Another Fox broadcasting baseball/NASCAR double-header. It’s a great way to kill an entire day in front of the TV. Unfortunately, the baseball game was a terrible disappointment in excitement, 8 to 0, Dodgers over Giants. All eyes had been on SoCal because of Manny Ramirez’s 50 game drug suspension. What little pre-game there was and the in game chatter about the suspension primarily focused on his return. I admit he was quite a highlight reel the last time the Dodgers were featured in the game of the week.
(I like color commentator Eric Karros, but his players’ union rep side is intolerable at times. “I say Manny should play in the All-Star game if he’s voted in by the fans.” “Well Eric, our Fox poll shows that the fans have voted 80% to 20% that Manny shouldn’t play in the All-Star game this year.” “Like I said, if the fans want Manny to play, then he should play.” This explanation went on for five agonizing minutes due to the blow out in progress. And, no, he shouldn’t play.)
What on earth does this have to do with NASCAR?
The abbreviated NASCAR Darlington pre-race briefly mentioned Jeremy Mayfield and a couple of crew members had been suspended for failing their drug tests and had been indefinitely suspended. I’d compare and contrast the drug situation with Man-Ram, but that tidbit was the whole story and discussion on the broadcast. No mention of what drugs were involved or discussion of NASCAR’s testing and suspension protocols. Unlike Shane Hmiel (not sure I’m spelling that right), I knew who Jeremy Mayfield was before the suspension. This issue merited some more coverage, but like I said, it was a short pre-race.
So what was on the pre-race instead? A quick Digger promo. A couple of tantalizing glimpses of Ingrid. Jeff Gordon and his mom made a pitch for his mom’s new cookbook, but carefully skirted the issue of Ingrid’s new ‘doo. (I’m still waiting for some in-depth coverage.) Then came one of the most pathetic moments in Fox’s NASCAR coverage history: DW practically begging Junior to win a race in an interview. Oh wait. That’s pretty much every interview this year. How sad.
Fox hasn’t yet figured out how to get Junior in Victory Lane, but has figured how to monetize their Junior coverage. At least for this race, the Mountain Dew cam showed Junior’s progress throughout the race, like him blowing yet another pit stop. I could pile on with the commentary, but I’ll stop here.
So the bout was set: the Tank of Tomorrow versus the Darlington wall. It was physical with plenty of hits and punches, and a few knockouts. Michael Waltrip Racing took it on the chin with three KO’s. Fox probably didn’t appreciate their pedal cam (and sponsorship) going up in flames.
It was a long race, but had lots of passing and wrecks. The sight of cars coming off Turn Four was breathtaking all night long. This Southern 500 was a race featuring a steady attrition of drivers being taken out of contention and the persevering endurance of the competitors putting themselves in a position to win.
There are good points and bad points to the typical lengthy NASCAR races compared to the IRL, ALMS, and F1 races that take under three hours. The good side is the drama. Over the course of a long race there may often be many reverses of fortune and sudden changes in strategy for any driver. Jimmie Johnson’s night was as good an example of that as anyone: starting in the back, using strategy to get up front, then going down a lap, and finally finishing second. The downside is that it’s an endurance contest for the viewers as well. Likewise, consider the argument for the DH in baseball: making the pitcher hit adds strategy to the game, but nobody goes to a game to watch the manager think. (And that is completely wrong, but this still isn’t a baseball column.) People generally watch races to see cars go fast, not crew chiefs making tough decisions. It’s hard to say definitely what sort of racing (long or short) is intrinsically the best. It really depends on the individual races themselves.
This was a generally lively race, up until after the final pit stop. Congratulations to a fine driving effort from Mark Martin. But let’s face it, any other driver up front in this one at the end probably would have won too. There was some false drama about fuel mileage, but the race was effectively over well before the end.
I’ll sum this problem up in three words: Car of Tomorrow. It’s becoming clear that, at many tracks, track position is now everything near the end. There is no other strategy. The leading car took off like it was shot out of a canon time and time again after restarts. Pit stops and wrecks were the only things slowing the leader down. I guess this feeds back into the strategy and fate issue. A short race with one or two pit stops with the COT would probably be far too predictable to be interesting.
The COT is not going to be changed anytime soon. (It would likely require some healthy car manufacturers in the series and some terrible deadly wreck. At which point they really might turn the car into a tank.) This competition issue might be fixable with the tires. They’d have to be tough enough to survive the heavy wear that the COT puts on them. (Remember all those exploding tires last year?) But their grip needs to degrade quicker, allowing car setup and driver skill a chance to trump track position. It’s a pity Goodyear has seemingly disappeared from NASCAR. With all the other product placements during a broadcast, the absence of any mention of the series only tire manufacturer is disturbing to say the least.
In two weeks, we go from endurance contest to outright marathon with the Indy 500 and Coke-snorting 600. No wait, Jeremy Mayfield won’t be there. It’ll just be the Coca-Cola 600. (Apologies if he wasn’t doing coke, the broadcast didn’t say!)
J.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Richmond Cup Race: One Too Many Mint Juleps
No, I wasn’t watching the Kentucky Derby before the race. Anticipating a caution/commercial filled race, I attempted to make the event more interesting with some liquid enhancement. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the race would be delayed. First up was the best pre-race show of the season where we watched the Mets walk in the winning run against the Phillies in the bottom of the 10th. Ah, that was just too bad for Mets. Then there was the caution/start, which made me wish that the baseball game had gone another inning. Well by this time, the mint juleps had overcome me. I could no longer pay attention or blog responsibly.
