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Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:01 pm
by Marrowlight
Back when Phase World first hit, I thought that the Dimension Book line was really going somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed the Phase World books....but they're not what I thought the future of the line was. Since book two we've had a HU book that got shoe-horned into Rifts and The lovely Megaversal Builder and other than that a LOT of Phase World. And the only two Dimension Books on the Horizon also deal with Phase World.

To me there should be more new dimensions, a heavier focus on creativity and if not the straight up bizarre then more unusual slants on dimensions. Things that can support a single book but maybe aren't built for a dozen add ons.

What say you, gentle people?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:02 pm
by Braden Campbell
A Palladium version of "Alternate Earth's", mayhaps...?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:03 pm
by Marrowlight
Braden, GMPhD wrote:A Palladium version of "Alternate Earth's", mayhaps...?


Possible, but I'd rather see a dozen new worlds than a dozen Palladium slants on alter-earths.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:08 pm
by Ectoplasmic Bidet
Braden, GMPhD wrote:A Palladium version of "Alternate Earth's", mayhaps...?


I was thinking the exact same things no more than half an hour ago.

-NEMA survives: CS never forms, totally changes face of NA.
-Federation of Magic wins: Initial attack by the FoM subjugates Chi-Town instead of stirring up the ant's nest that is the CS today.
-Atlantis returns, but it's populated by True Atlanteans: The continent disappeared due to the experiment.

Etc...

It would be neat and a lot of the World Books would still apply in most cases.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:23 pm
by Braden Campbell
Nazi's win WW2.... go on to colonize the Solar System... then the Rifts come...


Earth is populated by Dinosaurs instead of mammals...

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:25 pm
by Marrowlight
The French don't help in the American Revolution.

Spain never ventured to the New World.

China never becomes a Communist nation.

the USSR doesn't fold.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:08 pm
by Tinker Dragoon
If you look hard enough throughout the books, you can find a plethora of alternate dimensions/worlds that have been mentioned but never fully fleshed out. Off the top of my head, I can think of:

Realms of the gods of Rifts Earth and the Palladium World
The Netherworld (Hades, Dyval, Niflheim, etc.)
The Lightlands
Eylor
Homeworlds of the Azverkan, Demon Goblins, Floopers, Grackletooths, Kremin Cyborgs, Neuron Beasts, Noli Bushmen, Thornheads, Xiticix, and countless other D-bees and monsters.

I imagine the Minion War series will deal with some of these, but that still leaves a lot of untapped possibilities.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:11 pm
by Marrowlight
Tinker Dragoon wrote:If you look hard enough throughout the books, you can find a plethora of alternate dimensions/worlds that have been mentioned but never fully fleshed out. Off the top of my head, I can think of:

Realms of the gods of Rifts Earth and the Palladium World
The Netherworld (Hades, Dyval, Niflheim, etc.)
The Lightlands
Eylor
Homeworlds of the Azverkan, Demon Goblins, Floopers, Grackletooths, Kremin Cyborgs, Neuron Beasts, Noli Bushmen, Thornheads, Xiticix, and countless other D-bees and monsters


Absolutely - just in the Palladium LoD books you can find like 40. But they don't have their own books - and that's what I'm talking about. Palladium actually getting back to new Dimensions in the Dimension Book line instead of it being the "Phase World and friends" line that it has become.

They even semi sorta made Skraypers a Phase World book, though that could be easily ignored, by placing it in the Three Galaxies.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:35 pm
by Carl Gleba
Yes....I'm working on it as fast as I can. :)

Don't forget you'll have Hades and Dyval by the end of the year. After the Minion Wars I might tackle the Elemental Planes. I already have over 50+ pages of that written from a few years back. I was also thinking of doing a dimension book that has several dimensions in it.

Carl

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:37 pm
by Killer Cyborg
Marrowlight wrote:To me there should be more new dimensions, a heavier focus on creativity and if not the straight up bizarre then more unusual slants on dimensions. Things that can support a single book but maybe aren't built for a dozen add ons.

What say you, gentle people?


