C-c-c-c-cold!
Hello all. I'm typing this entry with semi-numb fingers... we ran out of heating oil some time in the early morning hours, and the new delivery hasn't come yet. The temp in the house is down to about 60 F (about 15 C for those of you who use a civilized temperature scale).
That's all for now. Send warm thoughts.
It's been how long? WoW!
Oy vey. It has been over two months since my last entry. There are two reasons for this.
(1) After NaNoWriMo wrapped up, I was a bit burnt out, and not having anything concrete to update people on every day, my writing progress on the blog stopped altogether.
(2) On January 1st, I finally broke down and bought a copy of the incredibly fun (and incredibly addictive)
World of Warcraft. It has resulted in many long nights, and a lot of time taken away from other projects I really should be working on.
Anyhow... other than the huge loss of time that WoW has been, life continues much the same. Mary's pregnancy is going well (I need to haul out the scanner and get some of the latest ultrasound pictures up for your viewing pleasure), work is consistent and solid, and the financial situation -- while not completely out of the woods yet -- is stabilizing.
A couple of recent news items that I would like to share. This past Monday, we learned that our good friends Pat and Leanne are expecting a baby of their own in August! This is cool, because then we'll be able to share the joys and travails of raising a child -- and our kids will have a playmate their own age.
(Now all we need is our friends Kevin and Beka to get on the horse and add to the gang.)
The other news item is RedBrick related... I'll let the press release speak for itself:
FADING SUNS REBORN
(Auckland, New Zealand) February 8, 2007—RedBrick Limited announced today that they have successfully concluded negotiations with Holistic Design Inc. for a license to publish English- and German-language roleplaying products for the Fading Suns universe.
Fading Suns is a science-fiction roleplaying game set in the sixth millennium, when the stars are beginning to fade. A new Dark Age has descended on humanity, for the greatest of civilizations has fallen and even the stars are dying. Now, feudal lords rule the Known Worlds, vying for power with fanatic priests and scheming guilds. Nobles, priests, aliens, knights, starships, psychics, lost worlds, and ancient
artifacts—welcome to the universe of Fading Suns!
James Flowers, RedBrick Company Director, said “Everyone at RedBrick look forward to taking up the reins of the Fading Suns roleplaying game line, continuing the excellent tradition established by Holistic Design. As huge fans of the game, we want the best for it. We recognize this will be a challenging universe to explore, and thank Bill Bridges, Andrew Greenberg, Chris Wiese, and the rest of the Holistic Design team, for giving us the opportunity.”
Chris Wiese, Holistic Design Inc. President, said "We at Holistic Design are very pleased to have the the RedBrick team develop and grow the Fading Suns Roleplaying Game line. Their top notch crew has the energy and vision to take the Fading Suns universe to the next level. From what Redbrick has in the works, the fans can expect great adventures in the far flung realms of the Fading Suns."
RedBrick’s Fading Suns products will use the Victory Point System mechanics on which the game line was founded. James Flowers explained, “While the demand for d20 products has been strong, we feel our resources are best spent focusing on the primary system. To that end, we will be actively working on the long-touted Third Edition of the Fading Suns game, smoothing out some of the mechanics and bringing previously published and new products into the line. However, we have a lot to do
and our immediate focus is to get a couple of Second Edition products that are near completion published first.”
Carsten Damm, RedBrick’s Fading Suns Product Director, said “We're looking forward to engaging and working with Fading Suns fans, many of whom have voiced excellent ideas about where the game could go. Our aim is to tap into this pool of ideas and skills and make the best of it, keeping as true as possible to Bill Bridge’s original vision.”
RedBrick has assembled a team to work on developing the Fading Suns property led by Alex Wichert, a published German novelist who has been immersed in the Fading Suns universe since 1995 and is an active voice on the Fading Suns forums. As Line Developer for Fading Suns, Alex is responsible for ensuring continuity between the English- and German-language editions.
More information and forums can be found at RedBrick’s Fading Suns web site at http://www.fading-suns.com.
Fading Suns is a Trademark and Copyright of Holistic Design Inc. All Rights Reserved. RedBrick Limited are headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, and also publish the popular Earthdawn® fantasy roleplaying under license from FASA Corporation. RedBrick’s company web site is http://www.redbrick.co.nz. Holistic Design Inc. are headquartered in Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA., and publish an extensive line of computer games and the miniatures boardgame Noble Armada, also set in the Fading
Suns universe. Holistic Design Inc.’s company web site is http://www.holistic-design.com.
That's all for now. I'll have another update soon... I swear!
