Is High Programmer/White Wash going to ship in February?

[Cyrai]

It was originally going to ship in December. At the very beginning of October, you said that you were still on track for a December release. When Internal Security was delayed and pushed back from October to November, High Programmer was pushed back to January. It was completely around January 8th, at which point it was sent off for approval.

That was the end of all the official information, as far as I've been able to find. Come the end of January, when High Programmer hadn't shipped for some completely unknown reason, danforth apparently managed to get someone to say that Mongoose was aiming for the middle of February. The middle of Februrary has come and gone. The third quarter of February ended on Sunday.

Should I expect High Programmer in the last quarter of February? The first half of March? By the end of summer? At a point in 2010 at all? Pardon me if I'm being overly rude, but what is your eternal difficulty with shipping something by the end of the month you said you'll ship it in? Intsec was printer and/or approval issues; did you decide to use the same printer that screwed up Intsec for High Programmer as well? If you're just optimistically underestimating how long it will take, why don't you just add yourself a month or two as a buffer for when you run into problems?

 

[Danforth]

Aye, the High Programmer delays sure have been annoying. But here's an update from the company blog, posted on the 12th Feb:

"High Programmers/White Washes: Approval took much longer on this title than expected, but it is now all cleared and has been at print for some time - we'll likely be getting our copies towards the end of this month, but it will probably lap round into early March before it appears on shop shelves (worth waiting for though - this is a good 'un!)."

"Approval" meaning Eric Goldberg and Greg Costikyan, the originators of / rights holders for Paranoia, have allowed the book to go to print. I'm guessing those of us who have pre-orders *might* see them later this month.

More generally, Matt Sprange has said elsewhere (possibly elsewhere on the company blog) that they're adding a month on to each book dev schedule slot, hopefully meaning more realistic publication dates as opposed to, erm, enthusiastic ones that get missed

 

[The Talking Yogurt]

More generally, Matt Sprange has said elsewhere (possibly elsewhere on the company blog) that they're adding a month on to each book dev schedule slot, hopefully meaning more realistic publication dates as opposed to, erm, enthusiastic ones that get missed

Good strategy, it is what I usually tell people new to their job and/or who have had a job handed to them without enough preparation/resources :

“You're telling me it'd take you a month to do it ? Take two months but have it READY TO SHIP by the deadline.”

 

[Danforth]

Ah well, no February shipment! While it's been a frustrating wait of many months for High Programmers, I do my best to take a relaxed view of such delays. I could of course work up a massive storm of fury about it... but it would achieve the square root of bugger all.

Hoping that Eric and Greg have been taking a lot of interest in the book... as opposed to, it sat in their In tray while they went on Caribbean cruises / cross country skied across Norway / circumnavigated the globe on a modified Segway.

Mongoose staff: Any more wild speculation on delivery dates?

 

[MongooseMatt]

Mongoose staff: Any more wild speculation on delivery dates?

On its way to our warehouse right now, so imminent!

 

[Eric Goldberg]

Ah well, no February shipment! While it's been a frustrating wait of many months for High Programmers, I do my best to take a relaxed view of such delays. I could of course work up a massive storm of fury about it... but it would achieve the square root of bugger all.

Hoping that Eric and Greg have been taking a lot of interest in the book... as opposed to, it sat in their In tray while they went on Caribbean cruises / cross country skied across Norway / circumnavigated the globe on a modified Segway.

Danforth and friends: Please rest assured that Greg and I took a great deal of interest in "High Programmers", as we do for any core rulebook for Paranoia. We did require nearly the full approval period agreed with Mongoose to supply Mongoose with final comments, and we very much regret exacerbating your impatience to see the published volume.

In re your speculations about how we otherwise might have spent our time: I've never been to the Caribbean or to Norway, and the Segway remains in the shop. :wink:

Many thanks for your continued and strong interest in Paranoia. In the meantime, pleased decide amongst yourselves how many treason points our deliberate actions merit...

 

[The Talking Yogurt]

Thanks for being thorough, Eric !

I think Shane Ivey, project manager for Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (another long-awaited book) made a very good comment regarding late titles :

In a different kind of publishing house, we could play hardball with everybody and say something like "Give me the final manuscript in 60 days or I'll get somebody else to write it." But this is Delta Green. We can't just pull in a stringer to replace a writer whose day job interferes with production. We use very specific writers for very specific reasons.

And I personally feel a great responsibility as project manager to NOT turn out substandard material, even if it takes way too long, because the standard was set so very high under John Tynes' leadership 10 years ago. I *really* do not want to become the guy who steered Delta Green into mediocrity. So, in that great tradition of Delta Green -- I'm not the only one around here who waited on pins and needles from 1993 to 1997 for the first DG book to finally arrive -- we'd rather release an AWESOME book that's a year late than a mediocre one that's on time.

High Programmers is the latest offspring of a highly respected game line, and it aims high. Maybe we should take a step back and think about what we want, quality or immediacy ?

It's just a (very, very good) GAME, folks. Be patient.

 

[lastbesthope]

Mongoose staff: Any more wild speculation on delivery dates?

On its way to our warehouse right now, so imminent!

So when can I stop by the offices to pick up my preordered copy?

Are Saturdays OK?

LBH

 

[Danforth]

Danforth and friends: Please rest assured that Greg and I took a great deal of interest in "High Programmers", as we do for any core rulebook for Paranoia. We did require nearly the full approval period agreed with Mongoose to supply Mongoose with final comments, and we very much regret exacerbating your impatience to see the published volume.

Many thanks for stopping by, Eric. I remember the late 2nd edition / 5th edition descent into foolish parody, so it's reassuring to be reminded how much control you and Greg are exercising over things now.

Obviously Mongoose understand the game and aren't likely to louse it up, but with something as new and bold as an Ultraviolet-level core book... well, I can't complain at the delays (or the reason behind them). Not very loudly, anyway

So, not long now then! I await my copy of White Washes with barely-controlled excitement...