The Future of Stellar Reaches (or Where’s Issue #8?)

[DaveChase]

Now hold on just a second

I appreciate your comments but the people at mongoose don't have a reputation for caring about traveller, that's because they haven't published anything yet, when we see something in print and are able to judge it's quality then they'll get a reputation in keeping with their products. I'm more than happy to give Marc the benefit of the doubt, all I''m saying is that if they ignore the community then we should be prepared to vote with our feet and go elsewhere. Hopefully SCI-FI 20.

I know it is hard to let someone you don't know hold your baby or favorite game.

I personally know Alex and Chris (Mongoose), I have dealt with Hunter and I trust Marc Miller (even though I have never met or dealt directly with him.)

Mongoose does handle and care about the products and licenses that they hold. Alex personally has dealt with many fan issues (on various licenses) and has met with a large amount of success in addressing their concerns.

I know from my own job experience as Gaming Initiative & Entertainment Licensing Director for Fleer Trading Cards that it is very important to uphold your part of the license and to activitly pursue those whom might be infringing. If you don't then you just open your self up for more infringement.

WotC is very aggressive in this and takes the stance that it is better question as soon as possible than wait until after.
The guy who made the WorkMate portable work bench is another good example of why it is important to pursue such issues.
Hasbro also pursues licensing infringement but are not so open/public about it so that other problems do not arise (like bad PR and such).

Another issue (possible) is Marc has licensed out the Traveller Universe several times over the years so there are many different takes on the Official Traveller Universe. But at the same time Marc has been very active in listening/dealing with the fan base and has always (in my view point) been willing to make the fan base satisfied.

Now if you are just concern about Mongoose because they are unknown to you, then please just look over their handling of B5 universe. JMS was very pleased with how they handle not only the know parts but the never seen before information of the universe.

I am willing to wait and see how it gets handle because:
1. I believe it will work out to everyone's wants
2. People and things change, and I want to see if this true or not (I believe not)
3. I trust Mongoose, Hunter and Marc to take care of me as a fan of one the longest running/continutious SciFi RPG licenses there is

Just my professional thoughts

Dave Chase

 

[hunter]

Part of the confusion may come from the fact that I also asked, as a separate question, whether or not I could release hard copies of the fanzine publications AT COST. In other words, there would be no profit made, and you guys would only have to pay the printer the cost of printing the hard copy in order to get it. No one makes a cent off the deal, except the printer, of course. This may have triggered a response that was unintended, due to miscommunications or misunderstandings. I don't know, as yet, the specifics of what's going on, but I have asked for a clarification just to make sure I'm on the same page as the Powers That Be.

Ah, so that's how the idea that it might be sold came up. I was wondering

To be frank, I'd tell you no on releasing hard copies even at cost.

 

[Flynn]

Ah, so that's how the idea that it might be sold came up. I was wondering

To be frank, I'd tell you no on releasing hard copies even at cost.

Understood, and that's okay with me.

(BTW, you were on that original email, too, Hunter, in case you want to see the whole thing in context. I thought I was pretty clear in my explanations.)

If anyone reviews my posts on the subject, it should be evident that I personally have already accepted the decision, spoken positively about all involved, and am planning on moving forward in support of Traveller anyway. If the situation changes, I'll roll with those decisions, too. These are just simple challenges to be faced and overcome, nothing to get my nose bent out of shape over.

Mongoose has an established history for putting out large amounts of product on a regular basis. I have no doubts that this will only be a benefit to Traveller fans, and I'm excited about the prospects of it all. Active product support can only be a good thing for Our Old Game, because it increases the chances of attracting new players to the game. That's the true secret to keeping Traveller alive for the next generation, my friends, not whether or not "Stellar Reaches" can continue to release fan-created OTU material. Trust me on this one: bringing new players into Traveller is where it's really at...

Something To Think About,
Flynn

 

[Border Reiver]

I feel a little the opposite of what Flynn feels.

If what he says is true, we are heading on the first steps down the Games Workshop business model. They are that paranoid and strict with their IP they will not even allow a club of school children that play their games to call themselves a Warhammer Club.:nonono:

To be honest I think Mongoose may have some serious back-pedalling to do. If they want fan support they will have to accept fan sites and all that comes with it. If they follow through with taking down the old SR mags then I for one will be first asking for my pre-order money back and then going back to MT and my house rules. T5 is due out soon enough and I'm sure will have more than enough in it to keep me happy. I won't bother Mongoose one iota but it will satisfy my own self righteous, grumpy grognardism.

