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2013/10/24 22:11:53
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
I agree with this completely. Just wanted to point out that taken in context, the Robotech RPG was wicked cool in 198X.
I'd even go to say that it was wicked cool in the 90's as well even though the mechanics were starting to show their age. It was dissatisfaction with the cobbled together mess of Robotech and Rifts that got me looking for game systems that were built from the ground up to do what they were to be used for and not tacking on extra stuff to an early 1980's D&D clone to make it scifi/cyberpunk/anime. Shadowrun and Heavy Gear were the two systems that weaned me off of Palladium's games.
2013/10/24 22:22:12
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
My crew and I played Rifts for over half a decade back in the 90's, and while the setting was cool as hell (and I still have around two dozen Rifts, Nightbane, HU and Robotech books on my shelf after selling off the vast majority of my collection), the system certainly had holes and cracking points that needed shoring up.
2013/10/24 22:36:19
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Forar wrote: My crew and I played Rifts for over half a decade back in the 90's, and while the setting was cool as hell (and I still have around two dozen Rifts, Nightbane, HU and Robotech books on my shelf after selling off the vast majority of my collection), the system certainly had holes and cracking points that needed shoring up.
Welcome to the 1%. There is no going back. As Mr. Watson pointed out, you are no longer considered a fan nor a customer according to the heart, soul, mouth, and other end of the digestive tract of Palladium BooksTM.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/24 22:36:36
2013/10/25 01:43:18
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Y'know, I don't expect everyone to embrace the scientific method, but it shouldn't take more than a glance at some wiki pages on statistics to know that 'casual chatter' with hundreds of self-selected fans and friends (ie: people who are very, very unlikely to give unbiased critique) isn't the best idea if you want to sincerely know what people want. And not just fans, ideally one should make efforts to expand their brand; new fans are a source of potentially dozens or hundreds of sales over the years. An existing fan is probably good for the new releases of things they already like, which may or may not be the entire line.
The link in the posts mentioned above is broken, but here's the correct one;
I have spent the last six weeks doing a lot of market research. It started at the Palladium Open House and intensified the last two weeks. My calls to Ultimate Insiders, Insider Benefactors and freelancers/friends contributed to it. The reason for the research was that a number of potential “new opportunities” have presented themselves to us, including doing miniatures for Robotech®, among other things. My thanks to the Benefactors, Insiders and others who have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to this vital research.
Surveying a few hundred Palladium customers revealed several important things.
Satisfaction is through the roof.
Most of you love the game rules.
Most of you are loving the new book releases.
Most of you want MORE. More for Rifts®. More for EVERYTHING. And the sooner the better.
Favorite recent release: Rifts® Lemuria.
Most anticipated upcoming release: Rifts® Northern Gun™ with Beyond the Supernatural™, Splicers® and Palladium Fantasy RPG® sourcebooks all clustered and fighting for the Number Two slot. I was surprised that these game lines had that much interest.
Favorite Palladium game line: Rifts®, with Heroes Unlimited™, Dead Reign™ and Palladium Fantasy RPG® fighting for second and third place and the rest of our world settings all coming in behind them.
When asked, what would you like to see Palladium do differently, change or improve?
A whopping 90% of you said, “Don’t change a thing. Keep doing what you are doing. Just, please, keep new product coming out at a steady pace.”
“We want more, and we want it now,” was a common, unsolicited sentiment. Along those lines, many expressed excitement for the promise of new material for Palladium Fantasy®, Splicers®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Nightbane®, Heroes Unlimited™ and Robotech®, pretty much in that order.
Of the remaining 10%, most wanted a few minor changes and tweaks, nothing major, and were very satisfied with Palladium and our products, overall.
Fun Facts Revealed
Of the customers/fans surveyed (90% of whom did not realize I was gathering information – I wanted their unbiased opinions), we learned what most of YOU probably already knew:
86% are dying to see a darn movie made. If not a Rifts® movie, they’d like to see Nightbane®, Splicers®, Dead Reign™, Beyond the Supernatural™, Phase World®, Palladium Fantasy®, Mechanoids® or Heroes Unlimited™, pretty much in that order.
78% want character generators for all Palladium games.
75% want video games of any variety based on Rifts® or any Palladium game setting.
