[markelphoenix]

Been trying to find online game. Usually go to Roll20 first, given that it's kind of a mecca for playing PnP online. Did SR6's release hurt Shadowrun badly? I use to find several Shadowrun games on Roll20 back when SR5 was still kicking.

[Michael Chandra]

I still see plenty of people looking for SR5 and SR6 groups on Shadowcasters and Facebook, and someone working on a Roll20 SR6 macro right now.

[Magnaric]

I started a classic 2050s game using 2e before the quarantine went down, so we've continued meeting every week on Astral Tabletop and Discord. Similar to Roll20 but newer, so a touch less refined.

[markelphoenix]

Yeah, I see games posted for every edition other than 6 .... Really want to give it a fair shot. Wonder when Catalyst will lose rights to Shadowrun so that it can go to someone who will do it justice.

[Michael Chandra]

There's only a CRB out, no Firing Squad or other books yet, and no SRMs yet, or R20 macros. So, again, it makes a lot of sense.

Anyway, if CGL fails at Shadowrun, it will die. There is no way another company would be able to convince Topps while willing and capable of offering enough money to them. So I guess you want Shadowrun to end. 

[RickDeckard]

There's only a CRB out, no Firing Squad or other books yet, and no SRMs yet, or R20 macros. So, again, it makes a lot of sense.

Anyway, if CGL fails at Shadowrun, it will die. There is no way another company would be able to convince Topps while willing and capable of offering enough money to them. So I guess you want Shadowrun to end. 

This is unfortunately true. They have some epic Shadowrun nerds writing this up, I just wish they weren’t so bad at it and would lose the artistic style and short stories from the rule books. It’s like trying to read through my 5th grade homework, ugh!

OP: check out Runnershub on Reddit

[Tecumseh]

Anyway, if CGL fails at Shadowrun, it will die. There is no way another company would be able to convince Topps while willing and capable of offering enough money to them. So I guess you want Shadowrun to end. 

I don't know what the basis of this comment is.

As far as the Shadowrun property, Microsoft owns the digital rights and Topps owns the rights to publishing novels and pen-and-paper RPGs. The way that Topps monetizes their portion of the intellectual property is by licensing the rights to publish new products. They license those rights to Catalyst Game Labs, who then publishes the books that we all know.

If CGL fails, Topps will license the rights to the highest bidder and the game will go on.

[Michael Chandra]

If the stans keep blindly trashing SR6 so badly that CGL gives up on Shadowrun, do you really think any company with enough cash and clout to get it from Topps and put out quality content, will dare burn their fingers on it? I highly doubt it. There's no way there's a decent future for Shadowrun if the stans destroy CGL.

[Ghost Rigger]

The "stans" didn't make such brilliant design choices as "let's make armor useless and make weapons too weak to oneshot anything to balance it out", "strength doesn't effect melee damage except for unarmed", "all advantages and disadvantages generate edge for you or the opposition, except there's a limit to how much edge you can get and we've redefined edge so it doesn't do much anymore" and "let's entirely abandon the simulationism that has defined Shadowrun since it's first edition in the pursuit of the mythical casual audience". In fact, I'd say the real "stans" in this scenario are the ones not asking questions, just faithfully consuming product and getting excited for next product while failing to understand why everyone else refuses to consume product.

Look, if Shadowrun goes extinct because of 6e, I won't like that either. But we cannot blame the fanbase for refusing to buy what they think is a bad product, nor can we reward CGL for making such a product in the first place. They have shat their bed, and now they must lie in it.

[Sugarpink]

The "stans" didn't make such brilliant design choices as "let's make armor useless and make weapons too weak to oneshot anything to balance it out", "strength doesn't effect melee damage except for unarmed", "all advantages and disadvantages generate edge for you or the opposition, except there's a limit to how much edge you can get and we've redefined edge so it doesn't do much anymore" and "let's entirely abandon the simulationism that has defined Shadowrun since it's first edition in the pursuit of the mythical casual audience". In fact, I'd say the real "stans" in this scenario are the ones not asking questions, just faithfully consuming product and getting excited for next product while failing to understand why everyone else refuses to consume product.

