The State of The One Ring. Has it Stalled?

[alien270]

It seems to me that they're being especially cautious about announcing release dates. That's not surprising, given the delays with TfW and Lake-Town, and then the PDF fiasco. I have a feeling that they're holding off making any official announcement until they're absolutely positive that they've got the release date right. If I had to guess, I'd say the next book will probably be almost ready to go out to the printer when it's release date is announced, which means it'll just be a relatively short 8-or-so week wait.

Though if I remember right, one of the delays for TfW was that they thought they'd be sent out, but were actually just sitting in a warehouse for nearly a month. So it's by no means a guarantee!

Honestly, the majority of RPG lines that I support suffer from delays. Some of them quite major. So it's something I've come to expect. On the one hand it'd be nice to hear some updates so we at least have a rough idea, but on the other I can see their reluctance to risk a string of "broken promises" again.

[Yusei]

To be honest I'd rather have them give very conservative schedules, and then give us pleasant surprises if they can release early. As things are now, every time Jon or Gareth post in a "news" thread, I get my credit card ready. On the other hand, it's probably not a wise PR choice to give too conservative schedules, if that means saying "definitely before 2016"

[jamesrbrown]

I'm thinking Heart of the Wild will be available by GenCon in August. Everyone at Cubicle7 is probably hoping for that too. It would be nice going into a major convention to have a new product for The One Ring. So, I'm believing that we'll all be ordering within a month!

One thing's for sure: the book will be remarkable.

[crimso]

I'll be honest, at this point I'm doubting we see ONE book this year. This has really turned me off to this game system. This is the first time I have checked in months, and there has literally be 0 progress. It's a great system, but the release rate is abysmal. I'm a paying customer of this product, I am very disappointed. Thank you and good day.

Yay, more Doctor Who...yippie.... :-/

[Yusei]

If they say the release of Heart of the Wild is near, I don't see any reason to doubt it. And since the PDF problem seems to be solved, we may get the PDF version as soon as they're ready to release.

[Rich H]

... Yeah, I think we should get the PDF in the next 2 months.

[Mim]

I love this game & will support the company & purchase anything they publish in the line. The problem is to get them to publish. I'm very disappointed at the glacial pace & their lack of communication & products

They seldom tell us anything, unless enough people inquire about the seemingly endless delays, & then one of them will say something to the effect of: "We're working on it & will let you know when we have something to say." What on earth kind of marketing is that? It's very disappointing how they've let this game slip.

They originally scheduled all three of these books for Autumn 2012. I understand if that was too optimistic, but it's almost July & they're only just getting around to saying we may receive Heart of the Wild

This means we may have to wait till Autumn to receive The Darkening of Mirkwood, & probably won't even get Rivendell (TBC) this year, if at all.

That's my favorite region & am looking forward to what they do with the North west of the Mountains, but I have diminishing hope about the future of the line. They still have this on their schedule:

"We have more exciting supplements and additional TOR products planned, but at this time can say no more! Stay tuned for future updates."

They posted this last winter & have yet to say a word! It simply breaks my heart how they've let this line slip.

PS I hope no one responds & (again) says they can't say anything because of legal issues. They need to have another sit down with their attorneys...

[doctheweasel]

I love this game & will support the company & purchase anything they publish in the line. The problem is to get them to publish. I'm very disappointed at the glacial pace & their lack of communication & products

They seldom tell us anything, unless enough people inquire about the seemingly endless delays, & then one of them will say something to the effect of: "We're working on it & will let you know when we have something to say." What on earth kind of marketing is that? It's very disappointing how they've let this game slip.

They originally scheduled all three of these books for Autumn 2012. I understand if that was too optimistic, but it's almost July & they're only just getting around to saying we may receive Heart of the Wild

This means we may have to wait till Autumn to receive The Darkening of Mirkwood, & probably won't even get Rivendell (TBC) this year, if at all.

That's my favorite region & am looking forward to what they do with the North west of the Mountains, but I have diminishing hope about the future of the line. They still have this on their schedule:

"We have more exciting supplements and additional TOR products planned, but at this time can say no more! Stay tuned for future updates."

They posted this last winter & have yet to say a word! It simply breaks my heart how they've let this line slip.

PS I hope no one responds & (again) says they can't say anything because of legal issues. They need to have another sit down with their attorneys...

As impatient as I am for new products, I'm not going to allow my lack of knowledge of the publication industry and licensed products drive me to believe that Cube 7 is doing anything less than everything they possibly can.

Also, to paraphrase Neil Gaiman, Cubicle Seven is not your bitch.

[Mim]

Well, we're all entitled to our opinions & we can agree to disagree

I stand by what I posted - the endless delays are very discouraging & go beyond a few weeks or even months. It's very disappointing & I'm not the only customer who feels this way.

[Rich H]

Well, we're all entitled to our opinions & we can agree to disagree

I stand by what I posted - the endless delays are very discouraging & go beyond a few weeks or even months. It's very disappointing & I'm not the only customer who feels this way.

I don't think anyone is actively going to disagree with you Mim, the difference is how we're all managing our expectation and demand for products. Personally I'm not expecting anything more from TOR and will continue to build my campaign based on what we have from C7, my own additions, other fan made stuff, and old ICE products. So, when something new does (eventually!) arrive then it's a bonus for me. Sure, it's no where near an ideal state but it certainly isn't out of the ordinary for RPG publishers to support their lines in the way Cubicle 7 are doing. In fact, for licensed products I'd say its within normal parameters - on the outer edge of that but still fairly usual. Saying all that though, they really need to step up their output - Gareth's the line developer for TOR, Doctor Who, The Laundry Files, AND Primevel. That many lines is bound to mean he is spread thin, especially when they're concentrating on one line (Doctor Who - due to its 50th anniversary), so it's no wonder other products have suffered.