FFG please throw us a bone

By john_nld, in Star Wars: The Card Game

I wonder, does Fantasy Flight read these message boards? I think they must realize by now that we really want to know when we can get our hands on what seems to be a great product. I haven't been this excited about a Star Wars game since Decipher's card game (WotC was a joke), so I really hope we hear something soon.

I'd thought they did, as they seem to read those on BGG. But there's been no evidence that I've seen of them here as much as they're over there. Sadly.

I hope, as FFG gets their games underway, they start up something similar to what WotC began on their boards, asking us what we'd like to see in the game. Say what you will about WotC (for I bash them enough, myself!), but when I look back, I'm actually quite impressed at the way in which WotC initially supported their games, the minis and RPG at least. I have about a dozen folders of stuff they put out for their RPG, all three incarnations, and all for free. Gotta love free stuff!

New thought...maybe the license didn't offically kick-in until 2012? Now that it is 2012, maybe we'll start getting regular information once FFG is back in their offices?

ImmortalJedi said:

New thought...maybe the license didn't offically kick-in until 2012? Now that it is 2012, maybe we'll start getting regular information once FFG is back in their offices?

Why in the name of yoda anounce your lisence so far ahead and if it kicks in in 2012 there must have been a sort of none disclosure article in the deal.

So I say not plausible.

they're just freakishly slow and non communicative here. on BGG you can see replies of FFG all the time. they should reply here idiots!

john_nld said:

they're just freakishly slow and non communicative here. on BGG you can see replies of FFG all the time. they should reply here idiots!

Indeed. I can think of only one other gaming company that was vocal everywhere except on their own website, and that was WotC back in the day. (I say "back in the day" because I haven't visited there in years; if it's changed now, that will account for my use of past tense. :P )

Man, almost a week into EARLY 2012 and no news! Judging by another thread, gaming stores were to have orders in by the end of December for this and the X-Wing game for shipment in early January. I was hoping for some news this week along the lines of an expected availability date, but no such luck. It's like being super excited for Christmas, but having no idea what day it will come.

Totally signing this. The longer I go without news or previews of this game the less interested I'm going to get. Hoping that at some point (near release or soon after) we'll get one of FFGs how to play video series a la LOTR or W:I LCGs, but I would love to hear something before then!

On a more depressing note, it seems the expected release has changed from early 2012 to 2nd quarter 2012 so the wait is looking longer rather than shorter sad.gif

To be honest, that move IS news and I'm glad for it. I'd rather a considered and finished game rather than a rush job just to get it out in time for Star Wars Phantom Menace 3D. Maybe they've finally learned to play test things properly and are taking lessons from their recent mistakes with Mansions of Madness. I hope it's things like this. I hope.

Totally agree with you there, Spirit. I definitely prefer a solid product (like KotOR vs. KotOR II [Grrr]). But did anyone besides me notice that the same day they pushed the SW LCG into "In Development" and out of "At the Printer" they also posted a position for Associate LCG designer? Cooincidence? I think not. Now whether somebody was fired or quit or FFG just realized they need more help with their LCGs, I don't know. But I think it's a good bet that this new hire will have his/her hands full with the Star Wars LCG. I think it's back in development because they want this new person to voice their opinions on the current gameplay as well as potential future directions and then move the game to its final form. Depending on how fast the hiring goes and how good this new person is, I think we may see quite a delay beyond the 2nd quarter. But I have no proof and I don't even have enough experience with game production to base these speculations on anything remotely close to reality. Just take this post with a pinch, no, a tablespoon of salt.

Budgernaut said:

But did anyone besides me notice that the same day they pushed the SW LCG into "In Development" and out of "At the Printer" they also posted a position for Associate LCG designer? Cooincidence? I think not. Now whether somebody was fired or quit or FFG just realized they need more help with their LCGs, I don't know. But I think it's a good bet that this new hire will have his/her hands full with the Star Wars LCG. I think it's back in development because they want this new person to voice their opinions on the current gameplay as well as potential future directions and then move the game to its final form. Depending on how fast the hiring goes and how good this new person is, I think we may see quite a delay beyond the 2nd quarter. But I have no proof and I don't even have enough experience with game production to base these speculations on anything remotely close to reality. Just take this post with a pinch, no, a tablespoon of salt.

Hmm... the plot thickens! sorpresa.gif

According to the latest on the Upcoming page it says 3rd quarter 2012 now.

Bloody hell, so it does! Well, I kinda wish I hadn't rushed to preorder it last week now, it's going to be a long wait!

