[Multiple replies piled into one message.]

Deimos, I believe it's going to be different.  And you should give them the benefit of the doubt.

Your opinion of the motives of the company is being presented as fact when it is nothing but opinion.  Therefore, I will in fact dampen criticism, especially when it's misrepresented as factual.  The only fact other than the fact that three books for the setting have been released is that no one is forcing you to buy anything.

FormCritic, Zagyg is what it is.  For me, it's a "take it or leave it" proposition.  I honestly believe that some of the vaunted history will be lost, especially with Rob Kuntz no longer working on the project.  I feel the same way about Yggsburgh, and haven't purchased Yggsburgh simply because I don't need it.

Deadlord, the majority want the additional books.  As mentioned before, the only complaints regarding the multiple book releases have been on this forum.

Traveller wrote:Deimos, I believe it's going to be different.  And you should give them the benefit of the doubt.

Well, you're entitled to that opinion.  I disagree, for the reasons outlined below, but would be interested in hearing why you think it will be different.  What's so special about TLG?

Your opinion of the motives of the company is being presented as fact when it is nothing but opinion.  Therefore, I will in fact dampen criticism, especially when it's misrepresented as factual.

That's incorrect.  I didn't state anything about their motives, as I'm under no illusions regarding their motives.  As you seem to have failed your saving throw, let's be clear.  Like every other company on the planet, they'd like to make a thing called "profit".  I don't have a problem with that, but don't even try to suggest they're releasing products to save the world or something.

What I said was that their production strategy is a poor one assuming the end-goal of releasing a quality line of products.  Given limited resources, quality and quantity are inversely proportional.  That's not opinion, that's a solid economic fact which applies to everyone, everywhere.

Twenty-four pre-planned supplemental products does not scream an emphasis on quality to me.  Does TLG have enough resources to produce such a large line without quality suffering?  Perhaps they do, but I don't think so.  Larger corporations with far more resources have tried and failed miserably.  If they feel their production strategy is economically feasible with twenty-four products, they will probably be reluctant to throw those presumed sales away, even at the expense of quality.  If they felt otherwise, they wouldn't have planned that many in the first place.

Don't take it personally, seleran.  

This is just a bit of spouting off...because a number of us care about the project.

I know you have had a hand in one of the upcoming publications.  Which one is it?

I have communicated with the TLG personnel...referred them to my earlier review, in fact.

Mark

The silly part about this is that we're all here because we're passionate about Castle Zagyg.

Pissed at the release schedule? 'cause we want to love CZ.
Pissed at those who are pissed at the release schedule? 'cause we want to love CZ.

We all want the same damn thing: to see an awesome CZ in print as soon as possible.

Serleran, being in involved in all the projects, can you speak to the reasoning behind the release schedule at all?

Managing designers, even if nobody flakes out and everyone turns in their material on time, is a HUGE undertaking. Getting writing styles to coordinate and not read like 30 different writers is more of a challenge that some folks think.

Of course, the response to this is to schedule your team enough time to do a thorough development read before the deadline, but that is neither here nor there (and is a luxury most RPG publishers, outside of Wizards, often can't afford).

(Not that this excuses missing deadlines --- I'm just recognizing that there can be many hurdles getting there.)

Regardless, if and when CZ makes it to print, I pray it is high quality. Better no CZ than one that is horribly flawed. That's not the legacy that Gygax deserves to leave.  

What was "Kuntz's decision" ? I'm not in the loop.

All this talk about this project has me excited to get it

FC,

Thank you. I didn't know that.

Wow. What a loss. To have had CZ rendered by BOTH original designers would have been incredible.

Ser,

It's my understanding that both The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror and Dungeonland were originally tied into Castle Greyhawk as interludes to the standard dungeon crawling fare.

Is there a chance that CZ will include portals/references to these classics (insofar as it is legally permissable)?

grodog wrote:Slight correction:  Rob had already formed PPP and published CotSK (at least), when he left the CZ project.  (I think the timing's right on that, would have to double-check if anyone's particularly interested in exact dates ).

correct on that am sure

goatboy wrote:It's my understanding that both The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror and Dungeonland were originally tied into Castle Greyhawk as interludes to the standard dungeon crawling fare.

Is there a chance that CZ will include portals/references to these classics (insofar as it is legally permissable)?

Even if it doesn't, some of us are working to discover and share this info so that it'll be usable by generations of future GH fans  See http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_castle.html

serleran wrote:I cannot divulge specific contents, but from previously publically available ad copies detailing what one could expect of the levels, the deepest ones have portals to all sorts of places.

The originals included many gates to worlds from myth and fiction, including:  Melnibone, Lankhmar, Oz, Barsoom, Asgard, Dying Earth, Wonderland, King Kong's isle (WG6), and many others.