75% are “excited” about the new Megaverse® Insider offer for the two Northern Gun™ books, and anxious for the new Insider offer to start. (FYI: It starts today!) Most said they were planning to make an Insider purchase for Northern Gun™ and would participate in future crowdfunding. 25% thought Palladium should do them more often. Only 2% thought it was too soon to do another already. (Four months after the first!?) But most also planned to make a purchase from the new crowdfunding offer for Northern Gun™ One and Two. 90% thought crowdfunding was a smart move. Note: The level of customer excitement and participation over the Megaverse® Insider offers (especially among those who made a purchase in the first offer) really surprised me. In fact, 30% thought we offered too much or an impressive value for what they paid; 68% thought it was perfect.
98% were completely satisfied with the Lemuria Megaverse Insider offer. Note: I was so glad to hear it. I always want to release products and special offers that please as many people as possible.
55% would like toys/action figures. Note: But not necessarily metal or plastic miniatures, which surprised me.
42% would like to see more hardcover editions of Palladium game titles, including sourcebooks. Note: This surprised me as well.
40% would like more novels based on Palladium game settings, especially for Rifts®.
33% would like more comic books based on Palladium game settings.
33% were “interested” in seeing an optional set of simplified rules, provided it kept the terms and feel of the current game system and they could use existing sourcebooks with it.
24% want to see more PDFs, but most said they also wanted to see printed books along with them. Many of these people were also interested in seeing Palladium titles made available in other e-reader formats.
20% want to see more miniatures and/or a miniature game for Rifts® or other Palladium settings. The number increases to 30% among Robotech® fans. Note: This comparatively low number surprised me, as several people have been pitching and hyping miniatures.
7% did not play (for various reasons; no time, no players in the area, etc.), but enjoyed reading and collecting the books for the “story” and “ideas.”
Fewer than 1% were dissatisfied with the Palladium game system. Most of those used Palladium world settings but the rules of another game or a combination of rules from two or more game publishers plus house rules. Despite this, all continued to enjoy and buy Palladium RPG titles to read for the “ideas” and “game setting.”
What all this tells us
This information tells us Palladium’s agenda to produce a lot of new, dynamic product is exactly what YOU – our customers – want. Everything else is secondary.
It also made something else very, very clear: a) That many of Palladium’s relentless critics are, not customers (i.e. they do not buy or play our games in the first place); b) some are outsiders who have never actually played our games and point out what they think they see as weaknesses and problems (i.e. comments like, “the game system is broken”); c) some have different tastes and prefer other styles of role-playing rules (resulting in comments like, “the world settings are great, but the rules suck,” or “I wish Palladium would change their rules to be more like Game X”); and d) some are dissatisfied with our product, me or the company. That’s okay. One of the things I love about role-playing games is that they are so flexible and can be altered to fit your personal inclinations and style of play. I learned long ago that you cannot please everyone, so I am delighted to see that not only are we satisfying the overwhelming majority of Palladium customers, but that most of you are delighted with the end product and wouldn’t change a thing.
As a result of this market study, I will be focusing on giving YOU what you want: More product. More product for all our game lines, and as quickly as we can without sacrificing quality!
It’s ironic, but that was my plan from the start of this year. Now, I feel like an idiot having wasted so much time the past several weeks on exploring the development of new product areas, when I should have been cranking out the RPG books we already have in the pipeline. I think it is human nature to doubt and second-guess yourself, especially when you’re being lobbied by outside forces to consider new things that sound promising. I have always made it a policy to listen to our customers and consider what they have to say. Regrettably, that means sometimes you get drawn off target. We’ll probably explore some of those new opportunities in the future, as I am always looking at new ideas and new technology. But right now, I have only two goals:
Release new RPG sourcebooks across all game lines.
Get new gamers to discover the magic of Palladium Books. We’ll do this via advertising, promotion, Megaversal Ambassadors, and grass roots word of mouth. The latter starts with Palladium by creating product with buzz, followed by you helping to spread the word.
Top Four Wants
More new product (without sacrificing quality).
Better support of all product lines on a regular basis, but without ignoring Rifts®. Rifts® remains the evergreen favorite.
For Palladium to get strong so you can stop worrying about us. Nice. Thank you.
Somebody make the darn Rifts® movie or a film or TV show based on one of Palladium’s game settings.
Seriously. Those were the four things I heard over and over again. And most of the time they were couched as suggestions or wishes, not complaints or criticisms. I thought it was all positive, useful and helpful.
All of this data and the start of the new Megaverse® Insider crowdsource funding is plenty to chew on for this week’s Update, so I’m not going to say much more.
Like... really? "Hey fans, do you want more stuff you're fans of?"
Fans: "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Whelp, we're good, job's done."
