The Shadowrun Situation

[Username17]

For the last few years certain parties at CGL have absconded the profits from GenCon. I was wondering if they have turned a corner, and that the company has made actual profits from the sales at GenCon or if CGL is still practicing creative accounting?

They sent me a letter that assured me that 20% of the Net Operating Revenue was going to be put towards paying off the company's past debts. For those of you unfamiliar with accounting terms - that means the money left over from the money they made after paying debts. So they guaranty that at least 20% of the money they decided to not pay debts with is going to be used to pay debts.

I am not impressed, no.

-Username17

[Centurion13]

They sent me a letter that assured me that 20% of the Net Operating Revenue was going to be put towards paying off the company's past debts. For those of you unfamiliar with accounting terms - that means the money left over from the money they made after paying debts. So they guaranty that at least 20% of the money they decided to not pay debts with is going to be used to pay debts.

I am not impressed, no.

-Username17

Let me get this straight:

1) CGL will pay you from the Net Operating Revenue.

2) The Net Operating Revenue is what remains after they cover things like rent on the room, food, cost of transportation. Of course, these things may also include:

- salaries.

- cost of PR swag, (new stuff such as a run of SR or BT t-shirts or embroidered patches).

- miniatures created specifically to be released in limited quantities for the con.

- two-way multi-channel radios so they can keep in touch.

- new business cards.

- 1GB thumb drives containing copies of their latest offerings in electronic form only - publishing at its cheapest.

- anything else which can be plausibly linked to the convention itself.

They don't even have to provide proof, just a statement. "I paid Bill and Steve $200 for their GenCon table". It might not have happened, they may not even have paid us at all, or paid us $100 with a wink about 'more funds to come'. Wouldn't be the first time. I never got a receipt for my dropship and yet, there it is on the back of BattleTech's Strategic Operations.

3) Whatever is left after all those deductions is the pool from which they will draw 20% to pay off their outstanding debts to writers, etc.

Somehow this reminds me of the movie companies who promise folks a piece of the profits from a movie, but whose creative bookkeeping ensures there will never actually be an official profit no matter how popular the film is. People who have invested and are connected to the film in the right ways will profit immensely, but only if they get a percentage of the gross.

Does this move seem like an obvious ploy to treat the money they already owe as a sort of 'second-class citizen'? As its payment comes well after their immediate con debts - including, but not limited to, lining their own pockets?

No, I agree with you, Frank. Doesn't seem like they have changed their spots at all. And I am not surprised.

And how much stuff was done under the table this time?

I wonder: how many of those sorry fanboys went along with it this year? I can see them now, smiling a special smile as they concluded yet another deal in a convention backroom with Laughing Cheaters in return for exclusive swag. Or a seat at the evening's dinner table with The Powers That Be. Or a special seat behind the con booth.

And we all know how it went: if no one saw it, it didn't happen. Just like smoking J in high school, the obvious underhandedness of the act reinforced their membership in a special club.

Too bad you guys couldn't get 20% of that, Frank. Your debts would have been discharged in two days.

I don't mind the exclusivity. And in the end, these guys mean nothing to me. But couldn't they have sold their souls for membership in a club that actually means something?

Cent13

[Juton]

At this point, even if they promised points off the gross that wouldn't necessarily mean that anyone would actually see any money. If they want to pay out, they'll make it happen, if they don't then it won't, so we are waiting to see what they do.

[Centurion13]

At this point, even if they promised points off the gross that wouldn't necessarily mean that anyone would actually see any money. If they want to pay out, they'll make it happen, if they don't then it won't, so we are waiting to see what they do.

Huh. You have a point - they can promise anything they want.

Guess we'll see.

Cent13

[Username17]

Someone put The Corruption Master Plot Arc online. You can read it. Warning: Coleman is a really bad author.

