Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending May 31st, 2002

What? No AOG reports in a long time? I don't know what you all are talking about...you must be mistaken. :) Anyway, here's a small amount of news...not a lot, but here you are.

Wars of the Centauri Republic: This has shipped. You can order it by mail order now, or it'll be in stores momentarily. This is a nice-looking book; I like the cover particularly. If you want to see more products like this, let us know and be sure to tell the HRT (address included inside). We're planning at least two follow-up products, Showdowns-8 and Variants-6, to support it.

Raiders & Privateers-2 Playtest Pack: This will be available in a week or two, so I've put out the call for pre-orders. Check our web site and the latest news (which I updated, finally) for more info. Over 70 ships in this pack! I'm not binding it, though, so you'll have 98 loose pages...but of course that'll just make it easier to photocopy, right? (I'd have to charge more than $10 if you wanted it bound, anyway.)

Turning Point/FA2: Development proceeds well...should be out by Origins. If you haven't seen the video, go to our site and check out the new Turning Point page! I'll post some miniatures photos as soon as we have them.

Miniatures: We've shipped most of the FA Dilgar now, except for that pesky Athraskala that just can't seem to make it through the process. The next item on our list is the Pak'ma'ra, shipping in June. In July, we'll be doing a special batch of civilians and Raiders. For a list, see the latest news page. We also plan to release some that we've skipped over these past many months. This list is also on the latest news page. While doing these we will also be releasing Turning Point minis, too. See that page for details.

Contract Work: In case you're in the gaming biz, AOG is always interested in doing contract miniatures work for other companies, or even indivuals who might want a custom figure or their own small line. (In general, though, you need to make a lot, or it'll get real expensive.) Our 3-D printer allows us to print masters cheaper than any sculptor, too. If you've ever wondered what it would take to make some minis for your company, or you've heard of someone looking to do this, have them send me an email and I'll explain the process. Serious inquiries only, please. Thanks! --Agent On

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending March 1st, 2002

Ships of the Fleet II: I was going to report last week that this had shipped, but our print shop delayed it, so it still hasn't gone out to stores. Sorry about that. Everything else on last week's release (see the Stock List page) has shipped and will be in stores on Tuesday. If you placed a mail order for SOTF2 (and anything else at the same time), it will ship the day after the books show up in our warehouse. We apologize for the delay.

Campaign Guide: An extremely early draft of this product has been looked over and passed on to one of our playtest groups, who have started their campaign. We are still not sure if we're going to do a public playtest pack of this product; much depends on what these first viewers have to say about it. I'll keep you posted.

Raiders & Privateers-2: The writers of this book report that a playtest pack is nearly ready. This will be very much like the Wars of the Centauri playtest pack, except instead of 100 copies, we're only going to release 50 of them. Do not order yet; I'll let you know when they're available.

GROPOS Narn Supplement: This is finished and is in final layout. It should be in stores by the end of March.

Wars of the Centauri: This is pushed back to April. I'm still reviewing the material, but it looks like there is far too much stuff here for one book. We're still debating whether to publish the main book with a Showdowns and Variants the following month, or do something like Showdowns-6 where some of the extra material is available for download. We'll see once we know exactly how much excess material there actually is.

Scenario Showdowns: Recent comments on the List and Forums have convinced us to add this product to our upcoming schedule, but it's not going to be called Showdowns. The tentative title is "B5W Scenario Book." The plan is to include a reprint (and update) of scenarios from older products that many of you may not have seen...basically anything from the books that preceded the Compendium (Earth Wars, Showdowns-1, etc.) that you don't want to buy just for the scenarios. That will only be half the product, however. The rest will be new scenarios, in particular those which make good quick pick-up games (like the "Great Sucking Sound" fight between low-tech races). So, if you have any scenarios you want to see, write them up and send 'em to me. (Don't post them on the list or forums or I might miss them.) I'll also take recommendations for updates to already published scenarios, including any that you think are way out of balance and need corrections.

