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Plague of Hats posted:Extra Hm. This is new: Kevin Siembieda posted:Artist and concept guy, Mark Dudley, has had some experience in this area, and is currently developing a Nightbane® concept being pitched as an animated TV series. He has garnered some interest and he and his team are currently working on the final details needed to successfully pitch this project. Fingers crossed. Mark had a great deal of first-hand experience to offer and the panel was lively and informative.
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Jun 8, 2015 03:09
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at mentioning the movie deal. Keep that flame burning, Kevin!
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Huh. I'm no lawyer; maybe Nightbane has been around long enough for them to show that they've established a distinct identity for the product line. But I'd expect Clive Barker to get litigious at that point.
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Jun 8, 2015 03:22
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I went to the Palladium forums to see if there was any good grog after that interminable Kickstarter two-parter, and I guess it's policy that they don't read their own forums or Kickstarter comments for feedback. Even after specifically requesting feedback. A moderator suggested that perhaps PMs or e-mailing the KS account would work. Maybe this is old news, maybe I even knew about it before and forgot in the months or years since I last went there, but I feel like I'm falling down an incredibly stupid rabbit hole.
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Jun 8, 2015 08:18
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The mod on the Palladium forums has Koolaid running through his veins, everything short of sunshine lollipops and rainbows usually gets locked and end in a ban for the poster, apparently.
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Jun 8, 2015 08:58
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I love watching the two decades long, slow motion, train wreck that is Palladium. I'm going to be kind of sad when they finally die, though I'm happy that Pinnacle will end up with the license in the end
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Jun 8, 2015 09:27
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If you don't think KS will demand that he be buried with his precious IP and that nobody else ever gets to touch it...
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Jun 8, 2015 13:26
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JohnnyCanuck posted:If you don't think KS will demand that he be buried with his precious IP and that nobody else ever gets to touch it... Not if Palladium gets wound up he won't, which is what will happen when people launch legal action for the wave 2 stuff not being delivered - and as much as KS is not a preorder, Palladium did continue to sell everything from the KS using Backerkit, which is a preorder is far as US law goes
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Jun 8, 2015 13:32
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NTRabbit posted:The mod on the Palladium forums has Koolaid running through his veins, everything short of sunshine lollipops and rainbows usually gets locked and end in a ban for the poster, apparently. This shouldn't be surprising considering the only thing Palladium puts out with regularity is The Rifter, and the last time I read an issue, a sizable fraction of it was devoted to Kevin treating his business like a charity, exhorting the customers to buy more products and evangelize Palladium to their friends. Which is frankly a scumbag move. Halloween Jack fucked around with this message at 13:38 on Jun 8, 2015 |
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Jun 8, 2015 13:36
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Of course the best part is that after putting out Robotech RPG Tactics wave 1 in 6mm scale, and then wave 2 in 6mm scale, Siembieda has decided for everyone that he's going to immediately switch to 15mm for the next two eras and any future releases of the first era, essentially invalidating everything anyone has bought up until now. All of this because he's decided Invid and Cyclones in 6mm are going to be too small.
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Jun 8, 2015 13:43
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Halloween Jack posted:This shouldn't be surprising considering the only thing Palladium puts out with regularity is The Rifter, and the last time I read an issue, a sizable fraction of it was devoted to Kevin treating his business like a charity, exhorting the customers to buy more products and evangelize Palladium to their friends. Which is frankly a scumbag move. It's to be expected in a company rag to an extent, honestly, but well, let's pull off a issue off my bookshelf more-or-less at random. Let's see: issue #17, dated 2002. It's 112 pages. 9 pages of that are just straight-up ad copy. Mind, bear in mind a lot of the ad copy that runs isn't even new ad copy, making it pure, uncut page filler. Another 3 pages are hype machine, including an exhortation to assist Palladium in the "slow economy" by special ordering books from local stores and basically asking fans to act as unpaid salesmen to store owners. There's also a variety of solicits for books that never came out - Land of the Damned 3 and Hardware Unlimited (both to be written by Bill Coffin, who was infamously "let go" instead), Adventures in the Northern Wilderness 2e, Atorian Empire, Mechanoid Space, and a new game called Void Runners. I want to just repeat that I yanked this from my middle of the shelf without looking, and found exactly what you just mentioned. Oh, I'm gonna tangent and read off the description for Void Runners, because it's a doozy. Kevin Siembieda posted:The game starts with the players. The player characters' first "awareness" starts in a void. Absolute Blackness. Each is a fully conscious essence without body or form. They have no knowledge of their own past nor the greater history of any time or place. They intuitively know they are a force for good, and they are given a chance to go forth to stop the unspeakable evil.
