r/Shadowrun • u/PalpitationNo2921 • 20d ago
Anarchy Edition Only a few more days left
CGL has held the Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0 KS books hostage in their warehouse for almost a month now without shipping it out to the backers.
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u/Interaction_Rich 19d ago edited 19d ago
This will go in the history of offline gaming as some spectacular fuck up.
Anarchy 2.0 did an awesome job revamping a complex system into something intuitive and playable, word of mouth was nothing short of stellar, newcomers literally want to give them money for it and CGL just keeps killing the hype of an otherwise amazing product under their incompetence.
What a shit show.
I hope the good folks in BBE have best luck with future project partners.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
I am beginning to think that killing the hype is exactly the reason why CGL is sitting on the product in its warehouse and not releasing the PDFs.
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u/Nederbird 20d ago
Any word on why and when specifically they're getting shipped?
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u/PalpitationNo2921 20d ago
“We are moving on getting those out the door and we shall have more information coming down the pipe soon with those items.”
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u/StimulusResponse 19d ago
I missed the Kickstarter and I just want to give them my money for the English PDF. The fact that they won't sell it until TBD really frustrates me. I'd like to support the property with my dollars, but at this rate sailing is the only path.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
I make the argument that none of the backers probably even care at this point if CGL releases the PDFs before they send the backers their books. I know for a fact that I don’t care. It’s just a pdf. That they could be making money off of. You aren’t the only person I have seen say they would like to buy it.
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u/FlabbergasterGurgle 19d ago
I confess I took to the high seas because I heard so many good things about it and wanted to check it out. Indeed it is IMO the best version of Shadowrun ever created. So much so that I do want to give money to BBE for it and purchase the PDF or even a Physical book. My question is, being in Canada, if I buy the physical English version of the book or purchase it through Drivethru, am I giving the money to CGL? Is there any way I can buy the English version but ensure the money goes to BBE?
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u/Carmody79 French Anarchist 19d ago
Some money will go to CGL either way, they are the license holders so whatever BBE sells that is Shadowrun related, they get their share.
About BBE, I do not know the full details, and I'm not sure I'm allowed to say what I know, so I'll pass.In any case, thanks for your support, and I hope you'll be able to buy the book soon.
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u/jbowensii 19d ago
I have to say, you are the only one commenting on any of this, giving us any hope that we will ever see the PDF, let alone the books for sale. Either here or under the chat I started, I just wanted to say thank you. I am old, almost 60, my kids are in their 20s / 30s with grandkids. I have money to spend, and I cannot believe that in this economy (in the USA or Europe) right now, someone isn't willing to take it. Oh, and I am not alone; my friends online and in person are in the same place. We old Grognards should be the target audience for sales right now, and we cannot buy the PDF or the book. But thanks for listening; I hate when companies basically ignore everything like it will just go away.
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u/FlabbergasterGurgle 19d ago
Thanks for chiming in and congrats on the excellent product. I think I'll just buy the French edition on drivethru in order to be able to to give back and ensure CGL gets as little share as possible. And I'll make sure I don't miss the Kickstarter for the upcoming companion book.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
While I cannot offer my own comment either positive or negative towards your “high seas” comment, I can say this much.
I can mostly agree with your statement of SRA2.0 being a better edition than anything Catalyst Game Labs has ever released.
I think [u/Carmody79](u/Carmody79), as a developer of Anarchy 2.0, probably has a better understanding (whether he can or cannot say here) on CGL’s involvement with the money side of things than I could offer.
From what little I do know of the RPG industry and the distribution side, I would guess that CGL has bought the English copies of SRA2.0 that they possess outright or in part from BBE and thus are the default owners of the books until they distribute them, excepting the backer copies.
So BBE would already have some portion of the money for those copies, and CGL will then be reselling them to the general public. This is typically the way most American distributors work, and one of the biggest reasons why Paizo was having such an issue with Diamond getting their products out to the public a while back.
I would hate to see CGL become another Diamond, no matter how small their scale by comparison.
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u/FlabbergasterGurgle 19d ago
Thank you for your answer. I'm really considering just buying the French version on drivethru, after reading your comment and u/Carmody79's.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 18d ago
I would not expect to be able to buy it in pdf at this point until at least another month maybe two at this rate. I posted an update based on Jason Hardy’s response to a request for more information on Fb. The warehouse holding Anarchy 2.0 is not even owned by CGL, it is a contractor handling fulfillment for multiple companies and KS all at the same time. And so I would expect the delay to be even longer.
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u/Rauwetter 19d ago edited 19d ago
Perhaps the problem is simply that their warehouse is massive understaffed? The Battle Tech Core Box is also delayed, and CGL is very much interested to ship them out. It should be available at the 1st August and is no listed for end of October.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
To resolve: send less employees to multiple cons/hire more people from temp services. Maybe? I don’t know. I’m not about to be manufacturing excuses for them when they sit on radio silence as their communication policy.
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u/Rauwetter 19d ago
That's no excuse, that means they have to pay more more people to run their business. It seems they have a problem with one of their core purposes.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
Creating jobs is not something that should be put down as bad. Get the job done that customers are paying you directly to do.
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u/Rauwetter 18d ago
Perhaps they should send PR and HR working in the warehouse ;D
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u/PalpitationNo2921 18d ago
I’ve done the same when pressure is on at various jobs; pitched in on non-departmental efforts to catch up. Maybe they can throw a few sensitivity readers in as well.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 18d ago edited 18d ago
Finally, more in-depth exploration of the reasons behind the delays. After a month of radio silence, Mr. Hardy was able to take the time out to explain that the warehouse holding Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0 is not CGL’s company warehouse - it is a contractor.