As a final note, be sure to check our web site for the Ship of the Month (sure to be controversial) and the newly available Ship Design Rules for our upcoming Turning Point game. Enjoy! --Agent One

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending January 18th, 2002

Okay, sorry there hasn't been a report lately. Not much is going on that's worthy of reporting, really, just a whole lot of ship editing for SOTF2. I want to briefly mention that tomorrow night is the premiere of the new Babylon 5 movie, LEGEND OF THE RANGERS. Everyone should make sure they watch it. If it is good and successful, it could be very helpful towards keeping interest high in the Babylon 5 franchise. A lot of the things we've been talking about and planning here at AOG will depend on what happens with this show.

However, please do not immediately bombard me after it's over with "When will we see the ship control sheet for this and that new thing that appeared in the movie?" They will NOT be in our current contract, so you will NOT see them any time soon. As we did with Crusade, we will be watching and waiting to see how much interest Legend of the Rangers generates, and if a series follows on its heels. If it does, we'll talk about rolling it into our contract at renewal time, but not until then.

Now on to the report.

Variants-5: This ships to distributors Monday.

Ships of the Fleet-2: This is going to be a CD only. There will be no book. Of course, the CD is what most players want, but we know there will be some people who miss having the handy book on their shelf. Just remember that with the CD, you can print out your own copies at your leisure and make a book of your own, at a far lower cost than we would have to charge you for one! Anyway, you can expect to see a special bonus video on the CD, which will likely be out in mid-February. The disk will contain over 250 ship control sheets encompassing all our products up through and including Showdowns-6. League-2 and later books will not be in this one, but will show up in SOTF3.
(Editor's Note: In answer to questions Agent 1 later stated "the CD will definitely include all the ship descriptions. Probably in both Word and text-only versions.  The cost will probably be $19.99.")

Campaign Guide: I just got a look at an early draft for this thing, and it looks pretty involved. There's a ton of stuff here, probably more than will fit in one product. More than likely, what will happen is we'll do the basic book and follow it up with a Campaign Showdowns or something that provides campaign level units (shipyards, minesweepers, repair vessels, ground bases, etc.) as a companion product. I'm guessing maybe middle of the year for this.

Wars of the Centauri: Regrettably, I have not had time to work on this, but as soon as SOTF2 goes on its merry way, it's the next thing on my list.

Schedule: Shipping this week are the individual Hyach blisters, four new Minbari GROPOS units (Fire Sprite, Talishan, Foltia, and Shard), and Variants-5. Next month is looking something like this, though of course this could change at any time:

BW-123 Ships of the Fleet II CD
FA-2661 Abbai Lakara Cruiser (2)
FA-2662 Abbai Bimith Defender (2)
FA-2663 Abbai Miliani Carrier (2)
FA-2664 Abbai Tiraca Frigate (4)
FA-2665 Abbai Shyarie Jammer Frigate (3)
FA-2666 Abbai Kotha Medium Fighter (18)
FA-2828 Hyach Senchlat Kes Combat Scout (2)
FA-2932 Cascor Norsca Battlecruiser (2)
FA-2933 Cascor Tacacci Strike Frigate (4)
FA-2934 Cascor Qoricc Destroyer (4)
FA-2935 Cascor Calaq Assault Fighters (18)
FA-2936 Cascor Tiqincc Medium Fighters (18)
FA-2937 Cascor Caccar Ultralight Fighters (18)
FA-2938 Cascor Crocti Patrol Carrier (4)
GP-5013 GROPOS Supplement III (Narn)
GP-5109 Earth Magni Heavy Transport (VTOL)
GP-5212 Minbari Star Rider Heavy Assault Tank (1)
GP-5213 Minbari Infantry Pack 2
GP-5304 Narn D'Ka'Sho Main Battle Tank (3)
GP-5306 Narn D'Ka'Tal Self-Propelled Artillery (3)
GP-5307 Narn K'So'Tal Gunship VTOL (2)
GP-5308 Narn K'So'Loth Heavy Lifter VTOL (2)

