Of note though- ICE (or more precisely the group that holds that trademark today) no longer holds the rights to Silent Death. Those rights transferred out during the bankruptcy I think. But you are right, with ICE making moves, any old fans that never made the transition here, it would be favorable timing for a signal flare. Do they have a forum? Can you search for any mentions of Silent Death and let them know about this fan bunker?
Of second note: Something that came to mind the other day-- one of the takeaways of the OGL discussions (mainly one of Ben's Questing Beast videos) is that an OGL isn't really required. Standing-alone, dice mechanics are not protected under copyright, only the manner in which they are described. The OGL granted in perpetuity the ability to copy/paste the SRD into their work is my limited understanding of it. This wouldn't necessarily stop legal harassment, but according to legal experts, it wouldn't be a very productive use of the harasser's money if it were to go to court. Keep in mind I'm not a legal expert, and this is not legal advice. The obligatory "don't sue me, bro!" disclaimer.
So based on that, if someone desired to put out a game supplement compatible with a published set of rules, as long as care was taken not to infringe on actual protected areas of copyright, it could be done. I don't have the desire to independently publish such a set of rules. I figure we can just build some updated rules compatible with Silent Death as a community, and get on with playing games. Rules tinkering, see
The Wardroom and
The Shipyard.
The main thing a new product would do besides generating revenue for the creator and possibly downstream if shops were to sell it retail, is to create hype, interest, and eyes on this game. If it were a new Silent Death product, I'd put it in the league of Adam Loper & Vince Venturella's
Reign In Hell skirmish game --and that got some support from youtube friends of theirs. Meaning it would have its day in the sun, then fade back to the mean as the churn of the greater industry marches on. With licensed properties like Star Wars, Trek, Galactica, & B5, and better-known properties like Gothic and Firestorm Armada's relaunched version out there, SD:TNM currently dwells in the lost forgotten classics category alongside Full-Thrust and the like. With a push towards bringing the rules up to date and offering new STL files of the ships to purchase along with the metal casts for those not wanting to print, the game has the potential to grab some attention in the indie game scene. That's if the ships were offered for purchase as STL files IMO. I don't yet have a printer or even buy much in the way of printed minis, but the perception in my mind is you would get more promotion as a bonus though going that route. I've said all of this in slightly other ways before. I keep updating the vision to the trends of the day.
This type of wish crafting ignores the more genuine reason to release new material for our shared universe: just the desire to be creative and produce something independent of market success. My creative outlets center on painting and sometimes writing even though I'm a better painter. Much further down the line is amateur rules pitch hack. We all have been graciously provided this space to share our fan-made creativity with others. Many thanks for that. The attention and prominence the brand attract from outsiders depends partly on the effort and passion supporters put into it here on these forums and with word of mouth and games played with new players at our gaming haunts.
New Year's Challenge: Introduce a new player with a game this month. Expert mode: take pictures and post a report here. Full disclosure: I had already committed to running a game at a local event this month back in November so my contribution doesn't count.
Let's make it interesting... For the first seven players to complete the challenge at the expert level with a full write-up and pictures, I'll send you one of the extra sourcebooks that I've accumulated in deals over the years. The most recent addition is House Colos with what was a near-mint cover ripped off. The other books have really clean jackets -off the shelf grade. Choice based on order posted in the
Battle Reports subforum. One book per entry. The deadline is March 1st. Books up for grabs in no particular order:
- Universal Night Watch
- Rules of Warfare
- Sunrunners
- Warhounds (older printing)
- Renegades: the Espan Rebellion
- Renegades: the Espan Rebellion (another copy)
- House Colos (no cover, torn and taped 1st page)
I'm not gonna make a separate post about this, but if it doesn't get any traction I'll try it again later (when the main page article changes) in Battle Reports with a dedicated post.
Good luck to anybody that sees this!
