Do you think FFG ought to drop a line to fans waiting on L5R LCG news at this point or in the foreseeable future (i.e., not waiting til Con season)?

If so, what do you think is the best way to do it? What kind of details would be most tantalizing and/or are urgent for (a) existing CCG players and (b) new players?

And say what ? We are working on the game is all they can say at this point and we all already know thst.

Maybe an update on where they are, what sort of things they're looking at keeping, what sort of new mechanics they're wanting to try?

Do you think FFG ought to drop a line to fans waiting on L5R LCG news at this point or in the foreseeable future (i.e., not waiting til Con season)?

No.

Don't hold your breath. They probably don't know all those answers yet themselves and its subject to change during playtesting process.

Patience. News will come in due time.

Gencon is, afterall, the best way to drop big news like this. Same with the release date being Gencon 2017: I'm sure the game will be done before then but holding back for a big release event is just good business.

It's my understanding that this is how FFG rolls. Don't show anything until there is something to showoff.

I can't say I blame them in being cautious in regards to the L5R community. As a whole we didn't react very well to the rules changes in Ivory, the choices for Onyx, or....

I posted a brainstorming thread , if anyone wants to throw their two cents in. Might as well come up with ideas while we wait to hear what FFG's are.

They would not have even admitted to the purchase publicly if ir had not been required as part of the sale. They will do a stat of the company ay Gen Con and offer a bit of an update there (maybe) but nothing before.

Somehow I naively failed to expect I would have to defend the existence of this thread. But anyway ...

Either FFG could have something to share or they could not. I'm not arguing that they do. I'm not asking whether anyone thinks they do. I am not even speculating. To really spell it out, I am simply assuming this is the case for the sake of discussion. Specifically, and a couple of you have addressed this point, do you think FFG ought to share something more now that there have been six months of silence since it announced purchasing the IP from AEG? Separately, I am asking what you would most like FFG to reveal about the L5R LCG at this point and (there could be overlap or divergence here) what you think are the most important points to reveal.

As to the first question, just going by FFG's usual M.O., we will have some solid, detailed information prior to the product launching at GenCon 2017. But I consider that, for the purposes of this discussion, to be the distant future. And while I will personally be surprised if the product is not mentioned at all during the In Flight presentation at GenCon 2016, that's still further out than what I have in mind. Why? The acquisition itself was a huge surprise for most people. Less surprising, given the purchaser, but no less huge is the idea that the CCG would be replaced by a LCG. A good chunk of time without comment has already passed.

As to the second question ... I don't think mechanics are a pressing concern right now. FFG already announced that this will be a LCG and they already produce enough LCGs for people to get a solid idea of what that means and how a L5R LCG might work (see especially GoT LCG 2E). Far more important at this juncture IMO is that FFG begins to share how it will approach the setting end of the IP. Now I am not talking about a direct statement that "this is a reboot" or "we plan to carry on with ...", etc. I really doubt that existing fans will or should be the target of this kind of information, although we will of course be hanging on every word. Rather, the larger opportunity is to begin that long process of introducing an IP to a new market. So this could be a rather brief article but it would be very powerful reminder that big, impressive things are on the horizon.

Agreed: one has to assume that something has been decided at this point regarding the IP and how Fantasy Flight intends to handle it. Then again, the only thing we know for sure is that a transfer of the Legend of the Five Rings license occurred, and that neither company was interested in leaving fans completely in the dark for the 6+ months that have transpired since the initial announcement. (After all, it's not like they could have succeeded in doing so, since the CCG was still putting out regular expansions and such, not to mention further unfolding of the storyline that may or may not remain as it was in FFG's hands.)

...neither company was interested in leaving fans completely in the dark for the 6+ months that have transpired since the initial announcement. (After all, it's not like they could have succeeded in doing so, since the CCG was still putting out regular expansions and such, not to mention further unfolding of the storyline that may or may not remain as it was in FFG's hands.)

What? That's exactly what happened. Nearly complete radio silence since September 11, 2015.

I think MarthWMaster was referring to the hypothetical case in which neither AEG nor FFG mentioned the sale/acquisition and L5R CCG players and RPGers were left to wonder why no further product was forthcoming, why the AEG forum closed, etc, etc.

Yeah. FFG needed to do the announcement, as explained in an interview by the head of FFG in a Team Covenant interview.

Making the L5R announcement was completely out of character for FFG, who only announce and hype products when they are basically finished or entering a public beta phase (SW:RPG). They needed to do it as it was a huge part of the negotiations, AEG needed to let the community know what was happening as soon as the sale was finalised, instead of unfairly leaving everyone in the dark as to what was going on.

So, as for the usual FFG routine, there is nothing more to announce or talk about until Gencon 2017.

Expect to see something at GenCon this year. We'll likely see a beta this year, available for play-testing (maybe even one to purchase) and the retail release at GenCon 2017.

That's how FFG has rolled with other games in the past.

Expect to see something at GenCon this year. We'll likely see a beta this year, available for play-testing (maybe even one to purchase) and the retail release at GenCon 2017.

That's how FFG has rolled with other games in the past.

This would be good news indeed. Though, I suspect most people around here (myself included) would be content with knowing where the story is going.

Expect to see something at GenCon this year. We'll likely see a beta this year, available for play-testing (maybe even one to purchase) and the retail release at GenCon 2017.

That's how FFG has rolled with other games in the past.

News maybe. Beta unlikely. They've never really beta' d a game unless it was basically done. And only LCG I ever saw them do that was Star Wars coop LCG that was totally scrapped afterwards and replaced with a new Star Wars lcg.

They had an early version of X-wing at Gencon the year before release. I wouldn't expect them to do that for this though. I wouldn't expect more than some small updates and possibly some art at GAMA and Gencon this year.

I can say that I have had contact with FFG about the status. This was the e-mail contact that I had that was replied to on March 2nd :

"We have not yet begun any external playtesting of L5R. It is still in the earliest stages of development."

I am continuing to monitor the progress since I have a current signed NDA (one that was transferred from AEG to FFG) and since I applied for the Playtest program for L5R under FFG.

I suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that forumgoers are not going to have the same kind of influence and access they took for granted under AEG.

I also suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that information will come when there's something to share rather than when people get itchy for news.

I suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that forumgoers are not going to have the same kind of influence and access they took for granted under AEG.

You would be surprised. Forum members torpedo'd a whole game system in the 40k RPG section.

I also suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that information will come when there's something to share rather than when people get itchy for news.

There is nothing wrong with FFG seeing that a healthy interest for the game they bought exist. Much better that there be folks looking forward to the game's release than dead forums with nary a post for two years.

I also suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that information will come when there's something to share rather than when people get itchy for news.

There is nothing wrong with FFG seeing that a healthy interest for the game they bought exist.

That requires that FFG actually read these forums.

I also suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that information will come when there's something to share rather than when people get itchy for news.

There is nothing wrong with FFG seeing that a healthy interest for the game they bought exist.

That requires that FFG actually read these forums.

They do.

I also suspect itd be wise to get used to the idea that information will come when there's something to share rather than when people get itchy for news.

There is nothing wrong with FFG seeing that a healthy interest for the game they bought exist. Much better that there be folks looking forward to the game's release than dead forums with nary a post for two years.

There isn't, but after nearly 20 years of observation of the l5r fanbase, this logic and the expectation of regular direct interaction has a tendency to grow exponentially, and the resentment of not having that grew about as fast.

Well, FFG's policies are firmly in place. They will either learn to deal with it or not.

Though, we did get a little indirect news today with their new tournament seasons. I would not be surprised if there was a small updated in the FFG presentation tomorrow at GAMA.