Sorry if this seems self-indulgent but...

I've just checked my old files for the very first threads we posted on the then-Deep Resonance Forums. It's been more than five years now since those very first discussions with Penombre, Camouflage, Audun, Dutch DK, Otaku Mike, Bagpuss and others. How time flies. Back then it seemed like a cool idea... I really, really had no idea what I was getting in to. Even when we pulled the EuroSB off the boards it still seemed like a pipe dream. Way too many amateur projects like this fall to the wayside. But looking back at the 185Mbs and 1500+ printed pages of material we produced I am left in awe at the amount of dedication, patience, love, stubbornness and commitment that people poured into this project. Of the 40+ EuroSBers that participated in the gestation, only 14 survived, and boy was it a bumpy ride at times. Perseverance doesn't begin to cover it.

So much has changed, I'm shocked looking back at our first "At a glance" descriptions of our countries and comparing with the final edits. It's been a very long road in so many senses.

First and foremost I'd like to thank ThatPaolo, Dvixen, Adam, Neuron Basher, Bull, Jestyr and the rest of the Dumpshock crew for having made this possible in the first place. Without these forums, the EuroSB and now Shadows of Europe would never have been. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for this and all you've done for the online Shadowrun community over the years.

Thanks to the Dumpshock regulars for being the crazy, schizophrenic, genial mess you are. You are all an infinite source of inspiration and frustration. Expect your names to crop up here and there...

Next I want to thank the EuroSBers without who this would never have been. Thank you all for the wild ride, the endless discussions, the compromises and the long, long hours. It was all worth it -
Alistair, Anders, Audun, Costan, Dag, Erik, Florian, Heikki, Humberto, Jef, João, Lars, Maciej, Mikael, Nath, Ghislain, Stefan, Stephan and Tobias – hey guys, we did it!

My thanks also to those EuroSBers who fell along the way for whatever reason. Thank you one and all for your thoughts and contributions -
Bagpuss, Camouflage, Flakjacket, Granite, kolibri, Molloy, Mojo Pin, Navarre, No Carrier, No_name_hero, Penombre and Verby

Special thanks to Ken Peters, Elissa Carey, Adam Jury, Jon Szeto and Michelle Lyons for your support, your frankness, and your time, for sprinkling those teasers throughout your own material.

Thanks to FanPro for keeping Shadowrun alive.

Above all thanks to Rob Boyle for making this fanboy's dream come true.

Apologies if I'm forgetting anyone.

To everybody else I really, really hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we enjoyed making it.

Whooohooo .... not to nitpick but there is no ph in my name, I spell it with an f instead.

Apologies Dag.

You actually kept a list with everyone involved? I'm impressed!

Can I take it from this then, that it's out?

Advance copies made it to Origins on Friday; it should be shipping this week and in stores by sometime next week.

I myself have to thank you, Synner. From a horrible translation of the german add on of the underworld sb(done within 30 mins) to some beers at Ratcon 2003(with you and concrete) my fanboy "way" evolved into some official short stories for shadowrun.de and led me to the job of associate editor for Brennpunkt: ADL(Target AGS).

SoE was a kind of companion on this way.

Yep, a big thanks to you Peter for being the pillar of this project, where you surely demonstrated your powers to keep the ball running and people focused on quality .

Peter, you know where to find me if you want me in on a project again.

This time I'll meet the deadlines.....older budweiser

It's been a pleasure to work with you and I look forward to doing it again someday.


Anders

Well done Peter. This book is your baby and we all will treat it like its farther.

Well done old boy. If you ever make it to these sores i will take you for a drink or two

Hmmm, I'm going to track you down and make sure you get a few bevvies down your neck boyo.

So Synner, attending any conventions later this year, say RatCon or Speil '04?

To jump on the congrats-bandwagon:

@Synner: again, thanks for your dedication and for your patience during the whole project!

@Jon Szeto: thanks for teaching him how to use the obvious stick and wave it at us.

@Lady Anaka: thanks for teaching him how to use the editor's whip.

@all the others: it was a great ride! Thanx a lot, I'm happy (and a lilttle proud, too) to have been a part of this!

Later,
Tobias

P.S.: @Beeste: what's going on with the Danish Con you wanted to attend? Any chance you drop by on your way back?

Synner you did it. All the thanks you give here and include me. I must say I am honoured. I do not deserve. Thank heaven for Adhoc taking over when left so quietly and my life took a different direction. Once again Synner thank you for believing and pushing all involved.

This book has truly been a dream since I started playing in 1992. You did it. With help from many others. None mentioned, none forgotten. Thank you all.

It's been a dream very literally at first. Nebulous, undetailed, changing without pattern. But, as Kults mages, finally a dream can come to life. Ain't it the American Dream?

Nope, never read it. Who wrote it?

Dickens.

It's a reference to one of the characters, a faux gentlemen who made a point of not paying his bills. He had to keep a list of what streets had shops where he owed money to know what to avoid. when he could no longer get about London, he would pay a few of his bills so he could get about without being accossed by irate shop keepers.