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Jun 9, 2015 04:13
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Wow, that basically describes.... roleplaying. Like, roleplaying games, from the perspective of the character. Meta.
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Jun 9, 2015 17:38
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Alien Rope Burn posted:It's to be expected in a company rag to an extent, honestly, but well, let's pull off a issue off my bookshelf more-or-less at random. Let's see: issue #17, dated 2002. It's 112 pages. 9 pages of that are just straight-up ad copy. Mind, bear in mind a lot of the ad copy that runs isn't even new ad copy, making it pure, uncut page filler. Another 3 pages are hype machine, including an exhortation to assist Palladium in the "slow economy" by special ordering books from local stores and basically asking fans to act as unpaid salesmen to store owners. It was also astonishingly low-quality. I really don't understand why so many people are willing to pay for supplement books that are just stat blocks. D&D Monster Manuals have a lot of monsters that are tactically interesting, whether you're talking about gas spores and rust monsters from the old books or the way 4e gave pretty much every monster tactical powers. And of course plenty have interesting backstory that keys into where you find them and why you fight them. But then there are a lot of companies out there that put out books that were just "Here's a skeleton, this is its combat stats, here's a wererat, this is its stats," etc. Palladium books seem to have a lot of this stuff. What's their policy on fanpages these days? There are years worth of stories about C&Ds they send out, but I wonder how they've actually responded to fansites in the past few years. The main reason I ask is that I've gotten the notion that while Palladium's popularity comes from publishing books that are chock full of stuff and not expensive, they have their diehard fans over a barrel, paying money for stuff that fans of other games get for free. The last time I looked at a Rifter, the quality of the content was on a level with homebrew stuff that you would put out there on a wiki or a blog, not expecting to make money from it.
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Jun 12, 2015 17:11
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They produced a wodge of legalese for people to stuff into their pages back in the mid Nineties, but I think Geocities dying and a lot of ISPs canceling their free hosting packages has killed most of them off. Heck, the first Rifter I picked up had half of an article on the 'Tribes of the Moon', which was an obvious W:tA rip someone on the old mailing list had written many years before.
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Jun 12, 2015 18:20
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Bieeardo posted:They produced a wodge of legalese for people to stuff into their pages back in the mid Nineties, but I think Geocities dying and a lot of ISPs canceling their free hosting packages has killed most of them off. Man, I saw that title and thought like 'mutant tribes war-hopping on the moon's surface' and then was disappointed. Rifts! 
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Jun 13, 2015 01:09
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They're having a predetermined poll in the update comments - Kevin already deccided he wants 15mm - on whether or not to make all future products in 15mm, mixed scale, or the original 6mm, making games between eras incompatible, as well as other stuff like terrain. All this because Kevin decided 6mm scale Cyclones would be too small, after all this work has been done already.quote:6mm.