I say what I've always said:
"Why the heck do we have worldbooks on places my characters will never get to, but virtually NO information about falling through a random rift?"

Heck, half the Worldbooks should have been dimensionbooks anyway.
New West should have taken place in another dimension, and Rifts West should have been unpopulated (as it was originally described).
Ditto with Japan.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:43 pm
by Marrowlight
Carl Gleba wrote:Yes....I'm working on it as fast as I can. :)

Don't forget you'll have Hades and Dyval by the end of the year. After the Minion Wars I might tackle the Elemental Planes. I already have over 50+ pages of that written from a few years back. I was also thinking of doing a dimension book that has several dimensions in it.

Carl


Hmm. We might have to talk. :D

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:45 pm
by Marrowlight
Killer Cyborg wrote:I say what I've always said:
"Why the heck do we have worldbooks on places my characters will never get to, but virtually NO information about falling through a random rift?"

Heck, half the Worldbooks should have been dimensionbooks anyway.
New West should have taken place in another dimension, and Rifts West should have been unpopulated (as it was originally described).
Ditto with Japan.


Huh, never heard you say that before - but it sounds good.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:53 pm
by Josh Sinsapaugh
How many dimensions books do we have now?

Yeah...all but two of them are technically about Phase World.

I want more dimensions, which means more dimension books...

...now, I just wish that I was in the position where I myself could write such a thing.

~ Josh ( :P )

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:54 pm
by Killer Cyborg
Marrowlight wrote:
Killer Cyborg wrote:I say what I've always said:
"Why the heck do we have worldbooks on places my characters will never get to, but virtually NO information about falling through a random rift?"

Heck, half the Worldbooks should have been dimensionbooks anyway.
New West should have taken place in another dimension, and Rifts West should have been unpopulated (as it was originally described).
Ditto with Japan.


Huh, never heard you say that before - but it sounds good.


You've only been here a year; I've been saying it a long time. :)

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 10:55 pm
by Marrowlight
Josh Sinsapaugh wrote:How many dimensions books do we have now?

Yeah...all but two of them are technically about Phase World.

I want more dimensions, which means more dimension books...

...now, I just wish that I was in the position where I myself could write such a thing.

~ Josh ( :P )


You're in a better position than most of us. :D

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:45 am
by cornholioprime
Marrowlight wrote:Back when Phase World first hit, I thought that the Dimension Book line was really going somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed the Phase World books....but they're not what I thought the future of the line was. Since book two we've had a HU book that got shoe-horned into Rifts and The lovely Megaversal Builder and other than that a LOT of Phase World. And the only two Dimension Books on the Horizon also deal with Phase World.

To me there should be more new dimensions, a heavier focus on creativity and if not the straight up bizarre then more unusual slants on dimensions. Things that can support a single book but maybe aren't built for a dozen add ons.

What say you, gentle people?
NO.

I give pretty much the same Answer that I always do when Questions of this sort are posed:

KEVIN, PLEASE FLESH OUT YOUR EXISTING WORLD/DIMENSION BOOKS FIRST. I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD RUSH OUT TO BUY THEM.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:47 am
by Tinker Dragoon
Carl Gleba wrote:Yes....I'm working on it as fast as I can. :)

Don't forget you'll have Hades and Dyval by the end of the year. After the Minion Wars I might tackle the Elemental Planes. I already have over 50+ pages of that written from a few years back. I was also thinking of doing a dimension book that has several dimensions in it.

Carl


Are you planning to expand on the shadow dimension by any chance?


Oh, and I can't believe I forgot the home dimension of the Lords of Magic earlier...

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:49 am
by Aramanthus
So why not use the Dimension creating book to create as many What IF universes as you want to! And have fun doing it. I've already created several since getting it.

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:49 am
by Marrowlight
cornholioprime wrote:
Marrowlight wrote:Back when Phase World first hit, I thought that the Dimension Book line was really going somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed the Phase World books....but they're not what I thought the future of the line was. Since book two we've had a HU book that got shoe-horned into Rifts and The lovely Megaversal Builder and other than that a LOT of Phase World. And the only two Dimension Books on the Horizon also deal with Phase World.

