Any word on the sourcebooks?

[solas]

Last I heard things had been pushed back to around this time of year...just wondering if there'd been any movement.

[misterharry]

The latest info from the Cubicle 7 website is:

Aliens & Creatures - June
Defending the Earth: The UNIT Sourcebook - July
The Time Traveller's Companion - August

The First Doctor sourcebook has also been mentioned, but no date announced yet, so far as I know.

[rodreis]

I really hope to see the stats of the new Daleks, a updated River Song, the new Angels and the new gadgets like River Song´s hallucinogenic lipstick and weapon welder.

[gmjake]

I hadn't heard about the first doctor supplement, I've been watching the 1964 episodes and am a huge hartnell fan.

nothing like tennant, but awesome in his own way.

[azimerthemad]

I hope the Hartell supplement comes with a library card.

[ugavine]

May 9, 2010 5:54:15 GMT azimerthemad said:

I hope the Hartell supplement comes with a library card.

LOL ;D

I am looking forward to the new suppliments, if only because I've already paid for three of them!

[solas]

Just giving this a bump now that we're a week into June. Any word that anyone's heard?

[kaemaril]

Jun 8, 2010 8:51:42 GMT solas said:

Just giving this a bump now that we're a week into June. Any word that anyone's heard?

Nope.

Over on the C7 forums kit asked for an update on the schedule back on May 24th that has yet to be answered by C7.

We don't even know if it's gone to the printers yet, though to be fair I don't know if C7 usually announces that. IIRC they did with the core rulebook.

[imajica]

Money sat ready to purchase, but I'm not going to pre-order...

[Kit]

I pre-ordered Aliens & Creatures from C7 back when it was announced. I haven't pre-ordered Defending the Earth or Time Traveler's Companion yet

[renegadetimelord]

I wouldn't dream of promoting my own site as a source of occasionally useful information, but nipping across to Renegade Time Lord might answer your question somewhat.

[misterharry]

Thanks for that - so an August release now looks likely for the Aliens supplement. Whilst it's disappointing to hear of further delays (from the June release date on the Cubicle 7 website), the positive noises about the game's future are encouraging.

I do have a concern though that C7 presumably paid a hefty price for the Who licence and while they're not releasing supporting material, they're limiting the revenue they're getting back in to cover that cost. Also, if the licence is anything like the Who licences for other merchandise, it'll have a fixed expiry date and so the time left for C7 to produce supplements is reducing. Obviously the licence could be extended, but I would assume that this would cost C7 again.

[kaemaril]

So, if the earlier post is to be believed (and I see no reason to doubt it) Cubicle 7 are planning on August.

Yet not one word on their own damn forum about it, despite being asked over a fortnight ago for an update - when they must have known June was off the table.

This shoddy, lackadaisical communication is unacceptable, and the main cause of my gripe with them. If they'd bother to keep their customers fully up to date in a timely manner then delays of eight months for their first supplement would not seem so egregious.

[solas]

Thanks for that news, Renegade...that helps put things in perspective for my own game which is starting in the next week or two. I did figure there was some outside factors slowing down the production process, and the rebranding and recompositing of the new logo on already released products would be one of them.

Don't know what to do about the 11th Doctor and Amy being included, though! I want those stats!

S.

[kaemaril]

Jun 9, 2010 1:55:40 GMT solas said:

Thanks for that news, Renegade...that helps put things in perspective for my own game which is starting in the next week or two. I did figure there was some outside factors slowing down the production process, and the rebranding and recompositing of the new logo on already released products would be one of them.

Don't know what to do about the 11th Doctor and Amy being included, though! I want those stats!

S.

It was my understanding, from earlier comments from C7, that the Aliens & Creatures and Defending the Earth supplements would not be rebadged, but that those would be the last products with 'Ten' livery.

[Kit]

The one post I could find on the subject was from Angus on May 7:

The new branding will start appearing on our products later in the year. Aliens & Creatures will still have the logo, etc, from the last series on it.

[renegadetimelord]

Jun 9, 2010 2:22:04 GMT @kaemaril said:

It was my understanding, from earlier comments from C7, that the Aliens & Creatures and Defending the Earth supplements would not be rebadged, but that those would be the last products with 'Ten' livery.

As of my discussion this weekend, Aliens & Creatures will be the last 10th Doctor branded DWAITAS supplement and will be released for GenCon. That's the intent. Then other supplements will follow with 11th Doctor. However, flux is very common!

[kaemaril]

So, the rebranding doesn't fly as an excuse for A&C at the very least.

And still no excuse for the utter lack of communication from C7 on their own forum, despite being asked weeks ago.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Solas, folks,

There's also the fact that the Cubicle 7 folks are in the process of having moved their offices, and as I understand it, the US warehouse facility is being moved as well.

Jun 9, 2010 1:55:40 GMT solas said:

Don't know what to do about the 11th Doctor and Amy being included, though! I want those stats!

Insofar as this is concerned, I have been assured by the folks at Cubicle 7 that a free PDF or some sort of other means of releasing that information, among others, will be made for folks who've already bought the game. That's still being worked out, though.

[omega]

I think the whole industry is suffering from some odd malady that results in a lack of official feedback.

It could be worse. It could be Paradox Interactive or EA.

On the up-side Torchwood is definitely returning and Green Ronin are bringing out the new DC Heroes RPG.

[Kit]

news from Angus:

Aliens & Creatures is off to the printers this week, so August is probably about right with the turnaround from printer and shipping (and hopefully no US spot custom checks this time round!).

The PDF of Aliens & Creatures will be available before then though (should be later this month) and we'll also be sending comp copies of the PDF to pre-order customers who ordered direct with us and are looking at ways of supplying the PDF to customers who ordered through stores too.

