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cheshire
Arbiter-General (Moderator)
Joined: 04 Jan 2004
Posts: 4853
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 Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:26 am Post subject: |
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| atgxtg wrote: |
Sadly, if it is true, WotC could just walk away. It happens all the time. When a company gets a liscense to a story or setting, they are usually under to obligation to actually produce anything. It happens with films and TV all the time. Someone buys the option to make a movie, and then can't find backing, or the right cast.
WotC could, in theory, bury the license for the next decade, if they have that agreement. Their predecessor (TSR) used to buy up companies and bury competing rule systems.
But, I doubt they have such a contract. For one thing, I don't think Lucas made such a long term agreement. For another, I'm sure they would find ways to exert pressure or get out of the contract if WotC wasn't producing SW product.
I wouldn't doubt that someone will probably pick the game up. Just because WotC isn't satisfied with their results doesn't mean that another company won't be. People were saying the same thing about Lord of the Rings after the Decipher disaster, and now Cublic 7 has picked it up. I suspect this has more to do with WotC in general than the Star Wars RPG line.
Personally, I'd love to see a d6 or EABA Star Wars RPG, but I'm afraid we will probably see someone like Mongoose Publishing pick it up. They have been snagging a lot of licenses. |
As I said, I didn't see how it could be true. Also there was an announcement on Star Wars.com that said that they were looking for new options to publish game books, cards, and minis. That being the case, I'd say it blows the rumor out of the water. The question is whether they can find someone who can pick it all up.
D6 won't happen short of Whill winning the lottery, buying the company and getting a business plan together in the next couple of months. WEG is in no state to pick up such a complicated license.
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ccatkins
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 08 Dec 2007
Posts: 107
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:24 pm Post subject: |
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It would be great if SW was picked up by another company but I actually don't want it rehashed for at least a couple of years as we currently have about 4 versions of the same types of info, D6 (and plus some reprints in 2nd edition), OCR, RCR and SAGA. I mean how many times can we have a run down of the Rebellion Era stuff. If we do get a new system I think we should have a load of compendiums for the old stuff and a concentration on new eras or modules like in the WEG day?
What if a company pitched the idea of using the OpenD6 system with certain sections protected from being reproduced by others? Would Lucas Licensing go for it?
Not that any of this matters, no matter what version you play you have enough books to keep you going until the end of time... |
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atgxtg
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Joined: 22 Mar 2009
Posts: 2460
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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| cheshire wrote: |
As I said, I didn't see how it could be true. Also there was an announcement on Star Wars.com that said that they were looking for new options to publish game books, cards, and minis. That being the case, I'd say it blows the rumor out of the water. The question is whether they can find someone who can pick it all up. |
I think they will. When Decipher went under people were saying that no one would pick up the Star Trek or LotR licenses again, but Cubicle 7 just picked up LotR, and I suspect someone will get Trek if the next movie does well.
The problem is, who. I'd rather see the game fade into oblivion that end up in the hands of a compnay like Mongoose Publishing.
| cheshire wrote: |
D6 won't happen short of Whill winning the lottery, buying the company and getting a business plan together in the next couple of months. WEG is in no state to pick up such a complicated license. |
Trust to the "Whill of the Force". 
I honestly think the odds are a bit better than that. While West End is in financial limbo, they do have a few things going for them. Lucas was very pleased with the d6 system RPG. So if he wanted to, he could certainly make arrangements along those lines. In fact, since rules mechanics cannot be copyrighted, it's entirely possible for LucasArts to produce a SWRPG based on d6.
So there are a lot of possiblities.
For us, about the only effect of this is that folks like you a Gry and going to get a break from translating d20 game stats! 
It's not like we're running the d20 or SAGA stuff, just using the stats as a jumping off point, and then only when they are in the right ballpark. |
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cheshire
Arbiter-General (Moderator)
Joined: 04 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 3:20 pm Post subject: |
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| ccatkins wrote: |
What if a company pitched the idea of using the OpenD6 system with certain sections protected from being reproduced by others? Would Lucas Licensing go for it?