Man, that's a lot of stuff! I know for sure the Cascor will be out since they are actually already packed up. The Abbai are being sculpted now. I'm not sure about the Senchlat Kes, Tiqincc, or Calaq, which have not yet been made, and the Magni is probably going to be dropped due to lack of interest. I'll let you know more as we get closer to the ship date of February 20. --Agent One

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending December 7th, 2001

Okay, another not all that impressive report...basically all I'm doing is sorting through variants for V5 and collecting errors that need fixing for SOTF2. Oh, and filling mail orders like crazy. Looks like a lot of you are doing your Christmas shopping online this year. If we get your order by the 19th (14th for overseas & Canada), we should be able to get it to you by Christmas, assuming the post office doesn't get completely snowed under.

Variants-5: This is the only thing I really have to report on. I have slogged through the 45 or so different sets of submissions and pulled out the following concepts. These can be considered having passed through the first gate; anything not listed didn't make it for one reason or another (sorry about that).

Hyach Okath Kur Escort
Ipsha Vibrahex (Battlehex)
Torata Taclon escort (Atlac)
Hurr Torkoth Fast Frigate (Orak)
Torata Dartoc Strike Cruiser (Golthar)
Grome Gralac Carrier (Groth)
Ipsha Essan Warsphere
Ipsha Oer Carrier Hex
Kor-Lyan Vandraar Bomber (Vaklar)
Cascor Drocca Torpedo Destroyer, as per SOTM
Ipsha Escorthex
Torata Goltana Fast Carrier (Golthar)
Torata Sarakand Light Cruiser (new hull)
Hurr Orano Escort (Orak)
Hyach Irokai Tal Frontal Assault Cruiser
Hyach Irokai Kam (old version)
Kor-Lyan Kolosk Proximity Cruiser (Koskova)
Kor-Lyan Lekra Torpedo Frigate (Cokra)
Kor-Lyan Verloka Mine Cruiser (Koskova)
Hyach Irokai Kon Battle Carrier
Kor-Lyan Fenja Assault Leader (Cokra)
Cascor Nesacc Explorer (Norsca)
Ipsha Tetraescort
Cascor Norscator Gunship (Norsca)
Hurr Brocada Gunship (Boroca)
Grome Adrina War Escort (Mogorta)
Hyach Alichi Tal Infiltrator
Hyach Doskva Stealth Fighter
Hurr Dorono Support Frigate (Orak)
Cascor Nashaq Fleet Carrier (Norsca)
Hyach Senkala Kav Stealth Carrier (new hull)
Hyach Senchlat Kir Experimental Scout
Kor-Lyan Tryklan Mine Destroyer (Solyrn)
Ipsha Battlescout (Battlehex)
Torata Ghalitor Strike Cruiser (Golthar)
Cascor Ticcaq Strike Fighter (Tiqincc)
Hurr Martus Tech Frigate (Orak)
Cascor Caltus Torpedo Fighter (Calaq)

This list is not all encompassing. I may have left a couple of ships off that will wind up in final book, and also, some of the above will wind up being deleted or changed by the time the project is through. A couple of new breaching pods and assault shuttles will make their appearance, such as the Hyach Achilat breaching pod, which goes on the Alichi Tal stealth infiltrator. There are also a couple of new rules that will be included, such as a better explanation of one of the Ipsha baronies, and the specialized Cascor EFS (Electronic Flight Support) ELINT system. I expect to have this product finished within two weeks, so I will give a more complete list at that time.