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Jun 21, 2015 11:48
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It's actually kind of interesting, to me, the way KS expects his customers to act. He's spent so much time in a self-created bubble free of any sort of criticism, I'm sure the pushback he's gotten over the kickstarter has come as quite the shock for him. These are paying customers, after all, so he can't easily dismiss them as "haters" like he does with much of the RPG world. (I mean, he will anyway, but I'm sure the cognitive dissonance will be a bit more uncomfortable than usual.) Thing is, this time around, he made a miniatures game that had appeal outside his usual audience. While the folks on the Palladium boards may be willing to forgive his every transgression (and are fast booted from his bubble if they aren't), these new customers aren't quite so willing to put up with bullshit from someone they gave a significant amount of money to. I'm sure it frustrates him that he isn't able to ban backers from commenting on the kickstarter page.
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Jun 21, 2015 15:06
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Let's check the newest Palladium news post and-Kevin Siembieda posted:UPDATE: Xounts Up device is amazing. Check out this Kickstarter 
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Aug 15, 2015 00:17
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Yeah. That's about all I can muster.
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Aug 15, 2015 04:27
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KS seems the sort to make Facebook updates that read, "google local pizza delivery".
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Aug 15, 2015 06:14
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I fully believe that he's just being a sincere enthusiastic consumer, which is why it's so funny that it looks like bullshit spam. I wouldn't actually be surprised if it turned out he's getting paid to advertise, though.
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Aug 15, 2015 06:23
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It feels pretty quid pro quo, intentionally or otherwise.
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Aug 15, 2015 14:01
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With Kevin it's literally impossible to tell if it's sincere or not since he's spent 30 years spinning absolute bullshit press release style screeds about his own company in everything he's ever written. I guess it's inevitable that it bleeds over into other stuff he writes too. Honestly the only reason I'll give him the benefit of the doubt is because I can't imagine anyone outside the industry actively seeking the endorsement of Kevin Siembieda.
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Aug 15, 2015 14:09
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Asimo posted:Honestly the only reason I'll give him the benefit of the doubt is because I can't imagine anyone That's better.
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Aug 15, 2015 15:41
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Bieeardo posted:They produced a wodge of legalese for people to stuff into their pages back in the mid Nineties, but I think Geocities dying and a lot of ISPs canceling their free hosting packages has killed most of them off. It's sad. Their rules have always been terrible, but they used to have Carella as a staff writer.
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Aug 18, 2015 21:48
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Man, I've been out of the Palladium loop since Kevin laid me off in '09, but I'm glad to see some things never change. I'd heard that Robotech Tactics was a shitshow, but the depths of that poo poo are just stunning. Also, speaking of tremendous shitshows, I know the people involved in Savage Rifts. Hooo boy, that's gonna be a fun one to watch.
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Sep 7, 2015 00:06
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:Also, speaking of tremendous shitshows, I know the people involved in Savage Rifts. Hooo boy, that's gonna be a fun one to watch. Do tell!
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Sep 7, 2015 00:22
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I know folks are already super-mad that Dog Boys aren't in the core for Savage Rifts but instead tucked into a Coalition sourcebook or something.
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Sep 7, 2015 00:40
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Apparently the latest Tactics update is a litany of blame-shifting and guilt-tripping... aimed at all of the backers who are getting tired of Kevin and his antics this time, instead of people who could plausibly have had any effect on the proceedings.
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Sep 7, 2015 01:43
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Slimnoid posted:Do tell! Basically it's two successful writers who are used to dealing with people who operate in good faith working with someone constitutionally incapable of working in good faith. I've been staying far away from it, but I don't really expect it to see the light of day, and the guys working on it will surely see the underside of a bus at some point in the project. unseenlibrarian posted:I know folks are already super-mad that Dog Boys aren't in the core for Savage Rifts but instead tucked into a Coalition sourcebook or something. Lawl, that's dumb as hell. Bieeardo posted:Apparently the latest Tactics update is a litany of blame-shifting and guilt-tripping... aimed at all of the backers who are getting tired of Kevin and his antics this time, instead of people who could plausibly have had any effect on the proceedings. Of course it is. Kevin is the champion blamethrower. Nothing is ever his fault. He is the martyr, the constantly aggrieved, and the nicest guy. How can you tell? He'll tell you all about it! Also, dude has no personal and professional boundaries. It got to the point where I'd kick him out of my office because he'd come in and want to tell me about his girl troubles. The man is pushing sixty. You're my boss, I don't want to hear about your "girl troubles", especially when you're the goddamned problem.
