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That rings a bell with me. I remember all the Rifts ads from Marvel comics in the90s. I don't remember any zombie gunslinger s, just Coalition skeleton robots with laser guns.
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Nov 8, 2015 04:49
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I know there were ads with skeleton warriors, ads with skeleton robots with guns, ads with guys with skull helmets and guns, ads with skull vehicles, ads with zombies, skull-faced robots that are also spiders (not the one that is a skull that is also a spider, that's different) but I can't think of any western-themed skeletons with guns. That really does sound like Deadlands, though it's possible there's something out there I've missed.
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Nov 8, 2015 06:54
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Rifts Mercenaries has an old westish skull guy
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Nov 8, 2015 14:05
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The best one is the one with the robot punching another robots head flat The one that anybody who read a comic in the 90s can picture perfectly
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Nov 8, 2015 14:50
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Literally The Worst posted:The best one is the one with the robot punching another robots head flat I remembered it instantly.  I was this close to going out and buying Rifts. Except that I didn't know where to buy such a game. Or what kind of game it really was, or what it would cost. Or what a "Glitter Boy" was. Edit: Oh, right. I forgot that this ad, targeted at juvenile comic book readers, says "Don't buy our product as an intro to the hobby." That's pretty considerate of Palladium, keeping me away from Palladium games. I really should thank them. Halloween Jack fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Nov 8, 2015 |
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Nov 8, 2015 15:31
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It costs $24.95, says right in the ad. Also lol at "Rifts® is NOT a game for beginners"
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Nov 8, 2015 16:10
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That's a bit over $43 today. What were the "related videocassettes" that they sold back then?
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Nov 8, 2015 18:25
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Dr. Tough posted:It costs $24.95, says right in the ad. It's true, not that didn't stop children like me zeroing in on it. It repeats as much in the GM Section, though that's buried at the back of the book and not where it belongs in the introduction. Rifts contains little information on what an RPG is and runs with the assumption you're already basically familiar with another Palladium game, or D&D at least. It also has essentially no useful GM advice, either; it's such a large book for its time I presume that material was just excised for space. Of course, that's interesting to recall just after digging through Exalted 3e, a recent game that does the same thing, presuming you're familiar with earlier editions and providing close to zero information for newcomers or gamemasters. homullus posted:That's a bit over $43 today. What were the "related videocassettes" that they sold back then? Palladium got the rights to distribute the abortive Robotech II: The Sentinels series (they also sold a game based on it and a book of production art), which sold well enough that they got the rights to put out all the other stuff that at the time was unreleased on videotape (Southern Cross, The New Generation). They were the first and sole distributors for those series for a while.
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Nov 8, 2015 18:39
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Halloween Jack posted:I remembered it instantly. like i said, if you read a comic in the 90s, you gazed at that ad in loving awe of how sweet it was and can remember it perfectly
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Nov 8, 2015 19:01
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Literally The Worst posted:like i said, if you read a comic in the 90s, you gazed at that ad in loving awe of how sweet it was and can remember it perfectly Say what you will about Palladium, their ads back in the 90's were pretty amazing.
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Nov 8, 2015 19:33
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For a time, Palladium had its finger on the pulse of what geeky teens wanted from their games. Cybernetic dragons with psionic powers, weapon porn, skulls! I seem to recall Rifts was once a reliable #3 on game company charts behind AD&D and Vampire. But of course, nothing ever changed, and the Crisis of Treachery just exposed how bad things had gotten at the company.
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Nov 8, 2015 20:16
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Maxwell Lord posted:For a time, Palladium had its finger on the pulse of what geeky teens wanted from their games. Cybernetic dragons with psionic powers, weapon porn, skulls! quote:But of course, nothing ever changed, and the Crisis of Treachery just exposed how bad things had gotten at the company.
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Nov 8, 2015 20:48
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Maxwell Lord posted:Crisis of Treachery What does this refer to? I see it discussed like a doom-laden 80s action movie sequel...which might be entirely appropriate?
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Nov 8, 2015 21:12
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Evil Mastermind posted:The big problem is that, at this point, he can't change. Creating a Rifts 2e that has a new system would completely invalidate the mountain of existing books and alienate the groggish fanbase that is pretty much his only business anymore. Honestly, I don't think this is true. A fan base that gave him thousands upon thousands of dollars to buy a photocopy is not one to abandon their beloved creator over a new edition. At most, I'd guess there would be some grumbling until the New (TM) and Exciting (R) Rifts 2E was hyped sufficiently. In fact, I'd put money on the very same fans who have always decried the very concept of a new edition would act like it was something they wanted all along. No, the reason KS can't create a Rifts 2E is that he can't change. Witness how long he laid out all his books by hand, even after layout software became widespread and relatively cheap.
