[Traveller 5] We're on Track

David Johansen · March 28, 2008, 01:13:18 AM

And here I was worried that I wouldn't finish Galaxies in Shadow before T5 came out. Sliding deadlines...I may just have to pick a fixed point at this rate.

Pierce Inverarity · March 28, 2008, 03:07:27 AM

Oh BTW... There will be a print version for 2320 AD, and that's supposed to hit Lulu in mid-April. This is very recent news (a few days ago), so it may even be true.

J Arcane · March 28, 2008, 03:50:43 AM

I once knew a gent who argued that pre-ordering was fiscally idiotic, because you could invest that same sum of money in even a relatively low yield savings account and wind up having that much, and more, by the time a game actually was released. (He also pointed out that game stores like Gamestop in fact, did exactly that with the preorder money recieved, and that it was a large portion of their income, basically making interest off customers' money.)

I can't think of any RPG product where this is more true, than with T5.

Settembrini · March 28, 2008, 04:54:12 AM

I´d send money to Marc for anything, or even nothing. He asks, I pay. Pretty easy relationship, thusly I cannot feel let down by him.

Everything he does is good, and if he does nothing, that´s also awesome.

jgants · March 28, 2008, 07:52:40 AM

Quote from: J ArcaneI once knew a gent who argued that pre-ordering was fiscally idiotic, because you could invest that same sum of money in even a relatively low yield savings account and wind up having that much, and more, by the time a game actually was released. (He also pointed out that game stores like Gamestop in fact, did exactly that with the preorder money recieved, and that it was a large portion of their income, basically making interest off customers' money.)

I can't think of any RPG product where this is more true, than with T5.

I think pre-ordering is dumb for different reasons:
1. You could use that money to get something else now that you want (gaming-related or not).
2. You actually know you aren't just throwing your money away on a product that might never be released but you can't seem to get a refund for (like, say, Septimus).

I will say that Palladium's model of pre-order is better than most - despite their tendency for massive delays, they don't actually charge your credit card until the item actually ships. So the only problem then is that you have to remember you pre-ordered something.

jeff37923 · March 28, 2008, 09:24:21 AM

I used to think that pre-ordering was also a watse of money until I learned that when you pre-order with Amazon.com, they don't take your payment until the book or DVD is released or shipped.

Koltar · March 28, 2008, 09:35:03 AM

Look - I'll believe it when the book shows up at the store and I can either purchase it myself or put a copy on our RPG shelves.

I've already let our upper management know that I'm interested in getting a few copies for the store to sell - one for me, and a few more for customers who have asked about it or might be intrerested in it if we have it on the shelves.

- Ed C.

David Johansen · March 28, 2008, 10:29:37 AM

In this particular case I'm looking at it more like paying Marc to work on T5 and showing good faith that he'll be compensated for his efforts. If he believed it would fly he wouldn't have whored it out to Mongoose.

Ian Absentia · March 28, 2008, 01:04:58 PM

Quote from: jeff37923I used to think that pre-ordering was also a watse of money until I learned that when you pre-order with Amazon.com, they don't take your payment until the book or DVD is released or shipped.

Man, sakes alive, we used to have the most terrible time explaining that to people, especially when we'd have to prompt them to register a credit or debit card in advance to make sure that the order would be processed without delay when the book was released.

But, yeah, pre-orders with Amazon.com does not mean pre-payment. More than anything, it's a method for Amazon to gauge how much stock to order from their suppliers and how to source it most efficiently.

!i!

John Morrow · March 28, 2008, 02:01:52 PM

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaBut, yeah, pre-orders with Amazon.com does not mean pre-payment. More than anything, it's a method for Amazon to gauge how much stock to order from their suppliers and how to source it most efficiently.

Which is why some places (including Amazon) offer additional pre-order discounts to encourage early orders. At that point, it can make more sense to pre-order.

Pete · March 28, 2008, 05:24:08 PM

I could look this up myself, but I'm lazy and shiftless today...

What's the difference between Mongoose's Traveller and Marc's T5? IIRC MongTrav is the new core rulebook and T5 will be a setting book.

Warthur · March 28, 2008, 05:27:36 PM

Quote from: PeteI could look this up myself, but I'm lazy and shiftless today...

What's the difference between Mongoose's Traveller and Marc's T5? IIRC MongTrav is the new core rulebook and T5 will be a setting book.

Not quite - they are two different but connected games. So far as I can tell, T5 is a) massive - over 1000 pages of text - and b) very complex. Mongoose Traveller is being designed to be compatible with T5.