 

[robject]

I feel a little the opposite of what Flynn feels.

If what he says is true, we are heading on the first steps down the Games Workshop business model. They are that paranoid and strict with their IP they will not even allow a club of school children that play their games to call themselves a Warhammer Club.:nonono:

The previous mention of Babylon 5 should reassure you. Take a peek at fansites babtech-onthe.net and b5tech.net, and others. These sites have been operating for years, and Mongoose is smart enough to know that these types of sites support the game and encourage the fanbase.

 

[Border Reiver]

That's because Mongoose cannot touch those sites. They have nothing to do with the B5 roleplaying or B5 Call to Arms. They are fan sites for the show and thus fall under Warners IP and duly credit that.

Have a look around and see how many Conan RPG sites; Armageddon 2089, Starship Troopers RPG, Elric RPG or even Paranoia are all well loved yet are conspiciously absent in the way of online fan sites.

Glorantha is another matter entirely. What is Mongoose's attitude towards it. That will be the best example to compare to Traveller.

 

[hunter]

Have a look around and see how many Conan RPG sites; Armageddon 2089, Starship Troopers RPG, Elric RPG or even Paranoia are all well loved yet are conspiciously absent in the way of online fan sites.

Unless you have proof that a lack of fan sites is due to Mongoose squashing them, that's a pretty big assumption you are making. I've never heard of Mongoose doing anything along the lines of shutting down fan sites.

Again, this is not likely to end with fans upset. I feel pretty confident and saying that.

 

[Commander Drax]

Whilst I was considering all of this it suddenly occured to me that if Mongoose have control of the official traveller universe etc, then that by implication means that Hunter can't publish anything for Gateway 990 or any other era without their express consent, even though he has a few years left to run on his T20 licence.

Am I right or misunderstanding all of this. If that's the case then Hunter's been dealt a worse blow than I initially thought with the loss of the licence, for all intents and purposes it might as well expire this very minute! You either got a licence to publish or not, added conditions that restrict your freedom just make it harder for you to do business.

If I am wrong on this and Mongoose does not have the right to do this then by proxy Stellar Reaches could publish normally if it were to become a fanzine for Just T20, dropping the Classic Traveller support. Somehow I don't think I am wrong on this...

And for all of the high praise when it comes to Marc Miller, he's been very unlucky many people still haven't forgiven him for the disaster that was T4 and the Imperium Games debacle, (whilst I bear him no personal ill will lets all agree that Imperium Games didn't live up their obligations) the resulting fallout from this means that he needs to earn our trust again and that's that!

 

[hunter]

Whilst I was considering all of this it suddenly occured to me that if Mongoose have control of the official traveller universe etc, then that by implication means that Hunter can't publish anything for Gateway 990 or any other era without their express consent, even though he has a few years left to run on his T20 licence.

Am I right or misunderstanding all of this. If that's the case then Hunter's been dealt a worse blow than I initially thought with the loss of the licence, for all intents and purposes it might as well expire this very minute! You either got a licence to publish or not, added conditions that restrict your freedom just make it harder for you to do business.

That's incorrect. I can still publish more Gateway material. And lets make it clear, I have no issue with the Mongoose license.

If I am wrong on this and Mongoose does not have the right to do this then by proxy Stellar Reaches could publish normally if it were to become a fanzine for Just T20, dropping the Classic Traveller support. Somehow I don't think I am wrong on this...

Yes I could technically allow Stellar Reaches to publish under the umbrella of my license, but if I did I would restrict it to the Gateway areas. I haven't brought it up because I don't think it is going to be necessary.

And for all of the high praise when it comes to Marc Miller, he's been very unlucky many people still haven't forgiven him for the disaster that was T4 and the Imperium Games debacle, (whilst I bear him no personal ill will lets all agree that Imperium Games didn't live up their obligations) the resulting fallout from this means that he needs to earn our trust again and that's that!

Meh, I'll base my opinions and praise on dealing with him closely for going on a decade now.

 

[Border Reiver]

I have confidence in Marc seeing the fans alright, although my contact with him has been quite limited over e-mail he has always come across as both fair and generous.

