The surreptitious overthrow of mankind by cyborg duplicates is further advanced than we suspected. The AIEEE engine at Brunching Shuttlecocks will help you determine who the robots among us are. Another illuminated triumph -- we think the Synthetic Technician Engineered for Violence and Exploration will be pleased.
-- Suggested by Ciaran Conliffe
Comin' at you soon, pardner.Deadlands, from Pinnacle Entertainment Group, has been hailed as one of the most exciting and original backgrounds to appear in years. Now that world will be linked to the GURPS roleplaying engine for a series of sourcebooks.
Said Pinnacle’s CEO, Shane Hensley, who designed Deadlands: "I'm a long-time GURPS fan, so this is a very exciting project for us! We’re thrilled to see the Weird West meet Steve Jackson’s incredibly popular game system. Legions of GURPS fans will now be introduced to the world of Deadlands, and our own posses can explore SJ Games' phenomenal rules and sourcebooks. It's two great tastes that taste great together."
My own comment, as quoted in our official GAMA press release, was, "Deadlands rocks. This will make GURPS fans very happy."
The first book, GURPS Deadlands: Weird West, is slated to appear in 4th quarter 2000. More books will follow on a regular basis. "GURPS Traveller showed us that our fans really like to see a whole series of books in a good background," said SJ Games' Ross Jepson. "Deadlands will let us bring that approach to a great new, very different game world."
According to the patent, "All known radio transmissions use known models of time and space dimensions for sending the RF signal. The present invention has discovered the apparent existence of a new dimension capable of acting as a medium for RE [sic] signals. Initial benefits of penetrating this new dimension include sending RF signals faster than the speed of light, extending the effective distance of RF transmitters at the same power radiated, penetrating known RF shielding devices, and accelerating plant growth exposed to the by-product energy of the RF transmissions."
Will Hertes seems to have a lot of time on his hands, time he fills up by writing twisted prank letters to corporations and notable individuals across America. Then he takes their unsuspecting responses and kills some more time posting them on the Internet for amusement. His or ours? Who can say?
-- Suggested by John Haire
Steve Jackson Games' online retail catalog, Warehouse 23 (www.warehouse23.com) has been successful in selling the SJ Games line – and other popular games, as well – over the Internet. Our stated purpose has been to serve those gamers who don't have a good local retailer. We want to continue to support both distributors and retailers; strong local retailers are vital to the hobby. But many retailers look askance at ANY kind of Net retailing, especially by publishers.
How can we show we mean it when we say that we really don't want to take sales away from existing stores? We think we have a way.
Our retailer list is already online, in our Gamer Finder (www.sjgames.com/gamerfinder/). Anyone can hit the Gamer Finder and look for gamers OR stores in any area. But now we have something even better. Anyone who orders from Warehouse 23 is now e-mailed a Gamer Finder report for his area:
"We appreciate your business, but we hope you'll remember your local games retailer too. Retailers are important to the hobby, and if you have a good one nearby, he deserves your support. Our Illuminated retailer database shows that there are (whatever) retailers in your area. If you'd like to check out your local store options, go to www.sjgames.com/gamerfinder/ and search!"
With just a bit more programming, we'll have it set up so that if it only finds one or two stores, it will actually give the customer each store name, address and phone number!
That way, if Warehouse 23 gets a customer in your area . . . a customer who SHOULD be coming to your shop . . . we're doing what we can to SEND him to you.
And there's no reason other game companies can’t do the same thing with THEIR mailing lists. (If a company doesn't have the programming resources to copy our work, we’ll SELL them a copy of our Web scripts. Cheap. And we'll throw in a copy of our retailer database.)
And YOU can hit Gamer Finder any time, to check our information on your store and update it if need be. Or just mail stores@sjgames.com with info on your store, and we'll check our database and update it if necessary.
Initial comments have been favorable. Mike Hurdle, President/CEO of Zocchi Distributing Inc., said "This is a bold and innovative move. Anything that helps move customers into the retail stores is good for the whole hobby."
John Mansfield of Pendragon Games in Winnipeg said "I like it! If only other manufactures were so supportive, we might stock up on their lines too LIKE WE INTEND TO DO WITH Steve Jackson!"
******
Hey, I like that last comment :-)
-- Steve Jackson
Christianity Meme maintains that religion is a "meme," a thought complex developed through millennia of evolution and spread by proselytization. Is there a cure? Find out before you become a heavenly host.
-- Suggested by Don Baker
Starports
(for GURPS Traveller)
Patrol, trade, and Xboat routes are the lifelines of the Imperium, and starports are the anchors to which they are tethered. Serving as trade centers, customs offices and outposts of civilization in far-flung systems, they play a central role in the lives of starfarers, and are a crucial source of goods, wealth and information for even the most planetbound of souls. At the same time, they are havens for smugglers, fugitives and black marketeers.
GURPS Traveller Starports classifies standard starports and describes their facilities, organization and functions. It includes examples and plans, and guidelines for starport adventures and encounters. It is designed to complement Far Trader and the upcoming Starships supplement.
#6610, ISBN 1-55634-401-5. 128 pages. $19.95.