Next Release: As I said last time, next release will include the FA Cronos, Apollo, and Delphi, four new Support Squadron boxes, the Drazi and Brakiri squadron box, and the Minbari Windsword Heavy Tank. These are scheduled to ship to distributors on Wednesday, so that they will be in stores by the 19th and you will have at least a fighting chance of getting them in your hands for use as Christmas presents. If at all possible, please get these from your store, but if you really want one or another of these items and know your store won't have them or have no other way to get them, keep your eye on our mail order site. I expect to post them for sale sometime next week. If truly desperate, contact me by email and I will see to it that you have them for the big holiday. One way or another, I'm sure we can make it happen.

That's all for now. --A1

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending November 21st, 2001

Showdowns-7, Variants-4 and Gropos-2: These books arrived from the printer this afternoon and within two hours had been shipped to distributors. You should see them in stores beginning next week.

Ships of the Fleet-2: Layout is done; the ship descriptions section takes up about 86 pages. I'm going to put the index in the very back of the book this time, instead of between the ship descriptions and the control sheets, so you can find it more easily. Another change: I'm not going to alter the version numbers on the SCSs unless something changed on the sheet. That way, you can tell easily enough if a ship has undergone any changes since its original publication. As of now, no ships have been altered. I'm still collecting error submissions and sometime around the end of the month will go through and fix everything that needs it, and that will be that.

Variants-5: I have 19 submissions to date, though I suspect more will come in as people continue to get their hands on League-2. Remember, you have until the end of the month to get me your ideas. The absolute best idea I see will wind up as December's Ship of the Month (in addition to going in the book).

The AOG Schedule: Periodically I like to post updates on our projected schedule in this report. Keep in mind that the schedule is subject to change (except for the stuff that just shipped, obviously).

NOVEMBER: All of these items shipped today and should be in stores late next week.
BW-116 Showdowns-7 (League-2 scenarios & ships)
BW-160 Variants-4 (Variants for Everyone)
SN-1013 Snarfquest Expansion 3 (10 Packs)
FA-2950 Cascor Squadron Box
GP-5012 GROPOS Supplement II (Minbari)
GP-5022 Minbari Data Cards
GP-5204 Minbari Shyriech MBT
GP-5206 Minbari Falsin Artillery
GP-5208 Minbari Tal'horcon Air Def Artillery
GP-5118 Earth Armored Cavalry Company

DECEMBER: Scheduled to ship 12 December, in stores a week before Christmas.
FA-2119 Earth Cronos Attack Frigate
FA-2120 Earth Delphi Advanced Scout
FA-2121 Earth Apollo Bombardment Cruiser
FA-2152 Earth Support Squadron Box
FA-2251 Minbari Support Squadron Box
FA-2351 Narn Support Squadron Box
FA-2451 Centauri Support Squadron Box
FA-2650 Drazi Squadron Box
FA-2651 Brakiri Squadron Box
GP-5109 Earth Magni Heavy Transport (VTOL)
GP-5207 Minbari Windsword Heavy Tank

JANUARY: Scheduled to ship January 21, in stores a week later.
BW-123 Ships of the Fleet II
BW-161 Variants-5 (League-2)
FA-2652 Abbai Squadron Box
FA-2826 Hyach Urutha Kal Dreadnought (1)
FA-2827 Hyach Irokai Kam Battlecruiser (2)
FA-2828 Hyach Senchlat Kes Combat Scout (2)
FA-2829 Hyach Okath Kat Fast Frigate (4)
FA-2830 Hyach Alichi Kav Heavy Sub (3)
FA-2831 Hyach Dartha Medium Fighters (18)
FA-2832 Hyach Tachila Kor Scout Carrier (2)
SN-1014 Snarfquest Expansion 4 (10 Packs)
SN-1009 Snarfquest Miniatures Pack (9 minis)
GP-5209 Minbari Fire Sprite Fast Transport/Scout (3)
GP-5210 Minbari Foltia Armored Vehicle (3)
GP-5211 Minbari Shard Infantry Fighting Vehicle (3)
GP-5212 Minbari Star Rider Heavy Assault Tank (1)
GP-5213 Minbari Infantry Pack 2
GP-5214 Minbari Talishan Heavy Infantry Transport (3)
GP-5215 Minbari Armor Company
GP-5216 Minbari Mech Infantry Company