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Nov 8, 2015 21:34
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Loxbourne posted:What does this refer to? I see it discussed like a doom-laden 80s action movie sequel...which might be entirely appropriate? Alien Rope Burn posted:Palladium vs. Palladium: In 2006, Palladium revealed that it was the victim of embezzlement by long-time employee Steve Sheiring, Palladium Books employee and contributor from 2002 to 2004 to the tune of around a million dollars, and as a result the company was in dire financial straits. By holding his hat out to fans in a variety of ways, Siembieda was able to recoup enough money to keep the business afloat, and would refer to it as the "Crisis of Treachery" to put the onus of blame strictly on on Sheiring. The idea that long-term mismanagement may have contributed to the issue is, of course, ridiculous and need not be considered any further. Kevin's official comments on the matter can be found here. More on this at Wikipedia.
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Nov 8, 2015 21:36
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KS isn't completely calcified. He is after all allowing a Savage Worlds version of Rifts® to be made.
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Nov 8, 2015 22:53
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Yeah well he also promised Mechanoids Space too, and we see where that went. 
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Nov 8, 2015 23:00
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Evil Mastermind posted:The big problem is that, at this point, he can't change. Creating a Rifts 2e that has a new system would completely invalidate the mountain of existing books and alienate the groggish fanbase that is pretty much his only business anymore. The thing is, Rifts Ultimate Edition is a 2e in all but name. Palladium insists it isn't to quell fears, but now that I have a copy, I don't see how you could say otherwise. The thing is about rules changes in Rifts, though, is that the rules have always been so inconsistent that altering some of them doesn't change much. I mean, yeah, a few older things have some minor compatibility problems with Ultimate Edition, but Palladium has always had those even between supplements in the same game line. There are basic rules that get misinterpreted from book to book (starting attacks or starting skill levels were a constant point of confusion for years) as it is, so it has the same impact that existing rules gaffes already did. Dr. Tough posted:KS isn't completely calcified. He is after all allowing a Savage Worlds version of Rifts® to be made. I wouldn't count that chicken 'til it's hatched.
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Nov 9, 2015 01:58
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Palladium had a hot product at one time. The problem seems to be that every time Kevin had a choice between catering to the "true fans" or taking creative risks, he chose the former. Since he circularly defines "true fans" as those who just want more of the same and will remain customers no matter what, over the years he's sort of compacted his fanbase like a man squeezing a snowball in his fist. Every tone-deaf decision alienates another "true fan" that apparently never was, and Palladium can ill afford this.Dr. Tough posted:KS isn't completely calcified. He is after all allowing a Savage Worlds version of Rifts® to be made. I don't have access to their books, of course, but I don't see how the company's sales can be providing a full-time living to even a small group of employees.
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Nov 9, 2015 04:23
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Alien Rope Burn posted:I wouldn't count that chicken 'til it's hatched. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out, since there's another, larger company involved.
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Nov 9, 2015 04:33
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Halloween Jack posted:I'm unable to find a complete and accurate history of Palladium releases, but IIRC they've barely released anything besides The Rifter for the past few years, and haven't released a new game since Dead Reign. A Savage Worlds conversion sounds like the best thing ever to happen to Rifts, but it sounds like it was permitted only as a matter of absolute necessity. And like ARB says, who knows if it'll see the light of day? This is a common myth based on the fact their releases were minimal for most of the '00s; they've been putting out books pretty regularly (for an RPG company, anyway) every two to four months, but you'd never know it unless you pay close attention to them. Their PR is abysmal, to say the least, relying chiefly on their fans to spread the gospel by word of mouth. The last new game was actually Robotech RPG Tactics, which despite the fact the kickstarter isn't complete, they do have a playable game out. (How playable is a matter of debate.) Their last new RPG release was Dead Reign, though, yes. They pocketed a lot of money from the Robotech RPG Tactics kickstarter, and how much is left from all that is hard to say. They also got shut-up money from Trion Worlds a half-decade ago now, and that no doubt helped. There are signs things are rocky, but Palladium Books is such a small, insular company it's hard to say.
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Nov 9, 2015 04:42
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Alien Rope Burn posted:There are signs things are rocky, but Palladium Books is such a small, insular company it's hard to say.
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Nov 9, 2015 05:02
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KS's conduct surrounding the Kickstarter probably squeezed a few more 'true fans' out. If there are any issues with the Savage Worlds conversion, he and Pinnacle are probably going to be playing their cards much closer to their chests.
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Nov 9, 2015 05:12
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Bieeardo posted:KS's conduct surrounding the Kickstarter probably squeezed a few more 'true fans' out. If there are any issues with the Savage Worlds conversion, he and Pinnacle are probably going to be playing their cards much closer to their chests. That literally 10k word, two-part update that amounted to "I hope you enjoyed my report on Palladium's history as much as i enjoyed writing it; anyway everything is so late because we have no idea what we're doing to the point that we didn't know anything about product fulfillment and just assumed someone was handling it PS lol we probably should've used a bigger scale and now maybe future products in the line will be incompatible" was loving amazing. That Old Tree fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Nov 9, 2015 |
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Nov 9, 2015 05:46
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Alien Rope Burn posted:They also got shut-up money from Trion Worlds a half-decade ago now, and that no doubt helped. Wait, what's the story here?
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Nov 9, 2015 05:51
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Error 404 posted:Wait, what's the story here?
