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The Official Scoop on Official Shadowrun Errata

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Patrick Goodman

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« on: <07-13-16/0057:06> »
We've talked a lot about the state of errata for Shadowrun. It's become something of a sore subject for a lot of us, so much so that fights have erupted, people have quit the game, and any number of unpleasant incidents have occurred. It's a fraught subject.

One question that gets asked a lot is, "Why doesn't Shadowrun do errata the way that BattleTech does?" Well, as of earlier today, we do. I've been talking with the Powers That Be at Catalyst Game Labs, and I gave them a plan, and we're now in the very beginning phases of implementing that plan. My name's Patrick Goodman. I'm a freelance writer, and as of a few hours ago, I'm also the Shadowrun Errata Coordinator.

I'm in the process now of putting together a team of rules-knowledgeable people to help me. Most of the people I've asked have already said yes, though I'm still waiting to hear from a couple of folks. Once the team composition is nailed down, I'll introduce them, but it consists of freelancers, Catalyst Demo Team agents, and a few of you. I've invited a few of our harshest critics onto the team, to keep us honest. If any of the team members wants to step up and introduce themselves, however, they're more than free to do so.

As the next few weeks and months unfold, here's what's going to happen: We're going to go book by book and look over all the outstanding errata issues. We're going to discuss them, issue by issue, and reach a decision on how best to fix them. We'll consult with the author of the section to determine intent. We'll talk it out amongst ourselves, bring in consultants as needed, and once we reach a conclusion, we'll post the answer to the forum. At that point, it's what I call "provisionally official;" it's official, but subject to change in case we messed something up and it needs to be tweaked. Once things have been road-tested here on the forums, and the issues in a book have been addressed, I'll compile them all and get an official errata doc for that book up on the website.

Then we'll move on to the next book. And so on, and so forth. This is not a quick fix; while we'll be able to start getting some things answered in very short order, there are quite a few books that need to be worked on. This is a long-term project, and I'll ask you to be patient as we get things rolling and fine-tune the process.

There are some back-end things that need to get done first, and all my recruits need to tell me yea or nay, so we probably won't get started until next week. In the meantime, as things develop, I'll let you know here.

Patrick Goodman
Shadowrun Errata Coordinator.
Former Shadowrun Errata Coordinator

Jack_Spade

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« Reply #1 on: <07-13-16/0108:24> »
I applaud you for taking up that mantle and the courage to admit it  :)

Best of luck, and don't hesitate to ask for help in the forum - I am certain most people who complained will be happy to identify and also cross reference existing issues for you and your team.
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Dinendae

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« Reply #2 on: <07-13-16/0113:14> »
Ok, that is awesome news! Thank you very much for getting this finally implemented (or at least getting the ball rolling in this direction)! I do have a question: Since there's been many errata threads (one for each book) with suggestions for changes from the people posting in the forums, will the team be looking at (and possibly considering using) these suggested fixes? Actually that gives me a follow up question: Will there be a thread or other means for players to suggest to the group fixes or changes?

Prime Mover

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« Reply #3 on: <07-13-16/0114:05> »
Kudos to you and looking forward to the process and the results.  Been really digging into some of changes from 5th the last couple of weeks. 
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all I know the world Is Just one big game and all of
our actions are determined by the roll of a die.
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Mirikon

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« Reply #4 on: <07-13-16/0141:57> »
Good to see that something like this is finally happening.
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Medicineman

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« Reply #5 on: <07-13-16/0148:53> »
Kudos too
( I just spread the News in 3 German Forums :) )

with a longsleeved Dance
Medicineman
« Last Edit: <07-13-16/0151:56> by Medicineman »
http://english.bouletcorp.com/2013/08/02/the-long-journey/
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Shadowjack

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« Reply #6 on: <07-13-16/0214:14> »
Amazing, thank you for taking the initiative and leading the charge.
Show me your wallet and I'll show you a man with 20 fingers.

Imladir

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« Reply #7 on: <07-13-16/0221:05> »
Great news!
Even if it doesn't come tomorrow, it's still nice to know that something is done.
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Quatar

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« Reply #8 on: <07-13-16/0516:08> »
This is amazing news! Thank you for doing this Patrick!

If I may make a suggestion though? You mentioned going book by book, most likely starting with the CRB and then going in order of release.
You have quite a few years of catching up to do however, so it will be a long time till you'll reach the recent books, and by then new stuff will have been released. I'm not quite sure how BattleTech does it, but I guess they don't start 3 or 4 years after the initial book release :)

So maybe something like this would be better:
Go through every book (well not every, just the major Core Books), and grab maybe 2-5 of most contested issues. Not necessarily the "worst bugs" out there, but those where people simply can't agree on anything (those usually tend to be major things anyway). There should be plenty of discussion about those here, so it shouldn't be too hard to find suitable candidates.

Then see if you can come up for fixes for them.
Not just quick and dirty fixes, to have something out, but actual fixes, that you think will pass the test of time too, using that same process you talked about. It will take some time of course.
Release them in the "provisionally official" format, here on the forum for people to playtest them. See if your solution holds up, etc.

In that time you can then go book by book. Of course, revisit those issues again, see how the playtest was doing, and either rework them or include them in the official errata document.

Anyway, I have no idea if that's actually a workable solution, or if it is in fact a lot easier to just go book by book. I just feel this way you'd be able to grapple some of the major issues people have with SR5 in a relatively short timespan, while then going back and fixing the rest.

Either way, I wish you and your team the best of luck. And if you ever need someone to come up with stupid ideas, like the one above, let me know :)
« Last Edit: <07-13-16/0533:38> by Quatar »

Wakshaani

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« Reply #9 on: <07-13-16/0637:44> »
*puts hat over heart*

Godspeed, my brother.

Herr Brackhaus

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« Reply #10 on: <07-13-16/0654:44> »
*puts hat over heart*

Godspeed, my brother.
Well that doesn't sound ominous at all ;)

I'd just like to echo what's been said and say thanks for taking charge, Patrick. Good on ya!

Beta

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« Reply #11 on: <07-13-16/0818:13> »
Great news!  Best of luck and best wishes on getting the team you want to all say yes.  And I hope that all  of us cheering from the sidelines will help with dealing with the inevitable slings and arrows that come from being the visible point person on anything that anyone doesn't like.  A lot of us will be pulling for you!

Wakshaani

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« Reply #12 on: <07-13-16/0844:43> »
*puts hat over heart*

Godspeed, my brother.
Well that doesn't sound ominous at all ;)

I'd just like to echo what's been said and say thanks for taking charge, Patrick. Good on ya!

I know firsthand what it's like to gather up this stuff after a book drops. He's going above and beyond what I was doing and I wish him all the best. (And will be helping out here or there, but not part of the actual team. I'm a data-vacuum by nature and I organize well, but I have a bad habit of rules vagueness that I need to work on.)

Patrick runs a tight ship and I expect he'll knock the Hell out of this. Nothing but respect, yo.

Bull

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« Reply #13 on: <07-13-16/0856:01> »
Good luck Patrick.  Holler if you need help.

I tackled some FAQ/Errata stuff for Missions for a couple years, so I know what a colossal chore it is.  And I was cherry picking pretty carefully to only deal with stuff that either had to be fixed, or was Missions specific.

Tym Jalynsfein

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« Reply #14 on: <07-13-16/0938:33> »
Awesome Patrick... Good Luck.
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