FEBRUARY: All I will do is project possibilities for this month. It's looking like this is where we'll see Wars of the Centauri Republic, the FA Dilgar Squadron Box, Cascor individual blisters, the GROPOS Narn supplement, a GROPOS scenario book, and GROPOS narn minis. There could also be another Showdowns between now and then, some Fleet Action bases, and maybe even a new card game. We shall see. --Agent One

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending November 2nd, 2001

Web Site: OK, the ship of the month is up, and there are some cool deals available on the Package Deals page of the mail order section. Also, for those of you waiting for the Descari ships from the Showdowns-6 bonus material, those are now available on the S6 page as well.

Showdowns-7 and Variants-4: These went to press earlier this week and should be in stores by the end of the month. In a recent update, I posted a list of the contents of Showdowns-7, but a couple of units had not been designed yet. These are as follows: Kor-Lyan Raklavi Carrier (they only operate dedicated carriers because of the nature of their pilots, so they had no carriers in L2), Torata Colotnar Defense Base, Grome Mahkgar Starbase, and Hurr Roskor Command Post.
Note that the range of targeting arrays on a stabilized platform is tripled; otherwise Grome defenses would suck beyond measure.

GROPOS Minbari Supplement: This also went to press this week. The Minbari Windsword Heavy Assault Tank is going to knock your socks off.

Ships of the Fleet II: Throughout the next couple of months I'm going to be working on this compilation, going through each ship and checking them for errors and updates. The books that will be included in SOTF2 are as follows: Dilgar War, Raiders & Privateers, Showdowns-3, Showdowns-4, Showdowns-5, Showdowns-6, Variants-3, and Wars of the Ancients (the line was drawn just before League-2 because it makes no sense to include that book without all the ships from S7 and V5, which would add 100+ more units). That's over 250 ships, so it will be the same size as SOTF1, and will include the usual CD. Anyway, the point is, if you know of ANY mistakes or problems with any of these ships, I would appreciate an email with a report. I don't care how obvious the error might appear, it's best to mention it just to make sure we fix it. The objective is perfection; I don't want any mistakes on ANY of the sheets in SOTF2! So, send in your reports and I'll make the corrections. Thanks!

Variants-5: Okay, with the release of League-2 it is now time to begin the process of collecting variants for this book. As usual, I'm going to list some rules for this project, and they you can get down to designing ships. If you do not follow these rules, your submission will be rejected. Every time we do one of these projects, there are people who don't bother reading the rules and then complain later when I ignore their ships. However, with well over 100 players participating in the last project, I simply won't have time to sort through everything unless they are done in a standardized manner. So there. :) Anyway...
1. All units submitted must be based on one of the hulls in League-2. You cannot use the L2 Playtest Pack, but must have the actual product itself to make sure your versions match ours. Ships from other products will not be accepted. Only Hyach, Cascor, Ipsha, Kor-Lyan, Torata, Grome, and Hurr variants will be accepted.
2. Anyone reading this can participate. However, you can submit no more than three variants. If you submit more, I will only look at the first three you send in. The three submissions do not need to be from the same race.
3. DO NOT SUBMIT COMPLETED CONTROL SHEETS. Send ONLY a text description of the changes needed to make your variant. In Variants-4, I had to redo virtually every sheet for the final book, and it was extremely difficult to tell what details had changed by looking at the submitted SCSs. Having a complete list of changes is much easier for everyone involved.
4. Try to submit variants only. While it is possible that we will accept a brand new hull if you have a really cool idea, your chances of success are slim.
5. Do not create new weapons or rules if you can avoid it. Again, these might be accepted if they have a high coolness factor, but probably won't make the cut, because they take up extra space that would be put to better use for another ship.
6. Include your real name with your submission. If I do not have your real name, I will not be able to use your design. "Handles" and nicknames are not acceptable.
7. Write a description for your ship (in addition to the changes required to make one), but keep it brief. You can look at any Variants book to see how long a description we want. Really long descriptions will be trimmed as we see fit. It helps a LOT if your description is in grammatically correct English. Submissions in Klingonese will be automatically rejected.
8. What we do not need: In Showdowns-7 we include bases and satellites for every race in L2, so don't bother submitting anything like that. We also do not want cargo ships (these would be better off in Raiders-2), campaign type ships that would go in the Campaign Guide (like minesweepers, repair ships, tenders, tugs, supply ships, etc.), foreign tech ships (except for similar tech, e.g., the Hyach might use another kind of laser, but would not use missiles), uberships, conjectural ships, or joke ships. Also, the Kor-Lyans do not use carrier variants, and the Ipsha do not have breaching pods; any suggestions along these lines will not be considered.
9: MOST IMPORTANT: Submit your designs to me, agent1@agentsofgaming.com, in a private email, as plain text that is part of your message (not an attached file), with the subject "VARIANTS-5 SUBMISSION" so I can figure out what it is at a glance. This is not a secret project, so you can feel free to propose ships on the Forums or the List, but nothing is considered "submitted" until you email it to me. I'm not going to hunt through the Forums or back List digests looking for submissions. In the unlikely event you cannot reach me through email for whatever reason, you can send a printed submission to: AOG, PO Box 31571, Dayton OH 45437-0571, as long as you obey all the other rules of the project.
10: All submissions are due by 30 November.
That's all for now. Grab your copies of L2 and design away! --A1