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Nov 9, 2015 05:53
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Palladium is going to go bust when they get sued for failing to deliver 2/3 of the stuff already paid for in the Robotech minis game kickstarter, and I'm going to dance on Siembieda's grave for systematically ruining part of my childhood for me with that game, step by bloody step.
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Nov 9, 2015 20:39
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Plague of Hats posted:That literally 10k word, two-part update that amounted to "I hope you enjoyed my report on Palladium's history as much as i enjoyed writing it; anyway everything is so late because we have no idea what we're doing to the point that we didn't know anything about product fulfillment and just assumed someone was handling it PS lol we probably should've used a bigger scale and now maybe future products in the line will be incompatible" was loving amazing. You could almost use that old Bill Coffin rant as a checklist of poo poo that's gone wrong with that circus. A friend of mine actually believed that he was going to be hands-off, and let Sodapop handle everything. I just patted him on the back and made a note not to mention anything to him about Santa not being real.
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Nov 9, 2015 21:14
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What's going on with the Palladium kickstarter apart from being really late?
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Nov 9, 2015 21:19
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Evil Mastermind posted:What's going on with the Palladium kickstarter apart from being really late? They compulsively lie, and have done for 2 years. We've seen nothing of the second wave but renders, the last of which was presented in August, otherwise it's been all vapid puff and Siembieda pity pieces. At this stage the vast majority of backers believe the money is gone, and we'll never see a second wave. Plus everything Plague of Hats said. NTRabbit fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Nov 9, 2015 |
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Nov 9, 2015 21:33
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Wasn't CoolMiniOrNot handling that too? Or did they jump ship/get driven off by Kevin?
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Nov 9, 2015 22:02
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Evil Mastermind posted:Wasn't CoolMiniOrNot handling that too? Or did they jump ship/get driven off by Kevin? It was Ninja Division, which is a part of Sodapop. The KS was run as though ND were going to be doing the entire project on behalf of Palladium, experienced hands at minis games basically doing it under contract. As soon as the project ended Palladium took over, Siembieda took complete control of rules writing duties to ensure it fit in with his RPG system, and Ninja Division were reduced to ponying up CAD designs for the minis only, which they had to redo several times while caught between the two pools of spin, ego and bullshit that are Siembieda and Harmony Gold. They won't even talk about it anymore when asked. Mean time, Siembieda publicly blamed Ninja Division for every problem at every opportunity, because nothing was ever his fault.
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Nov 9, 2015 22:17
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Ugh...while part of me is thinking "well, you went into a business venture with a guy of Kevin's reputation," I feel really bad for Ninja Division. I do remember Kev complaining that ND was working on other projects while working on Robotech, like it's impossible for a decent-sized company to work on more than one thing at a time. There's a lot of people in the comments talking about filing FCC complaints. I hope ND doesn't get left holding the bag on this one.
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Nov 9, 2015 22:31
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The project is officially by Palladium Books, so they're the ones holding the bag. ND is just a contractor. Maybe ND didn't know about Palladium and Siembieda in advance, I didn't know anything about them or their reputation before backing, I just wanted a good Robotech minis game 
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Nov 9, 2015 22:39
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I doubt anybody in this industry is really ignorant of Siembieda's doings at this point. He's pretty notorious. I guess it's possible, but you'd have to be pretty isolated or fresh-faced to be unaware. As for lawsuits, I think most would presume it would be attempting to squeeze blood from a stone. It's possible that Palladium is sitting on a huge unspent wad of cash, but I think there are too many signs (rumors that the Palladium Open House won't continue next year, Kevin selling off his prodigious toy collection) that it'd probably be a bad move unless you just want to be vindictive.
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Nov 10, 2015 01:27
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Alien Rope Burn posted:I doubt anybody in this industry is really ignorant of Siembieda's doings at this point. He's pretty notorious. I guess it's possible, but you'd have to be pretty isolated or fresh-faced to be unaware.
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Nov 10, 2015 05:11
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Halloween Jack posted:Jolly Blackburn knew Ken Whitman's reputation and decided to "give him another chance." Apparently Geek Social Fallacies is a significant factor in this business. Woa is there kenzerco drama
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Nov 10, 2015 06:00
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Alien Rope Burn posted:As for lawsuits, I think most would presume it would be attempting to squeeze blood from a stone. It's possible that Palladium is sitting on a huge unspent wad of cash, but I think there are too many signs (rumors that the Palladium Open House won't continue next year, Kevin selling off his prodigious toy collection) that it'd probably be a bad move unless you just want to be vindictive. I don't think many people filing suits with the US government are expecting to get back money that has already been spent, they're just trying to ensure this is the last time Palladium will ever screw someone over.
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Nov 10, 2015 07:16
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I've gotta say, Palladium-chat is my favorite type of industry chat.
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Nov 10, 2015 10:40
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Halloween Jack posted:Jolly Blackburn knew Ken Whitman's reputation and decided to "give him another chance." Apparently Geek Social Fallacies is a significant factor in this business. He also gets along famously with Siembieda, from what I understand.
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Nov 10, 2015 11:06
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