choose your product?

It basically seems like Catalyst went with the low ball offer -- whatever was the cheapest way to get something (anything) out the door with the least bit of work involved on their end. I'm supposed to get all excited that something has been released that isn't as good as what I already have and I now have the option of paying for this lesser product? What in there could possibly excite me about this new thing?

You already own it -- how is that going to get Catalyst games more money? So, setting you aside, what in this package is so enticing that people will buy it? Why are people going to pay for something that isn't as good as what they can already get for free?

$15 and respectively $30 are too much, though, if you ask me. I'm unwilling to pay that much.

You already own it -- how is that going to get Catalyst games more money? So, setting you aside, what in this package is so enticing that people will buy it? Why are people going to pay for something that isn't as good as what they can already get for free?

I'm not merely saying that Catalyst games shouldn't have done anything like this, I'm saying that it's not enough (and it's way too late for the little bit they're doing now).

A person making a computer product should program with Windows in mind because of its huge market presence (possibly Apple, based on the target audience, but it's a much smaller possible market). A person making an RPG product should design it with the products that are already available in mind. The general idea when releasing a new product is that you design with what's already out there in mind. You offer something better, something cheaper, something "more" (however you choose to quantify more). If you're not offering more in some way, what's the impetus for the market to choose your product?

It basically seems like Catalyst went with the low ball offer -- whatever was the cheapest way to get something (anything) out the door with the least bit of work involved on their end. I'm supposed to get all excited that something has been released that isn't as good as what I already have and I now have the option of paying for this lesser product? What in there could possibly excite me about this new thing?

You're still saying because you can't think of a reason you should get it, or even why some people shouldn't get it, I shouldn't be able to get it. Why can't i get it? Why am I not allowed to purchase or use it?

I have my own home grown access database that I use to keep all the PC's, NPC's and even build mooks out of it. It keeps up with the effective Build Points of each character and can generate a mook within x% of the BP to make it a challenge.

-M&P