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending October 26th, 2001

Variants-4: The selection process is complete and the product is in final edit. Here are the ships you can expect to see in this product:

Abbai Nakarsa Command Cruiser
Abbai Wimuk Light Fighter
Alacan Atica Command Cruiser
Balosian Athasa Scout
Brakiri Halos Heavy Scout
Brakiri Tashkava Advanced Lance Cruiser
Brakiri Torsha Scout Carrier
Centauri Altaron Destroyer
Centauri Lupa Attack Boats
Centauri Primar Command Cruiser
Corillani Llartol Assault Cruiser
Corillani Vaconi Strike Cruiser
Descari Scorava Laser Cruiser
Dilgar Garasoch-D Command Carrier
Dilgar Targath-C Attack Cruiser
Drazi Firefalcon Command Cruiser
Drazi Taileagle Escort Frigate
Earth Alliance Hyperion Patrol Cruiser (Eta Model)
Earth Alliance Tantalus Assault Transport (Alpha Model)
Earth Alliance Upgraded Orion Starbase (Epsilon Model)
Gaim Kuan Frigate
Gaim Tiros Cruiser
Llort Turgon Bolt Cruiser
Markab Makar Defense Satellites
Markab Shofab Command Cruiser
Minbari Shaveen Police Leader
Minbari Tigarin Patrol Cruiser
Minbari Trolata Armored Cruiser
Narn D'Tarn Light Gunboats
Narn Ka'Tan Pulse Destroyer
Narn Va'Kar Long-Range Scout
Pak'ma'ra Pa'da'shar Troop Liner
Pak'ma'ra Pshul'tau Heavy Carrier
Raider Assault Sloop
Shadow Strike Destroyer
Vorlon Asteroid Defense Grid
Vree Tyllz Sector Trading Post
Vree Xavan Gun Saucer

That's 38 ships, the most we've ever been able to stuff into a Variants book. At least one ship is included for every race of significance we've published so far, not counting the Ancients, civilians, Belt Alliance, independent Raider groups, Streib, or anything in League-2. No race got more than three ships. I would like to thank everyone involved with the online Variants-4 project for helping with this, and you can expect us to be starting another Variants submission task in the next couple of weeks once everyone has had a chance to look over League-2.

League-2: And speaking of League-2, it shipped to distributors this past week so you should be seeing it in your stores just about now.

