Vaporware?

[BrennanHawkwood]

Hey, has there been any news on whether the Honor Harrington game is actually going to happen or if it has become vaporware? I can't help but think that QLI grabbed more than it can handle since they announced all sort of cool new products like TWO years ago and there has been almost no movement on any of it. Just a lot of small publications. I know my assumption at this point (especially with almost no news at all) is that these projects have become hopelessly stalled and that I should give up waiting for them. This is kind of sad since all the hype in the beginning was that the first book would be released ASAP. I guess ASAP round here means a three to five year minimum development cycle...

Sorry if I sound bitter, but I get tired of coming back here looking for info on products I want to spend money on only find the information being exactly the same with no significant progress for YEARS.

 

[Chaos]

Last thing I´ve read - a few weeks ago - was that David Weber is in the process of checking the material.

 

[Savar]

thought that was a like a month before AAC was given to the publisher, david has to many things under his belt

 

[BrennanHawkwood]

Originally posted by Chaos:
Last thing I´ve read - a few weeks ago - was that David Weber is in the process of checking the material.

If that is the case, maybe there is some hope that this book will see the light of day afterall.

 

[korvin]

Originally posted by BrennanHawkwood:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Chaos:
Last thing I´ve read - a few weeks ago - was that David Weber is in the process of checking the material.

If that is the case, maybe there is some hope that this book will see the light of day afterall. </font>[/QUOTE]I happen to know the person writing a lot of the non-rules related material for the game. Some of the tech bible material needed to be redone since David had made a little tiny error early on for the mass of the starships (i.e. they all ended up haveing a far low mass density than could be realistically expected), add in the minor detail that the majority of the geopolitical details existed only in his head until he started sharing his universe with other writers, you can see they difficulties Julie was dealing with.

Not to mention she has to still write her own books, which I hate to say pay better than the rpg market can stand.

But it will be out. Just sometine after legacy. Which reminds me I have to ask MJD if he is done with his minor sections of material so that typeseting, artwork and printing sceduling can be done by hunter, now that 2320 A.D. has cleared most of those areas.

Ben
Ben

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by BD Singleton:
Some of the tech bible material needed to be redone since David had made a little tiny error early on...

Ben,

That is rich! May I cross post your answer to Brennan to the "sf-consim-1" Yahoo group?

Weber's 'little errors' are already well known there. As you can tell from the name, the group discusses science fiction wargaming from a design and playing standpoint. When HH first showed up in book stores, many in the group began attempting to model the space combat described. When the next book came out, it was eagerly dissected for more details regarding technology assumptions, ship performances, and the like.

That's when the other shoe dropped.

It seems Weber - in his continual need to provide Bigger and Nastier Challenges for that uber-munchkin Honor the Kill-Bot - has played fast and loose with his own tech and ship descriptions. In Book 1, ship A does B, but in Book 2, ship A now does Z instead. Why? So Honor the Kill-bot can have Bigger and Better Adventures. Hang consistency and continuity, it sells after all.

The folks attempting to model Weber's ship combat eventually through up their hands at the task. Every book managed to introduce some other, seemingly minor bit, but each tiny bit didn't fit what came before.

Quite frankly, knowing the problems involved, I don't know how the RPG writers managed to model HH ship combat at all. Weber keeps making it up with each new release, so how do you hit a moving target?


Have fun,
Bill

 

[BrennanHawkwood]

Pick a point and say that this is how it works as far as the rpg is concerned? Its the only way that makes sense to me...especially since I doubt there will be any sort official update for the game after every book that changes things. (Though I imagine plenty of players will do there best to shoe horn the changes in ).

 

[Chaos]

@Bill:
COuld you please provide an example or two? I´m not aware of any "mistakes" that would not be explained by the technological advances throughout the series.

 

[Anthony]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Quite frankly, knowing the problems involved, I don't know how the RPG writers managed to model HH ship combat at all. Weber keeps making it up with each new release, so how do you hit a moving target?

You don't. You pick a specific point in the timeline, and map based on that (for the density problem, well, I don't think any ships massed less than the air contained in a similar volume, but it was kind of close).

 

[korvin]

Originally posted by Chaos:
@Bill:
COuld you please provide an example or two? I´m not aware of any "mistakes" that would not be explained by the technological advances throughout the series.

