Re: Supplement publication idea

> Date: 	 Tue, 2 Sep 1997 09:58:16 -0400
> From: 	 Joachim Heck - SunSoft <jheck@East.Sun.COM>
> To:		 FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk
> Subject:	 Supplement publication idea
> Reply-to:	 FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk

> njp@cyberramp.net writes:
> 
snip snip -- rules for submission -- snip snip
> 
>   Joh has already spoken about this issue and seems to be fairly
> well-disposed to it, so my criticism of this idea should be read with
> that in mind.  I think the idea is good but possibly inappropriate.
> I would expect two problems:
> 
>   First - what Jon has already mentioned - the submissions will tend
> not to fit well into the game universe, or perhaps more importantly
> into the game system.  By the universe I mean the various human fleets
> and the Kra'Vak and Sa'Vasku, their fleets, weapons and other systems.
> It is not difficult to invent weapons, systems or vehicles that don't
> make sense for any of these groups.  By system I mean not just the
> rules of FT (or the other games) but the spirit of those rules which
> specifies that they will remain as general and flexible as possible.

We could produce scenario packets that add specific rules to tailor 
the system(s) to a certain gendre or universe. 

> It is very easy to produce a non-general system; we see it all the
> time as list members post "lasers" rather than "beams".

We could clean up problems like that with writers' guidelines.
 
>   Second - the process is designed to handle out-of-place submissions
> such as those described above.  I would expect a large number of
> submissions to be rejected as happens in any editorial process.  

The process could also reveal something none of us have yet thought 
about, that could be very compelling.

What
> worries me is that some of these rejected submissions may take on a
> life of their own and become generally used, or possibly even
> developed into products.  On second thought, though, perhaps this is
> less a problem and more an opportunity for expansion.
> 
> -joachim

Right now we have no submissions folks.  Many people want to write 
for Jon, but without a clear policy statement they have no idea what Jon

wants and what he will accept.

KR, Geo-Hex