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I'm with you on the rehashing thing. But I wanted to make mention of this idea of Open D6. I think that it would be BEYOND fantastic if someone were to pick up the Open D6 and release something compatible with what we've had in the past. However, Eric Gibson still needs to do a few things in order for that to be legal. No one is going to touch Open D6 until he gets a few things finished. What is Eric's time line for getting that all done? No one really knows. I wouldn't count on having it done soon enough if LFL is looking to get another contract in the next few months.
The question is, even if it was ready to roll, would any company be willing to use someone else's system rather than their own system for doing Star Wars? I doubt it.
Also, if another company does pick it up, D6 or not, I'm wondering what sort of view they'll have of a site like this. If they have a license, they'll be within their preoperative to shut the Rancorpit down as well as issue a C&D on the distribution of any of the materials we've produced.
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Before we take any of this too seriously, just remember that in the middle episode a little rubber puppet moves a spaceship with his mind. |
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gallandro
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Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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| Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| cheshire wrote: | | Also, there is some talk on other boards about who might pick it up, and someone was saying (making this just internet rumor) that WotC got the license as part of a Hasbro agreement until 2020. If that is true (and I'm not exactly sure how it can be if WotC can just walk away from the license), then nothing would be possible for another 10 years. |
That person on rpg.net is misinformed. The RPG/Mini license i specifically with WOTC and has nothing to do with the Hasbro license.
Yanc |
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ccatkins
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 08 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 4:44 pm Post subject: |
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Chesh, i agree with you Eric Gibson seems in no hurry to get the legalities for Open D6 sorted and personally i can't see him being able to cope with having the SW license back under the WEG umbrella but it would be one heckuva coup if he could pull it off.
So, if it shouldn't go to Mongoose, where should it go? Anyone used the Cortex system from Margaret Weis, would that be a good system to use? |
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gallandro
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Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 26
Location: Phoenix, AZ
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| Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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| ccatkins wrote: | Chesh, i agree with you Eric Gibson seems in no hurry to get the legalities for Open D6 sorted and personally i can't see him being able to cope with having the SW license back under the WEG umbrella but it would be one heckuva coup if he could pull it off.
So, if it shouldn't go to Mongoose, where should it go? Anyone used the Cortex system from Margaret Weis, would that be a good system to use? |
My guess is internal. Lucas Books/Licensing seems to be trying to get a handle on the whole EU thing. They announced that Del Rey wont be doing anymore mega series books (like Fate of the Jedi) and will go back to more one-shots, duologies and trilogies for their releases.
Lucas Books could hire a small staff to come up with some mini/RPG game to tie in with Clone Wars. Doubt they would farm it out at this point. They can maintain more control in house and they already have a publisher lined up... I'm sure Del Rey wouldn't mind. |
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hisham
Commander
Joined: 06 Oct 2004
Posts: 432
Location: Malaysia
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| Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| gallandro wrote: | | My guess is internal. Lucas Books/Licensing seems to be trying to get a handle on the whole EU thing. |
I'm guessing the same. WOTC will no longer be producing SWRPGs after the date, but then starwars.com says:
| Quote: | | ...Lucas Licensing continues to see miniatures, roleplaying games and card games as viable and important elements in its Star Wars licensing program, both in digital form (like the recently launched trading card game within Star Wars Galaxies), and in physical products like figures, books and cards. Keep checking StarWars.com for announcements regarding future products in this area in the coming months. |
...which sounds a lot like "but watch this space (as opposed to WOTC's space) for more stuff on RPG, minis and such."
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In D6, of course. |
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masque
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Joined: 16 Mar 2006
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Location: Houston, TX
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 12:05 am Post subject: |
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I see lots of people expressing disdain at the notion of Mongoose getting the license. What exactly is the problem with Mongoose? I don't have a lot of their stuff, mainly just Paranoia XP, but I'm not getting what the problem is there.
