September 2010 in Review
Ramses writes:
It has been a busy, productive month for those of us at ADB, Inc. While there were some disappointments, there was exciting news. I am not sure why I got the job of writing up the first monthly summary (being head of security!) but Jean said that somebody had to do it and everyone else was busy.
The big release of the month was SFB Module Y3. Steven Petrick has worked with his SFB Team to create an outstanding supplement. Command cruisers, commando troop ships, strategic transports, and even a few bases are just some of the highlights. You can find it at many gaming stores or order it directly here: http://store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=5634&Category_Code=NP
Steven Petrick also surprised us all with a second new product, Module YG3, which is a compilation of all of the annexes from Module Y1, Y2, and Y3. Just personally, I think this is one of those things that he did for his own convenience as an internal document, and then let it slip that the book existed, causing many players to ask to buy copies of it. This is the perfect companion to Module Y3. Kudos to Steven Petrick for thinking of it, compiling it, and presenting it as a product. His team is hard at work checking it and verifying its data. You can pre-order it in print here: http://store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=5425&Category_Code=NP or wait until it is released on e23 on 4 October -- the same day we ship it to people who ordered their print version.
We've reorganized and expanded our Cafe Press storefront. There are new designs and you can quickly find what they are on. If you see a design and you want it on a product not listed, please let us know and we'll see what can be done. Take a look at the designs here: http://www.cafepress.com/starfleetuniv Thanks to Xander Fulton for the truly amazing coffee mug designs he has done. Mike Sparks and Leanna have taken the lead on getting this storefront revitalized.
Our products on e23 (http://e23.sjgames.com/credits.html?t=publisher&n=Amarillo%20Design%20Bureau) continue to thrive and are popular. Because our PDFs are produced from the original product, they are easily searchable and of high quality. Leanna continues to explore the e-frontier as we work to get our first book out on Kindle. This will be the popular paperback For the Glory of the Empire and we expect it to be available in October. The issue here is that having never done it, we have to figure out all of the tricks of the software, and by the time she got the last of the illustrations in, the file crashed from a nervous breakdown. Steve called an old friend at Polymancer, who has done many Kindle books, and he showed her a way to make the art work. If there are no more issues, this book will be available in a few weeks. (Of course, once we finish and upload it, we can expect a week or two of faxing contracts and licenses back and forth to prove to Amazon that we can legally do a book about Klingons. Like the software, that is a problem we only have to solve once.)
Sadly, both Alien Armada and Star Fleet Marines Assault had to be delayed. The designer of Alien Armada had to take some unexpected time off and the market isn't right yet for SFMA. We're hoping to release Alien Armada in November (barring unforeseen circumstances) and SFMA next year.
Marketing is the job that has to be done, and only SVC can provide most of the data needed to do it, but he's busy and doesn't WANT to do marketing in the first place. Realizing that the job wasn't getting done, that this failure was costing the company money, and that most of the work was just "doing" rather than "cleverly creating", SVC suddenly announced that Jean Sexton had been promoted to Marketing Director. This took Jean by surprise, but she was never one to pass up a chance to grab power. What she found out, however, was that her real job was to grab SVC, drag him away from his other five jobs, and shake him until the necessary marketing information fell out. Only Leanna and Jean can make SVC do something he doesn't want to do, and Leanna doesn't want anything to do with marketing either. Jean, being a naturally friendly person, a player of many types of games, and savvy in how the internet works, took on the job with dash, elan, gusto, and yes, even sangfroid! She has discovered that SVC actually knows how to do marketing, and once she gets his attention (thanks to the #8 Griswold) she can get him to provide information, direction, graphics, and clever ideas. Jean, who has her own clever ideas (if she wasn't a competent game designer, do you think she'd have been able to get PD20M Federation finished?) has taken on the world of gamers who haven't really heard about or understood the Star Fleet Universe. Her job is to (drag the information out of SVC, and then) get it into the hands of existing and new customers. She has done this by way of a vast array of media outlets and connections, including Communique (http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/Commanders%20Circle/resources.shtml), Hailing Frequencies (http://www.federationcommander.com/Newsletter/past.html), new videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/starfleetgames) done by Mike Sparks (when Jean makes SVC do them). She has taken the information and announced it via our page on FB (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-Design-Bureau-Inc/231728653279?ref=mf) as well as on our BBS (http://starfleetgames.com/discus/) and Forum (http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/phpbb2/). Jean has taken great pride in our page on FB, which has brought in hundreds of new players who never took part in the BBS discussions. Our page on FB has turned into a quick and friendly way to keep up with what has happened on the SFU, and includes art (including artist concept sketches never shown to the public before), graphics from upcoming products, and links to all of our other venues and activities. The most important thing that Jean has added to the company is the concept of IDIC (Infinite Dissemination of Infinite Communications). Every time SVC or Steven Petrick does anything, Jean has to coax them into thinking "Now, where will we put this?" and to make sure that all news goes into Captain's Log, the Forum, the BBS, our page on Facebook, Hailing Frequencies, Star Fleet Alert, Communique, TalkShoe, and many other outlets.
