What gives? No previews, no updates, no nothing aside from the preliminary info on the new classes.
This is the book that I want to be as much a "must have" as the APG turned out to be. So far, however, what little has been released is stuff I'm not thrilled with (the classes) and there's been no love since. I can't think of any other book in the RPG line that's received this little attention.
So... why?
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What gives? No previews, no updates, no nothing aside from the preliminary info on the new classes.
This is the book that I want to be as much a "must have" as the APG turned out to be. So far, however, what little has been released is stuff I'm not thrilled with (the classes) and there's been no love since. I can't think of any other book in the RPG line that's received this little attention.
So... why?
I believe it is because Paizo is in a rush to get it out due to deadlines and budgets. I am greatly concerned with the quality of classes, balance of classes and abilities, potential wording issues, and general printing mistakes.
I believe Paizo knows there could be issues, but they are willing to live with it this one time. I find most of their products pretty good quality, even if the difficult task of balancing the classes and abilities are usually poor in my mind.
Whatever other books they have in the future will not be as important as this book. People definitely pay for the crunch, and this is a huge crunch book that they simply cannot playtest due to time and budget constraints.
Guys, UC went to the printer months ago. We're gearing up to ship them. It releases at Gen Con. It's three weeks until Gen Con. There is plenty of time to do several previews for UC. It's not being hidden away or ignored.
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Uhm, did you miss the months of "Ninjas are just a Rogue with a different name so don't need different abilities" nerdrage when they DID the playtest for the classes in Ultimate Combat? Since it seemed that the main ninja complaints were that it existed at all they may have switched to in house playtesting to get useful data, or one round was enough, and as it really was just a rogue with a Ki pool and a few ki abilities one round may have been sufficient.
The TWO rounds they did for the oh so crappily named Gunslinger (I know it works for the class, I just think that 'musketeer' would have been a more appropriate class name for a high fantasy game, but I also refer to the 'Barbarian" class as the 'Berserker' class in my games as barbarian is a cultural type, not a class choice to me. Don't like a name change it has always been my motto).
The Samurai and Ronin were just archetypes for the Cavalier class so not much playtesting needed there, one round was more then enough.
What else is there that needed playesting? The feats and archetypes? Those were probably done in house.
As long as ultimate combat comes out as scheduled, which is less then a month, I'll be happy. My only serious want from that book is a firm list of what qualifies as martial and exotic weapons in a Oriental setting.
Just my 2 coppers
Holt
Ninja'd by SKR
Guys, UC went to the printer months ago. We're gearing up to ship them. It releases at Gen Con. It's three weeks until Gen Con. There is plenty of time to do several previews for UC. It's not being hidden away or ignored.
gunmagegunmagegunmage
There was also a good deal of previewing of Ultimate Combat going on at the banquet at Paizocon. Jason was holding an advance copy and everything.
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Guys, UC went to the printer months ago. We're gearing up to ship them. It releases at Gen Con. It's three weeks until Gen Con. There is plenty of time to do several previews for UC. It's not being hidden away or ignored.gunmagegunmagegunmage
Andgrammatonecclesiastgrammatonecclesiastgrammatonecclesiast...
There is also the fact that they have a number of other products debuting at GenCon (not to mention the actual July releases) so have been doing blog posts about each product along the way. Ultimate Combat's release is weeks away, they want to build excitement when people can actually buy the book.
Because Combat drinks play time. If there was a way to get through it more quickly without making the gun-bunnies cry it would have been done already. UC just promises to add more rules to look up.
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Folks,
The preview of Ultimate Combat start next week on Tuesday. No need to panic.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
I figured you guys would have previews. Not promoting new products is never done by any company unless that product is just terrible.
But I felt like UC was playtested and talked about way less than AGP and UM, and I do fear it will be a rush job. Of course, Paizo already has my $$$ on this, so it doesn't really matter for this release.
Director of Games
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I figured you guys would have previews. Not promoting new products is never done by any company unless that product is just terrible.
But I felt like UC was playtested and talked about way less than AGP and UM, and I do fear it will be a rush job. Of course, Paizo already has my $$$ on this, so it doesn't really matter for this release.
The APG, on that I would agree, but not with UM, which aside from Words of Power, the only thing that saw playtest from that book was the Magus.
Ultimate Combat is not a rush job by any means. If anything, we spent extra time on this book, every minute we could, before it went to the printer.
Does that mean it won't have warts, no. Every book has it problems, but I feel pretty confident that it is a good book that people will enjoy having as part of their game.
The previews start next week.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
What indications does anyone have that UC is rushed? If anything it should be more polished after Paizo's experiences with APG and UM. There was less public testing because they didn't create any radical new magic system or other experimental subsystem. Gunslingers and Ninjas are cake compared to Summoners or Magus.