O.o
2013/10/25 16:32:57
Subject: Re:Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
OK, so I've uploaded the updates rules with Characters in it. Yes, I know we don't know what the PB/ND guys will have but it'll fill in the blanks until we get our rulebooks some 3+ months down the road. I also added the Physical attack information to all of the Stat Cards and added the Qeul-Gulnau, I also updated the Glaug stats with a Spawn trait.
Forar wrote: Y'know, I don't expect everyone to embrace the scientific method, but it shouldn't take more than a glance at some wiki pages on statistics to know that 'casual chatter' with hundreds of self-selected fans and friends (ie: people who are very, very unlikely to give unbiased critique) isn't the best idea if you want to sincerely know what people want. And not just fans, ideally one should make efforts to expand their brand; new fans are a source of potentially dozens or hundreds of sales over the years. An existing fan is probably good for the new releases of things they already like, which may or may not be the entire line.
The link in the posts mentioned above is broken, but here's the correct one;
I have spent the last six weeks doing a lot of market research. It started at the Palladium Open House and intensified the last two weeks. My calls to Ultimate Insiders, Insider Benefactors and freelancers/friends contributed to it. The reason for the research was that a number of potential “new opportunities” have presented themselves to us, including doing miniatures for Robotech®, among other things. My thanks to the Benefactors, Insiders and others who have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to this vital research.
Surveying a few hundred Palladium customers revealed several important things.
Satisfaction is through the roof.
Most of you love the game rules.
Most of you are loving the new book releases.
Most of you want MORE. More for Rifts®. More for EVERYTHING. And the sooner the better.
Favorite recent release: Rifts® Lemuria.
Most anticipated upcoming release: Rifts® Northern Gun™ with Beyond the Supernatural™, Splicers® and Palladium Fantasy RPG® sourcebooks all clustered and fighting for the Number Two slot. I was surprised that these game lines had that much interest.
Favorite Palladium game line: Rifts®, with Heroes Unlimited™, Dead Reign™ and Palladium Fantasy RPG® fighting for second and third place and the rest of our world settings all coming in behind them.
When asked, what would you like to see Palladium do differently, change or improve?
A whopping 90% of you said, “Don’t change a thing. Keep doing what you are doing. Just, please, keep new product coming out at a steady pace.”
“We want more, and we want it now,” was a common, unsolicited sentiment. Along those lines, many expressed excitement for the promise of new material for Palladium Fantasy®, Splicers®, Beyond the Supernatural™, Nightbane®, Heroes Unlimited™ and Robotech®, pretty much in that order.
Of the remaining 10%, most wanted a few minor changes and tweaks, nothing major, and were very satisfied with Palladium and our products, overall.
Fun Facts Revealed
Of the customers/fans surveyed (90% of whom did not realize I was gathering information – I wanted their unbiased opinions), we learned what most of YOU probably already knew:
86% are dying to see a darn movie made. If not a Rifts® movie, they’d like to see Nightbane®, Splicers®, Dead Reign™, Beyond the Supernatural™, Phase World®, Palladium Fantasy®, Mechanoids® or Heroes Unlimited™, pretty much in that order.
78% want character generators for all Palladium games.
75% want video games of any variety based on Rifts® or any Palladium game setting.
75% are “excited” about the new Megaverse® Insider offer for the two Northern Gun™ books, and anxious for the new Insider offer to start. (FYI: It starts today!) Most said they were planning to make an Insider purchase for Northern Gun™ and would participate in future crowdfunding. 25% thought Palladium should do them more often. Only 2% thought it was too soon to do another already. (Four months after the first!?) But most also planned to make a purchase from the new crowdfunding offer for Northern Gun™ One and Two. 90% thought crowdfunding was a smart move. Note: The level of customer excitement and participation over the Megaverse® Insider offers (especially among those who made a purchase in the first offer) really surprised me. In fact, 30% thought we offered too much or an impressive value for what they paid; 68% thought it was perfect.
98% were completely satisfied with the Lemuria Megaverse Insider offer. Note: I was so glad to hear it. I always want to release products and special offers that please as many people as possible.
55% would like toys/action figures. Note: But not necessarily metal or plastic miniatures, which surprised me.
42% would like to see more hardcover editions of Palladium game titles, including sourcebooks. Note: This surprised me as well.
40% would like more novels based on Palladium game settings, especially for Rifts®.
33% would like more comic books based on Palladium game settings.
33% were “interested” in seeing an optional set of simplified rules, provided it kept the terms and feel of the current game system and they could use existing sourcebooks with it.
24% want to see more PDFs, but most said they also wanted to see printed books along with them. Many of these people were also interested in seeing Palladium titles made available in other e-reader formats.
