Who owns TORG now?

[BenyG]

I saw the post from Eric saying that he was in the final negotiations with another company who would get the TORG license. That was months ago. Does anyone know who owns it now?

BennyG

[Lee Torres]

I don't believe there's been any official announcement about the new owner. Hopefully it'll be soon - Eric does pop in from time to time, and the new owners are probably aware that there are a lot of TORG fans here, so one or the other should, with any luck, make an appearance!

[skeloric]

The question on my mind is more of, "How long before they are truly ready to start publishing TORG?"
As they are only JUSTRECENTLY buying the property, it could be another 2 to 3 years before we could even hope to see product.

[hellsreach]

In respect to the marketing plans of the new owners, I'll not be announcing who the buyers are unless and until I am asked to do so by them, or until I've heard of them going public on the matter themselves.

[skeloric]

So we have to wait until they even step forward to acknowledge that TORG isn't in some LIMBO before we can even begin to hope to see product.
Make it more like 5 years before we see any new TORG products.

[bblackmoor]

Make it more like 5 years before we see any new TORG products.

Don't be so pessimistic. Someone paid for it. Surely they won't want to wait until the existing fan base all dies of old age before doing something with it.

[skeloric]

Don't be so pessimistic. Someone paid for it. Surely they won't want to wait until the existing fan base all dies of old age before doing something with it.
I'm NOT thinking that they're going to sit on it like a gang of chuckleheads, I'm thinking that making books TAKES TIME.
If they aren't even ready to reveal themselves, that is a very strong indicator that the company itself is still being organized and they aren't even READY yet to start working on books.

1. Finish Organizing the Company such as advertising campaigns and other minutiae [hours or days all the way to MONTHS.]
2. Re-evaluate the system and edit in roughly 15 years worth of hindsight (potentially several different lists that require being merged together) [At least several months.]
3. Take finished system and begin redesigning the COSMS based upon the new rules. [Up to a full year perhaps?]
4. Revise or update the rules to reflect decisions made during the Cosm design. [Several Months at the very least.]
5. Write up the COSMS in worldbooks plus extensive editing and playtesting. [Several more months I hope, so as to offer a well designed finished product]
6. Advertising campaign launching TORG2. [At least 1 month, more like 2 months.]

All of which assumes a full team of at least 6 to 10 people and a current income stream allowing them to work at the project without concerns for running up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
If there is less people and/or they must allocate at least some time to making a separate income, the time required could double or triple.

[BenyG]

Thanks Eric, for the update.
If you don't mind me asking did they buy the entire TORG property from you or just a piece? (i.e. digital publishing rights for video games, or non-print media, etc...)

I am with skel on this one. If we see a product in the short term, either they pretty much had a product in place and just needed the intellectual property or they threw together a piece of garbage and slapped a TORG logo on it. I highly doubt the first as most people won't work on something without the knowledge that their work will come to fruition and I hope the latter isn't what we get. I would rather them take 5 years and put out a fantastic TORG product than to slap together a crappy system to try and make money off of it.

BennyG

[morenachos]

Apologies to the group... please generally disregard this post - Except Eric Gibson... :)

Eric, I sent you a private message about TORG - but have not heard back. I am posting to this general forum in case you have perhaps not seen it and will see this instead. Could you please let me know about the issue I discussed in the Private Message?

Thank you! :)

[bblackmoor]

I would rather them take 5 years and put out a fantastic TORG product than to slap together a crappy system to try and make money off of it.

Caveat: I don't play TORG, don't own any books for it, and only vaguely know what it's about. But what I am getting from this thread is that if the new TORG owners put out something quickly, people will assume it's crap, and if they take too long, people will bitch because they had to wait. Geez, guys. Can't we ease up just a little? Someone cared enough about the game to pay for it. Can't we just hope they come out with a good game, as soon as possible? Send some positive energies that way, maybe, and encourage them (whoever they are), rather than setting up all these negative expectations?

I don't want to come off like a Pollyanna, here. I know that no matter what the new TORG folks do, someone will bitch about it. And sure, despite their best intentions, they may well come out with a "piece of garbage" and "crappy system". But isn't it a little too early to jump to those conclusions? Is it too much to ask for a little optimism?

[skeloric]

They repossessed my optimism years ago, I couldn't make the payments on it because I was out of work.

