Tome and Arcanum on Hold

Unread post by **NMI** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:22 pm

General_Sarkoff wrote:The direct quote from Kevin was:

Regrettably, books like Tome Grotesque and Arcanum require a huge amount of time to design. Time I cannot afford to spend on them right now..... I'm hopeful to get to them in the next year or two, but I can not promise it.

So much for us not having to wait.

And how do we know this is from Kevin? Also did he give you permission to quote him?

Sureshot · Unread post by **Sureshot** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:18 am

General_Sarkoff wrote:The direct quote from Kevin was:

Regrettably, books like Tome Grotesque and Arcanum require a huge amount of time to design. Time I cannot afford to spend on them right now..... I'm hopeful to get to them in the next year or two, but I can not promise it.

So much for us not having to wait.

Well there goes any interest I had in ing BTS2. I'm in no real mood to wait an unlimited amount of time for books that are needed to complete the game. Man things keep going from bad to worse with PB.

Deific NMI wrote:And how do we know this is from Kevin? Also did he give you permission to quote him?

I'm glad he did. Keeping something like that would have been wrong. Espcially considering how long you have kept the BTS2 fans waiting.

Unread post by **NMI** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:46 pm

General_Sarkoff wrote:
Mr. Deific NMI wrote:
General_Sarkoff wrote:The direct quote from Kevin was:

Regrettably, books like Tome Grotesque and Arcanum require a huge amount of time to design. Time I cannot afford to spend on them right now..... I'm hopeful to get to them in the next year or two, but I can not promise it.

So much for us not having to wait.
And how do we know this is from Kevin? Also did he give you permission to quote him?

You have my word that it is from Kevin. If you have any doubts then by all means ask him to verify it. He did not forbid me from quoting him if that is what you are asking. I asked him for information about the release of books as a customer and he answered me as the head of the company. I don’t see any problem with me sharing that information.

I did. Waiting for his response.

Kevin · Unread post by **Kevin** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:29 pm

Why BTS-2 Sourcebooks -- Tome Grotesque and Beyond Arcanum are sooo late -- straight from Kevin Siembieda.

I do believe I went into more detail on why the books are so delayed. Allow me to reiterate the reasons here.

BTS-2 came out a few weeks before we began to discover the first hints of the Crisis of Treachery. At that time I had big plans for the relaunch of Beyond the Supernatural (still do), but first we had to deal with the horrors and problems of the crippling embezzlement and theft, and everything that came with it (which was a ton of bad stuff).

Ultimately, the Crisis of Treachery knocked those two books (and others) off our original schedule, but because I personally wanted to do them so very badly (and still do), I reported they'd be delayed only six months, then a year, then . . . well, I was just deluding myself. I wanted to write them so badly I couldn't bear taking them off the schedule, though I probably should have.

The problem is the Crisis put Palladium behind the eightball and shook up everything. We had to reexamine and reconsider EVERYTHING! I had to focus on books and products I knew would sell and which could be produced realatively fast (1-2 months). Tome Grotesque and Beyond Arcanum are much more than a monster and magic book. They are going to be epic and different. UNFORTUNATELY, that means EACH book will take me 3-4 months to write them, due to the level of complexity, new concepts, rules and different approach to monsters and magic in the modern setting.

That's 3-4 months consuming the majority of my time. That would mean I would not be able to work on much of anything else. Add to that a month or two of production time and that would mean 5-6 months with NO (or too few) new releases from Palladium Books!!! And that would spell Palladium's demise. New product drives everything. To go 5-6 months without a new book would kill us. Sorry.

The long delays of the BTS-2 sourcebooks is one of the hard and painful decisions I had to make to keep Palladium up and running. It is as disappointing for me as any of you, because I'm dying to do these two books and two BTS Adventure-sourcebooks I haven't even mentioned. Beyond the Supernatural 2nd Edition was (is) my personal pet project. If I could magically do any book next, it would be those two, followed by a couple of my own Palladium Fantasy ideas (Wolfen War being one of them) followed by Mechanoids Space.

Sometimes life sucks, but you make do the best you can.

As the publisher I had to cut the books that were a liability to Palladium's recovery. I also always feel if there is a cut or delay, it should be my books. I try not to cut or delay freelancers who need the money and whose spirits might get crushed by a long delay (although that happens sometimes too.) I figure if a sacrifice has to be made, me, the owner, is the one who should make it.

As a creator/writer, they remain in my mind and heart. I have not given up on them and I hope I can write them in the future. I think about them regularly and hope to get to back to doing them as Palladium gets stronger in a year or two from today. Who knows, maybe sooner.

I know this has disappointed a great number of people. I also fear the painfully long delay will ultimately kill interest in the BTS RPG. I can't help it. I have to do what is best for the company. I'm sorry and hope you understand.

Sincerely,
kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer and Decision Maker

Sureshot · Unread post by **Sureshot** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:38 pm

As Kevin has said I think the long delay for the two books will probably kill the BTS2 line. Espcially with Nightbane as a replacement. I just can see the line surviving for so long without those two books.

Reddenedone · Unread post by **Reddenedone** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:57 pm

I'd still buy them. Not having Robotech for years doesn't make me want the new books any less... I think I'll feel the same about BTS-2 in the future as I do today.

