Archive through December 03, 2008
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Star Fleet Battles: New Product Development:
2009: The Year of the Book:
Archive through December 03, 2008
Looking at the provisional schedule for next year, I see this being what will be called THE YEAR OF THE BOOK.
Here are the factors driving this:
1. More product equals more revenue and profit.
2. With print on demand, we can do a lot of books for secondary markets.
3. Expensive color printing (die cut counters, laminated cards) will be fairly minimal in 2009.
4. FC is going to get at least two Briefings (paper books without color cards or counters) and one or two Borders of Madness books. Jean is terrified of my plan for her to do ten RPG books but thinks six (Feds for D20 and Gurps, four books for one new system) is achiveable. We're going to do another paperback book. We're going to do two books for VBAM, and one or two each for starmada and silent death. F&E is going to get one "book" in 2009.
5. SFB needs to not be left out! It will get G3 and probably one module (maybe two) with counters, but we also need to think of SFB books to print that don't have to have counters. Anybody remember Petrick's idea for a carrier group book? how about a book of the 72 best ship submissions? how about some chunky parts of the Master Starship Book? Possibly the Master Scenario Book instead? We need you to:
Remind us of book ideas mentioned before.
Suggest new books that don't have to have counters.
Convince us that you really don't need counters for some books we had planned to do (R12, R13, R14) with counters.
MSSB - One or more MSSB chunks get my vote if I had to pick one SFB project other than G3 (G3 is also necessary). MSSB would be *invaluable* to campaign players. I understand the work involved, but it is the product I (personally) anticipate the most.
I'm not that excited about a carrier group book. Too many carrier group configurations. I probably woudn't buy it.
Book of 72 best ship submissions would be fun - I'd buy it.
I'm not as excited about the master scenario book. It would be a great product; however,, I see this product as being *alot* of work - as many of the scenarios should be updated for newer editions of the rules.
Personally, as a SFBOL player mostly, I could use any of the R12, R13, R14 books without counters. A bunch of folks in the SFBOL community don't play tabletop much. You might be able to save money on printing counters by offering those products without counters at the option of the purchaser. Just an idea.
My three cents. 
No Counters:
PX2 - Playtest X2 Booklet
1) "another paperback?" did I miss one already?
Or is this referring to the list above???
2) Master monster book?
3) Obscure and really unique ships? ie the Hammerfield?
4) An advanced bomber and fighter SSD book? (I will send you a version via snail mail)
5) The "book version" of all of the remaining "day of the eagle" stories. Which would require a passel of scenarios.
6) Best of "nexis" or "space gamer?"
7) a compendium of a bunch of fiction that has never been published?
1. Apparently, you missed our first paperback anthology.
2. I'm not grasping the point.
3. I'd roll that into the submissions thing.
4. Talk to Petrick, but I'm ok with it.
5. That's the second anthology book.
6. We already did best of nexus. We didn't own space gamers. Maybe you mean best of star fleet times?
7. I don't have much pubishable fiction that has never been published. Maybe none.
Tos: PX2: Possible, but months of work.
Ted: There really isn't any point in offering R12 with and without counters. If we have to print counters, we have to put them in every copy to sell enough to pay for them.
I'm guessing the paperback might be the Day of the Eagle anthology - or is it one of the novels that are, apparently, floating around?
(If only I could get down to trying that Federal Republic idea I have been wanting to go for... sigh.)
Instead of a Master Starship Book, it might be neat to have one or two empires at a time given an all-in-one R-section - a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in a particular empire.
(As an aside, when will the decision be made as to which counter-requiring SFB module will be selected - and will there be a thread for people to post their requests?)
A book of deckplans published so far?
With a bit of formating work to present them in a uniform format, at larger scale than was often done in Cap Log. (done like they were in the RPG books, i.e. don't put multiple decks on one page).
We have so far:
Free Trader (variants)
Fed Express
Fed FF (variants)
Klingon gunboat/workboat
Romulan Skyhawk
Romulan Snipe
Tholian PC/DD
Done or nearly done but unpublished:
Orion LR
Romulan gunboat/workboat
others I don't remember without looking at my files.
Small Freighter (redrawn from SVCs original design)
Commercial Platform (redrawn from SVCs original design)
Maybe throw in some design history/class history type info as well?
Maybe this doesn't make sense without something from each race (Kzinti, Gorn, Hydran, Lyran?), or does it?
Building on Nicks suggestion (which I would buy), maybe the time is right for Leanna's Fighting Starships, since it is most-definitely book-form and wouldn't need counters. Adding the deck plans (or some of them) would be "game content" for the RPG folks.
Would like to see a Best of Starletter, long as "Best of"s are being considered. Only got about 3 starletters I managed to get a hold of from various third hand sources and found them very intreesting.
And as I find them fascinating I'd love a book with Design/Class histories.