[BenyG]

Caveat: I don't play TORG, don't own any books for it, and only vaguely know what it's about. But what I am getting from this thread is that if the new TORG owners put out something quickly, people will assume it's crap, and if they take too long, people will bitch because they had to wait. Geez, guys. Can't we ease up just a little? Someone cared enough about the game to pay for it. Can't we just hope they come out with a good game, as soon as possible? Send some positive energies that way, maybe, and encourage them (whoever they are), rather than setting up all these negative expectations?

I played TORG when it first came out. Bought all the books as they expanded and eventually stopped. TORG was in many ways revolutionary with its usage of the deck for randomness as well as the combinations of genre in one relatively cohesive background. It really wowed me and from the first time I played it, I fell in love with it, or maybe better to say the idea of it. After some time with the game you start to see all the things wrong with it. This invariably happens with every game system, with few exceptions. Most systems come out with a second edition to address these issues. Most of us Torg fans have been waiting for that second edition for well over a decade. In that timespan we have had dozens of teases and promises about a Torg 2.0, none of which came to fruition.
That all being said, I still want a new Torg. But for you to ask us to be optimistic or even less bitter is, I'd argue, an unrealistic request. And I rarely get involved in this. I have basically lurked at the edges trying not to get my hopes up. I can't imagine how bitter I'd be if I was here talking it up and joining in on a regular basis.

BennyG

[Rerun941]

Who owns Torg now?

I do! I do!

(Okay, I don't own the IP, but a friend of mine gave me a tattered original boxed set. It has all the cards in the drama deck which is a nice bonus.)

Anyone have an index for Torg? I think I have the 1st Ed of the game and not the R&E, but I wanted to check. Thanks in advance!

[Whill]

I still want a new Torg

I want a new Torg
One that won't go away
One that won't keep me up all night
One that won't make me sleep all day

A Torg that won't make me nervous
Wondering what to do
A Torg that makes me feel like I feel when I'm with you
When I'm alone with you
Playin' Torg with you baby

[tumadschin]

Well, Eric didn't want to make it and we didn't know this forum existed so we couldn't .... right, it's about the announcement who owns TORG now. Around 2 months ago Eric sold all rights to the German company:

Ulisses Spiele GmbH
Industriestr. 11
D-65529 Waldems-Steinfischbach

We are the publishers of "Das Schwarze Auge", the biggest German fantasy rpg and we also publish the German version of Paizo's Pathfinder rpg.

Well, as non-native English language speakers we are not really prepared to do a new English language version of TORG so - as you can imagine - we will have to look for a licensee for that. But that's still in the future since right now we are still desperately waiting for all the TORG material Eric has promised to send us a while ago. Artwork, contracts, books ... Without knowing what there is it's hard to make plans ... So if anybody is in contact with good old Eric and could get him to finally deliver all that material, that would be the first step towards a new and more successful TORG ... :)

[Whill]

Well, Eric didn't want to make it and we didn't know this forum existed so we couldn't .... right, it's about the announcement who owns TORG now. Around 2 months ago Eric sold all rights to the German company:

Ulisses Spiele GmbH
Industriestr. 11
D-65529 Waldems-Steinfischbach

We are the publishers of "Das Schwarze Auge", the biggest German fantasy rpg and we also publish the German version of Paizo's Pathfinder rpg.

Well, as non-native English language speakers we are not really prepared to do a new English language version of TORG so - as you can imagine - we will have to look for a licensee for that.

Welcome to the forum, and thank you for the big news! Best wishes.


But that's still in the future since right now we are still desperately waiting for all the TORG material Eric has promised to send us a while ago. Artwork, contracts, books ... Without knowing what there is it's hard to make plans ... So if anybody is in contact with good old Eric and could get him to finally deliver all that material, that would be the first step towards a new and more successful TORG ... :)

Sorry to hear about the trouble.

[Kansas Jim]

We are the publishers of "Das Schwarze Auge", the biggest German fantasy rpg and we also publish the German version of Paizo's Pathfinder rpg.
I've heard of "Das Schwarze Auge" but have never come across a copy of Fanpro's English translation, "The Dark Eye", so don't know much about it. I'll have to look harder so I can see what we might be able to expect for Torg!

