posted
Don't hold your breath. LUG is about a YEAR behind in their production schedule (the Construction manual was originally set for Jan. of this year), and pretty much all of its projects are stalled due to two major factors:
1. Paramount is dragging their heels approving the various games and supplements
2. LUG was recently acquired by Wizards of the Coast (Of the Magic card game fame, and who recently purchased TSR and with it, the Dungeons and Dragons franchise), and controversy is raging over whether they're going to convert all the current Trek games (playes with 6-sided dice) over to WotC's standard, which is played with 20-sided dice (like D&D 2nd edition)
Wait and see. Personally, I really REALLY hope they don't change, as I've just gotten used to the 6-sided style and like it very much, plus it's push back the games MUCH farther for rewrites.
------------------ "Nobody knows this, but I'm scared all the time... of what I might do, if I ever let go." -- Michael Garibaldi
posted
I could be wrong, but I didn't think LUG had any special access to information we don't have. Won't these books mostly be stuff-we-already-know + stuff-they-pulled-out-of-their-asses? :-)
------------------ "I just measured him. He's about 21"." -Chris Martin, 14-Jul-2000
Having information that we already know in a handy reference book is helpful. And the information "they pull out of their asses" as Tim so eloquently put it is interesting most of the time.
------------------ "Huh. An intelligent guard. I never would have guessed." -Preed, Titan A.E.
posted
Then again, do we really want our current knowledge summarized in the graphic style of "Price of Freedom"? Miranda looks like that?
IMHO, starship recognition manuals are best based on painstakingly researched and detailed pictures of the studio models and their appearances in the episodes. If the pictures are off, then the manuals aren't much good either. The text part can give the Miranda sixteen gatling disruptors and make the Sabre transwarp capable, and see if I care. But if the length of an Excelsior's nacelles is off by two centimeters in the picture, I'll yell bloody murder.
posted
Considering that even more or less canon/official publications such as the DS9TM and the FF have only few new material, I don't expect too much. Will it be canon stuff anyway? If the graphic quality is as good as what I've seen from "The Price of Freedom", I must say even I as a bloody amateur can do that better.
Actually, the construction manual sounds more interesting. It might have many suggestions, although I probably won't agree with everything. The same goes for the time travel book.
BTW, that's not the Intendant, but "our" Kira, when she first was in the Parallel Universe and had to dress so to please the Intendant...
------------------ "Species 5618, human. Warp-capable, origin grid 325, physiology inefficient, below average cranium capacity, minimum redundant systems, limited regenerative abilities." Ex Astris Scientia
posted
Check out the forums over at http://www.trekrpg.net/Board/ubbcgi/Ultimate.cgi and you'll find lots of posts by the book's author Steve Long. He says that the first SRM will contain lots of TNG era starfleet ships, including several made by LUG for the SRM. The artwork hasn't been decide on yet, it's unlikely that they will use the same artist as they did for Price of Freedom as they acknowledge that he didn't have a feel for starships. Steve Long would prefer that each ship had at least five views given (dorsal, ventral aft, forward and side elevations). Future SRMs will cover other species and other eras.
The first publication in this range will be Spacedock, which will contain ship consturuction rules, an advanced ship-to-ship combat systems and several ships from the main TNG powers.
LUG have a year's worth of publications lined up so any switch over to the WotC d20 system won't happen for at least that long, and probably longer. Delays in LUGs schedules are mostly Paramount's faut, though lately the senior staff have been tied up with paperwork due to the takeover.
posted
Weather or not it is cannon, is really of no concern to me. (unless they totally F*** up all of the well known ships such as the Galaxy and Constitution classes.) All I know is that for years, (AND I DO MEAN YEARS) I was hoping that someone will be taking after STAR WARS: The Essential Guide to Vhichles and Vessels and make a Star Trek equivilant. Plus, that how-to-model-starfleet-ships book looks good too.
------------------ "If I knew you were coming I would have baked a cake...learned to sing....stop me Gage!" --Aurther The Journeyman Project 3
posted
Well, I was referring to Black Knight's comment that it might have new pictures and new Okudagrams. I would think anything "new" would, in fact, be stuff that was made up. I'm more interested in Okuda's theoretical book that'll have the W359 ships and such in it.
------------------ "I just measured him. He's about 21"." -Chris Martin, 14-Jul-2000
posted
Having playtested "Spacedock" (AKA, LUG's big book o' starships) and given extensive notes to Steve Long, the developer, I can say that he does a pretty decent job. Since I'm not a gamer, I didn't actually "play" it, but I read the whole thing. Steve does more than a decent job, in fact. The book is really good. I made sure he got as many of the stats right as possible, though I'm sure a few slipped through here and there, it's the nature of the business. However, on the whole, I think the book will please the tech fans in us, as well as the gamers... though there's not a whole lot of completely original material. Unfortunately, I can't get into specifics because of the non-discolure agreement playtesters have to sign. I can tell you that Steve found Bernd's site quite useful, so you know he's got class. =)
is interesting most of the time.
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