State of the V:EKN: News from the printshop

hardyrange wrote:

Timo wrote:

And maybe a timeline could be decided in which at some point, if PoD is not yet officially scheduled, the new set will be legal for PDF play.

I second that motion.

I was willing to accept a delay in seeing new cards published, if there is a chance to see POD.
But I think we should set a deadline, after which we accept that POD is not going to happen, and instead proceed with other means to keep the game alive.

When the Design Team and the idea of creating new cards to be published via .pdf files was formulating, it was under the expectation that no publisher was going to pick up V:TES and bring it back to print. That remained true until very late in the development process for Danse Macabre, when we were approached by Steve Weick and Onebookshelf.com about negotiations amongst them, Hasbro, and CCP about acquiring the licenses and bringing the game back in print via print-on-demand. This news was a surprise to the Design Team. At that point, the development context changed from "release .pdfs even though we don't have copyright" to "wait until we get the green light from the IP owners so we don't interfere with or jeopoardize license negotiations".

Soon after Steve Wieck contacted us, Johannes proposed the idea to him that we release Danse Macabre as a .pdf set in advance of POD. At the time, we were instructed not to do that, and to wait to see how the negotiations with Hasbro and CCP would go. We were also told that these types of negotiations can go very slowly. As it turns out, these negotiations are going very slowly. On top of it, it is Steve Wieck and Onebookshelf.com who are doing the negotiating, not Johannes, the Design Team, the V:EKN ICs, or anyone else in the V:EKN. As such, we have no direct insight into this process, so the slowness of the negotiation process is made all the more frustrating by the lack of direct information and understanding of how this all works. That said, I repeated my request for a .pdf release of Danse Macabre more than a month ago. I was told to sit tight and be patient, and that a decision on that might not happen until after the EC.

I understand that patience is a virtue. I understand that "hurry the fuck up" is also a virtue. I want these cards in your hands. I want the volunteer artists to be able to show off their work and sell the original pieces so they can get money for their efforts. Again, my preference is that the Danse Macabre cards be released as .pdf files in advance of POD. However, my overriding preference is that V:TES comes back into print. Given that there are active and ongoing - albeit agonizingly slow - negotiations amongst Onebookshelf.com, Hasbro, and CCP about the respective licenses, I will act under the guidance of those parties so as not to interfere with or jeopardize their efforts. I will not act unilaterally and against their requests and guidance, but I will continue to request of them and advocate a .pdf release.

THAT was a clear explanation of why it lasts so long.

I really much appreciate that someone lets us know what excactly is going on. It is very valuable to know that the VEKN-representants are not in charge of the delay. I can't emphazize that fact enough.

Communication is the key.

Thanks a lot!

It changes nearly nothing about the point I wanted to make (the game is still slowly diing) buthaving some insight is really good and give a little bit of refreshed hope ^^.

BenPeal wrote:

At that point, the development context changed from "release .pdfs even though we don't have copyright" to "wait until we get the green light from the IP owners so we don't interfere with or jeopoardize license negotiations".

That clearly applies to cards that would be intended to be "official".

If V:EKN were to release storyline-only cards that would never enter normal sanctioned play and which were valid only for a storyline - say, something along the lines of the clearly-broken Nergal deck, though possibly not so ambitious as a whole deck! - would that also be prevented by license negotiations?

(For example, some storyline-only vampires where each player must use one of them in a clan-themed deck. Some master cards or events similarly. Whatever.)

This is all well and good, but besides waiting for these companies to make their arrangements, what is the VKEN doing to keep VTES alive? Adonai suggested a storyline or planned events, and I know that I've suggested the same on several occasions. If we can't get POD in the meantime, the VKEN needs to do something to aid the community.

Count wrote:

This is all well and good, but besides waiting for these companies to make their arrangements, what is the VKEN doing to keep VTES alive? Adonai suggested a storyline or planned events, and I know that I've suggested the same on several occasions. If we can't get POD in the meantime, the VKEN needs to do something to aid the community.

From the marketing perspective: we have developed several projects (or "in develop") but we stucked in due the rights and license - for example we need official agreement to develop any stuff with the triple-snake-mark as a vtes logo if we will do this for the profit (if any) etc etc.

From my perspective for now my hands are tied. Pretty serious. We can only bring some stuff for promo during events like EC (whatever).

We need to wait for the end of the negotiations and then make the decisions - in both ways - with or without legal permissions and pod...The situation has to be clear.

There are plenty of ideas but we live in such a circumstances and we have to be caution. That's my perspective.
Regards
Szewski

When I first heard about the news of a new card set being put together I got very excited, Its good that the game is moving forward. However I understand all the delays, but my frustration is not with VEKN, you guys are doing a fantastic job with this, When I first started playing VTES it was easy to find players, then those players slowly went away, and I searched for 10 yrs. for new players. I still collected cards and was even given cards by those who no longer played. Thanks for VEKN for coming along in putting me in touch with players in my area, My point is that it does not matter to me how long it takes for the cards to come out, I know everyone involved is doing there best, I know there are obstacles, and other things to overcome. I do not want to rush into a card set, in any format. It will happen, and when it does it will be grand.

not sure what else I can say that hasn't already been said. Accept show my support for the whole of the vekn and we will get there in the end.

johannes wrote:

Let´s see what GenCon brings.

As we have not seen any follow-up, may I assume that GenCon has not brought any progress?
If so: What is your expectation re the ongoing negotiations re POD? Do you still think this has a realistic chance to ever materialize, and if so, what would be your guess about the timeline?