What I vaguely remember through the alcohol-induced haze and subsequent coma was a decent race. But let’s face it, last week was a tough act to follow, so I don’t really feel like missed anything. We’ll try this again next week.
J.
What I vaguely remember through the alcohol-induced haze and subsequent coma was a decent race. But let’s face it, last week was a tough act to follow, so I don’t really feel like missed anything. We’ll try this again next week.
J.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Talledega NASCAR Races: Airborne!
Well, what’d know? The COT can fly. I mean other than Michael McDowell’s memorable Texas’ qualifying wreck, the car generally sticks to the track. I’m sure Carl Edwards was as surprised as anybody to be reenacting Bobby Allison’s famous attempt to bring racing action closer to the fans. Thankfully, the track safety equipment worked the same now as then.
It’s very strange that a car that’s so aerodynamically unstable and hard to drive during a race, suddenly becomes manageable in situations that typically flip racecars right over. Ask Michael Waltrip, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex about that. Then ask Matt Kenseth, who ended up getting turned over easy in the old-style Nationwide car the day before.
Once again, I was reminded not to starting mentally writing these things before I’ve actually seen the race. I was planning on comparing and contrasting ESPN’s Nationwide coverage with Fox’s Cup coverage this weekend. This is moot. The races and broadcast styles were different, but ultimately the quality of the races itself was what determined the fans’ enjoyment. In these two cases, both races were good.
I would have to give the edge to ESPN’s pre-race. It was professional and energetic. Actually, Brad Daugherty can handle “energetic” by himself. I like Brad, and say what you will, he didn’t get the job through Affirmative Action, but from experience and sheer enthusiasm. The good attitude starts with Alan Bestwick, who sets the tone well. Andy Petree and Tim Brewer both did a good job of setting up the technical side of the race. The rest of the crew acquitted themselves well. (I’m being nice to Dr. Punch.)
On the Fox side, there was a Digger cartoon rerun, a pointless radio chatter feature, and a Talledega memories segment that didn’t seem to pay off. But, they did a good job of talking to several drivers. The Carl Edwards’ interview while he was showing off his flying skills race turned out to be unintentional foreshadowing. Anyway, as I’ve said before, NASCAR is personality-driven and all drivers have their fans. Giving Kyle Busch some promotion makes his fans happy and gives his legion of detractors more to hate. Everybody wins.
I can’t believe that Fox is even promoting Digger in their baseball broadcasts now. (Sidebar: Since I’m not covering baseball at the moment, I have to put this here. The best moment of that 4 ½ hour Yankees vs. Red Sox game had to come from a Sox’s fan. After Jeter had fouled one off, a heckler, either very loud or too close to the crowd mic, shouted, “That would have been a home run in your ballpark!” Good smack.) Frankly, Fox’s broadcast seemed like a steady stream of constant commercials and product placements, more so than ESPN’s.
For that matter, I have to ask, what is up with Goodyear? Not their tires, but fact nobody mentioned them during either broadcast (except for an Indy tire test story). Is there some sort of feud? Are they not paying enough to get mentioned, like Sunoco and their freaking race fuel? Toyo Tires was sponsoring the pit stops on ESPN! Goodyear must be gnashing their teeth like Sprint does during all those other those other cell phone company sponsorships that happen during the race. Apparently, Goodyear is going to have to start messing up their tire compounds again if they want to get any airtime.
The Nationwide race featured big three-wide packs and lots of mixing it up for the lead. Kenseth took flight, as no race at this venue is really complete until somebody gets flipped. The action was thick enough near the end that the broadcast team could hardly keep up with it. In good Talledega fashion, the winner was a mystery until somebody crossed the finish line. On another note, did I hear Michael Waltrip actually flirting with Jamie Little? I hope his wife wasn’t watching. He looked a little discombobulated after his wreck. Then again I remember Dan Wheldon in the IRL doing the same thing. Who can blame them?
The Cup race was a tale of big crashes. I picked the first one to be early, solely because there hadn’t been one the day before. I saw the second one coming right before it happened. The broadcasters seemed unsurprised when it happened as well. That typical Talledega mad dash for the checkers had a crescendo that no one saw coming. That wreck will be replayed for years to come. Fox reported fan injuries from the wreck, but gave no details. Thankfully, the injuries were later reported to be minor. Thankfully, this wasn’t another Dale Sr. moment for the network.
The COT gave a good report of its self in the race. Sort of. Plenty of pluses for safety. While the old-style car flipped at the first opportunity, the COT passed up on all but one, and Carl Edwards not only walked away, but jogged. After that first Big One, it’s amazing how many cars involved were competitive afterward. Chalk that up to toughness. On the other hand, the car is an aero brick in undamaged form, so even at a super speedway, it’s not that surprising that they’re still racy after being damaged. While the Nationwide cars could run most of the race three-wide without incident, the COT could not maintain that formation for long without either wrecking (the first Big One), or reverting to double or single file racing. I’m not sure if this is good or bad. Take your pick.