I'd also like an Omega Chart/Fighter/PF book on that wish list. Get some tables for things like easy notes/tracking for Tachyon Missiles, HEATs, Partical Splitter Torps, Guard Assignments, Fighter and PF Groups, include a few pages of reference tables for quick and easy viewing and you got a great Omega toolkit that I would be very interested in.
A Starletter/Star Fleet Times anthology might be a winner.
Did the ADB do a Term paper anthology and I missed it?
Module R1 reinforcements? SSDs of popular Tug+Pod combinations, specific empire SSDs for generic units that don't have them already, play aids, etc.
Another E-module wit various stuff (Module P6 was fun).
Leanna's Fighting Starships (the first of twelve volumes) is definitely in the 2009 mix!
There are no unpublished novels floating around.
Well, Bruce did one that needs major work.
Somebody else started one and didn't finish it.
Somebody else said he'd do one if we paid him in advance. We didn't.
I didn't finish my novel because I've got to finish PDT first. But a LOT of work and notes have been done and the entire plot is thuroughly worked out.
Someone pointed out that the Master Scenario Book would take some work to update old scenarios to account for new products. It seems to me that such an update would be a MAJOR selling point and the product might be more popular than expected. I would REALLY, REALLY like an organized MSB. Seems like a major Petrick product to me.
Master Ship Book: Anything that carries this forward is tops on my wish list.
The recent SSD style published in CL38 (the ART) looks really good to me. I'm ready for a complet conversion to this style... right after I win the lotto and provide the financing for ADB to hire a crew of twenty graphic artists.
What about SSJ3 (as a third Cap Log) instead of the 72 best submissions thing?
SFA! SFA! SFA!
The products I would like to see in 2009, anything wiht the word master in it first of all and for the others, to quote a certain corrupt DEA officer in "The Professional" "Send me alllll ooofff themmmm!!!!"
Quote:What about SSJ3 (as a third Cap Log)?
Gotta say I agree with this one.
I still want to see Petrick's take on the General War version of the Carnivons. I wanna see if the Disruptor Cannons really don't get overloads. I wanna see what GW era Death Bolts and Heel Nippers look like.
And there are dozens of alternative settings that can be explored, too. The Gorn raid on the Romulan research station failed. The Tholian arrival was delayed by 10 years, allowing a Klingon conquest of the Romulans. The Mirror Terran Empire setting that was discussed ages ago. The 312th arrives with the Sphere in Y78. And countless others that I can't think of right now.
All of them can only come to fruition in Stellar Shadows. Which is hard when Stellar Shadows isn't done.
What about the once-mentioned Alternative Reality Manual?
With a slightly different slant to Stellar Shadows, an ARM could look at parallel timelines that are feasible to happen (or perhaps might even be happening) - as opposed to some of the aspects of the current SS material which is considered to be infeasible.
(With an ever-so-slight personal bias, I had hoped that one day, the Altered Alliances idea could work as one of many potential viable alternate timelines.)
How about an art of the star fleet universe book?
You could use all of the exisiting art and put it in one place, and have adam turner or others add some more...or maybe you could do something like a "Barlowes guide to extraterestrials" except for the SFU have a diagram for each species/race maybe a page of basic biology it could also be a generic P.D. Source Book.
I vote for sections of the Master Starship Book first,
A deck plans compilation second,
and additional Briefings / BoM books for Fed Com.
I also would like to see a Briefing-style book for Prime Directive. Possibly it could contain 4 to 6 short, fan-created scenarios. You could have the "gurus" of the individual systems (GURPS, d20, d20M, etc) review the proposed adventures and create system specific details / characters / creatures as needed.
Somebody else beat me to it with "Master Monster Book"
Basically this would be an SSD only book creating SSD's for all the monsters and monster variants to include the CL rule updates, maybe some more scenario's, + maybe some new interesting monsters.
Counters already exist so wouldn't need them.
SSJ... didn't even occur to me. Which is odd because I loved both of the previous ones. Chalk down another vote for that.
And the Altered Alliance/Histories reminds me of one of my favorite Captain's Log fiction pieces. From... CL19 I think? The "Alternate View of the General War" written by Kzintis (With Federation Footnotes). Would be neat to see those for the other involved powers, as I found the Kzinti version to be a great read. Not to mention a place rife with hooks to exploit.
1. PD Fed
2. Master Starhip Chunk. Maybe Hydran (basically done), Tholian, and Fed/Kling/Rom (Pick one).
3. Master Scenario Book.
4. PD Tholian
1. SSJ for sure.
2. Like the R Books, as far as counters, maybe just a color page included in the book with the counter images. I scan all of my counters into images when I get them and then modify as needed to make new ones.
3. Master Star Ship with the unified R-Sections
Playtest Fed Empire booklet, with all the unprinted rules from Cap Logs. Much of civil Wars is available in playtest mode (LDR, Vudar, Jindarians, Andros, Seltorians) plus Early Years in CL #12. that with all the unplished Fed Empire scenarios. Include a color counter PDF for downlaod on website so players can print their own playtest counters if they like for the above.
E3 as more E2 material