Being the holiday weekend, we’re going to try to keep this Press Release short with the latest news and fun stuff. Check out Murmurs from the Megaverse® for additional commentary by Kevin Siembieda and others over the weekend, and listen to the Gateway to the Megaverse® Live Podcast on September first to hear Kevin Siembieda talk about game design. Oh, and watch for a series of September Sale Spectaculars starting next weekend. All sales will be cool, weird or mind-blowing and only last from Friday evening to midnight Sunday.
We’re always taking a pile of photos, but only a handful ever seem to get posted online. A lot of people, especially those who know we’re sitting on a pile of cool photos, regularly grumble to us that we need to post them for general fun and enjoyment.
Well, Thomas Bartold and Wayne Smith decided to address that problem, at least in part, by whipping up an expansive photo gallery from the 2006 and 2007 Palladium Open House. That’s something like 294 photographs! Wayne has tried to give most some kind of caption or identification of the people depicted.
This being the end of the 2008 convention season and with the 2009 Palladium Open House coming up on us fast (April 30, May 1, 2 & 3, 2009), we thought it would be fun to put the past Open House photos up for your viewing enjoyment. Hope to see many of you at the 2009 Open House. Open House photos: http://openhouse.palladium-megaverse.com/photos/
To order Open House tickets, click here: Weekend - Friday - Saturday - Sunday
Since Matthew Daye started Gateway to the Megaverse®, a large number of people have thanked us for doing the show (most of that thanks must go to Matthew Daye) and especially for the episodes on writing. This past Gen Con, several independent Game Designers mentioned how much they enjoyed listening to such shows, how it gives them food for thought and inspires them, and how they wished there was one or more specifically on game design. As soon as Kevin got home from Gen Con, he emailed Matthew to say he’d like to do a show on “game design” – i.e. the elements and thought process of game mechanics and packaging, not the craft of writing.
Monday, September 1, 2008, at 6 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, Kevin Siembieda will engage in a Gateway to the Megaverse®live chat about game design. This will be a minimum of two hours, with talk about game theory, concept development, marketing, packaging, play testing, etc. Kevin and Matthew encourage listeners and fans with the dream of designing their own role-playing games to call in with questions or send in email questions about any aspects of RPG game design. This can be an expansive subject, so we’ll try to cover as much as possible in the 2-3 hours allotted. If there are a lot of questions remaining or more material to cover, we’ll do another show in the future. Note: As always, this show will be available as a Gateway to the Megaverse®download that can be listened to anytime.
Palladium’s schedule was shaken up a bit when publisher Kevin Siembieda came down hard with a respiratory infection shortly after returning from Gen Con. The bug knocked him out for most of the last two weeks, and even when he came to work, he was sluggish and hindered by a nagging cough and low-grade fever.
We’re glad to report Kevin is finally feeling much better (90%) and plans to work through the holiday weekend to get caught up on work. Despite his absence, work on all projects currently in the pipeline continued. If there are any delays, it will only be a week or two. We are committed to getting new books out this Fall as promised. And like you, we want them NOW!
Although Kevin’s editing and writing on this book has been delayed the last two weeks, Jason Marker picked up the slack to work on other parts of the book. Meanwhile, the cover and interior art is completely done and has all been approved.
“I’m working Friday through Monday exclusively on Macross,” Kevin Siembieda told his staff. That means there should be scads of finished text to send to Harmony Gold for approval starting Tuesday, next week. We were just glad Kevin didn’t ask the rest of us to spend our holiday weekend at work. Whew.
Depending on how quickly approvals come in from Harmony Gold, the Robotech® Macross Saga Sourcebook could still be released by the end of September. Any delays should only be a week or two.
The Macross Saga sourcebook is almost done! The mecha, vehicles, weapons and characters that made Robotech® famous. Giant mecha, alien invaders, heroes, villains and fun. Looking fantastic.
All of Palladium’s artists have been busy working on the entirely new art for The Masters Saga sourcebook. Everything is moving along nicely on that front.
Never before revealed mecha designs, stats and information about Earth’s fighting forces and the invading Robotech Masters. Artwork has been assigned and writing is half done.
The cover, new art, additional writing/text and final edit are underway on what we think you will find to be the ultimate zombie book . . . Palladium style! Pre-orders can be placed starting now.
Dead Reign™ is a game of survival, rescue and revenge. Player characters are both the hunted and the hunters as they battle the creeping doom that is the living dead and pray for salvation.
If you haven’t gotten the Rifts® anthology book yet, you may want to give it a try. After only reading half the book, podcast host Matthew Daye wrote in an email:
“I have an addendum to Julius' comment about it being required reading for the ‘Burbs. It should be required reading for anything in North America. The story I was just talking about (Love and Remembrance) had enough insight on Rifts history to make it a great read for people wanting the feel of Rifts.”
Juicers, Cyber-Snatchers, Combat Cyborgs, Dead Boys, Dog Boys, Erin Tarn, Chi-Town, the ‘Burbs, parents, siblings, bartenders, comedians, monsters, dark magic, tragic endings, happy endings, and new beginnings are some of the things you’ll read about in this collection of new and original Rifts® short stories created special for this book. Each written by one of Palladium’s premiere writers.
The Deluxe Hardcover Edition has been completely redone and laid out as if it were a new title. It is filled with additional artwork throughout, offers superior reproduction of toned artwork, better paper stock, larger type-face, and some additional text, including two Haydonite spaceships, three UEEF ships, space combat rules and a handful of additional vehicles.
The 8½ x 11, Collector’s “Gold” Hardcover Edition of Robotech® looks fantastic! Kevin Siembieda has personally glued in all of the signed and numbered, color signature sheets himself. The cover is rich, classy and impressive. Everyone who has seen it, wants one!
The Rifter® #43 – Swimsuit & Wujcik Tribute Issue – Available now.
Rifts® Anthology: Tales of the Chi-Town ‘Burbs™ – Available now.
Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG “Manga Edition” – Available now.
Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG “Deluxe Hardcover” – Available now.
Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® RPG “Gold” Edition” – Available now.
Robotech® The Macross Saga™ Sourcebook – September or October
Robotech® The Masters Saga™ Sourcebook – October
Dead Reign™ (Zombie) RPG – October
The Rifter® #44 – Monster Extravaganza – October
Rifts® Dimension Book™ 11: Dyval™, Hell Unleashed (Minion War™) – Fall
Rifts® Dimension Book™ 12: Dimensional Outbreak™ (Minion War™) – Fall
Rifts® Heroes of the Megaverse® (Minion War™) – Fall
Heroes Unlimited™/Rifts®: Armageddon Unlimited™ (Minion War™) – Fall or Winter
Mysteries of Magic™ – Fall or Winter
Nightbane® sourcebook – Fall or Winter
Rifts® Megaverse® in Flames™ – Winter
And More . . .
© Copyright 2008 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
This press release may be reprinted, reposted, linked and shared for the sole purpose of advertising, promotion and sales solicitation.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited, Beyond the Supernatural, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.