One race later, I’m already lifting my ban on Junior coverage. He ran up front and finished well, so I don’t feel too bad about this. He got plenty of attention. In both pre-race interviews, Junior was way too uptight. Even Matt Kenseth was more lively when he was interviewed. As the in-race reporter in the Nationwide race, Junior did an excellent job of explaining the differences in drafting between the Nationwide car and the COT. Not surprisingly, he liked the Nationwide-style car better. Junior finally lightened up after blowing yet another pit stop by missing his stall on Saturday. After the Cup race, he looked much more relaxed as well. Did he, “Get his mojo back,” as Dr. Jerry Punch said repeatedly? Stay tuned. As the Junior turns.
There’s a lot of racing kudos to spread out here. Congratulations to a pair of first time winners in David Ragan and Brad Keselowski. Both were involved in wrecks that took another driver out, but neither intentionally. Both handled the post race well. How great was it in Cup to see somebody not on a big team win?
Congrats also to Aussie Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, and Jeff Burton for their top ten finishes. Burton certainly made some new fans. Not so much coming back from three laps down, but for spinning out Kyle Busch from the lead. Speed did very well considering he started the race from pit lane.
Special praise must go to Carl Edwards. He executed a race-long strategy on the last lap that came oh-so-close to paying off. He’s easily in the lead for the stunt crash of the year award, and Edwards is also in the lead for the showmanship award for crossing the finish line on foot after that crash. He’s made the Talledega historical reel forever.
While NASCAR may be basking in the glow right now, this race has exposed a couple of issues.
For the lesser matter, we return to Scott Speed. His car was tricked out for qualifying and had to be reset for the race. If the initial adjustment hadn’t been done, likely a “start and park” team would have gotten in and would have dropped out after a couple of laps. As unfair as the top 35 rule may be, a fully funded team, who intends to run the full race, that is knocked out by a team that is essentially funded by NASCAR to fill the field is worse. This issue is complicated and I don’t have a solution, but I’m sure others do, and they should be considered.
The more serious matter is safety at Talledega. No, it’s not the fences or the cars. The unanimous opinion of drivers, commentators, and myself is that it’s the double yellow line penalty. Regardless of how many times it’s explained, it sure looked like Tony Stewart got away with one last year but pushing Regan Smith below the lines. Keselowski and Edwards were certainly watching last Fall’s race and the result was predictable in the same situation. It’s also predictable that there’s going to be plenty more close finishes at this track. NASCAR needs to make a rules adjustment. Giving the drivers the whole track to work with in the tri-oval area on the final lap seems like the easiest solution.
Do a couple of great Talledega races make up for a so-so season to this point? We’ll see.
J.
It’s very strange that a car that’s so aerodynamically unstable and hard to drive during a race, suddenly becomes manageable in situations that typically flip racecars right over. Ask Michael Waltrip, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex about that. Then ask Matt Kenseth, who ended up getting turned over easy in the old-style Nationwide car the day before.
Once again, I was reminded not to starting mentally writing these things before I’ve actually seen the race. I was planning on comparing and contrasting ESPN’s Nationwide coverage with Fox’s Cup coverage this weekend. This is moot. The races and broadcast styles were different, but ultimately the quality of the races itself was what determined the fans’ enjoyment. In these two cases, both races were good.
I would have to give the edge to ESPN’s pre-race. It was professional and energetic. Actually, Brad Daugherty can handle “energetic” by himself. I like Brad, and say what you will, he didn’t get the job through Affirmative Action, but from experience and sheer enthusiasm. The good attitude starts with Alan Bestwick, who sets the tone well. Andy Petree and Tim Brewer both did a good job of setting up the technical side of the race. The rest of the crew acquitted themselves well. (I’m being nice to Dr. Punch.)
On the Fox side, there was a Digger cartoon rerun, a pointless radio chatter feature, and a Talledega memories segment that didn’t seem to pay off. But, they did a good job of talking to several drivers. The Carl Edwards’ interview while he was showing off his flying skills race turned out to be unintentional foreshadowing. Anyway, as I’ve said before, NASCAR is personality-driven and all drivers have their fans. Giving Kyle Busch some promotion makes his fans happy and gives his legion of detractors more to hate. Everybody wins.
I can’t believe that Fox is even promoting Digger in their baseball broadcasts now. (Sidebar: Since I’m not covering baseball at the moment, I have to put this here. The best moment of that 4 ½ hour Yankees vs. Red Sox game had to come from a Sox’s fan. After Jeter had fouled one off, a heckler, either very loud or too close to the crowd mic, shouted, “That would have been a home run in your ballpark!” Good smack.) Frankly, Fox’s broadcast seemed like a steady stream of constant commercials and product placements, more so than ESPN’s.
For that matter, I have to ask, what is up with Goodyear? Not their tires, but fact nobody mentioned them during either broadcast (except for an Indy tire test story). Is there some sort of feud? Are they not paying enough to get mentioned, like Sunoco and their freaking race fuel? Toyo Tires was sponsoring the pit stops on ESPN! Goodyear must be gnashing their teeth like Sprint does during all those other those other cell phone company sponsorships that happen during the race. Apparently, Goodyear is going to have to start messing up their tire compounds again if they want to get any airtime.
The Nationwide race featured big three-wide packs and lots of mixing it up for the lead. Kenseth took flight, as no race at this venue is really complete until somebody gets flipped. The action was thick enough near the end that the broadcast team could hardly keep up with it. In good Talledega fashion, the winner was a mystery until somebody crossed the finish line. On another note, did I hear Michael Waltrip actually flirting with Jamie Little? I hope his wife wasn’t watching. He looked a little discombobulated after his wreck. Then again I remember Dan Wheldon in the IRL doing the same thing. Who can blame them?