20% want to see more miniatures and/or a miniature game for Rifts® or other Palladium settings. The number increases to 30% among Robotech® fans. Note: This comparatively low number surprised me, as several people have been pitching and hyping miniatures.
7% did not play (for various reasons; no time, no players in the area, etc.), but enjoyed reading and collecting the books for the “story” and “ideas.”
Fewer than 1% were dissatisfied with the Palladium game system. Most of those used Palladium world settings but the rules of another game or a combination of rules from two or more game publishers plus house rules. Despite this, all continued to enjoy and buy Palladium RPG titles to read for the “ideas” and “game setting.”
What all this tells us
This information tells us Palladium’s agenda to produce a lot of new, dynamic product is exactly what YOU – our customers – want. Everything else is secondary.
It also made something else very, very clear: a) That many of Palladium’s relentless critics are, not customers (i.e. they do not buy or play our games in the first place); b) some are outsiders who have never actually played our games and point out what they think they see as weaknesses and problems (i.e. comments like, “the game system is broken”); c) some have different tastes and prefer other styles of role-playing rules (resulting in comments like, “the world settings are great, but the rules suck,” or “I wish Palladium would change their rules to be more like Game X”); and d) some are dissatisfied with our product, me or the company. That’s okay. One of the things I love about role-playing games is that they are so flexible and can be altered to fit your personal inclinations and style of play. I learned long ago that you cannot please everyone, so I am delighted to see that not only are we satisfying the overwhelming majority of Palladium customers, but that most of you are delighted with the end product and wouldn’t change a thing.
As a result of this market study, I will be focusing on giving YOU what you want: More product. More product for all our game lines, and as quickly as we can without sacrificing quality!
It’s ironic, but that was my plan from the start of this year. Now, I feel like an idiot having wasted so much time the past several weeks on exploring the development of new product areas, when I should have been cranking out the RPG books we already have in the pipeline. I think it is human nature to doubt and second-guess yourself, especially when you’re being lobbied by outside forces to consider new things that sound promising. I have always made it a policy to listen to our customers and consider what they have to say. Regrettably, that means sometimes you get drawn off target. We’ll probably explore some of those new opportunities in the future, as I am always looking at new ideas and new technology. But right now, I have only two goals:
Release new RPG sourcebooks across all game lines.
Get new gamers to discover the magic of Palladium Books. We’ll do this via advertising, promotion, Megaversal Ambassadors, and grass roots word of mouth. The latter starts with Palladium by creating product with buzz, followed by you helping to spread the word.
Top Four Wants
More new product (without sacrificing quality).
Better support of all product lines on a regular basis, but without ignoring Rifts®. Rifts® remains the evergreen favorite.
For Palladium to get strong so you can stop worrying about us. Nice. Thank you.
Somebody make the darn Rifts® movie or a film or TV show based on one of Palladium’s game settings.
Seriously. Those were the four things I heard over and over again. And most of the time they were couched as suggestions or wishes, not complaints or criticisms. I thought it was all positive, useful and helpful.
All of this data and the start of the new Megaverse® Insider crowdsource funding is plenty to chew on for this week’s Update, so I’m not going to say much more.
Like... really? "Hey fans, do you want more stuff you're fans of?"
Fans: "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Whelp, we're good, job's done."
O.o
Seems to work for me. Thank you for finding the original update. From the comments section on the blog, one of the posters said he was at the PB open house and that they weren't asked directly about changing or improving anything. If anything it seems more like a case of you listen only to what you want to hear. Welcome to the 1%.
2013/10/25 17:08:28
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Cypher-xv wrote: Seems to work for me. Thank you for finding the original update. From the comments section on the blog, one of the posters said he was at the PB open house and that they weren't asked directly about changing or improving anything. If anything it seems more like a case of you listen only to what you want to hear. Welcome to the 1%.
Indeed. It's odd because every time Palladium games are brought up anywhere I look on the internet, the general consensus is that they're mechanically flawed and the majority of people commenting are ex-players who say they'd like to come back into the fold. Eh... I see Robotech: Macross as the last attempt for Palladium to fix that perception. Macross is by far my favorite era to play and if the rules for the minis game aren't to my liking I really doubt I'll buy into any other eras (especially as Sentinels was my second favorite... although I still played Macross veritechs in it).
•Fewer than 1% were dissatisfied with the Palladium game system. Most of those used Palladium world settings but the rules of another game or a combination of rules from two or more game publishers plus house rules. Despite this, all continued to enjoy and buy Palladium RPG titles to read for the “ideas” and “game setting.”