-Username17

[Juton]

Objectives
To summarize, the goals behind these series of books is to:
· to grab new readers and old fans’ attention with a Major New Plot,
· kick-start a set of cool “really, really must read” novels,
· produce a series of sequential “must have” adventures,
· provide a jump-on point for newbies to some of the “secrets” of the setting,
· play the nostalgia card on some of our old-time fans,
· stay faithful to the overall back-to-the-streets tone that has made SR4 a hit.
· shake up the setting without actually introducing blatant major changes

This guy has been exposed to too much marketing speak. I mean “really, really must read novels”, who would tell their writers to write up some shit books. He shouldn't be telling them to write well, they should already do that or be fired, if he used adjectives like 'intricate', 'nuanced', 'gritty' those are valid adjectives to describe what you want a project to be, calling for some really cool books makes you sound like you're a 13 year-old who is taking over your dad's company for a day.

[Lago PARANOIA]

who would tell their writers to write up some shit books.

Mike Mearls would.

[CatharzGodfoot]

This guy has been exposed to too much marketing speak. I mean “really, really must read novels”, who would tell their writers to write up some shit books. He shouldn't be telling them to write well, they should already do that or be fired, if he used adjectives like 'intricate', 'nuanced', 'gritty' those are valid adjectives to describe what you want a project to be, calling for some really cool books makes you sound like you're a 13 year-old who is taking over your dad's company for a day.

So does embezzling more and more money after you realize that you can.

[Juton]

who would tell their writers to write up some shit books.

Mike Mearls would.

Touché

[Orca]

What happened to that lawsuit trying to get CGL declared bankrupt? I assume the idea behind it was to get someone other than Coleman or one of his friends deciding how much money would go to paying off debts.

[Centurion13]

It would seem it has been pushed back until October.

Frank, do you have any light to shed on this particular evolution?

Cent13

[Stahlseele]

As an aside:

"Shadowrun4.com forums will be live by end of this month."
Posted on Catalyst Twitter.

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=32465
Wonder if/when they'll get the same kind of moderation the CBT boards have.
And of course, someone wrote in that thread:

As to the official forums, I can't wait.... to register as Tranq Frollman.

[BeeRockxs]

It would seem it has been pushed back until October.

Frank, do you have any light to shed on this particular evolution?

Cent13

Although I'm not Frank, the judge originally assigned to the case retired, so it got pushed back when it was transferred to the new judge.

[Centurion13]

As an aside:

"Shadowrun4.com forums will be live by end of this month."
Posted on Catalyst Twitter.

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=32465
Wonder if/when they'll get the same kind of moderation the CBT boards have.
And of course, someone wrote in that thread:

As to the official forums, I can't wait.... to register as Tranq Frollman.

Of course they will. Fanboys welcome... everyone else, STFU. I am told by a good friend that 'they', whoever the fuck 'they' are, 'hate me' on the Catalyst BT website. I say: what a pack of losers, to waste such a strong emotion on such a poor target for such a worthless reason.

If their 'hate' is so easily attracted, then it is no wonder their 'love' and loyalty are so easily given to folks like the Laughing Cheater.

As for registering names, my personal preference for that forum would be to register as "Lorin El Stoleman".
.
.
.
.
.

Nah, not my style.

Cent13

[Stahlseele]

Rascall Big Bills better?

[Centurion13]

Rascall Big Bills better?

Good, good!

Very good start. We will make quite a... splash over there when they open up. Of course, our accounts won't last long and I do believe they have the ability to block IPs, but you never know.

Cent13

[Stahlseele]

Heh, an IP-Block would only really work if they banned complete ip blocks, because with DSL, even VDSL which does not have a 24 hour disconnect, the IP changes with every single disconnect. I just have to ramp up the connections on my torrent client and my router will restart once every day automatically ^^
And yes, i guess we could be the start of something Awfull/Awesome

[Maxus]

Heh, an IP-Block would only really work if they banned complete ip blocks, because with DSL, even VDSL which does not have a 24 hour disconnect, the IP changes with every single disconnect. I just have to ramp up the connections on my torrent client and my router will restart once every day automatically ^^
And yes, i guess we could be the start of something Awfull/Awesome

I sort of like the Lorin El Stoleman one, myself.

