From: Jerome Darmont [darmont@libd2.univ-bpclermont.fr] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 2:37 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Hypotheses :) At 00:33 10/08/99 EDT, BIOHZD@aol.com wrote: >*Hypothetically* if we were to join forces with one company, they would >*hypothetically* want a second addition Blue Planet. It would: > >1. consist of BP and Archipelago combined into a two book (player's and >moderator's), hardcover set This is barely a new edition. Who would buy it except the mad completists like me (and I'm not even sure) and new players (the target market I guess)? Just make sure the target market exists... Personnaly, I think BP is too "fresh" for a new edition to be necessary. >2. have tons of new and cool artwork As long as it's really cool. :) >3. feature a continuation of the Blue Planet future history - say a rich and >turbulent decade or so. Boy, that's why it would be a new edition. ;) >4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release schedule, starting with the >imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. Sounds good. Maybe it would sound event better with 3-4 books per year -- just to make sure quality is still the standard in BP. Keep going! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jerome DARMONT | mailto:jdarmont@francemel.com | http://altern.org/darmont/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Shane M [shanem@sprint.ca] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 1:17 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - *Hypothetically* business stuff first let me de-lurk and give a little visual about how I feel: Overhead view...slowly moving closer to a man dropping to his knees in the rain sobbing and screaming the word "Nooooooooooooooooo" as he clutches a Blue Planet book to his chest. I understand that yes this is a business venture for you, and better productivity means more cash for you. Everyone wants to make money, but some of the things you mention changing make Blue Planet what it is ( for me at least). >2. have tons of new and cool artwork This was one thing I thought was cool about BP. Rather than stuff it full of half assed art like so many RPGs there were only a handful of very good images. It was a sense of wanting for more rather than opening the book saying " ugh did they get a grade 8 class to do this?" >4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release schedule, starting with the >imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. Again this was something I admired about the BP line. Quality Sourcebooks at your own pace. I guess what I am saying is that if you join forces with another company, I will worry about your vision of the BP universe being bastardized to fit a schedule. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: christopher gribbon [c.gribbon@dundee.ac.uk] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 5:43 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - hypothetically speaking... >One option we have considered is an alliance of one sort or another with a >larger, more financially capable company. > >1. consist of BP and Archipelago combined into a two book (player's and >moderator's), hardcover set Right, I have to say that this would both please and annoy me. It would please me because my BP rulebook has begun to sort of ... disintigrate (I mean, I scrub it every day - but that fast fungus...). Seriously - the cover is coming off a bit, and I would be tempted to buy the hardback (depending on the price) just to have a rulebook that was still in good nick. I'd possibly be more likely to buy it if Archipelago was *not* included, because my copy of *that* book is still fine. >2. have tons of new and cool artwork Well, I do like artwork to add atmosphere to an RPG. The BP artwork at the moment *is* really good, but a little sparse for my taste. >3. feature a continuation of the Blue Planet future history - say a rich and >turbulent decade or so. *This* I'd buy it for! >4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release schedule, starting with the >imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. Well, I'd be a *little* worried about the high BP standards slipping a little. But probably not so much as to make me stop buying the stuff. Seriously - whatever you guys do, I think you'd find it very difficult to spoil such a superlative game as BP, even if you were trying. Good luck, Christopher Gribbon Vision Research Laboratories Medical Sciences Institute University of Dundee Dundee DD1 5EH UK (01382) 344 229 ____________________________________________________________________ "A scientist is meant to be disinterested, pure; his ambition merely to descry the cement of the universe. He isn't meant to use it to start laying his own patio!" - WILL SELF, The Quantity Theory of Insanity *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Corax@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 7:04 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - re: Re: [BLUE PLANET] hypotheticals 1. theres almost (?) enough in the main book alone to split it into 2 books. 2. this is good. with enough of this you would have to slpit the main book into 2 anyway. And Archipeligo would still be a seperat book... 3. only a decade? or do you mean creating cannon for a 'decade' 4. how immediate and how will this effect the quality of Fluid Mech? Q: when might you be able to tell us who this hypothetical company is, and if they allready mazke a system(s) are they going to insist you cahnge your mechanics to fit? david Logan, Biologist Corax@aol.com Et. Al. