http://www.sjgames.com/general/press_releases/150723.html
Wasn't sure if everyone was aware of this.
Wasn't sure if everyone was aware of this.
GURPS Traveller announcement
- Thread starter DonM
- Start date
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
So what will happen to all the stuff hidden away behind the JTAS online paywall?
Will FFE be releasing a GT compilation cd or three in the coming years?
Will FFE be releasing a GT compilation cd or three in the coming years?
Oh, I'd buy that in a heartbeat, especially if it included the JTAS Online content...
Feeling ambivalent about this . . . it's been clear for the last few years that SJG had no interest in providing serious Traveller support. So this is really just acknowledging reality.
But dang, Sword Worlds, Rim of Fire, and Interstellar Wars are some of my favorite Traveller books ever.
And even though I don't care much for the GURPS system, I've gotten a ton of use out of the crunchier books like First In, Far Trader, Starports, and Ground Forces.
I hope this announcement sparks renewed interest in some excellent Traveller books.
But dang, Sword Worlds, Rim of Fire, and Interstellar Wars are some of my favorite Traveller books ever.
And even though I don't care much for the GURPS system, I've gotten a ton of use out of the crunchier books like First In, Far Trader, Starports, and Ground Forces.
I hope this announcement sparks renewed interest in some excellent Traveller books.
A CD or three would be wonderful! I own all the physical books and would love to have a chance to buy them in PDF format at a reasonable price. And, of course, for JTAS it's really the only reasonable way to preserve all that content. I have the Best of JTAS volume they produced from the first year's material, but there's been nothing like that since.
But most importantly, I would like for all Traveller content ever produced to be available from FFE. It shouldn't only exist as decaying artifacts.
But most importantly, I would like for all Traveller content ever produced to be available from FFE. It shouldn't only exist as decaying artifacts.
Just a couple days ago, I decided to look and see if SJG had bothered to publish any additional G4T books since GTISW, and lo and behold, they had not. I know they'd been talking about not renewing the license since about the time GTISW came out, and the fact that they've done nothing with it since then pretty much said they wouldn't be renewing. A shame, because the GT stuff was extremely high quality, probably the highest quality of all the Traveller products.
However, I don't understand why this suddenly means they can't continue to sell Traveller products. Isn't e23 just another storefront, from which anything can be sold? It's not like it costs anyone anything to continue maintaining the listings.
My guess would be that Marc felt like it would compete with T5, or Steve thought it would compete with GURPS4, but there are other Traveller licenses out there, and Traveller never negatively affected GURPS before, so call me confounded by that part of the decision.
I would also think, in this age where RPGs are in decline, we'd want to work together to help each other out.
However, I don't understand why this suddenly means they can't continue to sell Traveller products. Isn't e23 just another storefront, from which anything can be sold? It's not like it costs anyone anything to continue maintaining the listings.
My guess would be that Marc felt like it would compete with T5, or Steve thought it would compete with GURPS4, but there are other Traveller licenses out there, and Traveller never negatively affected GURPS before, so call me confounded by that part of the decision.
I would also think, in this age where RPGs are in decline, we'd want to work together to help each other out.
SJG's license to use Traveller at all expired in late 2014. Marc extended it to late 2015.
Keep in mind, Loren Wiseman, who is charge of GURPS last I checked, is a good friend of Marc's.
Keep in mind, GURPS isn't really very profitable for SJG. (Source: Sean Punch, PhD, public postings as Kromm) It pays for its own development and a small profit, but in general, board games, even marginal ones, have a higher return on Investment. So GURPS is back burner.
GURPS Traveller was at one point the top selling line within GURPS. That stopped being true before GURPS 4E was released. (ibid.) GURPS Dungeon Fantasy has apparently taken over that spot. (speculation based upon announced materials). GURPS products remain on the schedule because SJ loves GURPS, and GURPS is a very visible line, even if it's not a very profitable one. (Dr Punch, again.)
For SJG to use traveller at all, they need a license. They have to stop completely, or have a license, because if they use it without license, Marc has to either (1) take legal action or (2) give up the trademark. US law provides no third route for trademarks.
So, the fact that they have to pull it is a matter of not costing Marc the trademark on "Traveller"...
Sad news, but neither surprising nor unanticipated.
As Aramis correctly reminds us, GURPS hasn't paid the bills at SJGames for some time now. What little support it still receives is due more to nostalgia than anything else. It's the game which put SJGames on the map and the game which kept them in business for a good long while. No one really has the heart to pull the plug on GURPS, but no one is going to go out of their way to provide any support greater then the occasional .pdf or other such product.
It's a shame really because the many varied 3E source books for GURPS were excellent supplements that could be used with any RPG rules set.
As Aramis correctly reminds us, GURPS hasn't paid the bills at SJGames for some time now. What little support it still receives is due more to nostalgia than anything else. It's the game which put SJGames on the map and the game which kept them in business for a good long while. No one really has the heart to pull the plug on GURPS, but no one is going to go out of their way to provide any support greater then the occasional .pdf or other such product.
It's a shame really because the many varied 3E source books for GURPS were excellent supplements that could be used with any RPG rules set.
Procopius
SOC-9
Well, this is sad news; as I used GURPS 3E, however, I suppose it doesn't really affect me, although I fear it also means no access to the SJGames JTAS articles ever, which is a bit of a downer. Makes me feel a little old, I remember ordering GURPS Traveller when it first came out and getting it from my mail cubby at college.
Guess I'll keep the flame burning by running my skype GT game, though.
Guess I'll keep the flame burning by running my skype GT game, though.
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Actually, Car Wars, Ogre/GEV, and Illuminati are the games which put them on the map. GURPS was years later. SJG started in '81-82, with SJ leaving Metagaming Concepts, and being able to take Ogre and GEV with, but not The Fantasy Trip.
SJ tried for a few years to get TFT back from Metagaming, but failed, so he rewrote it from scratch, into GURPS. in '85-86. But by that point, SJG was going strong with Car Wars, OGRE/GEV, and Illuminati, all three board games (Tho' CW can be used as an RPG), and making a significant chunk of their money.All of which is mentioned in te GURPS designer's notes in Roleplayer #1.
Still makes a bit of money, though. As long as the line sees a couple of new releases each year, the back catalog continues to grow.
And while I haven't written a new GURPS book in four or five years, I'm still seeing sales of $6,000 or so per year, over 2/3 of which goes to SJ Games. Since this is all material long since paid for ... multiply that by the work of numerous authors, plus sales of core books - and it's a still a pretty penny. And remember, this back catalog stuff is excluding any new releases like whatever the latest Dungeon Fantasy core book, their Mars Attack, etc.
SJ Games has the online store running to sell munchkin; I doubt selling GURPS adds much extra to the cost of running it. And if my own GURPS books earned several thousand last year, I suspect SJ Games earned a lot more than that, as my back titles don't include ANY of the best-selling Dungeon Fantasy series, stuff like Monster Hunters, and as other recent hits.
Do a kickstarter to support buying the rights to the GT books to release under the T5 system, and paying the GT authors to convert everything to T5...
Especially if they were GURPS v4 versions, _in colour_.
Strike me lucky! Now I'm going to have to hoard my credits. Will there be a discounted fire sale?
I would buy up a CD collection of all the GURPS/JTAS stuff in a heartbeat.
Drakon
SOC-14 1K
Seconded and ditto