Web site: I just got finished updating the web site so you can order our latest release online. Be sure to check out the new Package Deals page if you want to grab a ton of stuff to give out as Christmas presents!

Many books: We're sending not one, not two, but three books to press next week (Variants-4, Showdowns-7, and GROPOS Minbari). That way you'll have plenty of choices for the Christmas buying frenzy. We are hoping these books get to stores in time for the Great Post-Thanksgiving Shopping Day. I'll keep you posted on that.

Fleet Action: Recently, I posted on the Fleet Action forum that FA version 1 was effectively dead with the arrival of FA2. This is in fact incorrect, and was based on the wrong impression I'd received from some conversations internally at AOG. The truth of the matter is that FA1 will continue to be a stand-alone, functional game, and will be supported with rules, ships and miniatures for the foreseeable future. Ships and rules will continue to be posted online, in much the same was as the Abbai and Pak'ma'ra have been in the past months, and additional features for FA1 will be added as we go. There will be no cessation of the miniatures (indeed, FA scale miniatures will become the standard for the Babylon 5 Wars line of products). Furthermore, all FA1 products will still be available through stores, distributors, and online sales. While it is true that there will be no more published books for FA1, that will be the only effect FA2 has on the FA1 line. FLEET ACTION IS NOT DEAD! "FA2," or FA Turning Point, will be a standalone game that uses the same scale miniatures as FA1. Turning Point, however, is not based in the B5Universe. I apologize for any confusion and misinformation created by my post. Please pass this explanation along to anyone who may have heard my original comments. --Agent One

Highlights of the AOG Report - Week Ending October 19th, 2001

Announcements: AOG fans were surprised this week by two announcements from us. The first, in the Babcom newsletter (which you really should read, as it totally rocks), is that we will be doing Fleet Action 2 early next year. The second is that we have stopped manufacturing new large-scale minis and will concentrate on FA-scale from now on. You can read more about this over at the Forums, but let me just answer a couple of common questions:

Q: Does this mean B5W is dead?
A: Absolutely not. We will continue to do books, and FA-scale miniatures will become the standard minis for B5W play. The vast majority of players had already moved to FA-scale, which was one of the reasons we made the switch.

Q: Are you never going to make another large mini?
A: Not any new ones, but we intend to continue making the existing minis for as long as there is demand. We already have the molds, and can spin up new ones as orders come in.

Q: If I want a ship in big scale really badly, is there any way I can arrange it?
A: If you don't mind the cost, sure. Your best bet is to get a bunch of people to go in on the deal and get us the 3-D model so we can print out a master. I mentioned how this might be done and what it would cost in the Announcements forum for last period. If you have any questions about the process, simply email me.

Q: Since you're moving away from B5, does that mean you're losing or have lost the WB contract?
A: No, we still have it, and intend to continue using it as long as it makes good business sense to do so. Virtually every other company with a B5 license has dropped or lost it, but we still have ours. We shall let this fact speak for itself.

Q: Are you planning a third edition of B5?
A: No. Period. No third edition. The only thing that would make us even consider it is if the new show really takes off, and adds or changes a lot of things that impact the game. Even so, that would be three or four years away. A third edition now would kill all interest in B5W beyond any hope of recovery.

Q: What will the second edition of FA be like?
A: All I can say about it now is in the Babcom newsletter announcement. It would be premature to announce any descriptions of the game mechanics before they are ready.

Q: Will there be a playtest pack for FA2?
A: We intend to do an online playtest with downloadable rules, but I have no idea when that will be available, so don't ask. Don't bother sending in requests to join the playtesting. When it's ready, it'll be posted to the site and anyone who wants to check it out will be able to do so.

Any further questions on either of these issues should be posted to B5WQA or to the Forums. Please do not inundate me with questions, and do not ask anything without checking out the Babcom newsletter and the Announcements and Fleet Action forums first to make sure your question has been already answered elsewhere. Thanks!

