B5 Licence will not be renewed in 2009

[katadder]

well 8k a year downpayment, 4k of which is just pay, the other 4k covers royalties until you reach 4k then anything over that pay royalties on.

think about it if you got IWM producing minis what amount of money would you get from them under contract? not a lot.
so its just down to books.
before you sell any books you have printing costs.
then after that you have to sell probably at least thousand books (fleet and rules) just to break even.
once everyone has the fleet and rule books what are you going to do the following year to make the same amount?

 

[Foxmeister]

think about it if you got IWM producing minis what amount of money would you get from them under contract? not a lot.

Yes, but that's down the decision to close the foundry, which is not actually relevant to my point. If IWM can make money producing B5 minis, and we can only assume they think they can, Mongoose should've been able to too, but I guess the in-house printing situation made it necessary to drastically reduce costs in order to strengthen the company.

Of course, if I was looking to create my own starship combat game now, complete with a range of minis, I wouldn't shell out £8k a year for a B5 licence because the cost of entry is too high for a declining IP! If I already had said game and minis though, with an active playing community, my decision might be different.

Regards,

Dave

 

[katadder]

IWM can do it due to already having a foundry doing many other lines. B5 on its own is not profitable enough to have its own foundry

 

[Da Boss]

depends if IWM thought there was a viable minatures game at the time they bought up the moulds.......

 

[Foxmeister]

IWM can do it due to already having a foundry doing many other lines. B5 on its own is not profitable enough to have its own foundry

Oh I fully agree! However, at one point Mongoose did have other lines and may do again one day.......

Regards,

Dave

 

[katadder]

IWM can do it due to already having a foundry doing many other lines. B5 on its own is not profitable enough to have its own foundry

Oh I fully agree! However, at one point Mongoose did have other lines and may do again one day.......

Regards,

Dave

true but if they do have other lines it would be better to use a 3rd party foundry that has experienced staff like sgts mess (i think its called that), perry twins or warlord games.

 

[Bostich]

Wow,

jumping in this thread a bit late but still disappointed. I'm glad I have enough fleets and the rules to keep B5:ACTA active at least in my home.

I'm really not sold on ACTA as a system however for generic space games. There's a lot of competition in that space already with games that are a bit more open-ended on the design side (Starmada).

It would have to be a really good license and some wicked 3rd party models for it to be worthwhile.

I do feel a bit sorry for IWM. Having seen the prices they need to charge + a now dead game = for them.

 

[Omnipotent]

What do they mean with that "except to see those new things u want" and point system etc??

Got me confused here...No new rules ever?

Ouh well, I just bought the Dilgar Imperium "book" :lol: found it in a store for 6€, so I couldn´t resist, bought it for the fluff 8)

Guess I woun´t be here much no more :?

 

[Nightmares about Minbari]

I too will be sad to see the end of B5 at Mongoose. Writing for it has provided a me with the odd fleet over the years so it's a sad day!

I'm hoping that they will continue the forum here and will not object to us talking about the old game once it's gone. However they may not have any choice depending on how tight the licence situation will be.

 

[katadder]

Wow,


I'm really not sold on ACTA as a system however for generic space games. There's a lot of competition in that space already with games that are a bit more open-ended on the design side (Starmada).

It would have to be a really good license and some wicked 3rd party models for it to be worthwhile.

I do feel a bit sorry for IWM. Having seen the prices they need to charge + a now dead game = for them.

not going to be generic by sounds of things, possible lisence lined up for next version.

 

[eldiablito]

Considering that the only other sci-fi setting I would even remotely be interested in would be Star Wars, and the odds of that being the license is slim to none, I kinda doubt I will bother unless the new version has a means of building ships to basically reproduce the B5 universe. Sorry to those who like Stargate and BG, I just don't care for those settings and won't be migrating if one or more of them is the chosen backstory. I liked Starship Troopers, but that was much more suited to an infantry game than space combat.

Cheers, Gary

Well put. However, I liked BFG MUCH less than this game. Worse still, I have an honest distaste for the 40k universe.

So, unless the ACTA fixes the priority problems, fixes the entire init sinks that dominate the game today, fixes the trouble with big ships getting hit with a critical hit and rendered useless, ensures that each fleet is actually balanced between each other, AND gives me opportunities to bring out my Vorlons, Minbari, Shadows and/or Vree...

...Honestly, I am not hopeful...

Good bye.

 

[Tolwyn]

IMO there is a large to do liste for Mongoose to make a 3rd Edition worth.

- skip PL Systems
- balance criticals
- better beam system
- ini sink problem
- make larger ships worth
- improve the overall balance of ships
.....

 

[Drahazar]

I really did nto like BFG at all and not many people must have sence no body plays the game at any store I have been too. I like B5 and am sad to see it crashing down again. well I guess ill start playing WH40K epic and the air combat game for it as well as bust out more heavy gear now that my mechs just came it heavy gear is the heat.

 

[katadder]

IMO there is a large to do liste for Mongoose to make a 3rd Edition worth.

- skip PL Systems
being fixed with points
- balance criticals
being changed
- better beam system
- ini sink problem
not sure about this one as even points based games can get swarms
- make larger ships worth
should be due to changes to crit system
- improve the overall balance of ships
should be due to points usage.....

 

[Da Boss]

in sinking - well if bore sight is no longer in the game that problem is reduced massively? If not well TTT (or the ACTA version of same) etc best be a good one

 

[katadder]

thats true.

 

[silashand]

I really did nto like BFG at all and not many people must have sence no body plays the game at any store I have been too.

Actually, I've seen far more BFG games than *ever* B5:ACtA in all the locations I've been to and I still see it played more often even since they dropped the SG idea. If you've been on the BFG forums you'd notice it's quite a bit more active than here actually and has been for as long as I can remember (and I've been playing BFG since it was first released). Note that I'm not saying ACtA doesn't have its adherents, just that in my personal experience BFG is far and away more popular from what I can tell, especially among those players who like GW games like 40K and Epic.

Cheers, Gary

 

[Joe_Dracos]

Well, I feel quite disheartened.

 

[Grunvald]

Actually, I've seen far more BFG games than *ever* B5:ACtA in all the locations I've been to

I'd have to say that it all depends on where you are in the world, on average BFG was pretty much a Flop in the uk, but in the usa it was a storm!

 

[Terrible Tim]

Does this mean all B5 products, both RPG and ACTA will NOT be available next year? :? Should I panic buy everything now?????

How long until they are pulled? First addition RPG will not be sold after Dec 2008.

TT.