The Cup race was a tale of big crashes. I picked the first one to be early, solely because there hadn’t been one the day before. I saw the second one coming right before it happened. The broadcasters seemed unsurprised when it happened as well. That typical Talledega mad dash for the checkers had a crescendo that no one saw coming. That wreck will be replayed for years to come. Fox reported fan injuries from the wreck, but gave no details. Thankfully, the injuries were later reported to be minor. Thankfully, this wasn’t another Dale Sr. moment for the network.
The COT gave a good report of its self in the race. Sort of. Plenty of pluses for safety. While the old-style car flipped at the first opportunity, the COT passed up on all but one, and Carl Edwards not only walked away, but jogged. After that first Big One, it’s amazing how many cars involved were competitive afterward. Chalk that up to toughness. On the other hand, the car is an aero brick in undamaged form, so even at a super speedway, it’s not that surprising that they’re still racy after being damaged. While the Nationwide cars could run most of the race three-wide without incident, the COT could not maintain that formation for long without either wrecking (the first Big One), or reverting to double or single file racing. I’m not sure if this is good or bad. Take your pick.
One race later, I’m already lifting my ban on Junior coverage. He ran up front and finished well, so I don’t feel too bad about this. He got plenty of attention. In both pre-race interviews, Junior was way too uptight. Even Matt Kenseth was more lively when he was interviewed. As the in-race reporter in the Nationwide race, Junior did an excellent job of explaining the differences in drafting between the Nationwide car and the COT. Not surprisingly, he liked the Nationwide-style car better. Junior finally lightened up after blowing yet another pit stop by missing his stall on Saturday. After the Cup race, he looked much more relaxed as well. Did he, “Get his mojo back,” as Dr. Jerry Punch said repeatedly? Stay tuned. As the Junior turns.
There’s a lot of racing kudos to spread out here. Congratulations to a pair of first time winners in David Ragan and Brad Keselowski. Both were involved in wrecks that took another driver out, but neither intentionally. Both handled the post race well. How great was it in Cup to see somebody not on a big team win?
Congrats also to Aussie Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, and Jeff Burton for their top ten finishes. Burton certainly made some new fans. Not so much coming back from three laps down, but for spinning out Kyle Busch from the lead. Speed did very well considering he started the race from pit lane.
Special praise must go to Carl Edwards. He executed a race-long strategy on the last lap that came oh-so-close to paying off. He’s easily in the lead for the stunt crash of the year award, and Edwards is also in the lead for the showmanship award for crossing the finish line on foot after that crash. He’s made the Talledega historical reel forever.
While NASCAR may be basking in the glow right now, this race has exposed a couple of issues.
For the lesser matter, we return to Scott Speed. His car was tricked out for qualifying and had to be reset for the race. If the initial adjustment hadn’t been done, likely a “start and park” team would have gotten in and would have dropped out after a couple of laps. As unfair as the top 35 rule may be, a fully funded team, who intends to run the full race, that is knocked out by a team that is essentially funded by NASCAR to fill the field is worse. This issue is complicated and I don’t have a solution, but I’m sure others do, and they should be considered.
The more serious matter is safety at Talledega. No, it’s not the fences or the cars. The unanimous opinion of drivers, commentators, and myself is that it’s the double yellow line penalty. Regardless of how many times it’s explained, it sure looked like Tony Stewart got away with one last year but pushing Regan Smith below the lines. Keselowski and Edwards were certainly watching last Fall’s race and the result was predictable in the same situation. It’s also predictable that there’s going to be plenty more close finishes at this track. NASCAR needs to make a rules adjustment. Giving the drivers the whole track to work with in the tri-oval area on the final lap seems like the easiest solution.
Do a couple of great Talledega races make up for a so-so season to this point? We’ll see.
J.
How I spent my Spring Break
I’ve made a decision. I’m quitting work. I’m off to Hawaii to become a private investigator. I’ll live in bungalow on a palatial estate and drive a Ferrari. I’ll have string of disastrous relationships with an unending series of beautiful women. (I won’t need any practice on that last part.) Most of all, I want a Detroit Tigers hat.
I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, I was watching Magnum p.i. on the Retro Network, among my many other official vacation duties. (You can guess how important the rest were given that clue.) The show holds up remarkably well for being for 20 years old. Perhaps because of the great scenery and because it was so personality driven. Magnum versus Higgins banter never gets old.
Okay, I can live without the rest of it, but I want that hat. I used to have one during the 80’s. The Tigers were my favorite team and Magnum was one of my favorite shows. Time and usage caused me to love said hat to death. In 2006, I almost got a new hat for Christmas from my parents, if the Tigers would have won the World Series. (Likewise, I’ve been promised Rockies and Rays’ hats if they had won. I’ve been thoroughly blued the last three years.) Somehow it doesn’t seem right to just go out and buy the hat. It’s like it has to be earned on some level. Unfortunately, the Tigers are unlikely to do well this year. Indeed, the entire city of Detroit may be taking after the Lions and their historic ineptitude last year.
One of the Magnum episodes I saw involved him turning 40, and how he was worried about a dramatic change in personality and lifestyle to follow. I can sympathize. I doubt I’m going to look like Tom Selleck three months from now, even if I grow a mustache.
(Sigh.)
I want that damn hat.
J.