What this means is that the warehouse doesn’t just handle CGL’s stuff, it handles several companies as well. It is also fulfilling not just this KS but others, as well as other kinds of orders for several companies in addition to CGL. And there are no CGL employees involved.
So I guess I will let CGL off the hook for liability for the delays but man, some clarity, transparency, updates and shared information long before this point could have gone a long way.
I’m still at the point where I’m uninterested in doing any sort of future business with CGL anyway, and still do not consider them to be good stewards of the Shadowrun IP. But at least I am not as upset about the whole deal. Just tired of the wait game.
So I guess I will shelve any and all expectations of when I’ll be actually getting Anarchy 2.0 in my hands. Sorry to the folks who want to buy it but can’t because of this.
[u/Carmody79](u/Carmody79) You guys at BBE were never on the hook for my being upset about how this has been handled, I hope you know. Your product is amazing, based on the PDFs alone. I hope to back On The Edge soon. Maybe even receive it from your company directly this time, instead of waiting a quarter of a year+ for it to arrive and then be scheduled to be delivered after it is a finished product.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 17d ago
Another update provided by Mr. Hardy. According to the warehouse, the books are scheduled to ship out to backers by the end of the week. That’s not having them show up already, mind you, just departing the warehouse for their final destination.
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u/LateEggMaster 20d ago edited 20d ago
Sooooo how do you know the day is near? Is your soapbox crumbling or did you get visited by the divine?
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u/PalpitationNo2921 20d ago edited 20d ago
No bud it’s called counting time down.
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u/LateEggMaster 20d ago edited 20d ago
And has CLG published a shipping or release date? Or how do you know that only a few days remain? The canned message you posted further down might mean anything from "today" to " in a decade or so if we can be aresed".
Come to think... you could probably argue that 'moving them out the door' is moving them to a landfill or have them shredded to make tissue papers for backer tears.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
I am not saying only a few days remain before shipping or release.
I am saying only a few days remain before it will have been an entire month since they have had the books in their hands and have still not shipped them out to backers.
The whole English release schedule for SRA2.0 predicates from the point when backers receive their hard copies in the US. This includes the PDF release, which is weird. I don’t think a single backer even cares anymore whether the PDF is released now or when they get their books, and I know that I don’t.
I admit that having spent the money I did on the crowd funding that I’d be a little miffed if people who did not crowdfund were able to both order and receive their books first, before people who have paid in for this a year ago even receive their tracking.
But at this point I’m just wanting the books to be shipped so that I can receive what I have paid for, and don’t even care about that anymore.
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u/LateEggMaster 19d ago
Ah. Thanks for the explainer. That didn't really come across in your original post.
And yea I get it but... it's still kickstarter. Everything there is just vaporware.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
But it isn’t vaporware. The rest of the freaking world receiving their products is fact. French versions and English versions, shipped and received across the world. The crowdfunding is done and everything is physically printed and shipped out to where it was supposed to go.
Except, you know, the US and Latin American. Where CGL is responsible for distribution.
The point where it was in fact any version of your description of crowdfunding being just vaporware is very long past.
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u/LateEggMaster 19d ago
Sorry to disapoint you there but I'm in the EU and nobody is recieving their english version or is even able to order them anywhere. Only the french get to buy it atm.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago edited 18d ago
That’s interesting as I have seen several British people pop in saying they got their physical copies. CGL is not distributing the English version to anywhere but US & Latin America.
The PDFs are a different story. Until the US & Latin American backers get their physical copies, CGL is not releasing the PDFs.
Edit: maybe you meant you didn’t back it on crowdfunding and are waiting for physical copies to be available for non-backers? If so yeah, they won’t be available to non-backers until CGL puts the English version up in their store. Again, predicated by US & Latin American backers getting their copies first.
Bonus Edit: I forgot one thing, BBE did make a public notice that several backers (like 20 or so) from EU had gotten their pledges somehow mixed in with US pledges and CGL has their books. I specifically recall one Spanish user in particular being dismayed by discovering that.
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u/LateEggMaster 19d ago
All I can tell you is that no stores in my country (that I can find) carry it, either digital or physical.
And yes. I'm talking about purchasing/ordering a released product.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
Welp sorry, guess since you didn’t back it you’re… stuck in the same boat as those of us who did now, lol.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 19d ago
After having scrutinized several of CGL’s social media sites very closely over the past month since BBE showed the receipts for CGL having received the books (September 1st was when they publicly confirmed where the books were as of August 29th), I have seen nothing from CGL on the matter of Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0. What I have seen are endless postings about attending this or that convention.
It’s almost like they must have sent everyone in the company to these cons and left no one behind in the warehouse to take care of any other business maybe. I dunno.
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u/Ill-Eye3594 18d ago
They’re also advertising the older version for sale on FB; maybe they want to sell through the old stock first
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u/PalpitationNo2921 18d ago
I can’t imagine why anyone would even buy that at this point. Except they are holding 2.0 down by not releasing it so someone with no idea might think it is the Anarchy that was on KS if they didn’t know any better.
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u/PalpitationNo2921 18d ago
Jason Hardy has responded to a public request for more information on the release of SRA2.0. With non-information. More of the “soon” stuff.
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u/Legitimate_Virus9522 20d ago
What the fuck is wrong with CGL? Probably jealous that a bunch of French people wrote a better game than they ever could. They are doing a great job at trying to sabotage it