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Nelson Lamoureux [haver@sympatico.ca] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 8:20 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Back from GenCon! > Biohazard would love to be able to produce more, and more frequent, Blue > Planet products, and we know you would all like that as well. For many > reasons, this has not been possible thus far. As a result, we have been > considering ways to change the way we do business so that we can increase our > productivity, but maintain the quality and qualities of the BP line we all > dig. That would be very good indeed. > One option we have considered is an alliance of one sort or another with a > larger, more financially capable company. > > *Hypothetically* if we were to join forces with one company, they would > *hypothetically* want a second addition Blue Planet. It would: > > 1. consist of BP and Archipelago combined into a two book (player's and > moderator's), hardcover set Sounds like the TSR way of doing things... > 2. have tons of new and cool artwork I'm not sure about that. Actually, one of the things I really appreciate is the fact that there is not a lot of artwork. I like the fact that the book is mostly text (I could even say only text). I'd rather have more info and less art. > 3. feature a continuation of the Blue Planet future history - say a rich and > turbulent decade or so. I buy that. Great idea. > 4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release schedule, starting with the > imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. Even better. My wallet will probably suffer, but that's not your problem. > We have learned to rely on the opinions of our list members and so... > > > The question: > > If this *hypothetical* possibility were to come to fruition, what would you > all think about the above take on a second addition of Blue Planet, and the > oportunities/concerns such an alliance might bring? One of the first thing that bugs me is that a lot of company in the biz are (or have) experience(d) problems. Think about GDW, WEG, TSR, WoC. And they are not the smallest ones! It makes me wonder: what would happen if the *hypothetical* company experiences problems? They might simply throw BP down the drain. No remorse, it's not really our product. The other question I have is who would be interested in investing in BHG? Most of the other company already have their own SF game. Basically, its probably not very tempting to invest in something that would compete their own games. For example, Trinity, Cyberpunk, Alternity, Fading Suns are all competitors of BP. For the time being, I prefer waiting to have access to high quality product. Because I'm concerned that the quality of the setting might suffer in such an alliance. I mean BP is by far the most densely packed setting to be found in one book. I'm not sure that would still be the case. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Nelson Lamoureux haver@sympatico.ca ------------------ «Admiration: façon polie de reconnaître que l'autre nous ressemble.» Bierce *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Brian Betty [bbetty@glad.org] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 9:39 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - BP reissue "2. have tons of new and cool artwork" May I note that I missed art in BP, which seems to be different from others. I'd have love a nice photo or drawing of sea mammals; for a game about the sea, there is minimal stuff about the characters I find unique! "If this *hypothetical* possibility were to come to fruition, what would you all think about the above take on a second addition of Blue Planet, and the oportunities/concerns such an alliance might bring?" I'd be willing to shell out again, but I'd want something in return. Like an expansion of the sea stuff. I love the fact that BP offers Orcas and mod-humans and the like, but I really think more is needed - what is it like to run an underwater campaign? It's a very unusual environment and needs more support from you guys IMHO. I'd be hesitant to run underwater campaigns because there is so little presentation on it in the BP book in comparison to what y'all have for above-surface adventures. And maybe something on the so-called pinnipeds ... an uplifted sea lion, mmm. - Monkeygod (8-0) ******************* Illegitimi non carborundum. - Jack Latin motto of the Yankees The Monkey died for my grin to bring my happy back again -R.E.M. "Lotus" *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Ronald Johnson [ronjon@shore.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 11:06 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Back from GenCon! Quoting BIOHZD@aol.com : > Hey hey to all the list members that came to the dinner (yeah Toy's buffet!) > and/or played in the "members only" BP session Saturday night. Chris, Brian, > Andie (sp?), Ron, Chip and Mike - thanks for the enthusiasm and for not quite > killing "the wild thing"... and for understanding when we were forced to move > when the Porn Star game took over the room ; ). Hey, thanks for running the game! It's been a long time since I've been so creeped out by a scenario. It was great to meet you guys in person, and to meet several of the list members. > Biohazard would love to be able to produce more, and more frequent, Blue > Planet products... > One option we have considered is an alliance of one sort or another with a > larger, more financially capable company. Hmmm, this could be really good, depending on who you link up with. Off the bat I like Atlas Games (although the new cover art for Feng Shui is, IMHO, regrettable) since they do interesting things and don't screw with the rules. I might be concerned with the larger, more financially capable company wanting to change the world/rules to fit in with their "larger picture." > *Hypothetically* if we were to join forces with one company, they would > *hypothetically* want a second addition Blue Planet. It would: > > 1. consist of BP and Archipelago combined into a two book (player's and > moderator's), hardcover set I personally like the two book option. As a GM, it keeps the Access Denied info from the players, could have separate maps, meaty bios, etc. It also means you guys get more money. You get more money, you put out more cool stuff. Win-win as far as I'm concerned. > 2. have tons of new and cool artwork As long as it is good artwork. Nothing detracts from a game book like bad art. I'd rather have fewer really nice pieces than lots of crap. But I trust you guys on this; you have a great track record for good art. > 3. feature a continuation of the Blue Planet future history - say a rich and > turbulent decade or so. This would be awesome! > 4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release schedule, starting with the > imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. 