Ogre/GEV (Boxed game)
Ogre, first released in 1977, was Steve Jackson's first design. Now
the classic boardgame of futuristic ground combat is being re-launched. Starting
in March with the combined edition of Ogre and its sequel
G.E.V., SJ Games will release new and reprinted Ogre
material throughout 2000. This will include a whole new line of
Ogre miniatures, giant OgreMacrotures (tm), an
Ogre sourcebook for GURPS, a reprint of the famous
"blueprint" poster, and more. Once again the killing machines will stalk the
war-torn countryside as Paneuropean and Combine forces battle to the death. A
new generation of gamers is about to learn what it means to face the Ogre.
This is a re-release of the original Ogre/GEV game. It should not beconfused with the Ogre Miniatures rules, which are still in print!
#1402, ISBN 1-55634-426-0. $14.95
Cardboard Heroes: Dungeon Floors
Last year, the new Cardboard Heroes set revived interest in low-cost miniatures support for
roleplaying games. Now, Cardboard Heroes: Dungeon Floors continues that support with over 90 full-color rooms, stairways
and corridors, from 1" square closets to 6" x 6" rooms and long hallways. Cut them out, put them down, and rearrange them to form an
infinite variety of dungeons for your adventurers. Also included are pits, chests, furniture, shafts, walls, pillars, and other
subterranean architectural paraphernalia. Cardboard Heroes: Dungeon Floors will help to answer every player's question,
"Where are we now?"
#2119, ISBN 1-55634-425-2. $19.95
GURPS Magic (reprint)
Sorcery, Thaumaturgy, The Black Art, Necromancer, Alchemy or the Great Art. By
any name, arcane knowledge brings great power to its possessor . . . for
good or for evil. This book is the complete guide to magic for the
Generic Universal RolePlaying System.
GURPS Magic presents a colorful, detailed magic system. But it's much more. It is designed for easy modification . . .for the GM who wants to create his own background, or set adventures in the world of his favorite fantasy author. And it's flexible. Players can create any sort of wizard character they choose, from eager apprentice to mad hermit, from saintly healer to sinister necromancer.
This book is completely compatible with the magic rules in the GURPS Basic Set. It amplifies the material there, as well as adding more than 300 new spells! Also included are a complete system for improvisational magic, optional rules for "inherent" magic abilities, special advantages and disadvantages for mages, and a system to let the GM create his own unique types of clerical magic.
If you're ready for a world of magic, it's in your hands . . .
#6023, ISBN 1-55634-286-1. 128 pages. $19.95.
GURPS Vehicles (reprint)
GURPS Vehicles is your guide to any type of
transportation you can imagine. From rowboats to racing cars,
balloons to battlesuits. Greek galleys to GEVs -- if you can dream it,
you can design it.
The second editon streamlines the design process, using the design order found in GURPS Robots, also by David Pulver.
#6505, ISBN 1-55634-325-6. 208 pages. $24.95.
From the computer of Peter Lomax comes Ogre V1.0 for Cyberboard, just in time for the re-release of Ogre/GEV. From Robert Struble, the creator of the Necromancer Cyberboard, comes this Ogre Gamebox. Robert has also created a Triplanetary Gamebox.
These and lots more game aids are available from our Game Aids page.
-- John Aaron Schmidt
Whether your destination is 20,000 leagues under the sea or into space to hear the music of the spheres, GURPS Steampunk can get you there. It covers the real events, politics, and personalities of the Industrial Age, as well as the weird science that could have been created . . . vehicles, robots, airships, and more. Choose from several different Steam Age settings described in the book, or make up your own!
GURPS Steampunk is now in playtest. Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're not already a subscri
ber,
subscribe today!
-- Keith Johnson
Step aside, Jimmy Carter. Doing its part for global understanding is the I Can Eat Glass Project. They're dedicated to collecting the phrase "I can eat glass, it doesn't hurt me" in as many languages as
possible.
-- Suggested by Scott Nickell
GURPS Traveller: Rim of Fire is now in playtest. Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're
not already a subscriber,
subscribe today!
-- Keith Johnson
GURPS Castle Falkenstein is now in playtest. Pyramid subscribers can access the playtest files. And if you're not
already a subscriber,
subscribe today!
-- Keith Johnson
This is just wrong.
-- Suggested by Joe Littrell
It's also set up to access our mailing list of game retailers. When you search a location, you can choose to see all the stores in that area, or the individual gamers, or both.
At this writing, it's just out of beta, and has fewer than 50 gamers in it . . . but I'd like to see it in the thousands. So log in and enter your own preferences, and check back every so often to see who you can find in the way of new friends or opponent
s!
-- Steve Jackson
Those who haven't heard the story will perhaps want to check out the extensive web archives, all the way from the initial "We're not sure what just happened to us" press release, to the announcement of final victory in the court case. O f course, that was a lot later. Now, the anniversary of the judge's final decision WILL be a day to celebrate -- because that decision went a long way to nail down your right to online free speech, and not to have your computers casually taken away becaus e they "might" contain evidence -- but that anniversary is still more than three years away.
Still . . . today we CAN celebrate the fact that ten years later, we're still here and still making games. That counts as a win, too.
-- Steve Jackson
