The more i look at it, the more is dislike it. At least the troll has a huge gun in his right hand. But why is the elf ninja thug wearing stockings an a miniskirt on a run? The dwarf probably has a hydrocephalus. And the spur of the sammy looks just silly. Nah.

Yep. But he is allowed to swing around a huge gun too.

Hey! - No you bash the SR3 cover!

I think the SR3 cover looks awesome. Its dynamic, there is movement, the proportions are believeable and lastly, the runners look like they are each actively trying to do something useful. Even if its just saving themselves from falling.

The new SR4 cover looks awful. There is no comparison. Its flat and dead.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that that's really true. The elf-ninja, for instance. I don't hate the way she looks because she's a walking stereotype, I hate the way she looks because she looks like she's rooted there, solidly immobile. The troll's firing out force lightning, sure, but he's just standing there and chilling. I don't even get a sense that the Dwarf is tapping away at stuff, just looking at it real carefully, and the bald Samurai has been there since time immemorial. At first I'd even mistaken the vapor trail on the 'Star vehicle for a part of the building behind.

~J

My main dislikes for this picture are the gumbie immobile look of the characters standing there, the abuse of too many happy colors, and the picture is way too busy. I think in this case that simple/less would have been more.

Personally I just think the picture is crap, rushed, and should be thrown out for something new. But I guess, AFAIK, this is the official picture they are going to use for the cover.

Best of Luck to them!

Veracusse

Just another comment;

I asked my wife's opinion on the cover and she said it had an underwater look. The flying things are fish, and the Troll is a big fish thing with fins on his head and scales on his back.

Maybe Fanpro is trying to go for an underwater theme with this cover. That would at least explain the mask on the super-elf-ninja-babe. But why is the mask's hose attached to her arm?

Veracusse

Maybe this is a sign FanPro is finally catering to the hardcore fans....because you can be dang sure only the hardcore guys will buy a book with that abomination on the cover.

lol

K-K-Ken's c-c-coming to k-k-kill me!

In general I like it. It looks immobile and fixtured, but that makes it look like a cover if you think about it. That´s one of the main things I dissliked about the sr3 cover; that it looked like a good illustration for a situation, with lots of movement and action, but not suitable for a cover. It was just to specific. You get a "and.. what?" reaction to the sr3 cover. The sr4 cover fills exactly the same function as the sr2 cover, its easy to absorb its decorative (sr2 is boring if you see it from a distance or just glance at it, its dull gray), the sr4 cover its just right!

I know it seems I defend sr4 out of pure principle. But honestly think you´re all wrong about most things when it comes to this. Shadowrun seems to turn into something more to my taste and less to yours : ) (speaking to a majority of DS)

It's probably just me, but I get so much more of a shadowrun feel from the Shadows of Asia cover than the SR4 one.

edit: That or an Akira feeling.

Are those laser beams shooting between the dudes on the cover?

It's tracer fire.

or to avoid ripping off "bullet time"

Nah.

But it makes a lot of sense according to SR rules since in SR tracers don't do any damage. So why bother taking cover, right?

Based on the trajectories, the person/people shooting should be at short range and shouldn't miss.

I actually thought they were laser sights.

Still, crappy aim.

Spray and Pray:

Sec guard turns as the door opens, "Gak! A troll combat mage and an ElfNinjaChick!" *Points SMG, looks away, closes eyes, waves gun and pulls trigger*

LOL.

I suppose they could be running toward the door or something, but they are pretty close based on trajectories.

Or running away

The spur on the street sam looks to me like the one Robocop used in the first movie to access the computer, like maybe someone watched that movie to get an idea on how to draw one. And what is with the ankle armor street sam is wearing?

Why is a radiological hazard container outside in the open? Are those Star Wars style blast doors they are getting ready to go in to?

The dwarf has to be a woman, wearing current "fashion" basketball gear. Granted trolls are supposed to be big, but isn't he a bit much?

I still say a dignified, plain, black cover with nothing on it but the logo/name of the game would look sharp compared to that. Maybe even have circuitry running through the otherwise plain black...

That's actually a pretty cool idea Critias.


Not to say that your ideas aren't normally cool!

They're fine and everything ! Really! And ...ummm..... I .. Uhh.... I gotta go!

embossed even?

Look at WoTC covers for their main book. Simple and not a picture per se.

Save the artsy stuff for inside and on the supplementals.

Regarding the size of the troll. Nope, that about right IMO. 9 feet tall and 700 lbs.

that cover is almost as bad as the SR3 cover.

You guys have all forgotten, we've already done blue and black. The new BBB is burgundy. So think of something cool for burgundy.

Howabout royal Purple in a fairly luminescent hue on the Burgandy, with some sort of pattern to make it look like an old leather bomber jacket?

Howabout Gunmetal? Always loved that color.
Or howabout some tanslucent green with the logo a different color and fused on. definitely high tech

Got it!

Bright Neon Orange. With a picture of a giant hand giving you the finger, not title, nothing else.

You pick it up and open it - becuase what gamer wouldn't - it says:

Dear Drekhead.
This is the all new, simplified, streamlined Shadowrun RPG. Don't put it down yet DorkWad, it's not the same Book you bought and gave up on, whining that it was too hard, *Whah*. No, this one is easier, simpler and way cooler. In fact, don't even look through me, just take me up tot he counter and buy me. Take me home and play. Thats all. It's easy."

Why are you still standing here? GO!

Thanks,
Shadowrun RPG

- said all in humor.

Well, I'd pick that up, who wouldn't?

Solid black, or maybe with a subtle texture. The new stylized logo for "Shadowrun" emblazoned across the top, a new take on the dragon-goat skull in the center, and "Fourth Edition" elegantly emblazed along the bottom in a smaller version of the font used for the new logo.

That's what I would have liked to see. Lame acronyms only used on a message forum not being of any concern to it.

I'll gladly wait for it to be done with SR5 though when some third-party company is able to purchase the license and go about the whole thing the way they should have with SR4 (starting over completely from scratch rather than just hashing out a new mechanic and rules set).

BBB.

Ahhh, thanks. I guess I am inured to it already.

Or shooting from the hip for some strange reason.

~J

Because it's cool, chummer!