To me there should be more new dimensions, a heavier focus on creativity and if not the straight up bizarre then more unusual slants on dimensions. Things that can support a single book but maybe aren't built for a dozen add ons.

What say you, gentle people?
NO.

I give pretty much the same Answer that I always do when Questions of this sort are posed:

KEVIN, PLEASE FLESH OUT YOUR EXISTING WORLD/DIMENSION BOOKS FIRST. I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD RUSH OUT TO BUY THEM.


'Cause the what, six freelancers he has working on Rifts Earth isn't enough eh? :D

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 10:51 am
by Marrowlight
darkmax wrote:Cause KS have not chopped away those lines that are not gaining enough popularity.


KS is only one man - he can't support every line by himself. That's where other people come in. The guy is having enough trouble getting his BtS books out (let alone Mechanoids) both are lines that aren't exactly guaranteed successes. He isn't against unpopular lines, he's just personally busy working on other ones.

That's where the freelancers come in.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:06 pm
by Marrowlight
darkmax wrote:
Marrowlight wrote:
darkmax wrote:Cause KS have not chopped away those lines that are not gaining enough popularity.


KS is only one man - he can't support every line by himself. That's where other people come in. The guy is having enough trouble getting his BtS books out (let alone Mechanoids) both are lines that aren't exactly guaranteed successes. He isn't against unpopular lines, he's just personally busy working on other ones.

That's where the freelancers come in.


No. What I mean is that he should discontinue any lines that aren't popular. It is just a executive decision. Honestly, somethings are better left to dust. This way, they become "artifacts".


Wow, no offense mate, but that's just silly. It was how long between After the Bomb books, yet the newest one was well worth the wait. Same thing with Palladium Fantasy - how long was the gap before Coffin came in and gave us new material?

Palladium doesn't make more books until they need to, so it isn't like it is costing them money to keep a game line active - even if a book hasn't come out for it in years.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 12:18 pm
by Marrowlight
darkmax wrote:Well, that's the way I run my businesses. He may do whatever he wants, but it is just not a very encouraging method.


How is it unencouraging to have the majority of your product line still available? It isn't costing him extra money, and even the smallest game line has its fans. None of them are truly unpopular.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:07 pm
by Josh Sinsapaugh
Aramanthus wrote:So why not use the Dimension creating book to create as many What IF universes as you want to! And have fun doing it. I've already created several since getting it.


True.

But it is always nice to have new dimensions provided for you with pretty picture. :)

Especially considering that not every GM has the time to home brew his or her own dimension.

~ Josh

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 1:11 pm
by Marrowlight
Josh Sinsapaugh wrote:
Aramanthus wrote:So why not use the Dimension creating book to create as many What IF universes as you want to! And have fun doing it. I've already created several since getting it.


True.

But it is always nice to have new dimensions provided for you with pretty picture. :)

Especially considering that not every GM has the time to home brew his or her own dimension.

~ Josh


That's why we should just cut up Sentinel's brain - he seems to.


So is the future of Dimension books in just straight up all new settings, or perhaps in remixes of existing game lines? An AtB/PF merge, a N&S (omitted the other S to appease Kuseru) and Splicers merge, a Nightlands/Wormwood merge, etc, etc. Not those actual settings of course but a world that follows similar principles as the core worlds so you don't have to create all new mechanics for them and can focus on story and setting.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:06 pm
by Aramanthus
Josh wrote
True.

But it is always nice to have new dimensions provided for you with pretty picture.

Especially considering that not every GM has the time to home brew his or her own dimension.

~ Josh


You are quite right Josh. It is nice to use premade places if you don't have time. And they do have story lines that you can use to tie back into your own game.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 7:13 pm
by Carl Gleba
Tinker Dragoon wrote:
Carl Gleba wrote:Yes....I'm working on it as fast as I can. :)

Don't forget you'll have Hades and Dyval by the end of the year. After the Minion Wars I might tackle the Elemental Planes. I already have over 50+ pages of that written from a few years back. I was also thinking of doing a dimension book that has several dimensions in it.