[skeloric]

Of course, now I fear that I'll need to learn German to even hope to see "TORG2" in my lifetime.
:mad: "rassen frassen" :mad: :fight:

[Whill]

But that's still in the future since right now we are still desperately waiting for all the TORG material Eric has promised to send us a while ago. Artwork, contracts, books ... Without knowing what there is it's hard to make plans ... So if anybody is in contact with good old Eric and could get him to finally deliver all that material, that would be the first step towards a new and more successful TORG ... :)

Eric Gibson does occasionally read these forums so perhaps he will see this reminder to send you the material he has. Best wishes in your endeavors and please keep us posted of any plans or progress, including even those in Deutsch (but please post any news or announcements here in Englisch). Thanks.

[Stormchild]

This is great news. Being a german player I know Das Schwarze Auge and Ulisses Spiele quite well (though not personally) and I am very optimistic now. I have to admit, though Das Schwarze Auge was the first game I played and GMed, I don't like it. But I have to admit it is very professionally administered. So we can expect equal professional work for Torg. They do not have much games on the shelves so they will have put the right thoughts into buying Torg. They have Space Gothic, an SF-Game I really love, and they surely knew what they did when they bought this one in 2007 (think about Star Wars with Corporate Intrigue, Horror and a big piece of Paranoia thrown into the lot). I can't tell you much about the other RPGs they offer, Pathfinder, Iron Kingdoms and Dungeon Crawl Classics but they sound interesting. All I heard this is a company that is working very professionally and as it has not many RPG products, I am sure they will not let the Torg IP collect dust. As the german RPG market is very small I do assume they will already consider an english version. All in all, as I see it this is very good news.

[Doomprayer]

True, true.
And who'd have thought some years ago that we'll be able to get TORG in German one day? That's really great news.

[Territan]

We are the publishers of "Das Schwarze Auge", the biggest German fantasy rpg and we also publish the German version of Paizo's Pathfinder rpg.

Well, as non-native English language speakers we are not really prepared to do a new English language version of TORG so - as you can imagine - we will have to look for a licensee for that. But that's still in the future since right now we are still desperately waiting for all the TORG material Eric has promised to send us a while ago. Artwork, contracts, books ... Without knowing what there is it's hard to make plans ... So if anybody is in contact with good old Eric and could get him to finally deliver all that material, that would be the first step towards a new and more successful TORG ... :)

It's good to hear the line is in capable and experienced hands... although the licensing issues for the English version of an originally English game feel artificially peculiar. And disheartening, considering the issues TORG had in distribution channels the first time.

PleaseohpleaseohPLEASE tell me you're hanging onto the Drama Deck concept. The "approved action" system and the wheeling and dealing for bonuses made the action at the table almost as frenetic as what was going on in the game.

[Ethaelmar]

Well, if Ulisses Spiele are paying attention, don't forget to give this thing a whack in the MMORPG medium. I'm glad to see the game is not entirely dead, as yet, and hopefully any new version would come out in time for me to be truly tired with Warhammer FRP.

For my part, I still believe the original rules are just fine, except for glass-jaw ninja, and I like the additions made by Jim. Were it up to me, Eric, Jim, and (sorry, don't know his real name) Skeloric would remain in the middle of any new development. What I would like to see is the release like it was done for the original game... a nice box set with the rules, world, and adventure book, the drama deck and one very ugly dice. After that, re-package and sell the original adventures, sources, and Infiniverse. I would also like to see the original cosms come back, perhaps with a minor amount of improvement tweaking, but not enough that the realm is a completely different animal.

Finally, failing an MMO contract of any sort, build a web site dedicated to fighting the Possibility Wars so that, as was done through the Infiniverse, GMs can submit reports about their party's adventures with the war, affecting any future outcome. I think it's time for the new generation to become involved with wide-world gaming, only this time the internet exists and it will make things, likely, all that much easier. I would even help in concept development for a web site.

[JPQuinn]

Does anyone have any information about this? Is there any updates?

Anyone have any contact info? I checked the Ulisses Spiele site and even left a message on the forums, but I can't find a "e-mail questions here" link anywhere.

[Whill]

Anyone have any contact info?


Ulisses Spiele GmbH
Industriestr. 11
D-65529 Waldems-Steinfischbach



Does anyone have any information about this? Is there any updates?


Well, as non-native English language speakers we are not really prepared to do a new English language version of TORG so - as you can imagine - we will have to look for a licensee for that. But that's still in the future since right now we are still desperately waiting for all the TORG material Eric has promised to send us a while ago. Artwork, contracts, books ... Without knowing what there is it's hard to make plans ... So if anybody is in contact with good old Eric and could get him to finally deliver all that material, that would be the first step towards a new and more successful TORG ... :)

They are waiting on Eric Gibson to send them published TORG products. I think that pretty much says it all.