Paul Franz continued to produce his talk show "Star Fleet Universe on Call". Jean has pushed Steve Cole to call in at least once a month, and get over his fear of being caught making a fool of himself when he doesn't remember what he's talking about. (That happens on the BBS every week, so the TalkShoe fans are just getting their share of the fun.) SVC and Jean Sexton were even guests one evening. (Steve laughed out loud when he ducked out and left Jean there to face the public all alone on her first visit, but everyone was there to listen to her anyway and she did just fine.)
SVC has also worked on something in which we take pride: our Wall of Honor:
http://starfleetgames.com/ArtGallery/Wall%20of%20Honor.shtml It honors our volunteers who have worked so hard and given us so much of their time and energy for three decades. You are welcome to email SVC and ask him to turn your medal page into a jpg for your Forum sig file. Several people are proudly displaying their medals, ribbons, and honor bars in their Forum sigs.
That wraps up our month in review. It's time for me to patrol and then get a brushing. Until next month, this is Ramses signing out.
It has been a busy, productive month for those of us at ADB, Inc. While there were some disappointments, there was exciting news. I am not sure why I got the job of writing up the first monthly summary (being head of security!) but Jean said that somebody had to do it and everyone else was busy.
The big release of the month was SFB Module Y3. Steven Petrick has worked with his SFB Team to create an outstanding supplement. Command cruisers, commando troop ships, strategic transports, and even a few bases are just some of the highlights. You can find it at many gaming stores or order it directly here: http://store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=5634&Category_Code=NP
Steven Petrick also surprised us all with a second new product, Module YG3, which is a compilation of all of the annexes from Module Y1, Y2, and Y3. Just personally, I think this is one of those things that he did for his own convenience as an internal document, and then let it slip that the book existed, causing many players to ask to buy copies of it. This is the perfect companion to Module Y3. Kudos to Steven Petrick for thinking of it, compiling it, and presenting it as a product. His team is hard at work checking it and verifying its data. You can pre-order it in print here: http://store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=5425&Category_Code=NP or wait until it is released on e23 on 4 October -- the same day we ship it to people who ordered their print version.
We've reorganized and expanded our Cafe Press storefront. There are new designs and you can quickly find what they are on. If you see a design and you want it on a product not listed, please let us know and we'll see what can be done. Take a look at the designs here: http://www.cafepress.com/starfleetuniv Thanks to Xander Fulton for the truly amazing coffee mug designs he has done. Mike Sparks and Leanna have taken the lead on getting this storefront revitalized.
Our products on e23 (http://e23.sjgames.com/credits.html?t=publisher&n=Amarillo%20Design%20Bureau) continue to thrive and are popular. Because our PDFs are produced from the original product, they are easily searchable and of high quality. Leanna continues to explore the e-frontier as we work to get our first book out on Kindle. This will be the popular paperback For the Glory of the Empire and we expect it to be available in October. The issue here is that having never done it, we have to figure out all of the tricks of the software, and by the time she got the last of the illustrations in, the file crashed from a nervous breakdown. Steve called an old friend at Polymancer, who has done many Kindle books, and he showed her a way to make the art work. If there are no more issues, this book will be available in a few weeks. (Of course, once we finish and upload it, we can expect a week or two of faxing contracts and licenses back and forth to prove to Amazon that we can legally do a book about Klingons. Like the software, that is a problem we only have to solve once.)