[kaemaril]

Jun 9, 2010 15:50:43 GMT JohnK said:

Hullo, Solas, folks,

There's also the fact that the Cubicle 7 folks are in the process of having moved their offices, and as I understand it, the US warehouse facility is being moved as well.

While that might certainly explain any delays to product release I don't see where it explains or excuses the utter lack of communication on the subject. I'm sure they're busy, with the office move they may even have briefly lost net access, but they have a twitter page for God's sake. It's not like they can't get this info out to the world in two second flat at an internet cafe if they really had to. The world has moved on, you no longer need five hours, lengthy training in complex CMS, and a T1 line in order to impart an organisation's news to their customers.

[imajica]

Torchwood coming back? That's not good news. Not after Children of Earth.

And as for further delays? Well...
* Welcome to Sunnydale
* Angel Investigator's Companion
* Tea & Crossbows
All were announced, all were promised, all failed to arrive. I just hope this new Who RPG isn't going the same way as Buffy/Angel.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Kaemaril,

Jun 9, 2010 18:44:17 GMT @kaemaril said:

Jun 9, 2010 15:50:43 GMT JohnK said:

There's also the fact that the Cubicle 7 folks are in the process of having moved their offices, and as I understand it, the US warehouse facility is being moved as well.

While that might certainly explain any delays to product release I don't see where it explains or excuses the utter lack of communication on the subject. I'm sure they're busy, with the office move they may even have briefly lost net access, but they have a twitter page for God's sake. It's not like they can't get this info out to the world in two second flat at an internet cafe if they really had to. The world has moved on, you no longer need five hours, lengthy training in complex CMS, and a T1 line in order to impart an organisation's news to their customers.

Frankly, I can understand your frustrations and all about the game line, but you need to calm down and relax. It's just a game, and to be honest, the new products will come out when they come out, and not before then. Nothing we do or say will change that, and to be honest, games that are based on books, tv, movies, comics, or whatever that require a licensing agreement can have complications that delay products. And it's not like C7 is going to necessarily explain everything about these delays to us, the consumer.

Insofar as the folks at Cubicle 7 communicating with us about the status of the game, bear in mind this is not an official forum for the game, and I don't know whether the C7 folks actually watch and read this forum at all. Perhaps they will say something about this over on their actual forums, but if you want more information, get in touch directly with the game company, and stop griping about it here.

Thanks.

[misterharry]

Jun 10, 2010 12:31:37 GMT JohnK said:

Insofar as the folks at Cubicle 7 communicating with us about the status of the game, bear in mind this is not an official forum for the game, and I don't know whether the C7 folks actually watch and read this forum at all. Perhaps they will say something about this over on their actual forums, but if you want more information, get in touch directly with the game company, and stop griping about it here.

I don't think anyone's saying that Cubicle 7 must provide us with updates on this forum. But they aren't even doing it on their own website - unless the info there has changed in the last 24 hours or so (I can't access their site from work to check), it's still showing a June release for Aliens & Creatures.

[imajica]

So let's see...

No official presence on this forum
No official forum for the game at all
Minimal presence on the main Cubicle 7 forum
The less said about the "official" DWAITAS website the better.

Sound like a supported game to you?

I have the awful feeling this one's circling the drain. How much stuff was promised for Buffy/Angel that was never released? Licensed properties either seem to do incredibly well or flounder.

[olegrand]

Perhaps the main cause of C7's silence is some ultra-strict non-disclosure agreement of some kind with the BBC which prevents them from making any official statement about the game or its supporting material without the BBC's green light - or something along these lines. If this is the case, this is probably understandable from a strictly legal point of view but it's a real pity from a commercial / PR perspective - especially since RPGs nowadays (especially licensed ones) need a steady amount of support and communication to thrive (or even survive). Perhaps this was some similar "red tape" (I use the term loosely) which caused so much delay on the Eden's Ghosts of Albion RPG - something which eventually turned what could have been a quick-and-fresh cult hit to a barely official-looking game which drew almost no attention when it was eventually released.

Considering how C7 handles info about (& support of) its other game lines on the web, I suspect this "legal" explanation is quite probable. So let's not be too harsh on the C7 guys, who have given us a really great game.

And let's hope The Powers That Be understand that the marketing of a pen & paper RPG does follow some niche-specific principles, like the steady release of support material ;D

[misterharry]

Jun 10, 2010 13:02:09 GMT olegrand said:

Perhaps the main cause of C7's silence is some ultra-strict non-disclosure agreement of some kind with the BBC which prevents them from making any official statement about the game or its supporting material without the BBC's green light - or something along these lines.

Possibly, I guess. But any NDA which restricts C7 from even updating release dates would be unduly stringent.

Anyway, on a positive note, I'm reassured from renegadetimelord's blog that Aliens & Creatures is currently at the printers.

[imajica]

I'm just guessing here, but I don't think anyone on the BBC team overseeing this is a gamer. Or if they are, they're a gamer who had a bad experience.

[renegadetimelord]

Jun 10, 2010 12:44:17 GMT imajica said:

The less said about the "official" DWAITAS website the better.

I mentioned the official DWAITAS site while talking about the game in general and the site - like the game materials - requires BBC approval. So, no possibility of drifting from the approved look/content and the thing with the release dates... well, they slip. Perhaps we, as RPGers, have become too demanding of exact dates and times. My opinion, but as you may have read on my blog, I thing the slow progress in official supplements may actually be a good thing. Reminds me of the infancy of home computing when you learnt how to program games because the shelves weren't exactly heaving with them. You learnt the code and experimented - just as, with DWAITAS, you learn the game and the mechanics, and create your own content, creatures, etc. ... and hopefully share them on here.