I know what you’re thinking. Yeah, I was watching Magnum p.i. on the Retro Network, among my many other official vacation duties. (You can guess how important the rest were given that clue.) The show holds up remarkably well for being for 20 years old. Perhaps because of the great scenery and because it was so personality driven. Magnum versus Higgins banter never gets old.
Okay, I can live without the rest of it, but I want that hat. I used to have one during the 80’s. The Tigers were my favorite team and Magnum was one of my favorite shows. Time and usage caused me to love said hat to death. In 2006, I almost got a new hat for Christmas from my parents, if the Tigers would have won the World Series. (Likewise, I’ve been promised Rockies and Rays’ hats if they had won. I’ve been thoroughly blued the last three years.) Somehow it doesn’t seem right to just go out and buy the hat. It’s like it has to be earned on some level. Unfortunately, the Tigers are unlikely to do well this year. Indeed, the entire city of Detroit may be taking after the Lions and their historic ineptitude last year.
One of the Magnum episodes I saw involved him turning 40, and how he was worried about a dramatic change in personality and lifestyle to follow. I can sympathize. I doubt I’m going to look like Tom Selleck three months from now, even if I grow a mustache.
(Sigh.)
I want that damn hat.
J.
The Gift: Why Paizo should give Pathfinder away
I posted this idea at Grognardia, but not well. I was tired and it was late and I wasn’t thinking entirely straight. (Sounds like everything else I’ve ever written.) However, I think it’s still worth some additional explanation.
The thesis is as follows: Paizo should publish a simplified 3e rules set and then give it away.
First, this is idea is repugnant to the capitalist within me. Not only am I asking a company to give away their product, I’m putting all the work on them. If I was more familiar with 3e and had more experience with it, I might try my hand at it. But the point of this exercise is not to produce another retro clone; it is instead to produce a finely polished product from a respected RPG publisher. The clones are awesome, but they are backward looking nostalgia. They are professional, but not stylish. On a technical note, D20 at its base is probably an easier, friendlier system than the matrix tables of older versions of D&D anyway. What would separate Paizo from the free systems is legitimacy, rather than a technical legality in the OGL.
Why on earth would for-profit company have any desire to compete in the same arena with competitors who give away their product? Computer nerds reading this are now waiting for me to make a Linux analogy. Not quite. I would put it closer to WOTC’s D20. The purpose of opening up the D&D license was to drive sales of the core books. This would be somewhat the reverse. The purpose of a free Pathfinder Basic (I’m not an advertising exec, somebody else come up with a catchy name) would be to create an easy to use system (that isn’t controlled by somebody else), that allows Paizo to concentrate on their core business of producing system extensions, adventures, and settings and to drive those sales. Given enough popularity, perhaps licensing opportunities follow.
Isn’t this the purpose of their current version of Pathfinder? Yes, but the system only appeals to 3e grognards. That’s not a large or expanding audience. The real loyalty of the Pathfinder players is likely not the rules, but the continued ability to play Paizo’s adventures without heavy modification to another system.
Who would be the audience of this Pathfinder Basic? For starters, fans of Paizo’s adventures, if my above theory is correct. If the rules allow and encourage plenty of creativity in interpretation, all but the most belligerent of Old School grognards should approve of it. As I’ve said in another posting, this group needs a published product to rally around. Make the rules simple enough and I think new novice players can be brought into the fold and expand the hobby. Lastly, new 4e players. Stop laughing. In spite of all the rulebooks, RPG’s are not about hard rules, which is what 4e is all about. This group of players may be ready to take off the training wheels, and if they do, I doubt they’ll go back.
Does it have to be free? Over the Internet as a download, yes. In print, it needs to be fairly low-cost, perhaps at cost. The theory here isn’t just to give away the razor and sell the blades, it is to expand the potential audience. A set of expensive hardbacks can be a significant a barrier to potential new players. Beyond the development costs, I do see the other analytical side of the argument; if it’s free, it has no perceived value. The only thing I can think of to combat that is to have plenty of ads and references to Paizo products in the rules. Make the rules look like an advertisement for the rest of the catalogue, which it actually would be.
That brings me to my next point, defining a few parameters of this mythical product. It can’t be a crippled set of rules. You know, like 4e and the way they’re determined to dribble out core races, classes, and monsters. It does have to have the full range of 3e classes and races. It needs to support these characters up to 14th level, the same as the Adventure Path series. (Sell the enhancement for higher level play.) It should contain a full range of classic SRD monsters and magic items. There should be a sample adventure along with a transcript of sample play with a group of newbies.
I would suggest a few other technical specifications. Make the game playable without miniatures. Encourage their use, but don’t mandate it. Strive to create a system that has no more than one modifier per roll. For events outside of standard actions, don’t try to create rules for every situation, just offer some guidelines and suggestions. Explicitly encourage groups to make up their own rules. Seriously consider some sort of simpler alternate to the experience points system. Most importantly, provide a rough conversion guide to the full Pathfinder/3e, as well as some of the retro clones. This will make the product look bigger than it is by providing access to a wealth of published and Internet material. Why not look smart, benevolent, and tolerant of other systems?
The problem with all of this is that Paizo is comprised of 3e grognards. Not to say that they’re snobs about their game system of choice, but 3e is their area of expertise. I’m not sure these are the best people to ask for a simplified rules set. Asking them to hack down 3e may be like asking someone to hack off body parts. They already think they’ve simplified the game with Pathfinder. Selling Pathfinder Basic to Paizo may be the hardest sell of all.
