Dragonstar?

[KaosDevice]

Based on what I've heard, I wouldn't count on it.

A group of Living Dragonstar players (the RPGA campaign using the setting), working with a small Australian game company, tried to get FFG to license the setting and rules for use in continuing the Living campaign; nothing's come of it (no news on the LDS Yahoo group on the subject since November).

My understanding is that FFG wants to hang onto the IP for potential future projects, and not dilute it by letting others use it at the moment.

Well, I wonder what magic trick MEG pulled to get licensure. I would think it would only help to serve FFG to allow continued growth in the Dragonstar universe under a carefully worded legal umbrella ala the OGL. I'd sure contribute, I liked that universe.

 

[Ranger REG]

My understanding is that FFG wants to hang onto the IP for potential future projects, and not dilute it by letting others use it at the moment.

Like they are currently holding publishing Blue Planet RPG?

Honestly, somebody should buy that company off their hands, at least the RPG part of it, and let them concentrate on boardgames and TCGs.

 

[kenobi65]

Well, I wonder what magic trick MEG pulled to get licensure. I would think it would only help to serve FFG to allow continued growth in the Dragonstar universe under a carefully worded legal umbrella ala the OGL. I'd sure contribute, I liked that universe.

But remember, MEG was publishing their adventures (a type of book that is a notorious poor-seller) at the same time that FFG was actively publishing DS rulebooks and supplements. I'd bet that someone at FFG was overseeing what MEG was doing, to some extent, and sales of MEG adventures for DS were undoubtedly seen as benefitting FFG's sales.

Now that FFG is no longer publishing DS, letting someone else publish DS-related stuff has no significant financial benefit to FFG, because it'd be in support of a game that they're no longer supporting themselves.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

The whole 'low sales' concept I got from the 'official' Yahoo group (which was possibly the Living DragonStar group), although I will mention that the news was via my DM, so it was secondhand. I am positive that he said he read that though. I can try to get ahold of him and see if he still has the link to the page explaining why they were ending DragonStar....

 

[kenobi65]

The whole 'low sales' concept I got from the 'official' Yahoo group (which was possibly the Living DragonStar group), although I will mention that the news was via my DM, so it was secondhand. I am positive that he said he read that though. I can try to get ahold of him and see if he still has the link to the page explaining why they were ending DragonStar....

Well, I found the following post from Christian (FFG CEO) here on EN World last July 20th (and I believe it had been posted here from the FFG boards), and I had then cross-posted it on the LDS Yahoo Group:

Hi all,

Just an official word. FFG is not planning any new DS book in the
near future, but we are allowing the RPGA arm to continue to develop
new content.

We are hoping to return to a 2nd edition some day. The current 5
books really encompass the whole vision for DS had, from FFG's
perspective, in the first place, and DS sales (d20 in general) have
dropped to a level where, unfortunately, DS no longer possible for
us to support without major loss.

We ourselves love DS, and we would love nothing more than to make
new books. Yet, with the current books, DS fans should have all they
need to play in the Dragon Empire for as long as they want,
additional support is not needed.

Also, critique well taken, this decision should have been announced
already on the DS page. I will see to it!

Best Wishes,

Christian
CEO
FFG

A week later (July 27th), Stephen Mumford (one of the two campaign co-ordinators for Living Dragonstar) posted this on the LDS Yahoo Group:

Friends,

As some of you are aware, the last few months have seen numerous changes in
Fantasy Flight Games with regards to the Dragonstar campaign setting.
Recently, due to internal changes of focus and reduced sales of the product,
FFG has decided that they will no longer be supporting the overall
Dragonstar campaign setting. A few weeks prior to this, we were informed
privately that FFG would no longer be able to provide funding for the Living
Dragonstar RPGA campaign either, which meant that our authors would no
longer be paid for their work. And this past week, after discussing things
with FFG, we come to the understanding that FFG would not be supporting the
RPGA Campaign beyond this year's GenCon Indianapolis.

With no support from the parent company, the ability to run a successful and
productive RPGA campaign is no longer a viable option. As such, I am afraid
that the LDS campaign will be retired following this year's GenCon.