I suppose ultimately, I'd rather wait for a good game to come out, than to have rush-job and, as has been mentioned, have to have lots and lots of backtracking and Mansions of Madness-style hullabaloo following the release. And with three of the other LCGs that I'm playing, it's hardly like I have nothing to do to keep me occupied between now and then!

Wow. I wasn't expecting that turn of events at all. It will be a long wait indeed.

Perhaps they've heard the numerous complaints from players who want to see the game be PvP.

Personally, I hope they come up with some way to combine the two wishes without having to print two separate games.

I hope they stick to it either being co-op or PvP - to me, trying to make it fit both will only end up getting it half-right for each. But then, I'm not a game designer, so what do I know?! It just strikes me that, were they to make a PvP game that has optional rules to automate one of the decks to make a co-op experience, one of the two aspects will suffer and feel like a washed-out variant.

I just wish they'd say something ! Even if it's just "this isn't working out as well as we'd have liked, so we've gone back to the drawing board". The interminable silence, with the only 'updates' to speak of being a continually postponed game, is starting to niggle now. And I'm one of the biggest FFG apologists I've yet met. I can easily see now how people could lose their faith and interest in such a business. While no-one would want to admit their product is less than satisfactory for fear of souring the audience beforehand etc, from all accounts after the Gen-Con demo, the game looked to be a really enjoyable experience and such, so what the hell has gone so badly wrong that knocks it back half a year?! Has the printing factory burned down, and somehow FFG has lost all their plans for the game, and so need to redesign the game from the ground up? Have the entire creative team gone off on long-term leave? Has LFL told them to make it somehow different? At this rate, we'll likely be seeing the game a full year after the initial (and only) announcement. It really irks me to see other games they have announced, produced, and released in the time it has taken them with this one.

Bleagh.

I honestly hope they stick to a co-op game. The PVP has been done several times and people here keep harping on about how they think the Decipher one 'was the best CCG ever' *not my personal oppinion but hey ho*. I want something new and fresh and co-op will deliver nicely :)

spalanzani said:

Has the printing factory burned down, and somehow FFG has lost all their plans for the game, and so need to redesign the game from the ground up? Have the entire creative team gone off on long-term leave? Has LFL told them to make it somehow different?

They forgot to hit CTRL+S. serio.gif

I. J. Thompson said:

spalanzani said:

Has the printing factory burned down, and somehow FFG has lost all their plans for the game, and so need to redesign the game from the ground up? Have the entire creative team gone off on long-term leave? Has LFL told them to make it somehow different?

They forgot to hit CTRL+S. serio.gif

LOL!!

spirit said:

I want something new and fresh and co-op will deliver nicely :)

This. I loved the Decipher game but the LotR co-op LCG is really fun. I'm definitely excited for a Star Wars version that's semi-similar.

I would assume that developing the current co-op game would be the number one objective. If it sells well then I would assume they'd look into doing other things with the license like creating a seperate PvP game. I'm interested to see how the co-op game will work and who knows maybe in the future we can kick around ideas of a PVP game, but one thing at a time right?

booored said:

Also

www.cardgamedb.com/forums/index.php

Has card images taken from GenCon demo i think it was... work in progress but gives yo uan idea.. also has a battle report so you get an idea of gameplay

Thanks for the link, I haven't noticed this before. It seems like it's similar to the LotR LCG, with missions requiring victory tokens to progress to further steps.

It's kinda awkward this very long silence, especially since the game was demoed such a long time ago.

Anyway, signing the petition right now

In the Upcoming section of this site now we read "3rd quarter 2012". It's a little... ridiculous.

It would be nice just to get some sort of update. Even along the lines of 'Games delayed, this is why' etc.

Perhaps the purpose of the delay was to align the release of the game with Gencon. Thoughts?

Pericles said:

Perhaps the purpose of the delay was to align the release of the game with Gencon. Thoughts?

That seems like a really odd reason to delay. I mean, if that was what they had in mind all along, why go from "early" to 2nd quarter, to 3rd quarter? Why not just go straight to 3rd quarter when they realized it wasn't going to make the "early 2012" deadline?

I personally still believe that it has to do with hiring another LCG designer and so they need to make sure that the new hire has time to see what's been done with SW:TCG and how they can add their touch to it and start getting plans together for the future Force Pack cycles. After all, the box says it is designed by Nate French and Corey Koneczka. I don't know the second guy, but the first guy must have his hands full as the sole designer of LotR. I bet it's just too much for him to be involved in both games.