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Sep 7, 2015 02:02
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CroatianAlzheimers posted:I've been staying far away from it, but I don't really expect it to see the light of day, and the guys working on it will surely see the underside of a bus at some point in the project. Man, if it never makes it to the shelves I'm going to be really bummed out.
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Sep 7, 2015 02:18
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Halloween Jack posted:It's sad. Their rules have always been terrible, but they used to have Carella as a staff writer. I recently ran across evidence they planned to have Carella writing books for at least another year or so before he bailed, and had to find other writers to fill the gap. It's interesting to see what slips through their cracks. (Palladium is pretty cracked.) ManMythLegend posted:Man, if it never makes it to the shelves I'm going to be really bummed out. There's a reason every post of mine on the subject has been to the effect of "don't get your hopes up, everyone". I mean, I wish the best for the project, but it was announced way too early for something that Palladium is involved with. It probably shouldn't have been announced until they have a rough approved, at least, knowing how Palladium's approval process "works", and even that would have been too early. But then, it almost undoubtedly would have leaked out of Kevin's mouth at some point, so they may have had little choice.
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Sep 7, 2015 02:38
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I agree with ManMythLegend. I'm not likely to play it, but I'd love to see a coherent and playable adaptation of that big ol' achy-breaky thing. But yeah, given Kevin's habit of shoving both hands into the heart of matters, we're more likely to see a cringeworthy post-mortem than anything honestly good. Bieeanshee fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Sep 7, 2015 |
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Sep 7, 2015 02:39
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Alien Rope Burn posted:I recently ran across evidence they planned to have Carella writing books for at least another year or so before he bailed, and had to find other writers to fill the gap. It's interesting to see what slips through their cracks. (Palladium is pretty cracked.) Reading between the lines, it seems that Kevin drives away his staff writers the same way he drives away freelancers, it just takes longer. That is, he gives them a project, doesn't give feedback during the development process, then chews them out when the book isn't exactly the way he would have done it. I am curious about how Kevin's reputation as a micromanager jives with this.
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Sep 7, 2015 04:07
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Halloween Jack posted:Reading between the lines, it seems that Kevin drives away his staff writers the same way he drives away freelancers, it just takes longer. That is, he gives them a project, doesn't give feedback during the development process, then chews them out when the book isn't exactly the way he would have done it. It's all true. I was there for two years, and I was officially/unofficially in charge of the Robotech RPG (meaning that it wasn't in an official capacity, Kevin doesn't delegate, but he didn't care about Robotech and I did, so I took it over on my own). There is no editorial feedback, there are no rewrites, there is no guidance. There's no styleguide. Kevin believes that writers can't re-write their own material with editorial guidance. I've been doing this for sixteen goddamned years, and I've worked with a lot of writers. You know what? Writers can rewrite their own work with editorial guidance. That's what being a writer is about. Also, someone mentioned upthread (in a conversation about poser covers) that he draws from the fanbase as opposed to industry professionals for his artists. True story. You know why? Because industry professionals expect to get paid. You know what Kevin says when a freelancer finally demands that he be paid after two years of excuses or the next step is getting the law involved? "That's not fair. He has a real job. He's not writing for a living, he doesn't need that money." Let me get a few more beers in me and I can tell you some real good stories.
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Sep 7, 2015 04:16
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I remember you saying that the office was small and dark. Do they even still have an office? It is often repeated that no matter what anyone says about Palladium, they are still in business after decades. But I wonder how much business presence they actually have when the only thing they regularly publish is the Rifter. Do they actually do a lot of business in reprints and selling off old copies of old material? Do they have other streams of income?
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Sep 7, 2015 04:27
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For some reason I was under the impression that PEG has fully licensed Rifts from Palladium which I figured would give them a degree of independence from KS's shenanigans. Then again I am in no way versed in corporate law or IP licensing so I may be completely wrong.
