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Saturday, April 04, 2009

Thoughts on Spring, New Products, and Origins

Jean Sexton writes:

I've been asked to stand in as the blogger for today. I didn't get the notice until late because I was out shopping for new plants and garden toys. Some of you may know I have a fairly large daylily garden. Garden toys (objects that move in the breeze, catch the sun, or add sound) draw attention to a garden. In short, they help advertise the garden. An attractive and unique pot for herbs adds diversity to a container garden. Ferns for the shady part of the yard, a sun fern to visually unite the sunny side yard and the shade garden, and purple fountain grass to add height and movement to the container garden were all added to the new plants here at what I like to think of as "ADB, Inc. East"

But no doubt you are waiting to hear about the new products that are sprouting and growing. Well, just as a sudden freeze may put a damper on new plants, Steve Cole's troublesome computer has delayed some products. We are hard at work on Federation Commander: Briefing #2, which promises to be an exciting book. Federation Commander will suddenly gain more depth by adding historical ships from an era where a captain could act on problems without dragging in those bothersome admirals. Flying these ships will require new tactics as there are no refits covering weak spots. There are 72 new ships, additional scenarios, and more useful information.

Over on the SFB side of the house, Steven Petrick is hard at work on G3A which will provide even more information for SFB players. I have to admit that G3 is one of my favorite books of all time. I wore out two copies of G2 looking up information on my Inter-Stellar Concordium ships and deciding if we could deal with the pesky, do-gooding Federation in SFB Galactic Conquest. I expect G3 will get a workout in the new campaign as I decide if my saintly and right-thinking Federation will flourish as we discover belligerent and hostile new worlds (and some species who want to join us immediately!).

As for me, as soon as Briefing #2 is ready for printing, I will be able to return to editing Prime Directive Federation. If your adventurers ever wanted to explore the Federation, then this book will prove a grand resource. Where is Rimworld? What can you expect if you visit Cygnus? How's the fishing on Andor? John Sickels of PD Romulans fame has created a fascinating look at the history, geography, and culture of the United Federation of Planets and I look forward to the day when we can share that with you..

As soon as he gets G3A out of the door, Steven Petrick will be working on the next Captain's Log. This journal touches on all of the games that ADB, Inc. produces. I always like the opening story, the history, the information from the company, the scenarios, the new ships, the . . . well, I suppose I really like it all! I am waiting patiently for this issue. [SPP, is it done yet? (Wait about ten minutes.) SPP, is it done yet??]

Where will you be on June 24, 2009? Is the answer Columbus, Ohio? If so, you must be going to the Origins Game Fair. ADB, Inc. will have a booth, sponsor tournaments, hold informative seminars, and be there for you, the fans. I'll probably be at the booth most of the time, chatting with friends new and old, helping people find new products, calling Steve Cole to help me learn more about the Starline 2400 miniatures, and sharing my excitement about all things Star Fleet. I hope to get a chance to play Star Fleet Battle Force and (if the guys will help me again) another game of SFB. It's going to be lots of fun. I do hope to see you all there!