Carl


Are you planning to expand on the shadow dimension by any chance?


I'd like too. There are a few things I'd like to do first, but thats on my list.

Carl

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:09 pm
by Sureshot
cornholioprime wrote:I give pretty much the same Answer that I always do when Questions of this sort are posed:

KEVIN, PLEASE FLESH OUT YOUR EXISTING WORLD/DIMENSION BOOKS FIRST. I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WOULD RUSH OUT TO BUY THEM.


Agreed. As much as I like new dimensions finish fleshing out the rest of the world first than give us new dimensions. Especially North America.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:20 pm
by Marrowlight
Alternatively, I realistically feel North America has had enough attention. By the time this year's releases are over North America will have more books dedicated to it than any other game line Palladium has. NA Rifts books > HU, PF, or anything else. Hell there will be more NA Rifts books than most of the other game lines put together. You guys won't be happy until there are 3000 North America Rifts books, including the all important "Cooking Utensils of the Free Kingdoms" and the "Lingerie of the Coalition Elite" sourcebooks.

Are there gaps of NA that could use some focus? Sure. Are people hot and heavy for more NA books because they live in NA primarily and not on Wormwood or Phase World? Sure. But jeez, don't act like NA Rifts earth is some forgotten child - it has gotten and is getting more attention than anything else Palladium has ever done.

Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:36 pm
by Sureshot
I understand your point Marrowlight but I must respectfully disagree. Yes they are more books coming put for NA imo not the ones that are needed. The ones that are coming out focus on small areas of NA. What is missing is books on Lazlo, Chi-Town, Northern Gun and other movers and shakers of NA. At the very least Chi-Town needs to be done.

Also Palladium has a tendency to release a book and maybe or maybe not supporting it. A good example is Australia. If they do new dimensions I would like to see those dimensions get the support they deserve. Not one book and then a 1-2 year wait on for another book. At least with the Rifts NA books we are almost guaranteed imo to get more books as most games are set in NA.

It is only in the last 2 years or so that we have books on NA. Before than it was a largely ignored area. Which I always found strange. Like I said I like new dimensions but for that to happen you would need to have two at the very least one writer or freelancer working full time on the new dimension books.

Marrowlight wrote:You guys won't be happy until there are 3000 North America Rifts books, including the all important "Cooking Utensils of the Free Kingdoms" and the "Lingerie of the Coalition Elite" sourcebooks.


Now you are getting ridiculous. No one is asking for that level of depth. I understand your frustration but you are just exaggerating with that statement.

In the end it comes down to what the majority of the fans want. If it's NA books Palladium will publish more of those. It sucks I agree but thats how it's going to be imo.

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:21 am
by Killer Cyborg
Mandalorian wrote:I understand your point Marrowlight but I must respectfully disagree. Yes they are more books coming put for NA imo not the ones that are needed. The ones that are coming out focus on small areas of NA. What is missing is books on Lazlo, Chi-Town, Northern Gun and other movers and shakers of NA. At the very least Chi-Town needs to be done.


Agreed, which is why every worldbook that isn't in North America or directly adjacent to it has ticked me off for the past 15 years.
But it's no reason not to do dimension books.

Also Palladium has a tendency to release a book and maybe or maybe not supporting it. A good example is Australia. If they do new dimensions I would like to see those dimensions get the support they deserve. Not one book and then a 1-2 year wait on for another book. At least with the Rifts NA books we are almost guaranteed imo to get more books as most games are set in NA.


I want to see a bunch of throw-away dimension books that are not supported and that never get revisited.
Pretty much any Palladium game is fully playable and enjoyable just using the main book. I don't see why any other setting would be much different.
I'd rather see Palladium come out with sketchy books on a dozen dimensions than a dozen books detailing who had the biggest worm in Wormwood.

It is only in the last 2 years or so that we have books on NA. Before than it was a largely ignored area. Which I always found strange. Like I said I like new dimensions but for that to happen you would need to have two at the very least one writer or freelancer working full time on the new dimension books.