I’m not a business major. This isn’t a credible business plan. Then again, I’m not sure Paizo’s current plan is going to work in the long term either. Pathfinder Basic is worth consideration.
Addendum: I hope Paizo continues to offer the Beta version of Pathfinder as a free download, along with an addendum sheet of changes from the final version. I think WOTC offered a free download of changes from 3.0 to 3.5. This will allow players to try the system without a large monetary investment. Just getting people to try Pathfinder, may be Paizo’s biggest hurdle. If players like it, they’ll want the book.
J.
The thesis is as follows: Paizo should publish a simplified 3e rules set and then give it away.
First, this is idea is repugnant to the capitalist within me. Not only am I asking a company to give away their product, I’m putting all the work on them. If I was more familiar with 3e and had more experience with it, I might try my hand at it. But the point of this exercise is not to produce another retro clone; it is instead to produce a finely polished product from a respected RPG publisher. The clones are awesome, but they are backward looking nostalgia. They are professional, but not stylish. On a technical note, D20 at its base is probably an easier, friendlier system than the matrix tables of older versions of D&D anyway. What would separate Paizo from the free systems is legitimacy, rather than a technical legality in the OGL.
Why on earth would for-profit company have any desire to compete in the same arena with competitors who give away their product? Computer nerds reading this are now waiting for me to make a Linux analogy. Not quite. I would put it closer to WOTC’s D20. The purpose of opening up the D&D license was to drive sales of the core books. This would be somewhat the reverse. The purpose of a free Pathfinder Basic (I’m not an advertising exec, somebody else come up with a catchy name) would be to create an easy to use system (that isn’t controlled by somebody else), that allows Paizo to concentrate on their core business of producing system extensions, adventures, and settings and to drive those sales. Given enough popularity, perhaps licensing opportunities follow.
Isn’t this the purpose of their current version of Pathfinder? Yes, but the system only appeals to 3e grognards. That’s not a large or expanding audience. The real loyalty of the Pathfinder players is likely not the rules, but the continued ability to play Paizo’s adventures without heavy modification to another system.
Who would be the audience of this Pathfinder Basic? For starters, fans of Paizo’s adventures, if my above theory is correct. If the rules allow and encourage plenty of creativity in interpretation, all but the most belligerent of Old School grognards should approve of it. As I’ve said in another posting, this group needs a published product to rally around. Make the rules simple enough and I think new novice players can be brought into the fold and expand the hobby. Lastly, new 4e players. Stop laughing. In spite of all the rulebooks, RPG’s are not about hard rules, which is what 4e is all about. This group of players may be ready to take off the training wheels, and if they do, I doubt they’ll go back.
Does it have to be free? Over the Internet as a download, yes. In print, it needs to be fairly low-cost, perhaps at cost. The theory here isn’t just to give away the razor and sell the blades, it is to expand the potential audience. A set of expensive hardbacks can be a significant a barrier to potential new players. Beyond the development costs, I do see the other analytical side of the argument; if it’s free, it has no perceived value. The only thing I can think of to combat that is to have plenty of ads and references to Paizo products in the rules. Make the rules look like an advertisement for the rest of the catalogue, which it actually would be.
That brings me to my next point, defining a few parameters of this mythical product. It can’t be a crippled set of rules. You know, like 4e and the way they’re determined to dribble out core races, classes, and monsters. It does have to have the full range of 3e classes and races. It needs to support these characters up to 14th level, the same as the Adventure Path series. (Sell the enhancement for higher level play.) It should contain a full range of classic SRD monsters and magic items. There should be a sample adventure along with a transcript of sample play with a group of newbies.
I would suggest a few other technical specifications. Make the game playable without miniatures. Encourage their use, but don’t mandate it. Strive to create a system that has no more than one modifier per roll. For events outside of standard actions, don’t try to create rules for every situation, just offer some guidelines and suggestions. Explicitly encourage groups to make up their own rules. Seriously consider some sort of simpler alternate to the experience points system. Most importantly, provide a rough conversion guide to the full Pathfinder/3e, as well as some of the retro clones. This will make the product look bigger than it is by providing access to a wealth of published and Internet material. Why not look smart, benevolent, and tolerant of other systems?
The problem with all of this is that Paizo is comprised of 3e grognards. Not to say that they’re snobs about their game system of choice, but 3e is their area of expertise. I’m not sure these are the best people to ask for a simplified rules set. Asking them to hack down 3e may be like asking someone to hack off body parts. They already think they’ve simplified the game with Pathfinder. Selling Pathfinder Basic to Paizo may be the hardest sell of all.
I’m not a business major. This isn’t a credible business plan. Then again, I’m not sure Paizo’s current plan is going to work in the long term either. Pathfinder Basic is worth consideration.
Addendum: I hope Paizo continues to offer the Beta version of Pathfinder as a free download, along with an addendum sheet of changes from the final version. I think WOTC offered a free download of changes from 3.0 to 3.5. This will allow players to try the system without a large monetary investment. Just getting people to try Pathfinder, may be Paizo’s biggest hurdle. If players like it, they’ll want the book.
J.
ALMS Long Beach “Looks like he’s driving a rental car.”
A great comment from someone watching a guy fishtail and burnout. I hang my head in shame that I have again forgotten to get the names of the ESPN commentators for this race so that I can properly attribute the quote. Anyway this maneuver happened during the race after a spinout. I would have awarded points for style, but this is American Le Mans, not a Formula D drifting contest.