League-2: It's back from the printer and some of them have already shipped to distributors. You shall have it in your greedy hands sometime around a week from Monday. It will be available for mail order later that same week.

Showdowns-7: In the last two weeks, this product has been written from scratch. Here are the tentative contents:

New Rules & Systems
New Hyach Specialists (Reinforcement, Salvo, Stealth)
Cascor Ion Field Generator
Kor-Lyan Homing Missile
Kor-Lyan Starbase-Mounted Limpet-Bore Torpedo
Torata Pulse Accelerator
Grome Special Railgun Shells (Flash, Scatter, Heavy, Black)

Race-Specific Elite Officers
Expert Geneticist (Dilgar)
Expert Scavenger (Descari)
Breaching Expert (Balosian)
Expert Observer (Llort)
Expert Entertainer (Corillani)
Expert Laser Technician (Hyach)
Expert Software Analyst (Hyach)
Expert Ion Technician (Cascor)
Expert Tailgunner (Cascor)
Expert Surge Officer (Ipsha)
Expert Ballistics Officer (Kor-Lyan)
Expert Anticipator (Torata)
Matter Weapons Expert (Grome)
Expert Gunner (Yolu)
Low Crew Training (Alacan, Mitoc, etc.)

New Ships & Units
Hyach Irokai Kar Strike Cruiser
Senchlat Kam Light Cruiser
Evirol Tek Logistics Cruiser
Utara Tor Stellar Fortress
Takalti Kam OSAT
Takalti Kal Heavy OSAT
Hyach Mines
Cascor Qoccata Supercarrier
Coqari Scout
Traqintor Waystation
Ruqacc Ion Satellite
Cascor Mines
Ipsha Scout Wheel
Ring Base
Starsphere OSAT
Ipsha Mines
Kor-Lyan Raklavi Carrier
Taloki Starbase
Kalavar OSAT
Kor-Lyan Mines
Torata base to be named later
Torata Tumal OSAT
Torata Mines
Grome base to be named later
Grome Gormok OSAT
Grome Mines
Hurr base to be named later
Hurr Missile Satellite
Hurr Mines

The Yolu
Molecular Disruptor
Light Molecular Disruptor
Destabilizer Beam
Fusion Agitator
Molecular Flayer

Starships & Fighters
Ulana Patrol Cruiser
Aluin Gunship
Yuan Dreadnought
Maltra Scout
Notali Carrier
Maitau Pursuit Frigate
Utan Heavy Fighter
Yonor Breaching Pod

Scenarios
The Evacuation of Yonog (Hyach/Dilgar)
Shot in the Dark (Hyach/Dilgar)
Face-Off at Elitria (Ipsha/Dilgar)
Get the Carriers! (Cascor/Dilgar)
Bombing Gone Sour (Cascor/Dilgar)
Surprise Allies (Drazi/Hurr/Dilgar)
Meet the Elite (Dilgar/Kor-Lyans)
Blood Strike (Torata/Dilgar)
Uninvited Guests (Hurr/Vree/Grome/Raider/Drazi/Centauri)
Three or four more scenarios yet to be written (these will not involve the Dilgar)

I'm not sure all this stuff is going to fit in this one Showdowns book, but we will see. It should go to press by the end of October.

Variants-4: No decision has been made on any of the ships. I have them all, and will be reviewing them over the weekend and next week. The final draft will be ready by next weekend and we'll make our selections then. There is no reason this book should not go to press at the same time as S7.

GROPOS Minbari Supplement: The final draft of this book has been delivered to the editor. This, too, will go to press at the end of the month. Wow, three books in one month! Of course, November is the big pre-Christmas month so we want everyone to have as many Christmas buying options as we can.

Miniatures: Shipping this week:
Hyach Squadron Box
Shadow/Vorlon Squadron Box
GROPOS Earth Uller, Hel, Modi, Frey
GROPOS Mech Infantry, Armor, and Air Cav company packs

See you next time. --A1