Dimension books are easier to ignore, too.
If Spirit West had been a dimension book, then I wouldn't have to deal with the stuff from it overflowing into the rest of the North America setting.

Marrowlight wrote:You guys won't be happy until there are 3000 North America Rifts books, including the all important "Cooking Utensils of the Free Kingdoms" and the "Lingerie of the Coalition Elite" sourcebooks.


Now you are getting ridiculous. No one is asking for that level of depth.[/quote]

I am.
I just would also like 3000 Dimension books as well.

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:51 am
by cornholioprime
Mandalorian wrote:I understand your point Marrowlight but I must respectfully disagree. Yes they are more books coming put for NA imo not the ones that are needed. The ones that are coming out focus on small areas of NA. What is missing is books on Lazlo, Chi-Town, Northern Gun and other movers and shakers of NA. At the very least Chi-Town needs to be done.
Some of us, here (including myself), are of the mind that it just may be IMPOSSIBLE to design Chi-Town because there would
A]] Be no design of Chi-Town that would please all of us after 10-15 years of "buildup;"
B]] It is probably IMPOSSIBLE to design Chi-Town in such a way as to explain it's impregnability to its enemies all these decades when even places like Atlantis and Center can be snuck into sucesfully;

and

C]] If you don't give Stats on the Fortress City, then you can't really destroy it or sneak into it in Canon (like the Stat-less "Lady of Pain" in Faerun's Sigil)

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:23 am
by Fyrpower
Geez I forget how everyone goes of on a tangent with posts on the Rifts boards so me being the english gentleman that I am, I will return this post to it's rightful place... :D

In Siege of Tolkeen under the description of that Sphynx in Freehold, its mentions some interesting sounding places. Cant remember them off the top of my head, can anyone shed any light on them for me.

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:50 pm
by Killer Cyborg
cornholioprime wrote:
Mandalorian wrote:I understand your point Marrowlight but I must respectfully disagree. Yes they are more books coming put for NA imo not the ones that are needed. The ones that are coming out focus on small areas of NA. What is missing is books on Lazlo, Chi-Town, Northern Gun and other movers and shakers of NA. At the very least Chi-Town needs to be done.
Some of us, here (including myself), are of the mind that it just may be IMPOSSIBLE to design Chi-Town because there would
A]] Be no design of Chi-Town that would please all of us after 10-15 years of "buildup;"
B]] It is probably IMPOSSIBLE to design Chi-Town in such a way as to explain it's impregnability to its enemies all these decades when even places like Atlantis and Center can be snuck into sucesfully;

and

C]] If you don't give Stats on the Fortress City, then you can't really destroy it or sneak into it in Canon (like the Stat-less "Lady of Pain" in Faerun's Sigil)


Agreed.
They need to warm up first, by trying to cover other CS cities and patiently watching customer reaction and criticism.

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:08 pm
by Marrowlight
darkmax wrote:Well, for one, I have had it with NA World Books. It's like the rest of Rifts Earth does not matter.


That's because it doesn't.



:D

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 3:19 pm
by cornholioprime
Marrowlight wrote:
darkmax wrote:Well, for one, I have had it with NA World Books. It's like the rest of Rifts Earth does not matter.


That's because it doesn't.



:D
Correct.

We who purchase Rifts Product have decided thus with our Wallets.

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:28 pm
by Marrowlight
darkmax wrote:Wow! I did not really believe you guys to be that arrogant and self-centred! But now you prove it.


Or perhaps just that sarcastic?

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:46 pm
by Killer Cyborg
darkmax wrote:Wow! I did not really believe you guys to be that arrogant and self-centred! But now you prove it.


Hey now, don't you go thinking for a moment that they're more arrogant or self-centered than I am.
I'm the best at arrogance!

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:54 pm
by Killer Cyborg
Marrowlight wrote:
darkmax wrote:Wow! I did not really believe you guys to be that arrogant and self-centred! But now you prove it.


Or perhaps just that sarcastic?