2013/10/25 17:50:26
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
If not for this ks I would never have know about all this controversy over the game system. Next to the robo books were the other PB books. After looking thru them I decided not to buy them because 1: I only like macross, 2: the other PB books looked dated. An this was in the early 90's.
I agree with Ross, the mugging example seems silly even back in my junior high school days. Same thing with the use of drugs. I remember thinking wtf. This has nothing to do with macrosss.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/10/25 17:53:38
2013/10/26 03:33:39
Subject: Re:Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Ok everyone, yes I know the rules are rumored to be at the gencon and "nearly complete", Jazz Hands. I hope that that is the case but just in case I've spent a bit of time adding a few things to my rules and making them look spiffy. I've added characters and character trait costs so that you can add your own characters to the game. If you can think of any other traits to add post them here or at RGC.
I've also added HTH Base Damage to the stat cards and what HTH attacks the unit is allowed to make, such as a Regult not being able to punch or a Spartan not being able to jump kick someone.
I also updated a few of the unit traits in preparation of doing all the Southern Cross and Invid Invasion and also Sentinels stuff. I also added the Quel-Gulnau to the list and created a new trait for it and the Glaug, Spawning and Spawn Assist. This allows unit that are near a Glaug that have the Life is Cheap trait to have a chance to be "resurrected" when destroyed.
So what is left? I still need Jotun and YF-4 Stats. I also need to create stats for the upgraded power armor for both FPA and MPA.
For the other wars I need to refine the Invid stats. Southern Cross Veritech Mecha and Masters Bioroids are done I also need to figure out For Org Charts for each faction. One I have force orgs I can playtest some and come up with the point costs of the other units.
So what I need help with is coming up with what I'm missing or suggestions for rules additions or changes. Playtesting. Many may want to wait till the "official rules" come out. No problem.
Wow. I used to know one of the other guys mentioned in those forum posts (and who also posts in the thread, on second glance).
Wooooooow. A lot of things were always joked about or assumed, it's interesting to have it all lain bare for the world to see.
Huh. Sadly, seems a lot of this went down/came to light around 2003, which was probably a year or two after my crew had parted company with Rifts and moved onto D&D 3E and later 4E.
2013/10/27 05:22:13
Subject: Re:Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
The way I interpret the trait is that the total move is indeed 10 inches within which you can LEAP a maximum of five inches up and over something. So 5 inches up or 5 inches a straight line. I'll add a pic and explanation to the rules tonight.
All I want to see is HG approved everything and that everything is at the manufacturing stage, along with a preview of plastic minis. Not resin or pewter.
2013/10/29 06:10:07
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
We apologize for it taking quite so long for this update but we are working hard and we are deciding upon Final Final Final approval of Kevin's business practices and then promptly say that the issues is nearly finally decided except for a few fanboys. Once those fanboys decide how they will vote the Final Final Final Final approvals will be completed and a letter of intent sent to Palladium.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/29 12:38:25
I'll give PB the benefit of the doubt until this goes into March. Then I can imagine what the comments section and PB forums will explode in condemnation.
2013/10/31 01:29:28
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Okay, I'm 1000 posts into this clusterfrak of a thread on rpg.net about Palladium, and wow, woooooow. Every time I think it's done, either someone necro's it, a new detail emerges, or someone else tied to Palladium drags it down a little.
Kinda wish I'd known about this before the KS campaign was done. I mean, as a fan from back in the 90's until the early 2000's, I wasn't completely blind, but some of the chatter from former writers/freelancers have really clarified some things I was always unclear of. Interesting to see the curtain peeled back... even if what is behind the curtain isn't exactly pleasant.
2013/10/31 01:47:50
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Yeah, there is more than just a single reason that Palladium threads end up quite negative. Outdated rules and layout is just the obvious tip of the iceberg...
2013/10/31 02:20:28
Subject: Robotech Kickstarter Funded at $1.44 Million!
Bill Coffin had some damning things to say, but later recants to a degree with an open apology. Good on him for getting it off his chest and moving on, but he and his wife describe being treated pretty terribly through that thread. Same with Steve Trustrum, whom I beta tested some HU Rifter material with back in the early 2000's.
Also there were some really choice bits of sarcasm mocking the palladium copy/paste releases. From 2003-2007.
The more things change...
Oh, and:
warboss wrote: And forar is now a bridge bunny! Welcome to the ops center.
Now I'm surrounded by a surly captain and a bevy of lovely ladies.
The skirt itches a little, but I'm kind of proud of how it shows off these legs. At 6'3 or so, there's a whole lot to show, if you catch my drift. I think you do....
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/31 02:21:49
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