[Username17]

It would seem it has been pushed back until October.

Frank, do you have any light to shed on this particular evolution?

Cent13

Although I'm not Frank, the judge originally assigned to the case retired, so it got pushed back when it was transferred to the new judge.

Yes. This is exactly what happened.

Anyway, Topps seems to be taking a more active role in promoting CGL. Catalyst is showing up in trade magazines that would never carry them two years ago. I regard this as bad news, as it indicates that Topps itself has no idea that sunk costs are sunk, and that the property is being managed about as poorly as you could imagine.

-Username17

[Otakusensei]

Someone put The Corruption Master Plot Arc online. You can read it. Warning: Coleman is a really bad author.

-Username17

That was... I'm at a loss.

So Coleman's big idea is to kill off an IE or two, maybe give GW and the AF some more back story and use all that to fuel the birth of yet another force of dimension scouring crazies from beyond the void? We already have bugs and the Horrors, does everyone out there want to come tear up our lawn? Fucking boring.

[Stahlseele]

Technically, we have the insect spirits, shedim and the horrors

[The Vigilante]

I thought the insect spirits were the Horrors ?

[Stahlseele]

No, the Insect Spirits are the Invae, from another Metaplane. Kinda like the Shedim, but closer. And they need living bodies as either willing or prepared hosts to possess. And they use them to reproduce.
They are the first warning of higher mana levels, as i understood.
Then come the shedim, from an as of today i think not yet found meta plane. Maybe from that one dead people walking around in a city meta plane.
The Shedim simply WANT an empty body and take every empty body they can find. Dead or vaccated by a magician who is away on an magical errand on the astral or meta planes.
And then, some time after, the horrors come into play, when the mana levels are really high enough so that they can cross the border between the meta planes and the astral plane with ease. It's really nicely depicted by a huge chasm between two plateus. One white, the way to the astral plane, one black, the home of the horrors. And on the white edge, Thaila partols and sings and keeps the horrors at bay. Well, at least she did.
Now magical cyberzombie free spirit dunkelzahn himself does something similar with the dragon heart magical thingamajingie fuzed to his hand.
Only he does not really keep the horrors at bay, but destroys bridges people like the azzies are trying to build over the chasm. he can't stop the continental shift which brings the two plateus closer to each other either. But the horrors should take at least some hundred years, probably more like some thousand years to get over here . .

[The Vigilante]

Ah, that's right. Wasn't it the Great Ghost Dance that caused the mana to spike up faster than expected and force the big D to sacrifice himself in order to slow the Invae down ?

[Centurion13]

It would seem it has been pushed back until October.

Frank, do you have any light to shed on this particular evolution?

Cent13

Although I'm not Frank, the judge originally assigned to the case retired, so it got pushed back when it was transferred to the new judge.

Yes. This is exactly what happened.

Anyway, Topps seems to be taking a more active role in promoting CGL. Catalyst is showing up in trade magazines that would never carry them two years ago. I regard this as bad news, as it indicates that Topps itself has no idea that sunk costs are sunk, and that the property is being managed about as poorly as you could imagine.

-Username17

I was answering a question someone asked me a while back, about how they thought it would go when Lorin El Stoleman approached Topps to explain why he thought they should retain InMediaRes and the gang of rascals to continue managing the property - despite all that had gone down.

I was joking, over the top with some of it, but damned if it doesn't seem to have come true. Or at least things are looking as if it had. Stoleman knows exactly the kind of people he is dealing with over at Topps - they are just like him.

Let Topps piss their dollars away, Frank. It's their dollars. Justice will come someday, and the rascals will be thrown out.

Cent13