Perhaps, but it was pretty well true.
Travel in Rifts Earth is so limited that there's no real effective way to cross the ocean.
The only way that any of our campaigns ever left North America was through a rift, and the whole "You randomly rift, of all the places in the entire Mega-verse, back to the same planet that you started..." bit gets pretty lame pretty quick.

Meanwhile, North America is lacking a lot of information. I'm not talking about filling in every square inch of the continent, I'm actually against that. I don't think that New West or Spirit West should have ever been written; I prefer the post-apocalyptic feel where few people are left.
What I'm talking about is places like Shaedo and Chi-Town, places mentioned in the main book but never given more detail.
I couldn't give a flying monkey-fart about Japan; it wasn't even supposed to have survived the coming of the rifts. What I could care about, what I do care about, are all the places in North America that they presented to us in the first place, then left us hanging for 15 years.

And, trying to steer this back on course a bit, that brings us back to Dimension Books. The very concept of Rifts provides infinite possibilities. Inter-dimensional portals open up regularly, all over the planet.
That's amazing!
Using those rifts to get to other places on Earth is like using a private jet to travel from your hometown to another town 30 miles away.
There's a bigger picture than the local neighborhood, an infinite picture in fact. We have all of infinity before us, and people really have a burning desire to know more about what's going on in Rifts: Budapest?
Please.
I want to know what the Xiticix home dimension is like. I want to know where the Lord of the Deep comes from. I want to know what sort of environment spawned brodkil, and witchlings, and Splugorth. I want to know how many places the Mechanoids have gotten to. I want to read about new people, places, and things. Stuff that I have never heard of.
Wormwood has its problems, but it sure as heck doesn't lack for originality. I'd much rather see a dozen more places like Wormwood than to be bothered with the latest MDC rehashing of real-life locations and stereotypes.

Posted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:15 pm
by cornholioprime
Killer Cyborg wrote:
Marrowlight wrote:
darkmax wrote:Wow! I did not really believe you guys to be that arrogant and self-centred! But now you prove it.


Or perhaps just that sarcastic?


Perhaps, but it was pretty well true.
Travel in Rifts Earth is so limited that there's no real effective way to cross the ocean.
The only way that any of our campaigns ever left North America was through a rift, and the whole "You randomly rift, of all the places in the entire Mega-verse, back to the same planet that you started..." bit gets pretty lame pretty quick.

Meanwhile, North America is lacking a lot of information. I'm not talking about filling in every square inch of the continent, I'm actually against that. I don't think that New West or Spirit West should have ever been written; I prefer the post-apocalyptic feel where few people are left.
What I'm talking about is places like Shaedo and Chi-Town, places mentioned in the main book but never given more detail.
I couldn't give a flying monkey-fart about Japan; it wasn't even supposed to have survived the coming of the rifts. What I could care about, what I do care about, are all the places in North America that they presented to us in the first place, then left us hanging for 15 years.

And, trying to steer this back on course a bit, that brings us back to Dimension Books. The very concept of Rifts provides infinite possibilities. Inter-dimensional portals open up regularly, all over the planet.
That's amazing!
Using those rifts to get to other places on Earth is like using a private jet to travel from your hometown to another town 30 miles away.
There's a bigger picture than the local neighborhood, an infinite picture in fact. We have all of infinity before us, and people really have a burning desire to know more about what's going on in Rifts: Budapest?
Please.
I want to know what the Xiticix home dimension is like. I want to know where the Lord of the Deep comes from. I want to know what sort of environment spawned brodkil, and witchlings, and Splugorth. I want to know how many places the Mechanoids have gotten to. I want to read about new people, places, and things. Stuff that I have never heard of.
Wormwood has its problems, but it sure as heck doesn't lack for originality. I'd much rather see a dozen more places like Wormwood than to be bothered with the latest MDC rehashing of real-life locations and stereotypes.
THIS has just inspired me to start another Thread.....

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:24 am
by Marrowlight
Whoops, forgot to get back to this last night.


Mandalorian wrote:I understand your point Marrowlight but I must respectfully disagree. Yes they are more books coming put for NA imo not the ones that are needed. The ones that are coming out focus on small areas of NA. What is missing is books on Lazlo, Chi-Town, Northern Gun and other movers and shakers of NA. At the very least Chi-Town needs to be done.