Andy and I (and FFG as well) wish to thank all the players that have
accompanied us through the last three and a half years, and to all those who
have shown their support for the campaign. It has been a great privilege
and honor for both of us to have been the co-coordinators for the campaign,
and we've made a great many friends as a result -- both in this campaign and
in others.

The events of GenCon Indianapolis will still proceed as planned; we will
still be running the two scheduled modules, and we will still be having the
Activity Center. In addition, we have an additional Core module and a
handful of Starfarers in editing that we are looking into making available,
even though they will no longer be sanctioned. The authors worked long and
hard on them, and it would be a waste of talent to just let them collect
dust somewhere.

We'd like to especially thank everyone that has helped to make the campaign
what it was, and that includes not only the co-coordinators, volunteers and
authors (past and present), but also the judges and players. Any campaign,
ultimately, is only as good as the people that sit down at the tables and
pull out their dice, and I'm pleased to say that we had some of the best in
the RPGA, bar none.

So thank you, and we look forward to seeing many of you at GenCon this year
for what will turn out to be the campaign's finale. I hope that when this
is all over, you will have as many good memories of the campaign as we do.
It has been a great amount of fun to work with you all.

Pax Draconis,
Stephen Mumford and Andrew Christian
Living Dragonstar RPGA Campaign Coordinators
www.livingdragonstar.com

So, I hope this provides some context. (Just FYI, the "additional Core module and a
handful of Starfarers" have yet to see the light of day, AFAIK.)

 

[mcrow]

What is very profitable to one company isn't to another. WoTC's worst selling RPG line likely sells better (I think) than the most every non wotc rpg but will give it the boot because it does not meet their financial standards. they likely would have an Now a small company like FFG may have RPG lines that are just barely prophitable and they still publish the game. I would think that FFG pulls the plug as soon as it appears that that cannot make a profit on the given line.

 

[Ranger REG]

What is very profitable to one company isn't to another. WoTC's worst selling RPG line likely sells better (I think) than the most every non wotc rpg but will give it the boot because it does not meet their financial standards. they likely would have an Now a small company like FFG may have RPG lines that are just barely prophitable and they still publish the game. I would think that FFG pulls the plug as soon as it appears that that cannot make a profit on the given line.

Then they should license it out to anyone who CAN. Let another company do all the work and foot the bills, and FFG can just wait for the monthly royalty checks.

 

[kenobi65]

Not enough sales doesnt seem likely to me as I still own/moderate the DSD20 dragonstar yahoo that has remained active throughout with people who own, play and love the setting..even now all these months since the last release came out. But I cant believe we would still have almost a thousand people on a list still posting daily with regards to a setting they wouldnt buy books for if more were released.

I have to ask -- how many of those thousand subscribers are still actively participating in it? I know I'm a member of quite a few Yahoo groups for various games and Living campaigns that I only read occasionally, at best.

And, even if all 1000 of those subscribers (and more) would buy every DS book that FFG wished to publish, it seems like the issue is whether those sales would make enough money for FFG to make it worthwhile.

 

[Psion]

It might have really helped Dragonstar's acceptance if it hadn't been so late.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

Fantasy Flight Games with regards to the Dragonstar campaign setting.
Recently, due to internal changes of focus and reduced sales of the product,
FFG has decided that they will no longer be supporting the overall
Dragonstar campaign setting.

Y'know... it's possible that internal changes of focus might very well include a general change of interests amongst the authors and/or publishers, as well. They may have simply run out of sufficient inspiration to produce entire books worth of material, or come up with something about which they found themselves considerably more enthusiastic. Dragonstar was a truly inspired development, and I would have loved to see more, but a lot of the inspiration may have been drawn from its novelty, which eventually fades with any product.

I did buy everything that was released for it, and I haven't even gotten around to using it... but it's plenty of material on which to build a campaign, and I intend to. If they never release anything further, I will not mourn the setting as a lost cause... I'll simply remain cognizant of the fact that any further ideas need must be my own. Not a significant enough limitation to denounce the setting.