The Joint Venture with Mongoose

newportgames · Post by **newportgames** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:32 am

Being a new game store in town I do not carry much Mongoose stuff and do not have an opinion one way or another about the company. I do know that the premier game store in the region which has over 100,000 distinct items in stock does not have a high opinion of them. In essence, their marketing efforts tend to fall flat. Example: Starship Troopers for one.

Post by **Jean** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 3:33 am

I hope we can prove the exception to that perception. I can promise you that we will put out a high-quality product that will be fun to play.

Dal Downing · Post by **Dal Downing** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:17 pm

Congratulations Webmom on being promoted to weasel

That is a 'Rank" on Mongoose's Forum just so no one thinks I am attacking Webmom.

silent bob · Post by **silent bob** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:26 pm

just remember that mongoose had some licenses pulled from them but ACTA babylon 5 before the license went was a massively successful space combat game.
with the agreement here then hopefully the game can only go from strength to strength and bring more people into fedcom as well.

Post by **Jean** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 7:09 pm

Dal, I had to do something. Being called a shrew was getting to me!

pinecone · Post by **pinecone** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 7:23 pm

You could've just WHANGed anybody who called you out on it

ericphillips · Post by **ericphillips** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 7:41 pm

silent bob wrote:just remember that mongoose had some licenses pulled from them but ACTA babylon 5 before the license went was a massively successful space combat game.
with the agreement here then hopefully the game can only go from strength to strength and bring more people into fedcom as well.

Not everything a company does is gold. Starship Troopers didn't fare well, but other projects they did have: Traveller, Conan, etc. I really like them.

As for license yanking, that is more the whim of the licensor than the licensee (except for WoTC that quit their Star Wars license early). Paramount has pulled Trek from multiple companies (FASA, Last Unicorn, Decipher). It had nothing to do with quality. I loved the FASA game, and the Last Unicorn version was top notch. But just because a company loses a license does not mean lack of quality.

Post by **Jean** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:07 pm

By no means do I mean to imply that Mongoose's games are less than great. I was responding to the perception of that one store.

I'm reading the Traveller books and enjoying them muchly.

bolenbr · Post by **bolenbr** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:15 pm

I wonder if the new movie will help sales. since the new movies are set at the same time period as your universe. I wonder if young kids will be interested in a game set at the same time period as Fed Commander instead of thinking this is a game based of an ancient TV show which was on before some of their parents were born (sorry to date folks but I am dating myself as well)

Post by **Jean** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:03 pm

Bolenbr, the last movie did create a bump in sales -- the first time that has ever happened.

kinshi · Post by **kinshi** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:34 pm

Jean wrote:Bolenbr, the last movie did create a bump in sales -- the first time that has ever happened.

I can see why too...the 'new' Trek is 'old Trek' with a new coat of glossy paint and some young blood, and has shed itself of 30+years of messy canon, and ADB is in the right place at the right time.

The holders of the Trek IP pretty much pitched all that was considered Trek 'canon' overboard, and the SFU products already match the 'new' look and feel. It also helps that the new Trek is 'edgier'..a LOT edgier....I mean in the Roddenberry-controlled world, Vulcan would NEVER have been obliterated, some kind of low-casualty, minimum violence solution would have been found instead.

So yea, ADB (from where I sit anyway) seems in a fine position in terms of the new Trek direction, in fact may even be in a position to influence Trek canon. Who knows maybe we might start seeing Lyrans and the ISC in future Trek movies

(and Klingons that are simply swarthy and have no cranial ridges)

ericphillips · Post by **ericphillips** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 1:28 am

Paramount in no way "pitched all that was considered Trek 'canon' overboard." New books are being written in it, the Online game that came out after the new movie is in the future of the original timeline, and the second game from WizKidz is all based in the original timeline. Fact is they have two timelines, both still active (althogh only the new one gets $100-million motion pictures).

However, you are correct, the look of the new movies is more in line with TOS (although I hate hate hate those nacelles in the new ship, but the uniforms were awesome), so it can give a little more recognition to a person seeing it on a shelf without seeming old.

Its just like fashion, whats old becomes new again.

kinshi · Post by **kinshi** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 6:44 am

I only say 'pitched overboard' in terms of currently supported materials for use in the films and potential TV shows because Paramount has done that sort of thing before...aka the vast quantities of quality FASA Trek materials that got purged...and they have steadfastly ignored the books and the games for decades when it comes to what they portray in the films and TV shows, even instructing their writers not use use those materials.

Dunno what their deal is given that the quality of writing that exists amongst the books and games is far superior to the screenplays they come up with.

hehe I dunno, maybe the original Trek-problem still exists..it comes off as 'too cerebral' if they use the work of the game designers and fiction authors as opposed to the work of Hollywood screenwriters who know how to write for mass markets.

ericphillips · Post by **ericphillips** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 7:53 am

kinshi wrote:I only say 'pitched overboard' in terms of currently supported materials for use in the films and potential TV shows because Paramount has done that sort of thing before...aka the vast quantities of quality FASA Trek materials that got purged...

I think you are mistaken. None of the games or books was ever considered canon, except by fans who did not understand the expanded universe. No showrunner would ever allow the creativity of his writing staff by material maybe 1% of the total audience of the show might ever see. Many of the old novels have become out of continuity because of changes.

I think you will find that FASA lost the contract when they began to make TNG mterial, and Paramount felt that FASA's license only covered TOS and the movies.

Not that some of the novels were very good. Some were excellent.

Post by **Jean** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 12:54 pm

Gentlemen, please move the discussion of the movie out of the FC News thread. That sort of debate tends to get popular and I don't want the news to get lost!

Thanks,

Jean