4-5 books per year sounds great to me. If you had gone with 6-8 I would get worried that the quality would suffer. > If this *hypothetical* possibility were to come to fruition, what would you > all think about the above take on a second addition of Blue Planet, and the > oportunities/concerns such an alliance might bring? I would defiantly get a 2nd edition of BP. But hey, I got both t-shirts too. :) As long as you guys were able to keep control of the world/game design, I think the opportunities outweigh my concerns. Cheers, Ron -- Ron Johnson Surf Poseidon! *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: paulw@betanet.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 11:25 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Back from GenCon! > I personally like the two book option. As a GM, it keeps the Access Denied info > from the players, could have separate maps, meaty bios, etc. It also means you > guys get more money. You get more money, you put out more cool stuff. Win- win > as far as I'm concerned. The one minor gripe I have with BP is that the Access Denied sections are where players can sneak a look at them. Two books would be much better from this POV and allow players to buy their own copy without the GM worrying about the AD material. > 4-5 books per year sounds great to me. If you had gone with 6-8 I would get > worried that the quality would suffer. Seconded. Too many books can be bad, olus buyers get fed up shelling out cash every month or so. > I would defiantly get a 2nd edition of BP. But hey, I got both t-shirts too. :) Hardback please. > As long as you guys were able to keep control of the world/game design, I think > the opportunities outweigh my concerns. This question may have been asked, but when is AD due over in the UK? Cheers! Wiggy *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Ankfix@aol.com Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 11:58 AM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Back from GenCon! In a message dated 8/10/99 12:34:41 AM Eastern Daylight Time, BIOHZD@aol.com writes: > *Hypothetically* if we were to join forces with one company, they would > *hypothetically* want a second addition Blue Planet. It would: > > 1. consist of BP and Archipelago combined into a two book (player's and > moderator's), hardcover set > > 2. have tons of new and cool artwork > > 3. feature a continuation of the Blue Planet future history - say a rich and > turbulent decade or so. > > 4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release schedule, starting with the > imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. > > We have learned to rely on the opinions of our list members and so... > We certainly appreciate you asking our opinion. The *hypothetical* proposition seems like a good deal. The one problem with the way things are right now is the lack of regular new releases. My game shop keeps BP in stock, but it doesn't get a whole lot of shelf space. The game lines that have a number of supplements get the prime space, and BP is relegated to the back row. This *hypothetical* deal could change all that. It sounds very exciting. The only concern I have would be creative control. If the regular Biohazard dudes are the ones controlling the product line's creative aspects, then I see no problem. If, however, the BP name is being slapped on low quality fluff, then I would be disappointed. But I trust you guys to not let this happen :-) Thanks again for asking all of us, it's not often a company that cares like Biohazard comes along :-) - Fixer *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Adam Lewis [adamswork@yahoo.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 12:08 PM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Back from GenCon! --- BIOHZD@aol.com wrote: > 1. consist of BP and Archipelago combined into a two > book (player's and > moderator's), hardcover set > With the BP mechanics being so simple and taking a backseat to the setting (like they should) I don't see how you'd fill a moderators book. I ran Where the Wild Things are for our group of 4 in the car on the trip back from GenCon with only a handfull of dice rolls. > 2. have tons of new and cool artwork > No opinion. > 3. feature a continuation of the Blue Planet future > history - say a rich and > turbulent decade or so. > I don't really think it's needed. The past history as it currently is set's the stage just fine. There's not anything lacking. > 4. be followed by a 4-5 book per year release > schedule, starting with the > imeadiate release of Fluid Mechanics. > Wow, it's hard to argue with that. But on the other hand, your current release schedule has allowed each product to be excellent. If Biohazard and this hypothetical company had been partners for the last year, would Access Denied have turned out so good? Or would they have put something like a GM screen on the fast track to printing? More books are good, but there is so much to do in the current setting. > We have learned to rely on the opinions of our list > members and so... > Everyone that I know who's played the game really likes it. Anyone who's reveiwed the game says wonderfull things about the setting. I think the only thing Biohazard lacks is the marketing power of larger companies. And that isn't always a Bad Thing. Of course, the identity of the hypotheical company in question could make a differenec in my opinion. AdamL _____________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: mcraig@talk21.com Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 1999 1:10 PM To: blue_planet@lists.imagiconline.com Subject: [BLUE PLANET] - Hypotheticals I kind of like the way BP goes at the moment. Yes, having more frequent (although not too frequent) supplements might be nice (FluMech? Hin, hint) but I'd rather things stay as they are rather than the quality and imagination go down the drain. A few years ago, there was a small Scottish games company called Nightfall producing a game called SLA Industries. SLA was a flawed but excellent game (if that makes sense). Nightfall were bought by Wizards of the Coast. Sod all happened. No more SLA Industries. I just hope the same thing wouldn't happen with Biohazard. Yeah, I know you guys aren't just in this for the fun of it and that the company is a business venture but I would have doubts about linking up with some nebulous bigger company. There are certain companies who I would really loathe to see producing BP. Malcolm Craig *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@lists.imagiconline.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.