Long Beach is probably about the worst case scenario for processional, lock step street course racing outside of F1’s Monaco race. I have to give ESPN credit for making the venue actually look a bit like Monaco as well. I’ve watched a couple of Long Beach races before and place always looked cheap and trashy. Maybe that was because they were Champ Car events. The overhead and aerial views were beautiful. While the yachts weren’t quite as spectacular as the European race, the Queen Mary is a more than impressive replacement.
For such a beautiful day and a race full of cool cars, the crowd was just so-so, like yesterday’s baseball game. What are all these SoCaler’s doing on the weekend? Perhaps if the state legalizes weed, they’ll be more willing to show up during the day. If watching paint peel while you’re high is fun, just imagine the additional excitement of being at a race. I appreciate blowheads. They make me feel better about my own sad life. They’re a group of people I can look down on.
Good news and bad news to start the race. The GT1 Corvettes were back, but only for a final engagement. No comment on whether it was lack of GM funding and/or lack of competition from somebody like Aston Martin. They will be back in the GT2 class later in the season and be joined by the new Jaguar team. So, GT1 goes away I guess, but the competition heats up in GT2.
The commentary from the race was well done again with plenty of detail information on the cars and the tires (worth noting, since there several different brands in use). There seemed to be a careful nod to explain things to new viewers. Being new fan-friendly for a lessor known series like this is a must. Kelli Stavast (the only member of the broadcast team whose name I can ever remember) was still a little shaky in presentation at times, but her knowledge and reporting were well done.
There was more “green” crap. I don’t know what they were measuring with their “green” challenge amongst the teams, and I don’t care. Right now, this is all hype and no substance. I can say this safely, because nobody ever makes a compelling business case for “green,” only an environmental one. These competing technologies are not trying to compete in the marketplace. They are hoping to be anointed the winner by government regulatory mandate. And wherever government is involved higher cost and inefficiency follow.
It was great to see fan icon, Boris Said, enter the race. It sucked that as soon as they pointed it out, he was involved in a crash. A short time later, Said was on camera again, as the cabin of his Corvette went up in flames. That was scary to watch. I’m sure it scarier being a participant. Boris was okay and, just as importantly, his ‘fro was okay afterward as well. I love those vettes, but between watching this firestorm and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s from a couple of years ago, I think I’d shy away from wanting to drive a car prone to spontaneous combustion.
This race may not have been ALMS’ finest hour. A potentially bad call by the officials in the pits cost the Patron team the race. Said’s late race crash caused the race to finish under yellow. Because the race was timed, a potentially exciting restart got scrubbed. I think got my time’s worth from the sights and sounds of the race anyway.
Best commercial: Acura’s classically themed promotion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify the music.
J.
Long Beach is probably about the worst case scenario for processional, lock step street course racing outside of F1’s Monaco race. I have to give ESPN credit for making the venue actually look a bit like Monaco as well. I’ve watched a couple of Long Beach races before and place always looked cheap and trashy. Maybe that was because they were Champ Car events. The overhead and aerial views were beautiful. While the yachts weren’t quite as spectacular as the European race, the Queen Mary is a more than impressive replacement.
For such a beautiful day and a race full of cool cars, the crowd was just so-so, like yesterday’s baseball game. What are all these SoCaler’s doing on the weekend? Perhaps if the state legalizes weed, they’ll be more willing to show up during the day. If watching paint peel while you’re high is fun, just imagine the additional excitement of being at a race. I appreciate blowheads. They make me feel better about my own sad life. They’re a group of people I can look down on.
Good news and bad news to start the race. The GT1 Corvettes were back, but only for a final engagement. No comment on whether it was lack of GM funding and/or lack of competition from somebody like Aston Martin. They will be back in the GT2 class later in the season and be joined by the new Jaguar team. So, GT1 goes away I guess, but the competition heats up in GT2.
The commentary from the race was well done again with plenty of detail information on the cars and the tires (worth noting, since there several different brands in use). There seemed to be a careful nod to explain things to new viewers. Being new fan-friendly for a lessor known series like this is a must. Kelli Stavast (the only member of the broadcast team whose name I can ever remember) was still a little shaky in presentation at times, but her knowledge and reporting were well done.
There was more “green” crap. I don’t know what they were measuring with their “green” challenge amongst the teams, and I don’t care. Right now, this is all hype and no substance. I can say this safely, because nobody ever makes a compelling business case for “green,” only an environmental one. These competing technologies are not trying to compete in the marketplace. They are hoping to be anointed the winner by government regulatory mandate. And wherever government is involved higher cost and inefficiency follow.
It was great to see fan icon, Boris Said, enter the race. It sucked that as soon as they pointed it out, he was involved in a crash. A short time later, Said was on camera again, as the cabin of his Corvette went up in flames. That was scary to watch. I’m sure it scarier being a participant. Boris was okay and, just as importantly, his ‘fro was okay afterward as well. I love those vettes, but between watching this firestorm and Dale Earnhardt Jr’s from a couple of years ago, I think I’d shy away from wanting to drive a car prone to spontaneous combustion.
This race may not have been ALMS’ finest hour. A potentially bad call by the officials in the pits cost the Patron team the race. Said’s late race crash caused the race to finish under yellow. Because the race was timed, a potentially exciting restart got scrubbed. I think got my time’s worth from the sights and sounds of the race anyway.
