Archive through November 08, 2006
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Company-Conventions-Stores-Ideas: New Product Lines Development:
GENERAL PROJECTS:
New Product Suggestion Topic:
Archive through November 08, 2006
A for-purchase PDF product of counters may not be a bad idea, particularly since a lot of game stores just won't carry new SFB anymore. :S
SVC,
Did you get an email I sent you about an alternate use for the FC game engine?
My email account went haywire and I can't see if you replied or not - my alternate address is nerroth@vodafone.ie for the time being.
Gary
Gary: The thing about another sci fi background? I'm sure it would work for them, but fairly standard terms for the TV/movie industry would see me paying $25K in up-front royalties and I don't think sales would justify that.
SVC,
I sent a follow-up message on the same topic - please let me know what you'd prefer.
Gary
No email from you, Gary. Maybe internet hasn't cycled yet. When did you send it?
Last night, I'll try again.
Gary
http://1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3153084
What would it take for Federation Commander to have a distribution deal like this?
Still nothing?
I'll try now with the old address - it's back up and running.
Gary
If SFC or something like it was to ported over to the XBL, I'd actually buy an Xbox 360™ for the house to play it on. And so far I've been unimpressed with the 360. Maybe an version of SFBOL for the XBL?
PHD
Steve,
There has been a lot of book products, dvd's, etc being producted to "celebrate" the 40th anniversary of Star Trek. Any thoughts as to whether or not you can tie into that publicity??? If you have license for TOS, what about special edition Prime Directive writeups on actual TOS characters??
http://www.simonsays.com/content/index.cfm?sid=44
This link is what the Star Trek book line is doing. I know the DVD sets are going through some kind of 40th anniv. deal too.
If you license gives you access to TOS info, there should be a way, right?
I think the "Starfleet Tech manual" by Frank J. is being done up for this too.
Just a thought.
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Starfleet-Technical-Manual/dp/0345495861/sr=8-1/qid=1157676233/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-1315818-1915958?ie=UTF8&s=books
Here is the pic of the new manual, which as you guess is just a dressed up version...
Darren: If we had the rights to do actual TOS chracters, don't you really think we'd have done them by now?
I picked up the 40th anniversary edition tech manual as my old 25th anniversary edition is falling to shreds. The only complaint? On the new cover Starfleet is one word, go figure. The text inside still has Star Fleet (two words) of course, but still....
Nick: Is it just a reprint?? Or is anything different?
Steve: sure, but I thought I would still ask about what your license covers. Didn't mean it to sound like a stupid question.
What about some kind of FC product that ties into the above Tech Manual:
Cards plus the ships, maybe??
Darren: I didn't mean to sound snippy. I was trying to make a joke of it.
I'm game for any product that ties into the TOS-Plus release.
SVC> Well, an FC booster that includes the FJ ships seems to make sense. (Saladin, Hermes, Federation, Constitution, Ptolemy, 2x Pods)
Could go for the obscure, too. Do you have the rights to use the two frieghters from TAS?
Maybe a Prime Directive 'module' that featured scenarios based on TOS episodes? (Tribbles!)
Darren, it is a straight reprint. The interior is all identical to the older versions (although this version is on thinner paper, my old 25th version was real thick paper), only the cover design is updated.
What about a FC product with the ship cards and minis that match the Frank J. book?
It seems different lines of Star Trek products are all using a 40th anniv. logo. There are even toy lines putting out special stuff for this.
There has to be a way ADB can use this anniv promotion by Star Trek merch publishers.
I'm going to be surprised if someone hasn't noted this;
Recently I decided to try and spin up some interest in SFB again at the FLGS. The GW/WH/40K crowd has locally died off mostly and people are looking at other games.
I decided, however, to give it a little help.
I took the stock SFB SSDs and gave them the FC treatment, same with the EA forms and the DAC. A cool ship underlay, all Disney Surplus Color, I added the race emblems, and finally replaced all the lettering with a font that was custom for each race for titles and chart headings, microgama extended for the system labels on the SSDs.