Paizo quietly doing what they are good at doesn't mean rushed at all.
Guys, UC went to the printer months ago. We're gearing up to ship them. It releases at Gen Con. It's three weeks until Gen Con. There is plenty of time to do several previews for UC. It's not being hidden away or ignored.
Fair enough.
I was wondering based on the lack of teasers/updates coming out of PaizoCon and the fact that we hand't had any updates. I remember previews for Ultimate Magic and the APG being doled out over a longer period but if you're telling me a 3-week window before release is standard, that's good enough for me.
Just lookin' forward to the book is all.
Folks,
The preview of Ultimate Combat start next week on Tuesday. No need to panic.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
But ... but I have a button for that ...
*sulks as he takes his hands off of the 'panic button.'*
If we're going by World of Warcraft rhetoric, then Ultimate Combat is being ignored because all of the devs play wizards.
If we're going by World of Warcraft rhetoric, then Ultimate Combat is being ignored because all of the devs play wizards.
Nonsense. James Jacobs hates wizards and the Bard, Cleric, and Rogue are his favorite classes!
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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I heard that UC was born with a vestigal third arm and causes nearby animals to whimper in terror. It currently dwells in the darkest shadows of the Paizo warehouse (behind Cosmo's Moustache's Crate), arguing with itself about whether it will ruin the game with rules for (*gasp*) FIREARMS!!!
So, it's not that they are ashamed of UC; it's just that the book seems poised to usher in a rain of blood and locusts which will engulf the Earth and destroy life as we know it.
Or, so I hear. My sources are notoriously unreliable in terms of the information they provide and as to their basic existence.
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Even with the information that has already been released, I consider UC a must have. My group will *kill* me if I don't let them all have guns next game (I half-expect to see a table of three gun mages), and I am DYING for the new martial arts styles and archetypes.
Maybe the light touch on previews is a mercy to us, as we might be rent asunder by our own rabid anticipation for how awesome this book is gonna be.
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Heck, it's the last rulebook I want from Paizo.
Really TOZ? I'm holding out for Advanced Race Guide.
The downside is while a good race book is the book I've been waiting for since the gmg came out, I have pretty low expectations for the book, but mostly because I think the previous attempt to do such a book (by wotc) and include such content were generally awful and led to propagating more awfulness (Savage Species and LA I'm looking at you - nice basic idea, terrible implementation.) - It's the book I want most, and I'm very nervous and worried that it'll disappoint; I've learned ALL the things I *DONT* want it to be like, from most of the past attempts...I'm really hoping they base this book on a similar premise as UpperKrust's Challenging Challenge Ratings, and either the Racial Levels system presented in the WOW d20 RPG, or Racial Archetypes that grant the racial abilities as you progress in regular classes.
Folks,
The preview of Ultimate Combat start next week on Tuesday. No need to panic.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
OMG
NEXT TUESDAY ALREADYIM NOT READY
/PANIC
For the preview I hope to see the gunmage (as about 110% here I guess), and how the rogue/ninja balance ends up.
For the rest, I'm confident that UC will be a good product that I'll buy. I just hope that the art quality doesn't end at the knees, in UM some feet were bizarre and out of proportion.
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Really TOZ? I'm holding out for Advanced Race Guide.Well, I won't say there won't be more books that I decide to pick up from Paizo. But this is the last one I buy sight-unseen. No more subscriptions. I've got far more material than I can even use at the moment.
Ah. I'm a university student. My budget has never been big enough for the subscriptions, so I pick and choose all my books.
Really TOZ? I'm holding out for Advanced Race Guide.Well, I won't say there won't be more books that I decide to pick up from Paizo. But this is the last one I buy sight-unseen. No more subscriptions. I've got far more material than I can even use at the moment.
Damn it man! You're supposed to be planning your future here! :)
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Get commissioned in the military. You'll have a guaranteed paycheck and be forced to save it 12 months at a time every other year. No picking and choosing required. :)
Heh. I'm not cut out for that.
> Taking orders instead of being asked politely> Short Hair, No Goatees
> Living where youre told to live for long periods of time.
These are things I'd struggle with.
If someone wants me to do something I want to know why and be asked politely, ("Because I told you to" has never been an acceptable answer for me).
I hate how I look clean shaven and hate how I look with short hair, but that's a personal thing. - I've turned down jobs I wanted because they said I'd have to get short hair.
And I'm not sure I'm cut out for living in a different place every 12 months, or every 2nd year.
Now, I could go for a tech job doing R&D for the military, or something like that, but then I'd likely be a civilian working for General Dynamics, and not in the military proper.
Kudos that it works for you though. Sounds like decent pay, and savings and s#@!. But I just dont think I'm compatible with that sort of command structure.