I can't say I'm that knowledgeable of the RPG industry, but watching the development of T5 is like watching the Keystone Cops. I can't imagine anything more amateur.
Having been involved in the later ends of design and support for a number of products, I can say that your Keystone cops comment proves you have not got the experience.
T5 in development for years.
The bettwer to get it right. I remain, among other things, a Traveller Game Master who has to face the task of bringin new players into the system. That is often a monumental task simply due to the many varient systems, IMTU house rules and other things that make up the current Traveller "universe". Given all the material that is out there, I am amazed we are really getting anything even 10 yrs after the first discussions. It is frightening how much material is out there to justify into one package.
Various invited playtesters leave disgruntled because Marc refuses to listen to their comments.
The truth is too often a many sided blade. I remember an ardent Battletech fan who came to me with a manuscript for a faction which had carved itself a home out of the Perifery(sp?). He had done amazing amounts of research and had coem to me for help getting FASA to make it part of the Official Battletech universe.
I explained to him that, at the very least, it would require re-writing history and scrapping potential plans the authors had for that area of space if any existed. His opinion was, "so what, it is a fictional history that they own so they can!". He could never understand that he had not answered "why would they want to" except that he wanted it. While I have to admit, the manuscript was a good one..I could find no reasons why the powers that be SHOULD. And that is too often the basis for semi-valid complaints. Add to that the rumors too often reported as truth and I feel certain that the public complaints are not the private reality.
T5 announced year on year as being imminent, but never gets published.
Better than waiting for something that never arrives(FASA: High Passage 6 for ex)
T5 announced as being sold as a beta CD-ROM so that others can do Marc's work in
getting it into shape so it can be sold again as a book. (Marc wins award for most innovative business model for 2007).
1) I have not paid any extra funds or been asked to pay/commit to paying more for this CD. As such this was NOT sold..so your accusation here is baseless
2) Traveller has always been a Fan supported evolution from the start onward. I remember seeing the ads in JTAS 9 that we can send int Char info and get Unit assignments for the FFW! Traveller has ALWAYS been a venue where fan submissions for gear, adventures and ideas have been a welcomed part of the game...well except for Frank Chadwick's decision to start a civil war... And the game has been better for it! So horay for fan involvement!
T5 CD-ROM announced as ready for release. (Much fanfare and releasing of pigeons).
T5 not quite ready for release, but gets delayed just a bit longer, honest, just a few months.
Here you are blaming Marc for the mistakes of people like ME.
Let me be clear, this is very much in part MY FAULT
I pre-ordered T5 and have not joined the private playtest. So I did not know that this was an in-development release. I, and people like me, touted this incorrectly as the finally hoped for T5.
So in this situation, perhaps you should have looked at the information you were reading more closely andverified it before accusing Marc and his folks based on the mistakes of consumers like me.
Rumor control is just as much the job of them as hears teh rumors(for not verifying their data) as it is the fools like me who, in this case, unintentionally spread incorrect information.
Hold on a minute, actually T5 is so far away from release that the alpha version needs to be sold to people who then do Marc's work in getting it into shape as a beta.
A year latter, T5 beta is now ready for sale.
Again, nothing has been sold but the final edition. You are screaming repeatedly about an accusation that is FALSE. Now if Marc had come to us all and said, "hey guys, game development is coming along but I'd like you all to chip in another $5 for an Alpha", then you'd becorrect. As it, those of us who pre-ordered have gotten a fre gift in time for christmas. One that helps us make the game better AND one that insures that once T5 is released there will be many of us out here to answer questions...
NOTE: we who will answer questions will also NOT CHARGE. So not only will T5 be better for it but you will have an army of helpful players to explain all the new things in detail.
Still have problems with pre-release player input?
Hang on a minute, it's still a beta (in fact some even speak of it as still an alpha), so those who have purchased it are asked not to speak about it.
In total, an alpha that has been worked on by paying customers is released as a beta that's intended to be worked on yet more by paying customers so that some time later a book can be published and sold again. But in the meantime, no-one can talk about it. (Marc wins most innovative business model for 2008).
You must be on a turntable as you are repeatig your accusations now.
So I will simply repeat, I have paid one fee.. I am getting this Alpha release as a GIFT and will get T5 when it is released fr no additional cost.
So you are wrong and need to understand that or be ignored.
And as icing on the cake, the announcement of T5 on the FEE web page has a typo.
ok, slit Marc's wrists for a typo...
I know, I know, I know, I don't have to buy T5. True, I'm not going to touch it with a barge pole. And I know others are entitled to throw their money and their time where they want to. I'm just commenting on the farcical and amateur way the whole thing has/is being handled.
And I am glad I can provide another view point. You are welcomed to your Traveller Universe and your beliefs. I am just disappointed that you have not verified your facts.
Marc Grossman
Oh and it's at least one ink cart, and a ream of paper to get it all printed.