The interest we generated was surprising. People thought it was a whole new game, they thought SFB was some gray old dusty thing.
I know that a lot of SFB folks are grumbling that SFB isn't getting supported enough. I also know that the rules have been really well fleshed out and adding new things is tougher.
A product that could give the SFB folks something while not requiring new rules is to re-issue the SSD books in color, reworking them as I did.
Yes, I know it would take some time to do, but I think I read you hired a new graphics person. Not all of them need done at once, just try the basic book and see what the interest is.
Seriously, the interest was unexpected all because it now looked 'neat'. It would put a new revenue stream in from SFB, give the SFB folks something, and maybe even boost SFB sales.
I know there is the "Why should I buy something I already bought" group, but there is also the "Oooo, pretty, shiny!" group too.
I am glad to send samples (to ADB) if you want to see them (though I doubt you need them). 
Robert
Oh, and I did the same re-work on the module A+ cards, too, with similar results, this time from established SFB players.
RH
I am a proud member of the "color is cool conspiracy" and have thought about this sort of project. There are, however, some serious issues.
Color is expensive. An 8.5 x 5.5 color card costs something like six or seven times as much as a black and white card (plus the cost of lamination which is the same either way). A color laminated ship card has a retail price of just over a dollar. Do that for 2,000 ships in SFB and you have "Holy Guacamole! Lots of profit!" But only if people buy them.
We can print black and white SSDs on demand. Color SSDs have to be printed by a printing company which wants about $5k for each group of 16 ships. (In theory, if you printed a different ship on the back instead of a half-scale version, you could get 32 ships for that. However, lots of SFB players have called for the half-scale ships so they can run SCS+escorts duels in half the time they normally take.) So re-doing the SSD books is a horridly expensive proposition. Most are 64-96 pages and would cost $10k or $15k to reprint.
It might do better to just print FC modules (higher sales rate) and tell SFB players how to use them via an article in Captain's Log.
One issue is that SFB SSDs include "sensor, scanner, damage control" tracks that FC Ship cards don't have, making the two parts "not quite interchangeable". Also, you'd need to put the weapons charts on separate cards (which again would be "not quite" interchangeable).
It has been seriously suggested that we do a tournament set of SFB color ship cards, which might be the one SFB color product that could justify the print run.
What about printing them just like the SSD book format but on 60# paper stock?
Yes, an outside printer would still have to print them, but they would not be on card stock nor would they be laminated.
Getting color copies made now (by the players) is as easy as it was to get B&W photocopies done when SFB came out with the Commander's Edition. (Insert story of midnight runs to grocery story and teaching the attendant how to reload paper, here)
Players may then choose to put the pages in Zyron sleaves, laminate them, or just get new copies each time.
The Basic book would be affordable, but I can't see the Advanced book being done in less than three bites. Also, I think releasing the color SSD books no more than two a year may be best, but that kind of opinion is beyond my keen for accuracy.
RH
That would reduce the cost somewhat, but you'd still be looking at something like 60 cents a ship retail. That would make a typical SSD book retail for $40-$60. I don't think anyone would buy such a thing.
If I'm going to photocopy the color SSDs for use, why would I need heavy paper?
Double sided copies. 24# paper still bleeds a bit and I was bouncing my 2 year old on my knee while typing, so I went with a paper weight I could think of. There might be a 36# or 40# available but I quit that line of work half a lifetime ago and figured Steve would get the gist.
Steve, if you can find a printer who can deliver the copies cheap enough (try that Jedi Mind trick thing you know ) you might consider it I suppose.
In the meantime, consider just the Mod A cards (drone/plasma/mine, etc...). If you can get a printer who will line up the things just right, they should be able to work out a pack of 100 cards (1 sheet w/10 of each cards), laminated, for resonable price.
THANKS!
RH