Changing to this new (for me) discipline of posting specific topics on specific days is taking some getting used to, but I am getting there. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you guys necessarily get what you were expecting each time 🙂
Today, for example, is Sunday, so I am uploading some support for one of my games. Sunday Support. See – this one actually alliterates.
You’re probably expecting pdfs for the DreadBall FAQ (not yet – still collating) or perhaps something more for God of Battles. Well that’s had support articles already this week, so it’s the turn of Lost Patrol.
Yes, I know that there aren’t lots of copies about and that you can’t get it any more. I like it though, and have been playing quite a bit of late. If I could/can persuade someone to rerelease it I would/will. I think it’s a fun little game.
Quirkworthy 
May have been covered in Dark Space Core forum, but have you thought about QR codes in the rule book, so errata and amendments can be web based and have direct links for convenience links by smart phone laptop.
Nope. Not considered QR codes as I don’t really understand what you can do with them. Mantic have used them a couple of times though, so it might be worth discussing with them.
QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a cell phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media lie a rule book and put it in to your cell phone.
Once it is in your cell phone, it may give you details about that rule set or receive updates or errata.
The reason why they are more useful than a standard barcode is that they can store (and digitally present) much more data, including url links, and text. The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, many modern cell phones can scan them.
This then leads to your site which can enable to player who scans it to receive the latest information, blog etc.
Like I said, I’ll mention it at the next meeting. I have seen them using QR codes on the newsletter so somebody knows how they work.
Good luck with the QR codes and never know could make life easier for you
FYI, I found this page that appears to link to a guide for creating one’s own copy of Lost Patrol. I haven’t actually checked it out, but it might be that there’s a way to provide support for the game and grow its audience even without it being re-released.
http://games.offkilterproductions.com/game.php?GameID=13
There are a number of online sites where you can get copies of LP rules, tiles and so on. There’s also the “Patrol Lost” game which appears to be just Lost Patrol without the IP. Apparently it was “designed” by someone else too. What talent.
As far as I am aware, none of these sites have the legal right to upload any of this information. I could be wrong. However, last I heard the rights belonged to GW. If anyone can show me where GW made Lost Patrol public domain I’d be very interested to see it. Strikes me as unlikely though.
Wow, copyright theft, Burn the heretic….
What a cheek, sending a link to a site that uploaded game rules, to the creator of the game itself! I’ll post links on the blogs of my animation buddies showing where their work can be downloaded, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled! 🙂
Jake, I’m enjoying the regular updates, keep it up mate.
I think thedrellum is just trying to be helpful here with the reference. The real problem is with people who think that stealing copywritten work like this is not either (a) theft or (b) harmful.
If music, films, books and games can all be merrily stolen and downloaded for free and with impunity then the people who pay their bills by creating them in the first place will simply not get paid enough to live on and will have to do something else instead. When the genuinely creative people have all been pushed out by this process you’re left with the folk whose skill level extends merely to claiming other people’s work as their own, and they aren’t likely to be creating any masterpieces.
Nice point. I’ve only experienced it in a small way myself, and certainly seen colleagues and friends have work stolen. It’s really interesting to hear about it from someone in the war-games/board-games profession, so sorry if I pushed the topic!
Being left with people who do little more than “borrow” existing rules and put their name on it reminds me of the number of original D&D “clones” there are, with the names changed.
Luckily, I think we’re living in a pretty good time for new games, rules, models etc.
We do very well for new toys right now. Technology is a help in this, though not always. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens when 3D copying and printing becomes cheaper and miniatures are more easily pirated. Then it won’t just be art and text that get purloined all the time. Very nearly there…
No need to be sorry for mentioning it. Copyright theft is a real issue (even within the gaming industry), and the argument for the pro-torrent “everything should be free” lobby always neglects to mention the mass of non-millionaire creators who suffer from it, focussing instead on the big record companies “who can afford it”.
I’ll spare you the extended rant.
Nice, nice. Would be cool to have the Dreadball FAQ PDF though.
I’m reworking it as a word/pdf file which takes a bit of time, but it’s coming along. If I get it finished before next sunday I’ll just post it when it’s ready rather than wait any longer. I’ve also used the suggestion of giving questions reference numbers so people can refer to specific bits more easily. We’ll deal with the associated problems with that plan when we come to them.
Is there any way you can persuade Mantic to re-release ‘Lost Patrol’ with the same basic rules, only with their miniatures and set in their sci-fi universe, and with a different title?
An interesting thought. However, it would be a bit of a minefield, and I don’t see any major reason to. The game, as written, is set within the 40K universe and beings to GW. I’m fine with that. I just wish they’d print some more.
I’ve got so many ideas for games I don’t feel the need to recycle stuff unless someone asks for it. Ronnie and I have loads of cool new things we want to do, so there’s no need to go back and do another version of LP.
What I will do is ask about and see who owns it currently and whether there are any plans to do anything with it. You never know.
That would be preferable; Lost Patrol in any other setting than a jungle with Space Marine Scouts just wouldn’t be right…but GW don’t seem too keen on publishing board games these days.
GW have seldom been keen on producing board games, which is why this was never available in large numbers nor well promoted. Long story.
Probably why I’ve never heard of it until one saw the post on here. Ironic they don’t like boardgames as they started that way
Oh it went back earlier than that. They actually started by selling other companies’ stuff, as a pure retail chain.
So whats the new ideas then?? any chance of a heads up???
Soon…
Whilst I’m GW wouldn’t dream of selling Lost Patrol’s rights back to you, how about revisiting the theme with a jungle-set Project Pandora? (Sort-of analogous to ‘Predator’ as PP’s Grim Cargo setting is to ‘Aliens’.)
I could do, but I’ve got other plans for games in the Warpath universe and that would be kind of stepping backwards. I would like to see LP reissued if that was possible. However, I can always do another new design (and another) that will be just as good or better, and I’m happier moving forwards 🙂
why release something old when you can go back to it and reconsider and do things better.
Or, indeed, do something entirely new.
The art of the designer, forward thinking and constant improvement.