By small I guess you mean population wise, because in this year they're hitting all along the East Coast from Georgia to New York, along with almost the entire Southeast to the Mississippi as well as a part of the Southwest. A lot of terrain is being covered even if there aren't a lot of big cities there.

Personally, I'm continually surprised at how much people want Chi-Town. NG and Lazlo I can see, but I just can't imagine anyone ever being happy in the least with how Palladium does Chi-Town. It's just begging for flames and tears and drama that make the SoT threads look like a molehill next to the Mountain.


Mandalorian wrote:Also Palladium has a tendency to release a book and maybe or maybe not supporting it. A good example is Australia. If they do new dimensions I would like to see those dimensions get the support they deserve. Not one book and then a 1-2 year wait on for another book. At least with the Rifts NA books we are almost guaranteed imo to get more books as most games are set in NA.


If they could just break the "intro 20 new occs" habit, further support (while nice) wouldn't be necessary. Rather than see the trend of Phase World and its parade of books continue I'd like to see a string of Wormwoods. Ten new worlds in ten new books, rather than ten new books fleshing out two new worlds.


Mandalorian wrote:It is only in the last 2 years or so that we have books on NA. Before than it was a largely ignored area. Which I always found strange. Like I said I like new dimensions but for that to happen you would need to have two at the very least one writer or freelancer working full time on the new dimension books.


Largely an ignored area? SB1, 2, and 4. WBs 1, 10-16, 20, 22 (skipping the books of the last two years like you said so not mentioning the other WBs), the 6 book SoT series, Aftermath and the Adventure guide were rather NA focused, plus Rifts Mercenaries. Maybe they didn't talk about the North America you wanted (I know they didn't talk about the one KC wanted ;) ) but that's a lot of books for a largely ignored area.


Mandalorian wrote:
Marrowlight wrote:You guys won't be happy until there are 3000 North America Rifts books, including the all important "Cooking Utensils of the Free Kingdoms" and the "Lingerie of the Coalition Elite" sourcebooks.


Now you are getting ridiculous. No one is asking for that level of depth. I understand your frustration but you are just exaggerating with that statement.


Well, I'd hoped it was obviously unserious. No one cares about Coalition Lingerie after all, it is those kinky mage women of Lazlo people want to read up on.

Mandalorian wrote:In the end it comes down to what the majority of the fans want. If it's NA books Palladium will publish more of those. It sucks I agree but thats how it's going to be imo.


Does it really? I mean yeah, Kev doesn't walk around and chew us out and rip our heads off - but do you really think it is about what the fans want or what he thinks will sell combined with what he wants and has?

At times I think he's completely out of touch with what the majority of the fans want - he's got his finger on the pulse of what sells, and he can only work with what he has (keep in mind I'm not bashing him here, he's obviously running a very successful company) but for all his success and the sales Palladium makes it never seems to be a matter of bringing the people what they want, and more a matter of convincing them to buy what he has to offer.

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:26 am
by Marrowlight
Killer Cyborg wrote:I want to see a bunch of throw-away dimension books that are not supported and that never get revisited.
Pretty much any Palladium game is fully playable and enjoyable just using the main book. I don't see why any other setting would be much different.
I'd rather see Palladium come out with sketchy books on a dozen dimensions than a dozen books detailing who had the biggest worm in Wormwood.


Yup. Especially if, as a dimension book, they'd just list a page or two of applicable occ's and rcc's rather than fill half the book with dimension specific ones. It would really help give some room to add deeper fleshing out of a dimension and allow it to be a one book dimension.