Best commercial: Acura’s classically themed promotion. Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify the music.
J.
Phoenix Cup Race: A Labor of Love
Like I said in my baseball blog for today, nine hours of continuous sports viewing is apparently over my threshold. I’m ceasing weekly baseball blogging while I still love the sport. I’d stop NASCAR blogging as well, but I committed to doing it this season, as long as I’m able to watch the races (which may end up only being Fox’s part of the season). I hope I’m still able to watch races after this year after writing this blog. Sitting around criticizing a sport is not a good way to become more enamored of it.
This is going to be short, much like the race itself. Fox has canceled their baseball studio pre-game, but kept their NASCAR pre-race coverage.
Unfortunately.
If you love the pre-race, you can probably thank Digger. Were it not for the opportunity to promote and sell the vermin’s merchandise, Fox might have put this one down, too. This evening’s production was decidedly subpar. Digger’s cartoon was a rerun. There was some sort of infomercial segment about Subway. (It worked. It made me want a sub.) And we got a segment on “going green” for Earth Day. First of all, this is NASCAR; sports least “green” sport. Second, why this featured Kevin Harvick and his oil company sponsor, Shell, is completely beyond my comprehension, if for no other reason than surely it ticked off Sunoco and their frickin’ “race fuel” sponsorship.
Earth Day is never going to cut it as a holiday. There’s no gift giving and no over indulgence associated with it, just sacrifice and guilt. It’s like Lent for atheists and green freaks.
Thankfully there were a few driver segments in the pre-race, but by and large the best thing that can be said about it is that it ended. I suffer for this blog.
Fox did learn a lesson from last year and made sure to start the baseball early. It’s hard to get over last year’s debacle, cutting away from the ball game in the bottom of the ninth of a close game to show the start of the race.
There was no Number 8 car in the race. How unthinkable that would been a few short years ago. This is awful. First, Junior isn’t driving the car and now it’s not there at all. I’ve got three #8 diecasts! Now they’re nothing but nostalgia.
On the subject of Junior, I’m implementing a new policy. I’ve determined I’m part of the problem in Junior coverage. Until he either wins, or rolls the car and it explodes, no further Junior coverage or even coverage about Junior coverage.
Well, now no NASCAR fan is going to read this blog anymore. That’s okay. I don’t have much else to say in this entry. I’d like to give some insightful commentary about the race itself, but I was not paying attention for about three-quarters of the event. A few strategy calls mixed things up, but Mark Martin pretty much dominated at the start and at the end.
My favorite part of the race was the scene in Victory Lane. That was a truly special moment, and I was grateful to have witnessed it. Yes, Miss Sprint Cup, Monica Palumbo, got some monster, close up airtime. Her bright, beaming smile (and other assets) briefly lifted my flagging spirits. Thank you, Fox Sports for sharing that with all of us.
Oh, and it was nice that the other drivers came over and congratulated Mark Martin, even though they got in the way of Miss Sprint Cup coverage.
J.
This is going to be short, much like the race itself. Fox has canceled their baseball studio pre-game, but kept their NASCAR pre-race coverage.
Unfortunately.
If you love the pre-race, you can probably thank Digger. Were it not for the opportunity to promote and sell the vermin’s merchandise, Fox might have put this one down, too. This evening’s production was decidedly subpar. Digger’s cartoon was a rerun. There was some sort of infomercial segment about Subway. (It worked. It made me want a sub.) And we got a segment on “going green” for Earth Day. First of all, this is NASCAR; sports least “green” sport. Second, why this featured Kevin Harvick and his oil company sponsor, Shell, is completely beyond my comprehension, if for no other reason than surely it ticked off Sunoco and their frickin’ “race fuel” sponsorship.
Earth Day is never going to cut it as a holiday. There’s no gift giving and no over indulgence associated with it, just sacrifice and guilt. It’s like Lent for atheists and green freaks.
Thankfully there were a few driver segments in the pre-race, but by and large the best thing that can be said about it is that it ended. I suffer for this blog.
Fox did learn a lesson from last year and made sure to start the baseball early. It’s hard to get over last year’s debacle, cutting away from the ball game in the bottom of the ninth of a close game to show the start of the race.
There was no Number 8 car in the race. How unthinkable that would been a few short years ago. This is awful. First, Junior isn’t driving the car and now it’s not there at all. I’ve got three #8 diecasts! Now they’re nothing but nostalgia.
On the subject of Junior, I’m implementing a new policy. I’ve determined I’m part of the problem in Junior coverage. Until he either wins, or rolls the car and it explodes, no further Junior coverage or even coverage about Junior coverage.
Well, now no NASCAR fan is going to read this blog anymore. That’s okay. I don’t have much else to say in this entry. I’d like to give some insightful commentary about the race itself, but I was not paying attention for about three-quarters of the event. A few strategy calls mixed things up, but Mark Martin pretty much dominated at the start and at the end.
My favorite part of the race was the scene in Victory Lane. That was a truly special moment, and I was grateful to have witnessed it. Yes, Miss Sprint Cup, Monica Palumbo, got some monster, close up airtime. Her bright, beaming smile (and other assets) briefly lifted my flagging spirits. Thank you, Fox Sports for sharing that with all of us.
Oh, and it was nice that the other drivers came over and congratulated Mark Martin, even though they got in the way of Miss Sprint Cup coverage.
J.
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