The main problem was the ship size/tonnage issue. There was an error early on that propogated outward, and by the time David found out he was not sure how to handle it, without a systematic edit of ship tonnage, which is what will be done for all future editions and the tech bibles in said book.

Something about having the density x times light than they possibly could have.

Ben

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Chaos:
Could you please provide an example or two? I´m not aware of any "mistakes" that would not be explained by the technological advances throughout the series.

Chaos,

I'll pop over to "sfconsim-1" and post your request. I'm sure there are folks there have been keeping a running tally. Weber bends things quite often, all the better to provide Honor the Killbot with new foes, so there should be lots of examples.

You could probably find a few of your own. They're supposedly glaring when you actually pay attention and don't get carried away in the uber-munchkin wetdreams of it all.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[RainOfSteel]

Originally posted by Chaos:
Last thing I´ve read - a few weeks ago - was that David Weber is in the process of checking the material.

That's, odd. I remember reading exactly that many months ago, possibly last year.

 

[Savar]

Originally posted by RainOfSteel:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Chaos:
Last thing I´ve read - a few weeks ago - was that David Weber is in the process of checking the material.

That's, odd. I remember reading exactly that many months ago, possibly last year. </font>[/QUOTE]like about 6 months ago or so about 3 months before they started snippiting AAC

 

[CmdrPowers]

One of the only reasons I subscribed to the Moot was the promise of the Honor Harrington game. So far, that promise is slip-sliding away.

Right now my local gaming group is gearing up to play an Honor Harrington universe scenario. Our Yahoo board is filled with stuff about playing the game and making characters.

We're using GURPS 4th edition.

Seems to be working so far...

Hurry up guys and we'll switch right over.

 

[CmdrPowers]

Thought you might like to know that we played our first HH session last Friday and everyone had a good time. Since this was an introductory session, we spent a lot of time getting into the feel of the setting. The HMS Hotspur (CL named after the DD lost in action some time ago) has departed HMS Hephaestus and is now approaching the Junction to transit to Basilisk. Players are getting into character and really enjoying themselves. GURPS 4th seems to be working. Too bad we couldn't be playing the official T20 version... 8)

 

[Rossoneill]

Bill
What is the full website address for the HH series
discussions please ?
I tried variations of this no luck .
sf-consim-1" Yahoo group
Course i hardly use Yahoo at all.
Thanks

 

[Anthony]

Originally posted by Rossthree:
Bill
What is the full website address for the HH series
discussions please ?

Hm. The yahoo group would be sfconsim-l, but I don't think there's been much HH discussion there recently. You might also try http://www.adastragames.com/ , which is the website for the maker of Saganami Island Tactical Simulator, which is the HH boardgame.

 

[Savar]

the publishers web page has a discution board that is busy. they are posting the snippits from the forth comming book

http://bar.baen.com/WB/default.asp?boardid=2

that is the link

 

[CmdrPowers]

I keep making these entries in the hope that someone will notice and get something moving.

The HMS Hotspur had a confrontation with a suspected Q-Ship (PRMS Lily, Capt. Jolie-Blanc commanding)and managed to resolve the issue with a boarding and inspection. There was a minor incident when a Peep crewman taunted an armored Marine. Guess who lost. Now the ship is headed for planet Artesia. The current situation has a young Midshipwoman who was assaulted. She refuses to acknowledge it and thinks she can handle it on her own. The PCs disagree and an investigation is ongoing.

See, you really don't need the Traveller version of HH, but think how much better we would be doing this if we had something? GURPS works, but it's one size fits all.

C'mon out there. Let's see some action!

 

[Seanr451]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
I'll pop over to "sfconsim-1" and post your request. I'm sure there are folks there have been keeping a running tally. Weber bends things quite often, all the better to provide Honor the Killbot with new foes, so there should be lots of examples.

I'm a fan of his Honor Harrington books myself. I've spotted a few mistakes that are obviously that, just simple math mistakes.

Since this post I'm quoting is from 2 months ago, perhaps you've had time to find some examples of all these grevious errors you keep claiming you've found.

BTW, every author in every series, TV or book, has to keep comming up with bigger and better foes or the audience looses interest. So to criticize David Weber because he's simply done what the audience wants seems capricious of you.