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ZzaphodD
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Joined: 28 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 5:28 am Post subject: |
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| cheshire wrote: | | WEG is in no state to pick up such a complicated license. |
What exactly is the state of WEG? |
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masque
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:46 am Post subject: |
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| ZzaphodD wrote: | | cheshire wrote: | | WEG is in no state to pick up such a complicated license. |
What exactly is the state of WEG? |
Near as I can tell, recovering from financial mishaps and getting back on its feet. But I don't think there was ever a time when the current incarnation of WEG could afford the Star Wars license. I doubt they'd want to, anyway, with the history involved. Kind of like how the current incarnation of ICE doesn't even like to discuss Middle Earth on its forums at all, due to the bad blood of that situation.
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Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. |
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Gry Sarth
Jedi
Joined: 25 May 2004
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Location: Sao Paulo - Brazil
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:47 am Post subject: |
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I heard somewhere that WEG open-sourced the D6 system. Is that true?
In that case, could just about any company acquire the SW license and produce D6 books that closely followed the WEG ones?
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"He's Gry Sarth, of course he has the stats for them." |
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masque
Captain
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Location: Houston, TX
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:07 am Post subject: |
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| Gry Sarth wrote: | | I heard somewhere that WEG open-sourced the D6 system. Is that true? |
It is true, sort of. He's OGL'd it, but has yet to produce an SRD for it. As it stands right now, you can download the 3 D6 corebooks (Adventure, Fantasy, and Space) for free, with the OGL in them, but for someone wanting to actually design a game around it, it'd probably be better to wait for an SRD to cover all the legal niceties.
So theoretically, yes, any random person can pick up the Star Wars license and resurrect Star Wars D6, but from what I've been reading, the cost of the license is so high that only a person or a company with resources comparable to WOTC would be able to afford it. That isn't confirmed, obviously, but I expect it wouldn't be too difficult to do so, just contact Lucasfilm and find out.
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Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. |
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Nico_Davout
Commander
Joined: 09 Feb 2009
Posts: 384
Location: Sevilla, Spain
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 11:40 am Post subject: |
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We can raise funds and buy SW license 
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Nico,
Han Solo shot first, midichlosomething do not exist, Rebel Alliance was created as in the WEG books and indoctrination theory is the true ending of ME3. |
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atgxtg
Rear Admiral
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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| masque wrote: | | I see lots of people expressing disdain at the notion of Mongoose getting the license. What exactly is the problem with Mongoose? I don't have a lot of their stuff, mainly just Paranoia XP, but I'm not getting what the problem is there. |
They have a tendency to produce a lot of products, but with poor quality mechanics that have lots of flaws and need to be "patched" and/or fixed with a new edition. Basically consider yourself a beta tester.
Mongoose Conan was so bad that they did a revised "Atlantean Edition" to fit the bugs. Mongosse RuneQuest was so bad that within a day of it's relase the author put up a thread on the mongoose forum to explain that you do not play the game they was it is presented in the rule book and all the examples were wrong.
In the months that followed there have been a couple of patches that changed the core game mechanic in an effort to fix one flaw, while introducing others. Not that all these flaws were things that were introduced into the existing RQ system by authors not familiar with the system in the first place, who disregarded the input of play testers (including one the game's original designers) who warned them of said flaws beforehand.
Now they are doing a second edition, and called in people with experience with the RQ system to write it.
So if Mongoose got their hands on the liscence, they would probably do something like rewrite the d6 system and make a lot of mistakes, on-site patches and corrections until two years down the road they hire some ex-
WEG/WotC employee to rewrite it again.
In the meantime they will churn out lots and lots of semi functional
supplements.
Mongoose doesn't care if a system is playable, just as long as it sells product. Unfortunately, fans of a licensed setting tend to buy up supplements for a line regardless of quality. Just think of how many d6 fans have copies of SW books for the d20 system. |
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