Where is TOR going?

[Hermes Serpent]

There's now at least fifty-two week's worth of adventures written for you, the LM, by C7's writers. Complaints about slow releases have zero effect on C7 as they simply do not get approval from M-e E any quicker. I'm sure that they would love to take your money with both hands.

If the posters here were writing that they have completed the Tales from Wilderland book and had used every single plot hook in Heart I might have more sympathy but to come here and whine that C7 aren't producing any more material than they have already is counter-productive. Moaning that you aren't buying the product because they aren't printing material that the licence doesn't allow them too is another waste of time.

[Beran]

I think I should qualify something. I am talking rules supplements (ie Rivendell) not adventure packs (ie Tales and WoD). Again TOR is a first for me in that I bought something like WoD. I rely on supplements to come up with my own adventures, l rarely...like never... use printed adventures. So, given that TOR has produced one sourcebook in 2.5 years, all the rest have been adventures. Not that great if you are like me and try to come up with your own adventures.

[Mim]

Actually, you both raise great points. I'm not trying to play the UN so just bear with me for a moment

IMHO, this game strikes a solid balance between the source/rulebooks on the one hand, & the adventures on the other. I use both types & hope they continue to publish 'em. It's the slow pace that concerns me, but I'd like to see them continue both.

[Beran]

A couple of things did surprise me when I was setting up my PbP. Mine is the only one currently on MW and I only had my current 4 players apply. Which in a way was good as I didn't have to turn anyone away, but I thought it would have been more popular.

[Hermes Serpent]

I originally posted before Christmas offering a G+ game on Sunday afternoon/evening thinking that I'd pick up some US based as well as European players. Few replies.

Move forward a few weeks and now offering a Wednesday game every other week, players coming out of my ears. Strange that a few weeks could make such a difference.

[Aiwendil]

Following exchanges on this board, I was at my local Barnes and Noble yesterday and took a little 'detour' by the Sci-Fi section... and actually saw a copy of TOR, along with the LM screen and Tales of Wilderland!

[Mordagnir]

I think it's probably useful to look at the "glacial pace of releases" from a business/economics perspective. Few people in the gaming industry get rich from their work; many (most?) have to supplement their incomes from other sources. Worse, many are not regular employees and do not qualify for the same benefits and there is always the real risk of job loss either due to downsizing, closure, or bankruptcy. Even if things are going great today, you have to hedge against an uncertain future. Just ask the guys at ICE, right?

In that context, I am hard-pressed to believe that C7 could produce more material for TOR. Most of us think C7 makes a tidy profit with every release. If that was the case, and it was easy to generate new products, then standard models would suggest that we'd see a lot more releases. Yet, we don't. If the line makes money, then there must be some friction on getting products from the designers' hands to the shelves. Considering what we know about the IP, I don't think it's unreasonable to blame the delays on lawyers.

Given that we've already seen lawyers interfere with the line in the past, the likelihood that they are a major drag on the release schedule seems quite likely.

Put another way, the guys at C7 want to put food on the table. They've been doing so for a few years. They have plunked down some serious cash to get their hands on a few relatively valuable IPs. I don't think they are paying for those licenses in order to do anything except maximize their profits. It just wouldn't be rational.

That all said, I won't grudge anyone for not getting into the game because its release schedule is slow. That's 100% a decision a gamer ought to make for himself/herself based on a whole lot of factors that are not germane to this discussion. I do think it's pretty silly, though, to compare C7 and TOR to other companies and games. Even Star Wars and FFG's Edge of the Empire don't come close when you put the comparison under close scrutiny, though perhaps now that Disney is in the mix that will change in a few years.

[Shieldmaiden]

Good point about Star Wars, especially with Disney discarding the Expanded Universe model in favour of a definitive, and more tightly controlled, canon.

[Jon Hodgson]

Hello all!
So. We do very little moderation on this board - it simply isn't necessary. And to be honest I'm much happier not moderating discussions here. Provided there are no direct slurs at other forum members, or the TOR team from the various companies involved, we're generally happy to let you goodly people roam far and wide in your discussions. I personally appreciate how good natured discussion is hereabouts. You're all a credit to the game.

Something I'd like to gently raise here is the idea of pausing to just think what you want to get out of the thread, and what factual basis anyone has for the various theories mooted. I don't say this in response to any one post, but rather the thread as a whole.

We'll have an announcement on 2014 plans this month (all being well), and once you have that information then you'll be able to discuss the future of the line with much more certainty: I think it would be a shame if similar points being repeated, or theorising based on guesswork were to cause people to lose their patience with one another, and I can feel that atmosphere growing in potential.

So not a direct moderation. Just something to think about.

[Beran]

...especially with Disney discarding the Expanded Universe model in favour of a definitive, and more tightly controlled, canon.

Ah, #@*^! Even though I do not read a lot of the novels, I've always liked the idea of Exp Uni.

" I do think it's pretty silly, though, to compare C7 and TOR to other companies and games. Even Star Wars and FFG's Edge of the Empire don't come close when you put the comparison under close scrutiny..."

Your opinion.