Look, if Shadowrun goes extinct because of 6e, I won't like that either. But we cannot blame the fanbase for refusing to buy what they think is a bad product, nor can we reward CGL for making such a product in the first place. They have shat their bed, and now they must lie in it.

Can't we take the new fluff (which I think is really good!) and move everything back to 3 or 4e rules (calling it 3.5 or 4.5)?
And I am only half-joking. I would probably be pretty happy with that kind of product.

While I enjoy 6E I can't disagree that the design choices made both in 5E and 6E are... questionable at best in some places.

[Michael Chandra]

If 'criticism where deserved, but not jumping to hyperbole' equals 'not asking questions', then that's fine by me.

[Lormyr]

I don't know what the basis of this comment is.

It's just standard run of the mill hyperbole, bro.

If CGL fails, Topps will license the rights to the highest bidder and the game will go on.

And this. The genre, and game, is too popular to not get picked up. It just might not be in the way the new publisher or Topps would wish if this does come to pass. I have no idea how the new edition is doing broadly, so I couldn't begin to speculate.

The "stans"

Some people just don't like the feel of the new rules, some love the feel. Both are fine.

Some people don't find the new rule set logical, others do. Also Both fine.

Some people don't find the new rule set well constructed or balanced, others do. Also both fine.

Some people disregard other people's criticism because it doesn't align with their perspective, though. You might be fighting a losing battle with your proper use of logic there, but god speed my dude.

Edit: The additional comments I had here were a result of misreading MC's last statement. As such, retracted. My bad Mikey!

[Ghost Rigger]

I can't see any hyperbole in what I said, but that's beside the point. "Stans" makes it sound like there's a fanatical minority obsessed with tearing 6e down. What's actually happening is quite the opposite: an apathetic majority is killing 6e. People aren't buying it because they don't like it, and are instead switching to other cyberpunk systems or continuing to play older editions as if 6e had never even existed in the first place. This how voting with your wallet works, and it seems that for once democracy is actually working.

[Hobbes]

If CGL fails, Topps will license the rights to the highest bidder and the game will go on.

And this. The genre, and game, is too popular to not get picked up. It just might not be in the way the new publisher or Topps would wish if this does come to pass. I have no idea how the new edition is doing broadly, so I couldn't begin to speculate.

The Shadowrun RPG would be picked up quickly by someone.  My understanding of the Topps/Catalyst agreement have Shadowrun and Battletech in the same bucket so Catalyst would have to fail completely as a RPG publisher (or so near completely it makes no difference). 

Licences would revert to Topps, and they would find a new publisher because it's free money for them. 

As far as Catalyst failing, that seems unlikely.  They have 10ish full time employees, likely no significant capital investments, and really just a (monthly?  Quarterly?  Annual?) Licence fee to Tops.  Digital Distribution means much less inventory held.  It would take multiple catastrophically bad releases for Catalyst to be unable to pay Topps. 

Mind you I don't think Catalyst is swimming in cash, couple guys at the top of the chain are likely doing very well, but everyone else that works for Catalyst likely makes standard gaming industry subsistence wages.  And Topps is probably happy to collect whatever they get as the original investment in the licence probably paid for itself a long time ago, the continued income stream is likely considered a bonus. 

[Stainless Steel Devil Rat]

... My understanding of the Topps/Catalyst agreement have Shadowrun and Battletech in the same bucket so Catalyst would have to fail completely as a RPG publisher (or so near completely it makes no difference)...

The phenomenal success of the BattleTech kickstarter campaign has probably assured CGL's licence for the foreseeable future.  Not only is it nasty to hope CGL loses it, it's probably also moot.