I'm glad you are confident Hunter and I'll trust your instinct on this because right up to this moment I've always been a pretty big Mongoose fan (despite the shoddy production values outwith their control and pretty gaping editorial errors which were ). I pre-ordered my copy within seconds of it becoming available and I've got a fair collection of Starship Troopers, Armageddon 2089, Runequest, Elric, Hawkmoon and some D20 stuff too.

Matt Sprange has always modelled Mongoose on Games Workshop, it is a fine business model but GW is renowned for their litigious nature regarding their IP, from cease & desists thrown at kid's afternoon wargaming clubs to a top quality German made W40K fanfilm being kyboshed by the lawyers (despite being praised and supported up to that point). I wouldn't want see Traveller facing those kind of restrictions (though there are still some very good Warhammer sites out there working within the rules GW laid down).

 

[Border Reiver]

Good news. Mongoose Chris has stated on the MongTrav forum that there will be no crackdown but they are trying to thrash out an agreement.

 

[hunter]

The response I got from Mongoose was:

Hi all.

Just to clarify, we've reached a decision: free stuff is okay.

I think a proper 'fair use policy' should probably have more legal
waffle than that, but that's what it boils down to. As far as producing
print versions of Stellar Reaches is concerned, a profit-free version
(which is easy with Lulu) should be fine.

So, crisis over. As usual, any questions, send them my way.

Chris

Frankly you got a lot more than I expected with them allowing an 'at cost' print version. Congrats!


Oh BTW....

Told ya so!

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Sounds fair to me.

 

[Flynn]

Good Morning, All:

Hunter beat me to the punch here. Yes, I have also received the official clarification from Chris Longhurst in regards to the future of fan-created OTU material in Stellar Reaches that Hunter copied above:

Hi all.

Just to clarify, we've reached a decision: free stuff is okay.

I think a proper 'fair use policy' should probably have more legal
waffle than that, but that's what it boils down to. As far as producing
print versions of Stellar Reaches is concerned, a profit-free version
(which is easy with Lulu) should be fine.

So, crisis over. As usual, any questions, send them my way.

Chris

With that in mind, Stellar Reaches can resume publication of OTU material, so long as it remains free. It looks like business as usual, then.

Also, with the proviso given by Chris, I will be putting together a compilation of issues in a hard copy format later this Spring, per several requests I have received. You will only need to pay the cost of printing and shipping it to you. As usual, I do this for free, and will take no profit from this work.

This news does not mean that Stellar Reaches is limited to the OTU alone. I will definitely accept ATU and generic contributions once Traveller goes OGL. In fact, I would encourage the diversity. There's room enough for both kinds of material in the pages of the fanzine.

For Quiklink and any small-time publishers interested in talent for their for-profit ventures using the Traveller OGL, I highly recommend that you check out our regular contributors. Look over their work, and if you like it, feel free to contact them to express your interest and possibly line up some paying work for these guys. I'm sure some would appreciate the interest.

Issue #8 will be out this Sunday, my friends.

Hope You Enjoy,
Flynn

 

[Border Reiver]

I am really happy about the way this has panned out.

And now we return to normal service.

 

[Theophilus]

I am so pleased to hear that you will continue your fanzine.
When will you know how much a print version will cost?
What format will it take? (ie. stapled spine, glued spine, 20-200 pages etc.)

 

[Commander Drax]

This is good news, forgive me for my cynicism

"For Quiklink and any small-time publishers interested in talent for their for-profit ventures using the Traveller OGL, I highly recommend that you check out our regular contributors. Look over their work, and if you like it, feel free to contact them to express your interest and possibly line up some paying work for these guys. I'm sure some would appreciate the interest."

Do I count as a regular contributor?

"Issue #8 will be out this Sunday, my friends"

Looking forward to Sunday, well done Flynn!

I think this latest batch of heat from the fans might have influenced Mongoose and Marc into making this decision.

 

[hunter]

I think this latest batch of heat from the fans might have influenced Mongoose and Marc into making this decision.

Possibly, but honestly I think it was more along the lines of just a misunderstanding and once Mongoose realized it they fixed it.

 

[jfetters]

Issue #8 will be out this Sunday, my friends.

Ah, very good! I love it when a plan comes together!

 

[far-trader]

Ah, very good! I love it when a plan comes together!

Yeah, I suppose... But we won't get to see Flynn's plan B in action where he welds some old barrels and metal grating on his van and drives through the garage door amid a hail of bullets to deliver the Pirate Press issue of Stellar Reaches #8 to the masses