[Ethaelmar]

I, for one, am horribly disappointed that a new German version will be done, but nothing new in English, unless of course an English company can be hired to translate. There are plenty of excellent English speakers of German birth in Germany, so I honestly don't see why it couldn't be done? If it is done, I hope they will do more with the game than WEG ever did, though they had the resources for it.

[JPQuinn]

Well, since I am the owner of an English-speaking gaming company and have experience with the TORG game, if Ulisses Spiele is still looking for someone to license the English rights, I'd be happy to chat with them. If the deal with Eric fell through, then I'd be happy to chat with him about purchasing all the rights to TORG. And, since I own pretty much damned near every TORG book already, having a library of material is a non-issue.

And as a note to the contact info, I was hoping for an e-mail and a contact name. I will keep searching and I should eventually find one.

[Ethaelmar]

Well, JP, I wish you the very best of luck, blessings if you'll accept them, for getting your company completely off the ground with Destiny 6.

The problem with Torg is not just in whether or not you speak English and know Torg, it's being able to translate a brand new game book, and supplements, to English AFTER the new version is written in German. Certainly, Ulisses Spiele will be making changes to the original game, if not also including portions from Jim Ogle's R+E, and they will only sub-contract to an English-speaking company that will translate their words as they're supposed to be from the German.

[JPQuinn]

Torpedo in the water! I found an e-mail address and my cartographer is a native German-speaking Austrian and helped translate my e-mail. Now, let's see if the torpedo reaches its mark.

[johntfs]

Well, since I am the owner of an English-speaking gaming company and have experience with the TORG game, if Ulisses Spiele is still looking for someone to license the English rights, I'd be happy to chat with them. If the deal with Eric fell through, then I'd be happy to chat with him about purchasing all the rights to TORG. And, since I own pretty much damned near every TORG book already, having a library of material is a non-issue.

And as a note to the contact info, I was hoping for an e-mail and a contact name. I will keep searching and I should eventually find one.

I think your biggest problem isn't so much the books and artwork, it's the contracts. The books and artwork can probably be obtained without a whole lot of difficulty. The contracts are probably another matter.

[Whill]

The books and artwork can probably be obtained without a whole lot of difficulty.

WEG history disagrees. You'd be surprised how something that seems so simple could be so complicated or impossible.

[Doomprayer]

... my cartographer is a native German-speaking Austrian and ...

There are German-speaking Austrians? ;)
Tell him, a Bavarian said that. :D

[SpikeStranger]

Hej everyone, since nobody seems to have noticed around here: There has been an official statement by Ulisses on the company's blog. It was posted already on the 08.08. The link is
http://www.ulisses-spiele.de/index.php?id=3&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=201&tx_ttnews=2&cHash=ea1e7ddd4e

It is in german of course so I made a fast translation of the important parts. Don't take it too literal but I tried my best.

[B]Ulisses Blog / Alain:

‚ Ulisses Spiele takes over Torg

Ulisses Spiele is pleased to announce that after long negotiations with West End Games they have taken over all licenses for the Torg universe.

... [explanation what Torg is all about] ...

„The task we have before us is to transport Torg into the new millenium.“, says Markus Plötz [executive director of Ulisses]. „Torg is a RPG that always takes place here and now and we have to integrate the last 20 years with all its developments.“

To be successful with this the company does not plan any publications before 2012. Publishing director Mario Truant adds: „Not only do we need to incorporate the technical progress and political changes. From a todays point of view the rules and gaming mechanisms are to some extent unnecessarily complicated or simply outdated.“
But for Markus Plötz in particular it is very important to keep the things that were essential to TORG. „I have many very nice memories of this RPG, there are however numerous small things that need to be revised.“

The company would like to thank everyone for the mails and congratulations it received after the take over of the game. „We are happy to see that there are many people whose interest in TORG is as big as ours.“ '

[Whill]

Welcome to the board, thanks for sharing this and especially thanks for the basic translation.

[Stormchild]

The art should be no problem. They have a lot of very talented artists on their payroll, just look at the art they did in the dark eye. With the WEG licensing history, I think they would be good advised to use new art for a new Torg.
They are now big in the business of simplifying RPGs. I just glimpsed into the new John Sinclair RPG they did and this one is really easy to play, fast and entertaining. It is obviously meant to draw new players from board games into RPG. I think they are quite capable of simplifying the Torg rules.