Sadly, both Alien Armada and Star Fleet Marines Assault had to be delayed. The designer of Alien Armada had to take some unexpected time off and the market isn't right yet for SFMA. We're hoping to release Alien Armada in November (barring unforeseen circumstances) and SFMA next year.
Marketing is the job that has to be done, and only SVC can provide most of the data needed to do it, but he's busy and doesn't WANT to do marketing in the first place. Realizing that the job wasn't getting done, that this failure was costing the company money, and that most of the work was just "doing" rather than "cleverly creating", SVC suddenly announced that Jean Sexton had been promoted to Marketing Director. This took Jean by surprise, but she was never one to pass up a chance to grab power. What she found out, however, was that her real job was to grab SVC, drag him away from his other five jobs, and shake him until the necessary marketing information fell out. Only Leanna and Jean can make SVC do something he doesn't want to do, and Leanna doesn't want anything to do with marketing either. Jean, being a naturally friendly person, a player of many types of games, and savvy in how the internet works, took on the job with dash, elan, gusto, and yes, even sangfroid! She has discovered that SVC actually knows how to do marketing, and once she gets his attention (thanks to the #8 Griswold) she can get him to provide information, direction, graphics, and clever ideas. Jean, who has her own clever ideas (if she wasn't a competent game designer, do you think she'd have been able to get PD20M Federation finished?) has taken on the world of gamers who haven't really heard about or understood the Star Fleet Universe. Her job is to (drag the information out of SVC, and then) get it into the hands of existing and new customers. She has done this by way of a vast array of media outlets and connections, including Communique (http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/Commanders%20Circle/resources.shtml), Hailing Frequencies (http://www.federationcommander.com/Newsletter/past.html), new videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/starfleetgames) done by Mike Sparks (when Jean makes SVC do them). She has taken the information and announced it via our page on FB (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-Design-Bureau-Inc/231728653279?ref=mf) as well as on our BBS (http://starfleetgames.com/discus/) and Forum (http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/phpbb2/). Jean has taken great pride in our page on FB, which has brought in hundreds of new players who never took part in the BBS discussions. Our page on FB has turned into a quick and friendly way to keep up with what has happened on the SFU, and includes art (including artist concept sketches never shown to the public before), graphics from upcoming products, and links to all of our other venues and activities. The most important thing that Jean has added to the company is the concept of IDIC (Infinite Dissemination of Infinite Communications). Every time SVC or Steven Petrick does anything, Jean has to coax them into thinking "Now, where will we put this?" and to make sure that all news goes into Captain's Log, the Forum, the BBS, our page on Facebook, Hailing Frequencies, Star Fleet Alert, Communique, TalkShoe, and many other outlets.
Paul Franz continued to produce his talk show "Star Fleet Universe on Call". Jean has pushed Steve Cole to call in at least once a month, and get over his fear of being caught making a fool of himself when he doesn't remember what he's talking about. (That happens on the BBS every week, so the TalkShoe fans are just getting their share of the fun.) SVC and Jean Sexton were even guests one evening. (Steve laughed out loud when he ducked out and left Jean there to face the public all alone on her first visit, but everyone was there to listen to her anyway and she did just fine.)
SVC has also worked on something in which we take pride: our Wall of Honor:
http://starfleetgames.com/ArtGallery/Wall%20of%20Honor.shtml It honors our volunteers who have worked so hard and given us so much of their time and energy for three decades. You are welcome to email SVC and ask him to turn your medal page into a jpg for your Forum sig file. Several people are proudly displaying their medals, ribbons, and honor bars in their Forum sigs.
That wraps up our month in review. It's time for me to patrol and then get a brushing. Until next month, this is Ramses signing out.
posted by Federation Commander at 8:52 AM
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