Unread post by **NMI** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:59 pm

There, now you have the FULL answer from Kevin, not just an excerpt that wasnt anywhere near being 100%.

BillionSix · Unread post by **BillionSix** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 2:08 am

I already preordered them, a while back.

They'll come when they come.

Brian

Unread post by **NMI** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 12:54 pm

General_Sarkoff wrote:
Mr. Deific NMI wrote:There, now you have the FULL answer from Kevin, not just an excerpt that wasnt anywhere near being 100%.

Do you not feel that my quote contained all of the relevant information?

Your quote didnt explain "WHY" the books would be delayed. I believe and I am certain other posters do as well, that the reason behind the decision is important to know.

jedi078 · Unread post by **jedi078** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 6:18 pm

captramses wrote:Why am I not surprised by any of this. Thank god I convert Magic and Psionics from other material otherwise the money I spent on BtS2e would be wasted.

I myself have done the same..... I use the Book of Magic and have just made everything SDC for those spells that will fit in a contemporary setting. The proximity equals power as used with psionics works with magic as well. A few of my player characters are running Mystics, another is running an Arcanist from BTS-1 that I have upgraded. I’ve gathered up the material on monsters from many of the other various palladium books, converted those that need to be into SDC and used them in my games.

The question I have does Kevin have to be the one writing these books? I know Palladium has a small staff, but what about us fans? Is there anything we can contribute that will expedite the publishing of these two books?

I would rather be able to purchase bare bones versions of Beyond Arcanum and Tome Grotesque then not at all.

jedi078 · Unread post by **jedi078** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:01 pm

captramses wrote:
I have not thought too much about updating characters from BTS1 to 2 but that is a thought.

The only character class I have done that for is the Arcanist, as all the other are in BTS-2.

BillionSix · Unread post by **BillionSix** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 7:46 pm

General_Sarkoff wrote:From everything Kevin has said both publicly and in my correspondence with him, leads me to believe he has no intention of letting anyone other than himself do those books.

I applaud his devotion to the line. But he can't delegate a little? I say, he should find some people he trusts, who really "get" BtS, and supervise them, and make sure they stay on message, so to speak.

If not, that's cool. I am not going anywhere, and will be happy to see them when they are finally published.

Brian

Unread post by **NMI** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 10:50 pm

Yes I removed a few not so nice posts.

Sureshot · Unread post by **Sureshot** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:22 am

I didn't think my post warrented being removed. After all who knows when and if TG and BA will ever come out. Saying that I'm using World of Darkness as a replacement is not against the rules last time I checked. Or are we no longer allowed to be even remotely unhappy at fact that the two BTS books will not be released.

Unread post by **NMI** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 8:04 pm

Shady, start writing and submit your work to the Rifter!!

verdilak · Unread post by **verdilak** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 2:08 am

Well, damn, I have been working on turning all the creatures from the PF line and converting them for BTS2 for the past month or so.

Well, do you want to work together on this?

sHaka · Unread post by **sHaka** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:13 am

Thibor wrote:
Darkly Dreaming Sureshot wrote:I didn't think my post warrented being removed. After all who knows when and if TG and BA will ever come out. Saying that I'm using World of Darkness as a replacement is not against the rules last time I checked. Or are we no longer allowed to be even remotely unhappy at fact that the two BTS books will not be released.

No. We are no longer allowed to post unpopular opinions or criticism of PB or any of the "in" crowd associated with PB. Any attempt at such will be censored, as will this post I'm sure. Now you see me, now you don't.

hmmm, you're still there....

Unread post by **NMI** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 7:34 pm

Thibor wrote:
captramses wrote:We must remember that the moderators have the right to censor posts that they deem is a violation of the rules. Now whether or not we agree on this is moot as has been demonstrated. Good, Bad or Indifferently this is not really a democracy.

This said however I agree that questioning motivations and the pointing out inconsistancies and even critisizing a company is a healthy thing however keep in mind that there are those who do not agree with this and some of those are the ones with the 'power'

You are correct. I understand where you are coming from. I just feel that those with the "power" seem to be a little over-sensitive and reactionary as of late. And it is really starting to cement my feeling that I want nothing more to do with PB. And that is sad. I've been an ardent supporter for over 15 years, but I feel less and less welcome here every time I voice an opinion or pose a question. I won't even go into my views on project line-up and production, etc. as they probably would get me banned at this point. Suffice it to say that the likelyhood of me buying anymore PB products get slimmer every day. I wish I didn't feel this way. I wish I was a more easy-going, forgiving person. But I'm not.

Constructive Criticism is always welcome. Bashing/Insulting/etc.. Criticism is not. Note the keyword "CONSTRUCTIVE". You dont post within the rules, then yes you will get your posts deleted,editted,etc... Or your threads locked.
Also, no one at PB nor any of the moderators/admins ever said these message boards that are provided to you as a priviledge said the boards are a democracy.

As Kevin, the owner of this company. Also the man who allows these forums to exist has already stated his side of the BTS2 soucebooks situation, I am locking this thread.

Got a problem with this decision, PM the board Admin... ME.

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