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:27 am
by Marrowlight
cornholioprime wrote:]Some of us, here (including myself), are of the mind that it just may be IMPOSSIBLE to design Chi-Town because there would
A]] Be no design of Chi-Town that would please all of us after 10-15 years of "buildup;"
B]] It is probably IMPOSSIBLE to design Chi-Town in such a way as to explain it's impregnability to its enemies all these decades when even places like Atlantis and Center can be snuck into sucesfully;

and

C]] If you don't give Stats on the Fortress City, then you can't really destroy it or sneak into it in Canon (like the Stat-less "Lady of Pain" in Faerun's Sigil)


The day the Chi-Town book actually comes out is the day most of us will have to stop posting here - unless a Deity from on high comes down and writes it with magic ink and paper that compels everyone to love it, there's no way it'll make it out alive of the roasting that will consume the Rifts forums and prolly bleed over to all other forums as well.

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:29 am
by Marrowlight
Killer Cyborg wrote:Agreed.
They need to warm up first, by trying to cover other CS cities and patiently watching customer reaction and criticism.


I think the lingerie book is more likely than that mate. :D

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:36 am
by Marrowlight
Killer Cyborg wrote:I prefer the post-apocalyptic feel where few people are left.


Don't let Josh hear that - he'll zoom in to remind us that the game still has that feel. :)

Serious question though - do you prefer it PA feel where humanity is doomed and is just struggling against the inevitable or where humanity is rising up and will one day conquer again?



Killer Cyborg wrote:I want to know what the Xiticix home dimension is like. I want to know where the Lord of the Deep comes from. I want to know what sort of environment spawned brodkil, and witchlings, and Splugorth. I want to know how many places the Mechanoids have gotten to.


Short of the Splugorth, I agree more with the part of what you said that I snipped. I don't want the dimension books to be a reflection of Rifts - I want them to stand apart as much as possible, and to do that they need to be about new places. Not Xiticix worlds or Lord of the Deep or what have you but freaky worlds where Gnomes are the last surviving race of good locked in a battle with Gigante hordes or where Orcs have laid waste to all comers and are now besieged by a force of Dragonwright worshippers. Other places that are experiencing the effects of the megaverse without being origin stories worlds that folks would just use to piggy back to that home world to shut the threat to Rifts Earth down.

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:27 am
by Killer Cyborg
Marrowlight wrote:Serious question though - do you prefer it PA feel where humanity is doomed and is just struggling against the inevitable or where humanity is rising up and will one day conquer again?


I like an optimistic post-apocalypse, where humanity has a strong chance to thrive again.


Killer Cyborg wrote: I don't want the dimension books to be a reflection of Rifts - I want them to stand apart as much as possible, and to do that they need to be about new places. Not Xiticix worlds or Lord of the Deep or what have you but freaky worlds where Gnomes are the last surviving race of good locked in a battle with Gigante hordes or where Orcs have laid waste to all comers and are now besieged by a force of Dragonwright worshippers. Other places that are experiencing the effects of the megaverse without being origin stories worlds that folks would just use to piggy back to that home world to shut the threat to Rifts Earth down.


All that's good too, but I think that more of the creatures that end up on Rifts Earth should have some sort of defined origin. Dimension books could add whole new dimensions to old RCCs and races.

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 1:39 am
by Marrowlight
Killer Cyborg wrote:
All that's good too, but I think that more of the creatures that end up on Rifts Earth should have some sort of defined origin. Dimension books could add whole new dimensions to old RCCs and races.


Personally, I guess Carl's Hades and Dyvaal will really set the stage for those. If those two books go well, it could be a sign that such books have a place in the lineup of Dimension book.

No pressure Gleba! :D

Re: Should there be more New Dimensions?

Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:07 pm
by Augur
Marrowlight wrote:Back when Phase World first hit, I thought that the Dimension Book line was really going somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed the Phase World books....but they're not what I thought the future of the line was. Since book two we've had a HU book that got shoe-horned into Rifts and The lovely Megaversal Builder and other than that a LOT of Phase World. And the only two Dimension Books on the Horizon also deal with Phase World.

To me there should be more new dimensions, a heavier focus on creativity and if not the straight up bizarre then more unusual slants on dimensions. Things that can support a single book but maybe aren't built for a dozen add ons.

What say you, gentle people?


I've already created two new pocket dimensions for my players to explore and get themselves kil...er, famous in, yeah, famous.