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Sep 7, 2015 05:49
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Halloween Jack posted:Reading between the lines, it seems that Kevin drives away his staff writers the same way he drives away freelancers, it just takes longer. He actually takes a dig at Carella in the Game Master's Guide. It's kind of breathtaking to see how little regard he gives one of the most prolific and successful writers Palladium ever had, but there you have it. Not to say CJ's flawless, but it's pretty uncalled for. Halloween Jack posted:It is often repeated that no matter what anyone says about Palladium, they are still in business after decades. But I wonder how much business presence they actually have when the only thing they regularly publish is the Rifter. To be fair, they've been putting out a book every two to four months these days, it's just that books like PFRPG®: Bizantium and the Northern Islands™ or Robotech®: Expeditionary Force Marines Sourcebook don't make a big splash outside of the Palladium fandom. Which is particularly tragic for Robotech, which could be one of the more beloved franchises out there, but is tied down to an antiquated system and an antiquated company. Still, they've been getting out about two Rifts books a year - they've at least gotten over the horrendous dry spell they had during the '00s, but they're nowhere near the "one Rifts book every two months" schedule they had in the mid-'90s. Also they've gotten money from lawsuit settlements and the Robotech kickstarter, for what those are worth. But it's always weird to see where their money goes - reprints of old decades-old books that didn't have low print runs and are trivial to find, for example. You end up with a weird situation where the older a Rifts book has been, the cheaper it gets due to effectively being overprinted. But Palladium has to have new copies in stock, and they've been putting out a lot of superfluous stuff like that Heroes Unlimited anniversary hardcover (no new material, just a harder cover) or a lot of really, really tacky merch. And this at the same time they're saying that last year could be the last year for the Palladium Open House, but somehow they're digging into their pockets for stuff like Coalition dog tags. Honestly they've worked on such a shockingly small budget (seriously, it is a bit shocking) in the past I have a feeling they have no goddamn idea what to do with the opportunities they have, but maybe I'm wrong, maybe the Palladium fandom just eats up Palladium RPG coffee mugs and Glitter Boy hoodies. I mean, yes, they have stayed in business forever, but it's on a shoestring at points. For those that might point out those kind of infusions of money could be used to pay freelancers equitably or to expand their business or even just keep the lights on, you're too precious for this world. Or certainly too precious for Palladium. ManMythLegend posted:For some reason I was under the impression that PEG has fully licensed Rifts from Palladium which I figured would give them a degree of independence from KS's shenanigans. If you have a source for that, it'd be great to hear! But AFAIK, not much has come out publicly about the project since the initial announcement. CroatianAlzheimers posted:Let me get a few more beers in me and I can tell you some real good stories. Great to see you again, I'd love to hear 'em. Alien Rope Burn fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Sep 7, 2015 |
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Sep 7, 2015 08:07
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Siembieda's put up some new material on his eBay store, most notably a chunk of Kevin Long art, some of which is surprisingly affordable, and some of which is not. Interesting that Siembieda didn't let Long keep the originals (I presume it must have been part of the contract) and is now selling them off. There are some insights into where Siembieda's money has gone if you look at some of the bigger ticket items. No idea how much he paid for them or if they're really worth that much, but the guy loves (loved?) his collectibles.
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Nov 14, 2015 21:13
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It looks like some of the stuff isn't so unreasonable. Disney cels seem to rapidly climb in price the older they are. On the other hand  at photocopy proofs of recent magazines, even though I'm sure they'll sell.
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Nov 15, 2015 06:59
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So Robotech Tactics is 80% off at DGI. Is this game any good aside from the issues with bad sprue space usage/miniature design? The rules look workmanlike and functional but I've never seen anyone actually playing it. I was wondering if the sale linked was indicative of bad sales for the game line or if it's just business as usual.
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Nov 16, 2015 20:49
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